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3:00 PM ET LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The Milwaukee Bucks and Toronto Raptors were the top two seeds in the Eastern Conference playoffs last year and met in an epic six-game series in the conference finals. After Toronto’s win Sunday over the Memphis Grizzlies, the Bucks and Raptors will, once again, go into the

7:15 AM ET The playoff picture is beginning to take shape as the final week of seeding games begins. Three teams — the Washington Wizards, New Orleans Pelicans and Sacramento Kings — have been eliminated from playoff contention, and a Western Conference play-in is officially happening. The Memphis Grizzlies‘ hold on the No. 8 seed

11:45 PM ET NBA Insiders Entering the final week of seeding games in the NBA restart, teams have only a few more opportunities to improve their place in the standings. There are still four teams pushing for the final spot in the Western Conference playoffs, and it’s now guaranteed that there will be a play-in

11:00 AM ET When the New Orleans Pelicans were struggling defensively early in the season, a small change in December helped get them back on track. The Pelicans decided to drop their bigs on pick-and-rolls more, and the team immediately saw an improvement on the court. From Dec. 17 to Jan. 21, the Pelicans were

12:30 PM ET ESPN News Services The NBA has fined Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green $50,000 for tampering because of comments he made about Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker while he was serving as a TNT analyst, the league announced Sunday. During Friday’s broadcast, Green praised Booker and the Suns for their undefeated start

12:06 AM ET During the final moments of the first five-minute quarter of the Milwaukee Bucks’ first five-on-five scrimmage since the NBA’s shutdown in March, Giannis Antetokounmpo’s team found itself down a bucket. When a long miss by the opposing team caromed off the rim and floated toward the baseline, Antetokounmpo launched himself with both

7:21 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The first double-overtime game inside the NBA’s bubble at the Walt Disney World Resort, a thrilling 134-132 victory for the Denver Nuggets over the Utah Jazz, was overshadowed by a pair of clock operation malfunctions at the end of the first overtime period. The first

12:00 PM ET After a career game on Thursday against the Denver Nuggets, Portland Trail Blazers reserve wing Gary Trent Jr. sat on a stool a day later in front of a widescreen TV doing his media Zoom, talking about his development, his improvement, his progression, his confidence. It was an extended media session for

12:52 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The Boston Celtics might have played their best game of the 2019-20 season Friday, beating the Toronto Raptors 122-100 in a result that was even more lopsided than the final score would indicate. But afterward, Celtics coach Brad Stevens wasn’t about to take any victory

8:52 PM ET LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — With his team off to an 0-4 start in the NBA bubble and his daughter, Kaari Jaidyn, celebrating her first birthday hundreds of miles away, Memphis Grizzlies rookie standout Ja Morant called his parents with an admission Friday morning. “I wasn’t in a good mood at all,”

7:10 AM ET Here are 10 things I like and don’t like from the NBA restart: 1. The champs’ defense: the most exciting nerd thing in the NBA Nick Nurse’s funky zones get the attention, but Toronto’s base defense is one of the best night-to-night shows in the NBA. The Raptors in full flight are

12:12 AM ET NBA Insiders The first eight days of NBA seeding games have given us a lot of highlights — and not from the stars alone. We asked our writers to identify the up-and-coming players who have caught their eye over the first week-plus. Some of these players have been mainstays already this season,

7:32 PM ET Tim Bontemps LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — After the Milwaukee Bucks came back from a 23-point deficit against the Miami Heat on Thursday to claim a 130-116 victory and clinch the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, Giannis Antetokounmpo was asked whether Miami was the biggest threat to stop the Bucks

7:05 AM ET IN THE DAYS leading up to the NBA’s Florida reboot, New Orleans Pelicans guard JJ Redick contemplated what provisions to bring for a stay in the Orlando bubble that would last at least five weeks. He initially focused only on the necessities and packed light. Then on July 8, once he arrived

11:38 PM ET LeBron James said the NBA at large will not miss President Donald Trump as a viewer after he commented about the league’s players who take a knee before games. “I really don’t think the basketball community is sad about losing his viewership, him viewing the game,” James said following the Los Angeles

