Mike Cruz Articles - Page 61

Australia center Andrew Bogut berated the officials following their elimination from FIBA World Cup at the hands of Spain. After a few weeks, FIBA has finally decided to take action and gave Bogut a disciplinary notification for his tirade, per Olgun Uluc of Fox Sports Australia. Inbox: Basketball Australia says that Andrew Bogut has received […]

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is hell-bent on addressing tampering issues around The Association by enforcing stricter policies and heftier penalties for those who violate them. Among the sanctions is a $10 million fine (a double from the previous), suspensions of executives, forfeiture of draft picks, or voiding of player contracts, depending on the gravity of […]

The NBA is looking to enforce stricter policies regarding tampering after an offseason of major shake-up. Brian Lewis of the New York Post talked to Brooklyn Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie about his thoughts on the revamped rules, suggesting that it might have had something to do with the NBA’s under-the-radar teams edging out their bigger brother […]

In a rookie class that saw many top prospects flourish in their debut campaigns, Chicago Bulls center Wendell Carter Jr. had a relatively mild impact. While there were some bright spots for the young big man, it was definitely an up-and-down campaign overall for Carter. Part of it was due to a coaching change. A […]

It’s official. The 11 Rules of Klaytheism have been released. You know, the entire dilly surrounding Golden State Warriors star Klay Thompson. The rules were translated by Reddit user sundaequeen. See the official list below, per r/Warriors on Twitter. The 11 Rules of Klaytheism pic.twitter.com/GXjadJyenL — r/Warriors 🏆 (@GSWReddit) September 21, 2019 These are hilarious. […]

Brooklyn Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie already has championships on his radar with the additions of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to their team. It goes without saying that Dinwiddie is excited to have Durant, a two-time Finals MVP, debut for Brooklyn at some point in the future. While Durant is recovering from a serious Achilles […]

When Kevin Durant ruptured his Achilles in Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals, many immediately ruled him out for the entire 2019-20 season. However, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post, there is increasing belief around the NBA that Durant could actually make his debut for the Brooklyn Nets, at some point […]

New Orleans Pelicans guard JJ Redick appeared on the Lowe Post podcast and looked back on his time with the LA Clippers. While reminiscing about his four years with the Hollywood-based franchise, Redick was baffled with how that particular group failed to capture at least one NBA championship: “We really f****d that up. We had […]

LeBron James is an avid fan of Batman. On the masked crusader’s 80th anniversary, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar did not hold back in showing some love to the hero of Gotham City and proclaiming him the G.O.A.T. on Batman Day. 🐐 Man 🐐 Man yeah that’s him!!!!! 🦇 https://t.co/JQB8ROsa4i — LeBron James (@KingJames) September […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder and Sam Presti pushed the reset button after they traded away both Paul George and Russell Westbrook in the offseason. The trade officially places Oklahoma City in rebuild mode for the foreseeable future. In an interview with Brett Dawson of The Athletic, Thunder GM Sam Presti discussed about their plan of […]

The L.A. Clippers sent shockwaves to the entire NBA when it landed reigning Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard and traded for Paul George from the Oklahoma City Thunder. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst told a story that he heard when that fateful day happened on Adrian Wojnarowski’s The Woj Pod. According to Windy, Clippers guard Patrick Beverley allegedly […]

Keith Langlois of Pistons.com recently caught up with Dwane Casey. In the interview, the Detroit Pistons head coach Casey talked extensively about Luke Kennard’s role with the team this upcoming 2019-20 season, especially with their depth at guard. No question and that’s the key – keeping the balance for both units. The issue with Luke […]

The Detroit Pistons had a fairly decent 2018-19 season. However, head coach Dwane Casey doesn’t seem to be satisfied. Casey, who won the 2017-18 Coach of the Year award, wants his guys to have a sense of urgency even before they open the 2019-20 season this October, per Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. A sense of […]

JJ Redick was in the middle of the mayhem when Kawhi Leonard knocked down the series-clinching buzzer-beater that propelled the Toronto Raptors over the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 7 of Eastern Conference Semifinals. Redick appeared on Zach Lowe’s podcast and vividly described what it was like to be in that moment and the aftermath that […]

Darius Miller is expected to miss the entire 2019-20 season due to a torn Achilles he suffered a month ago. Because of the this, the New Orleans Pelicans have applied for a disabled player exception for their injured forward, per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium: The New Orleans Pelicans have applied for a […]

The Denver Nuggets became the NBA’s surprise team last season when they went from being a non-playoff squad the year before to securing the no. 2 seed in the West in the regular season. Likewise, they also exceeded expectations by navigating their way to a pleasantly surprising deep playoff run, falling just one game short […]

Spain just won the 2019 FIBA World Cup, and nobody seems happier as a fan than Pau Gasol. The Portland Trail Blazers big man went on Twitter, put on his national team jersey, and celebrated the victory: CAMPEONES DEL MUNDO!!!!!!!!!!!! @fibawc @BaloncestoESP pic.twitter.com/DaMjMDsnQ5 — Pau Gasol (@paugasol) September 15, 2019 You just gotta feel happy […]

New York Knicks fans have paid close attention to Frank Ntilikina’s performances at this year’s FIBA World Cup. The French point guard admitted via Marc Stein of The New Times that he has felt their love and support in every step of the way. Also asked how aware he is that Knicks fans have been […]

The 2019 FIBA World Cup is over and Spain emerged victorious after defeating Argentina with a wire-to-wire 95-75 victory on Sunday. Spanish point guard Ricky Rubio’s evening became even sweeter after FIBA officially named him the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. .@rickyrubio9 is the @TISSOT MVP of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019! 👏🏼 #EspañaGotGame #FIBAWC […]

Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert obviously wanted to win the gold medal for France in this year’s FIBA World Cup. Instead, they had to settle with bronze after defeating Australia in the battle for third. Despite falling short of their ultimate goal, Gobert admitted that bagging the bronze medal still means the world to him, […]

New York Knicks guard Frank Ntilikina and France just bagged the bronze medal after dropping Australia in their battle for third on Sunday at the 2019 FIBA World Cup. The French came back to win 67-59 to cap off a successful tournament. France got major contributions from a number of players throughout the tournament, including […]

Looking back on his 2019 FIBA World Cup experience, Orlando Magic guard Evan Fournier admitted, via EuroHoops, that the significant number of Team USA players who passed on the opportunity to play for their flag bothered him. “It does [bother me]. To be honest, when you look at LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and […]

Fans have begun to play the blame game after Team USA finished a lowly seventh place in the 2019 FIBA World Cup. Team USA head coach Gregg Popovich, however, isn’t putting the blame on anyone, including those who initially dropped out prior to the tournament. “I don’t fault anybody that decided not to come — […]

Marc Gasol won his first NBA championship with the Toronto Raptors this past season. Consequently, the 34-year old center had the longest campaign of his 11-year NBA career. While Gasol could have used the summer to rest his aging body after grinding it out all the way through mid-June, the three-time All-Star still opted to […]

The Dallas Mavericks have one of the most intriguing young tandems in the league: Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis. Luka is still under his rookie deal, while the Mavericks secured Porzingis to a five-year, $158-million max contract. These should be the three major storylines for Dallas heading into the 2019-20 season: 1. Luka Doncic’s Improvement […]

Tampering has become a hot button topic in the NBA nowadays and it appears like the league is hell bent on cracking it down. Per Shams Charania of The Athletic, the NBA has issued a memo to teams about improving compliance to tampering rules and made a number of proposals to the NBA board of […]

Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki finished his 20-year career with 31,560 points, good for sixth on the all-time scoring list. It goes without saying that he’s one of the best scoring big men in the history of the NBA. Nowitzki appeared on an episode of Ben and Skin and was asked about who he considered […]

James Harden has had a chance to look back on his 2018-19 season and even he can’t help but be in awe of what he did. In an interview with Alex Schultz of GQ, the Houston Rockets superstar claims that while his greatest rival to the MVP award, eventual winner Giannis Antetokounmpo, had a magnificent […]

Marc Gasol has a chance to make it two-of-two tomorrow night if Spain manages to defeat Argentina and bag the 2019 FIBA World Cup championship. While the possibility “doubling up” on the championships is very much within reach, the Toronto Raptors center doesn’t seem to be too caught up with it. “I just cherish every […]

Dirk Nowitzki called it a career this past season and officially retired from the NBA. With that said, Dirk will now move on to different ventures. FIBA recently published a press release and named the Dallas Mavericks legend its Chair of Players Commission, as well as a member of the FIBA Central Board. Per FIBA’s […]

Team USA placed seventh in this year’s FIBA World Cup, its worst finish ever in international competition. Despite the disappointing run, guard Donovan Mitchell still thinks that playing for the flag was worth it. “For me, this is an amazing experience,” Mitchell said per The Daily Herald. “Everybody likes to look at the end goal, […]

With their win over Poland, Team USA officially finished seventh in this year’s FIBA World Cup, their worst placing in any international competition. American fans weren’t too happy about how their squad performed in this year’s World Cup and lambasted them for their lowly finish. Team USA head coach Gregg Popovich didn’t take the backlash […]

Team USA center Myles Turner took a little jab at French big man Rudy Gobert prior to their recently concluded FIBA World Cup matchup, in which France won 89-79. As relayed by John Schuhmann of NBA.com, Nicolas Batum said Gobert used the Indiana Pacers center’s sly comments as fuel for their Wednesday showdown, which obviously […]

France is moving on to the FIBA World Cup semifinals after knocking off Team USA with an 89-79 victory on Wednesday. San Antonio Spurs legend Tony Parker expressed his joy on Twitter with a simple “Yes!!!!” and some clapping emojis in reaction to his country’s massive victory: Yes!!!! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 https://t.co/Em8LpGlCbC — Tony Parker (@tonyparker) September […]

Russell Westbrook appeared on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” and one of the talking points on the show was the Houston Rockets guard’s NBA 2K20 rating after the game just dropped this weekend. Westbrook admitted that he has yet to find out his rating, so Fallon proposed they reveal it to him there and […]

Dallas Mavericks guard Jalen Brunson appeared on FS1’s Fair Game with Kristine Leahy and was asked about his thoughts on Luka Doncic: "@luka7doncic is special." 🌟@jalenbrunson1 reveals to @KristineLeahy his thoughts on fellow guard Luka Dončić: pic.twitter.com/7AEjBJuhGh — Fair Game (@FairGameonFS1) September 9, 2019 And truly, Luka is indeed special. Doncic entered the NBA as […]

Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant continues to spread the Mamba Mentality. Recently, the five-time NBA champion posted a motivational message for his Mambas youth squad. https://www.instagram.com/p/B2N7hWgnC6e/ It appears like the Kobe’s girls are drinking in every bit of the mindset that the former MVP wants to instill in them. Bryant, likewise, proudly shared on […]

Philadelphia 76ers reserve forward Mike Scott got into a scuffle with Philadelphia Eagles fans prior to their game against the Washington Redskins on Sunday afternoon. According to Kyle Neubeck of Philly Voice, after going through footage of the incident, the Sixers are reportedly not going to impose any sanctions on the big man: A team […]

Derrick Rose, with the help of renowned Chicago Bulls writer Sam Smith, wrote an autobiography entitled “I’ll Show You,” detailing the story of his life and what he has gone through in his NBA career. The New York Post shared bits and pieces of the book, which will drop next week. In the book, Rose […]