Mike Cruz Articles - Page 11

SIt’s already a known fact at this point that Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is him. Well, Danny Green, who was then with the Toronto Raptors, found that out early in the All-NBA guard’s career when he was still a rookie with the Los Angeles Clippers. In an interview, Green narrated just how a […]

Lionel Messi could finally make his long-awaited return to Barcelona. And no, we’re not talking about the potential match or event that Inter Miami promised to the global icon. We’re talking about Messi actually putting on the iconic striped blue and garnet jersey once again and playing for FC Barcelona in January. At least that […]

Inter Miami superstar Lionel Messi could be back on the field as early as Saturday’s match against first-place FC Cincinnati, according to the Miami Herald. Messi, who has grown frustrated with a leg injury that he has been dealing with, aggravated a scar tissue injury while playing in a World Cup qualifier for Argentina. Inter […]

The vibes were not immaculate at all for the Toronto Raptors throughout the 2022-23 season. The players themselves admitted that throughout media day earlier this week. But despite a tumultuous offseason that ensued from a bothersome campaign, Toronto enters the 2023-24 season with a lot more optimism than they did last year. Scottie Barnes, in […]

It’s only been three years since Sam Presti went on a trade binge to acquire a cupboard of draft assets to kickstart a rebuild into the future. Well, the future is now for the Oklahoma City Thunder, who are poised to end their tanking era and are now looking to compete in the Western Conference […]

Uncertainty clouds the Memphis Grizzlies entering the 2023-24 season with Ja Morant’s 25-game suspension to begin the campaign. A lot of the offensive load will fall on the broad shoulders of Desmond Bane, who has become one of the premier three-point shooters in the NBA. A lot already view Bane as a budding star in […]

Lexi Thompson will make history as she will become the seventh woman to compete in a PGA Tour event. Despite going viral for this blunder at the Solheim Cup, Thompson still got the nod to tee it up with the men after she accepted a sponsor invitation to participate in the Shriners Children’s Open, which […]

Imagine enjoying a pleasant night playing video games on your PlayStation 5, until a message criticizing you about your job pops up on the platform. That’s exactly what New York Jets running back Breece Hall experienced recently. “Maybe the Jets would win more if you could score in real life, not in Madden,” a Jets […]

When you think of the Las Vegas Aces, A’ja Wilson comes to mind first. Some may even think of All-Star guard Kelsey Plum or even veteran star Chelsea Gray. But one underrated piece for the Aces is Jackie Young, who will be Las Vegas’ X-factor in their WNBA Finals clash against the New York Liberty. […]

NBA Media Day finally gave us a glimpse of what Damian Lillard looks like in a Milwaukee Bucks uniform. Bucks fans were certainly ecstatic seeing their new acquisition don the green and white jersey. To make Bucks Nation more excited, Lillard, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and the rest of the squad wasted no time getting straight to […]

Mark your calendars for October 8th, Sunday, WNBA fans. Game 1 of the highly-anticipated WNBA Finals between the league’s two superteams the Las Vegas Aces and the New York Liberty is finally here. Will A’ja Wilson and the Aces win their second straight championship, or will Breanna Stewart and company bring the New York Liberty […]

The stage is set for the two WNBA titans to square off in what should be an epic Finals for the ages. As expected, the A’ja Wilson-led Las Vegas Aces will defend their throne against the Breanna Stewart-led New York Liberty in the 2023 WNBA Finals. Ahead of Game 1 between the Aces and the […]

Jonquel Jones or even Sabrina Ionescu are expected to become the main X-factors for the Breanna Stewart-led New York Liberty heading into this epic WNBA Finals clash against the Las Vegas Aces. But Betnijah Laney’s play throughout the series will be the difference-maker in determining whether the Liberty will win their first title in franchise […]

The highly-anticipated WNBA Finals between the two league superteams is finally upon us. The No. 2 seed New York Liberty led by 2023 WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart will challenge the defending champion Las Vegas Aces led by two-time MVP A’ja Wilson for the right to be crowned 2023 WNBA Champions. This Finals clash between the […]

The WNBA Finals clash between the two league superteams that everybody has been waiting for all season long is official. The No. 1 seeded Las Vegas Aces led by A’ja Wilson will defend their title against the juggernaut New York Liberty led by 2023 WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart. Ahead of Game 1 between the Liberty […]

The Houston Rockets were wheeling and dealing this offseason by spending an exorbitant amount of money to sign several veteran free agents. They signed Fred VanVleet to a monstrous three-year, $130 million contract and gave Dillion Brooks a four-year, $86 million deal a day later. After that, they signed Jeff Green to a two-year $16 […]

A couple of days ago, the Toronto Raptors were making a lot of noise. After months of the Miami Heat being in the driver’s seat of the Damian Lillard sweepstakes, The Raptors suddenly emerged as the favorite to land the seven-time All-Star from the Portland Trail Blazers. Once again, it looked like Masai Ujiri had […]

The Detroit Pistons were ready to take the next step last season. That is until Cade Cunningham underwent surgery on his left shin that prematurely ended his sophomore year 12 games into the campaign. As a result, Detroit finished with the league’s worst record at 17-65. To make matters worse, they didn’t even land the […]

Several teams have expressed interest in acquiring Jrue Holiday from the Portland Trail Blazers following the Damian Lillard blockbuster that sent the seven-time All-Star to the Milwaukee Bucks. One team that emerged as a potential suitor is the Dallas Mavericks. There were several players who moved addresses during Wednesday’s blockbuster deal that finally ended the […]

So, Damian Lillard is now a Milwaukee Bucks. That means he is going to play alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo. That means they are going to be very good in the Eastern Conference. And that does not bode well for the Boston Celtics. In fact, the Bucks have already jumped the Celtics as the favorites to lift […]

