6:19 PM ET DETROIT — Blake Griffin will not play for the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night against Indiana as he continues to rest a sore left knee. Pistons coach Dwane Casey said Griffin still needed some time to recover. He has been largely healthy this season, playing in 72 games; now, in a critical
The Warriors haven’t looked like themselves for much of this season but they’re still the presumptive favorites. Here’s why they can win it all, again. Despite only intermittently looking like a great team this season, the Golden State Warriors are still the presumptive favorites to win the NBA Finals in June. Even though several other
This season has not gone the way the Boston Celtics were hoping but anything can happen in the playoffs. The Celtics were expected to be one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference. After last year’s run to the Conference Finals, it was assumed that a healthy roster and another year of development for
Lauri Markkanen is going to make us all look silly. He’s going to prove how ridiculous it is at this point in NBA history to let a skilled 7-footer fall to the mid-lottery, no matter the questions that plague the rest of his game. He’s going to silence even the harshest critics of the Bulls’
2:06 AM ET OAKLAND, Calif. — Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant was ejected from Tuesday’s game against the Denver Nuggets for arguing a call early in the third quarter. Warriors stars Draymond Green, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant were all issued fines on Tuesday for their comments about the officiating during Friday night’s OT
Tuesday’s FanDuel slate: 8 p.m. ET: LA Lakers vs. Oklahoma City8:30 p.m. ET: Atlanta at San Antonio10 p.m. ET: Houston at Sacramento10:30 p.m. ET: Denver at Golden State My favorite plays of the day can be found on the following slides in FanSided’s FanDuel daily picks. Each day in order to offer a variety of price
The opening week of the March Madness tournament yielded some entertaining games, but in the end, the “chalk” won out, setting the stage for all “Blue Blood” sweet sixteen. There were a few notable performances – Temetrius “Ja” Morant put on a show, showing why he may be the second player drafted overall in 2019.
Welcome to The Whiteboard, catching you up every morning on what’s good around the NBA. Find The Whiteboard here on The Step Back, and subscribe here to get it delivered to you by email. The Charlotte Hornets are, admittedly, not in an ideal position. They entered Sunday night’s game against the Toronto Raptors in 10th
11:28 PM ET ESPN News Services Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook became the second player in NBA history with a 20-point, 20-rebound, 20-assist triple-double, accomplishing the feat Tuesday night in a 119-103 home victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. Westbrook clinched the mark with a rebound in the final minute, drawing a large ovation
As a bad season winds down, the Washington Wizards have fired longtime president of basketball operations Ernie Grunfeld. The Washington Wizards are 32-46 this season and officially eliminated from the playoffs now. Facing another rebuild, and sorely in need of a fresh perspective, Marc Stein of the New York Times was first to report the
3:46 PM ET ESPN News Services The Washington Wizards have fired president Ernie Grunfeld, the team announced. Washington is next to last in the Southeast Division with a 32-46 record and has been eliminated from playoff contention. “We did not meet our stated goals of qualifying for the playoffs this season and, despite playing with
Who is the best NBA team to ever land at each of the eight playoff spots in each conference? The playoff seeding system does it’s best to set up a playoff bracket this is smoothly weighted from top to bottom. But the truth is that potential is uneven and great teams land all over the
If you’ve been a diehard NBA fan for years, you’ll probably remember the 2016-17 Los Angeles Lakers. No, their record wasn’t the greatest and, no, they didn’t make the playoffs in the competitive, crowded Western Conference. Instead, this team had its fair share of inside jokes, including one that gradually grew into a viral sensation.
