Matthew Schmidt Articles - Page 130

The Chicago Bulls pretty much did what everyone expected during the 2018-19 campaign. They weren’t the worst team in the league, but they certainly weren’t playoff contenders, winning 22 games and finishing with the fourth-worst record in the NBA. The Bulls already have a nice stable of young talent, and they can add to it […]

Here is something you probably didn’t expect at the beginning of the season: The Los Angeles Lakers are in the 2019 NBA Draft Lottery and will have an opportunity to land the No. 1 overall pick on Tuesday night. Of course, the Lakers don’t exactly have a great chance of having a shot at Zion […]

The New York Knicks may have been a laughingstock for the better part of the last two decades, and they may have been one of the biggest on-court disasters in the league this season, but they have big plans for this summer, and it begins with the NBA Draft Lottery on Tuesday night. The Knicks, […]

The Philadelphia 76ers were eliminated from the second round of the playoffs for the second straight year on Sunday night following a Game 7 loss to the Toronto Raptors, and now, an offseason of uncertainty begins. Will Jimmy Butler be back? Will Tobias Harris return? Will the 76ers trade Ben Simmons? But the biggest question […]

During Game 7 of what was a thrilling second-round Eastern Conference playoff series between the Toronto Raptors and Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday night, we learned that depth and experience matter, floor spacing is key and plenty of other things. But the main thing that we learned is this: Kawhi Leonard is the best player in […]

The Eastern Conference Finals matchup is now set, as the Toronto Raptors defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 7 of their second-round playoff series on Sunday night to arrange a date with the Milwaukee Bucks to play for a berth in the NBA Finals. The Bucks and Raptors finished as the No. 1 and 2 […]

When Kawhi Leonard forced his way out of San Antonio last summer after playing just nine games during the 2017-18 campaign due to a mysterious quad injury, it rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. Leonard reportedly wanted Los Angeles, but he did not get his wish, as the Spurs dealt him to the […]

A couple of weeks ago, former NBA big man Kendrick Perkins said that Toronto Raptors superstar Kawhi Leonard reminded him of Michael Jordan, and on Sunday night, you could swear Jordan was wearing Leonard’s jersey. During Game 7 of the Raptors’ second-round Eastern Conference playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers, Leonard poured in 41 points, […]

Houston Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni has won a lot of games over the course of his head coaching career. He owns a lifetime record of 628-499. He has won over 60 games three times. He is considered one of the most innovative offensive minds in basketball. But he has never made it to an […]

When Golden State Warriors big man DeMarcus Cousins suffered a quad tear during Game 2 of his team’s first-round Western Conference playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers, it looked like his postseason was over. But now, it looks like Cousins might play at some point during the Western Conference Finals, a truly remarkable development […]

Houston Rockets star James Harden already had a reputation for not playing his best in the playoffs, and he didn’t exactly do himself any favors this year after a second-round exit to the Golden State Warriors. Naturally, Harden is now the subject of much criticism, and both Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe of Fox Sports […]

The Philadelphia 76ers were eliminated from the second round of the playoffs for the second straight year on Sunday night, as the Toronto Raptors ousted them in a thrilling Game 7 to move on to the Eastern Conference Finals. So, just where do the 76ers go from here? It should be a very busy offseason […]

The Los Angeles Lakers made a rather surprising head coaching hire this past weekend, bringing in former Indiana Pacers and Orlando Magic head coach Frank Vogel to take the reins. While Vogel was certainly not LeBron James’ first choice, he liked Instagram posts discussing the Lakers’ decision to hire Vogel and to bring in Jason […]

Golden State Warriors superstar Kevin Durant will not play in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals against the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday night as he recovers from a calf strain, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. Shelburne adds that Durant will not be re-evaluated until Thursday, so he is also not likely to […]

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James was not too enthralled with the fact that negotiations to make Ty Lue the team’s next head coach fell apart, but he liked Instagram posts about the Lakers’ decision to hire Frank Vogel and bring on Jason Kidd as an assistant, per Ohm Youngmisuk and Dave McMenamin of ESPN. […]

The Philadelphia 76ers were eliminated from the second round of the playoffs for the second straight year on Sunday night, losing to the Toronto Raptors in a thrilling Game 7. With the loss, 76ers head coach Brett Brown is now on the hot seat, with some feeling that he is done in Philadelphia. However, Sixers […]

It was rumored that if the Philadelphia 76ers lost Game 7 of their second-round Eastern Conference playoff series to the Toronto Raptors on Sunday night, the 76ers would ultimately fire head coach Brett Brown. Well, Philadelphia fell to Toronto by a score of 92-90, meaning that Brown is on the hot seat. The Sixers players […]

Toronto Raptors superstar Kawhi Leonard hit one of the most incredible buzzer-beaters you will ever see in Game 7 of his team’s second-round Eastern Conference playoff series with the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday night. With 4.2 seconds remaining in a tie game, Leonard got the ball at the top of the key, drove to his […]

When the Philadelphia 76ers acquired Jimmy Butler in a trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves back in November, they knew it came with the caveat of Butler potentially being a rental. Butler is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, and there has been a lot of chatter about Butler wanting to head out […]

Last summer, the Philadelphia 76ers briefly courted LeBron James, but James didn’t really give the 76ers much thought before ultimately doing what everyone expected by signing with the Los Angeles Lakers. But could the Sixers make another run at James this offseason? While LeBron is under contract, some have wondered whether or not the dysfunctional […]

