ICYMI: 

Most of the fireworks on Friday night happened in Houston in an absolute shoot-out between the Rockets and Atlanta Hawks. Trae Young and Dejounte Murray combined for 83 points, but it wasn’t enough. After leading by as much as 16 points in the third quarter, Atlanta squandered the lead, and the Rockets surged late to capture their fourth win of the season, 128-122.

Despite Murray scoring a career-high 39 points and making a career-high eight threes, the Hawks couldn’t get the job done. A big reason for this was their performance on the boards in the absence of Clint Capela, who was out due to dental pain. Houston outrebounded Atlanta 59-28. This included a 22-6 drubbing on the offensive boards and a 37-22 advantage on the defensive boards.

Most of the headlines after the game were about the aftermath of a third-quarter scrum between each team’s respective backcourt. Young and Murray did plenty of showboating on the way to scoring a combined 83 points, and you get the sense that Green and Kevin Porter Jr. didn’t like it one bit. Green and Porter took to Instagram to mock Young following the game. Green waved goodbye to the Hawks after their 18-point fourth quarter. 

Ja Morant messed around and dropped a triple-double in Madison Square Garden, dropping 27 points, 10 rebounds, and 14 dimes. He’s been highly productive during Desmond Bane, who suffered a sprained big toe injury on Nov. 15 and won’t be back for at least another week.

Postgame, Morant credited New York Knicks point guard and Chicago/Memphis legend Derrick Rose for paving the way for hyper-athletic guards by saying; 

“He really made it to where people believe in guys like me,” Morant told the Commercial Appeal. “Coming in, athletic guards, I felt like he was pretty much the one who kind of made it more famous. With how acrobatic his finish is, his touch around the rim, and how explosive he was. Coming in, he was my comparison. It’s crazy to be out there on the floor sharing a court with him.”

Klay Thompson was off to a rough start on the offensive side of the ball to begin the season, but he’s beginning to get on track. He shot 61.5 percent from the field in Sunday’s win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Golden State scored 47 points in the first quarter and never really looked back. They had crisp offensive execution the entire game. 

The Boston Celtics continued their winning ways. They have won 12 of their last 13 games. They are a League-best 16-4 on the season. Jaylen Brown had 36 points in their most recent win sans Jayson Tatum against the Washington Wizards. The Celtics are poised for a return to the NBA Finals if they keep playing the way they’re playing. 

Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, and the Brooklyn Nets are now only a single game under .500 following their 111-97 win against the Trail Blazers on Sunday night. Seth Curry was a big factor in the win against his former squad, with 29 points on 11-15 shooting. 

Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox has been playing out of his mind and is turning some heads. Fox has been shooting a career-high 53 percent from the field, helping him average 25.1 points per game, 4.9 rebounds, and 6.1 assists per game.

Fox has the Kings sitting in sixth place in a jammed Western Conference with a record of 10-8. Fox’s play has been so good that this past weekend, he inked a deal with one of the biggest and most well-known sports agencies in basketball Klutch Sports. For Sacramento, Fox’s recent play and lead role in the Kings’ resurgence could be just what the team needs to end their 16-year playoff drought.

The Kings have the talent and youth to be very disruptive if given a postseason opportunity. The team’s additions of Kevin Huerter and Malik Monk (in addition to Fox’s play) have been a great fit. Hopefully, Fox and the team can continue this momentum.

Over the weekend, the Lakers played the San Antonio Spurs for the third time in their last four games. During the third quarter of Saturday’s game, Russell Westbrook was going up for a layup after previously grabbing a rebound and was fouled on the way up by Spurs center Zach Collins. When Westbrook rose up from the ground heated from the foul, you could see that he had a cut and was visibly bleeding from his forehead.

The two teams got together for what seemed like a couple of seconds after the foul, but everyone was calmly escorted to their respective benches. Westbrook, who was fuming for a good reason, was taken away by LeBron James, who quickly compressed Westbrook’s head wound with a towel and walked him over to the bench to be further examined by the Lakers team doctors.

Once the situation calmed down, a Flagrant 2 foul was given the Collins, and a tech was given to Westbrook. Postgame, James commented on the altercation, saying;

“I saw where the cut was immediately. It was just common sense to put pressure on the cut right away. Don’t let it continue to go. Before we became teammates, we’ve always been like brothers and cool and things of that nature. His health is more important than the game of basketball. We were just trying to stop that and let the training staff do their job after we got him over to the bench.”

Miami center Bam Adebayo has had a quiet yet phenomenal stretch over the Heat’s last six games averaging 25.5 points per game and 10.2 rebounds on 52 percent shooting from the field. However, in Adebayo’s last two games, he has scored over 30 points and has been a key contributor toward the end of games on both the defensive and offensive sides.

The Heat are currently on a three-game win streak led by Adebayo’s diverse and consistent play, and the team looks to carry that momentum into their Wednesday matchup with the 2022 Eastern Conference Champion Celtics. 

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND:

Ja Morant’s father asked for his son’s jersey for the first time in Morant’s career. Morant stated that it was “special” for him to get a triple-double in the Garden and that it was a place that he always had a special feeling for.

Morant admitted after Sunday’s game that MSG was special for him to have a triple-double since it was a place he watched in so many games on television as a kid — which was why his father made the unusual request for his jersey.

“It’s just the bright lights, man,” Morant told ESPN post-game. “Having a triple-double in the Garden is crazy. Growing up actually watching teams come here and play, watching the Knicks play — everybody loves the Garden. We really called it the bright lights. Everybody is watching. So for me to be able to go out and play like I played tonight was big-time for me.”

The post ICYMI: We Got You Covered With Thanksgiving Weekend News appeared first on SLAM.

Klein notes that the package to obtain Murray would be Danilo Gallinari and multiple first-round picks, but John Collins will not be a part of the transaction despite being in trade rumors for a few seasons.

After sitting out all of the 2018-19 season, Murray has blossomed into one of the better point guards in the League. This past year he earned his first All-Star bid after averaging 21.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 9.2 assists, and a League-leading 2.0 steals per game.

Murray is halfway through a four-year rookie extension he signed in 2019 with the Spurs. The final two years of his contract have him making just north of $16 million and $17 million, respectively.

The Hawks are looking to pair Murray up with Trae Young, becoming a formidable backcourt within the Eastern Conference.

Klein also reports San Antonio is preparing for the future and the 2023 NBA Draft.

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While it helps, you don’t have to win a championship to be on this list. There were some pretty incredible NBA teams that fell short of championships but were still so far ahead of the rest of the League (besides the champion) that they deserve to leapfrog some actual champions. 

This week, we’re unveiling who we think deserves to be included on this list, which is featured in our SLAM Presents TOP 75 NBA Teams of All Time special issue. Here’s our top 65-55:

65. 1983-84 Los Angeles Lakers

Coach: Pat Riley

Record: 54-28

Roster: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Cooper, Calvin Garrett, Magic Johnson, Eddie Jordan, Mitch Kupchak, Bob McAdoo, Mike McGee, Swen Nater, Kurt Rambis, Byron Scott, Larry Spriggs, Jamaal Wilkes, James Worthy

The Lakers would have to wait one more year to finally beat the Celtics when it mattered most. Led by Kareem’s 26.6 ppg and 8.1 rpg in the series, the Lakers forced a Game 7 on the road. But whether it was the mystique of Boston Garden, that famously tricky parquet floor or simply a deep and talented Celtics team that had the benefit of homecourt advantage and League MVP Larry Bird, L.A. couldn’t quite vanquish its franchise kryptonite.

64. 1976-77 Philadephia 76ers

Coach: Gene Shue

Record: 50-32

Roster: Jim Barnett, Henry Bibby, Joe Bryant, Fred Carter, Harvey Catchings, Doug Collins, Darryl Dawkins, Mike Dunleavy, Julius Erving, World B. Free, Terry Furlow, Caldwell Jones, George McGinnis, Steve Mix

This Sixers squad might be best remembered for a roster that included future coaches (Doug Collins, Mike Dunleavy) and the fathers of future All-Stars (Joe Bryant, Harvey Catchings, Henry Bibby). Of course, Philly also had Dr. J in his first NBA season after a legendary five-year ABA run, and second-year big man Darryl Dawkins, a few years shy of his Chocolate Thunder prime. A fascinating roster, but no match for Bill Walton and the Blazers in the Finals.

63. 1967-68 Philadelphia 76ers

Coach: Alex Hannum

Record: 62-20

Roster: Wilt Chamberlain, Larry Costello, Billy Cunningham, Ron Filipek, Johnny Green, Hal Greer, Matt Guokas, Luke Jackson, Wali Jones, Bill Melchionni, Jim Reid, Chet Walker

Philly finished with the League’s best record, eight games clear of the Celtics in the East, thanks to balanced production from future Hall of Famers Hal Greer (24.1 ppg), Billy Cunningham (18.9 ppg), Chet Walker (17.9 ppg) and of course, Wilt Chamberlain, who put up 24.3 points and pulled down 23.8 boards per. The Sixers didn’t lose more than two straight all season…until the East Finals, when they blew a 3-1 lead against Russell, Havlicek and the eventual champs from Boston.

62. 2001-02 Sacramento Kings

Coach: Rick Adelman

Record: 61-21

Roster: Mike Bibby, Chucky Brown, Doug Christie, Mateen Cleaves, Vlade Divac, Lawrence Funderburke, Bobby Jackson, Scot Pollard, Brent Price, Jabari Smith, Peja Stojakovic, Hedo Turkoglu, Gerald Wallace, Chris Webber

For Kings fans, it is still a crime, the grandest larceny ever. Game 6 of the Western Finals against the Lakers was flat stolen from Sacramento. Missed calls. Allegations of referees fixing the proceedings. It was ugly, nasty business. And it robbed the team with the NBA’s best record, the one with Chris Webber in charge down low, Peja Stojakovic shooting from everywhere and a deep supporting cast of a title. It’s that simple. And that outrageous.

61. 1995-96 Seattle Supersonics

Coach: George Karl

Record: 64-18

Roster: Vincent Askew, Frank Brickowski, Sherell Ford, Hersey Hawkins, Ervin Johnson, Shawn Kemp, Nate McMillan, Gary Payton, Sam Perkins, Steve Scheffler, Detlef Schrempf, Eric Snow, David Wingate

What happens when one of the greatest teams in franchise history meets the greatest team in NBA history? Well, you can figure it out. The Sonics won the Pacific by 11 games and had a star-studded lineup with ferocious Shawn Kemp, Gary Payton on the perimeter, talking junk and stealing everything, smooth Detlef Schrempf all over the place and Hersey Hawkins shooting the lights out. Seattle was great. Really great. Unfortunately, the Bulls were greater.

60. 1956-57 Boston Celtics

Coach: Red Auerbach

Record: 44-28

Roster: Bob Cousy, Tom Heinsohn, Dick Hemric, Jim Loscutoff, Jack Nichols, Togo Palazzi, Andy Phillip, Frank Ramsey, Arnie Risen, Bill Russell, Bill Sharman, Lou Tsioropoulos

The birth of a dynasty. Led by the in-their-prime backcourt of Bob Cousy and Bill Sharman, and the frontcourt pairing of rookies Tom Heinsohn and Bill Russell, the Celtics made the franchise’s first Finals appearance in the spring of ’57. St. Louis took Boston to double OT in Game 7, but Heinsohn (37 points, 23 boards) matched Bob Pettit (39 and 19), and Russell went for 19 and 32 to help the Celtics claim the first of their 17 banners.

59. 2017-18 Houston Rockets

Coach: Mike D’Antoni

Record: 65-17

Roster: Ryan Anderson, Trevor Ariza, Tarik Black, Bobby Brown, Markel Brown, Isaiah Canaan, Clint Capela, Eric Gordon, Gerald Green, James Harden, Nene, RJ Hunter, Aaron Jackson, Demetrius Jackson,  Joe Johnson, Luc Mbah a Moute, Chinanu Onuaku, Chris Paul, Zhou Qi, Tim Quarterman, PJ Tucker, Briante Weber, Troy Williams, Brandan Wright

Unfortunately, these Rockets, which featured the dynamic backcourt of James Harden, Chris Paul and Eric Gordon, won’t be remembered for their NBA-best record or high-scoring ways. They will be remembered for that 25-point second half in Game 6 of the Western Finals against Golden State and then a homecourt loss two days later that ended the series. Houston played fast, used Clint Capela to handle the rough stuff inside and still wonders what might have been.

58. 2004-05 Phoenix Suns

Coach: Mike D’Antoni

Record: 62-20

Roster: Leandro Barbosa, Zarko Cabarkapa, Steven Hunter, Jim Jackson, Casey Jacobsen, Joe Johnson, Maciej Lampe, Shawn Marion, Walter McCarty, Steve Nash, Bo Outlaw, Smush Parker, Quentin Richardson, Paul Shirley, Amar’e Stoudemire, Yuta Tabuse, Jake Voskuhl, Jackson Vroman

These Suns didn’t care much about defense, and they flamed out in the Western Finals against San Antonio, despite having the NBA’s best record. But what a fun team to watch. Led by League MVP Steve Nash, Phoenix pushed the tempo feverishly and featured a talented collection of scorers. Nobody could dunk like Shawn Marion, unless it was Amar’e Stoudemire. Joe Johnson was deadly from three, and Quentin Richardson shot from everywhere. Good times.

57. 2019-20 Los Angeles Lakers

Coach: Frank Vogel

Record: 52-19

Roster: Kostas Antetokounmpo, Avery Bradley, Devontae Cacok, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Alex Caruso, Quinn Cook, Troy Daniels, Anthony Davis, Jared Dudley, Danny Green, Talen Horton-Tucker, Dwight Howard, LeBron James, Kyle Kuzma, JaVale McGee, Markieff Morris, Zach Norvell, Rajon Rondo, JR Smith, Dion Waiters

One year after failing to make the playoffs, the Lakers won it all in the COVID-19 bubble. Anthony Davis joined LeBron James in a formidable pairing, and the duo combined for 51.4 ppg. The Lakers lost only five games in their four playoff series. James led the NBA in assists, the supporting cast handled its roles without complaint and the Lakers won it all in a season they dedicated to the late Kobe Bryant.

56. 2009-10 Boston Celtics

Coach: Doc Rivers

Record: 50-32

Roster: Ray Allen, Tony Allen, Marquis Daniels, Glen Davis, Michael Finley, Kevin Garnett, JR Giddens, Eddie House, Lester Hudson, Oliver Lafayette, Marcus Landry, Kendrick Perkins, Paul Pierce, Nate Robinson, Rajon Rondo, Brian Scalabrine, Henry Walker, Rasheed Wallace, Shelden Williams

The Celtics’ Big Three led the squad on another trek to the Finals that included an Atlantic Division title. Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen were again the engine on an Eastern Conference title team, with help from point man Rajon Rondo and center Kendrick Perkins, while Rasheed Wallace provided support up front. Boston led the Lakers, 3-2, in the Finals, but ultimately lost a seven-game decision.

55. 1996-97 Utah Jazz

Coach: Jerry Sloan

Record: 64-18

Roster: Shandon Anderson, Antoine Carr, Howard Eisley, Greg Foster, Jeff Hornacek, Stephen Howard, Adam Keefe, Karl Malone, Chris Morris, Ruben Nembhard, Greg Ostertag, Bryon Russell, John Stockton, Brooks Thompson, Jamie Watson

The Jazz had plenty of great seasons during the Karl Malone-John Stockton years, but this might have been the best. Malone was League MVP, and Utah set a franchise record for wins that still stands. Stockton once again ran the show and set up everyone, while Jeff Hornacek and Bryon Russell were valuable on the perimeter. The Jazz looked good, but as usual, the Bulls looked better, taking the Finals in six.

Read here to find out who made the No. 75-66 spot on the list.

Get your copy of SLAM Presents TOP 75 NBA Teams Of All Time

Photos via Getty Images.

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With the win, the Pelicans get the right to face the Los Angeles Clippers in Crypto.com Arena on Friday night. The winner qualifies as the eighth seed in the Western Conference and will play the No. 1 seed, Phoenix Suns, in the first round.

Before the game, all of the attention was on Zion Williamson and his pregame workouts that featured this acrobatic 360 masterpiece.

Zion casually ripping down a 360 pic.twitter.com/JnhoU0bdjZ

— NBA (@NBA) April 14, 2022

But when the game started, the sellout crowd in the Smoothie King Center focused their attention on their newest franchise player CJ McCollum, who was the difference in keeping a very balanced Spurs team at bay.

“He was great,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said of McCollum’s importance, per ESPN. “He set the tone early. He understood the moment, and it sort of calmed the rest of the guys down. We just got the ball to him, and he made play after play, score after score, and then the rest of the guys that just started to feed off CJ.”

Nothing illustrated that point more than when Brandon Ingram went to the bench with three fouls in the first half. McCollum spearheaded a 14-4 run over the final 3:36 of the half with two three-pointers and two layups to put the Pelicans up 61-50.

McCollum made 10 of his first 12 shots, including 2-3 from long range, to drop 27 first-half points and finished the night with a game-high 32 points.

@CJMcCollum was RED HOT in the first half scoring 27 points on 10/12 FGM! #WBD

The @PelicansNBA will now advance in the #MetaQuestPlayIn to face the LA Clippers with the 8th seed in the West on the line!

PELICANS vs. CLIPPERS
Friday, April 15th at 10pm/et on TNT pic.twitter.com/cllyfGpdFH

— NBA (@NBA) April 14, 2022

New Orleans counts on the Lehigh product for his veteran leadership, which he acknowledged after the game in his press conference.

“I was just trying to be locked in and aggressive early,” McCollum said. “The playoffs is a lot of antics, a lot of momentum plays, a lot of back and forth. You’ve got to be stable and mentally locked in to withstand a certain level of (chaos). … There’s going to be a lot of winning in our future.”

McCollum had plenty of help as well. When San Antonio made their late run, Ingram shook off his early foul trouble to finish with 27 points, including two huge jumpers. He started the Pelicans’ in-game dunk contest with this monster dunk over Zach Collins.

THE CROWD WENT ABSOLUTELY WILD FOR THIS B.I. POSTER

: @ESPNNBA
: @ESPNRadioNOLA pic.twitter.com/oco71BIHWd

— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) April 14, 2022

Pelicans center Jonas Valanciunas had a double-double with 22 points and 14 rebounds.

By the end of the game, the only dunk that the crowd was going crazy over was Herb Jones’ baseline slam matching Ingram’s to put the game away.

.@_hoopinglife got UP!

: @ESPNNBA
: @ESPNRadioNOLA pic.twitter.com/WiZ7H4RozG

— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) April 14, 2022

This victory ends New Orleans’ postseason drought that started back in 2018.

The post CJ McCollum Shines As the New Orleans Pelicans Eliminate San Antonio appeared first on SLAM.

The former tenth overall pick has looked great early in his career when healthy, but gets injured much too frequently. Through three NBA seasons, he’s appeared in just 154 games. 

Most recently, Collins suffered an ankle injury and is still in the rehabilitation process. Even while recovering, the Spurs were willing to give him a three-year, $22 million contract. 

Set to miss the start of the season, Gregg Popovich recently told Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express that Collins should be returning to action sometime after Christmas. 

While the Spurs will have to wait a while for his debut, the upside he has is worth it. On his career, Collins has career averages of 5.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. 

The post Spurs Forward Zach Collins Expected to Return After Christmas appeared first on SLAM.

The 32-year-old Beasley is an 11-year veteran who has spent time with the Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves, Milwaukee Bucks, Phoenix Suns, Houston Rockets, New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers over the court of his career.

Widely known as one of the most talented players to have entered the NBA due to his scoring ability, Beasley lacked the consistency that NBA teams coveted from such highly drafted and highly-touted star. Undisciplined defensively, and with a string of marijuana-related off-court incidents surfacing throughout his career, Beasley’s last season playing in the NBA was during the 2018-19 campaign.

Briefly signed by the Brooklyn Nets as a replacement player for Spencer Dinwiddie during the 2020-21 season, Beasley’s contract was voided after he tested positive for COVID-19.

With a number of Portland’s frontcourt players (including power forwards Zach Collins and Carmelo Anthony), set to hit free agency in the offseason, taking a look at Beasley—particularly in a Summer League setting—is an easy way to assess hit potential fit. Particularly in a league with rules favoring offensive players and a style of play that emphasizes spacing and positional versatility.

Because the competition won’t be as stiff as that he would face in the regular season, Beasley could possibly shine in Summer League.

Only time will tell, but the NBA may soon have one of it’s most notorious ballers back in the fray.

The post Michael Beasley to Attempt NBA Comeback with Blazers in Summer League appeared first on SLAM.

Portland Trail Blazers‘ Zach Collins has re-fractured his foot, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Collins will be a free agent this offseason.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 29, 2021

The procedure, performed on Thursday, was a second revision surgery to repair a left medial malleolus stress fracture.

Collins originally had surgery on Sep. 1, 2020, after injuring his ankle in the NBA bubble. The Blazers expected Collins to return in January but the third-year pro was forced undergo a second surgery on Dec. 30 that sidelined him for the remainder of the 2020-21 season.

Selected with 10th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, out of NCAA powerhouse Gonzaga, Collins has dealt with a litany of injuries in his career, even missing all but 11 games in the 2019-20 season after suffering a shoulder injury.

Following this summer, Collins will have completed his rookie contract and Portland could make him a qualifying offer of roughly $7.4 million. If Collins declines, he’ll become a restricted free agent.

The post Blazers’ Zach Collins Re-fractures Left Foot, Undergoes Surgery appeared first on SLAM.

Fortunately for Portland — who has managed to notch a 22-16 record (sixth in the Western Conference) in the absence of McCollum, Nurkic, Zach Collins and Harry Giles — All-Star point guard Damian Lillard will have his backcourt mate back soon.

As first reported by The Athletic’s Shams Charania, McCollum will return to the Blazers’ lineup on Tuesday as Portland faces off against the New Orleans Pelicans.

Additionally, according to Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes, Nurkic intends to return to the team in “approximately two weeks.”

Prior to his foot injury, McCollum was having a career season, averaging 26.7 points, 5.0 assists and 1.3 steals per game while shooting .441 from deep. In 12 games, Nurkic was averaging 9.8 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 0.9 blocks and 0.9 steals per contest in what was a down season but still one in which he demonstrated his versatility..

With the addition of McCollum and Nurkic, a steady Portland squad has a chance to surge up the Western Conference standings as their starting lineup and bench will improve significantly.

The post Blazers Starters CJ McCollum, Jusuf Nurkic Nearing Return appeared first on SLAM.

As good as he is when he does play, his injury troubles are continuing into this season. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Collins is out indefinitely after having surgery to repair a left ankle stress fracture.

Collins also had ankle surgery on September 1, meaning this is a lingering issue. While it’s uncertain how long he will be out, he will be re-evaluated at a later date. 

Collins is a huge piece of Portland’s core and can really help the team when he’s on the floor. As a modern big who fits the current NBA mold, he will be a productivity boost when he returns from injury later this season. 

The post Zach Collins Out Indefinitely After Ankle Surgery appeared first on SLAM.

We broke down the Trail Blazers’ depth chart for the 2020-21 season below. We’ve also previously published a summary of the Trail Blazers’ offseason.

Biggest Questions

• Is there a logjam at the power forward and center positions? There seems to be a handful of guys at those positions that will be fighting for crucial playing time. How will this affect continuity and rotations?
• Can Damian Lillard win his first MVP award? After seeing what he was able to do in the bubble last season, it’s not out of the question to think he could have the best season of anyone in the NBA.

All NBA Team Offseason Summaries

The post Portland Trail Blazers: Projected 2020-21 Depth Chart appeared first on SLAM.

Shams Charania of The Athletic reports that Anthony understands the role expected of him in Portland and is eager to contribute for a contender in the West.

Anthony averaged 15.4 points and 6.3 rebounds per game for Portland last year as they desperately sought to fortify an injury-riddled roster. The team will have more bodies on the depth chart this year but Anthony’s scoring touch stands alone.

Portland will welcome Zach Collins back into the mix in 2020-21, not to mention Robert Covington, but Anthony will return to join them. This will be the 18th season of Anthony’s career.

The post Carmelo Anthony to Return to Portland appeared first on SLAM.

With the five-time All-Star now 30-years-old and his backcourt mate (McCollum) now 29-years-old, Portland’s window to win it all with Lillard is steadily shrinking. Consequently, the next two to three seasons will be key forecasting whether or not Lillard can ever get over the Conference Finals hump with the Blazers.

Related: Full Portland Trail Blazers 2020 Salary Cap Preview

2020 NBA Draft Picks

Blazers Draft Needs

Last season, poor perimeter defense is what plagued the Blazers, as they gave up 116.1 points per game (26th in the NBA), allowing teams to shoot .383 from 3-point range. Portland also had issues with keeping opposing teams off the offensive glass and getting more from their bench unit.

Lockdown defenders and monster glass-cleaners may not be the sexiest prospects to pick in the draft but the Blazers don’t need ‘sexy,’ they need a practical solution to their problems. Drafting for fit is the pragmatic approach that Portland, a perennial playoff contender, should adopt ahead of the 2020 NBA Draft.

Furthermore, two of the Blazers’ major players — Anthony and Whiteside — will be free agents this offseason. Both have readily recognizable flaws and holes in their game but they’re not going to be easy to replace.

While they may be able to find the type of defender they need in the second-round of the draft, their first-round pick should be used on a player who can somewhat replicate the production of Whiteside or Melo.

What The Mocks Are Saying

Projected Roster

Team-by-Team NBA Draft Guides

More: SLAM’s 2020 NBA Draft Preview

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Where will he end up playing in the 2020-21 NBA season?

For starters, he seemed to have enjoyed his time in Portland last season. After their season ended, he had great things to say about the organization when asked about his future in the league.

“I pray that it can be Portland. Honestly, I think that I found a home in Portland. I got comfortable with the organization. I got comfortable with the guys on the team. They got comfortable with me. At this point in my career, I do think that’s the best fit for me…I really hope it can be Portland at the end of the day.”

However, according to Jason Quick of The Athletic, a Blazers reunion may not be as likely as we think. Quick writes that if Anthony were to return it would likely need to be in a different role than the one he saw on a shorthanded Blazers team in 2019-20, a more complementary role off of the bench.

There’s no guarantee that happens, Quick suggest.

The forward spots will definitely be somewhat crowded next season for Portland. Even without Anthony, they still have Trevor Ariza, Rodney Hood, Zach Collins, Nassir Little and Mario Hezonja who are all capable of playing the four.

This is something to think about for both parties. If it weren’t for injuries, this logjam at the power forward position may have been an issue even last season. Collins, Ariza, and Hood played a combined 53 regular season games, which gave Anthony more of a chance to contribute.

Next season, with everyone presumably healthy and ready to go, rotations would look a lot different.

Regardless of where he plays in 2020-21, Anthony has shown once again that he can score the ball at a high level. Known for being one of the purest scorers in the history of the league, he still can do it on the offensive end. But where could he end up if it’s not on the Blazers?

Marc Berman of the New York Post recently reported that if Chris Paul finds his way to New York through trade, Melo could follow in free agency and join him on the Knicks. Both players were represented by Knicks president Leon Rose when he was basketball chief of Creative Artists Agency.

The post What Comes Next for Carmelo Anthony? appeared first on SLAM.

In addition to a summary for each of the 30 teams (accessible in the link grid below), we’ve also tiered the top NBA free agents league-wide and published a general comparison of all teams’ cap space. Follow @SLAMnewswire on Twitter for constant offseason updates as we head into free agency.

Projected Roster Players

Projected Free Agents

Dead Money

2020 NBA Draft Picks

Exceptions Available

• Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception – $9,258,000
• Bi-Annual Exception – $3,623,000

Key Offseason Decisions

• Will Portland bring back Trevor Ariza or waive him for just $1.8M? Ariza’s absence was felt when the Trail Blazers needed a bigger 3&D forward. He’s a nice fit alongside Portland’s stars because Ariza doesn’t need the ball, but can knock down shots. The Blazers aren’t so tight to the tax this year, so expect him to be back.
• Is Zach Collins worthy of an extension? Portland would love to get Collins locked up on a team-friendly deal. But it would have to be very team-friendly for it to be worth it for them. Expect Collins to bet on himself and then hit a better restricted market in 2021.

Projected Team Salary

$156,602,865

For the first time in a while, the Trail Blazers aren’t dancing around the luxury tax line. They could even have some cap space, if they chose to clear their books of all their non-guaranteed salaries. As it stands though, Portland will probably stay over. With the ability to use the full Non-Taxpayer MLE, and maybe even the Bi-Annual Exception too, the Blazers should be able to rebuild their depth. (@KeithSmithNBA)

Cap Space Forecast

-$47,462,865 (20^th out of 30). $25,291,417 under the Luxury Tax.

Team Salary Cap Outlooks

The post Portland Trail Blazers: Salary Cap Space 2020 appeared first on SLAM.

We’ve listed the entire roster with comparisons to last year’s launch rating below. We’ve also identified some general NBA 2K21 ratings trends for the league as a whole.

Blazers NBA 2K21 Ratings

View the NBA 2K21 player ratings for other teams below.

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A stress reaction can lead to a fracture if not managed carefully, so the Blazers will rest the four in hopes of stopping the problem before it gets worse.

Collins had become a reliable rotation piece for Portland after the hiatus. He missed the majority of the 2019-20 campaign before it, however, dealing with a shoulder injury suffered in October.

In eight bubble games, the seven-footer averaged 6.7 points and 7.3 rebounds.

The Blazers will likely turn to Hassan Whiteside for an increased role so long as Collins remained sidelined. The center looked solid for Portland in their Game 1 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.

The post Zach Collins Out with Stress Reaction in Ankle appeared first on SLAM.

Damian Lillard, too, fresh off of a groin injury in February, was only just playing himself back into game shape when the hiatus began. Lillard’s March numbers (20.8 points and 6.0 assists) paled in comparison to the herculean effort he had posted previously (29.5 points and 7.9 assists).

With Lillard compromised, McCollum raised his own game in March, raising the 22.2 points and 4.2 assists per game he averaged before the month began to 25.8 and 5.6.

One of Portland’s hottest players at the time of the suspension, Trevor Ariza, won’t be with the team at all in Orlando. Ariza averaged 14.0 points per game in March, production that will now need to come from elsewhere. Bosnian Beast, anyone?

SLAM’s Heat Check series compares each individual player’s personal production in the month of March with their production prior. The goal is to get a sense of the direction in which players were trending when the league stood still. For a more in-depth description, check out our Heat Check (Hiatus Edition) introduction.

Heat Check Portland Trail Blazers

CJ McCollum
Trevor Ariza
Mario Hezonja
Gary Trent Jr.
Hassan Whiteside
Wenyen Gabriel
Carmelo Anthony	–
Caleb Swanigan	–
Anfernee Simons
Nassir Little
Damian Lillard

Team-by-Team Breakdown

The post Heat Check (Hiatus): Portland Trail Blazers appeared first on SLAM.

Part and parcel with the league’s restart plan is the fact that players can opt out of the Disney World games without breaching their contract, but whether or not players will forfeit a prorated share of their contract when they opt out or not depends on whether they’re formally excused or not due to a medical issue.

Many of the players who will forego suiting up for the squads when the league resumes are facing the same injuries that they faced prior to the shutdown, most notably the likes of Kevin Durant and John Wall, who were expected to be out for the season regardless and will not alter those plans to take part in the unprecedented campaign extension.

Other players that have already revealed that they won’t participate at Disney did not appear on injury reports prior to the shutdown.

In addition to players who will sit out due to recent positive COVID-19 diagnoses – like DeAndre Jordan and Spencer Dinwiddie – there are players like Bradley Beal and Victor Oladipo who will take the opportunity to sit despite being active in mid-March.

