Reporting Articles - Page 344

The Golden State Warriors fell to the Sacramento Kings 126-123 on Saturday night in the playoff opener, an instant-classic battle that portends a long, back-and-forth series to come. Here are three reactions from the defending champions’ disappointing defeat in Game 1 of the first-round battle for Northern California bragging rights. Warriors come up just short…twice […]

Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers will be tipping off their first round playoff series against Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns, but they’ll have to do it without Paul George. Ahead of Sunday’s Game 1, the Clippers have ruled Paul George out with a right knee sprain. George has been out since suffering […]

With the Nets an overwhelming underdog in the first round against the Philadelphia 76ers, the most important Brooklyn storyline centered on one question: Is Mikal Bridges really as good as he’s shown since joining the team? Bridges has flirted with “star” status since the Nets acquired him at the deadline, averaging 26.1 points on 48/38/89 […]

PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers started off the 2023 NBA playoffs on the right foot. Joel Embiid and James Harden paved the way for a blowout win against the Brooklyn Nets. The Beard, in particular, shined brightly against his former team in the Sixers’ 121-101 win. Harden’s production in this series is one of the […]

PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers stomped the Brooklyn Nets out in Game 1 of their opening series in the 2023 NBA playoffs. The Sixers let the Nets shoot very well but completely controlled the possession battle and won easily. Joel Embiid was the centerpiece of their win, even though the stats don’t show it. The […]

Russell Westbrook and the Los Angeles Clippers have their work cut out for them against Chris Paul and the Phoenix Suns. Without Paul George, the Clippers will need a collective effort in their seven-game series with the Suns. Ahead of Sunday’s Game 1, Chris Paul spoke at Suns practice, where he addressed a number of […]

The Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets kicked off the 2023 NBA playoffs with an afternoon showdown at Wells Fargo Center. To kick off a postseason with intense expectations, the Sixers won Game 1 in dominant fashion by a score of 121-101. Let’s break down Game 1 of the Sixers-Nets series. Sixers player notes: Joel Embiid: […]

UFC Kansas City: Holloway vs. Allen concluded all the formalities Friday when the fighters attended the Ceremonial Weigh-In and faced off with their opponents. Now, there’s just one thing left to do and come Saturday night, a lot of our questions surrounding this card will be answered. Can Arnold Allen stay unbeaten against the biggest […]

The goal for the 2023 NBA playoffs is simple for the Philadelphia 76ers: go for it all. Decades of playoff heartbreak that the Sixers franchise has continued to endure into the Joel Embiid era provide a backdrop for the stakes at hand. He leads the way for Philly, along with James Harden and Tyrese Maxey, […]

The Miami Heat’s Play-In game win over the Chicago Bulls on Friday also represented a small win for the Los Angeles Lakers, as Miami would have moved up past the Purple and Gold in the 2023 NBA Draft order had they lost. The Heat finished the regular season with a 44-38 record — one game […]

Kawhi Leonard and Kevin Durant will meet yet again in the postseason, but this time both stars will be healthy. The LA Clippers and Phoenix Suns will tip off the first round of their 2023 NBA playoff series on Sunday, and it’s expected to be one of the most fun first round series. Since Kawhi […]

Here’s a hot take: LeBron James and Anthony Davis will be the two most important players for the Los Angeles Lakers in their first-round clash with the Memphis Grizzlies. Davis will have to win his matchup with Defensive Player of the Year frontrunner Jaren Jackson Jr. on both ends. When AD dials up the aggression […]

PLAYA VISTA – Paul George is continuing his rehab and therapy process as the start of the LA Clippers’ playoff matchup against the Phoenix Suns grows near. As of Friday’s practice in Los Angeles, it doesn’t sound like a return is on the horizon for the eight-time NBA All-Star. Paul George had been out since […]

The new Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya has finally put the doubters to rest by defeating Alex Pereira and recapturing his belt and beginning another title run. With his biggest rival slated to move to Light Heavyweight, it opens up the door for the rest of the division to get their crack at the title. Adesanya […]

LeBron James and the No. 7-seeded Los Angeles Lakers begin their first-round series against Ja Morant and the No. 2-seeded Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday at the FedExForum. The matchup carries plenty of enticing storylines, besides the pure basketball intrigue. The Lakers won the season series 2-1, though the first game was pre-deadline, LeBron missed the […]

When debating the most hostile playoff environments in sports, the City of Brotherly Love is at the forefront of the conversation. Yet one day ahead of Game 1 between the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center, Spencer Dinwiddie isn’t anticipating anything that Brooklyn hasn’t seen before. “As hostile as Philly is just […]

Playoff basketball is just around the corner, and the Boston Celtics are opening up postseason play against the Atlanta Hawks. Game 1 of the first round tips off tomorrow in Boston at 3:30 EST, making now the perfect time for some bold Celtics playoff predictions. Boston and Atlanta enter this matchup on very different trajectories. […]

When evaluating the areas in which the Nets must excel to upset the 76ers, none are bigger than three-point shooting. Head coach Jacque Vaughn acknowledged the importance of Brooklyn’s efficiency from beyond the arc ahead of the first-round matchup: “It’s been a part of our message as a group,” Vaughn said. “I think overall we […]

A potentially epic first-round battle between the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings is finally here. As Saturday night’s opener at Golden 1 Center dawns, here are three reasons why the defending-champion Warriors will beat the Kings in a highly anticipated playoff battle for Northern California bragging rights. 3. The Warriors’ massive experience edge The […]

