Category: NBA

The Lakers spoiled what could have been an epic rivalry game with the Celtics

The Celtics smashed the Lakers on Monday night, but due to extenuating circumstances it doesn’t feel like a rivalry … yet.

The Boston Celtics crushed the Los Angeles Lakers last night. Really smacked them. They won 139-107 and it honestly didn’t even feel that close.

Five Celtics finished in double digits, and the whole team shot the lights out, going 55 percent from the field and 47 percent from deep. Anthony Davis — playing on a minutes restriction after coming back from a tailbone injury — got in foul trouble early and wasn’t much of a factor, finishing with 9 points on 3-for-7 shooting. LeBron James finished with just 15 points on 5-for-12 shooting. It was ugly from the Lakers, and the Celtics were red hot, and the game was a blowout.

For what was seemingly such a statement game — a young Celtics group smacking the LeBron-led Lakers, Kemba Walker finally beating James after 28 consecutive losses to his teams — I have to say it didn’t feel like much of an event.

Perhaps that was due to the Lakers, and notably their two biggest stars, no-showing. They looked tired and disinterested, and so despite the Celtics’ excellent play, the game never rose to anything beyond routine. It didn’t feel like Lakers vs. Celtics. It felt like a midseason NBA game.

This is the big issue with the Lakers, and one we’ve written about before. When LeBron and AD show up and play well, they look just about unstoppable. When either is hurt, or has an off night, or both have an off night (which happened on Monday), they can look like a lottery team.

The Lakers looked like a lottery team on Monday night, so the game didn’t feel special. We had a big Jaylen Brown dunk on LeBron and, other than that? Not much.

Hopefully, we’ll get there. These two teams are forever linked due to Kobe and Garnett and Pierce and [gestures broadly to the entire 1980s] but it’s just not there yet with these two groups. James and Davis are focused on their own team right now, and figuring out who among the roster can help them when it comes to playoff time. The Lakers are playing lots of guys and seeing who can hang, and unfortunately, not a ton of them are passing this test at the moment. Kyle Kuzma is so in his own head I want to give him a hug.

The Celtics, on the other hand, are finding their stride. They played just eight guys last night for most of the game, a shortened, playoff-style lineup. They wanted to see how they could do against the best and went full bore.

The Lakers treated it like a sparring session, so it felt like a sparring session. It’s a bummer for casual fans, who wanted to see a heavyweight fight, another chapter of a classic rivalry. But there’s just not enough history between these players yet, and the Lakers and Celtics are at such different parts of their seasons, it didn’t come together. Hopefully, next time, it will.

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Los Angeles Clippers at Dallas Mavericks odds picks and best bets

Previewing Tuesday’s Los Angeles Clippers at Dallas Mavericks sports betting odds and lines, with NBA betting picks, tips and best bets.

The Los Angeles Clippers (30-13) face the Dallas Mavericks (27-15) Tuesday at American Airlines Center. Tip-off is set for 8:30 p.m. ET on NBATV.  We analyze the Clippers-Mavericks sports betting odds and lines, with NBA betting advice and tips around the matchup.

Clippers at Mavericks: Key Injuries

Clippers

  • SF Paul George (hamstring) out
  • PF Maurice Harkless (back) probable

Mavericks

  • PF Kristaps Porzingis (knee) questionable
  • SG Ryan Broekhoff (leg) out

Clippers at Mavericks: 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 at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Prediction

Clippers 115, Mavericks 112

Moneyline (ML)

Surprisingly enough, the Mavericks (-121) are moneyline favorites at home against the CLIPPERS (+100).  Dallas has been just an average home team this season, winning 13 of their 23 games at American Airlines Center. Meanwhile, the Clippers have won eight of their last 11 road games and are simply the better team. Given the better odds, I’m taking the Clippers to win this game outright.

New to sports betting? A $10 bet on the Clippers to win this game on the road returns a profit of $10.

Line/Against the Spread (ATS)

The Mavericks (-1.5, +105) are less than a basket favorite at home Tuesday night. With the point spread so low, there is no real advantage to betting this line as the moneyline pays out just as well. Since I like the Clippers (+1.5, -125) to win straight up, I’ll PASS on the spread in favor of the Los Angeles moneyline.

Over/Under (O/U)

The point total for this Western Conference matchup is set at 232.5 points and that feels slightly too high. While both teams have top-five offenses, both teams have better-than-average defenses as well. Expect this game to be high-scoring, but for the UNDER 232.5 (-106)  to hit in Dallas.

Want some action on this game? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips and advice, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Follow @Marcus_Mosher 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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Despite Damian Lillard’s second 60-point game, the Blazers are still a mess

Lillard is good … but Portland is not.

Damian Lillard continues to be his usual beastly self for the Portland Trail Blazers, especially after he scored 61 points (with 11-of-20 FROM THREE!!!) in an overtime win over the Golden State Warriors Monday night.