To get a sense of where player’s stood when the league shut down in March, I’ve combed through the league’s final injury reports from prior to the shutdown, noting any instances where players were formally listed as “out”.

A total of 19 of the 22 Disney-bound teams had at least one such player in their most recent injury report prior to the shutdown. All told, 49 NBA players from those teams were listed as “out” on their team’s last injury report before the league ground to a halt on the night of March 11.

At least 11 of those players that were listed as “out” in March are not expected to play at Disney World. Many of the rest have long returned to health and will be active in Orlando later this month.

Out Then; Out Now

Of the 11 players that are expected to be out of action when the Disney World games tip off, three had missed the entire 2019-20 campaign. Not all players that spent the first seven months of the season on the sidelines will forego the return, however.

Jusuf Nurkic of the Portland Trail Blazers has been sidelined since breaking his leg in March of 2019 but has been cleared to suit up for his squad after the extended layoff.

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Andre Roberson is another example of a player that could make his season debut at Disney. Roberson has been on the sidelines since January, 2018.

A grand total of 30 players that were “out” the day the league stood still are now at least reasonably expected to be back at full health on July 30.

Out Then; Available Now

Naturally, there are a number of cases where availability isn’t known or at least hasn’t been verified. This list could grow with confirmations that players like Nigel Williams-Goss or Justin James are deemed eligible.

In addition to those less documented cases, there’s no consensus yet that a player like Malcolm Brogdon, who has recovered from his right quad injury but now faces recovery from COVID-19, will actually suit up at Disney World, or if a late signee like Jontay Porter, who inked a deal mid-rehabilitation on March 10, will make his debut for the Memphis Grizzlies.

Other players like Memphis’ Grayson Allen and NOLA’s Nickeil Alexander-Walker, much like Roberson, could potentially be capable of returning but don’t yet have a formally revealed clean bill of health.

Additionally, not all players that were available in March are expected to suit up for their teams during the restart. I’ve published a dynamic list of NBA players who’ve voluntarily opted out of the Disney World games but these aren’t the players that I’m concerned about here.

Below is a list of the additional players that won’t play for medical reasons. For several of these players, the hiatus represented an opportunity to undergo surgery to treat nagging injuries. LaMarcus Aldridge of the San Antonio Spurs and Bojan Bogdanovic of the Utah Jazz elected to go this route.

Other players will sit out of the restart after testing positive for the coronavirus during the shut down. A trio of Brooklyn Nets players, DeAndre Jordan, Spencer Dinwiddie and Taurean Prince, have done exactly that and this list may grow if more players see positive diagnoses closer to the July 30 tip off.

Available Then; Out Now

The post List of Injury Updates Ahead of NBA Restart appeared first on SLAM.

“I don’t support going into Orlando,” said Irving, per The Athletics‘ Shams Charania. “I’m not with the systematic racism and the bullshit. … Something smells a little fishy. Whether we want to admit it or not, we are targeted as black men every day we wake up.”

The call, which reportedly lasted 90-100 minutes, focused on “combating systemic racism, investing in black communities and sticking together through this process,” reports Yahoo’s Chris Haynes. Several players suggested that they’d be willing to sit out the remainder of the season, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

While Irving made it known he was against resuming the NBA season, he said he would travel to Orlando if the players agreed it was the right decision.

“If it’s worth the risk, then let’s go and do it,” said Irving, per Haynes. “But if you’re not with it, it’s OK, too. We’ve got options for both ways. Let’s just come to a middle ground as a family.”

According to Haynes, WNBA players on the call vowed to stand united with the NBA counterparts, as they prepare for a season tipoff in July.

NBA players on Friday’s call included:

• Kyrie Irving, Nets
• Kevin Durant, Nets
• Spencer Dinwiddie, Nets
• Garrett Temple, Nets
• Chris Paul, Thunder
• Russell Westbrook, Rockets
• CJ McCollum, Blazers
• Carmelo Anthony, Blazers
• Zach Collins, Blazers
• Joel Embiid, Sixers
• Tobias Harris, Sixers
• Dwight Howard, Lakers
• Avery Bradley, Lakers
• Donovan Mitchell, Jazz
• Mike Conley, Jazz
• Malcolm Brogdon, Pacers
• Myles Turner, Pacers
• Justin Holiday, Pacers
• Al-Farouq Aminu, Magic
• Mo Bamba, Magic
• Kyle Lowry, Raptors
• Lou Williams, Clippers
• Andre Iguodala, Heat
• Rudy Gay, Spurs
• Harrison Barnes, Kings
• Mason Plumlee, Nuggets

WNBA players included:

• Tiffany Hayes, Dream
• Renee Montgomery, Dream
• Kristi Toliver, Sparks
• Natasha Cloud, Mystics

RELATED: NBA Players Planning To Take Stand Against 2019-20 Season Restart

The post Kyrie Irving Plays Key Role in Conference Call Featuring 80+ NBA Players appeared first on SLAM.

Each member of the SLAM Fam was assigned a team to pick for. Below are the results + explanations.

Special Offer: Click Here To Get 15% Off NBA Store With Code NBASLAM15

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1. GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS: Anthony Edwards (6-5 Guard, Georgia)

CLASS: Freshman (18 years old)

2019-20 STATS: 19.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 40% shooting from the field

First things first: The Golden State Warriors are not about to draft a third Splash Brother. Anthony Edwards may not be a great three-point shooter, but that’s arguably the only thing he doesn’t already do at an elite level. As he showed pretty much every night during an SEC Freshman of the Year campaign at Georgia—and as comparisons to Donovan Mitchell, Victor Oladipo, and even Dwyane Wade make clear—the 6-5, 225-pound combo guard has all the tools necessary to be a difference maker in the NBA. With Steph and Klay both in their 30s and coming off major injuries, the Dubs need to be thinking about the backcourt of the future. Edwards could be their next All-Star SG. — Ryan Jones

2. CLEVELAND CAVALIERS: LaMelo Ball (6-8 Guard, Illawarra Hawks of the NBL)

AGE: 19 years old

2019-20 STATS: 17.0 points, 7.6 rebounds, 6.8 assists, 1.6 steals, shooting 38% from the field

I’m gonna ignore that this pick adds a third point guard to a young team and just roll with the kid that I think is an incredible talent that any team would be lucky to have. Last we saw of LaMelo, he was a 6-7 point guard who can shoot from deep, put the ball on the floor and make the smart pass. Now I hear he’s sprouted to 6-8, grown into his lanky frame and become a more confident playmaker. That’s tough to pass on, regardless when the pick is being made. I realize this would create a logjam at the PG spot—LaMelo, Collin Sexton and Darius Garland seem unlikely to successfully share the ball—but it gives Cleveland a hell of a group of young players to develop and/or trade for other guys as the next season nears (or in the distant future). — Adam Figman

3. MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES: James Wiseman (7-1 Center, Memphis)

CLASS: Freshman (18 years old)

2019-20 STATS (three games): 19.7 points, 10.7 rebounds, 3.0 blocks, shooting 77% from the field

Karl-Anthony Towns’ capacity to match imposing physical size with guard-like quickness has proven to be the quality that separates him from many of the League’s bigs. James Wiseman has a skill-set, frame and athletic ability that almost mirrors that of Towns. Wiseman, who left Memphis after just three games, has consistent 20-point, 10-rebound potential written all over him. Pairing a forceful yet talented big man duo with D’Angelo Russell could be the right way to finally bring the Wolves back to the hunt. — Max Resetar

4. ATLANTA HAWKS: Obi Toppin (6-9 Forward, Dayton)

CLASS: Sophomore (22 years old)

2019-20 STATS: 20.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, shooting 63% from the field and 39% from three

The 6-9 redshirt sophomore became a SportsCenter regular thanks to his high-flying finishes, but overall was a super-efficient scorer despite a high usage. Prior to the NCAA suspending all remaining games, the Brooklyn native had positioned Dayton as a potential No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. The Flyers held a 29-2 record—easily the best season in school history.  He was already named National POY by USA Today, CBS Sports, NBC Sports and The Athletic, and is widely considered the front-runner for the prestigious Naismith Men’s College Player of the Year award. Additionally, Toppin was the only unanimous selection for the AP All-America teams. While the Hawks already have John Collins and Clint Capella in the paint, Toppin’s resume is worthy of serious consideration. — Franklyn Calle

5. DETROIT PISTONS: Deni Avdija (6-9 Forward, Maccabi Tel Aviv)

AGE: 19 years old

2019-20 STATS: 7.7 points, 4.1 rebounds, shooting 51% from the field (19.8 mpg)

Four of the highest ceiling prospects have already come off the board, but the Detroit Pistons can still pocket a valuable building block with this No. 5 pick as they turn to the future. Despite the fact that they already have ambiguously tantalizing combo forward Sekou Doumbouya and breakout stretch Christian Wood, the Pistons should take a long look at 19-year-old utility forward Deni Avdija. Avdija has impressed as a transition quarterback in the Israeli Premier League and looks comfortable enough handling the ball and pulling up from beyond the arc to project as an intriguing offensive option at the next level. Defensively, his length and discipline should help him at least make an impact, but if he’s going to see time at the three, or even at the four, in today’s small ball era, he’ll need to show that he can match NBA speed and athleticism.  — Austin Kent

6. NEW YORK KNICKS: Cole Anthony (6-3 Guard, North Carolina)

CLASS: Freshman (19 years old)

2019-20 STATS: 18.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.0 assists, shooting 38% from the field and 35% from three

This just makes sense for so many reasons. 1) The Knicks continue to search for a consistent playmaker at the point guard position. Cole uses his explosive athleticism to get to the paint and put constant pressure on the defense. Which brings us to 2) The Knicks offense currently ranks 29th in the NBA and they desperately covet scoring. Cole averaged just under 20 points per game for the Tar Heels and, while a solid facilitator, is more aggressive than passive. Right now, the Garden needs that. And, of course, there’s 3) Cole grew up in New York City and his father, Greg Anthony, was a PG for the Knicks from 1991-95, when the team was making deep playoff runs. As long as Cole takes care of the ball and RJ Barrett improves his perimeter shooting, the two could form the backcourt that turns things around for a franchise that hasn’t finished over .500 since 2012-13. — Alex Squadron

7. CHICAGO BULLS: Tyrese Haliburton (6-5 Guard, Iowa State)

CLASS: Sophomore (20 years old)

2019-20 STATS: 15.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 2.5 steals, shooting 50% from the field and 42% from three

The underachieving Bulls showed that they need help in several areas—shooting and defense in particular. Iowa State sophomore point guard Tyrese Haliburton excels in those domains, and then some. Haliburton, who just turned 20, averaged 15.2 points (on 50/42/82 shooting splits), 6.5 dimes, 5.9 boards and 2.5 steals this season. A pass-first playmaker, he would fit perfectly alongside scorers Coby White and Zach LaVine. Standing 6-5 with a crazy wingspan, Haliburton could easily guard positions 1-3, giving Chicago more switch-ability on the perimeter. And not to be overlooked, Haliburton brings great character to a team—lauded by Iowa State coach Steve Prohm for his “winning demeanor.” — Ryne Nelson

8. CHARLOTTE HORNETS: RJ Hampton (6-5 Guard, New Zealand Breakers of the NBL)

AGE: 19 years old

2019-20 STATS: 8.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists, shooting 40% from the field

RJ Hampton, a 6-5, 185-pound point guard would be a nice, perhaps long-term fit for the Charlotte Hornets. The 19-year-old, who skipped college and took his talents to Australia, would have an uphill battle for minutes in a backcourt featuring Devonte’ Graham and Terry Rozier. Hampton is an elite ball-handler—able to break down defenses with dribble penetration—and has plenty of athletic ability. Unlike most of his peers in the 2020 NBA Draft, RJ had a taste of the fierce competition that awaits him in the League. His New Zealand Breakers faced both the OKC Thunder and Memphis Grizzlies in a pair of exhibition games last October, and though his jumper struggled, Hampton knows he’s well on his way: “I’m having a lot of fun.” — Marcel Mutoni

9. WASHINGTON WIZARDS: Onyeka Okongwu (6-9 Forward, USC)

CLASS: Freshman (19 years old)

2019-20 STATS: 16.2 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.7 blocks, 1.2 steals, shooting 62% from the field

If you’d heard of Onyeka Okongwu before 2018, it was probably as a footnote in a story about his world-famous high school teammates. Okongwu played at Chino Hills with the Ball brothers, where he spent his early years in anonymity before LaMelo left California for Lithuania. Thrust into a leading role, Big O led Chino to a state title, and added a 35-point, 14-rebound, five-block performance against Zion Williamson at the 2018 Hoophall Classic along the way. In one season at USC, the crazy athletic 6-9 big showed enough potential to warrant top-5 pick consideration. Okongwu’s NBA comparisons range everywhere from Montrezl Harrell to Bam Adebayo—at minimum, he’s a versatile defender who can step in right away and protect the rim for a Washington team sorely lacking in that area. Projecting him alongside a healthy Wall, Beal, Hachimura and (maybe) Bertans in 2020-21 would certainly have Wizards fans eyeing a return to the postseason. — Abe Schwadron

10. PHOENIX SUNS: Nico Mannion (6-3 Guard, Arizona)

CLASS: Freshman (19 years old)

2019-20 STATS: 14.0 points, 5.3 assists, 1.2 steals, shooting 39% from the field

Nico Mannion is one of the smoothest and most skilled point guards in this year’s draft. His father, Pace Mannion, played in the NBA and finished his career in Italy, where Nico was born. Once they moved back to the states, Nico played in Phoenix at Pinnacle High School and then for the Arizona Wildcats. At 6-3, he has great pace and court vision. He’s smooth off the bounce and can create for himself and his teammates. He’s a shot maker and has all the tools to be an elite guard at the pro level. Phoenix is a good fit for Mannion, as he can learn alongside Rubio in the city where he’s been playing for years. — Bryan LaRussa

11. SAN ANTONIO SPURS: Jaden McDaniels (6-9 Forward, Washington)

CLASS: Freshman (19 years old)

2019-20 STATS: 13.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.4 blocks, shooting 41% from the field and 34% from three

I’m well aware of what happened in his lone season at Washington and what scouts and analysts have said regarding a player that they feel teams should take caution with. I know about the benchings at UW, critiques of his decision-making on the court and the other asterisks that might have been attached to his name. But the Spurs’ culture—and everything they stand for—couldn’t be a better place for McDaniels to start his NBA career. There are valuable OGs on that roster—Patty Mills, DeMar DeRozan, Rudy Gay and LaMarcus Aldridge—and another Washington guy in Dejounte Murray that could take the incoming rook under their wings. And did I mention being in the same vicinity and learning from a HOFer in Tim Duncan? The Spurs have a “we-over-me” ethos and a track record that speaks for itself. San Antonio is a perfect destination for someone with Jaden’s stature and skill set. — Drew Ruiz

12. SACRAMENTO KINGS: Isaac Okoro (6-6 Forward, Auburn)

CLASS: Freshman (19 years old)

2019-20 STATS: 12.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists, shooting 51% from the field

A year ago, you might not have known the name Isaac Okoro. Coming out of McEachern High School in Atlanta, GA, Okoro was a four-star recruit who didn’t have the hype he likely warranted. That changed quickly, though. The 6-6 freshman was surrounded by seniors in the starting lineup at Auburn and still separated himself. With his versatility and explosiveness, Okoro climbed the ranks and shouldn’t fall past this spot in the 2020 Draft. Isaac is a lockdown defender who can score in a variety of ways but doesn’t demand the ball offensively. He’ll have no problem letting guards De’Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield and Bogdan Bogdanovich (should they all return) run the show, sliding in seamlessly right away and hopefully helping the Kings level up after a disappointing 2019-20 season. — Alex Squadron

13. NEW ORLEANS PELICANS: Precious Achiuwa (6-9 Forward, Memphis)

CLASS: Freshman (20 years old)

2019-20 STATS: 15.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, 1.9 blocks, shooting 49% from the field

First off, this pick is for Queens, NY, being that I can’t remember the last time the borough had an NBA lottery pick. Coming off an eventful freshman season, Precious Achiuwa averaged 15.8 points and 10.8 rebounds per game before the sports world was put on freeze. Achiuwa should be a major addition to the young highlight reel Pelicans. The 6-9, 225-pound forward has all the tools to make an impact right away. With Lonzo Ball coming off his best NBA season and Zion’s short, but dominant, run, the Pelicans should look to add another forward with their star Brandon Ingram possibly testing the FA market this summer. Regardless, Precious will bring more athleticism and explosiveness to a budding roster. — Nick Torres

14. PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS: Devin Vassell (6-6 Guard, Florida State)

CLASS: Sophomore (19 years old)

2019-20 STATS: 12.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.4 steals, shooting 49% from the field and 41% from three

With the Blazers set to enter the 2020-21 season at nearly full strength after an injury-filled 2019-20 campaign, the team needs reinforcements to shore up its roster and make a run at the Western Conference’s best. A rookie that could step in and provide shooting and defense on the wing would help strengthen the team’s supporting cast around the Lillard-McCollum-Nurkic core. Enter Devin Vassell. The 6-6 guard from Florida State evolved into the team’s leading scorer (12.7 PPG) after averaging under five points in his freshman season. He showed off his range with the Seminoles, shooting at or above 41.5% from deep in each of his two seasons. Vassell also brings value on the defensive end, with averages of 1 block and 1.4 steals per game. The forward is the essential 3-and-D complement that Portland has lacked in recent years. He projects as an instant contributor with the potential to take over the wing from the Blazers’ older forwards. — Isaiah De Los Santos

15. ORLANDO MAGIC: Theo Maledon (6-4 Guard, ASVEL of the EuroLeague)

AGE: 18 years old

2019-20 STATS: 7.4 points, 3.1 assists, shooting 46% from the field and 37% from three

There are a lot of good guards on the the board that are excellent talents, but from the standpoint of trying to find a solid backcourt mate for Markelle Fultz, the Magic should consider Theo Maledon. Highlights are obviously skewed, but his decision making as a playmaker seems to be there, both in transition and half-court play. He plays with a patience that is rare to see in an 18-year-old in the EuroLeague. This past season for ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne, he shot 37% from beyond the arc. If he wants to maintain a spot in the NBA, he’ll need to maintain that shooting percentage as his three point attempts go up. — Arvind Pitchai

16. MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES (VIA BROOKLYN): Tyrese Maxey (6-3 Guard, Kentucky)

CLASS: Freshman (19 years old)

2019-20 STATS: 14.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, shooting 43% from the field

Earlier in this mock, the Wolves snagged James Wiseman with the No. 3 pick, pairing him with star Karl-Anthony Towns to give them a massively talented frontcourt for the foreseeable future. With the recently acquired D’Angelo Russell reliably running point, the Wolves still need a wing who can get buckets. Maxey is super shifty and already sports an impressive floater package. He has a strong handle and can effectively slash into the teeth of the defense. He’s also a fantastic on-ball defender. And while his three-point percentages are subpar, his feathery floater touch and excellent free throw percentage (83% on the season) suggest he will be just fine. His 6-3 frame may be on the small side for a SG, but his tremendous strength compensates for the slight height disadvantage. Maxey is young and has tons of room to grow. The Wolves should take a shot on a kid with huge upside who could transform into a perennial 20-point per game scorer. — Isaiah Freedman

17. BOSTON CELTICS (VIA MEMPHIS): Josh Green (6-6 Guard, Arizona)

CLASS: Freshman (19 years old)

2019-20 STATS: 12.0 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.5 steals, shooting 42% from the field and 36% from three

The Celtics are locked in for the future. They have an All-NBA point guard in Kemba Walker, budding superstars in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, a lockdown perimeter defender in Marcus Smart, and the perfect complementary pieces to round out the roster. This gives them the flexibility to take the best, most talented player available—Arizona freshman Josh Green. One of the top defenders in the draft, the shooting guard can cover 1-4 with his 6-6, 210-pound frame and 6-10 wingspan. Offensively, he is an elite athlete who can handle the ball and hit open shots, as he knocked down 39.5% of his three-point attempts in the second half of the season. He fits with what the Celtics continue to stockpile—competitive, versatile wings who can cover and play multiple positions. Green is just 19 years old, but can contribute right away as a role player for a Celtics team that has current championship aspirations. — Ben Simon

18. DALLAS MAVERICKS: Isaiah Stewart (6-9 Forward, Washington)

CLASS: Freshman (18 years old)

2019-20 STATS: 17.0 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.1 blocks, shooting 57% from the field

Sitting right on the verge of serious contention, the Mavericks will be looking for a player who provides reliable depth and immediate contribution. Washington big man Isaiah Stewart fits that mold. As a freshman, Stewart was a model of consistency for the Huskies. A 250-pound forward with a 7-4 wingspan, Stewart combines impressive athleticism and mobility with a polished finishing ability, making him a perfect fit in a pick-and-roll with Luka Doncic. He shot 77% from the FT line and showed a solid midrange touch. Stewart’s biggest strength, however, is that few, if any players in the draft play with a higher motor. While his back-to-the-basket offensive game may not translate to the next level, his energy and physicality will certainly make him effective as a rim protector and a rebounder on both ends. With Dwight Powell recovering from a ruptured achilles, Stewart can provide immediate depth at the 4 or 5 for a Mavericks team looking to win now. — Sam Squadron

19. MILWAUKEE BUCKS (VIA INDIANA): Vernon Carey Jr. (6-10 Center, Duke)

CLASS: Freshman (19 years old)

2019-20 STATS: 17.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, 1.6 blocks, shooting 58% from the field

There’s a reason why Vernon Carey Jr. was voted ACC Freshman of the Year in his lone season at Duke. The 6-10 lefty has an efficient offensive game and can score in a multitude of ways. Vernon has a quick first step and is extremely tough to guard within five feet of the basket. He’ll be joining a team already poised to make a deep playoff run, so there will be little to no pressure for the rook to carry a large load. However, if there’s anything we learned from Vernon Carey Jr in college, it’s that he shows up when it matters most. — Theus McBee

20. BROOKLYN NETS (VIA PHILADELPHIA): Saddiq Bey (6-8 Forward, Villanova)

CLASS: Sophomore (21 years old)

2019-20 STATS: 16.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, shooting 48% from the field and 45% from three

Bey is an athletic forward standing at 6-8, 216 pounds that has levels to his game, but the biggest draw is that he’s a knockdown shooter. He shot 45% from beyond the arc in his sophomore year at Villanova, up from 37% in his first year. The Julius Erving award winner could be a perfect fit for the Nets, who are currently the fifth worst three-point shooting squad in the League based on percentage. Brooklyn will be getting back major offensive pieces next year in Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, but with the contract of Joe Harris in question, Bey could be a strong addition should the Nets need to fill that role. — Camille Buxeda

21. DENVER NUGGETS (VIA HOUSTON): Jalen Smith (6-10 Forward, Maryland)

CLASS: Sophomore (20 years old)

2019-20 STATS: 15.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.4 blocks, shooting 54% from the field and 37% from three

Jalen Smith is a rim-running, athletic big with great hands. He’s also a willing and gifted post player who can step out and shoot the three. The 6-10 power forward has a high motor—Smith can bring chasedown blocks, offensive rebounds, and defensive toughness to the Pepsi Center. For good measure, he’s got the lateral speed and shiftiness necessary to defend at the next level. The Baltimore native is fresh off a stellar sophomore season, in which he led Maryland to a 24-7 record and a Big Ten title. Stix was the best player on a Terps team on pace for a 3-seed and poised for a deep run in the NCAA Tournament, and Smith would pair well with Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic in Mike Malone’s system. Paul Millsap, Mason Plumlee and Jerami Grant are all free agents this summer. Smith fits Denver’s position need, and he projects to be the kind of player most GMs are looking for in 2020: a stretch-four who defends. — Eli Schwadron

22. PHILADELPHIA 76ERS (VIA OKLAHOMA CITY): Aaron Nesmith (6-6 Forward, Vanderbilt)

CLASS: Sophomore (20 years old)

2019-20 STATS: 23.0 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.4 steals, shooting 51% from the field and 52% from three

When JJ Redick fled from the City of Brotherly Love on the first day of free agency last summer, the Sixers’ long-range marksmanship took an immediate hit. Through 65 games, Philadelphia ranked 14th in three-point field goal accuracy (32.6%), down from eighth the season before. The solution? Enter Aaron Nesmith, the best pure shooter in this year’s draft. Vandy’s 6-6 sophomore slinger averaged 23 points and 4.9 rebounds over 14 games while shooting 52% from deep, before a season-ending stress fracture in his right foot. Nesmith was the fifth-leading scorer in the nation and was on pace to have one of the best three-point shooting seasons in college basketball history. Possessing a combination of size, strength, and deadeye shot-making ability, Nesmith’s game is tailor-made for the modern NBA and fills a much-needed void in Philly. — Peter Robert Casey

23. MIAMI HEAT: Killian Hayes (6-5 Guard, ratiopharm Ulm of Basketball Bundesliga)

AGE: 18 years old

2019-20 STATS: 12.8 points, 6.2 assists, 1.5 steals, shooting 46% from the field and 39% from three

Already an Eastern Conference playoff contender, Pat Riley will search for the final pieces of the puzzle starting in the 2020 Draft. As Goran Dragic enters unrestricted free agency, the Heat will likely target youth to take over the reigns. Although he’s only 18, Killian Hayes boasts the experience and toughness it takes to make an impact in the NBA immediately. Originally born in Lakeland, FL, before moving to France due to his father’s pro career, Hayes has used basketball to bridge the gap between both countries. After playing against older opponents his entire childhood in Europe, Hayes turned professional in France at the age of only 16. During his career with Cholet, Killian also represented the French National team. Now a 6-5 PG with a tight handle, sharp vision and the ability to finish at the rim, he holds all the intangibles NBA scouts seek. The Lakeland native took the opposite journey to the League, and the risk may be worth the reward. Once idolizing Dwyane Wade, Hayes now has the chance to honor Flash as he returns to his home state and aims to ignite South Beach once again. — Daren Scarberry

24. UTAH JAZZ: Aleksej Pokusevski (7-0 Forward, Olympiacos B of the Greek A2 Basket League)

AGE: 18 years old

2019-20 STATS: 10.8 points, 7.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.8 blocks, shooting 49% from the field and 32% from three

It’s time to meet your future favorite player, and he goes by the name of Poku. Joining the storied lineage of Serbians (Vlade, Peja, Nikola) in the NBA, Aleksej Pokusevski is the youngest prospect in this year’s draft, not turning 19 until the day after Christmas. And while his 7-0 frame has caused folks that have never heard of him or seen him play to make assumptions, don’t get it twisted—Poku is a point guard trapped in a center’s body. Just like KD (6-10), Giannis (6-11), Jokić (7-0), and Porzingis (7-3), he’s a vertically inclined man with playmaking ability and perimeter skills. Unfortunately, he’s barely seen any EuroLeague action for Olympiacos since joining the club at the age of 13, but he’s had the privilege of learning from legendary Greek teammates Vassilis Spanoulis and Georgios Printezis, along with former head coach David Blatt. While this season he was assigned to play with the development team, Olympiacos B, his time spent with the Serbian national squad has been fruitful and excited NBA scouts. Last July, he opened the FIBA U18 European Championship with 16 points, 13 rebounds, 7 blocks, 5 assists, and 3 steals in a win against Germany. If Poku somehow slips this far to Utah, a team who flew to Athens to see him play in November, they’re in for a treat. — Aron Phillips

25. OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER (VIA DENVER): Jahmi’us Ramsey (6-4 Guard, Texas Tech)

CLASS: Freshman (18 years old)

2019-20 STATS: 15.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.3 steals, shooting 44% from the field and 43% from three

Jahmi’us Ramsey, the highest ranked recruit to ever attend Texas Tech, finished off the 2019-20 regular season as Big 12 Freshman of the Year. He’s an explosive combo guard with a great jump shot who can create space, elevate and finish with authority at the rim. Put simply, Ramsey gets buckets. Ramsey would slot right into an Oklahoma City Thunder backcourt that has thrived under the guidance of head coach Billy Donovan and veteran point god Chris Paul. Integrated into a system with a strong track record of player development, Ramsey could carve out a role as a long-term rotation piece in OKC. — Dave Schnur

26. BOSTON CELTICS: Zeke Nnaji (6-11 Forward, Arizona)

CLASS: Freshman (19 years old)

2019-20 STATS: 16.1 points, 8.6 rebounds, shooting 57% from the field

Two Celtics picks and two Arizona Wildcats. After choosing Josh Green at 17, the Celtics can afford to take a shot on a sleeper. That comes in the form of Zeke Nnaji. I say sleeper, but he was actually much more productive than Green in their one season of college. The Minnesota native averaged 16.1 points and 8.6 rebounds (including 3.1 offensive boards, giving him the highest total in the Pac 12), while shooting 57% from the field, second best in the conference. The Celtics’ roster is filled out, but they do have one glaring need: a big man who can run the floor and play above the rim. Nnaji can do just that… and then some. He’s an elite finisher who even showed an ability to knock down jump shots. The building blocks are there for him to be an efficient three-point shooter. Nnaji still has glaring struggles on the defensive end, but with Daniel Theis, Vincent Poirier, and Robert Williams under contract next season (Enes Kanter is under a player option), there’s time for him to develop. It’s a low risk, high reward pick that could hopefully fill one of the Celtics’ few holes. Oh, and if you’re short on a pregame National Anthem performer, Zeke Nnaji can do that too.  — Ben Simon

27. NEW YORK KNICKS (VIA CLIPPERS): Jordan Nwora (6-7 Forward, Louisville)

CLASS: Junior (21 years old)

2019-20 STATS: 18.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, shooting 44% from the field and 40% from three

During the past two seasons, Jordan Nwora established himself as the go-to guy for the Louisville Cardinals and deserves to be taken in the first round of the upcoming NBA draft. At 6-7, he’s extremely versatile and has a well-rounded offensive game. Nwora led the Cards in scoring for the second straight year, averaging 18 points on 44% shooting from the field and 40% from deep. He can spread the floor and create spacing for a Knicks team that ranked dead last in total threes in 2019-20. If the Knicks take Cole Anthony at the No. 6 spot to pair with RJ Barrett, they’re going to be searching for reliable prospects like Nwora—athletic forwards who can run in transition, knock down jumpers consistently and don’t clog the paint. — Alex Squadron

28. TORONTO RAPTORS: Yves Pons (6-6 Guard, Tennessee)

CLASS: Junior (21 years old)

2019-20 STATS: 10.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.4 blocks, shooting 49% from the field and 35% from three

While the SEC’s DPOY doesn’t boast the numbers of other first round picks, he has elite athleticism that allows him to guard positions 1-4. Pons is another skilled defensive player, similar to OG Anunoby, who will help the Raptors in an Eastern Conference that is deep at the G/F position. At 6-6, Pons averaged 2.4 blocks per game last season. He will fit right in to Toronto’s talented bench squad. Although his defensive prowess is what will get him drafted, Pons shot 35% from the three-point line in his last season as a Volunteer. This makes him an intriguing possible deep threat, and given the Raptors’ track record of developing talent (Siakam, VanVleet, Powell), he will have a great opportunity to develop his offensive game further. — Greg Cohen

29. LOS ANGELES LAKERS: Tyrell Terry (6-1 Guard, Stanford)

CLASS: Freshman (19 years old)

2019-20 STATS: 14.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.4 steals, shooting 44% from the field and 41% from three

LeBron loves a point guard that can shoot, and Terry does just that. He’s a score-first PG who also possesses impressive passing ability. Terry is a three-level scorer and a particularly elite three-point shooter. This past season, he shot 48% on catch and shoot threes and is also capable of knocking down jumpers off the dribble. He has a very good feel for the game, knowing when to pass and when to look for his own offense. Tyrell can operate out of the pick-and-roll and moves very well off the ball, similar to Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. Overall, he’s a playmaker that will develop into a premier guard in the League. — Christian Quezada

30. BOSTON CELTICS (VIA MILWAUKEE): Tre Jones (6-3 Guard, Duke)

CLASS: Sophomore (20 years old)

2019-20 STATS: 16.2 points, 6.4 assists, 4.2 rebounds, 1.8 steals, shooting 42% from the field and 36% from three

The oldest position on the Celtics? Point guard. Although Kemba Walker is still earning All-Star appearances, he is less than a month away from being 30. Brad Wanamaker, despite just two years in the NBA, is already 30. Carsen Edwards provides some youth, but might be better served as an off-ball gunner. The Celtics are young and talented at pretty much every other position (center was solved with our last pick). Increased PG depth could provide a nice cushion. Tre Jones brings just that. But the 6-3, 185-pound guard is more than the prototypical backup point guard. Sure, he has a high floor. That happens when you receive ACC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors. Not only can he contribute right away, but he has the chance to grow into a legitimate NBA starter. After shooting just 26% from three during his freshman season, he bumped his average up to 36% this year. He’s a mature, smart guard who can complement the Celtics’ stars by playing defense, facilitating, hitting open threes, and scoring when needed. With Jones and Marcus Smart, they could have one of the best defensive backcourts in the NBA. He’s already a great backup option right now, but as Walker climbs into his 30s, Jones has a chance to be the Celtics’ point guard of the future. — Ben Simon

The post SLAM’s 2020 NBA Mock Draft appeared first on SLAM.

