Mike Cruz Articles - Page 54

The Detroit Pistons have reportedly applied for a disabled-player exception for injured All-Star Blake Griffin, per Kurt Helin of NBC Sports. Report: Pistons apply for Blake Griffin disabled-player exception https://t.co/syhZkXLWwt pic.twitter.com/lerOJvmkqw — Kurt Helin (@basketballtalk) January 12, 2020 The 30-year old forward recently underwent a second arthroscopic surgery on his left knee and will be out […]

There’s this saying that goes “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” This is probably the argument of some Miami Heat fans who would say that they should just keep their current roster intact and see how far they go this season. The Heat have been the surprise team of the NBA and are currently […]

Houston Rockets superstar James Harden continues his rise in the NBA’s all-time scoring ranks. Harden recently passed the 20,000-point plateau, and he did it by draining his signature step-back three-pointer midway through the second quarter of their 139-109 home victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Harden buries the step-back 👌 to reach 20,000 career points‼️ 📲💻: […]

No LeBron James, no Anthony Davis? No problem for the Los Angeles Lakers. Third-year forward Kyle Kuzma stepped up big-time for the short-handed Lakers and dropped a season-high 36 points in their recently concluded 125-110 road victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday. ✨ Season-high for Kuz ✨@kylekuzma's 36 PTS power the @Lakers to the […]

Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter went to work in limited minutes tonight and recorded a stat line that has not been in over five decades. The Turkish big man had 22 points and 19 rebounds in Boston’s 140-105 drubbing of the New Orleans Pelicans. According to Jay King of The Athletic, Kanter became the first […]

Despite reportedly dealing with the flu, Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James was clearly feeling good enough. Prior to their Friday night game against the Dallas Mavericks. James drained three-pointers from the logo during his pre-game shoot around. Richard Jefferson, now a studio analyst at ESPN, hilariously called out his former teammate for being “such […]

The New York Knicks status as one of the worst teams in the NBA continues this season with a 10-29 record to match. Their placing right now stems from a series of bad fortunes that began in the summer of 2019. With high hopes to land marquee free agents, the Knicks failed to capture their […]

Phoenix Suns 2018 no. 1 overall pick Deandre Ayton came off the bench in their 98-94 victory over the Orlando Magic. Suns head coach Monty Williams made sure to warn anyone who is thinking about looking more into his lineup change on Friday night. Per Gina Mizell of The Athletic, Williams made the move to […]

Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle got tossed in the fourth quarter of their frustrating 129-114 home loss against the Los Angeles Lakers. The Mavs coach would explain himself after the game. Carlisle lost his cool at the officials and had some choice words for them before getting thrown out of Friday night’s contest. Dallas […]

L.A. Clippers big man Montrezl Harrell made a tough and-one layup over Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green. Patrick Beverley, L.A.’s ever so brash point guard, made sure to let everyone know that Green is too small to stop Trez at the basket. https://twitter.com/TomerAzarly/status/1215873059090886661 Green has had a reputation of being one of the best […]

Lauri Markkanen gave it a go on their Friday night schedule despite dealing with an ankle injury. The Chicago Bulls forward, however, isn’t using that as an excuse for his poor performance in their 116-105 loss against the Indiana Pacers. Markkanen on is his ankle is hurting: "Not when I’m playing. At least I’m not […]

L.A. Clippers superstar Kawhi Leonard had bad intentions with the rim when he drove to the basket late in the fourth quarter of their Friday night contest against the Golden State Warriors. He almost caught a body with his massive game-icing slam, but Warriors forward Omari Spellman knew better than to be on the wrong […]

Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope fell down in a heap after New York Knicks big man Bobby Portis knocked him on the head in mid-air while attempting a lay-up. According to Dave McMenamin of ESPN, KCP thought that Portis just made an honest play on the ball and didn’t really have any ill […]

Officials threw out New York Knicks forward Bobby Portis in the second quarter of their game against the Los Angeles Lakers. The big man was assessed a flagrant foul 2 for hitting Kentavious Caldwell-Pope on the head as the Lakers guard drove to the basket. After the game, Portis claimed he had no ill intentions […]

LeBron James was visibly worried when his Los Angeles Lakers partner-in-crime Anthony Davis took a scary fall in the third quarter of their 117-87 win over the New York Knicks on Tuesday night. Davis laid on the floor for a long period of time before gingerly walking back to the locker room on his own […]

The extension restriction of Los Angeles Lakers superstar Anthony Davis has been lifted, per Bobby Marks of ESPN. This now opens the possibility for Davis to sign a four-year extension with the Lakers worth $146 million: The six-month extension restriction for Anthony Davis has now been lifted. Davis is eligible to sign a four-year $146M […]

New decade, new records for LeBron James. The Los Angeles Lakers superstar was recently named Player of the Week for Week 11 of the 2019-20 NBA season, and in doing so, James became just the seventh player in league history to receive the weekly honor in three different decades. LeBron James joins Hall of Famers Michael Jordan, […]

After leading by as many as 20 points, the Charlotte Hornets found themselves down by six points with less than two minutes remaining in their game against the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night. The team looked defeated and most of the guys had their heads down. However, Hornets head coach James Borrego found a way […]

Several teams have expressed interest in New York Knicks veteran Marcus Morris. Rumors are swirling that the Philadelphia 76ers may be interested in acquiring the two-way forward, per Marc Berman of The New York Post. Morris is a Philly native, and apparently one reason why he signed with the Knicks after spurning the San Antonio […]

Jayson Tatum had quite the 24-hour turnaround during the Boston Celtics’ recent back-to-back set. The Celtics star scored 28 points on a highly efficient 12-of-15 shooting night to lead Boston to a 111-104 victory over the Chicago Bulls. Celtics head coach Brad Stevens praised Tatum for his aggressive approach against the Bulls: “I thought today, […]

