SR – NBA Prime Time Preview: Denver Nuggets at Oklahoma City Thunder

SR – NBA Prime Time Preview: Denver Nuggets at Oklahoma City Thunder

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by | Feb 22, 2020 | Featured, NBA

For the first NBA competition on ESPN since the conclusion of the All-Star Break, prime time cameras will go live from the rural city of Oklahoma as the sixth-seeded Thunder attempt to defend Loud City against the second-best team in the West, the 38-22 Denver Nuggets, live at 8:00 p.m. ET.

Coming into this one, both teams have undergone a seismic transformation into playoff contenders that surely didn’t happen overnight. Oklahoma City was dealt with the hand of reality that involved starting anew without Russell Westbrook for the first time in franchise history as they entered an uncharted zone of the rebuilding process, and for the first time as outsiders of the playoff hunt. This year, however, has been nothing nearly equivalent to that batch of early-season divinations.

As the sixth-best team in an unforgiving conference that is the West, this Thunder team has clawed, scratched, and fought with grit en lieu to their 33-22 record. And astonishing as that record sounds, it’s justified the same way on the court. Danilo Gallinari is sniping the three-ball at a 40.7 percent clip, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (19.5 ppg.) is worthy of being trusted as the Thunder franchise cornerpiece of the near and ever-present future, Steven Adams is still impossible to box-out and out-rebound, and the ageless wonder Chris Paul (17.4 ppg.) can still ball.

Frankly, it was not supposed to be this way, and Thunder fans can attest to that. After undergoing that tectonic shift of emotions that regarded the selling of Paul George to the Goliathic Clippers OKC started their fire sale after acquiring a wheelbarrow of picks this past Summer as a result of the trade, which kickstarted the campaign to get brand new pieces and reshape the entire philosophy of the organization, which many speculated would take years.

Now, with less than three full months of regular-season competition, OKC is in a tight throttle with Dallas for the sixth seed, but that’s not the point. The fact is that, they’re in the conversation of sliding into the playoff picture without hassle for another year, and all they did was rid themselves of two (three, if you count Carmelo Anthony) All-Stars in a matter of a couple of seasons.

Tonight, Denver’s first task out of the break is no easy, kind-of-welcome-back-to-NBA-action type of affair. They find themselves playing a division rival on the road Oklahoma City after resting up and getting all of their players healthy, and since both teams will be on the positive side of the injury spectrum, intriguing matchups like Jamal Murray vs. Chris Paul, SGA vs. Gary Harris, and Steven Adams vs. Nikola Jokic will all go down tonight in the first of two ESPN games on Friday night.

Feb 22, 2020 No Comments
SR – NBA Prime Time Preview: Houston Rockets at Golden State Warriors

SR – NBA Prime Time Preview: Houston Rockets at Golden State Warriors

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by | Feb 21, 2020 | Featured, NBA

Houston (34-20) makes their second appearance in San Francisco and this time, look for some redemption as they go head-to-head with the Warriors (12-43)  for the third time this year, tipping off at 10:30 p.m. ET on TNT.

It’s really a shame we as NBA fans won’t get the treat of seeing Steph Curry have yet another duel with James Harden and the Houston Rockets since that formalized into being one of the finer regional rivalries that this league has seen in the past five years. And for another year, most media prognosticators traced every step and action that both Curry and Harden have made, often circling advantages that the more physically-gifted Harden has over a 2x MVP.

And of course, we know how the story has gone: James Harden, as the starting guard of the Houston Rockets, has yet to beat Wardell Stephen Curry in a single playoff series. Ignoring the goliath-like rosters that Curry has had created around him in the past half-decade, the tables may have finally turned in Harden’s favor, as he will be graced with the blessing of going against a talent-deficient Warriors roster that will be without the likes of Andre Iguodala and Kevin Durant for the foreseeable future.

And for this season, though only suffering one weird, uncharacteristic loss to the Warriors on Christmas Day, Harden is likely to smell blood in the water, as he and Russell Westbrook not only lead the NBA in backcourt scoring as a starting duo but have somehow revolutionized the game overnight, it seems, with this improvised brand of positionless, small-ball offense. Now, 5-out sets are harder to mirror on the defensive end if oppositions roll out both zone and man coverage schemes.

