Jack Winter Articles - Page 104

The Oklahoma City Thunder need all the help they can get to not only dethrone the Golden State Warriors, but put themselves in position to do so in the first place. Billy Donovan’s team is 37-20, good for third place in the Western Conference, three games ahead of the Portland Trail Blazers in the loss […]

Carmelo Anthony, believe it or not, wasn’t actually on the Banana Boat with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Paul. Taking his place in “The Brotherhood” on that fateful, sunny day in the Bahamas was Gabrielle Union, accomplished actor and Wade’s wife, who manned the front of the long, yellow, ridiculous, inflatable tube. On Thursday […]

The Boston Celtics bounced back from the lowest point in a season full of them, beating the rebuilt Philadelphia 76ers 112-109 at Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday without Kyrie Irving. Just two days earlier, after surrendering a 28-point lead to the undermanned L.A. Clippers at home, Marcus Morris called his team out for not having […]

Russell Westbrook isn’t satisfied with making history. Despite extending his league record of games with a triple-double to 11 on Thursday night, the Oklahoma City Thunder superstar still wants more. Asked by ESPN’s Tim MacMahon for an assessment of where his game stands heading into the All-Star break, Westbrook expressed extreme confidence in his ability […]

Terrence Ferguson provided the highlight of a barren pre-All-Star slate of games on Thursday night despite not being unable to catch and finish an alley-oop pass from Russell Westbrook. Just imagine, then, if the Oklahoma City Thunder wing dunked the ball with his normal blend of aerial grace and power. One problem: Ferguson hit his […]

Alvin Gentry followed the lead of his team’s best player in Anthony Davis on Friday night, leaving his post-game interview with reporters early following the New Orleans Pelicans’ 131-122 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder. It makes sense that the veteran coach would be exasperated as the Pelicans deal with the fallout from Davis’ trade […]

Magic Johnson finally seems to be grasping a sense of the self-restraint necessary to be a front office’s head honcho. Asked at an All-Star weekend event in Charlotte about prospective free agent Kemba Walker, the Los Angeles Lakers president of basketball operations interrupted the interviewer, alluding to his past history of being fined by the […]

Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans seemed to have avoided the worst. From a public-relations perspective, though, how the stranded superstar left his team’s game on Friday night will undoubtedly put an untenable situation on even shakier ground than before. Davis injured his left shoulder late in the second quarter against the Oklahoma City […]

This can’t be easy on the rest of the New Orleans Pelicans’ roster. Anthony Davis’ trade request and the ensuing two weeks of drama before last week’s trade deadline passed without him being dealt is a situation unlike any the NBA has ever seen. While most of the post-deadline attention has been on Davis and […]

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is one of the most important players in NBA history. Not only did he win six championships, six MVPS, and retire as the league’s all-time leading scorer, but the Los Angeles Lakers legend has also positioned himself as one of the most politically, socially, and culturally active professional athletes of all time. In […]

Russell Westbrook’s pre-game attire is the stuff of internet legend. While an entire subset of fashion-forward people no doubt appreciate his clothing on a different level of which could even conceive, a far larger group uses the Oklahoma City Thunder superstar’s fondness for head-turning outfits for playful criticism and easy laughs. How either side will […]

Thomas Davis has played the entirety of his 15-year career with the Carolina Panthers. He’s made three Pro Bowls, two All-Pro teams, been named Walton Payton Man of the Year, missed an entire season due to injury, and has become the team’s all-time leader in tackles since the Panthers drafted him in 2005. Understandably, then, […]

All indications were that Brett Brown did right by Markelle Fultz. After spending some time with his new team, though, the 2018 top overall pick seemed less than pleased with how the Philadelphia 76ers coach reacted to the mysterious shoulder injury that rendered him unable to shoot the ball as normal. At his introductory press […]

The Brooklyn Nets have already exceeded expectations. Considered by many as another also-ran in the Eastern Conference cellar before 2018-19 tipped off, Kenny Atkinson’s team has instead emerged as one of the league’s most pleasant surprises. Brooklyn is a respectable 30-29 this season, sixth in the East as All-Star weekend looms, where the team will […]

Steve Kerr’s life is far bigger than basketball. Even as his team prepares to gear up for a playoff run in hopes of winning an unprecedented fourth championship in five seasons, the Golden State Warriors head coach continues to voice his opinion on some of the most important issues currently facing society. This time, Steve […]

Adam Silver is a hot commodity. According to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, the NBA commissioner has been lobbied over the last few years by both NFL owners and Fortune 500 companies to leave his position with the NBA and accept a similar role with the NFL or in the private sector. While Silver did not explicitly […]

The Indianapolis Colts were left for dead less than halfway through the 2018 season. Coach Frank Reich’s team lost five of its first six games, four times surrendering at least 34 points to their opponent and twice scoring 16 points or less. Needless to say, few outside Indianapolis’ locker room saw a midseason turnaround coming, […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder weren’t the only team courting Markieff Morris following his buyout last week. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Houston Rockets, Brooklyn Nets, and Toronto Raptors are among a host of other teams who hoped to sign the free-agent big man before he agreed to terms with the Thunder on […]

The Los Angeles Lakers still have time to win the D’Angelo Russell trade. Dealing the second overall pick of the 2015 draft to the Brooklyn Nets two years ago was always less about Russell than it was the allure of possibility. By ridding themselves of the obligation to pay Russell in restricted free agency and […]

It’s still not too late for Damian Lillard. The Portland Trail Blazers are fourth in the Western Conference standings as the All-Star break approaches, with the league’s fourth-best net rating since January 1st. They just fortified a longstanding weakness on the wing by acquiring Rodney Hood at the trade deadline, a move that finally affords […]