So, the Milwaukee Bucks just traded for Damian Lillard. Meanwhile, Jrue Holiday is now on the Portland Trail Blazers. But he won’t be a Blazer for long. Which team does he end up on next? Are the Golden State Warriors in the mix to trade for the five-time All-Defensive guard? There were plenty of moving […]

The Damian Lillard trade saga is finally over. The seven-time All-Star is headed to the Milwaukee Bucks to form a superstar pairing with Giannis Antetokounmpo. Milwaukee agreed to land Lillard in a three-team deal with the Portland Trail Blazers and the Phoenix Suns. Portland will receive Jrue Holiday, Deandre Ayton, Toumani Camara, the Bucks’ 2029 […]

The Houston Rockets’ offseason indicated that they were done with losing and were ready to get competitive this 2023-24 season. The Rockets made several huge moves this summer. They gave Fred VanVleet a massive three-year, $130 million deal, then signed Dillon Brooks 24 hours later to a three-year $86 million contract. Houston also brought in […]

As much as the Damian Lillard trade saga is dominating NBA news nowadays, Donovan Mitchell’s situation with the Cleveland Cavaliers may be on the docket as the next big storyline around the Association. Mitchell is reportedly not expected to sign a contract extension with the Cavs this summer, which led to speculation that he might […]

The Toronto Raptors have taken over the Miami Heat in the race to acquire Damian Lillard from the Portland Trail Blazers. In the Raptors’ pursuit of the Blazers superstar, will they include Scottie Barnes in a trade offer for Damian Lillard? This Damian Lillard trade saga has been dragging on for months with Portland and […]

The Toronto Raptors are apparently now in the driver’s seat of the Damian Lillard sweepstakes and have emerged as frontrunners to land the Portland Trail Blazers star. In this saga that has dragged on for months, the Miami Heat have always been at the forefront of any Lillard trade discussions. However, talks have stalled and […]

The Utah Jazz should have been full-time sellers last season, especially after they traded their All-Star tandem of Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell during the 2022 offseason. But a lucky stretch of games that saw them start 10-3 in the regular season masked what they should have been doing — tanking for more ping-pong balls […]

The Damian Lillard trade saga has clouded the Miami Heat throughout the 2023 offseason. There is an ongoing standoff between the Heat and the Portland Trail Blazers with regard to a deal that finally gets Dame Time out of RIP City and into the sunny beaches of the 2022-23 NBA season’s runners-up. The Heat won’t […]

The Damian Lillard trade saga has been dragged to another page lately, with the Toronto Raptors now emerging as a top suitor for the Portland Trail Blazers star. Masai Ujiri is no stranger to making risky moves for disgruntled stars, even though Toronto isn’t particularly the preferred destination of some of the league’s top players. […]

The Boston Celtics always seem to be in the thick of trade rumors despite already being one of the more loaded teams in the NBA. That will likely continue to be the case as Brad Stevens continues to navigate the Celtics through a rather tumultuous final stretch in the 2023 offseason. Though sportsbooks have the […]

There is one thing clear about the direction the Golden State Warriors are headed in as they enter the 2023-24 training camp: they want to win now. No more two timelines experiment. No more screwing around with Stephen Curry’s prime. Trading Jordan Poole for Chris Paul was indicative that the Warriors intend to maximize whatever […]

The New York Liberty looked far from the juggernaut team that dominated the regular season in Game 1 of their best-of-five WNBA semi-finals series against the Connecticut Sun. Connecticut, who went winless against New York during their season series, shocked the Liberty with a 78-63 beatdown of the No. 2 seed team. The Sun set […]

We’re only at the semi-finals portion of the 2023 WNBA Playoffs, yet it seems like the stage is already set for a colossal Finals showdown between the defending champion Las Vegas Aces and the New York Liberty. There are a lot of reasons to believe an Aces-Liberty finale is a certainty. They were, in fact, […]

The second round of the 2023 WNBA Playoffs has not even started yet, but everybody already expects the Las Vegas Aces to just breeze their way past the Dallas Wings in their best-of-five series that will tip off on Sunday at the Michelob Ultra Arena. Do the Wings have any chance to shock the world […]

The stage is set for the semi-finals of the 2023 WNBA Playoffs as the No. 1 seed Las Vegas Aces square off against the Dallas Wings in a best-of-five series. Game 1 of the Las Vegas-Dallas clash will be on Monday as A’ja Wilson and the Aces prepare to defend their crown. Ahead of the […]

Once again, the Boston Celtics enter the upcoming season as the odds-on-favorites to lift the Larry O’Brien trophy in June 2024. However, aside from Kristaps Porzingis’ concerning plantar fasciitis injury, there is one other wrinkle that could prevent Boston from ending a 16-year title drought next year: Malcolm Brogdon’s discontent with the Celtics heading into […]

The Golden State Warriors may be closing in on making a decision on signing Dwight Howard. The free agent center reportedly just completed a two-day interview process with the Warriors, sources told Jason Dumas of KRON4. Golden State’s veterans including Stephen Curry and Draymond Green have reportedly signed off on the team bringing in the future […]

Buddy Hield and the Indiana Pacers are reportedly exploring trade destinations for the shooting guard after both sides failed to agree on a contract extension, sources told Shams Charania of The Athletic. While the Pacers did have an offer on the table for Hield, it reportedly did not make the 30-year-old “feel desired.” Hield is […]

The Atlanta Hawks enter training camp this 2023-24 season with more question marks than answers. Ideally, the Hawks should be right up there with the Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks, and Miami Heat in terms of being true title contenders in the Eastern Conference, especially after they made the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021 led by […]