Luka Doncic and the Mavs will get to play at least one more game after beating the Golden State Warriors, 119-109. Doncic finished the elimination game with 30 points, 14 rebounds, and nine assists. Dorian Finney-Smith followed up with 23 points and six rebounds, Reggie Bullock contributed 18 points, and Jalen Brunson put up 15 points, five rebounds, and five assists.

“Our defense,” Doncic said when asked what made Game 4 different than the previous three. “I think our defense was amazing today outside of the fourth quarter. That’s how we gotta play; we play good defense; we share the ball; we’re a dangerous team.”

Luka and the Mavs force Game 5.

30 PTS
14 REB
9 AST

(via @NBATV)
pic.twitter.com/F48nOPm0d1

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) May 25, 2022

Tuesday’s Game 4 ended up being precisely what Dallas needed as it looks to become the first team to come back from a 3-0 deficit. Facing elimination for the third time this postseason, the Mavs put together their most complete performance, hitting 41-82 fields on 30 total assists. Dallas also knocked down 20-43 three-pointers and outrebounded Golden State Warriors 45-42.

The last time Golden State led was after Moses Moody (10 points) scored on a jumper, giving the Warriors a 31-29. The Mavs subsequently took control of Game 4 from there, with a Davis Bertans (five points, five rebounds) three-pointer giving Dallas a lead it wouldn’t surrender.

The Mavs then went on a 25-6 run over a seven-minute span to firmly take control of Game 4. During that game-altering sequence, the Warriors missed nine of their 10 shot attempts and committed two turnovers.

“We weren’t alert tonight defensively,” Coach Steve Kerr said. “We weren’t sharp, and I thought we let them kinda get into a groove. Once a team like that gets into a three-point groove, it’s tough to get them out of it.”

Beautiful basketball.

(via @NBA) pic.twitter.com/q2fjICRE5o

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) May 25, 2022

By the time halftime rolled along, the Mavs had held a 62-47 lead. The Mavs ultimately held a 29-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, but the Warriors showed that you could never count them out. The Warriors outscored the Mavs 39-20, cutting the Mavs lead to eight of a Jonathon Kuminga three-pointer. However, that was as close as the Warriors would get even with Stephen Curry (20 points, five rebounds, eight assists) back on the floor.

After Coach Jason Kidd called a timeout, he inserted his starters back on the court to close the game out. Doncic responded immediately, throwing down a dunk in the halfcourt, followed by Bullock hitting his sixth three-pointer of the night.

According to Brunson, the Mavs are looking to take the WCF one game at a time; the next time they will adopt that mentality will be for Thursday’s Game 5 at Chase Center.

“The biggest thing that we took from this was we gotta take it one game at a time,” Brunson said. “Think of it like four Game 7s, win or go home. We gotta give our all every game; we were able to do that for the first three quarters and nine minutes.”

The post Luka Doncic Forces Game 5 With 30-Point Performance appeared first on SLAM.

Now that they’re staring down a 3-0 series deficit after losing Sunday’s Game 3 to the Warriors, 109-100, Coach Jason Kidd elected to keep the Mavs’ unexpected ascension to the Western Conference Finals in perspective during his postgame presser.

“This is just the beginning of this journey,” Kidd told reporters postgame. “I know you guys have us winning the championship before the season started. And that’s a joke if you didn’t get it. This is a lot bigger than just this one game or this series. This is huge for our franchise because none of you guys had us here.”

Luka pulled out the shimmy after this buzzer beater over Curry .

(via @NBAonTNT) pic.twitter.com/4fSXlnSya9

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) May 23, 2022

He also credited their loss to getting outrebounded and not being able to hit enough of their three-point attempts. For the night, Golden State rebounded Dallas 47-33, with Kevon Looney leading the Warriors with 12 boars, followed by 11 from Andrew Wiggins (27 points). Doncic (40 points) led the Mavericks with 11 rebounds, but no other Maverick corralled more than five boards.

Heading into a do-or-die Game 4, the Mavs will have to kick up their physicality inside in order to win the rebounding battle. They will also need their snipers like  Reggie Bullock and Maxi Kleber not to go 0-12 from the three-point line. The decision to attack the boards and create second-chance buckets will be pivotal when they’re not hitting shots, and the Mavs will need all the extra possession they can get to extend the series.

“I’ve said we’re going to live and die by the three, but we’re also dying by not getting rebounds,” Kidd said, per Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News.

Luka Magic dimes.

(via @NBA) pic.twitter.com/rxAoQ8Uvpg

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) May 23, 2022

Game 4 of the WCF will be on Tuesday, with the Mavs hoping to avoid the sweep. No team in NBA history has come back from a 3-0 deficit.

The post Jason Kidd On 3-0 Series Deficit: ‘None of You Guys Had Us Here’ appeared first on SLAM.

31 PTS | 5 REB | 11 AST@StephenCurry30 pic.twitter.com/GBOXfHWNaD

— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) May 23, 2022

Andrew Wiggins followed Curry up with 27 points and 11 rebounds on 11-20 shooting from the field, including this insane poster dunk on Luka Doncic that gave the Warriors a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter. The Wiggins slam was initially called an offensive foul but was counted as a bucket after Coach Steve Kerr successfully protested otherwise.

“He hasn’t had the opportunity to be on the stage before,” Curry said. “With the confidence that we have as a team and the ability to come out here and prove who he is as a player in games that matter and I always say ‘just find ways to impact winning,’ he’s figured that out.

Wiggins with the poster on Luka .

(via @NBA) pic.twitter.com/RgHjDk8a61

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) May 23, 2022

The Warriors’ other starters were in rhythm and flowed throughout Game 3. Klay Thompson finished with 19 points and seven rebounds, Kevon Looney contributed nine points, 12 rebounds, and four assists, and Draymond Green posted 10 points, five rebounds, and five dimes. Not to mention the 10 points and five rebounds effort from Jordan Poole.

The Mavs’ apparent game plan to stretch the floor and match the Warrior’s firepower with a barrage of three-pointers fell flat on its face. Dallas made just 13-45 triples on Sunday, with Luka Magic’s first-quarter buzzer-beating three bringing the Dallas fans to their feet. The Mavericks’ two long-range snipers, Reggie Bullock and Maxi Kleber, struggled on Sunday, missing all 12 of their combined long-range attempts.

The first half of Sunday’s Game 3 was a roller coaster ride for the WCF foes. The Warriors led by as many as 12 in the first quarter, while the Mavs led by as many as nine. The Warriors took over and sustained that effort over the long haul after ending the half on a 15-5 run.

With a look-away three-pointer, Curry put a bow on the Warriors’ first-half effort. Curry’s bucket irritated Doncic, who promptly exchanged words with Poole and Juan Toscano-Anderson. After officials stepped in to claim the situation down, a confused Curry asked Doncic what happened. The two superstars cleared the air, with Green eventually playing peacemaker when the conversation ran its course.

His movement off the ball is god-tier. Curry with the iconic look-away three.

(via @warriors) pic.twitter.com/QApyPsgQCJ

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) May 23, 2022

The Warriors controlled the tempo and continued to keep Dallas at bay. It wasn’t until the fourth quarter, at the 1:15 mark, in fact, that the Mavs made the game close with a Spencer Dinwiddie (26 points) triple to cut the Warriors’ lead to five points. Poole promptly slammed the door shut on any comeback bid with a triple from the left wing to cement the Warriors’ nine-point win.

POOLE PARTY pic.twitter.com/gLIZCIf1tu

— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) May 23, 2022

The last time the Warriors swept a WCF series was in 2019 against the Portland Trail Blazers. They lost the 2019 NBA Finals to the Raptors in six games. No team in NBA history has come back from a 3-0 deficit.

“When you’re up 2-0, and you come on the road, to stranglehold control of the series, that’s huge. It’s a good feeling to know that we came in and gotta win, and then we can play with house money on Tuesday and try to get a dub,” Curry said.

The post Stephen Curry Scores 31 to Lead Warriors to 109-100 Win and 3-0 Series Over Mavs appeared first on SLAM.

The blowout win was Luka Legends’ first career elimination game win in three tries, the first two chances coming in losses to the Clippers the last two seasons. The Mavericks have now answered a loss of at least 20 points with a victory of their own 10 straight times this year, 13 if you count last season, including a playoff win against the Clippers.

“I don’t know if he was playing as if he was trying to do something different,” Kidd said per ESPN. “I think he enjoys the moment. You guys have seen a little bit longer than I have up close. He’s not afraid of the stage. I think you guys call it the first time winning an elimination game. He’ll be in this situation a long, long time.”

Luka talking trash gets me hyped (via @espn) pic.twitter.com/99gqXehkpu

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) May 13, 2022

The Mavs’ blowout win can be attributed to their stifling defense. Dallas held Phoenix to a season-low in scoring, regular or postseason, for the second time in the Western Conference semifinal series. The Suns were also held to a playoff low 39.7 percent shooting from the field and turned the ball over a season-high 22 times.

Luka hyped up the crowd and had words for Devin Booker after this offensive foul. pic.twitter.com/9IDmWJeXd8

— ESPN (@espn) May 13, 2022

Dallas was also aided by the contributions of Reggie Bullock (19 points), Jalen Brunson (18 points), and Spencer Dinwiddie (15 points on 5-7 shooting from beyond the arc).

“I think we won this game on the defensive end,” Doncic said. “We’ve got another game. That’s fun. It’s playoffs, and we’re going to give our energy.”

The Mavericks blew the gates open with a 19-6 run to finish the first half, turning a two-point lead into a 60-45 lead going into halftime. The Suns attempted to make some second-half pushes, but the Mavs were clicked on all cylinders and grew their lead to as many as 27 points, ensuring long before the final whistle that there would be a winner-take-all Game 7 on Sunday.

The post Jason Kidd on Luka Doncic’s Playoff Heroics: ‘I Think He Enjoys the Moment’ appeared first on SLAM.

In the Western Conference, one of the most anticipated matchups is between the Dallas Mavericks (No. 4) and Utah Jazz (No. 5) which is a series that will begin on Saturday night. The Mavericks finished the regular season with a record of 52-30, which gave them the slight edge on the Jazz (49-33) for home court advantage. As such, Dallas will host the first two games of the series and also Game 7 if it’s needed. This could become a huge advantage to get the series off on the right foot and potentially close it out at home.

Any advantage will be key for the Mavs, as their superstar in Luka Doncic is expected to miss Game 1 and potentially Game 2 with a calf strain.

The Mavericks had a fairly slow start to the season, but ultimately got better as it went on. Gradual growth and improvement is a good sign for Dallas, as the team could be peaking at the right time. Early in the season, Jalen Brunson began to emerge as a legitimate piece of the roster. He’ll be a primary scorer for the Mavs during the postseason. Alongside him in the backcourt will be Spencer Dinwiddie, who was the cornerstone piece of the Kristaps Porzingis trade with the Washington Wizards at the deadline.

While defense was something that’s held the Mavericks back during the past few seasons, it’s been a strength in the 2021-22 campaign. They finished the regular season as the seventh-best team on that end of the floor with a defensive rating of 101.9. Additionally, Dallas was well-disciplined and took great care of the ball. The Mavs’ 1025 turnovers on the season were the third-fewest of any team.

Lacking a dominant center could detrimental for the Mavs in this series, as they’ll go up against a a deep frontcourt team. Utah was a top-three rebounding team this season, while the Mavericks finished 24th in the league. On the flip side, if Dallas is able to have success using their unique floor-spacing bigs and small ball lineups, Utah could have to play out of character to match up.

Dallas hasn’t won a playoff series since its championship run back in 2011. As such, the Mavs are on one of the longest active droughts in the NBA when it comes to winning a postseason series. Could this be the first time in over a decade that they advance past the first round?

If the Mavericks are going to have success without Doncic, it will likely come down to Dinwiddie and Brunson. Both have been extremely effective this season whether their superstar teammate is on the floor or not. If they struggle while Doncic is out, the Jazz could jump out to an early series lead before heading back to Utah.

Utah had a strong start to the season, but has really struggled of late. In fact, the Jazz went just 7-8 over their final 15 games of the season. While Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell have been great once again, the production from the role players around them has been fairly inconsistent. There’s no question Utah has the pieces to make a championship push, but will they all come together and play at the top of their games when it matters most? Scoring shouldn’t be a problem, as Bojan Bogdanovic, Jordan Clarkson and Mike Conley are able to score 20 points each on any given night.

During the regular season, the Jazz took second-most shots from deep (40.3 per game) and knocked down 36.0% of them. They also did a great job at getting to the rim and drawing fouls, finishing fourth in the league in free throw attempts this season with 23.4 per game. These are just some of the things that led Utah to the top offensive rating (11.2) in the NBA this season. What’s most interesting about the Jazz offense is that it’s heavily in isolation, as they were bottom five in both assists per game and assist percentage.

However, the playoffs are all about superstars and who can get a bucket when it’s needed, so perhaps that style of play will work in Utah’s favor. The Jazz also don’t take a ton of shots, playing with a slower pace and attempting the sixth-fewest shots in the league this season. This isn’t dissimilar from the Mavericks, who were in the bottom five in terms of field goal attempts in the regular season.

One of the best defenders in the entire NBA, Gobert will be a major factor on that end of the floor against the Mavs. Since the All-Star break, he’s limited opponents to 39.1% when he’s the closest defender.

The duo of Mitchell and Gobert has certainly had its flaws in the past. If the Jazz aren’t able to get out of the first round this season, could it be time for a major roster shakeup? It seems this series could directly impact what the Utah roster looks like moving forward.

In four games during the 2021-22 campaign, the Jazz and Mavericks have split the regular season series. Utah won the first two matchups of the season, while Dallas won the two more recently. That’s indicative of the seasons these two teams have had, as the Jazz looked better to start but the Mavs have been better down the stretch.

Outside of the primary stars in this series, there are several players for both teams that could really impact the outcomes. For Utah, Conley and Rudy Gay are veterans that have the experience to shine in the big moments. However, if they struggle the Jazz could have a rough series. For Dallas, Davis Bertans and Reggie Bullock will be important offensively, as they have the firepower to fill it up from beyond the arc. If they aren’t converting from deep and producing points, the Mavericks’ offense could stall.

The post NBA Playoff Preview: Dallas Mavericks Take On Utah Jazz appeared first on SLAM.

Tuesday, the Mavericks have four players in the NBA’s health and safety protocols: Hardaway Jr, Reggie Bullock, Josh Green, and Maxi Kleber.

Dallas also signed NBA G Leagues Caliente Clippers forward George King to a 10-day hardship deal.

The newest add-ons to the team come just in time for the Mavericks in their matchup against the Timberwolves, Tuesday evening.

With Delaware, Brown averaged 16.8 points and 8.1 boards. King averages 13.7 points and 5.7 rebounds.

The post Maverick’s Sign Charlie Brown To A 10-Day Deal appeared first on SLAM.

Thibodeau is the first Knicks coach to win the award since Pat Riley in 1993.

What a season.

Congratulations to our leader, Tom Thibodeau, on being named the 2020-21 NBA Coach of the Year. pic.twitter.com/aXHXku4t2i

— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) June 7, 2021

Before the season began, many media outlets and commentators predicted the Knicks would be the worst team in the League. However, under Thibodeau, the Knicks won 41 games and finished as the fourth seed in the East. 

The Connecticut native barely squeaked by Suns head coach Monty Williams (Thibodeau had 351 total points to Williams 340, even as Williams had two more first-place votes). 

This is Tom Thibodeau’s second NBA Coach of the Year award (first was 2010-11 with Chicago). Thibodeau is the first coach to win the award in his first year with two franchises and he’s the first Knick to win it since Pat Riley in 1993. Here is the NBA Coach of the Year voting: pic.twitter.com/pybbjQJCOi

— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) June 7, 2021

In an interview with the Inside the NBA crew on TNT on Tuesday, Thibodeau attributed the team’s success in large part to Julius Randle, who recently won the Most Improved Player award, and the various veterans—such as Taj Gibson, Derrick Rose, and Reggie Bullock—who helped set the tone and mentor the young players.

“The whole team, from top to bottom, they were very special, they were very tight, hard-working and gave everything they had each and every day,” he said. 

The post New York Knicks’ Tom Thibodeau Named NBA Coach of the Year appeared first on SLAM.

In what have been two of the most discussed first-round matchups, Dallas Mavericks floor general Luka Doncic stole the spotlight in the final game of the evening thanks to his 42-point, 14-assist outing.

But was it enough to get past a Los Angeles Clippers team that had won two straight to even the series?

No. 1 Philadelphia 76ers 129, No. 8 Washington Wizards 112

PHI wins series 4-1

The first of three teams to be bounced from the playoffs tonight, the Washington Wizards couldn’t hang with the Philadelphia 76ers even without Joel Embiid playing.

Sharpshooter Seth Curry exploded for a team-high 30 points and Defensive Player of the Year finalist Ben Simmons silenced his critics with 19 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds, one steal and two blocks. Meanwhile, veteran forward Tobias Harris rounded off a nice first-round series with 28 points and six assists of his own.

Washington showed some promise at points over the five-game series but, ultimately, Philly had too much talent for the D.C.-based squad.

The Wizards got another good game from youngster Rui Hachimura, who had 21 points on 8-for-13 from the field. All-Star Bradley Beal capped off another spectacular season with a game-high 32 points, while Russell Westbrook chipped in 24 points, 10 assists and 8 rebounds.

Nonetheless, Washington’s lack of depth proved to be costly down the stretch. The Wizards trailed by just two at halftime, but as the game got deeper, Washington’s starters began to lose steam, and Philadelphia pulled away.

No. 4 New York Knicks 89, No. 5 Atlanta Hawks 103

ATL wins series 4-1

The New York Knicks disappointed a packed Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night when they were the second team pf the day to be eliminated from the playoffs.

In what was a tough series for the big man, Knicks star forward Julius Randle had another disappointing outing for New York, putting up 21 points on 8-for-21 shooting, while also turning the ball over eight times.

Randle finished the playoffs averaging 18 points, 4.0 assists and 4.6 turnovers per game while shooting 29.8 percent from the field—a stark contrast from the 45.6 percent he shot from the floor in the regular season.

Reggie Bullock, who averaged 8.0 points on 37.9 percent shooting from the field and 28.6 percent from 3-point range, started the game off well. Bullock went for 12 points in the first quarter after nailing four shots from beyond the arc; but he was held scoreless for the rest of the game.

The star of the show, 22-year-old point guard Trae Young, put together another masterpiece with a game-high 36 points. Wednesday was the third time in the series where Young scored at least 30 points in the series, as the Knicks defense continued to be confounded by his craftiness.

Atlanta also received double-digit contributions from De’Andre Hunter (15), Clint Capela (14) and John Collins (13) in the points column, while holding the Knicks to 37.8 percent shooting from the field.

The Hawks will be moving to the second round of the NBA Playoffs, where they’ll take on the 76ers.

No. 1 Utah Jazz 126, No. 8 Memphis Grizzlies 110

UTA wins series 4-1

The third and final team to get booted from the playoffs was the Memphis Grizzlies.

Still, just as young guns Ja Morant and Dillon Brooks shined for the Grizzlies throughout the series, the duo was excellent yet again on Wednesday, with both scoring 27 points.

Brooks’ scoring output through the series was impressive, putting up 25.8 points per game on 51.5 percent shooting, and Morant paired that with his 30.5 points per game on 48.7 percent shooting. While Memphis’ season may be over, their young core is only just getting started.

Despite feeling ill coming into the game, Utah Jazz centerpiece Donovan Mitchell handled the Grizzlies with ease, dropping 30 points and dishing out 10 assists.

Defensive weapon Rudy Gobert may have had even more impact than Mitchell though, as the Steiffel Tower notched a 23-point, 15-rebound double-double while blocking three shots.

Despite moving on to the second round, the Jazz didn’t leave the court entirely happy, as starting guard Mike Conley left the game early due to injury. The All-Star’s status moving forward is unclear, but Utah will need him when they take on one of the Dallas Mavericks or Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference semifinals.

No. 4 Los Angeles Clippers 100, No. 5 Dallas Mavericks 105

DAL leads series 3-1

Playmaking extraordinaire Luka Doncic rewrote history books at the end of Wednesday night’s slate of games.

Doncic put up a blistering 42 points and 14 assists, scoring or assisting on 31 of the Mavericks 37 made field goals. The only other player to finish with double-digit scoring for Dallas was Tim Hardaway Jr., who had 20 points.

Fifth-year pro Dorian Finney-Smith was hugely impactful for Dallas on the defensive end, helping keep Kawhi Leonard (who shot 7-19 from the field) contained, while snatching the opponent five times and recording a block.

The Los Angeles Clippers, who had even the series at 2-2 following Game 4, kept the game within reach all night. They even cut the Mavs’ lead to one point with under one minute left.

But, in the end, they couldn’t stop Doncic enough to come out on top. Clippers forward Paul George finished with a team-high 23 points, while Leonard and Reggie Jackson (6-12 from 3-point range) each had 20 points.

LA just couldn’t get the buckets to fall on Wednesday night, shooting just 41.3 percent from the field as a team.

Game 6, which will be in Dallas, takes place on Friday, June 4.

The post Post Up: Three Teams Sent Packing appeared first on SLAM.

The evening started with the Washington Wizards looking to even the series against the Philadelphia 76ers and the New York Knicks attempting to do the same against the Atalanta Hawks. The evening game was another one vs. eight seed game, with the Utah Jazz taking on the Memphis Grizzlies.