Last Week’s Notebooks: East || West

• Dallas Mavericks – The Mavs are about as healthy as they’re going to be the rest of the season. Luka Doncic is dealing with some right ankle and left thumb soreness, but is playing through it. That’s good news for Dallas, as Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis have developed some great chemistry. The Mavericks are only two games out of the fourth spot in what is shaping up to be a wild finish in the Western Conference.
• Denver Nuggets – Denver added Troy Daniels after he was cut by the Los Angeles Lakers and that should just about finish the Nuggets roster. Mike Malone was already able to go 10-deep in his rotation, but with Daniels and Noah Vonleh, he’s now got some experience vets behind his main guys. Denver is only a game behind the LA Clippers for the two seed, but they also have to keep an eye behind them as Houston and Utah have closed to with 2.5 games.
• Golden State Warriors – Steph Curry is back and Steve Kerr says that is a springboard into next season for the Warriors. Kerr will get a look at Curry playing with Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins over the last 20 or so games. It won’t make a bit of difference for the rest of the season, but it could help lay a nice foundation into the offseason and the start a bounce-back season for Golden State next year.

• Houston Rockets – Just when it looked like the Rockets cracked the small-ball code with six wins in a row, they lost at the Knicks and got blown out at home by the Clippers. No one needs to overreact, as the Knicks game seemed like a fluke loss and the Clippers are really good, but a couple of troubling items did emerge. New York scored 64 points in the paint and LA defended the arc well, holding Houston to just 7-of-42 shooting. For the Rockets to work with this makeup, they need to hold their own inside and hit shots. It was either one of those weeks for Houston, or signs of trouble.
• LA Clippers – The Clippers seem to have settled on their playoff rotation and it’s deep with solid NBA talent. Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Patrick Beverley and Marcus Morris are a tough group to score on. Ivica Zubac can be productive in the right matchups in the starting group as well. And when Doc Rivers goes to his bench, he’s got Lou Williams, Montrezl Harrell, Landry Shamet, Reggie Jackson and JaMychal Green. That group brings a lot of offense to the table. That’s hard to match for any other team in the league.
• LA Lakers – Not enough is being made of LeBron James leading the NBA in assists at 10.7 per game. The days of “Can LeBron average a triple-double?” are gone, especially with Anthony Davis gobbling up so many rebounds, but James has become the NBA’s preeminent playmaker. It’s almost gotten to a point where teams might be better of letting James shoot, as he’s under 50% from the floor for the first time in five years. Oh, and the Lakers will soon add Dion Waiters to the mix for some additional bench scoring. Waiters will be on a short leash, but seems motivated to make it work in LA.

• Memphis Grizzlies – Just when it looked like Memphis’ playoff hopes were teetering on the edge, the Grizzlies hammered the Lakers and then won two-straight on the road by 39 points apiece. Now Memphis is back to .500 on the season and has pushed their lead for the West’s last playoff spot back to 3.5 games. The baby bears might just do this thing.
• Minnesota Timberwolves – Ryan Saunders said the Wolves hope to have an update on Friday for Karl-Anthony Towns’ eventual return from a fractured left wrist. The Wolves have 21 games left and would love to see a chunk of them with Towns playing alongside a bunch of new teammates, including D’Angelo Russell and Malik Beasley.
• New Orleans Pelicans – The Pelicans have lost three-straight games as of this writing and have fallen five games behind the Grizzlies. Just as important, there are now three teams between New Orleans and Memphis. The Pels still have an easy closing schedule, but that’s a lot to overcome. And sharpshooter JJ Redick is still sidelined for another week or so. Starting to look like it might be next year for this group’s playoff debut.
• Oklahoma City Thunder – OKC is now just 1.5 games out of homecourt advantage in the playoffs. That still isn’t enough to stop swirl around Chris Paul’s future. Reports surfaced this week that the New York Knicks are monitoring Paul and could consider a trade for him this summer. It’s probably not a coincidence that Paul’s former agent, Leon Rose, now runs the Knicks. And this report came after one that the Chicago Bulls want to hire Sam Presti to run their basketball operation. Despite it all, the Thunder just keep quietly winning games.

• Phoenix Suns – Forward Kelly Oubre Jr. is likely out for the season. He underwent a procedure to repair a torn meniscus and will be re-evaluated in four weeks. That timeline is almost to the end of the season. With the Suns out of the playoff picture, they should be cautious and keep Oubre out. Yet again, it’s “Wait till next year” time in Phoenix.
• Portland Trail Blazers – Damian Lillard is back for Portland and the Blazers are about the same place as they were when he strained his groin. The Trail Blazers are 3.5 games behind the Grizzlies for the eighth spot in the West. Portland has a far easier closing schedule than Memphis, and may eventually get Jusuf Nurkic and/or Zach Collins back in the lineup. That’d go a long way towards helping make up that difference in the standings.
• Sacramento Kings – Sacramento has won six of their last eight games to push back in the playoff picture. They’re four games behind Memphis, but have a pretty easy schedule to wrap up the season. Unfortunately, the Kings have two games left against the Lakers. Sacramento has to hope LA is in coast mode for those April matchups.
• San Antonio Spurs – The Spurs are clinging to playoff life, as they’ve fallen four games behind the Grizzlies now. San Antonio’s frontcourt is a mess, as LaMarcus Aldridge has missed four straight games with a shoulder injury with no update on a potential return date. Jakob Poeltl is also on the shelf, as he’s got a sprained MCL in his right knee and will be out 2-4 weeks. That leaves Trey Lyles and untested youngsters manning the middle for the Spurs as they try and extend their playoff streak to 23 years.
• Utah Jazz – Utah has seemingly righted the ship, as they’ve won three games in a row as of this writing. Despite all the recent turbulence, the Jazz are just 3.5 games out of the two-seed. On the flip side, they’re only two games away from the seventh spot in the West. Right now, Quin Snyder is focused on getting his finally-healthy roster to fit together. The early returns were bumpy, but guys seem to be figuring out their roles. That’s good news for Utah heading into the postseason.

The post Newswire Notebook: Steph Curry Is Back and More appeared first on SLAM.

“I’m not going to be playing 40 minutes,” Nurkic said. “But for me, mentally, I need to get these reps in before I can play [extended minutes]. Physically, I’m good.“

Nurkic, who suffered multiple fractures in his left leg, will return to a Blazers team on the outside of the Western Conference playoff picture looking in.

Nurkic averaged 15.6 points and 10.4 rebounds per game for Portland in 2018-19 and will immediately bolster the team’s chances of sneaking into the eighth-seed slot currently occupied by the Memphis Grizzlies.

Nurkic’s return could have potentially come sooner but a calf injury sustained following his return to practice in January postponed his 2019-20 debut.

Nurkic was one of several Blazers players whose 2019-20 campaign was compromised by injury. Both Zach Collins, another big man, and Rodney Hood were diagnosed with season-ending injuries and Damian Lillard recently struggled with a groin injury.

The post Jusuf Nurkic Targets March 15 Return Date appeared first on SLAM.

Last Week’s Notebooks: East || West

• Atlanta Hawks – With Dewayne Dedmon out and Clint Capela yet to make his Hawks’ debut, Atlanta has gone to some minutes with their “core five” as a lineup. In 181 minutes over 20 games, the Hawks are +25 with Trae Young, John Collins, Kevin Huerter, De’Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish on the floor together. That might not sound like a lot, but considering Atlanta is -8.1 points per game on the season it’s meaningful. Those five are the Hawks building blocks, so it’s good to see them able to share the floor together.
• Boston Celtics – Boston was expected to struggle with interior defense after losing Al Horford in the offseason. Instead, the Celtics rank fifth in the NBA in blocks per 100 possessions. Some of that is long wings like Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown blocking jumpers, but most of it comes at the rim. Boston actually ranks ahead of much bigger Philadelphia in blocks/100, which is one of the surprises of the season.

• Brooklyn Nets – Kyrie Irving underwent successful surgery on his right shoulder impingement. As expected, Irving will join Kevin Durant on the sidelines for the rest of this season. The Nets are hanging in there without Irving though, as Caris LeVert exploded for 51 points in an upset win over the Celtics in Boston. LeVert scored 37 of his 51 points in the fourth quarter and overtime. He went for 26 in the fourth and then scored all 11 of the Nets points in overtime.

• Charlotte Hornets – With the focus on youth, the Hornets are giving almost all their minutes to players who are 26 years old and under. That’s given increased opportunities to rookies Cody and Caleb Martin and Jalen McDaniels. Those three combined with PJ. Washington and Mile Bridges give Charlotte a really interesting group of forwards. None of the five can really play up and defend the five, and only Cody Martin has shown the ability to play down and defend the two. That makes it a challenge for James Borrego and Mitch Kupchak to figure out how they call fit, but that’s what rebuilding seasons are for.
• Chicago Bulls – Last week we wrote about how banged up the Bulls were. Well, they’re finally getting healthy! Zach LaVine went down with a quad injury, but it’s not expected to be a long-term thing. Otto Porter Jr. returned to the lineup for the first time since early-November. Lauri Markkanen got back after missing over a month. And Wendell Carter Jr. is back as well. That’s important as Chicago can use the last month of the season to see exactly who fits together and how. Look for Coby White to possibly take over as the starting point guard, as it’s getting harder for Jim Boylen to keep White on the bench. White has averaged 28 points per game on 51/49/95 shooting splits over his last six games.
• Cleveland Cavaliers – Cleveland is a mess with injuries. Andre Drummond (calf), Darius Garland (groin), Tristan Thompson (knee) and Dante Exum (ankle) are all out. Drummond, Garland and Thompson aren’t expected to be down long-term, but the Cavs also lost Kevin Porter Jr. to a head injury against Boston on Wednesday night. This point in the year should be about evaluation and development and injuries are robbing Cleveland of that.
• Detroit Pistons – How much are the Pistons hurting for guard depth? Jordan McRae was claimed off waivers on Wednesday afternoon and then played 25 minutes on Wednesday night. McRae did what he does and scored 15 points, but that says a lot about where things are at for the Pistons. Also, keep an eye on Christian Wood. He scored 29 points on Wednesday, bringing his average to 20.1 points per game since the start of February.

• Indiana Pacers – The Pacers lost Jeremy Lamb last week and now Victor Oladipo is back on the shelf with right knee soreness. Indiana knew that they’d have to deal with that as Oladipo works his way back from last season’s knee injury. What the Pacers weren’t expecting is for Malcolm Brogdon to continue to get nicked up. Brogdon left Wednesday’s loss against his former team in Milwaukee with a sore left hip. Injuries to their top three guards have Indiana relying heavily on Aaron and Justin Holiday and T.J. McConnell in the backcourt.
• Miami Heat – The Heat got back home after a tough road trip and ripped off a four-game win streak. That improved their record to 27-4 in Miami. More importantly, the Heat now have a three-game lead over both the Pacers and 76ers in the race for homecourt advantage. And Miami is quietly only 2.5 games behind Boston for the third seed.
• Milwaukee Bucks – The Bucks actually lost a game in the last week! They were handled fairly easily by the Heat in Miami. But it doesn’t really matter. Milwaukee is 12-2 in their last 14 games. And if you’re looking for a weakness on the road, it doesn’t really exist. The Bucks and Lakers are tied at an NBA-best 25-6 away from home. By any measure, Milwaukee is dominant.
• New York Knicks – RJ Barrett played one of the best games of his career this week as the Knicks upset the Rockets in New York. Barrett scored 27 points on 10-of-18 shooting to go along with five rebounds and five assists. Overall, Barrett has scored 14 or more points in seven of his last eight games and is averaging 16.8 points per game during that stretch. It’s incremental, but signs of improvement are there for the Knicks young wing.

• Orlando Magic – Just when things were looking up for Orlando, they dropped three straight games to fall back behind Brooklyn in the standings. The Magic still have a healthy 4.5 game lead over the Wizards for the eighth spot in the East, but could be on a collision course with the Bucks in the first round. That’d be bad news for Orlando, as they are 0-3 against Milwaukee and have lost by an average of 19.6 points per game in those three losses.
• Philadelphia 76ers – Shake Milton stepped up on Sunday with a career game. He scored 39 points, which topped his previous career-high of 27. And Milton sent an NBA record with 14 consecutive made three-pointers over a two-game stretch. Philadelphia’s roster is expensive and will only get more expensive down the line. Milton on a minimum contract through 2022-23 is huge for helping to keep a mounting tax bill down.
• Toronto Raptors – One man in, one man out for the Raptors. Toronto got Norman Powell back, but lost Serge Ibaka. Without Ibaka and Marc Gasol, the Raps have gone small with Pascal Siakam and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson starting at the five. They’ve also given increased minutes to Chris Boucher. He responded with 19 points and 15 rebounds in Tuesday’s win at Phoenix. That play has helped keep Toronto just ahead of Boston in the race for the second seed in the East. And despite it all, Toronto can clinch a playoff spot with a win on Thursday at the Golden State Warriors.
• Washington Wizards – The Wizards are clinging to life in the Eastern Conference playoff race. They’ve dropped 4.5 games behind Orlando and a full five games behind Brooklyn. Injuries continue to be a challenge for Washington, as Thomas Bryant can’t play back-to-backs due to foot soreness and Ish Smith went down with hamstring soreness. Once Washington falls out of the race fully, look for the team to actively sit some of their veterans and focus on the younger players the rest of the way.

The post Newswire Notebook: Caris LeVert Goes Off and More appeared first on SLAM.

• Dallas Mavericks – Dallas is continuing to deal with injuries. Dwight Powell is out for the season, and now Luka Doncic (ankle) and Jalen Brunson (shoulder) are nicked up. For Doncic, it doesn’t seem serious, but it is a bit troubling that he continues to have ankle troubles. Brunson has a torn labrum in his right shoulder, but he’s a lefty and is planning to try to play through it. The Mavs have lots of guard depth, but getting healthy for the playoff run is key.
• Denver Nuggets – The Nuggets aren’t catching the Lakers for the top spot in the Western Conference, but they’ve been able to hold off the Clippers and Rockets so far. A big reason why is Denver is finally healthy. With their full roster, the Nuggets are legitimately 10 deep. Mike Malone can now use the rest of the regular season to figure out his playoff rotation.

• Golden State Warriors – One star back, one star out for the Dubs. Stephen Curry’s return is right around the corner, but Klay Thompson was ruled out for the season recently. Steve Kerr will get a look at how Curry, Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins can work together over the season’s final 20 games or so, and then Thompson will slide in as a plug-and-play addition next season. Golden State also continues to cycle through 10-day players, as Dragan Bender and Mychal Mulder have both signed on recently.
• Houston Rockets – Houston is fully committed to the small-ball style. Unless Tristan Thompson is shockingly bought out in the next couple of days, the Rockets will stick with a “center” rotation of P.J. Tucker and Jeff Green, the latter of whom will sign for the rest of the season. It’s worked so far, as Houston has won five straight games. One worry: Will Tucker have enough in the tank to make this a multi-month thing in a playoff run?
• Los Angeles Clippers – Doc Rivers and a handful of players have recently intimated that it’s time for the Clippers to figure out who they are. Due to injuries, load management and recent trades/signings, LA has about a month and a half to figure out their rotation. Sure, the roster is stacked with talent. But it’s up to Rivers to figure out how all that talent fits and time is starting to running out.
• Los Angeles Lakers – Markieff Morris is now in the fold for the Lakers. That might be the final move for Los Angeles, as the buyout market has really dried up. Morris gives the Lakers some additional depth up front, and that could be key down the stretch. LA hasn’t had a real backup for Anthony Davis, as Kyle Kuzma is more of a swing forward than a true four. With Morris, Frank Vogel can now spot Davis some rest days or keep him out when the inevitable bumps and bruises come. With a 5.5-game cushion in the standings, expect the Lakers to turn the focus to being healthy and rested for the playoffs.
• Memphis Grizzlies – Memphis’ Cinderella season seems to be closing in on midnight. The Grizzlies lead for the last playoff spot in the West is down to just three games, and five teams have closed to within 4.5 games. With Jaren Jackson Jr., Brandon Clarke and Justise Winslow sidelined with injuries for at least a few weeks, it’s going to be tough for Memphis to hold off the charge.
• Minnesota Timberwolves – The Wolves hope at the trade deadline was to get their new additions on the floor with Karl-Anthony Towns and get a glimpse of their future. Now, Towns is out for at least a couple of weeks with a fractured left wrist. On the flip side, Malik Beasley is playing great since getting to Minnesota. He’s averaged 21.7 PPG on nearly 42% as a Timberwolf. D’Angelo Russell got the headlines as a trade addition, but Beasley may be just as big a part of the future in Minnesota.
• New Orleans Pelicans – Have you seen this Zion kid? He’s pretty good! In all seriousness, Williamson’s debut has jolted the Pelicans into the Western Conference playoff race. New Orleans is now just three games behind Memphis. And the Pels have a very easy closing schedule. Would you like to see a Lakers vs. Pelicans series in Round 1? Us too!

• Oklahoma City Thunder – The Thunder have gone from a nice story to a full-scale playoff team. Did you know OKC is only four games behind for the two-seed? Didn’t think so. And they’re getting some wings back, as Terrance Ferguson and Hamidou Diallo are both healthy now. Neither is a star, but for a team that needs wing depth, they’ll take what they can get.
• Phoenix Suns – Phoenix simply can’t have nice things. Deandre Ayton is back and dominating. Key veterans Aron Baynes and Ricky Rubio are healthy. Devin Booker is an All-Star. So, of course, they lose a key player to injury. Kelly Oubre Jr., who was having a career-year, suffered a torn meniscus in his right knee and will likely miss the rest of the season. Oubre is seeking a second opinion, but the Suns are preparing for life without him.
• Portland Trail Blazers – Even without Damian Lillard, the Blazers have hung around the playoff race. Portland is three games behind Memphis and they have one of the easier closing schedules left. There is still no clear return timetable for Jusuf Nurkic or Zach Collins, but if the Trail Blazers can hang in there, they’ll add as much talent as anyone for the final playoff push.

• Sacramento Kings – The Kings are making an improbable run at the playoffs. Sacramento has gone 6-4 over their last 10 games to get back in the race. Luke Walton’s lineup swap of Bogdan Bogdanovic and Buddy Hield has worked as well. Bogdanovic has averaged 14.2 PPG as a starter, while Hield has been instant-offense off the bench at 20.2 PPG on 48.9% from behind the arc.
• San Antonio Spurs – San Antonio is scratching and clawing to extend their playoff streak to 24 years. They’ve been passed by New Orleans in the standings, which means the Spurs will have to pass the Pelicans, Trail Blazers and Grizzlies to get into the postseason. Gregg Popovich is leaning heavily on LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan, but is finally getting improved play from the Spurs role players. It’s a tall task, but bet against San Antonio at your own peril.
• Utah Jazz – To put it simply, the Jazz are a mess right now. Utah has lost four straight games and this week Quin Snyder made a messy lineup shuffle. On Wednesday morning, Mike Conley was informed he’d go back to the bench and Royce O’Neale would open games again. By the time players showed up at the arena, Conley was back in the opening group and Joe Ingles was coming off the bench. That confusing back-and-forth sums up where the Jazz are at right now.

The post Newswire Notebook: Malik Beasley’s Emergence and More appeared first on SLAM.

It’s been over 11 months since Nurkic went down with multiple fractures in his left leg so the fact that he’s progressed as much as he has is a victory in and of itself but a recently suffered calf strain has complicated his return.

Nurkic was cleared for contact on Jan. 22 but has been limited as a result of said calf strain in his right leg. It’s not clear if he’s practiced since then or when he might get the opportunity to do so again. This late in the NBA campaign, teams don’t tend to have as many chances to get full practices in between games.

Quick writes that the Blazers are scheduled to practice on Friday but there’s no indication of how many contact practices Nurkic would need to get through before receiving a green light to play in games, anyway. The team’s next opportunity to practice after that is in the second week of March.

While there was initial talk that Nurkic would be back in the lineup by the All-Star break, it’s clear that new developments have delayed that timeline. Credit the Blazers for hanging on as best they can in Nurkic’s absence.

The Blazers sit ninth in the Western Conference at the moment, within arms’ reach of the No. 8-seed Memphis Grizzlies, despite season-ending injuries to Nurkic, Zach Collins and Rodney Hood.

With the calendar set to flip to March, the window to bring Nurkic back and get him back to game shape is shrinking, but so long as Portland is in contention for a playoff spot, they’ll have every reason to get him re-integrated as soon as it’s safe to do so.

The post No Timetable Yet For Jusuf Nurkic appeared first on SLAM.

Memphis has come out of the break banged up and on a three-game losing streak. Jaren Jackson Jr. is down for at least two weeks due to a sprained knee and Brandon Clarke joined him on the shelf with a right quad bruise. Justise Winslow, who was acquired at the trade deadline for starting forward Jae Crowder, has yet to make his Grizzlies debut as he continues to deal with a back injury that has plagued him all season.

All of the injuries have left Memphis shorthanded up front and relying on backups to play key minutes.

To add to it, the Grizzlies have the NBA’s toughest closing schedule. Memphis’ opponents over their last 25 games have a combined .554 winning percentage. The stretch includes games against both the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers (the leaders of each conference), two games against the Toronto Raptors and a game each against the Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets.

The young Grizzlies have been a surprise to this point in the season, but to hang on and make the playoffs might be an even bigger shock at this point.

Battling it out behind Memphis is a collection of teams who have been there before and a few who haven’t sniffed the postseason in years. There are five teams between 2.5 and 4.5 games back and all of them have 24 or 25 games left to play.

Despite a slew of injuries of their own, the Portland Trail Blazers have hung around and trail the Grizzlies by 2.5 games entering play on Tuesday night. Damian Lillard is out for a few weeks, and big men Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins still don’t have return dates, but Terry Stotts has kept the Blazers afloat.

C.J. McCollum is carrying the scoring load and Carmelo Anthony’s resurgence has seen him pick up a bigger offensive role over the last couple of weeks. Hassan Whiteside continues to play well as the only healthy center on the roster, and Trevor Ariza has added a defensive element since he was acquired in late-January.

Unlike the Grizzlies, the Trail Blazers benefit from their closing schedule. They’ve got the league’s fifth-easiest batch over their final 24 games. Portland has games against Golden State, Cleveland, Minnesota (twice) and Atlanta still coming. That’s a bunch of wins the Blazers should be able to bank.

Speaking of easy schedules, the New Orleans Pelicans have gotten back in the race behind the third-easiest schedule to close the season. Cleveland, two games apiece against Atlanta and Minnesota and one game against New York are on tap for the Pels.

In addition, no team has gotten more players back from injury than New Orleans has. Their entire roster is ready to go for this stretch run, including rookie sensation Zion Williamson. And if the Pelicans can snag the eight seed, they’d likely match up with the Lakers. Who wouldn’t like to see that in the first round?

Just behind the Pelicans are the San Antonio Spurs. Why should we keep monitoring the surprisingly underwhelming Spurs? Because they’ve made the postseason for a record 23 straight times.

The challenge for Gregg Popovich in extending that streak is getting production from someone other than LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan. It’s been a bit of a mixed-bag for San Antonio from night to night as to anyone showing up around two former All-Stars.

The Spurs will also benefit from an easy schedule to finish out the year as well, as they’ve got the sixth-easiest schedule. Much like their competitors for the last playoff spot in the West, San Antonio can feast on a couple of games against the Timberwolves, as well as two vs the Warriors. Unlike their peers, the Spurs have been mostly-healthy this season, so they really just need productive minutes from players who have been there, done that.

Two other teams have unexpectedly gotten themselves back in the playoff conversation: the Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns. The Kings recently said that they were making a playoff push. They’ve gone 6-4 over their last 10 games and also have an easy closing schedule. They’ve got the Warriors and Cavaliers two times apiece and a game against the Wolves.

Sacramento has worked around injuries all season, as they’ve rarely had their full rotation together at the same time. Luke Walton recently shuffled the lineup around by switching Buddy Hield to the sixth-man role and inserting Bogdan Bogdanovic in the starting group. That has brought some balance to both units. Bogdanovic gives the openers another player who can create offense off the bounce alongside De’Aaron Fox, while Hield is instant offense off the bench.

The Suns are no stranger to not having their full complement of players available. Monty Williams has mixed and matched around injuries and DeAndre Ayton’s 25-game suspension early in the season. Now that Phoenix is fully healthy, they’re playing some of their best ball of the year. Devin Booker has blossomed into an All-Star and Ayton’s improved defense is matching his terrific offense.

With solid veterans like Ricky Rubio and Aron Baynes, the Suns have players who know what it’s like to make a playoff push. The challenge for Phoenix, like Sacramento, is making up not only the 4.5 game deficit in the standings, but also climbing several other teams.

For a while it looked like the playoff picture in both conferences was locked in, minus seeding. With the precocious Grizzlies coming back to the pack and the teams behind them benefiting from schedules and better health, we might just have a real playoff race on our hands after all.

The post No. 8 Seed In The West Open As Playoff Race Heats Up appeared first on SLAM.

Previous stories:

LIVE FROM MADISON STREET: Zach LaVine Talks Playing in Chicago

ALL OF THE LIGHTS: Remembering 1988 All-Star Weekend in Chicago

BORN & RAISED: Allie Quigley Has Been Repping Chicago Since Day 1

HOMECOMING: Kendrick Nunn’s Journey from Chicago to the NBA

—

Dear Chi,

We different. We know this. Not Paris different, not Harlem different, not Vegas, Lagos, Madrid, Sao Paulo, Sydney, New Orleans or South Central different. We stay a city within our own nation within our own world. Our flow, the way we roll, the way we think, feel about and react to things, the way we create, what we create, the reasons we create, different. We exist different.

This game ain’t just a game. It’s our export to the world. Our soul we keep. We bringin’ it back like it’s ’88. All-Star Weekend. Reminding the world who we are, where we stand and—more defiantly—what we stand on and for. We didn’t invent this game, just mecca’d it. GOAT’d it. Because we don’t follow our passion, we follow our effort. We don’t chase the end result, we embrace the process. While others trend set, we invent. We don’t just play D, we protect, baseline-to-baseline. Tony Allen and Pat Bev style. 

The mid-February classic that returns to us after a 32-year break is the culmination of decades of post-Jordan inspiration. It’s us contributing to the game in ways unmatched by any other place in the world. Since Jordan’s coming-out party that weekend (the same weekend that saw Mike Tyson marry Robin Givens here, too), the weekend where he ascended above the game and made the pound-for-pound alive title all his, all we gave to the game was the following: D-Wade, D-Rose, the Parkers: Candace and Jabari, KG via South Carolina, Tamika Catchings, three-time world champs Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston. Antoine Walker, Evan Turner, Cappie P, Michael Fin, Q-Rich, Jon Scheyer, officials James Capers and Marc Davis, the aforementioned Allen and Bev, Morgan Tuck, Juwan Howard, Jalen Brunson, Tyler Ulis, Sherron Collins, Will Bynum, Corey Mag, Jewell Loyd, Jamie Brandon, Ronnie Fields, the Pargos (Jannero and Jeremy), the Browns (Shannon and Sterling), and oh yeah, a kid named Anthony Davis. And they say the Dream Team changed the game. 

Shy people run. Chi people run things. We live by truism, not by code. A truism that creates a different character of man, woman and child that shed sweat on the streets that we call neighborhoods, on these courts we call home. It reflects who we are individually; it reflects what we rep as a city. Our character is defined between the water of Lake Michigan and the concrete of Kedzie; by the wind that hits our skin but never touches our bones; by the chain nets that hang from iron halos and nylon that will create string music inside the United Center come February. 

We are represented by Jake and Elwood, Cochise and Preach, Kanye and Parkay, Jordan and Pippen. We live by the difference between taking a gamble and being ambitious. Doubt to us equals not being prepared. Something we know nothing about. Our “Big Shoulders” alias comes with pride because it wasn’t given to us: we earned it. The world has always been resting on them. Second City to no one. And for those who don’t believe it, just ask someone from here during All-Star Weekend. We are not ashamed to remind those who don’t know or forgot who we are. We don’t argue, we simply disagree. We don’t create enemies, we just have low tolerance for all things faux, fake or phony. We don’t “friend” or “like” people we don’t know. We believe in shaking peoples’ hands. Eye to eye, I for I.

The new awakening has arrived. In the form of a basketball showcase we call the “Black Super Bowl.” We are its host. Here to put on, display our coexistence with a game that is, to us, what hip-hop is to NYC, film and movies are to L.A., modern technology is to Silicon Valley, capitalism is to Wall Street, corruption is to Capitol Hill, coffee is to Seattle, Nike is to Portland, Mickey Mouse is to Orlando, Donald Glover is to the ATL. That connectivity, that association. That bond shared between our city and this game called “ball” that is inseparable, undeniable and unconditional. That love.

So let’s show the world how we do. The real we. Where we shoot hoops, not people. Where presidents are from, not prisoners. Where we open the city’s door and say, “Take your Jordans off. Relax. Watch the carpet. Don’t chill, Chi-IL.” And let all visitors know that while other places play the game, we live it. And that sound everyone will be hearing all weekend is not basketballs dribbling.

It’s our heartbeat.

—

Scoop Jackson is a senior writer for ESPN.

Photos via Getty and Matthew Yarnell.

The post DEAR CHI: A Love Letter to Basketball in the Windy City appeared first on SLAM.

Zion Williamson had the world buzzing as he scored 17 straight points in the fourth quarter, nearly taking down San Antonio by himself. The No. 1 pick finished with 22 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists in just 18 minutes of work in his NBA debut.

Pacers 112 (29-16), Suns 87 (18-26)

TJ Warren scored a team-high 25 in his return to Phoenix to lead the way to victory. Domantas Sabonis did his part, too, adding 24 points (8-for-11 shooting) and 13 boards for the Pacers.

Jazz 129 (31-13), Warriors 96 (10-36)

D’Angelo Russell put up 26 points in 28 minutes, but the Jazz’ depth — 13 different players got on the scoreboard — was far too much to overcome for the depleted Warriors. Rudy Gobert had 22 points and a team-high 15 boards and Donovan Mitchell scored 23 in just 22 minutes.

