NBA | sneakerreporter

SR – NBA Prime Time Preview: Miami Heat at New Orleans Pelicans

by Marcus Van Diver | Mar 7, 2020 | Featured, NBA

The New Orleans Pelicans and Zion Williamson prepare to perform yet again in front of the nationally televised spotlight in a contest versus the Miami Heat, who are coming off of arguably the most momentous win of the season over Milwaukee earlier this week.

Miami begins a quick two-game road trip by heading down south to play New Orleans and then will head back up north to play Washington on Sunday night. This marks the first time that the likes of the defensively stout Heat get a taste of the bully-ball-savvy Williamson, who has averaged an absurd 24 points per game and has scored 20+ points in 13 straight games.

These teams both matchup well, and poorly with one another, further upping the interest factor in what might turn out to be a shootout down the stretch. Lonzo Ball and the now-healthy Kendrick Nunn will be a fun battle to witness during prime time, as will the duel between Jrue Holiday against Duncan Robinson and Goran Dragic. For another game, however, Miami will have to coach around Tyler Herro’s absence as he will not be in attendance due to him rehabbing a lingering ankle injury.

And of course, what would this game be without Jimmy Butler and Brandon Ingram going toe-to-toe for the entire night, or whenever Pels coach Alvin Gentry and Heat coach Erik Spoelstra have them on the court simultaneously.

Expect a mix of different zone defensive coverages from both teams, since it’ll be difficult for a litany of skillful players at each position to guard their initial assignments 1v1 for the duration of the 48-minute contest. What’s for sure though, is that Williamson will be tasked with getting his shot and bumping down low with Bam Adebayo, this year’s Most Improved Player award frontrunner with his 16.1 points, 10.5 rebounds, 5 assists and 1.3 blocks per game. He usually towers over ballhandlers who dare to enter his paint but will have his hands full with a rookie that packs a punch in Williamson.

Miami has won four in a row, all at home, and are looking to continue to create space between them and the Pacers as well as the Philadelphia 76ers, who are quite banged up at the moment. As for New Orleans, they’re fading quickly out of the playoff predictions as locks to make it to the April tournament, losing their last three games to the Lakers, Timberwolves, and Mavericks. These losses coming at the most inconvenient time, as they’ve dropped five of their last eight and are in danger of dropping to a one-game cushion ahead of Phoenix for the 12th spot in the West.

Tip-off is at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Mar 7, 2020 No Comments

SR – NBA Prime Time Preview: Toronto Raptors at Golden State Warriors

Featured

by Marcus Van Diver | Mar 6, 2020 | Featured, NBA

Stephen Curry is in a starting lineup for the first time since October 30 as he’ll help the 14-48 Golden State Warriors defend Warriors Ground against a familiar foe in the Toronto Raptors inside the brand new Chase Center, live on TNT at 10:30 p.m. ET.

Of course, this marks the first time in franchise history that these two franchises won’t face off in the legendary Oracle Arena, and this marks the first time this season that the two former NBA Finals participants square off since Toronto got the last laugh this past June in their 4-2 series win and first achieved title in franchise history.

And it’s just the funniest coincidence that the Warriors’ two-time MVP and three-time champion point guard comes back against the team that kickstarted this snowball effect for last decade’s most dynastic organization. Since Kawhi Leonard won his second Finals MVP against a Warriors team decimated with a flurry of injuries to Kevin Durant (ruptured Achilles) and Klay Thompson (torn ACL), things went from really good, to #TankForWhoever in the span of five months, specifically after Phoenix’s Aron Baynes incidentally landed on Curry’s left hand back on October 30, 2019.

Keep in mind, Curry isn’t all that acclimated to the new arena himself, only playing four games in the Chase Center this season. He’s going to be tasked heavily with the challenge of playing against a fiery Raptors squad that is coming off of a 33-point night from last year’s Most Improved Player Pascal Siakam against Phoenix in a win that got them back into the win column. They are looking to make it two-straight on the road, and keep their cushion against the climbing Celtics who are only a game and 1/2 away from having the second seed in the East.