6:27 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Philadelphia 76ers star Ben Simmons left Wednesday’s game against the Washington Wizards with a left knee injury. Simmons went up and grabbed a rebound midway through the third quarter, then slowly dribbled out to the court and flipped a pass to Al Horford. As a

6:52 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The first six days inside the NBA bubble have been filled with action. We’ve seen massive scoring performances (hello, T.J. Warren), dramatic comebacks (what’s up, Houston Rockets) and what has generally been high-quality basketball from teams fighting for the playoffs (here’s not looking at you,

7:00 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The Memphis Grizzlies, having already lost their first three games inside the NBA’s bubble at the Walt Disney World Resort, were dealt a significant blow to their playoff hopes Tuesday when promising young forward Jaren Jackson Jr. was ruled out for the remainder of the

6:00 PM ET Tuesday hasn’t exactly gone as anyone expected down in Orlando. First, to start the day, the Brooklyn Nets pulled off the biggest point-spread upset in 27 years, beating the Milwaukee Bucks outright despite being a 19-point underdog. Then, after the Dallas Mavericks needed overtime to beat the Sacramento Kings, Devin Booker‘s incredible

7:20 AM ET When the Miami Heat promoted Erik Spoelstra out of the video room and into an assistant coaching position, there was one problem: Spoelstra owned no suits. The league’s dress code for coaches, codified in a memo sent before the season, mandates every coach wear a dress shirt (or “dress sweater”) and sport

6:40 PM ET The Toronto Raptors are the defending NBA champions, yet they remain horribly under the radar in this year’s title race. That needs to change. Dating back to before the league’s stoppage in March, this team has won 23 of its past 27 games. They’ve been awesome in their first two restart matchups,

11:55 AM ET The Milwaukee Bucks‘ Mike Budenholzer and Oklahoma City Thunder‘s Billy Donovan were voted the National Basketball Coaches Association co-coaches of the year, the organization announced Monday. “I am honored and humbled to be recognized by the Coaches, they are a great group of people that I admire and respect,” Donovan said in

6:00 AM ET The NBA season officially resumed in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Playoff seeding and the race for the No. 8 seed in the West have already been shaken up. The Los Angeles Lakers evened the score in the battle of L.A. with a close win, and the Giannis Antetokounmpo–James Harden beef was renewed

7:50 PM ET NBA Insiders Who are the new favorites to make the NBA playoffs as the No. 8 seed in each conference? Can anybody get past the Los Angeles Lakers and LA Clippers in the West? Who will be the best rookie in the bubble? After the first weekend of the 2020 NBA restart,

7:24 AM ET The Houston Rockets‘ official Twitter account took what could be considered the first jab in the beef between two of the NBA’s biggest superstars seconds after Giannis Antetokounmpo was announced as the league’s 2018-19 MVP. James Harden finished as the runner-up for the third time in five seasons, which didn’t sit right

12:04 PM ET LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The Portland Trail Blazers and Boston Celtics enter their Sunday afternoon clash (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC) with very different agendas. For the Blazers, the goal is to build upon the momentum they carried over from their stunning 140-135 overtime victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday. That

12:15 PM ET The Los Angeles Lakers and LA Clippers gave fans a reason to tune in on opening night of the NBA restart for the reseeding games, with the Lakers edging the Clippers in a close one. They’ll both be back in action Saturday with two games that offer their own intrigue. The Clippers

6:57 PM ET ESPN News Services Miami Heat center Meyers Leonard stood during the national anthem before Saturday’s game against the Denver Nuggets, saying afterward he can be both a patriot and a supporter of Black Lives Matter. “I think I can be a beacon of light … not only for my voice or platform

1:00 PM ET The pre-restart training camp Mike D’Antoni so eagerly anticipated for the Houston Rockets — a team remodeled midseason with a drastic shift in philosophy to microball — never really materialized. Due to late arrivals, including both of the team’s superstars, as well as Austin Rivers‘ excused exit and reentry, the Rockets never

12:48 AM ET NBA Insiders Last year, a dark horse contender pulled off consecutive upsets to win the NBA championship. Who could be this year’s Raptors? Friday night’s action featured three of those dark horses: the Houston Rockets. Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics. Saturday’s games will show us a handful more: • Miami Heat vs.