Worldwide Sports News
The wait is finally over! The Cleveland Cavaliers are playing basketball that counts again as they open their season against LeBron James and the newly configured Philadelphia 76ers.
Share your thoughts as the game unfolds. If you aren’t a member of the community, sign up so you can talk to your fellow Cavalier fans and make your voice heard!
It was hard to know what the Nets plan was when general manager Sean Marks used four of the team’s five first-round picks on guards in the 2025 draft.
One game into the second season of that group hasn’t provided any clarity.
Among the disappointments in Wednesday night’s ugly loss to the mediocre Hornets was the fact that none of those five players stood out in a positive way.
In fact, only two of them — Egor Dëmin (selected eighth overall by the Nets) and Nolan Traore (19th) — even got on the court while Drake Powell (22nd), Ben Saraf (26th) and Danny Wolf (27th) didn’t play.
So though there were positive signs against Charlotte from this past year’s first-round pick, Mikel Brown Jr., on Wednesday, the reward for tanking in 2024-25 has hardly paid off under head coach Jordi Fernández.
And this year, unlike the previous two seasons, the Nets are not at all trying to tank.
The roster is still a work in progress at best, with veterans such as Julius Randle — in his first year in Brooklyn — and Michael Porter Jr. mixed with unproven young players.
For the Nets to find any sustained success this season, they’ll need marked improvement from at least some of the five players picked over a year ago.
But on Wednesday at Barclays Center, only Randle and Porter managed to score in double digits while Dëmin went just 2-for-10 from the floor and Traore missed all four of his field-goal attempts.
One of the concerns surrounding Dëmin when he left BYU after one season at just 19 was his struggles from 3-point range.
He put some of those issues to rest as a rookie when he hit 38.5 percent of his 3-pointers, but he was 0-for-5 from long range Wednesday.
He also had just two assists and three turnovers, and Traore finished with no assists and turned the ball over twice.
“I’m confident that, especially these two kids, we’re going to have no problem with their playmaking, their scoring and their willingness to get better every day,” Fernández said.
Dëmin said after the game he was aware of his subpar play.
“I’m not very happy with how I ended up playing the game,’’ Dëmin said. “I started with two [made] buckets but then kind of just got slower from a standpoint of my intensity, and I’ve definitely got to bring the energy, higher energy.’’
And more production would help as well.
He finished with just four points and four rebounds in 27 minutes as a starter, and Traore had three points in 16 minutes off the bench, as the Nets hope his added muscle this season will lead to him finishing more at the basket.
“I think their intentions were great and can clean up a lot of different things, turnovers, setup, calling plays, all those things,’’ Fernández said. “But we’ll watch film with them, and we’ll make them better… One day you don’t make them, another day they go in, and you’ve just got to stay ready for the next game.”
A string of six straight games against teams expected to be Eastern Conference contenders begins Saturday in Cleveland, so the learning curve will be steep, and if the Nets’ young players don’t respond, it could be another long season in Brooklyn.
— Additional reporting by Brian Lewis
Miguel Rojas isn’t done with baseball.
The veteran infielder announced his retirement from Major League Baseball after the Dodgers were swept in the National League Championship Series by the Brewers. But Rojas will represent his home country one last time to play in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League for the Tiburones de La Guaira club.
The Dodgers World Series hero will participate in special games for the team on Nov. 14 and 15 at LoanDepot Park in Miami.
Turns out Game 4 of the NLCS won’t be Rojas’ final game of his career.
“One last time on the field. One last time representing Venezuela,” Rojas said in an Instagram caption.
Rojas previously expressed disappointment with the World Baseball Classic after he was not able to participate in the spring tournament due to issues obtaining insurance on his MLB contract. The 37-year-old has never participated in a WBC and the 2026 tournament was his last chance before he retired.
“I didn’t know that my chance to go represent my country for the first and only time, probably as a player, was gonna get blocked because of an insurance problem,” Rojas said. “Even though we know we have to be ready for the season and we have to play and be healthy for our contract, at the end of the day, we didn’t know all those restrictions were gonna be in place the way they are right now.”
