Draymond Green Responds to Kristaps Porzingis’ Comments on Matchup
December 16th, 2016 by Mike Chiari No comments »
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green locked down New York Knicks big man Kristaps Porzingis in the Dubs' 103-90 win Thursday night, and Green revealed following the contest he had added motivation to do so.
According to ESPN.com's Chris Haynes, Green was fired up by comments the Latvian youngster made during the lead-up to the game:
My Nike rep, Adrian [Stelly], showed me something on the sideline like two minutes right before the game tipped off that kind of pissed me off and made me want to go a little harder this game and guard him. So, it was good. I appreciate him for showing me that because I think I was in La-La Land before he showed me that and it just immediately pissed me off.
Prior to Thursday's clash, Porzingis was asked about his struggles against Green last season, and the 21-year-old expressed excitement at the possibility of turning his fortunes ...
Quarter-Season Grades for Each Houston Rockets Player
December 16th, 2016 by Kelly Scaletta No comments »
The Houston Rockets are not only surpassing preseason expectations more than a quarter of the way through the 2016-17 campaign, they’re getting stronger in the process.
After a Dec. 14 blowout of the Sacramento Kings, Houston is on an eight-game winning streak and is 13-2 since Patrick Beverley returned Nov. 17. While James Harden’s MVP-caliber performance has certainly had a lot do with the Rockets’ success, it’s not all there is to it. The role players around him have provided plenty of help.
The team's construction and selection of Mike D’Antoni as head coach makes this “whole” greater than the sum of its parts. Daryl Morey probably hasn’t gotten the praise he should for assembling all the pieces, and D’Antoni should be getting some for making them work.
So they both get well-earned A's here.
The bench is split into two slides (top and bottom), with a grade and brief explanation, followed by the starters, who ...
Hassan Whiteside Comments on Comparisons to DeAndre Jordan
December 16th, 2016 by Mike Chiari No comments »
The Miami Heat's Hassan Whiteside and the Los Angeles Clippers' DeAndre Jordan are two of the NBA's premier big men, but Whiteside suggested Thursday he boasts the superior game.
According to the Miami Herald's Walter Villa, Whiteside said: "He catches lobs. I shoot jumpers, catch lobs, block shots. I do a lot. He just catches lobs."
Whiteside also credited Clippers point guard Chris Paul with much of Jordan's success ahead of their meeting Friday: "[Jordan's] got CP3 as a point guard—a great North Carolina point guard, I'd like to add."
The 2016-17 numbers show that Whiteside is enjoying a superior campaign:
Whiteside inked a four-year, $98 million contract with the Heat during the offseason after Jordan signed a four-year pact for nearly $88 million with the Clips one year earlier.
Following the departure of Dwyane Wade, and due to the uncertainty surrounding Chris Bosh, Whiteside has developed into Miami's go-to player. He has parlayed that into being the NBA's leading rebounder this season ...
NBA Trade Rumors: The Latest Buzz Surounding Andrew Bogut, Rudy Gay and More
December 16th, 2016 by Kristopher Knox No comments »
We're about a quarter of the way through the 2016-17 NBA season. This means, of course, that we still have a long, long way to go.
Teams still have months to construct, hone and develop their teams into potential playoff contenders (or not). The trade deadline, February 23, won't even arrive for two months. While teams aren't yet in position for fire sales or pre-postseason spending sprees, there are certainly some already looking to make moves.
Today, we're going to run down some of the latest trade and acquisition rumors circulating the NBA world. Which teams are looking to make a deal? Which players are about to be on the move? Let's dig in.
Andrew Bogut, Dallas Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks currently sit at 6-19 and appear to be entering full-on rebuild territory. This has naturally led to some speculation surrounding center and potential trade bait Andrew Bogut. The Australian ...
Overlooked No More, Brooklyn Nets’ Sean Kilpatrick Is the Real Deal
December 16th, 2016 by Dan Favale No comments »
At the end of a surprise double-overtime victory against the Los Angeles Clippers on Nov. 29, Sean Kilpatrick made his way off the floor, embracing each of his Brooklyn Nets teammates as he went.
Drenched in sweat, with a clear semblance of exhaustion dripping off every word, Kilpatrick waxed relief over the end of Brooklyn's seven-game losing streak. He needed to log 47 minutes and tally 38 points and 14 rebounds, both career highs, but the Nets were finally back in the win column.
Equally important, Kilpatrick's rise through the NBA ranks soldiered on.
This 38-point outburst, which included a 20-point fourth quarter, pulled him ever so slightly into the national focus, tethering him to the gray area where he resides now—an accepted threat, but someone still playing on the proving grounds.