Golden State Warriors superstar Kevin Durant suffered a calf injury during Game 5 of his team’s second-round Western Conference playoff series against the Houston Rockets last week, and many felt the Warriors were doomed. Instead, Golden State responded by winning Game 5 and then by going into the Toyota Center and finishing off the Rockets […]

It had been rumored that head coach Brett Brown would be fired if the Philadelphia 76ers did not win Game 7 of their second-round Eastern Conference playoff series against the Toronto Raptors on Sunday night. Well, the 76ers lost, and Brown may be on the hot seat as a result. That does not mean the players […]

Toronto Raptors star Kawhi Leonard poured in 41 points—including a game-winning buzzer-beater—to lead the Raptors to a Game 7 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers in their second-round Eastern Conference playoff matchup on Sunday night. It was far from Leonard’s only big performance in the series, as he scored 243 points overall, marking the most points […]

The Toronto Raptors defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 7 of their second-round Eastern Conference playoff series on Sunday night courtesy of a Kawhi Leonard buzzer-beater that bounced around the rim four times before eventually falling. Former NBA defensive savant Bruce Bowen was not too happy with Ben Simmons’ effort in defending Leonard on the […]

Kawhi Leonard sent the Toronto Raptors to the Eastern Conference Finals courtesy of a ridiculous buzzer-beater in Game 7 of his team’s second-round Eastern Conference playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday night, and while the Raptors only had 4.2 seconds remaining to get a shot off and Leonard just launched his shot before […]

Damian Lillard may be the Portland Trail Blazers’ best player and garners most of the attention as a result, but the Blazers would not be in the Western Conference Finals without the efforts of CJ McCollum, who was actually Portland’s top guy in its second-round series win over the Denver Nuggets. With Lillard struggling to […]

The Toronto Raptors defeated the Philadelphia 76ers by a score of 92-90 in Game 7 of their second-round Eastern Conference playoff series on Sunday night to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2016. Afterward, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took to Twitter to congratulate the Raptors for their success. Eastern […]

The Los Angeles Lakers are entering one of the most pivotal offseasons in the history of their franchise. At this time last year, the Lakers were gearing up for a summer run at LeBron James, and pretty much everyone already knew that Los Angeles already had James in the bag and that free agency was […]

Toronto Raptors star Kawhi Leonard hit one of the most insane buzzer-beaters you will ever see in Game 7 of his team’s second-round Eastern Conference playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday night, launching a jumper from the corner and watching the ball bounce around the rim four times before eventually falling to send […]

Kawhi Leonard may have taken center stage in the Toronto Raptors’ 92-90 Game 7 win over the Philadelphia 76ers to nail down an Eastern Conference Finals appearance on Sunday night, and rightfully so. But while Leonard was clearly the best player on the floor on Sunday evening and all series, Toronto would not have won […]

During Game 7 of the second-round Eastern Conference playoff matchup between the Toronto Raptors and Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday night, Raptors star Kawhi Leonard hit a buzzer-beater to send Toronto to a 92-90 win and a series victory. In doing so, Leonard became just the second player in the last 20 years to clinch a […]

Hip-hop star Drake is Toronto born and Toronto raised. He is a life-long Raptors fan and has become a fixture at Raptors home games. But yet, during one of the biggest games in the history of the Toronto franchise, he was wearing the attire of the enemy. During the Raptors’ Game 7 win over the […]

Sunday’s NBA playoff action will feature a pair of Game 7s, as the Portland Trail Blazers will head to the Mile High City to take on the Denver Nuggets and the Toronto Raptors will play host to the Philadelphia 76ers. While home teams generally win Game 7s, you simply never know what can happen over […]

The Houston Rockets fell to the Golden State Warriors in the playoffs for the fourth time since 2015, losing at home by a score of 118-105 in Game 6 of their second-round series on Friday night. To make matters worse, the Rockets didn’t even lose to a full-strength Warriors squad, as they were missing Kevin […]

Jimmy Garoppolo got his first opportunity to be a franchise quarterback last season, beginning the year as the starter for the San Francisco 49ers. However, he tore his ACL three games into the season, prematurely ending what was supposed to be a breakout year for the 27-year-old. Now, Garoppolo is ready to go for 2019, […]

The Pittsburgh Steelers traded up to the 10th overall pick in the first round of the NFL Draft late last month to nab Michigan linebacker Devin Bush, and Bush is already looking to become a leader on the Steelers’ defense. On Friday, Bush took the field for the first time, as he participated in Pittsburgh’s […]

DeSean Jackson is back where it all started, as the wide receiver was traded from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the Philadelphia Eagles back in March. Jackson, who played his collegiate football at the University of California, was originally selected by the Eagles in the second round (49th pick overall) of the 2008 NFL Draft. […]

The Miami Dolphins swung a trade with the Arizona Cardinals for quarterback Josh Rosen during draft weekend, sending the 62nd overall pick to the Cardinals in exchange for the young signal-caller. While the Dolphins clearly dealt for Rosen with the idea that he could be their quarterback of the future, it doesn’t necessarily mean that […]

Tom Brady can pretty much do whatever he wants these days and the New England Patriots wouldn’t be able to say a thing, and it’s gotten to the point where the Patriots don’t even know what he is doing during the offseason. With organized team activities starting in a week-and-a-half, New England offensive coordinator Josh […]