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In a shocking turn of events last week, Ben Simmons ended his holdout from the Philadelphia 76ers. The former number one pick reported to the team facility during their preseason matchup against Brooklyn Nets, and since then, went through all the necessary requirements to re-join the team in practice under the watch of Doc Rivers. […]

PLAYA VISTA – When the LA Clippers traded away guard Patrick Beverley, they didn’t just lose another role player. Beverley’s roles as lockdown defender, knock-down shooter, and number one hype man are all facets that could be found in other players, to a lesser extent. The toughest part about Beverley’s game and personality to replace […]

The Los Angeles Lakers have reportedly decided who will start the season opener vs. the Golden State Warriors at Staples Center on Tuesday night next to LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, and Anthony Davis. According to Yahoo’s Chris Haynes, Lakers head coach Frank Vogel will tap Kent Bazemore and DeAndre Jordan to fill out the starting […]

Another day, another development in the Ben Simmons saga. Things hit a boiling point Tuesday afternoon when Doc Rivers kicked the three-time All-Star out of practice for being disengaged and a distraction. In a corresponding move, the team has also suspended Simmons for the Philadelphia 76ers’ season opener against the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday. […]

They’re back. Tuesday, the 2021-22 Los Angeles Lakers — the NBA’s Waystar Royco, if you will — will play a real basketball game. Following an endless offseason, barely over a year after the bubble title, and, fittingly, days after the Succession premiere, the game’s ultimate power broker, LeBron James, and his expensive running mates, Anthony […]

The Houston Rockets used four different starting lineups through the preseason. A total of eight different players have seen their name called to start so far and the Rockets have deliberately collected data internally on all these units. While it’s pretty clear who three of the starters are going to be, the remaining two starters […]

Nets head coach Steve Nash probably had a sense of how his early-season rotation might have looked one month ago. It’s probably a lot different today. The team is slight favorites in the season opener against the Bucks, despite playing on the road. They’re still finals favorites despite the latest news on Kyrie Irving not […]

SAN FRANCISCO — Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors dominated the preseason with an undefeated record of 5-0. In the process of their winning streak, they defeated LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers twice. The Lakers failed to win a single game. Warriors coach Steve Kerr is taking that with a grain of […]

As the NBA preseason ends, take note: Three years ago, in the midst of the playoff destruction of what was then the greatest season in Toronto Raptors history, there was a still point. The rhythmic, desperate hum of Game 2 of the 2018 series against the Cleveland Cavaliers fell away, and there within the silence […]

Los Angeles Lakers head coach Frank Vogel provided crucial insight into how he plans to “script” the minutes for his three superstars — LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, and Anthony Davis — over the course of the 2021-22 NBA season. “Day-to-day,” Vogel said after Lakers practice on Monday when asked how he plans to manage LeBron’s […]

One day before the Los Angeles Lakers begin their 2021-22 NBA season vs. the Golden State Warriors at Staples Center, the team announced one more surprise move to the ever-changing roster around LeBron James and Anthony Davis: The Lakers will sign undrafted rookie and former Virginia Cavaliers center Jay Huff to a two-way contract. Huff […]

The biggest storyline for the Brooklyn Nets on Monday (aside from Kyrie Irving and anything related to him) is whether or not the team will extend James Harden’s contract and keep him in town for the next five-plus seasons. Monday is the deadline for teams to extend veteran players with two years remaining on their […]

We’re nearly there. On Tuesday, the NBA’s 75th anniversary season will tip-off, and the league’s most famous franchise (the Los Angeles Lakers) led by arguably the greatest player of all time (LeBron James) and his team of future Hall of Famers begin what should be a historically fascinating campaign. As every Lakers player will remind […]

SAN FRANCISCO — The Golden State Warriors are getting closer to full strength. Klay Thompson is progressing on schedule and should make his return during the early part of the season. That means the Dubs will finally see a pairing of Thompson and Andrew Wiggins together for the very first time. “Wigs (Andrew Wiggins) is […]

The Kyrie Irving situation heated up in a hurry and for now, it appears things might be as bad as anyone reasonable could have imagined back when this story began unfolding. ESPN Insider Adrian Wojnarowski dropped an episode of The Woj Pod over the weekend where he chopped it up with network colleague Malika Andrews. […]

The Portland Trail Blazers finished exhibition action on Friday night pretty much the same way it started, with a double-digit loss to the Golden State Warriors. Preseason basketball is hardly a surefire indicator of regular-season performance, and Chauncey Billups has stressed he sees it as nothing more than a glorified extension of practice. Results just […]

San Francisco, CA – In the Golden State Warriors preseason finale, Stephen Curry didn’t disappoint. It started with a slow night that ended up being a jaw-dropping performance. He poured in 41 points and 7 three-pointers in 30 minutes of play. Curry’s performance led to a blowout victory over the Portland Trail Blazers and a […]

With Rockets starting center Daniel Theis sidelined due to a minor knee injury, Stephen Silas used Houston’s last preseason game as an opportunity to test out a new starting lineup. Christian Wood occupied Theis’ spot at starting center and rookie Alperen Sengun stepped in at power forward. The move wasn’t a complete surprise as Sengun […]

As training camp comes to a close, the Los Angeles Lakers announced a slew of cuts on Friday, thereby finalizing the 2021-22 roster around LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, and Anthony Davis. The Lakers have requested waivers on undrafted rookies Joel Ayayi, Chaundee Brown Jr., along with high-flyer Trevelin Queen and 24-year old forward Cameron Oliver. […]

