Mark Cuban Comments on Potential NBA Team in Mexico
January 13th, 2017 by Adam Wells No comments »
As the NBA continues to expand its scope with more regular-season games taking place outside of the United States, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban hopes to see the league give Mexico its own team.
"I would love a team down here. I think it would really help the sport," Cuban said, per ESPN.com. "I would like to come back with the Mavericks, and every time that the NBA asks, we would love to be here."
Cuban's comments came after the Mavericks defeated the Phoenix Suns on Thursday, 113-108, in a game played at Mexico City Arena.
This is a busy week for the NBA outside of the United States. In addition to the Mavs-Suns game, the Denver Nuggets and Indiana Pacers played a game at the O2 Arena in London on Thursday, which Denver won 140-112.
The NBA has been focusing on increasing its popularity in Mexico, with Eric Gomez of ESPN.com offering stats to ...
Thursday NBA Roundup: Warriors Don’t Have Normal NBA Problems
January 13th, 2017 by Josh Martin No comments »
There are two types of teams in the NBA: the Golden State Warriors and everyone else.
For everyone else, a 127-107 victory over any opponent, even the middling Detroit Pistons, might qualify as a noteworthy night. For the Dubs, it's a ho-hum evening—the 12th one in 2016-17 that's ended with their winning by 20 points or more.
Golden State's offensive performance against the Pistons would be a picture of efficiency for most: The Warriors shot 56.2 percent from the field, including 51.7 percent from three, while notching 39 assists on 50 baskets.
But this star-studded squad has hit at least 55 percent of its field goals and half of its threes six other times and has topped 40 assists in a game on three occasions.
What about the third quarter, when Golden State outscored Detroit 41-19, which all but put the game out of reach? That's practically par for the course; These Warriors lead ...
NBA Power Rankings Halfway Through the 2016-17 Season
January 13th, 2017 by Grant Hughes No comments »
The league's hierarchy is showing no signs of stabilizing halfway through the 2016-17 NBA season.
Good. Who'd want a second half of foregone conclusions?
The Philadelphia 76ers keep climbing with stunning wins and delightful celebrations, and Joel Embiid is talking playoffs. He might even be serious.
Elsewhere, every team in the top seven lost this week, forcing some tough decisions. The result: A familiar member of the league's elite takes over the No. 1 position, a spot it hadn't touched all season until now.
Rankings are based on record, advanced metrics and gut feeling—with recent exploits counting for more than season-long performance. Health is a factor as well. Losing a star to injury or reinserting a recovered player makes a team's prior statistics less relevant. Example: The Los Angeles Clippers, shoved down into the teens for as long as Chris Paul was out, enjoy the benefits of regaining their best player this week.
One half down, one to go.Begin ...
Pistons vs. Warriors: Score, Highlights, Reaction from 2017 Regular Season
January 13th, 2017 by Scott Polacek No comments »
The Golden State Warriors let the Detroit Pistons hang around for a half before they unleashed their lethal offense on the visitors on Thursday at Oracle Arena.
Golden State rode a 41-point third quarter to a comfortable 127-107 victory after it led by just two at halftime. It moved to 34-6 on the season and 18-3 at home with its seventh win in eight tries, while Detroit dropped to 18-23 with the loss.
Kevin Durant led the way with 25 points, nine assists and six rebounds on 10-of-15 shooting from the field, while Stephen Curry tallied 24 points, six assists and five steals. Klay Thompson finished with 23 points and went 4-of-5 from deep, but the threesome weren't the only Warriors to fill the box score.
Draymond Green dished out 13 assists and grabbed nine rebounds despite scoring just two points, and Ian Clark added 14 points off the bench.
The Warriors shot 56.2 ...
Lakers vs. Spurs: Score, Highlights, Reaction from 2017 Regular Season
January 12th, 2017 by Alec Nathan No comments »
When an unstoppable force meets an easily movable object, destruction often ensues.
That's what happened Thursday night when the San Antonio Spurs' fourth-ranked offense throttled the Los Angeles Lakers' 29th-ranked defense in a 134-94 win at AT&T Center.
Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News provided a concise breakdown of just how dominant the home team was:
Kawhi Leonard fueled the Spurs' effort with 31 points (10-of-13 shooting, 3-of-5 from three), and he was an efficient machine on a night when San Antonio piled up 106 points through three quarters and coasted down the stretch.
According to ESPN Stats & Info, Leonard has already rattled off 10 separate 30-point performances this year after he posted four combined over his first five seasons.
However, Pounding The Rock's Quixem Ramirez noted Leonard would have had a chance to break new statistical ground if the game had been closer in the fourth quarter:
Leonard wasn't without help in the blowout, and the performance ...
