NBA Editorials Articles - Page 45

Game 2 is Wednesday night as the Orlando Magic aim to even the series against the Boston Celtics. It’s time to continue our NBA odds series with a Magic-Celtics prediction and pick. Paolo Banchero and the Magic showed up in Boston and threatened the defending champs in the first half of Game 1. After a […]

The Minnesota Timberwolves made a questionable trade when they sent Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks last offseason. The team sacrificed a lot of 3-point shooting and offensive pop when they made that deal. Julius Randle was the centerpiece of what they returned in the trade, but he has had an up-and-down season with […]

Even dream jobs have nightmare days. Fortunately, Tuomas Iisalo was able to laugh off uncomfortable questions after Ja Morant’s Memphis Grizzlies suffered through a 51-point blowout loss (131-80) to open the NBA Playoffs. A first-round Game 1 against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s Oklahoma City Thunder did not go as planned but there are brighter days ahead according […]

The Memphis Grizzlies will not be caught off guard by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in an NBA Playoffs Game 2 tilt. At least, that is what Scotty Pippen Jr. stated after the Grizzlies took a historically bad loss on the chin Easter Sunday. Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Zach Edey talked about […]

The New York Knicks started Game 2 out poorly. Other than Karl-Anthony Towns, everyone played below what they are capable of through the first quarter—and the Knicks shot an atrocious 0-for-8 on 3-pointers in that period. The poor play continued for most of the remainder of the game. Save for a run that came up […]

The NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award is annually given to the most outstanding defensive player of the regular season. Throughout league history, several Hall of Famers have claimed the award. While it was a walk in the park for some, others had to endure a neck-and-neck race to call themselves an elite defender. […]

The San Antonio Spurs were rumored to be interested in Trae Young last offseason, but a deal for the point guard never came to fruition. Now, San Antonio has their point guard of the future, as they made a deal for De’Aaron Fox ahead of the NBA trade deadline. However, a trade for Young could […]

Kawhi Leonard put the Los Angeles Clippers on his back and led them to a much-needed Game 2 victory over the Denver Nuggets in their first round playoff series. Leonard’s performance was so incredible, James Harden said that all he could do was watch. Leonard’s performance was one for the history books, and another game […]

Through three-and-a-half quarters, Monday night’s Game 2 between the LA Clippers and Denver Nuggets felt eerily similar to Game 1 two nights ago. Except this time, Kawhi Leonard put on his superhero cape and willed his Clippers to a win on the backs of a historic performance. But this was nothing new for Leonard and […]

The Memphis Grizzlies were embarrassed by the Oklahoma City Thunder 131-80 in Game 1 of their NBA Playoffs first-round face-off. After a lopsided, historically bad loss on Easter Sunday, Ja Morant is making guarantees for the regrouping Grizzlies. Scotty Pippen Jr. is being more practical, emphasizing a forward-focused mindset. Adapting to how Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s Thunder […]

The Sacramento Kings saw their season come to an end after they conceded to the 10th-seeded Dallas Mavericks, 120-106. Let’s not forget that the Mavericks also had their fair share of struggles this year. It was a rough 2024-25 season for Sacramento, as the foundation of the very team that ended the franchise’s playoff absence is slowly withering […]

The Los Angeles Lakers were humbled in Game 1 of their first-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Despite getting a strong outing from Luka Doncic, the Lakers’ defense couldn’t hold down the Timberwolves as Minnesota exploded for 21 made three-pointers on 50 percent shooting from beyond the arc to take a 117-95 win on the […]

The Sacramento Kings haven’t been able to catch a break. Every time it seems like they’ve turned the corner, another storm rolls in. From an exciting playoff appearance in 2023 to back-to-back play-in disappointments, the Kings have once again found themselves stuck in the NBA’s murky middle. They are not bad enough to fully tank, […]

Listless and lifeless, the Milwaukee Bucks trailed throughout Game 1 of the team’s playoff series against the Indiana Pacers, falling 117-98. “The way we played tonight, at times, wasn’t us,” Giannis Antetokounmpo told reporters postgame. “I think we’re gonna be better. In the second half, we were better.” To answer their superstar’s plea for more […]

The Detroit Pistons earned their redemption at Madison Square Garden against the New York Knicks. Game 1 ended in troubling fashion after fumbling a late fourth-quarter lead courtesy of a 21-0 run. The Pistons learned from their mistakes, earning a 100-94 Game 2 win over the Knicks. Once again, the first-round rematch came down to […]

For the Chicago Bulls, the 2025 offseason is less about retooling and more about reckoning. They’ve spent the last few years clinging to a fading vision of contention. They have hoped that a mix of veteran savvy and young upside could somehow make them more than the sum of their parts. However, after another disappointing […]

The Charlotte Hornets are in basketball limbo. The franchise has lived in a state of extended purgatory. They have had glimpses of promise repeatedly buried under layers of inconsistency, injuries, and underwhelming returns. They missed the playoffs for the third straight season and haven’t finished among the Eastern Conference’s top eight teams since 2016. Now, […]

Echoes of the Toronto Raptors’ 2019 title run still linger in Scotiabank Arena. However, the luster of that championship has worn off. In its place stands a rebuilding effort filled with promise. Scottie Barnes continues to blossom, and RJ Barrett’s return to Canada added a feel-good storyline. However, the results haven’t matched the potential. Progress […]

For a team that won 68 games in the regular season, the 2024-25 Oklahoma City Thunder sure have more doubters than one would expect. Many think that the Thunder may trip up in the earlier rounds the way they did last year, but they seemed to have shut that kind of talk down really quickly […]