Nuggets 105 (30-14), Rockets 121 (27-16)

The Rockets’ backcourt was completely in sync as Russell Westbrook and James Harden combined for 55 points, 21 rebounds and 13 dimes to edge the gap between them and the second place Nuggets.

Timberwolves 110 (15-29), Bulls 117 (17-29)

Zach LaVine (team-high 25 points) was able to get the W over his former team despite a 40-point outing from Karl-Anthony Towns. Lauri Markkanen added 21 to aid the Bulls.

Wizards 129 (14-29), Heat 134 (31-13)

The Heat’s bench backcourt duo of Tyler Herro (25 points, 7 threes) and Goran Dragic (22 points, 10 assists) took care of business as Miami scored 16 points in overtime to down the Wizards.

Bradley Beal scored a team-high 38 for Washington.

Grizzlies 95 (20-24), Celtics 119 (29-14)

The Grizzlies had the lead at the end of the first quarter, but the Celtics bounced back to dominate the rest of the night as Jayson Tatum scored 23 in 26 minutes of work.

Lakers 100 (35-9), Knicks 92 (12-33)

LeBron James picked up a win in his favorite arena to travel to, leading the way with 21 points, 6 boards and 5 dimes for Los Angeles.

Thunder 120 (26-19), Magic 114 (21-24)

Dennis Schroder scored 31 points (13-for-18 shooting) and had 9 dimes off the bench to lead the Thunder.

Clippers 95 (31-14), Hawks 104 (11-34)

The Clippers were only able to score 35 points in the second half as John Collins’ 33-point night pushed the Hawks ahead. Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Patrick Beverley didn’t suit up for Los Angeles and Trae Young missed the night for Atlanta.

Kings 106 (15-29), Pistons 127 (17-28)

Derrick Rose, Christian Wood and Reggie Jackson combined for 67 to lead the Pistons’ charge against the Kings.

De’Aaron Fox had 22 in the effort.

76ers 95 (26-17), Raptors 107 (30-14)

Fred VanVleet’s 22 points and Pascal Siakam’s 18 points and 15 boards led the Raptors past the Sixers in a rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference Semifinals.

The post Post Up: Zion Williamson TOOK OVER in his NBA Debut appeared first on SLAM.

Undrafted rookie Terrence Davis admitted he was “surprised” when he was told he was going to start, but he rose to the occasion with 23 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists and a team-best plus-minus of +20 in an OT win.

Miles Bridges scored 26 on just 15 field goal attempts for Charlotte.

Rockets 122 (25-11), Hawks 115 (8-30)

The present is still amazing, but the future isn’t looking too bad either. James Harden finished with 41 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks and Trae Young struck back with 42 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists and a block of his own.

Despite solid outings from Alex Len, John Collins and Young, the Hawks weren’t able to dig themselves out of an early hole as Houston scored 45 in the opening quarter.

Spurs 129 (16-20), Celtics 114 (25-10)

The Spurs ran out to a 22-3 lead and never looked back as DeMar DeRozan’s 30 points led the way.

Nuggets 107 (26-11), Mavericks 106 (23-14)

Nikola Jokic scored 21 points in the third quarter and capped off a stellar second half with a game-winning shot to sink the Mavericks.

Luka Doncic fell just short of his 12th triple-double of the season, but still put up an impressive 27 points, 9 rebounds and 10 assists.

Bulls 108 (13-25), Pelicans 123 (13-25)

Zach LaVine continued his All-Star caliber season with 32 points on 13-for-24 season, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a second half Pelicans charge led by 21 points from Brandon Ingram (29 points, 8 rebounds, 11 assists, 2 blocks).

Knicks 104 (10-28), Jazz 128 (25-12)

Emmanuel Mudiay put up 20 points off the pine against his former club as the Jazz scored an astounding 72 points in the first half. Bojan Bogdanovic added another 20, knocking down four 3’s in the effort.

Frank Ntilikina was a lone bright spot for New York, putting up 16 points, 4 rebounds and 3 steals in 19 minutes of work. He was a +10, a team-high plus-minus for the night.

Heat 122 (27-10), Pacers 108 (23-15)

Seven Heat players scored at least 14 points as Miami rolled to the win.

Jimmy Butler and TJ Warren exchanged words on back-to-back possessions, resulting in Warren being thrown out of the game.

Wizards 89 (12-25), Magic 123 (18-20)

12 different Magic players got in the scoring column as Orlando dominated every quarter of the match-up. Nikola Vucevic’s 29 points led all players as an injury-riddled Wizards squad struggled to hold it down on the defensive end and turned the ball over 23 times on offense.

over 23 times.

The post Post Up: Trae Young, James Harden Put Up 40-Point Triple-Doubles appeared first on SLAM.

In this post, just one of a series of 30, we’ll break down the reports that have started to trickle out about Blazers players that may or may not be on the move. While there’s no guarantee when it comes to a league as wild as the modern NBA, it doesn’t hurt to brush up on each squad’s roster as the deadline draws near.

Players Unlikely To Be Traded

• Damian Lillard
• Carmelo Anthony

Neither Damian Lillard nor Carmelo Anthony are eligible to be traded this season. Lillard inked his extension earlier this year and Anthony signed his deal partway into the 2019-20 campaign. Neither player signed up to be on a lottery team, expect the Blazers to look for trades that upgrade the talent around them.

Biggest Name Available On Market

• C.J. McCollum

For years, the major storyline out of Portland was whether the team should break up its backcourt. After the Blazers reached the conference finals last spring, those talks have quieted down. That said, while there’s been no recent reports of Portland listening to offers for McCollum, it’s fair to wonder whether the front office will ponder deals once the shooting guard is eligible to be dealt on Jan. 30.

McCollum just signed a massive extension with the club, which keeps him under contract through the 2023-24 campaign. Betting on him remaining in Portland through that deal isn’t a safe bet, though the odds of him staying put through Feb. 6 are an attractive proposition.

Logical Trade Pieces

• Kent Bazemore
• Hassan Whiteside

Kent Bazemore is on an expiring deal worth $19.3M. Should Portland make a major trade, he’s more likely to be on the move than any of the team’s other big contracts. Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports recently went so far as to say that he’d surprised if Bazemore (or Hassan Whiteside, for that matter) remained on the roster through the deadline.

Both Bazemore and Whiteside landed in Portland after trades in the offseason. The latter, with an expiring $27M contract, has looked particularly sharp in a contract year. The 30-year-old has averaged 15.9 points and 13.9 rebounds per game as one of the few healthy bodies in Portland’s frontcourt.

Trades Are Possible

• Jusuf Nurkic
• Rodney Hood
• Zach Collins
• Skal Labissiere
• Anfernee Simons
• Nassir Little
• Mario Hezonja
• Anthony Toliver
• Gary Trent Jr.

Jusuf Nurkic is still recovering from a leg injury and it seems unlikely that the Blazers will trade him given Whiteside’s pending free agency. Rodney Hood tore his left Achilles and is out for the season. He has the right to veto any trade due to signing a one-year deal with an option this past summer. Zach Collins, who is out with a shoulder injury, appears to be in the team’s long-term plans and hopes to return to the court before the end of the season. The Blazers had the ability to sign Skal Labissiere to a rookie-scale extension this summer and failed to do so. Anfernee Simons, whom the team picked up with the No. 24 overall pick in the 2018 draft, is Portland’s leading candidate for its most improved award. Nassir Little, who was selected with the No. 25 overall pick in the latest NBA draft, hasn’t had much of an opportunity in limited time this season. Injuries have forced coach Terry Stotts to rely on Mario Hezonja more than originally anticipated. He has a $2.0M player option on his deal for next season. 34-year-old Anthony Toliver, who is on the veteran’s minimum this year, has started eight games for the Blazers so far. Gary Trent Jr. is hitting .390 from behind the arc. When McCollum recently missed a game, Stotts opted to start the former second-round pick at the shooting guard spot.

The post 2020 NBA Trade Deadline Primer: Portland Trail Blazers appeared first on SLAM.

The 23-year-old exited the team’s Saturday night game and is now facing swelling issues in his left knee. An MRI on the area came back inconclusive.S

Labissiere is the latest in a long line of injured bigs on the roster so the club will need to get creative with their frontcourt while Labissiere – a pleasant surprise in and of himself – recovers.

Labissiere has averaged 5.8 points and 5.1 rebounds per game for Portland this season in just over 17 minutes of action and his presence down low has helped the franchise cope with losses to other bigs like Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins.

In Labissiere’s absence, the club could turn more heavily to rotation pieces like Nassir Little and Anthony Tolliver, even two-way center Moses Brown.

The post Knee Swelling Sidelines Skal Labissiere appeared first on SLAM.

Lillard, who says he’s unconcerned about Portland’s early-season struggles, believes Melo can provide crucial help.

Anthony, 35, inked a a non-guaranteed deal after being out of the NBA for over a year.

Per The Athletic:

But signing the 35-year-old forward is a risk the Blazers have to take after losing six of the last seven games while being exposed at power forward. The signing of the 16-year veteran is a clear indication that Blazers management felt it couldn’t wait until Dec. 15 to pursue the expanded trade market, and that the deficit left by the injury to Zach Collins was too great to let go unattended.

That’s why team star Damian Lillard says signing the 35-year-old is “worth a shot.”

“We added a good player,” Lillard said in a text. “Another scoring threat, experience, rebounder.”

Related ‘Two Thousand Percent’: Carmelo Anthony Still Wants to Play in the NBA

The post Damian Lillard: ‘Hopefully We Can Be Part of a Great Bounceback for Melo’ appeared first on SLAM.

According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, Anthony will be activated for Portland’s Tuesday night contest.

The Portland Trail Blazers intend to sign Carmelo Anthony to a non-guaranteed deal, Adrian Wojnaowski of ESPN reports. Anthony has been out of the league since he was traded by the Houston Rockets last season.

ESPN’s Bobby Marks adds that Anthony’s deal will become guaranteed if he remains on the roster through January 7. He’ll join the squad for their upcoming road trip, Wojnarowski adds.

Portland’s interest in Anthony has been well documented but the forward didn’t appear eager to sign on with the squad when presented with opportunities to do so over the years. Now, as the short-handed Blazers struggle to fill vacancies created by players like Zach Collins and Jusuf Nurkic, Anthony represents a potentially solid replacement.

Anthony will be in the mix for reps at the four with Mario Hezonja and Anthony Tolliver.

Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reports that Blazers guard Damian Lillard was notified of the move last night and has always been supportive of bringing Anthony to town.

Given that the Blazers already had a roster spot open, they don’t need to make any moves to facilitate the signing. They are, however, a team already deep into the luxury tax that will now be in line to pay considerably more with an additional player on board, especially if Anthony ends up sticking around for the duration of the 2019-20 campaign.

While Anthony held his own in ten contests with the Rockets in 2018-19, two of them starts, the team opted to cancel the experiment and traded the former All-Star to the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls promptly released the 35-year-old and he’s been on the outside of the league looking in since.

While Anthony didn’t latch on with a team throughout the offseason, it wasn’t because of a lack of interest. At various times through the summer Nets players were advocating for their squad to sign the veteran and the Knicks alluded to the notion that they’d have reached out to Anthony if their initial, more ambitious free agency plans had come to fruition.

To his credit, Anthony has remained committed to returning to the league and apparently kept himself in good enough condition through mid-November to convince a team to give him another shot. Last week he re-iterated his interest in playing again.

Having bounced around several franchises since he was dealt by the New York Knicks back in 2017, all eyes will be on Anthony as he looks to help jumpstart a Blazers squad that’s limped to a 4-8 start this season.

The post Trail Blazers Sign Carmelo Anthony appeared first on SLAM.

Third-year Trail Blazers big man Zach Collins left Portland’s Sunday night contest with a dislocated shoulder and will have an MRI on Monday to gauge the severity, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports.

Collins injured his shoulder going up for a rebound in the paint late in the third-quarter after 24 minutes of work against the Mavs.

The 22-year-old has seen an uptick in playing time so far this young season, topping the 30-point plateau in each of his first two games, and was part of the frontcourt committee tasked with filling in the footsteps of the injured Jusuf Nurkic.

While Collins has played out of the power forward position this season, any prolonged absence for Collins could thrust a number of frontcourt players like Skal Labissiere into Anthony Tolliver into more significant roles.

The post Zach Collins Dislocates Shoulder appeared first on SLAM.

OKC got its first win of the season after routing the Warriors at home. Danilo Gallinari scored 21 points as four of five of the Thunder’s starters finished in double figures. Dennis Schroeder had 22 points off the bench.

Grizzlies (1-2) 134, Nets (1-2) 133

Ja Morant scored the go-ahead bucket to tie it at 120-all and blocked Kyrie Irving’s jumper to force OT, finishing the contest with 30 points and 9 dimes. His final assist was to a trailing Jae Crowder, who hit the game-winning 3-pointer.

Timberwolves 116 (3-0), Heat 109 (2-1)

Andrew Wiggins put up 11 straight points in the money quarter to finish with 25 points as the Wolves remain undefeated. Karl-Anthony Towns posted a double-double (25 points, 11 rebounds) in front of the home crowd. Jeff Teague also had 21 points and 8 assists.

Trailblazers 121 (2-1), Mavericks 119 (2-1)

Damian Lillard’s layup sealed the victory on the road in Dallas. Lillard (28 points) and CJ McCollum (35 points) combined for 63 points. Rodney and Zach Collins finished in double figures with 20 and 10, respectively.

Lakers 120 (2-1), Hornets (1-2) 101

The Lakers went 2-0 this weekend after defending home court against the Jazz and Hornets. Anthony Davis had a 29-point, 14-rebound performance and LeBron James finished with a double-double (20 points, 13 assists) of his own, too. The Lakers are back at home Tuesday night against the Grizzlies.

The post Post Up: Ja Morant Drops 30 Points to Lead Grizzlies Over Nets in OT 🤫 appeared first on SLAM.

“We never really consider ourselves underdogs,” says Collins, adding that they’re focused on winning a title.

The big fella credits All-Star teammates Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum with fostering a winning culture in Portland.

Per HoopsHype :

Would you agree that you guys have embraced that underdog role and approach everything with that us-against-the-world attitude?

ZC: “Yeah. Like you said, every year since I’ve been here, the analysts say that we’re not even going to make the playoffs, and then we get the two-seed and three-seed back to back. So, to us, it’s just white noise. I mean, we don’t really pay attention to it. And if we do, it’s just motivation, like you said, embracing that underdog role. But we never really consider ourselves underdogs. We always consider ourselves the best team in the West, one of the best teams in the NBA. So for us, it’s not really ever like a conversation about how they’re counting us out and how we’ve got to prove them wrong. It’s always about how this is the year and we have the guys in the locker room to compete for a championship. So what they say about us, we don’t really converse about – we’re on our own path. Inside that locker room, we’re all together and we’re going into this season with one goal and that’s to win a championship, regardless of what everybody else is saying.”

There are quite a few teams that seem like legitimate contenders and it feels more wide open than in recent years. Would you agree with that?

ZC: “Absolutely. I think both conferences got a lot better. It’s been a while since there wasn’t – according to other people and analysts and talk shows and websites and everything – a clear-cut favorite. I know a lot of people are talking about the Clippers and Lakers. But again, those are two teams that, in the past, weren’t really up for talks about a championship. So even that right there just tells you how much has changed over the summer and how much better the entire league is going to be, not just one part of it.”

Related Portland Won’t Load-Manage Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum

The post Portland’s Zach Collins: ‘We Always Consider Ourselves the Best Team in the West’ appeared first on SLAM.

Below is a list of the contract types the Portland Trail Blazers have heading into training camp. This resource will be updated as players are signed and waived. Check back often to see if your team’s roster configuration has changed.

Portland Trail Blazers

For a complete list of all the NBA teams and links to each team’s roster breakdown, check out our 2019 NBA Training Camp Index. Follow the curators of this database, Chris Crouse and Austin Kent, on Twitter.

More NBA Training Camp Rosters

The post Portland Trail Blazers Roster Count: 2019 Training Camp appeared first on SLAM.

We’ve broken down the overall ratings for each player and sorted them by team so that you can see how your squad stacks up against the rest of the league.

Portland Trail Blazers NBA 2K20 Ratings

This table is updated as of Nov. 22, 2019

Can’t get enough 2K? SLAM’s dedicated gaming channel, @SLAMftw, is blowing up. Hit us with your best uploads and watch our streams!

More NBA 2K20 Ratings

The post NBA 2K20 Ratings: Portland Trail Blazers appeared first on SLAM.

Gasol will join a suddenly deep Blazers front court that already includes Jusuf Nurkic, Hassan Whiteside and Zach Collins.

Gasol, who turned 39 this summer, started last season with the Spurs but after agreeing to a buyout with San Antonio, he latched on with the Bucks. He missed Milwaukee’s postseason run as he was recovering from foot surgery. The big man is expected to be healthy enough to participate in training camp.

The post Pau Gasol Agrees To Deal With Portland Trail Blazers appeared first on SLAM.

“You should join our basketball team,” his friend would say.

Hachimura did not have any interest. Basketball was too hard, he’d say, and like many other boys growing up in Japan, he had dreams of excelling on the baseball diamond. But after two weeks of the daily request, his priorities changed. He didn’t care about which sport he wanted to play. Hachimura just wanted his friend to leave him alone.

“I didn’t really want to play basketball, but he was so annoying,” Hachimura says. “I agreed to go one time.”

When he got there, he met the basketball coach, who had a message of his own, one a little less annoying and a little more enticing.

“The first time I met my coach, he told me I could go to the NBA,” Hachimura says. “I was kind of stupid so I believed him.”

It sounded stupid because it seemed nearly impossible. No Japanese-born player had ever been selected in the NBA draft, and Yuta Tabuse’s four-game stint with the Phoenix Suns in 2004 was the only time a Japanese native even got a taste of NBA action.

But Hachimura, the son of a Beninese father and a Japanese mother, is blazing a new trail. Now a 6-8 junior at Gonzaga, he is a projected NBA lottery pick in every 2019 mock draft you can find. He’s already the first man from his country to play in the NCAA tournament and the fifth to ever play Division I men’s basketball. As of March 11, he’s averaging a team-high 20.6 points per game and has the No. 1 ranked Bulldogs (29-2) among a handful of teams with very realistic hopes of a national title. 

“Not many people have ever done what he’s trying to do,” says Gonzaga assistant Tommy Lloyd, who recruited Hachimura. “This is probably the first player from Asia we ever looked at.”

While Hachimura didn’t start playing basketball until he was 13 years old, it didn’t take him long to get on Gonzaga’s radar. At the 2014 U-17 World Championships in Dubai, he led all players in scoring average (22.6 ppg), which was enough to get the Bulldogs’ interest. A year later, they secured his commitment. 

Above anything else, there was one reason why he wanted to go to college in the United States.

“One of my goals was to be in the NBA,” Hachimura says. “I knew if I didn’t speak English, I really couldn’t play in the NBA. I thought it was a good idea to go to college first.”

While Hachimura was a rising star in his own country, he knew relatively no English while he was in high school. He would often fake it or just avoid talking when others spoke English around him. This became a problem at Gonzaga, as he needed to reach certain collegiate and NCAA standards to play. 

“That was No. 1 in everything he did,” Lloyd says. “He had to improve his language skills.”

Hachimura eventually met the standards he needed to, but there was still a long way to go. In 2016, months prior to his enrollment, Hachimura told reporters that he understood 80 percent of English and could speak about 40 percent. Zach Collins, his Gonzaga teammate during Hachimura’s freshman year, remembers him being very quiet when they first met, and it was a few weeks before the two could have a conversation.

“He could understand you, but it was just him getting the words out that was more of a struggle,” says Collins, now a member of the Portland Trail Blazers.

As a freshman, Hachimura used every resource he could. When he wasn’t at the athletic facility, he was at Gonzaga’s English Learning Center. And in practice, he leaned heavily on Gonzaga’s team video coordinator Ken Nakagawa, whose parents were both Japanese, to help him understand what the coaches were saying.

“One of the first things he told me was that he didn’t want to speak in Japanese at all,” Nakagawa says. “He wanted everything to be English. I would just dumb it down to elementary school level.”

It wasn’t an overnight success. As a freshman in 2016-17, Gonzaga made the Final Four, but Hachimura played less than five minutes per game. 

“It was harder than what I expected,” Hachimura says. “The culture is totally different. The language is different. I started feeling comfortable when I could communicate with my teammates and coaches.”

That level of comfort wasn’t fully achieved until after his first season. With the language barrier a little broken down, Hachimura could devote more of his time to improving his on-court skills. First and foremost, that meant getting physical. 

At 6-8 and 230 pounds, Hachimura had the frame to wreak havoc, but he wasn’t used to playing that style in Japan. The Gonzaga coaches got on him for it, and midway through his sophomore season, in a road loss to San Diego State, things finally clicked.

“It was the first time he used his body and tools to take advantage of his advantages,” Lloyd says.

From that game forward, Hachimura led the Bulldogs in scoring. And in his junior year, he has looked even better, opening the campaign with a career-high 33 points in a win against Idaho State and dropping 25 or more on four other occasions.

“He was a better shooter and more skilled than we thought,” Idaho State coach Bill Evans says. “He’s going to make a lot of money some day.”

While a hefty professional contract seems like a formality at this point, it’s the untapped basketball market of Japan that makes Hachimura one of the most intriguing NBA prospects in a long time. Although Hachimura is only half-Japanese, something he believes will hamper his marketability back home, he’s the basketball star of a country with a growing interest in the game.

Nakagawa says there is a big gap between basketball and Japan’s more popular sports like baseball and soccer, but that gap may be diminishing. The B.League, founded after a merger between two former Japanese leagues in 2015, has increased the scope of professional basketball in the country. 

And then there’s Hachimura’s already growing popularity. His success on the national team made him a celebrity among Japan’s basketball community, and that has only increased since he left for Gonzaga, as a handful of his games are re-aired on Japanese television.

The timing could not be more perfect, as Tokyo is set to host the 2020 Olympics. While that will bring many NBA stars to Japan, Hachimura figures to be front and center as the face of the national team.

“The general public has no idea who he is or what kind of significance he has to the game,” Nakagawa says. “I think 2020 will be another landmark opportunity to make basketball popular in Japan, and I think Rui will have a big part in that for sure.”

—

GRAB YOUR COPY OF SLAM PRESENTS THE GREATEST COLLEGE PLAYERS OF ALL TIME HERE.

David Casillo is a contributor to SLAM. Follow him on Twitter @dcasillo. 

Photos via Getty.

The post Gonzaga Star Rui Hachimura Is Set to Make History 🇯🇵 appeared first on SLAM.

Dwyane Wade, a.k.a. Father Prime, had to flex his magic Wednesday night. Wade hit an improbable buzzer-beater against the Warriors that was nothing short of otherworldly. He sent the Miami crowd and his teammates into hysteria following the shot.

Wade finished with 25 points.

Rockets 118 (36-25), Hornets 113 (28-33)

Houston scored 28 points in the fourth quarter to get a win on the road. James Harden contributed 30 points and dished out seven assists while Clint Capela scored 23 points and grabbed 17 rebounds. Kemba Walker had 35 points for the Hornets.

Timberwolves 123 (29-32), Hawks 131 (21-41)

Atlanta was able to come out on top in overtime thanks to the duo of Trae Young (36 points, 10 assists, eight rebounds) and John Collins (34 points, eight rebounds). Karl-Anthony Towns scored 37 points in the loss.

Wizards 125 (25-36), Nets 116 (32-21)

Bradley Beal (31 points) and Trevor Ariza (23 points, 10 rebounds) led Washington to a road win in Brooklyn. D’Angelo Russell put in 28 points and seven rebounds for the Nets.

Blazers 97 (38-23), Celtics 92 (37-25)

Damian Lillard’s 33 points propelled the Blazers to a win in Boston despite a comeback attempt by the Celtics. Kyrie Irving scored 31 points in the loss.

Bulls 109 (17-45), Grizzlies 107 (24-39)

The Bulls’ trio of Zach LaVine (30 points), Lauri Markkanen (22 points) and Otto Porter Jr. (20 points) helped Chicago hold off Memphis. Avery Bradley put in 23 points for the Grizzlies.

Pistons 93 (29-31), Spurs 105 (34-29)

San Antonio used a 27-point third quarter to expand their lead and cruise to the home win. LaMarcus Aldridge led the team with 24 points while DeMar DeRozan added 17 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists.

Pacers 101 (40-22), Mavericks 110 (27-34)

Dallas turned the tide in the fourth quarter, putting in 31 points that pushed them ahead for the win. Rookie Luka Doncic flirted with a triple-double yet again, registering 26 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.

Clippers 105 (34-29), Jazz 111 (34-26)

Utah enjoyed double-digit scoring from six players, including each of their starting five. Donovan Mitchell led the team in scoring with 32 points, while Rudy Gobert added 20 points and 13 rebounds.

Bucks 141 (47-14), Kings 140 (31-30)

Milwaukee and Sacramento played an electrifying game that went down to the final seconds in overtime. Eric Bledsoe led the Bucks with 26 points and 13 assists. Buddy Hield scored 32 points for the Kings.

Pelicans 119 (27-36), Lakers 125 (30-31)

With his team up three and time winding down, LeBron James nailed a one-legged 3-pointer from the corner to seal the game. James finished with 33 points and 10 assists as the Lakers exacted revenge after a loss to the Pelicans last week.

RELATED: Dwyane Wade Channeling His ‘Inner Allen Iverson’ With Braids

The post Post Up: Dwyane Wade Hits Ridiculous Buzzer-Beater Against Warriors ⚡️ appeared first on SLAM.

Portland outscored the Sixers by 15 in the third quarter and kept a 20-point lead for much of the fourth.

Dame Lillard (17, 8 dimes, 6 boards) and Jusuf Nurkic (24 and 10) were both a +24 plus/minus on the night.

Ben Simmons and Nurkic went at it with some, er… friendly banter on the court, and Nurk even posted about Simmons on Instagram after the game. Too bad this was their final meeting this season.

Suns 112 (11-50), Hawks 120 (20-40)

The score was tied with 3 minutes to play, but Atlanta would go on a 13-5 run to close out the game.

John Collins had 19 points, 14 boards and a +19 plus/minus.

Phoenix has now lost an abysmal 17 straight.

Nets 117 (31-30), Hornets 115 (28-31)

Brooklyn held the lead for most of the game and were up by as much as 19 points in the third quarter. But Charlotte battled back and took an 8-point lead late in the fourth.

D’Angelo Russell, on his 23rd birthday, scored five straight buckets to regain the lead for the Nets. He would finish with 40 points, tying a career-high.

Grizzlies 107 (23-38), Cavs 112 (14-46)

Both teams played neck-and-neck throughout the fourth quarter, but Cleveland was able to pull away in the end.

Kevin Love, in his eighth game of the season, dropped a game-high 32 points (on 15 shots) with 12 boards.

Pacers 119 (40-20), Wizards 112 (24-36)

Despite a ton of turnovers, Indiana was able to maintain a lead for the majority of the game. (It also helped that the Wizards were also turning the ball over like crazy.)

Thad Young dropped a team-high 22 points on just 11 shots.

Lakers 115 (29-30), Pelicans 128 (27-34)

With Anthony Davis sitting out, New Orleans dropped 42 points in the first quarter and never looked back. They led by as much as 20 points during the fourth.

Jrue Holiday scored a team-high 27 points with 7 assists and 3 steals.

The Lakers have now lost 9 of their last 13 games.

Pistons 119 (28-30), Heat 96 (26-32)

Detroit outscored the Heat by 15 points in the fourth quarter, leading by as much as 26.

Blake Griffin had 20 points, 6 dimes and a +21 plus/minus.

Celtics 116 (37-23), Bulls 126 (16-44)

The last time the Celtics were in Chicago, they beat the Bulls by 56 points. This time, Boston was trailing by as much as 25 points.

Zach LaVine dropped a career-high 42 points and Lauri Markkanen had 35 points and 15 boards. The last pair of Bulls teammates to score 35+ points in a game were… you guessed it, Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen during the 1996-97 season.

Kings 119 (31-28), Thunder 116 (38-21)

The Kings blew a 16-point third quarter lead but were able to hang on. Paul George had a chance to send the game to overtime, but his three at the buzzer fell short.

Buddy Hield dropped a team-high 34 points with 5 boards and 4 assists.

Wolves 128 (28-31), Bucks 140 (45-14)

Even without Karl-Anthony Towns (concussion), Minnesota was able to keep the game close until the Bucks pulled away in the fourth quarter.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 27 points, 10 boards, 7 dimes and a +15 plus/minus.

Rockets 118 (34-25), Warriors 112 (42-17)

Even without James Harden (neck strain), Houston was able to come away with a victory at Oracle Arena.

Eric Gordon scored a team-high 25 points and Chris Paul (23 points, 17 dimes) put the team on his back with a vintage performance.

Mavs 109 (26-33), Jazz 125 (33-26)

After a heartbreaking 2OT loss the night before in OKC, Utah bounced back at home against the Mavs. The Jazz went off for 39 points in the final quarter to close out the victory.

Donovan Mitchell dropped a game-high 25 points with 8 boards and 6 dimes.

The post Post Up: CP3 Carries Rockets To Victory at Oracle 🚀 appeared first on SLAM.

Kerr lost his mind (and was subsequently ejected) after Draymond Green was whistled for a flagrant foul on Blazers big man Zach Collins.

Steve Kerr ejection highlights #Warriors’ late collapse in loss to Portland.

via @Con_Chron: https://t.co/pcP3Hp0L70

— Sporting Green (@SportingGreenSF) February 14, 2019

Green, for his part, shrugged off the controversial call as a byproduct of the “Draymond Green rule.”

Per The San Fran Chronicle and ESPN:

Roughly 10 minutes after the final buzzer sounded, Kerr joked, “Get the f— out of my way!” as he approached the media scrum. His signature sarcasm had returned. In the grind of an 82-game season, Kerr knows he is bound to toss a clipboard or two.

“I’m going to have to ask (team trainer Drew) Yoder if the clipboard broke when I threw it down,” Kerr said. “But I got a little anger out, so that was good.”

Green said he appreciated the way Kerr stood up for him at the end of the game.

“I loved that too,” Green said. “That was amazing. It’s great. He set the tone for us to close the game the way we did. It was good. I got a tech also for standing there; that probably should be a delay of game, not a tech. You can’t give somebody a tech because they’re standing there. That’s a delay of game. But whatever. Probably a Draymond Green rule too.”

Related
Draymond Green: ‘No One Wants to See Us Win Again’

The post Steve Kerr Fined $25K for ‘Verbally Abusing and Confronting’ Ref appeared first on SLAM.

And now we can add 3-time NBA champ Draymond Green, as well as Zach Collins to the list after they stopped by to check out Sierra Canyon at the Les Schwab Invitational.

Sierra Canyon is one of the most exciting teams in SoCal, seeing as they sport Cassius Stanley, Scottie Pippen Jr. and Kenyon Martin Jr. They face University High School in the Final.

RELATED:
Sierra Canyon Lights Up Granada Hills With Kendall Jenner In Attendance

The post Draymond Green Watches Cassius Stanley & Sierra Canyon Go Off! 😈 appeared first on SLAM.

Shooters shoot, right? Klay Thompson entered Monday night with just five 3-pointers made through the first seven games of the season, but he wasn’t afraid to unload the clip early and often in Chicago as he sank six in the first quarter. Thompson’s 10 3’s in the first half tied an NBA record for 3’s as he led the Warriors to a franchise-high 92 points in one half. It didn’t take long in the second half for Thompson to eclipse teammate Steph Curry’s single-game shooting record as he hit his 14th 3 with 4:53 to go in the third quarter. He checked out less than a minute later with 52 points in 27 minutes.

