Reporting Articles - Page 439

The Portland Trail Blazers put forth another stellar team-wide effort on Friday night at Moda Center, defeating the LA Clippers 111-92 despite Paul George going off for a typically smooth 42 points. Not bad for a Portland team that fell to the Clippers by 30 points earlier this week in a performance that Chauncey Billups […]

The Charlotte Hornets split their Florida road trip games after losing to the Miami Heat on Friday night. Charlotte got off to a sluggish start against the South Beach franchise, finding themselves down by 18 points going into halftime. For his part, Hornets head coach James Borrego said that they need to just get off […]

Just a few nights after Joe Harris broke the Brooklyn Nets’ franchise record for triples made, we had another milestone on Friday. This time, it’s courtesy of LaMarcus Aldridge. Aldridge has had quite the journey. The seven-time All-Star joined the Nets last season but only appeared in five games as he had to suddenly retire […]

The James Harden haters were getting a little too comfy recently. One of the biggest storylines during the early portion of the 2021-22 NBA season has been league officials cracking down on “non-basketball” moves.  The Brooklyn Nets superstar, who holds the reputation as a player with all of the tricks of the trade in his bag, became […]

To start or not to start? That is, apparently, one of the early-season questions surrounding Russell Westbrook and the Los Angeles Lakers. The new-look and injury-ravaged Lakers have gotten off to an eventful 2-3 start. Except for a stellar outing against the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday (without LeBron James) that encapsulated Westbrook’s regular-season value […]

C.J. McCollum began last season playing the best basketball of his life for the Portland Trail Blazers. Long pigeonholed into the very good but not-good-enough category of a team’s second-best player, he broke from that mold over the first 13 games of 2020-21, providing Portland a much-needed sense of upward mobility in the Western Conference. […]

In their most recent game, the Brooklyn Nets got demolished on the glass 62-42, falling to the Miami Heat 106-93 in their fifth game of the year. Brooklyn (2-3) is trying to scrape by as they adjust to the training camp bombshell of losing Kyrie Irving due to the superstar’s vaccination status. Irving, at 6-2, […]

With Ben Simmons not ready to take the floor for the Sixers, Doc Rivers has had a rather large hole to fill in his starting lineup. Since his arrival, the former number one pick has been the maestro of the Sixers’ offense. In Simmons’ absence, Tyrese Maxey has been called upon to step into the […]

San Francisco, CA – The Golden State Warriors finally dropped their first game in the 2021-22 NBA season. Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies delivered the defeat despite a 36 point performance from Stephen Curry. There’s many questions about how they ended up losing this game. Was it because Curry subbed in too late in […]

It has been well known for years now how explosive of an athlete Jalen Green is. He’s an incredible leaper, very fast in transition, and he seems to have an impressive dunk every game now for the Houston Rockets. It’s a big reason why he has been one of the top-rated NBA prospects in the […]

The Houston Rockets like to end practices with one-on-one drills led by assistant coach John Lucas. It’s been a tradition dating back to training camp in Galveston and the media has been allowed in to watch. The drills are very competitive and there’s a lot of trash talk so it’s actually a pretty entertaining set […]

The Philadelphia 76ers took the court at home Thursday night, looking to bounce back from a tough loss to the Knicks on Tuesday. Next up on their schedule was a matchup with the Cade Cunningham-less Detroit Pistons.  While the Pistons might have caused a minor scare, the Sixers managed to get back in the win […]

In the second quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday, LeBron James put a scare into the Lakers’ front office and sold-out Staples Center when he hit the deck in pain after Desmond Bane collided into his lower leg. LeBron was down for several minutes. Eventually, he arose, continued […]

If there was ever a flicker of doubt Fred VanVleet would be the heir apparent to Kyle Lowry when it comes to leadership and tenacity, Wednesday night’s game should have extinguished it. For the first time in his career, VanVleet recorded a double-double with rebounds, grabbing a career-high 10 boards against the Indiana Pacers. He […]

The Nets dropped to 2-3 after they got spanked by Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Kyle Lowry and the rest of the Miami Heat on Wednesday. One of the key storylines early on this season for Brooklyn has been James Harden and his apparent struggles. We’ve grown accustomed to The Beard pretty much dominating games at […]

The Memphis Grizzlies put up 57 points in the first half of Wednesday’s game, slicing and dicing the Portland Trail Blazers’ half-court defense en route to a stellar 116.3 offensive rating. More discouraging for Portland going into intermission? Ja Morant was underwhelming compared to the sky-high standard he set over the season’s first three games, […]

LOS ANGELES — Fresh off their first victory of the season, Paul George and the Los Angeles Clippers wrapped up their three-game home stand on Wednesday night with a matchup against the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs, winners of two in a row against the Atlanta Hawks and Denver Nuggets, marched into Staples Center with […]

The Philadelphia 76ers now have four regular season games under their belt and sit at a record of 2-2. There is a lot that can be taken away from their performance thus far, but one growing storyline involves the team’s franchise cornerstone. After coming off a dominant season that almost netted him the MVP award, […]

The Los Angeles Lakers — the oldest team in the NBA, with championship aspirations — were up 56-30 against the Oklahoma City Thunder — the youngest team in the NBA with lottery expectations — in the second quarter of Wednesday’s game at the Paycom Center. As you surely know by now: the Lakers lost. In […]