Rojas wasn’t able to represent Venezuela in the WBC, but he will play one last time for his home country next month.
Talk about the game with Pens fans here!
On the newest Rays Your Voice, I break down the Rays’ pennant-clinching game 6 win over the Guardians, and what the atmosphere was like inside Tropicana Field.
About halfway through the episode, I am joined by Danny Russell to preview the World Series matchup against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Stay tuned for instant reaction podcasts after World Series games, which will be streamed live from our YouTube channel. All episodes are also available wherever you get your podcasts!
Luka Doncic didn’t want to get too carried away.
To imply, or even acknowledge, that any aspect of an NBA game against an opponent is effortless could be viewed as disrespectful.
Or just not a genuine reflection of reality.
But watching how the Lakers carved up the Warriors’ helpless defense en route to a 127-105 season-opening victory on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena, it was hard not to think about how easy the offense came.
It wasn’t just reflected in the team’s scoring total.
Or the ultra-efficient shooting percentage (56.8%).
Or the fact the team’s “Big 3” of Doncic (28 points), Walker Kessler (26) and Austin Reaves (23) all scored at least 20 points.
It was reflected in the ease in which the Lakers created high-quality scoring opportunities.
“Even if it looks easy, it’s not easy, for sure,” Doncic said. “But that’s just the first game. Our ceiling is even higher.”
The final sentence from Doncic should be a scary thought for the rest of the league.
One of the guiding lights when the Lakers reconstrutred their roster around Doncic, Reaves and Kessler during the offseason was providing coach JJ Redick with a plethora of players who could dribble, pass and shoot.
Players who would not only capitalize on the advantages created by Doncic and Reaves, but also maintain or create new ones within the same possession.
That was on full display against the Warriors, who allowed the Lakers to score over half (66) of their points inside of the paint.
Factor in the Lakers’ free throw shooting (24 of 27), and it was evident that the Warriors couldn’t slow down the blender that was the Lakers’ offense.
It’s how the Lakers shot 61.7% from the field in the first three quarters before garbage time.
The Lakers, who went 11 of 28 on 3-pointers, want to be a higher-volume 3-point shooting team compared to the previous two seasons under Redick.
But they didn’t need to be on Wednesday night because of the quality of looks they created inside of the arc.
“Oh man, it’s beautiful,” Ziaire Williams said. “Sometimes just sitting in the corner, just watching ‘like damn, they just make it look so easy.’ It’s pretty impressive, man. Luka and AR, they’re great playmakers. Walk has a good feel around the rim. It’s a perfect setup, honestly. [There’ll] be a lot more of that to come.”
The list of caveats that can be applied to the season-opening win is almost as long as the number of shots the Lakers made against their in-state rival.
Yes, it was just the first game of the season, and previous years showed you can’t take too much away from a season-opener.
Yes, Kessler won’t have dominant offensive performances that have him listed alongside former Lakers great big men Wilt Chamberlain and Shaquille O’Neal on a nightly basis.
Yes, the Warriors were not only already a smaller team to begin with, but they were also short-handed.
Not every Lakers game will look like Wednesday night.
They can’t.
But the fact the Lakers found that groove as early and quickly as they did is an encouraging sign for what this version of the group can be.
And a reminder of why they shouldn’t be dismissed when it comes to the discussions about the best teams in the West.
Superstar guard Luka Dončić was busy during the Los Angeles Lakers’ opening night win over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night.
But the most viral moment of Dončić’s night came after the game ended, when he was interviewed by ESPN’s Malika Andrews.
These two were all smiles and joking together throughout the interview, and an edited clip of the interview has amassed over six million views on X since it was posted on Wednesday night.
Andrews appears to be proud of how the interview played out. On Thursday morning, she posted a clip of her conversation with Dončić to her Instagram story, where she asked him whether him saying, “This is the start of something new” was a reference to the iconic “High School Musical” song.
“A little bit, for sure,” Dončić, who is a known “High School Musical” fan, responded.
