Top 15 Kicks Worn During Week 15 of NBA Season

Top 15 Kicks Worn During Week 15 of NBA Season

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by | Feb 3, 2020 | Featured, NBA, Sneakers

It has been one full week since the tragic passing of future NBA Hall of Famer, Kobe Bryant. The Lakers played in their first game since his death, and there was not a dry eye in the arena. Players and teams around the league continue to honor Kobe, whether that be wearing his Nike signature shoes, writing heartfelt messages on their footwear, wearing his old #8 and #24 Lakers jerseys, and even changing their own numbers so that no player in the league will wear #8 or #24 anymore. Even coaches around the NBA are wearing Kobe 4’s, 5’s, 6’s, 8’s, etc on the sidelines with their suits during games.

Our Week 15 list is yet again comprised of a good amount of Kobe signature silhouettes. With Kobe no longer with us, one way players are going to make sure his legacy is seen, is through his footwear. Players who have their own signature shoes are even taking a break and rocking some old Kobe gems from the vault. Will a Kobe shoe grab this week’s top spot on the countdown? Look below to see which star athletes are paying tribute by what they wear on court.

 

 

15. Jordan XXXIV “Mardi Gras” P.E. – Zion Williamson – New Orleans Pelicans

 

           

 

 

14. Enspire x Nike KD 12 – P.J. Tucker – Houston Rockets

 

     

 

 

13. New Balance OMN1S “No Emotions Are Emotions” P.E. – Kawhi Leonard – Los Angeles Clippers

 

     

 

 

12. Nike Kyrie 6 “Pure Platinum” (Nike iD) – De’Aaron Fox – Sacramento Kings

 

     

 

 

11. Nike Kobe 5 “Lakers” (Home) – Tobias Harris – Philadelphia 76ers

 

     

 

 

10. Nike Kobe 4 Protro P.E. – Isaiah Thomas – Washington Wizards

 

     

 

 

9. Nike Kobe 7 “What The” – Langston Galloway – Detroit Pistons

 

     

 

 

8. Nike Kobe 4 “Finals MVP” – Isaiah Thomas – Washington Wizards

 

     

 

 

7. Nike Lebron XVII P.E. – Lebron James – Los Angeles Lakers

 

     

 

 

6. Nike Kobe 1 Protro “81 Pt Game” – Lebron James – Los Angeles Lakers

 

     

 

 

5. Nike Kyrie 3 “Mamba Mentality” P.E. – Kyrie Irving – Brooklyn Nets

 

     

 

 

4. Nike Lebron II “Oregon P.E.” – P.J. Tucker – Houston Rockets

 

     

 

 

3. Nike Kobe 3 “Lakers” (Home) – Tobias Harris – Philadelphia 76ers

 

                 

 

 

2. Jordan VII “Oregon P.E.” – P.J. Tucker – Houston Rockets

 

     

 

 

1. Nike Kobe 5 Protro “Kay Yow” – DeMar DeRozan & Anthony Davis – San Antonio Spurs & Los Angeles Lakers

 

                 

 

Feb 3, 2020 No Comments
SR – NBA Power Rankings: Week 16

SR – NBA Power Rankings: Week 16

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by | Feb 3, 2020 | Featured, NBA

As we inch just days, almost hours closer to Thursday’s NBA Trade deadline, there may be a bunch of rosters that might look a little different as it passes. Expect some circulation of news involving pieces like Clint Capela and Robert Covington as the deadline nears, but as it goes for basketball, no one is stopping the Milwaukee Bucks, now that they’ve successfully clinched a winning record on the season and surely can’t miss out on a playoff spot with the league’s best record.

Other turnaround teams like the Lakers have also matched their season-high in wins from last year, while the Utah Jazz drop four straight and fall out of the top 3 in the West after almost going undefeated since Dec. 4. It’s a game of runs and momentum going into the 16th week of competition, and for other teams like the Clippers and Celtics, that momentum is increasing more expeditiously than a bullet train.

