Kicks Through the Lens – Sneaker Reporters’ Top 15 Kicks of the Week

Kicks Through the Lens – Sneaker Reporters’ Top 15 Kicks of the Week

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by | Aug 10, 2020 | Featured, NBA, Sneakers

The first full week of the 2019-20 NBA re-start just concluded. Some teams, like the Phoenix Suns, are making a late playoff push in hopes of claiming the last eligible spot. Other teams, like the New Orleans Pelicans and Sacramento Kings, sadly saw their playoff chances close on Sunday night.  The Kicks scene at the bubble in Orlando has been heating up tremendously. Although we can’t include it in our countdown because they weren’t worn on-court, the sneaker king himself, P.J. Tucker, donned the Nike Air Yeezy 1 Grammy Sample – a shoe that’s worth as much as some houses. Not to worry though, you’ll of course see P.J. in our countdown from a shoe he actually did wear on-court.

LeBron James is well aware that his 18th signature shoe has seen the limelight for a brief moment, but he’s not ready to put the 17’s in the vault just yet. James says he will continue to sport new colorways of both the lows and highs of the Lebron 17’s during his team’s time in the bubble. Rookie sensation, Ja Morant, is digging into a bag of his own, sporting rare Nike basketball gems that haven’t graced the hardwood in years. Paul George continues to wear exclusive colorways of his PG 4 model, but also dug into the archives of his own line to sport arguably his most popular silhouette to date. NBA veteran, Carmelo Anthony, rocked one of the cleanest looking P.E.’s from his own signature line – the Jordan Melo 5.5. Most notably during his time in the bubble, Chris Paul has been sporting his 12th signature shoe, but each customized differently every game to showcase a different HBCU school. Each custom has featured the respective HBCU’s school colors, name, and/or mascot. Scroll below to see which player snagged our top spot in this week’s Kicks Through the Lens.

 

 

15. Adidas Harden Vol. 4 “Crossing Guards” – James Harden

 

     

 

 

14. Nike PG 4 “Sunset” – Paul George

 

     

 

 

13. Jordan CP3.XII “North Carolina A&T State” Custom – Chris Paul

 

     

 

 

12. Jordan XXXIV “Spring Break” P.E. – Tim Hardaway Jr.

 

     

 

 

11. Nike Kyrie 4 “Confetti” – Ja Morant

 

     

 

 

10. Nike PG 1 P.E. – Paul George

 

     

 

 

9. Jordan XXXIV “Unite N.O.” P.E. – Zion Williamson

 

     

 

 

8. Nike Kobe 5 Protro P.E. – Devin Booker

 

     

 

 

7. Nike PG 4 “Gatorade” P.E. – Paul George

 

     

 

 

6. Jordan Melo 5.5 P.E. – Carmelo Anthony

 

           

 

 

5. Nike Kobe 4 “USC P.E.” – P.J. Tucker

 

     

 

 

4. Nike LeBron XVII Low “South Beach” P.E. – LeBron James

 

     

 

 

3. Nike Kobe 5 Protro P.E. – DeMar DeRozan

     

 

 

2. Nike KD IV “Weatherman” – Ja Morant

 

           

 

 

1. Nike LeBron XVII “Air Command Force” (Alternate) P.E. – LeBron James

 

     

 

Aug 10, 2020 No Comments
Darius Bazley’s Career High 23 PTS Powers OKC To Victory Over Wizards (121-103)

Darius Bazley’s Career High 23 PTS Powers OKC To Victory Over Wizards (121-103)

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by | Aug 9, 2020 | Featured, NBA

 

