Reporting Articles - Page 432

The Portland Trail Blazers lost their fourth straight game by double-digits on Wednesday, falling 104-94 to the Golden State Warriors. Even with Steph Curry, pointedly eyeing the league’s all-time record for made threes, and his teammates mostly throwing up bricks from deep, Portland never had a realistic chance at pulling off a shocking late-stage comeback. […]

In the basketball community, mock trades are a daily occurrence. After trade buzz slowed down in the opening weeks of the season, rumors are starting to heat back up again, especially involving Ben Simmons. This is no surprise as Dec. 15 rapidly approaches. After then, players signed to deals over the offseason can be traded. […]

The Portland Trail Blazers fell to the Golden State Warriors 104-94 at Chase Center on Wednesday, their fourth straight loss by double figures. Fortunately for Chauncey Billups’ woefully depleted team, though, much-needed reinforcements are on the way — perhaps the next time Portland takes the floor. After the game, the Blazers’ rookie head coach was […]

LOS ANGELES — With Paul George out for the second time in a week, the Los Angeles Clippers desperately needed a scoring boost for their showdown with Marcus Smart and the Boston Celtics. Enter Brandon Boston. Boston, who just turned 20 years of age in late November, came off the Clippers’ bench and led the […]

The Charlotte Hornets fell to the Philadelphia 76ers 110-106. The Hornets went down to the wire again with a tough Philly and they are still without five key rotational players. Still, they pushed the Sixers team to the limit. However, things got a little chippy between Miles Bridges and Andre Drummond, but Bridges set the […]

With Stephen Curry closing in on a major milestone of being the NBA’s all-time leader in three-pointers made, Brooklyn Nets coach Steve Nash was asked about the pending accomplishment. Nash, also a two-time NBA MVP, not only got to play against Curry, he worked with him in the past as a consultant for the Golden […]

Take it from LeBron James: The Los Angeles Lakers played their best game of the season against their biggest rival, thrashing the Boston Celtics 117-102 at Staples Center on Tuesday. "Tonight was one of the best 48 minute games that we've had so far."@KingJames spoke with @ALaForce after the Lakers' win. pic.twitter.com/VZZOTF5dp2 — NBA on […]

After a rocky opening month to the 2021-22 NBA season and his Los Angeles Lakers tenure, Russell Westbrook has dramatically turned things around. Through the Lakers first 17 games, Westbrook averaged 18.9 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 8.6 assists on abysmal .426/.297/.667 shooting splits. He oversaw multiple second-half collapses, made confounding decisions in crunch-time, and generally […]

LeBron James has fended off Father Time better than just about any superstar in NBA history. On Tuesday night, after the Los Angeles Lakers demolished the Boston Celtics, James divulged his secret to aging gracefully: he doesn’t think about it. LeBron led the Lakers (13-12) to a satisfying 117-102 victory at Staples Center. It was […]

The Brooklyn Nets set off to Texas for a back-to-back set against the Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets. In the first bout Kevin Durant and the crew were trailing by as many as 17 points. But Steve Nash and the coaching staff asked the team not to get discouraged at the half. They listened, storming […]

San Francisco, CA – The game between the Golden State Warriors and Orlando Magic on Monday featured two very different but impressive defenders. One of them is Warriors star Draymond Green and the other is the Magic center Mo Bamba. The Warriors overpowered the young Magic, but all wasn’t a loss for the young squad. […]

The Brooklyn Nets might have given themselves a pass when they first learned they would be without the services of Kyrie Irving. It wouldn’t have been surprising if they had a slower start to the season than we’ve seen so far. Instead they find themselves in first place in the East at 16-7. The roster […]

On Monday night, the Golden State Warriors blew out the Orlando Magic. It was a game that the Dubs were in control of from start to finish. That meant minutes for rookies Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody, who got called up from the G-League for this game. Once Kuminga entered the contest, he wasted no […]

Damian Lillard has never made a secret of and has no reason to apologize for a looming desire to maximize his earnings to their utmost extent before his playing days are finished. Despite increasingly massive annual salaries, all superstars with crossover appeal who single-handedly drive sustained team success are underpaid relative to the revenue they […]

The Philadelphia 76ers traveled to Charlotte on Monday, looking to keep their momentum rolling following a win over the Atlanta Hawks. Despite being without five rotation players because of health and safety protocols, the Hornets did not roll over easily. They brought the fight to the Sixers and took the game into overtime. Their valiant […]

The Charlotte Hornets played an overtime thriller against the Philadelphia 76ers. Unfortunately, they lost 127-124, but Kelly Oubre Jr. came out to play. He had a team high 35 points and made timely baskets to put his team in position to win this game. He was exactly what the team needed, especially after receiving more […]

Practice? We talkin’ ‘bout practice? Well, Pascal Siakam and the Toronto Raptors certainly are, with the team putting in more work at the OVO Athletic Centre this season than is typical for most NBA teams. Often, rest days wind up taking the place of practices due to the arduous nature of the league schedule, but […]

LeBron James is one-quarter of the way through his 19th NBA season, and he’s less than one month from turning 37 years old. However, for a host of reasons — including a lingering abdominal strain — James has only appeared in 12 of the Lakers’ 24 games. On Monday, LeBron James was asked about how […]

LeBron James believes facing criticism and adversity is part of the job description for any high-profile employee of the Los Angeles Lakers. Certainly, this applies to head coach Frank Vogel. During a post-practice media availability on Monday, James was asked by Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times whether the criticism that has been levied […]

The Portland Trail Blazers and Philadelphia 76ers are two teams that have been intertwined all summer. Following the latest news to surface, they continue to look like a perfect match in terms of trade partners. As we know, the stalemate between Ben Simmons and the Sixers has been never-ending. The three-time All-Star has yet to […]