7:26 AM ET Nick DePaulaESPN Zion Williamson is about to get paid. Long before he steps on an NBA court, the projected No. 1 overall pick in June’s NBA draft is expected to land a sneaker endorsement deal that will make him far richer than his first NBA contract will. In fact, many in the
More details have emerged about the rape accusations made against former Knicks’ star Kristaps Porzingis. The story just keeps getting more complicated. Any NBA action this weekend was largely overshadowed by a rape complaint filed with the NYPD against former Knicks’ star Kristaps Porzingis. The complaint was filed Thursday and news of it broke in
8:58 PM ET Celtics president Danny Ainge presented Dwyane Wade with a plaque featuring a photo and a piece of the old Boston Garden parquet floor Monday night to commemorate his retirement. Ainge met with Wade in a TD Garden hallway before the Celtics hosted the Heat in Wade’s final regular-season game in Boston. “Thank
As franchises have been eliminated from postseason contention, Basketball Insiders started to diagnose their ailments and offer future plans of attack. Unfortunately, it may take a whole lot more than that to fix the New Orleans Pelicans. The Pelicans, who now find themselves in a unique circle of basketball misfortune, had a frustratingly inconsistent campaign
8:41 AM ET Adrian WojnarowskiESPN Eight months after a 29-year-old woman says that NBA star Kristaps Porzingis sexually assaulted her inside his apartment, she contacted the New York Knicks‘ legal department to seek to “mediate in private” a payment of $68,000, according to emails obtained by ESPN. At the time of the woman’s documented communication
Zach Collins doesn’t remember the time, the day of the week, or even the name of the hotel. His body was waging a war against itself — a need for sleep but too much energy to simply succumb — as he tried to accept the immensity of the moment. “You’re sitting there, alone, thinking, ‘Damn,
2:02 AM ET ESPN News Services NBA players are mourning the death of Grammy-nominated West Coast rapper Nipsey Hussle, who was killed outside his Los Angeles clothing store on Sunday, according to Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. Police confirmed that three men were shot Sunday, and one of them was killed outside Marathon Clothing, the
As franchises have been eliminated from postseason contention, Basketball Insiders started to diagnose their ailments and offer future plans of attack. Unfortunately, it may take a whole lot more than that to fix the New Orleans Pelicans. The Pelicans, who now find themselves in a unique circle of basketball misfortune, had a frustratingly inconsistent campaign
OG Anunoby emerges from the damp, warm comfort of the locker room and surveys the breezy hallway with eyes both electric and half-lidded. He crouches lower, revealing a nest of permanently tousled hair, to better hear a Toronto Raptors staffer above the din of gathered media and players milling about. He’s pointed toward a waiting
3:51 PM ET Associated Press ATLANTA — Trae Young grabbed a deflected inbounds pass and made a last-second jumper to lift the Atlanta Hawks to a 136-135 overtime win over the short-handed Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday. Justin Anderson had 24 points and 12 rebounds for Atlanta, and John Collins finished with 23 points and 12
Sunday’s FanDuel slate: 7 p.m. ET: Sacramento at San Antonio8 p.m. ET: Washington at Denver8:30 p.m. ET: Charlotte at Golden State10:30 p.m. ET: Memphis at LA Clippers My favorite plays of the day can be found on the following slides in FanSided’s FanDuel daily picks. Each day in order to offer a variety of price points
This — all of it — was unfamiliar for Derrick White, a player who wasn’t molded for the pros from a young age like so many today. Mock drafts were slotting him in the first round. NBA franchises leafed through his personal life and reached out to friends and family, inquiring about his character. Agents
10:51 PM ET Associated Press It’s official: In the NBA, this was the year of the 3-pointer. Again. The NBA has set a record for 3-pointers made for the seventh consecutive year, after the 25,808th of the season was made Saturday night. The league is on pace for about an 8 percent rise in 3-pointers
As franchises have been eliminated from postseason contention, Basketball Insiders started to diagnose their ailments and offer future plans of attack. Unfortunately, it may take a whole lot more than that to fix the New Orleans Pelicans. The Pelicans, who now find themselves in a unique circle of basketball misfortune, had a frustratingly inconsistent campaign
Welcome to The Whiteboard, catching you up every morning on what’s good around the NBA. Find The Whiteboard here on The Step Back, and subscribe here to get it delivered to you by email. The playoff hopes of the Sacramento Kings have been dwindling for a while now, but their loss to the Lakers on Sunday
12:45 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN NEW YORK — At halftime of Saturday night’s game here at Barclays Center between the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets, the home team’s season was on the line. Clinging to a one-point halftime lead, and needing a win to avoid falling into a tie for the Eastern Conference’s eighth and
Here’s how you should set your FanDuel lineup for Saturday’s NBA games. Saturday’s FanDuel slate: 7 p.m. ET: Portland at Detroit, Orlando at Indiana7:30 p.m. ET: Miami at New York8 p.m. ET: Toronto at Chicago, Philadelphia at Minnesota10 p.m. ET: Memphis at Phoenix My favorite plays of the day can be found on the following