Kriel Ibarrola Articles - Page 29

Dallas Mavericks slotman Dwight Powell revealed that his Achilles rehab progress has been going as planned and is ready to participate in scrimmages for the Mavs. However, given the uncertainty of the schedule for the 2020-21 campaign, the 6-foot-10 Canadian is still unsure when he will exactly make his return to the hardwood. Dwight Powell said […]

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James willingly took a step back in the dying minutes of Game 4 versus the Miami Heat and deferred to teammates Anthony Davis and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to make the winning plays. The King is the type to give credit when it’s due. He praised Davis’ bravado in hitting that dagger […]

LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers found a solution to slow down Miami Heat superstar Jimmy Butler in Game 4 of the NBA Finals. The Purple and Gold assigned their best defender, Anthony Davis, to shadow the gritty swingman. The adjustment certainly paid dividends, as the Lakers took a commanding 3-1 lead in their […]

The Miami Heat are now one defeat away from kissing their championship aspirations goodbye, but head coach Erik Spoelstra still believes his team made it to the big dance for a reason. Shortly after the Heat dropped Game 4 of the NBA Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday, 102-96, the revered tactician admitted […]

Los Angeles Lakers icon Magic Johnson was on point with his observations following the Purple and Gold’s 102-96 win in Game 4 of the NBA Finals versus the Miami Heat. The Hall of Fame point guard praised the Lakers’ supreme focus in the closing minutes of the game, which helped them bounce back from that […]

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James had some uncharacteristic blunders in the first half of Game 4 of the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat. His biggest brain-fart came in the dying seconds before halftime, as The King just let some precious 3.1 seconds go to waste and didn’t even attempt to make a play […]

Los Angeles Lakers big man Markieff Morris has a reputation for being a tough guy around the league, but Miami Heat forward Jae Crowder doesn’t care one bit. In the second quarter of Game 4 of the NBA Finals between the Lakers and Heat, Morris approached his head coach Frank Vogel on the sidelines for […]

The entire Miami Heat fanbase rejoiced on Tuesday, as their All-Star Bam Adebayo was finally back in the starting line-up in Game 4 of the NBA Finals versus the Los Angeles Lakers. Turns out, had Bam been able to complete at least one push-up on Sunday, the Heat medical staff would have cleared him to […]

The Sacramento Kings haven’t been a prime free-agent destination in recent years. In fact, the luckless franchise has had more misses than hits in terms of their recent dealings in free agency. Although situated in California, the Kings have long been considered an afterthought to its more successful neighbors like the Los Angeles Lakers, Los […]

Retired NBA player Metta World Peace came to the defense of Los Angeles Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma, who has been the subject of criticisms for his inconsistent showing in the 2020 playoffs. World Peace, a former Lakers player himself, stressed how valuable Kuz is to LA’s system — particularly his fit alongside the team’s two […]

The Utah Jazz have had success in signing unheralded players and turning them into legitimate stars. A lot of the Jazz’s acquisitions in free agency over the years went under the radar at first but eventually paid off greatly for the team. Prior to the 2019-20 campaign, the Jazz struck gold once more by picking […]

Miami Heat superstar Jimmy Butler has had many run-ins against LeBron James in the past back when he was still a member of the Chicago Bulls. The 6-foot-7 swingman once again figured in a collision course against the league’s poster boy, this time on the grandest stage of basketball. The Heat and the Los Angeles […]

LeBron James doesn’t sound alarmed even after the Los Angeles Lakers failed to get a commanding 3-0 lead against the Miami Heat in their NBA Finals showdown on Sunday. Sans injured stars Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragic, Miami rode the hot-shooting of Jimmy Butler to escape with an impressive 115-104 win in Game 3. A […]

Miami Heat superstar Jimmy Butler is certainly built for the big stage. The 31-year-old two-way ace made Finals history on Sunday after becoming only the third player to record a triple-double on the grandest stage of the playoffs. He joins an exclusive club composed of legendary player Jerry West and his current NBA Finals foe […]

Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Chris Paul may no longer be inside the bubble, but he continues to anchor change around the league. During his appearance as a virtual fan in Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat, Paul revealed that “over 90 percent” of the league is registered […]

Miami Heat superstar Jimmy Butler let out a stern warning to LeBron James and the rest of the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Sunday. Shortly after Butler gave the Heat a nine-point advantage with 1:15 left in regulation, the two-way superstar jawed at James and said the Lakers are […]

Los Angeles Lakers guard Rajon Rondo still has some spring in those 34-year-old legs, as he stifled Jimmy Butler’s shot in Game 3 of the NBA Finals. In the third period of the closely contested match, the Miami Heat All-Star thought he had a free lane to the hoop after getting past initial defender Markieff […]

Chris Paul remains mum about whether or not he will continue his career playing for the youth-laden Oklahoma City Thunder next season. The 10-time All-Star was a virtual fan during Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat on Sunday, and he had to entertain some questions from color […]

The Miami Heat might get their All-Star center back in Game 3. Their injured big man extraordinaire Bam Adebayo said he’ll be ready to play on Sunday. Shortly after the Heat dropped their second straight game against LA, 114-124, to fall 2-0 in their best-of-seven NBA Finals affair, Adebayo bared his intent to help his […]

Los Angeles Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma made his presence felt in Game 2 of the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat on Friday. The 6-foot-8 sparkplug contributed 11 points on 3-of-8 shooting from the field and 2-of-6 from downtown in 22 minutes off the bench. Sitting down with Steve Smith and Jared Greenberg post-match, Kuzma […]

