Basketball Page 858 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Trae Young and Nate McMillan are surviving instead of thriving with each other
Here’s a multiple-choice essay question. You’ve got a blossoming superstar in Trae Young who has plateaued after some early career triumphs. Young is 24, played in a conference finals two seasons ago, but he’s also got a penchant for taking too many heat-check shots which are exhilarating to watch g...

Draymond Green eclipsing Michael Jordan illustrates how much offenses have evolved
In the opening minute of regulation against the Houston Rockets on Saturday night, Jordan Poole picked up his between-the-legs dribble and whipped a pass to Draymond Green in the short corner. Green caught the pass and rose to drain his only points of the night. It had no effect on the final score, ...

Let the King hold court on any subject, especially Jerry Jones
Whataboutism is a dangerous game. The comparison of apples to oranges, as opposed to just Honeycrisps and Fujis, appears to be the necessary pivot to distract from an actual issue. Walking and chewing gum at the same time is possible, preferable, and has become an impressive skill in the public eye....

Kanye West and Antonio Brown’s antics should be the end of Donda Sports
If you stand with clowns don’t get mad when you wind up in a circus....

Kobe Bryant’s daughter having a stalker should be a bigger story in the NBA
Love and adoration are actions, not just soundbites, and social media posts. It’s showing up for your hero’s family when he can’t....

Don’t expect this UNC team to make a run to the finals
After losing in the national championship game in April, the AP preseason No. 1, UNC, has lost three in a row early in the season....

Organizer of disastrous Las Vegas Invitational was twice accused of sexual misconduct by players
The organizer of a women’s basketball tournament so shoddy it drew comparisons to the Fyre Festival is a former Division I coach with a history of sexual abuse allegations, according to public records....

Steve Ballmer has got to be sick thinking about how good his Clippers could be
Coming into the season, the Los Angeles Clippers were viewed as one of the favorites to represent the Western Conference in the NBA Finals. That pick was contingent on a healthy Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. The supporting cast that owner Steve Ballmer has assembled around his dynamic star duo is g...

Anthony Edwards is coasting, and so are the Timberwolves
Rudy Gobert is NBA fans’ favorite punching bag. Whenever something goes wrong on his team, he’s the first person people blame. It could be that he’s French, whiny, overrated, overpaid — or all four — and that’s fine. You’re not going to hear me argue with Minnesota Timberwolves fans about how bad th...

So the Mavs are reportedly signing Kemba Walker to stand around and watch Luka Dončić cook
The Dallas Mavericks have limped out of the starting blocks in this marathon known as the NBA season to a 9-10 record after nearly one quarter of the year. Luka Dončić is off to another MVP-caliber tear, but he’ll still finish empty-handed without much team success. Coming off the team’s conference ...

Bring the NBA to Mexico City
The first time I ever went to Mexico, my dad brought us to visit our grandparents, who were alive and living in San Benito, a Texas border town. In the early 90s, we crossed over to buy inexpensive medicine and trinkets from vendors. We had grown up poor, mostly living in trailer parks and spare roo...

A Las Vegas women’s college basketball tournament provided a court, and almost nothing else
Apparently, Ja Rule was called for advice on how to set up a college basketball tournament, because just like Fyre Fest, this Thanksgiving tournament was not all what it was advertised to be. ...

Come home, Kevin Durant
The NBA’s greatest epics have been built around a meteoric star crash landing in a small market, galvanizing the city around their greatness in hopes of delivering glory. Think LeBron James in Cleveland, Dirk Nowitzki in Dallas, Tim Duncan in San Antonio, Isiah Thomas in Detroit, Hakeem Olajuwon in ...

NBA Players As <i>Black Panther: Wakanda Forever</i> Characters
Warning: Spoilers ahead...

5 surprising NBA rookies you need to know about
As Paolo Banchero begins to run away with the Rookie of the Year award, there are still hidden gems and surprise showings by first-year players selected outside the top 10. We have highlighted which ones have been the biggest surprises thus far and project comps for their young career....

Tom Thibodeau, Tony Soprano, and the New York Knicks
Almost a year ago, I contemplated the soul of Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau, searching for answers to his most pressing coaching quandaries. Humans are prone to making connections, comparing and contrasting, to make sense of the chaos around us. In the world of the NBA, Thibodeau shares much of th...

Patrick Beverley is an insufferable jackass
Has there ever been a more irrelevant player to make more headlines than Patrick Beverley? The 11-year guard was up to the only tricks he knows again Tuesday night, getting ejected for having his teammate’s back by violently pushing Deandre Ayton from behind....

Is there closure for Ben Simmons in Philly?
Maybe one day Philadelphia sports fans will forgive Ben Simmons for not taking the court at all for the 76ers last season, not shooting in four consecutive fourth quarters, and the play in which he passed the ball to the only Sixer who was arguably a worse shooter than him instead of dunking on Trae...

Luka Dončić can’t do it all himself
The Dallas Mavericks’ struggles this season are well-documented and likely won’t be put to rest anytime soon. Their All-World leader, Luka Dončić, is off to another hot start, but that’s only translated into a 9-7 record, and the team barely keeping their heads above water. While Dončić is playing a...
