Bruno Manrique Articles - Page 56

Trae Young hugged Kobe Bryant prior to his matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers, quickly taking him back to memory lane as he shared a picture with him years ago as part of his involvement in The Academy, a Nike predecessor to Bryant’s Mamba Sports Academy. The Atlanta Hawks point man noted he’s just as […]

Chicago Bulls head coach Jim Boylen was disappointed with his team’s effort after squandering another chance at a win, this time against a Kyrie Irving-less Brooklyn Nets on Saturday. The Bulls started flat, quickly falling behind by 11 points in the first quarter, only to come back in the second and trot out a plus-17 […]

JaVale McGee admitted his Los Angeles Lakers are not underestimating any teams in their quest for a high playoff seed, noting their mindset is to ignore the win-loss record and play teams with their best effort. The Lakers certainly came out with the necessary energy on Sunday, racking up a quick 34-9 lead against the […]

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will make his return to the Staples Center for the first time since his offseason trade, one that sent him alongside Danilo Gallinari and first five-round picks to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Paul George. The second-year guard is hoping this isn’t a return that will be the cause of boos, […]

Los Angeles Lakers head coach Frank Vogel was asked about getting his big man Anthony Davis more involved in the post. Davis attempted 14 shots, making only five of them during a 122-101 rout of the Atlanta Hawks. “It’s something I have to do better at,” said Vogel, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. Davis didn’t […]

Danny Green shocked the Atlanta Hawks with a timely putback slam to close out a first-half rout, tracking the flight of the ball and sneaking backdoor just in time to hammer it home. The 6-foot-7 Los Angeles Lakers sharpshooter is known for his finesse and his big-shot antics, but this is one aspect of his […]

Kemba Walker has quickly gained some massive respect for new teammate Marcus Smart, claiming his Boston Celtics backcourt mate is much bigger than his height indicates. “I always say he’s like a little big man,” Walker said of Smart, according to Jay King of The Athletic. Head coach Brad Stevens had even further praise, saying […]

Anthony Davis was forced to sit out for Wednesday’s game against the Golden State Warriors while nursing an injured shoulder, but the Los Angeles Lakers star doesn’t think opponents have been targeting the injury he’s been dealing with for a while. “Nah,” said Davis, trying not to laugh with teammate LeBron James distracting him in […]

The Boston Celtics have burst right out of the gate to a 9-1 record this season, now boasting an NBA-best nine-game winning streak after losing the season opener to the Philadelphia 76ers. Part of their success has been the incorporation of Kemba Walker, who has transformed this team into a well-oiled machine — something former […]

The end of the 2018-19 postseason was a tough pill to swallow for Draymond Green and the Golden State Warriors, who were largely glad there were no further injuries during a nightmare of maladies throughout their playoff run. After taking the Toronto Raptors to six games and losing at home after losing Kevin Durant and […]

Luka Doncic has developed into a bona fide star since breaking into the league last season, but one man had the vision to scope him out of the bunch before trading up to get him. Dallas Mavericks GM Donnie Nelson envisioned Doncic as the best player in the draft well before the Mavs traded Trae […]

Giannis Antetokounmpo was forced to part ways with Malcolm Brogdon as the Milwaukee Bucks’ difficult salary cap plan made it difficult to keep a player of his caliber past his bargain rookie contract. The new member of the Indiana Pacers was witness to The Greek Freak’s ascent to superstardom, also playing a big role in […]

Two years after the duo of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum clamored to welcome Carmelo Anthony into their fold, the wish has come true. Better late than never, some say. That might just be true for these struggling Portland Trail Blazers. Lillard, who is second in the league in scoring at 30.5 points per game, […]

Malcolm Brogdon had to make a quick pivot early in his career, as the Milwaukee Bucks quickly found themselves unable to keep him for the long term and executed a sign-and-trade to send him to the Indiana Pacers. While the 50-40-90 star does have fond memories of his former teammates, he has no interest in […]

Utah Jazz point guard Mike Conley has a pristine record of conduct in the league, likely the lone patron saint of composure in today’s NBA where relationships between the players and referees are as heated as they get. Conley’s first and only technical foul is a ghost, a quick whistle from former official Monty McCutchen […]

A revitalized LeBron James seems to have taken the right strides in his 17th NBA season, finding the fountain of youth just in time to pair up with Anthony Davis with the Los Angeles Lakers and make a push for an NBA title. But is it just coincidence? Many fans saw a careless, nonchalant James […]

The New York Knicks won their second and final game of the season against the Dallas Mavericks, getting double revenge against former franchise star Kristaps Porzingis. Asked about his relationship with the unicorn, head coach David Fizdale had nothing but good things to say about their brief time together in The Big Apple: “Kristaps and […]

While Paul George was disappointed in his debut with the Los Angeles Clippers, head coach Doc Rivers thought otherwise. Rives effusively praised his new star despite a 132-127 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans: “He was sensational,” said Rivers, according to Jovan Buha of The Athletic. “We ran some good stuff for him. … He’s […]

Paul George was not happy with his season debut with the Los Angeles Clippers, despite putting up some gaudy numbers in a 132-127 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. George put up a team-high 33 points, but he’s clearly a harsh grader: “I thought I was terrible,” said George, according to Andrew Greif of the […]

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic was proud of his frontcourt mate Paul Millsap after proving key in a 101-93 win over the Brooklyn Nets. Millsap seems to have found the fountain of youth, according to Jokic, playing like he’s much younger than he is. “Paul is playing like he’s 21, not 77,” Jokic said of […]

