Bruno Manrique Articles - Page 217

What would have been a run-of-the-mill ESPN Wednesday double-header became a spectacular night thanks to “The Crossover” — a special day in which college basketball analysts cross over to the pro game, injecting their colorful emotion into these NBA games, this time prior to the impending All-Star break. However, last night’s case was different. Personally, […]

Golden State Warriors sharpshooter Klay Thompson isn’t looking to sign with any other team in the near future. Being one of the first players eligible for free agency in 2019, the 6-foot-7 marksman told reporters he was looking forward to finishing his career with the team that initially drafted him. “Absolutely,” Thompson said, according to […]

The Golden State Warriors loved to have a day to spend around Hall of Famer Bill Walton, as the 7-footer was part of ESPN’s Crossover series, where college basketball analysts take a crack at doing the job for the NBA for a night and vice versa. The lively 65-year-old spent time at the practice facility, […]

Joe Johnson was reunited with his former coach Mike D’Antoni last night as his new team, the Houston Rockets, took down the Sacramento Kings, making it 10 in a row to claim sole possession of the best record in the league. Prior to the start of the game, D’Antoni went on to talk about Johnson, […]

Lonzo Ball is slated to make his return next Friday against the Dallas Mavericks, after missing the team’s last 15 games with knee soreness, according to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. “I practiced yesterday, [and] it’s at a point where I can play, but it still hurts a little bit,” Ball said after the team’s shootaround. […]

The Washington Wizards have won their second straight game last night against the New York Knicks and seemingly regrouped after the hoopla surrounding shooting guard Bradley Beal, center Marcin Gortat and point guard John Wall has come to an end. After both players met with the injured Wall separately, addressing comments said in jest about […]

The onslaught of divided opinions also brought plenty of criticism, as Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr caught plenty of flak for allowing his players to coach themselves during a 46-point win over the Phoenix Suns on Monday night. Kevin Durant wasn’t fond of the constant finger-pointing shaming Kerr for employing the tactic against […]

A high-scoring affair between the Los Angeles Lakers and the New Orleans Pelicans was marred by a double ejection of opposing point guards — Isaiah Thomas and Rajon Rondo — as the two were handed double technical fouls and consequently tossed in the first quarter. Thomas, however, feels his ejection was soundly unjust. “Whatever reason, he’s […]

Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey couldn’t help himself but troll the Golden State Warriors after they were taken down by the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night. The loss, combined with the Rockets’ 10th straight win after dispatching the Sacramento Kings, brought them a half game over the defending champions for the top seed […]

The Boston Celtics have lost three straight games, and it’s only helped widen the gap between the East-leading Toronto Raptors and them. Following a Wednesday 129-119 night loss to the L.A. Clippers as part of ESPN’s welcoming doubleheader, Celtics point guard Kyrie Irving took the blame squarely on his shoulders, despite putting up a game-high […]

The Toronto Raptors have entered the All-Star break as the top seed in the Eastern Conference for the first time in league history. Winners of seven straight games and sitting comfortably at 41-16 this season, the Raptors have built themselves a comfortable two-game cushion over the former leader Boston Celtics and carved a six-and-a-half game […]

Draymond Green was stopped in his tracks mid-interview to settle matters with Evan Turner after a 123-117 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night. The Blazers sixth man came to collect a payment from the Golden State Warriors forward after his alma matter Ohio State took down Green’s Michigan State 80-64 in early […]

Kevin Durant didn’t take his clutch-time gaffe lightly in the waning seconds of a highly-contested affair against the Portland Trail Blazers. The Golden State Warriors forward stepped out of bounds as he took and made a 3-point jumper with 8.8 seconds to go in the game, having the basket waived off with his back heel […]

Jamal Murray is determined to make a second straight appearance in the All-Star Weekend’s Rising Stars Challenge this Friday, despite fighting constant chest pains for the past week. The second-year guard was questionable entering last night’s game against the San Antonio Spurs, but played and totaled 17 points through a heavy load of 38 minutes […]

The Golden State Warriors will have forward Draymond Green back in the starting lineup against the Portland Trail Blazers, according to Mark Medina of the San Jose Mercury News. The Warriors will be without Patrick McCaw, who stayed with the team instead of going down to G League affiliate Santa Cruz Warriors to get his […]

The Phoenix Suns are listing shooting guard Devin Booker as questionable tonight against the Utah Jazz, yet a short chat with head coach Jay Triano hinted as if the third-year guard would see the floor prior to the All-Star break, according to Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic. Booker has been out for the last […]

Emmanuel Mudiay has shown part of his potential during his first two games with the New York Knicks, after coming via three-team trade between the Knicks, the Dallas Mavericks, and his former team, the Denver Nuggets. Tonight he’ll have the chance to take the floor in the mecca of basketball, Madison Square Garden, against the […]

The Washington Wizards will have point guard Tomas Satoransky available after he got three stitches in his head, following a hard collision with Chicago Bulls forward Bobby Portis on Saturday, according to Candace Buckner of The Washington Post. Backup point man Tim Frazier was ruled out for tonight’s tilt against the New York Knicks after […]

The Chicago Bulls will get their starting point guard Kris Dunn back tonight against the Toronto Raptors, according to ESPN’s Nick Friedell. The Bulls will get their second-year stud back only a game prior to the All-Star break after he cleared the concussion protocol following a 12-game absence after suffering a tough fall against the […]

