CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – DECEMBER 08: Head coach Jim Boylen of the Chicago Bulls encourages his team against the Boston Celtics at United Center on December 08, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of
Kris Dunn was supposed to be the Chicago Bulls point guard of the future, but could they move forward with Ryan Arcidiacono instead? Time for a pop quiz. Who is fourth in the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio? If you guessed Chicago Bulls back-up guard Ryan Arcidiacono, you are correct and probably did some googling. This
LUBBOCK, TX – FEBRUARY 23: Head coach Bill Self talks with Quentin Grimes #5 of the Kansas Jayhawks during the second half of the game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders on February 23, 2019 at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas. Texas Tech defeated Kansas 91-62. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images) Joel Embiid and
5:42 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Papa John’s is getting “Shaq-ified.” The pizza chain said Friday that basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal will be its new pitchman, appearing in TV commercials and promoting Papa John’s in other ways. The company hopes O’Neal can repair its image and revive its sales after the
The NCAA Tournament is a great chance to get introduced to some of the NBA Draft prospects you haven’t heard about. These are the first round games to watch College basketball is storming to the top of all things sports now that March Madness is upon us. While talking head after talking head tries to
Last year, this writer started his tenure with Basketball Insiders writing about who had the best case for Coach of the Year. One year later, he’s revisiting the same discussion. This time with an entirely new slate of candidates. The Coach of the Year Award produces one of the most fascinating races in the NBA
DWelcome 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. Malik Monk is a freshly 21-year-old guard who the Charlotte Hornets selected
7:39 PM ET Klay Thompson, a week after apologizing to the Golden State Warriors‘ fan base for his remarks about their lack of energy at Oracle Arena, delivered another subtle poke Thursday, saying it’s important for him to remain focused on his day-to-day performance over the changing perceptions of media and fans. “At the end
You can be forgiven if James Harden’s 57-point, 8-assist, 7-rebound performance Wednesday didn’t exactly capture your attention. It was against the lowly Memphis Grizzlies. Harden scored nearly half his points against Justin Holiday, not exactly known as a defensive stopper. Oh, and the Rockets still lost. Still, nothing takes the shine off a legendary game
Whatever happens from here until the end of the 2018-19 season would fall in the category of windfall profits for the Brooklyn Nets. The franchise was left for dead for the remainder of the decade after the Paul Pierce/Kevin Garnett trade but, unexpectedly, finds themselves very much alive in this season’s Eastern Conference playoff race.
D’Angelo Russell has always had a knack for flair, a player whose ability to hit game-winners or throw mind-bending passes seems to only grow as his own confidence does. That growth and confidence have been on full display this season as Russell has elevated his game, emerging as an All-Star and, in his own words
Mar 20, 2019 Malika AndrewsESPN The book on guarding Giannis Antetokounmpo is evolving. When the Milwaukee Bucks faced the Utah Jazz‘s elite defense earlier this month, head coach Quin Snyder’s plan was to give Antetokounmpo a sizeable cushion on the perimeter to prevent him from driving. As soon as he elected to shoot, though, his
Can you believe that the NBA regular season is less than a month away from concluding? It’s March 18, and teams are gearing up for the final stretch run before the playoffs get here. Thus far, there have been three teams to solidify their spots—the Milwaukee Bucks, Toronto Raptors and Philadelphia 76ers—while the rest of
As one would expect from a 76ers-Celtics matchup, things got a bit chippy between these two Eastern Conference powerhouses. The rivalry between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Boston Celtics is one of the best in sports, and last night the NBA world was reminded why. With the playoffs almost around the corner, these two teams are jocking
7:09 PM ET ESPN News Services Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart has been fined $50,000 by the NBA on Thursday for shoving Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid on Wednesday night. Smart was ejected less than a minute into the third quarter of the Sixers’ 118-115 victory over Boston for the two-handed shove into the back
In this week’s 2019 NBA Mock Draft, we break down the conference tournaments and preview how March Madness might 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 18, with the Knicks firmly in place as the worst team in the
After Zion Williamson’s injury sidelined him for a couple of games, the world rightfully panicked and worried about the compensation of one of the college basketball’s biggest stars. How could the current social media-driven society handle the fall of potentially one of the greatest basketball prospects to ever grace college courts? It would be bonkers.
11:53 AM ET The Minnesota Timberwolves announced Thursday that guard Derrick Rose, guard Jeff Teague and forward Robert Covington are all expected to be out for the rest of the season. Covington has missed the last 34 games while recovering from a right knee bone bruise suffered Dec. 31 at New Orleans. He suffered a
Can you believe that the NBA regular season is less than a month away from concluding? It’s March 18, and teams are gearing up for the final stretch run before the playoffs get here. Thus far, there have been three teams to solidify their spots—the Milwaukee Bucks, Toronto Raptors and Philadelphia 76ers—while the rest of
2:54 AM ET OKLAHOMA CITY — It was supposed to be the kind of night that could jump-start the Oklahoma City Thunder. For a moment, it even appeared poetic. On a night when the organization retired the jersey of Nick Collison, a prototypical glue-guy role player known for his charge-taking and backdoor bounce passing, the
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – NOVEMBER 21: Andrew Wiggins #22 of the Minnesota Timberwolves looks on during the game against the Denver Nuggets on November 21, 2018 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and
6:18 PM ET After leading the Utah Jazz to a first-round upset of the Oklahoma City Thunder in the playoffs last year, it was inevitable Donovan Mitchell would return this season with a target on his back. But after struggling for much of the early season, Mitchell is now outperforming his rookie year and has
Here are all of the 2019 NBA Draft prospects to watch in the West region of the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA Tournament’s West Region gives you a lot of bang for your 2019 NBA Draft buck. It features the two teams with the most prospects outside of Duke in Gonzaga and Michigan; it has a
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. The Eastern Conference was in a thrilling arms race on NBA trade
The 2018-19 Toronto Raptors will never be described as cowardly. In almost any other situation, the five-year stretch they enjoyed from 2013 to 2018 would be considered a massive success: two likable stars in Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, 51 wins per season, five consecutive playoff berths and an Eastern Conference Finals appearance, capped off
8:33 AM ET OKLAHOMA CITY — The first player in Oklahoma City Thunder history to have his jersey retired isn’t Russell Westbrook or Kevin Durant. It’s someone who averaged 5.9 points per game, never made an All-Star team and started about 20 percent of the games he played in. But on Wednesday, the Thunder will
The East region figures to be one of the more fun corners of the NCAA Tournament bracket, with several powerhouse NBA Draft prospects. Viewers in South Carolina, California, Jacksonville and Des Moines will be in for a treat this weekend watching the East region of the NCAA Tournament, featuring Duke as well as the country’s
12:57 AM ET ESPN News Services SACRAMENTO, Calif. — D’Angelo Russell scored 27 of his career-high 44 points in the fourth quarter, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson made a layup with eight-tenths of a second remaining, and the Brooklyn Nets rallied from 28 points down in the second half to beat the Sacramento Kings 123-121 on Tuesday night
Things are starting to heat up on the NBA Draft front specifically for those teams already eliminated or facing playoff elimination this week. The 2019 March Madness Tournament kicks off next Tuesday with the “First Four,” and the major teams and players take the floor on March 21st and 22nd, which will ramp up draft
8:18 AM ET SAN ANTONIO — Discomfort contorted Gregg Popovich’s face as he pondered a defensive demise nobody wanted to concede. With the San Antonio Spurs mired in a three-game skid at the time, and mere minutes before the Feb. 27 start of a league-best nine-game winning streak, Popovich seemed to have given up hope