Reporting Articles - Page 351

The Los Angeles Lakers entered Sunday’s contest vs. the Memphis Grizzlies 0-2 on the 2021-22 season, 0-2 at the Staples Center, 0-8 including the preseason, and 0-12 since this ordeal. As much as they’ve preached patience, tensions boiled over in Friday’s frustrating loss to the Phoenix Suns. In other words: the home matchup with the Grizz […]

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Golden State Warriors took care of business against another division rival on Sunday, defeating the Sacramento Kings 119-107 in a challenging game. One key matchup in this contest was Stephen Curry against rookie Davion Mitchell. It was a fun head-to-head battle, and Curry gave the the rookie some high praise after […]

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A new fan favorite has arisen in the Bay Area, and it’s Golden State Warriors third-year guard Jordan Poole. He’s holding down the starting shooting guard spot in place of injured star Klay Thompson, and he’s doing one heck of a job. Fans are thrilled to see Poole succeed, as is Warriors […]

Going from covering an established superstar like James Harden for several years to covering a star prospect like Jalen Green is incredibly different. Harden almost always came out in the positive column and his games were always steady and predictable. It’ll be anyone’s guess how many games Green has in the positive column this year […]

Following an offseason full of rumors and a stalemate between Ben Simmons and the front office, the Philadelphia 76ers had a lot of eyes on them heading into the season. While Simmons has rejoined the team, he has stated he is not mentally ready to take the court yet, leaving a hole at point guard […]

The Brooklyn Nets and Kevin Durant hosted the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday in the team’s home opener without Kyrie Irving. The stars were out as Jay-Z sat alongside team co-owner Clara Tsai. The Charlotte Hornets came into town undefeated so the Nets knew not to take the upstart young team led by LaMelo Ball lightly. […]

The Charlotte Hornets franchise was founded in 1988, but they never started a season 3-0 until they won their third straight game over the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday, 111-95. Out of their three wins this season, this is easily the most impressive. Beating a team featuring two guys that are essentially locks for the Hall […]

Despite another valiant effort, Paul George and the LA Clippers dropped their second game of the season to Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies, 120-114. The game featured double-digit leads for both teams, but a third quarter scoring drought for the Clippers allowed the Grizzlies to build a 16-point lead they would never relinquish. Paul […]

On Friday, former Houston Rockets talent Gerald Green announced that he would be retiring from basketball and becoming a player development coach for franchise. Green played two seasons for the Rockets, but left a pretty indelible mark on the organization and city. In addition to being a pretty capable shooter and helpful contributor to Houston’s […]

When OG Anunoby is playing to the level he’s capable, the Toronto Raptors ascend to a different stratosphere. After a magnificent preseason in which he looked primed to sprint into a star-turning year, Anunoby has struggled to find that same consistency in regular-season play. The reasons for why this is the case, of course, have […]

PORTLAND — The Portland Trail Blazers got both their first win of the regular season and the Chauncey Billups era in rousing fashion on Saturday night, blowing out the Phoenix Suns 134-105 at Moda Center. Here are four takeaways from Portland’s dominant victory over the reigning Western Conference champions, a game every bit as lopsided as […]

After a dominating win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets point guard Kevin Porter Jr. talked about his relationship with rookie shooting guard Jalen Green. “I see so much in him,” said Porter Jr. “And he sees so much in me. We got the same level of respect for each other.” Dating back to […]

The NBA’s two biggest dramas came together on Friday as the Nets visited the Sixers. The Nets, of course, are without Kyrie Irving who has no return-to-play timeline. Irving is not eligible to play in Brooklyn because he isn’t vaccinated. The team is not allowing Irving to play on the road either since accommodating a […]

The Houston Rockets opened up the Toyota Center with an unexpected, but dominating performance against the Oklahoma City Thunder. After an 18-point beatdown in Minnesota, Houston came into the game determined to make a new first impression. Led by Christian Wood, the Rockets did just that. “I think we learned from the last game as […]

The Los Angeles Lakers have a new-look roster, but their rivalry with the Phoenix Suns — fresh off the postseason elimination mere months ago — picked up right where it left off. Dwight Howard used the “Royal We, man” when discussing the Lakers’ lingering grudge towards the Suns — despite the fact that Howard was a […]

The Brooklyn Nets executed a major comeback in a hostile environment on Friday night. Led by Kevin Durant’s triple-double (29 points, 15 boards, 12 assists) the Nets closed the game on a 16-1 run to put the Sixers away late. The final score was 114-109. Their defensive execution really picked up as the game unfolded. […]

Well, that was fun. After getting handled easily by the Washington Wizards on opening night, the Toronto Raptors bounced back against the Boston Celtics on Friday with a 115-83 victory that saw pretty much everything go their way. Here are three key takeaways from the game that are also simply things to keep an eye […]

The Philadelphia 76ers took the court at home for the first time this season Friday night in a nationally televised matchup against the Brooklyn Nets. This battle of Eastern Conference juggernauts did not disappoint as things went down to the wire. In the end, the Nets walked away with a 114-109 win on the back […]

If you were a Rockets fan entering the season with an optimistic outlook, Wednesday night’s beatdown against the Minnesota Timberwolves may have served as an unwelcome reality check. It’s just one game, but it lines up with most experts and projection models thought Houston would be this year – a really bad basketball team. This […]

The LA Clippers finally opened up their season Thursday night, the last team in the NBA to do so. Following a nine day stretch between their final preseason game and their first regular season game, the Clippers fell short against the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco. Paul George and Stephen Curry, however, put on […]

