The Boston Celtics have gone from perfectly set up for the future to uncertain about the present. Here’s why this summer could be a triumph or a disaster. It’s 6 p.m. on Oct. 4, 2018. The NBA season is still almost two weeks away from kicking off, and 29 teams are feeling varying degrees of
2:52 PM ET Nicole Noren The volatile, longstanding dispute between Portland Trail Blazers center Enes Kanter and Turkish government officials has added another chapter, this time in separate interviews conducted by E:60’s Jeremy Schaap, with Kanter again comparing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to a dictator, and former NBA player Hedo Turkoglu, now a Turkish
DraftKings daily picks: Fantasy basketball lineup – March 10, 2019 Sunday’s DraftKings slate: 6 p.m. ET: New Orleans at Atlanta, Orlando at Memphis7 p.m. ET: Houston at Dallas8 p.m. ET: New York at Minnesota, Milwaukee at San Antonio8:30 p.m. ET: Phoenix at San Antonio My favorite plays of the day can be found on the
3:36 PM ET Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid is starting against the visiting Indiana Pacers on Sunday (3:30 p.m., ABC) after missing the past eight games due to left knee soreness. 76ers coach Brett Brown said Embiid looked good going through his walk-through before the game, and the team officially announced the All-Star center would
While the Atlantic Division has been the class of the league in 2018-19, it is also ripe for change come free agency. I covered the potential for change in Toronto last week – the Raptors looked well-positioned for the present as well as the future– but it’s not only Toronto that could be in for
2:38 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN LOS ANGELES — It is mid-January in Boston, and the Boston Celtics have just pulled off a dramatic overtime victory against their East rivals, the Toronto Raptors. Kyrie Irving led Boston to the win, scoring 27 points and dishing out 18 assists, including 10 points and six assists in the
LOS ANGELES, CA – JANUARY 15: The Lakers’ Lonzo Ball #2 during their game against the Bulls at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan 15, 2019. The Lakers defeated the Bulls 100-107. (Hans Gutknecht/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images) Alexander Gustafsson and Corey Anderson agree to square off in Stockholm by
Donovan Mitchell appears poised for greatness after his breakout rookie season with the Utah Jazz. Just under 14 months ago, the Utah Jazz traded Trey Lyles for the 13th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, with which they selected Donovan Mitchell. The Denver Nuggets, their partner in the trade, must be absolutely sick when
7:33 PM ET Oklahoma City star forward Paul George has been fined $25,000 by the NBA for criticizing the officiating after the Thunder’s 118-110 loss to the LA Clippers on Friday night. “It’s just bad officiating,” George said after the game. “I’m sorry, just bad officiating. We don’t get a fair whistle. We haven’t gotten
As LeBron James clings onto his playoff life with the injury-riddled Los Angeles Lakers and Kyrie Irving attempts to maintain the slumping Boston Celtics’ positioning in the standings, the third member of the former Cleveland Cavaliers big three is relishing the chance to play the game he loves. “I feel like a big part of
2:03 PM ET Los Angeles Lakers forward Brandon Ingram has been diagnosed with a deep vein thrombosis in his right arm and is expected to miss the rest of the season, the team said Saturday. Ingram, who is averaging a career-best 18.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per game this season, had missed the past two
Trae Young is giving NBA fans a reason to watch the Hawks on a nightly basis. That might be the best accomplishment of his rookie campaign. The only thing that can reliably stop Trae Young at the moment is NBA refs who are overly inclined to call technical fouls. For the record, Young getting ejected
4:08 AM ET OAKLAND, Calif. — When the Golden State Warriors decide to focus and play the way they’re capable of, there is no team in the NBA that can beat them. Golden State’s best is better than anyone else’s in the league, as they reminded the Denver Nuggets on Friday night in a 122-105
While the Atlantic Division has been the class of the league in 2018-19, it is also ripe for change come free agency. I covered the potential for change in Toronto last week – the Raptors looked well-positioned for the present as well as the future– but it’s not only Toronto that could be in for
