Western Conference Page 4 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
Raise your hand if you want a Denver Nuggets-Memphis Grizzlies Western Conference Finals
If you directly asked the NBA powers how they would feel about a Memphis Grizzlies-Denver Nuggets matchup in the Western Conference Finals, I think they’d offer a “We’d love that.” However, if you asked the same people the same question in an anonymous poll, I’m pretty sure the responses would be so...
The best NBA games to watch this week
Of course, a single game does not impact a team’s overall record the same way that it does an NFL team. In the NBA, teams play multiple games per week. That is not changing anytime soon, especially with the Golden State Warriors needing to host as many events as possible in their palatial $1.4 billi...
Can Paul George and Kawhi Leonard social distance their way to a title?
The Los Angeles Clippers are a bifurcated roster. Without one or both of their wings, they are in a steep nosedive. There are three different incarnations of Ty Lue’s rotation. The Kawhi Leonard Clippers are almost mechanical in their execution as the two-time champion keys the offense. Paul George’...
Grizzlies' Ja Morant facing lawsuit for allegedly striking 17-year-old
Former second-overall draft pick Ja Morant is the face of one of the best franchises in the NBA right now. The Memphis Grizzlies are 23-13, giving them the second-best record in the Western Conference, and the fourth-best record across the league. Amid all the celebration, though, comes a lawsuit ag...
The road not taken: How Carlos Correa and other agreements voided or reversed have altered destinies
Days after agreeing to a 13-year, $350 million deal to serve as San Fran’s shortstop of the foreseeable future, former Astros SS, Carlos Correa regurgitated his Giants agreement and opted to occupy third base for the Mets for the next 12 years instead at a marked down $315 million rate. Correa’s abo...
Donovan Mitchell finally said the quiet part out loud about being Black in Utah
Timing is everything. And on Dec. 19, 2022, it all came together....
Best in the West
The Golden State Warriors lost again last night. On Tuesday, the Phoenix Suns dropped a game to the lowly Houston Rockets for the second time this month. Those two wins account for 22.2 percent of the Rockets’ victories this season....
Which NBA title contender will Jae Crowder join?
Championship NBA teams have always revolved around star players, but the glue guys/role players make it possible for franchises to become title contenders. There are stars all over the Association, but only those with the best supporting casts can make deep runs into the postseason year after year. ...
Chris Paul is going to lose any argument that’s anti-Zion Williamson dunking
The NBA season is nearly one-third over, and the team with the best record in the Western Conference is… the New Orleans Pelicans. They have the highest average point differential of any team in the conference by almost two points, outscoring teams by 7.1 points per outing....
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 ...
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...
Only one player can save this season for the Lakers, that player is Anthony Davis
There is a reason that the Los Angeles Lakers have so little draft capital. ...
10 NBA storylines that deserve more love
It feels like we’re already in midseason form. Truth is, we’re barely a month in....
The Utah Jazz are George Costanza-ing their way to the top of the West
“What is going on in Utah?” was the Brian Windhorst query that ruled the summer as the Jazz’s CEO of basketball operations Danny Ainge jettisoned Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves for a boatload of first-round picks through 2029. The answer was Utah gutting their roster and Quin Snyder walki...
How the mid-2000s Suns f’ed it all up
Everything we love about the current NBA was made mainstream by the “seven seconds or less” Phoenix Suns of the mid-2000s. They mostly ran lineups that went four out, surrounding their All-Star big man, Amar’e Stoudemire, with space to dominate less athletic bigs. In the 2000s, just about every othe...
Luka Dončić is just a more clutch James Harden
By the way Luka Dončić has been talked about this year, you’d think the Dallas Mavericks would be undefeated — or at least near the top of the Western Conference standings. The Slovenian superstar is the first player since Wilt Chamberlain to start a season with seven straight 30-point games — which...
Will have some more of this, thank you
Tuesday night was Klay Thompson’s 651st regular-season game as a Golden State Warrior. When you add the 145 playoff games, Thompson’s been a part of 796 games in his career, and he’d never been ejected from one — until Tuesday night in Phoenix. ...
Early NBA season superlatives: Let’s hope this version of the Knicks lasts longer than ‘Bing bong!’
It’s hard to get a vibe on the NBA after one week of games. The Wizards started last 10-3, and New York fans were excitedly yelling “Bing bong!” before both came to depressing finishes. Klay Thompson didn’t return until midseason, and it looks like it may take Jamal Murray and Kawhi Leonard some tim...
Wouldn’t you love to hear what executives for the Panthers and Jazz are honestly thinking right now?
Professional sports are like many other industries. The goals of management and the employees are not always aligned....
On NBA opening night Golden State looked ready to repeat while the Lakers chucked up bricks all night
The Golden State Warriors collected their NBA championship rings on opening night before smashing the Los Angeles Lakers, 123-109. After watching this game, it looks like we could experience déjà vu this time next year. It’s only one game, but there isn’t a team in the NBA that can contain this offe...