12:43 AM ET NEW YORK — For the first time since they both spurned the New York Knicks and joined forces with the Brooklyn Nets in the summer of 2019, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving played together inside Madison Square Garden and helped lead their team to a 110-98 victory over a Knicks team that
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Phoenix Suns point guard Chris Paul has made history with four different NBA teams, which serves as a timely reminder as the No. 1 Suns enter playoffs. The NBA’s WAR (wins above replacement) metric offers a statistical quantification of how much one player influences a team’s record. According to FiveThirtyEight’s RAPTOR WAR calculations, Denver Nuggets
A general view of the NBA logo: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports The NBA Playoffs are right around the corner, but unlike most years, there is an impossible amount of questions still surrounding the league. Most important among them is, who is the best team this season? The NBA Playoffs are just about here, but there
7:10 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN The Philadelphia 76ers listed guard Matisse Thybulle as “ineligible to play” in Thursday’s game in Toronto against the Raptors, a sign Thybulle could also be unable to play in the three road games of a potential playoff series between the two franchises. Last week, ESPN asked the four teams atop
LeBron James is in range to win the 2021-22 NBA scoring title but he’ll need to overcome some hurdles to get to the top of the stat charts. It’s been an utterly disappointing season for the Los Angeles Lakers, who have been eliminated from the playoffs despite compiling a “big three” of stars including LeBron
11:51 AM ET Chicago Bulls point guard Lonzo Ball will not return for the remainder of the season, the team announced Wednesday. Ball, who has not played since Jan. 14, had surgery on his left knee on Jan. 28 to repair a slight meniscus tear. The team said he is still experiencing pain “with high-level
With the NBA season almost finished, which players distinguished themselves most this year on the defensive end? Accurately evaluating NBA defense is an almost impossible endeavor, and opinions of individual defenders depend largely on the eye of the beholder. There are so many little things that happen (or don’t) within a possession that can fly
Memphis Grizzlies center Steven Adams has perfected the art of offensive rebounding by just standing there. When it comes to offensive rebounding, Memphis Grizzlies center Steven Adams likes to KISS it: Keep it simple, stupid. Adams was asked at the podium on how to explain his success on the glass in layman’s terms to the commoners
12:57 AM ET PHOENIX — A season that started with championship promise for the Los Angeles Lakers ended with the pain of failing to even qualify for the play-in tournament. Tuesday’s 121-110 loss to the Phoenix Suns — coupled with a 116-97 win by the San Antonio Spurs over the Denver Nuggets — officially eliminated
The Whiteboard is The Step Back’s daily basketball newsletter, covering the NBA, WNBA and more. Subscribe here to get it delivered to you via email each morning. The 50-40-90 season is one of the rarest achievements in the NBA record books. It requires a player to shoot at least 50 percent from the field, 40 percent
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 16: Brooklyn Nets head coach Steve Nash instructs his team against the Dallas Mavericks during their game at Barclays Center on March 16, 2022 in New York City. The Nets aren’t going to enter the NBA Playoffs with a high seed, but that doesn’t mean they can’t defy the
Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis. (Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports) Cowboys got cold feet over drafting Jalen Ramsey by Alicia de Artola Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis still has hope of making the playoffs but he’s frustrated by “what we could’ve been” this season. The Lakers brought together a big three in Los
Former Lakers president of basketball operations Magic Johnson chronicles how the offseason moves LeBron James wanted in 2021 hurt the team this season. Imagine if the Lakers were 43-33, which would have put them in the Western Conference playoffs, instead of 31-47. Perhaps that kind of record would have been possible if the Lakers did
2:26 PM ET PHOENIX — The Los Angeles Lakers will head into a potential elimination game without their leader, LeBron James. James was ruled out of Tuesday’s game against the Phoenix Suns with left ankle soreness, the team announced. It will be James’ third missed game out of the Lakers’ last four. The Lakers, who
Former Golden State Warriors center Andrew Bogut spoke on a recent podcast about how the refs let him get away with anything when it came to physical play. For over a decade, the face of illegal screens in the NBA seemed to be former NBA center Andrew Bogut. Bogut embraced this identity, saying in 2019
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – DECEMBER 26: Paul George #13 of the Los Angeles Clippers reacts after a play during the fourth quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Crypto.com Arena on December 26, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting
8:00 AM ET Could the NBA regular season’s final week decide the 2022 MVP? While Denver Nuggets center and reigning MVP Nikola Jokic has the inside track at the award, both he and Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid have plenty to play for down the stretch. (The Nuggets can still capture home-court advantage in the
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (6): Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports The NBA Playoffs are right around the corner, but there is still a lot that must be settled before we get there. That doesn’t mean it’s too early to make some bold predictions about what’s going to happen. It’s been a wild NBA season.