6:10 PM ET Associated Press NEW ORLEANS — The New Orleans Pelicans say guard E’Twaun Moore will be sidelined at least a week after reinjuring his left quadriceps. The Pelicans, who announced Moore’s condition before Friday night’s game against Toronto, say Moore’s recurrent contusion occurred during Wednesday night’s 114-104 loss to Toronto. The club says
LeBron is almost certainly not going to get traded this summer. It doesn’t mean we can’t imagine what a possible return for James might look like. Is there even an appropriate analogy for how quickly the Lakers’ season has spiraled out of control? As the obituaries start getting pumped out, there will be comparisons made
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 two teams leading the NBA in net rating in the calendar
1:21 AM ET TORONTO — The Houston Rockets didn’t want to hear about the standings Tuesday night. Sure, it was nice to get some help across the border as they pulled off another impressive win, fighting off a comeback bid and finishing strong in a 107-95 win over the Toronto Raptors. As the Rockets were
While the Atlantic Division has been the class of the league in 2018-19, it is also ripe for change come free agency. I covered the potential for change in Toronto last week – the Raptors looked well-positioned for the present as well as the future– but it’s not only Toronto that could be in for
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 Phoenix Suns need Deandre Ayton to be very good. Phoenix is
1:57 AM ET Malika AndrewsESPN MILWAUKEE — Conventional wisdom suggests that the Indiana Pacers should have collapsed by now. They lost their franchise player, Victor Oladipo, to a season-ending injury in late January. The star-less Pacers then suffered minor injuries to other key players, including Domantas Sabonis and Tyreke Evans. Their defense has stayed one
There’s a lot of reasons why the Lakers stink this season, but the most glaring is the LeBron James and Rajon Rondo pairing. On a night when LeBron James passed Micheal Jordan as the NBA’s fourth-leading scorer of all-time, Rajon Rondo decided to sit among the fans to watch the rest of the Denver Nuggets
Jimmy Butler didn’t make many fans when he forced his way out of Minnesota, but the Philadelphia 76ers guard still deserves a place in the NBA All-Star Game. With the NBA All-Star reserves being announced this Thursday, there is naturally a lot of talk about which players are deserving for those coveted spots. When it
Joel Embiid will miss another big matchup on Saturday when his Philadelphia 76ers will face the defending champion Golden State Warriors. Joel Embiid will once again miss another crucial game for the Philadelphia 76ers. According to NBC Sports Philadelphia, Embiid has been ruled out for their Saturday night tilt with the defending champion Golden State
5:55 PM ET OAKLAND, Calif. — With just nine regular-season home games left at Oracle Arena, Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr is hoping his team can give East Bay fans a better sendoff than what the group has shown to date. The Warriors come into Friday’s showdown against the Denver Nuggets in first place
In this week’s 2019 NBA Mock Draft, we take a closer look at a lottery in which no one wants to lose. As always, projected standings are based upon FiveThirtyEight’s CARM-Elo rankings. This version of the mock uses projections as of March 3, with the Suns and Knicks separated from the rest of the pack
The NBA regular season is a marathon, not a sprint. The action after the All-Star break is filled with teams giving younger players an extended look, franchises making a deliberate playoff push while trying to sneak in rest for their stars and some squads dare we say it – tanking. Every season there are more
3:32 AM ET LOS ANGELES — Rajon Rondo has sat and watched some games this season, at times, from an empty courtside seat near the Los Angeles Lakers‘ bench. But when Rondo did it again Wednesday night before the end of a 115-99 loss to the Denver Nuggets at Staples Center, it created a stir.
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 to get it delivered to you via email each morning. Isaiah Thomas is not and has never been a perfect basketball player. Nobody
9:18 PM ET A right shoulder injury will keep Los Angeles Lakers forward Brandon Ingram out for a second straight game Wednesday night against the Denver Nuggets. Head coach Luke Walton said the team isn’t sure when Ingram hurt his shoulder but that he is experiencing pain whenever he lifts his right arm. Ingram also