Philadelphia secured home-court advantage with a third-place finish in the Eastern Conference, but it was upset by the Nets 111-102 at home in the first game of the first round. To make matters worse, Joel Embiid and Amir Johnson appeared to be looking at texts on the bench during the fourth quarter of the contest. Here’s how Twitter reacted to this unusual sight during the NBA’s start the the postseason....
The Trail Blazers easily took care of the Thunder in five games in their first-round series, while the Nuggets managed to advance by topping the Spurs in seven games. The Nuggets finished with a 3-1 record against Portland in the regular season and have won six of the last seven times the teams have met. “I think we’re well-prepared,” Nuggets forward Paul Millsap said, via the Denver Post. “We’ve been prepared for them all year....
Point spreads and totals are current as of Thursday morning. Check our odds page for updated NBA lines from Las Vegas. No. 2 Cleveland Cavaliers at No. 7 Boston Celtics (7 p.m. ET, TNT)Game 3 spread, total: Cleveland -4, 204 Series lead: Cleveland 2-0 The Celtics have played competitively this series, despite losing 113-100 and 99-91. They are 1-1 ATS as double-digit dogs. The playoffs are all about superstars, and Cleveland has two in LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, who combined for all 24 fourth-quarter points in Game 2....
MORE: Curry ignites Warriors in Game 1 | First-round predictions | Best photos from the first round Wizards 93, Raptors 86 OT (Washington leads series 1-0) The NBA playoffs got off to an exciting start with an overtime road victory for the Wizards. Toronto came out hot in front of its home crowd fueled by Paul Pierce’s comments prior to the series, claiming Toronto doesn’t have the “it factor” to win in the playoffs....
When it came time to measure McDermott at the NBA’s draft combine Thursday, there was disappointment — he was only 6-6.25 without shoes. That should put him at about 6-7.5 with shoes (maybe slightly higher), below the 6-8 at which he was listed by the Bluejays. The bigger problem is that McDermott’s wingspan is only 6-foot-9.25, which puts him in the company of guards Dante Exum, C.J. Wilcox and Marcus Smart....
Plenty of eyes will be focused on Pistons guard Cade Cunningham, Rockets guard Jalen Green and Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley this season. The top three picks of the 2021 NBA Draft figure to play prominent roles on their new teams and lead their franchises into the future. MORE: Updated NBA win totals and championship odds The talent in this group goes beyond those three guys, though. Could other young players crash the Rookie of the Year party?...
The Cavs finally traded four-time All-Star Kyrie Irving, sending him to the Celtics in exchange for Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and the Nets’ 2018 first-round pick. It was no surprise to see Irving moved out of Cleveland considering he had requested a trade in July, but the elements of this specific move came out of nowhere. MORE: Ranking 25 best NBA stars to change teams in their primes...
The Bulls are searching for a deal to move the 25-year-old guard, according to a report from Sports Illustrated, which cites unidentified league sources. Chicago reportedly acquired Tomas Satoransky in a sign-and-trade Monday and also selected Coby White out of North Carolina with the No. 7 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, which could make Dunn expendable. Dunn averaged 11.3 points and six assists while shooting 42.5% from the field in 46 games in 2018-19....
At least one opposing team tried to acquire Tatum this summer, but the Celtics had an “insane” asking price for him, an executive recently told NBA insider Keith Smith at Summer League. Tatum had a standout rookie season but was inconsistent in 2018-19, averaging 15.7 points and 6.0 rebounds in 31.1 minutes per game while shooting 37.3% from 3-point range. The Celtics’ roster underwent a major overhaul this offseason. They lost Kyrie Irving (Nets), Al Horford (76ers) and Marcus Morris (Knicks) in free agency but signed star Kemba Walker away from the Hornets....
When Oklahoma City acquired Paul in an offseason trade with the Rockets, the front office reportedly hoped to move him quickly in a separate deal with the Heat emerging as the top suitor. However, no logical trade destinations emerged prior to the start of the 2019-20 season, and Paul is still a member of the Thunder. That should remain the case in the short-term, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski....
