Category: NBA

Richard Jefferson absolutely burned the Knicks with a story about his retirement

“I decided to retire instead of playing for the Knicks.”

Richard Jefferson played 17 seasons in the NBA and called it a career back in 2018. But it turned out that the 39-year-old did have the option to extend his NBA career. According to him, it just would have meant that he’d have to play for the Knicks.

Any guesses how that turned out?

Jefferson joined the crew for the YES Network broadcast of Nets-Knicks on Sunday, and he straight-up said that he refused to play for the Knicks.

According to Jefferson, the Knicks were the only team to come calling after his 20-game stint in Denver. Faced with the dreaded reality of playing basketball for the New York Knicks or retire, Jefferson said that he knew his playing days were over. He opted to retire instead.

Jefferson said:

“I refused to play for the Knicks. Jason Kidd and Kenyon Martin — they don’t really care. Me — I was the one person that said, ‘Knicks? No. I’ll retire.’ That’s why I retired. They were the one team that offered me a job, and I decided to retire. It’s true. I decided to retire instead of playing for the Knicks. … I just knew it was time. When the Knicks were looking for me to play for them, I knew my time in this league was over.”

Ouch, Richard. After all, Jefferson does know how to kick the Knicks when they’re down.

As awesome as that story is — and trust me, it is great — it shows where the Knicks stand with NBA players today. They went into last offseason hoping to sign Kevin Durant, and they couldn’t even sign an admittedly washed Richard Jefferson. He quite literally wouldn’t take Jim Dolan’s money to be a Knick.

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New Orleans Pelicans at Los Angeles Clippers odds, picks and best bets

Previewing Sunday’s New Orleans Pelicans at Los Angeles Clippers sports betting odds and lines, with NBA betting picks, tips and best bets.

The New Orleans Pelicans (6-10) visit the Los Angeles Clippers (11-5) Sunday at Staples Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET. We analyze the Pelicans-Clippers odds and lines, with NBA betting advice and tips around the matchup.

Place a legal sports bet on this NBA action or other games at BetMGM.

Pelicans at Clippers: Key injuries

Pelicans

  • PF Derrick Favors (back) out
  • SF Josh Hart (ankle, knee) questionable
  • C Jahlil Okafor (ankle) questionable
  • PF Zion Williamson (knee) out

Clippers

  • SG Landry Shamet (ankle) out

Pelicans at Clippers: Odds, lines, picks and betting tips

NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated 2:45 p.m. ET.

Prediction

Clippers 130, Pelicans 108

Moneyline (ML)

The Pelicans (+625) were without all of the above players Saturday against the Utah Jazz and it resulted in a 128-120 loss. The Clippers (-1000) last played Friday when their 122-119 home win over the Houston Rockets extended their streak to four straight victories.

The Clippers are 10-1 on their home court while the Pelicans are 2-6 on the road. L.A. outscores the opposition by an average of 113.0-107.2. New Orleans is outscored by an average of 3.2 points per game (119.6-116.4). The home side wins this handily but it’s far too chalky with a $10 bet returning a profit of just $1.

Against the Spread (ATS)

The Clippers enter the day at 8-8 overall ATS but 7-4 at home. The Pelicans are also 8-8 overall but 3-5 on the road. Los Angeles covers the spread by an average of 1.8 points per game while New Orleans falls an average of 0.3 points per game short of the projections.

Los Angeles has won by 12 or more three times this season, including a 150-101 thrashing of Atlanta last Saturday. Two of New Orleans’ last four losses were by margins of at least 12 points. Back the CLIPPERS (-13.5, -106) with the points against a tired and injury-riddled road opponent.

Over/Under (O/U)

Take the OVER 230.5 (-129). The Pelicans gave up at least 120 points in each of their last two road games and the defense will be even weaker on the second half of the back-to-back. The Clippers average 113 points per game, and they dropped 122 Friday night.