Andrews, who is married to fellow ESPN writer Dave McMenamin, is one of the league’s most respected journalists, and has already cultivated a solid relationship with the Lakers superstar.
Lakers fans are definitely feeling like this is a new era for their team with LeBron James no longer around.
And it got off to a great start for Dončić and his teammates on Wednesday.
California Post News: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube, WhatsApp, LinkedIn
California Post SportsFacebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X
California Post Opinion
California Post Newsletters: Sign up here!
California Post App: Download here!
Home delivery: Sign up here!Page Six Hollywood: Sign up here!
It didn’t take Golden State Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg long to become polarizing.
The 24-year-old got into a trash talking match with Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Dončić during last night’s game, which caused the rookie to lose “all respect” for Dončić.
Many people gained respect for Lendeborg for his willingness to verbally spar with one of the league’s best players in his first NBA game.
Among these is Stephen A. Smith, who backed Lendeborg’s actions during Thursday’s “First Take” episode.
“I don’t agree with what Lendeborg said, because Luka Dončić does not suck. I mean, he’s a superstar in this game. So, in that regard, no, I don’t agree with him. But I do agree with him going after Luka the way that he did, competing the way that he competed,” Smith said.
California Post News: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube, WhatsApp, LinkedIn
California Post SportsFacebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X
California Post Opinion
California Post Newsletters: Sign up here!
California Post App: Download here!
Home delivery: Sign up here!Page Six Hollywood: Sign up here!
Smith then praised praised Lendeborg as a player before adding, “Here’s why I’m supportive in what Yaxel is saying: He’s saying, ‘If you’re so great, stop whining to the officials. Just go out there, and if you’re gonna bust my a**, bust my a**. But stop whining to the officials looking to them for help.’
“I was really, really ticked off when that referee gave Yaxel Lendeborg that technical foul in the second quarter… I’m calling out the NBA. NBA gotta stop that nonsense! Let them talk!” he continued.
It sounds like Lendeborg earned Smith’s respect.
Regardless of where fans side on this, the next time Golden State and Los Angeles square off (which is on October 30) just became must-see TV.
MILWAUKEE — The Miz will try to whiz his famous fastball by batters on baseball’s biggest stage, opening a new-look World Series between teams guaranteed to produce a first-time champion.
Jacob Misiorowski brings his record-setting heat to the mound for the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday night when he throws the first pitch of the best-of-seven championship against the Tampa Bay Rays, a matchup of modest-money marvels who bumped off glamorous rivals with a throwback base-to-base style.
“Forrest Gump, everyone,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said Thursday, introducing his ace to the assembled media.
“I’m still fresh to this and have no idea what the hell is going on,” Misiorowski said a few minutes later.
Few predicted this pairing of pennant winners when the season opened March 25. The first World Series with robot umpires is the first since 1980 between teams seeking their first championship and also could be the first with a 104 mph pitch — thanks to Misiorowski — and the first to be played totally indoors.
“I’m excited to see two great teams that play the game a little differently than maybe it’s been played the last decade or so,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said.
Milwaukee is in the Series for the second time after a 44-year absence — an appropriate number given that it was the jersey of the Cream City’s most famous baseball player, Hank Aaron, who became a star with the Milwaukee Braves in the 1950s and ended his career with the expansion Brewers in the 1970s.
Both teams fell short in previous Series trips, the Brewers losing to St. Louis in 1982 and the Rays to Philadelphia in 2008 and to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020. Not since the Phillies beat Kansas City in 1980 have two teams met seeking their first title. The time before that was in 1920.
Misiorowski is likely to set a World Series velocity record
Misiorowski, a 24-year-old right-hander in his first full major league season, is a starting pitcher like no other. He threw 1,115 pitches of 100 mph or higher this year — shattering the old high of 673 since tracking began in 2008, by Jordan Hicks in 2018.
His fastest pitch was 105.5 mph to the Chicago Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong on June 27, and he appears likely to break the 101.1 mph record for a Series starter by the New York Mets’ Noah Syndergaard in 2015 and possibly the overall Series high of 103.2 mph by Cubs reliever Aroldis Chapman to Cleveland’s Coco Crisp in Game 2 of 2016.
