OKC Thunder Lose To The Memphis Grizzlies (124-119) To Finish Preseason (2-2)

OKC Thunder Lose To The Memphis Grizzlies (124-119) To Finish Preseason (2-2)

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by | Oct 17, 2019 | Featured, NBA

The Thunder tried to redeem themselves after the loss on Monday night in Dallas. You can tell that the Thunder were playing with different energy at home against the Memphis Grizzlies in the beginning. Both teams were missing key pieces to their offense and defense, for example, Ja Morant, and Chris Paul didn’t play tonight. The OKC Thunder leaned on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Steven Adams for the majority of the game to set the tone offensively but came up short. Steven Adams has impressed all preseason and looks ready for a monster year in his stats. The Big Kiwi finished with 12 points and 9 rebounds on the night as he was able to dominate in the paint. Steven has worked on his post moves and this offseason he’s added the 3 point shot to his arsenal. Steven Adams has been a true leader and has let his game speak for itself as he faced off against Jaren Jackson Jr tonight. You could see the size difference but Steven was quick on his feet and made it hard on the second-year player. The pace that Steven Adams has been playing at this preseason he should easily be in the conversation for MIP with a 20-10 campaign in 2019-2020 season.

 

Shai Gilgeous Alexander has been able to take advantage of his opportunity as he’s been incredible this preseason. When the Thunder brought him in we knew a little bit of what he brought to the table but this preseason he was showing out. Shai has shown that he can lead and that he can create his own shot with ease. The Memphis Grizzlies didn’t have the answer for Shai as he finished his preseason finale with 17 points. Memphis couldn’t contain Shai but they got the last laugh with the win in OKC.  Shai has been a special player to watch and he’s blended right in with the players from last year. The way that Shai attacks the basket is impressive and he does it with finesse. Shai has that old school layup package in NBA2K and he makes it look cool. One thing that he was able to do tonight against the Grizzlies was to use his defense to start fast breaks for his teammates. It’s only Shai’s second year in the NBA and he gets to the free-throw line like a veteran and plays basketball the Thunder way. It would have been cool to see Ja Morant vs Shai Gilgeous-Alexander tonight but we will have to save the popcorn for the regular-season matchups.

 

This team has been clicking on all levels so far and the ball movement has been there every game. The Thunder is moving the ball and it’s flowing without anyone knowing he the plays run for on offense. The last couple of games Danilo Gallinari has been in a great shooting groove and that continued tonight against the Grizzlies. In the game tonight Gallinari had 16 points and 10 rebounds. Gallinari is that sharpshooter that the Thunder has been needing and his ability to knock down shots has been a true addition to this team. One play that stood out tonight was a drive-by Darius Bazley where he was able to wrap the ball around a defender to find the open Gallinari for the 3 pointer. The Thunder made some good plays as a whole tonight but just couldn’t defend Dillon Brooks and get the second-chance points in the paint tonight. Darius played a great overall game tonight as he’s like the swiss army knife of the team. Anything you ask Bazley to do he gets it done. He showed a lot of versatility tonight as he finished with 7 points, 6 assists, and 9 rebounds in 30 minutes.

 

 

Memphis has a lot of players that can make an impact on their team. Jaren Jackson Jr. stood out tonight in his matchup against Steven Adams. Jackson Jr added a 3 point shot to his game and has some amazing footwork in the paint. Jackson Jr. finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds on the night for the Grizzlies and showed that he can defend at a high level. The Grizzlies are built for the future with Jackson Jr. and Ja Morant. Another player that made a huge impact on the game for the Grizzlies and should take that step in his career is Dillon Brooks. Tonight Brooks finished with 30 points and showed the ability to score off the dribble and attack the basket aggressively. If the Grizzlies can use some of this raw and young talent and mixed it with some veterans like Jae Crowder and Andre Iguodala this could be an interesting team to watch on the year.