The Charlotte Hornets defeated the Atlanta Hawks, 130-127 without many of their key players available. LaMelo Ball, Terry Rozier, Jalen McDaniels, and Mason Plumlee were all out due to COVID-19 protocols, but the Hornets got the job done. It was largely due to Miles Bridges, who dropped 32 points in the win. It’s his sixth […]

Chauncey Billups, in an increasingly common postgame refrain during the season’s early going, saved his harshest criticism for Portland Trail Blazers’ starters after a dispiriting blowout loss. The bench was a lone bright spot for Portland in its ugly 145-117 loss to the short-handed Boston Celtics on Saturday night at Moda Center, an especially damning […]

The San Antonio Spurs entered their 2021-22 campaign with low expectations after losing key veteran players like DeMar DeRozan, Patty Mills, and Rudy Gay. Their priorities were developing their young players and improving the team chemistry of youngsters such as Dejounte Murray, Derrick White, and Keldon Johnson. After suffering six successive defeats in November, the […]

The Portland Trail Blazers aren’t exactly responding well amid mounting injuries and organizational upheaval. Chauncey Billups’ team was never all that competitive in a 145-117 loss to the Boston Celtics on Saturday night at Moda Center, a second straight home defeat that was over long before the final buzzer. Even Portland’s excuses for another ugly […]

SAN FRANCISCO — Saturday night, the Golden State Warriors had their 11-game home winning streak snapped. It came to an end at the hands of a team they knew they could beat. The San Antonio Spurs went to the Chase Center and left with a victory improving their record to a not-so-impressive 8-13, though they […]

San Francisco, CA – When playing against Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors, you have to understand you’re not going to stop no. 30. The only way you can stop Curry is if he stops himself. It’s a concept that San Antonio Spurs coach Greg Popovich understands. Saturday, the Spurs stole a game against […]

The Brooklyn Nets led for a significant portion of their game against the Chicago Bulls Saturday, but they didn’t make enough shots when it mattered most. The Nets drop to 16-7 and are now just a half game up on the Bulls, who emerged victorious in the second meeting between the two Eastern Conference powerhouses. […]

Kevin Durant has been locked and loaded since the season jumped off. Some mere mortals might have felt more pressure, but he has a certain way about him where he really doesn’t seem to feel much of it. Durant came in ranked the best player in the NBA by ESPN and Sports Illustrated. That was […]

LOS ANGELES – LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers had been trying to find a rhythm, winning two games in a row. Unfortunately, their short winning streak came to an end at the hands of Tyronn Lue and the LA Clippers Friday night. The Clippers defeated the Lakers 119-115, despite a 23-point, 11-rebound, six-assist […]

In the final meeting between the two crosstown “rivals” with their joint home arena still called “Staples Center”, the Los Angeles Lakers fell to the Los Angeles Clippers, 119-115 on Friday — the Lakers 8th loss to the Clippers in the past 12 meetings. Afterward, LeBron James and Anthony Davis were more complimentary about the […]

The LA Clippers marched into Staples Center for a road contest against the Los Angeles Lakers having lost two straight. But on Friday night,  club, led by Paul George and Tyronn Lue, ended a three-game losing streak, defeating LeBron James and the Lakers, 119-115. LeBron James finished with 23 points, 11 rebounds, and six assist […]

After the Los Angeles Lakers fell to the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center on Friday, LeBron James had the opportunity to articulate his feelings about being placed in the NBA’s health and safety protocols for two days following what turned about to be a false positive COVID-19 test. LeBron — as his cagey tweet […]

LOS ANGELES – The LA Clippers come into Friday night’s showdown against LeBron James and Los Angeles Lakers having lost seven of their last 10 games. Tyronn Lue has seen enough. Ahead of Friday’s game, Lue revealed a chance in the starting lineup: Reggie Jackson, Paul George, Marcus Morris, Serge Ibaka, and Ivica Zubac. That’s […]

Despite not having Kyrie Irving around, the Brooklyn Nets still sit atop the Eastern Conference standings with a 15-6 record through 21 games. That is, of course, thanks in no small part to the efforts and brilliance of one Kevin Wayne Durant. It was announced that the Nets’ MVP candidate is the KIA Eastern Conference […]

Regardless of when the investigation into allegations of Neil Olshey fostering a “toxic” workplace was finished, Jody Allen almost certainly wasn’t going to find a better time to fire the Portland Trail Blazers’ longtime general manager than Friday morning. The Blazers included no conclusions from that probe in their announcement of Olshey’s dismissal, simply specifying […]

LaMelo Ball and Charlotte Hornets are currently sitting at the ninth spot in the Eastern Conference at 13-11. While being in ninth is nothing to write home about, the Hornets have played well and there are also five other teams with 10 or 11 losses, so they are in a good place. Overall, the team […]

If Thursday’s game proves a harbinger of their play to come while Damian Lillard is sidelined by abdominal tendinopathy, the Portland Trail Blazers’ season could very well be at risk of going off the rails. The San Antonio Spurs came to Rip City and throttled the depleted Blazers, 114-83, in a game every bit as lopsided […]

Frank Vogel uncharacteristically tooted his own horn after the Los Angeles Lakers rolled to a blowout “road” win over the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday — sparked by a 40-8 second-half run. First, in their postgame remarks, Vogel and multiple Lakers players cited his fiery halftime speech as an effective motivator. Vogel also made a crucial […]

With only 30 minutes or so before the Toronto Raptors tipped off against the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night, the team was informed that superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo would not be suiting up. But Raptors coach Nick Nurse said that didn’t affect them too much. “I guess I was pretty neutral on it, to be honest,” […]