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1. Milwaukee Bucks (42-7, Last Week’s Ranking: 1)

There are only seven games left for the Milwaukee Bucks to win in order to clinch their postseason berth, which is easier done than said when you look at these Bucks. As per usual: they’re still No.1 in defensive rating, average scoring margin and still look the part of the league’s most elite squad, now with the opportunity to maybe even beat the 2016 Warriors legendary 73-9 record. Though unlikely, those Warriors clinched in 58 games as opposed to the Bucks 49 played games this season.

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2. Los Angeles Lakers (37-11, Last Week’s Ranking: 3)

Los Angeles was able to make a somber week finish on the right note, following last week’s horrendous tragedy as the collective sporting world mourned the sudden passing of NBA legend Kobe Bryant. After postponing the game against the Clippers and replacing that televised contest on TNT with a memorial in the Staples Center, the franchise resumed basketball activities with a game against Portland, in which they let Damian Lillard honor the Mamba with a sensational 48-point performance in a loss to the Blazers. They would go on to avenge their Friday night loss with a blowout win over the Kings, but now more questions arise as their starting lineup could change with the trade deadline looming.

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3. Toronto Raptors (36-14, Last Week’s Ranking: 5)

So…it’s appropriate to admit that the Raptors are elite now even without Kawhi Leonard being on the team anymore? Nick Nurse’s squad is making that apparent, winning 11 straight games and jumping to the second seed in the Eastern standings. Oh, and they have the third-best record in the NBA! And yet, more adversity is in their path now that Norman Powell is going to miss time with a broken hand bone, so the path to keeping their upper hand in the East becomes a little steeper.

The first-time starter was averaging a little over 17 points in the 11 games played before his re-injury but keep in mind that this team has been nearly unbeatable when shifting other bodies into starting spots. Terence Davis III had a huge afternoon on Super Bowl Sunday while starting in place of Powell against the Bulls, scoring a career-high 31 points in the win.

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4. Boston Celtics (33-15, Last Week’s Ranking: 8)

If there’s anything the Celtics are proving right now, it’s that their unabashedness and confidence playing against top-tier teams in the NBA is something worth analyzing. They just keep piling on impressive win after impressive win, now with victories over teams like the Lakers, Bucks, Heat, Sixers, Nuggets, and Mavericks on the season. Just last week, they were able to conquer the Miami Heat in their own building, and then beat the Sixers in Boston without Kemba Walker. As a significant part of that offense, Jaylen Brown may have easily had his best week as a pro, averaging 25 points off 55.8 percent shooting in an undefeated week for the Celtics.

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5. Los Angeles Clippers (34-15, Last Week’s Ranking: 2)

Paul George returned from a nine-game hiatus due to tending to a hamstring injury and his Clippers were the first team to play in the Staples Center since Kobe Bryant’s passing. LA played against the Kings that night and though it was an emotional night, they still lost badly to the Sacramento Kings while they were down a starter in Kawhi Leonard who took a load management night off. They still had a 2-1 week, though they need to string together some streak of wins in a West that’s altering itself due to teams slipping in the rankings.

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6. Denver Nuggets (34-16, Last Week’s Ranking: 6)

Denver stays put in this week’s ranking but still in the top-10, thanks to a rare 127-115 road victory against the Milwaukee Bucks in the Fiserv Forum. In a week that’s still seen additional missed games from the likes of Paul Millsap, Jamal Murray, Gary Harris and Miles Plumlee, it’s second-biggest highlight was a big comeback win over the Jazz. With the streaking Trail Blazers, second matchup with the Jazz and Suns this week, Denver is looking to keep up this surge of good play from Will Barton, Nikola Jokic and the rest of Mike Malone’s bench.

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7. Houston Rockets (31-18, Last Week’s Ranking: 11)

Add the Houston Rockets to the “I survived Zion Williamson, too” list following their defensive showcase against the Pelicans on Sunday afternoon, managing to keep their leading scorer Brandon Ingram scoreless in the fourth. Also, James Harden is finally out of his shooting slump, evident to his recovery from his thigh contusion that kept him out of two games. In the most recent week of play, Harden went from shooting 22.7 percent from deep, to connecting on 13 of his last 29 attempts in their two wins over the weekend. He’s up to averaging 37.5 points per contest, after putting up career lows from his previous averages of 24.9 points per game in his previous seven games.

