nba Page 173 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Will we actually see an NBA Finals without LeBron?
We might be in store for something very rare in the NBA — a Finals that doesn’t include LeBron James. With the Lakers down 3-2 to the Phoenix Suns, the possibility is becoming more and more likely that the defending champs won’t make it out of the first round. Not seeing Lebron making a deep playoff...

USFL may be back, but without the fool who ruined it the first time
In case you missed the news, the USFL is back!...

MLB doesn’t need a 'face of baseball,' and the proof is in the playoffs
Mike Trout has as many MVP awards as career playoff games played, with three, and for as much talk as there might be in baseball — even from the commissioner — about MLB’s need for the best player of his generation to take on the mantle of the face of the game, no amount of marketing can make up for...

Grizzlies are closer than you think to being a part of the NBA’s upper echelon
The Grizzlies are a front office move away from wrecking the entire NBA....

HEAR ME OUT: The Lakers need to sit Anthony Davis tonight
Anthony Davis should NOT play in the Los Angeles Lakers’ biggest game of the season....

Damian Lillard is one of the greatest clutch players to touch a basketball
It’s time for us to have an honest conversation about Damian Lillard....

Ja Morant’s mom won't attend Game 5 in Salt Lake City after harassment from racist fans
I know the overwhelming majority of NBA fans haven’t been throwing water bottles, or running onto the court, or spitting on players, ect. But the actions of a few Utah “fans” have caused Ja Morant’s mom to opt out of a complimentary offer to watch her son play on the road. For her, it’s just not wor...

Hear me out: Great as he is, it may be time for Blazers to move CJ McCollum
By now, I’m sure you’ve heard of the otherworldly performance Damian Lillard gave last night in a losing effort — 55 points, 10 assists, six rebounds, three blocks. He’s the first NBA player ever — EVER — regular season or postseason, to post at least 50 points, 10 assists, and 10 three-pointers mad...

MLB’s first entry into NFT craze – Lou Gehrig's speech – doesn’t pass the smell test
Add “non-fungible” to the list of words that define 2021....

Donovan Mitchell is one playoff run away from being the best player on the planet
Donovan Mitchell really could be the NBA’s finest one day. ...

Hey, Knicks fans: At least you’re not the Maple Leafs
How bad was the Toronto Maple Leafs’ collapse? It’s better to be a Knicks fan right now....

Naomi Osaka was bullied out of the French Open
In 2006, Zach Greinke almost quit baseball. Racked with social anxiety, Greinke told the media he thought, “Why am I putting myself through torture when I didn’t really want to do it? I mean, I enjoyed playing, but everything else that went with it I didn’t.”...

The Bucks are first to round two, and are looking like the team to beat (sorry, Nets)
For whatever reason, the Milwaukee Bucks completed Game 4 of Round 1 before the Philadelphia 76ers even began Game 3 of their series....

Does MLB even have a marketing department?
Last weekend, when writing about José Godoy becoming the 20,000th player in Major League Baseball history, I brought up the story of Bob Watson being the man who scored MLB’s one-millionth run, and all the hoopla around that in 1975....

Last night was an anomaly, but it still shows Nets need more than their big three
If you told me that the James Harden-Kevin Durant-Kyrie Irving trio would combine for 96 points, opposite 50 from Jayson Tatum and only 6 from Kemba Walker, I would’ve thought the Nets won that game by double figures. ...

Deadspin’s Jesse Spector goes full Abe Simpson
Having turned 40, I’m aware that I have lots of OLD MAN YELLS AT CLOUD potential, but the NBA really needs to cool it with the constant uniform switching. Most of the time, whatever, we’ve all accepted that an NBA player’s job expectations in 2021 include modeling various styles of Nike activewear. ...

This is the Jimmy Butler I remember
The Bucks-Heat series was supposed to be one of the most intriguing of the first round. Last year’s Eastern Conference champ, going up against a Bucks team that, if they were to spit it early for the second straight year, could be facing some kind of organizational overhaul. There was the added spic...

Nuggets/Blazers is so much more than just Jokić vs. Lillard
Nikola Jokić and Damian Lillard are doing exactly what they’re supposed to do....

J. Cole’s pro basketball career is over — it should never have begun
Dreams are something J. Cole often raps about. It’s the name of his music label — Dreamville Records. But dreams aren’t promised. Sometimes one person’s dream can be another’s nightmare....
![NBA needs to put unruly fans in check before we have another Malice at the Palace [Updated]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/a452f5098bb6085125104d937a9a8d4f.jpg)
NBA needs to put unruly fans in check before we have another Malice at the Palace [Updated]
What happened last night to Russell Westbrook was unacceptable....