Misiorowski didn’t finish the fifth inning in either of his first two postseason starts this year. Batters have swung at 94 of his 182 postseason pitches and fouled off 51 — 28% of pitches and 54% of swings.
“He hasn’t been as crisp,” Murphy said. “They’re obviously looking at an area. They’re trying to exploit everything. He’s exposed, like all these guys get at some point.”
The Brewers and Rays have throwback offenses
In an age where power bats usually rule, Milwaukee scored a major league-low 32.1% of its runs on homers and Tampa Bay was second-lowest at 34.4%, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
“It’s cool that you don’t have to be that team to hit 170 home runs a game or whatever,” Misiorowski said. “You can win a baseball game so many different ways.”
Rays batters had the fewest strikeouts among the 30 teams and Tampa Bay’s 45 sacrifice bunts were the most among American League teams since 2015.
“I was a little discouraged for the last 10 or 15 years in the way the game had gone as far as relying on the home run, not worrying about strikeouts,” said Hall of Famer Robin Yount, a star of the ’82 Brewers. “The game today looks like they’re starting to really focus on playing baseball again.”
After back-to-back Dodgers titles, MLB will have a small-payroll champion
This marks the first time since 1991 that both Series teams are in the bottom half of payrolls: the Brewers were 19th as of Aug. 31 and the Rays 25th. Milwaukee, MLB’s smallest market, could become the first small-market champion since Kansas City in 2015. The Rays rank 15th in market size.
To reach the Series, the Brewers swept the deep-pocketed, two-time champion Dodgers in the NL Championship Series and the Rays swept the New York Yankees in an AL Division Series.
The highest-paid player in the Series, Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich, was 44th overall in the majors on opening day. Yandy Díaz, who earns most among the Rays, ranked 154th.
Robot umps are changing games
Batters have succeeded on 63% of challenges during the postseason in the first year of the Automated Ball-Strike System, winning 40 of 63 appeals to the robot umps. That is up from 49% during the regular season.
Catchers’ 58% success rate in the playoffs (58 of 99) is down a tick from 59% during the regular season and pitchers are 1 for 1 — Tampa Bay’s Griffin Jax made the only challenge. The 60% overall rate is up from 54% in the regular season.
Tampa Bay’s batters have yet to make a postseason challenge. Milwaukee’s have won 4 of 7, including a perfect 2 for 2 by Jake Bauers.
Brewers catcher William Contreras has won 60% (12 of 20) and Rays catcher Liam Hicks 67% (8 of 12).
Rest vs rust: Extra time off hasn’t been helpful in recent years
Milwaukee will have had seven days off going into the opener.
While teams with less rest are 15-15 in the Series since Wild Card Era started in 1995, they are 12-4 since 2009.
Both teams are happy at home
Milwaukee and Tampa Bay tied for the best home record this year at 55-26.
Forced from Tropicana Field for 2025 after damage from Hurricane Milton, the Rays played across the bay at the Yankees’ spring training stadium in St. Petersburg, Florida, and then returned to the refurbished Trop for 2026.
Observations after Sixers erase 29-point deficit, earn incredible comeback win in home opener originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Safe to say the Sixers have had less memorable home openers.
With new stars LeBron James and Jaylen Brown in town and the fans expecting something special, the Sixers fell into a giant hole Thursday night at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
They then hauled themselves out of it and delivered, earning a stunning comeback win over the Cavaliers by a 114-106 score.
Tyrese Maxey had 32 points and six assists.
Joel Embiid added 24 points. Brown posted 21, James 17.
Donovan Mitchell scored 32 points for Cleveland.
The sidelined Sixers were Dean Wade (left ankle sprain), Dominick Barlow (lower back stress reaction), Anfernee Simons (right Achilles tendon tear) and Tacko Fall (left quadriceps strain).
