Reporting Articles - Page 353

PORTLAND — The Portland Trail Blazers tipoff the regular season against the Sacramento Kings back at Moda Center next week, but don’t expect Monday’s game—fortunately for Chauncey Billups’ team—to prove a barbinger for the 2021-22 opener. Here are four observations from the short-handed Blazers’ 107-93 loss to the Kings. Anfernee Simons (Kind Of) Looked The […]

The shorthanded Philadelphia 76ers took the court Monday night for a preseason matchup against the Brooklyn Nets. Despite the Sixers picking up a victory and multiple young players standing out, the biggest story of the night did not take place on the floor. Before tip-off, news broke that conversations between the Sixers and Ben Simmons […]

Kyrie Irving is a bit of an enigma. Maybe that’s how he likes it. The player who once admitted he believes the Earth is flat seems to march to the beat of a different drum. Remember when he disappeared from the team last season for “personal reasons?” The Nets’ brass certainly does. We still don’t […]

In the last two seasons, Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors have dealt with a plethora of problems. Heading into 2021-22, many of those issues are being corrected, but two massive difficulties can stop them from being contenders: rebounding and rim protection in the paint. There’s only one player on the roster who can […]

When you have a team that has the best shooter ever to live on it, you’re going to be a pretty good 3-point shooting team. This season, Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors have the tools to take it up another notch. The addition of some veterans and the emergence of young players to […]

Houston Rockets forward Jae’Sean Tate is one of those players in the NBA who is really difficult to pin down to a position. Ten years ago, these players were called “tweeners” and were disparaged in a league that valued positional rigidity. Now, the opposite is true: The more positions players are able to play, the […]

Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum are the Portland Trail Blazers. No star tandem in basketball is more synonymous with their incumbent team than Portland’s, a reality owed both to Lillard and McCollum’s longevity in Rip City as well just how much of the Blazers’ sustained success has been driven by them. Portland owns the league’s […]

One of the last big remaining questions for the Rockets going into the season is who starts at small forward. Kevin Porter Jr., Jalen Green, Christian Wood, and Daniel Theis are all locks entering the season to be starters and the only question remaining is that fifth spot. Houston is essentially debating between a three-guard […]

Barely three minutes had elapsed since tipoff of the Portland Trail Blazers preseason opener, and Jusuf Nurkic already found himself standing alone beyond the arc. He readied his hands, took a pass from C.J. McCollum and let fly from the right wing with zero hesitation as Kevon Looney offered a half-hearted close-out. Clank. Nurkic went […]

San Francisco, CA – Steve Kerr and the Golden State Warriors have tried many lineups in their three preseason games. However, there is one he seems rather fond of when closing quarters. It’s the combination of Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Jordan Poole, Otto Porter Jr, and Nemanja Bjelica. “Well, Draymond is the five, and we […]

Prior to the season, it was pretty easy to predict how the Houston Rockets’ rotation would look like. Houston had drafted four rookies, but because they had at least eight active players on the roster over the age of 24, it was likely only two of those rookies would play regular minutes. Rockets head coach […]

It turns out the Philadelphia 76ers are interested in trading Ben Simmons for the Portland Trail Blazers “other” star guard after all. Well, at least for a price that Daryl Morey must have known Neil Olshey would refuse to pay. Shams Charania of The Athletic and STADIUM reported on Friday that Philadelphia asked Portland for […]

SAN FRANCISCO — The Golden State Warriors are 2-0 so far in preseason action. Although the record doesn’t count for much, it’s still a good sign for the Golden State Warriors, especially with all the new faces on the team. The thing that stands out most is the on-court chemistry between the new players and […]

One of the most annoying situations for defenders in the NBA has been contesting a jump shot without fouling. This season there’s a new rule that will help defenders out a ton. On the flip side, it will change offensive geniuses like Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry. The rule change has prompted a question, […]

Damian Lillard knew there was something different about Anfernee Simons when the Portland Trail Blazers superstar saw a photo of his young teammate this summer. Suddenly, it was obvious. Simons, ink-less over the first three seasons of his NBA career, had a half sleeve tattoo on his left arm—another step in the 22-year-old’s ongoing growth […]

Coming into the 2021-22 season, the LA Clippers were hopeful to get their rookies meaningful playing time. Whether in the G-League or sparingly in the NBA, Keon Johnson, Jason Preston, and Brandon Boston all showed flashes of potential in college as well as Summer League. Unfortunately, they’ll be down a man for the next few […]

The Charlotte Hornets are a team on the rise. They were ranked third for a team most likely to break out this season by general managers around the league. LaMelo Ball is the star of the team at just 20 years old and is entering his second season. He’s looking to build off of a […]

Just like that, a new NBA season is upon us. Following a week of training camp, teams have kicked off their preseason matchups with the start of the regular season less than two weeks away. The Philadelphia 76ers had a lot of eyes on them heading into training camp due to the Ben Simmons holdout, but […]

SAN FRANCISCO — Not many people can say they’ve seen the very best of something in the world, but Golden State Warriors forward Otto Porter Jr can. He’s now playing with the best shooter to walk the planet, Stephen Curry. Seeing it up close is different, and you can’t help but admire his greatness. “It’s […]

The Los Angeles Clippers selected Terance Mann with the 48th pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. It was the team’s second pick of the night behind 27th overall pick Mfiondu Kabengele, who was Mann’s teammate at Florida State. When selecting late in the draft, teams are mostly banking on the strength of their player development […]