Darius Bazley has been one of the most impressive players for the Thunder since walking in the bubble. Tonight he was able to showcase his whole bag today against the Washington Wizards. Bazley has been a sponge when it comes to trying to continue striving for greatness and his growth has been on full display. Darius Bazley has given the Thunder a consistent scorer to be able to depend on from the second unit. With Dennis out its Bazley that has been able to get in the game and score inside or outside it doesn’t matter. The Wizards were 0-5 coming into this game against the Thunder and Bazley took advantage of his mismatches all day. After Bazley’s 23 point explosion today against the Wizards he’s averaging 10.4 ppg in Orlando. The confidence that Darius Bazley has been playing with was a thing of beauty. He was able to hit the 3 point shot and he was able to slash to the lane with ease. The Wizards didn’t have a traditional big center in the paint and Bazley took what the defense gave him today. CP3 and Shai were looking for Bazley and it was great to see the scoring from Bazley coming in the flow of the offense. Today nothing that the Thunder did was forced and they were able to put their foot on the gas and never looked back.

 

 

Mike Muscala was back in the lineup after missing time with a concussion and looked like he didn’t miss a beat. He started the efficient shooting from OKC as he started out 3/3 from 3 point land. Mike was playing center as Noel and Adams were out today. When Mike Muscala is shooting with this confidence it helps big time because he’s a big that can space the floor to help out. It was beautiful to see the other players from the Thunder that play a role come into this contest and make the best of all the minutes in different situations. Another player that was able to make the most of the minutes was Hamidou Diallo who finished with 13 points but was able to make some great reads. Hami had been hustling and has grown in his offensive game too. Hami had some acrobatic finishes today that made the fans go crazy as well. You can tell he used the time off to polish his game and Donovan has rewarded him.

 

 

Right now for the Thunder, they’ve been playing off the great play of Shai, Gallinari, and CP3 as they’ve picked up the load while Schröder has been with his family. Gallinari had 20 points today and was able to get his jumper to go down no matter the hands in his face. Gallinari was able to score inside and out against the Wizards with ease. Shai has struggled according to a lot of people but his numbers are still up there as he finished with 18 points. If he’s scoring 18 points “struggling” then just wait until he’s back in a groove playing at the elite level we expect him at. Chris Paul finished with 13 points today against the Wizards as he’s been focused on getting his teammates involved with 9 assists tonight. OKC knows what they will get out of Chris Paul when it comes to playoff time so the way OKC’s been playing he hasn’t needed to do too much. The Thunder overall has looked really good and they will look to continue this momentum against the Suns at 1:30 PM tomorrow.

 

 

The Washington Wizards were short-handed and weren’t really in the game from the tip. The Wizards are a very young team and they will be a team to look out for when Wall and Beal come back. Today against OKC Jerome Robinson was able to lead them in scoring as he finished with 19 points today. Washington didn’t make the playoffs and will be playing for pride at this point. Look for them to continue to get their young core some reps as they look to spoil our team’s playoff pushes.

Aug 9, 2020 No Comments
Philadelphia 76ers Ben Simmons Out Indefinitely

Philadelphia 76ers Ben Simmons Out Indefinitely

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by | Aug 9, 2020 | Featured, NBA

 

Ben Simmons of the Philadelphia 76ers announced this afternoon via ESPN that he will be leaving the NBA bubble to undergo surgery on his left knee. Simmons suffered a partial dislocation to his left knee cap against the Washington Wizards earlier this week. The purpose of the surgery is to remove a loose body in the left knee as a result of the dislocation. The 76ers have not yet ruled Simmons out for the season but according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, there is still a chance he could return later if the 76ers were to make a deep playoff run.

 

 

Simmons injured his knee in the late 3rd quarter in the game against the Wizards. The play seemed pretty routine as Simmons secured the rebound dribbled it down the left side of the floor before making an entry past to Al Horford on the left block. The play ended in an offensive foul called against Al Horford but Simmons started to head back on defense with a limp before eventually stopping completely. He flexed the left leg a few times before knowing he could no longer continue to play and checked out of the game.

