Warriors Are Now 19-0 in Games When Draymond Green Records a Triple-Double
January 17th, 2017 by Daily Facts No comments »
Fact: Draymond Green had 11 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists in the Golden State Warriors' 126-91 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night. The Warriors are now 19-0 in games when Green records a triple-double.
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Carmelo Anthony Doesn’t Deserve Another Round of Phil Jackson’s Mind Games
January 17th, 2017 by Yaron Weitzman No comments »
NEW YORK — The funny part about all of this: Charley Rosen is right.
Trading Carmelo Anthony would be the savvy thing to do. The New York Knicks, as constituted, are stuck in the mud.
Following their 108-107 home loss Monday to the Atlanta Hawks, the Knicks are 18-24. The only thing keeping their flailing season alive is a pitiful Eastern Conference, where you can be 10 games below .500 and somehow remain within striking distance of the eighth seed.
Of course, all teams, or at least those not coached by Gregg Popovich, endure slumps. It's part of the game. Then again, this is the Knicks we're talking about, so it should come as no surprise that all this losing has begotten yet another Madison Square Garden circus.
And team president Phil Jackson is the ringleader.
So let's go back to Rosen. For those blessed souls not familiar with all the members of Jackson's posse, ...
How Cleveland Cavs Should Address Each Area of Need at the NBA Trade Deadline
January 17th, 2017 by Zach Buckley No comments »
It's good to be the defending NBA champs.
But the Cleveland Cavaliers know a few roster tweaks could make life even better.
"We still got a couple more things we need to do," LeBron James said after the Cavs acquired sharpshooter Kyle Korver, per ESPN.com's Dave McMenamin. "We got to get a point guard."
Cleveland has needed a veteran playmaker behind Kyrie Irving all season. Chris Andersen's season-ending ACL tear left the roster lighter than it could be in traditional interior bigs.
The needs ahead of the Feb. 23 deadline aren't major, but they're present. A 126-91 shellacking at the hands of the Golden State Warriors on Monday adds at least a modest amount of sting.
The Cavs have different means to address their issues via an open roster spot, a few trade exceptions and a smattering of prospects (including spark-plug scorer Jordan McRae and draft-and-stash prospect Cedi Osman). Each of Cleveland's focus areas has multiple options, the ...
NBA All-Star Game 2017: When and Where to Catch Starting Lineup Announcement
January 17th, 2017 by Paul Kasabian No comments »
The NBA All-Star Game will take place February 19 at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.
Here's a look at when and where to watch the starting lineup announcement, the latest fan voting results and three storylines this season.
Starting Lineup Announcement
When: Thursday, Jan. 19
Time: 7 p.m. ET
TV: TNT
NBA All-Star Fan Voting (as of Jan. 12)
Eastern Conference
Western Conference
Frontcourt
Team
Votes
Frontcourt
Team
Votes
LeBron James
CLE
1,066,147
Kevin Durant
GS
987,479
Giannis Antetokounmpo
MIL
963,110
Zaza Pachulia
GS
823,376
Kevin Love
CLE
473,328
Kawhi Leonard
SA
630,766
Joel Embiid
PHI
457,300
Anthony Davis
NO
567,201
Jimmy Butler
CHI
400,448
Draymond Green
GS
464,319
Guards
Guards
Kyrie Irving
CLE
971,362
Stephen Curry
GS
990,390
Dwyane Wade
CHI
514,866
James Harden
HOU
961,685
DeMar DeRozan
TOR
453,538
Russell Westbrook
OKC
899,024
Isaiah Thomas
BOS
401,671
Klay Thompson
GS
555,430
Kyle Lowry
TOR
256,668
Chris Paul
LAC
379,076
via NBA.com
Three All-Star Game Storylines
1. NBA Finals Preview?
The clubhouse leaders to represent the East and West in the NBA Finals, undoubtedly, are the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors.
That's evident by the latest standings (both teams are in first place in their respective conferences) as well as fan All-Star balloting, which features eight combined Cavs and Warriors.
Seven of them legitimately belong in the All-Star conversation (more on the eighth in the next section), meaning that ...
NBA Teams Most Likely to Hold Fire Sale Ahead of 2017 Trade Deadline
January 17th, 2017 by Adam Fromal No comments »
Take a good look at current NBA rosters. By the time the Feb. 23 trade deadline has come and gone, many of them could look significantly different.
We're not referring to the contenders that will pick up a single piece to strengthen their rotations, as the Cleveland Cavaliers did with Kyle Korver. Nor are we concerned with the midlevel teams that will buy at the deadline to aid their playoff chances.
Here, we're interested in the franchises most likely to engage in all-out selling sprees.
