Mike Cruz Articles - Page 55

Things got chippy between Luka Doncic and Marquese Chriss late in the third quarter of the Dallas Mavericks’ 141-121 road victory over the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night. Doncic appeared to grab Chriss’ arms as they were fighting for the loose ball and the latter did not appreciate it. In turn, the Warriors big […]

The Sacramento Kings will reportedly miss the services of sophomore forward Marvin Bagley III will reportedly be sidelined for the ‘next few games’ due to a foot sprain, per Marc Spears of ESPN. Kings forward Marvin Bagley III will be out for the next few games with a midfoot sprain to his left foot. — […]

Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart has missed the last three weeks due to a serious eye infection. Smart recently made his way back to practice, but coach Brad Stevens sees that Smart is still feeling the effects of his ailment, per Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston. Brad on Marcus Smart: “You can still see […]

Sacramento Kings guard Buddy Hield is having the worst shooting season of his career so far, efficiency-wise and he is not too pleased with the kind of shots he is getting this season. The 2016 6th overall pick recently complained about how he doesn’t get enough catch-and-shoot looks in Sacramento’s offense, per Jason Jones of […]

A reporter asked L.A. Clippers superstar Kawhi Leonard on what goes on in his family’s Christmas Eve celebration. The Fun Guy gave a very “Kawhi” response to the question, per Tomer Azarly of ClutchPoints. Reporter – “Kawhi, what’s Christmas Eve look like in the Leonard household?” Kawhi – “Private. I don’t discuss that with you […]

The Milwaukee Bucks are strolling through the Association with a league-leading 26-4 record. It’s hard to imagine them thinking about tinkering their roster with their blistering start to the season. But as we saw in last year’s playoffs, it doesn’t really matter how good you are in the regular season. What matters is that you […]

Houston Rockets superstar James Harden was feeling it on Saturday night in their 139-125 victory over the Phoenix Suns. With a comfortable 14-point lead with over five minutes left in the fourth quarter, the NBA’s scoring leader went for his customary step-back three-pointer and was fouled in the process. Harden sank the triple and felt […]

Washington Wizards guard Isaiah Thomas was ejected for going into the stands to confront a couple of Philadelphia 76ers fans in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game. According to Thomas, the heckler apparently said the “B” word and the two-time All-Star was not having any of it, via Candace Buckner of The Washington Post. Thomas: […]

Modern-day basketball has evolved over the past years with all of these analytics and advanced stats that determine a player’s effectiveness on the court. Perhaps the most basic of these advanced stats is the plus-minus, which basically tracks the net changes in the score whenever a player is on or off the floor. Reporters asked […]

The NBA recently sent a proposal of changes that could potentially take effect in the 2021-22 season. One of the proposed amendments is a reseeding of the four Conference Finalists based on their regular season records. Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr spoke about the proposals and completely welcomed the idea of possibly having […]

No Luka, no problem. The Dallas Mavericks continue to win- and in a big way, too – despite losing star guard Luka Doncic to an ankle injury last week. Dallas dominated the Philadelphia 76ers last night en route to a 117-98 win and added them to the list of powerhouses they have taken down on […]

Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic notched the 33rd triple-double – 22 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists – of his young career in their 109-100 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves. He has now tied Boston Celtics legend Bob Cousy for 10th on the all-time triple-doubles list. 22 PTS | 10 REB | 10 AST Nikola Jokic […]

After a very slow start to the 2019-20 season, the Portland Trail Blazers have slowly crawled their way to the 8th and final spot in the Western Conference. Despite the rough start, Damian Lillard finds consolation that expectations for the Blazers is that they are “supposed” to win. https://twitter.com/highkin/status/1208264550149058560 Portland won their third straight contest […]

The Miami Heat breezed through the New York Knicks on Friday night with a 129-114 victory. Yet, all Jimmy Butler can think about is how Meyers Leonard stole his rebound at some point during the game. Butler wasn’t about to this one slide. And now, he wants Leonard’s head. The Heat star forward posted a […]

While the Phoenix Suns have been struggling of late, they’re still one of the more exciting young teams in the NBA with their fast-paced offense brought in by new head coach Monty Williams. The ball has been fizzing around and sharing has certainly become contagious in Phoenix. The Suns are demonstrating this by becoming the […]

Much like how the Milwaukee Bucks rely on Giannis Antetokounmpo to lead them to the promised land, the Greece national team will need also need his services to lead them into the Olympics. However, Greece national team head coach Rick Pitino isn’t sure if The Greek Freak will be available for the Olympic Qualifying Tournaments. “I […]

Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton made his much awaited return to the hardcourt after missing 25 games due to suspension. Last year’s no. 1 overall pick spoke on his first game back and admitted that he needs to work on catching up with the Suns’ pace on offense, per Ben Golliver of The Washington Post. […]

The Chicago Bulls had every reason to be disappointed with Monday night’s 109-106 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Bulls had established a 55-29 lead midway through the second quarter and had a 19-point cushion at the end of the first half. But they watched that lead evaporate in the second half and saw the […]

2018 No. 1 overall pick Deandre Ayton recently spoke about his 25-game PED suspension. In a sit-down interview with Tom Chambers for FOX Sports Arizona, the Phoenix Suns center expressed his disappointment and embarrassment for what happened: “I was shocked at first, and it was just this moment to where they, I think they were […]

The Houston Rockets rallied from 25 points down to defeat the San Antonio Spurs, 109-107. The win marked Houston’s largest come-from-behind victory in franchise history. After the game, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich admitted he actually expected the huge run at some point: “Some ways it’s like your worst nightmare to go up 20 quickly […]

Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic rolled his ankle pretty badly a minute and 40 seconds into their home game against the Miami Heat last night. The reigning Rookie of the Year appeared to be clutching the high area of his ankle, which is normally not a good sign as high ankle sprains tend to sideline […]

Zhuri James was about to gobble a humongous slice of red velvet cake, and LeBron James could not believe it. The Los Angeles Lakers superstar posted a video of him asking his daughter whether she could finish the entire slice on her plate. Zhuri confidently assured her superstar dad that she can easily take it […]

For many years now, Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James has been considered the best player in the world. He has also established himself as one of the best to ever lace up a pair of sneakers and step foot on a basketball court. But once upon a time, The King was also a fanboy. […]

Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant attended P. Diddy’s birthday party with his wife Vanessa. The mother of the Bryant household posted a video of the five-time NBA champion having a blast and rocking out to Mary J. Blige. Vanessa and Kobe Bryant rocking out to Mary J. Blige music at P. Diddy’s birthday. ❤️ […]

Charles Oakley doesn’t believe that Patrick Ewing is the right man for the New York Knicks head coaching job. The long-time Knicks forward spoke with TMZ Sports and said that they need a different kind of coach than the Knicks legend. “Ya gotta be a different type of coach than Patrick,” Oak tells us. “I […]

Jim Boylen had something to say. The Chicago Bulls pulled off a massive 109-106 home victory over the L.A. Clippers on Saturday. Pundits, however, have already diminished their win given how the Clippers were without three of their key players. Bulls head coach Jim Boylen fired back at the critics, saying that they were missing […]

Milwaukee Bucks point guard Eric Bledsoe will miss two weeks due to a right fibula evulsion fracture. Bledsoe reportedly had an MRI after suffering the injury on Friday’s contest against the Memphis Grizzlies and test results confirmed the injury, per David Aldridge of The Athletic. ICYMI: Bucks’ guard Eric Bledsoe out two weeks after injury […]

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James lost his mind when Bronny made a clutch steal and layup to give Sierra Canyon the win over St. Vincent-St. Mary on Saturday night. As famous as he is all over the world, James is also a parent and he isn’t ashamed to be the ultimate stage dad for […]

The Los Angeles Lakers previously listed superstar LeBron James as questionable for their Sunday night match-up versus the Atlanta Hawks. According to Dave McMenamin of ESPN, The King confirmed to Rachel Nichols that he plans to play against Atlanta. LeBron James, speaking with @Rachel__Nichols at halftime of his son’s game in Ohio twice mentioned how […]

Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic has been ruled out of Saturday night’s game against the Miami Heat after spraining his right ankle in the first quarter and X-rays were negative, per Mavs PR. #Mavericks guard Luka Dončić (right ankle sprain) will not return to tonight’s game. His X-Rays came back negative. — Mavs PR (@MavsPR) […]

It doesn’t matter if he is making just the minimum or if the Golden State Warriors are one of the worst teams in the league. Alec Burks still wants to stay in Oakland. Burks said via Logan Murdock of NBC Sports Bay Area that he “would love to” stay with the Warriors amid all the […]

Evan Fournier top-scored for the Orlando Magic in scoring in their 130-107 loss to the Houston Rockets with 27 points. Those 27 points, however, were minuscule compared to James Harden’s incandescent 54 point explosion on the other end for the Rockets. Harden torched the net with 10 three-pointers and made 19-of-31 from the field to […]

The Los Angeles Lakers have been the hottest team in the NBA (aside from the Milwaukee Bucks) to start the 2019-20 season. Lakers superstar Anthony Davis believes that LeBron James’ willingness to accept criticism and hear the input of his teammates have been a major reason for their early season success, per Kyle Goon of […]

Los Angeles Clippers’ opponents already have their hands full when one of Paul George or Kawhi Leonard goes off. Unfortunately for the Minnesota Timberwolves, both of them had it going against them on Friday night. The superstar tandem combined for 88 points in the Clippers’ 124-117 victory over the Timberwolves. Clippers head coach Doc Rivers […]

The Phoenix Suns have been the NBA’s surprise team of the 2019-20 season so far. Currently at eighth in the Western Conference, it’s safe to say that Phoenix has exceeded any of the preseason expectations projected for them. As for Suns star Devin Booker, he’s just excited to finally be part of a competitive team […]

Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine is shooting for the stars. Well, “superstar” status that is. LaVine remains hell-bent on becoming one of the elite players in the NBA and isn’t satisfied with being a No. 2 guy. He wants to be among the best of the best: “I don’t work my ass off to be […]

A New York Knicks legend did not agree with the recent firing of David Fizdale. Appearing on the SiriusXM Radio Show, Patrick Ewing echoed his support for Fizdale and believed that the Knicks let go of an “outstanding coach”, via Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. Patrick Ewing on SiriusXM radio supports David […]

Detroit Pistons guard Derrick Rose knocked down the game-winner over Jrue Holiday to get a 105-103 road victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday night. Some claimed that Rose may have pushed off on Holiday to get the clean look at the turnaround 14-footer. However, Holiday himself shot down those claims: Asked whether Derrick […]

In the latest episode of the dumpster fire that is the New York Knicks, the worst team in the NBA relieved David Fizdale of his duties as head coach. While speaking to reporters about Fizdale’s dismissal, third-year point guard Dennis Smith Jr. urged his team to take responsibility for their fallen lead general. “It’s tough. […]