Maybe the answer to declining ratings is for the NBA to stop worrying about television ratings and realize itself as an extended universe for fans to interact with. At a base level, the NBA is a machine for making money. The inputs are players, coaches and organizations, run through the artificial mechanism of an extended,
Month: January 2020
3:30 AM ET LOS ANGELES — LeBron James and Kevin Love shared an intricate postgame handshake — a flurry of patted hands, fist pounds and high-fives — then hugged and made their way to separate locker rooms. The Los Angeles Lakers‘ 128-99 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday was the first time James and
The Milwaukee Bucks are a prime championship threat. The Indiana Pacers are solid as always. The Detroit Pistons are slowly crumbling and the Chicago Bulls are still fighting incompetence. The Cleveland Cavaliers, meanwhile, are a sad laughingstock. Nothing about the NBA’s Central Division is surprising relative to preseason expectations. Its teams, broadly speaking, are exactly
9:06 PM ET The Los Angeles Lakers said forward Anthony Davis will remain out Monday night against the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers, while guard Rajon Rondo is listed as day-to-day with a fracture on his right ring finger. This will be the Davis’ third consecutive missed game since suffering what the team is calling a gluteus
What looked to be a roster of low-risk, high-value young veterans to scaffold their young talent turned out to be a bloated developmental mess. How can the Knicks get value for that? A coaching change has helped the Knicks turn their season around to some degree, but the writing is still on the wall. Veterans
With Kyrie Irving back on the court for the Brooklyn Nets and Blake Griffin contemplating knee surgery, we explore what the two stars’ careers tell us about injury-prone NBA players. Not every NBA prospect labeled as “injury prone” follows a career trajectory worthy of a Disney movie. It’s not always the tragedy of Greg Oden
9:22 AM ET What has changed in the NBA Power Rankings this week? Our experts rank the best teams in the league, from No. 1 to No. 30, with the Utah Jazz rising and the Brooklyn Nets sliding. Throughout the regular season, our panel (ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, Andre’ Snellings, Royce Young and Bobby Marks, and
There are many similarities between Giannis Antetokounmpo and Ben Simmons. Both are extremely athletic, versatile wings with incredible length and defensive prowess. They are point forwards on elite teams in the Eastern Conference. They also once upon a time shared a common weakness — shooting. While Giannis has transformed himself into a respectable jump shooter
5:46 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN TORONTO — Before the Raptors faced the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday at Scotiabank Arena, Raptors coach Nick Nurse was concerned about Pascal Siakam needing to shake off several weeks’ worth of rust in his first game back from a groin injury. “I think it’ll be a challenge, to be
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – DECEMBER 09: Blake Griffin #23 of the Detroit Pistons in action against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center on December 09, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms
5:11 PM ET ESPN News Services NEW YORK — Kyrie Irving is back for the Brooklyn Nets, and his impact was immediate. Irving had 21 points on 10-of-11 shooting to go with four rebounds and three assists, leading the Nets to a 108-86 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday at Barclays Center. Although he
12:52 AM ET OKLAHOMA CITY — With LeBron James and Anthony Davis sitting out the same game for the first time all season, there was a new big two for the Los Angeles Lakers in Saturday’s 125-110 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder: Rajon Rondo and Kyle Kuzma. The pair combined for 57 points —
As the Knicks drift slowly back into the tank, fans need to find other events to keep them occupied. For the past two decades, Madison Square Garden’s mostly been a vacant lot full of errant litter. Sure, the Knicks have played better during Mike Miller’s stint behind the wheel. But the bar he raised was
2:16 AM ET Eric WoodyardESPN The Milwaukee Bucks boarded their private plane to take them to San Antonio sporting a 32-5 record, the best in the NBA this season. Their .865 win percentage had them on pace to win 71 games, putting them on par with the 1996-96 Chicago Bulls (72-10) and the 2015-16 Golden
8:51 PM ET ESPN News Services HOUSTON — James Harden scored 32 points in three quarters to surpass 20,000 and the Houston Rockets rolled to an easy 139-109 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday. Not everything went smoothly for Harden, though, as he turned it over 11 times in the first half, the most
Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid will be undergoing surgery to address his finger dislocation. He will be out indefinitely. You most likely saw the pictures floating around on Twitter or some other corner of the internet. In a win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday evening, Philadelphia 76ers All-NBA center Joel Embiid gruesomely dislocated
2:57 AM ET DALLAS — While outdueling Luka Doncic on the court Friday, LeBron James also managed to one-up Michael Jordan in the record books. James passed Jordan for fourth place on the all-time field goals made list en route to a 35-point, 16-rebound, 7-assist night in the Los Angeles Lakers‘ 129-114 win over the
From the mental performance side, one of the most underexplored and underutilized parts of the game is bench time. The period during timeouts and when players wait to go into the game presents a huge opportunity to prime performance. Using this time inefficiently is missing a great opportunity. Here’s why. Beta Mind to Higher Flow
3:42 AM ET LOS ANGELES — After erasing a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit, Kawhi Leonard drove left around Glenn Robinson III and put the punctuation on his big night with his second monster dunk of the game as Omari Spellman thought about challenging before floating away from harm. The LA Clippers had four days off between
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – JANUARY 9: Russell Westbrook #0 of the Houston Rockets looks on during his welcoming back video to Oklahoma City before the game on January 9, 2020 at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User
7:53 PM ET Associated Press DALLAS — Anthony Davis won’t play against Dallas in the opener of a road back-to-back after the Los Angeles Lakers star bruised his buttocks against the New York Knicks. The team made the announcement several hours before the Lakers played at the Mavericks on Friday night. Davis was injured on
After an eventful holiday season, the NBA now enters its middle third. With Christmas in the rearview, teams and players will push forward to the All-Star break over the next month-and-a-half. Over the last two weeks, many of the candidates for the year’s awards turned in performances that could help or hurt their positioning. Joel
10:40 AM ET Toronto Raptors star Pascal Siakam is expected to practice Friday with hopes of returning to the lineup in the next week, league sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Siakam has not played since Dec. 18, when he suffered a groin injury during an awkward landing. He is averaging a team-leading 25.1 points and
After trading away Russell Westbrook and Paul George, many expected the Thunder to tank this year. Instead, they’re looking like a playoff team. This offseason, after the Oklahoma City Thunder traded away their two best players, few expected them to be, you know, good. Of course, not many expected the Thunder to really prioritize being
10:05 PM ET OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma City Thunder had never before played a tribute video for the return of a former player. But Russell Westbrook is certainly unique. The video played before the Houston Rockets‘ starting lineup was introduced Thursday night at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Deafening cheers and a familiar chant drowned out
From the mental performance side, one of the most underexplored and underutilized parts of the game is bench time. The period during timeouts and when players wait to go into the game presents a huge opportunity to prime performance. Using this time inefficiently is missing a great opportunity. Here’s why. Beta Mind to Higher Flow
PHILADELPHIA — Joel Embiid is having surgery to repair a torn radial collateral ligament in the ring finger of his left hand Friday morning, the team said Thursday night. Embiid met with a hand specialist before Thursday night’s game against the Boston Celtics at Wells Fargo Center, where the determination for him to have surgery
Victor Oladipo is aiming to be back before the end of the month, so how will his return impact the Indiana Pacers? A report in December pointed to Victor Oladipo being back in action sometime in late-January or early-February. Now, he has told Shams Charania of Stadium and The Athletic he is targeting Jan. 29
12:19 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN BOSTON — For more than two decades, there have been two universal truths about the Western Conference playoffs: The Spurs will be there, and teams with losing records will not. Both of those could change in 2020. The Spurs might still find a way to extend their NBA-record streak of
It was the holiday season of a lifetime for Rayjon Tucker. The day before Christmas Eve, he received a phone call letting him know that his dream of playing in the NBA was about to come true. The Utah Jazz had just completed a trade sending Dante Exum to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Jordan Clarkson
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- Next Page »