One of the most consequential seasons in Portland Trail Blazers history tips off in exactly two weeks. Chauncey Billups’ team had the day off following its loss to the Golden State Warriors in the preseason opener, the second off-day Portland has enjoyed since training camp officially began September 28th. After a full week of practices—at […]

The New York Knicks took the floor for the first time with their new-look starting lineup on Tuesday night, opening the preseason with a bang and defeating the Indiana Pacers, 125-104. Preseason always brings with it a load of optimism, but sometimes also a flood of overreactions based on small sample sizes and flashes in the […]

Good or bad, everything in the preseason should be taken with a grain of salt, especially for this young Houston Rockets team. While it’s statistically more indicative of what will happen in the regular season than pundits give it credit for, the preseason primarily serves two purposes: For coaches to figure out rotations and lineups […]

The Houston Rockets defeated the Washington Wizards 125-119 in their preseason opener on a late fourth quarter surge, but the story Tuesday night was Kevin Porter Jr. In his first career preseason start at point guard, Porter Jr. poured in 25 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block on nearly 70% true shooting. […]

The 2021-22 NBA season for the Golden State Warriors will start against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers. Anytime the Warriors face LeBron, the game means a little more. When batting the four-time MVP, you can expect highlight plays and chase-down blocks. On the ClutchPoints’ Warriors Multiverse podcast, Warriors guard Jordan Poole spoke about […]

The Portland Trail Blazers’ defense in their exhibition loss to the Golden State Warriors wasn’t quite as porous as it often appeared on the floor, at least statistically. The Warriors’ point total was juiced by the high pace of Monday’s affair. Their offensive rating was just 110.0, well below league average last season, and wasn’t […]

Analysis of the Portland Trail Blazers’ porous defense against the Golden State Warriors can wait, and there’s only so much to be gleaned from it in the first place. This is preseason basketball, remember, when offenses league-wide are expected to be ahead of defenses, let alone for a team with a rookie head coach who’s […]

The Golden State Warriors’ arsenal was almost on full display in their preseason opener against the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night. Jordan Poole led all scorers with 30 points, while Otto Porter Jr. led the bench with 19 points in 18 minutes. Signing Porter could have been the steal of the summer for the […]

For veteran teams in the NBA, preseason is a nuisance. It’s something everybody has to do, but nobody wants to. For most teams, the number one objective is to not get injured. For a young team like the 2021-22 Houston Rockets, preseason takes on an added layer of importance. “I just want us to get […]

The LA Clippers won’t be whole while Kawhi Leonard rehabs his knee, but they sure seem to be getting a lot closer to that mark with the latest news regarding Serge Ibaka. Ibaka has spent the last several weeks, including all of training camp, going through non-contact drills and workouts. The 12-year NBA veteran underwent […]

After five days on Galveston beach, the Houston Rockets completed their training camp on Saturday. Last season, Rockets training camp was awkward and uncomfortable as the team awaited James Harden and P.J. Tucker’s arrival. This season, Houston got ahead of any awkwardness by coming to an agreement with veteran guard John Wall. This led to […]

The Chauncey Billups era in Rip City didn’t exactly live up to its promise during his team’s preseason debut. Gashed on defense from the opening tip and far too careless with the ball offensively, the Portland Trail Blazers fell 121-107 to the Golden State Warriors on Monday night at Moda Center. Portland coughed up 26 […]

The Chauncey Billups era has officially begun, and the Portland Trail Blazers seem reinvigorated as a result. But it’s easy to find confidence in the afterglow of Media Day, especially for a veteran team like Portland that clearly grew tired of hearing Terry Stotts’ voice during his ninth and final season in Rip City. Hope […]

Kawhi Leonard has spend the last few months rehabbing his right knee following ACL surgery. The LA Clippers star currently has no timetable to return, but a report from Farbod Esnaashari of Sports Illustrated claims that Leonard is currently ahead of schedule in his recovery. If Kawhi Leonard is indeed ahead of schedule, that would […]

While training camp is typically for teams to work through sets and schemes to knock the rust off before the season, it is also a great opportunity for players to earn playing time. One team that has rotation spots up for grabs is the Philadelphia 76ers. Between new players incoming and the Ben Simmons holdout, […]

The Los Angeles Lakers are getting along famously so far in training camp. But, according to comments from head coach Frank Vogel, LeBron James, and Russell Westbrook over the past two days, the level of competition has been extremely high in 5-on-5 scrimmages. On Friday, we may have seen our first physical indicator of the […]

Damian Lillard’s pointed calls for the Portland Trail Blazers to make significant roster changes this summer went unanswered. His team enters 2021-22 with last season’s same core in place and an unchanged starting lineup. Portland’s four offseason additions come mostly on the margins, with Larry Nance Jr. the only one among them guaranteed to make […]

Because the Los Angeles Lakers just overhauled their roster, they entered 2021-22 training camp with as little trade buzz as any team in the NBA from an importing and exporting standpoint. The Lakers orchestrated the largest blockbuster swap of the summer — a five-teamer that netted them Russell Westbrook — and then surrounded Westbrook, LeBron […]

Pau Gasol, 41, has called a press conference for Tuesday to announce his retirement from professional basketball, according to Lucas Saez Bravo. At some point in the not-too-distant future, I fully expect the Los Angeles Lakers to retire Gasol’s No. 16 and hang his jersey in the Staples Center rafters next to Kobe Bryant. Fully […]