The 2-0 Sixers will play a home back-to-back over the weekend, facing the Bucks on Saturday and the Pistons on Sunday. Here are observations on their incredible victory over the Cavs:
The home fans brought high volume from the opening tip-off. They booed every James Harden touch and cheered all things involving the Sixers’ new No. 23.
James scored the Sixers’ first points of the evening with a catch-and-shoot three-pointer. He had another highlight when he dished to VJ Edgecombe for a backdoor layup.
The Sixers’ start was otherwise full of negative plays. They paid on several occasions for trying to force passes into tight or non-existent windows. The team committed six turnovers in the first six minutes and James had half of them.
Missed jumpers were also responsible for many of the Sixers’ empty possessions. As was the case Tuesday in their opening-night win over the Knicks, they struggled early from long range, starting 2 for 13 beyond the arc.
The Sixers’ complete lack of free points did not help their cause. Remarkably, a team with so much physical power and talent attempted zero free throws until the 6:43 mark of the second quarter. The Sixers’ self-inflicted miscues were frequent and they could hardly find anything easy or positive.
Mitchell drilled a buzzer-beating three to give Cleveland a 35-18 lead after 12 minutes.
The Sixers hit double-digit turnovers by the first minute of the second quarter. The Cavs scored the game’s first 17 points off of turnovers and the Sixers’ deficit climbed as high as 29 points in the second.
The Sixers maintained the same nine-man rotation, using Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Anfernee Simons, Adem Bona and Jabari Walker off the bench. Everyone was ineffective in the first half. Bona’s first stint included a giveaway when Mario Hezonja ripped the ball away on an attempted dribble handoff, leading to a fast-break slam. The Sixers were outscored by 10 points in Bona’s 14 minutes.
In the first half, both the Sixers’ starters and bench defended at a far worse level than they had in New York.
The Cavs didn’t face great resistance on the ball and the Sixers’ rotations were often a step slow. Cleveland’s stars enjoyed tons of comfortable shots. Mitchell poured in 22 points over the first two quarters on 7-for-9 shooting.
The Sixers flipped a switch in dramatic, crowd-thrilling fashion.
They made a 16-0 run that began late in the second quarter and ended early in the third. Edgecombe, James and Embiid all converted layups. The Sixers were not in a settling mood on offense and much more forceful on both ends of the floor.
Their defense was focused and aggressive. All of a sudden, it was the Cavs committing a flood of costly turnovers.
Brown got a fast-break layup following an Edgecombe steal. Maxey knifed through Cleveland’s defense for another lay-in and nailed a three-ball that prompted the free-falling Cavs to call timeout. Outside of any schematic complexities, the Sixers appeared extremely difficult to stop whenever they attacked in transition.
The Sixers cut their deficit down to 84-82 on a Maxey layup. Simons and Maxey missed go-ahead three-point tries soon after.
Finally, the Cavs regained a bit of stability. Hezonja’s turnaround jumper on Cleveland’s final possession of the third quarter put his team up 90-82.
The Sixers were relentless, though. They eventually broke all the way through, grabbing a 96-95 lead when Embiid canned a mid-range jumper.
The Cavs’ downward tumble continued. Brown went at Sam Merrill and feasted in isolation, scoring three straight buckets to push the Sixers’ advantage to 102-95.
There were no more twists in the tale.
In the big picture, the Sixers will aim to be a consistent team with reliable core elements by the time the playoffs roll around. In the present, it’s evident the Sixers’ top gear is tremendous and they’re not a team you should count out of games when all the stars are available.
The Stephen Vogt as next Mariners manager rumors can officially be put to bed. Vogt told Cleveland media at today’s Guardians end-of-season media availability that he is coming back to Cleveland.
Here’s Vogt speaking directly on it:
Vogt’s name has been connected by some to the Mariners managerial search since the position became vacant, despite him being under contract with the Guardians, meaning the two teams would have to pull off a trade in order to get Vogt to Seattle – an extremely rare occurrence, and one that would require the Guardians to willingly part with a manager who has overseen three straight playoff appearances in the three years he’s been with the club. The flames of this fantasy were stoked by geography – Vogt’s family is based in the Olympia area, and the former catcher got his pro coaching start with the Mariners in 2023.