No 1. Philadelphia 76ers 120, No. 8 Washington Wizards 95

The Wizards looked out of their depth Wednesday night, with the D.C. squad trailing by double-digits almost the entire game. Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons each finished with 22 points, and Tobias Harris added another 19 points.

Embiid getting wild after the and-one (via @NBATV) pic.twitter.com/j6Dgb8cBEa

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) May 27, 2021

No Wizards player finished with more than 11 points except Bradley Beal, who had a game-high 33 points.

Smooth. (via @WashWizards) pic.twitter.com/zdxamYksgL

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) May 27, 2021

While the Wizards being down 2-0 in the series is bad enough, the injury to Russell Westbrook could be cause for more concern. Westbrook left the game in the third quarter with an ankle injury, and if he’s unavailable for the next two games, that might be a wrap for the WIzards. An altercation between Westbrook and a fan stole headlines when Westbrook confronted a fan who dumped popcorn on him.

Lakers’ LeBron James weighed in as well:

By the way WE AS THE PLAYERS wanna see who threw that popcorn on Russ while he was leaving the game tonight with a injury!! There’s cameras all over arenas so there’s no excuse! Cause if the was on the other . #ProtectOurPlayers

— LeBron James (@KingJames) May 27, 2021

No 4. New York Knicks 101, No. 5 Atlanta Hawks 92

The most exciting game of the evening belonged to the Eastern Conference’s four vs. five seed matchup. The Knicks struggled in the first half containing Trae Young and entered halftime down trailing 57-44. But the Knicks’ offense came alive in the second half, and the defense held the Hawks to under 20 points in both quarters, which eventually gave them the late third quarter.

It was a big night for Derrick Rose off the bench, scoring a team-high 26 points to go along with four rebounds and four assists. Four other Knicks also went double-digit in the scoring column, including Julius Randle, R.J. Barrett, Reggie Bullock and Alec Burks.

I love playoff basketball. (via @NBAonTNT) pic.twitter.com/P6kJpNtGfh

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) May 27, 2021

Still, Trae Young had another big night for Atlanta, dropping 30 points and seven assists.

That's NASTY, Trae. (via @ATLHawks) pic.twitter.com/Mo9qBFcXru

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) May 27, 2021

No. 1 Utah Jazz 141, No. 8 Memphis Grizzlies 129

Offense was easy to come by in the final game of Wednesday night, with a reinvigorated Jazz team dropping 141 points to defeat Memphis. Three players put up more than 20 points for Utah, including Donovan Mitchell (25), Mike Conley (20) and Rudy Gobert (21). Bojan Bogdanovic chipped in an additional 18 points, and Mr. Sixth Man of the Year, Jordan Clarkson, added 16.

Sensation Ja Morant kept the Grizzlies in the game nearly single-handily at points, finishing with 47 points, seven assists, and four rebounds. Dillon Brooks and Jonas Valanciunas both had solid scoring nights, finishing with 23 and 18 points, respectively. Bench scoring was an issue for the Grizzlies, as only 14 points came from their bench all night, and seven of them came from De’Anthony Melton alone.

SHOWTIME JA. (via @memgrizz) pic.twitter.com/geI6einfoE

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) May 27, 2021

The post Post Up: Underdogs Fall Flat in Game Two appeared first on SLAM.

So, if game does speak for itself, let’s look at their past two matchups:

The Houston Rockets simply had no answer for the New York Knicks in Sunday’s game. The Knicks went on to start the beginning of each quarter with a lead following the previous one, while the Rockets struggled to contain them.

Despite the effort given by Christian Wood, who scored team-high with 19 points 8 rebounds, and 3 assists, it wasn’t enough. Randle continued to fill the stat sheet, scoring 31 points in three quarters with 7 rebounds and 6 assists, giving the Knicks what they needed to overthrow a skilled Houston Rockets team. 

His teammates also went on to score double digits, including Barrett who dropped 21 points, and NBA Vet Derrick Rose, who finished with 24 points and six rebounds. Rookie Immanuel Quickly had 13 points, while Reggie Bullock scored 11. The Knicks defeated the Rockets, 122-97.

Former MVP things

24 PTS | 6 REB | 4 AST off the bench pic.twitter.com/zWKaD8Wk5H

— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) May 3, 2021

With the way the Knicks have been playing lately, there’s no doubt much more success will be in their future—especially with the win they pulled off against the well-rounded Memphis Grizzlies. Randle continued to put on another great performance, racking up 28 points, while D-Rose added another 25 points to help solidify the 118-104 win.

Julius Randle. Really good at basketball. And that's facts.

28 PTS | 6 REB | 6 AST pic.twitter.com/wruxaYjvuN

— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) May 4, 2021

The Knicks will look to continue their two-game winning streak into Wednesday’s matchup against the Denver Nuggets. Meanwhile, the Grizzlies have lost four out of the last five games.

The post The Post Up: New York Knicks are Shining Brighter Than Ever appeared first on SLAM.

It is in this moment that 19-year-old rookie RJ Barrett, in a scenario very similar to a high school freshman entering the cafeteria for lunch for the very first time, finds himself looking around the plane for a place to sit. He eventually turns to Julius Randle, who is entering his sixth year in the NBA and therefore is already sitting in his preferred spot, and asks if he could join him.     

“He didn’t really know where to sit. He came and was like, Is it cool if I sit right here? And I was like, Hell no! Nah, I’m joking. I was like, Yeah, of course, man. I’ve always sat on the same place on the plane my whole career. He sat next to me and it’s just kind of been our thing…First day, and ever since then, hasn’t changed,” says Randle. “They have the table where the guys play cards. I’ve always sat to the left of the table—directly there. I sit there and [RJ] sits by the window.”

Julius, who knew exactly what it was like to be a top draft pick headed to a big city with tons of expectations and very little patience after being selected with the seventh pick in the 2014 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers, became the perfect mentor for Barrett. Whether fate or just pure coincidence, it’s impossible to trace back the grand return of the New York Knicks to relevance this season without looking at how Randle and Barrett sprouted in The Garden by developing a strong chemistry that extends beyond the hardwood. One that seems to have started on (or at the very least facilitated by) an October flight in 2019.

“We’ve been sitting beside each other since day one. Just cracking jokes…We can play cards, we listen to music, we do all that at the front of the plane. It kind of just happened and we just stuck with it,” says Barrett. “We’ve always just had an understanding with each other. Sitting together at the beginning kind of helped me because I was the rookie coming in. So, it was like [a] big brother just helping me out. We even watch film together on the plane, showing me little things.”

That plane seating decision may have not seemed like a big deal at the time, but it helped pave the way for the creation of the most important Knicks duo in recent memory. The Knicks are back. The most valued franchise in the NBA is making noise again. A real foundation is now in place, with Randle and Barrett at the center of it.

Order your copy of SLAM 232 featuring Julius Randle and RJ Barrett now.

It’s a Thursday afternoon in late April and RJ Barrett is sitting in his home office in White Plains, NY. The team is enjoying a day off, 16 hours after winning at home in overtime against the Atlanta Hawks in the second game of a back-to-back. Randle dropped 40. The Knicks extended their winning streak to eight—their longest streak in seven years. The team has moved up to sole possession of the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference on this day. With less than a month to go in the regular season, the thought of the Knicks being in the playoffs for the first time since 2013 seems like a real possibility. It’s been eight years. The city is buzzing.

There’s a lot to be excited about, and RJ is cheesing hard when he joins us via Zoom from his home.

“I feel like we were the only ones that kind of believed in ourselves. No one thought we were going to be here,” says Barrett. “No one thought we were going to be in this position except for us. Even making the playoffs, we’re very excited for that. It’s not just about making the playoffs. We want to go far. We want to try to win championships. That’s what we’re about.”

“From the media’s standpoint, I could certainly understand how we would be ahead of schedule,” says Randle. “For me—unless you’re, like, the Lakers or Brooklyn [where] it’s championship or bust in their minds, probably—I came to this season with an open mind. We had a new front office. Guys I was really familiar with were Wes [William Wesley] and Leon [Rose]. New coaching staff, different players. So, it’s hard to really put a cap on what you can be. I just tried to come into the season with an open mind. I wanted to improve as a player and really put my best foot forward as far as how I could help the team. Quickly, as the season started in training camp and as the season went on, I could tell things were a lot different [and that] we had a chance to be good if we just trust in each other, believe in each other and follow Thibs’ lead.”

It was in July of 2017 when Barrett first caught the attention of Randle. At the time, Randle had just completed his third year in the League and was enjoying his offseason in L.A. when one day he decided to tune in to the U19 FIBA World Cup in Egypt. The real draw for the former Kentucky star was that his former head coach John Calipari was coaching the American team. As a true Big Blue Nation supporter and overall student of the game, Randle tuned it to root for his guy. It was the tourney’s semifinals and Team USA was facing off against Canada. Barrett, only 17 years old at the time, ended up dropping 38 points, 13 rebounds and 5 rebounds while leading Canada to a shocking 99-87 upset victory over the United States.

It marked the first time that an American team of any age group had lost a game in international competition in six years, while also being the first time ever that a Canadian men’s basketball team had claimed gold at any level. Randle vividly remembers his thoughts after watching that contest.

“I watched that game. He went crazy. I remember he got a 30-ball,” recalls Randle. “I was like, That kid is going to be special! I could tell right away. You don’t just see that happening.”

Beyond the career-high production from Randle and the second-year leap from Barrett, there’s a visible overall culture shift with this team, one that everyone has bought in on. Head coach Tom Thibodeau’s teams have always been known for their hard-nosed defense and grittiness. As of late April, the team ranks No. 1 in the NBA in fewest points allowed (104.7 per game) as well as No. 1 in fewest made field goals by opponents (38.0 per game). For reference, the franchise ranked 17th in points allowed last season (112.3 ppg). In their largest margin blowout win in 25 years—by 44 points against the Detroit Pistons on the road—in early April, the orange and blue didn’t allow a single field goal to the Pistons starters in the first quarter; that hasn’t happened in 22 years.

“We’re a team that we go back to the gym at night. Almost every night. We’re always working before practice, after practice. Come back again at night. We land somewhere, we all go to the gym now. We’re always in the gym. That’s been showing out there on the court…This is a very special team. And I feel like we’re the start of something good in New York Knicks basketball again,” says Barrett. “I think our team describes New York. I think we’re tough, gritty, resilient. And we go in with our hard hat and work hard every day.”

Adds Randle, “After the first game of preseason, honestly, I saw it was different. And then I think the third game of the preseason, when we played Cleveland back-to-back, I was like, Oh, nah, we got a chance to do something or surprise people! We went to Indiana, played them tough—should’ve won the game. And from that point on, I’m like, Yo, just keep building! I really wasn’t focused on the wins and losses. We were just trying to focus on building our identity of who we were as a team. Confidence for a team is everything. That’s really what happened with us. Game by game, our confidence just grew to where every game we come in [and] we expect to win the game.”   

For Randle, the journey has taken him from four rebuilding years with the Lakers (tough years where the team finished 30 or more games under .500 in three of those) to then one season in New Orleans, where he enjoyed some of the best numbers of his career but nonetheless missed the playoffs. He opted out of the second year of a two-year deal with the Pelicans in the summer of 2019 and ultimately took a leap of faith in signing with the rebuilding Knicks. After a tough first season as a team in New York, Randle is now averaging career highs in points (24.2) and rebounds (10.3) as of press time. He’s been filling up the stat sheet, becoming the first Knick in over three decades to record multiple triple-doubles in a season. He got his first All-Star nod in March and is now gearing up for some playoff action—the first of his career.

“I had never seen [Julius] in person before, so when I [first] saw him I actually was like, This dude is 6-9, 250!” says Barrett while bursting out laughing. “My favorite stories are just him working hard. Us landing somewhere and [he’s] always going to the gym. He just became an All-Star, and he was in New York working after the All-Star Game before anybody even got back….As soon as he gets to the arena, he has his headphones on. He’s kind of just in a zone. He doesn’t really speak until we get on the court.”

For RJ, who’s still only 20 years old, his first 18+ months in the League have been a rollercoaster. As the third pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, which became the Knicks’ highest draft pick since Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing went number one in 1985, he saw his share of ups and downs as a rookie. The team was losing. A lot. The head coach was fired. The team president was fired. Although many jumped at the opportunity to critique his shooting numbers, he still showed glimpses of what could be. There were a couple of 27-point performances. He became the first Knicks rookie in 40 years to post a 15-15-5 stat line. He was third (behind only Zion Williamson and Ja Morant) in scoring among all rookies—and yet somehow was absurdly snubbed from the NBA All-Rookie Team.

Not only are his averages and shooting percentages up across the board this season (posting 17.6 points and 5.8 boards as of press time), there’s an aura and swagger to him. He’s become a fan favorite in the Big Apple.

“This year he’s just a complete—I wouldn’t say 180 [degrees], but as far as his mentality, he doesn’t let things affect him,” says Randle of Barrett. “He’s very steady, confident and knows who he is as a player, and he’s just been proving it.”

A few days after our Zoom calls with both guys, the Knicks winning streak came to an end following a loss to Phoenix at home. The streak topped off at nine—the team’s second best stretch in 25 years. The vibe in the city remained unchanged, though. This time it just feels different.

Yes, the Carmelo Anthony-led 2012-13 team did indeed make it to the second round of the playoffs, but that squad never had a sustainable young core to build a future around. Therefore, that era came and went so fast, still leaving the franchise with the worst record in the League over a 20-year span when Randle joined in 2019. This team, though, hasn’t even scratched the surface. From Immanuel Quickley having one of the best rookie seasons in the Association, to Mitchell Robinson and Nerlens Noel becoming major defensive forces in the paint, it’s been a well-balanced mix to complement vets like Derrick Rose, Reggie Bullock, Alec Burks, Elfrid Payton and Taj Gibson.

Players on other teams, from LeBron James to Marcus Morris, have taken to Twitter to acknowledge the resurgence of the team. “And the league is simply better off when the Knicks are winning,” LeBron tweeted on April 22. Yet, being patient and realistic is very important here—one thing that Randle and Barrett constantly preached during our call.

“We’re aware of [the excitement]. We hear it. You can’t really escape it. We hear it but that’s not where our focus is. We have a game-to-game focus. Thibs does an amazing job of preparing us from game to game,” says Randle. “Our game to game attention to detail and focus, it’s different than any team I’ve ever been on.”

“[Thibs] came in and he was just very honest from the beginning. He told us, We have a long way to go but we’re going to try to turn this around. And that’s exactly what we’ve done,” says Barrett. “Honestly, I’m not really surprised. We worked too hard. We work so hard and we have no egos. I feel like we deserve everything that is happening right now but we know that we have a long way to go.”

—

Action photos credits via Getty.

Portraits by Niko Rodriguez and Kevin Clark at the New York Knicks. Follow Niko on Instagram @technicalbasis, and Kevin on Insta @kevin_clarkk.

The post Julius Randle and RJ Barrett are Bringing Toughness Back to MSG appeared first on SLAM.

Alec Burks has filled the stat sheet in his first taste of action with the squad, adding to the leap he took with the Golden State Warriors last season, while R.J. Barrett continues to make incremental gains.

For more information about the numbers behind our Heat Check series, hop over to our main Heat Check 2020-21 post.

Julius Randle	24.8p, 10.5r, 7.5a
Alec Burks	20.7p, 3.7r, 3.7a
RJ Barrett	16.3p, 7.3r, 3.8a
Kevin Knox II	6.0p, 3.0r, 1.3a
Reggie Bullock	10.3p, 3.5r, 1.3a
Ignas Brazdeikis	2.0p, 1.0r, 0.0a	–
Jared Harper	0.0p, 0.0r, 0.0a	–
Mitchell Robinson	8.0p, 7.8r, 0.3a
Dennis Smith Jr.	4.0p, 2.0r, 2.0a
Frank Ntilikina	4.5p, 1.0r, 0.8a
Nerlens Noel	3.0p, 4.5r, 0.5a
Theo Pinson	0.0p, 0.0r, 0.0a
Elfrid Payton	12.0p, 4.0r, 4.5a

Team-by-Team Breakdown

The post Heat Check 2020-21: New York Knicks appeared first on SLAM.

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

Biggest Questions

• Will Tom Thibodeau prioritize veterans and winning or developing young talent? There are several positions that will be interesting to watch when it comes to playing time. For example, will he play Mitchell Robinson or Nerlens Noel more throughout the season?
• Will Kevin Knox finally become the player the Knicks thought he would be when they selected him No. 9 overall in the 2018 NBA Draft? He still hasn’t found a way to break into the rotation in New York and it may not be any easier this season.

All NBA Team Offseason Summaries

The post New York Knicks: Projected 2020-21 Depth Chart appeared first on SLAM.

It’s just that, if we’re being honest, most of those stories aren’t even close to reality. The ball never bounced as high as most places throughout this country claim it did at one point. It’s rare to find a spot in the States where the legends are actually true. 

But Marcus Mizelle, director of the documentary short Something in the Water: A Kinston Basketball Story, is from a place where it’s all true, where the tall tales aren’t just tall tales. 

One in 52.7 basketball players that hooped at Kinston High School, a small public school, have played in the NBA. The average in the world is one out of every 10,000 people will make the League, according to Mizelle’s new film. 

“When you start filming—something’s in the water? Ok, what’s in the water? What’s in the water? That’s just a slogan,” Mizelle explains to SLAM. “What’s in the water is this organism, this living, breathing thing where all these people are just participating and helping one another. Kinston is just a support system that keeps going and going and going. It’s this organism that all these people have put so much and energy and time in to and it just keeps cycling.”

Cedric Maxwell, Charles Shackleford, Jerry Stackhouse, Reggie Bullock and Brandon Ingram are among the NBA players from the small town in North Carolina. 

Mizelle went back home, to the town where he lived for the first 23 years of his life, to look at how Kinston became one of those rare places where the romanticized past is the truth. But that’s not the story that ended up driving his film. 

“2016, I reached out to Donald Ingram, Brandon’s dad,” he says. “I was not able to connect with him. We didn’t really know each other yet. I hit him up on Facebook message. That was the only line I had at the time. And then 2017, ESPN dropped a big article on Kinston and the basketball there. I think the title was something like ‘Brandon Ingram’s Hometown Has the Highest NBA Draft Picks Per Capita in the World.’ Something like that. That’s when I was like, ‘Alright, well, I’m going to go ahead and go to town, see what we can get.’  

“I reached out to everybody I ever knew in Kinston,” he continues. “Got in touch with Donald Ingram, kept hearing about a kid named Dontrez Styles. His name kept popping up. He may or may not be the next big thing. He was in ninth grade at the time. And then Curtis Hines, a personal trainer. All these names kept popping up, as far as what’s going on in Kinston right now. I was like, ‘Of course it’s about the past greats. That’s important.’ But I was more interested in what’s going on right now.”

History becomes present and future in Something in the Water. Styles is headed to North Carolina, following Jerry Stackhouse’s path. Hines is a huge part of the doc. And Mizelle even dives into how Kinston’s economy has changed over the years, including the impact of its high crime rate. 

For as much it’s about the game, Something in the Water is about the people that have dedicated so much to Kinston, the people whose stories ring out. Mizelle talks about how Donald Ingram hosts games every Tuesday and Thursday for players of all ages. He details Hines’ commitment to helping the next generation. He gives a special shout out to Jeremy Ingram, the guard who should’ve torn up Wake Forest, if not for injuries (“I know he was going to make the League,” Mizelle says). He mentions the unfortunate passing of Charles Shackleford, a rebounding machine that played throughout the 80s and 90s. 

“I learned I’m lucky as hell to be from Kinston, is what I learned,” Mizelle says about the doc’s creation process. “I’m lucky. There’s a lot of small towns I could’ve been from and there’s a lot of towns that had a high crime rate but at least Kinston also has basketball. It’s a cool thing to be known for. It’s the best thing to be known for. That’s been such a reminder for me. Just being proud, straight up proud for being from a cool spot with good people.”

Mizelle, at the end of his film, asked all of his interviewees to describe Kinston with one word. He’s the director so he decided that he gets two words. He goes with “special” and “hungry.”

Hungry for more special stories to be told. He has plans to extend Something in the Water with more interviews and footage, proving that Kinston isn’t just another one of those places that dreams about how good their ballplayers actually are. 

—

Watch Something in the Water now on Amazon Prime.

The post Filmmaker Marcus Mizelle On Why Kinston, NC is a Basketball Heaven 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

Projected Dead Money

Projected Renouncements/Waivers

2020 NBA Draft Picks

Exceptions Available

• Room Exception – $4,767,000

Key Offseason Decisions

• What do the Knicks do with four non-guaranteed players? Reggie Bullock ($4.2M), Elfrid Payton ($8M), Taj Gibson ($9.45M) and Wayne Ellington ($8M) are each guaranteed $1M. If the Knicks want to maximize their cap space this offseason, they’ll let each go. If doesn’t mean their time is over in New York either, as the club could re-sign any of them.
• Did Damyean Dotson do enough to get a qualifying offer? Dotson is a swing decision for New York. If the Knicks make him a restricted free agent, he’ll eat into cap space. If not, he could get an offer as an unrestricted target.

Projected Team Salary

$64,036,244

It’s not a great summer to have a lot of cap space. The free agent market is pretty barren of stars, but the Knicks can still make the most of a lot of flexibility. New York could be in the market to trade for a star, or maybe even two. They can also pivot, extend the rebuild another year and eat a couple of bad contracts. That would bring in assets for the Knicks in terms of draft picks and/or young players. It all really hinges on what happens with the non-guaranteed contract for the four veterans who are guaranteed just $1M apiece. (@KeithSmithNBA)

Cap Space Forecast

$42,408,826 (2^nd out of 30)

Team Salary Cap Outlooks

The post New York Knicks: 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.