Tonight’s game will feature another test for this brand of ball: the healthy Warriors play with grit and have multiple skill positions filled by guys like improving rookie Eric Paschall, tenacious rebounder Omari Spellman, team leader and defensive savant Draymond Green, and new Warrior Andrew Wiggins (who came by way of Minnesota via the D’Angelo Russell trade) who has almost rebirthed his game after seeing greener — and much, much warmer –pastures in the Bay.

Ex-Rockets like Marquese Chriss will get another chance to prove that the Rockets were wrong for not wanting to keep him on the roster. And Damion Lee certainly remembers his Christmas Day game against the Rockets when he dropped 22 points and 15 rebounds to go with a perfect night from the free-throw line.

So though the Warriors aren’t without their stars in Curry, Thompson, and Russell, the Rockets are still looking for their first win against Golden State that won’t be inside the defunct Oracle Arena. If it comes tonight, this will positively kick-off a soft spot on the Rockets schedule, as their next nine opponents will have losing records, and what better way to start it against the team that terrorized them with the small-ball offense with a taste of their own medicine.

Feb 21, 2020 No Comments
SR – NBA Prime Time Preview: Brooklyn Nets at Philadelphia 76ers

SR – NBA Prime Time Preview: Brooklyn Nets at Philadelphia 76ers

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by | Feb 21, 2020 | Featured, NBA

In what will be a game with as little star-power than recently expected, the 25-27 Brooklyn Nets resume basketball activities with a trip out East to the City of Brotherly Love Philadelphia in a prime-time battle of two Atlantic Division rivals, tipping off at 8:00 p.m. ET in the first of two games tonight on TNT.

The news that broke for the Nets was all too harrowing to swallow: for the remainder of their 2019-20 campaign, Kyrie Irving will miss out on the rest of the season from a shoulder procedure he has yet to undergo, and as a team, they’ll have to scourage together a pliable scheme that will effectively space the floor off the dribble, and produce offense from their backcourt at the same time, which, ironically, isn’t something that the Nets aren’t too privy of shying away from.

In the 20 games that they’ve played with Irving as the starting quarterback of the offense, they won 8 games and proceeded to lose the rest, regardless of whatever high numerical amount Irving would put up on the scoring sheet by himself. But, Nets fans shouldn’t fret, at least not that much, for they’ve done a well-enough job without the two-time All-NBA selection to gauge top-8 playoff positioning within the 16 teams in the East.

Led by Caris LeVert and Spencer Dinwiddie, who have carried what feels like a sinking ship in Brooklyn above sea level, both guards have done just that, averaging a combined 36.2 points per game in the 28 games they’ve played together this year. And yet, this ship they’re supposedly keeping afloat is going to have to hold the mast high against a home-court-favored juggernaut in the Philadelphia 76ers who, through after four months of play, still possess the best home record in the NBA at 25-2.

The fifth-ranked squad in the East is still trying to work out the kinks as this season reaches its conclusion and ahead of the penultimate season-ending month of March, higher seeding, snapping back into playoff shape, proper floor spacing, better understanding of Brett Brown’s offense and not having such an ugly road record have all become an imperative emphases as we inch closer to the postseason. Tonight, however, expect the roles of guards and forwards like Alec Burks and Glenn Robinson to broaden as Ben Simmons sits this second-half opener out with some back tightness issues.

As for everyone else, it’s yet to be seen who wins in the third matchup between Joel Embiid and Jarrett Allen go to war, and if the Nets can garner enough offense to keep up with the fast pace and pesky wingspan that Philly shows to all who oppose them inside the Wells Fargo Center. The All-Star break is up, and it’s time to get back to work. That goes for every team scattered throughout this league and for both teams tonight, that starts with a W to kick things off on the right foot.

Feb 21, 2020 No Comments
BREAKING: Nets’ Guard Kyrie Irving To Undergo Season-Ending Shoulder Surgery

BREAKING: Nets’ Guard Kyrie Irving To Undergo Season-Ending Shoulder Surgery

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by | Feb 21, 2020 | Featured, NBA

It has been unanimously reported that Brooklyn Nets star Point Guard Kyrie Irving will have to wait out the 2019-20 offseason alongside new teammate Kevin Durant, for the former Cavaliers and Celtics standout will be sidelined for the rest of the season after deciding to undergo arthroscopic shoulder surgery that’ll likely keep him out of all basketball activities for the rest of the season. This news comes less than a year removed from him signing a four-year, $136.5 million contract with Brooklyn.