7:37 PM ET Free-agent guard Luca Vildoza is expected to finalize a deal with the Milwaukee Bucks that’ll take him through the 2022-23 season, sources told ESPN. Vildoza — MVP of the 2020 Spanish ACB League finals — has fully recovered from foot surgery and will be activated for the Bucks in the playoffs, sources
Los Angeles Lakers point guard Russell Westbrook isn’t quite finished with hinting at disagreement with Frank Vogel and the Lakers coaching staff. When ESPN reported in early March that the Lakers organization was pressuring Frank Vogel to demote Russell Westbrook from the starting lineup, Vogel maintained that there was enough time for Westbrook to turn his
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – APRIL 02: Jimmy Butler #22 of the Miami Heat shoots in the first half against the Chicago Bulls at United Center on April 02, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois. The Heat may have had some dysfunction on the sidelines recently, but they’re still a legitimate NBA title contender for these five reasons. Jimmy
2:35 PM ET NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant said he believes his team’s season got derailed when he injured the MCL in his left knee in mid January. “To be honest, I feel like our season was derailed by my injury,” Durant said after Monday’s practice. “So I’m not looking at it
Kevin Love is playing for a resurgent Cavaliers as LeBron and the Lakers drop out of the playoffs. Could LeBron be headed back to Cleveland again? The 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers that shocked the Golden State Warriors still keep in touch. Often. “100 percent, We have six of us on there.” Kevin Love told FanSided. “It’s
8:00 AM ET With one week to go in the NBA’s regular season, only three postseason seeds are locked in: The Phoenix Suns will have the top seed in the Western Conference playoffs, the Memphis Grizzlies will have the second and the LA Clippers are locked into eighth. The other 17 seeds remain up for
With the start of the playoffs just a few days away, it’s time to hand out some awards for the 2021-22 NBA season. Amazingly, we are less than two weeks away from the end of the NBA season, which means it’s time to get to work on selecting 2021-22 award winners. I, of course, do
10:23 PM ET LOS ANGELES — After the Lakers continued their free fall from play-in tournament contention with a sixth straight loss on Sunday, Anthony Davis looked back at a season gone awry and reflected on what “could have been.” “I think the biggest thing that I think about personally is what we could have
The Whiteboard is The Step Back’s daily basketball newsletter, covering the NBA, WNBA and more. Subscribe here to get it delivered to you via email each morning. As the end of the NBA season approaches playoff and award races are narrowing. In the case of MVP, that latest straw poll at ESPN indicates that we’re likely
4:34 PM ET LOS ANGELES — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar publicly criticized LeBron James once again Sunday, with the Los Angeles Lakers legend saying he believes the current Lakers star has a greater responsibility in how he conducts himself given his elevated platform. “Some of the things he’s done and said are really beneath him, as far
San Antonio Spurs shooting guard Manu Ginobili. (Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports) NJPW: Starter’s guide to New Japan Pro Wrestling by Gerard Hennessy Who will be inducted into the 2022 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame class? Reports are trickling in about the latest Hall of Famers. When it comes to individual honors in sports, it doesn’t
Mar 29, 2022; Dallas, Texas, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis (yellow hoodie) sits on the Laker team bench during the second quarter of the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Lakers at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports Trevor Bauer suing journalist & The Athletic for