4:33 PM ET Associated Press TORONTO — The Toronto Raptors will be without forward Patrick McCaw for about three weeks because of a sprained right thumb. He was hurt during Thursday night’s win at New York. He will wear a splint while he is sidelined. McCaw is averaging 2.7 points and 1.7 rebounds through 26
For the past two weeks, Basketball Insiders has taken a look at the teams who have been eliminated from playoff contention and what they should do in order to get themselves back into the playoffs. Next up in the series is the team with the stickiest situation of all the eliminated teams – the Memphis
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. Everywhere you look, you can see the signs — buds beginning to pop on the trees, scrawny robins looking to get their worm
Devin Booker’s incandescent scoring pops, but his historic production still isn’t leading to wins. What’s the precedent for this level of individual brilliance coupled with team futility? Devin Booker’s scored 109 points in the last two NBA basketball games he’s played. You know this because it’s insane. You also probably know his team is 0-2
3:53 AM ET LOS ANGELES — After becoming the first Los Angeles Lakers player since Magic Johnson in 1989 to register 17 assists and five steals in a game, Rajon Rondo said he hoped to stick around L.A. a little longer. “Absolutely,” Rondo told ESPN when asked if he wanted to come back to the
Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich gave a moving speech about Manu Ginobili during the player’s jersey retirement ceremony. Check it out here. Manu Ginobili was certainly one of the most electrifying basketball players to ever play the game, and his jersey was recently (and rightfully) retired by the San Antonio Spurs after a 116-110 win over
We have seen some epic flops over our lifetime, but none may be able to top what Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons tried to accomplish against the Bucks. What we saw Joel Embiid try to accomplish on Sunday was something that should be enshrined into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Granted, we have seen our
9:28 PM ET Nick DePaulaESPN Oregon Ducks freshman Bol Bol has decided to turn pro, agreeing to hire an agent at CAA for representation in his eventual NBA career, the agency told ESPN on Friday. The 7-foot-2 center is No. 12 on ESPN’s rankings of the top 100 NBA draft prospects. Bol played in nine
In this week’s 2019 NBA Mock Draft, we break down what we saw during the first round of the NCAA Tournament and how it will affect the draft. As always, projected standings are based upon FiveThirtyEight’s CARM-Elo rankings. This version of the mock uses projections as of March 25, with a Suns’ losing streak plugging
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.
1:27 PM ET Knicks second-year point guard Frank Ntilikina has been shut down for the remainder of the season after aggravating a groin injury earlier this week. Ntilikina had returned to the team last Friday from a groin injury that had sidelined him since late January. He played 25 minutes in a loss to the
LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 20: Head coach Luke Walton on the sidelines during the Lakers’ home opener against the Houston Rockets at Staples Center in Los Angeles on Saturday, October 20, 2018. The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Houston Rockets 124-115. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan/Digital First Media/Orange County Register via Getty Images) NFL Draft
1:06 AM ET Malika AndrewsESPN MILWUAKEE — Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s troublesome right ankle is acting up again. With just under eight minutes left in the Bucks on Thursday night game against the Clippers, Antetokounmpo threw down a dunk that gave the Bucks a 108-91 lead. As he retreated, Antetokounmpo collided with Garrett Temple and fell down
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.
1:33 PM ET Utah Jazz reserve point guard Dante Exum underwent surgery to repair a partially torn patellar tendon in his right knee Wednesday and remains out indefinitely, the team announced Thursday. Exum left last week’s 120-100 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves after three minutes with what was described as knee soreness. The extent of
The NCAA Tournament can be a coming out party for NBA Draft prospects, and Brandon Clarke did just that against Baylor in the second round. The score doesn’t indicate it, but Gonzaga’s 83-71 second-round win over Baylor was never close, and it wasn’t close because Brandon Clarke, Gonzaga’s best 2019 NBA Draft prospect, had his
Everyone in the NBA has tendencies. Some of them are obvious and some of them less so, but they’re all there if you pay close enough attention. Anyone who has been paying attention to the NBA over the past 15 years or so knows that Mike D’Antoni has a tendency to keep a short rotation,
Elfrid Payton is on a great run right now, but will it stand as the turning point in his career and a sign he has figured it all out? On Monday night, New Orleans Pelicans point guard Elfrid Payton reached some rare air. With 19 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds against the Dallas Mavericks,
8:39 AM ET ESPN News Services The NBA is going to play a regular-season game in Paris for the first time next year, with the league announcing Thursday that the Charlotte Hornets and Milwaukee Bucks are headed there. The game will be on Jan. 24. Paris has hosted preseason games before, and the league hinted
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.
Welcome to The Whiteboard, your daily source for the previous day’s best NBA content from around the internet, plus an original column. Catch The Whiteboard here on The Step Back, and subscribe here to get it delivered to you via email each morning. Karl-Anthony Towns had a quiet start to the 2018-19 NBA season, which
1:38 AM ET OKLAHOMA CITY — Down nine at halftime to the Indiana Pacers and with their season sliding over the past few weeks, Paul George knew something had to change for the Oklahoma City Thunder. It did. The biggest run without an opposing point in the NBA this season — a 24-0 burst early
The NBA is rapidly changing before our eyes. The knock-em-down, drag-em-out days of the 1980s and 1990s look like fossils compared to the action we see on the floor now. We’ve heard ad nauseam about the 3-point revolution that the league is currently undergoing. In the blink of an eye, Brook Lopez has gone from
In a season that’s been absolutely dismal for the Cavaliers, they may have stumbled upon a player who can help them — the “pop-a-shot” guy. Wracked with injuries and dealing with the aftermath of a less-talented roster, the Cavaliers have been dragged to a 19-56 record, which could possibly be a record for most losses sustained
The NBA season has been full of surprises so far, from the Kings competing for a playoff spot to the Pacers staying strong even without Victor Oladipo, but few analysts and fans appear to expect the season to end any differently than they imagined it would at the start. The Golden State Warriors, despite only
The Rockets’ Chris Paul may be getting up there in age, but he hasn’t lost a step, as evidenced by how he crossed the Bucks’ DJ Wilson off the Earth. Chris Paul is getting up there in the age department. He’s now 33-years young, and normally, basketball players who are reaching the halfway mark of
3:11 PM ET Tim Hardaway was part of one of the original Big Threes, and the other two are in the Basketball Hall of Fame. He thinks he knows why he hasn’t joined them: his well-publicized rant from over a decade ago, in which he said he hated gay people. Hardaway, 52, was a five-time
3:44 PM ET LeBron James is out for Wednesday night’s game at Utah, the Lakers announced. James played Tuesday against the Washington Wizards at Staples Center and had 23 points, 14 assists and seven rebounds in a 124-106 win. Sunday against the Sacramento Kings, he recorded his eighth triple-double of the season (and 81st of
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.
4:52 PM ET Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic underwent surgery on Tuesday and is expected to make a full recovery from a season-ending injury to his left leg, the team announced in a release. There is no timetable for his return to basketball activity. Nurkic, 24, fractured his left tibia and fibula with 2