Category: Basketball

Basketball News

Posted on

Stephen A calls Draymond out after Warriors' loss to Nuggets

Stephen A calls Draymond out after Warriors' loss to Nuggets originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Draymond Green can talk the talk, but Stephen A. Smith wants to see the Warriors forward walk the walk, too.

Green infamously proclaimed that Golden State would win the NBA Finals this season after the Warriors acquired Jimmy Butler at the trade deadline, but one bad loss to the shorthanded Denver Nuggets on Monday night put things into perspective for the ESPN analyst.

“My eyes are on Draymond Green. Who’s the person who went on national television during All-Star Weekend and guaranteed a championship? Who’s that? That wasn’t Steph. That wasn’t Jimmy. That’s Draymond,” Smith said Tuesday morning on “First Take.” “… We know what a point-forward he is, we know how great he is at setting Steph Curry up, getting him the basketball, pushing the ball up the court, running their offense. We know how valuable Dray is on that level. But if this brother hits his threes when he is open, that changes the dynamic of everything for the Golden State Warriors.

“That’s why the guarantee matters. Because when he’s making shots, that’s a profound positive impact for the Golden State Warriors. I’m not saying you change your strategy because he’s not a shooter. But if you don’t guard him, and you leave him open, and he hits those shots, it changes everything because then they can upset somebody in the Western Conference.

“So that man that opened his mouth and guaranteed a championship, it’s literally on him. Because I know what Jimmy Butler’s going to do. We know what Playoff Jimmy is all about. We know what Steph Curry is all about. But if Draymond hits shots, it’s a different ball game. But he’s got to do it. So it’s on him, a lot of it.”

In 54 games (52 starts) this season, Green is averaging 9.2 points on 43.6-percent shooting from the field and 33.5 percent from 3-point range, with 6.1 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.1 blocks in 29 minutes per game.

While Green isn’t known for his scoring much less his shot from beyond the arc, there have been games and even stretches where the do-it-all forward knocks down a couple treys.

In last week’s win over the Sacramento Kings, Green was 4 of 7 from 3-point range and finished with a season-high 23 points. But he was just 1 of 6 from downtown over Golden State’s next two games, including going 0-for-1 from long-range against the Nuggets.

Green’s daily to-do list consists of more than just shooting the ball, but if he would do it more for the Warriors, Smith believes Green’s prediction could come true.

Download and follow the Dubs Talk Podcast

Posted on

Sabonis ruled out for Kings-Cavaliers game with ankle sprain

Sabonis ruled out for Kings-Cavaliers game with ankle sprain originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Once again, the Kings will be without Domantas Sabonis on Wednesday night.

Sacramento’s star big man is listed as out for the team’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Golden 1 Center, per the latest NBA injury report, with a right ankle sprain.

Sabonis sustained the injury in the third quarter of the Kings’ 132-122 win over the Memphis Grizzles on Monday, and it was evident as he hobbled to the locker room that the incident could be serious.

Before the ankle injury, Sabonis was playing in his second game back after missing six contests with a Grade 1 hamstring strain. Disaster struck again Monday when Sabonis was driving to the rim and awkwardly rolled his right ankle as he went for the layup.

In 57 games during the 2024-25 NBA season so far, Sabonis is averaging a double-double with 19.1 points, 14.1 rebounds and 6.3 assists.

The Kings went on to beat the Grizzlies without Sabonis and snap a four-game losing streak, and they’ll have to keep things rolling without him at home Wednesday night against the NBA-leading Cavaliers.

Download and follow The Deuce & Mo Podcast

Posted on

Haslem believes Warriors would struggle vs. two teams in NBA playoffs

Haslem believes Warriors would struggle vs. two teams in NBA playoffs originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Udonis Haslem believes the Warriors need to avoid the NBA play-in tournament.

The former NBA player-turned-analyst made that much clear when asked what he thought about Golden State potentially falling out of a top-six seed in the Western Conference.

“That’s a tough one because you do not want to be in a play-in,” Haslem said Monday on ESPN’s “NBA Today.” “[Monday] night [against the Denver Nuggets] was going to be a tough game for Jimmy [Butler] regardless. When you talk about Aaron Gordon and Russell Westbrook, you’re talking about guys that have size, speed and athleticism. Those are the kinds of guys Jimmy struggles with. Smaller guards he can overpower, bigger guys he can usually get around. Those guys that have that balance of both, those teams are ones Jimmy struggles with. Guys with switchable matchups that can guard him on the post and the perimeter.”

While Golden State played an all-around sloppy game, Denver’s size advantage was evident in the Warriors’ 114-105 loss at Chase Center. Gordon and Westbrook had no trouble cutting to the basket and distributing the ball to wide-open shooters. Butler and Steph Curry were bottled up for large stretches of the game as the Warriors’ offense ground to a halt.

Haslem hopes Golden State can avoid playing the top two seeds in the Western Conference right now, as they present an even greater challenge than the Nuggets.

“Hopefully that’s not a matchup they’re going to have [in the playoffs],” Haslem explained. “But [Oklahoma City Thunder] has wing defenders. They have Alex Caruso; they have Luguentz Dort. They have these lengthy, long wing defender guys. And Houston [Rockets] have that as well. So, neither one of those teams in the first round is going to play out well for Golden State. So, in my opinion move up as high as you can and get out of there.”