 

 

The Thunder has a lot of potential and this team can definitely gel together with Chris Paul in the mix as well. We still haven’t been able to see how this team can be a full unit. The one player that Thunder fans are waiting to see is Andre Roberson as he’s recovering from his injury. The Thunder didn’t need him in the preseason but they will need him heading into the regular season moving forward.

 

 

Photo Credit : Sue Orgrocki/AP 

Oct 17, 2019 No Comments
The Evolution of Chris Paul’s Signature Sneaker Line

The Evolution of Chris Paul’s Signature Sneaker Line

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by | Oct 16, 2019 | Featured, NBA, Sneaker Releases, Sneakers, uncategorised

Chris Paul, or “CP3”, has been taking the NBA by storm for the better part of a decade. Throughout his time in the league he has been seen as one of the top-tier point guards while playing with a hard-nose mentality every opponent and teammate has come to expect. CP3 is a two-time Olympic gold medalist, NBA Rookie of the Year (2006), 9x NBA All-Defensive Team, 8x All-NBA Team, and 9x NBA All-Star. With all of these accolades and achievements, Chris Paul has been doing it relatively under the radar in his own signature shoes.

Out of college, Chris Paul was the fourth overall pick in the 2005 NBA draft and originally signed a four-year, $600,000 a year deal with Nike. I mean who could forget Chris Paul being a part of Nike’s now famous “Second Coming” commercial from 2007? Paul eventually gravitated towards the Jordan Brand division under Nike, as Michael Jordan hand-picks his brand endorsers himself. Fast forward to 2019 and Chris Paul is releasing his 12th signature shoe with Jordan Brand, yes you read that right, his TWELFTH signature sneaker.

 

 

Jordan Brand and Chris Paul have been releasing iterations for the All-Star PG every year since 2008. His shoes fit the bill for fast, athletic point guards, who change direction quickly. Premier Jordan Brand schools like North Carolina, Marquette, Georgetown, Florida, Oklahoma, and California (before they switched to Under Armour) all get outfitted with CP3’s every season. Of course Chris Paul’s former school, Wake Forest, gets special Jordan Brand CP3 sneakers, even though they’re a Nike school.

 

     

Chris Paul is second only to Carmelo Anthony, in number of signature shoes under the Jordan Brand wing. Paul currently sits at 12 while Anthony and JB decided to halt their signature sneaker line after 13 models. Russell Westbrook is the only other current Jordan Brand signature sneaker athlete. It’s hard having a shoe do high numbers these days in the market when you’re competing with the likes of the Nike Lebron, KD, Kyrie, Kobe, and Paul George lines, Adidas Harden and Lillard shoes, as well as Steph Curry’s Under Armour series. Putting that aside, it is a major feat to have a signature sneaker line last as long as Chris Paul’s has.

CP has a new home this season with the Oklahoma City Thunder and will look to remain on the top shelf of NBA point guards while wearing his Jordan CP3.XII. Fan-favorites from Paul’s shoe line when it comes to both looks and on-court performance are the CP3.VI and CP3.VII respectively. In fact, Chris Paul’s signature sneakers have even graced NikeiD.com for complete personalization options. Five models in the line have also featured “AE” models to release after the initial launch run. These “AE” CP3’s are basically a takedown version of that year’s signature shoe and feature lighter weight materials and mesh for more ventilation. His new 12th model looks to be a hit as Paul has already been seen rocking a few eye-catching colorways. Look below to see the evolution of the Chris Paul signature sneaker line and to see just why MJ hand-picked CP3 to represent his brand.