 

 

This was a very tough injury for Simmons. He had battled with back problems during the regular season before the NBA’s hiatus and used the past few months to really get back to full health. He suffered from nerve impingement in his lower back and when he went out with this injury in late February the Sixer’s only concerns were to get him back healthy for playoffs. The time off before the NBA’s return in Orlando was actually beneficial for Simmons as it gave him time to heal and gave the Sixers time to refocus.

 

 

The Sixers were 11-25 on the road this year, an NBA worst. Simmons’ injury was just one of the few problems they faced back earlier this year. The Sixers needed to make changes somewhere if they were going to get anywhere in the playoffs this year and it just didn’t seem to be clicking for this very talented squad.

Heading into the NBA bubble the Sixers emerged as an Eastern Conference dark horse. They were finally healthy, found some shooters to help the lineup offensively, and they didn’t have to play any more road games (all games played at Disney). All these things sounded good on paper, much like they did for this Sixers team before the 2019-20 season where many chose this team to make it back to the Eastern Conference finals. The problem however has been Philidepia’s inability to execute, too similar to players, and inability to close out games down the stretch.

The Sixers started off 2-1 with Simmons starting in the bubble but were still showing flashes of a team that had addressed some of their problems from before the season’s hiatus. However now without Simmons for most likely the rest of the season this team will really need to find all-star level production from somewhere on their roster. They faired well in their first game without Simmons last night getting a win againt the Orlando Magic after finally pulling away in the fourth quarter for a 108-101 victory.

 

 

The notable performance in this game was Alec Burks who put up 22 points 4 reb and 2 assists. Burks is a very capable scorer and although in a different way than Ben Simmons it would be huge for this team if he could consistently produce around 20 points a game for this team just to take the offensive pressure off of Joel Embiid. Regardless the loss of Simmons will pose its greatest problems for this team come playoffs and with 4 games left until they start the Sixers will have to prepare for playoffs without their All-Star.

 

Aug 9, 2020 No Comments
NBA Awards Finalists Announced: Giannis, LeBron, Ja Morant, Anthony Davis Up For Hardware

NBA Awards Finalists Announced: Giannis, LeBron, Ja Morant, Anthony Davis Up For Hardware

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by | Aug 8, 2020 | Featured, NBA

The NBA announced the finalists for its six individual awards on Saturday including MVP, Rookie of the Year, and Coach of the Year Saturday afternoon.

Each award has six finalists. Voting for the awards was conducted prior to the start of bubble play, meaning only games played before the league’s COVID-19 hiatus on March 11 were considered.

The award nominees are as follows:

Kia NBA Most Valuable Player

• Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks (29.7 ppg., 13.7 rpg., 5.8 apg., 1 bpg.)
• James Harden, Houston Rockets (34.3 ppg., 6.4 rpg., 7.5 apg., 1.8 spg.)
• LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers (25.3 ppg., 8 rpg., 10.3 apg.)

Kia NBA Rookie of the Year

• Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies (17.8 ppg., 3.7 rpg., 7.1 apg.)
• Kendrick Nunn, Miami Heat (15.2 ppg., 2.7 rpg., 3.3 apg.)
• Zion Williamson, New Orleans Pelicans (22.4 ppg., 6.2 apg., 2.1 apg.)

Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year

• Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks (97.2 individual defensive rating, Milwaukee Bucks are 1st in NBA in total defensive rating at 102.1)
• Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers (26.4 ppg., 9.4 rpg., 3.2 apg., 1.4 spg., 2.3 bpg., 105.7 individual defensive rating, L.A. Lakers are 3rd in NBA in total defensive rating at 105.3)
• Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz (15.1 ppg., 13.6 rpg., 1.5 apg., 0.8 spg., 1.5 bpg., 106.6 individual defensive rating, Utah Jazz are 10th in NBA in total defensive ranking at 108.9)

Kia NBA Sixth Man Award

• Montrezl Harrell, LA Clippers (18.6 ppg., 7.1 apg., 1.7 apg., 1.1 bpg.)
• Dennis Schröder, Oklahoma City Thunder (18.9 ppg., 3.7 rpg, 4 apg.)
• Lou Williams, LA Clippers (18.3 ppg., 3.1 rpg., 5.7 apg.)