Without Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol, Chris Boucher’s minutes — and development into a solid contributor off the bench –have become increasingly important. Against Charlotte and Denver, he struggled. But after the bench was called out by Head Coach Nick Nurse for a lack of impact, Boucher responded with the best game of his career against the Suns, scoring 19 points off 5-of-12 shooting in the victory.

That type of response and energy during an emotional night, and he and the Raps taking the floor tonight will have to game plan to stop Andrew Wiggins, who has found a second home in San Francisco. The most intriguing story for the Warriors aside from Curry’s return will be his fit with Wiggins, who’s played something of a de facto point guard when Draymond Green sits.

How the Raptors lock up defensively against the team they defeated in the NBA Finals back in June will be the tale of the night, and during Steph’s 24-28 minutes tonight, it’ll be interesting to see if we’ll get vintage Steph out of the gate in the most suddenly most-anticipated game of the season.

Mar 6, 2020 No Comments

Stephen Curry’s Return To The Hardwood: The Way Back

Featured

by Marcus Van Diver | Mar 6, 2020 | Featured, NBA

It’s been a long, turbulent way back to the wooden floors of the Chase Center tinted in gold and maple for the premiere Splash Brother Stephen Curry, whom we all regard as perhaps the most dangerous shooter to ever align their fingers within the black seams of a basketball. It’s been a culmination of 58 games, and a multitude of nights not suiting up for his Warriors, though the rehabbing process of mending his broken left hand finally sees its end tonight at 10:30 p.m. on TNT, when the reigning NBA champs in the Toronto Raptors visit the Chase Center for the first time in franchise history to play the talent-deficient Warriors.

Tonight’s game seems like a foregone conclusion, that in essence makes no sense to even document considering Golden State’s legacy of misfortunate events dating back to last year’s Finals loss, sidelining of Curry’s sidekick Klay Thompson with his Torn ACL, and the departure of Kevin Durant to the Brooklyn Nets. Toronto is the second seed in the East and is looking to get a winning streak going during their Western road trip in an “easy” game against Golden State, who is 14-48 on the year.

And here we are in the new normal: that domineering Dubs team that scoffed at any opposition in the past five years and won three championships in the tail-end of the 2010s is now at the bottom of the food chain, peering with open pupils at June’s Draft Lottery and the inevitability of a rebuild that’ll likely keep them out of the playoff picture for the first time since 2013, or at least until next year when they’ll be at full strength with Thompson and Steph sharing the same backcourt.

The two-time MVP and three-time champ will undergo a minutes restriction, as it has been since October 30 that Curry has taken to a basketball court.

And after requiring two surgeries on that injured left hand due to Aron Baynes landing on it a night before Halloween, after spending this year as an understudy of Coach Kerr and a confidant to those attempting to stay on the team for future seasons, after a brief stint in the G-League with Santa Cruz, answering media inquiries about his complacency and security in a trying year and just being the appealing, relatable enigma that he’s been since being that 6’3 180-lb-soaking wet kid drafted out of little Davidson, expect Curry to track around 24-28 minutes tonight with “short bursts of 4-6 minutes” to get Steph’s feet wet, explained by Dubs head coach Steve Kerr just hours ago.

In an interview with ESPN’s Warriors correspondent Nick Freidell, Curry says he is “excited” to play after four months of rehab. In the four contests he’s participated in this season, Curry has averaged 20.3 points, 6.5 assists, and 5.0 rebounds.

But in all honesty, by the time you’ve finished reading this article, Steph probably drilled around 50+ shots and a couple of 40-foot deep balls during his fifth pre-game drill session of the season, because he’s Stephen Curry, and he’s extraordinary, right?

“I think I can play a lot more than that just based on the work that I’ve put in, but you gotta be smart about it in that sense,” he said during the interview. “And you also have to feel the game, too. Obviously, I want to be out there when it matters: finishing quarters, finishing the game and being available in that respect.”

The air inside of the Chase Center tonight will take more of a relieved color, not in the optimism of this lost season suddenly turning around, but because of the love for watching what Steph Curry does, and in the high-level that he does it. We don’t know if there will be some mental hurdle worth paying attention to come tip-off time, and if Curry will portray that apprehensive tone when driving and dashing through the lane, as memories of lightning striking twice and the probability of re-injury coming into play.