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8. Indiana Pacers (31-18, Last Week’s Ranking: 10)

The Pacers finally got Victor Oladipo back from his year-long rehab, and now are back in the driver’s seat of regaining pole position in the East with a perfectly healthy starting five. All Star reserve Domantas Sabonis and his Pacers are poised to overtake the second-seeded Pacers if they’re to win the next five games, and if the Raptors slip since they aren’t going to have Norman Powell for an extended amount of time. Home court advantage is still in the play of possibility, for they’ll have to scratch and claw to obtain that second seed, especially when they face the Raptors in the middle of this week’s four-game stretch.

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9. Utah Jazz (32-17, Last Week’s Ranking: 4)

The Utah Jazz are experiencing a little turbulence in their otherwise solid season, losing four-straight after previously having their way in 19 of their past 21 games. In back to back games, they let both Rockets guard Eric Gordon and Blazers All-Sar Damian Lillard snap for 50 against them, allowing a staggering average of 120.4 points from both games. That statistical anomaly keeps them out of the top-5 ranking of the best defensive teams in the league (Utah has the ninth-best defensive rating in the NBA) but there may be much more to fret about with a Nuggets team they play well against coming up next on the schedule, and Portland and Houston right after them.

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10. Miami Heat (33-15, Last Week’s Ranking: 7)

Miami is also going through a rough patch in their season after their recent 6-5 outing right after going 27-10 up until Jan. 8. Some ugly losses against sub.500 teams is normal, and likely happen once every blue moon. But you have a problem when the losing skid involves teams like the Knicks, Nets, Celtics and Clippers in the same week. Only OKC was beaten by the Heat in examining how many wins they were able to grab against teams over .500 this week and it doesn’t get any easier, now that the Sixers, Clippers (again), Kings and Trail Blazers await a Heat team that’s trying to go into All Star Break still perched amidst the top-3 in the East.

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11. Philadelphia 76ers (31-19, Last Week’s Ranking: 9)

At home, the Sixers play like the best team in the East but on the road, they look like a lottery team, now an abysmal 9-17 away from the Wells Fargo Center. Losing to the Celtics is understandable regardless if the Cs were down a point guard, but succumbing to the Hawks on the road? Well, that’s unacceptable for a team that’s looking to make splashes in the postseason. They possess the worst away record of any above .500 team this season and maybe the health of the returning Joel Embiid is a factor, but the frontcourt combination of Al Horford, Embiid and Tobias Harris needs serious evaluation. In the Saturday night loss to Boston, the trio combined for 30 points on a 9-of-34 shooting night and only one made shot from Embiid.

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12. Dallas Mavericks (30-19, Last Week’s Record: 12)

Dallas is another team that stays put in this week’s rankings. They are 3-3 in the games that Luka Doncic doesn’t play and fought with all their might against the Rockets in Friday’s loss, but they need some consistent offense from their backcourt now that it’s being reported that Doncic is to miss at least five more games due to letting his sprained ankle heal. In his place is his European companion Kristaps Porzingis has averaged 24.5 points per game and a little over 13 rebounds in the games Doncic has been out.

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13. Oklahoma City Thunder (30-20, Last Week’s Ranking: 13)

As the Thunder have played the most games of anyone in the month of January, they went a head-turning 12-5, and got Chris Paul back into the All Star Game. They’re just a game fifth place in the difficult West, and that’s amazing considering they’re playing with a core composed off youth and aging veteran pieces. Since Thanksgiving, they’re 24-9, which is the second-best win-loss ratio since then. OKC is still climbing atop the West in a season many prognosticated as a reboulding year of supplying picks and building draft capital.

