BASKETBALL NBA ARTICLES

Russell Westbrook made a pathetic effort even worse by getting slapped with his 16th technical foul and a one NBA game suspension in Oklahoma City Thunder’s loss to Golden State. When Russ returns to the floor on Wednesday against the Toronto Raptors, he’ll be looking to put one of the worst games of his career behind him. Westbrook failed to collect a single-double scoring just seven points. The teams will finish off their season series in the span of two days with this being the first of a home-and-home.   More

The Golden State Warriors aren’t ready to give up the crown just yet. Enduring the most tumultuous season in the championship era, the Dubs showed why they are the favorite to win another O’Brien Trophy, knocking off the hottest team in the league by putting an end to Houston’s nine-game winning streak on Wednesday night. For the Warriors it’s about getting through the regular season and being primed for another playoff run. They did it last season, rising from the West as the No. 2 seed, but they’ll look to hold onto the top spot this year by fending off the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday night.   More

We typically don’t use the Phoenix Suns and the word hot in the same sentence, unless it’s referring to the summertime temperature in the team’s home city. But we can say it and mean it now. The Suns are hot! They beat Golden State on Sunday, ending an 18-game winless streak to the defending champs, and it was their fourth victory in five games. They knocked off East leading Milwaukee as part of that run and the only loss was in Portland when a valiant fourth-quarter rally fell short.   More

When a trade is executed, the ideal outcome is for both NBA teams to benefit. That was the case when the Indiana Pacers dealt Paul George to Oklahoma City in exchange for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis. PG13 has teamed well with Russell Westbrook in OKC while Oladipo was leading the Pacers in scoring until a knee injury put him on the shelf for the rest of the year. Indy is enduring a rough patch, though the Pacers are still among the top-four in the Eastern Conference. The teams face each other for the first time this season as part of Thursday’s six game NBA slate.   More

The Golden State Warriors are still solid favorites to win yet another NBA title, but there is at least on team that could be a threat, and that team is the Houston Rockets. The HoustonRockets are playing better than any team in the NBA right now and they have owned the Warriors this season, winning all three meetings. Let’s look at Wednesday’s game on ESPN and NBA picks.   More

A visit to the defending champs is all it took for the Boston Celtics to snap out of their funk. Raise your hand if you envisioned the Cs slapping a 33-point hurt on the Warriors. A most unexpected outcome considering Boston’s recent struggles. It’s easy to get pumped up for a game against a team like the Dubs, but the real test comes on Saturday with a matchup against the spiraling Los Angeles Lakers. Even the presence of LeBron hasn’t prevented LA from falling further off the pace in the West playoff picture and it doesn’t matter how much time is left in the season.   More

Two marquee matchups highlight the Friday NBA docket and both can be seen on the worldwide leader in sports. With their roster the healthiest it’s been all season, the Houston Rockets have surged up the Western Conference standings by winning six games in a row. The streak started with a win at Golden State and included victories at Boston and Toronto. The Rockets are tied for the No. 3 seed in the West, just five games back of the defending champs. They host the Sixers in the first of ESPN’s Friday doubleheader.   More

Teams on the playoff bubble and others clinging to a postseason spot are in action when the NBA hits the hardwood with a 10-game slate on Wednesday. LeBron James was brought in to lead the Lakers back to the postseason, but they continue to fall further behind in the race and the end could be near with Denver visiting Staples Center. The Nuggets are battling Golden State for the lead in the West and they have to feel this is a W on their ledger, even with James’ playoff intensity activated.   More

The Boston Celtics have looked nothing like NBA title contenders in recent weeks and they might even have to start the NBA Playoffs on the road. They face a difficult task on Tuesday night, as they visit the Golden State Warriors in a game that can be seen on TNT. The Warriors have the best record in the Western Conference and they are normally a tough team to beat at home. Let’s look at Tuesday’s game and NBA picks.   More

Fours are wild when the Houston Rockets and James Harden invade the Garden for a Sunday ABC matinee with the Boston Celtics. Harden had his streak of games with at least 30-points snapped at 32 on Monday. But more importantly, the Rockets won. They also won the game after that and the game after that to reach four in a row. The Cs are going the opposite direction with their losing streak reaching a season-high four games following a 97-92 setback to Portland on Wednesday.   More

Could we be witnessing a NBA Finals preview on Saturday in primetime? The Golden State Warriors and Philadelphia 76ers sure hope so. The Warriors are the prohibitive favorite to win their third straight O’Brien Trophy while the Sixers improved their odds with in-season acquisitions of Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris. We won’t get the full feel of a championship series matchup, however, with Philly’s Joel Embiid sidelined with knee soreness. That’s just fine with the Dubs, who watched Embiid go for 26 and 20 against them earlier this season.   More

LeBron James got the best of Giannis Antetokounmpo when the two captained teams in the All-Star game. Now it’s time for Antetokounmpo to return the favor and attempt to put another nail in the Los Angeles Lakers NBA postseason coffin. Barring a meltdown of epic proportions, the Milwaukee Bucks are in and they have a good chance of claiming the best overall record in the Association, a place they currently hold with the help of their MVP candidate. Time is running out on LeBron and the Lakers, who find themselves slipping further out of contention with every loss.   More

The Philadelphia 76ers will have to find a way to win without Joel Embiid, as their NBA All-Star center will be out until at least the weekend with a sore knee. The 76ers did not play well without Embiid on Saturday, as they were routed at home by Portland. The 76ers are coming off a game at New Orleans on Monday. The 76ers will face a difficult game on Thursday, as they face an Oklahoma City Thunder team that is in 3rd place in the Western Conference. Let’s look at Thursday’s game and NBA picks.   More