Knicks NBA 2K21 Ratings

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

The post New York Knicks: NBA 2K21 Ratings appeared first on SLAM.

Also included in the team-by-team breakdowns are all partial/non-guaranteed players for the 2020-21 season, essentially expanding the list to include any individual that could plausibly hit free agency this summer.

Related: CBA Explained – Different types of NBA free agency

Boston Celtics

Brooklyn Nets

New York Knicks

Philadelphia 76ers

Toronto Raptors

The post 2020 NBA Free Agent List – Atlantic Division appeared first on SLAM.

Leon Rose will start his new job as President of the New York Knicks on March 1, Marc Stein of the New York Times reports. Rose was first rumored to be the Knicks choice to run their basketball operations just ahead of the NBA trade deadline in early-February.

Rose will be making the transition from the agent side of the basketball world to the front office side. As an agent, Rose has represented superstar players like Allen Iverson, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, Joel Embiid and Karl-Anthony Towns.

Now, as he leads the Knicks’ roster building efforts, Rose will be across the table in negotiations with superstar players.

When reports broke that Rose was going to takeover leading New York’s front office, he was rumored to have William Wesley joining him in the endeavor. Better known as “Worldwide Wes”, Wesley has been connected to Rose going back over 30 years. Rose acknowledged in 2005 that he had been Wesley’s attorney for over 20 years to that point.

As talks for Rose to take over the Knicks continued, it was determined that Wesley would not be joining him in the front office. Wesley will reportedly remain a consultant to Rose, but will not join New York in any sort of formal capacity.

Rose will be the latest in a line of agents that have made the jump to lead NBA front offices. In recent years, Neil Olshey, Bob Myers and Rob Pelinka have all switched sides. Olshey has built consistent playoff teams in Portland and with the Los Angeles Clippers. Myers built a dynasty with the Golden State Warriors and Pelinka has the Los Angeles Lakers currently on top of the Western Conference.

Rose has the backing of the NBA’s biggest market, but he’ll have to reverse a long trend of losing. The 2019-20 season will mark the seventh-straight season the Knicks will miss out on the NBA playoffs. Overall, New York has made the postseason just four times over the last 19 seasons.

Among Rose’s first decisions will be to figure out which of his players are long-term fits around RJ Barrett, Mitchell Robinson and Kevin Knox. The previous front office tandem of Steve Mills and Scott Perry signed several veterans to short-term contracts that only run through the 2020-21 season. Several of those players have only small guarantees for next season, including Reggie Bullock, Wayne Ellington, Taj Gibson and Elfrid Payton.

Rose will also have to decide if Dennis Smith Jr. or Frank Ntilikina is the Knicks point guard of the future. Both are under contract for next season, before restricted free agency looms in the summer of 2021. While both Smith and Ntilikina have had flashes of brilliance in their first three years, neither has established himself as a sure thing in the lead ballhandler role.

New York could have up to $44.6M in cap space this summer, pending decisions on picking up the guarantees for Bullock, Ellington, Gibson and Payton and the team option for Bobby Portis. It’s a weak free class, but the Knicks could have the spending power to chase one or two of the handful of impact free agents available. For example, Rose will be in position to extend a big offer sheet to restricted free agent Brandon Ingram of the New Orleans Pelicans, should Ingram and the Pels not be able to come to an agreement on a new contract.

In addition, after years of minimal draft capital due to failed trades, New York owns all their own first-rounds picks moving forward. The Knicks also have an extra 2020 first-round pick from the Clippers (from the Marcus Morris trade at this year’s deadline) and two future first-round picks coming from the Dallas Mavericks from the Kristaps Porzingis trade. While the 2020 draft projects as weaker than recent years, New York is well-positioned to take advantage in future years.

Leon Rose will start his new job with his hands full. If he can re-energize Knicks fans and return the winnings ways to New York, Rose will get Madison Square Garden rocking again. It’s been far too long since the Knicks were a real destination. Maybe Rose, and his deep connections across the NBA, is the guy to finally change that.

The post Leon Rose To Start As Knicks President On March 1st 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 Knicks 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

• R.J. Barrett
• Mitchell Robinson

The list of untouchables for New York likely shrinks to zero should a star somehow try to finesse his way to the city via trade. Short of that scenario, the Knicks are keeping R.J. Barrett and Mitchell Robinson long-term as building blocks for the future. 

The No. 3 pick from the 2019 NBA Draft hasn’t been the most efficient player in the league but he’s shown flashes of a potential star through the first half of the season. Robinson, who was selected with the No. 36 overall pick a year ago, likely would be a top-10 pick if NBA clubs were granted a re-do of that 2018 draft. Both players give the Knicks faithful some hope for the future.

Biggest Name Available On Market

• Marcus Morris

On a team with numerous power forward, Marcus Morris was expected to be an odd fit. It had been years since he had proven the ability to play the three efficiently, having practically moved to the four full-time during his Boston stint, and it wasn’t clear what the Knicks’ intentions were with regard to his rotation spot. However, Morris has embraced his role as a high-usage wing. At age 30, he’s put forth a career-high player efficiency rating, leading the team in NBA Math’s offensive points added, while creating a potential market for his services that wasn’t there over the summer.

New York could sell high on Morris (the Sixers and Clippers are said to be interested) and some speculate that the franchise could get a first-rounder for him in return. Yet, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News hears that the Knicks would prefer to trade Bobby Portis over Morris and some members of the organization believe that Morris could be a long-term fit with the club, Ian Begley of SNY.TV writes.

Despite some recent success, New York projects to be deep in the lottery again and it seems more likely than not that the team will deal Morris, who is on an expiring deal.

Logical Trade Pieces

• Bobby Portis
• Taj Gibson
• Wayne Ellington
• Frank Ntilikina

The report signaling the team would like to trade Portis over Morris is concerning for the big man’s future in the big city. He signed a two-year, $30.8MM contract (team option in 2020-21) over the summer but has seen his role dwindle compared to past stops. His 21.3 minutes per game are his lowest since the 2016-17 season. Portis, like fellow free agent additions Taj Gibson and Wayne Ellington, has been eligible to be traded since Dec. 15.

While Ntilikina turned heads at the World Cup over the offseason, he remains a holdover from the Phil Jackson regime that has yet to average more than 22 minutes per game. The Knicks haven’t hid efforts to find other long-term solutions at point guard, as evidenced by the subsequent acquisitions of Smith Jr. and Payton.

Trades Are Possible

• Julius Randle
• Elfrid Payton
• Dennis Smith Jr.
• Kevin Knox
• Reggie Bullock
• Allonzo Trier
• Damyean Dotson
• Ignas Brazdelkis

Julius Randle has seen a resurgence under interim coach Mike Miller. Some around the league believe the Knicks would be open to moving the big man, according to Newsday’s Steve Popper. Elfrid Payton has taken control of the starting point guard position in New York, though he’s not tethered to the franchise. His salary for next season ($8M) is non-guaranteed. There were rumors that Dennis Smith Jr. wanted a trade, though the point guard publicly squashed those reports. Kevin Knox, who was selected with the no. 9 overall pick in the 2018 draft, has essentially been a role player in New York. He could have more opportunities if the team deals away some players at the deadline. Reggie Bullock recently returned from a neck injury. The wing is making just $4M this season and will make $4.2M next year, though that salary is non-guaranteed. Alonzo Trier re-signed with the club this offseason and hasn’t carved out a spot in the rotation this year. Prior to the season, Ignas Brazdelkis spoke about how he felt he could compete for the Rookie of the Year award. To date, he’s played eight games for the Knicks.

The post 2020 NBA Trade Deadline Primer: New York Knicks appeared first on SLAM.

Bullock, who underwent unexpected spinal surgery after an issue was revealed in his team physical, hasn’t been ruled out for New York’s contest on Jan. 1, Marc Berman of the New York Post reports.

We wrote about how Bullock’s failed physical prompted the New York franchise to reconsider its $21 million commitment and they instead signed Bullock to a one-year pact worth $4 million.

Bullock promptly began the rehabilitation process with the organization but that was interrupted by the tragic death of his sister. Bullock was away from the team for several weeks to be with his family.

Despite the horrific 2019, the swingman is eager to get to work in 2020.

“If the team and organization thinks it’s the best thing for me,” Bullock told the New York Post. “2020 is going to be great year for me. 2019 wasn’t the best. 2020 will be a great year for me. If I suit up for the game, I’ll be ready for it. I’m focused on 2020 for sure.”

The 28-year-old returned to practice over a week ago and will provide elite three-point shooting and depth for the Knicks and their recently appointed interim coach Mike Miller.

The post Reggie Bullock Could Return In January appeared first on SLAM.

Below is a list of the contract types the New York Knicks 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.

New York Knicks

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

More NBA Training Camp Rosters

The post New York Knicks Roster Count: 2019 Training Camp appeared first on SLAM.

Wilkes’ deal is the second contract the Knicks have voided for health reasons since the new league year began. New York axed Reggie Bullock’s initial free agent contract agreement due to concerns with his back, which is expected to keep him out of action well into the season. The team re-negotiated a new deal with Bullock, paying him roughtly $8M over two years instead of the $21M he was originally scheduled to receive.

New York remains interested in working something out with Wilkes in the future, though the guard is not considered healthy enough to participate in training camp, which begins on September 30, per Berman. The Knicks now have one two-way contract available, as Kadeem Allen holds the other.

The post Knicks Cancel Deal With Kris Wilkes 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.

New York Knicks 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: New York Knicks appeared first on SLAM.

New York agreed to a two-year, $21 million deal with Bullock early in free agency, though they red-flagged him during his physical with team doctors. The Knicks voided the arrangement and renegotiated a new contract that will pay him $4 million in 2019-20 (it’s a two year deal with a team option in year two). Bullock has never made more than $2.5 million in a season since coming into the league in 2013.

“It’s actually neck surgery he had,’’ Dr. Wellington Hsutold, Northwestern University’s director of research/orthopedic surgery, tells Berman. “But it’s a surgery where you are able to get back to the same level as you were before.’’

Former Colts and Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning had the same surgery and won the NFL’s MVP two years later. Former NBA point guard T.J. Ford underwent the surgery during his rookie season and while he played well once he was able to make it back on to the court, he retired at age 28.

Bullock, who will turn 29 in March, missed 19 games last season because of neck stiffness and plantar fascitis.

The Baltimore-native didn’t begin to see significant minutes until he got to Detroit. During his breakout 2017-18 season, Bullock scored 11.3 points per game while shooting .445 from behind the arc. The 2019 offseason was the first time Bullock was a free agent since that breakout year.

The post Reggie Bullock Could Miss Significant Time appeared first on SLAM.

Bullock underwent the successful procedure at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York and the team will provide an update on his rehabilitation when training camp begins in September.

When the Knicks discovered Bullock’s condition in their medical, they proposed a renegotiated contract. Bullock’s new deal is worth $8.7 million over two seasons (as opposed to the initial offer which was reported to be worth $21 million).

The post Reggie Bullock Undergoes Surgery For Herniated Disc appeared first on SLAM.

Bullock’s signing puts an end to a process that has dragged on for over a week. Initially the team agreed to a two-year, $21 million pact with the sharpshooter but unanticipated health concerns, the details of which have not been made public, threw a wrench in those plans.

When the medical results came in, the Knicks and Bullock began to renegotiate the agreement they initially came to and ultimately landed here.

The process has had ripple effects on NBA free agency, which I wrote about in full last week. Long story short, when the Knicks walked back their commitment to Bullock, it freed up the cap space to onboard Marcus Morris as well.

The post Reggie Bullock Signs Re-Worked Two-Year Deal With Knicks appeared first on SLAM.

The 29-year-old averaged 13.9 points and 6.1 rebounds per game for the Boston Celtics in 2018-19 and will add grit and toughness to a young Knicks team eager to surround their young core with impactful veterans.

The Knicks will use the last of their cap space to bring Morris aboard but will still have a room exception to offer Reggie Bullock. The swingman whose uncertain health led to a series of last-minute deal changes over the course of the past week.

The post Knicks, Marcus Morris Plan To Sign One-Year, $15M Deal appeared first on SLAM.

We wrote all about the circumstances developing in New York regarding Morris yesterday. This, perhaps, is the best outcome for all parties. Texas-bound is a four-year vet that averaged 12.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per game when given at least 20 minutes of action in Denver last season.

Lyles deal will last for two seasons, Wojnarowski adds. The club had originally carved out the full mid-level exception for Morris and will now be able to use some or all of that on Lyles.

The post Spurs Pull Marcus Morris Offer, Agree To Deal With Trey Lyles appeared first on SLAM.

Reggie Bullock and the New York Knicks agreed on a two-year, $21 million pact shortly after free agency began last week but complications have arisen, causing a ripple effect on sought after forward Marcus Morris and two teams’ free agency plans.

As Ian Begley of SportsNet New York reports, an unspecified medical uncertainty that the franchise just learned about has the Knicks eager to restructure their agreement with Bullock. Originally Bullock was expected to get a player option on that deal in 2020-21, now the team’s not so sure he’ll be able to play a full season.

With the cap space freed up in a renegotiated Bullock deal, the Knicks have extended a one-year, $15 million deal to Morris (Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports). Morris, however, had previously agreed to a $20 million, two-year pact with the San Antonio Spurs.

While not unprecedented, Morris reneging on the Spurs commitment would certainly be atypical. It’s a decision that would grow even more unpopular given the hoops that San Antonio went through just to be able to extend their full mid-level exception to the 29-year-old former Celtic.

The Spurs unloaded 26-year-old stretch-four Davis Bertans in a trade with the Washington Wizards and renegotiated a contract with free agent DeMarre Carroll just to be able to afford Morris. If Morris signs with New York, San Antonio will have lost a rotation asset in Bertans and committed more years at a greater annual average value than they intended to for the 33-year-old Carroll.

Morris’ decision could come when the Knicks formally announce their new agreement with Bullock.

The post Reggie Bullock Health Concern Has Ripple Effect On Marcus Morris’ Free Agency Plans appeared first on SLAM.

In 19 games after arriving in Los Angeles in a trade with the Pistons, Bullock averaged 9.3 points per game for the Lakers while shooting .343 from beyond the arc. The year prior, Bullock shot an unconscious .445 from three with the Pistons.

Bullock will join a Knicks club left scrambling to salvage their offseason after missing out on the top tier of free agents.

The post Reggie Bullock Agrees To Two-Year, $21M Deal With Knicks appeared first on SLAM.

This list is maintained by @AustinKent. Please forward any omissions, clarifications or helpful reminders about how the alphabet works to him on Twitter.

The post 2019 NBA Free Agency Tracker appeared first on SLAM.

James said afterwards that he will “not cheat the game” and continue to play hard no matter how poorly things have gone this season.

Kyle Kuzma caught fire in the third quarter, scoring 21 of his 29 points on 7-of-8 shooting.

Per The LA Times:

“I’ve always respected the basketball gods,” James said. “If I’m on the floor I’ve got to try to play as hard as I can, or do something to affect the game and not cheat the game, so if I’m on the floor, if I’m in uniform, then I’ve got to try to make things happen. Not saying I’m going to make every shot, not saying I’m going to make every play or not have any turnovers, but just try to make an impact on the game.”

The Lakers played without Lonzo Ball (ankle sprain), Brandon Ingram (blood clot), Josh Hart (tendinitis) Mike Muscala (tendinitis) and Reggie Bullock (plantar fasciitis). And while little was at stake in the grand scheme of things, there were small moments for the players who did play to celebrate.

JaVale McGee followed up his career-best 33-point, 20-rebound game by scoring 17 points, making all eight of his shots, with 14 rebounds.

“It’s just nice to feel good,” coach Luke Walton said. “I mean the guys work really hard, they do. They’ve been working really hard on this last road trip. They’ve been working really hard when we do bring them into practice, though we’re down in bodies. We’re on them all the time about working to a certain standard. That’s physically and mentally tough at this point in the season when you’re out of the playoffs.”

The post LeBron James Notches Triple-Double in Win vs Sacramento appeared first on SLAM.

James played 31 minutes and 47 seconds in the Lakers’ 111-98 loss Thursday night in Toronto, finishing with 29 points and six assists, and says the minutes restriction is a mental challenge.

Kawhi Leonard led the way for the Raptors with 25 points and eight rebounds.

Per The LA Times:

James said after the game he doesn’t know whether he will play Friday.

“It’s challenging for me mentally because I’m so accustomed to being out on the floor, especially when I’m healthy,” James said. “You know, but it’s a conversation between myself and my trainer and the coaching staff and the front office, and this is the direction that they wanted to go the remainder of the season given the lack of success we’ve had with our ballclub. So I trust the people in charge, and that’s what it is.”

Aside from James, no other Lakers starter scored more than Rajon Rondo’s 13 points. Kyle Kuzma and Reggie Bullock combined made only five of 18 shots.

“We had some turnovers, and we had some offensive rebounds that we gave up, at critical points of time of the game,” James said. “Sometimes two or three guys would be on the ball and they would come up with it. You can’t dictate if you can make shots from the perimeter or not … but some of the things that you can control is turnovers, we had 20, and some of the offensive rebounds we gave up.”

Related LeBron James: ‘This Won’t Be the Last Time I’ll Be in the Postseason’

The post LeBron James: Minutes Restriction ‘Challenging for Me Mentally’ appeared first on SLAM.

Out in Denver, the Kyrie 5 was a popular option on the night with no less than four different colorways hitting the floor of the Pepsi Center. The models worn included the “Cookies & Cream,” “Just Do It,” the “CNY” and a tough black/red/cement jawn worn by the Nuggets’ Jarred Vanderbilt.

Photos via Getty Images

The post NBA Kicks of the Night appeared first on SLAM.

Below is a rundown of all the deals that have transpired over the last week…

January 31

Knicks trade Kristaps Porzingis, Tim Hardaway Jr, Courtney Lee and Trey Burke to the Mavericks for Dennis Smith Jr, Wesley Matthews, DeAndre Jordan and two future first-round picks.

February 1

Thunder trades Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and cash considerations to the Bulls for a protected 2020 second-round pick.

February 4

Cavs trade Rodney Hood to the Blazers for Nik Stauskas, Wade Baldwin IV and two future second-round picks.

February 5

Lakers trade Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk and a second-round pick to the Pistons for Reggie Bullock.

February 6

Clippers trade Tobias Harris, Boban Marjanovic and Mike Scott to the Sixers for Landry Shamet, Wilson Chandler, Mike Muscala, a 2020 first-round pick, a 2021 unprotected first-round pick (via Miami) and two second-round picks (via Detroit).

Wizards trade Otto Porter Jr to the Bulls for Jabari Parker, Bobby Portis and a 2023 second-round pick.

Wizards trade Markieff Morris to the Pelicans for Wesley Johnson and a 2023 second-round pick.

Mavericks trade Harrison Barnes to the Kings for Justin Jackson and Zach Randolph.

Three-team trade: Rockets receive Iman Shumpert, Nik Stauskas and Wade Baldwin; Kings receive Alec Burks; Cavs receive Brandon Knight, Marquese Chriss and lottery-protected 2019 first-round pick (via Houston).

Heat trade Tyler Johnson and Wayne Ellington to the Suns for Ryan Anderson.

Pistons trade Stanley Johnson to the Bucks for Thon Maker.

Raptors trade Malachi Richardson, a 2022 second-round pick and the draft rights to Emir Preldzic to the Sixers for cash considerations.

February 7

Rockets trade James Ennis to the Sixers for swap rights to a 2021 second-round pick.

Pelicans trade Nikola Mirotic to the Bucks for Jason Smith, Stanley Johnson and multiple second-round picks.

Rockets trade Nik Stauskas, Wade Baldwin and a second-round pick to the Pacers.

Grizzlies trade Marc Gasol to the Raptors for Jonas Valanciunas, Delon Wright, CJ Miles and a 2024 second-round pick.

Grizzlies trade Garrett Temple and JaMychal Green to the Clippers for Avery Bradley.

Clippers trade Mike Muscala to the Lakers for Michael Beasley and Ivica Zubac.

Kings trade Skal Labissiere to the Blazers for Caleb Swanigan.

Grizzlies trade Shelvin Mack to the Hawks for Tyler Dorsey.

Sixers trade Markelle Fultz to the Magic for Jonathon Simmons, a top-20 protected 2019 first-round pick (via Thunder) and a 2019 second-round pick (via Cavs).

Celtics trade Jabari Bird to the Hawks for cash.

Raptors trade Greg Monroe and a 2021 second-round pick to the Nets for cash considerations.

RELATED:
Report: Jayson Tatum ‘Discussed Extensively’ in Anthony Davis Trade Talks

The post 2019 NBA Trade Deadline Tracker 🚨 appeared first on SLAM.

LeBron James made history Wednesday night, passing Wilt Chamberlain to become fifth on the all-time scoring list. James now trails Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Karl Malone and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in that order on the scoring list. He finished the night with 44 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.

LeBron can't be real, man (via @NBA) pic.twitter.com/eHe7ntVvxJ

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) November 15, 2018

Pistons 106 (7-6), Raptors 104 (12-3)

In one of the craziest games of the season, Detroit came out on top and gave their head coach Dwane Casey a win over his ex-team. The final seconds featured a Kawhi Leonard turnover, a Pascal Siakam block and a buzzer-beater by Reggie Bullock. Blake Griffin led the team with 30 points.