 

Jordan CP3.I  (2008)

 

     

 

Jordan CP3.II  (2009)

 

       

 

Jordan CP3.III  (2010)

 

     

 

Jordan CP3.IV  (2011)

 

     

 

Jordan CP3.IV Advance  (2011)

 

        

 

Jordan CP 2’Quick  (2011)

 

 

Jordan CP3.V  (2011)

 

     

 

Jordan CP3.VI  (2012)

 

     

 

Jordan CP3.VI AE  (2013)

 

 

Jordan CP3.VII  (2013)

 

     

 

Jordan CP3.VII AE  (2014)

 

 

Jordan CP3.VIII  (2014)

 

     

 

Jordan CP3.VIII AE  (2015)

 

 

Jordan CP3.IX  (2015)

 

       

 

Jordan CP3.IX AE  (2016)

 

 

Jordan CP3.X  (2016)

 

     

 

Jordan CP3.X AE  (2017)

 

 

Jordan CP3.XI  (2018)

 

     

 

Jordan CP3.XII  (2019)

 

                 

 

 

 

 

 

Oct 16, 2019 No Comments
OKC Thunder Fall To The Dallas Mavericks (107-70) Without CP3 & Adams

OKC Thunder Fall To The Dallas Mavericks (107-70) Without CP3 & Adams

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by | Oct 15, 2019 | Featured, NBA

The Oklahoma City Thunder were 2-1 coming into tonight against the Dallas Mavericks. The Thunder would be without Steven Adams and Chris Paul on the night two of their leaders on the team. With CP3 and Adams out the game tonight in Dallas, the Thunder leaned on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Danilo Gallinari. Both Shai and Danilo had 16 points each in the evening and were able to use the paint and wide-open shots to their advantage tonight. Shai had some strong moves to the basket that were followed with some finesse layups. The way that Shai plays looks like he’s been in the NBA for more than 2 years. He plays the game with grace and plays with a smoothness that looks so unbothered when he’s attacking. One thing that he’s been able to add to his game more consistent so far is his 3 point shot. On the night he was able to get some good looks and convert. Nerlens Noel had a great night as well with 8 points and 4 blocks. He was a force in the paint and played a great role with Steven Adams out for tonight. Nerlens spoke on his performance and the team after the game in Dallas.

 

 

Danilo Gallinari was able to get his offensive game going tonight against the Mavericks after sitting out the game against New Zealand. Gallinari had some impressive And-1 plays tonight against the Mavericks where he was able to slice and dice to the rim. If Gallinari can stay healthy and compete at a high level like the Thunder/NBA know this can be something special for the team. Gallinari brings some length and someone that is a pure shooter to the Thunder. The Thunder have lacked in a knockdown shooter in the past and this could be the season we see that with some extra ball movement and people open. Danilo Gallinari can be that missing piece to the offense that can bring this team pretty far if they can continue to gel on this type of level.

 

 

Another player that impressed tonight in Dallas was Hamidou because he was able to get after Luka on the defensive end. If Hamidou can use his defense to turn into offense he could have an amazing 2 year in the NBA. So many people want to see him take that next step and he can definitely do that under the leadership of Billy Donovan. If Hami takes that next step he can be even more special and help the Thunder have a 3&D player that they can believe in on a nightly basis.

 

This game was all about growth for the Thunder as they got their first taste of Luka and Kristaps on the year. Both of them didn’t play in Tulsa for the first game of the preseason. Luka and Kristaps were able to use the ball movement from the Mavericks to their advantage as they were hitting 3 pointers and getting to the lane. Both of them finished with a combined 36 points on the night and looked really good. The Mavericks have a nice young core and if they can gel this whole team together for the season there will be some battles between them and OKC throughout the year.

The Thunder play against the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night in OKC and will look to go 3-1 in the preseason.

Oct 15, 2019 No Comments
SneakerReporter NBA Top 30 Teams: #10 Boston Celtics

SneakerReporter NBA Top 30 Teams: #10 Boston Celtics

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by | Oct 14, 2019 | Featured, NBA

We’re officially on our 10-Day Countdown to the NBA Season, and us here at SneakerReporter couldn’t be any more excited. With that being said, let’s get straight into our Top 30, coming in as our 10th spot, we have the Boston Celtics.