Blake Griffin isn’t the player you remember. The number one pick of the 2009 NBA draft rose to stardom almost immediately after taking the court for the Los Angeles Clippers, enthralling a nationwide audience with his supreme blend of leaping ability, power, and unabashed aggression. Griffin won Rookie of the Year, made five straight All-Star […]

If Jim Boylen says things are looking up, they must be going very, very well for the Chicago Bulls. The notoriously gruff coach told K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune on Wednesday that he’s feeling optimistic heading into the All-Star break, not just due to his team’s recent play overall, but because of a stretch from […]

Zac Taylor’s meteoric rise to becoming head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals started last season, when he was promoted to quarterbacks coach of the Los Angeles Rams. Jared Goff proceeded to establish himself as one of the league’s best young signal-callers, leading his team to a Super Bowl on the back of the league’s second-best […]

It’s safe to say Evan Turner is pretty, pretty excited about his team’s latest free-agent acquisition. After news broke on Wednesday that the Portland Trail Blazers beat out several teams to land the recently bought-out Enes Kanter, Turner expressed his excitement for the move on Twitter. ENES KANTER, LETS GOOOOO — Evan Turner (@thekidet) February […]

The Jacksonville Jaguars are bringing back their most reliable offensive player. One caveat: He’s a kicker. The team announced on Wednesday that it has signed kicker Josh Lambo to a multi-year contract extension. The news was first reported by John Reid of the Florida Times Union. Lambo, 28, signed his extension alongside some furry friends. […]

The Los Angeles Lakers need all the help they can get to overcome the ill-effects of LeBron James’ recent absence and make the playoffs. Unfortunately for Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka, though, one of their targets on the buyout market signed with a conference rival. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the team was interested in […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder will sign veteran wing Scotty Hopson to a 10-day contract, according to ESPN’s Royce Young: The Thunder are planning to sign guard Scotty Hopson to a 10-day contact prior to tomorrow’s game against the Pelicans, sources tell ESPN. Hopson has spent this season playing with the Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder’s […]

Muhammad Wilkerson hasn’t finished his playing days quite yet, and he knows exactly where he wants his career to continue. The two-time All-Pro signed a one-year, $4.7 million deal with the Green Bay Packers last season following his unceremonious departure from the New York Jets. He was released by New York last February after two […]

The Toronto Raptors will be without a key contributor as the race to the top of the Eastern Conference grows increasingly heated. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, Raptors guard Fred VanVleet will be sidelined for the next five weeks or so as he recovers from surgery to address torn ligaments in […]

Russell Westbrook knows what it takes to win MVP. The Oklahoma City Thunder superstar emerged victorious in one of the most hotly contested MVP debates in recent memory two seasons ago, when he held off the Houston Rockets’ James Harden and San Antonio Spurs’ Kawhi Leonard to win the award in his team’s first season […]

The Arizona Cardinals face one of the biggest decisions in franchise history on April 25th. Rather than enter the pre-draft process with a preconceived notion on who his team will select with the No. 1 overall pick, though, general manager Steve Keim says the Cardinals will do due diligence on the class of 2019’s top […]

Rehab is a long, painstaking process, one with multiple starts, stops, and steps. Dallas Cowboys center Travis Frederick understands that reality as well as anyone after missing all of last season following an August diagnosis of Guillain-Barré syndrome, a condition that results in rapid-onset muscle weakness. In December, Frederick said during a radio appearance that […]

Dwyane Wade might have already played his final game at American Airlines Center. The Miami Heat superstar, retiring at season’s end, is listed as questionable for Wednesday’s road game against the Dallas Mavericks due to an illness, the team has announced. https://twitter.com/MiamiHEAT/status/1095736979067678722 Wade is averaging 13.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 4.4 assists in 25.5 minutes […]

It’s easy to overlook Whitney Mercilus. The 6-foot-4, 265-pounder seemed well on his way to becoming one of the NFL’s most feared pass-rushers three years ago, posting a career-high 12 sacks at just 24 years old. He was named Second Team All-Pro one season later, finishing 2016 with 53 tackles, seven 7.5 sacks, and four […]

Michael Jordan isn’t as intense an owner as he was a player. Though the Charlotte Hornets owner made headlines earlier this season by giving guard Malik Monk a good-natured smack on the head during a game, Jordan normally holds the ultra-intensity that marked his playing career in reserve, instead cheering on his team from a […]

It’s only natural for Zac Taylor to coach what he knows. After spending the last two seasons as quarterbacks coach and assistant wide receivers coach for the Los Angeles Rams, the Cincinnati Bengals head man will undoubtedly take some of the concepts he utilized to so much success with the reigning NFC Champions and implement […]

The Anthony Davis saga is spiraling out of control. It was less than three weeks ago the six-time All-Star requested a trade from the New Orleans Pelicans, indicating he wouldn’t sign an extension with the team this summer. Most assumed Pelicans owner Gayle Benson and general manager Dell Demps would honor Davis’ wishes despite having […]

James Harden hasn’t scored fewer than 30 points in a game since Dec. 11. He averaged a mind-blowing 43.6 points, 8.7 rebounds, 7.6 assists, and 2.1 steals per game in January, to go along with a 60.9 true shooting percentage. The Houston Rockets are 21-9 since his 30-point streak began, the third-best record in the […]

One might assume the Detroit Lions would relish the spotlight. Perpetually overlooked in the NFC North due to the presence of prestige franchises like the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears, the Lions also fall victim to the inevitable effects of playing in flyover country. Nobody cared about the Kansas City Chiefs, for instance, despite […]