Philadelphia 76ers star James Harden is seeking to undo the narrative that he is a playoff failure in the 2023 NBA playoffs. As he and the Sixers prepare to face the Brooklyn Nets in the first round, the topic of his health status is under heavy surveillance. Last year, a hamstring injury contributed to a […]

Nic Claxton has put the league on notice during a breakout 2022-23 campaign. However, with the Brooklyn Nets facing the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs, the Nets big man’s biggest challenge is still ahead of him: MVP frontrunner Joel Embiid. The Sixers center just turned in the best season of […]

The Philadelphia 76ers are expected to make quick work of the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the 2023 NBA playoffs. The Sixers are undoubtedly the better team with Joel Embiid leading the way. This Nets team is not to be taken lightly but it shouldn’t hold Embiid and friends up for very long. The […]

The New England Patriots are adding a player to their quarterback room. Trace McSorley agreed to a contract with the Patriots, the team announced Thursday. The terms of the deal though have yet to be disclosed. The signing of McSorley comes at an interesting time for the Patriots’ quarterback room. Mac Jones has been the […]

The 2023 NBA playoffs have put the Philadelphia 76ers in familiar territory: facing the scrappy, sixth-seeded Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the playoffs. The Sixers and Nets will kick off the first round of the playoffs at Wells Fargo Center on the afternoon of April 15 in what Philly hopes is the beginning […]

Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown has had an odd assortment of injuries this season, yet he still looks good to go for the first round of the playoffs. In a stroke of bad luck, Brown sliced his hand about a week ago while trying to water his plants. The two-time All-Star then had to get […]

When he was approached about adding Russell Westbrook to the team, Los Angeles Clippers forward Nicolas Batum was all for it. Batum, of course, came from a rough situation with the Charlotte Hornets to joining a championship contender in the Clippers, and the trajectory of his career completely changed. Russell Westbrook was traded from the […]

The playoffs are finally here, with the reigning champions rounding into form to mount a legitimate title defense at exactly the right time. But just because the Golden State Warriors finished the regular season playing their best basketball all year, are at last full-strength and drew their ideal postseason path doesn’t mean they’re getting out […]

The Boston Celtics are once again in the NBA playoffs for the ninth straight season, but they have some unfinished business. After losing in the NBA Finals last year, the C’s are looking to make another deep playoff run in order to capture an elusive 18th championship. But before any title talk can occur, Boston […]

As rumors about Mac Jones’ future with the New England Patriots have swirled in recent weeks, the presumed starting quarterback’s backup is staying ready, just in case. Bailey Zappe is preparing to make the most of any possibility Bill Belichick presents to him this offseason and in the upcoming – even a job as the […]

Russell Westbrook and the Los Angeles Clippers are preparing for their first round series against Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns. All eyes are on the former teammates who played eight seasons together with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Russell Westbrook played eight seasons with Kevin Durant on the Thunder, playing a total of 526 regular […]

Playoff basketball is almost here, and the Boston Celtics will be taking on the Atlanta Hawks in the first round. While a lot of pundits were gearing up for a playoff rematch between Miami and Boston, Atlanta surprised the Heat in the Play-In Tournament and stole the No. 7 seed. With a 41-41 overall record, […]

The Golden State Warriors are finally full-strength at just the right time. Andrew Wiggins surely won’t reach last year’s postseason peak in a first-round clash with the Sacramento Kings, but his rapid re-acclimation after two months removed from game action is the defending champions’ only major personnel concern entering the playoffs. Steve Kerr has the […]

LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and the Los Angeles Lakers have to like the schedule for their series against the Memphis Grizzlies. The NBA released the opening-round schedules on Wednesday morning (tip-off times for late-series games are still TBD). The first thing that jumped out about the Lakers-Grizzlies slate is the amount of rest Darvin Ham’s […]

LOS ANGELES – While the Los Angeles Clippers and Phoenix Suns are preparing for their first round playoff series, a lot of eyes are on Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant. The two former Oklahoma City Thunder stars have been apart for seven seasons now, but this will be the first time the two will face […]

If Philadelphia 76ers fans were told before the season that James Harden wouldn’t be a 2022-23 All-Star, they would likely have thought that injuries have truly slowed him down and/or that he isn’t good enough to be a leading star on a championship contender. Instead, the Sixers star was simply snubbed despite a fantastic season […]

Mikal Bridges developed his game growing up in the suburbs of Philadelphia. The breakout Brooklyn Nets forward was a diehard 76ers fan, frequently attending games at Wells Fargo Center, then called the Wachovia Center. He went on to play at Great Valley High School in Malvern, Pennsylvania, where he would earn All-State honors and a […]

To start the 2022-23 regular season there were a lot of question marks for the Boston Celtics. How would the team respond to a brand new coach? Could the Celtics play up to their potential without Robert Williams III? Would Jayson Tatum recover from a rough NBA Finals? The C’s answered all these queries by posting […]

The Los Angeles Lakers expended most of their time and energy on defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves in Tuesday’s Play-In Tournament thriller, but LeBron James had evidently allowed himself to look ahead to their first-round matchup with the West’s No. 2 seed, the Memphis Grizzlies. “Really good team. Very well-coached. Very well-balanced,” LeBron said about the […]

According to LeBron James, Anthony Davis, “analytics” guys, and a whiteboard in the locker room, the Los Angeles Lakers had a 0.3% chance of making the NBA Playoffs after beginning the 2022-23 regular season with a 2-10 record. Or, another way to look at it, to paraphrase Lloyd Christmas: So they were telling the Lakers […]