The Los Angeles Lakers will aim to get point guard Lonzo Ball back on Friday, Feb. 23 against the Dallas Mavericks, according to Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times. The 20-year-old noted he feels good enough to play, but he’s still questionable to take part on the Rising Stars game coming up this Friday, […]

Elfrid Payton was suddenly involved in one of the last trades of this recent deadline, shipped to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for a second-round pick going back to the Orlando Magic, his team of the last three seasons. The Magic essentially gave up the promise of their starting point guard, and swapped it for […]

The Indiana Pacers have surprisingly turned an offseason trade that left many fans perplexed with their return into a win-win proposition after turning Victor Oladipo into an All-Star. The Pacers traded their estranged forward Paul George for two promising prospects in Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis — both of which have turned into more than players […]

As things heat up in the wild, wild west — the team with the most momentum heading into the break isn’t the defending champion Golden State Warriors, or the red-hot Houston Rockets, but a team out of the playoffs as it stands — the Utah Jazz, winners of 10 straight games. With a healthy new […]

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich had plenty of praise for Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic after his team took a 117-109 loss in the Mile High City on Tuesday night. Jokic racked up a triple-double, his fourth of the season, tallying 23 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists in 33 minutes of play […]

The Eastern Conference-leading Toronto Raptors could have some targets in sight from the buyout market, after staying relatively mute through a busy trade deadline. According to Michael Grange of Rogers SportsNet, the Raptors could seek out the likes of Channing Frye (recently traded to the Los Angeles Lakers) and Ersan Ilyasova — two sharp-shooting forwards […]

The Boston Celtics are facing relative adversity for the first time since losing the opening two games this season. They rebounded by pulling off the best winning streak in the league — 16 straight — but now find themselves out of first place in the Eastern Conference for the first time in a very long […]

In the midst of an array of hoopla surrounding Paul Pierce’s jersey retirement ceremony this past Sunday, Ray Allen made a heartfelt post on Instagram, detailing what was perhaps hard to bring to words on multiple occasions. https://www.instagram.com/p/BfJ3QGnHbia/?taken-by=trayfour The all-time 3-point king spoke of how talk about that 2008 Celtics team had “berated, lambasted, and […]

Dwyane Wade won’t be part of LeBron James’ deliberation process at the end of this NBA season. The King’s second “decision” has been one of the hottest topics during this 2017-18 season, and one that the recently-acquired Wade won’t want anything to do with. “No. No, I don’t have anything to do with it, none […]

Nikola Jokic was relatively relieved he wasn’t chosen to take part in the All-Star Game, but the Denver Nuggets center said if he was indeed called up as an All-Star, it wouldn’t be one he’d turn down. “I was kind of happy they didn’t call me but if I went to the All-Star (game) of […]

Goran Dragic will see a reunion with the man that was the face of the Miami Heat franchise for the better part of the last two decades, Dwyane Wade. Contrary to prior reports that said the two couldn’t coexist in the same team, The Dragon noted their lack of apparent chemistry was a byproduct of […]

Russell Westbrook took part in tonight’s pre-game warmup session prior to facing the Cleveland Cavaliers tonight at Chesapeake Energy Arena, as part of the headlining TNT’s Tuesday night doubleheader. The reigning MVP was seen dropping multiple F-bombs with the equipment personnel while going through his shooting routine. Take a listen. Gonna go out on a […]

Erik Spoelstra has been elated with his reunion with longtime franchise star Dwyane Wade, but he is not thinking about putting him back in his past role just yet. Wade spent 13 NBA seasons as the face of the Miami Heat, his iconic No. 3 in murals across South Beach and plastered around the home […]

The re-invention of Markelle Fultz’ shot mechanics had started long before his reported muscular imbalance developed into a shoulder strain, which has plagued him for the entire NBA season. According to Derek Bodner of The Athletic, Keith Williams, a longtime trainer, confidant, and family friend was responsible for tinkering with his shot, hoping to “quicken his […]

After a mesmerizing tactic to be hands-off from the clipboard, Steve Kerr raised eyebrows among NBA circles by choosing not to coach his Golden State Warriors for the entire game, rather letting his players take matters into their own hands and make the necessary adjustments throughout the 48 minutes. ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne ran an anonymous […]

Paul George has put his name in the conversation among some of the best three-point shooters of this NBA season, recently invited to take part in the All-Star Weekend’s Three-Point Contest alongside some familiar names. The Oklahoma City Thunder guard will have to take out the likes of Devin Booker, Bradley Beal, former champion Klay […]

Los Angeles Lakers head coach Luke Walton didn’t take long to get wind of LaVar Ball’s comments, even if he is far away in Lithuania. The often-loud father of rookie Lonzo Ball noted his son wouldn’t re-sign with the team unless the organization was willing to bring in his two brothers to play alongside him. […]

The New York Knicks are expected to be without their star forward Kristaps Porzingis for at least 10 months, according to ESPN’s Ian Begley. While it’s too early to estimate how long it would take for his return, this will largely depend on his healing and how his body adapts to the ligament during the […]

Former head coach, now NBA TV analyst Sam Mitchell wasn’t fond of Steve Kerr’s strategy to lay off coaching his Golden State Warriors against the Phoenix Suns on Monday night. The Warriors found major success with a 46-point rout of the Suns, grabbing major momentum before a road game against the Portland Trail Blazers before […]

Golden State Warriors forward/center David West has somehow found the fountain of youth with this team, and as it sits right now — he is not contemplating hanging them up just yet. The 37-year-old mid-range artist is still going strong in the gym, on the practice floor, and during games — showing a spry performance […]