Bruno Manrique Articles - Page 136

New York Knicks head coach David Fizdale is determined to play second-year point guard Frank Ntilikina in a runback game against the Milwaukee Bucks after sitting the Frenchman on Christmas Day for the entire game. “I’m going to get Frank back in there tonight,” said Fizdale, according to Barbara Barker of Newsday. Ntilikina was visibly upset […]

The Houston Rockets have again expressed interest in Atlanta Hawks swingman Kent Bazemore, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. The Hawks have been shopping their wing for a while now, given the rebuilding process they underwent after letting go of their lone remaining piece of contention in Paul Millsap two seasons ago. The Rockets […]

The New Orleans Pelicans have one last card to burn with franchise star Anthony Davis, a check with $240 million written out to his name for the next five years of his loyalty. Yet the supermax contract, the magnanimous baby birthed out of the most recent collective bargaining agreement designed to entice players to stay […]

New Orleans Pelicans big man Anthony Davis has become the focal point and the top star the rest of the league will inquire about as the trade deadline nears. Yet, this saga has become a troublesome nightmare for those around NBA front offices, who have been unable to tell if Davis is willing to accept […]

Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo has put up otherworldly numbers this season, yet former NBA player-turned-hot-take-puff Ryan Hollins argued The Greek Freak wasn’t worthy of his MVP consideration. Hollins was a guest on ESPN’s morning show Get Up! and said that he couldn’t consider Antetokoumpo as a candidate, since he rarely closes games. “He is […]

The Golden State Warriors have managed to mend a slow start to the season but still look far from the well-oiled machine that breezed through the 2017 NBA playoffs or the team that captured back-to-back titles by sweeping their archenemies in the Cleveland Cavaliers. Warriors forward Draymond Green has gotten plenty of flack for his […]

The Golden State Warriors have expressed interest in soon-to-be free agent Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Pelicans, despite the lack of a realistic pathway to land him in the near future, according to ESPN’s Zach Lowe. The Warriors have been publicly linked to Davis before — and would surely be interested, sources say — […]

Houston Rockets guard James Harden is expected to play against the Boston Celtics, according to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. Harden is officially listed as “questionable” for the game, but is likely to take the floor after suffering a left calf contusion likely during a Christmas Day win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Rockets are already […]

The Brooklyn Nets are riding a two-game win streak and are only a half game away from the eighth seed of the Eastern Conference playoffs. Spencer Dinwiddie has played a large role in the team’s success since Caris LeVert’s injury resulted in their best player missing a stretch of the season — a mantle Dinwiddie […]

Phoenix Suns shooting guard Devin Booker has struggled with his share of injuries early in the season but came back with fury after missing 10 of the first 29 games of the season. Most recently, Booker trotted out a 35-point, eight-assist, seven-rebound effort in an overtime win against the Orlando Magic on Wednesday, putting together […]

It didn’t take long for Minnesota Timberwolves guard Derrick Rose to hear himself introduced at the United Arena with a nostalgic “and from Chicago” — a tradition reserved for those born in The Windy City, as he took the court on Wednesday against his hometown Bulls. “It made me reminisce about some of the old […]

Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard knows the struggle that people in his hometown of Oakland are going through. The city known as “The Town” is now losing two of their professional teams due to relocation, first the Oakland Raiders, as they move out of state to Las Vegas, and then the Golden State […]

The new wave of culture this young New York Knicks team is bringing makes use of advanced scientific findings into their everyday routine. Sleep is one of the major ones the organization has honed into, but the fad of Fortnite, the popular free-to-play video game, has proven David Fizdale’s biggest obstacle. “‘Fortnite,’ that’s my competitor right […]

Joel Embiid had a monster impact on Tuesday’s Christmas Day game against the Boston Celtics, one the Philadelphia 76ers lost in overtime after running out of answers for an inspired Kyrie Irving, who took his team on his back. The Sixers big man’s stat line was nothing to scoff at, as his 34 points, 16 […]

Chicago Bulls shooting guard Zach LaVine is hopeful to return to the floor after a five-game absence due to a sprained left ankle. If LaVine does return Wednesday against the Minnesota Timberwolves, head coach Jim Boylen will bring him off the bench, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. Boylen stressed this is his standard […]

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James will not join the team on their road trip to Sacramento, according to Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times. The Lakers face the Kings on Thursday, giving James only hours to recover from a strained groin, which he suffered in the third quarter of a 127-101 win over […]

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James will be officially considered as day-to-day after sustaining a groin strain in the middle of the third quarter against the Golden State Warriors on Christmas Day, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. James underwent an MRI on Wednesday, which came back clean after the All-Star forward missed the […]

The Los Angeles Lakers enter the day after Christmas with a nefarious air of uncertainty, as a rousing rout of the Golden State Warriors on the road was spoiled by news of a LeBron James groin strain that forced him out of the hardwood for the last 20 minutes of the game. The purple and […]

The Los Angeles Lakers believe the groin strain their star forward LeBron James suffered on Tuesday in a win over the Golden State Warriors could cost him to miss a few games, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. Head coach Luke Walton warned the organization would be utmost careful dealing with this early-season injury, […]

Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra named his longtime forward Justise Winslow as the team’s new starting point guard in the wake of a league-best five-game win streak to put the team back at the .500 mark. “[Justise Winslow] is our starting point guard,” said Spoelstra on Wednesday morning, according to Tim Reynolds of The […]