"The big challenge in this league is consistency, and to be able to do it again," head coach Kenny Atkinson said of ...
The Case for the Vegas Golden Knights to Tank Right from the Start
December 16th, 2016 by Jonathan Willis No comments »
Uncertainty is the order of the day surrounding this summer’s NHL expansion to Las Vegas. There hasn’t been expansion in the salary-cap era, and there will certainly be wheeling and dealing—not only between the new Vegas Golden Knights and the league’s 30 other teams but also between those 30 clubs as each tries to protect its most valuable players.
For all that ambiguity, one thing does seem clear: Vegas is going to be bad. The team should embrace that reality from the start.
We looked at the players likely to be lost to expansion back in September, and even before taking pre-draft trades are taken into account, the Golden Knights are looking at some awfully slim pickings. Toss in a Marc-Andre Fleury trade here or an Alex Killorn deal there, and the list of candidates gets worse in a hurry.
The rules are a little more favourable to Vegas than they were to ...
2016-17 NBA Power Rankings: How Every Team Stacks Up After 7 Weeks of Action
December 16th, 2016 by Grant Hughes No comments »
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, which means the NBA season is nearing the unofficial point at which we all start taking game-to-game swings and bigger trends a little more seriously.
This week, we get a new entry into the top five, learn a few things about trusting the Orlando Magic and have to accept the fact that Luke Walton can't work miracles with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Rankings are based on win-loss records, advanced stats, head-to-head meetings and health. Because these are designed to measure how each team is playing right now, injuries matter. Squads missing key guys aren't as potent as their records suggest, while those getting big names back on the floor might be better than their underlying statistics.
Recent performance matters most, but we're getting deep enough into the season now that a loss or two in a week may not outweigh a larger body of work.Begin ...
Knicks vs. Warriors: Score, Highlights, Reaction from 2016 Regular Season
December 16th, 2016 by Scott Polacek No comments »
The Golden State Warriors are so dominant on the basketball floor, they can play games within the actual game and keep the crowd entertained during a blowout win.
Golden State handled the shorthanded New York Knicks with ease on Thursday at Oracle Arena, 103-90, in a game that wasn't as close as the final score indicated. While the 13-point victory is notable as is, the Warriors assisted on 41 of 45 made field goals and appeared to be seeking the extra pass every time down the floor to keep the assist total high after the game was well in hand.
Ian Clark ended the streak late in the third quarter with a driving layup after the Warriors assisted on their first 36 field goals.
Golden State moved to 23-4 on the season, going 7-1 in its last eight games. The Knicks fell to 14-12 and didn't have much of a chance against the Western ...
Thursday NBA Roundup: Jabari Parker, Milwaukee’s Young Stars Coming Together
December 15th, 2016 by Adam Fromal No comments »
When you think of young NBA talent, who comes to mind first?
Maybe you're picturing a single budding superstar such as Anthony Davis or Kristaps Porzingis. Perhaps you're considering the Minnesota Timberwolves' contingent of 21-year-old standouts—Karl-Anthony Towns, Zach LaVine and Andrew Wiggins.
But after the Milwaukee Bucks earned a wasn't-as-close-as-it-sounds 108-97 home victory over the Chicago Bulls on national television Thursday, it's become clear Brewtown's contingent of youthful upside can hang with anyone.
That nasty Jabari Parker slam was one of many highlight-reel moments for the third-year forward from Duke, who exploded for 28 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals.
However, this isn't new in 2016-17. He's consistently looked the part of an improved player and entered the night averaging 19.4 points and 5.6 rebounds while shooting 47.0 percent from the field and 35.1 percent from beyond the arc.
This is one of those cases where both the eyes and advanced metrics tell ...
Steve Kerr Honors Craig Sager Before Warriors vs. Knicks Game
December 15th, 2016 by Scott Polacek No comments »
Longtime Turner Sports broadcaster Craig Sager died of acute myeloid leukemia at 65 years old Thursday, and Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr honored him before his team took the floor to face the New York Knicks.
Kerr—who worked with Sager as a Turner broadcaster before taking the Warriors job—gathered the Golden State and New York players and asked the crowd at Oracle Arena to join him in applause for the way Sager lived his life.
"Kerr is a brilliant guy, so it doesn't surprise me that he spoke so powerfully about Craig Sager," James Neveau of NBC Chicago tweeted.
Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press echoed similar sentiments:
NBA on TNT offered a tribute video for the broadcaster earlier Thursday:
Sager was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame days before he died. He is survived by his wife and five children.
Sager often stood out on the sidelines because of his brightly ...