“COUNT IT UP, COUNT IT.”

Here’s all 1⃣4⃣ of Klay’s record-breaking 3-pointers. (via @SportsCenter) https://t.co/MRYb0F6Il4

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) October 30, 2018

Trail Blazers 103 (4-2), Pacers 93 (4-3)

No Blazer scored more than 17 points as a collective scoring effort in the second half led Portland to a comeback win over Indiana. CJ McCollum and Zach Collins each scored 17 while Victor Oladipo scored a game-high 21 for the Pacers.

Nuggets 116 (5-1), Pelicans 111 (4-2)

Nikola Jokic didn’t score a lot, but he didn’t need to in order to lead Denver to the W as the big man racked up 10 assists, nine rebounds and two blocks to go with his 12 points. Jamal Murray and Gary Harris took care of the scoring bulk as the backcourt mates each scored 23 and led Denver’s 64-point second half outing.

Anthony Davis didn’t play as Julius Randle scored a team-high 24 points off the bench.

Knicks 115 (2-5), Nets 96 (2-5)

Knicks coach David Fizdale undoubtedly raised a few eyebrows when he elected to move Enes Kanter and Trey Burke to the bench for the second-consecutive game, but their replacements shined as Frank Ntilikina had 16 points, five rebounds and four dimes and Mitchell Robinson had 11 points on 5-for-5 shooting. Tim Hardaway Jr. scored a game-high 25 points as the Knicks re-claimed the crown as New York’s best team.

Shabazz Napier had 12 points and was the only Net with a positive plus-minus as he turned in 19 minutes off the pine.

Hawks 92 (2-4), 76ers 113 (4-3)

The Sixers’ young core shined as Ben Simmons stuffed the box score with 21 points, 12 rebounds and nine dimes and Markelle Fultz scored a season-high 16 points and dropped seven dimes.

Y’all thought Markelle was finished?

Lol. (via @sixers) https://t.co/vA9uFyAjJD

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) October 30, 2018

https://twitter.com/SLAMonline/status/1057083879151034370

Raptors 109 (6-1), Bucks 124 (7-0)

Giannis Antetoknounmpo had to sit out due to the NBA’s concussion protocol, but his squad was still able to leave the night undefeated as eight players scored at least eight points on the night. Ersan Illyasova had a team-best 19 points and 11 boards.

Toronto was without its star player, Kawhi Leonard, too, as it suffered its first long of the season despite 30 points and nine rebounds from Serge Ibaka.

Lakers 120 (2-5), Timberwolves 124 (3-4)

The Lakers received a boost as Brandon Ingram scored 24 points in 9-for-18 shooting in his return from suspension, but a lack of consistent defense cost Los Angeles another win as Jimmy Butler sank a dagger 3-pointer with 18 seconds to go to cap off a 32-point night. Karl-Anthony Towns added 25 points and 16 points for the Timberwolves.

LeBron  James continued to shine in purple and gold, racking up 29 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, two steals and two blocks.

LeBron throwing lobs to JaVale on the reg—2018 is wild. (via @nba) pic.twitter.com/jQfBkedYcp

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) October 30, 2018

“YOU CAN’T WIN WITHOUT ME.”

Jimmy Butler is COLD-BLOODED. (via @NBATV) pic.twitter.com/n3eK8BhUZT

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) October 30, 2018

Kings 123 (4-3), Heat 113 (3-3)

There were plenty of buckets to go around for the fellas in purple as Willie Cauley-Stein (26 points), De’Aaron Fox (20) and Buddy Hield (23) each clocked out with at least 20 points apiece as the Kings shot 46.2 percent from behind the arc.

Josh Richardson continued to shine for Miami as he scored a game-high 31 points, but his supporting cast wasn’t able to keep up with Sacramento’s sharp night on offense. Hassan Whiteside racked up 16 points and 24 rebounds in 29 minutes.

Spurs 113 (4-2), Mavericks 108 (2-5)

Luka Doncic dropped a career-high 31 points, but three straight overtime buckets from DeMar DeRozan (34 points, nine assists, six rebounds, three steals) spoiled the rising star’s night.

Rudy Gay stuffed the stat sheet with 15 points, 11 rebounds and six steals to help seal the victory for San Antonio.

Dennis Smith Jr. had 22 points and DeAndre Jordan racked up 18 rebounds and eight points in the loss.

The post Post Up: Klay Thompson Hits NBA-Record 14 3’s in 52-Point Outing 🔥 appeared first on SLAM.

LeBron James didn’t take long to leave a strong first impression on Lakers fans, immediately throwing down back-to-back dunks to open the night in Portland; however, strong shooting nights from Damian Lillard (28 points), CJ McCollum (21) and Nik Stauskas (24) proved to be too much for Los Angeles to overcome as it missed its first 15 3’s en route to 7-for-30 performance for the night. Zach Collins stifled the Lakers’ offense at the rim, too, recording a career-high six blocks.

A Lonzo Ball 3-pointer with 8:07 to go in the fourth quarter cut the deficit to one, but that was as close as the Lakers would get for the rest of the night as the Trail Blazers stretched their lead to as high as 13 points in the final period.

James was strong in his debut, racking up 26 points, 12 rebounds and six assists. Rajon Rondo added 13 points and 11 dimes while Josh Hart had 20 points on 8-for-12 shooting to go with three steals off the pine.

Still can’t believe we witnessed this sequence like that. HYFR hoops are back. (via @DefPenHoops) pic.twitter.com/LOVwmKXvt9

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) October 19, 2018

SAUCE CASTILLO HAS 16

Where were you the night Nik Stauskas became the hottest shooter in the world? (via @NBAonTNT) pic.twitter.com/B0XQFBioEG

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) October 19, 2018

Rajon Rondo’s behind the back ball-fake is an all-time signature move, frfr. (via @nba) pic.twitter.com/UcU9QHeIHy

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) October 19, 2018

Dame is a cold-blooded killa in crunch time. Big respect. (via @NBAonTNT) pic.twitter.com/SBMhKBBplA

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) October 19, 2018

76ers 127 (1-1), Bulls 108 (0-1)

After a rocky start against Boston on opening night, Philadelphia got back on track in front of its home crowd as Ben Simmons stuffed the stat sheet with 13 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists. Joel Embiid led all scorers with 30 points and added 12 rebounds.

Markelle Fultz earned the start at point guard again, and although he shot only 5-for-15 from the field, he showed off his range and newfound shooting confidence in a pull-up 3 made over Zach LaVine — the first 3 of his NBA career — much to the delight of the home fans.

LaVine led the Bulls with 30 points on 11-for-19 shooting from the field. Jabari Parker added 15 points off the pine in his first game playing for his hometown squad.

PULL UP THEN MARKELLE.

League is gonna be in a lot of trouble soon. (via @NBAonTNT) pic.twitter.com/FsxxOP40PD

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) October 19, 2018

Heat 113 (1-0), Wizards 112 (0-1)

John Wall clocked out with a phenomenal all-around performance after amassing 26 points, nine rebounds, a steals and three blocks, but Kelly Olynyk‘s putback with 0.2 seconds to go spoiled the Wiz Kids’ home opener.

Dwyane Wade had nine points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals off the bench in what’ll be the final season opener of his career. Josh Richardson scored a game-high 28 for the Heat.

The Heat caught the last-second W and Dwyane Wade IMMEDIATELY got to talking that shit.

Legend. (via @nbaayy) pic.twitter.com/8zhjLRogUe

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) October 19, 2018

Father Prime is still dropping dimes and making dudes fall.

Dwyane Wade is 36 years old and as crafty as ever. It’s gotta be the vino. (via @MiamiHEAT( https://t.co/37WHslTi4X

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) October 19, 2018

The post Post Up: Nik Stauskas, Dame Lillard Spoil LeBron James’ Lakers Debut appeared first on SLAM.

Celtics wing Jayson Tatum would have been unanimous First-Team, if not for one Second-Team vote.

A panel of 100 media members voted for the 2017-18 NBA All-Rookie Teams, with a First Team vote counting for 2 points, and a Second Team vote counting for 1 point.

Check out the full results below:

2017-18 NBA All-Rookie Team Voting Results

First Team: Kyle Kuzma (193), Lauri Markkanen (173), Donovan Mitchell (200), Ben Simmons (200), Jayson Tatum (199)

Second Team: Lonzo Ball (87), Bogdan Bogdanovic (75), John Collins (76), Josh Jackson (45), Dennis Smith Jr (96)

Other rookies receiving votes: Bam Adebayo (44); De’Aaron Fox (34); OG Anunoby (25); Jarrett Allen (18); Dillon Brooks (14); Jordan Bell (5); Royce O’Neale (4); Zach Collins (3); Milos Teodosic (3); Luke Kennard (1); Frank Mason III (1); Malik Monk (1); Frank Ntilikina (1); Semi Ojeleye (1); Sindarius Thornwell (1)

The 2017-18 NBA All-Rookie First Team! @spidadmitchell @BenSimmons25 @jaytatum0 @kylekuzma @MarkkanenLauri pic.twitter.com/9Sk3KGHlOI

— NBA (@NBA) May 22, 2018

RELATED:
Ben Simmons Responds to Donovan Mitchell’s ‘Rookie’ Hoodie

The post Mitchell, Simmons Voted Unanimous All-Rookie First Teamers appeared first on SLAM.

Portland is for real. Despite 35 points, 14 rebounds, six assists, two steals and three blocks from LeBron James, the Trail Blazers were able to pick up their 11th straight win as their dynamic backcourt duo of Dame Lillard and C.J. McCollum combined for 53 points.

LEBRON JAMES WITH THE POSTER

The can FLY (via @nba) https://t.co/bhiXzL6dRK

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) March 16, 2018

76ers 118 (37-30), Knicks 110 (24-45)

The Knicks led at halftime due to a hot start from Michael Beasley (24 points, 13 rebounds), but a 14-point advantage for the 76ers in the fourth quarter put the game to bed.

Joel Embiid finished the night with a game-high 29 points and Ben Simmons passed a legend in the rookie triple-double leaderboard.

Raptors 106 (51-17), Pacers 99 (40-29)

DeMar DeRozan continued to lead the Raptors as he dropped a team-high 25 on 8-for-15 shooting from the field and dished out seven dimes. Jonas Valanciunas put in work on the glass, grabbing 17 rebounds to go alongside his 16 points.

“AWWWYAAAA GET UP LANCE!”

Lance Stephenson got some BOUNCE (via @TheRenderNBA) https://t.co/n2vPvwpPhf

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) March 15, 2018

Hornets 129 (30-39), Hawks 117 (20-49)

Dwight Howard showed out in his hometown and against his former team, leading all players with 33 points as the Hornets jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. Nic Batum recorded a triple-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 16 assists.

Rookie John Collins shined for the Hawks, scoring 21 points and grabbing nine rebounds.

Clippers 96 (37-30), Rockets 101 (54-14)

Tobias Harris scored 29 but James Harden did James Harden things in the fourth quarter, dropping daggers to keep the Rockets atop the Western Conference. Eric Gordon went 7-for-9 from behind the arc en route to a 23-point night.

COCKY JAMES HARDEN IS HERE FOR AUSTIN RIVERS

“He wouldn’t even step up! I like him! I like him!” (via @TheRenderNBA) https://t.co/jWIYcnG20y

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) March 16, 2018

Bulls 111 (24-44), Grizzlies 110 (18-50)

The Grizzlies tank is barreling ahead full of steam and it looks like nothing can stop it. Zach LaVine’s 20 points proved to be the difference as Chicago delivered Memphis its 19th consecutive loss. Bobby Portis continued to shine, scoring 17 and snatching three steals in 23 minutes off the pine.

Suns 88 (19-51), Jazz 116 (39-30)

Donovan Mitchell scored 23 points, but the biggest event of the night was a bench-clearing scuffle that occurred after Jazz guard Ricky Rubio was on the receiving end of shots from Jared Dudley and Marquese Chriss.

Donovan Mitchell is seriously a magician… (via @SportsCenter) pic.twitter.com/yw3JGVR66P

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) March 16, 2018

Pelicans 93 (39-29), Spurs 98 (39-30)

The Spurs were able to shake off their cold streak in a crucial night for two teams clawing for one of the final seeds in the Western Conference playoffs. LaMarcus Aldridge led San Antonio with 25 points but the most intriguing stat of the night was the six blocks recorded by guard Danny Green.

Anthony Davis scored 21 and grabbed 14 boards, but turned the ball over six times.

Pistons 113 (30-37), Nuggets 120 (37-31)

Jamal Murray led the way with 26 and Nikola Jokic got another triple-double with 23 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists, three steals and three blocks. Blake Griffin scored 26 and had nine assists and was the only Detroit starter to have a positive plus-minus.

The post Post Up: Portland Trail Blazers Overcome LeBron James, Win 11th Straight appeared first on SLAM.

He’s played well enough to earn himself two spots at All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles. He’ll be part of Friday night’s Rising Stars Game and then he’ll be soaring in Saturday night’s Dunk Contest.

It’s been a quick rise for the 13th pick in the 2017 Draft. After spending two seasons at Louisville, the Westchester, NY native wasn’t a household name going into the Draft.

“I worked out this past summer with Paul George and Chris Paul and they were really the ones who convinced me to keep my name in the draft,” Mitchell told us this past summer. “We had talks and they said, Look, you’re good enough. Just go out there and show it. [The NBA] was a thought, but I didn’t think it would happen this fast. It’s crazy to me that I’m here now.”

We caught up with Spida to talk about the ROY race, All-Star weekend and more.

SLAM: Are you hearing all the buzz you’ve generated in the Rookie of the Year race?

Donovan Mitchell: It’s hard not to, to be honest. As much as I try not to. It’s kind of crazy to think about all these guys saying that about me. It’s definitely an honor. The one thing people don’t understand is I wouldn’t even be in this position if it wasn’t for the organizaition and my teammates. I’m a rookie coming in and some teams, the guys wouldn’t allow that. But my teammates have been accepting. Even times where maybe I am shooting too much, they encourage me to keep shooting, even if I keep missing. I’m not really too worried about the Rookie of the Year race. I’d rather make the playoffs.

SLAM: Do you have relationships with the other guys in this year’s Rising Stars Game?

DM: Yeah, I’m friends with a lot of the guys in my rookie class, and pretty much everyone on my team I’ve had relationships with. I’m pretty close with John Collins. Kyle, Lonzo, Dennis. All those guys. I’m excited to play with them. Even Jamal Murray on the opposite side.

SLAM: The reasoning for that question is because you’re probably gonna be trying to go get buckets, even though you know these dudes, right?

DM: Oh yeah, this is not just a game to me. It’s not just All-Star Weekend. Hopefully everybody has the same competitive spirit that I always have. I’m going to approach it the way I approach every basketball game. I’m trying to win.

SLAM: And you’re bringing that same mentality to the Dunk Contest? Any preview you can give of what you’ve got planned? 

DM: I can’t really give away all my ideas but I do have things I’ve worked on. I actually just finished working out. I’m excited to go out there and do what I’ve been doing since I was in high school.

SLAM: Who are some of the players that have you given inspiration as a dunker?

DM: I used to watch Aaron Gordon a lot. He’s a two-foot dunker. Zach LaVine, Gerald Green. James White, Terrico White. A lot of two-foot dunkers.

SLAM: As a dunker, how ridiculous was Gerald Green dunking without sneakers back in 2008?

DM: Well as a basketball player, it’s really dangerous. So the fact that he went out and tried it, the fact that he went between the legs is even crazier. As a dunker it was like, Wow. Shoes give you a few inches. And it was off the vert, too, which shows you how much bounce he really has.

SLAM: So you’re gonna be keeping your kicks on during the Contest?

DM: [laughs] Yeah. 100 percent.

SLAM: You’re a tri-state guy, having gone to high school in Connecticut and having connections in New York and New Jersey. Why do you think the tri-state area is producing such serious talent right now?

DM: I think [Isaiah Washington] kinda started his own, with Jelly Fam. Jahvon [Quinerly] and all those guys. They’re a talented group. I think the way they marketed themselves allowed the world to see how talented the New York, New Jersey area really is. It was tough because my years in high school—that feels like forever ago—guys were going to prep school. They were going away. These guys have stayed local, stayed true to home. I think that’s been the biggest thing. They’ve put New York City, New Jersey, the tri-state area back on the map. New York City has been the mecca of basketball. It’s great to see the young guys going out there doing their thing. 

The post Donovan Mitchell on Rookie of the Year Race, the Dunk Contest and More appeared first on SLAM.

Kyle Kuzma had a perfect first half to further solidify his status as one of the best rookies in the game.

Kyle Kuzma’s first half: 24 pts, 9-9 FG, 6-6 3PT. Time to start talking ROY?

(Photo: David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images) pic.twitter.com/KpGwJSprJg

— SLAM Magazine (@SLAMonline) December 21, 2017

It turns out the Lakers needed every bit of Kuzma’s eventual career-high 38 points, because James Harden went off for 51 of his own. The win snapped the Rockets’ 14-game winning streak and gave L.A. its first win in well over a week.

Raptors 129 (21-8), Hornets 111 (11-20)

Jeremy Lamb’s career-high 32 points weren’t nearly enough to top three Raptors players with 20-or-more. DeMar DeRozan led the way with 28 points on 10-15 shooting to go with eight assists. Eight of those points came in a second quarter in which Toronto outscored Charlotte 41-21, providing more than enough of a difference. Serge Ibaka had 24 of his own and OG Anunoby had 20.

Right hand. Left hand. Don’t matter, buckets. #RTZ pic.twitter.com/NvpNWorJn6

— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) December 21, 2017

Pacers 105 (18-14), Hawks 95 (7-24)

Victor Oladipo had 23 points and the Pacers turned the ball over a season-low nine times in a methodical win over Atlanta. Indiana led by just two at halftime but opened up a 20-point lead in the second half before the Hawks scored the final 10 points of the game. John Collins had 18 points and nine rebounds to lead the Hawks, who have still not won consecutive games this season.

Born Ready! pic.twitter.com/pwXrfNzQr0

— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) December 21, 2017

Kings 104 (11-20), Nets 99 (11-19)

The Nets trailed by as many as 21 but had a shot to tie the game in the final seconds. Down 102-99 with five seconds to go, Spencer Dinwiddie missed a three. He then fouled George Hill, who hit two free throws to put the game out of reach. Hill led all scorers with 22 points, while Zach Randolph had 21. Dinwiddie led the Nets with 16.

“No one’s blocking that shot!” – @grantnapearshow pic.twitter.com/Ctw2MsEvKt

— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) December 21, 2017

Heat 90 (16-15), Celtics 89 (26-8)

Kelly Olynyk scored a career high against his former team, dropping 32 on the Celtics in Boston. The fans greeted Olynyk with a warm ovation before Olynyk ruined their night with a 12-15 shooting game and seven rebounds to go with it. Kyrie Irving missed a shot at the buzzer that would have won it for the Celtics. He had 33 points to lead all scorers.

Wouldn’t expect any less from Kyrie (via @nba) pic.twitter.com/mSJZxwRFnf

— SLAM Magazine (@SLAMonline) December 21, 2017

Bulls 112 (10-20), Magic 94 (11-21)

Winners of seven straight, the lowly Chicago Bulls now own the longest streak in the Eastern Conference. This one came behind 16 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists from Denzel Valentine and 50 percent team shooting for the game. Nikola Vucevic had 18-10-and-5 to lead the Magic, who have now lost six games in a row.

Making it look easy out there! pic.twitter.com/v7VNDbQ7y1

— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) December 21, 2017

Thunder 107 (16-15), Jazz 79 (14-18)

The Thunder led 25-9 — yes, 25-9 — after the first quarter and were never threatened, dominating the Jazz for 48 minutes. Russell Westbrook had 24 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists to lead the Thunder, and he even outscored Utah on his own in the first quarter. The Jazz shot just 36 percent for the game, but got 17 points from Rodney Hood, which included three threes.

Oh, and Paul George did this:

PG13! (via @okcthunder) pic.twitter.com/tx1F7UxSJY

— SLAM Magazine (@SLAMonline) December 21, 2017

Mavericks 110 (9-23), Pistons 93 (17-14)

The Mavericks used a 43-28 second quarter in which they shot 79 percent to build a lead in Detroit and cruise to a 17-point victory. Harrison Barnes led the way with 25 points, while Dennis Smith Jr. added 15 more. Anthony Tolliver led the Pistons with 18 points.

Timberwolves 112 (19-13), Nuggets 94 (16-15)

The Timberwolves overcame a 14-point deficit to beat Denver behind 25 points each from Karl Anthony Towns and Jimmy Butler. Minnesota scored 10 of the game’s final 14 points to keep the Nuggets at bay, hitting six free throws in that span. Jamal Murray led all scorers with 30 points.

A little bit of this. A little bit of that. A little bit of basket. pic.twitter.com/QGkjW9tMAz

— Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) December 21, 2017

Spurs 93 (22-10), Trail Blazers 91 (16-15)

CJ McCollum’s off-balance three at the buzzer just missed, giving the Spurs a thrilling win on the road. San Antonio took the lead for good on a Manu Ginobili jumper with 5:04 to play, but the Spurs were never able to build more than a three-point lead as the Blazers answered every shot. LaMarcus Aldridge led all scorers with 22 points, and Pau Gasol added 20 points and 17 rebounds. Damian Lillard had 17 to lead Portland.

“Pure old school.” – @seanelliott_32 pic.twitter.com/W2o5wOI1Qc

— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) December 21, 2017

Warriors 97 (25-6), Grizzlies 84 (9-22)

Klay Thompson put on a show in the first half, scoring 27 points to lead the Warriors to their 10th-straight win. As a team, the Warriors held Memphis to just 33 percent shooting despite 21 points from Marc Gasol. Thompson’s 29 total points led all scorers, while Kevin Durant had 22 and eight rebounds.

Pat with the putback DUNK (@nbcsauthentic) pic.twitter.com/WrY50psCCV

— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) December 21, 2017

Clippers 108 (12-18), Suns 95 (11-22)

The Clippers got back on track Wednesday with a strong first half and just enough in the second to hold off the Suns. Austin Rivers led the Clippers with 21 points and DeAndre Jordan added 12 points and 20 rebounds. TJ Warren had 22 to lead the Suns, whose brief two-game win streak came to an end.

https://t.co/o1yQFQ4t6M
#PrimeTicket pic.twitter.com/7kDgfHGBSq

— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) December 21, 2017

The post Post Up: Kuz Control appeared first on SLAM.

The Cavs won their 10th-straight home game behind a triple-double from LeBron James (25 points, 12 rebounds, 12 assists) and 28 points from Kevin Love. The triple-double was the 59th of LeBron’s career, tying him with Larry Bird on the NBA’s all-time list. For the Lakers, it was Lonzo Ball‘s first game against the King, someone he admired growing up. The two shared a quick discussion on the court after the game, and while James would not reveal what he said to the rookie, he did tell reporters how much he admires Ball’s game. Lonzo finished with 13 points and 11 assists, while Brandon Ingram led L.A. in the scoring column with 26.

Step aside when the King comes through (via @nba) pic.twitter.com/PqF5W6M2nl

— SLAM Magazine (@SLAMonline) December 15, 2017

Knicks 111 (15-13), Nets 104 (11-16)

Courtney Lee scored 18 points in the second half and 27 overall as the Knicks held off the Nets in a close cross-town matchup. Kristaps Porzingis finished with 13 points, but left the game in the second half with an apparent knee injury. He told reporters after the game that he did not believe it to be serious. Spencer Dinwiddie had a career-high 26 points for Brooklyn and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson had 25 more.

taking flight! (via @nyknicks) pic.twitter.com/cyt5nsLXQJ

— SLAM Magazine (@SLAMonline) December 15, 2017

Timberwolves 119 (17-12), Kings 96 (9-19)

No one has more double-doubles this season than Karl-Anthony Towns, and he added another on Thursday with a 30-point, 14-rebound performance to lead Minnesota to a home win. Andrew Wiggins helped out with 22 of his own and Zach Randolph added 15-and-nine. All together, it adds up to the Timberwolves’ third win in four games and one of their best starts in franchise history. George Hill had 16 points to lead Sacramento.

No stopping KAT (via @Timberwolves) pic.twitter.com/mAG65brywV

— SLAM Magazine (@SLAMonline) December 15, 2017

Pistons 105 (15-13), Hawks 91 (6-22)

Andre Drummond narrowly missed a triple-double (12 points, 19 rebounds, nine assists) to help the Pistons snap a seven-game losing streak and earn a win over one of the worst teams in the league. Every Detroit starter scored in double figures, led by 19 from Tobias Harris. The Hawks got 23 from Ersan Ilyasova and 15 from John Collins, but not much else after that. Of course, it all paled in comparison to this fan’s heroics from mid-court:

The Hawks found the perfect fan to shoot for 10K (via @nba) pic.twitter.com/ABPKfolt2f

— SLAM Magazine (@SLAMonline) December 15, 2017

Warriors 112 (23-6), Mavericks 97 (8-21)

After going into halftime tied with the last-place Mavericks, Kevin Durant took over in the third quarter, scoring 15 points and helping the defending champs create some separation. Durant finished with 36 points overall to go with 11 rebounds and seven assists in a game that was even more competitive than the final score indicated. The Warriors put on another clinic in sharing the ball, handing out 35 assists on 47 made baskets, in a game in which they shot 60 percent from the field. The Mavericks, meanwhile, got 18 points from Dirk Nowitzki to lead five players in double-figures.

KD will take it himself (via @nba) pic.twitter.com/Lio7cM7zvF

— SLAM Magazine (@SLAMonline) December 15, 2017

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Keep it locked all night as we bring you all the news live from the Barclays Center.

2017 NBA Draft First Round Picks

1. Philadelphia 76ers (From Boston via Brooklyn) — Markelle Fultz, Washington
2. Los Angeles Lakers — Lonzo Ball, UCLA
3. Boston Celtics — Jayson Tatum, Duke
4. Phoenix Suns — Josh Jackson, Kansas
5. Sacramento Kings — De’Aaron Fox, Kentucky
6. Orlando Magic — Jonathan Isaac, Florida State
7. Minnesota Timberwolves — Lauri Markkanen, Arizona (Traded to Chicago)
8. New York Knicks — Frank Ntilikina, France
9. Dallas Mavericks — Dennis Smith Jr., NC State
10. Sacramento Kings — Zach Collins, Gonzaga (Reportedly traded to Portland)
11. Charlotte Hornets — Malik Monk, Kentucky
12. Detroit Pistons — Luke Kennard, Duke
13. Denver Nuggets — Donovan Mitchell, Louisville (Reportedly traded to Utah)
14. Miami Heat — Bam Adebayo, Kentucky
15. Portland Trail Blazers — Justin Jackson, North Carolina (Reportedly traded to Sacramento)
16. Chicago Bulls — Justin Patton, Creighton (Reportedly traded to the Timberwolves)
17. Milwaukee Bucks — DJ Wilson, Michigan
18. Indiana Pacers — TJ Leaf, UCLA
19. Atlanta Hawks — John Collins, Wake Forest
20. Portland Trail Blazers — Harry Giles (Reportedly traded to Sacramento)
21. Oklahoma City Thunder — Terrance Ferguson, International
22. Brooklyn Nets — Jarrett Allen, Texas
23. Toronto Raptors — OG Anunoby, Indiana
24. Utah Jazz — Tyler Lydon, Syracuse (Reportedly traded to Denver)
25. Orlando Magic — Anzejz Pasecniks, International
26. Portland Trail Blazers — Caleb Swanigan, Purdue
27. Brooklyn Nets — Kyle Kuzma, Utah (Traded to Lakers)
28. Los Angeles Lakers — Tony Bradley, North Carolina (Reportedly traded to Utah)
29. San Antonio Spurs — Derrick White, Colorado
30. Utah Jazz — Josh Hart, Villanova (Reportedly traded to the Los Angeles)

The post Markelle Fultz Drafted No. 1 Overall By The Sixers appeared first on SLAM.

Players from both North Carolina and Gonzaga stuck to the kicks that got them to the title game, with the Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, Joel Berry II, wearing the Jordan CP3.X. Justin Jackson and Nate Britt also wore the CP3, while Kennedy Meeks and Tony Bradley continued with the Air Jordan XXXI. Meeks rocked a team colorway, while Bradley had the game’s most visible pair in the special pink “Coaches versus Cancer” exclusive. Rounding out the rest of the Heels championship game kicks were Isaiah Hicks and Luke Maye both in the Jordan Super.Fly 5 and Theo Pinson in the fan-favorite Air Jordan XI Retro “Cool Grey.”

For Gonzaga, most of the Bulldogs played the tournament and the final in all-white Nikes. Nigel Williams-Goss spent the title game in the Nike LeBron 14 “Time to Shine” while bigs Przemek Karnowski and Zach Collins both rocked an all-white Nike Zoom LeBron Soldier Xs with the team’s slogan “Zags Up” embroidered on the shoe. Jordan Mathews had the team’s most “colorful” pair as he played in the Nike Kyrie 2 in the white,red and navy with Killian Tillie opted for the all-white model. Continuing on with the Zags, Johnathan Williams rocked the Nike KD 9,  Josh Perkins went with the Nike Kobe A.D. and Silas Melson wore the tournament’s newest pair of kicks, the Nike Kobe A.D. NXT.

For a full recap of all the kicks from the 2017 NCAA Championship Game, make sure to peep our final NCAA gallery of the season.

Photos via Getty Images

The post NCAA Championship Game’s Best Kicks appeared first on SLAM.

The Nike X is regarded as one of the top HS showcases in the country and always seems to exceed expectations every year. Some notable Nike X alumni are Stanley Johnson, Brandon Jennings, Carmelo Anthony, Jahlil Okafor, Kyrie Irving, Kawhi Leonard, Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant along with many more.

Check out the list of top performers from Nike X below.

Alec Hickman (6-4, G, JSerra Catholic HS, Class of 2016)

You can expect the Cal-bound wing to be in the group of top scorers amongst freshman next season in the Pac-12. Hickman can score from anywhere on the floor. He’s really lengthy, quick and seems to have one intention every time he takes the court: get buckets.

Michael Bibby (6-3, G, Shadow Mountain HS, Class of 2016)

Bibby showcased his ability to let it fly from deep—like, Steph Curry-esque deep. He’s also a very crafty type of player who hits defenders with a series of dribble combos and pulls from anywhere on the court. Poses high IQ when playing off the ball, setting up his defenders when coming off curls. Kind of helps when your pops was an NBA vet and your head coach, too.

Spencer Freedman (6-1, G, Mater Dei HS, Class of 2018)

A lot of players tend to disregard how lethal Freedman can be when you let him get into his rhythm. I’ve yet to see him get his pocket picked in the full-court and that’s credited to how he outsmarts anyone trying to stick him. He plays north and south and is never in a rush. If you beat him to a spot, he’ll counter it. You reach, you’re looking at the back of his jersey as he’s either lobbing it up to MJ Cage or finding one of his shooters on the perimeter. Freedman can also shoot it from deep and is excellent in pick-and-roll situations.

MJ Cage (6-10, C, Mater Dei HS, Class of 2016)

The Oregon-bound big man had himself another great weekend and continues to make a case as why he’s one of the top bigs in his class. Cage plays well around the rim and gets great position when sealing down low. When he’s not hovering around the basket, he likes to extend out to the short corner and can knock down that 15-footer with ease. Defensively, he creates havoc with his length and will swat a couple basketballs to the first couple rows of the bleachers.