New Orleans is 9-7 against the projected totals and covers the number by an average of 4.3 points per game. Los Angeles falls an average of 4.9 points below the projections but it will be able to handle the bulk of the scoring against the Pelicans’ defense.

Want some action in this one? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Esten’s NBA betting record: 40-41

Follow @EstenMcLaren and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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Brooklyn Nets at New York Knicks odds, picks and best bets

Previewing Sunday’s Brooklyn Nets at New York Knicks sports betting odds, with NHL betting picks, tips and best bets.

The Brooklyn Nets (7-8) visit the New York Knicks (4-12) Sunday at Madison Square Garden. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET. We analyze the Nets-Knicks odds and lines, with NBA betting advice and tips around the matchup.

Place a legal sports bet on this NBA action or other games at BetMGM.

Nets at Knicks: Key injuries

Nets

  • PG Kyrie Irving (shoulder) out
  • SG Caris LeVert (thumb) out
  • PF Wilson Chandler (suspended) out

Knicks

  • PG Kadeem Allen (knee) out
  • PG Elfrid Payton (hamstring) out
  • SG Reggie Bullock (neck) out

Nets at Knicks: Odds, lines, picks and betting tips

NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET.

Prediction

Nets 107, Knicks 96

Moneyline (ML)

The NETS (-139) have enough firepower to easily get past the rival Knicks, even without Irving. The Knicks won’t have much of a home-court advantage and they enter Sunday off of a 111-104 loss to the San Antonio Spurs Saturday at MSG. The Nets haven’t played since winning 116-97 over the Sacramento Kings on Friday.

Brooklyn is 2-5 on the road while New York is 3-5 at home. The Nets won 113-109 in the first meeting between the two this season in Brooklyn. Irving led the way with 26 points and five assists, but four other players scored in double figures for the Nets.

New to sports betting? A $10 bet on Brooklyn to win outright fetches a profit of $7.20.

Against the Spread (ATS)

Get slightly better value with the NETS (-1.5, -121) on the spread. They’ll need to win by just two or more points, as they did in late October and in all seven of their victories on the season.

Brooklyn is 7-8 overall ATS and 3-4 ATS on the road. New York is 8-8 overall but just 3-5 at MSG. Only one of the Knicks’ losses this season was by a single point.

Over/Under (O/U)

Take the UNDER 213.5 (-106) as this game is missing the best player for either side in Irving. The Knicks are second-to-last in the league with an Over percentage of just 31.2. They’ve gone 5-11 against the projected totals and fall an average of 3.4 points shy of the number.

The Nets are 7-8 against the O/U but top the projection by 2.4 points on average. Brooklyn will pull away in the fourth quarter against the tired Knicks, but the separation will hinder the point total.

Want some action in this one? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Esten’s NBA betting record: 40-41

Follow @EstenMcLaren and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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Zach LaVine’s insane 3-pointer (his 13th!) ends frantic Bulls comeback

This comes after the Bulls coach benched and openly criticized Zach LaVine.

Zach LaVine faced tremendous scrutiny heading into the Chicago Bulls’ matchup against the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday night. Bulls coach Jim Boylen benched LaVine on Friday for making “egregious” defensive errors on Friday. LaVine’s performance on Saturday changed the conversation.

He scored a franchise-record 13 3-pointers, with the 13th coming at the buzzer for the win. The Hornets needed to in bound the ball with seven seconds left. That’s when Bulls guard Ryan Arcidiacono knocked the ball free from Hornets guard Devonte’ Graham under the hoop, and LaVine grabbed it off the court. He then frantically ran to the 3-point line to set up a fading shot. The Bulls won, 126-125. LaVine could  have scored a field goal to tie it — but he boldly took a challenging shot to take the lead.

LaVine had 49 points on the night while shooting 17 of 28 from the field and 13 of 17 from the 3-point line. That final 3-point play left the folks in Charlotte in a bad place. Their record falls to 6-11.

