Bruno Manrique Articles - Page 43

Former NBA journeyman Matt Barnes told the story of how future Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant tried to recruit him to play for the Los Angeles Lakers after the infamous ball-fake play that went viral after many years. During a recent episode of the All The Smoke podcast featuring Bryant as a guest alongside Barnes […]

Boston Celtics president Danny Ainge was critical of his team’s effort in the aftermath of a two-game skid. Boston has lost to the Washington Wizards and the San Antonio Spurs, two sub-.500 teams, this week. “The players just have to play harder. It’s that simple. It’s not harder any than that,” said Ainge during an […]

The Philadelphia 76ers are in search of answers ahead of the upcoming NBA trade deadline, looking at a long list of players that could help them take the next step on their quest for the Eastern Conference crown. Among them is veteran Andre Iguodala of the Memphis Grizzlies, who spent his first eight seasons in […]

Ray Allen has made countless clutch shots throughout his career, from timely buzzer-beaters at UConn to many others in the NBA. Yet none compare to the shot that ultimately defined his career, a corner 3-pointer for the Miami Heat that changed the landscape of NBA history in Game 6 of the NBA Finals against the […]

Houston Rockets star Russell Westbrook has defied what many thought to be the limits of an NBA player, breaking mythical records and even maintaining them despite what conventional wisdom may say. Now a 31-year-old player and 12-year veteran of the league, the Rockets point guard still doesn’t think about how his athletic game will age: […]

The Portland Trail Blazers have been the NBA team that has ogled for Kevin Love the longest, yearning for the Lake Oswego High School star to return to his old stomping grounds. While a sharpshooting big is a fit in Portland, the Blazers would also be adding to the series of maladies that have haunted […]

Boston Celtics president Danny Ainge noted the team may protest the second technical foul star point guard Kemba Walker received on Wednesday night against the San Antonio Spurs: More Ainge: "There's nothing that's going to happen other than Kemba may get his money back for getting a second technical." — Boston.com Celtics News (@BDCCeltics) January […]

Stephen Curry didn’t have any influence in the Golden State Warriors’ 107-98 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night, but his postgame influence might be much greater than a W after chatting it up with reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. The two players exchanged pleasantries after the game, as expected, but there would be a […]

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr was caught by surprise when asked if his team played like slugs, a term Cleveland Cavaliers coach John Beilein used to amend his previous statement during a recent film session. Beilein, a first-year NBA coach, was said to have told his team that they were no longer playing […]

The Chicago Bulls managed to pull off yet another disappointing loss, this time a 123-108 defeat at the hands of the New Orleans — another in the long laundry list of opportunities that have fallen well shy of inspiring some promise for this young roster. Bulls point guard Kris Dunn and star Zach LaVine have […]

Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo had a relatively odd experience going up against a depleted Golden State Warriors lineup, one that had only Draymond Green as the last vestige of the juggernaut it has been for the past five seasons. The Bucks had to work to pull off a 107-98 win in what had been […]

Orlando Magic forward Al-Farouq Aminu underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus on Tuesday, according to the team. He’s set to be reevaluated in about 12 weeks and will be out indefinitely until then. His recovery will depend on how he responds to treatment and rehabilitation. The organization has been battling injuries at a rare […]

Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green will return to the lineup Wednesday against the Milwaukee Bucks after resting from an ankle injury Monday, according to Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle. D’Angelo Russell will miss his fifth straight game with a right shoulder injury. The Warriors have now racked up five losses to follow […]

Indiana Pacers shooting guard Victor Oladipo plans to make his season debut on Jan. 29 against the Chicago Bulls, according to Shams Charania of Stadium. Oladipo suffered a torn quad tendon on his knee around this time last year during a Jan. 23 matchup against the Toronto Raptors. He underwent surgery five days later, facing […]

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid will not play Thursday when the Sixers face the Boston Celtics, nursing a dislocated left ring finger, according to Kyle Neubeck of The Philly Voice. Embiid hurt his finger during Monday’s 120-113 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, colliding with Steven Adams. Yet he was able to return and play […]

Blazers vet Carmelo Anthony put on a vintage performance on Tuesday against the Toronto Raptors, scoring a season-high 28 points, but none sweeter than the last two he buried with 3.3 seconds left in regulation. That shot gave the new Portland Trail Blazers gem 17-game-winners in the last five seconds of a game, surpassing Kobe […]

Jared Dudley is already seeing the Lakers star LeBron James effect on Anthony Davis, as the uber-athletic big man is quickly adapting to a new way of taking care of his body. Despite only having been together for a few months as members of the Los Angeles Lakers, Dudley has keenly observed how Davis has […]

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has been fined $25,000 by the league office for verbally abusing an official: #NBA #GoldenStateWarriors pic.twitter.com/TVZj92xgp6 — Keith Pompey (@PompeyOnSixers) January 8, 2020 The incident occurred in the second quarter of a 111-98 loss to the Sacramento Kings, as Kerr was irate at young official Jason Goldenberg. Kerr […]

The Los Angeles Lakers have been looking for ways to improve their roster ahead of the second half of the season, including drumming up a market for third-year forward Kyle Kuzma. According to Tania Ganguli and Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times, it was general manager Rob Pelinka who called the Sacramento Kings to […]

The New York Knicks chose to part ways with head coach David Fizdale after a 4-18 start to the 2019-20 season, yet the 45-year-old coach doesn’t resent the organization for throwing in the towel on his tenure. “That’s the business we’ve chosen,” Fizdale said Wednesday during an interview with ESPN’s Golic and Wingo. “I respect […]

