Mike Cruz Articles - Page 22

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James welcomed his former team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, at Staples Center on Oct. 29. James didn’t welcome them too kindly, though, as he dropped 26 points and eight assists in their 113-101 win over Cleveland. Be it as a member of the Miami Heat, or donning the Purple and Gold, […]

Maybe well documented, but yet another gander at the Anthony Davis injury history might be needed, especially given recent happenings involving the Los Angeles Lakers superstar. Anthony Davis gave Los Angeles Lakers fans quite the scare when he came down screaming in agony and grabbing his right knee during the fourth quarter of their overtime […]

Los Angeles Lakers point guard Russell Westbrook was incredibly pissed when Oklahoma City Thunder forward Darius Bazley broke the “unwritten rules” in the NBA. With 4.0 seconds remaining and the game basically over with, Bazley stole the inbounds pass from the Lakers and went straight in for the dunk. Westbrook didn’t appreciate Bazley’s exclamation point […]

The 2021-22 Los Angeles Lakers have certainly been intriguing to start the year. LA entered this season with a ton of hype following an offseason that saw a massive roster overhaul. With LeBron James and Anthony Davis leading the way, the acquisition of Russell Westbrook, and the signing of other big names in free agency, […]

The Los Angeles Lakers have evened up their record after starting the 2021-22 season with back-to-back defeats. Even without superstar forward LeBron James, Los Angeles managed to pull out a gutsy 125-121 victory on the road over the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night. This season has so far been a mixed bag for the […]

Except for that flat performance against the Miami Heat in their road opener, the Milwaukee Bucks have so far looked every bit the part of being the 2021 NBA champions. Milwaukee cruised to an inspired victory over the Brooklyn Nets, the team nearly everyone is pegging over them, on ring night. Following the loss to […]

Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors are off to a flying start by winning their first three games of the 2021-22 NBA season. Golden State took care of business, defeating their three in-state rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, and Sacramento Kings to open their campaign. The Warriors have championship aspirations this […]

The Indiana Pacers finally notched their first win of the new season after they defeated the Miami Heat, 102-91. Indiana suffered back-to-back crushing road defeats to the Charlotte Hornets and Washington Wizards to begin the campaign. They certainly could have easily gone 3-0 to start the season, had the breaks of the game gone their […]

The Toronto Raptors just dropped to 1-2 on the season following a 103-95 defeat at the hands of Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks. The early returns of the season have been somewhat of a mixed bag for Toronto. Prior to their recently concluded loss to Dallas, the Raptors absolutely manhandled the Boston Celtics on […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder are only one game into their 2021-22 campaign, yet the franchise is already probably already looking at the 2022 NBA Draft. For all intents and purposes, the Thunder aren’t looking to stay competitive this season as they look to secure more ping pong balls for the lottery. In addition, they will […]

The young Memphis Grizzlies grew right before our very eyes last season when they defeated Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors in the Play-in tournament to book a ticket to the 2021 NBA playoffs. Memphis may have bowed out to the no. 1 seeded Utah Jazz in five games during the first round, but […]

The NBA is celebrating is 75th year anniversary by putting together a historic Top 75 All-Time list of the 75 best players to ever step foot on the NBA hardwood. On Thursday, the NBA finally completed the full list, revealing the final 26 names on Thursday night, after naming 25 each the two days prior. […]

The Milwaukee Bucks celebrated their 2021 NBA title win by receiving their well-deserved championship rings on Opening Night. Afterwards, they dominated the Brooklyn Nets, the team almost everyone had over the defending champs as favorites for this year’s crown. The Bucks put on the stranglehold from the get-go, racing out to a 37-25 advantage through […]

The Minnesota Timberwolves are heading into the 2021-22 NBA season with a lot of optimism that they can finally take that next step and contend for a playoff spot at the very least. Their positive outlook stems from a revitalized training camp and a more promising look during preaseason. The Timberwolves definitely have the personnel […]

The Sacramento Kings enter this 2021-22 NBA season with the positive mindset that they can finally end their 15-year playoff drought. They have taken steps in the right direction the last couple of years, particularly with regards to their draft picks of Tyrese Haliburton from 2020 and Davion Mitchell in 2021. The emergence of D’Aaron […]

The Sacramento Kings hope to end the longest-active playoff drought in the league this upcoming 2021-22 NBA season. Sacramento has been trying to finally break that dismal streak since their last postseason appearance in 2007. As constructed, it’s easy to see the talent the Kings squad possesses up and down the roster. They are led […]

The Milwaukee Bucks are entering the 2021-22 NBA season with utmost confidence after they got the job done and won the NBA title last July. Even though most analysts, TV heads, and betting odds are pegging the Brooklyn Nets or the Los Angeles Lakers as the top two favorites, Milwaukee is undoubtedly still among the […]

Winning back-to-back NBA championships should be the top goal for the Milwaukee Bucks this upcoming 2021-22 season. However, climbing back up to the mountaintop is only going to get tougher for the defending champs with every team around the league now eyeing the target on their backs. The Bucks don’t enter this season with the […]

The NBA All-Star Weekend is definitely one of the most highly anticipated events of the season. While the Saturday Night festivities, headlined by the Slam Dunk Contest and 3-point Shootout, get the fans fired up, the main spectacle of the weekend is still undoubtedly the All-Star game on Sunday night. The 2021 edition was up […]