Kia NBA Most Improved Player

• Bam Adebayo, Miami Heat (16.1 ppg., 10.4 rpg., 5.1 apg.)
• Luka Dončić, Dallas Mavericks (29 ppg., 9.4 rpg., 8.8 apg.)
• Brandon Ingram, New Orleans Pelicans (23.9 ppg., 6.1 rpg., 4.2 apg.)

NBA Coach of the Year

• Mike Budenholzer, Milwaukee Bucks
• Billy Donovan, Oklahoma City Thunder
• Nick Nurse, Toronto Raptors

Voting was based on games played from the start of the regular season through March 11.

TNT will announce the award winners during its coverage of the season restart.

Aug 8, 2020 No Comments
The Memphis Grizzlies Were Able To Grind Out A Win Against OKC (121-92)

The Memphis Grizzlies Were Able To Grind Out A Win Against OKC (121-92)

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by | Aug 8, 2020 | Featured, NBA

 

The Thunder came into this game against Memphis feeling good after the win against LA. Steven Adams and Mike Muscala were out tonight for this one with injuries that hurt OKC inside. Oklahoma City came out hitting almost everything as they knocked down seven 3 pointers in that first quarter. At one point in the game in the first half, OKC had been up by 18 points. One of the players that really stood out for the Thunder tonight was Luguentz Dort who was one of the leading scorers with 16 points. Lu was able to hit some big 3 pointers and showed a lot of confidence on both ends of the floor against the Grizzlies. OKC had to play some different lineups tonight but the energy wasn’t the same in that 2nd quarter. Shai struggled a little bit today but he’s been trying to carry the load for the absence of Schröder. People need to understand that Shai is a 2nd-year player and there’s still going to be ups and downs. Shai finished the game with 10 points. Look for Shai to bounce back because he’s stated numerous times he wants to be one of the greats. Chris Paul finished with 17 points and wasn’t really able to get things going in that 2nd half. One thing about CP3 is the fact he will always bounce back and he’s a true leader with professionalism. OKC didn’t play their best game today but they’re missing some key pieces that help them play at an elite level.

 

 

It seemed as if everything was going to go the Thunders way until the 2nd quarter. The Memphis Grizzlies came out in the second quarter and were able to hit the 3 balls consistently. One player that really took advantage of the minutes given to him in that 2nd quarter was Anthony Tolliver. He came in and made some energy plays and he was also able to hit some big shots. Memphis came out with a lot of energy overall as a team and they were able to out-hustle and outplay OKC as they fought back. It showed a lot of growth for the Memphis Grizzlies the fact that they trailed by 18 points and came back without Ja Morant. Morant was on the bench during the comeback and was able to come back in the game with Memphis up by 1 point. Morant was able to get a lot of help from Dillion Brooks who was able to get to the lane with ease and hit some tough shots. Brooks finished with 22 points on the night for Memphis and was taking it personally on the court tonight. The Grizzlies had a huge advantage on the rebounds as it was 36-58 and Jonas Valančiūnas helped in that department.  Valančiūnas finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds against OKC as the Thunder didn’t have Adams. Jonas was able to bully in the paint and got a lot of 2nd chance points. Ja Morant finished with 19 points and 9 assists on the night as he proved he’s definitely the ROTY in the NBA. Ja was able to create for others and he was able to create offense for himself as well. Once Ja gets you on your heels with the dribble you’re at his mercy and he has a quick step. The Thunder did a great job defending as they forced Memphis into a lot of turnovers they just didn’t capitalize on them how they usually do.

 

 

The OKC Thunder will be playing against the Washington Wizards next on Sunday at 11:30 am.

