The Milwaukee Bucks are having a historically great regular season, but they aren’t guaranteed to win this year’s NBA championship. What might trip them up? The Milwaukee Bucks are in the midst of a historically great regular season. At 50-8, they’re on pace to become only the third team in NBA history to win at
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1:40 AM ET Andrew LopezESPN NEW ORLEANS — On Sunday morning prior to the New Orleans Pelicans final regular-season matchup of the year with the Los Angeles Lakers, Pelicans guard Josh Hart was asked about the potential of playing his former team in the playoffs. “That’s gonna be us being here and he stays there,
Dennis Smith Jr. sits at his locker, checking his phone and listening to music before most games. He’s available to the press in the locker room more than most Knicks, but he’s looked increasingly forlorn. It wasn’t supposed to go like this. “I’m thinking exactly what you’re thinking,” Smith Jr. told Basketball Insiders. “I had
4:29 PM ET ESPN News Services Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo reeled off 41 points, 20 rebounds and six assists — in just 35 minutes — in Sunday’s 93-85 win over the Charlotte Hornets. It was the fewest minutes played in a 40-20-5 game in NBA history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The previous
Jimmy Butler can be a savior to a struggling team, but he can also be a sledgehammer that breaks it apart. It just may depend on the situation and people around him whether it’s fulfillment or failure. Charles Darwin. No, he is not some new basketball phenom rising through the high school ranks, ready to
Averaging 30 points per game and a career-high in assists, but taking back to back losses while scoring 50+ — Bradley Beal needs our help. Let’s brainstorm some ways to help him, shall we? There’s one of two ways your emotions can go when it comes to Bradley Beal’s current exile in the Nation’s Capital.
6:34 AM ET NBA Insiders How are the 2020 NBA playoffs and draft lottery likely to shake out with teams approaching the 60-game mark? The postseason picture is starting to take shape, with 15 teams already having greater than a 99% chance to make it in, according to ESPN’s Basketball Power Index. But which team
It’s been another brutal season for the Detroit Pistons, but Dwane Casey and his hodgepodge roster of underappreciated veterans and inexperienced youngsters are taking the right approach. It’s been a tough couple of weeks, months, years to be a Detroit Pistons fan. A hard-nosed, stifling defensive play style has never been everyone’s cup of tea, but
Mike Conley isn’t the only reason the Utah Jazz have disappointed, but his lackluster performance is the backfire at the heart of their struggles to make the leap this season. When the Utah Jazz traded for Mike Conley early in July, it was heralded as one of the savviest moves of the offseason. While it
2:37 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN BOSTON — Since the moment James Harden became a member of the Houston Rockets in October 2012, the team has been almost exclusively built around him and his prodigious talent. That has led to plenty of Rockets victories on the back of Harden’s incredible offensive displays. And when Houston has
Dennis Smith Jr. sits at his locker, checking his phone and listening to music before most games. He’s available to the press in the locker room more than most Knicks, but he’s looked increasingly forlorn. It wasn’t supposed to go like this. “I’m thinking exactly what you’re thinking,” Smith Jr. told Basketball Insiders. “I had
8:00 AM ET It’s not St. Patrick’s Day, but there’s something lucky about Leap Day for the Boston Celtics. Feb. 29 comes around only once every four years, but it’s been 36 years since the Celtics had to suffer through a defeat on Leap Day. Their 102-98 loss to the New York Knicks on Feb.
