Category: Basketball

Darius Bazley skips G League to take Internship with New Balance

Brandon King

2018 McDonald’s All-American Darius Bazley initially had a scholarship at Syracuse until I March he decided to forego that to play a season in the G-League ( can we go back to calling it the D-League?). That too is no longer happening. Bazley signed with agent Rich Paul and Klutch Sports in May and is going to also forego hooping in that league to serve as a New Balance. As reported by the New York Times’ Marc Stein: This week, Paul revealed he has arranged for Bazley to spend the heart of…

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What I saw Lakers v Rockets: Trouble on the horizon in Lakerland??

Brandon King

Saturday night marked the Staples Center unveiling of this highly publicized and scrutinized version of the Los Angeles Lakers, starring LeBron James. It was an entertaining game but it will be most remembered for this little incident: https://youtu.be/8iA94g0A7lE   Now the fisticuffs themselves do not bother me; the typical NBA altercation these days is usually just some vociferous smack talk and maybe pushing and shoving (especially if there are people around to hold them back before anything could really happen). The main protagonists Rajon Rondo and Chris Paul, decided to…

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What I saw in the Lakers/Blazers game

Brandon King

The Lebron James era in Lakerland was officially rolled out in games that count last night against Portland. Though the Lakers came up short, losing 128-119, I saw a lot of positives ,and a few negatives ,out of this iteration of Los Angeles. The caveat to this analysis is that this is just after one game so the right activities can be stopped and the wrong ones can be perpetuated. Overall Effort and Intensity Though Luke Walton’s Lakers clubs have not been successful in terms of wins and losses, one…

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SST NBA Power rankings

Brandon King

10. Portland Trailblazers 2017-18 record:  49-33 2017-18  Season outcome: L 4-0 to Pelicans in 1st round of playoffs Key Losses: Ed Davis, Shabazz Napier, Pat Connaughton Key Acquisitions: Seth Curry, Nik Stauskas, Gary Trent Jr, Anfernee Simons Things broke exactly right for the Portland Trailblazers to ascend to the 3rd spot in the Western Conference last season.  Teams like the Jazz, Nuggets and Timberwolves left a path for Portland to step into a higher position than was expected. It also helped that the Blazers remained relatively healthy, as only the Oklahoma…

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Spurs’ starting point guard Derrick White tears plantar fascia

Brandon King

The injury bug is kicking the San Antonio Spurs, at least the point guards, right in the tushy. Sunday, starting lead guard Dejounte Murray was lost for the season with a torn ACL and now recently named starting point guard Derrick White has also went down with an injury. According to Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Expree-News, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich initially indicated Friday that White would be out six to eight weeks with a heel injury. However the team announced later than an MRI revealed a tearing of…

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Legendary coach Tex Winter does at 96

Brandon King

Tex Winter, the architect of the triangle offense that helped power three-peats in Chicago and Los Angeles, died Wednesday at the age of 96. Coach Winter learned the complex system from its inventor Sam Barry while he played for the Hall of Fame coach at USC. Winter gained prominence as an assistant coach under Phil Jackson being with Jackson for nine NBA titles.  Winter also spent 30 years as a head coach in the collegiate level, most notably as the head man at Kansas State. While he was at the…

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Jimmy Butler calls players only meeting

Brandon King

After yesterday’s explosive Timberwolves practice, I wondered what would be the next attraction added to what is becoming a three ring circus. It looks like an explanatory meeting is the latest saga of All My Timberwolves. According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, Jimmy Butler initiated a players-only meeting. Butler made his issues with management known with the team and that he “would compete with them”. However, his primary message was that he’d be the one to lead the club. Sources on @TheAthleticNBA @WatchStadium: Several players spoke up in players-only meeting,…

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Jimmy Butler shows up and shows out at Timberwolves practice

Brandon King

If nothing else, the protracted Jimmy Butler-Minnesota Timberwolves divorce has been a boon for team content. The smoke, the back and forth on social media has been tragically entertaining to watch what was potentially a team on the rise become a toxic dumpster fire. As a trade had not been reached as the season loomed, Jimmy Butler would be expected to report to the team and when he did, high-grade accelerant would be added to that fire. That fire was fueled Wednesday. Butler showed up unexpectedly to Timberwolves’ practice (he…

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Joel Embiid signs multi-year sneaker deal with Under Armour

Brandon King

Philadelphia 76ers superstar Joel Embiid ended his sneaker free agency and made his signing with Under Armour official today. He’d previously been signed to Adidas and his deal ended with them September 30. Embiid stated that his reason for signing with the Baltimore-based brand was “bigger than basketball.” Embiid expounded on that sentiment in his first comments as an Under Armour athlete: “Basketball has given me everything, but it has to be bigger than basketball. That was the first thing that I said to Under Armour, and they were behind…

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