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10. Boston Celtics: Will the Green be able to get the Gold?

The Boston Celtics are coming off a solid season, standing in at 49-33, placing 4th in the NBA Eastern Conference, unfortunately making an exit in the second-round to the Bucks. They hope to take that momentum from last year and hopefully push further into the Playoffs this season.

Last year was a roller coaster for the Celtics organization and its fans. It seemed from an outside perspective that the team was imploding from the inside, with issues regarding rotation around the point guard position, and the issue of having their starting point guard having some health issues over the course of the season. Despite a lot of moves over the off-season, the Celtics have seemed to maintained the talent that they have, arguably even surpassing themselves from the season prior. They’ve lost two of the three guards that they’ve had in rotation in Terry Rozier and Kyrie Irving, and have found themselves with Kemba Walker and rookie Carsen Edwards to fill in those minutes alongside the remaining point guard in Marcus Smart. They’ve also maintained their young core, retaining Jaylen Brown, Gordon Hayward, and Jayson Tatum. However, we will not be seeing Al Horford with the Celtics this season, but we get to see Enes Kanter and one of the bigger (for lack of a better word) names in this years draft in 7’6″ Tacko Fall on a two-way contract. This team consists of a lot of young talent, but still has the veteran presence that teams need in order to stay course over the grueling 82-game season.

Despite being a team that is almost expected to make the Playoffs, the Celtics may surprise opposing teams. As the years have passed, and as the front office has done their best in maintaining the core that they have, the more experience these players have with one another only make things more challenging for the opposition that they’ll be facing on a nightly basis. The Celtics have officially bought in to the development of their young stars and focusing on a team basketball game, reminiscent of the San Antonio Spurs kind of basketball that most of us know and love, versus having a star player trying to carry your team. This team will be very exciting to watch this season, with the remaining roster of last season to their new acquisitions, the Celtics are once again in contention for their 18th title.

 

Oct 14, 2019 No Comments
Dame Lillard and Shaquille O’Neal Battle It Out

Dame Lillard and Shaquille O’Neal Battle It Out

Celebs

by | Oct 14, 2019 | Celebs, Featured, NBA

Damian Lillard is no stranger to the fire. Whether leading the Portland Trailblazers or behind the mic, Dame runs head first into battle. In an interview on Joe Budden’s podcast, Dame declared himself a better rapper than Shaquille O’Neal, who Dame said gained notoriety for his larger-than-life personality rather than his technical rapping ability. “I think he was viewed as Shaq People weren’t looking like this a real rapper. It was like, ‘That’s Shaq rapping.’ So, of course, it was a big deal.”

 Shaq took Lillard’s comments as an affront and took to Instagram to release a response on wax, taking shots at Dame’s ringlessness several times over the 4 minute track over Dr. Dre’s “What’s The Difference.” “Legendary I’m a hip-hop scholar / I’m tryin’ to get a billion who gives a f**k about a D.O.L.L.A / Take ya time to respond, there’s no hurry / You’ll never be Westbrook, never be Steph Curry,” Shaq spat at the 4x NBA All-Star. Dame then released his response, a verbal flurry titled “Reign Reign Go Away” a coy reference to Diesel’s 1996 album “Can’t Stop The Reign.”

 Whereas Shaquille’s disses equated to surface level “RINGSSS” talk, Dame cut deep, “Said yourself that I’m a Tesla, no longer need diesel gas/ Kinda like the Cavs ain’t really need Diesel ass/And even in Miami, won that on the strength of Flash”

 To add insult to injury, Dame used the now famous meme crying Shaq meme born from his appearance on Hot Ones. Dame waited patiently for a response from the Big Aristotle but apparently had more to get off his chest and let the shots ring off with another diss song called “I Rest My Case” where Lillard takes shots at Shaq and any pundits that believed Shaq prevailed in their war of words. 

