While the Warriors have secured the No. 1 seed in the West, there’s a scramble for Nos. 2 through 6 in the conference, and the Thunder and Pelicans are virtually dead-locked for the No. 8 seed. The race for the seventh and eighth spots in the East also figures to be entertaining down the stretch. The Nets, Celtics, Pacers, Heat and Hornets are all within 2.5 games of each other....
“I was in favor of the team visiting the White House and thought it was a rare opportunity for these players to share their views directly with the President," Silver’s statement reads. “I am disappointed that that will not happen. More importantly, I am proud of our players for taking an active role in their communities and continuing to speak out on critically important issues.” MORE: Steph Curry responds to Trump withdrawing White House invitation...
“On (fan) balloting, it’s something we’ll continue to look at,” the league’s commissioner said Thursday, via USA Today. ”We love the fact that fans have input into who the All-Stars are. As social media changes the world and is disruptive, it’s been mildly disruptive to our balloting systems as well. I know that’s something we’ll take a fresh look at.” MORE: Photos of 2016 All-Star jerseys | ASG jersey history Fans currently can have their votes included by tweeting out a player’s name with the hashtag #NBAVote....
The goal is to draft the players who will have the most fantasy points in Friday’s NBA games. Draft three guards, three forwards, one utility and one center while staying under the $100,000 salary cap. Salaries are determined based on projected/historical fantasy points. During the Christmas Day $100,000 Guaranteed NBA league, jakam31 turned an $11 entry into $25,000 with this winning roster: To help you set your own roster, here are the highlight players for Friday’s games: F LeBron James ($21,348): Russell, Wilt, Bird....
Although they didn’t put up a ton of points on Monday, the Nets are in action again, and their matchup vs. Denver checks in as the highest projected total of the slate. Their over-230 game total is more than 10 points higher than the next highest game. At the same time, we have no games projected for under-200 points tonight. As is customary, we must point out that some top options aren’t listed in the Playbook....
But we are not here today to mourn a flawed system as much as to look to the future. Divisions — OK, they’re not technically dead, simply made irrelevant in determining playoff qualification and seeding by an NBA Board of Governors vote — were beyond their relevance years ago, as the NBA kept expanding and changing its schedule format. They became a nuisance, never more than last April, when the division seeding rules gave us an absurd first-round series between the Clippers and Spurs, two of the NBA’s five best teams....
While Ford still had Parker as the No. 1 player on his mock draft, he used a recent workout as an indicator that Parker would rather be picked at No. 2 to Milwaukee. MORE: Source: Bulls could move up to No. 8 | Parker visits Embiid after surgery | NBA Mock Draft Citing sources, Ford writes that Parker appeared to “tank” his workout for the Cavaliers. He came in overweight and without energy, according to Ford’s sources....
This week, we’re doing something a bit different with a first crack at ranking prospects. From one through 60, this is a look at the top prospects eligible for the 2018 draft with no team fit influencing the decisions. MOCK DRAFT: How high will Oklahoma’s Trae Young go? Interspersed throughout are 12 explainers devoted to players who, generally speaking, are either ranked higher or lower than their public consensus....
It’s easy say guys like LeBron James or Kevin Durant or Zion Williamson will be good, but what about Kawhi Leonard or Marc Gasol? Who are those guys who you thought could be good, but a team was still taking a chance on them by taking them? We’re looking at a few of those guys here, the guys who could be All-Stars in three years or who may never make it out of the G-League....
Front offices around the league are consistently seeking out better tools to avoid the landmines and identify the diamonds in the rough. This is an attempt to do the same. The pool of potential underperformers is easy to isolate. Ask a basketball fan to compile a list of the NBA Draft’s biggest busts, and you’ll likely get a list of top prospects who never panned out for one reason or another — Kwame Brown, Greg Oden, Anthony Bennett, etc....
But there were players selected — 60 of them — and we’ve got grades on those picks. Atlanta Hawks — B Adreian Payne is a senior, which, to some, means he should eat dinner at 4:30 and qualify for a discounted bus pass. We’re not buying it. Payne is a tough, hard-nosed big man who can shoot, and though the Hawks needed a small forward, those are easy to find....
Pausing video of the encounter at exactly the right time produces an image of Thompson and West getting close — very close — to each other. As Twitter does, people started sharing their thoughts on the moment. MORE: NBA Finals Game 5 live updates Maybe they were reenacting this scene from “The Office”? It was only a matter of time before someone made a Kardashian joke. This is a good follow-up tweet....
Golden State went on to win 124-114 in overtime. SN LIVE BLOG: Highlights from Cavs-Warriors Game 1 When ESPN’s Mark Schwarz pressed James during the postgame interview session about whether Smith mistakenly thought the Cavs were winning, James had reached his limit. Here’s Schwarz’s line of questioning:
To say the 2015 NBA Finals have been strange would be an understatement. But they also have been memorable, and the Cavaliers taking a 2-1 lead in Game 3 Tuesday only added to that. Now we have a real series, with all the worries about the Warriors sweeping or winning in five no longer even possible. MORE: LeBron’s best Finals games | Can David Lee save the Warriors? | Delly time...
MORE: Paul George trade rumors are heating up The veteran big man is set to decline an option that would’ve paid him $16.2 million next season to remain with the Spurs on the cheap. The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Tuesday the 7-footer will return to San Antonio after negotiating a long-term deal that will pay him less annually. At 35, Gasol is still a serviceable big man, but no longer commands the salary he was due in 2017-18....
OK, slight exaggeration, but Charlotte is in serious talks with free-agent power forward Marvin Williams, who played on UNC’s 2005 NCAA championship team with former Bobcats Raymond Felton and Sean May, according to Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski. MORE: LeBron in Las Vegas for camp, meetings | Free-agent tracker Williams, 28, would replace Josh McRoberts, who agreed to a contract with the Heat on Monday. Last season Williams averaged 9.1 points and 5....
We have been building strong hoops lineups on DraftKings all season, but Friday nights have been our bread and butter. Last week, we struck gold with Jaylen Brown (63.5), Jrue Holiday (53 points), Trey Murphy (31.2), and Brook Lopez (30.2). This week, we aim to double our big hits so we can boost our holiday-season bankroll. With DraftKings, lineup construction is simple: draft eight players with assigned salaries — one for each position, as well as one guard flex, one forward flex, and one utility — and keep the team under the $50,000 salary cap....
Now, they’ve voted to allow logos from Carl’s Jr. or Verizon or Stamps.com or whatever. MORE: Predicting the postseason: How many Warriors losses? “Jersey sponsorships provide deeper engagement with partners looking to build a unique association with our teams and the additional investment will help grow the game in exciting new ways,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a news release. “We’re always thinking about innovative ways the NBA can remain competitive in a global marketplace, and we are excited to see the results of this three-year trial....
Malone died in his sleep at a hotel in Virginia where he was set to play in a golf tournament, former teammate Calvin Murphy told Fox 26 in Houston. MORE: Sports figures we’ve lost in 2015 | Malone’s most amazing images Malone went straight to the ABA from high school in 1974 and starred in the startup league before becoming a legend when the ABA and NBA merged. He became a monster on the boards in Houston, leading the league with 17....
