The NBA season has begun, and it’s time to overreact to the first few games of the year. In the next edition of Basketball Insiders’ inter-conference rankings, we will take a look at the Atlantic Division. In these rankings, we rank each team from worst to first based on their early performances and how we
The Orlando Magic decided to lock in Markelle Fultz and Jonathan Isaac to multi-year contract extensions prior to the start of the 2020-21 season. For NBA teams, Dec. 21 is a date of significance, as it’s the deadline for those organizations to send out contract extension offers to their players, determining whether they’re locked in
3:17 PM ET Dallas Mavericks big man Kristaps Porzingis was a full participant in practice Tuesday for the first time since undergoing surgery in October to address a lateral meniscus injury in his right knee. No definitive timetable has been set for Porzingis to play in games, but coach Rick Carlisle said he anticipates that
Trae Young called out Grayson Allen on Twitter for allegedly tripping him during Saturday’s Atlanta Hawks-Memphis Grizzlies game. During the NBA preseason, Atlanta Hawks star point guard Trae Young got acquainted with Memphis Grizzlies guard Grayson Allen. And by acquainted, we mean that Young shoved Allen and created a brief scuffle between both teams. The
The Oklahoma City Thunder are a totally new team after myriad changes this past offseason. Here are five big questions facing the Thunder this season. 1. Which is the higher number: Future first-round draft picks owed to the Thunder or the number of OKC wins in 2020-21? According to my count, Oklahoma City has a
Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images Texans to interview former Bengals coach Marvin Lewis for head coaching job by Cole Thompson The NBA is postponing the Houston Rockets’ season opener against the Oklahoma City Thunder due to COVID-19 concerns. Two days into the 2020-21 NBA season, the league is already being forced to postpone its first
12:55 AM ET Sometime around 4:30 p.m. local time Monday, Rudy Gobert walked out of the 21c Museum Hotel in the west end of downtown Oklahoma City and stepped onto a bus to make the seven-block trip over to Chesapeake Energy Arena. Nine and a half months ago, Gobert walked out of that same hotel
Shooting has always been valued in professional basketball, and it’s become even more important of late in the NBA. The league average for three-point attempts per game was 34.1 in 2019-20, up from 29 just two seasons earlier and 20 back in 2012-13, according to Basketball-Reference. Well, that alone probably has a lot to do
New York Knicks. (Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports) Dave Gettleman likely not returning to Giants at the end of the season by Mike Luciano How far can the Buccaneers go in the playoffs? by Steven Kubitza Not even the New York Knicks were safe from being trolled in Disney and Pixar’s Soul. Who else
Dec 11, 2020; Detroit, Michigan, USA; New York Knicks forward Reggie Bullock (25) gets defended by Detroit Pistons center Isaiah Stewart (28) during the fourth quarter at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports Wrestling industry reacts to sudden death of Brodie Lee by Raphael Garcia Only the New York Knicks would manage
8:52 PM ET NEW YORK — Memphis Grizzlies star point guard Ja Morant left the Barclays Center court area in a wheelchair Monday night after spraining his left ankle in the second quarter. The team announced he would not return to the game. Morant went up to attempt to block Brooklyn forward Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot‘s shot
You know the Golden State Warriors are in a bad place when the Chicago Bulls broadcast is roasting them. The 2020-21 NBA season was supposed to be the Golden State Warriors‘ return to greatness. With point guard Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson returning to full health, the expectation was that the Warriors would be a
12:31 PM ET NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie has been diagnosed with a partially torn right ACL, the team announced on Monday. He is scheduled to have surgery next week. Dinwiddie was injured in the third quarter of Sunday night’s game against the Charlotte Hornets when he drove against Bismack Biyombo and
This article was an annual tradition hosted by Basketball Insiders penned by veteran Joel Brigham. Then our own Drew Maresca took the reins. This year, there’s a new sheriff in town, and his name is Matt John. Fasten your seatbelts. Now before I begin, I have two things to get off my chest. First, props
Karl-Anthony Towns sounds like an entirely different person after the emotional and mental trauma he’s endured during the pandemic. While 2020 has been a never-ending stream of constant irritation for most, Minnesota Timberwolves superstar Karl-Anthony Towns has suffered some incalcuable losses over this year, as seven of his relatives, including his mother Jackie, have passed
