Mike Cruz Articles - Page 21

Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors emerged triumphant over the Phoenix Suns in a classic Christmas Day showdown between the top two teams in the NBA. With the win, the Dubs snatched the best record in the league. Even more amazing, Golden State impressively did this despite missing two starters in Jordan Poole and […]

Christmas is always a special time in the NBA. The league celebrates the holiday season by treating its fans to five marquee games headlined by some of the biggest names in the Association. The COVID-19 situation has somewhat dampened the 2021 edition, as some stars are still currently in the league’s health and safety protocols. […]

Following a valiant 2021 NBA Finals run, the Phoenix Suns are off to a blistering start this 2021-22 season. Phoenix currently holds the best record in the league at 26-5. The Suns even went on a torrid streak that saw them win 18 games in a row. Phoenix will put that top spot to the […]

The Boston Celtics find themselves once again on the NBA’s Christmas Day slate this 2021-22 season. It wouldn’t be a normal NBA Christmas without including the storied Celtics franchise on the schedule. In the 2021 edition, the Celtics get a crack at the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks. In this specific post, though, we’re looking at […]

Russell Westbrook has had quite a roller-coaster debut campaign with the Los Angeles Lakers so far. The 2016-17 MVP initially struggled out of the gates with his new team, and many Lakers fans were quick to jump on him as one of the primary reasons for the Lakers’ slow start to the season. But over […]

Fantasy has taken over the sporting world with more fans joining in on the fun. Arguably two of the more popular fantasy sports out there are fantasy football and NBA fantasy. Fantasy football has in large part been the more popular of the two. But NBA fantasy is slowly, but surely, creeping up there among […]

In the battle between the two top teams in the Eastern Conference, the Chicago Bulls came out on top over the Brooklyn Nets with a 111-107 victory. Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and the Bulls now have the number over Kevin Durant, James Harden, and the Nets. Chicago is now 2-0 against Brooklyn, winning a close […]

In case you missed it, Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo had himself a monster evening in their thrilling 127-125 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday night. Well, you might have probably missed it since The Greek Freak did not get the national spotlight he deserved after putting up a dominant performance against the Hornets. […]

The Memphis Grizzlies made history on Thursday night after they obliterated the Oklahoma City Thunder to the tune of a 152-79 win. The 73-point beatdown marked the largest margin of victory in the 75-year history of the NBA. It’s an understatement to say this game was a good ol’ classic blowout. It’s the greatest one […]

A quarter of the 2021-22 NBA season is just about done. There’s still a lot of basketball left to go, obviously. But this 20-game sample size could already be a good barometer for how the rest of the season could go. Some teams have started out on fire, while others are still understandably rounding into […]

New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau has made a verdict on Kemba Walker’s standing with the team. Thibs admitted that Walker will be racking up DNP’s for the time being. It’s worth wondering if the former All-NBA point guard is still going to be a part of New York’s plans or rejoin Thibs’ rotation […]

Devin Booker and the Phoenix Suns continue to torch the NBA after they took down a title favorite in the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday night to the tune of a 113-107 victory. Phoenix’s winning streak now extends to 16 games, which is just one more victory off their longest winning streak in franchise history. The […]

There is no question that Gregg Popovich is one of the greatest head coaches to ever grace the NBA sidelines. The long-time San Antonio Spurs mentor was the mastermind behind one of the greatest dynasties in NBA history. He led San Antonio to five NBA championships and six Finals stints in 16 seasons and 22 […]

The red-hot Phoenix Suns continue to steam roll through their opponents after they notched their 15th straight win on Friday against the New York Knicks. Devin Booker, Chris Paul, and company continue to prove that their NBA Finals run last season was not a fluke, like many naysayers said during the offseason. There’s this saying […]

The Detroit Pistons found themselves in the spotlight due to the altercation involving Isaiah Stewart and Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James. While most Pistons headlines focus in on James’ ejection against Detroit, they have actually low-key strung together some good games over the past week. Prior to the scuffle that broke out at Little […]

The Sacramento Kings fired Luke Walton on Sunday and promoted Alvin Gentry as interim head coach. Gentry became Sacramento’s 12th head coach in 16 seasons and Walton became the latest casualty after starting out 6-11 on the new campaign. Walton actually ended his tenure as the second winningest coach in franchise history, with a 68-93 […]

Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors are off to a blistering start to the 2021-22 NBA season with a league-best 15-2 record. They are steamrolling through all their opponents. This includes some statement victories over two heavy pre-season favorites the Brooklyn Nets and the Los Angeles Lakers. Golden State owns the best defense in […]

The Atlanta Hawks are back to their winning ways, rattling off four straight victories following Saturday’s 115-105 victory over the Charlotte Hornets. The Hawks are slowly but surely digging themselves out of a deep hole after struggling out of the gates this season.  Atlanta started out 4-9 through their first 13 games. But don’t look […]

The Phoenix Suns’ winning streak reached 11 games after they took down the Luka Doncic-less Dallas Mavericks again on Friday night, 112-104. The reigning Western Conference champions are by far the hottest team in the league right now. This now marks Phoenix’s longest winning streak since the Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire era during the […]

The New York Knicks’ start to the 2021-22 season has been quite a mixed bag. Their season hasn’t gone the way they expected after a breakout 2020-21 campaign and after signing some key free agents over the summer. Their additions — Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier — haven’t quite panned out and All-Star forward Julius […]