Those flames blew into their biggest fire yet when Anthony Castrovince, a long-tenured MLB.com reporter and generally one of the Voices We Trust around here, went on Cleveland sports radio and said that in his “personal observation” it “kills” Vogt to be away from his family:
Now, Castrovince wasn’t exactly speaking as a journalist here, but more as an opinion-giver on what he’s perceived over Vogt’s tenure, but there’s a reason there’s no “personal observation” class taught in J-school. This soundbite obviously got picked up and bandied about as proof that Vogt might be on the move back to Seattle, logic and facts be darned. It’s a good reminder that smoke doesn’t necessarily mean fire in this process, and the best voices to listen to are the local, deeply informed ones – such as Ryan Divish in The Seattle Times, who called the Vogt idea a “nonstarter” weeks ago.
It’s also a reminder that the Mariners front office – and specifically Jerry Dipoto – despise internal leaks: recall the brouhaha around who broke the news about Scott Servais’s firing in 2024. There’s a very good chance the list of managerial candidates that circulates publicly vs. the internal list has one or two or zero overlapping names. A more constructive path is to think of what qualities the Mariners might prize most highly in a managerial candidate, and then seek to identify people who fit those qualifications. Teaser: tomorrow we’ll be publishing a wishlist of what the LL staff considers non-negotiables for a future manager that you can refer to in building your own list.
Sign up for a user account and get:
Sunderland drop points in 1-1 draw but stay unbeaten
VAR rules out Juventus winner in draw with Rennes
Celtic suffered more Europa League pain as Spanish side Celta Vigo came from behind to win 2-1 at Parkhead. After defeats by Ferencvaros and Benfica in their first two league phase fixtures, Martin O’Neill’s side struggled to impose themselves on the visitors who were neat and tidy without really testing Hoops keeper Sam Johnstone.
Germany midfielder Mika Baur fired the home side in front just over a minute into the second half to thrill the Celtic fans but Spain defender Javi Rodríguez scored twice in three minutes – a header then an unstoppable drive – to stun the home side who could not find a way back.
Continue reading...The Buffalo Sabres puzzlingly made no moves of consequence to replace the offensive firepower lost when winger Alex Tuch and defenseman Bowen Byram departed last summer. Tuch scored more than 30 goals in three of Buffalo's last four seasons and 33 last season. Byram scored a career-high 11 goals, third in defensive scoring behind Rasmus Dahlin and Mattias Samuelsson.
GM Jarmo Kekalainen opted to rely almost exclusively on internal growth from the club’s young forward group to make up the offensive gap, but through 10 games, the Sabres who finished 5th in the NHL with 288 goals last season (3.51 goals per game), are 20th in the NHL with 28 goals (2.8 goals per game). The club has trailed by two or more goals in nine of their 10 games, and still have a record of 4-4-2.
Playoff standout Zach Benson, who scored 13 goals in the regular season, is without a goal, while forwards Josh Doan (25 goals), Ryan McLeod (14 goals), Peyton Krebs (12 goals), Jiri Kulich, and Konsta Helenius have one. The Sabres welcomed back veteran winger Jason Zucker, who scored 24 goals last season, and he scored their only goal in a 3-1 loss to Philadelphia on Wednesday, but the lack of production is something that is beginning to concern head coach Lindy Ruff.
Other Sabres Stories
Mrtka Looking To Take The Next Step Towards The NHL
"We talked about missed nets, missed opportunities. I think we're 31st or 32nd in terms of missed nets. I thought we had some great looks in the first period. Some good looks in the second period too. I still think we miss the net too often," Ruff said. mentioned. " Our guys got frustrated.... and then we turned into trying to get a little bit too fancy when we hit the line. We had to get it below the line, win some battles. Those battles got to turn into opportunities.”
Other than Tage Thompson and Jack Quinn (each with five goals), Buffalo’s forwards have not been able to cash in on their chances. Kekalainen did not add a forward in a trade or via free agency over the summer to provide some secondary offense. A couple, Stanley Cup winner Vladimir Tarasenko and former 40-goal scorer Patrik Laine, are still on the market.