The Brooklyn Nets have hit a wall recently, going from the Steady Eddie performances of Spencer Dinwiddie carrying them to wins to a seven-game skid after Tuesday’s loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Los Angeles Lakers forward and former Net Jared Dudley isn’t concerned with this letdown, considering what the team has been able to […]

The MRI on Anthony Davis’ lower back returned clean and the star forward plans to travel with the Los Angeles Lakers for their two-game road trip against the Dallas Mavericks and the Oklahoma City Thunder, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. The Lakers got a quick scare, as Davis suffered a hard fall during […]

New Orleans Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson revealed a nearly-made decision that would have changed the scope of the 2019 NBA Draft, telling teammate JJ Redick that he was “very close” to returning to Duke for a sophomore season and passing up on the opportunity to declare for the draft. Zion Williamson gave a mature, thoughtful […]

The Kyrie Irving recovery from a shoulder injury has been everything but linear. Initially, the Brooklyn Nets guard was diagnosed with a shoulder impingement, only for a report from Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson of Heavy.com to surface, claiming it was actually “thoracic bursitis.” Head coach Kenny Atkinson quickly jumped in front of this, noting he […]

Dwight Howard had plenty of time for jokes after his Los Angeles Lakers blew the New York Knicks out of the water with a 30-point win on Tuesday. The Lakers big man had the chops to play jokes on reporters when asked about his participation on the 2020 Slam Dunk Contest, denying his role in […]

LeBron James was furious with the way Bobby Portis approached a Kentavious Caldwell-Pope runaway dunk, as the New York Knicks big man clotheslined his Los Angeles Lakers teammate with 8:02 remaining in the second quarter, a collision LeBron James called a “scary moment.” “It was [dirty],” said James after the game, according to ESPN’s Dave […]

The Detroit Pistons have “expressed confidence” their center Andre Drummond will be moved before the Feb. 6 trade deadline, according to Marc Stein of The New York Times. With less than a month left before the deadline, the Pistons are hoping to move their star and leading rebounder and getting a good package in return. […]

Detroit Pistons star Blake Griffin underwent surgery on his left knee on Tuesday and is set to undergo extended rehabilitation, out indefinitely and yet to have a timetable for his return, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. Griffin visited a knee specialist in Los Angeles to determine the best route for his future after […]

The NBA is reconsidering a proposal to re-seed the conference finals by record. The prompt would have the four finalists ranked according to their regular-season record, which some believe would make for a better reflection of the way matchups should go to ensure the two best teams meet in the NBA Finals, according to ESPN’s […]

The league has extended an invitation to Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic and Atlanta Hawks point guard Trae Young to participate in the 2020 NBA All-Star Three-Point Contest. Young plans to accept this invitation while Doncic is still deliberating, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. The two players, forever linked as top-five members of […]

Detroit Pistons guard Derrick Rose will return to familiar stomping grounds, making his return to his hometown of Chicago for the 2020 NBA All-Star Skills Challenge, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. Rose has also gotten a bevy of votes among Eastern Conference guards through the first return of All-Star fan voting, always with […]

Shaquille O’Neal doubled down on his belief that his duo with Kobe Bryant would beat the Los Angeles Lakers’ current one-two punch of LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Appearing in the most recent episode of The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, the 19-year NBA veteran and TNT analyst had to hairs on his tongue when […]

Kings talent Richaun Holmes hurt his shoulder during a 111-98 win over the Golden State Warriors on Monday, but the big dipper isn’t expecting to miss any time. Holmes left with 7:25 left to play in the third quarter but said he didn’t know how exactly how his injury occurred. “I really can’t say,” said […]

The Golden State Warriors announced they’d be waiving big man Marquese Chriss quickly after a 111-98 loss to the Sacramento Kings, a move the forward in quest of redemption didn’t see coming. Teammates reached out to him with messages of encouragement “Stay up,” Alec Burks told Chriss, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “Hey,” […]

The Los Angeles Lakers and hallway rival Los Angeles Clippers are keeping a close eye on New York Knicks leading scorer Marcus Morris, one of the hottest commodities available ahead of the NBA trade deadline. Now less than a month away from the Feb. 6 cutout date, both the Lakers and Clippers will “monitor the […]

Dario Saric is hoping to stay positive despite recently losing his starting power forward spot in the past two games. Phoenix Suns head coach Monty Williams opted to go with a twin-tower lineup of Aron Baynes at power forward and Deandre Ayton at center, now that the latter has returned from a 25-game ban. The […]

The San Antonio Spurs pulled out perhaps their most impressive win of the season, blazing past the Milwaukee Bucks 126-104 on Monday right after losing a road game to them last week. DeMar DeRozan cited this win as a confidence booster for a team that struggled to creep into the playoff picture and now hopes […]

The Golden State Warriors had a nightmarish outing against the Sacramento Kings, missing their first 17 3-pointers of the night, the most consecutive misses before a make in franchise history, according to Nick Friedell of ESPN. The team went without burying a trey for the entire first half, which snapped a record of 808 straight […]

Bojan Bogdanovic contributes in many categories for a new-look Utah Jazz roster, but the 30-year-old had quite the rare feat on Monday, contributing nothing but buckets in a narrow win over the New Orleans Pelicans. Bogdanovic dropped a game-high 35 points with zero rebounds, zero assists, zero steals, and zero blocks, going 11-of-21 from the […]