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James has accomplished everything imaginable on an NBA court. Off the hardwood, James continues to shatter records—including his own. The Lakers forward — who recently crossed the pre-tax billion-dollar threshold — has eclipsed the record for single-year earnings for any NBA player, according to Forbes. Following a slew of massively […]

The  2021-22 Los Angeles Lakers might be the most decorated team in NBA history. Frankly, it might not be close. The roster features: 57 All-Star selections — the most in NBA history for one team on opening night 24 All-NBA First Team selections 48 All-NBA Team selections 13 All-Defensive First Team selections 10 championships 5 […]

The Ben Simmons saga continues to be one of the most unpredictable storylines in the NBA right now. Out of nowhere, the former number one pick ended his holdout and reported to Philadelphia with a week to go before the start of the regular season. There have been no indications that Simmons will rescind his […]

It’s been a crazy three years for guard Armoni Brooks. After not being selected in the 2019 NBA Draft and bouncing around the G League for two years, Brooks finally found some stability this year with the Houston Rockets. In January, he signed with Houston’s G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, and was […]

Heading into Philadelphia 76ers training camp, Sixers coach Doc Rivers had a major hole to fill in his starting lineup. With Ben Simmons still holding out at the time, he needed a replacement at the point guard position. Throughout the preseason, we saw Shake Milton and Tyrese Maxey each get a chance to prove their […]

LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis, and the 2021-22 Los Angeles Lakers began training camp on Tuesday, Sept. 29. Here are five major takeaways through two weeks and change of preseason games and practices at the UCLA Health Training Center. 1) Theme: “Figuring it out” The Lakers are 0-5 in exhibitions. Yet, as I detailed […]

Chauncey Billups doesn’t care about wins and losses in the preseason. He views exhibition action as a glorified extension of training camp practices rather than a replica of preseason games, a perspective that could have shielded the Portland Trail Blazers from at least some criticism after their 36-point loss to the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday […]

By the time training camp rolls around in the NBA, you usually can predict what to expect from a team. Every beat reporter knows what storylines are relevant to ask about, ever player has a general idea of what his role is on the team, and coaches have a rotation in mind that they are […]

The Ben Simmons saga flipped completely on its side Monday night when out of nowhere, the three-time All-Star ended his holdout and reported to Philadelphia midway through a preseason game. Since then, Simmons has taken all the necessary steps to potentially re-join his 76ers teammates once he clear protocol. Based on how things played out […]

San Francisco, CA – Three-time NBA champion Andre Iguodala is back for a second stint with the Golden State Warriors. This season, as in the past, he will play a vital role. After playing in four NBA Finals, Iguodala understands what a roster needs to look like and who needs to step up to compete […]

The Portland Trail Blazers labored through Wednesday’s rare matinee matchup with the Phoenix Suns, falling 119-74 despite Damian Lillard, C.J. McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic playing well into the third quarter. Chris Paul didn’t suit up for the Suns at all, while Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton and Mikal Bridges watched the second half from the bench. […]

In an almost perfect preseason, the Golden State Warriors still have one final question to answer. Who will get the 15th and final roster spot? The position will likely be rewarded to a guard, but the Warriors can also elect to leave the space open. Leaving it vacant would allow them the option of signing […]

We already knew that Talen Horton-Tucker (out at least four weeks following thumb surgery) and Trevor Ariza (ankle surgery, out two months) would miss the Los Angeles Lakers season opener vs. the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday at Staples Center. However, the availability of three other key wings — Malik Monk, Kendrick Nunn, and Wayne […]

The Kyrie Irving drama marches on with no end in sight. As of now, the seven-time All-Star is not eligible to play in Brooklyn Nets home games because he’s unvaccinated. Further, he’s not able to practice with the team or play in road games because the team decided they don’t want to accommodate part-time players. […]

For the renovated Los Angeles Lakers, the 2021-22 preseason has been…rickety. First, and somewhat ironically, the active roster’s younger players — minus Austin Reaves and plus Trevor Ariza and Wayne Ellington — have already been hit by the injury bug. Ariza will miss two months following ankle surgery, Talen Horton-Tucker (thumb surgery) is out at […]

Talen Horton-Tucker‘s breakout season for the Los Angeles Lakers will have to wait. On Tuesday, the team announced that Horton-Tucker underwent successful surgery “to repair the ulnar collateral ligament on his right thumb” and “is expected to make a full and complete recovery.” As for his potential return date, the Lakers said their prized 20-year […]

Tipoff of one of the most significant seasons in Portland Trail Blazers history is barely more than a week away. As they prepare for a brief preseason road trip before opening at home against the Sacramento Kings on October 20th, here are four bold predictions about Damian Lillard and the Blazers for 2021-22. Blazers Rank […]

Beyond good health, Russell Westbrook‘s ability to mesh with LeBron James and Anthony Davis will be the utmost important factor to the Los Angeles Lakers‘ success this season. Regardless of what lineups the Lakers begin games with or how Frank Vogel staggers rotations, the Lakers will undoubtedly have Westbrook, James, and Davis on the floor […]

The Los Angeles Lakers are moving towards signing Sekou Doumbouya to a two-way contract. The Athletic’s Shams Charania first reported the news. The Lakers formally announced the signing a few hours later: The Lakers have officially signed 20-year old combo-forward Sekou Doumbouya to a two-way contract pic.twitter.com/zx8cA4jYxg — Michael Corvo (@michaelcorvo_) October 12, 2021 Doumbouya, […]

The Kyrie Irving situation came to a crossroads and the Nets decided to play hardball, deciding that he will not be able to play until he’s a full participant with the team. It has been quite the journey to this point. We first learned that the superstar would not be eligible to play basketball in Brooklyn […]