Reporting Articles - Page 36

PHILADELPHIA — Is there any positive to the Philadelphia 76ers’ woeful 2024-25 season, where they snapped their playoff streak and are in danger of coming up with nothing to show for it because they don’t fully control their own draft pick? Tyrese Maxey tried to look at the bright side of a mostly tumultuous season. […]

With the NBA playing its final regular-season games on Sunday, Mikal Bridges kept his Iron Man streak alive… technically. The New York Knicks forward played six seconds against the Brooklyn Nets, issuing a foul after the opening tip and exiting the game. Mikal Bridges committed a foul and checked out after just 6 seconds so […]

PHILADELPHIA — Paul George still believes the Philadelphia 76ers can be a title contender in the years to come. The 2024-25 season, the veteran star said, didn’t offer them a chance to show it because of all the injuries they faced. “I think we were just in scramble all year. To be honest, I think […]

The Atlanta Hawks announced that Trae Young was the recipient of this year’s Sekou Smith Award, which honors the player on the team who represents themselves and the franchise with professionalism and integrity with the media. Young was voted for the award by local media. Before their final regular season game against the Orlando Magic, […]

The San Antonio Spurs drafted Stephon Castle in late June. They added Chris Paul in very early July. So, when they traded for Harrison Barnes several days later, it seemed a little anticlimactic. Castle was considered by many the most pro-ready prospect, and possibly the best player, period, in last summer’s draft. Paul is one […]

MIAMI – With the Miami Heat set to face the Chicago Bulls in the play-in tournament as the 10th seed, the team will have the hardest route to the playoffs as they have to win two road games. As the Heat look to contend for the playoffs and prove many doubters wrong, head coach Erik […]

The Cleveland Cavaliers have earned the right to rest. With a dominant 64-17 record and the top seed in the Eastern Conference already locked in, they’ve done everything a team could ask for in the regular season. But as the curtain drops on the 2024-25 regular season campaign against the Indiana Pacers, the Cavs are […]

The Los Angeles Lakers clinched the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference standings following their 140-109 win against the Houston Rockets. Having secured their playoff positioning, the Lakers are set to use their season finale against the Portland Trail Blazers as an opportunity to get guys some rest. The Lakers released their injury report […]

LOS ANGELES – Following the Los Angeles Lakers’ 140-109 win against the Houston Rockets on Friday, they secured the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference heading into the playoffs. With the Lakers clinching a playoff spot outright, talk has shifted to whether or not this team can contend for a championship. After the win, […]

The Los Angeles Sparks underwent major changes during the offseason. They fired head coach Curt Miller and replaced him with Lynne Roberts. They received the No. 2 overall pick in the draft, and ended up trading it to the Seattle Storm in a three-team blockbuster trade that landed them Kelsey Plum. The Sparks ultimately ended […]

Through the ups and downs, twists and turns, Bradley Beal remains unfazed for the Phoenix Suns. Despite Beal being benched by Suns head coach Mike Budenholzer and offered him in trades, he hasn’t wavered. Regardless, many fans and insiders around the league feel that for Phoenix to return to a contender, they must rid themselves […]

The New York Knicks looked unprepared for the playoffs in a recent home loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. They blew a big first-half lead, allowing the Cavaliers to steal a comeback win without Donovan Mitchell. Despite noise about coach Tom Thibodeau’s tenure being in jeopardy, he might have demonstrated some important self awareness in the […]

YorkThe Cleveland Cavaliers walked into Madison Square Garden with nothing to prove and everything stacked against them. They were down four rotation players, including All-Star Donovan Mitchell. The Cavs also played just the night before. They arrived in Manhattan late, with sore legs, tired eyes, and a No. 1 seed in the East already secured. […]

The speculation surrounding the Brooklyn Nets’ draft lottery position has ended. Following the Philadelphia 76ers’ loss on Friday, the Nets are locked into sixth place in the lottery standings. Brooklyn’s odds will be as follows: 1st: 9.0% 2nd: 9.2% 3rd: 9.41% 4th: 9.62% 5th: 0% 6th: 8.62% 7th: 29.77% 8th: 20.55% 9th: 3.68% 10th: 0.15% […]

BOSTON — Winning a championship is plenty of fun. Spending the entire next season warding off hungry contenders and upstart teams eager for an upset isn’t as fun. In fact, it can be downright grueling. However, Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum doesn’t view his squad’s title defense that way. The reigning NBA champion has actually […]

If one thing is for certain, it’s that Devin Booker and Kevin Durant enjoy playing basketball together. The two joined forces in the middle of the 2022-23 season, when the Suns made a blockbuster trade for Durant. Since then, their time has been filled with major hypotheticals. Although the talent was there, especially with adding […]

DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks earned a 124-102 victory against the Toronto Raptors on Friday night. The Mavs took care of business in their final home game of the 2024-25 regular season. Anthony Davis led the way, recording the first triple-double of his Mavericks career. AD finished the game with 23 points, 13 rebounds, 10 […]

The Detroit Pistons wrapped up their regular season home action with a 125-119 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night. Detroit’s bittersweet home finale for 2024-25 secured the No. 6 seed in the first round of the playoffs, where it will play the New York Knicks. Friday night’s contest was the first of two […]

Jordi Fernandez has told the Brooklyn Nets to let it fly from three this season. His players have listened. The Nets’ first made three of Friday’s Minnesota Timberwolves matchup was their 1,090th of the season, a new single-season franchise record. Brooklyn has attempted 39.5 threes per game this season, the eighth-most in the NBA. Fernandez […]