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14. Portland Trail Blazers (23-27, Last Week’s Ranking: 19)

Damian Lillard might be the best player in the NBA right now, and it’s beginning to finally rub off on the parts around him. The Blazers are 4-2 after Lillard deciced to go apesh-you get it- on the last six teams he and his team faced in the past two weeks, and his numbers in those games sound a little like this: 61, 47, 50, 36, 48, 51. Whoa. He’s pulling up from 40 feet as if it’s second nature and he’s getting his with straight jumpers and dribble drives to the cup, and there hasn’t been a defense that’s been able to stick him just yet. He’s doing whatever it takes to get the Blazers back into the playoffs and in the crossfires of their pursuit of a playoff record are teams like the Grizzlies, who look as if they could lose that eighth seed to the Blazers if they’re not careful.

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15. Memphis Grizzlies (24-25, Last Week’s Ranking: 14)

Memphis put up the third-best record in the month of January with their 11 wins and four losses, and while led by Dillon Brooks, the Grizzlies backcourt has done an excellent job in supplying proficienct shooting percentages from dowtown and floor spacing that Ja Morant doesn’t have to create all the time. Brooks has flown under the radar made by the Morant hype train, but has averaged a team-high 20.5 points and 45 percent shooting percentage from three. They’re 17-1 whenever Brooks drops 20 in a game, and with Detroit, Dallas and Washington this week, that record could improve as all three of those teams struggle with stopping shooting guards from scoring in multitudes.

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16. San Antonio Spurs (22-26, Last Week’s Ranking: 15)

DeMar DeRozan is to miss out on the All Star festivities in Chicago in the coming weeks, but has put up All-Star-esque numbers in what’s turning out to be a solid 2019-20 campaign for the former USC Trojan. His 23 points per game is already the third-best average he’s put up in his 10-year career, but this time he’s doing it efficiently at a 53.8 field goal percentage (the best shooting percentage of his career). He’s starting to look like the player that cracked the top-3 in MVP voting back in 2018, and considerably so now that his Spurs are only four games away from having a .500 record again.

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17. Brooklyn Nets (21-27, Last Week’s Ranking: 17)

Kyrie Irving came back into the starting lineup and dropped a season-high 54 points against the visiting Chicago Bulls, only a night after dropping 20-5-5 in a win over the Pistons. The Nets were staring 3-0 on the week in a matchup with the Wizards, until Irving was knee-locked with a Wizards defender and left with a knee injury with 5:31 remaining in the fourth quarter. Flustered by the second loss of Irving on the season, the Nets couldn’t make a shot in the fourth quarter and ultimately lost to Washington in the game’s final four minutes. It is being reported that Irving is going to be re-evaluated in a week’s time, meaning that Caris LeVert and Spencer Dinwiddie (who’s struggled mightily after Irving’s return) to step up big if they want to hold on to that seventh seed that they’re only a game in front of the Orlando Magic for.

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18. Orlando Magic (21-28, Last Week’s Ranking: 16)

The Magic are a polarizing team; they beat lowly, sub .500 teams without issue but when it comes to facing fellow teams that are also playoff locks, they can’t get the job done. They’re a combined 5-22 in games against over-.500 teams, and to make things worse, they’ve now dropped five straight. The Knicks and Hornets are on the list this week but conversely, so are the Celtics and Bucks.

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19. Phoenix Suns (20-29, Last Week’s Ranking: 18)

The Suns drop a spot in this week’s rankings, and we know one thing: it certainly isn’t Devin Booker, who was snubbed again from making the All-Star game. It looks like he’s taking that anger and aggression out on the court, averaging nearly 30 points in the two games he’s played since hearing the news that he wasn’t selected to get an All-Star selection. At this point, it’s unknown as to what he has to do to gain the voters’ respect to just get into one All Star Game, since he’s the only player in the league to score north of 27 points per game off 60 percent True Shooting.

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20. New Orleans Pelicans (20-30, Last Week’s Ranking: 20)

The Pelicans haven’t figured out the puzzle of keeping a win streak alive while letting Zion Williamson run rampant on every defense he sees, as they’ve gone a combined 3-3 since his debut. Williamson is becoming what everyone though he’d be at the next level: a highlight machine that can score an inordinate amount of points, no matter how many minutes Alvin Gentry feels comfortable keeping the Pelicans No. 1 pick on the floor. Of course, his 61.5 field percentage is backed up by his 11 dunks in his first six games and his advanced ability to finish at the rim.

