Marc Gasol Injury: Grizzlies Star Injures Ankle vs. Kings
December 31st, 2016 by Rob Goldberg No comments »
Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol was forced to the sidelines after suffering an ankle injury on Saturday against the Sacramento Kings.
Per the Grizzlies' communications department on Twitter, Gasol is officially listed as day-to-day after his X-rays were negative.
Ronald Tillery of the Commercial Appeal noted Gasol was limping "pretty badly" around the locker room and that Grizzlies head coach David Fizdale said the severity of his injury is unknown.
Gasol told Tillery his ankle is "not broken. That's good. It just hurts."
Injuries have been a problem for Gasol lately, though this is his first issue this season. The Spanish star was limited to only 52 games last season, the second time in three years he failed to reach 60 games.
The foot injury that ended his year in 2015-16 also kept him out of the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in August.
Gasol suffered a bone bruise during the preseason before working his way back ...
2016-17 NBA Superstar Rankings: Top 25 Players Heading into the New Year
December 31st, 2016 by Adam Fromal No comments »
If it feels like the NBA has a giant conglomerate of elite talents this year, it's because that's true.
Even as Russell Westbrook continues to throw up monstrous lines and average a triple-double, he hasn't run away with the 2016-17 MVP race. James Harden, LeBron James and Kevin Durant are right on his heels, and you can count in another handful of players: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Marc Gasol, Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, Kawhi Leonard, Chris Paul and Kyle Lowry chief among them.
Everything is tightly packed, and that includes these superstar rankings.
A lot has changed since the Nov. 12 edition. There's a different face at the top, and five new players are ranked for the first time—including someone who's jetted all the way up to No. 13.
As is always the case, we're not concerned with the level they'll reach by the end of 2016-17. The distant past doesn't matter either. This is about who's ...
Kristaps Porzingis Injury: Updates on Knicks Star’s Achilles and Return
December 31st, 2016 by Adam Wells No comments »
New York Knicks sensation Kristaps Porzingis has been out since a Dec. 31 contest against the Houston Rockets due to a sore Achilles.
It is currently when he'll return to the court.
Continue for updates.
Latest on Porzingis' Playing Status
Monday, Jan. 2
Porzingis will "probably" be back on the court Wednesday against the Milwaukee Bucks, according to ESPN New York's Ian Begley, who added he still has discomfort when completing "explosive" movements.
Porzingis Emerging as Superstar for Knicks
Porzingis has followed up a strong rookie campaign last season with a stellar effort so far this season. He had appeared in each of the Knicks' 32 games prior to Saturday, averaging 20.1 points and 7.8 rebounds per game and leading the team with three win shares, per Basketball-Reference.com.
While the team is still not among the upper crust in the east, Porzingis' continued rise has left the Knicks in a position where they can dream about a playoff ...
Low-Key Trevor Ariza Is Critical to High-Octane Houston Rockets
December 31st, 2016 by Maurice Bobb No comments »
Trevor Ariza doesn't do a lot of talking.
He's reserved, reticent and often a reluctant interviewee. He doesn't get too high or too low. He doesn't get loud, boisterous, shaken or taken out of his game. The Houston Rockets forward lets his play do the talking, even after the dust-up with Dallas Mavericks center Salah Mejri took an ugly turn in Tuesday night's 123-107 rout.
Ariza received two technical fouls, got ejected and waited for Mejri outside of the Mavs' home-team locker room. And the 13-year veteran was already done with it.
"It's over," Ariza said. "I'm trying not to think about it. I know what happened. He knows what happened, and that's it."
So there he was, back in uniform against the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night, doing all the little things that often go overlooked.
Lost in the revelry of James Harden's seventh triple-double of the season (30 PTS, 13 REB, 10 AST) and Montrezl ...
Isaiah Thomas: 5th in Celtics History to Score 50 Points in Regular-Season Game
December 31st, 2016 by Daily Facts No comments »
Fact: Isaiah Thomas scored 52 points in the Boston Celtics' 117-114 win over the Miami Heat on Friday night. He joins Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Sam Jones and Paul Pierce as the only Celtics to score 50 or more points in a regular-season game.