Aug 8, 2020 No Comments
Chris Paul’s 21 Point Performance Propels OKC To Victory Over The Lakers (105-86)

Chris Paul’s 21 Point Performance Propels OKC To Victory Over The Lakers (105-86)

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by | Aug 6, 2020 | Featured, NBA

 

The Thunder were coming off their first loss of the season against Denver. It didn’t help that the next opponent would be the number one team in the Western Conference LA Lakers. This Thunder team has made believers out of everyone all season long and in Orlando, they’ve proved everyone wrong. The Thunder played against the Lakers tonight without Dennis Schröder, Mike Muscala, and Terrence Ferguson in the lineup. Chris Paul came to the rescue in this one as he set the tone from the tipoff against the Lakers. One thing about Chris Paul’s game that stands out is the fact he can get his teammates involved while getting his game going too.

 

Tonight CP3 showed that he can do anything on the court and it didn’t matter if you had a big defender on him or a smaller defender. The way that Chris’ able to crossover players and still get to his sweet mid-range spot on a nightly basis is amazing. Paul has had an amazing year and a lot of that has gone to his new diet coming into the season. This Thunder team will go as far as CP3 brings them and he showed that OKC can hang with the best teams in the league. Chris Paul finished the game with 21 points, 6 assists, 7 rebounds on the night against LA. The Lakers gave Chris Paul a couple of looks on the defensive end but they weren’t enough to slow him down.

 

 

Chris Paul’s leadership has been on full display and it’s been rubbing off on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the right way. Shai had a quiet game tonight with 13 points but still was able to get people involved. One thing about Shai is the fact that he can affect the stat sheet without having the big numbers pop out. With Chris playing the point guard it’s been giving Shai multiple chances to defend players at different positions. Shai wants to be great and has shown that he’s willing to put the time in to make that possible.

 

Danilo Gallinari had a nice game as well for the Thunder as he was able to pour in 19 points in only 25 minutes. Gallinari has been a great help to the team especially with the absence of Dennis Schröder. The Thunder has a mismatch at the PF position usually when Gallinari is on the floor because he can score from outside to inside on any possession. When Gallinari is hitting his 3 pointers which he did tonight against the Lakers it makes this team tough to beat. The Lakers had Kuzma and Davis on him the majority of the night and he was still able to find a crease in the defense to make his offense stand out.

 

The Thunder had a minor scare when Steven Adams got tangled up and fell awkwardly but he was able to come back in the game and make his presence felt. Steven Adams was the best big on the floor tonight and was able to get his jump hook going as he finished with 18 points. This Thunder team has shown a lot of heart and they’ve proven a lot of people wrong this year. If the Thunder can continue to play with this flow of the offense and take the defensive end as serious as they have all season they are destined for greatness.

 

The Lakers were a bit banged up tonight but that’s no excuse for the OKC eruption that came their way. When LeBron James and Anthony Davis are in the lineup no matter who you’re playing against you have a chance to win. The Thunder got Anthony Davis in some early foul trouble that had the Lakers leaning on the bench and LeBron a lot. OKC was able to force the referees into making some calls tonight that helped them by their aggressiveness. On the night LeBron finished with quiet 19 points and 11 rebounds against OKC.

 

Once Davis got in foul trouble you can tell that LeBron was going to have to try to pick up the load but with multiple defenders on him, it wore him down a little. Anthony Davis only had 9 points after he erupted for 42 points the other night and that was because OKC got him in foul trouble from the tip. The second player from the Lakers that was able to put in some work tonight and help out was Dion Waiters. On the night Waiters had 14 points and was able to get it going but it was already too late as OKC pulled away.

 

 

Up next the OKC Thunder will take on the Memphis Grizzlies who are currently in 8th place on Friday at 3 pm.

 

 

 

Photo Credit: Joe Murphy / National Basketball Association / Getty

Aug 6, 2020 No Comments