Bruno Manrique Articles - Page 231

One more made three for Bradley Beal will cement him as the youngest player to ever reach 700 made three-pointers. If Beal can manage to stripe one against the Milwaukee Bucks tonight, the Washington Wizards sharpshooter would put himself atop elite company, surpassing the likes of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, J.R. Smith, and former Wizard […]

The return of Chris Paul as the floor general of this new-look Houston Rockets can present a fair share of growing pains within the locker room. Another All-Star playing 30-plus minutes can certainly disrupt whatever comfort zone role players had acquired with extended minutes during his near-four-week absence. Head coach Mike D’Antoni warned that this […]

Joel Embiid is considered questionable to go tonight against the Utah Jazz after experiencing left knee soreness, according to Jessica Camerato of NBC Sports Philly. The Process will likely be a game-time decision, but it won’t be surprising if coach Brett Brown and the medical staff decide to give him the night off after the big […]

The Los Angeles Lakers have met the Phoenix Suns three times through the first month of the season. Three times have both teams come into a skirmish on the court. The Lakers and Suns have played three times in a month. In all of those games the teams have scuffled and needed to be separated. […]

The Minnesota Timberwolves needed a quick turnaround after falling into a 55-43 deficit at the half of Friday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks. Jimmy Butler and company turned it all around, limiting the Mavs to 17 points in the third quarter and 15 on the fourth, playing the best Tom Thibodeau defense they have all […]

LaVar Ball is having none of President Donald Trump’s comments as he called out all three of the UCLA players including his son, LiAngelo Ball, after they were arrested for shoplifting during a tour of China for not thanking him for intervening through President Xi Jinping to streamline a resolution. “Who?” Ball asked ESPN’s Arash Markazi. […]

Carmelo Anthony was one decision away from becoming the hero for his Oklahoma City Thunder during Friday night’s 104-101 loss against the San Antonio Spurs. Anthony hugged a Steven Adams screen and drilled a jumper from the top of the key, nearly tying the game at 102 with 5.6 seconds left, as the Spurs have […]

Klay Thompson’s start to the season has seen him dialed in from all area codes, already showing signs of being in mid-season shape shooting the ball and defending with a new-found vigor — most recently admitting to aiming at averaging a block per game. But his backcourt mate Stephen Curry has been mostly impressed with […]

Many interpreted Lonzo Ball’s pre-game haircut to be a cleanse of the juju, a ridding of the evil ghosts, and a new, fresh start to end to his shooting struggles. Not for Lonzo. “It’s just a haircut, man,” said Ball prior to his Lakers taking a second straight loss in a 122-113 defeat on their home […]

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich went into one of the best sideline tirade of his 20-plus-year coaching career in the league, going off on the officiating crew during the third quarter of Friday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Pop was upset about a ball out of bounds given to the Thunder after […]

Kyle Kuzma’s Friday night matchup against the Phoenix Suns didn’t start looking like his best day. The Los Angeles Lakers rookie started a woeful 0-for-5 from the field, finding his range in time to explode for a career-high 30 points and collecting 10 rebounds to boot in a 122-113 loss to the Suns. Kuzma’s line […]

New Orleans Pelicans talisman Anthony Davis suffered a concussion only a minute into the third quarter against of Friday night’s outing against the Denver Nuggets, according to the team. Davis was inadvertently hit in the face, clashing with center Nikola Jokic’s head, as the Nuggets center was backing him down with his back to the […]

Despite a brilliant 2017 NBA Draft class, the Rookie of the Year award might not involve any of last year’s abundant freshman talent at the end of this upcoming 2017-18 season. According to ESPN, a series of experts have nearly-unanimously picked Philadelphia 76ers forward Ben Simmons as the likely candidate to walk home with the […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder will get their starting center Steven Adams back on the fold tonight against the San Antonio Spurs, according to Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman. Adams has been absent throughout the entire three-game win streak against the L.A. Clippers, Dallas Mavericks, and most recently Wednesday night’s win over the Chicago Bulls. He […]

Despite a recent 92-88 loss to the streaky Boston Celtics during a Thursday night doubleheader, the Golden State Warriors are still a heavy favorite to repeat as NBA champions. According to ESPN, a panel of experts voted on potential teams that could walk away with the Larry O’Brien trophy at the end of the 2017-18, […]

The Memphis Grizzlies will be without point guard Mike Conley for the next two weeks, as he recovers from injuries to his left heel and Achilles soreness, according to Michael Wallace of Grizzlies.com. He is slated to be re-evaluated in the next two weeks to assess his progress and impending return to the court. Conley […]

Derrick Favors has made the most of his opportunity as the lone big man tasked with the scoring load upon the absence of center Rudy Gobert, who is out for four-to-six weeks with a knee injury. The 6-foot-10 big man has pulled down double-digit rebounds since the uptick in minutes, including blocking two shots per […]

Russell Westbrook has had to reinvent his furious pace from a historic 2016-17 season to fit into this “Big Three” version of his Oklahoma City Thunder. While the reigning MVP was racking up 42 triple-doubles last season, he’s only had a total of four through his first 14 games of the season, having to pace […]

The Utah Jazz will face the Brooklyn Nets tonight without point guard Ricky Rubio, who was ruled out with a sore Achilles, according to Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune. Quin Snyder’s team is already short a point guard with the absence of Dante Exum, making Raul Neto the default option to start tonight […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder’s road back to .500 hasn’t just been a matter of the schedule, but of a closed-door team meeting, stemming from a four-game skid that found OKC at 4-7 to start the season. Paul George was able to dig his new team out of a hole thanks to two outstanding back-to-back performances, […]