Here’s the call from the Hornets’ broadcast.

It was an impressive and desperate finish for LaVine and the Bulls, who have the same record as Charlotte at 6-11. Maybe Boylen should show LaVine some tough love more often.

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Jimmy Butler met with boos in return to Philly after leaving 76ers

Butler is the enemy now.

Jimmy Butler left the 76ers this summer after being traded there last season and playing 55 games with the team.

In his time there, he hit three game winning shots, was their second leading scorer in the postseason averaging 19.4 points per game and was their lead ball handler when things got tight in the fourth quarter down the stretch.

All that still gets you booed in Philadelphia.

Butler returned to the Wells Fargo Center with the Miami Heat for a matchup against the Sixers tonight and, when he was introduced as part of the Heat’s starting lineup, the crowd booed him to no end.

Butler’s time in Philadelphia was mostly positive after a bit of a rough start and they were just one game away from the Conference Finals and could’ve made it had the ball bounced the wrong way on Kawhi Leonard’s last jumper that sealed the deal against them.

Butler’s decision looks just fine right now. The Heat are sitting at 11-3 in the Eastern Conference and are just a half game back on the MIlwaukee Bucks for first place. On the other hand, the Sixers are sitting at 5th in the conference with a 10-5 record and are 1.5 games back on Butler’s Heat.

Maybe that gives them even more reason to boo despite the great run Butler had in Philly. What the Sixers had going with Butler was great while it lasted, but that doesn’t matter to Sixers fans.

You’re either with them or you’re against them. As wild as that sounds, you’ve got to respect it.

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Patrick Beverley becomes first player to get fined for flopping since 2016

Of course it’s Patrick Beverley that breaks the streak.

The NBA had a flopping problem earlier this decade that it tried to solve by fining players $5,000 for each time they flopped after receiving an initial warning.

It didn’t really work. Players kept flopping and still flop to this day. It’s part of the game now and, after a certain point, the league just flat out stopped issuing the fine.

The last player have a fine publicly announced for flopping was Marcus Smart on April 21, 2016 for acting doing his best Jazzy Jeff impression after simply being boxed out by Kyle Korver.

Things were quiet on the flop fining scene until Saturday. Patrick Beverley just took things too far Friday night against James Harden and the Houston Rockets.

He was fined after he acted like James Harden performed an exorcism on him with a jab step.

The concept of fining a player for a flop is a bit much, but you can’t really blame the league for this one. That was ridiculous — even for Beverley’s standards.

This is the first time we’ve seen a flop fine in three years, but it might not be the last time we see it in this year. We’ve got a lot more national television Patrick Beverley left to go this season.

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How to Watch Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA Live Stream, Schedule, TV Channel, Start Time

Watch Minnesota Timberwolves Live This Season

After a disappointing 2018-19 season, the Minnesota Timberwolves are poised to make a run at a playoff spot in the Western Conference, which is more wide open than in years past. On the back of one of the most exciting young tandems in the entire league, the hopes and expectations in the Twin Cities are rapidly rising. 

Watch the Minnesota Timberwolves 2019-20 Season

Next game: vs. Phoenix Suns, Nov. 23, 5:00 p.m. ET 

Local TV affiliate for the season: FOX Sports North

Streaming option for the season: fuboTV (watch for free)

Being a mid-market team in a league that functions on superstars teaming up is never easy. Free agents likely aren’t going to flock to your city. The solution? Draft well, trade well and build a solid foundation. That’s exactly what the Timberwolves have done through patience. It all starts with finding two young talents and developing them into emerging superstars. Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins were both drafted by Minnesota, both took some time to mature and now both are entering the primes of their careers and looking ready for breakout years. 

Towns and Wiggins are both averaging above 25 points per game, which is tops for their young careers. It’s clear to see that they are the driving force behind the Wolves’ success. With a strong supporting cast that features Jeff Teague and Robert Covington, Minnesota has a chance to not only make the playoffs but advance past the first round, something it hasn’t done since 2004. Rebuilding is never easy, but it certainly appears that Minnesota is on the right track. With some luck and good decisions, this could be the start of something special. 