John Edgar Jr. (6-5, G, Ayala HS, Class of 2016)

At 210 pounds, Edgar Jr., is built like a football player who rocks a basketball player’s uniform. He uses every ounce on that chiseled frame to his advantage to outmuscle anyone who gets in between him and the basket. He can also shoot it from deep, but what I liked the most from the senior guard was his ability to crash the boards on the defensive end. It seemed like every time a shot went up, his objective was to corral every rebound in sight.

Robert McRae (6-4, G/F, Fairfax HS, Class of 2019)

McRae is up there with the top guards in 2019. Despite his age, he showed poise when playing point orchestrating the offense and capitalizing off what the defense gave him. Really showcased his superb handle and loves hitting that jumper at the top of the key, which seems to be his bread and butter.

Eyassu Worku (6-2, G, Los Alamitos HS, Class of 2016)

Worku is that player on scouting reports with multiple stars by his name. Coaches will constantly emphasize not letting him get into a rhythm because it’ll be a long night if that happens for opposing squads. He can just go. He’s another player who’s outsmarting defenders and looking to get them into early foul trouble if they tend to face-guard him. His handle is on point and has a nice jumper in his arsenal. He also plays well reading defenses in the pick-and-roll.

Jordan Griffin (6-2, G, Corona Centennial HS, Class of 2016)

Griffin is as active as they come. The type of player that’s always giving 110 percent that coaches might have to tell to chill out a bit. He has that scorer’s mentality and is determined to put the basket in the hoop no matter who’s guarding him. He also has great length and is always in the passing lanes on defense.

Jordan Ratinho (6-2, G, De La Salle HS, Class of 2016)

Aside from Bibby, Ratinho may have the best jump shot that I’ve seen this past weekend. Everything is in tact—from the catch, balance and rotation to the follow-through. It looks the same every time and there’s never any wasted movement. Even all his misses looked good. The USF-bound guard has a great feel for the game was very lethal from beyond the arc when he stepped on the floor.

Lonzo Ball (6-6, PG, Chino Hills HS, Class of 2016)

What haven’t you heard and/or seen that you don’t already know about Lonzo Ball? The UCLA commit has garnered more national attention this year in part to his uptempo-style of play. The oldest of the three Ball brothers tends to never disappoint under the bright lights and he really does it all—he’ll pull from five feet behind the 3-point line, throw his signature one-handed full-court pass to one of his teammates, break you down (and help you up after he breaks your ankles: https://vine.co/v/iA1rHOL1Xed) or block your shot on defense. Every game he continues to show why he’s one of the top players in the nation.

LiAngelo Ball (6-6, SG, Chino Hills HS, Class of 2017)

Unlike his two other brothers, “Gelo” really likes to play both inside out. If he’s not lighting you up from deep, he’s taking you in the post (preferably the right block) and bodying you up for his patented right-handed hook shot. Although he has that score-first mentality, the middle of the Ball brothers is extremely unselfish.

LaMelo Ball (5-10, G, Chino Hills HS, Class of 2019)

Aside from older brother Lonzo, Melo is another fan favorite amongst the crowds in most gymnasiums. He’s literally pulling from anywhere if you give him any kind of room. Overplay him and he’s blowing right past you for a layup. One of the things he possesses that may be overlooked is his passing ability. A lot of times defenders are so focused on not letting him score that he’ll drop dimes to wide open teammates down low when he’s penetrating. Melo will also have to fill that point guard void when older brother Lonzo is in Westwood.

Charles O’Bannon Jr. (6-5, G, Bishop Gorman HS, Class of 2017)

O’Bannon played a vital role in the Gaels’ double-digit deficit to cut it to single digits. He’s really aggressive on the offensive end and displayed his ability to score from anywhere on the court.

Zach Collins (7-0, C, Bishop Gorman HS, Class of 2016)

The McDonald’s All-American showed why he was selected to participate in the prestigious HS game in March. There’s no awkwardness whatsoever in the Gonzaga-bound big mans gait. His movements on both sides of the ball are fluid. He finishes with authority in transition and uses every inch on that frame to his advantage.

T.J. Leaf (6-10, F, Foothills Christian HS, Class of 2016)

If there’s one word that describes T.J. Leaf it’s versatile. The future UCLA Bruin possesses so much in his repertoire. For someone his size, he has a nice handle and can go the distance for the easy lay-in after grabbing a board. He has amazing court vision to see teammates open on the perimeter when defenders attempt to trap the post. He’ll take smaller defenders into the post and can even knock down a few 3-pointers if he’s left open behind the arc.

(Photo Credit: Steve Galluzzo, L.A. Times) 

The post 2016 Nike Extravaganza Top Performers appeared first on SLAM.

McDonald’s All-American Game

Jordan Brand Classic Roster (First 16)
PF Edrice Adebayo, Kentucky
C Udoka Azubuike, uncommitted
C Marques Bolden, uncommitted
C Tony Bradley, North Carolina
SF Miles Bridges, Michigan State
PG De’Aaron Fox, Kentucky
G Markelle Fultz, Washington
PG Alterique Gilbert, Connecticut
PF Harry Giles, Duke
SF Jonathan Isaac, Florida State
SG Josh Jackson, uncommitted
G Andrew Jones, Texas
SF V.J. King, Louisville
G Malik Monk, Kentucky
C Omari Spellman, Villanova
SF Jayson Tatum, Duke

The post Rosters for McDonald’s All-American & Jordan Brand Classic Games appeared first on SLAM.

More info from Comcast Sportsnet Chicago:

Simeon star shooting guard Zach Norvell ended his recruitment on Monday as the 6-foot-5 shooting guard announced he has committed to Gonzaga.

 

Norvell, who is regarded as a four-star prospect, pledged to the Bulldogs over his other finalists of Florida State, Georgetown and Iowa State. Rivals rates the lefty as the No. 93 overall prospect in the national Class of 2016. Before making his decision, Norvell took official visits to all four programs on his final list.

 

A tough and competitive shooting guard who can heat up in a hurry, Norvell is the latest in a long line of Simeon players to become national prospects. A mainstay on varsity since his sophomore season, Norvell had some strong flashes of play this spring and summer playing in the Nike EYBL.

 

Playing for the Mac Irvin Fire, Norvell averaged 13.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2 steals and 1.7 assists per game in 22 EYBL contests. Norvell also made national headlines this summer with a 53-point outing in Las Vegas in which he made 11 3-pointers in the first half and 14 triples for the game.

 

Gonzaga has been successful recruiting Chicago before as they brought Robeson star Jeremy Pargo in before the 2005-06 season. After a solid four-year career with Gonzaga, Pargo played for two seasons in the NBA.

The post Gonzaga Lands Nationally Ranked SG Zach Norvell appeared first on SLAM.

The Class of 2016 has been highly regarded for years, with many comparing it to the Class of 2013 (Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, Julius Randle, etc.) and Class of 2007 (Derrick Rose, James Harden, Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, etc.). And the praises are all well-deserved.

The top-three players could make a case for the No. 1 slot in the senior rankings as well as in the 2017 NBA Draft. Then you have some jaw-dropping explosive guards in Dennis Smith and Malik Monk. It’s not far-fetched at all to say that the top-15 players in this class all have the makings to be future lottery picks.

Check out the list below, which will be updated twice more throughout the season and expanded to 75 in the spring.

(Photo credit: Jon Lopez, Nike)

The post SLAM Fresh 50 – 2016 appeared first on SLAM.

“I grew up not having much of anything,” says Napier. He was raised in Roxbury, MA, amidst a cacophony of gunshots, police sirens and bouncing basketballs. His mom, Carmen, did her best to shield her youngest child from those surroundings. As fate would have it, the only sound that really enticed the impoverished Napier, anyways, was that of the ball.

“He played in every gym around the city,” says Oscar Lopez, Napier’s AAU coach and close confidant. He laughs. “Shabazz spent most of his time in the YMCA, but from the time he was 6 or 7 he literally was always in a gym somewhere.”

Most of the places Napier played were no better than his neighborhood. Guys who were posting him up during the day at, say, the Reggie Lewis Center on Tremont Street, were often posted up on a nearby block at night. It was only when he traveled with his Lopez’s AAU team, Metro Boston, that a teenage Napier saw that there was another world out there.

“There’d be times where we were on trips and we’d have to drive somewhere,” says Napier. “We’d go through these routes where there were these nice neighborhoods. A lot of the kids on the van would probably be sleeping, but I’d be up looking at these houses, and telling myself I’ma get one. That’s how it was.”

At the time, few scouts thought of Napier as a high-level prospect. To most outsiders, the undersized guard was just another kid with nice handles and an OK jumper on a middling AAU team. They didn’t know how hard he was working, though. And they certainly had no idea how determined he was.

“Whoever I played against, I tried my best to give him everything I got,” says Napier. “I was one of those kids who, if you had a number by your name, two things could happen: you could stay at that number and show you’re worth it; or you could give me that number because I’m taking it for myself. That was my mentally going into games.”

By the time Napier was a rising senior, he had earned himself somewhat of a national name. Pundits agreed he was going to get a DI scholarship, only Lopez saw more though.

“I sat him down after a game that summer and told him he could play in the NBA,” says Lopez. “I don’t think he had heard that before, and it only made him work harder.”

Years later, in the summer of 2013, Lopez and Napier had another conversation. This time Kevin Ollie, Napier’s coach at UConn, joined them. Just like the first memorable conversation, things were in a flux. Napier was nearing the final season of a solid collegiate career, but the trio knew he could do even more. So they set some goals that anyone outside of the room would have laughed at.

“We said he should be the best point guard in the country, he should be an All-American and he should lead the team to a National Championship,” says Lopez. “And he did all of that.”

After starting from the bottom, and elevating past more talented players along the way, Napier was here. After having played in anonymity for years, LeBron James was tweeting about how good Napier was. (“No way you take another PG in the Lottery before Napier.”)

In June, the Charlotte Bobcats made Napier the 24th pick in the Draft, before he was summarily traded to the Miami Heat. Soon thereafter, Napier signed a deal for somewhere in the seven-figures. With Roxbury at his back and Collins Avenue to his front, it would have been easy for Napier to get comfortable quick and lose the work ethic that defined him. Never that, though.

“I started this game at five and a half,” says Napier, “and my passion is the same now. I’m not going to let that flame go out. This is a blessing for me and my family, but it’s not over cause I got here. It’s about staying and being consistent, and showing that you’re a real somebody.”

Tzvi Twersky is a Contributing Editor at SLAM and the Head of Basketball at Stance Socks. Follow him on Twitter @ttwersky. Image via Getty.

Watch and read about fellow rookies Elfrid Payton and Zach Lavine by clicking here.

The post Now It’s Go Time appeared first on SLAM.

James Harden is going into this season as the best shooting guard in the NBA and I’ll tell you the three seconds I knew that to be true.

This was three months ago, a month after the season ended, in a sweaty gym with no air conditioning in Willowbrook, CA, at the Drew League. James Harden showed up and scored 35 points. By “showed up,” I mean he sort of casually strutted his way to 35 points. It was like listening to Beyonce sing to the radio in the car. He was not trying to score 35 points. It’s unclear if he was even aware that he was playing basketball. Two weeks later—no joke—he would show up to a game midway through the first quarter and drop 25 points.

This was a game filled with NBA players like Dorrell Wright and DeMar DeRozan (potentially a better streetball player than an NBA player), otherwise horrifyingly talented streetball players (Kwame Alexander, potentially the best dunker in the world), and professionally tall people (Keith Closs, potentially a skyscraper).

His team, The Money Gang, was losing its grip on its double-figure lead in the fourth quarter, so he hit a three with a hand in his face, then appeared to try for the first time, really, by stealing an inbounds pass, which he immediately turned into a wind-up dunk. This was 5 points in three seconds.

The place almost fell to the ground. I mean that. It was that gross and humid in there and everything was made of wood, so we almost all saw something horrible happen because of how unearthly this guy looked when he turned off cruise control. It was like he was saying, “And this is what it’s like when I exert myself.” The other 30 points were the easy way. The game was over at that point.

A few minutes later, he walked off the floor mobbed by about 40 people and changed in a room where no one could get to him. It was a straight up coronation. He came out with giant sunglasses on, as if this would help a 6-5 dude with a 15-inch beard not get recognized, took a picture with a bunch of underprivileged kids and ran out a back door before he had to crowdsurf out of there.

Then he got in a yellow Camaro convertible and booked it up Martin Luther King Blvd. This was some serious Miami Vice s–t right here, but that’s beside the point.

One week later, Kobe showed up to the Drew League, where he’d played and dominated last year, and had to watch from the sidelines because he’d popped his achilles four months earlier.

I know this is all anecdotal. I know these are two fleeting moments. I know this is a false choice—Kobe or Harden. I know there’s Paul George and Dwyane Wade. I know they exist. I know.

But if this didn’t feel like a torch passing, nothing ever will.

We’ll get this out of the way: He has to work on his defense. It’s not optional at this point. He was asked by the Rockets’ coaching staff this summer if he’s up to the challenge of doing that. He gave a three-quarter-hearted yes. He’s not Monta Ellis. He’s pretty good right now already. It’s not a lateral quickness thing. It’s an energy conservation thing for a guy who was sixth in the NBA in minutes last year. But it’s a real thing, and it needs to get fixed.

It’s still not enough to rank him any lower than any other shooting guard on this list. He was fifth in the League in scoring. He dragged a team to the Playoffs (plus two Playoff wins)—a team that did not have a starting power forward—and wound up playing better when it didn’t have its starting point guard. This usually means your team is a little headless and has huge problems, like when the Mavericks dragged Mike James out of a Bingo Night and started him for the final two months of last season, or when the Sacramento Kings do anything at all. For the Rockets, it was because they didn’t truly know how good this guy was and everyone was adapting to this new reality.

Here’s the new reality: James Harden is the best shooting guard in the NBA. This came as a great shock to Dwyane Wade, who played 69 games last regular season and gets to feed off of the doubles and attention that LeBron James commands instead of the free throws and hair gel of Chandler Parsons, but Harden and Wade wasn’t even a discussion last year after December.

Still, Kevin Durant won’t be drinking Gatorade anymore because of The New Reality.

This is the other issue with The New Reality: This team is going to get successful. Fast. It might get successful to the tune of 55-or-so wins and a 3-seed. A lot of it is going to be attributed to Dwight Howard.

Dwight Howard is very good at basketball. Dwight Howard will probably deserve a lot of that credit.

But this is James Harden’s team. This is becoming James Harden’s league.

Sometimes he looks sleepy out there. We know. Sometimes he plays like Beyonce singing “Wrecking Ball” on the way to the supermarket. We know. Maybe it’s the beard. Maybe it’s the defense. That needs help. We know.

But say it with me: James Harden is the best shooting guard in the NBA right now. Like it or not. Drink the Gatorade or not. This is The New Reality.

[poll id=”619″]

Rankings are based on expected contribution in ’13-14—to players’ team, the League and the game.

The post Top 50: James Harden, no. 5 appeared first on SLAM.

It’s 4 a.m., Kobe Bryant is off somewhere drinking mule sweat or something, and he is not happy.

He’s not happy because for the first time since Michael Jordan left the NBA, he’s going into the season as the second-best shooting guard in basketball. Or third. Or fourth. He is pissed. He is probably spitting out the mule sweat.

But here’s the thing: Kobe Bryant’s ranking in the SLAM Top 50 is not an indictment on Kobe Bryant. It’s an indictment on mule sweat, or whatever the hell he’s drinking or eating or doing to repair his torn left achilles.

He’s getting the best treatment in the world. It’s probably illegal. He’s probably going to turn green by the time he’s 57. Technology is incredible, but technology sucks compared to how badly Kobe wants to play basketball again while he can still win a Championship by himself.

Depending on what reports you’ll read, he’ll be back on opening night. Or by Thanksgiving. Or by Christmas. Or he’ll take the year off if they’re tanking. (By the way, you be the guy who has to tell Kobe that he’s not playing this year when they’re 7-15. I dare you.) This is the reason he’s No. 6 in the SLAM Top 50, and not No. 2 or 3. This is the reason there is a Rocket with a beard and a better coach ahead of him somewhere on this list.

It’s not because he doesn’t still have it. He still has it. Good God, does he still have it.

If you want proof, you should probably revisit the night his achilles chose not to keep up with him anymore.

I was in a bar in L.A. when this went down, because that is the place you hang out, alone, almost every night of the week when you’re a New York Giants fan. When he limped off (for the second time that night, mind you—he’d gotten kneed in the thigh earlier, and that looked worse), there wasn’t a hush. It wasn’t like the movies. There was no record screeching. The bar was too loud for that.

But one guy did yell this: “Oh, JEEE-ZUS CHRIST.” Just like that, all big and Ron Burgundy and guttural like that. There aren’t many epiphany moments out there in the universe, but this guy very quickly came to the realization that this team was now Dwight Howard’s team, and Dwight Howard doesn’t like playing basketball.

The Lakers needed to win nine of their last 10 to make the Playoffs. They did it and because this was the stretch Kobe had before he went down: In his last seven games, he dropped 28.8 ppg, 8.3 apg and 7.3 rpg. The Lakers won six of them. He played 43 or more minutes in all of those games, and at least 47 in four of them.

And then his achilles gave up because no one should be doing that kind of thing at 34.

The Lakers made the Playoffs last year, but they didn’t show up. They didn’t have their rock anymore. Looking back at it, there’s no non-emotional reason the Lakers should have stopped competing in the first round against the Spurs last year.

They didn’t play hard because they didn’t have Kobe. Without Kobe, they did not have a real chance. Without Kobe, it wasn’t even worth pretending that wasn’t true.

Pau Gasol was there and healthy and waiting for someone to use his high screens. Steve Nash was wearing a walk-in freezer on his lower back to keep it cool, but he was still available to run an offense. After a decade in the NBA, Steve Blake figured out that he should’ve been a shooting guard that whole time. Metta World Peace was his normal defensive lunatic self. Dwight Howard was present, technically, in the the physical sense.

To recap, that’s one definite Hall of Famer, two potential Hall of Famers, and a guy who plays defense like Lenny from “Of Mice and Men.” Still, after Game 2, they just quit.

Steve Nash hurt too much, Steve Blake hurt too much, Metta hurt too much, and Dwight Howard didn’t feel like playing for the Lakers anymore.

After Game 3, when the Lakers lost by 31 to the Spurs at home and L.A. started Andrew Goudelock and Darius Morris in their backcourt, Mike D’Antoni said this quote, verbatim: “We’ll play as hard as we can play and hopefully it’ll work out a little better.” He wasn’t even hoping his team would win the next game, he was hoping things would work out better if they played as hard as they could.

Why? Because Kobe Bryant wasn’t on the floor anymore. That is it. That is the only reason.

Kobe Bryant is the Lakers. That’s not stopping this year. Rankings on the Internet don’t matter. If he plays, L.A. will get hot and scare the West. If he doesn’t, they’ll be hunting for Randles and Wigginses. It’s that easy.

And by the way, tell him he should be ranked worse than sixth on the SLAM Top 50. See what happens.

[poll id=”618″]

Rankings are based on expected contribution in ’13-14—to players’ team, the League and the game.

The post Top 50: Kobe Bryant, no. 6 appeared first on SLAM.

Cavs 87 (7-23), Wizards 84 (3-24)

Kyrie Irving scored 20 of his game-high 26 (to go along with 8 dimes and 6 boards) in the first half to lead the Cavs to a close win over the Wizards. After falling behind by 12 early, the Cavs fought back and cut the lead to two heading into the break. In the third, Shelvin Mack (6 points, 7 assists, 6 boards)–who was called up from the D-League–hit back-to-back three’s to cap a 12-0 run that gave D.C. a 62-53 lead with 7 minutes left in the third. The Cavs wouldn’t go away, though and tied the score at 68 heading into the fourth. In the final quarter, the Cavs broke off a 9-0 run while holding the Wizards scoreless for four and a half minutes to take an 82-79 with three and a half minutes left. After Emeka Okafor (17 points, 10 boards) tied the game up at 82 with 46.2 seconds left, Tristan Thompson (season-high 15 points, 12 boards) hit a bucket and was fouled with 24 seconds left put the Cavs up three to seal the deal.

Heat 105 (20-6), Bobcats 92 (7-21)

The Bobcats are free falling and lost their 16th straight to the Heat last night. The ‘Cats fought hard, fighting back from a 17-point halftime deficit to cut the lead to two after a Gerald Henderson (14 points, 7 boards, 4 dimes) three-point play with 7 minutes left. But they couldn’t complete the comeback as Miami pulled away late. After fumbling away the lead, the Heat turned it up late it in the fourth and broke off an 11-3 run led by LeBron James (27 points on 19 shots, 12 boards, 8 dimes) and Dwyane Wade (29 points, 9 boards, 5 assists) to make it a ten-point game. Despite their best efforts, the Bobcats didn’t have enough left in the tank and continued their painful losing streak. Kemba Walker scored 29 and dished out 6 assists, and Ramon Sessions scored 19 off the bench.

Hornets 97 (6-22), Magic 94 (12-16)

Behind a season-high 29 points and 8 dimes by Greivis Vasquez and a career-high 29 points from Robin Lopez, the Hornets snapped their 11-game losing streak with a close win over the Magic. After shooting 60 percent in the first half, Orlando cooled off in the second half and the Hornets were able to open up a 10-point lead in the third quarter before the Magic cut it to two heading into the fourth. In the fourth, Nikola Vucevic (19 points, 9 boards) hit two free throws with just under four minutes to go to give Orlando their first lead since the second quarter. Down the stretch, the game was decided on free throws and defense. After Vasquez hit a floater in the lane to give his team a 95-94 lead, Arron Afflalo (14 points, 6-14 shooting) had his shot blocked by Lopez. On the next possession, Vasquez had his shot blocked by E’Twaun Moore but Moore stepped on the line trying to gather the ball to give possession back to the Hornets with 25 seconds left. After being fouled, Vasquez hit two free throws to ice the game. Jameer Nelson scored 28 points and dropped 10 dimes while Ant Davis scored 12 and grabbed 11 boards.

Bulls (15-12), Pacers (16-12) — Postponed

Hawks (17-9), Pistons 119 (9-22) F/2OT

Last night, Josh Smith showed why he is one of the most versatile players in the game today. Smith finished with 31 points (13-25), 10 boards and 6 assists in 48 minutes of play but went cold down the stretch, missing his last seven shots. Up by 22 in the fourth, the Hawks let their guard down and allowed the Pistons to storm back behind a combined 26 points from Will Bynum (31 points) and Charlie Villanueva in the fourth. With four seconds left in regulation, Austin Daye hit a three-pointer to give Detroit a 101-100 lead. The Pistons fouled Al Horford (22 points, 10 boards) on the next possession and Horford went on to hit one of two at the line to force OT. In the first overtime session, both teams grinded out points and Jeff Teague (17 points, 11 dimes) tied it up at 108 with free throws. In the second overtime, Teague hit a three with just under three minutes left and Atlanta held on for the win.

Bucks 108 (15-12), Nets 93 (14-14)

The Nets are searching for answers after losing their fifth in six games to the Bucks in Milwaukee. The Bucks shot 10-17 from three while the Nets shot 4-21 from behind the arc as Milwaukee used their three-point prowess to grab a win. Brandon Jennings led the way with 25 points (9-15) and Monta Ellis scored 20, dished out 7 assists and had a season-high 6 steals. In the fourth, the Nets–who were playing without Deron Williams due to injury–cut the deficit to four with just under nine minutes to go. The Bucks got back on track and used a barrage of threes from Ersan Ilyasova (17 points, 11 boards), Ellis and Mike Dunleavy (17 points) to trigger a 21-9 run that put the Nets away for good.

Sixers 99 (14-15), Grizzlies 89 (18-8)

With Rudy Gay sidelined due to personal reasons, Dorrell Wright–who was starting in place for Jason Richardson–took advantage and went off for a season-high 28 points to lead the Sixers to a solid road victory against the Grizz. Wright put together a spectacular stat line, shooting 8-11 from the field, 5-8 from three and 7-8 from the stripe while grabbing 6 boards and blocking 2 shots. Doug Collins only played three of his reserves but the Sixers bench still managed to outscore Grizzlies’ 38-19 behind 20 points and 9 boards from Spencer Hawes and 12 from Swaggy P. In the fourth, the Grizzlies cut the deficit to two with 10 and a half minutes left but the Sixers went on a 13-0 run over the next two and half minutes to take a 15-point lead that they held on to until the end. Zach Randolph scored 23 points and grabbed 9 boards, Marc Gasol scored 18, grabbed 8 boards and dropped 8 dimes. Jrue Holiday scored 18 and dropped 9 dimes and Thad Young chipped in with 13 of his own.

Rockets (16-12) 87, Timberwolves 84 (13-13)

Playing on the second night of a back-to-back didn’t phase the Rockets who were carried to their fifth-straight victory by 17 fourth quarter points from James Harden in Minnesota. The Wolves went on a 25-6 run that spanned the second and third quarters to take a 60-46 lead but the Rockets were able to cut the lead to three heading into the fourth. Down the stretch, Harden came through with two huge buckets to propel the Rockets to victory. With 39 seconds left, Harden drove to the rack for the score to give Houston a one-point lead. On the next possession, J.J. Barea–who led the Wolves with 18 points–was stripped by Carlos Delfino on his way to the basket and Harden scored on the other end for the final basket of the game. The key to the victory was slowing the front court duo of Kevin Love and Nikola Pekovic. The two were held to a combined nine points on 4-21 shooting and grabbed 19 boards.

Spurs 100 (22-8), Raptors 80 (9-20)

The Spurs shut down the Raptors with their defense and got a solid, balanced offensive attack to cruise to an easy dub. Tim Duncan scored 15 points in 27 minutes, Manu Ginobili scored 14 off the bench and Tony Parker scored 13 as the Spurs starters averaged 24 minutes for the game. Toronto stayed close and trailed by four with four minutes left in the third quarter but San Antonio locked them down defensively, allowing just two shots over the next three and a half minutes while going on a 13-2 run to push the lead to 15 going into the fourth. In the final quarter, the Spurs outscored the Raptors 30-23 to seal the blowout.

Nuggets 126 (16-14), Lakers 114 (14-15)

Coming into the game on a five-game win streak, the Lakers were feeling confident playing against a West Coast foe. But the Nuggets are the type of team that gives the Lakers problems and LA had no answer for their offensive attack as Denver scored a ridiculous 126 points. Kobe did everything he could and dropped 40 points (man, Bean has a man possessed this season) but the Nuggets were firing on all cylinders. Corey Brewer scored a career-high 27 points off the bench, Kenneth Faried scored 21 and grabbed 15 boards and Dre Iguodala was all Dre Iguodala-like with 17 points, 11 boards and 7 assists. The Lakers made it close in the fourth, cutting a 15-point deficit to seven with about five minutes left. Ron Artest had a chance to cut it to five but missed a layup and Gallinari responded with a three to give the Nuggs an insurmountable double-digit lead. Ty Lawson dropped 14 dimes and Steve Nash handed out 8. Dwight Howard was ejected midway through the third quarter for a flagrant 2 foul.

Warriors 94 (19-10), Jazz 83 (15-15)

Golden State continues to impress and after last night’s victory over Utah, their road record now sits at an outstanding 11-6. Steph Curry scored 23 points, grabbed 8 boards and dropped 7 dimes while David Lee chipped in with 18 points and 9 rebounds. Right before halftime, the Warriors turned their two-point lead into a 12-point lead thanks to a 12-2 run. The Warriors guard triumvirate of Klay Thompson (15 points, 3 steals), Curry and Jarrett Jack (15 points) led the charge and the Jazz never got closer than ten the rest of the game. Al Jefferson led Utah with 18 points and 10 boards.

Knicks 99 (21-8), Suns 97 (11-18)

With Melo and Ray Felton joining Iman Shumpert and STAT on the bench due to injury, Jason Kidd turned back the clock with 23 points and 8 dimes while J.R. Smith scored 27 to help the Knicks withstand a career-high 36-point outburst from Jared Dudley and win in the desert. The teams battled back-and-forth for much of the game, exchanging leads throughout, but a few savvy plays by Kidd and big shots by Smith down the stretch helped the short-handed Knicks escape with a win.

After Dudley hit two freebies to give the Suns a two-point lead with 35 seconds left, Smith hit a tough 15-foot fadeaway jumper from just inside the top of the key to tie it at 97 with 10 seconds left. On the ensuing possession, Telfair tried to hit a wide open Marcin Gortat (13 points, 9 boards) with a bounce pass that would have put the Suns up for good, but Kidd stepped in front and deflected the pass. Telfair scurried for the ball but stepped out of bounds giving the Knicks a chance with a second left. On the inbounds play, Kidd hit Smith who hit a 21-foot corner jumper that looked money the whole way and gave the fans a little salsa dance as he exited the court the hero. Tyson Chandler had 14 points and 12 boards for New York.

Blazers 109 (14-13), Kings 91 (9-19)

With DeMarcus Cousins off the floor, JJ. Hickson and LaMarcus Aldridge dominated inside en route to an easy Portland dub. Hickson notched his ninth-straight double-double with 17 points and 14 boards while LA had 28 points and 12 boards. The Blazers led almost the whole way and led by as many as 26 points as they went over .500. Dame Lillard scored 17 and dropped 11 dimes, Nic Batum scored 18, grabbed 6 boards and dished out 5 assists  and rookie Will Barton scored 14. John Salmons led the Kings with 19.

The post Post Up: J.R. Swish! appeared first on SLAM.

Thanks to Sandy, I’m without a television and extremely envious of everyone enjoying their free week of League Pass while I’m stuck following games on Twitter and watching bootleg feeds.

Nine games on the slate last night:

Pacers 90 (1-0), Raptors 88 (0-1)

With Danny Granger out indefinitely with a knee injury, the Pacers needed someone to step up and reassure their fanbase that they would be okay without their star (and I use “star” very lightly). Last night, David West stepped up and played the role of go-to guy for Indiana.

West scored 14 of his 25 in the fourth quarter and led the Pacers to a tough road victory in Toronto. Down 84-74 with under six minutes to go, West scored on back-to-back possessions to cut it to six and kept Nap Town in the game. West’s persistence set the stage for teammate George Hill to provide som late game heroics.

Hill, who missed all of the preseason with various injuries, scored six of his eight points over the final three minutes of the game. First he nailed a three pointer then followed that up by hitting one of two free throws to tie the game at 88. After the referees gave the ball back to Indiana after an official’s review, Hill dribbled down the clock before working his way around Kyle Lowry to get himself in the lane to hit the game winning floater.

Quick Hitters: –Lowry, who will be even further under the radar now that he’s in Toronto, finished with 21 points, 8 dimes and 7 boards.

— The 40 million dollar man DeMar DeRozan finished with 10 points.

— Jonas Valanciunas made his NBA debut and notched a double-double with 12 points and 10 boards.

— The Pacers are deep and Frank Vogel is going to use a lot of different rotations. Last night he played 10 players in double-figure minutes.

— Roy Hibbert and Paul George each finished with 14 points. George also added 15 boards and 5 dimes.

Sixers 84 (1-0), Nuggets 75 (0-1)

A lot of people (including myself) expected the Nuggets to come out and drop 100+ points with no problem every game this season. The Sixers apparently didn’t get the memo and they completely shut down the high-octane Denver attack. On opening night at the Wells Fargo Center, the Sixers held the Nuggets to under 40 percent shooting and only three Denver players (Lawson (16), Dre Miller (10) and Iguodala (11)) scored in double-digits. Philly actually shot a lower shooting percentage than their opponent, but in true Doug Collins coached team fashion, they played hard nosed defensive, grind it out ball and forced 20 turnovers while getting to the free throw line 10 more times than the Nuggs.