7:20 AM ET The LA Clippers, thanks to an impressive 2-0 start — a season-opening win over the Los Angeles Lakers and a Christmas Day triumph against the Denver Nuggets — might have had the inside track for No. 1 in our latest NBA Power Rankings. Then Sunday happened. In a matinee showdown, the Dallas
Dec 27, 2020; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Lou Williams (23) drives to the basket against Dallas Mavericks center Willie Cauley-Stein (right) in the first quarter at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports Browns must beat Steelers for playoffs, or pray for a very unlikely result by Rucker Haringey We
The Milwaukee Bucks got a point guard upgrade in Jrue Holiday and a long term commitment from Giannis Antetokounmpo. What comes next? 1. All else being equal, how significant is the point guard upgrade from Eric Bledsoe to Jrue Holiday? It’s enormously significant, and not in any one specific area as in the way Holiday
(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) Ryan Tannehill has taken step towards the NFL’s elite by Nicholas McGee WWE NXT Results: Adam Cole defeats Velveteen Dream in main event by Raphael Garcia Jayson Tatum brought the Boston Celtics a season-opening win with an amazing shot to put his team ahead late. The Boston Celtics and
5:51 PM ET The Dallas Mavericks set an NBA shot-clock era record by leading the Los Angeles Clippers by 50 points at intermission Sunday en route to a 124-73 victory. Yes, Kawhi Leonard was out, but it’s safe to say even someone of his talent couldn’t have helped the Clippers, who trailed 77-27 at intermission.
The Heat caught fire en route to an NBA Finals appearance last season, but it will be difficult for Miami to match that feat this year. Erik Spoelstra and his coaching staff deserve a ton of credit for their work to get the Heat playing their best basketball at the right time last season. They
The Miami Heat are pulling out of James Harden trade talks for the time being. In case you somehow missed any of the ongoing James Harden saga, here’s the quick rundown: James Harden and Russell Westbrook wanted out, Westbrook got traded, Harden showed up late to training camp because he was busy partying with rapper
2:54 PM ET LOS ANGELES — Anthony Davis will sit out Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves because of a right calf contusion, Los Angeles Lakers coach Frank Vogel said after L.A.’s morning shootaround. “Well, we just want to be responsible with it,” Vogel said on a video conference call with reporters. “We want to
MIAMI, FLORIDA – DECEMBER 25: Zion Williamson #1 of the New Orleans Pelicans goes up for a layup against the Miami Heat during the third quarter at American Airlines Arena on December 25, 2020 in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is
Brandon Clarke clocks in at No. 21 on our 25-under-25 list, thanks to his impressive balance and finesse moves in a traditional power skill-set. Brandon Clarke being on this list might be a surprise to the casual observer. There’s a lot of young talent in the NBA right now, and spending one of our 25
Is Jaren Jackson Jr. the NBA’s next great unicorn big man, or is he the second coming of Myles Turner? Every time a 3-point-shooting, shot-blocking big man comes into the NBA, he instantly gets slapped with the “unicorn” label. Memphis Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr. is among the latest examples. The No. 4 pick
2:16 AM ET Fresh off a four-day forced quarantine, which followed weeks of his desire to be traded dominating headlines, Houston Rockets superstar James Harden had a performance Saturday night that reminded people why he’s a perennial MVP candidate. It just wasn’t quite enough to carry an extremely short-handed Houston team, missing six players due
LeBron James posted a tribute to the late Kobe Bryant on Instagram. While the Los Angeles Lakers‘ path to the 2020 NBA championship was much easier than expected on the court, in many ways, it was perhaps the most difficult title to win in league history. Between the franchise mourning the death of Kobe Bryant
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – DECEMBER 22: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) Cody Zeller suffers fractured hand in Hornets’ season opener by Mike Luciano Charles Barkley is still making LeBron James hairline jokes in 2020. Those who are of an archeological bend might remember the wasteland that was
9:20 PM ET Eric WoodyardESPN In Sunday’s New York Times, an advocacy group took out a full-page advertisement calling on the NBA and its owners to force Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores to sell his team because of his ownership of a prison telecom company. “It hurts,” Gores said during Saturday’s media availability ahead of