The New Year has ushered in some heating up Andre Drummond trade rumors and the Detroit Pistons center is hearing all about them. Despite hearing the chatter to go along with the uncertainty that his future holds, Drummond still claims that he wants to stay with the Pistons for the rest of his career. “I’m […]

Washington Wizards point guard Isaiah Thomas was ejected early in the first quarter of their 122-103 loss against the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night after he put his hands on referee Marat Kogut while complaining a call. The league office also imposed a $25,000 fine on the former All-Star for his actions. Thomas, however, […]

Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle noticed that teams have been playing very physical with Luka Doncic. The NBA champion Mavs coach expressed his disappointment over the lack of calls his star point guard has been getting this season, more especially over these last stretch of games. The Slovenian Sensation sided with Carlisle’s claim, but dismissed […]

There appears to be some concern brewing in L.A. after the Memphis Grizzlies blasted the Los Angeles Clippers at home, 140-114, on Saturday night. Head coach Doc Rivers downplayed the loss and didn’t look too much into the disheartening defeat, per Farbod Esnaashari of Forbes. Doc Rivers: "I'm not alarmed, because our record is terrific. […]

The NBA is missing injured Golden State Warriors stars Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, and it appears the feeling is mutual. Curry is still recovering from a broken hand he suffered earlier in the season, while Thompson is still making his way back from a torn ACL he sustained during the 2019 NBA Finals. Warriors […]

Detroit Pistons big man Andre Drummond has been flooded with numerous trade rumors over the past few days. With the trade winds going stronger in Motor City, Pistons head coach Dwane Casey downplayed the rumors surrounding his All-Star center, per Rod Beard of The Detroit News. #Pistons Dwane Casey says he's talked to Andre Drummond […]

Kyrie Irving has missed the Brooklyn Nets’ last 22 games due to shoulder impingement. The Nets star spoke with the media for the first time since his injury and admitted that he considered going under the knife to repair his injured shoulder, per Alex Schiffer of The Athletic. While surgery is not out of the question, […]

On Saturday night, Atlanta Hawks veteran Vince Carter became the first player in NBA history to play in four different decades. The Hawks forward spoke about his impressive milestone during half time of their home game against the Indiana Pacers. Four decades… @mrvincecarter15 discusses his historic accomplishment. pic.twitter.com/iSdYqIiQwG — NBA (@NBA) January 5, 2020 Carter, […]

Luka Doncic is only in year two of his NBA career, but he has undoubtedly made the rise to superstardom this season. Most would say that they did not see this coming this early into his career. However, for Doncic’s former Real Madrid coach Pablo Laso, the phenomenon of Luka-mania comes as no surprise to […]

The L.A. Clippers did not have any problems taking care of the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday despite bad shooting nights from their stars Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. George and Leonard combined for just 14-of-44 shooting (31.8 percent) in the 105-87 win. Following the game, Leonard applauded his team’s effort and said that this is […]

San Antonio Spurs forward LaMarcus Aldridge just got more reasons to be excited for the New Year. 17-million reasons to be exact. Per Bobby Marks of ESPN, the veteran big man will reportedly get a $17-million bump that increases his 2020-21 season salary to $24-million from the previously guaranteed $7-million. Fresh off a 17 point/12 […]

Josh Richardson posted a Family Guy-related tweet on Thursday night which prompted a fan to respond that the Philadelphia 76ers shooting guard would get drug tested for his tweet. I heard Brian’s voice in the family guy theme song yesterday and now i can’t unhear it — Josuélito (@J_Rich1) December 27, 2019 https://twitter.com/DEE_Perez15/status/1210367859769192454 Lo and […]

Fun Guy. Two words that are perhaps best associated with L.A. Clippers superstar Kawhi Leonard. Apparently, however, a certain GOAT uttered those same words in 1996. A Reddit post (credits to Reddit user u/babbagack) recently dug up an old clip of Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan saying that he wants to be remembered as a […]

The 2019-20 Dallas Mavericks continue their rise this season by setting the franchise record for most three-pointers in a season in their 141-121 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night. Per Mavs PR, the Mavericks broke their previous record of 22 on Kristaps Porzingis’ step-back triple early in the fourth quarter, which marked […]

Riley Curry is just 7 years old, but she and dad Stephen Curry already have their handshake game going. Riley Curry became an online sensation when the Golden State Warriors superstar brought her on the podium multiple times during their postgame interviews throughout the 2015 playoffs. The NBA world immediately fell in love with Riley […]

Bam Adebayo had a nasty – not to mention clutch – poster dunk late in the fourth quarter over Josh Richardson in the Miami Heat – Philadelphia 76ers overtime thriller on Saturday night. The Miam Heat Twitter account posted a celebratory picture of their wild 117-116 win featuring Adebayo’s dunk over J-Rich. Heat legend Dwyane […]

Kyle Kuzma has been playing well in the Los Angeles Lakers’ past three games and Anthony Davis is taking notice. Following their 128-120 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday, Davis sang praises towards the third-year forward for his play, per Mike Trudell of Specrtum SportsNet. Anthony Davis: “@kylekuzma has been playing out of […]

For a long time now, the perception around the NBA is that the West is the more superior conference over the East. However, Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown has some words to say about those who continue to push that narrative. Per Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston, Brown believes the Eastern Conference is just […]

With yet another disastrous season unfolding right in front of them after a similarly disheartening offseason, the New York Knicks are looking to be active sellers heading up to the February trade deadline. According to Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports, however, word around the NBA is that the Knicks are open to trading everyone on […]