This offseason has been quite a strange one for the New Orleans Pelicans. Some drama surrounding Zion Williamson surfaced at some point this summer. Not to mention, the 2019 no. 1 overall pick also reportedly underwent surgery this offseason to repair a broken foot. New Orleans also went through a coaching change, firing Stan Van […]

The Atlanta Hawks are coming off a strong 2020-21 campaign that even saw them make the Eastern Conference Finals. A lot penciled in Atlanta as a playoff team before the start of last season, but not many would have predicted them to come two wins away from making the NBA Finals. This upcoming season, the […]

The 2021-22 NBA season has yet to start but the Minnesota Timberwolves’ 2021-22 are already dealing with controversy after ex-general manager Gersson Rosas was fired from his post just days before the start of training camp. It definitely wasn’t an ideal way to kick off a campaign where they look to make significant progress. All the […]

The Denver Nuggets are in a tough spot this upcoming season with Jamal Murray projected to miss the majority of, if not, the entire campaign as he continues to recover from a torn left ACL. Still, with the reigning MVP Nikola Jokic leading the way and the potential of a breakout season from Michael Porter […]

Deandre Ayton made a huge leap throughout the 2020-21 season and played a key role for the Phoenix Suns in their run to the NBA Finals. Despite this, the Suns are reportedly thinking twice about giving their 2018 no. 1 overall pick a maximum rookie contract extension worth five years, $172.5 million and could go […]

The Milwaukee Bucks should be a de facto favorite for the 2021-22 NBA championship since they are the defending champs. But with the competition getting stiffer and teams targeting the bullseye on their backs, winning two in a row will be a major challenge for the Bucks. Some key pieces from their championship run unfortunately […]

The NBA will celebrate its 75th anniversary this upcoming 2021-22 season. In commemoration of this landmark moment, the league plans to unveil a historic list of the 75 best players to ever step foot on an NBA court. According to NBA.com, a select panel consisting of media, current and former players, coaches, general managers, and […]

The 2021-22 season hasn’t even started, but the Oklahoma City Thunder are probably already looking forward to the 2022 NBA draft. Heck, they might also have their sights set on the 2023 NBA Draft, where they can get four first-round picks and two second-round selections. Thunder GM Sam Presti has gone in the business of […]

The San Antonio Spurs find themselves in unchartered territory entering the 2021-22 season. As currently constructed, they don’t have a squad that is a lock to get in the playoffs in the Western Conference. The Spurs are in perhaps the worst spot for any team in the NBA – ways away from competing for a […]

Dub Nation is pumped for this 2021-22 season as the Golden State Warriors attempt to climb back to the top of the NBA and compete for a championship. While some view them as dark-horse contenders, not a lot are convinced that Golden State is in the top-tier of favorite’s for this season’s crown. It’s easy […]

The NBA is just right around the corner with media day kicking off on Monday and training camps set to begin. The Boston Celtics, in particular, look to bounce back from a rather disappointing 2020-21 campaign. Boston went just 36-36 last season and bowed out in five games in the first round of the playoffs […]

LaMelo Ball may have edged out Anthony Edwards for the Rookie of the Year award, but there’s no denying those two were the top rookies of their class for the 2020-21 season. Though the class of 2021 looked loaded with promising young talent across the board, it’s clear that Ball and Edwards were ahead of […]

Just when NBA fans thought that the month prior to the start of the regular season was going to be a dry point for the NBA news cycle, in came several intriguing stories this past week. Perhaps the spiciest is Ben Simmons’ ongoing trade saga and stand off with the Philadelphia 76ers. Another is the […]

The Philadelphia 76ers are in the midst of some heavy drama this offseason, with Ben Simmons setting it straight that he is done with the franchise. The 3-time All-Star relayed to the organization that he won’t show up for training camp and will never don a Sixers uniform ever again. Let’s say Philly was magically […]

The Los Angeles Clippers’ championship hopes for this upcoming 2021-22 campaign remain up in the air with Kawhi Leonard’s indefinite status for the season. The 2-time NBA champion sustained a partially torn ACL in his right knee and has no timetable for a return. Without Leonard, the Clippers are far from being championship contenders. It […]

At full strength, the Golden State Warriors look like a dark horse contender in the Western Conference, especially with Stephen Curry leading the way. Granted that Klay Thompson comes back healthy and soon returns to his All-Star form, Golden State will definitely be a force to be reckoned with. As currently constructed, the Warriors are […]

John Wall and the Houston Rockets have reportedly agreed to try and find a way to trade the 6-foot-3 point guard out of Houston. However, doing so may prove to be a near impossible task for the Rockets because of Wall’s sizable deal. Wall is set to make $44.3 million this upcoming season and has […]

The Phoenix Suns are coming off a splendid 2020-21 campaign that saw them, not just break their 10-year postseason, but make the NBA Finals as well. Even though they lost the championship to the Milwaukee Bucks in six hard-fought games, the Suns deserve credit for putting together a successful campaign. No doubt, Phoenix wants to […]

Believe it or not, there are these bonkers trade rumors of the Brooklyn Nets potentially trading star point guard Kyrie Irving. Nick Wright of Fox Sports lit the match with a Tweet, claiming that the 29-year old would “retire from the NBA” should the Nets deal him. Irving took exception to Wright’s crazy news and […]

After making the playoffs 22 straight times from 1998 to 2019, the San Antonio Spurs have failed to advance to the postseason the last couple of years. The Spurs find themselves in a position they haven’t been quite accustomed to over the previous two decades. After being so dominant for so long, San Antonio is […]