joel - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Daryl Morey is Oppenheimer for the NBA’s nuclear offensive age
It’s Oscars Week, which feels like as good a time as any to draw up the NBA storylines and characters which could double as Oscar nominees. ...

Kevin Garnett accuses LeBron James of doping; 'Cream Abdul-Jabbar' rises to the top; Jordan Poole hits rock bottom
Could Bronny James score a bucket against his father, LeBron? Kevin Garnett certainly doesn’t think so. - Criss Partee Read More...

'Cream Abdul-Jabbar' has Indiana State back in the spotlight
The first Magic Johnson and Larry Bird matchup in the 1979 NCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship Game is the most viewed college basketball game of all time. Being that more than 35 million people watched, certainly a few of them have wondered over the years what happened to the Indiana State ...

Have the Premier League’s financial rules kept Newcastle from being Newcastle?
While the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules might have lost a shade or two off their teeth with the news today that Everton have had their 10-point penalty reduced to six on appeal (though they have another charge to dodge), that doesn’t mean they’re not having an effect. The desolate...

Joel Embiid's absence in Philadelphia has created a black hole
DNP Lord Joel Embiid is the poltergeist still haunting the MVP race and Philadelphia’s title aspirations. When Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic or Shai Gilgeou-Alexander are eventually crowned, Embiid’s name will hang over the successor. Before the Philly center was jettisoned from the MVP race, he was lap...

Here's a second-half NBA prediction: Intermittent switch-flipping
It felt like the NBA used to be a lot more consistent. The teams that were good in the regular season also were good in the postseason, for the most part, and if you looked and/or played like a scrub, you were usually dismissed like one. During this era, it’s almost as if you should wait to lay futu...

Here's why Jayson Tatum has struggled to distinguish himself in the MVP mosaic
Since entering the league, Jayson Tatum has been the leading active stakeholder in carrying Kobe Bryant’s influence into a new decade. In nature, the Green Mamba is a less aggressive, nontoxic breed, compared to the eponymous viper Kobe built his persona around, which is an apt description for the d...

JJ Redick says it's 'always an excuse' with Doc Rivers
Former NBA sharpshooter JJ Redick is tired of Doc Rivers’ excuses. The First Take host went off on his former coach Tuesday morning, saying how he’s “seen the trend for years....

Who is Mr. Franchise for each NBA team in the 21st century?
Michael Jordan will always be synonymous with the Chicago Bulls. Same thing for Magic Johnson with the Los Angeles Lakers and Larry Bird with the Boston Celtics. But since the turn of the 21st Century, some teams have gone a decade without a face of the franchise (think the Detroit Pistons and Orlan...

The NFL has the power to help fix our nation's gun problem
It’s time for the NFL to take a stand against gun violence after a week when this year’s Super Bowl was bookended by two shootings. The second shooting happened on Wednesday at the end of the Chiefs Super Bowl parade in Kansas City. Some schools had closed so that students could attend the victory c...

Draymond Green tried to play matchmaker with LeBron and Steph, and who could blame him?
Closed mouths don’t get fed, and Draymond Green took that philosophy to heart. This time around, Green took it upon himself to take the type of clumsy desperation heave he usually takes in games and wedges between the rim and backboard....

Warriors unsuccessfully tried to pair LeBron and Steph Curry
A dreary deadline almost saw a seismic transfer of power in the West, as ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne reported that the Golden State Warriors unsuccessfully tried to trade with the Los Angeles Lakers to acquire LeBron James. ...