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21. Chicago Bulls (19-33, Last Week’s Ranking: 21)

The Bulls are a banged up bunch that, again, is starting to lose trust in Jim Boylen’s rotations and decision-making. The injury bug has now taken Kris Dunn as its latest victim, and the Bulls will be without him for an undisclosed amount of time due to the former Providence guard spraining his MCL in Friday’s loss the the Nets on the road. Additionally, Daniel Gafford is going to miss some time from a nasty fall against the Raptors on Sunday and Lauri Markkanen won’t see the court for a while due to a pelvis ailment.

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22. Sacramento Kings (18-31, Last Week’s Ranking: 23)

Marvin Bagley III has only played four games since December 26 due to what’s being described as a mid-foot sprain, and because of his injury, will miss the Rising Stars Challenge on Feb. 14. The former Duke Blue Devil and top 3 pick has averaged 14.2 points per game and 7.5 rebounds in his short season. Without him, the tasks of beating Minnesota, Miami and San Antonio just got that much harder.

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23. Washington Wizards (17-31, Last Week’s Ranking: 24)

You gotta love the parity of the NBA. The league’s worst defensive team…is only three games away from a playoff spot. The Washington Wizards, now winners of two straight, are actually in contention for a playoff berth between them and the Orlando Magic, who have lost five straight games. Bradley Beal is leading the charge with his 28.8 points per game and though another All Star snub, is willing his Wizards back into the conversation of the eight best teams in the East.

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24. Detroit Pistons (18-33, Last Week’s Ranking: 22)

Andre Drummond and Derrick Rose could be moved ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline. But for the right price, that is. Detroit is a team many have their eyes on in the next four days, as many wonder if they’ll work with their core of the guys that are already there, of if they’ll just blow up the roster and get rid of the stars they already have, now that they’re a full four games out of the playoff hunt with no apparent desire to win the eighth or seventh seed.

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25. Charlotte Hornets (16-33, Last Week’s Ranking: 25)

If there’s any consolation for this season, it’s that the trio of Devonte’ Graham, Miles Bridges, and PJ Washington are a future worth building around. All three will showcase their skills on the national stage in the Rising Stars Challenge during All-Star Weekend, but in assessing the team, the Hornets have only won 3 games in the month of January and are a season-low 17 games below .500.

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26. Minnesota Timberwolves (15-33, Last Week’s Ranking: 26)

Karl Anthony-Towns and the Timberwolves together have not won a game since November 27, 2019, since his return to the hardwood. What looked like a streak-breaker against the Sacramento Kings this week turned out to be a blown 27-point lead and loss in OT, causing more contempt and queasiness for Wolves fans who only want to see their team get a win. They might have a shot at redemption against the Kings again on Monday and a chance at a winning streak against the Hawks a night later, for it’s likely Trae Young won’t suit up for that game.

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27. New York Knicks (14-36, Last Week’s Ranking: 27)

Saturday night was a positive for the Knicks, as they found a way to knock off the Pacers, but of course, most positives come after negatives, and how much more negative can you get than a 127-106 loss in the Garden to the Memphis Grizzlies where the game didn’t garner as many headlines as previously suspected. Elfrid Payton took matters into his own hands following some unsportsmanlike actions involving Jae Crowder stealing an inbounds pass and hoisting up a three with virtually no time on the clock while up 21, in which Crowder decided to shove Crowder into the front row as a bench-clearing brawl ensued.

After the game, possible tradee Marcus Morris Jr. called Crowder’s actions “female tendencies”, which, obviously met discomfort and disagreement among folks on Twitter. Payton, who was also ejected from the brawl, received a one-game suspension while Morris received a lengthy fine.