Thanks to injuries to Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, the focus for the Brooklyn Nets is next year, but which members of the supporting cast will be able to help a contender at that point? Even considering they knew they would not have Kevin Durant all year, this season has not gone as planned for
12:53 AM ET Eric WoodyardESPN MILWAUKEE — On the heels of James Harden‘s interview with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols — in which the Houston Rockets star appeared to take aim at Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s skill set — the reigning league MVP responded with a statement performance against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night. The Milwaukee Bucks‘
Dennis Smith Jr. sits at his locker, checking his phone and listening to music before most games. He’s available to the press in the locker room more than most Knicks, but he’s looked increasingly forlorn. It wasn’t supposed to go like this. “I’m thinking exactly what you’re thinking,” Smith Jr. told Basketball Insiders. “I had
12:25 AM ET MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Bucks staged another in a series of artful basketball exhibitions on Friday night at Fiserv Forum. Giannis Antetokounmpo padded his MVP résumé with skillful efficiency and gaudy athleticism (32 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists in 27 minutes, before taking yet another fourth quarter off in a blowout). Of
The race for Rookie of the Year may already be over, but now Zion Williamson and Ja Morant are fighting for a playoff spot instead. In spite of how phenomenal Zion Williamson has looked in his first 12 games for the New Orleans Pelicans, the race for Rookie of the Year may not be very
9:00 AM ET OKLAHOMA CITY — A couple days into training camp, Chris Paul needed to set the record straight. Again. He had already cleared things up on Twitter, but as he stood in the corner of the Oklahoma City Thunder practice facility and peered across the floor with an eye toward Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Paul
Dennis Smith Jr. sits at his locker, checking his phone and listening to music before most games. He’s available to the press in the locker room more than most Knicks, but he’s looked increasingly forlorn. It wasn’t supposed to go like this. “I’m thinking exactly what you’re thinking,” Smith Jr. told Basketball Insiders. “I had
Patrick Williams is only just now getting traction as a first-round NBA Draft prospect, but he’s been playing like one for a while. It has been well established by now that the 2020 NBA Draft appears to be nearly completely devoid of major difference makers. Unlike 2018, which had a bevy of obvious future NBA
9:05 AM ET Let’s move into the weekend with 10 NBA things: 1. Jayson Tatum is here When was the last time this happened — a player in the middle of the season making The Leap, everyone digesting the revelation together and knowing it is real and lasting? Perhaps Kawhi Leonard toward the start of
During the Philadelphia 76ers’ first practice following the All-Star break, Ben Simmons felt some discomfort in his back. The team initially listed him as questionable for their game against the Brooklyn Nets before ruling him out after a pre-game warmup. The official designation at the time was back tightness, a seemingly short-term nuisance. Concerns were
Philadelphia 76ers star Ben Simmons will be out at least two weeks after being diagnosed with a nerve impingement in his back. What can we expect from this particular injury? The Philadelphia 76ers will be without All-Star point guard Ben Simmons “for an extended period of time,” according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, after being diagnosed with a
No playoff team has experienced more turmoil than the Philadelphia 76ers, and Ben Simmons’ back injury begs the question of whether they still belong in the title conversation. The Philadelphia 76ers, once considered a good bet to win the NBA title, are now fighting for the benefit of the doubt. Things haven’t gone particularly smoothly
2:48 AM ET SAN FRANCISCO — The Los Angeles Lakers hardly ever practice, and shootarounds are even rarer for the veteran squad. So getting Markieff Morris, who signed with the team this week after receiving a buyout from the Detroit Pistons, up to speed takes some creativity. “We’ve kind of beefed up our film sessions,”
Just when the Phoenix Suns were finally looking good and healthy, Kelly Oubre Jr. reportedly tore his meniscus. Here’s what it means for him and the Suns. One game into the season, the Phoenix Suns lost Deandre Ayton for 25 games due to a suspension. Not long after that, they dealt with nagging injuries to
8:00 AM ET Reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo helped the Milwaukee Bucks clinch the earliest NBA playoff berth in 15 seasons on Sunday. Meanwhile, LeBron James has the Los Angeles Lakers at the top of the Western Conference, but is that enough to stop Antetokounmpo from repeating as MVP? Will Zion Williamson make an All-NBA team
For rookies starting their NBA careers in today’s league, their journey is a little bit different than in the past. In prior years, rookies who weren’t in the rotation immediately were often buried on the bench and relegated to garbage time minutes. It could be a frustrating and difficult situation for players used to being
9:22 AM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Some key Kobe Bryant memorabilia, including two of his Los Angeles Lakers uniforms and cement handprints from his induction into the Grauman’s Chinese Theater hall of fame gallery, are going up for sale in April. Julien’s Auctions said Thursday that the items would be up for sale
Coby White has topped 30 points in three straight games, but does it really matter if he continues to come off the bench for the Bulls? The Chicago Bulls lost a close one, 124-122, to the Oklahoma City Thunder Tuesday night. Zach LaVine led the way in the losing effort with 41 points, while rookie