Bulls vs. Knicks: Score, Highlights, Reaction from 2017 Regular Season
January 12th, 2017 by Rob Goldberg No comments »
The New York Knicks finally got back into the win column with a 104-89 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Thursday at Madison Square Garden.
The win snapped a three-game losing streak as New York improved to 18-22 on the season. The Bulls, who never led in the second half, fell to 19-21.
Both teams came into the game short-handed. The Knicks announced Kristaps Porzingis was out with a sore Achilles, while the Bulls were forced to play without Jimmy Butler, Nikola Mirotic and Denzel Valentine because of an illness, per K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.
TNT's Charles Barkley joked about the impact of the missing players, as Chris Herring of FiveThirtyEight relayed:
Still, the game went on as scheduled, and New York came through with one of its best efforts of the season.
Derrick Rose scored 17 points against his former team in his first home game since disappearing to Chicago.
Stefan Bondy of ...
Alex Ovechkin Tops 1,000 Career Points with 2 Goals Wednesday
January 12th, 2017 by Bleacher Report Milestones No comments »
Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin tallied two goals in Wednesday's 5-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins, becoming the 84th player in NHL history to reach the 1,000-point mark, per ESPN Stats & Info.
According to Sportsnet Stats, Ovechkin is just the 37th player to top 1,000 points with a single franchise and is the 24th-fastest player (880 games played) to the total. He also scored his 203rd career power-play goal in the contest, moving him within one of Wayne Gretzky for 15th-most in NHL history.
Ovechkin's two-goal outing Wednesday was the 111th multigoal game of his career. He owns the most of that variety since 2005-06, with Sidney Crosby (74) trailing him in second place, per Sportsnet Stats.
The biggest knock on the star winger's career is his lack of a Stanley Cup. While Ovechkin and the Capitals have made the playoffs in eight of the last nine seasons, the club has not reached the ...
Meet the NHL’s Ironman: Ducks’ Andrew Cogliano Is Hockey’s Most Durable Player
January 12th, 2017 by Adrian Dater No comments »
DENVER — Andrew Cogliano had to think hard for a moment when asked the last time he missed a hockey game as a player.
"It's been so long, it's hard to remember the exact moment. In junior, in the playoffs one year, I think I had a separated shoulder or a high ankle sprain, or something like that," Cogliano said.
That the Anaheim Ducks forward can't seem to recall even the exact location of his last serious injury speaks well to just how long it's been. The injuries, wherever they were, would have occurred sometime in the spring of 2004 when he was a member of the St. Michael's Buzzers of the Ontario Junior Hockey League.
Or it could be that Cogliano's seemingly strange haziness of memory stems from the fact that, well, he doesn't really love talking about his distinction as the NHL's reigning ironman, with 747 consecutive games played entering Thursday's ...
Warriors End Security Partnership with Ex-SFPD Chief Greg Suhr
January 12th, 2017 by Alec Nathan No comments »
The Golden State Warriors ended their security partnership with former San Francisco Police Department Chief Greg Suhr on Thursday, hours after their initial agreement was made public.
"The Warriors and former San Francisco Police Department Chief Greg Suhr have mutually agreed to discontinue his consultant arrangement with the organization, effective immediately," the team said in a statement, according to the San Francisco Chronicle's Kimberly Veklerov.
Suhr resigned from his post as SFPD chief in May following a fatal police shooting of an unarmed woman who was behind the wheel of a stolen car.
According to Veklerov, the shooting that preceded Suhr's resignation was one of "several controversial police shootings" that occurred during his time in charge of the department.
Additionally, the San Francisco Police Department and Suhr had to address a scandal in April that involved officers sending racist and homophobic text messages to one another, according to CNN's Scott Glover and Dan Simon.
"The last thing I want to do ...
Kristaps Porzingis Injury: Updates on Knicks Star’s Achilles and Return
January 12th, 2017 by Adam Wells No comments »
New York Knicks star forward Kristaps Porzingis injured his left Achilles against the Philadelphia 76ers on Jan. 11 and has not played since. A timetable for his return to the court has yet to be announced.
Continue for updates.
Porzingis Comments on Potential Return
Sunday, Jan. 15
Al Iannazzone of Newsday reported Porzingis said following Saturday's practice that he probably won't play against the Toronto Raptors on Sunday.
"I need to get it 100 percent before I step back on the court again," Porzingis said. "I need to take my time, calm down a little bit. I'm just too anxious to be out there. Today, too, I was like, 'Let me go. You got to let me go. You got to let me go.'
"We have a tough schedule ahead of us. I want to be back as soon as possible. But at the same time, I want to make sure I'm healthy and that I ...