San Francisco, CA – Thursday night, the Golden State Warriors hosted their first home game of the season. They faced the Los Angeles Clippers; a team missing Kwahi Leonard. Stephen Curry started the game on fire and never cooled off. He scored 45 points and closed the game with two threes that helped secure a […]

In his debut with the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday, Carmelo Anthony confused his teammates, the Golden State Warriors, and just about everybody at the Staples Center and watching at home when he made the curious choice to pump-fake on a free throw attempt. On his second shot of that trip to the line with […]

Los Angeles Lakers guard Kendrick Nunn will have to wait a few more weeks before making his regular-season debut in purple-and-gold. Nunn had been out for over a week with a sprained right ankle, which forced him to miss the Lakers season-opening loss at home to the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday (he was initially […]

A popular internal talking point from the Portland Trail Blazers before the regular season was the success of their incumbent starting lineup. Whether a subliminal message to Damian Lillard as he pondered leaving Rip City or just more general justification for bringing the band back together, Neil Olshey, Chauncey Billups and even some players championed […]

The Brooklyn Nets have a chance to earn a bounce-back victory in Philadelphia against the 76ers on Friday. After dealing with a whirlwind training camp and preseason dominated by the Kyrie Irving situation, the Nets got back to hoops on Tuesday. But the defending champs, the Milwaukee Bucks, had little trouble securing a win. Giannis […]

Most Houston Rockets fans probably didn’t watch Wednesday night’s season opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves all the way through, and it was justified. Unfortunately, it’s likely a preview of what will happen throughout the season: young talent playing hard and having a few highlight moments, but ultimately losing due to turnovers, bad defense, and poor […]

LaMelo Ball, Gordon Hayward and the Charlotte Hornets defeated the Indiana Pacers, 123-122. However, they didn’t have a good first half–in fact, it was pretty terrible. At the start of the third quarter, the Hornets were down by 23 points. In a shocking twist, thought, they found their rhythm and went on a 24-0 run […]

Of all of the ways to start their 2021-22 season, the New York Knicks certainly picked the way most fit for Broadway. Julius Randle had 35 points, eight rebounds, and nine assists for the Knicks in his opening night foray — a 138-134 double overtime win over the Boston Celtics — putting to bed — […]

It was the first game back after 600 days away. In some ways, that was enough. The Toronto Raptors were playing basketball in Scotiabank Arena, on Canadian soil, and they had a crowd of true blue fans roaring for them at every given opportunity. The game itself was less satisfying—the Raptors looked disjointed and altogether […]

The Brooklyn Nets’ season continues on the road Friday night. Brooklyn fell at the hands of the champs, the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday. They’ll take on another top Eastern contender from 2021 when they visit Philadelphia. But this is no ordinary matchup. Brooklyn and Philadelphia each have their own ongoing dramas to contend with. They’ll […]

PORTLAND, Ore. —The clock ran out on the Portland Trail Blazers’ spirited fourth-quarter comeback against the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night, with Damian Lillard’s would-be game-tying triple as time expired landing just off the mark. The Blazers fell to the Kings 124-121, a final score that’s hardly an indication of just how much Chauncey Billups’ […]

After dropping all six of their preseason contests, the Los Angeles Lakers (0-1) lost their first actual game of the 2021-22 NBA season, falling 121-114 to the Golden State Warriors (1-0) at Staples Center on Tuesday. Besides the completely overhauled roster — including Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony in gold jerseys — things felt, for the […]

PLAYA VISTA – The LA Clippers will open up their season on Thursday night against the Golden State Warriors. It’ll mark Game 1 of what’s expected to be tens of games without Kawhi Leonard as the star recovers from offseason ACL surgery. In his stead, big things are expected of Paul George. Without Leonard, George […]

Playa Vista, CA – Paul George and the Los Angeles Clippers tip off their season on Thursday by visiting the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco. The NBA season, however, is already in full swing after the Tuesday nightcap featured Stephen Curry and the Warriors taking on LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers. Despite […]

Since joining the front office of the Philadelphia 76ers, Daryl Morey has done an excellent job building a supporting cast that best fits the team’s core. In today’s game, outside shooting is a prized commodity, especially for a team that is centered around a player like Joel Embiid. Morey continues to add a collection of […]

The 2021-22 season has started and Kyrie Irving’s absence looms over the entire Brooklyn Nets organization. There does not appear to be any resolution in sight, other than the current one, where Irving is essentially forbidden from joining his teammates. The team’s position is clear and could basically be summarized as such: you are free […]

The regular season finally arrived and the Brooklyn Nets were trounced by the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks, on the road, 127-104. Following the game, we got an update on the second biggest story in Brooklyn over the last few weeks, James Harden and his plans for his future. Harden had formerly been eligible to tack […]

Bad news first: Russell Westbrook was not good in his debut for the Los Angeles Lakers. In 35 minutes, Westbrook finished with eight points on 4-of-13 shooting and missed all four of his three-point attempts (yes – “Westbrick” was trending on Twitter during the game). The NBA’s triple-double king grabbed a mere five rebounds and […]

Players like Houston Rockets rookie Jalen Green have been on an NBA trajectory since they were pre-teens. They’re the stars of their grade school teams, they join the AAU basketball circuit, scouts make regular appearances at their games, and they’re recruited by several different entities looking to capitalize on their talents (colleges, brands, extended family, […]