the-nba Page 80 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Bucks/Nets is still NBA’s best David vs. Goliath storyline these days… only David has a ring now
It was déjà vu in Milwaukee last night as the Bucks took on the Brooklyn Nets in their season opener — a team they had last faced in a Game 7 overtime thriller in the Eastern Conference Semifinals just a few months earlier. In that one, memorably, the Bucks were saved from a loss by none other than ...

Daryl Morey — not Ben Simmons or Doc Rivers — should be getting the blame in Philadelphia
If there was a scouting report on Daryl Morey, under strengths it would read — “uncanny ability to never get blamed for creating disasters.”...

Deandre Ayton — and Suns fans — deserve better
Usually, opening day is met with optimism. Teams have yet to get blown out by 50, lose a key player to injury, or quit on a coach. (Well, except for that Ben Simmons situation.)...

Ben Simmons is going full James Harden, which you should never do if you don't actually shoot the ball
For those who saw clips from the Philadelphia 76ers practice on Monday, it would have been reasonable to draw the conclusion that guard/forward Ben Simmons didn’t want to be there. One picture showed him practicing with his phone in his sweatpants pocket, and in a viral clip he was dribbling a baske...

Tyrese Haliburton would like you to care about his team
The NBA’s opening night is upon us, and one of the great things about that is all 30 teams have hope and high expectations for themselves. Every NBA fan base across the nation can say this might be their team’s year. All those hopes and dreams are still in play until a player like Tyrese Haliburton ...

This NBA-<i>Succession</i> mashup will have you from the opening piano chord
Rise and shine, it’s NBA day....

Success won’t be so easy for the Utah Jazz this time around
The NBA is back, and the Western Conference is looking even more stacked than last year. The glamour division of the Pacific looks to be the standout of the association, with a strong possibility of sending four teams to the postseason. The second-best division in the west this year will be the Nort...

Odell Beckham Jr. to the Packers?!
An intriguing trade was proposed recently on First Take by Stephen A. Smith, where he lobbied for the Green Bay Packers and Cleveland Browns to make a deal that teams Odell Beckham Jr. with Aaron Rodgers. Ultimately, I know this comes down to Smith wishing for anything that might knock the Dallas Co...

If anybody in the Pacific is going to disappoint, it’s Golden State
We here at Deadspin sometimes have differing opinions. That might be hard to believe, but it’s true, and as we get closer to the start of the NBA season, many of us have conflicting ideas on how the season will play out. For example, my co-worker Criss Partee believes that with a healthy Klay Thomps...

Get ready, because the Mavericks are going to let you down big time this season
“They” said Dallas won the Trae Young/Luka Dončić 2018 Draft day trade. Yet, “they,” and everybody else, are still waiting on Dončić to win a playoff series, as Young was a twisted ankle away from playing in the NBA Finals....

Assuming LeBron James wants to win a fifth championship (duh), it will take less effort from him instead of more
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James has played a combined 61,090 combined regular season and playoff minutes, per Basketball-reference.com data. That is just 1,669 total minutes less than Hall of Fame forward Karl Malone and 5,207 minutes less than Hall of Fame center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the tw...

Ime Udoka announces his presence with authority
Boston Celtics first-year head coach Ime Udoka isn’t wasting any time making his mark on this team. During Boston’s preseason finale against the Miami Heat, forward Grant Williams decided to argue a foul call with an official, allowing the Heat’s Bam Adebayo to beat him back down the court for an ea...

The WNBA just finished a legendary season — now they have to address the drama the Atlanta Dream and Phoenix Mercury created
What if I told you that a hometown kid would come home and help deliver a championship to their city — for a franchise that has never won a championship — against the very same team that prevented that hometown team from winning a title seven years ago?...

If the NFL is serious about games in Europe, Jerry Jones and the Cowboys need to make some trips across the pond
In 2014, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said that he would like to see an NFL team in London. He said this while in London for the Cowboys’ one and only appearance at the NFL London Games. Every NFL team has been to London except for the Green Bay Packers, but that doesn’t mean that the other 31 t...

If Giannis did what I think he just did, the rest of the NBA is in trouble, with or without Kyrie
When we last left two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo he was ordering a cheat meal fit for a champion: 50 (not 51, not 49) chicken minis from Chick-Fil-A, with a large Sprite/lemonade. This was a month after narrowly defeating the Brooklyn Nets while we all complained about his jump shot holding ...

Dominique Wilkins is owed an apology and the only asterisk I’ll accept in sports
Dominique Wilkins is owed apologies from a lot of you people. ...

No Tyler Herro, you should not be in Luka, Trae, or Ja’s category
Yesterday, Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro made an appearance on a podcast and talked about how he views himself as an NBA talent. Herro responded claiming that he believes he should be in the conversation as the other young up-and-comers in the league with the potential to be All-Stars or superstars. ...

Deandre Ayton hasn’t gotten paid because Phoenix is cheap
Phoenix Suns fans might be in for a rude awakening coming very soon. Breakout big man Deandre Ayton is eligible for a rookie max contract extension, but is still without one heading into his fourth year with the Suns. This comes with the territory when you play for a frugal owner who is mainly conce...

Pierce and Garnett team up for podcast
For all of you NBA podcast lovers out there, you’ll soon have another to add to your favorites list. Former Boston Celtics and Hall of Famers Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett seem to be jumping into the NBA podcasting arena. Pierce posted a tease for the new venture via Twitter on Monday morning....

32 teams need to hear this: There is no pitching formula for the playoffs
Many years ago now, baseball pundits and fans tried to come up with a “secret sauce” for success in the playoffs. It can be pretty infuriating to simply accept that the sport’s biggest prize is handed out at the conclusion of a tournament that is essentially random. There had to be a reason these th...