Golden State Warriors sharpshooter Klay Thompson has gone from the most efficient season of his NBA career to the least efficient in 2018-19. Head coach Steve Kerr hasn’t been too worried about his shooting funk, noting the regular season has its way to come back around and compensate for poor nights. “I think it will […]

Draymond Green was the most obvious offensive non-factor for the Golden State Warriors, as they shot a mere 40.9 percent from the floor in a 127-101 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, but Kevin Durant thinks it’s more than his frontcourt partner that is impeding their prowess scoring the ball. “Bigs aren’t really guarding their […]

Christmas Day brought an onslaught of embarrassment for the Golden State Warriors, who were stampeded by the Los Angeles Lakers, who managed to survive a third-quarter run to throttle the Dubs by 26 points in their own home floor. Kevin Durant wasn’t happy with the team’s play, often allowing wide-open looks and uncontested baskets at […]

The Golden State Warriors squandered a season-best shooting performance from swingman Andre Iguodala during a 127-101 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Christmas Day. Iguodala scored a game-high 23 points with brilliant efficiency (9-of-12 from the field, 3-of-5 from deep, 2-of-2 from the line) in 27 minutes against the Lakers and they still lost by […]

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Derrick Rose has managed to resuscitate his once-believed dead career in the NBA under former coach Tom Thibodeau and a new team willing to take a chance on him. While the opportunity was surely great, it was his mindset that helped him overcome the barrier that kept getting on the way of […]

The Golden State Warriors suffered yet another spanking at home, this time at the hands of the Los Angeles Lakers in a 127-101 rout on Christmas Day. Head coach Steve Kerr was utterly disappointed with how his team performed, despite having every chance to come back in the game and stake a claim at victory. […]

The Houston Rockets have finally carved a spot in the playoff picture after months at the bottom of the West, yet they will be tested during their Christmas Day matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the best rebounding team in the league and one of the top dogs in a ruthless Western Conference. Franchise star […]

Rajon Rondo has built a reputation as one of the NBA’s most mercurial players, known to rub off as an instigator against on-court opponents and an intermittent challenger to head coaches due to a clash of high-level basketball intellect. The Los Angeles Lakers point man has bounced around five teams in his last five seasons […]

Kevin Durant’s comments about the “toxic” environment surrounding LeBron James went viral in La La Land, yet Los Angeles Lakers point guard Rajon Rondo thinks some aspects are getting overlooked. Despite the bad rap The King has gotten in recent recruiting efforts, Rondo lauded his leadership and innate ability to unite the locker room through […]

Austin Rivers’ timely pre-Christmas signing will have him locked for playing time right away in light of Chris Paul’s recent Grade 2 hamstring strain, which figures to sideline him for “a while.” The 26-year-old guard doesn’t think the adjustment period will be long, fitting right into the Houston Rockets’ offensively philosophy of “threes and layups.” […]

Houston Rockets new acquisition Austin Rivers diffused any talks of a potential tiff with starting point guard Chris Paul, who is currently sidelined with a Grade 2 hamstring strain — an injury which ironically has brought the two former L.A. Clippers together again. Rivers and Paul took part in what became an infamous kerfuffle at […]

Los Angeles Lakers center Tyson Chandler gave young point guard Lonzo Ball some tall praise, comparing him to none other than one of the game’s best passers — his former teammate Jason Kidd. “As far as the way you can impact the game, the only guy I played with like that is Jason Kidd, because […]

LeBron James welcomed the idea of playing alongside 2003 NBA Draft-mate Carmelo Anthony after he was exiled by the Houston Rockets after 10 games with the team, and he recently doubled down on his desire to play next to his once high-school rival. “People ask me questions, “Hey, how do you feel…” and you know, […]

Los Angeles Lakers center Tyson Chandler admitted he was close to signing with the Golden State Warriors upon being bought out by the Phoenix Suns. The 7-foot-1 center became an automatic target of the Lakers, who faced an early-season skid and needed clear leadership from someone other than LeBron James. While the longtime veteran joined […]

Chicago Bulls center Robin Lopez has been linked to the Golden State Warriors as a potential future acquisition to help the defending champions with their lack of positional depth, according to Marc Stein of The New York Times. Lopez has been placed in the trade block, as Chicago’s 9-25 is unlikely to go very far […]

Dwyane Wade has sprinkled moments of magic at the American Airlines Arena throughout this #onelastdance through his final NBA season before calling it a career. His Miami Heat teammates have been conscious of that fact and urged Wade to bless the home crowd with more memorable moments to further cement his legacy in South Beach, […]

The rivalry between Stephen Curry and LeBron James will be reincarnated in a Christmas Day matchup that has now become customary in the last half decade of NBA basketball. This time, though, James will take on the Golden State Warriors with a different uniform, leading his Los Angeles Lakers into a bar-measuring matchup against the […]

While most people spend their Christmas morning drinking some eggnog, New York Knicks forward Noah Vonleh will spend his defending a nightmare on the court, tasked with guarding Giannis Antetokounmpo in a matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks that opens a slate of five games during the holiday. “Well, he’s a freak. I mean, he’s 6-10,” […]

The Houston Rockets have picked up steam at the right time and climbed into the playoff picture, leapfrogging the San Antonio Spurs for the eighth spot in the Western Conference. The recent addition of recently-waived guard Austin Rivers should only help the quest to climb up the playoff ladder, according to franchise star James Harden, […]