Late in the third quarter, Philadelphia stretched the lead to 13 and were on the verge of running Denver out of the gym heading into the final quarter of play. The Nuggets were able to claw back into the game during the fourth and Ty Lawson cut the lead down to one with 4:39 left, putting momentum on their side. Up one, Philly turned to Spencer Hawes who hit a few huge mid-range jumpers and grabbed some big time boards to help the Sixers preserve the victory.

Quick Hitters: –Much like last year, the Sixers got a full team effort as five players scored in double figures. Spencer Hawes led the way with 16 points, 12 boards and 5 blocks and the Philly faithful rained down chants of “Spen-cer Hawes!”

— Philly fans inexplicably booed Iguodala proving once again that Philly fans, regardless of sport, are assholes.

— Both teams shot terribly from two-point range and beyond the arc (Philly 7-25, Denver 4-18). The game was won at the free throw line as Philly shot 17-21 compared to Denver’s 4-18.

— Jrue Holiday vs.Ty Lawson: Holiday – 14 points, 11 assists, 6 boards and 2 steals / Lawson – 16 points, 7 assists 5 boards, 2 steals

— The Nuggets controlled the paint and outrebounded their opponent 54-47. They also outscored them 48-26 inside.

Rockets 105 (1-0), Pistons 96 (0-1)

James Harden: Welcome to Houston. Before the ink was dry on his new max deal contract, the bearded lefty got busy in the Motor City. Harden finished his H-Town debut with an impressive stat line of 37 points, a career-high 12 assists, 6 boards and 4 steals–to put it simply, he was unstoppable.

Despite Harden’s dominance, the Pistons had a chance to put the Rockets away in the fourth quarter. Detroit led by nine entering the fourth quarter and eventually pushed the lead to 11 before falling apart down the stretch. Harden hit a three to start the comeback, then Greg Smith converted a dunk followed by consecutive Carlos Delfino three-pointers which cut the lead to two. Houston had all the momentum at that point and after Chandler Parsons tied the game with a layup, the Pistons had no chance. Harden sealed the game with a three-point play with a minute and a half to play and put an exclamation point on his Rockets debut.

Quick Hitters: — Since 1987, only four players have had a stat line of at least 37 points, 12 assists, 6 boards, 4 steals and 1 blocked shot. They are: Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Dwyane Wade and James Harden.

— Jeremy Lin rebounded nicely from a tough preseason with a 12-point, 8-assist effort.

— Outside of Carlos Delfino, every player on the Rockets is under 30 years old.

— Brandon Knight led the Pistons with 15 points while Greg Monroe had 14 points and 8 boards.

Bulls 93 (1-0), Kings 87 (0-1)

Without Derrick Rose, the Bulls are going to have to win ugly more often than not this season and last night’s victory was the first of what Bulls faithful hope will be many tough victories. At times, this one was unbearable as the two teams combined for 37 turnovers and 48 fouls while shooting just over 40 percent from the field at the United Center.

Chicago only took nine three-pointers in the contest as their frontcourt of Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer dominated the paint against Boogie Cousins. Noah and Boozer combined for 41 points and 18 boards while outhustling and outworking their opponent. Noah played particularly well as he added 5 steals and 3 blocks to his 23 points.

After Tyreke Evans got off to a hot start–he finished with 21–the Kings hung around for much of the first half and only trailed by four going into the break. Evans was then mysteriously benched and the Bulls proceeded to go on a 12-2 run and built a 14-point lead that the Kings were unable to overcome. The Kings eventually cut the lead to four but a costly five-second violation on an inbounds play with half a minute to go killed any opportunity to steal a victory.

Quick Hitters: –Many, including the staff at SLAM, are expecting Cousins to have a big year. Let’s hope last night was not an indication of things to come. The talented center turned the ball over 7 times and committed a technical foul in 25 minutes of play.

— The Bulls were one of the worst free throw shooting teams in the League last year. Last night, they went 25-33 a trend they will hope to continue. No other team will rely on getting points at the stripe like the Bulls, they may have one of the lowest point per game averages in the NBA this season.

— ‘Reke Evans was damn near unstoppable in the first quarter, then was taken out by Keith Smart and benched for a considerable amount of time. It made no sense to me and I thought he could have gone for way more than 21; he was doing whatever he wanted against the Bulls defense early on.

Spurs 99 (1-0), Hornets 95 (0-1)

Even though it doesn’t happen as often as it did a decade ago, whenever Tim Duncan swings a game in favor of the Spurs with all of his fundamental greatness it is still a joy to watch. With the Spurs down by four and only a few minutes left, Duncan took over. In a minute and a half span, the power forward scored seven points, grabbed a rebound and took a charge that completely changed the energy of the game and put the Hornets–who started two rookies–on their heels.

Trailing 95-94 with a little over a minute left to play, Kawhi Leonard drove the paint drawing multiple defenders before kicking the ball to Tony Parker who nailed what would be the game winning three-pointer for the Spurs. On the other end, Greivis Vasquez’s shot hit the front rim and bounced to Duncan who was fouled and hit both of his free throws to ensure victory. Duncan finished with a game-high 24 points and 11 boards while Leonard had 19, 7 and 5 steals. Parker chipped in with 23 points and 6 dimes.

Quick Hitters: –Anthony Davis was impressive in his Rookie debut, finishing with 21 points and 7 boards while shooting 9-9 from the stripe. Rookie teammate Austin Rivers wasn’t as great. Doc’s son shot 1-9 for 8 points.

— Eric Gordon missed another game due to knee problems. Uh-oh.

— Anyone else think Kawhi Leonard is ready to take the next step?

— Greivis Vasquez finished with a 13:2 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Jazz 113 (1-0), Mavericks 94 (1-1)

One night after embarrassing the Lakers in LA, the Mavs got waxed by the Jazz out in Utah. With the score tied at 74 apiece in the third quarter, the Jazz took over behind the Brothers Williams who each finished with 21. First Mo Williams hit back-to-back three-pointers and a layup, then Marvin Williams hit a corner three of his own to push the lead to 11. After that, Enes Kanter blocked a shot and hit a jumper on the other end followed by a Marvin Williams layup that stretched the lead to 13 and helped the Jazz cruise to victory. During that decisive third quarter, the Mavericks shot 5-22, committied six turnovers and only scored two baskets over the final 7 minutes.

Quick Hitters: — Utah absolutely dominated inside, outrebounding the Mavs 61-40 and outscoring them 44-30 in the paint.

— The Jazz front office made it a point to improve their three-pont shooting in the offseason and it paid off in the first game as Utah shot 6-11 from behind the arc.

— Enes Kanter’s hat.

— After Vince Carter’s technical in the third, the Jazz went on a 23-6 run to end the third quarter.

Warriors 87 (1-0), Suns 85 (0-1)

In a back and forth contest between these two Western Conference foes, the Warriors were able to hold off the Suns and earn an early road victory. Carl Landry scored 14 of his team-high 17 points in the fourth quarter and helped push the Warriors over the edge against a Phoenix team that was wearing their road orange unis at home for some bizarre reason. Although the score was close, the game was tough to watch. Both teams shot horribly, the Warriors at 38.5 percent and the Suns at an even 40, and both committed 18 turnovers.

Down by 17 in the second, the Suns battled back and continued to chip away at the Warriors lead, eventually taking a one-point lead after a Marcin Gortat putback. The teams continued to trade buckets until Landry hit a driving layup with a minute and change left to take a 85-84 lead. Landry then nailed a 17-foot jumper with 54 seconds to go to make it 87-84. Jared Dudley had a chance to tie it up but his three-pointer with 34 seconds remaining fell short and the Warriors walked away the victors.

Quick Hitters: — Steph Curry played downright awful after signing a huge contract earlier this week. The Davidson alum didn’t hit his first field goal until there were about eight minutes left in the game and finished 2-14 from the field for 5 points. The career 90 percent free-throw shooter also missed consecutive free ones late in the game.

–Okay, Brandon Rush.

— Goran Dragic: 17 points, 8 dimes, 6 boards. Love that dude.

Clippers 101 (1-0), Grizzlies 92 (0-1)

Jamal Crawford claimed that he practiced his shooting for the first time in his career during this past offseason. If last night’s 29 points in 30 minutes is a hint at what is to come this season, opposing coaches should be very, very concerned. Along with Crawford’s 29, five other Clippers scored in double-figures–Vinny Del Negro has so many options this year, if he can figure out sensible ways to use everybody the Clippers could be dangerous. Chris Paul was tremendous as usual, posting a double-double with 12 points and 12 assists while earning 4 steals.

Quick Hitters: —LA was able to convert 22 Memphis turnovers into 29 points.

— Rudy Gay finished with 25 points, Zach Randolph had 15 and 16 boards and Marc Gasol scored 20.

— Mike Conley had no answer for Chris Paul.

— Good to see you, Blake.

Blazers 116 (1-0), Lakers 106 (1-1)

NBA fans, say hello to Dame Lillard. The Rookie put on a masterful performance scoring 23 points and dishing out 11 dimes while keeping the Lakers backourt on their heels and giving the Blazers faithful a new kid to cheer for. Along with Lillard, all four of the other Portland starters scored in double figures and Nicolas Batuma and Wes Matthews each scored 20+.

The Lakers offense shouldn’t be their number one concern right now, if they don’t start playing some defense it won’t matter how many points they score. Add the fact that Steve Nash was last seen hobbling off the court and there is reason for worry out in LA–even if it has only been two games. Dwight Howard finished with 33 points, 14 boards and led(!) the team in assists with 5. Kobe added 30, 6 boards and 3 dimes.

Quick Hitters: — I feel sorry for Mike Brown.

— Hope Steve Nash’s injury is nothing serious.

— Can’t wait to watch Dame Lillard turn into a top point guard.

— Absolutely love Nicolas Batum’s game when he’s not pouting or hitting people below the belt.

— C’mon, Kobe! Fix this!

Stat Line of the Night: Who else but James Harden? 37 points, 12 dimes, 6 boards and 4 steals.

Dunk of the Night: Al-Farouq Aminu catches the alley from Vasquez.

The post Post Up: Harden! appeared first on SLAM.

Were we simply on this path all along? Has it really been that Andrew Bynum and Philadelphia were on a collision course for seven years until joining forces as a footnote in a mega-deal?

The parallels are there.

From 2005-2011, the potential of Bynum—which at times jumped off the screen at you in flashes of greatness—also gave way to disappointment on many fronts. Tons of issues—injuries, “not in shape,” attitude, lack of defensive effort, etc.—led to mediocre numbers for a guy with his size and talent. Granted, he did win two Championships with L.A., but questions of his wasted potential never stopped. In fact, they reached their height after the ‘10-11 season when Bynum posted 11.3 points in only 54 games and exited the Playoffs in absolute disgrace.

Meanwhile, since 2005, the Sixers have also been dealing with their respective form of mediocrity. That is, the wretched middle of the pack in the NBA. It’s the worst place to be in this League, especially with no superstar. The Sixers were already on their way down, and once Allen Iverson finally left in 2006, the future looked pretty bleak and rightfully so. The best Philly fans could hope for was a .500 record and a first-round exit, which happened three times from 2006-2011.

All of a sudden, a lockout. A frenzy. A circus. A settlement. A new CBA. Christmas day—a 66-game season starts. And just like that, something changed dramatically for both the 76ers and Bynum.

New ownership—led by Josh Harris and CEO Adam Aron—promised changes to the proud Sixers organization which had suffered greatly in ticket sales the past few years. It worked. The fans started coming back, and the Sixers responded by jumping out of the gate to a 20-9 record, eventually finishing with a 35-31 mark and taking the Celtics to a seventh game in the second round.

Their defense was the story though, as Doug Collins had his players hounding the ball every night. They finished with the third-lowest points surrendered (89.4) in the League, and used their stifling D to overcome a shaky offense that fleeted as the season wore along. Without any kind of superstar to lead the way, it was an impressive year, a breakout year you could say for the entire franchise. But something was still missing.

So, over in L.A., how did Andrew Bynum’s year go? Well, there really isn’t that much to say here other than: 44 to 13. That’s right, Bynum has jumped 31 spots in the Top 50 rankings this year, which is incredible when you think about it. Major props to a guy like Kyrie Irving, who stamped his name at No. 17 after only a year in the League. But this is different with Bynum. We’d seen him for six years. We knew what he was about. We’d heard about the “potential” season after season after season. And now, all of a sudden, he appears right outside the top 10?

What does that tell you? That a guy who had elite talent for seven seasons finally figured out how to be an elite player. That a 7-foot monster finally figured how to stay healthy and use his whole body on both sides of the floor to dominate pretty much everyone. That Andrew Bynum has arrived.

The stats speak for themselves as he shattered most of his career numbers—18.7 points, 11.8 boards, 35.7 minutes and 37 double-doubles in 60 games. Even the six missed games are misleading, as he served a four-game suspension to begin the season and also missed the last game of the year to rest up for the Playoffs.

But it wasn’t just the box scores that stood out as much as Bynum’s sheer presence. Whenever I watched the Lakers this year—teams were scared to go at him and afraid to defend him. He was such a force in the middle at both ends that it was only natural for his numbers to jump so much.

The best and worst part about Bynum’s breakout year? That’s right, they’re the same thing—that Bynum was a third option. To put up those kinds of numbers as the guy behind Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol showed us that his potential still hasn’t been met yet. It was like saying, “Wow, can you imagine if he got the ball in his hands on every possession?” but then realizing, “Well, he’ll probably never get that chance on the Lakers.” Bynum broke out, but something was missing for him too.

Then, the basketball gods smiled down. The timing was right. The Sixers ownership was new and aggressive. L.A. wanted Dwight over Bynum. Other teams wanted in on a potential mega-trade. The opportunity was there for Philly to leech onto the deal and snag the second-best center in the League. And they did.

And just like that, the window has been blasted wide open for the Philadelphia 76ers. Just like that, mediocrity stands in the rear-view, with a 7-foot mammoth driving the runaway vehicle.

While Howard certainly has the edge over Bynum for best center in the League, the gap is not so wide anymore. The fact that people are acknowledging that Bynum’s moving up to Dwight’s level is a testament to Andrew’s season and what he can do a member of the 76ers.

In Philly, he will be the option. Collins will have the ball in Bynum’s hands on almost every possession, and the Sixers should finally have a resemblance of a half-court offense—something that’s been missing for ages. With an up-and-coming point guard in Jrue Holiday, the sky is truly the limit for Bynum who could most definitely put up a season of around 25 points and 12 board a night. Keep in mind—he’s also now going up against the East, where he is far and away the best center since Dwight’s now in La La land.

What’s most important about Bynum being on the Sixers, though? He was made for Philadelphia. He was born in Plainsboro, NJ, an hour outside Philly, and never really felt comfortable out in Cali. The trade truly worked out for both L.A. and Philly in that Howard’s goofy Superman personality fits L.A.’s culture whereas Bynum’s much more laid-back approach will work wonders for him in Philly as long as the effort on the court doesn’t drag.

Nobody in Philly wants to see a guy in a bow-tie and dorky glasses, especially after a loss. When Bynum showed up at the press conference in Philly after the trade, it was clear that his attitude fit the blue-collar feel of the city much more than a guy like Dwight Howard would. And as Bynum commented that he was looking forward to making Philly his long-term home, something just felt right.

In getting Andrew Bynum, the Sixers have made their most important move since drafting Allen Iverson 16 years ago. No question. They got that all-important, elusive superstar. Finally.

Are there questions? Sure. Always. Everyone’s worried about the knees, but just look at it like this. Kobe got the same experimental surgery and it’s helped him and he’s 34. So at the very least, the surgery’s not going to hurt Bynum, and following such a healthy season last year, I don’t think there’s reason for it to be such a huge concern.

There are questions regarding that laid-back attitude. That it reverberates on the court sometimes resulting in bad body language and a lack of effort. That he’s immature (see JJ Barea). That he parties too much. That he’s incapable of putting a franchise on his back.

For a guy like Bynum, who is still trying to figure what his legacy in this League will be, there will always be questions until he cements himself somewhere. Will Philadelphia be just a short stop along the road, or was this his destined city all along? In a way, it seems like Philly and Bynum needed each other, and now we’re about to see the payoff.

Either way, it bears repeating: 44 to 13. Respect.

[poll id=”474″]

Notes
• Rankings are based solely on projected ’12-13 performance.
• Contributors to this list include: Jake Appleman, Maurice Bobb, Rodger Bohn, Brendan Bowers, Franklyn Calle, David Cassilo, Bryan Crawford, Adam Figman, Eldon Khorshidi, Eddie Maisonet III, Ryne Nelson, Ben Osborne, Allen Powell II, Sam Rubenstein, Jonathan Santiago, Abe Schwadron, Leo Sepkowitz, Dave Spahn, Ben Taylor, Tzvi Twersky, Peter Walsh, Tracy Weissenberg, Yaron Weitzman, DeMarco Williams and Dave Zirin.
• Want more of the SLAMonline Top 50? Check out the archive.

The post Top 50: Andrew Bynum, no. 13 appeared first on SLAM.

That’ll do it. With last night’s 106-94 series-ending loss to the Heat, the Knicks’ wild, roller-coaster of a season came to a disappointing end. Behind another suffocating defensive performance, Miami put their opening-round series to bed and will now move on to face the Pacers in the Eastern Conference Semis.

Things started off okay, as New York hung tough with the home team behind Mike Bibby’s 8 first-quarter points and the Knicks trailed by four at the end of one. In the second, New York faced the same problem that plagued them the entire series: Their inability to close the first half on a strong note. With the score at 44-40 in Miami’s favor with under three minutes to go in the half, it looked like the Knicks were going to keep things interesting. But, just as fans got their hopes up, the Heat ripped off an 11-4 run to push the lead to double-digits, effectively ending the Knicks’ hopes of taking the series back to The Garden.

In the second half, it was all Miami. After allowing their opponent to come back from a double-digit deficit in Game 4, the Heat keep their foot on the gas and led by double-figures the entire second. Miami played its best game of the series and matched smothering defense with a balanced offensive attack, as four players scored in double-figures. LeBron led the way with 29 points, 8 boards and 7 assists while Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh scored 19 apiece. For the Knicks, Carmelo Anthony scored 35 points on 15-31 shooting. The Eastern Conference semifinals tip off on Sunday in Miami. —Peter Walsh (@goinginsquad)

Grizzlies 92, Clippers 80 (LAC leads 3-2)

Earlier in your life, when you could lift heavy things and reach the highest shelves, when you used to go to the market to buy whole cows with cut up pennies, you envisioned this Grizzlies playoff run to be a lot different. You thought they were going to bury teams right away with outlet passes and transition defense. You thought they would have 1920s brawn. Marc Gasol would be stepping over defenders like a true circus freak, you thought to yourself, then he’d rip off his shirt middle-outward, like a professional wrestler.

Fine. By “earlier in your life,” I mean “two weeks ago.” But it sure as hell felt like 50 years ago.

After 11 days of doing the opposite, Memphis finally looked like that badass, scrappy title contender that we had envisioned before they got all soft and weird in the first part of this series. Not only did the Grizzlies stay alive, drubbing the Clippers, 92-80, they looked like they finally showed up for the Playoffs.

The first quarter is probably an edge case, but it was an awesome edge case. It’s hard to describe the pummeling the Memphis frontline gave to the Clippers without bringing up weapons or violent crime, so here are numbers:

The Grizzlies scored 36—and 27 came from either Zach Randolph or Marc Gasol. They were a combined 12-of-14 from the field. Randolph capped it off with a three-point play on the grittiest of floaters. It felt like the end of a murder in a horror movie, and it was just the last field goal of the first quarter.

The Clippers stuck around, but who the hell knows how. Mike Conley was eating off of Chris Paul’s plate the whole first half. Paul, remember, made us all want our MVP ballots back so we could bump him ahead of everyone after Game 4. It took him 23 minutes to get his fifth point in Game 5.

Here’s the other thing: Blake Griffin actually looked good. Other than the time he ripped his shoe in half in the second quarter—this actually happened—he appeared to be in rhythm. He got some alley-oops and putbacks like regular season Blake. He finally looked comfortable.

Problem is, the rest of the Clippers couldn’t get past Conley and Tony Allen if they were brandishing a hot iron plate that said “I Love Terrorism” on it. The Clippers’ big men—Griffin, Jordan, Martin, Evans—all at least need a nice entry pass. And that wasn’t happening.

Not until the end of the third.

Chris Paul got frustrated and started taking over. (It’s almost getting boring writing that sentence every game, at this point.) Down 22, he was called for a technical. So was Caron Butler. Then they went on an 18-4 run that had Memphis fans wondering if they were time traveling back in time 11 days.

But the Grizzlies were resilient and big and strong, finally. When the Clippers cut it to 8 with 3:47 left, the Memphis frontline went into lockdown. L.A. didn’t score for another two minutes.

Paul came up limping at the end of the run, a presumed pulled groin, and now everything has changed. This series was in the bag 24 hours ago. All the Clippers have to do is go home and win a game on Friday, but that seems like Hell now. Blake needs new shoes, CP’s gimpy, and Memphis just remembered how good they are. —Ben Collins

The post Post Up: No More New York appeared first on SLAM.

Get out the brooms, everyone. The San Antonio Spurs got redemption after an early first-round exit last year as a No.1 seed with a sweep of the Utah Jazz, taking Game 4, 87-81.

“We always want to win. You always want to go as far as you can, and of course last year was frustrating. It’s always hard when you go home after the first round,” said Manu Ginobili in comparing each of the first-round series over the past two years. “But like I said many times, last year the Grizzlies played better than us. When that happens, you can’t do much but shake their hands and congratulate them and get ready for the next season. I think we played better this year. We didn’t let them (the Jazz) get in the game. We played very solid basketball. We didn’t play an opponent as good or as sharp as Memphis was last year.”

In a relatively poor offensive night for the San Antonio’s starting lineup, the Spurs’ bench picked up the slack, outscoring Utah’s bench 57-10. Manu Ginobili led the charge with 17 points off the bench. Despite finishing with just a 37 percent field goal percentage, San Antonio continued its hot shooting from behind the arc—shooting 45 percent in the contest.

Utah competed hard throughout the contest, as they cut a 21-point lead to 83-79 with a minute left to play. But the Jazz ran out of gas in the closing seconds. Al Jefferson had a great game, scoring 26 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.

“Looking at it from the beginning of the game I thought that our guys showed a lot of class as they have done all year—just continued to fight, Said Utah coach Tyrone Corbin. “Our backs were up against the wall right from the beginning. If we win, lose or draw, we are going to give everything we have.”

While Utah has a young team that showed a lot of promise for the future, the seasoned vets were just too much for them in this series. San Antonio will get some rest now as they await the winner of the Memphis-L.A Clippers series. —Christian Mordi (@mordi_thecomeup)

Clippers 101, Grizzlies 97 (OT) (LAC leads 3-1)

There’s this big, hazy cloud over last night’s Clippers-Grizzlies game and it’s distracting us from how good Chris Paul is and how we should all be buying his shirts and shoes and jars of sweat for cloning purposes. So let’s address it right away.

Blake Griffin was very gently caressed a couple of times by Memphis’ big men—from Zach Randolph to Marc Gasol to Mike Tyson’s Punchout character Hamed Haddadi—and fouls were called. They weren’t fouls, and Blake pretended like the sun had fallen on him.

It was probably enough to swing the game, to keep Gasol off the floor (he had four fouls and two shot attempts entering the fourth quarter), and to get the Grizzlies out of rhythm and desperate for big men solutions. This set of refs probably coddled Blake a little and fed into his bad flopping habit.

But he also scored 30 points on 10-15 shooting and exhibited real, human post moves for the first time in his NBA postseason life. The fouls had to do with almost none of it. This was enough to keep the Clippers afloat while Vinny Del Negro made bad decisions waiting for Chris Paul to do his end-of-the-game thing.

The Clippers won 101-97 in overtime. Los Angeles is a win away from trying to make the Spurs feel all sad and deflated by their spryness in the West Semis.

Oh, it seems like we jumped right over the overtime part, but it wasn’t much. The Clippers were up 10 with 5:11 left. Memphis snuck back in it in that very Memphis kind of way. (“Wait, they’re down 6?”)

It wasn’t until Mike Conley hit his pull-up 3 with 2:59 left that you saw what kind of day he was having. Dude netted 25 points so quietly you’d need to get NASA involved to remember any of it.

Rudy Gay jumped in and tried to out-Chris Paul Chris Paul. Nobody out-Chris Pauls Chris Paul, obviously, but he pretended not to know this.

Rudy hit an unbeatable contested jumpshot with 35 seconds left. It tied the game. It was only unbeatable for nine seconds, though. CP skipped the breaking of Tony Allen’s ankles and just cut them off altogether at the free throw line.

He got a free layup with 27 seconds left in a tied playoff game. The guy would like you to pay attention to how painfully good he is.

Zach Randolph tied it with free throws on the other end. There was an overtime, but it was just a series of sequences that ended in Chris Paul getting more points. He had eight in overtime. Almost all on contested jumpshots.

Blake contributed four more. He showed off a couple of post moves. It wasn’t much, but it was effective when he wanted it to be. It was something. And something is scary.

Here’s why: This game went to overtime and it never felt like it was in danger the entire second half. Not once. Whatever the Memphis did, it felt like CP would do the same thing by himself, plus two.

Thing is, a lot of people knew he was going to be the best player in the West in these Playoffs. And this is still making us all look stupid and unprepared.

The closest analogy is Dirk Nowitzki last year. The next closest analogy is Michael Jordan. I’m not getting carried away. —Ben Collins

The post Post Up: Clippers In Command appeared first on SLAM.

It’s hard to remember this now, 10,000 lobs later, but this time last year, the best two players in the Playoffs were Chris Paul and Zach Randolph.

Granted, this wasn’t even normal at the time. It was actually a reality-rattling moment for a few weeks. America was living in a weird Isiah Thomas fever dream from 2007 and no one knew how to fix it. Zach Randolph was the most dominant force on the low block in all of the NBA for a solid month.

Remember what happened in that deciding game against the 1-seeded Spurs? Randolph dropped 31 and 11 in such a devastating way, Tim Duncan was led to a field in El Paso after the series to be gracefully put out of his misery like a horse who’d done good in a Coen Brothers movie.

Of course, times change. Tim Duncan escaped getting euthanized and Z-Bo is back to just being very, very good, we think.

But that’s the scary thing: We don’t really know if Z-Bo leveled out from last year. All we know is that everybody else on Memphis is playing so well that they don’t need Zach Randolph to score 30 and 10 to advance in the playoffs anymore.

If you strip the emotion out of this thing, this Clippers-Grizzlies first round matchup should resemble Metta World Peace trying to do the YMCA in a room full of people. No one within a 200-mile radius of L.A. would make it out alive.

Then you remember the Chris Paul part.

He was a healthy Aquaman on a ship full of dying sailors last year. He just tied the whole group to his ankle, installed a satellite dish by the hull so no one got bored, and adroitly hauled the whole team to shore for two playoff games last year. It was one of the most skilled I guess I’m gonna have to do this all by myself performances I’ve ever seen in my life.

He’s in the Playoffs again this year, a 5-seed and slightly less healthy, except this year Paul will have teammates around him, instead of weird, barnacle-like insects that were closer to shackles with fangs than NBA basketball players.

What’s even stranger than the Z-Bo dilemma: He’s on a much better team now, but that may not even help.

Blake Griffin is an unbelievable monster who has made almost every 4/5 in the NBA taste test the bottom half of his shorts. He’s one of the best rollers on pick-and-rolls to come through this League since the mid-90s.

But that gets figured out in a seven-game series. He can’t reliably pop out and hit a jumper instead. Griffin’s one post move consists of him saying, “Think about the movie Inception,” then trying to blow by his defender. (This works twice a game tops, except on JaVale McGee. He had to be hospitalized.) His game’s too raw. It’s not enough.

The other late-game scorers have glaring issues. Caron Butler is basically a spot-up shooter at this point. Ditto Randy Foye, who is too small to create when defenses collapse effectively. Mo Williams is a good (if trigger happy) Jason Terry-like creator (this works in the Playoffs, remember), but he’s too small to play at the 2 next to Paul at the end of games. Nick Young is very good friends with Javale McGee, so you can draw your own conclusions on that one.

And then there’s DeAndre Jordan. But there isn’t.

Of course, at the end of games, Vinny Del Negro should give Chris Paul the keys, scream, “Just iso! Pretend like everyone else is dead!” into a megaphone, then walk briskly to Mexico before he changes his mind. That’s what he should do, and he might, but we can’t be sure.

We can’t be sure because Vinny Del Negro makes weird decisions almost nonstop. People in Los Angeles talk about this guy like he’s something they bought entirely by mistake that costs several thousand dollars.

Things like this: “He’s actually a pretty good coach, if he didn’t make terrible decisions at almost every given opportunity.”

Somehow, this makes sense.

The Clippers are potentially a scarier offensive team than Memphis’ indomitable defense. Which is saying something.

But will the Clippers find a way to get Blake Griffin looks at the end of games as he moves without the ball? Maybe. Will they find a way to muscle up on Marc Gasol early so he gets detached and checks out? Maybe. Will they find a way to smother Rudy Gay before he gets too much space? Probably. Will they be able to mitigate the effects of Gasol and Randolph if they both go off at the same time? Possibly. By sheer odds, will one of the Clippers’ 50 swingmen get hot and get past Tony Allen one game? Almost definitely.

But will they do all of these things? No chance in hell.

Start strapping that yacht to your tiny, little point guard legs, Chris.

Memphis in 6.

The post Grizzlies-Clippers Series Preview appeared first on SLAM.

Doug Collins became a tad lighter yesterday, as he was slapped with a $15k fine. The Sixers’ head coach made sure to apologize for his actions. From the Philly Daily News: “Monday afternoon, before the 76ers faced the New Jersey Nets, the NBA announced that Sixers coach Doug Collins was fined $15,000 for verbal abuse of an official after Saturday’s impressive 109-106 overtime win against the streaking Indiana Pacers. The object of Collins’ ire appeared to be referee Zach Zarba. There was some contact down the stretch that Collins didn’t seem to care for, especially an apparent karate chop-type swipe on Jrue Holiday in which there was no call. Following the win, Collins was seen directing some choice words toward the officials. ‘I don’t ever want to get fined. I’ve been in the NBA for 40 years,’ Collins said. ‘It was sort of a buildup over a few things. It wasn’t one thing, it was sort of a buildup. It was an emotional game, and we were able to win the game and stuff. I didn’t leave the court in a timely fashion, and I should have been fined. The league did what they should have done, and I apologized.'”

The post Doug Collins Fined $15k for Verbally Abusing a Ref, and He Apologized appeared first on SLAM.

He was running mates with Julius Erving and tore down a few a backboards in his day, but Darryl Dawkins hasn’t had his fill of the dunk life. Chocolate Thunder strives to continue educating us on the artistry and evolution of the slam dunk. “Some of the stuff where the guys are putting the ball between their legs and spinning and some of the timing, where they’re catching it off the bounce is just unbelievable,” Dawkins says. “I was known as a power dunker—someone who wanted to dunk one somebody! Doc could glide to points he wanted to glide. He’d be at thirty thousand feet and you’d be lifting off and losing altitude fast. But some of these guys today can flat out go!”

During All-Star weekend in Orlando, Dawkins, LeBron James and singer J. Cole (who will also perform prior to the event) will serve as judges for the Sprite Slam Dunk Showdown, a contest featuring amateur dunkers from across the land competing for a $10,000 prize. The event will be streamed live on NBA.com and will feature four finalists:

·         Zach Jones, 6’0” a.k.a. “Jonesy” – Emerging from Dayton, OH, Jones, 24, has been dunking for six years and won the semifinal competition in Washington D.C.