On the track, Dame cleverly leverages Shaq’s record on the court and his underwhelming diss track, rapping “Raised real solid, I’m DOLLA but not for dollar  sign/Only Dame you beat was 2000 and that was Stoudemire.” Much like Dame’s on the court demeanor, Dolla attacked Shaq relentlessly throughout the bought referencing his shoe line, his love for EDM festivals, and generally goofy persona. 

But the Big Diesel isn’t one to go down without a fight, and after taking some ferocious blows, he came back with another verbal lashing towards Dame this time over Puff Daddy’s Victory. Shaq leans heavily on the familiarity of the instrumental, even co-opting Puff’s flow in the “intro” portion singing  

“Yo, the sun gon’ shine forever/ All my statues and retired jerseys, I’ma live forever/Better now or never, kill Damon, my pleasure/ We see you lose every year, nobody do it better”

Shaq’s coworker Charles Barkley takes a stray as Shaq attacks Dame, spitting 

“What, you think I wasn’t gonna respond?/ Droppin’ little grenades, I’m droppin’ them nuclear bombs/ Everybody gon’ hear this ether/ I don’t like your ass, I don’t like Charles Barkley either”

Dame has yet to respond to the latest diss track but with there still being a few days before the season starts there’s still a chance that Dame fires back at Kazaam. 

Oct 14, 2019 No Comments
SneakerReporter NBA Top 30 Teams: #11 Brooklyn Nets

SneakerReporter NBA Top 30 Teams: #11 Brooklyn Nets

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by | Oct 11, 2019 | Featured, NBA

As we’re approaching the 10-day countdown to the NBA season commencing, we are also reaching the Top 10 for the SneakerReporter NBA Top 30. And ranking at #11, we have the Brooklyn Nets.

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11. Brooklyn Nets: Can the new top team out of New York be the new top team of the league?

The Nets provided an exciting season for their fans last season, going 42-40, ranked as the 6th seed in the Eastern Conference. The organization has really made quite the turnaround, from once being one of the lesser teams as of the last 4 years. They were able to really make a solid push for the Playoffs, however making an unfortunate early exit in the first round to the 76ers.

The Nets’ roster compared from last year to this year went from good to great. Not to take anything away from the things that the Nets were able to do last year with D’Angelo Russell at the helm, but the roster has been fairly upgraded. With big names such as Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, and DeAndre Jordan, the Nets are even scarier than they were last year. Although Durant will most likely spend the season out with injury, looking at who remains on the roster should be interesting to watch nonetheless. There’s a solid mix of veterans and young talent on this roster, with names like Caris LeVert, Joe Harris, Jarrett Allen to Wilson Chandler, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Garrett Temple, this team has a little bit of everything. From shooting wings, scorers at the guard positions, and two very strong defensive anchors for their frontcourt in Jordan and Allen, the Nets will cause some frustration for teams on both sides of the floor.

Basketball fans worldwide expect to see the Nets do well this upcoming season, but whatever the case may be for them, it’s only a taste of what their potential is as a group. “Why?” is what you may be asking yourself, and to answer that I have only two words for you, “Kevin Durant”. The 2017 and 2018 NBA Finals Champion will spend little-to-no time on the basketball floor this season, and once he comes back, the league be best to watch out. Whether you are a fan of the man or not, Durant is without a doubt one of the best scorers in the league today. And to be alongside the cast that this team has once he comes back, can only mean a solid chance to contend for the title in years to come.

Personally, part of me was indifferent with the Nets’ off-season moves. I really enjoyed watching the thrilling backcourt of D’Angelo and Dinwiddie playing together, have bench celebrations after every three pointer, regardless of who made the shot. Brooklyn basketball seemed fun. This doesn’t mean that it no longer is, with their new roster, but I doubt that it will be the same. I think with their roster, the Nets will be solidified into the Playoffs for awhile. It is only a matter of competing against the other top teams is where we’ll see where they truly are in regards to being Championship caliber.

Oct 11, 2019 No Comments