He knows that a new normal of some slight nerve damage impacting his ability to affect the outcome of an NBA contest, although he doesn’t exactly expect it to bother him in any way, repeatedly going over how his “new normal” will feel in a game.

“I have confidence in what I need to do with the ball in my hands and with my shot, and being able to take a hit on it and all that type of stuff,” Curry said. “And I just want to get to a point where I don’t think about it on the floor, and hopefully that comes back pretty quick.”

Mar 6, 2020 No Comments

SR – NBA Prime Time Preview: Los Angeles Clippers at Houston Rockets

Featured

by Marcus Van Diver | Mar 6, 2020 | Featured, NBA

The third war of two titans in the Western Conference occurs tonight in the first slot of NBA on TNT action as the Clippers make their second and final trip to the Toyota Center in H-Town to play the Rockets in what is setting up to be a potential playoff preview in late April, live on TNT at 8:00 p.m. ET.

It’s now becoming apparent that all this Clips team needed was some quality time spent on the court together, and with their five-game winning streak being established with big wins over the Sixers and Nuggets, they’re resembling the well-oiled machine many speculated at season’s beginning to run rampant over the entire conference, especially over their roommates in the Staples Center, the Los Angeles Lakers.

They have materialized a single-game cushion over 2nd in the conference behind their DTLA counterparts in the Lakers, and are currently playing their best ball of the season. Heck, one could argue that they’re finally having their best stretch of health this year, with virtually no injuries to core pieces like Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, and Lou Williams. Now, they look locked in and focused on maintaining this hot streak in order to supplant themselves into the hierarchy of formidable foes come playoff time next month.

As it goes for the Rockets, Russell Westbrook is picking up the slack he left by himself with his early-season growing pains in his new city with his old teammate James Harden, the small ball experiment is wild enough to the point that it’s working to near perfection, and in a shifting conference, they’re not too far away from snatching that third seed in this year’s playoff tree from Denver. And yet, there’s still anxiety and uncertainty on whether or not this can be sustained later on this year, evident by a head-scratching loss to the lowly Knicks on the second night of a back-to-back in the Madison Square Garden.

The season series between the two conference rivals is currently at 2-1 with the Rockets holding the advantage. Both teams have made some significant alterations to their rosters, including the likes of Houston’s disposal of the injury-prone Clint Capela to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Minnesota’s 3-and-D man Robert Covington, who has provided a serious spark on both ends of the floor for Houston in the execution of their center-less tactics.

Teams have struggled to compete with the 5-man-out system the Rockets have been running, due to the proficient 3-point shooting and driving ability of the men on the floor in Mike D’Antoni’s offensive attack. But, if any team in the league is built to keep up with such an offense, it has to be the Clippers, right?. LA has tons upon tons of depth and can easily match Houston’s starting lineup, with talents like Patrick Beverley, Lou Will, Montrezl Harrell, and new pickups in Reggie Jackson and Marcus Morris Sr. Those named players all have the ability to guard multiple positions while still displaying pesky length to stretch the floor on the other end.

It’s a tale of personalities in this one, so be sure not to miss a second of it, live on TNT at 8 p.m. ET.

Mar 6, 2020 No Comments

SR – NBA Prime Time Preview: New Orleans Pelicans at Dallas Mavericks

Featured

by Marcus Van Diver | Mar 5, 2020 | Featured, NBA

A battle of two exciting players under the age of 21 takes place during the second slot of ESPN’s Wednesday NBA action, as Zion Williamson goes toe-to-toe with Luka Doncic in a game to remember.

It’s been a tale of decadence for the first-overall pick back in June during this stretch of sixteen games, and it doesn’t look as if Williamson is slowing down in his chase of world domination with his 24.2 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. He’s been able to bump defenders off of him inside the lane and finish with proclivity from the get-go of his professional career, and while his stats have been worthy of marveling over, the Pelicans are losing steam in the playoff hunt, and their chances of making the playoffs are expeditiously fading from reality.