·         Kenny Dobbs, 6’3” a.k.a. “K. Dobbs” – We featured the 26-year-old Dobbs career in the dunk game last summer.  Hailing from Phoenix, Ariz., Dobbs is an 11-year dunking veteran who won the semifinal competition in Los Angeles. He was also a finalist at last year’s Sprite Slam Dunk Showdown finals at NBA All-Star 2011.

·         Michael Stewart, 6’1” a.k.a. “Airdogg” – Stewart, 28, comes out of the City of Angels and brings an impressive 15 years of dunking experience to the Showdown. He solidified his spot in the Showdown through the online competition by uploading his dunk clip to NBA.com/dunk.

·         Kendall Boyd-Hill, 6’1” a.k.a. “Kasper” – From St. Louis, MO, Boyd-Hill, 21, has been dunking since he was 14 years old and is the winner from Denver.

Video content for all of the finalists is available at www.nba.com/dunk and via YouTube.

SLAM: Have you enjoyed being involved with the Sprite Slam Dunk Showdown?

Darryl Dawkins: It’s been unbelievable. We went to eight different cities and selected the winners there. And the guys who couldn’t get there were able to put their dunks online at NBA.com. Ten thousand dollars is a big prize to be fighting for. Anyone who don’t want $10,000 in today’s economy needs to have their head examined. [laughs]

But it’s been fun going to the cities and rubbing elbows with these dunkers. And it’s been a real pleasure—I will continue to do this as long as it’s going. It’s unbelievable some of the stuff they do. They are hype! It’s their last chance to make the big dance and they really get involved. They bring it all out. In a slam dunk competition, you don’t always wait to pull out your best dunk last because you may not end up getting there. You better come out the door funking for Jamaica. Believe me.

SLAM: Are you allowed to have a favorite in this contest?

DD: I’m not. You know why? I want to keep my brain the way it is—free. I like the way it is right now. You’re going to see some stuff you haven’t seen before.

SLAM: You had a very interesting career in the NBA, entering the league straight out of high school in 1975.

DD: It wasn’t very popular then. Moses Malone had done it before me but he went to the ABA first. I was the first guy to go from high school to the NBA and that usually kills people if it’s a question in trivial pursuit. I still own that title along with the most fouls in one season. I’m known for that. For me, the most difficult thing was being away from my family, all of my brothers and sisters. I had to grow up quick. I had to learn how to drive in the snow—I had never even seen snow. World Free was the guy who taught me how to drive in the snow in Philadelphia. We had good guys on the team in Doug Collins, Harvey Catchings, Clyde Lee, Leroy Ellis, Mad Dog Carter—people hardly talk about these players. These guys walked me through it. Not to mention another influential lady named Zelda Spoelstra who grabbed me by the arm and told me, ‘Hey, this is the way it goes.’

SLAM: Did she work for the organization?

DD: She worked for the NBA. She is a fantastic lady. Fantastic!

SLAM: Did you ever consider going to college or were you set on going straight to the NBA?

DD: I did consider going to college. I had a teacher named Julie Brown who prepared me to go to college. I was leaning towards Florida State or Kentucky. Really, it was those two schools. But my dream was to play NBA basketball. My mother and my pastor at that time said, ‘Hey, if you want to try this, we are behind you 100 percent.’ It just worked out for me. I was blessed.

SLAM: You’ve always had such a great personality—someone that is always smiling, has nicknames for his dunks and drops incredible quotes. What were you like as a kid?

DD: I always had a very wild imagination and it has never left me. It is still here. Anybody whose mother calls herself “The Great Harriet” and father was named “The Fantastic Frankie” had to have some imagination. And I was one of 11 kids. I always had a good time playing the game. I believed in entertaining people.

SLAM: Many talk about how great Clyde Frazier’s style was. Do you feel like you’re underrated in that department?

DD: Man, I’m waaaaaay underrated. You know why? Because big guys wear black, blue and gray—that’s the only colors they make. Me, I wear anything from pink to leopard. Growing up, they would tell me they don’t have it in my size, you won’t look good in it and you can’t wear it. I swore to myself if I ever made some money, I would wear whatever I’d want to wear and whatever color. I enjoy it, man. At All-Star, you wear something that nobody would ever wear. I’ve had people come up to me and tell me they couldn’t pull it off, ‘but you can big fella.’ Not only do you gotta wear it, you gotta talk the talk and walk the walk. Some people are going to come up to you and say, ‘Man what you got on! I wouldn’t ever wear that.’ Then you have others that might say, ‘I’m feeling you big boy! I’m feeling you!’ And that’s all you need, that one person to feel you and you keep doing your thing. If somebody got the same thing on that I got on, I’m going home to change it because ain’t nobody wearing what I’m wearing.

SLAM: What does your closet look like?

DD: My closet looks like a bag of skittles. I like to be able to get through my closet with the light off. [laughs]

SLAM: Who are some of the players in the NBA that you enjoy watching today?

DD: I enjoy watching all the young players. Naturally, I enjoy watching Kobe and LeBron and these guys. I also enjoy watching guys like Durant and Westbrook and Derrick Rose. They come out and put it out each night. I enjoy the games. I’m one of those guys that will try to watch four games at one time. Because I like action and I like to see it going on. Basketball is the biggest thing in my life. I do believe in God but I love basketball so much, man. My pastor told me once, ‘I’ve got to preach fast today because the game is on at two o’clock.’ I remember saying, ‘How can you say that?’ And now I find myself being more and more like that. The game makes me feel good.

SLAM: Many NBA fans that grew up watching the game in the 70s and 80s have such great respect for The Doc and really enjoyed what he brought to the game. What can you tell me about him?

DD: Doc lived by example. A lot of guys do a lot of jaw-jacking, gum-bamming, lip-smacking. Doc lived by example. I remember when we were in Philadelphia and he was just getting his groove together, he had just come over to us. He was out-running and out-jumping everyone back then. After practices, he would go out and run around the track. I remember specifically coming over to him one day and saying, ‘Doc, what you running around the track for?’ He said, ‘Man, I’m about four pounds too heavy.” And me, my plate itself would weigh four pounds! Doc could glide further than anybody and was one of the greatest leaders. He didn’t do a lot of talking. It was like, ‘you do what you see me doing and you’ll be doing the right thing.’ I still love Doc to this very day, man.

SLAM: Thank you so much for the time Darryl. It was so much fun speaking with you.

DD: It was my pleasure. I’ll be looking for ya.

The Sprite Slam Dunk Showdown takes place at NBA All-Star Jam Session at the Orange County Convention Center on Friday, Feb. 24, at 4:30 p.m. EST streamed live on NBA.com. Additionally, Sprite is encouraging fans to tune in to Sprite.com immediately following the competition for a big announcement about a new Sprite program featuring several NBA players. For more information visit NBA.com/dunk.

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According to the ABC-TV in Atlanta and Yahoo! Sports, the Atlanta Hawks will be without Al Horford for the next 3-4 months. And possibly the rest of the season. Yikes: “Hawks center Al Horford expected to be out 3-4 months with torn left pectoral muscle, source tells Yahoo! Sports.” […] “Breaking: per NBA league source #Hawks forward Al Horford ‘pretty much done for the year’ with shoulder injury”

The AJC provides more information on the injury: “The Hawks say Al Horford will miss 3-4 months with a torn pectoral muscle suffered during last night’s 96-84 loss at Indiana. Horford is to get a second opinion on whether to proceed with the surgery. Under the most most optimistic time frame, Horford would return in mid-April. Atlanta’s final regular-season game is scheduled for April 26. ‘It’s disappointing news,’ Hawks co-owner Michael Gearon Jr. said. ‘Al is a big part of our success. Hopefully he will be back by the playoffs. The tough part is we have been playing hard and playing well. We will have to try to get through it. We’re a veteran team and we have to find a way.’ Gearon said he hadn’t yet spoken to GM Rick Sund and wasn’t sure what moves the Hawks might make in the wake of Horford’s injury. In addition to Hoford, Atlanta’s centers include Zaza Pachulia and Jason Collins. Atlanta’s payroll currently is slightly above the luxury-tax threshold of $70 million.”

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A famous Georgia native once proclaimed that life was like a box of chocolates because “you never know what you’re gonna get.” His momma told him that. I wonder if his momma would say the same thing about the Atlanta Hawks?

Atlanta came into the United Center and took a victory on the Bulls home floor. The floor where they’d won 28 of their last 30 games. Chicago, notorious for slow starts, continued that trend in Game 1 against Atlanta and now find themselves in an 0-1 hole, giving those who routinely like to proclaim them as “frauds” plenty of ammunition.

But let’s talk about what really happened.

Atlanta… Was. On. Fire.

The Hawks shot 51 percent from the field and 54 percent from behind the three-point line. That’ll never happen again. But still, when a team shoots that well in a game, they’re going to be pretty tough to beat. Another thing…

Joe Johnson… Was. Cook-ing.

“Iso-Joe” scored 34 points on 12-18 shooting from the field and was 5-5 from behind the three-point line. The man who scored the richest contract during the offseason last summer, played like a man who scored the richest contract during the offseason last summer. He was making tough shots all night and single-handedly kept the Bulls at bay whenever Chicago would make a run. Finally…

Jamal Crawford… Is. That. Dude.

Aaron Jamal is one of the coldest hoopers on the planet, period. His 22 points – a couple of which were incredible circus shots – equaled the Bulls combined bench scoring total. You can’t win like that if you’re Chicago. Their bench is far too capable and they must produce more.

For Chicago, Derrick Rose put up 24 points and 10 assists, but really seemed to struggle offensively. He also, ahem, didn’t shoot a single free throw in the game (message!). Luol Deng totally outplayed Josh Smith and Marvin Williams combined. Joakim Noah got the best of Al Horford (except on the glass) and Carlos Boozer finally seems to be trying to come out of hibernation. But none of that matters. Chicago still lost and they must play better, on both sides of the ball, come Wednesday.

No excuses on this one. The Hawks totally outplayed the Bulls in Game 1. – Bryan Crawford / @_BryanCrawford

Dallas 96, L.A. Lakers 94

There are some people in the press conference room who want some answers. They’re wondering when the Mavericks got good at defense. Tyson Chandler has totally transformed them, they’re saying, like they just saw a shooting star and were telling a small child.

Fine, Dirk Nowitzki’s over here just trudging toward a championship all by his damn self. Trudge, trudge, trudge. Free throw, free throw, free throw. Boring.

This defense has been good for years. That’s not the problem. The problem is—and say it with me—Dirk Nowitzki has no help.

But, oh, it doesn’t even matter anymore. Dirk Nowitzki might win a championship this year anyway. He and the Dallas Mavericks, but mostly he, defeated the Lakers in Game 1 in Los Angeles, 96-94.

It is a grueling exercise to say how he did it, so we’ll do this: You know those shots Zach Randolph has been hitting lately, the high-arching floaters that go in regardless of coverage? They’re like works of art, really, and they go in all the time, especially the important times, especially when they’re not supposed to.

Well, it’s that shot exactly. Over and over again. About eight of Dirk’s 11 buckets tonight were that exact shot. He’s been doing that for about 10 years now, he just wasn’t awful three years ago and didn’t provide a contrast.

So sorry. This Mavericks team is not sexy. It is just up 1-0 in a series against the favorites in the West.

Oh, those favorites in the West. Everybody but Kobe was asleep. Kobe was electric, as usual. He had their first seven points. He got so hot he was chucking heat checks and some of them were going in. It invigorated no one.

When they needed answers not named Kobe in the last three minutes, when the Mavericks were able to move every defender on to Kobe until one worked (it was Jason Kidd), no one was awake.

“We went in the locker room and felt like we gave the game away,” said Phil Jackson. “Not sure we felt like Dallas outplayed us.”

Then Phil Jackson said something a little more prescient. He realized he wasn’t giving any specific strategic reason why the Lakers lost in the press conference. He was getting anxious.

So he said this: “Here, guys, I’ll give you guys some help. The game was won in the third quarter when we stopped playing defense and stopped playing offense, basically.”

Boy, did that ever sound like code for, “This team is asleep and I don’t know if I can wake them up in time.”

The Lakers are the better team. Everybody knows it. Kobe knows it.

“We don’t do it purposefully,” he said, about getting into these holes. “I assure you.”

This might sound a little stupid, but the visitor’s locker room after the game was the most optimistic 60×30 space I’ve been around in a long time.

The Mavericks were down 16, by the way, in the third quarter. This is supposedly the emotionally fragile team, the sad loose cannon, the guy who gets drunk and talks about kicking his ex-girlfriend’s boyfriend’s ass, but winds up getting drunker and monopolizing your night with their crying. They collapse.

Well, that phase is apparently over.

If the Lakers don’t wake up by Wednesday, this might be the year Dirk Nowitzki wins an NBA Championship all by himself. We’ll have to deal with the consequences of what that means later.

He just came into the press conference room and snatched the mic, holding it in his hand to answer questions. He’s like Nas up here. Everyone’s very impressed. Yeah, pay attention to that. Write your stories about that and this brand new Dallas defense.

This guy’s been a monster for a decade. — Ben Collins

The post Post Up: Heart On Their Sleeve appeared first on SLAM.

Great signs for Oklahoma City in this one. In Game 1, Thunder players not named Durant or Westbrook combined for 36 points; in Game 2, they had 39 by the half and 62 overall.

OKC big men (Perkins, Ibaka and Collison) combined for 31 rebounds, equaling Denver’s total, while limiting Nene to 2-8 shooting and Kenyon Martin to 2-6.

And Durant and Westbrook hardly provided anything that resembled an epic performance, something required just to win in the opener, instead the Thunder exchanged it for depth and team balance as five players scored in double-figures (including a promising 18 on just nine shots from James Harden).

They’ve beaten a really good Denver two different ways—with explosive individual performances by their stars in the first game, and overall production in the next—but tonight was certainly more encouraging, a decisive win in Playoff fashion, with hard rebounding, strong defense, and contributors everywhere.

There just wasn’t enough for Denver to compete: A sluggish start, no rebounding (minus 23), and absolutely nothing from the imported Knicks save for Ray Felton, who had 16. They’re going home, but going home in a hole.

Don’t expect a rarely-content team like the Thunder to rest on their laurels, especially against a Nuggets team that grows an extra leg at home. Until Oklahoma City wins in Denver, don’t rule out a long and competitive series. —Todd Spehr

L.A. Lakers 87, New Orleans 78

In the most boring game of the history of basketball, the Lakers won 87-78. You probably fell asleep, but that’s fine, because so did Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol. Kobe dropped 11. Pau had 8. Ron Artest looked like the most capable wing scorer on the floor tonight, which is hilarious. It was a totally disgusting, awful mess for every team, including the Lakers.

But it didn’t matter. Because the Lakers are the most talented team in the Western Conference. That’s just how it is.

They sneeze out baskets. Phil Jackson is so put-together that he got nine players who were under a deep, deep trance to beat a team that made the NBA Playoffs. He is who to call when the robots become autonomous, start feeling feelings, start moving in on us. He’ll talk them all down.

He got eight grown men to think this: “When Kobe is off, then we get to play basketball as a team! Hooray!” Really. They’re all saying, “Hooray!” afterward, like second graders, and no one is upset. They all believe in this. That’s how they’ve won two straight NBA championships.

Someone asked Phil Jackson what he thought about the game. He said this: “We won by 9 points, maybe 11. That’s about it.”

He didn’t even know the score. He just knows that the Lakers are better.

The Hornets have no answer and they’re starting to realize that. The Lakers successfully defended Chris Paul tonight by focusing the entire team’s attention on him. This worked because there are no other Hornets. Chris Paul is the only Hornet and that works for exactly one game in a seven-game series.

“Who knows what they’ll throw at us the next game,” Phil Jackson half-asked after the game. Of course he doesn’t. He doesn’t know what their game plan will be; he just knows his will be better. —Ben Collins

Spurs 93, Grizzlies 87

You knew he was going to play, right? Hyperextended elbow or not, there was no way Manu Ginobili was going to miss Game 2 in San Antonio. Not when the Grizzlies embarrassed his ‘mates like they did on Sunday, 101-98.

It wasn’t prime Manu we saw on Wednesday. Yet he scored 17 points and grabbed enough steals (4) to open up San Antonio’s transition game and lead the way to a much-needed 6-point win.

Playoff Tim Duncan, not to be confused with Regular-Season Tim Duncan, finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds, proving once again the fountain of youth is nothing but a mental construction. Dominic Cobb.

He’s so consistent your aunt’s mashed potatoes get jealous.

On the defensive side, the Spurs held “The $71 Million Man,” Zach Randolph, to 11 points, by far his worst production against San Antonio this season. Z-Bo was in foul trouble most of the game, clearing the way for unsung hero Sam Young, who scored 17 points on 7-13 shooting and hit a key three down the stretch.

Memphis’ starters all played well, but Shane Battier and OJ Mayo were terrible off the bench (1-7 and 2-11, respectively).

If not for the Grizzlies’ egregious three-point shooting (3-14 from beyond the arc), they likely would have won the game. Then again, outside shooting is San Antonio’s Mortal Kombat move. Richard Jefferson. Finish him. (Hernan Sanchez voice.)

The Spurs are going to have a hard time taking both games in Memphis (the Grizzlies are good there). Still, I see them breaking even and eventually winning in seven games. Somewhere Kevin Durant and the Thunder are licking their lips.

Dinner time. —Patrick Crawley (@BasketballFiend)

The post Post Up: Thriving Times appeared first on SLAM.

Break out the Mase, Spurs fans. Tim Duncan’s back: 16 points, 13 rebounds, 2 blocks and a Red Bull-like revitalized body and mind. San Antonio’s cruising. Tony Allen’s in foul trouble. Lionel Hollins is using a rotation looser than the girls in a Busta Rhymes video (no, seriously, Greivis Vasquez is playing). Life is good. We don’t need Manu. Tony Parker’s so hot right now.

Wait. What’s that? The remix featuring Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol? Turn that down. It’s ruining everything. No, seriously. It’s really loud. I don’t like it. Where’s the music director?

Music director: There’s nothing I can do. Z-Bo and Marc are ballin’. 25-14 and 24-9. They’re shooting 69% inside of 9 feet.

Tiago Splitter: Dammit. When am I getting some burn?

Gregg Popovich: Get back in your hole, Splitter. Wait, did Tony Allen just miss two free throws? That’s funny. Give the ball to the red-headed guy. (1 minute, 37 seconds, and two Matt Bonner threes later.) Wait, did Tony Allen just hit both of his free throws?

Tony Allen: Yeah I did, old man. That’s game.

Pop: Grumble, grumble, grumble. Give it to Manu. What? Oh, yeah. Okay. Nice suit. See you clowns in Game 2.

Mike Conley: Don’t forget I got 15 and 10.

Zach Randolph: That’s cool, boy. I just got paid.

Chris Wallace: And as I was saying, it’s all about timing…

Media #1: Yeah, whatever. Any of those Caesar wraps left? (Under breath to colleague: “Seriously? $188 million to Randolph, Gay and Conley?”)

End scene. —Patrick Crawley (@BasketballFiend)

Boston 87, New York 85

This one is quickly living up to its billing, as Ray Allen drew first blood with a game winning three to propel the Celtics to an 87-85 victory. The basket highlighted an aggressive night from Sugar Ray who finished with a team high 24 points on 9 of 14 shooting. Allen, who hadn’t been much of a factor in the C’s offense for the better part of a month, came up big with tough drives to the hoop and his trademark jumpers from long range to pace the Boston attack.

The Knicks had one last chance, but Melo’s three bricked off the front of the iron. The misfire from Melo highlighted a forgettable second half for Brooklyn’s favorite son who shot 1 for 11 in the final half and was whistled for an offensive foul with 21 seconds left. The questionable whistle gave the Celtics possession and set up Allen’s big shot off of a feed from Pierce and a screen by Garnett.

For New York, Amar’e put the Knicks on his back with a 28-point, 11-rebound performance. STAT went hard for his, connecting on jumpers, tough drives, and an explosive dunk on JO and Garnett. His work on both ends of the court kept the Knicks in the game throughout the second half.

Allen’s heroics erase an underwhelming first half for Boston who couldn’t get into an offensive rhythm and found themselves down 12 at the half. Rondo’s effort was big for Boston in their comeback as he flirted with a triple double, finishing with 10 points, 9 boards and 9 dimes. The other bright spot for the C’s was Jermaine O’Neal, whose 12-point, 4-block effort made everyone momentarily forget about Perkins. —Jonathan Evans

New Orleans 109, L.A. Lakers 100

If you’re looking for reasons why the Lakers lost yesterday, you can tell this from the box score: Kobe showed up for the Lakers and no one else did.  So, yes, New Orleans stunned Los Angeles in Game 1, winning 109-100.

But if you watched it with your very own eyeballs, you’d know this: It wouldn’t have mattered if Kobe’s teammates were MJ, the Joker at the 40-minute mark of a Batman movie, Dan Majerle in NBA Jam while on easy and on fire, and a couple of guys walking around with pipes, clubbing every stray Hornet not named Chris Paul.

Because as long as Chris Paul was on the floor yesterday, the New Orleans Hornets would’ve won 109-100.

He had 33, 14, and 7, but he was better than that. Immeasurably better than that. He got under Derek Fisher’s skin, so Derek Fisher turned into the Derek Fisher of seven years ago, but that didn’t seem to work. He’d just blow by him on isos.

Then the Lakers started doubling Paul on pick-and-rolls, and this immediately turned Aaron Gray into Wilt Chamberlain. He had to leave the game with 1:02 left to go have sex with 1,000 women. (He also might have shattered his ankle into many little pieces.) Aaron Gray—Aaron Gray—was 5-for-5 for 12 points and was +25 from the field.

That’s probably why you’re here, because you’re not believing that box score from yesterday. Aaron Gray and Jarrett Jack outplayed Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom, Kobe dropped 34 even though his team didn’t have a lead at any point after the end of the first quarter, and the Hornets have home court advantage against the favorites in the Western Conference after Game 1.

Total disbelief at this sheet of paper, probably. That’s the emotion you’re experiencing. And that’s probably the same thing Chris Paul has been feeling when he picks up all of those expert MVP ballots and he’s not on it. —Ben Collins

Oklahoma City 107, Denver 103

Kevin Durant scored a career-high 41 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder won 107-103 in a pulsating Game 1 against the Denver Nuggets at the Ford Center on Sunday.

Durant and Russell Westbrook scored 72 of the Thunder’s 107 points as both players led a resurging Thunder that was down at the half but had to crawl back to win Game 1.

Westbrook dropped 31 points and 7 assists while Eric Maynor came off the bench and added 12 points for Oklahoma City.

A crucial part of the game was when Kendrick Perkins tipped in a Westbrook missed jumper in the fourth quarter with 1:05 left in the game. The call should have been basketball interference and the basket waved off since the ball was still in the cylinder but unfortunately for Denver, the call stood and Oklahoma City had the lead 102-101 which they never lost again.

“Obviously, it was goaltending,” George Karl said of the no call. “We had our chances. The guys did everything we asked them to do. Durant and Westbrook make 72 points against us, I think we can make some adjustments there.”

Nene led all Nuggets scorers with 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting. He also finished with eight rebounds but he was out of the game for almost eight minutes when he knocked knees with Perkins in the third quarter with 11:02 left. Danilo Gallinari chipped in 18 points while Raymond Felton who missed a potential three pointer to tie the game down the stretch finished with 12 points off the bench.

Denver started the first quarter with a great lead but the Thunder relied heavily on their two superstars Durant and Westbrook all night long even in the first quarter. Nene was hot for Denver, scoring 10 of his 22 points in the first quarter alone. Denver led the game 33-24 after the first and stunned the Thunder and everyone watching at the Ford Center.

But Oklahoma City would not be denied. The second quarter started with Eric Maynor and James Harden cutting into Denver’s lead with their efforts off the bench.

Even with Westbrook scoring 10 points in the second quarter—and Oklahoma City’s 35-27 second quarter performance—the Nuggets still had a one-point lead going into the half.

Denver relied on their guard combo of Felton and Ty Lawson to keep their lead. Lawson had a crucial steal off an inbound pass by Serge Ibaka with 3:49 left in the half.

At halftime, Denver led the game 60-59, but was shooting 50 percent from the free throw line (8-for-16) while Oklahoma City only missed four of their 20 attempts from the charity stripe.

Though Westbrook was leading all scorers with 21 points at the break Durant’s numbers were stacking up as he took over the second half for Oklahoma City. He scored 14 points in the third quarter alone as the Thunder wrestled the lead away from the Nuggets. Though there were a numerous lead changes in the third quarter, Durant’s shooting kept his team in it.

Durant hit back-to-back three point shots and got an assist to Maynor who nailed another three to finish the third as Oklahoma City had a slim lead 86-82 to finish the third. —Sulaiman Folarin

The post Post Up: And Another One… appeared first on SLAM.

Road trip! This weekend, man this is very tough, this weekend I’m gonna take my talents to Portland and see the Miami Heat on Sunday night. To add to Lang’s recent links, you might be obsessed with the NBA if you drive 12 hours to see a single game.

Spurs 90, Pacers 87

The Spurs being the best team in the world (at least by record), kept their place atop the standings with a win over the Pacers. Manu Ginobili scored 25 points and led his team back from a 15-point deficit to snap San Antonio’s two-game losing streak and restore Popovich’s blood pressure to normal levels. Tyler Hansbrough (!) led the Pacers with an impressive 23 points and 12 boards.

Blazers 108, Wolves 98

The Blazers got some momentum going into their much-hyped (mostly by myself) game against Miami with a win over the Wolves. Wes Matthews scored a career-high 36 points while LaMarcus Aldridge added 28 points and 10 rebounds. Kevin Love had 30 points and 19 rebounds (do his stat lines look impressing anymore?) but his team committed 19 turnovers leading to 25 points as the Wolves have now lost 4 of their previous 5 games. How does that Matthews signing look now? The initial $34 million deal was seen as over-paying for a spark off the bench behind Brandon Roy but now is looking more like a solid move (even in unfortunate circumstances).  Also, credit has to go to Aldridge for showing that Portland can run the offense through him without Roy which will now be an extended period of time. Lastly, outside the Rose Garden is a giant billboard with Roy, Aldridge, and Oden with the words “Rise With Us”. Any chance they can plaster Wes’ face over Roy’s and Camby‘s over Oden? Not sure if I’ve said this enough, but the Blazers play the Heat on Sunday night, and I’d like to think my presence will make a huge difference in the game.

Bulls 99, Sixers 105

With a loss to the Sixers, the Bulls have admitted the obvious: they miss Joakim Noah. Despite Derrick Rose scoring 27 points and dishing 9 assists and Boozer holding it down with 31 points and 12 rebounds, the Sixers got production from up and down Doug Collins’ dept chart as five players finished in double figures. I scored as much points as Chicago got from the center position (zero) which coincidentally ties my NBA career-high record. Jodie Meeks led Philly with 24 points while human double-figure scoring machine Lou Williams added 20 off the bench. The Sixers decided to try to win the game with a sizzling third quarter as Meeks and Holiday (19 points, 6 assists) shot 7 of 7 for 18 points in the quarter to turn a 4-point deficit into a 12-point lead. Chicago got within 5 in the 4th quarter but the Sixers held on and converted at the free-throw line for the win.

Nets 77, Wizards 97

Rashard Lewis is back, baby! And just 3 or 4 years overdue! Lewis led the Wizards with 16 points and 13 rebounds in a blowout over the Nets. Has ‘Shard grabbed 13 boards during his entire Orlando tenure? Washington got out to a fast start and never looked back, starting with a 21-3 run in the first quarter. The Nets shot so poorly (34%) that any comparable highlight is not worth mentioning, as they await the possible drive-by trade for Carmelo.

Raptors 102, Celtics 122

More blowouts with surprising stat lines as Boston cruised over the Raptors. In a twist of fate, Luke Harangody (yes, that Luke!) put up career-highs with 17 points and 11 rebounds to help Pierce (20 pts) and company reach 3,000 wins for the Celtics franchise overall. DeMar DeRozan led Toronto with 20 points in a tough loss, as the team shot well from the floor (40 of 79 shots) and got production from a variety of international one-trick ponies known as the Raptors. The key was being outrebounded 31-44 and outscored in the paint by Boston.

Rockets 95, Magic 110

Another blowout?! Yes sir! Jason Richardson showed off his new “Don’t trade me, bro!” tattoo by leading the Magic with 18 points in a win over the Rockets. Orlando blew the game open in the 3rd quarter with a 19-5 run thanks to Richardson and Bass (18 pts) and overcame a 27-point night by Kevin Martin. With players starting to score up in the 40’s this season, who do you think will be the first to hit 50?

Jazz 99, Grizzlies 110

The Grizzlies made it three wins in a row with a victory over the Jazz, led by Rudy Gay’s 28 points. Surprisingly productive and always human random search target Zach Randolph added 26 points and 11 rebounds as Memphis extended their lead to as much as 14, forcing Utah into mistakes and turnovers and robbing them of any momentum late in the game. Deron Williams had 19 points and 6 assists but shot just 4 of 13 from the field. Utah being the comeback kings in the 4th quarter this season, shot themselves directly in the foot by committing 23 turnovers to lose their chance at a comeback. The Jazz haven’t lost two in a row since their 0-2 start to the season which can only mean one thing: Jerry Sloan is holding an early practice. By early, he means 4:14am at the latest.

Heat 101, Bucks 95

Among the blowouts tonight, the basketball gods delivered a close game in the form of an overtime victory by the Heat over the Bucks. Chris Bosh (16 points, 12 rebounds) decided it was his time to have the ball in crunch time as he made key plays down the stretch, scoring 10 of his 16 points in the final quarter as well as overtime. After looking like a rout early, Bought (12 points, 27 rebounds) and company led their team back in the game as living mini-me Earl Boykins hit a layup to send it to overtime. Chris Douglas-Roberts (30 points off the bench) had himself a CDR game which made you rewind your VCR as you stare out the car and the bar. LeBron Lennon finished with 26 points, 10 rebounds, and a clutch block as Miami never trailed in overtime, grinding out a playoff-type win. Bogut did get some revenge, though. The Heat travel to Portland to face me and my boo’s on Sunday night.

Knicks 121, Suns 96

Blowout numero 4 featured the Knicks hitting shots from Jersey in a rout over the Suns. New York hit 17 three-pointers (including scoring 38 points in the 3rd quarter alone) and Raymond Felton earned his first tripe-double with 23 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebounds. Amar’e finally felt wanted as he scored 23 against his former team while all Nash (14 points, 9 assists) could do was watch and hope that Stoudemire has a flashback and finishes a pick and roll dunk for old time’s sake. Another notable is the possibility of re-entering a cold war as Timofey Mozgov elbowed Robin Lopez with just over 3 minutes to play, screaming out obscenities which roughly translate to: “You better have a warm coat, because da cold war is coming…vodka tears”. If the Knicks can somehow manage to stay hot for a few games in a series, they might be a threat (assuming their opponent doesn’t play defense).

Cavs 98, Warriors 116

The Cavs dropped their 9th straight overall in a loss to the Warriors. Monta Ellis continued his All-Star campaign by putting up 32 points and 10 assists while David Lee contributed 22 points and 14 rebounds. Antawn Jamison slightly raised his trade value by scoring 21 points but the Cavs are suffering a lot more injuries to go with their insults. Leon Powe will be out at least 6 weeks after surgery on a torn meniscus in his right knee which brings Cleveland’s inactive players list to 5 players. Powe’s story is touching in every way and he’s a great person as well as player, best wishes to his recovery.

Hornets 91, Lakers 101