With Zucker back, the Sabres have to hope that their anemic power play will begin to produce, but more than that, they will need more than just Thompson and one or two others to begin hitting the back of the net.
Follow Michael on X, Instagram @MikeInBuffalo
The Warriors entered the NBA season shorthanded with both Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody sidelined for the first few months because of injuries. They were dealt another blow with Kristaps Porzingis’ indefinite absence because of a private health issue.
That has made things increasingly difficult for a Warriors team that’s trying to ensure that the 38-year-old Steph Curry can play meaningful basketball in the twilight of his career.
The Warriors have begun to explore trade options for Porzingis, according to ESPN. The Warriors released a statement saying they wouldn’t comment on the report, adding that they are “not anticipating Kristaps being around the team in the immediate future.”
Porzingis signed a two-year, $40 million extension with the Warriors in June, but only $3 million in the second season is guaranteed.
It’s a complicated and nuanced situation that has left the Warriors in a tough spot.
“It’s a hard one for all reasons, him personally first and foremost, but as a team knowing you have an idea of who you are coming into a season,” Curry said after the Warriors’ 127-105 loss to the Lakers in their season opener on Wednesday. “We always said availability was a big factor for our team with the guys we already had out.
“So it’s no secret that that spot is an important one for us, especially with his skillset, It’s hard to talk about him without keeping the humanity of it in mind. But it is a tough one to figure out for the now, for the future. Again, we had a good look at what we were supposed to be as a team. We have to overcome that, obviously, but we would love to have him here.”
Porzingis, a 7-foot-2 center, played in 15 games last season, averaging 16.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 blocked shots.
His absence has made it so that Draymond Green has to play center more than he anticipated, something that puts a heavy load on the 6-foot-6, 36-year-old who’s the defensive heartbeat of that team.
“Yeah definitely, but shit happens,” Green said when asked about the situation.
“You go out there and play,” Green added. “If a guy is injured, you don’t sit in the locker room, like. ‘Oh man, i want you —.’ You go play.”
That is exactly what the Warriors will do on Friday night in their home opener against the Grizzlies.
During Wednesday’s game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors, things grew chippy when Luka Dončić and Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg engaged in some verbal sparring as Dončić gave Lendeborg an early Welcome To The League moment.
Last season, Dončić and then-Brooklyn Nets wing Ziaire Williams got a little heated while Los Angeles hosted the Nets inside Crypto.com Arena. Now a teammate of Dončić’s, Williams is much happier to watch the Slovenian superstar conduct trash talk with both of them wearing the same colors.
“Oh man, it’s cool. It’s a lot better when you’re on his side than the other side for sure,” Williams told reporters following the 127-105 win over Golden State. “The rookie, he was talking a lot of smack too, so I mean shout out to him for not backing down. Luka definitely had the better day, but I mean, at least he didn’t back away from the challenge so shout out to him. But I mean, Luka, in my opinion, is the best player in the world and it’s going to be like that on a daily basis with him.”
A Lancaster, California native, Williams earned a starting nod in his Lakers debut Wednesday. He tallied nine points on 4-of-7 shooting (1-of-2 beyond the arc), four assists (two turnovers), three rebounds and one steal. Los Angeles outscored the Warriors by 12 points during his 24 minutes.
Dončić has built a pretty lengthy history of trash-talk foes throughout his eight-year career and like Williams before him, Lendeborg is just another on the ledger. Unlike Williams, though, I don’t think he’ll be joining forces with Dončić in the near future. And these teams will face each other three more times during the regular season, so it’ll be interesting to see whether this story adds another chapter or if Wednesday’s theatrics will be its entirety.
Among the comfortable victory, his own performance and getting to witness Dončić dish out smack talk rather than be on the receiving end of it, Wednesday night was a nice one for Williams. He’ll hope to replicate the winning ways and positive outing Friday when the Los Angeles Clippers come to town (from Inglewood).
You can follow Jackson on Twitter at @jackfrank_jjf.