Timberwolves November 2019 Schedule

All times ET

Sat. Nov. 23 vs. Phoenix Suns, 5:00 PM

Mon. Nov. 25 @ Atlanta Hawks, 7:30 PM

Wed. Nov. 27 @ San Antonio Spurs, 8:30 PM

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Miami Heat at Philadelphia 76ers odds, picks and best bets

Previewing Saturday’s Miami Heat at Philadelphia 76ers sports betting odds and lines, with NBA betting picks, tips and best bets.

The Philadelphia 76ers (10-5) host the Miami Heat (11-3) Saturday at Wells Fargo Center with tip-off scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET. We analyze the Heat-76ers odds and lines, with NBA betting advice and tips around the matchup.

Place a legal sports bet on this NBA action or other games at BetMGM.

Heat at 76ers: Key injuries

Heat

  • SG Dion Waiters (suspension) out
  • PG Justise Winslow (concussion) out
  • SF Derrick Jones Jr. (hip) out

76ers

  • SG Josh Richardson (hip) questionable
  • SG Furkan Korkmaz (ankle) out

Heat at 76ers: Odds, lines, picks and betting tips

NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated 1:45 p.m. ET.

Prediction

Heat 105, 76ers 102

Moneyline (ML)

Both teams played Friday with the Heat beating the Chicago Bulls 116-108 on the road and the 76ers topping the San Antonio Spurs 115-104 at home. Miami has won five straight and Philadelphia is riding a three-game streak. The Sixers are 6-0 at home and outscore their opponents 110.1-106.3 overall. The Heat are 5-3 on the road and outscore the opposition 112.4-104.0 on the season.

The 76ers (-223) have the home-court advantage but the value lies with the HEAT (+180). Miami has the better offense and defense and enters the day on the longer winning streak. Take the money.

New to sports betting? A $10 bet on the Heat to win outright returns a profit of $18 while the same wager on the 76ers would net $4.48.

Against the Spread (ATS)

The moneyline is much more appealing but the HEAT are still tempting enough on the spread of +4.5 (-106). Miami will need to either win outright or stay within four points in a loss for a $10 bet to return a profit of $9.43.

The Heat are 11-2-1 ATS overall and 5-2-1 on the road. The Sixers are 7-7-1 overall and just 3-3 at home. Miami covers by an average of seven points per game against Philly’s minus-0.8 margin. The Heat are 0-1-1 ATS on the second half of a back-to-back with the 76ers just 0-1, losing by 15 points to the Orlando Magic.

Over/Under (O/U)

Take the UNDER 212.5 (-115). Philly is 8-7 against the projected totals while topping the number by an average of just 0.3 points. Miami is 7-7 and falls an average of 2.5 points shy of the projection.

The two teams combine to average better than 222 points per game but their defenses allow just 210. The back-to-back situation for both sides will slow things down with starters likely to see fewer minutes.

Want some action in this one? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Esten’s NBA betting record: 39-39

Follow @EstenMcLaren and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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LeBron James wasn’t happy with a concert outside team hotel messing up his nap

LeBron James would like the Grizzlies to turn the music down.

The Los Angeles Lakers play the second game of a back-to-back on Saturday night, and the team had to travel roughly 420 miles from Oklahoma City to Memphis after eking out a close win on the road on Friday.

LeBron James logged 36 minutes against the Thunder and finished the game with 23 points, 14 assists and seven rebounds. Upon arriving in Memphis, he was not at all impressed with the early concert going on just outside the FedExForum, which messed up his pre-game nap.

There were no fans outside enjoying the concert either, so the blaring music only served to disturb the Lakers players. Next season, the Lakers may want to pick a hotel that’s a bit further away from the arena.

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