The Philadelphia 76ers have yet to resolve their Ben Simmons problem. The Sixers’ front office reportedly has a very steep asking price for Simmons. Daryl Morey insists that Philadelphia should get a star-caliber player in return for the 2017 first overall pick. However, interested teams are hesitant to budge on Philly’s price due to Simmons’ […]

Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam missed the start of the 2021-22 NBA season due to his recovery from shoulder surgery this offseason. Spicy P has since made his return on the floor. Unfortunately, his return has not translated into wins. In fact, Toronto has lost every game Siakam has appeared in this season. The Raptors […]

The Los Angeles Lakers’ struggles without LeBron James continued as they dropped their second game in a row following a 109-102 loss to the defending NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks. James hasn’t played in two weeks but is nearing a return. Without The King, Laker Nation fully expected Anthony Davis to keep the ship afloat in […]

The Phoenix are officially the hottest team in the NBA right now, riding a 9-game winning streak. Devin Booker, Chris Paul, Deandre Ayton, and the rest of the crew heard the chatter all summer. “If Anthony Davis wasn’t hurt, Phoenix wouldn’t have made it past the first round.” “They just swept a Jamal Murray-less Nuggets.” […]

The Milwaukee Bucks are off to rough start in their bid to defend their throne. After dismantling Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets on ring night in front of a capacity crowd at Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee is now at 6-8 on the season and has lost seven of their last 10 outings. Through 14 games […]

The Dallas Mavericks notched their best win of the season on Monday night against the Denver Nuggets. Luka Doncic, Kristaps Porzingins and co. overcame a 13-point third quarter deficit to defeat the Nuggets, 111-101. This marked the first time this season that the Mavericks took down a team that was over .500. Despite being 9-4 […]

The Minnesota Timberwolves should just accept it. The Karl-Anthony Towns experiment has ran its course. Minnesota should just move on from their 2015 no. 1 overall pick and start building their team around their latest 1st overall selection Anthony Edwards. The Timberwolves lost another tough one to the Phoenix Suns, 99-96, on Monday and dropped […]

The Los Angeles Clippers just dismantled the Minnesota Timberwolves en route to a 129-102 victory on Saturday night. After starting out the season slow with a 1-4 mark, Paul George and the Clippers are now winners of their last seven games. They look to ride the momentum to their showdown with Zach LaVine and the […]

The Los Angeles Lakers are in the midst of a roller-coaster campaign that, for the most part, has not lived up to the expectations. They are 7-6 on the season and have been incredibly disappointing so far, especially for Lakers fans. Every loss in La La Land is magnified, but their ugly 107-83 defeat to […]

After making the Eastern Conference Finals a season ago, the Atlanta Hawks are off to a discouraging start to their 2021-22 campaign. For a team that came just two wins shy of making the NBA Finals, they’d ideally want to carry the momentum from that promising run and come out strong to open the season. […]

The Utah Jazz put together a spirited comeback effort in fourth quarter but came up just short and lost to the Miami Heat, 118-115, on Saturday night. The Jazz-Heat showdown definitely lived up to the hype as the game went down the wire with Utah mounting a furious rally down the stretch after Miami looked […]

The Miami Heat just held on to defeat the Utah Jazz in a Saturday night showdown between two of the best teams in the NBA. Miami looked well on its way to an easy victory when they had a 19-point lead with just over five minutes remaining. However, the Jazz staged a massive rally down […]

The Utah Jazz and the Miami Heat are set to square off in what should be a colossal showdown between two of the hottest teams in the NBA through the first couple of weeks of the 2021-22 NBA season. This Jazz-Heat Saturday Special should attract a lot of NBA viewers. Many people are probably wondering […]

In case you happened to scroll by the Twitter of Stephen Curry and noticed he has this funky looking ape as his display picture, well, here is the explanation for that. You probably know the Golden State Warriors superstar most for his splashy 3-pointers that make Chase Center explode to their feet or the road […]

The Utah Jazz find themselves in a position they were all too familiar with throughout the 2020-21 season, and that is sitting atop the Western Conference. Much like a season ago, Utah is off to a flying start with a 6-1 record, boasting a top-5 offense and defense through the early goings of the new […]

The Orlando Magic’s season has so far gone as expected in terms of their standing on the win-loss column. Orlando is 2-6 through the young season and should remain near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings throughout the year. Still, Magic fans have a lot to be excited about their squad’s outlook, as their […]

The Dallas Mavericks are up for a challenge on Tuesday night as the scorching Miami Heat pay a visit to American Airlines Center. Dallas fans will definitely keep their eyes glued to this upcoming Mavericks-Heat matchup, which is why we will offer some predictions ahead of tip-off. The Mavericks may be 4-2 on the young […]

The red-hot Miami Heat are set to take on the Dallas Mavericks in what should be an interesting match-up between two clubs that have quite a history with each other. This is why we’ll be keeping a close eye on this Heat-Mavericks outing with some predictions in tow. Miami is boasting the league’s no. 1 […]

The Minnesota Timberwolves lost a heartbreaker to the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night and dropped their second game of the season. Minnesota had its chances to send the game into overtime after they came up with a stop with less than 10 ticks remaining on the game clock. The Timberwolves got a running start in […]