.@ReggieBullock35 for the WIN (via @NBA) pic.twitter.com/geCBfVFHcN

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) November 15, 2018

76ers 106 (9-7), Magic 111 (7-8)

Jimmy Butler made his 76ers debut but Terrence Ross and the Magic got the win. Ross hit a 3-pointer with the game tied at 106 to put Orlando ahead for good. Joel Embiid registered his first career triple-double with 19 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists.

Terrence Ross game-winner in Orlando (via @NBA) pic.twitter.com/M4QOqr9pX6

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) November 15, 2018

Cavaliers 95 (2-12), Wizards 119 (5-9)

Bradley Beal became the youngest player ever to reach 900 3-pointers in the win. Beal led the team with 20 points. Rookie Collin Sexton paced Cleveland with 24 points.

#WizCavs | #DCFamily https://t.co/O9p039Pdks

— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) November 15, 2018

Bulls 82 (4-11), Celtics 111 (8-6)

Three-point shooting propelled Boston to the win in this one, with the Celtics converting 15 of 34 attempts while Chicago only managed 7 of 24 attempts. Jaylen Brown led Boston with 18 points.

Quarterback Kyrie https://t.co/JpfM3hjx88

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) November 15, 2018

Heat 120 (6-8), Nets 107 (6-9)

Tyler Johnson dropped a season-high 24 points for Miami, who was once again without Dwyane Wade as he’s away for the birth of his child. Goran Dragic added 21 points as well.

https://twitter.com/MiamiHEAT/status/1062890986215399424

Grizzlies 116 (8-5), Bucks 113 (10-4)

The Grizzlies continued a strong start to their season with a tough win against the Bucks in Milwaukee. Mike Conley and Marc Gasol combined for 55 points. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton combined for 56 points in the loss.

Captain Clutch doing Captain Clutch things pic.twitter.com/DAMG4uE1su

— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) November 15, 2018

Pelicans 100 (7-7), Timberwolves 107 (6-9)

Minnesota earned a win in its first game without Jimmy Butler. Karl-Anthony Towns led the team with 25 points and 16 rebounds while Andrew Wiggins added 23 points. Anthony Davis had 29 points and 11 rebounds for New Orleans.

MAPLE JORDAN ANDREW WIGGINS (via @NBA) pic.twitter.com/RUSqYNsCNq

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) November 15, 2018

Knicks 103 (4-11), Thunder 128 (9-5)

Paul George put on a show in OKC, scoring 35 points on 13-22 shooting (5-11 on 3-pointers) and adding seven rebounds and five assists. Russell Westbrook missed his fifth straight game due to a sprained left ankle.

Some sweet passing by OKC and a HAMMER by Paul George (via @NBA) pic.twitter.com/60Eo0PaEn7

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) November 15, 2018

Jazz 68 (7-7), Mavericks 118 (6-8)

Dallas put on an absolute clinic and held Utah to only 22 points in the entire second half. It was an all-around effort by the Mavericks in scoring, with every player that touched the court registering at least four points each. Harrison Barnes led the team with 19 points.

Luka got 'em going crazy in Dallas (via @dallasmavs) pic.twitter.com/z0xQ6hhs0r

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) November 15, 2018

Spurs 96 (7-6), Suns 116 (3-11)

Four of Phoenix’s starters registered double-digit scoring, led by TJ Warren’s 27 points. Rookie Deandre Ayton also looked strong with 17 points and and 10 rebounds. DeMar DeRozan had 24 points in the loss.

Deandre Ayton is GROWN (via @Suns) https://t.co/TpmUeBRiJk

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) November 15, 2018

The post Post Up: LeBron James Moves Into 5th on All-Time Scoring List 🙌 appeared first on SLAM.

Here are some of their reactions posted to IG and Twitter:

Another day of training camp….. and @LilTunechi dropped C5! Wow #HappyFriday errrbody

— James Harden (@JHarden13) September 28, 2018

Mona Lisa

— Donovan Mitchell (@spidadmitchell) September 28, 2018

MONA LISA!!

— Josh Hart (@joshhart) September 28, 2018

CARTER V.!!!!

— JAE CROWDER (@CJC9BOSS) September 28, 2018

FAMOUS.!!! #CARTERV

— JAE CROWDER (@CJC9BOSS) September 28, 2018

LET IT ALL WORK OUT – @LilTunechi

— DeAndre Jordan (@DeAndre) September 28, 2018

THANK YOU WAYNE #CarterV

— Jerome Robinson (@Rome_Coldbucks1) September 28, 2018

Mona Lisa…Wayne giving #freegame

— Reggie Bullock (@ReggieBullock35) September 28, 2018

The real is back #ThaCarterV

— Richaun Holmes (@Rich_Holmes22) September 28, 2018

#ThaCarterV = album of the year

— Richaun Holmes (@Rich_Holmes22) September 28, 2018

Forever https://t.co/VCYbZYbxo9

— Shabazz Napier (@ShabazzNapier) September 28, 2018

Uproar Mood… V pic.twitter.com/Ewa9USFc0r

— Shabazz Napier (@ShabazzNapier) September 28, 2018

Tha Carter V

— pascal siakam (@pskills43) September 28, 2018

Lil Wayne

— Jordan Bell (@1jordanbell) September 28, 2018

Unpopular Opinion Alert…. Loved Carter 5 but…….. Young Sinatra IV
Was dope as hell! Logic did the damn thing with this one!

— Myles Turner (@Original_Turner) September 29, 2018

RELATED
Lil Wayne Brings Out Trae Young During Concert

The post NBA Players React to Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter V 🎶🔥 appeared first on SLAM.

It was two-time MVP Stephen Curry (33 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists) who stole the show, nailing a Finals-record nine 3-pointers. Players around the League were amazed by the performance:

Greatest shooter of all time.

— kuz (@kylekuzma) June 4, 2018

Sheesh Steph

— Donovan Mitchell (@spidadmitchell) June 4, 2018

Damn Steph was 6-20 ten mins ago . Now he breaking the finals record for treys sheesh . Man jumper stupid

— CJ McCollum (@CJMcCollum) June 4, 2018

Steph moves without the ball better than anybody, and then he makes shots that you don’t even expect people to attempt!!!

— Garrett Temple (@GTemp17) June 4, 2018

That’s usually when I throw the controller! #VideoGameSteph

— Justin Anderson (@JusAnderson1) June 4, 2018

Good morning. Break records https://t.co/oY2x1NEbE5

— Baze (@24Bazemore) June 4, 2018

LeBron James followed up his 51/8/8 Game 1 with 29 points, 9 rebounds, and 13 assists in the losing effort:

As great is Bron is, just no way he can sustain that every single play.. The role players have to help to even make this competitive.. But truly needs another superstar ( and more) against this juggernaut.

— Jamal Crawford (@JCrossover) June 4, 2018

Facts.. next season he’ll have more https://t.co/UqQUn9EWHq

— Jared Dudley (@JaredDudley619) June 4, 2018

Bron make this game look so easy. Out there going through the motions and damn near got a triple double and the third quarter not even over yet #freerodneyhood

— CJ McCollum (@CJMcCollum) June 4, 2018

The #freerodneyhood movement (Hood logged four minutes of garbage time in Game 2) has certainly been gaining momentum on NBA Twitter:

Play @rodneyhood this series he can help

— Reggie Bullock (@ReggieBullock35) June 4, 2018

Put in Rodney Hood/Cedi Osman! Try something @cavs #nba #nbafinals #makeitaseries

— Kris Humphries (@KrisHumphries) June 4, 2018

Put my man Hoodie in

— Trevor Booker (@35_Fitz) June 4, 2018

The series heads to Quicken Loans Arena for Game 3 on Wednesday. Tip-off is 9pm ET.

RELATED
Tristan Thompson Walks Out of ‘F**ked Up’ Game 2 Interview

The post NBA Players React to Game 2 of the Finals appeared first on SLAM.

A 15-point advantage in the third quarter gave the Pistons their third win in a row as Andre Drummond recorded the fourth-ever 24-point, 23-rebound and four-assist game. Anthony Tolliver (14), Reggie Jackson (13) and Reggie Bullock also scored in double-digits.

Bradley Beal led the Wizards with 15 points.

Bulls 92 (24-51), Heat 103 (41-35)

Josh Richardson scored 22 as the Heat downed a shorthanded Bulls team without Lauri Markkanen (DNP – Tank) to hold onto the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference standings. Goran Dragic added 17.

All five Chicago starters (Noah Vonleh, David Nwaba, Roblin Lopez, Cameron Payne, Justin Holiday) and sixth man Bobby Portis scored in double-digits in the effort.

EVEN THE BASELINE CAMERA MAN BIT ON THAT FAKE (via @DefPenHoops) pic.twitter.com/EwOcBHTs32

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) March 30, 2018

THAT BAM BOY GOT BOUNCE (via @miamiheat) https://t.co/8l24whvQFO

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) March 30, 2018

Thunder 99 (44-32), Spurs 103 (44-32)

At one point it seemed like the Spurs’ season was on the brink of collapse; however, LaMarcus Aldridge’s clutch jam in the final minute of the fourth quarter secured San Antonio’s seventh win out of its last nine and moved the Spurs to fourth in the Western Conference.

Aldridge finished the night with 25 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks while Patty Mills chipped in 14.

Paul George led the Thunder with 26 points, six assists and four steals.

Pacers 106 (45-31), Kings 103 (24-52)

Victor Oladipo and Bojan Bogdanovic combined for 49 points and scored all seven of Indiana’s points in the final 30 seconds of regulation.

Buddy Hield scored 20 off the pine for the Kings.

Bucks 116 (40-15), Warriors 107 (54-21)

Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 32 points spoiled Kevin Durant’s return to the Warriors’ lineup as the Bucks led by 18 after three periods of play. Khris Middleton chipped in 23 and Eric Bledsoe added another 20.

Quinn Cook led the Warriors with 30 points while Durant scored 10 in 17 minutes.

Giannis just pushed KD aside like a rag doll (via @NBAonTNT) pic.twitter.com/H2ggArpb5e

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) March 30, 2018

‘BARI BUCKETS (via @NBAonTNT) pic.twitter.com/g7KLppTugC

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) March 30, 2018

The post Post Up: Giannis Antetokounmpo Spoils Kevin Durant’s Return to the Warriors appeared first on SLAM.

Kemba Walker and Trey Burke, making just his second-ever start with the Knicks, went at it for five periods–Burke finished with a game-high 42 points and dished out 12 assists, but it was Walker who rose to the occasion in overtime as he scored 11 of his 31 points in the extra period to secure the dub.

Michael Beasley added 27 points for the Knicks and Dwight Howard had 23 points and 13 rebounds for the Hornets.

Trey Burke and March buckets

Career-high 3⃣4⃣ and counting for Burke (via @nyknicks) pic.twitter.com/JHlvEuDSaP

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) March 27, 2018

The Knicks have scored on 100% of plays drawn up by Tim Hardaway Jr. (via @espnnba) pic.twitter.com/7ZY3A27UQD

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) March 27, 2018

Lakers 106 (32-41), Pistons  112 (34-40)

The Lakers’ young trio of Lonzo Ball (15 points, 11 assists, eight rebounds, two steals), Kyle Kuzma (20 points, 11 rebounds) and Julius Randle (23 points, 11 rebounds) put up big numbers, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Detroit’s group effort. Blake Griffin, Andre Drummond, Reggie Jackson, Reggie Bullock, Anthony Tolliver and Ish Smith each chipped in at least 12 points.

Drummond finished the night with 18 rebounds, making it the third straight game he’s hit that mark.

Lonzo pulling out that Chino Hills stepback (via @lakers) pic.twitter.com/1guE2aBeOY

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) March 26, 2018

Julius Randle just BULLIED Blake Griffin… (via @nbatv) pic.twitter.com/hddcggHjKF

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) March 26, 2018

Nuggets 104 (40-34), 76ers 123 (43-30)

The Nuggets led by eight at the intermission, but the 76ers’ 72-point offensive barrage in the second half effectively put the game to bed. It was a collective scoring effort for the Sixers as Dario Saric and Joel Embiid each scored 20, J.J. Redick dropped 19 and Robert Covington added 18. Ben Simmons stuffed the box score with seven points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists.

Markelle Fultz became the first player to have 10 points, eight assists and four rebounds in 15 minutes or less in over 50 years as he played for the first time since Oct. 23.

The loss moved Denver a full two games behind Utah for eighth place in the Western Conference.

And that didn’t take long: Markelle Fultz’s first bucket of 2018!

(via @NBATV) pic.twitter.com/lD2XWplzTb

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) March 26, 2018

JAMAL MURRAY REQUESTING ROOM FOR TAKE OFF (via @NBATV) pic.twitter.com/4nkbV5LqzC

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) March 26, 2018

CHILL OUT, JO!

Joel Embiid just put Paul Millsap on a poster (via @nba) pic.twitter.com/AH2TD9jfUb

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) March 27, 2018

“Markelle’s jumper is BROKE”

Markelle Fultz: (via @NBATV) pic.twitter.com/PgVeHRbyGT

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) March 27, 2018

Grizzlies 101 (20-54), Timberwolves 93 (42-33)

Marc Gasol turned back the clock as he recorded 20 points, 10 rebounds and six assists as the Grizzlies picked up the second win of their past six contests since snapping a 19-game losing streak. Wayne Selden added 23 points off the bench on 9-for-14 shooting.

Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Wiggins‘ shooting struggles continued as the duo went 12-for-30 from the field.

Celtics 102 (51-23), Suns 94 (19-56)

The Suns received a major boost to their lottery ball odds as their 12th straight loss moved them in front of the Memphis Grizzlies for worst record in the NBA. Josh Jackson was the lone bright spot for Phoenix as he scored 23 points on 9-for-15 shooting from the field, bringing his points per game average to 20.7 since March 13.

Jayson Tatum became the ninth rookie in Celtics history to score 1,000 points as he finished the night with a team-high 23.

The post Post Up: Trey Burke Drops Buckets, Markelle Fultz Returns appeared first on SLAM.

The Knicks got 26 points out of Tim Hardaway Jr. and 18 off the bench from newly-signed Troy Williams, but it wasn’t enough as the Giannis Antetokounmpo notched 28 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks. Khris Middleton scored a game-high 30.

Eric Bledsoe is really out here doing push-ups with possession of the ball (via @DefPenHoops) pic.twitter.com/jheGzO1soE

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) March 10, 2018

Bulls 83 (22-43), Pistons 99 (30-36)

The Bulls offense sputtered all night, shooting just 35.5 percent from the field and 29 percent from behind the arc. Blake Griffin recorded 25 points to go along with his eight assists and eight rebounds, Reggie Bullock added 21 and Andre Drummond grabbed a game-high 17 boards.

Hawks 87 (20-46), Pacers 112 (38-28)

Darren Collison quietly inched closer to the 50-40-90 club as he scored 17 points on 7-for-10 shooting from the field and 2-for-2 from behind the arc, bringing his season splits to 49.5 percent, 43.2 percent and 89.7 percent. Bojan Bogdanovic led all players with 21 points.

VICTOR OLADIPO GOT THAT BOUNCE (via @pacers) https://t.co/V9oqypZOl2

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) March 10, 2018

Rockets (51-14), Raptors 108 (48-17)

If Drake putting the Raptors on the spot during pregame gets the job done, then it may be in Toronto’s best interests to have the 6 God make bold predictions before every game.

Drake: “By the looks of it, this win streak is over.”

Rockets: 105, Raptors: 108

6⃣ God knew… (via @NBAonTNT) pic.twitter.com/Xyt6k5nt0k

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) March 10, 2018

The Raptors snapped the Rockets’ league-best 17-game winning streak as Kyle Lowry went 7-for-9 from behind the arc en route to a 30-point night. The other half of Toronto’s dynamic duo, DeMar DeRozan, scored 23.

James Harden led all players with 40 points.

Jazz 95 (36-30), Grizzlies 78 (18-47)

The Jazz continued its run as road warriors, earning its 10th straight consecutive road win as Jae Crowder caught fire off the bench, scoring a team-high 22 points. Rudy Gobert had 15 points, 10 rebounds and even dished out five dimes.

Rookie Dillon Brooks scored 18 for the Grizzlies, who have lost 16 games in a row.

Donovan Mitchell got a HANDLE (via @nba) pic.twitter.com/Mmz1NjRMIz

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) March 10, 2018

Wizards 116 (38-28), Pelicans 97 (38-27)

The Pelicans became the second team of the night to lose their win streak as the Wizards’ starters–Bradley Beal, Tomas Satoransky, Otto Porter Jr. and Markieff Morris all have plus-minuses of at least +17–dominated.

New Orleans struggled without Anthony Davis as Rajon Rondo was the only starter to score double-digit points with 11.

Lakers 116 (29-36), Nuggets 125 (36-30)

Lonzo Ball stuffed the stat sheet with 15 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, four steals and a block, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a 22-point outing from fellow young stud Jamal Murray as the Nuggets outscored the Lakers 31-20 in the final period of play. Nikola Jokic and Paul Millsap each scored 21 points and grabbed six boards.

Lonzo in his (via @nba) pic.twitter.com/cVVidryxPN

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) March 10, 2018

Warriors 108 (51-15), Trail Blazers 125 (40-26)

Kevin Durant scored 40 points, but a strong fourth quarter from the Trail Blazers’ duo of Dame Lillard (28 points, eight assists) and C.J. McCollum (30 points) kept Golden State at bay. The Trail Blazers won their ninth game in a row, their first time hitting that mark since 2014.

Steph Curry didn’t make the trip to Portland due to an ankle injury.

Magic 88 (20-46), Kings 94 (21-45)

The heroics of Garett Temple (23 points on 7-for-10 shooting) gave the Kings the victory in the win column but a disadvantage for lottery balls. Jonathon Simmons led all players with 25 points for Orlando.

Major tankathon implications on the line tonight in Sacramento as the Kings host the Magic.

Both teams enter the night 20-45 tied for third-best lottery odds in the league. pic.twitter.com/HCP8kboFGJ

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) March 10, 2018

Cavaliers 102 (38-27), Clippers 116 (35-29)

LeBron James had 25 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, two steals and three blocks but still didn’t manage to have the line of the night as DeAndre Jordan scored 20 points and grabbed an astonishing 23 rebounds.

New addition Tobias Harris led the Clippers with 23 points.

JR SMITH BREAKIN’ ANKLES (via @SportsCenter) pic.twitter.com/brj30nLQuF

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) March 10, 2018

Man @TeamJuJu was LIT when he got dapped up by @KingJames pic.twitter.com/aeTE5gFnTV

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) March 10, 2018

The post Post Up: Raptors Snap Rockets’ 17-Game Win Streak on ‘Drake Night’ appeared first on SLAM.

The final score only tells part of the story. Sure, the Jazz picked up a huge win at home over the Timberwolves, but that came with a bevy of technicals and ejections along the way. First it was Karl-Anthony Towns, who was ejected in the first half. Then in the fourth, Jeff Teague chased down and hip-checked Ricky Rubio. Teague was tossed, and moments later, Tom Thibodeau and Jae Crowder each received technicals, then a few minutes after that, Crowder was T’d up again and ejected. Andrew Wiggins was able to stay on the court and scored 27 points to lead Minnesota. Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell each had 26 for the Jazz.

Jeff Teague gets ejected after hip-checking Ricky Rubio. pic.twitter.com/z0ClZn1eya

— ESPN (@espn) March 3, 2018

Magic 115 (19-43), Pistons 106 (29-33) (OT)

The Magic finally ended their seven-game skid as Aaron Gordon scored 27 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. After an Evan Fournier jumper put the Magic up a pair in the final seconds of regulation, James Ennis tied it up on a dunk with 7.2 seconds left. The Magic quickly turned it over, and the Pistons had a chance to win but could not get a shot off. Fournier then scored six in the overtime to lift Orlando. Ennis and Reggie Bullock each scored 21 for Detroit.Fournier had six in overtime to lead Orlando.

RK making plays in his return. pic.twitter.com/wWSLwEhU0t

— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) March 3, 2018

76ers 110 (34-27), Hornets 99 (28-35)

The Sixers outscored the Hornets by 17 in the fourth quarter to come back and win despite brilliant performances from Kemba Walker and Nicolas Batum. Walker scored 31 points, while Batum had 14 points, 13 rebounds, and eight assists. But Joel Embiid led five Philadelphia players in double figures with 23 points and 15 rebounds. Ben Simmons had 15, eight, and seven. The Sixers have now won nine of their last 11 games.

H A M M E R T I M E pic.twitter.com/TVWUhzDpDn

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) March 3, 2018

Warriors 114 (49-14), Hawks 109 (19-44)

Steph Curry scored 28 points but left due to an ankle injury in the third quarter. Steve Kerr said after the game that it was only precautionary, and with the Warriors rolling right now, there was no need to risk anything. Kevin Durant stepped in and matched Curry with 28 of his own, while Kent Bazemore led all scorers with 29 points.

Through the legs (@NBCSAuthentic) pic.twitter.com/UhGdjwBnC1

— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) March 3, 2018

Raptors 102 (44-17), Wizards 95 (36-27)

The Raptors improved to 10-1 in their last 11 games behind 23 points from DeMar DeRozan and 20 more from C.J. Miles. Otto Porter Jr. had 24 to lead the Wizards, who also committed 17 turnovers in the game, including six from Tomas Satoransky. Washington has now dropped two straight at home.