Over the span of four days, the Pels have dropped from ninth to 12th in the West, mainly due to their two-game skid that resulted in losses to LeBron James’ Lakers and D’Angelo Russell’s Timberwolves. And now, the seventh-seeded Mavericks are up next. This is the second night of a back-to-back for the Pelicans, and as history precedes them, the Mavericks have owned the Pelicans this year, leading the season series 3-0. And not to mention, one of their series wins includes a 46-point thrashing back on December 7.

It will certainly take a lot for this Pels team to overcome a tough road matchup, as above .500 teams have given the Pelicans problems this year. New Orleans has but three wins in thirteen tries against playoff-seeded teams since the start of the 2020 calendar year. Tonight’s game will see not only Doncic take the floor, but Kristaps Porzingis as well, who has been on a tear after dropping 38 points on the Timberwolves’ heads in the last time he played. He sat out during Dallas’ second leg of their back-to-back against Chicago but will be well-rested in tonight’s contest.

Tip-off is at 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Mar 5, 2020 No Comments

LA Clippers Defeated The Oklahoma City Thunder (109-94)

Featured

by Travis Singleton | Mar 4, 2020 | Featured, NBA

The Oklahoma City Thunder came into this game off the worst loss in the team’s history in Milwaukee. Tonight they faced the challenge of playing against the LA Clippers and the stacked lineup. It’s been rare to see Paul George and Kawhi Leonard on the floor together this season and OKC got a full taste of that. This was one of those games from the Thunder where the offense wasn’t on track from the beginning. One thing about this OKC Thunder team is they pride themselves on defense and they let the defense turn into offense. Tonight the Thunder just didn’t have it and it showed. The Thunder were missing shots that usually fall for them against other opponents. Dennis Schröder was the leading scorer tonight with 24 points off the bench. Dennis was able to create his own shot and was beating the Clippers to the paint almost every time with his quick first step. Chris Paul didn’t have his usual night that we’ve been accustom too as the Clippers wanted to slow him down by putting Paul George on him defensively. The length of George and Leonard switching on CP3 did impact his game but he still finished with 7 assists on the night. The other player that struggled that hurt the OKC Thunder tonight was Danilo Gallinari as he shot 4-13 from the field. The Thunder struggled from the field with the Clippers length and depth all night. It was a tough outing from the Thunder on the offensive side as they only had 4 players in double figures. The Thunder were caught up playing catch up the whole time as they trailed by 21 points at one point in the game. OKC shot 42% from the field but needed to convert on more opportunities from inside the paint. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander played well against his former team tonight adding 15 points as well. Once Shai develops that killer mentality and continues to put on the foot on the gas he will be a problem. Shai can take over a game at any point but he needs to be confident that he can do this on a nightly basis and it’s coming. This Thunder team is still in the mix and has a lot of promise. The loss tonight doesn’t define them as a team but this is a learning lesson especially for moving forward.

The LA Clippers came into OKC with a gameplan and they executed it with perfection. The combination of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George is going to be a problem for anyone that has to play them. Both Paul and Kawhi finished with a combined 41 points as they willed the Clippers to victory with ease. The Clippers team is stacked from top to bottom with talent. The depth from the Clippers played a huge factor in this win over the Thunder because their second unit can actually be starters. The Clippers have Harrell and Williams on the team and both are in contention for the 6th man of the year award. The Clippers depth after George and Leonard come out the game was huge and the Thunder second unit wasn’t able to keep up. The Clippers played defense all night and their length made it tough on the Thunder. It seemed every time the Thunder was trying to get back in the game Leonard or George went on a mini-run by themselves to give the Clippers the edge. The balance that the Clippers play with and the coaching will make it tough for anyone in the playoffs. The Clippers were attacking the paint all night as they had 22-26 free throws which showed they were trying to pound the paint. Tonight the Clippers were the better team and played a complete game but the Thunder still has a lot to prove in the West. The addition of Reggie Jackson and Marcus Morris was another huge part of this game because they were able to come in with offense to help that second unit. The Clippers were defending at a high level and made it tough on the Thunder throughout the night. The Thunder play in Detroit next as they try to get back in the winning column after tonight’s loss to the Clippers in OKC.