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28. Cleveland Cavaliers (13-37, Last Week’s Ranking: 28)

Cleveland is likely to be high-sellers come the trade deadline on Thursday, and since they’ve seemingly given up trying to compete in this already-lost season, names like Tristan Thompson and Kevin Love are probably the first of many to go. Koby Altman is expected to be really aggressive in both trades and free agency in the offseason, as there are multiple expiring veteran contracts on the team that need to be dealt with.

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29. Golden State Warriors (11-39, Last Week’s Ranking: 29)

Though he’d probably provide some highlights on a season that’a already compromised, Stephen Curry returning to the active lineup does little to nothing to help their odds to improve their draft lottery positioning. But, it may be worth seeing how D’Angelo Russell and Curry collaborate on the floor when they share it for an extended period of time as Curry’s return date is in early March.

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30. Atlanta Hawks (13-37, Last Week’s Ranking: 30)

Trae Young’s All-Star debut is worth the wait, although the guard suffered a right ankle sprain against the Mavericks last Saturday in the game’s third quarter. This season is a lost cause, so it’s more than likely the Hawks play this injury cautiously so that he won’t have to miss the All-Star festivities coming up in two weeks.

Feb 3, 2020 No Comments
SR – NBA Prime Time Preview: Philadelphia 76ers at Boston Celtics

SR – NBA Prime Time Preview: Philadelphia 76ers at Boston Celtics

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by | Feb 2, 2020 | Featured, NBA

For the fourth and final time this year, two playoff locks will duel for the chance to improve their records in the East as the Philadelphia 76ers take the flight to Boston, Massachusetts for the second time this season in a game against the Celtics on ABC at 8:30 p.m. ET.

Philly is prepared to enter their second-straight week of Saturday night competition, for they were able to surprise a bunch of experts with a 17-point victory against the visiting (and now declining) Los Angeles Lakers. Another formidable foe awaits this Sixers team, though the full-blown attack from the Celtics won’t be dealt as severely as previously perceived. Kemba Walker was said to have experienced discomfort in his left knee, presumably evident in their win over Golden State where he only scored 13 points on an average 5-of-13 shooting night.

Luckily, the three-time All-Star is avoiding serious injury by sitting out the next couple of games in letting his sore knee get healthy again and in his place on the offensive end are Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, who both have at times been the rock on both ends of the floor when Walker was off of his game. Also, the suddenly resurgent aggressiveness of Gordon Hayward has helped in multitudes recently, scoring 23 or more points in the last three games against the Pelicans, Heat, and Warriors.

It’s fair to call the untimely passing of Kobe Bryant a source of extra motivation for Hayward, being that he was the last defender to ever be matched up with Bryant in his career-finale 60-point game when he was in Utah, but seeing this additional burst of confidence from Hayward is really enriching to C’s fans who only wanted to see the former All-Star they signed in the 2016 offseason to look the part. Tatum and Brown supply the offense and defense, but Hayward has shown he isn’t afraid to isolate and knock down those tough-but-efficient looks from inside the perimeter and in transition.

But what the Celtics will sorely lack in is more than just offensive productivity tonight, as their big man situation is moderately compromised with the furthered missing of Enes Kanter. One of the only rim protectors that actually does well stopping Joel Embiid won’t be on the floor or in the rotation at all, and though the C’s have won five of their last six and two-straight, it’s hard to see them putting up a fight with a team that already has their number, and the seasonal series lead, against them.

Some other headlines concerning this Sixers-C’s matchup tonight: Al Horford makes his return to Boston for the first time as an on-court participant, and return to the starting lineup due to his scratch from the active lineup against Atlanta because of his knee soreness. As a team, Philly has won six of their last eight, but still don’t impress anyone with their 9-16 record away from the Wells Fargo Center.

Boston is 19-5 at home on the parquet, and after beating Miami at home to start the week, possesses the third seed in the East. Philly is sixth in the conference and with tonight being the second of four consecutive road games for the Sixers, sweeping the Celtics and winning the seasonal bragging rights is a must for a team that’s still looking to flip the perceptions of them not being good enough to hang with the other Eastern elites.