Irving, 27, is no stranger to the parks of missed time in a Nets uniform. What legacy started out as a minuscule shoulder “impingement” has kept the former All-Star MVP and one-time champ out of commission for over 26 games, and this procedure will keep him on the shelf for an undisclosed amount of time.

“That’s about all I can tell you,” Nets Head Coach Kenny Atkinson exclaimed. “His shoulder continues to bother him. That’s about the extent of it now.”

Though not a result of one particular play, but rather Irving’s shoulder muscle accumulating more damage over time probably caused the superstar guard to seek second and third opinions on his ailment, as Atkinson explains.

“The shoulder is a tough thing,” Atkinson said. “I just don’t think it was an on and off thing where it’s bothering you. Some days you feel good, some days you don’t feel good. But I think it got to the point it was, ‘Hey, let’s see another specialist.”

Upon recency, however, this Nets team has managed to scrape out a 4-1 record in the games that Irving has been out of since February 1, and as a whole have gone 17-16 in the games that Irving didn’t suit up for. And the ironic fact? Brooklyn’s record with Irving on the court peaked at a mediocre 8-12.

Picking up a majority of the two-time All-NBA member’s slack has been the consistently hot performance of both guards Spencer Dinwiddie and Caris Levert, who were handed the responsibility of compensating the Nets with Irving’s scoring output of 27.4 points per game off 47 percent shooting. A tall task, indeed, but nothing the homegrown talents in Levert and free-agent Dinwiddie acquired back in 2017 haven’t handled yet.

As a backcourt duo, they’ve averaged a little over 36 points in the 28 games they’ve played together, and with some venerable contributions from a litany of other guards in Atkinson’s rotation like Garrett Temple (10.2 ppg., 32.6 3PT%), they’ve fared to the best of their ability, clawing away some key wins over top-tier teams in the Sixers and Celtics without Irving on the active roster this year.

And yes, the Nets are a playoff-bound team if they can keep things together when crossing the proverbial finish line of the 82-game marathon that is the regular season. And the silver lining, though it’s effect temporary, justifying considering how hard Brooklyn plays on defense and how aggressive they can be on offense without their lone all-star on the floor.

But looking past that, the way that this roster is pieced together right now can all but heighten the mood for Nets fans who are now acquiesced into undertaking the grand scheme of things in Brooklyn as Gospel, simply because it’s unclear whether both Irving and Durant’s extended absence from their lingering injuries could provide further doubt for future seasons as the Eastern Conference, and the rest of the league for that matter, grows stronger as the years go by.

Feb 21, 2020 No Comments
Top 15 Sneakers Worn During 2020 NBA All-Star Weekend

Top 15 Sneakers Worn During 2020 NBA All-Star Weekend

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by | Feb 20, 2020 | Featured, NBA, Sneakers

Last weekend the world’s best basketball players gathered in Chicago to celebrate 2020’s NBA All-Stars. Between the Rising Stars Game, Skills Challenge, 3-Point Contest, Dunk Contest, and All-Star Game – the sneakers were out in full force on the hardwood. Brands and athletes use this weekend as a platform to showcase either new colorways of signature models or sometimes new signature models altogether. Nowadays, it’s hard to truly “debut” a new shoe or colorway without a leaked image being seen on social media first. Lebron James and Kawhi Leonard were successful in doing this however. James sported a new “Space Jam” themed colorway on his XVII silhouette, inspired by one of the main characters. Kawhi debuted his first official signature shoe with New Balance.

We at Sneaker Reporter compiled a list of the Top 15 Sneakers worn during the 2020 NBA All-Star Weekend. In addition to new colorways and models being on the list, wearing customs is another way to make the Top 15. Additionally, if there is a big moment attached to when you were wearing a particular shoe, then that is another way an NBA player can find themself on the list. What were your favorite shoes from All-Star Weekend? Do you think our top pick deserved to be #1?