The Dallas Mavericks took yet another loss to the lowly New York Knicks as Luka Doncic’s 33-point triple-double went to waste against Kristaps Porzingis’ former team. Mavs owner Mark Cuban admits his new prodigy is very different from the 21-year staple he had in Dirk Nowitzki, showing a completely different demeanor, including doing a whole […]

Dennis Smith Jr. really struggled against the Chicago Bulls in his return to the New York Knicks’ lineup after missing a bulk of the start of the season due to the death of his stepmother. However, Smith flipped the script with a palpable impact during a 106-103 win over his former team, the Dallas Mavericks, […]

Dallas Mavericks forward Kristaps Porzingis couldn’t hide from the sea of boos from Madison Square Garden, the place he called home for the past three-and-a-half seasons as a member of the New York Knicks. Marcus Morris, who signed a one-year, $15 million deal to join the Knicks in the summer, made sure he wouldn’t forget […]

The Golden State Warriors find themselves in an unprecedented fall from grace, going from title runner-up to the worst team in the league. At 2-10, the Warriors hold not only the worst record in the NBA, but also the worst defense — far from the top-notch defensive team they had been for the better part […]

Goran Dragic is thriving with the Miami Heat, but doing so under a new role. The veteran point man has excelled as one of Erik Spoelstra’s first men off the bench, but the helmsman couldn’t have predicted a transition so smooth. Spoelstra first reached out to the Slovenian international after he returned from a clean-up […]

Toronto Raptors phenom Pascal Siakam has quickly gained respect from his peers as a knockdown shooter, something that was completely lacking from his mostly-athletic game three years ago. The Cameroonian has transformed his game almost miraculously. Only two seasons ago, the New Mexico State product was averaging a mere 7.3 points in his second season […]

Houston Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni has a very different estimation of Los Angeles Clippers resident pest Patrick Beverley than Russell Westbrook. Following a 102-93 victory, Westbrook threw more logs of wood into the fire, telling reporters Beverley isn’t the lockdown defender he claims to be: “Pat Bev trick y’all, man, like he playing defense,” […]

James Harden showed out at the right time during Wednesday’s 102-93 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. The Beard took over in the fourth quarter, scoring 17 points of the Houston Rockets’ last 22 points in the final 5:52 of regulation. Rockets teammate Austin Rivers saw a real-life superhero put on the cape as Harden […]

The Golden State Warriors have gotten off to a 2-10 start to the season, a record completely opposite to the recent basketball excellence they’ve displayed over the past half-decade. Amid a slew of injuries and many young and inexperienced players, head coach Steve Kerr notes his team must not allow outside narratives to seep in. […]

After a 47-point night against the Los Angeles Clippers, James Harden clearly approved of Trae Young’s tweet, one using the same caption that Harden had used earlier in an Instagram post. The Houston Rockets star quote tweeted with the caption “Tweet on repeat,” giving his nod of approval: 🔂 (Tweet on repeat) https://t.co/DyZsrrm7iQ — James […]

The Portland Trail Blazers have gotten off to a puzzling 4-8 start to the 2019-20 season, but nothing was more head-scratching than seeing Damian Lillard snap a 230-game streak scoring in double figures on Wednesday. Lillard entered the game averaging 32.5 points over the first 11 games, trailing only James Harden of the Houston Rockets (38.2). But […]

LeBron James didn’t feel odd playing a different version of the Golden State Warriors after several years facing up against a juggernaut. The Los Angeles Lakers star took the court without running mate Anthony Davis and faced a Warriors team that is quickly barreling to the cellar of the Western Conference, a striking difference from […]

Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green put things in perspective after a 120-94 blowout loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday. The defensive ace has been a perennial winner for the past five-plus years but is facing the other side of the coin with a dismantled roster full of young faces. The Warriors only […]

Dallas Mavericks young big man Kristaps Porzingis will face the last test against his former team rather quickly into this season, now tasked with getting a win on the road against the New York Knicks in his return to Madison Square Garden. Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle is cognizant of the pressure-cooker environment Porzingis could […]

Washington Wizards point guard Isaiah Thomas was asked about the recent trend of load management after making some searing comments this summer that pegged him as the godfather of this heavy debate. A Wednesday morning media scrum got Thomas to double down on that belief, as Thomas, who has undergone several major hips surgeries since […]

Dallas Mavericks forward Kristaps Porzingis returned to New York for the first time since being traded by the Knicks nine months ago. While he misses the energy and passion of the fans, his biggest regret is not being able to build something big for them before his trade to the Mavs. “This is a basketball […]

Anthony Davis will miss Wednesday’s game against the Golden State Warriors after his X-rays came back negative, after suffering a rib injury in Tuesday’s win over the Phoenix Suns, according to Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times and Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes. The Los Angeles Lakers will want to be careful with Davis and […]

The Orlando Magic are looking for answers, recently expressing interest in acquiring San Antonio Spurs forward DeMar DeRozan to bolster an offense that is ranked 29th in the NBA, according to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer. The Magic are at a crossroads after a 3-7 start to the season. DeRozan could be a candidate to […]

Andre Iguodala is one of the few remaining veteran commodities available for trade, though if the Memphis Grizzlies can’t find a workable agreement within the next three months, the former 2015 Finals MVP could be up for grabs in the Western Conference. According to Sean Deveney of Heavy.com, executives in the West are hoping to […]