Jesse Cinquini Articles - Page 5

The Denver Nuggets’ 2023 playoff run was flat-out historic. Heading into the 2023 postseason, plenty of folks didn’t take the Nuggets  seriously and didn’t consider them a legitimate threat to win the NBA championship. But fast forward to the current day, and it’s clear that the Nuggets proved every single one of their doubters wrong. […]

The Denver Nuggets 2023 playoff run was nothing short of magical. Heading into the postseason, many folks wrote off the Nuggets and didn’t consider them a legitimate threat to win the NBA championship. But fast forward to the current day, and it’s clear that the Nuggets proved their doubters wrong. The Nuggets defeated the Minnesota […]

Halfway through the 2022-23 season, the Los Angeles Lakers looked dead in the water. They were on the outside looking in on the Western Conference playoff picture and seemed destined to miss out on the postseason for the second year in a row. But the Lakers rectified their season after making some savvy trades before […]

New York Knicks star Julius Randle was one of the top prospects in the 2014 NBA Draft class. He averaged a double-double of 15.1 points and 10.4 rebounds in his single season of college basketball with the Kentucky Wildcats. After his standout season at Kentucky, the storied Los Angeles Lakers franchise drafted Randle with the […]

Last week, NBA legend Michael Jordan agreed to sell his majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets. After 13 years as owner of the Hornets, Jordan’s time with the franchise has finally come to an end. During Jordan’s time as owner of the Hornets, the team didn’t experience a whole lot of success on the court. […]

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo is widely recognized as one of the best players in the NBA right now. Antetokounmpo is a terrific player, but he’s also a terrific person. He’s an incredibly respectful and thoughtful young man, as evidenced by his interactions with the media over the years. As a reward for Giannis’ kindness, […]

The Toronto Raptors underperformed in the 2022-23 season. The Raptors entered the season with postseason expectations, but fast forward to the current day, and it’s evident that they fell short of expectations. The Raptors finished the regular season with a mediocre 41-41 record, just the ninth-best in the Eastern Conference. Because of the Raptors’ down […]

The Utah Jazz missed out on the postseason for the first time since the 2015-16 season. The Jazz were in the playoff race for much of the 2022-23 campaign, but a 2-8 stretch to end the season sealed their fate. Utah finished the regular season with a 37-45 record, just the 12th-best in the Western […]

The Chicago Bulls have been stuck in NBA purgatory for a few years now. For the second season in a row, the Bulls won 40-plus games during the regular season and didn’t win a playoff series. Hence, changes could be coming in Chicago this summer. One Bulls player whose name has been thrown around in […]

Heading into the 2022-23 NBA season, folks had high expectations for the New Orleans Pelicans. After all, the Pelicans were fresh off of the franchise’s first postseason appearance since the 2017-18 season and took the one-seeded Phoenix Suns to six games as the eighth seed in the West. But fast forward to the current day, […]

For the second season in a row, the Portland Trail Blazers were one of the worst teams in the Western Conference. The Blazers finished with a poor 33-49 record — the 13th-best in the Western Conference — and missed out on the postseason entirely. Damian Lillard, Jerami Grant, and Anfernee Simons all had moments of […]

After making it all the way to the Western Conference Finals the year prior, folks had high expectations for the Dallas Mavericks heading into the 2022-23 season. But fast forward to the current day, and it’s clear that the Mavs fell short of expectations. The Mavericks’ 2022-23 campaign was nothing short of a disaster. Despite […]

The 2020 NBA Bubble was unlike anything NBA players had experienced in their basketball careers. It was the height of the COVID-19 pandemic at the time, so the NBA decided to finish the 2019-20 season at Walt Disney World in Florida to protect their players from the illness. The final eight games of the regular […]

With the 2023 NBA Draft only five days away, trade rumors have heated up around the league as of late. And maybe the most notable recent trade rumor pertains to the New Orleans Pelicans. The Pelicans are reportedly interested in trading up in the draft for a top-3 pick in order to select guard prospect Scoot Henderson, per The […]

With the 2023 NBA Draft only five days away, trade rumors have heated up around the league as of late. And maybe the most notable recent trade rumor pertains to the New Orleans Pelicans. The Pelicans are reportedly interested in trading up in the 2023 NBA draft for a top-3 pick in order to select guard prospect Scoot Henderson, […]

With the 2023 NBA Draft less than a week away, trade rumors have been reported left and right lately. And perhaps the most notable recent trade rumor pertains to the New Orleans Pelicans. The Pelicans are reportedly interested in trading up in the draft for a top-3 pick in order to select guard prospect Scoot […]

After winning the 2022 NBA championship, the Golden State Warriors entered this season with one ultimate goal in mind: repeat as NBA champions. But fast forward to the current day, and it’s clear that the Warriors fell short of their goal. The Warriors finished the regular season with a mediocre 44-38 record, just the sixth-best […]

With the NBA Draft just a week away, the Utah Jazz project to be one of the busiest teams on draft night. After all, Utah owns a whopping three first-round picks in the 2023 NBA Draft, tied with the Indiana Pacers for the most of any team. Specifically, the Jazz own the ninth pick, the […]

The Miami Heat’s 2023 postseason run was nothing short of legendary. Heading into the postseason, plenty of folks wrote off the Heat and didn’t even think they had a chance of beating Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round. But the Heat demolished the Bucks in five games and then went on […]