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Lakers returned home to square off against a Western Conference foe in the Houston Rockets following a successful three-game road trip. With the Lakers able to lock up the third seed in the West with a win, talk has begun to shift to how this Lakers team could possibly […]

For all of the attention Phoenix Suns shooting guard Devin Booker receives, he caught the eye of one player in particular when he was at Kentucky. Arkansas guard Manny Watkins was assigned to guard Booker. In the beginning, he thought that guarding the freshman would be an easy task. However, when push came to shove, […]

Jonathan Kuminga’s fit next to Jimmy Butler is the biggest question for the Golden State Warriors heading into the postseason. It’s been a question since the Warriors acquired Butler — one that has only grown more prominent as the team positions itself for a deep playoff run. And it’s clear to head coach Steve Kerr […]

Chaos is the best word that can be used to describe the Western Conference standings heading into the final two days of games. The Denver Nuggets, LA Clippers, Golden State Warriors, Memphis Grizzlies, and Minnesota Timberwolves are all still jockeying for position, and every game played will help determine each of these teams’ fate. Before […]

The Minnesota Timberwolves will face a shorthanded Brooklyn Nets squad on Friday amid a tightly contested Western Conference playoff race. The Nets ruled out Cam Johnson, D’Angelo Russell, Nic Claxton, Day’Ron Sharpe and Ziaire Williams for the matchup. Brooklyn is virtually locked into the sixth-best draft lottery odds. The Nets have lost three of their last […]

With two games left on all 30 teams’ schedules, every win and loss matters a little more around this time of the year. This is very true in the Western Conference standings, as one game separates teams in the playoff picture from those in the play-in region. The Golden State Warriors are one of the […]

Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets are looking to get to the finish line this season with some momentum. After firing head coach Michael Malone and GM Calvin Booth, this team got a key win and snap their four-game losing streak with a 124-116 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday. Now, Denver faces their […]

With the Phoenix Suns officially eliminated from the playoffs, there have been significant “what if” scenarios. One of those involves if the Suns traded for former Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic during the trade deadline. After the latter was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, many thought he would be with the Mavericks forever. Before […]

The Memphis Grizzlies are having a hard time getting everyone on the same page before the NBA Playoffs begin. The most recent setback, a 141-125 home loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, exposed more than a few flaws with Tuomas Iisalo’s new frontcourt configurations. Jaren Jackson Jr. and Zach Edey seem to be reading from different […]

The NBA Playoffs bracket is starting to become clearer after Ja Morant’s misfiring Memphis Grizzlies (47-33) fell to Anthony Edwards’ trash-talking Minnesota Timberwolves (47-33) in the third-to-last game of the regular season. Newly appointed head coach Tuomas Iisalo and the Grizzlies had full control of their destiny going into the game, but the 141-125 loss […]

The Cleveland Cavaliers arrived in Indianapolis down four starters, resting and nursing injuries in preparation for the playoffs. However, what they lacked in star power, the Cavs made up for in grit, resilience, and the kind of next-man-up mentality that championship contenders are built on. Without Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and Max Strus—and […]

The Detroit Pistons prevailed in comeback fashion 115-106 in a potential playoff preview against the New York Knicks. After facing a deficit as significant as 13 points, the Pistons turned the tide in the second half to seal their 44th victory of the regular season. Detroit has thrived on collective team efforts all season, but […]

Los Angeles Clippers center Ivica Zubac is having a career year, but you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who predicted this kind of season for the Croatian big man. Zubac has recorded three straight 20-point, 10-rebound games, including his first career triple-double in the Clippers’ win over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night. Ivica Zubac […]

D’Angelo Russell will hit unrestricted free agency for the first time in his career this summer. He hopes it will end with him returning to the Brooklyn Nets. After rejoining the Nets in a midseason trade from the Los Angeles Lakers, the former All-Star sees a promising future in Brooklyn. “A lot of teams are […]

DALLAS — Fans gathered well before the game to see a star’s first shots back in his old building. As a tribute video played, the star had to bury his face in his hands and wipe his tears with a towel. Before the game, JJ Redick told reporters the Los Angeles Lakers would have Luka […]

With just two games left in the Washington Wizards’ season, the rookies have had enough time to build chemistry and learn about each other. That’s especially true in this case, as Bub Carrington (29.8), Alex Sarr (27.8), and Kyshawn George (26.7) are first, second, and fourth among all rookies in minutes per game, respectively. All […]

The Memphis Grizzlies are in a tight race for one of the final playoff spots in the Western Conference. Ja Morant has been taking center-stage over the last few weeks, not only for his improved play, but his celebrations and gestures as well. The NBA fined Morant $75,000 last week following two instances of celebrations […]

The Minnesota Timberwolves were riding high, up 95-71 playing the Milwaukee Bucks with just 10 minutes remaining Tuesday night in Milwaukee. Then came the zone defense that changed everything. “It was hard for any last one of us to get a good look when they went zone. It messed us up,” said Anthony Edwards, after […]

Even though there are still games remaining on the NBA schedule, voters know who they are choosing for the Rookie of the Year award at this point. Will it be Stephon Castle, the heavy favorite, or could it be Zaccharie Risacher, the first-overall pick? What about Jaylen Wells and the season he’s put together as […]

The Cleveland Cavaliers have reached the mountaintop of the Eastern Conference, clinching the playoffs’ number one seed with time to spare. But with the Cavs’ triumph comes a new challenge: how do you finish the regular season strong when there’s seemingly nothing left to play for? The answer, it appears, is rest. As the Cavs […]