That boy clutch. pic.twitter.com/W520WS5Dui

— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) March 3, 2018

Bulls 108 (21-41), Mavericks 100 (19-44)

Bobby Portis scored 22 points and keyed a fourth-quarter run to lead the Bulls to a come-from-behind win at home. Portis scored 16 in the second half and was helped by Kris Dunn (18 points) and Lauri Markkanen (17 points, 12 rebounds). As for the Mavericks, Harrison Barnes had 26 and Dennis Smith Jr. scored 25. The team was also t’d up in the third for only putting four players on the court.

Dunn & LaVine on the run pic.twitter.com/XqduF1VThX

— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) March 3, 2018

Nuggets 108 (34-28), Grizzlies 102 (18-43)

The Nuggets turned the ball over 22 times and shot just 6-22 from three, but got just enough from Gary Harris (26 points) and Will Barton (24 points) to outlast the Grizzlies. The two of them shot 21-32 from the field and Denver was 54 percent from the field for the game. Marc Gasol had 22 to lead the Grizzlies, who have still not won since Jan. 29.

.








pic.twitter.com/rVoxD2KOrj

— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) March 3, 2018

Pacers 103 (35-27), Bucks 96 (33-29)

The Pacers withstood a late run from the Bucks in a game that was heated from the start — the officials handed out five technicals in the first quarter alone. Victor Oladipo had 21 points, seven rebounds, and six assists to lead the way, as Indiana held Milwaukee to just 38 percent shooting. Khris Middleton scored 30 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo had 24-and-10 for Milwaukee.

Vic’s night:
21 points
7 rebounds
6 assists
2 steals
1 block pic.twitter.com/pG2qNzSwWS

— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) March 3, 2018

Thunder 124 (37-27), Suns 116 (19-45)

Russell Westbrook and Devin Booker‘s duel in the desert was worth the price of admission alone. Ultimately, though, Westbrook did a little bit more as OKC was able to pull away late. He finished just shy of a triple-double with 43 points, 14 rebounds, and eight assists. He also hit the go-ahead three with under a minute to go that put the Thunder up for good. Booker had 39 points and eight assists himself.

Can’t him. pic.twitter.com/hDd7jHBzcx

— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) March 3, 2018

Clippers 128 (33-28), Knicks 105 (24-39)

The Clippers took control in the third quarter, starting the period on a 28-8 run and outscoring the Knicks 35-18, to cruise to victory. DeAndre Jordan led the way with 19 points and 20 rebounds, while Lou Williams added 21 more points. Enes Kanter had 18 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Knicks.

.@DeAndre Wrecking the Rim, The Trilogy

#PrimeTicket pic.twitter.com/lBRAVwF2HA

— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) March 3, 2018

The post Post Up: Tempers Flare appeared first on SLAM.

Kristaps Porzingis ended his shooting slump as he led the Knicks with 26 points on 14 field goal attempts while grabbing nine boards. Michael Beasley lit up the fourth quarter, scoring 16 of his 23 points, as the Knicks outscored the Nets 36-23 in the final period of play. Rookie Frank Ntilikina recorded his first career double-double with 10 points, 10 assists, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks and a team-high +17 in 29 minutes.

DeMarre Carroll led Brooklyn with 22 points.

10 points, 10 assists, 7 rebounds, 2 steals and a team-best +17.

The French Prince of NYC pic.twitter.com/kMccD9xTpu

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) January 15, 2018

Michael Beasley out here turning missed layups into highlight reel plays (via @nba) pic.twitter.com/0LMDT2XBdC

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) January 15, 2018

Hawks 102 (12-31), Spurs 99 (29-16)

The Hawks pulled off an upset over the Spurs largely in part due to the clutch play of point guard Dennis Schroder, who scored 26 points. LaMarcus Aldridge made a strong final impression for his All-Star Game campaign as he notched 25 points and 11 rebounds for the Spurs.

Bulls 119 (17-27), Heat 111 (25-18)

Chicago won the 14th game of its last 21 contests against a strong Heat team as Justin Holiday hit a career-high seven 3-pointers. Lauri Markkanen became the fastest player to ever hit 100 career 3s, doing so in just 41 games.

Goran Dragic scored 22 for the Heat.

There’s something brewing in Chicago…

Lauri Markkanen just made it to career 3-pointers faster than any other player in NBA history. pic.twitter.com/HAbqyDTGqA

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) January 15, 2018

There’s been quite a turnaround in Chicago.

Bulls’ first 23 games: 3-20

Bulls’ last 21 games: 14-7 pic.twitter.com/DYuXzyesCB

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) January 15, 2018

Hornets 118 (17-25), Pistons 107 (22-20)

Dwight Howard and Andre Drummond met in a battle of two of the league’s top traditional big men, but it was Howard who shined in the match-up with 21 points, 17 rebounds and four blocks compared to Drummond’s three points and 10 rebounds.

The play down low proved to be the difference as the Hornets picked up 21 and 20-point performances as well from Marvin Williams and Kemba Walker to secure the dub.

Tobias Harris and Reggie Bullock each led the Pistons with 20 points.

76ers 117 (20-20), Raptors 111 (29-13)

The 76ers picked up a win to stay in the playoff hunt, but the biggest story of the game was a double ejection that resulted in Kyle Lowry and Ben Simmons each being thrown out of the game. It appeared that the two were motioning to meet outside as they were led out.

After the game Simmons said, “I am not going to take shit from anybody.”

Joel Embiid scored a game-high 34 points.

Ben Simmons and Kyle Lowry’s beef today tho (via @BleacherReport) pic.twitter.com/KTZrnfIRaX

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) January 15, 2018

Bucks 104 (23-20), Wizards 95 (25-19)

Giannis Antetokounmpo added another line to his potential MVP resume as he dropped the first 20/20 performance of his career with 27 points and 20 rebounds as the Bucks outlasted a sputtering Wizards squad.

John Wall scored 27 points for Washington.

Thunder 95 (24-20), Kings 88 (13-30)

Sacramento’s balanced attack gave the Kings a halftime lead, but it wasn’t enough to hold off the Thunder’s star power as Carmelo Anthony, Paul George, Steven Adams and Russell Westbrook combined for 70 points.

The rook Terrance Ferguson DENIES Kosta Koufos (via @okcthunder) pic.twitter.com/cYyzjGz5Q3

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) January 16, 2018

Don’t blink when De’Aaron Fox has the rock! TOO FAST. (via @nba) pic.twitter.com/k5fMleSQMq

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) January 16, 2018

Melo alley-oop?

MELO ALLEY-OOP! #StayMe7o (via @nba) pic.twitter.com/VhblcUDKrq

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) January 16, 2018

Grizzlies 123 (14-28), Lakers 114 (15-28)

The Lakers dropped to 0-7 on the year when Lonzo Ball doesn’t play. A rejuvenated Tyreke Evans narrowly missed a triple-double with 15 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds as one of the league’s worst offenses connected on 51 percent of its shot from the field and 45 percent from behind the arc.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope led the Lakers’ offensive attack with 27 points.

The colors and font reflect the “I Am A Man” signs protestors carried through Memphis 50 years ago. pic.twitter.com/QbmFhYxw9k

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) January 15, 2018

Deyonta Davis with the FILTHY denial (via @memgrizz) pic.twitter.com/U8trwCxEgw

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) January 15, 2018

Warriors 118 (36-9), Cavaliers 108 (26-17)

Points were being scored with ease for most of this match-up, but the Cavaliers’ offense began to wilt away in the fourth quarter as the Warriors stayed energized behind Kevin Durant’s 32 points. LeBron James also had 32 points for Cleveland, but it wasn’t enough as the new-look Cavaliers featuring Isaiah Thomas couldn’t end the team’s struggles against the Warriors.

Isaiah Thomas The King all day please. (via @nba) pic.twitter.com/e9u3iMHyxq

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) January 16, 2018

Kevin Durant flies past LeBron James and SLAMS it home (via @nba) pic.twitter.com/QYMRkOhmy6

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) January 16, 2018

STEPH CURRY DUNK (via @nba) pic.twitter.com/yTnIEtBLY6

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) January 16, 2018

Pacers 109 (24-20), Jazz 94 (17-26)

Victor Oladipo’s offensive game couldn’t be extinguished as his 26 points led all players. Rookie guard Donovan Mitchell continued his Rookie of the Year campaign with a team-high 23 points for the Jazz; however, most of Utah’s other starters struggled to get into any kind of offensive rhythm.

Clippers 113, Rockets 102 

Lou Williams is still the best scorer in 2018 and his 31 points in addition to Blake Griffin’s 29 spoiled Chris Paul’s return back to Los Angeles. Paul abused Milos Tedosic, his replacement on the Clippers, en route to 19 points and seven assists.

The game got chippy in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter as Griffin was ejected after verbal altercations with Mike D’Antoni and Trevor Ariza and Ariza got into it with members of the Clippers’ bench.

All for Chris Paul back in Los Angeles (via @nba) pic.twitter.com/2jxV1zNseW

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) January 16, 2018

Forever. pic.twitter.com/kWspWicEOM

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) January 16, 2018

Crossover too smooth (via @HoustonRockets) https://t.co/wPLEr7oVZq

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) January 16, 2018

The post Post Up: Chris Paul Makes His Return to Los Angeles appeared first on SLAM.

According to the League’s collective bargaining agreement, a player is suspended five games after a third violation involving marijuana.

Via press release:

The NBA announced today that Reggie Bullock of the Detroit Pistons and Monta Ellis of the Indiana Pacers have each been suspended without pay for five games for violating the terms of the NBA/NBPA Anti-Drug Program.

 

Their suspensions will begin with the next NBA regular season game that they are eligible and physically able to play.

Ellis averaged 8.5 points in 27.0 minutes last season for Indiana, and Bullock put up 4.5 points in just 31 appearances for the Pistons.

RELATED:
Report: Cavaliers’ Locker Room Smelled Like Marijuana After Game 2

The post Monta Ellis, Reggie Bullock Suspended 5 Games For Violating NBA Anti-Drug Program appeared first on SLAM.

LeBron James also wore a head turner on Tuesday as he donned another “Hardwood Classics” colorway of the Nike LeBron 14 as the Cavs’ throttled the Pistons. Kyrie Irving wore a white/orange Nike Kyrie 3 PE that paired nicely with the team’s HWC jerseys. For Detroit, Marcus Morris donned the “Space Jam” Air Jordan XI Retros while Reggie Bullock wore the “Black Cat” Air Jordan XIII Retro.

Closing out our latest recap, we head to Brooklyn where Russell Westbrook wore a black/orange Air Jordan 30.5 PE as he scorched Brooklyn for his 33rd triple-double of the season. Brooklyn’s Jeremy Lin balled in a grey/blue adidas Crazylight Boost Low 2016 and Isaiah Whitehead rocked the Under Armour Curry 3 in the same colorway.

The rest of Tuesday’s NBA sneaker action is just a few clicks away.

Related
Post Up: Bay Area Battle

The post NBA Kicks of the Night appeared first on SLAM.

Henderson’s body was so badly mutilated that she was barely identifiable. About a month later, police were able to apprehend the suspect from DNA evidence found under Henderson’s fingernails.

On Friday, the Pistons forward appeared on The Herd radio show and shared the heart-wrenching story of Mia’s death, and how he looked up to his sister (then brother) early on…

“He taught me how to be yourself. He was happy with being who he was. He wasn’t worried about how others felt about him.

 

“A person who can isolate the whole world out and not care about other people’s feelings is a strong person to me.”

Stand up for #MiaHenderson I respect it ALL! Be yourself and be happy with just THAT!

— Reggie Bullock (@ReggieBullock35) August 27, 2016

The post WATCH: Reggie Bullock Discusses The Murder of His Transgender Sister appeared first on SLAM.

Previously:
Week of July 23 – July 29
Week of July 16 – July 22

The post NBA Tweets of the Week appeared first on SLAM.

James scored a game-high 27 points in the Cavs’ convincing 107-90 Game 2 win.

Cleveland matched an NBA Playoff record with 20 three-pointers.

Per the AP:

J.R. Smith looked down at the postgame box score and couldn’t believe his eyes. […] “We shot 38 3s?” he asked. “Damn.”

 

The top-seeded Cavs put away the up-and-coming Pistons in the third quarter, outscoring them 27-15 to protect home-court advantage. They did it with a flurry of six 3s, including two by Smith. […] “I’m open, so I shoot the ball,” Smith explained. “It’s kind of simple for me.”

 

James also took exception to being hit by Marcus Morris’ elbow in the fourth quarter. There’s a video circulating of James taking issue with it and mouthing a threat. […] “There hasn’t been one dirty play in the series,” James said, downplaying the teams’ dislike for each other. “I will make sure my guys understand that we’re here to play basketball, everything else is irrelevant. There’s a video here, a video there — means absolutely nothing. I took a shot, but I’m OK, I’m still standing tall.”

The post LeBron James Pushes Cavs to 2-0 Series Lead vs Detroit (VIDEO) appeared first on SLAM.

The Heat missed just three shots during a 43-point second quarter and never looked back. Charlotte shot just 1-16 from beyond the arc. Dwyane Wade dropped 28 points with 8 dimes and swooped in from out of nowhere in the third quarter to stuff Kemba Walker’s three-point attempt.

https://vine.co/v/iFjlJDQVMBD

Pistons 90, Cavs 107 (Cleveland leads 2-0)

The Cavs hit 20 shots from behind the arc, tying an NBA record for number of threes in a single playoff game. LeBron led the way with 27 points and was not impressed when Marcus Morris left him wide open on the perimeter in the third quarter.

https://vine.co/v/iFIj93Xuw9v

LeBron was fired up the whole game. Case in point:

https://vine.co/v/iFIaXOKOwjF

Blazers 81, Clippers 102 (L.A. leads 2-0)

The Clippers turned in an all-around strong effort, led by Chris Paul’s 25 points. The Blazers weren’t doing themselves any favors either, shooting 34.1 percent and a dreadful 5-26 from outside. DeAndre Jordan recorded a team-high 18 rebounds and 5 assists, and was perhaps fired up by a surprise punch to the jaw by Clippers’ assistant coach Mike Woodson.

https://vine.co/v/iFT1QBUX2g7

The post Post Up: Cavs In Control appeared first on SLAM.

The post WATCH: LeBron James Dunks on Reggie Bullock appeared first on SLAM.

After the game, Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy expressed his frustrations openly, calling his team “terrible” and “horrendous.” Here’s a sampling of some of SVG’s saltiest quotes from his post-game comments last night, via Rod Beard of The Detroit News:

“We should all be disappointed — it was ridiculous. We were just terrible and we didn’t bring any energy to the game,” Van Gundy said. “We didn’t play well at either end; it was an embarrassing performance.

 

“We got a few stops and got out in transition but that was it. We made one run in the entire game — I’m not impressed.”

 

…

 

On Saturday, it was just Carmelo Anthony who got his shot going, hitting 11 of 19 field goals, for 24 points and 10 rebounds. Robin Lopez added 21 points and Arron Afflalo 20.

 

And the Knicks were playing without standout rookie Kristaps Porzingis (leg contusion).

 

“They dominate us. We can’t play Arron Afflalo and Carmelo Anthony; we have nobody to play those two guys,” Van Gundy said. “Robin Lopez always plays great against Andre — always.”

 

…

 

Steve Blake chipped in 13 points in 20 minutes and Reggie Bullock eight points. With a thin bench, they’re going to have to get contributions where they can.

 

“Off the bench, Steve played well and Reggie Bullock played well, but our starters on the perimeter were obviously horrendous,” Van Gundy said.

The post Stan Van Gundy Calls Pistons ‘Obviously Horrendous’ and ‘Terrible’ After Loss to Knicks appeared first on SLAM.

Previously:
Week of February 6 – February 12
Week of January 30 – February 5

The post NBA Tweets of the Week appeared first on SLAM.

But after dropping 26 points on 19 shots in Detroit’s 98-94 overtime victory over the Bulls on Friday, Morris is feeling pretty good about his new situation.

Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy has given Morris a complete vote of confidence and thinks his mercurial forward has been “thriving” this season. Over three games, Morris is averaging 19.3 points on 47.7 percent shooting with 7.7 rebounds—all well above his career bests.

From the Free Press:

Morris carried the Pistons offensively with 26 points – 15 coming in the third quarter – to move to 3-0 with a 98-94 overtime victory over the Chicago Bulls in a battle of unbeatens.

 

Morris opened overtime with a 17-footer to spur a 7-0 run as the Pistons continued their best start since 2008-09.

 

“I said this when we brought (Morris) here, we thought he was one of those guys that just if you give him an opportunity,” Van Gundy said. “You know there are a lot of guys like that in this league that if they get in the right spot, right system, right opportunity, they can really thrive.

 

“We are only three games right now; he certainly is thriving.”

The post Stan Van Gundy Says Marcus Morris Is ‘Thriving’ in Detroit appeared first on SLAM.

Update: Jodie Meeks underwent a surgical procedure last evening to repair a non-displaced fracture of the fifth metatarsal in his right foot

— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) October 30, 2015

Meeks is expected to miss the next 12-16 weeks and will be re-evaluated throughout the rehabilitation process.

— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) October 30, 2015

My Dad always told me …."Positive things happen to Positive Thinkers" … Ima come back stronger!

— Jodie Meeks (@Jmeeks20) October 30, 2015

Meeks, 28, will be replaced in the Pistons’ lineup by Reggie Bullock.

Per the team website:

“Reggie will be our primary guy at the two,” head coach Stan Van Gundy said after Friday’s morning shootaround for tonight’s game with Chicago. “He’s ready to go. We’ve got 100 percent confidence in him.”

 

“Not saying it’s great that he ends up going down. That’s still my teammate,” Bullock said. “I know what he brought to the game. It’s good to stay in this groove that I was in with it being so close right here from preseason. It’s all about me just going out and doing the things I was doing in preseason and make it continue to happen and make the coaches still continue to believe in me, make them believe they picked up my option for a reason.”

 

Van Gundy talked to Meeks, who missed the first 22 games of last season with a lower back injury, on Thursday, he said, before he underwent surgery to repair the fracture. […] “He was in good spirits – not too down,” Van Gundy said. “A little disappointed, obviously, to have two years in a row like this. Feels a little snake bit, but he was in good spirits.”

The post Jodie Meeks Out 3-4 Months After Foot Surgery appeared first on SLAM.

Marcus Morris' comment about his Suns time in this @Keith_Langlois feature. http://t.co/iSAYeaSPop pic.twitter.com/3mgzb9M7Wl

— Paul Coro (@paulcoro) September 25, 2015

Morris did have 35 starts in 2014-15, but clearly feels he deserved more.

Morris also thinks the Suns failed to take advantage of his ability to cause mismatches.

From the Pistons’ team website:

And he sees this as his best opportunity to sink roots and carve out a role after 1½ seasons in Houston and 2½ in Phoenix. […] “Yes, it is. In Phoenix, I thought I should have started at the three. The guy that’s there now (P.J. Tucker) might have been a better defender, but as an all-around three, I thought I was the best we had. And I thought a lot of players thought that, too. But there’s a lot of opportunity here. I have a chance to come in and start right away. I’ve been in the league for five years. It’s nothing new to me. I have started my share of games. It’s not like I’m new to it. The only thing that’s new is that it’s the East Coast now.”

 

(Stan) Van Gundy plans to replace the post-up game that Greg Monroe provided with a dose of it from other players, Morris among them. That suits him, too.

 

“That’s always been a part of my game. With being a big three, I’ve got to utilize that. I don’t want to stand out on the wing and I’ve got a smaller guy on me. That tended to happen a lot in Phoenix where they didn’t utilize the mismatches. And I think that’s going to be a mismatch.”

The post Marcus Morris Says He Should’ve Started Over P.J. Tucker appeared first on SLAM.

He posted a seemingly unprompted message on Twitter Thursday night restating his desire to play elsewhere.

My future will not be in Phoenix…. #thatisall #backtothegrind #FOE

— Keef Morris (@Keefmorris) September 4, 2015

The Suns, meanwhile, are trying to keep things calm until a trading partner emerges, and even wished the unhappy baller a Happy Birthday earlier this week.

Wishing a happy birthday to @keefmorris. #WeArePHX pic.twitter.com/xCEQRbdEA7

— #NashROH (@Suns) September 2, 2015

Awkward …

Per the AZ Republic:

The tweet may not seem like a huge deal, but not every team publicly wishes a player happy birthday. In fact, Manchester City star Yaya Toure was so upset last year that nobody from the club wished him a happy birthday that he considered leaving the club.

 

The Suns definitely did not make that mistake.

 

Markieff has been predictably absent from unofficial team workouts in Phoenix, but the Suns really are trying to patch things up with their disgruntled power forward.

The post Markieff Morris: ‘My Future Will Not Be in Phoenix’ appeared first on SLAM.

“The Suns power forward said he feels disrespected by the way the team handled the July 9 trade of his twin and former teammate, Marcus Morris, to the Detroit Pistons. Now he is demanding a trade of his own.

 

The North Philadelphia native, who starred with his brother at Prep Charter and Kansas, is determined to be dealt.

 

‘One thing for sure, I am not going to be there,’ Morris said Tuesday after a morning workout at Competitive Edge Sports in King of Prussia.

 

‘If you want to put that out there, you can put that out.’ he added. ‘I don’t give a [freak]. I am not going to be there at all. That’s just what it is.’