The Denver Nuggets have finally done it. After more than 40 years of being an NBA franchise, the Nuggets are finally NBA champions. Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and the Nuggets beat the Miami Heat in five games in the NBA Finals to secure the franchise its first-ever NBA title. The Denver Nuggets’ epic title run […]

LeBron James has accomplished a whole lot in his five seasons as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers franchise. Most notably, he led the Lakers to a championship back in the 2020 Orlando Bubble. But he’s also been named to the All-Star team every season that he’s donned the purple and gold and even […]

The Toronto Raptors missed out on the postseason for the second time in the last three seasons. The Raptors finished the 2022-23 campaign with a mediocre 41-41 record, the ninth-best in the Eastern Conference. Toronto made the play-in tournament but lost to the DeMar DeRozan-led tenth-seeded Chicago Bulls by a final score of 109-105. The […]

The Miami Heat’s 2023 playoff run was nothing short of historic. Heading into the postseason, many folks wrote off the Heat and didn’t think they had a chance to even beat Giannis Antetokunmpo and the one-seeded Milwaukee Bucks in the first round. But the Heat demolished the Bucks in five games and then went on to […]

The Sacramento Kings enjoyed one of their most successful seasons in recent memory in the 2022-23 campaign. The team finished the regular season with a terrific 48-34 record, the third-best in the Western Conference. The Kings also snapped a 16-year postseason drought, the longest in NBA history. And in the first round of the playoffs, […]

The Miami Heat’s 2023 playoff run was one of the most memorable Cinderella runs in NBA playoff history. Heading into the postseason, plenty of folks wrote off the Heat and didn’t think they had a chance of beating Giannis Antetokounmpo and the one-seeded Milwaukee Bucks in the first round. But the Heat ended up demolishing […]

The Miami Heat put together a playoff run for the ages. Heading into the postseason, many folks believed the Heat wouldn’t even make it past Giannis Antetokounmpo and the one-seeded Milwaukee Bucks in the first round. But the Heat beat the Bucks in five games, then went on to beat the New York Knicks in […]

For the second time in the last three seasons, the Toronto Raptors missed out on the NBA postseason. The Raptors finished the 2022-23 regular season with a mediocre 41-41 record, the ninth-best in the Eastern Conference. Toronto then lost to the tenth-seeded Chicago Bulls — led by DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine — in the […]

The Miami Heat made history this postseason. Miami may have fallen short of its ultimate goal of an NBA championship, but Jimmy Butler and crew put together an inspiring playoff run nonetheless. The Heat became the first play-in tournament team to win a playoff series in league history and the second eighth-seed to make it […]

The NBA Draft is over a week away, and yet draft-related trade talks are already reportedly heating up. The New Orleans Pelicans are interested in trading up for a top-three pick in this year’s draft so they can select guard prospect Scoot Henderson, via Shams Charania of The Athletic. Henderson, 19, averaged 16.5 points, 5.3 […]

Heading into the 2023 NBA Playoffs, the Memphis Grizzlies — led by superstar point guard Ja Morant — seemed prime to make a deep postseason run. After all, the Grizzlies finished the regular season with the second-best record in the Western Conference at 51-31 and the best home record in basketball at 35-6. But fast […]

The Utah Jazz are in uncharted waters. For the first time since 2016, the Jazz have a lottery pick in the NBA Draft. Specifically, they own the ninth overall pick. And on top of their top-ten pick, the Jazz have two more first-round picks in the 2023 NBA Draft, one at pick 28 and, most […]

After winning the 2022 NBA championship, the Golden State Warriors entered the 2022-23 campaign with one central goal in mind: to repeat as NBA champions. But fast forward to the current day, and it’s clear that Stephen Curry and the Warriors fell very short of their ultimate goal. The Warriors finished the 2022-23 regular season […]

The Miami Heat lost Friday night’s Game 4 of the NBA Finals against the Denver Nuggets by a final score of 108-95. Heat star Jimmy Butler played well on both ends of the floor, as he finished with 25 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, and one block in the loss. But it was all for […]

The Miami Heat lost Friday night’s Game 4 of the NBA Finals against the Denver Nuggets behind a 27-point performance from Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon. Gordon shot 11-for-15 from the field and 3-for-4 from behind the three-point arc in a game the Nuggets went on to win by a final score of 108-95. The Heat […]

Denver Nuggets forward Bruce Brown starred off the bench in Friday’s Game 4 of the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat. Brown scored 21 points — on 8-for-11 shooting from the field and 3-for-5 from behind the three-point arc — and grabbed four rebounds in a game the Nuggets went on to win by a […]

The Miami Heat lost Friday night’s Game 4 of the NBA Finals against the Denver Nuggets by a final score of 108-95. Heat center Bam Adebayo put together another big-time performance in Game 4, as he scored 20 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, and dished out three assists, but it was all for naught. The Heat […]

During the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics, Caleb Martin was arguably the Miami Heat’s best player. He averaged 19.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game for the series and shot 60.2% from the field and 48.9% from behind the three-point arc. If it weren’t for Caleb Martin’s excellent play throughout the Conference Finals, […]

Denver Nuggets rookie Christian Braun starred off the bench in Wednesday’s Game 3 of the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat. He scored 15 points — his highest point total this postseason — on 7-for-8 shooting from the field and grabbed four rebounds in a game the Nuggets went on to win by a final […]

Phoenix Suns star point guard Chris Paul has accomplished a whole lot in his three seasons as a member of the Suns. He’s made two All-Star teams since joining Phoenix and led the Suns to their third NBA Finals appearance in franchise history. But Paul may not be a member of the Suns for much […]