The Washington Wizards went from a middling franchise to one of the NBA’s most promising rebuilding projects since General Manager Will Dawkins and Team President Michael Winger took over in 2023. Instead of settling for being middle of the pack, they stripped down the roster to stockpile future assets and give themselves a chance of […]

Game 1 between the Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves was dictated by size, athleticism, physicality, and shotmaking. Meaning, Minnesota overwhelmed L.A. with immense size, athleticism, physicality, and shotmaking. While perhaps Minnesota’s shotmaking might regress closer to the mean, several factors remain within L.A.’s control that they need to fare much better with to turn […]

Since they won the 2021 NBA Finals, the playoffs have not been kind to Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks. This organization has won only a single series in the three years since their championship run, and now the Bucks are once again up against the wall after losing Game 1 of their first-round series […]

Memphis Grizzlies franchise star Ja Morant has been one of the most electrifying and explosive athletes in the NBA ever since his entry to the league. Night after night, he’s been known to throw down some of the most vicious posterizing dunks we’ve seen while hanging in the air and defying gravity. In honor of […]

The Thunder host the Grizzlies on Tuesday in Game 2! The Thunder dominated in Game 1 against the Grizzlies, winning by 51 points, so this is a big game to see if the Grizzlies can get back on track. It’s time to continue our NBA odds series with a Grizzlies-Thunder prediction and pick. The Grizzlies […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder have all the expectations of delivering on an NBA Championship as the best team to come out of the Western Conference. Led by the top MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder did exactly what they needed to do in their first playoff game, dismantling the Memphis Grizzlies and winning by 51 […]

The NBA Playoffs continue, and the Minnesota Timberwolves are looking to keep their momentum going and go up two games on the Lakers when they head to Los Angeles for Game 2 on Tuesday. It’s time to continue our NBA Playoffs odds series with a Timberwolves-Lakers prediction and pick. The Timberwolves and Lakers clash in […]

The NBA Playoffs continue, and the Milwaukee Bucks will be hoping to even out the series after taking the loss in Game 1 against the Indiana Pacers when they come into their matchup on Tuesday. It’s time to continue our NBA Playoffs odds series with a Bucks-Pacers prediction and pick. The Pacers look to build […]

The Golden State Warriors’ goal heading into Game 1 of their first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets was to pick up a win. As the seven-seed, Jimmy Butler and Stephen Curry knew that setting the tone early in this series and breaking home-court advantage would allow the Warriors to create a lot of momentum […]

Trae Young is clearly one of the most talented offensive forces in the NBA. Young can score at will, especially from well beyond the 3-point arc. He is also arguably the best playmaker in the NBA, too. Young led the NBA with 11.6 assists per game this season, and back in 2021-22, he had the […]

When the Denver Nuggets won their first championship in 2023, they did so with a collective of players stepping up. Although Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray paved the road to success, it was the secondary players like Aaron Gordon, Bruce Brown, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope that supplied the extra production on offense and defense. Michael Porter […]

NBA Champion and Dallas Mavericks franchise star Kyrie Irving has already grown to become a favorite amongst the Dallas diehards for his inspiring play on the court and work he’s put into the community. Irving is not only one of the best basketball players on the planet, but he’s also a mogul with his own […]

Tyronn Lue and the Los Angeles Clippers felt like they had Game 1 of the NBA Playoffs against the Denver Nuggets and gave it away. The Clippers led the game for 40 minutes and 39 seconds, but ultimately fell in overtime with Nikola Jokic recording a near triple-double in the Denver victory. Tyronn Lue hints […]

This year’s NBA Sixth Man of the Year race is looking stacked. The Boston Celtics’ Payton Pritchard currently leads the way. However, the Detroit Pistons’ Malik Beasley and Cleveland Cavaliers’ DeAndre Hunter can still chase him for the award and make it close. Here is a look at past years and the 10 tightest NBA […]

The Los Angeles Clippers came out of Game 1 against the Denver Nuggets feeling good, but acknowledged that they gave the game away. Both Tyronn Lue and Kawhi Leonard expect a much better performance from the team in Game 2. With the second game scheduled for Monday night, it’s a quick turnaround for the two […]

We’re back for another betting prediction and pick inside the NBA as we head towards the Western Conference for Game 2 of this razor-thin series. The No. 5 Los Angeles Clippers will visit the No. 4 Denver Nuggets as Denver leads the series 1-0 following their overtime win in Game 1. It’s time to continue our NBA odds series […]

As the Miami Heat playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers starts with Game 1 on Sunday night, it will no doubt be a tough matchup, looking at the pathway the team took through the play-in tournament. With the Heat beating the Atlanta Hawks, they are the first tenth seed to make it through the tourney […]

We’re back for another betting prediction and pick for the 2025 NBA Playoffs as we look toward this Game 2 in the Eastern Conference. The No. 6 Detroit Pistons will visit the No. 3 New York Knicks for Game 2 after New York took a 1-0 lead in the series. It’s time to continue our NBA odds series with […]

DeMar DeRozan joined the Sacramento Kings in a sign-and-trade deal just last offseason. Now, he could be on the move again. The Kings lost in the Play-in Tournament, and the big three of DeRozan, Domantas Sabonis, and Zach LaVine doesn’t seem like it will work, meaning a blockbuster trade involving one or more of those […]

NEW YORK — The New York Knicks took Game 1 of their first-round matchup with the Detroit Pistons, 123-112, using a 21-0 run to take control in the fourth quarter. While Karl-Anthony Towns was rarely featured as the team’s primary weapon, he was a major part of the Knicks’ success, and that is pretty much […]