Not all of these squads will strip their rosters bare, trading all quality assets devoid of long-term upside to contending organizations. But any of the league's 30 teams that should travel down that path are featured here, alphabetically. Begin Slideshow
‘It’s Gonna Be a Long Season’: When Your Practice Rival Is an NBA Superstar
January 17th, 2017 by David Vertsberger No comments »
Sam Dekker, the unproven rookie, found himself toe-to-toe with veteran Houston Rockets teammate James Harden with the game on the line.
It's a dream scenario for every kid with NBA aspirations, and Dekker wanted to make his mark with a stop against one of the league's best scorers during a 2015 minicamp in Los Angeles.
"He does this move where he goes left and he grabs my arm and holds it to his body and is dribbling and pulling me around, and I'm trying to say, 'foul, foul, foul,' but he's laughing," Dekker said. "Throws me off, goes up for a layup and says, 'Game over.' And I'm a rookie—I can't say anything. He winked at me and started laughing. That's when I was like, all right, welcome to the league."
This experience mirrors that of many players across the league who, like Dekker, have the unforgiving but unforgettable job of guarding their ...
Big Win Won’t Define Warriors, but Golden State Has Begun Banishing Demons
January 17th, 2017 by Erik Malinowski No comments »
OAKLAND, Calif. — A half-hour after entering the Bridge Club—Oracle Arena's swanky restaurant and bar typically reserved for VIPs—Golden State owner Joe Lacob made his way down the hall to the Warriors' quiet and calm locker room.
First up was Kevin Durant in the back hallway. Then Stephen Curry by his locker, followed by Zaza Pachulia, JaVale McGee and so forth. Everyone still around following a 126-91 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers got a congratulatory earful from the big boss.
You can say this January win over the defending champions didn't mean a lot in the scope of an 82-game road to the playoffs. And you can say the Warriors can't find the kind of redemption they fervently seek unless these two squads meet again in June for what would be a seismic third straight NBA Finals showdown.
But don't say this drubbing didn't mean anything to the Warriors.
Golden State played some of ...
Thunder vs. Clippers: Score, Highlights, Reaction from 2017 Regular Season
January 17th, 2017 by Scott Polacek No comments »
The Los Angeles Clippers handled the Oklahoma City Thunder with relative ease on Monday, 120-98, but lost their star point guard in the process.
The Clippers announced at halftime Chris Paul was out for the remainder of the game with a sprained left thumb after he scored eight points and dished out six assists. Dan Woike of the Orange County Register noted X-rays were negative.
Fortunately for Los Angeles, a balanced offensive effort was more than enough to dispatch the Thunder in Monday's Western Conference showdown at Staples Center. Six Clippers scored in double figures as the team won its seventh game in a row and improved to 29-14.
ESPN Stats & Info put the start into historical perspective:
Oklahoma City dropped to 25-18 with the loss and was playing without Steven Adams, who was diagnosed with a concussion, per Royce Young of ESPN.com.
Marreese Speights poured in a team-high 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and DeAndre Jordan also notched a ...
Chris Paul Injury: Updates on Clippers Star’s Thumb and Return
January 16th, 2017 by Alec Nathan No comments »
Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul suffered a torn ligament in his left thumb on Monday against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The injury will require surgery, according to Dan Woike of the Orange County Register.
It is currently unclear when he'll return to the court.
Continue for updates.
Latest on Paul's Timeline for Return
Tuesday, Jan. 17
Paul is expected to miss six to eight weeks, per Woike.
Paul X-Rays Results Revealed
Monday, Jan. 16
X-rays on Paul's thumb were negative, according to Rowan Kavner of Clippers.com.
Paul scored eight points and recorded six assists and three rebounds in 14 minutes before exiting.
Paul Remains the Most Important Player for Clippers
Paul's orchestrated L.A.'s offense beautifully throughout the 2016-17 campaign, and he's been invaluable as a distributor and scorer.
Through 35 games entering Monday, Paul is averaging 17.7 points and 9.8 assists while shooting 46.9 percent from the field and 39.1 percent from three-point range, but those numbers don't tell the full story.
Paul has generated a fourth-ranked 22.7 points per game via assists, per NBA.com's ...
Ranking the Most Underrated 2017 NBA All-Star Game Candidates
January 16th, 2017 by Dan Favale No comments »
Some NBA All-Star candidates don't receive enough love.
This is a bizarre concept to ponder: Merely being considered for February's showcase implies a player is near the top of his game. How could the league's household names want for more recognition?
Fan voting is a part of it. This yearly popularity contest allows deserving talents to bend to stronger individual brands. Should-be starters barely reach the top 10 of total ballots; worthy reserves don't have the name recognition to even get that far.
Adding player and media votes to the equation should help dilute the number of truly unjustifiable snubs. But underrated All-Star hopefuls are talented dudes whose half-season performances warrant more consideration and fame than they're currently getting—both inside and outside the All-Star discussion.Begin Slideshow