A rematch of last season’s Western Conference Final that went the distance, two of the top scoring teams in the NBA, James Harden vs. Stephen Curry, it all makes for good television, especially after the league has been dormant for several days due to the All-Star break. I don’t think the AAF is going to get more viewers this week. The Houston Rockets got a little payback for the conference final loss to the Golden State Warriors by taking the first two meetings. They go for a third Saturday on the primetime airwaves of ABC.   More

Fans of the NBA San Antonio Spurs got to witness the homecoming of Kawhi Leonard last month. This time folks north of the border get a chance to embrace their former star when DeMar DeRozan makes his only appearance. The two were dealt for each other during the offseason and the swap has benefitted the Raps, who are leading the Atlantic Division and trail the Bucks by a game for the top spot in the East. Meanwhile, the Spurs are back on their rodeo road trip having gone just 1-4 through the first games of the annual excursion.   More

After putting on a show as captain of his team at the NBA All-Star Game, Giannis Antetokounmpo looks to continue dazzling Eastern Conference opponents for the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks. Leading his team to the best record in the NBA through the unofficial first half of the season, Antetokounmpo has emerged as the front runner for the league’s MVP, though James Harden and Russell Westbrook will have a say in the voting. The second half surge begins for the Bucks with a home contest against the Boston Celtics on Thursday.   More

It was all fun and games on Sunday when James Harden and LeBron James were teammates on the winning side during the NBA All-Star Game. Now it’s back to business. The Los Angeles Lakers hope to make a playoff push over the post-break portion of the schedule and having a healthy LeBron will help. Missing the postseason looked like a longshot for the Lakers a few months ago then James went on the shelf and the season unraveled. The Lakers are three games out of the final playoff spot in the West and begin their quest against the Houston Rockets on Thursday.   More

Launching three-pointers has become a routine endeavor in the NBA, and to accommodate all the long distance heavers the field has expanded to 10 players. Three of the competitors are past winners with defending champ Devin Booker looking to become the first repeat winner since Jason Kapono in 2007 and 2008. That was after sentimental selection Dirk Nowitzki won his only title. Stephen Curry is arguably the best long-range shooter in the game’s history, and it isn’t a surprise to see the two-time MVP come off as the betting favorite with odds of +325.   More

Assemble the best players in the NBA for one night and you’re sure to have a bettors paradise. And that’s exactly what’s in store when the Association showcases its stars at the 68th All-Star Game. The format put in place for last year’s spectacle will be used once again with the league doing away with the East vs. West setup. Instead, the top vote-getters from each conference will captain a team with the players selected through a playground style draft. LeBron James selected the winning team last year and he goes for another victory against Team Giannis.   More

Four relative unknowns when it comes to the Slam Dunk Contest will hit the hardwood on Saturday. But that doesn’t mean we won’t be wowed by the quartet as they show off their aerial artistry. Some feel the NBA All-Star Weekend’s showcase event has lost some of its magic. After all, how many ways can you dunk a basketball that we haven’t already seen in this competition? Don’t tell that to this year’s field, though. The players are out to create their own highlight dunks that have been immortalized by the likes of Dr. J, MJ and David “Skywalker” Thompson. Who knows, maybe this year’s winner will get a new nickname as well as the trophy.   More

The Anthony Davis saga continues and the lame-duck center remains in a New Orleans Pelicans uniform until the season is done. The situation is awkward for both parties to say the least. AD made it clear through his trade demand that he doesn’t want to stay in Nola. And the organization has to move forward knowing he won’t be a part of the team next season. There are games to be played and Davis has performed admirably since the deadline passed. The Pels will use him judiciously and AD won’t be the go-to guy in crunch time, so someone else will have to step up against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday.   More

There’s a good chance that four of the five teams from the Northwest Division make the NBA playoffs. Unfortunately, the Minnesota Timberwolves are that fifth team. The season hasn’t gone according to plan for the Wolves, who were positioned for better things at the start of the year. Then Jimmy Butler happened. He divided the club with his trade demands, put former coach Tom Thibodeau in an awkward position, and ultimately came out the big winner with his move to Philly. Meanwhile, Thibs is unemployed and the Wolves are trying to win a few games. They’ll have to slow down James Harden if they want to beat the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.   More

Swinging a deal for another scorer, the Philadelphia 76ers are going all in this season. The Los Angeles Lakers tried to push all their chips to New Orleans in an attempt to land Anthony Davis. The deal never materialized and the Lakers have nothing in terms of trade talent to surround LeBron James. LeBron and the Lakers did the Sixers a solid on Thursday, mowing down the Celtics behind a triple double from the King and the first buzzer-beating shot in the career Rajon Rondo. The two veterans acquired in the offseason to get the Lakers back to the playoffs did their job that night.   More

Not many NBA players can upstage James Harden and the epic scoring run he’s on. One who could is Russell Westbrook, who is on his own run of triple-doubles. While Harden extended his streak of scoring at least 30 points to 28 games in a win over Sacramento, Westbrook collected his seventh straight triple-double to beat Orlando. The run is tied for the second-longest in NBA history, just behind Wilt Chamberlain’s record of nine. The past two MVP’s will collide when the Oklahoma City Thunder visit the Houston Rockets in ABC’s Saturday primetime matchup.   More

The rivalry hasn’t been as intense over the last few NBA years with the Los Angeles Lakers going through a massive rebuild. But it remains one of the best in sports thanks to the likes of Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell and John Havlicek. And more recently the matchups between Magic   More