nba Page 131 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

The Miami Heat feel like Riley’s ’90s Knicks
The Miami Heat are the only NBA contender built like a UFC promotion. Knowing that it was inevitable that Heat culture nearly turned that energy inward during a lousy loss to the Golden State Warriors. Udonis Haslem threatening to beat Jimmy Butler’s ass and Eric Spoelstra asking if Butler wanted to...

Devin Booker is having a spectacular season for Phoenix but where’s the MVP love?
We often hear about consistency in sports, yet it feels like it’s rarely rewarded without the proper narrative or flair behind it. That’s the case for Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker. All Booker does is step on the court and average 26 points per game like clockwork for the best team in the NBA. He’...

Be patient, but more importantly, not cheap, Chicago
If Zach LaVine and Demar DeRozan thought backup was coming in the form of Lonzo Ball, Alex Caruso, or Patrick Williams, they might want to try buddy-copping their way out of the jam Chicago is in now. Fake argue like Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, or mix karate with charisma like Chris Tucker and J...

Kevin Durant says Dirk Nowitzki is the best shooting big of all time, but it's actually Kevin Durant
I’m not surprised that Kevin Durant has a great deal of respect for Dirk Nowitzki’s game. Prior to Dirk becoming one of the best players in the league, all the basketball players who were bigger than most of the other basketball players were scoffed at for not playing with their back to the basket. ...

Has it really been a bad year for Julius Randle or was last season just an outlier?
This can’t be the season Knicks forward Julius Randle envisioned coming off a career year where he averaged 24 points per game, led his team to the playoffs, was named Most Improved Player, and became a first time All-NBA selection. The Knicks are in 11th place in the East now, with no real chance a...

When Jimmy Butler shows you who he is…
We’ve all been down this road before, except so few want to call it what it is. It’s probably because Jimmy Butler is so eager to give the media what it wants, and that is juicy quotes and stories and also to make them feel like one of the guys. He’s happy to have them along, if not outright bring t...

Kyrie Irving outlasted the NBA and Eric Adams in a game of chicken — but nobody won
James Harden should have waited....

Fictional Hooper Bracket: Western U. Region - Round 2
The Western University Region is strictly for hoopers, and the matchups reflected that. Love & Basketball’s Monica Wright McCall and White Men Can’t Jump’s Sidney Dean adore the game, and people clearly rewarded them for it. The talent and force of Grandmama and Ty Crane were too much for Deacon Mos...

A tribute to the omnipresent NBA stars who never played a minute
Let’s pour one out for the lost souls of the 2021-22 NBA season. This season was a void on their resumes for a select few stars. An entire missed season can be an opportunity to step back, reevaluate and return for a bounce-back campaign. Or they can smack into the 2023 season like porcelain against...

This Kyrie situation is starting to feel like the Mayor of New York is trying to beat him in a game of one-on-one
I know this is March Madness and NFL Free Agency season, but the NBA Playoffs start in less than 30 days. That last, and most entertaining, mile of the NBA season, but maximum entertainment value is only achieved if all of the stars are playing. That appears to still be in jeopardy with Kyrie Irving...

Hornets sign Isaiah Thomas for the rest of the season
These last few years have been tough for Charlotte Hornets guard Isaiah Thomas. He’s been on nothing but 10-day contracts recently, and after consecutive 10-day deals in Charlotte, the Hornets have decided to keep Thomas on for the remainder of the year....

Mavs again find themselves embroiled in sexual misconduct allegations
It would be nice if sports leagues were proactive on issues with workplace culture and harassment. Instead of waiting around for formal charges to be filed, public outrage to grow so loud that it can’t be ignored, or a Baxter Holmes bombshell, commissioners should follow up on every rumor of sexual ...

Fictional Hooper Bracket: The Rucker Region - Round 2
The only havoc in the first round of the Rucker Regional was a 5-12 upset, which has become almost commonplace in March Madnesses everywhere. We’ll see how things tighten up heading into the Silver Screen 16 with matchups like Kyrie Irving alter ego Uncle Drew getting his first real test of the tour...

Fictional Hooper Bracket: Venice Beach Regional - Round 2
The first round of the Venice Beach Regional went mostly according to the seedings, with an easily predicted upset (12-seed Buggs beating the 5-seed Pound in a Space Jam rematch), and one I didn’t see coming (13-seed Clarence Withers toppling 4-seed Quincy McCall). At the top of the bracket, Billy H...

The return of the Celtics
It wasn’t long ago that the Boston Celtics were viewed as one of the more underachieving teams in the NBA this season. ...

Say Goodbye to J. Crossover
Damn, nobody in the NBA needed a possible 15 points in 12 minutes waiting on their bench for the playoffs?...

March Madness has turned to goo for MSU coach Tom Izzo
The time has come to downgrade Tom Izzo’s rep. For the lack of a better word, it has turned to goo....

Russell Westbrook’s latest incident with heckler on Toronto street highlights serious issue for the NBA
This has probably been the most challenging season of Russell Westbrook’s 14-year career in the NBA. Teaming up with LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and the Lakers has proven to be an experiment not worth repeating next season. ...

After an all-time bad freshman campaign, where does Emoni Bates go from here?
Jalen Duren and Chet Homgren’s matchup in the Round of 32 provided a preview of two future lottery picks in the upcoming NBA Draft. Holmgren and Duren didn’t exactly light it up, but they gave scouts a glimpse of two future franchise cornerstones....

LeBron James passes Karl Malone in quest to becoming NBA’s scoring GOAT
LeBron James moved one step closer to the ultimate goal of becoming the NBA’s all-time leading scorer on Saturday night when he passed Karl Malone for second on the list. James posted point number 36,929 of his career in a 127-119 loss to the Wizards in Washington. He scored the basket on a layup in...