Anthony Davis and Paul George wanted out of New Orleans and Oklahoma City, respectively; they both landed in Los Angeles. Russell Westbrook seemed like a lock to be a Thunder player for life; he is now a member of the Rockets. Team situations can change in the blink of an eye, and the constant worries about roster turnover are unlikely to dissipate. (At least David Griffin and Sam Presti control the NBA Draft for the next century)....
The first major domino fell late Sunday night when the Kings sent DeMarcus Cousins to the Pelicans for … yeah, sorry Kings fans. So, who else will be moving ahead of Thursday’s 3 p.m. trade deadline? MORE: These draft pick protections could make major impact on NBA futures Big names like Paul George, Derrick Rose and Andre Drummond were being thrown out in trade talks on Tuesday. It’s still a lot of chatter at this point, but teams could get antsy in the hopes of dramatically altering their futures....
The Bulls are desperate for a change of scenery after a dumpster fire of a week headlined by three feuding guards. They believe Okafor may thrive in a different system after a disappointing start to his career. TRADE RUMORS: These 12 big men could be on the block But it’s hard to see how the worst 3-point shooting team in the league with poor enough spacing as is would accompany a big who succeeds as a traditional back-to-the-basket scorer — especially one who doesn’t rebound or defend well....
Even after the embarrassing tussle between players at a practice three months ago, even after another season-sinking injury to star guard John Wall and even after their current run of four losses in five games — which included defeats at the hands of the Cavaliers and Hawks — the Wizards don’t appear to be budging. TRADE RUMORS: Blazers aren’t done with deadline action Heck, owner Ted Leonsis has come out and said it publicly: Washington has no plans to break up its three-player core of Wall, Bradley Beal and Otto Porter....
Players and owners can opt out of the collective bargaining agreement after the end of the 2016-17 season. The most recent lockout, which was in 2011, ended with major concessions on the players’ side. Both sides could opt out when the current deal is over, according to the report. MORE: Source: Gasol, Hill remain important to Lakers future | Heat targets include Blake, Carter, Marion In the memo, executive director Ron Klempner wrote to players set to sign new deals in free agency and asked that they invoke a provision that allows payments to be sent out over an 18-month period instead of the typical 12-month stint....
Miller knows of what he speaks because he did it himself during his career. Other PGA Tour stars who want to turn themselves into Mr. America would be wise to consider what he said. MORE: Winners and losers at Royal Troon | Final leaderboard During Sunday’s epic final round won by Henrik Stenson, NBC noted McIlroy hasn’t won a major in two years. While Stenson and Phil Mickelson staged a thrilling, final-round duel for the ages, McIlroy finished 16 shots behind....
The Legends of the NBA Development League said Tuesday they had acquired the Tar Heels' leading scorer from last year. The team said Hairston — who didn't play at UNC this season due to NCAA violations — is the first player to enter the NBDL at midseason after starting the year in college. The team says Hairston is expected to be uniform Saturday night against the Austin Toros. The Legends are an affiliate of the Dallas Mavericks in the NBDL, the NBA's official minor league....
Practice limits were among several recommendations released Monday by the NCAA, which called them guidelines that could change “in real time” rather than rules passed through legislation. The practice guidelines also recommend four contact practices per week during the preseason and no more than eight of the 15 sessions during spring football. The NCAA already has legislation regarding preseason and spring practices. MORE: SN Preseason Top 25 | All-Americans | Take SN’s bowl quiz...
According to the release (obtained by ESPN.com), the NCAA has designated the crown of the helmet as the area directly above the facemask to the helmet’s dome. It also provided further guidance to replay officials, who can stop the game if blatant targeting occurred without being called by on-field officials. MORE: Be the judge: Targeting or not? “There have been some instances where this rule could’ve been applied for targeting fouls,” Rogers Redding, NCAA football secretary-rules editor, said in the release....
Brown will be suspended for 30 percent (nine games) of SMU’s 2015-16 slate in the wake of a “lack of coach control” charge and the program will lose nine scholarships over the next three years. Additionally, the NCAA has levied a postseason ban for this season and will vacate games in which an ineligible player participated. MORE: Maryland’s 10 best players | Ban holds SMU roster hostage Brown was also assessed a two-year show-cause penalty because he “failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance when he did not report violations and was not initially truthful during an interview with NCAA enforcement staff,” the NCAA said in a release....