Feb 2, 2020 No Comments
SR – NBA Prime Time Preview: Portland Trail Blazers

SR – NBA Prime Time Preview: Portland Trail Blazers

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by | Feb 1, 2020 | Featured, NBA

The second game of Friday’s doubleheader on ESPN…is a somber one, to equally write about and watch. The Portland Trail Blazers prepare to face the Los Angeles Lakers with the chance to string together a possibly playoff-inducing three-game winning streak, but as the aura in the air suggests, a win or loss wouldn’t make that much of a difference, would it?

This is easily set to be one of the most emotional nights in the history of North American professional sports, as this is the official first time that the Los Angeles Lakers play a basketball game since the untimely passing of Laker legend Kobe Bean Bryant.

LeBron James, the 20-year long good friend of Bryant, leads his bunch of men that currently own the best record in the Western Conference onto the Staples Center floor in an attempt to not just get their 37th win of the season, but play for the chance to put some smiles on the faces of Lakers fans, followers of the late legend, those who were graced by all of the memories given to them during his 20-year career, and those who just want to see a celebration of life done in the best way possible: on the court.

Looking beyond the emotions of tonight, the Lakers have lost three of their last six, and while that may speak some optimism for these Blazers who are finally climbing out of the Western cellar, Los Angeles has easily dispatched the Blazers the last two times they’ve played them this year and should do so again tonight, now that Carmelo Anthony isn’t to take the floor tonight in his bereavement process of grieving his friend that, prior to his transition, promised to show up in the front row with his daughter Gianna, another victim of the unfortunate incident, with him to watch Carmelo return to the Purple and Gold version of the Staples Center to play the Lakers.

That very grieving process is being done by everyone in the stadium, who are all to wear gold Kobe shirts donning both numbers 24 and 8 (half of the arena will wear 24, the other 8). So much so that the unpredictability of this matchup is serving as the second-most salient topic of conversation. Damian Lillard is HOOPIN’, and that’s meant as seriously as possible. He’s doing all that he can to get the Blazers into the postseason picture, literally averaging 44.3 ppg. in the last three games. He is putting up some MVP numbers and is actively putting together the sixth-best four-game stretch of points scored in the history of the league, still with the No. 2 scoring backcourt in the league only behind Russell Westbrook and James Harden in Houston.

LA isn’t so bad, either. But for a team with 36 wins that only has three double-digit scorers in LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Kyle Kuzma (could be two at the end of the week, if Kuzma is shipped in a trade deal) and a team that locks up on the defensive end, now fifth in the league in total defensive rating, this Lakers team is scary to go against and almost impossible to beat at home with their team-wide 48.4 shooting percentage.

But again, this game – this atmosphere, really – is one so unpredictably sentimental that it is worth the watch on ESPN tonight at 10:30 p.m. The eyes of the entire sporting world will collectively be on it, anyway.

Feb 1, 2020 No Comments
SR – NBA Prime Time Preview: Dallas Mavericks at Houston Rockets

SR – NBA Prime Time Preview: Dallas Mavericks at Houston Rockets

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by | Feb 1, 2020 | Featured, NBA

For the first game on what will be an extremely emotional Friday NBA on ESPN doubleheader, the undermanned Dallas Mavericks will participate in a battle of Texas, visiting the 29-18 Houston Rockets in the Toyota Center at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Perhaps the biggest storyline heading into this one is the absence of Dallas’s lifeblood-giver as Luka Doncic is to miss this game due to the All-Star rolling his ankle in a practice to prepare for tonight’s game. Confirmed as recent as this afternoon, the manageable ailment will take two weeks to heal. The Mavs have been down this rocky road earlier this year and did pretty well while Doncic was away tending to another ankle injury to the same leg, going a respectable 2-2 with wins coming against the Houston Rockets and Milwaukee Bucks.

And of course, they’ll surely miss the scoring aficionado’s 28.8 ppg., but they have managed in beating both of those elite teams without Doncic in the starting lineup. Kristaps Porzingis took on the challenge of leading his Mavericks in all the box score statistics without his fellow European frontcourt mate, averaging 16.8 points off a steadily-rising 39 percent shooting. It’s also worth adding that a year ago today, the announcement that Porzingis was being dealt to the Dallas Mavericks in a trade with the New York Knicks was made, amidst a flurry of drama and mistrust with the Knicks organization’s direction and desire to build a contender.