Bleacher Report will be bringing sports fans the most interesting and engaging Cold Hard Facts of the day, presented by Coors Light.
Source: B/R InsightsRead more NBA news on BleacherReport.com
2017 NBA Draft Big Board: How Prospects Stack Up Entering New Year
December 31st, 2016 by Jonathan Wasserman No comments »
There are big changes in the latest 2017 NBA draft big board.
After a shaky start, one of the top prospects in the nation has found a rhythm and catapulted himself to No. 2 in the rankings. Two freshmen have also broken into the top 20.
The general feeling about this class is that it's strong, particularly in terms of potential star power in the lottery. With conference play underway, now is the time scouts zoom in a bit closer with their microscopes.Begin Slideshow
Friday NBA Roundup: Isaiah Thomas Making Case as the Only Superstar Celtics Need
December 31st, 2016 by Josh Martin No comments »
It was the Boston Celtics' biggest game of the 2016-17 NBA season to date, and Isaiah Thomas was nowhere to be found down the stretch—and not because he was the shortest player out there.
Granted, Thomas was on the court at Quicken Loans Arena on Thursday to close out Boston's 124-118 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. But for all intents and purposes, his four points, two assists and one attempt from the field during the final quarter were far from the norm for a guy whose fourth-quarter scoring is second only to Russell Westbrook's.
Thomas, though, would not be denied a second time in as many nights. With the TD Garden crowd behind him, Boston's diminutive All-Star erupted for 26 points in the final frame en route to a career-high 52 points and a 117-114 C's win over the Miami Heat on Friday.
"In the fourth quarter, it felt like I was out ...
Ranking the Top 10 NHL Goals of 2016
December 30th, 2016 by Allan Mitchell No comments »
The best and most spectacular goals of the 2016 calendar year involve parts of two seasons and a brilliant playoff spring. Fans of the game have come to expect the incredible and the outrageous from established impact players like Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals.
Much of the delight from this year comes from several new talents, like Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers and Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs. The league's power structure is changing with each passing month, and those changes are reflected in every area of the game.
Sit back and enjoy the 10 most sensational goals of 2016 and feel free to chime in with your own list and suggestions. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and a year's worth of goals offers a lot of moments to ponder.Begin Slideshow
Isaiah Thomas vs. Heat: Stats, Highlights and Twitter Reaction
December 30th, 2016 by Alec Nathan No comments »
The Boston Celtics (20-14) were on the second night of a back-to-back following Thursday night's thrilling loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, but you wouldn't have known it based on the performance Isaiah Thomas put forward.
In a 117-114 win over the Miami Heat at TD Garden, Thomas finished with a career-high 52 points, including a franchise-record 29 in the fourth quarter. The previous franchise record for points in a quarter belonged to Larry Bird and Todd Day—each of whom had dropped 24, per the Boston Globe's Gary Washburn.
All told, Thomas shot 15-of-26 from the field, including 9-of-13 on three-pointers, and a perfect 13-of-13 from the free-throw line. Thomas is now one of 24 players since 1983-84 to drop at least 50 points on 26 or fewer field-goal attempts.
Thomas joined elite company with his explosive scoring display, as ESPN Stats & Info highlighted:
Perhaps more impressive is that Thomas was able to hit the half-century mark ...
Austin, Doc Rivers Ejected vs. Rockets: Latest Comments and Reaction
December 30th, 2016 by Alec Nathan No comments »
Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers and his son Austin were ejected in the second quarter of Friday's game against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center.
Austin was tossed first after he made contact with referee J.T. Orr following a missed layup, and Doc was ejected shortly thereafter when he tried to discuss his son's actions with the official.
You can see the sequence below:
"I didn't do anything wrong," Austin said, according to the Houston Chronicle's Jonathan Feigen. "I would never put my hands on a ref. (On replay) you can see I didn't know he was behind me."
The Clippers boss has now been tossed on three separate occasions through the Clippers' first 35 games.
His first ejection came Nov. 29 against the Brooklyn Nets, when he had to be restrained by his players and his assistant coaches during a screaming fit directed at official Ken Mauer.
Rivers' second ejection of the season came Dec. 18, ...