 

In September 2014, Morris signed a four-year, $32 million contract extension that kicks in this season. His brother signed a four-year, $20 million extension. The two settled for less money than they would have received as free agents in order to remain teammates.

 

If Markieff Morris refuses to play, the 6-foot-10, 245-pounder knows that the Suns can suspend him without pay if they’re unwilling to release or trade him. He is scheduled to report to training camp at the end of September.

 

‘I’ve got to show up. No question.’ said Markieff Morris, who is scheduled to make $8 million this season. ‘You can’t do that. I will be a professional. Don’t get me wrong.

 

‘But it won’t get that far. … I’m going to be out before then, should be.’

 

…

 

Of the latest deal, Markieff said he’s not disappointed that the Suns traded his brother to the Pistons, where he is likely to get more opportunities to succeed. But he is disappointed in how the twins were notified.

 

They said they learned of the trade while on vacation out of the country with their girlfriends. Marcus Morris, Reggie Bullock, and Danny Granger were traded to the Pistons in exchange for a 2020 second-round pick.

 

‘If you are going to do something, do it,’ Markieff Morris said. ‘The GM, I’ve been there longer than him, the coaches, everybody. I’ve been there the longest, and I don’t get the respect to be like, ‘Yo Keef, we are going to trade your brother. You are our future power forward.’ I’m the future power forward. I’m the premier player of the team…That’s just how business is done I guess.'”

The post Markieff Morris Demands Trade from Phoenix Suns appeared first on SLAM.

Markieff is said to be extremely unhappy with the Suns, and has reportedly cut off all communications with the Suns since his brother Marcus was dealt to Detroit this summer.

According to @Gambo987's sources, Markieff wants out. He wants nothing to do with the #Suns. Won't talk to players or staff. #NBA

— Burns and Gambo (@BurnsAndGambo) August 6, 2015

For some time now, it has been evident that these two knuckleheads had worn out their welcome in Arizona.

Per Arizona Sports 98.7 FM:

In April, Morris, along with his twin brother Marcus, were charged with felony aggravated assault. Police said the pair, along with three others, assaulted a man they believed sent an inappropriate text to the twins’ mother.

 

“I wouldn’t say stunning, but in Phoenix, I would say I didn’t have a great opportunity,” Morris told the Detroit Free-Press. “For them to trade me without consent or telling me was like a slap in the face, because of the contract I took from those guys and the money I took from them,” Morris told the paper.

 

A few weeks later, Marcus was back at it, referring to the Suns organization as “clowns” in a tweet directed at Phoenix guard Archie Goodwin.

The post Report: Markieff Morris Wants Out of Phoenix appeared first on SLAM.

The Suns are sending Marcus Morris, Reggie Bullock and Danny Granger to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for future draft picks.

Phoenix has traded Marcus Morris, Reggie Bullock and Danny Granger to Detroit for future picks, league sources tell Yahoo Sports.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 2, 2015

The Pistons will send the Suns a 2020 second-round draft pick. So yes, the Suns are clearing salary cap space.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 2, 2015

The Suns have cleared $20M in salary cap space, allowing them to potentially sign LaMarcus Aldridge without the need for a sign-and-trade.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 2, 2015

Suns have no assurance that Aldridge will sign, but the fact that he's suddenly so intrigued has motivated them to push hard.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 2, 2015

The post Suns Trade Marcus Morris, Reggie Bullock and Danny Granger to Detroit appeared first on SLAM.

More from the Fayetteville Observer: 

When the time came for Kinston High School basketball star Brandon Ingram to announce his college decision in a crowded gym Monday evening, he wasted little time.

 

“It’s been a long process,” Ingram said after stepping to the podium. “I thank my teammates for coming out here and supporting me. Next fall I will be attending Duke University.”

 

Suddenly a dark blue Duke hat appeared, the gym erupted and cameras snapped.

 

Former Kinston star and UNC player Reggie Bullock was taking in the scene from 11 rows up, smiling, shaking his head and looking at his phone. Scattered in the bleachers around him, there was a conspicuous amount of excited fans in dark blue.

 

North Carolina and Kansas had been in the hunt for Ingram until the end. But a few weeks removed from winning their fifth NCAA title, the Blue Devils’ hot streak continued.

 

“Just thinking about how long this process was, I just knew I just wanted to get it over with, I had my heart set on it, I just wanted to let it out,” Ingram said later.

 

Among prospects in the state, Ingram was this year’s top prize. A 6-foot-8 wing, he helped lead Kinston High School to four straight state titles. Already a highly touted recruit, his stock soared after scoring 15 points and grabbing five rebounds in the McDonald’s All-America game and scoring 12 points at the Nike Hoop Summit. ESPN has him ranked third in the class of 2015 while Rivals has him slotted fourth.

 

He joins an already strong Duke recruiting class that features forward Chase Jeter, center Antonio Vrankovic and guards Luke Kennard and Derryck Thornton.

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Held at Knightdale high school in Raleigh, Lamont Taylor and his staff brought in the state’s finest underclassmen for a simply live one day event. 60 of the state’s best played in an all day event that offered stats, accurate rosters, and a prompt schedule that was ran to the minute. Former lottery pick and NC State legend Chris Washburn schooled the young bucks on how not to make the same mistakes that he made. Players saw their stock rise, exposure grow, and were given the opportunity to see where they stacked up against the best of the best in the state of North Carolina.

Here are a few of the guys who showed out at the GetMeRecruited Super 60 Showdown:

Dennis Smith Jr., 6-2, PG, Trinity Christian, 2016

The best point guard in the nation lived up to the hype at the Super 60. While he only played in half of the games, he showed enough to leave no doubt on anyone’s mind as to who the top player in the building was. He exploded off of pick and rolls, made creative finishes at the rack, and constantly showed that he can bomb from well beyond the NBA three point line. Smith will look to continue to build his legacy on the Adidas Gauntlet this summer with Team Loaded (NC).

Edrice Adebayo, 6-9, PF, Northside HS, 2016

A straight up man-child, Adebayo was easily the most dominant big man of the day. Despite his top-10 ranking nationally, he was willing to lock down on D, both positionally and as a shot-blocker. “Bam” also showed off some improvd range on the offensive end, evidenced by the countless mid-range J’s that he hit. He will form one of the most deadly duos on the circuit, pairing with Team Loaded lead guard Dennis Smith Jr. and if he can continue to show that he’s a pick and pop threat, should reach top-5 status in the rankings.

Jalen Harris, 6-2, PG, Word of God, 2016

One of the fastest rising players in the country for the class of 2016, Jalen Harris really made a name for himself after his transfer to Word of God. Despite playing varsity basketball since his middle school days, the move to John Wall’s alma mater combined with a growth spurt helped push him to high-major status. The slithery guard showed off his slick handle, ability to break just about anyone down off of the bounce, and range extending beyond the three point line. Harris needs to continue to et stronger and improve using his gifts on D, but is bound to blow up this spring.

David Caraher, 6-6, SF, Chapel Hill HS, 2017

While he doesn’t fit the mold of the freak athletes that we’re used to seeing on the wing today, Caraher still managed to provide mismatches all over the hardwood. He posted smaller defenders, used his size to beat slower ones off of the bounce, and played with a serious passion. Having already popped to Butler, Caraher should be able to make an instant impact with his versatile style of play.

Tremain Lawrence, 6-4, SG, Quality Education Academy, 2017

A straight warrior on the court, Tremain used his toughness to physically dominate many opposing guards. He locked up on D, was fearless attacking the rack, and created his own shot at will. Still not quite receiving the love he deserves, expect the gritty swingman to get plenty of attention from college coaches playin with Team Charlotte in the Under Armour Association. Having already popped to Butler

Dondre Griffin, 6-2, PG/SG, Knightdale HS, 2016

With no shortage of swagger, Dondre Griffin got buckets on his home court and made sure to let eeryne know about it. The confident combo guard drilled a number of deep threes, made some athletic drives to the rack, and showed off some filthy court vision. Dondre is a guy who people have been sleeping on, yet has continued to hold his own against just about anyone that he’s matched up with.

Andrew Tuazama, 6-6, PF/C, Knightdale HS, 2018

While most of the other guys that we wrote about got plenty of buckets, Andrew Tuazama did the type of dirty work that every coach loves. He rebounded the ball outside of his area, finished drop-off passes, and was constantly a threat around the rim to block shots with his crazy wingspan. Tuazama still has to get better on the offensive end, but if he does, he’s going to be one you will certainly be hearing about down the road.

The post 2015 GetMeRecruited Super 60 Showdown Recap appeared first on SLAM.

From the press release:

The Los Angeles Clippers today acquired guard Austin Rivers as part of a three-team trade with the Boston Celtics and Phoenix Suns the team announced today. In exchange for Rivers, the Clippers sent forward Chris-Douglas Roberts and a 2017 second round draft pick to the Celtics and forward Reggie Bullock to the Suns. The Celtics received forward Shavlik Randolph from Phoenix in the trade.

 

Rivers, 22, was the 10th selection in the 2012 NBA Draft by New Orleans and appeared in 165 career games with the team (33 starts), averaging 6.9 points, 2.3 assists and 1.9 rebounds in 21.4 minutes before being traded to Boston on Jan. 12. This season, the 6-foot-4 inch Rivers has made 35 appearances (three starts) for the Pelicans and is averaging 6.8 points, 1.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 21.4 minutes per game.

Here’s some good news for the Rivers family — father and son will reportedly become co-workers in Los Angeles.

The Boston Celtics are said to be trading Austin Rivers to the LA Clippers, after acquiring him in the recent Jeff Green swap.

A third team could be involved in the deal:

Boston has informed Austin Rivers that trade sending him to father Doc Rivers' Clippers will formalize today, league source tells RealGM.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 15, 2015

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Images via Jordan

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With a commitment to Syracuse having been locked in since last December, the 6-5 native of Hamilton, NJ, has joined an elite group of highly recruited prospects from the Garden State that went on to the ACC. From Kyrie Irving and Dahntay Jones to Tyler Ennis (via Canada), Richardson has become that “next” guy.

If you ask Richardson, it all started for real in 2011 at West Orange (NJ) High. That’s when, in the second game of the season, his Trenton Catholic Academy squad was participating in the Hoop Group Tip-off Showcase and faced national powerhouse St. Anthony from Jersey City. “I think I scored like 13 straight points,” recalls Richardson. “As a freshman against St. Anthony? That was big. That’s when I knew I really could do this.”

After that freshman season with Trenton Catholic, where the team compiled a 25-5 record while reaching the sectional finals against Gill St. Barnard’s, Richardson transferred to Roselle Catholic for his sophomore year. Once there, Richardson’s stock rose another level. He became the legitimate perimeter threat that he’s known as today and averaged 15.1 points, helping lead Roselle to its first state title since 1962-63 by defeating St. Anthony 48-44 in the Tournament of Champions.

Last year, he decided to return to TCA for his junior season, where he led the Iron Mikes to the Mercer County title after dropping a game-high 27 points against Ewing.

Richardson, who’s been ranked as high as 11th in the nation by some scouts and is highly regarded for his shooting abilities, is now aiming to capture the TOC title for Trenton Catholic, which would make for two state titles with two different schools.

This past summer, he led his Team Final travel squad to a 14-2 record during the Nike EYBL regular season—holding the best record in a league that is widely recognized as the toughest and most competitive youth summer circuit on the planet. Richardson led the team in scoring (17.4) and rebounding (5.1). Yet there were critics who weren’t satisfied with his output.

“I think he got penalized this summer for playing the right way,” says Team Final 17U head coach Aaron Burt, who compares Richardson’s scoring abilities to a young Ray Allen—while Team Final co-founder Robert Brown likens him to a Reggie Bullock-type. “Since Malachi didn’t shoot the ball 20-something times or score 30 points a game, he kind of got scrutinized for playing the right way; we had balanced scoring.”

If playing team basketball leads to a drop in the rankings or criticism, so be it. In the grand scheme of things, the mission remains the same. “Everyone will always have a negative thing to say about you, no matter what you do or how you’ve done it,” says Richardson. “I think Jersey always produces the best guards. With me and Isaiah [Briscoe] coming out this year, we have a good thing—hopefully we can keep the torch going.”

portraits by Tom Medvedich

The post Orange Jersey appeared first on SLAM.

He had lost the previous season to a knee injury, and all he did in his debut was jam home every ball in sight, flash some nice post moves and look fully healthy. He was an obvious star.

Griffin was equally exhilarating for the remainder of that season, and finished with averages of 22.5, 12 and 4 while shooting 51 percent. Unfortunately, the effort went to waste on a team that occasionally started Jamario Moon.

At season’s end, though, the Clippers glued Griffin and DeAndre Jordan to the ground and let everything else fly away in exchange for Chris Paul, and Lob City was born. And the team delivered, to some extent, tossing endless oops and piling up regular-season wins under Vinny Del Negro.

Only L.A. seemed to plateau right there: fun to watch, but not intimidating. The same went for their power forward.

Griffin came into the League as something like an A-minus player—easily dropped into any top-20 debate without reaching true upper echelon status. He produced roughly the same individual numbers in each of his first three seasons, which was some strange mix of frustrating, confusing and impressive. It appeared we knew who Griffin was and what he was capable of—20 and 10 with wild highlights—after three seasons.

And then…boom! Griffin developed into a strong focal point in Doc Rivers’ offense last season, upping his scoring to 24 points per contest. He dropped 35-plus five times during a six-game February stretch. He hit 71 percent of his free throws—a career best—and he ranked fifth in free throws made, one season after placing 20th. He then averaged 23 and 8 in the postseason, and guided L.A. to a defeat of the Warriors before falling to OKC in a series that nearly went the Clippers’ way.

Los Angeles wasn’t able to advance to the conference finals, but they had the look of a title threat. That’s a big step up after spending two years in the Maybe But Probably Not tier alongside teams like Memphis, Houston and Golden State.

Over the summer, the Clippers scooped up Spencer Hawes to absorb minutes previously given to the likes of Ryan Hollins and Rony Turiaf, and drafted CJ Wilcox, a 23-year-old sharpshooter, in the first round of the Draft. The biggest move, of course, was swapping out owner Donald Sterling for Steve Ballmer. And look at all of the awesome stuff that happened afterward:

1. Rivers signed a massive extension
2. One of their players promised to bring back short-shorts
3. Griffin morphed into a 6-10 Mark Price
4. They signed an Australian dude
5. We got all of this.

Los Angeles is piling up positive mojo. They’ve got a real coach, a real owner and a real backup big man. Jordan came on as perhaps the League’s best rebounder last season, placing second in both offensive and defensive rebound totals. Meanwhile, JJ Redick delivered a strong debut season, and is complemented well on the wing by Matt Barnes. Jamal Crawford will return for another season of terrorizing opposing teams’ second units. Ekpe Udoh, Glen Davis, Jordan Farmar, Chris Douglas-Roberts and Hedo Turkoglu are quality veterans who can chip in on the backend of some rotations. Wilcox and second-year man Reggie Bullock offer some upside for an otherwise predictable supporting cast.

It’s a remarkably deep roster, all centered around Paul and Griffin. The former is entering his 10th season in the League without a conference finals appearance, and there’s no doubt that he’ll be hyper-focused.

That leaves the ex-Sooner and his retooled jumper. In the past, the Clippers have struggled to get buckets down the stretch, mostly because of Jordan’s inability to shoot from beyond six inches (plus the need to keep him in for defense) and Griffin’s mediocre mid-range game. Neither guy drags defenders out of the paint, which keeps CP3 from diving into the lane and getting the offense moving. We all saw what the development of Chris Bosh’s jumper opened up for Miami, and Griffin even sniffing that level of long-range efficiency would be a game-changer for L.A.

The table is set for Griffin & Paul’s team to shift from Kia-Hoppin’ Lob City to the No Bullshit Los Angeles Clippers—every piece from owner on down is in place. Griffin looked a lot like a superstar last season; his next act might Mozgov the entire League.

 
Rankings are based on expected contribution in ’14-15—to players’ team, the NBA and the game.

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Rivers, the Clippers’ president and coach, has had several conversations with Pierce since he became a free agent July 1.

 

And while the Clippers could simply sign Pierce as a free agent using their midlevel exception at $5.3 million, they are interested in pursuing sign-and-trade scenarios that would allow Brooklyn to get something in return for the 10-time All-Star and because the Clippers already have so many small forwards.

 

Because Brooklyn holds his Bird rights, a sign-and-trade also would allow Pierce — who made $15.3 million last season — to sign for more than the midlevel exception. The Clippers likely would include some combination of Jared Dudley, Matt Barnes and last year’s first-round pick, Reggie Bullock, according to sources.

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Philadelphia is flush with cap room, for instance. It (1) has solid management and (2) plays in a city that cares about basketball. But the team is devoid of good basketball players, which will be a turnoff to a big free agent chasing a better situation. The Jazz have lots of dough to spend, too, and a legitimate young core, but lack the major-market appeal that elite free agents are usually drawn to. And so it goes for rebuilding teams and those in the wrong parts of the NBA country.

This summer’s free-agent market is about Carmelo Anthony for most teams, and maybe LeBron James for a few of the truly lucky teams who think they have a shot. Chris Bosh, Pau Gasol, Zach Randolph, Luol Deng, Lance Stephenson, Dwyane Wade, Kyle Lowry, Marcin Gortat and more could be out there, too.

We’ve seen Melo linked to a handful of teams—Chicago, Boston, Yellow LA, Red LA, Houston and, to a lesser extent, Miami, Dallas and Golden State. The focus is on the first five, as the latter three appear to be underdogs for the top FAs right now. Many of the same teams will be in the bidding for LeBron (if he hits the market) and heavily interested in the rest of the first- and second-tier guys as well.

All five have a great general manager, a great coach or both. All five have a tremendous fan-base and together corner the League’s most desirable markets outside of New York. Each is either an already formidable team or has a star in place who has been There before. Each hits all three destination credentials in those regards, and so the path to signing a Melo or LeBron should be clear.

Except that of those five teams, only the Lakers have any money to spend right now. The other four will have to jump through all sorts of hoops to get far enough under the projected $63.2 million salary cap to sign a major player. That doesn’t mean they won’t try to do it.

A max contract offer to a player like Anthony would pay him at least about $22.5 million in the first season. That’s roughly the amount of wiggle room to target for any team.

Let’s examine what these franchises would need to do to make a real run at Carmelo, LeBron and the rest of this strong 2014 free agent class.

CHICAGO BULLS

Anthony is the apple of Chicago’s eye, and with good reason. The team has sorely lacked a reliable wing scorer throughout the Derrick Rose/Tom Thibodeau era, and Melo’s isolation game could take a ton of pressure off of Rose in his Return Season, Take II.

As it stands, the Bulls are locked into paying Rose, Carlos Boozer, Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson, Mike Dunleavy, Tony Snell, Jimmy Butler and their two first-round picks (16 and 19) a little less than $66 million next season, and also owe Rip Hamilton roughly $330K. Essentially, they’re capped out.

For now, let’s assume that the Knicks don’t want to help the Bulls by giving them Anthony in a sign-and-trade (more on this later). Chicago will very likely use the Amnesty Clause on Boozer and immediately wipe his salary off the books. They’d sit roughly $15.5 million under the cap after waiving him—enough to begin thinking about bringing in big-name player. But Anthony could easily make $7+ million more annually somewhere else, so Chicago will have to move around some more money to land him.

The easy answer is to trade Gibson and acquire no money in return. Something like Gibson to Toronto or Charlotte for a protected future first-round pick would give Chicago about $23 million to play with. But Gibson thrived in his backup role last season, often playing over Boozer late in games. He’s ready to start for the team, and would be a key piece in the lineup next to Anthony.

The Bulls do have other options for creating cap room that would keep Gibson in the fold long-term. If they ship out Dunleavy’s palatable $3.3 million along with second-year man Snell for say, a pair of future second-round picks, they’d get payroll down to roughly $41.4 million. That’s about $22 million under the cap, but that’s before cap holds kick in.

(Cap holds are the enemy of cap space and easy math. Essentially, each team needs 12 guys on the roster, and if it has fewer than that at any time, it gets penalized. Each empty roster spot costs the team the minimum wage—roughly $500K next season. Once the spot is filled, the fee goes away. A year ago, I wrote lots more about cap holds and other cap/tax-related stuff here.)

With only Rose, Gibson, Noah and Butler left on the roster, the team would have two holds for their first-round picks (totaling about $2.6 million) and six more for empty roster spots, costing them roughly another $3 million. Tally it up, and the team could only offer Anthony a starting salary at around $16 million to join a roster with a dominant starting-five but only their two rookies coming off the bench. They’d later fill out the reserve unit with low-tier free agents. It’s unlikely that would be enough to get the All-Star forward.

Chicago could ship out Butler and the first-rounders for future picks, which would clear out about $3 million to add to the Anthony offer. Or they could select European players with the picks—as long as the players stay abroad, they’re off Chicago’s cap sheet. But those are three assets Chicago would absolutely need this season if they they’d already dumped half of their roster to scratch together some money. Simply, Butler and the picks are worth a ton more than $3 million in cap space.

And so a Gibson deal remains Chicago’s best bet to land Melo. If the Raptors, Bobcats or another team bit on, say, Gibson, Dunleavy, Snell and the 19th pick for a future No. 1, the Bulls could squeeze in Anthony’s max contract and move forward with a core of Rose, Noah, Melo, Butler and the 16th pick in Thursday’s draft. They’ll also have Nikola Mirotic coming over from Spain eventually.