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James prefers to keep his post-game conversation with Anthony Davis private, in the aftermath of his team’s 124-114 triumph against the Miami Heat in Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Friday. Asked by Rachel Nichols after the hard-fought win what he said to AD, LeBron refused to divulge any […]

The Miami Heat have dropped the first two games of the 2020 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers. Judging by this intriguing LeBron James statistic, it looks like his former team is in more trouble than they might realize. This will be LeBron James's 1st 2-0 series lead in the NBA Finals 😳 — […]

Miami Heat icon Udonis Haslem gave the rest of his teammates quite an earful in Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Friday. The passionate 40-year-old  veteran was unhappy with the Heat’s lack of urgency against the Los Angeles Lakers after playing catch-up the entire game. UD let all those emotions out and tried to […]

Miami Heat rookie Kendrick Nunn showed some major hops in Game 2 of the NBA Finals after completely erasing the shot attempt of Los Angeles Lakers superstar Anthony Davis. Despite being massively undersized, the undrafted 6-foot-2 guard climbed the ladder and denied the 6-foot-11 Lakers forward a chance for an easy deuce. AD caught a […]

NBA veteran JJ Redick is not buying the whole “reverse racism” claims after the Luka Doncic-Montrezl Harrell feud during the first-round series between the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Clippers. Appearing as a guest on the All The Smoke podcast hosted by Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes, the 36-year-old guard claimed that Harrell’s quip […]

The Los Angeles Lakers dominated the first half of Game 2 of the NBA Finals, with Rajon Rondo and Anthony Davis leading the way. The Lakers’ terrifying playmaker-finisher combo once again strut their stuff against the hapless Miami Heat defense, connecting on a smooth alley-oop play in the second quarter. Rondo finds AD from halfcourt […]

Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra is not amused with Duncan Robinson’s timid start in Game 2 of the NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday. During a Heat time-out following a spirited Laker run in the opening minutes of the game, Robinson received some expletives from the usually calm and composed tactician. […]

Miami Heat shooting guard Tyler Herro continues to make history. The 20-year-old rookie started in Game 2 of the NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday. This makes him the youngest player in NBA history to start in the league’s grandest stage. Tyler Herro is starting tonight for the Miami Heat. The 20-year-old […]

Former Houston Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni looked like he was bound to become the man in charge of the Philadelphia 76ers next season. But in a surprising turn of events, Philly announced that they have signed Los Angeles Clippers’ recently-outed mentor, Doc Rivers, on Thursday. With just a few head coaching gigs left in […]

The Sixers pounced. Doc Rivers didn’t stay in the free-agent pool for long. He found a new gig after getting the boot from the Los Angeles Clippers a few days ago. The 58-year-old bench boss will now be in charge of handling Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, and the rest of the Philadelphia 76ers after accepting […]

The Los Angeles Clippers are expected to be frontrunners to sign Tyronn Lue as their new head coach, considering they currently have him in their payroll as a deputy. But according to Dan Feldman of NBC Sports, the Clippers brass might have to shell out some big bucks in order to outbid another team who […]

Former Maccabi Tel Aviv forward Deni Avdija is the most intriguing prospect in the upcoming 2020 Draft mainly due to the Luka Doncic-comparisons he received so far. The 19-year-old Israeli-Serbian, after all, possesses an all-around game and appears to be ready to give any NBA team who drafts him some immediate impact off the bat. […]

The Boston Celtics are brimming with top-tier talent in their roster right now, but it’s apparent that they still need to make a couple of moves to further improve their chances next season. Their East Finals exit at the hands of the Miami Heat exposed several cracks in their armor, which should be addressed with […]

Los Angeles Lakers head coach Frank Vogel understands that his superstar LeBron James has already paired up with plenty of dynamic players in the past — including Dwyane Wade and Kyrie Irving, just to name a few. The Purple and Gold mentor, however, explained why The King’s current tandem with Anthony Davis will go down […]

The future certainly looks bright in the Mile-High City. Although the Denver Nuggets failed in their quest to emerge out of Western Conference this year, all signs point to them being perennial contenders for the Larry O’Brien trophy in the coming years. By the looks of it, it seems the Michael Malone-mentored team is just […]

The Los Angeles Clippers are in need of a new bench boss after the surprising departure of Doc Rivers on Monday. This comes after the one-time NBA champion coach failed to live up to LA’s title aspirations this 2019-20 – effectively ending his seven-year tenure with the franchise. While some fans and pundits continue to […]

Miami Heat superstar Jimmy Butler showed his appreciation for head coach Erik Spoelstra as they celebrate their Eastern Conference Finals win over the Boston Celtics on Sunday. The 31-year-old swingman took Coach Spo to a trip down memory lane after wearing Spoelstra’s no.30 jersey during his playing days with the University of Portland. Here’s a […]

Shortly after the Miami Heat barged their way to the NBA Finals on Sunday, head coach Erik Spoelstra couldn’t help but recall the most important free agent meeting he had over the summer that made their latest achievement possible. The Asian-American coach happily reminisced about the time he sat down with Jimmy Butler, during which […]

Miami Heat superstar Jimmy Butler is not sweating over the fact that they will now face the best unit in the Western Conference in the NBA Finals. Shortly after helping Miami eliminate the pesky Boston Celtics in Game 6 of their East Finals series on Sunday, Butler opened up about taking on the powerhouse Los […]