NBA Page 441 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Culture isn’t going to fix the Miami Heat’s offense
When trying to illustrate how much a team is struggling, one of sportswriters’ favorite go-to’s is, “If the season ended today…” As in, “If the season ended today, the Miami Heat would need to win two play-in games only to face the team that beat them in 2022 in the first round.”...

The Golden State Warriors are clutch test-takers
Boston’s league-leading winning percentage meant nothing once Golden State decides to ascend to a higher plane of basketball nirvana. Golden State’s geezers might sprint out the gates as quickly as they did in years past, but when they need to hit the thrusters, they still have the energy to tap int...

Pat Beverley is the Grinch
Someone’s getting coal in their stocking, because Los Angeles Lakers’ guard Patrick Beverley is turning into a real-life Grinch. Earlier this week on the Pat Bev Podcast the 34-year-old, three-time All-Defense Team member told listeners that he has already informed his kids that Santa Claus isn’t re...

Hey, Kyrie, you know who also felt free after getting dropped from a sponsor?
I might be reading into this too much, but did Kyrie Irving writing “I’M FREE” on his taped-over Nike sneakers feel slightly like Ye going on TikTok and declaring himself free? A 3-year-old could connect those dots, considering each knucklehead’s history of antisemitic views that subsequently got th...

A decade-plus of Eastern Conference mediocrity can’t be easily forgotten
It’s weird how much energy goes into debating which conference is the NBA’s best. It makes sense in college football because schools can’t play all 100-plus teams each year, and strength of schedule determines playoff spots. But in basketball, with all 30 organizations facing each other at least twi...

The NBA’s newest award is a better fit for MLB teams
It’s bad enough that there have been 16 NBA playoff spots since 1984. At that time there were only 23 teams in the league. It’s 2022, and still more than half of the league gets into the playoffs, and that’s not even counting the highly entertaining Play-in Tournament. Sure the New Orleans Pelicans ...

Austin Reaves is young, but his steady presence has been crucial for the Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers have turned their season around....

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....

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....

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...