But if they’re to say “no Luka, no problem” at night’s end, they’ll have to do so by mapping out the blueprint that multiple teams have done so in beating the Rockets, which explains one, very simple rule: Double/trap/Blitz James Harden when the ball sticks at the top of the key. Regardless of Harden’s now hideous season (and almost career)-low three-point shooting numbers at 22.5 percent from deep, he’s still James Harden and it’s probably only a matter of time until he snaps out of his funk, so it’ll be up to all Dallas guards like Tim Hardaway Jr., Dorian Finney-Smith, Jalen Brunson and bigs like Porzingis and the newly-implemented Willie Cauley Stein to make a difference when switched onto him, that is if they decide to play Harden 1-on-1.

Still, he and Russell Westbrook will walk into Chicago in a couple of weeks as All-Stars, thanks to Westbrook’s picking up of Harden’s recent slack with his 35.5 ppg. in the last two games he’s played in. Houston has only won two out of their last five, with two recent losses coming by way of a loss to Utah in which Westbrook sat out on Monday and a consecutive loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, which saw Westbrook carry the load for backcourt rotation that looked despondent and uninterested after their shots stopped falling. Their core is also banged up since Clint Capela is forced to sit this one out with a heel injury.

In what has been an awkward year for both teams, (Dallas still working out the kinks of utilizing both KP and Doncic into the lineups before the playoffs begin and Houston trying to figure some new things out offensively so that their schemes don’t go stale) both Houston and Dallas are knotted in the West as it pertains to their record. And yet, it is the Dallas Mavericks that have the upper hand in the division when looking at the win differential, considering that they beat the Rockets earlier this year.

This will be the second these two Western factions see each other in the regular season and won’t see each other until after All-Star Weekend in the months of March and April so every win counts against a division rival, especially for these two streaky teams that are looking for some stability ahead of the All-Star Break.

Feb 1, 2020 No Comments
SR – NBA Prime Time Preview: Utah Jazz at Denver Nuggets

SR – NBA Prime Time Preview: Utah Jazz at Denver Nuggets

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by | Jan 31, 2020 | Featured, NBA

Tonight’s second leg of the weekly TNT doubleheader takes place in the Mile High City, as the Denver Nuggets are tasked tonight to defend home court in a short week against the visiting Utah Jazz, live on TNT at 10:30 p.m. ET.

The last time these two Western rivals faced off, recently-appointed All-Star reserve Donovan Mitchell dropped 46 on the Nuggets’ heads in a make-or-break time for the Nuggets to keep their top-3 spot in the West. Denver felt like they may have lost more than that one contest, for the better team right now surely looks like the 32-15 Jazz and though bost squads possess the same record, the eye test supposes that the Jazz are one of the more arduous foes the Nuggets will have to face this year if they’re to meet again in the postseason.

Utah has won 19 of their past 23 games during the span of the past two months, and they’re getting healthy and more accustomed to playing with one another as the games go by even more. Though they’ve dropped two straight, this Jazz team is hard to play against, and it isn’t just because of Mitchell’s scoring rampages and Rudy Gobert’s block parties he loves to put on at usual occurrence.

But this Denver team though? They’re no shy folk from showing up to compete against teams that would appear better than them on paper. Also, keep in mind, Utah is playing on the second night of a back to back since they are reeling from a loss to the Spurs in San Antonio’s AT&T Center and a redeye flight to a land that’s 5,280 feet above sea level. That Denver air is nothing to easily adjust to, so it’ll be interesting to see if the Nuggets take advantage of a fatigued Jazz team early with the compilation of pieces like Nikola Jokic (who just got announced as another All-Star reserve) and Michael Porter Jr., a rookie who’s taken the league by storm at the tender age of 19.

Tonight’s second TNT game should be a dandy to watch, so don’t miss it.

Jan 31, 2020 No Comments