While Butler has helped the team get back in the NBA playoff picture, the Warriors lack the size and length of the Thunder or Rockets. In what would be a punishing and physical playoff series, Golden State potentially would fare far better against other teams in the West.

With so many teams in contention, the playoff seeding beyond the No. 1 Thunder is anyone’s guess. Hopefully, the Warriors can continue their strong play and avoid the play-in.

Download and follow the Dubs Talk Podcast

Posted on

There reportedly would be 'significant interest' if Pelicans test Zion Williamson trade market

Zion Williamson has looked like the franchise anchor New Orleans thought he would be since his return from his latest injury. In his last 15 games, Zion is averaging 25.8 points on 60.6% shooting with 6.6 rebounds and 5.4 assists — and that's all on minutes limit keeping him under 30 a night.

Which fits the first part of what the Pelicans were hoping for from his return this season — he increased his value, something reported earlier by Tim MacMahon and Bobby Marks at ESPN. MacMahon expanded upon that this week on the Hoop Collective podcast (hat tip Real GM).

"I remember Bobby [Marks] and I wrote a story just as he was about to come back and kind of like 'What's coming with Zion?'... Somebody told us then the goal is to ramp him up and restore his value whether that's for the Pelicans or another team. And he's handling the first part, to his credit, he is absolutely handling the first part."

Considering his injury history and contract, would there really be much trade demand for Zion? MacMahon said:

"There's some teams that would have significant interest."

Zion has three years and $126.5 million remaining on his contract. Because he has not met a games played clause, the Pelicans could void the final three years and walk away from him, but multiple league sources say that is not expected to happen. If the Pelicans decide to move on, they would rather trade him and get something in return.

Or, the Pelicans could welcome Zion back, pair him with a healthy Trey Murphy III and Herbert Jones (both out with torn labrums the rest of the season) and eventually a healthy Dejonte Murray (torn Achilles) and try to make a "we're finally healthy" run more like Memphis this season. Whether to hang on to him or move on may depend partially on just how high Zion's value is and how much a team would be willing to give up to take a swing with him.

One way or another, it's going to be an interesting summer in the Big Easy.

Posted on

ESPN analyst states Warriors are second-best team in West behind OKC

ESPN analyst states Warriors are second-best team in West behind OKC originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

One ESPN analyst is picking the Warriors as the second-best team in the Western Conference.

Tim MacMahon explained why he believes Golden State has a shot at rising up the standings during the final month of the 2024-25 NBA season.

“I’m going to go with Golden State here,” MacMahon said Tuesday on ESPN’s “NBA Today.” “Obviously, playoff Jimmy [Butler] is a thing because we’ve seen him before. But, more than anything else, Steph Curry last night, Steve Kerr talked about how tired he was.

“They’ve got to get him some rest and get his battery recharged. But he’s still playing at the peak of his powers. Him and Draymond Green, four-time champions. I just think they have the talent and the pedigree to be the biggest threat to Oklahoma City [Thunder].”

While the Warriors have been rejuvenated since trading for Butler, the daunting depth of the Western Conference will be challenging to overcome. Even without three-time MVP Nikola Jokić in uniform, Golden State flopped against the Denver Nuggets on Monday, the current No. 2 in the West. While rookie center Quinten Post has been a solid performer recently, Golden State lacks the size of the other contending teams.

It will be critical for the team to reintegrate Jonathan Kuminga back into the fold, as his incredible speed and athleticism could give Golden State an edge against other teams. As it stands now, relying solely on Curry and Butler to generate consistent offensive production isn’t going to cut it.

The same old cliches about the postseason exploits of Butler, Curry and Green don’t hold up like they used to. This Warriors team will need marked improvements from its bench to make it to the Western Conference finals.

 Download and follow the Dubs Talk Podcast

Posted on

Kings' Domantas Sabonis rolls ankle Monday, expected to miss more time

Sacramento just struggled to a 2-4 record in six games Domantas Sabonis missed with a hamstring strain. Now it is going to have to get by without him for what may be weeks again.

Sabonis rolled his ankle in the opening minute of the second half on a drive to the basket and had to leave the game. It looked nasty.

There was no update postgame from coach Doug Christie, but Malik Monk summed it up well speaking to Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee.

“It looked pretty bad. But Domas (is) strong. He’ll probably be back sooner than we think.”

The Kings need him to. For the season they are 3-6 in games Sabonis misses with a -3.8 net rating when he is off the court. The Kings sit ninth in the West and are headed to the play-in, but had hoped to catch the Clippers for the No. 8 seed and make their path to the playoffs easier. That was going to be tough with Sabonis, the Kings are 3.5 games back of Los Angeles with 15 games to play, but without him it's an Everest-like mountain. The Kings are not likely to fall out of the play-in, they have a two-game lead over the injury riddled Mavericks for the No. 10 seed, with Phoenix 11th and three games back, and the Trail Blazers five games behind the Kings.

Sabonis also may want to return for personal reasons — he has played in just 58 games this season, he needs to play at least seven more (and 20 minutes a night in those games) to reach the 65-game threshold set by the NBA to be eligible for post-season awards. Sabonis is certainly in the mix for an All-NBA spot if he qualifies.

The ankle wasn't even Sabonis' first injury in the game. Sabonis had to get stitches for a cut over his left eye after he was hit in the face by the back of Grizzlies' guard Luke Kennard’s head. Sabonis returned to the game, only to roll his ankle.