They’ve done a great job of keeping their own picks going forward, and would be able to bring in new players each summer, including this one, using salary cap exceptions like the Mid-Level Exception and Bi-Annual Exception.

PS: Let’s revisit the dream scenario hidden underneath all of this for the Bulls (featuring two bonus trade proposals!)

STEP 1: Send Boozer’s Expiring Contract, Snell and the 16th and 19th picks to New York in a sign-and-trade for Carmelo. If New York is positive Anthony is gone, this would be a good place for them to start recouping some value. New York will not have money this summer no matter what. Boozer would fit in with Amar’e Stoudemire, Tyson Chandler and Andrea Bargnani as another huge contract coming off the books a year from now, when the Knicks’ can finally reboot. (What a loaded frontcourt in the meantime!) The Bulls would be fleecing the Knicks in a vacuum, but the League doesn’t operate in a vacuum. There are many other factors at play that could push a deal like this into happening. Don’t forget that LeBron and Bosh were technically sign-and-traded in 2010 for similar packages.

STEP 2: Send Gibson, Mirotic, Butler, Dunleavy and future first-round picks (they own a medium-protected Sacto selection) to Minnesota for Kevin Love. This is a mediocre deal for the T-Wolves, but the team seems hell-bent on staying in contention in the short-term, and they’d be getting three players who can contribute right away as well as a slew of future building blocks. A similar package has reportedly at least enticed Minnesota, and Mirotic seems to be the best player in Europe whose rights are owned by an NBA team. Again, in a vacuum it would fall short, but Minnesota doesn’t appear to have many better offers on the table. If Chicago can’t pull this off, the team would do just fine with Rose, Butler, Anthony, Gibson and Noah starting going forward, along with a full compliment of picks and, someday soon, Mirotic.

BOSTON CELTICS

Boston will shed about $18 million worth of Kris Humphries and Keith Bogans when free agency kicks off, as both of their contacts expire in July (Bogans has no guaranteed money left on his deal and will be waived).

They’ll push forward with Rajon Rondo, Gerald Wallace, Jeff Green, Brandon Bass, Vitor Faverani, Kelly Olynyk, and Jared Sullinger on the roster to begin. Joel Anthony is incredibly likely to accept his $3.8 million player option, and the team has Avery Bradley in restricted free agency. Assuming they extend him a qualifying offer—giving Boston the rights to match any deal that comes his way—Bradley will carry roughly a $6.3 million cap hold until he signs a new deal, which will likely pay him about the same money annually.

If Boston is serious about making a run at a free agent like Carmelo, they’ll likely look to move the expiring contracts of Bass and Anthony, which will otherwise clog up almost $11 million of valuable space. If another team with cap space absorbs the duo—with a draft pick thrown in to sweeten the deal—the C’s can get about $12.75 million under the salary cap, accounting for holds on Bradley, their two Draft picks (6 and 17) and empty roster spots. Moving Faverani and Olynyk for no cost would open up about $3 million more. That would put them in roughly the $16 million-range without moving Green, Sullinger or any of their relevant Draft picks.

That last part could be the key as the team remains firmly in the hunt for Love. If they could land the glass-eater for Green, Sullinger, the 6th and 17th picks and some future assets, the cap sheet wouldn’t change much. Swap in Love’s $15.7 million for Green’s $9.2 million, Sullinger’s $1.4 million and roughly $3.5 million worth of holds for the picks, and the team would look like this:

Rondo, Wallace and Love on the roster, Bradley treading water in restricted free agency and roughly $13 million to blow. They’d be about $10 million short of being able to offer a maximum contract, so they’d need to shed Wallace’s contract, conveniently priced at $10.1 million, to make room for one. That wouldn’t be easy, but even after a possible Love deal, the team should have some future picks to play with. They have one bonus selection from the Clippers (for Doc Rivers) and 16,149,124 from the Nets (for KG/Pierce) in their back pocket.

It would take a ton of moving and shaking, some help from bad teams with cap space (think Philly, Utah, Milwaukee, possibly Charlotte) and patience from Anthony while the necessary trades go down. Boston would also have to feel comfortable moving forward with Rondo, Love, Anthony, Bradley and very little else. But it can be done, and for now that’s all that matters.

HOUSTON ROCKETS

The Rockets’ books are pretty funky. They have two guys at the top (Dwight Howard, $21.4 million and James Harden, $14.7 million), two guys in the middle (Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin, $8.4 million each) and a handful of players on rookie contracts or minimum deals. They also have the rights to Chandler Parsons, a restricted free agent.

Factoring in Parsons’ RFA hold, the team will start the summer between one and two million bucks under the cap—nothing relevant. However, as we all know, they’re trying to move Lin and Asik, and things could get interesting from there.

If Houston trades the duo to a team that can absorb the nearly $17 million hit without giving back a player in return, the Rockets will find themselves roughly $19 million under the salary cap. Holds cut into that slightly, but they’d immediately be relevant free agency players.

If they also move Donatas Motiejunas, Francisco Garcia ($1.3 million player option), Isaiah Canaan and their 25th overall selection in this Draft (or take a Euro-stash guy), they could open up a couple million more. That would leave them with only four players under contract, though—Howard, Harden, Terrence Jones and Patrick Beverley. Meanwhile, Parsons will need to lay off signing an offer sheet until the Rockets’ roster situation is resolved. Trading Jones would free up another $1 million, but he could start for them next season, and finding a starting-caliber power forward for $1.6 million is just about impossible.

So with a stripped down roster, Houston could offer Anthony, LeBron, Bosh or the next guy somewhere between $19-20.5 million in the first year. Once they sign somebody and cap themselves out, Houston could then go back to Parsons and use his Bird Rights to go over the salary cap to re-sign him—a key to the whole process.

From there, the Rockets would try their luck with a remarkable trio of stars supported by a defensive-minded point guard and sharp-shooting wing—likely a perfect fit. They could bring in veterans willing to take less like Boston and Miami have done in the past, and Houston’s collection of future first-round picks should remain in tact.

It’s a lot of work to do for a team which just won 54 games, and they’d fork over their flexibility and young talent. But, the Rockets would likely immediately jump into the discussion for the League’s best squad, assuming the Spurs slow down one of these days. (Note: do not assume the Spurs will slow down one of these days.)

LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS

The Clippers lurk as the proverbial dark horse suitor for Anthony—a team in the biggest of markets with two stars in place, new ownership, a gaping hole at small forward and the ability to liquidate its roster quickly.

The eight guys they have inked for next year bring them closer to being a tax-paying team than one with any cap room. But that could change in an instant if they so choose.

DeAndre Jordan ($11.4 million expiring) could presumably fetch them a first-round pick from, say, the Mavericks—a team that’s trying to win now, has cap space but no center and typically drafts late in the first round. JJ Redick (3 years, roughly $21 million) might be harder to move, but an established team like OKC (Kevin Martin trade exception) or Washington (cap space, fear of overpaying Trevor Ariza) might take him on for free. If the team couldn’t find a suitor for Jamal Crawford (two years, roughly $11 million), they could waive him now and be charged only $1.5 million. Jared Dudley, Reggie Bullock and a pick (maybe the DeAndre one) could be packaged to one of the aforementioned bottom-feeders (Utah, Philly, etc.), as could Matt Barnes ($3.4 million expiring).

All of this to say that Lob City could get down to two players—Chris Paul and Blake Griffin—before you had time to realize what they were trying to line up. Here’s the discouraging part for Clippers fans, though (or maybe the encouraging one): even with just CP3 and Griffin on the roster, the Clippers’ best offer to a player like Anthony would fall short of a max deal. The two combine for nearly $38 million in salary, and more than $5 million would be tacked on in cap holds.

One possibility around all of this would be a sign-and-trade centered around Jordan and Anthony. But the Clippers owe Boston their first-round pick next season, and Jordan hits unrestricted free agency a year from now. In that sense, he’s not really a better asset for the Knicks than Chicago’s Boozer. If the Melo sweepstakes comes down to the best sign-and-trade offer, the Clippers don’t have a chance.

Lob City very nearly made the Western Conference Finals this season, and should run it back again next year.

LOS ANGELES LAKERS

The Lakers are ready to go right now. When free agency opens, they’ll have Kobe Bryant ($23.5 million), Steve Nash ($9.7 million), Robert Sacre ($915K), likely Kendall Marshall (team option for $915K) and a roughly $2.5 million cap hold for the 7th overall pick. They could also have two interesting restricted free agents if they extend them qualifying offers in Kent Bazemore and Ryan Kelly. Nick Young has a player option that he’ll decline.

Assuming they do make Bazemore and Kelly restricted free agents, the Lakers will have a little over $21 million at their disposal.

If LA has something up its sleeve and needs major cap room, it could carve out a couple million more by renouncing Bazemore and Kelly, declining Marshall’s option and sending Sacre somewhere. Trading their pick for a future selection would open up even more dough. Most of all, trading Nash’s expiring deal to a team like—you guessed it—Utah or Philly, along with a future draft pick, could net them the room they need to pursue two big names.

If they want to move Nash but can’t, the Lakers could use the Stretch Provision on him. Think of the Stretch as the Amnesty’s cousin. Using it, LA could waive Nash and ‘stretch’ his salary over a few years. The Provision allows teams to evenly spread the remaining money on a player’s contract—$9.7 million in Nash’s case—over twice the remaining length of the contract (1 year here), plus an additional year—three years in all. If they go this route, the team will save about $6.4 million this summer, but carry $3.2 million in dead weight during each of next three offseasons. Just something to keep in mind.

In all likelihood, the Lakers will keep their picks, restricted free agents, and Nash through the summer. They’ll have between $15-20 million to spend if they just play it out normally. If they want to maintain flexibility for next summer, when Nash will be fully off the books, they can either sign guys to one-year contracts now or simply not spend all of the money. Bringing in one good player at, say, $10 million annually (think Deng, Kyle Lowry-types) and allowing their rookie to develop while aiming for 2015 to pounce makes the most sense on- and off-the-court. Things are always different when Kobe’s involved, though.

The post When Chasing A Star Means Cleaning House appeared first on SLAM.

Bobcats 101 (33-34), Bucks 92 (13-54)

Kemba Walker (21 points, 8 assists), Al Jefferson (20 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks) and the Bobcats used a big second half push to claim their fourth win in a row. Trailing 50-46 at halftime, the Bobcats allowed guards Ramon Sessions (18 points, 6 assists), Brandon Knight (21 points, 7 assists, 8 rebounds, 3 steals) and Nate Wolters (11 points) to combine for 33 of the team’s 50 points. During the second half, though, Gerald Henderson (14 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds) and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (9 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks) led a defensive push as the Bucks could only manage 12 points in the final 10 minutes. Jefferson provided the offensive punch during the final two quarters, scoring 16 of his 20 points. After Milwaukee cut the deficit to 88-87 with 5:44 to go, Big Al made a layup followed by a smooth hook shot to give his team a five-point lead that was enough cushion the rest of the way. Sixth man Gary Neal (18 points) had a solid game versus his former team as his Bobcats shot a very efficient 57.4 percent from the field. Currently riding a season-high four-game winning streak, Charlotte must now face the Hawks (29-35), who are currently riding their own season-high three-game winning streak, Monday night.

Suns 121 (38-28), Raptors 113 (37-28)

Even though it seems most likely that the Suns will be the odd team out among the four team racing (Warriors, Mavs, Grizzlies, Suns) for the bottom three playoff spots in the West, they just keep fighting. Sunday afternoon, Goran Dragic (19 points, 4 assists) orchestrated the offense while his team’s bench completely outplayed the Raptors bench. The Suns ended the game with a 59-11 advantage in bench points. Markieff Morris (16 points, 14 rebounds) was a commanding presence down low and Gerald Green (28 points, 5-8 on 3-pointers) had the hot hand on the day while Kyle Lowry (28 points, 13 assists) did everything in his power to keep his Raptors in the game. Green had 13 of his 28 points during the 4th quarter and played a major role during the Suns’ 11-2 run to start the quarter. He has seemed to come to terms and embraced his new role coming off the bench. At that point, they led 107-92 with 7:26 remaining. The Raptors would get as close as 114-107 but a Marcus Morris (10 points) tip-in put this one away for good. Led by Eric Bledsoe (14 points, 10-10 on free throws), the Suns incessantly got into the lane and shot 34-38 (89.5 percent) from the line because of this concerted effort. They also easily outrebounded the Raptors 45-26. The main reason the Raptors stayed within reaching distance throughout the game was because of the Suns’ 21 turnovers.

Heat 113 (45-19), Rockets 104 (44-22)

The Heat used an offensive blitz at the very end of Sunday’s nationally-televised game to stave off the struggling Rockets, who have now dropped three straight games. No one played bigger than the red-hot Ray Allen (team-high 25 points, 4-6 on 3-pointers). Currently averaging 23.5 points in his last two games, the 38-year-old veteran poured in 14 of his 25 points in the 4th quarter. During the latter half of this quarter, the Heat played fantastic inside and out, knocking down jumpers and getting into the lane. After Patrick Beverley (15 points, 5 assists, 4 steals) made a 3-pointer with 4:26 remaining in the game, the Rockets held a 102-98 lead. Then the Heat went on a 15-2 run, including 7 points from Allen and plenty of support from the entire team. LeBron James (24 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists), Dwyane Wade (24 points, 7 assists) and Chris Bosh (18 points, 8 rebounds) all had about there averages numbers while James Harden (30 points, 11-12 on free throws) and Dwight Howard (21 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks) kept the Rockets in the game. Most of the team statistics ended up being fairly even for the Rockets and Heat…except for the final 4:26. This type of lackluster defense happens in far too many parts of Rockets games. Including the Rockets’ most recent win against Portland, they are allowing opponents to score 110.8 ppg during the past four games. Out of the current top four playoff teams in both conferences, Houston easily gives up the most ppg (102.0). If the Rockets want to make some noise in the postseason, Howard needs to become more of a defensive presence.

Pelicans 121 (27-39), Celtics 120 (22-45) OT

Whatever Anthony Davis’ (career-high 40 points, 21 rebounds, 3 blocks) ceiling ends up being, I’m afraid to think just how high it will be. The 21-year-old freak of nature willed his team to an overtime victory Sunday night while becoming the first player this season and in his team’s franchise history to notch at least 40 points and 20 rebounds in a single game. According the Elias Sports, Davis is the 3rd-youngest player in NBA history to reach these numbers. In his last six games, the Unibrow is averaging an eye-popping 32.3 ppg, 14.3 rebounds and 3.0 bpg. That’s scary good. Tyreke Evans (26 points, 4 assists, 3 steals) gave Davis solid support throughout the night. Jeff Green (39 points, 6 rebounds) also had a huge night that included three big free throws with 4.7 seconds left in regulation that tied the game 110-110. But then Davis hit a go-ahead, clutch midrange jumper with 1.7 seconds on the clock…before Kris Humphries (16 points, 12 rebounds) responded by knocking down an extremely difficult (and slightly lucky) fadeaway jump shot in the corner to send this one into overtime. Even though Davis didn’t score in overtime, he grabbed 6 rebounds in the five extra minutes of play, showing his ability to control the boards and impact play in many ways. Boston came within one after Green converted an and-one, but the Celtics couldn’t foul the Pelicans on the inbounds play, allowing New Orleans to dribble out the clock. Led by Davis, the Pelicans had a dominating 70-46 advantage in points in the paint. Rajon Rondo (6 points, 14 assists, 8 rebounds) had a nice stat line but didn’t really have an impact in overtime. With the loss, the Celtics have now lost four games in a row.

Mavericks 109 (40-27), Thunder 86 (48-18)

The Mavs finally took down the Thunder, beating them for the first time since January 2, 2012. Oklahoma City had won the past 11 meetings. The Thunder rested Russell Westbrook, and with Thabo Sefolosha (calf) still recovering from his injury, OKC seemed to be a step behind all night. Since Derek Fisher (3 points, 3 assists) and Caron Butler (7 points, 3-10 from the field) took a lot of the minutes that would have gone to these two starters, the Thunder lacked the speed that usually puts them above their competition. And Monta Ellis (9 points, 7 assists) took advantage by giving his team’s offense a great pace. The former Most Improved Player of the Year has struggled with consistency this season and throughout his career. But Sunday night, his assists numbers might not show it, but he played a very efficient and steady game. Vince Carter (18 points, 4-8 on 3-pointers, 20 minutes) defined what it means to have the “hot hand” Sunday night. Playing only 20 minutes off the bench, Carter never hesitated to release the deep ball, no matter how covered he was, and it resulted in a great performance. There are a lot of good Sixth Man of the Year candidates this season, and Carter has certainly put himself right in the middle of the discussion. Jose Calderon (16 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds) put in 10 of his 16 points in the 1st quarter as the Mavs jumped out to a 29-23 lead. They continued to build their lead in the 2nd quarter, taking a 59-48 lead going into halftime. Then behind strong play from starting forwards Dirk Nowitzki (17 points) and Shawn Marion (19 points, 6 rebounds), the Mavs poured it on in the 3rd quartern by using a 15-5 run to take their first 20-point lead of the night. Playing the first night of a back-to-back, the Thunder called it quits early in the 4th quarter as Scott Brooks emptied his bench. Devin Harris (8 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds) and Brandan Wright (8 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks) didn’t reach double-digits in scoring but provided valuable minutes off the bench. The Mavs shot 53.3 percent from the field while the Thunder only shot 36.7 percent. Dallas has now won at least 40 games for 15 straight seasons.

Timberwolves 104 (33-32), Kings 102 (23-44)

Kevin Love (26 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists) had another big game in leading his team back to one game over .500. In his first career start, rookie Gorgui Dieng (career-high 12 points, career-high 11 rebounds, 5 blocks) also had his first career double-double and first performance with a real impact. He finally looked like the athlete that was an inside presence for Louisville during their national championship run. Kevin Martin (31 points, 14-14 on free throws) lived at the free throw line as his Wolves shot 30-38 from the charity stripe. The Cousins-less (knee) Kings plead well without their star center, as Isaiah Thomas (27 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds) had another dominant showing. Thomas plays with a certain level of confidence that any coach would love to see out of his starting point guard. Even though he’s undersized, he always seems to be giving it his all when he’s on the court. Derrick Williams (26 points, 11 rebounds, 28 minutes) had a fantastic revenge game and made it clear the Kings won the Williams-Mbah a Moute trade. But the Wolves jumped out to a quick 29-19 lead in the 1st quarter. Sacramento, though, quickly fought back and kept it close for the majority of the game. After Williams made two free throws with 1:26 remaining in the 4th quarter, the Kings led 95-94. Then behind 6-6 shooting at the line from Martin, the Wolves went on a 10-6 run to take the lead and the win. Even though the Kings outrebounded the Wolves 48-35, Minnesota took care of the ball (9 total turnovers) while sharing it as well.

Spurs 122 (50-16), Jazz 104 (22-45)

The Jazz kept this one close behind a career night from Derrick Favors (career-high 28 points, 10 rebounds, 3 steals, 12-19 from the field), but the Spurs always seemed to be in control in route to their NBA-record 15th straight season with 50 wins. Other than the first few minutes of the 3rd quarter, Utah remained within single digits from the tipoff until the final few minutes of the 3rd quarter. After a Gordon Hayward (17 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists) jumper with 3:09 to go in the 3rd quarter, the Jazz trailed 82-73. The Spurs then decided to get serious and go on a quick 10-3 run that made the deficit insurmountable for the Jazz. San Antonio had seven players with at least 11 points and was led by sixth man Manu Ginobili (21 points, 8-11 from the field). Playing exactly 30 minutes on the night, Tim Duncan (16 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocks) was the only Spurs player that was on the court for more than 30 minutes. The Spurs have looked like the best passing team in the League while also looking head and shoulders above their competition. During their current 10-game winning streak, the Spurs are beating opponents by 15.3 points, shooting 50.2 percent and dishing out 29.6 apg. As flashy as the Thunder, Clippers and Rockets have been this season, they will have to go through Popovich’s methodical and fundamental Spurs if they want to make a deep playoff run.

Warriors 113 (42-26), Blazers 112 (43-24) 

Stephen Curry (37 points, 6-12 on 3-pointers), who has been battling a quad injury, started the game 0-5 and looked nothing like the player that put up 38 points on the Blazers in January. In fact, Curry didn’t score for the first 20 minutes and 39 seconds of the game. At that point, his Warriors trailed by double digits a few minutes before halftime. Once the 3rd quarter began, it was an entirely new story. Curry and Klay Thompson (27 points, 3-7 on 3-pointers) caught fire, combining to score 51 of their 64 points in the final two quarters as their Warriors outscored the Blazers 69-57 in the 2nd half. All of the Splash Brothers’ 30 points in the 4th quarter came outside the paint. After Damian Lillard (26 points, 7 assists) made a dunk followed by two free throws with 20.7 seconds left in the game, Portland had regained the lead 111-110. But then off a great swing pass from Harrison Barnes (5 points, 5 rebounds), Thompson knocked down his final 3-pointer of the night that would end up being the go-ahead basket. The Blazers let a 70-52 3rd quarter lead go to waste, as they are now only 1 1/2 games ahead of the Warriors. Nicolas Batum (23 points, 14 rebound, 5 assists) and Robin Lopez (14 points, 10 rebounds) each had double-doubles as their Blazers actually outrebounded the Warriors 48-41. Portland just couldn’t make enough stops down the stretch. When Golden State’s starting backcourt shoots lights out as they did in the 2nd half Sunday night, there’s very little any NBA defense can do. The key to that sentence is “when” since it doesn’t always happen. If the Warriors can find consistency in their offense, they will absolutely be a legitimate threat come playoff time.