Stephen Curry isn’t worried despite a bar-measuring loss to the Boston Celtics on Tuesday. The Golden State Warriors point man had his worst outing of the season on perhaps one of the biggest stages in this young season, totaling only nine points in 3-of-14 from the floor and 2-of-9 from deep, continuing a line of […]

The return of Chris Paul into the Houston Rockets lineup spelled a complete unleashing of the beast, as the Rockets lit up the Suns 142-116, including a 90-65 differential at halftime. Teammate James Harden couldn’t believe his eyes after seeing his team had amassed 45 points in each of the first two quarters. “I thought […]

In a very revealing interview with Ric Bucher of Bleacher Report, Kevin Durant aired out most of his personal frustrations with the way he’s been portrayed since deciding to join the Golden State Warriors, counter-punching pundits who have had more than two cents to say about him since leaving the Oklahoma City Thunder. Durant was […]

Klay Thompson wasn’t satisfied with the officiating during a closely-contested battle with the streaking Boston Celtics, that ended in a 92-88 loss for the Golden State Warriors. Thompson committed three fouls in the fourth quarter, all on Kyrie Irving — his primary defensive assignment. Irving free-throwed his way to a victory, making seven of them […]

Despite a bar-measuring loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night, Los Angeles Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma didn’t celebrate a career-high 24-point performance, but rather reminisced about the opportunities missed throughout the game. Namely, a potential statement dunk over big man Joel Embiid, which almost brought the house down, coming a whisker shy of completion. […]

James Johnson has had a tough stretch in the early stages of the season, still trying to find the rhythm he had going during the last part of 2016-17, as the Miami Heat mounted a 30-11 assault to come only a tiebreaker away from a playoff berth. The 6-foot-9 jack of all trades has felt […]

Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry will play tonight against the Boston Celtics after missing the last game against the Orlando Magic with a right thigh contusion, according to ESPN’s Chris Haynes. Curry first sustained the injury in the first quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers, and despite playing through the injury, was forced to […]

Tim Hardaway Jr. has slowly started to merit his whopping four-year, $71 million deal in recent outings, the most recent one, a 26-point night that led the New York Knicks to a 106-101 win over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night. The Michigan standout picked up star forward Kristaps Porzingis, as he struggled to the […]

Lonzo Ball’s rookie season has been met with plenty of obstacles, but the biggest one has been the horrid display of shooting through the first 15 games of the regular season. The highly-touted No. 2 overall pick has found his all-around game affected by his poor shooting more and more through every game, as he […]

The Philadelphia 76ers and the Boston Celtics might not be done making moves during this season, as the two Atlantic Division teams can look slightly different during the next few weeks if center Jahlil Okafor can hit the free agent market. The Celtics have been looking at frontcourt depth and Okafor would be one to […]

Kevin Durant told a little-known story about the time he dropped 66 points in the legendary Rucker Park in Harlem, New York. This took place on Aug. 1, during the offseason of 2011 — fresh off a 55-27 season for his Oklahoma City Thunder. Durant was contacted by Washington D.C. streetball legend White Chocolate, who […]

The Denver Nuggets could have seen a drastic change to start the season, as they were inches away from completing a swap for Eric Bledsoe earlier this month. The Mile High City and coach Mike Malone had been mired in a point guard battle that started in the preseason, alternating starts between starter Emmanuel Mudiay […]

Kevin Durant’s move to the Bay Area came along with an evolution, not only of his basketball game, but of his persona — now an older, more aware individual that can grasp the perspective of things around him. Among them has been his role in a basketball team, admitting he’s not a leader by nature, […]

Joel Embiid’s inner monster became unchained last night, putting out a near quadruple-double, putting up career-highs across the board with 46 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists, and seven blocks against the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center. While the performance was one for the ages, the 7-footer was craving more, noting he was hoping he […]

Los Angeles Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma showed support for his fellow rookie Lonzo Ball after yet another porous outing against the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night in front of the home crowd at Staples Center. Ball’s struggles shooting the ball continued, as he went 1-of-9 from the field in his 21 minutes, scoring a mere […]

Kevin Durant has received an endless array of nicknames for his departure from Oklahoma City — whether it’s “snake,” or “coward,” or the more popular “cupcake” after a moniker he and his former teammates for players that are soft. But the now-champion warned there is no such thing as loyalty in the business of basketball, […]

Joel Embiid soaked in every bit of a career night in front of all the bright lights at the Staples Center, one of the most iconic basketball venues along with the TD Garden and Madison Square Garden, one that saw the Philadelphia 76ers second-year center unleash his inner beast on the Los Angeles Lakers. The […]

Recently named the Athlete of the Year by GQ Magazine, Kevin Durant discussed his decision to leave the Oklahoma City Thunder during the 2016 offseason, noting it was LeBron James who godfathered his courage to make the jump. Durant called to mind Isaiah Thomas’ article in The Players’ Tribune which named him as one of the […]

Kyrie Irving’s trade request and consequent departure from the Cleveland Cavaliers has drawn comparison to another shocking event of recent memory — Kevin Durant’s decision to sign with the Golden State Warriors in the summer of 2016. While one was a trade and the other a free agent signing, the two manifest a huge hole […]