January 4, 2021 NBA Recap

Who Got it Done pt rb ast G. AntetokounmpoMIL vs. DET 43 9 4 Jayson TatumBOS @ TOR 40 6 2   5-8 3-pt Fred VanVleetTOR vs. BOS 35 8 3   6-9 3-pt Stephen CurryGSW vs. SAC 30 9 8 T. HardawayDAL @ HOU 30 7 2   8-10 3-pt Julius RandleNYK @ ATL 28 17 9 Luka DončićDAL @ HOU 33 16 11   Triple-double RJ BarrettNYK @ ATL 26 11 5   2 stl Malcolm BrogdonIND @ NOP 21 7 11   3 stl N. VučevićORL vs. CLE 23 8 2   2 stl…

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Kevin Durant out for Jazz game

From nba.com news services: Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant is out for Tuesday’s game against the Utah Jazz due to health and safety protocols, the team announced on Monday. Durant played 38 minutes in the Nets’ loss to the Washington Wizards on Sunday. He tallied 28 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. The Nets have not announced what caused Durant to be placed under the NBA’s health and safety protocols. The former Kia NBA MVP is averaging 28.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.8 assists over his first six games with Brooklyn.

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Daryl Morey fined $50k for violating anti-tampering rules

Philadelphia 76ers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey was fined $50,000 by the NBA for violation of the league’s anti-tampering rule. The fine stems from a now-deleted December 20 tweet in which Morey celebrated the one-year anniversary of James Harden breaking the Rockets’ all-time assist record. While on the surface the tweet, which Morey later said was sent out mistakenly via an automated application, may seem innocuous but steps into the realm of tampering due to the Harden trade demand/speculation has Philadelphia as a potential landing spot. This is not…

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Boston Celtics championship player and coach K.C. Jones transitions at 88

The rat bastard that is the year 2020 could not even take Christmas Day off to cease in the calamity it has wrought. It claimed another sports luminary, this time highly decorated Boston Celtics player and then coach, KC Jones. The Celtics released this statement surrounding this sad news: Where K.C. Jones went, winning was sure to follow. K.C. – his given name – was a twelve-time NBA champion as player and coach, a two-time NCAA champion, and a Gold medal-winning Olympian and Hall of Famer. In NBA history, only…

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NBA expands opening night rosters, retains coaches’ challenges

From the Associated Press: The NBA coach’s challenge is back, and here to stay. Following the recommendation from the league’s competition committee, the NBA’s board of governors voted Thursday to keep the challenge as an option for coaches going forward. It was introduced last year on a one-year trial. Coaches challenged 700 calls last season, including the playoffs. Calls were overturned 308 times, or a rate of 44%. Also approved by the board of governors Thursday: a plan to give teams the ability to expand their active roster on game…

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Rockets head coach Stephen Silas still not sure when James Harden will return to team

From Michael C. Wright at nba.com: Rockets coach Stephen Silas pointed out Monday his team has spent 80% of their practices focusing on defense, but 100% of that training camp time has elapsed without star guard James Harden, leading to a murky situation in Houston. Silas cited the NBA’s COVID-19 protocolsfor Harden’s absence Sunday from the team’s first training camp workout, but on Monday the coach expressed ambiguity regarding the star guard’s status. “He’s not here, and he has a reason,” Silas said. “But that’s on him to tell whoever what…

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NBA teams to get $30M each to help with liquidity

From espn: NBA teams will get $30 million each to help with finances and protect against any liquidity issues due to the pandemic, according to a report in the Sports Business Journal. The money comes from $900 million the league raised from notes issued by the NBA in the private placement market, SBJ reported. The publication said that market generally includes insurance companies and institutional investors. The notes are for three or four years, and will be paid back with interest from “general collective league sources,” SBJ reported, citing multiple sources…

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Trail Blazers shut down facilities amid positive COVID-19 tests

From the AP: The Portland Trail Blazers have closed their facility for deep cleaning after three positive COVID-19 tests came back in a span of four days. Sunday was to have been the first full day of training camp for the Blazers. They, along with all other NBA teams, began having players back in their facility for individual workouts last week. The team did not say if the positive tests involved players, staff or some combination of the two. Portland is scheduled to open its preseason slate at home Friday…

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Zion Williamson ready to begin sophomore season

From the AP’s Brett Martel: NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Zion Williamson expects to unleash a version of himself that is healthier, more demonstrative and less restrained in his second NBA season with the New Orleans Pelicans. “Year 1 was a lot mentally and physically for me, but I needed that experience,” Williamson said Wednesday as the Pelicans underwent preparations for training camp. “It showed me a lot and now I’m getting ready for Year 2. “There’s a lot of my game I wasn’t able to showcase last year, due to like,…

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