Clippers 102 (48-20), Cavaliers 80 (26-41)

The Clippers led wire-to-wire as this was never going to be a competition. To add insult—or injury—to injury, Kyrie Irving suffered a potentially season-ending bicep injury late in the 1st quarter. Even before Irving departed, the game was quickly getting out of hand as the Clippers built up an early 21-7 lead that stayed around double-digits most of the night. Birthday boy Blake Griffin (21 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists) continued to play at an elite level, showing his ability to knock down jumpers and distribute the ball. The Cavs, however, wouldn’t go down without a fight and used a 12-0 run spanning over the 3rd and 4th quarter to pull within seven. Los Angeles then locked down defensively and only allowed Cleveland to make a 3-pointer over five minutes and twenty-two seconds. During this time, the Clippers went on a 12-3 run that would put this game out of reach. Seven Clippers scored in double-figures as Chris Paul (16 points, 15 assists, 0 turnovers) and DeAndre Jordan (15 points, 11 rebounds) had a double-double along with Griffin. These three have really found their groove during this 11-game winning streak. Luol Deng (23 points, 6 rebounds) led the way for the Cavs while Reggie Bullock (season-high 14 points) took advantage of extra playing time with three Clippers guards currently sidelined. With CP3 leading the charge, the Clippers had a 25-5 advantage in fast break points and only turned the ball over five times. They will now travel to Denver to face the Nuggets (29-37) Monday night. Being 4 1/2 games out of the eighth spot in the East, if Cleveland has in fact lost Irving for the season, the team’s playoff hopes might be lost as well.

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Heat 112 (43-14), Magic 98 (18-44)

He might not have had his black mask on, but clear mask LeBron James (20 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 steals) was just as dominant against Tobias Harris (20 points, 7-7 on free throws) and the Magic. James and Dwyane Wade (24 points) combined to shoot 18-26 (69.2) percent from the field. Wade played very well, faking out Magic defenders throughout the night. Nikola Vucevic (18 points, 10 rebounds) posted a double-double, but without Arron Afflalo (ankle/illness), the Magic didn’t have enough offense in the 2nd half. As a team, the Heat shot 58.1 percent from the field, gaining control as the game moved along. Orlando only trailed 61-53 at halftime before Miami went on a 22-9 run in the 3rd quarter, taking hold of an 89-69 lead. Even though they put up 112 points, Miami won this game through its defense, as the team held its fourth straight opponent under 100 points. Greg Oden (8 points, 4 rebounds, 3-3 from the field) had one of his best games since joining the Heat, showing slim signs of his former college self. The Heat have now won seven games in a row and trail the Pacers by two games for the top spot in the East. 

Wizards 122 (31-28), 76ers 103 (15-44)

On the night that Allen Iverson’s jersey was retired in front of Wells Fargo Center, Trevor Ariza (career-high 40 points, 8-12 on 3-pointers) didn’t let that stop him from pouring it on. Ariza put up 24 of his 40 points in the first 12 minutes, as the Wizards took a 41-28 lead going into the 2nd quarter. They won wire-to-wire with six of their players scoring in double-figures. By scoring 74 points in the 1st half, Washington set a Wells Fargo Center record for points in a half. John Wall (17 points, career-high-tying 16 assists) and Marcin Gortat (13 points, 14 rebounds, 2 blocks) have really started to find a groove during their recent hot streak. These two are becoming walking double-doubles every time they step on the floor. Led by Tony Wroten (19 points) and Thaddeus Young (17 points, 5 assists, 3 steals), the Sixers had five players in double-figures, but as has been the case almost every game this season, they didn’t play enough defense for a full 48 minutes. These two teams are headed in opposite directions as the Sixers have lost 13 in a row and the Wizards have won six straight.

Rockets 118 (40-19), Pistons 110 (23-36)

The Rockets didn’t wait very long to put this game out of reach, jumping out to a 24-8 lead before six minutes had even passed in the game. Dwight Howard (17 points, 8 rebounds) and Terrence Jones (22 points, 10 rebounds) had their shot going all night, combining to shoot 15-22 (68.2 percent) from the field. The Pistons big frontcourt that should be playing solid defense couldn’t control the Rockets down low. James Harden (20 points, 12 rebounds, 3 steals) passed the ball well on the night, as Detroit doesn’t have any strong wing defenders on the roster. In fact, they don’t seem to have any strong defenders besides Andre Drummond (16 points, 17 rebounds, 2 blocks) occasionally. Greg Monroe (10 points, 14 rebounds, 2 blocks) also had a double-double while Rodney Stuckey (23 points) had a strong performance off the bench. The Rockets, though, had six players with at least 13 points, scoring at ease and leading by double-digits for 45 minutes of this game. The Rockets have now won 11 of their last 13 games.

Pacers 102 (45-13), Celtics 97 (20-40)

The Celtics did a good job of keeping this one close for most of the game, only trailing by double-digits at two points late in the 2nd quarter. Paul George (25 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals) led the Pacers on the night while Evan Turner (17 points) looked like the player Indiana hoped they would receive when they traded for him. Turner even acted as the ball handler late in this game, controlling the offense, while George took care of the scoring. PG24 scored eight of the final 12 points for the Pacers as they closed on a 14-7 run. Jeff Green (27 points, 5 rebounds) played well in the 1st half while Rajon Rondo (12 points, 11 assists) and Kris Humphries (18 points, 10 rebounds) picked up double-doubles. Roy Hibbert (15 points, 5 rebounds) really caused problems for Jared Sullinger (10 points, 6 rebounds, 4-12 from the field), as the Celtics center was undersized and outmatched. As a team, Boston only managed 30 points in the paint. Lance Stephenson (16 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists) flirted with a triple-double yet again, showing he is one of the best rebounding guards in the League. The Pacers had to fight Saturday night but they have now won four straight games

Nets 107 (28-29), Bucks 98 (11-47)

The Nets haven’t had a .500 record since early November, and with Saturday’s win, they now only need one more win to get back there. Brooklyn established its offense early on by pounding the ball down low, scoring 20 points in the paint in the first 15 minutes. Andray Blatche (19 points, 13 rebounds, 9-9 on free throws) was the main Nets force down low while Marcus Thornton (game-high 25 points) proved his worth coming off the bench. Kidd kept Thornton in the entire 4th quarter, during which he scored 12 of his 25 points. Early on this season, the Nets didn’t have many players willing to do do the dirty work. Now they have a lot of guys doing the little things that help teams win games. Ramon Sessions (16 points, 11-11 from the field) got to the line all night while Jeff Adrien (5 points, 10 rebounds) has had at least 10 rebounds in three of the last four games. Even though the Bucks are still losing, these two have played well since joining the team. Milwaukee kept this one close most of the game before Thornton and Paul Pierce (12 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals) knocked in some late 3-pointers to take control for good.

 Grizzlies 110 (33-25), Cavaliers 96 (24-37)

Zach Randolph (23 points, 14 rebounds, 4 steals) and Marc Gasol (22 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists) were up to their normal antics Saturday night. Randolph pounded the boards while Gasol did a little bit of everything and anchored the defense. Early on, the Cavs played really well by pushing the pace, taking quick shots and not standing around on offense. Tristan Thompson (18 points, 8 rebounds) had 14 of his 18 points in the 1st half as Cleveland took a 65-54 lead into halftime. Kyrie Irving (28 points, 3 assists, 3 steals) played well for the most part but stopped distributing the ball as the game moved along. The 3rd quarter is when it all fell apart for the Cavs as the Grizzlies went on a 26-6 run to take control. Memphis locked down against the Cavaliers’ pick-and-roll offense, holding Cleveland scoreless from 9:38 to 2:52 during the quarter. The Cavs kept the deficit single-digits the rest of the way, only trailing 95-94 with 4:03 left after Irving knocked in two free throws. With Mike Conley (22 points, 7 assists, 2 steals) leading   way, Memphis responded by scoring nine straight points. Courtney Lee (19 points, 5-8 on 3-pointers) made a career-high five 3-pointers on the night as his Grizzlies have now earned their seventh win in the last 10 games and are closing in on the eight seed.

Blazers 102 (41-18), Nuggets 96 (25-33)

LaMarcus Aldridge (16 points, 7 rebounds) returned in a respectable fashion after missing the previous five games (groin). The Blazers frontcourt completely dominated the Nuggets frontcourt, as Aldridge, Robin Lopez (18 points, 9 rebounds) and Nicolas Batum (9 points, 16 rebounds, 6 assists) all played well. After Wilson Chandler (14 points), who returned from a knee injury, made a layup a few minutes into the 1st quarter, the Nuggets held a 7-4 lead. Led by Damian Lillard (17 points, 5 rebounds), the Blazers responded by going on a 18-5 run and never giving up the lead the rest of the way. Portland went on a 13-5 run in the 3rd quarter to take a 73-60 lead. The Nuggets used a 9-2 run in the final minutes to make the game look more respectable than it was. The Blazers outrebounded the Nuggets 52-40 and outscored them in the paint 54-38. The difference in Saturday’s game came at the fee throw line. Both teams made 23 free throws—but the Blazers shot 24 while the Nuggets attempted 35. Kenneth Faried (16 points, 10 rebounds) had a double-double while Darrell Arthur (12 points, 6-7 from the field, 15 minutes) returned from his hip injury in an efficient way. Evan Fournier (16 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists) and Randy Foye (16 points, 4-8 on 3-pointers) played well in the loss. The Blazers currently have the fifth best record in the NBA.

Timberwolves 108 (29-29), Kings 97 (20-39)

The Timberwolves are slowly but surely crawling their way back into the West playoff hunt, winning five of their last six games. Saturday night, Kevin Martin (26 points) and Nikola Pekovic (20 points, 9 rebounds) both made their return after missing time due to injuries. Kevin Love (22 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, 4-12 from the field) couldn’t find his touch on the night but knocked down his free throws. Love continued to score and rebound at will but has recently added passing to his repertoire. Love has dished out 7 assists in three of the last five games. Minnesota outscored Sacramento 31-14 in the 3rd quarter, putting this game out of reach. The Kings would make a late run in the 4th quarter, but they couldn’t get over the hump and take the lead. Ricky Rubio (8 points, 8 assists) hit a clutch 3-pointer that put the game out of reach. Their big 3—Isaiah Thomas (22 points, 8 assists), Rudy Gay (24 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals) and DeMarcus Cousins (21 points, 17 rebounds, 3 blocks)—led the way on the night but didn’t get much help from their teammates. Other than these three Kings players, the rest of the team shot 10-34 (29.4 percent) from the field. Rookie Ray McCallum (career-high 9 points, career-high 5 assists, 3-11 from the field) had a career night despite struggling with his shot. The Wolves did a good job of taking care of the ball, only turning the ball over 10 times.

Clippers 108 (41-20), Pelicans 76 (23-36)

This one wasn’t going to be a contest from the very start as the Clippers jumped out to a 25-8 lead eight minutes into the game. Anthony Davis (8 points, 4 rebounds, 1-6 from the field) quickly picked up 3 fouls during the run, leading to one of his worst games of the year. Los Angeles would eventually lead by 35 points and find a way to get under Davis’ skin, forcing him to pick up his fifth technical of the season. With Davis being in foul trouble and struggling to find his rhythm, Tyreke Evans (22 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists) shouldered most of the scoring load and Alexis Ajinca (11 points, 10 rebounds) posted a double-double despite fouling out. For the Clippers, Chris Paul (21 points, 8 assists, 2 steals), Blake Griffin (20 points) and DeAndre Jordan (7 points, 12 rebounds, 4 blocks) all played their respective role while Reggie Bullock (11 points, 10 minutes) took advantage of the garbage time. Los Angeles held the Pelicans to only 32.9 percent shooting from the field and 13.6 percent from deep. Currently riding a four-game winning streak, the Clippers extended their Pacific Division lead on the Warriors to four games. The Pelicans, on the other hand, have lost seven in a row.

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by Abe Schwadron | @abe_squad

Somewhere in between the Rising Stars Game and the Dunk Contest, Harrison Barnes finds a moment during All-Star Weekend 2014 to relax. He’s wearing a zipped-up adidas windbreaker and jeans, and squinting into the sun creeping over New Orleans’ French Quarter just before noon. He stretches out on one of the many couches littered around adidas’ All-Star set-up. The kid deserves a minute to kick his feet up—so far this season, Barnes’ points (10.3 ppg) and minutes (29.1 mpg) are up from his rookie season despite a move to the bench with the team’s addition of veteran swingman Andre Iguodala. We asked Barnes about his new role, his time at All-Star, the Warriors’ second half and more.

SLAM: How was your experience in the Rising Stars game this year?

Harrison Barnes: It was good. You see these guys all the time but never get a chance to kick it with them or play alongside them, so it was fun.

SLAM: Who was one guy that you had fun playing with in particular?

HB: Definitely Andre Drummond. It felt like every miss, he was right there for the rebound or a tip-dunk. He was fun to play alongside, and if you don’t know Andre, he’s a funny person, too. A lot of laughs.

SLAM: Did anyone impress you that you hadn’t seen up close yet?

HB: Tim Hardaway, Jr. We haven’t played the Knicks yet, so I haven’t really seen him play. But he got hot.

SLAM: Was there anyone you got to meet during All-Star Weekend that you walked away thinking, Wow.

HB: I got a chance to talk a lot with Karl Malone. I had a chance to meet him during Jerry Sloan’s big retirement ceremony, him and Stockton. That was cool. I just sat down with him and got a chance to talk to him for a little bit. He’s got a lot of good insight. Just his attitude. The biggest thing in this league, whether you’re putting in work or not putting in work, whether you’re healthy or not, whatever it is, attitude is what’s going to determine how far you go.

SLAM: You’re here at All-Star Weekend but not playing in the big game on Sunday night. What’s it going to take for you to come back to this weekend as an All-Star in the future?

HB: Obviously, first is winning more. Eighth in the West isn’t going to do it. But just consistency. You look at all these dudes that are in [the All-Star Game], every single night they do it. They’re not having a big game one night, then only having a big game every third game. These guys, every single night, they’re putting in the work. For me, it’s going to be consistency. I know I can play at a high level. The difference between me and those guys, they do it for 82. I might do it for, you know, 15. So that’s where I’ve got to get to.

SLAM: Is your role different this year with the Warriors?

HB: Yeah, of course it’s different, coming off the bench as opposed to starting. But it’s been good for me just to see how things work. I’ve had a chance to be in that role where you start the game off and try to get in a rhythm, but coming off the bench, you gotta be a loaded gun. You’ve got to be ready to go, and be ready to impact the game. It took me a while, and I’m still working on it. I used to come in the game off the bench and kind of still be in that “get in a rhythm” mode, and it just doesn’t work, because the game’s already started, your minutes are going to be broken up, it’s not going to be consistent. You can’t come in with that “get into a rhythm” type game, you have to come in—and not necessarily shoot all the time—but you’ve got to be aggressive from the jump.

SLAM: Where do you feel like you’re at with your game right now at the midway point of the season?

HB: I always want to push further, I always want to push the limit. But I feel like we’re in a good spot. This year, we had a lot of expectations, and we haven’t quite played as consistently as we want to, but we’ve seen that if we play our style of basketball and everyone is clicking on all cylinders, we can beat anybody.

SLAM: Who in your mind is the best team in the West right now?

HB: I’m going to come back to this term again—in terms of consistency, probably the Spurs. For some reason, if they have their stars playing or don’t have their stars playing, doesn’t matter. It’s crazy, against teams in the top of each division, they’re below .500, but they’re like 31-2 against teams .500 and below. They always take care of their business, every single night, no letdowns.

SLAM: And you guys got an up close and personal look at them in the Playoffs last year. What did you learn from that series?

HB: You’ve got to execute on such a higher level. We’d go into games and, we’re an exciting team, but we played a little reckless last year. When you play reckless against a team like that, where they just execute and run their sets, that beat us, and last year got us kicked out of the playoffs. So we know coming in this year, it’s like, when you get in those situations, you’ve really go to execute.

SLAM: What have you seen from Stephen Curry this year that’s taken his game up a notch to All-Star level?

HB: I think with him, honestly, it’s just confidence. Last year, I think he was still trying to prove that he’s that guy. Now, he is that guy. He can go out there and get 40, he can go out there and get a triple-double. It’s just a higher level of controlling the game, and he’s doing a much better job of managing it.

SLAM: What’s the craziest thing you’ve seen him do in practice?

HB: It’s funny, he’s got this little board in our weight room—he shoots a hundred threes a day, and he writes it down, what he shoots. And at first, I didn’t really know what the numbers were. But when I found out, I’m like, That’s ridiculous. It’s like 80, 80, 90, 85. He’s just constantly shooting. He’s been doing this, I think, since the beginning of the year. I’m thinking like maybe it’s free throws out of 100 someone’s shooting, and he’s like, Nah it’s threes. It’s ridiculous.

SLAM: What’s going on with your Tar Heels this year?

HB: We’re struggling a little bit. It’s a young team still trying to find their way. But I think that we’ll surprise a lot of people when it comes to Tournament time. We always rise to the big games.

SLAM: Speaking of UNC, what’s it been like watching your Kendall Marshall finally have some success with the Lakers?

HB: It’s been great. Kendall is obviously a good friend of mine. He’s worked so hard to get in that situation. He had to go through that whole thing with Phoenix, had to go to the D-League. He’s good now, people are starting to jump on the bandwagon, and really starting to appreciate his game.

SLAM: And now you’ve got him on the West Coast, too.

HB: Of course, but we’re trying to be the best team in California. That’s what we’re trying to do. Two other Tar Heels—Reggie [Bullock] and Kendall, but we’re the best team.

SLAM: Do all you guys keep in contact and stay pretty close?

HB: Of course. There’s always a lot of trash talk, any time we play the Clippers, any time we play the Lakers, where we’re at in the standings—we do all that stuff.

SLAM: What’s the main topic of the trash talking?

HB: It’s different, like with John [Henson], we should have beat them twice last year but they beat us twice, so he’s like, Well you’ve never beat me. With Reggie it’s like, we’re ranked higher, we’re the better team. Stop it. Stop, don’t even get gassed up over there. And with Kendall, he’s not even close, man.

SLAM: Do you guys have a group text going on or what?

HB: We have a group thread with all the Carolina guys—me, John, Kendall, Reggie, Leslie [McDonald], PJ [Hairston], we all keep in touch.

SLAM: What’s your favorite shoe to wear right now?

HB: It’s so different, because back in high school and college, it’s all about just, What kicks are you wearing on the court. One thing now with adidas is that there are so many lifestyle kicks, which are so nice. Like with Big Sean, the new 2 Chainz ones that just came out, the Mutombos, all these great walk-around shoes, so it’s been fun. My favorite, I like the new 2 Good to be T.R.U.’s, I do like those.

SLAM: Have you gotten to know the other Team adidas guys better this weekend?

HB: We have a fun group of guys. A lot of us came in together, like me and Damian [Lillard], who have gotten a chance to know each other. Then we’ve got other guys like Iman [Shumpert] with a lot of personality, John Wall is a real cool guy. A lot of these young guys, Tim [Hardaway Jr], Ben [McLemore], they have a lot of attitude. I think on the whole, we have a lot of guys who are on the rise, In the Dunk Contest, four out of the six guys were adidas guys.

SLAM: When you were coming up as a kid, who were the dunkers in the NBA that you really liked to watch?

HB: Probably one of the best to ever do it: Vince. The way guys do windmills in the Dunk Contest now, he would do that in the lane, in traffic, with bodies. He has a mix on YouTube, his Top 100, it’s just stupid. It is stupid, man. He was absolutely ridiculous. I think he’s the best dunker to ever come through.

The post Q+A: Harrison Barnes appeared first on SLAM.

Well, so much for the trade talk between the New York Knicks and LA Clippers. Iman Shumpert collapsed on a drive against the Pelicans Wednesday night, and reportedly suffered a sprained MCL in his left knee. Per Yahoo! Sports:

Shumpert left the Knicks’ 98-91 victory against New Orleans with the knee injury, and will return to New York to have an MRI on Thursday. There’s concern about possible meniscus damage that will be addressed in the examination, a source said.

Shumpert suffered a torn ACL and lateral meniscus in his left knee in April of 2012 and missed nine months before returning to the Knicks.

The current injury ends several months of trade talks centered on Shumpert, punctuated with discussions that gathered momentum over the past several days with the Clippers.

After several rounds of negotiations, the Clippers and Knicks abandoned discussions on a proposed trade centered around Shumpert earlier on Wednesday, league sources said. The Knicks had interest in bringing back Clippers point guard Darren Collison and rookie Reggie Bullock as part of a package, but wanted Los Angeles to accept Raymond Felton in the deal, sources said. The Clippers resisted the Felton element of the deal, and were reluctant to part with Bullock or any draft picks in talks, sources said. Clippers general manager and coach Doc Rivers has been determined to upgrade athleticism on the wings and sees Shumpert as a player who can complement J.J. Redick and Jared Dudley. Redick is expected to miss a month with a back injury.

The Knicks are still interested in pursuing a point guard before the Thursday trade deadline, but are running out of possibilities. New York has tried to stay aggressive in pursuit of Toronto’s Kyle Lowry, but the Raptors have turned down recent offers around the NBA that have included packages of a starting point guard and a future first-round pick.