Steve Nash has made no secret that this is an experimental time for his team. The Brooklyn Nets fell to the Miami Heat on Wednesday, 106-93. Brooklyn is now 2-3, having lost twice at The Clays. Steve Nash, Kevin Durant, and Co are looking for any spark rotational standpoint. “We lost a big piece. It’s […]

The Los Angeles Lakers (2-3) blew a 26-point lead to the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Paycom Center on Wednesday. The Thunder came into the game 0-4 on the season, and, frankly, barely looked like a team capable of winning basketball games (obviously, the front office isn’t interested in doing so). Somehow, the Lakers — […]

Some history was made in Brooklyn. The Brooklyn Nets hosted the Miami Heat with one of their key starters on the precipice of team history. Joe Harris entered the game just two triples shy from tying Jason Kidd’s franchise leading record for 3s made. The eight-year veteran out of Virginia was three makes shy of […]

Spurred by an utterly dominant second-half performance on both sides of the ball, the Portland Trail Blazers routed the Memphis Grizzlies 116-96 on Wednesday night at Moda Center. Here are four positives from the Blazers’ impressive victory, which moves them to 2-2 for the 2021-22 season. The Entire Second Half Portland trailed 57-51 at halftime, […]

The last time the Toronto Raptors won at home, in Scotiabank Arena, was on Feb. 23, 2020. That changed on Wednesday when they smacked the Indiana Pacers to the tune of 118-100, garnering masterful performances from Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby, and rookie Scottie Barnes, who continues to exceed expectations in all facets. “When we’re playing […]

When the Philadelphia 76ers signed Dwight Howard prior to the 2020-21 season, many felt the team finally found the perfect backup center to Joel Embiid. As a former top center in the league, Howard could be a great mentor for Embiid during the prime of his career. This pairing did not last long after Howard […]

When a player has fallen out of favour with Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse, he makes no concerted effort to hide it. Such is the case with Malachi Flynn, who was taken 29th overall in the 2020 NBA Draft and who showed some bright spots amid a dismal year in Tampa that saw the […]

Since the Los Angeles Lakers acquired Russell Westbrook in a blockbuster trade, numerous members of the team — including Anthony Davis — projected how the nine-time All-Star would impact the Lakers during the laborious 82-game marathon. “The energy he brings every night is going to be pivotal for us with the long season,” Kent Bazemore […]

Tuesday on the road, the Golden State Warriors were victorious once again. They improved their record to a perfect 4-0 by defeating the winless Oklahoma City Thunder 106-98. Winning this game was easier said than done. It took heroics to get the job done, and the outstanding performance wasn’t from Stephen Curry. It was his […]

The Philadelphia 76ers took the floor at Madison Square Garden Tuesday night for the second half of a two-game road trip. After picking up a good all-around win against the Thunder in their last game, the same cannot be said for their meeting with the Knicks. New York busted the game open in the second […]

The NBA is only a week into it’s 2021-22 season, but there’s been no shortage of drama around the league. Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks got their NBA championship rings and proceeded to defeat Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets. Ben Simmons returned to practice with the Philadelphia 76ers, proceeded to get kicked out, […]

If you drafted Kevin Durant on your fantasy squad this season, or you happen to have tickets to a Brooklyn Nets game on the second night of a back-to-back, there’s some potentially exciting news. It sounds like the team is more comfortable this season playing KD on consecutive nights, something it was hesitant to do […]

During the third-quarter nadir of the Portland Trail Blazers’ “embarrassing” loss to the LA Clippers, there were a few fleeting moments that made it easy to wonder if everything was alright with Damian Lillard. He’d just airmailed another three-pointer, threw a pocket pass to Jusuf Nurkic’s heel and came up short on a half-contested layup. […]

Sunday night’s loss for the New York Knicks against the Orlando Magic served as a wake-up call. Despite adding premium talent this offseason, winning a thriller against the Boston Celtics in the season opener, and crushing the same Magic two days prior, the Knicks clearly underestimated their opponent and were handed an unexpected loss, robbing […]

We’re only four games into the 2021-22 season, but Brooklyn Nets star James Harden is not playing up to the lofty standards the perennial MVP candidate has set for himself over the years. Maybe we should not be surprised. While many of us (understandably) focused on the Kyrie Irving vaccination situation, or the potential max […]

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Clippers blew out the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night, 116-86. The final score somehow didn’t even truly indicate just how dominant Tyronn Lue’s club was in what was their seventh consecutive win over Damian Lillard’s Blazers. Portland turned the ball over 30 times on the night. They also shot […]

Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry is one of the greatest basketball players ever. When it comes to his game, only one issue stands out, and it’s his turnovers. Charles Barkley pointed it out during a showing of Inside The NBA on TNT, and Hall of Famer Rick Barry agrees with him. During a podcast […]

LOS ANGELES — Paul George has gotten off to a hot start for the Los Angeles Clippers. Through two games, that hadn’t resulted in any wins, and it had head coach Tyronn Lue emphasizing defense. LA entered Monday’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers as one of the four teams remaining in the NBA that hadn’t […]

One of the early season storylines for the Rockets that nobody saw coming is the chemistry big men Alperen Sengun and Christian Wood have developed together. Not many people thought Sengun and Wood would even share the floor as much as they have so far. Theoretically, they’re both natural centers in the modern NBA and […]

LaMelo Ball and the Charlotte Hornets’ three-game winning streak was snapped by the Boston Celtics in a thrilling overtime game 140-129. The duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown led the way for the Celtics. The young tandem combined for 71 total points. Even so, the Hornets did a great job weathering the storm. This […]