 

 

15. Nike Adapt BB 2.0 “Chicago” (Gamer Exclusive) – Ja Morant

 

     

 

 

14. Jordan XXX4 SE – Jayson Tatum

 

           

 

 

13. Jordan X “Wings” – Kemba Walker

 

           

 

 

12. Jordan CP3.XII – Chris Paul

 

     

 

 

11. Nike Zoom Freak 1 “Employee of the Month” – Giannis Antetokounmpo

 

     

 

 

10. Puma Clyde Hardwood “Miami” Custom – Derrick Jones Jr. (done by @solesbysir)

 

           

 

 

9. Jordan XXX4 Low “White Cement” – Luka Doncic

 

     

 

 

8. Jordan Why Not Zer0.3 “LA Born” (Home/Away) – Russell Westbrook

 

           

 

 

7. Adidas YZY QNTM “BSKTBL” – Zach LaVine

 

     

 

 

6. Nike Kobe A.D. Custom – Bam Adebayo (done by @solesbysir)

 

                 

 

 

5. New Balance “The Kawhi” – Kawhi Leonard

 

           

 

 

4. Jordan XXX4 “Infrared” – Luka Doncic

 

     

 

 

3. Nike Lebron XVII “Monstars” – Lebron James

 

                 

 

 

2. Nike Kobe 5 Protro “LA” – Anthony Davis

 

     

 

 

1. Nike Lebron XVII “Mr. Swackhammer” – Lebron James

 

                 

 

 

 

 

Feb 20, 2020 No Comments
SneakerReporter NBA Mid-Season Grades (Central Division)

SneakerReporter NBA Mid-Season Grades (Central Division)

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by | Feb 20, 2020 | Featured, NBA

All-Star Weekend is over, and now we are going to wrap up the Mid-Season Grades for the league with the Central Division up next.

Chicago Bulls (19-36): C

The Bulls are truly beginning a new era for the organization, developing the core of LaVine and co. Their roster is very young, with their oldest player in Thaddeus Young at 31. It’s almost certain that people didn’t expect much success from the Bulls, but also had decently high hopes with LaVine, Dunn, and Coby White. I personally believe that this team has more potential to be better than their current record, but time will only tell once these players start developing individually and as a team.

Cleveland Cavaliers (14-40): F

It is definitely not a great feeling saying that a team is playing at such a low level, but we’re also discussing a roster that has no real standout performers. Whether it be from the younger names like Collin Sexton, Kevin Porter Jr., and Darius Garland to their more veteran players like Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson and Matthew Dellavedova, the Cavaliers have struggled to find any rhythm this season. They also recently made the trade for Pistons star Center Andre Drummond, a trade that left a lot of fans from both teams confused. It doesn’t seem very likely for Drummond to make enough of an impact for the Cavs to get a whole lot of tallies under the win column, or perhaps they’re planning so something much bigger for the future.

Detroit Pistons (19-38): D

What was previously said regarding giving an F to the previous team could also be said for giving a team a D. Personally I would want all teams to be playing at their full potential, but in just hasn’t been able to happen for the Pistons. The Pistons have recently lost acquisitions in Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson, two of the bigger names on that Detroit roster. With Blake Griffin only playing 18 games so far this season, there isn’t too much to be excited about other than really watching Derrick Rose come back into his form. Depending on whether or not the Pistons will choose to build around Griffin and Rose is a matter that will most likely be addressed as the season progresses, which will hopefully put them in a better position for the remainder of games and so forth.

Indiana Pacers (32-23): B

It goes without saying that fans league wide expected the Pacers to be in Playoff contention this season, especially with the highly anticipated return of Victor Oladipo. With that said they have positioned themselves at the sixth spot in the Eastern Conference, working towards solidifying themselves into the Playoffs. The roster has looked solid together without their star Guard in Oladipo, and now with him getting back into the swing of things, their trajectory is definitely upside. What they can do with potential Playoff positioning is entirely up to them when that time comes.

Milwaukee Bucks (46-8): A+

Coming into this season, some were skeptical with the roster changes, or lack thereof, for Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks. People believed that the organization really needed to bolster their team with solid pieces surrounding their superstar in the Greek Freak, particularly after the loss of Malcolm Brogdon. This then brought upon players like Wes Matthews, Kyle Korver, and Robin Lopez. This too, brought more skepticism towards the Bucks before the season began, but was quickly shut down to the Bucks coming out with the best record in the league overall. This brings high hopes to Bucks fans worldwide, perhaps getting deeper into the Playoffs and potentially the NBA Finals. With Giannis playing as he has been, and the team surrounding him getting the job on their respective ends, the sky is the limit for the team.

 

Feb 20, 2020 No Comments