He made NBA history as the sixth player ever to have multiple 60-point games in his career, joining Wilt Chamberlain, Kobe Bryant, James Harden, Michael Jordan and Elgin Baylor … WOW.

But it’s also true that Lillard is on a mess of a Blazers team that probably isn’t getting 60 points out of him every night … and they might need that the rest of the way.

The Blazers are two games out of the eighth spot in the West, behind the Spurs and Grizzlies, but save for a recent pair of wins this month over the Raptors and Rockets, they’re losing to contenders (the Mavericks, Thunder and Bucks) or bad teams (the Knicks and Timberwolves). They nearly lost to the woeful Dubs without a banged-up C.J. McCollum. And they’ve got a stretch coming up against a ton of playoff teams or also-rans like those very same Spurs and a Pelicans team that’s getting Zion Williamson back.

They own the biggest payroll in the NBA (even though Lillard deserved the supermax on paper, supermax contracts are the worst), which could lead to some trades at the deadline to get under the luxury tax — the deal over the weekend to rid themselves of Kent Bazemore in exchange for Trevor Ariza will help.

But if they’re trying to make the playoffs, the front office has to make a choice. Do they think they can upset one of the elite West teams if they sneak in when Jusuf Nurkic comes back? I don’t think so. By then — the bruising forward could return in February — the Blazers could be in danger of completely missing the playoffs and whiffing on getting back assets for the expiring deal of Hassan Whiteside (over $27 million on his final year). The core of Lillard, Nurkic, McCollum, and Zach Collins — another key player who went down with injury earlier this year — could be good enough to make the playoffs next year.

The Blazers might need to punt on this season for financial reasons. It’s a waste of another year of Lillard’s incredible prime, but maybe it’s necessary to reload for next year when everyone’s healthy.

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The HoopsHype Daily: Derrick Rose belongs on a contender and could end up on one this season

ROSE ON THE MOVE? To this point, 2019-20 had brought a shockingly low amount of Derrick Rose trade scuttle, considering how well he’s performing for the Pistons, how poorly Detroit’s season has gone so far and how team-friendly his contract is. That …

ROSE ON THE MOVE? To this point, 2019-20 had brought a shockingly low amount of Derrick Rose trade scuttle, considering how well he’s performing for the Pistons, how poorly Detroit’s season has gone so far and how team-friendly his contract is. That changed on Monday with a report that a few of the league’s top contenders – the Lakers, Sixers and Clippers – had expressed interest in the former league MVP.

Averaging 18.3 points and 5.9 assists per game this season while shooting over 50 percent from the floor and, most importantly, staying relatively healthy, Rose makes the perfect trade candidate for playoff-caliber teams who feel they need additional scoring and playmaking off their respective benches. Rose’s contract situation, which has him earning $7.3 million this season and $7.7 million next season before hitting free agency in 2021, also makes the 31-year-old extremely appealing on the trade market.

As far as potential deals the two main rumored teams, L.A. and Philadelphia, can put together, the former could offer a package centered around their 2020 first-round pick plus Quinn Cook and DeMarcus Cousins as filler, while the latter can package a future protected first-round pick plus Trey Burke and Jonah Bolden to entice the Pistons.

Regardless of where he ends up, Rose belongs on a contender this year; his level of play more than warrants it.

YESTERDAY IN THE ASSOCIATION: Damian Lillard absolutely exploded for the Blazers last night, dropping a career-high and MLK Day record 61 points while sinking 11 three-pointers (including this insane overtime-forcing bucket) in a 129-124 Portland win against Golden State. Meanwhile, in Boston, Kemba Walker scored a victory over LeBron James for the first time in his career when the Celtics blew out Los Angeles 139-107.

LOOKING AHEAD: We have ranked the Top 60 free agents for 2020, including Anthony Davis, Montrezl Harrell and Brandon Ingram.

FRESH POD: Our own Alex Kennedy is joined by 11-year NBA veteran Jared Jeffries, who discussed what it was like to play with Michael Jordan, experiencing Linsanity first hand and much more.

CAREER IN JEOPARDY: The car wreck Chandler Parsons got into last week was even worse than it originally sounded like, as it seems now like the future of Parsons’ career legitimately could be in trouble. Parsons suffered multiple major injuries in the accident, and is filing a lawsuit against the driver, who admitted to being drunk while driving, that struck his vehicle.

RESPECT AMONG GOATS: LeBron James is 65 points away from passing Kobe Bryant on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. Bryant is happy for LeBron, telling The Athletic that the accomplishment is both “great” and “awesome.”

A NEW JAYLEN: After an admittedly rough third season, Jaylen Brown has bounced back in a big way this year. He opened up about what’s different this time, and what this past summer, which included him signing a huge extension with Boston and failing as a member of Team USA, was like.

CONFIDENCE IS HIGH: Giannis Antetokounmpo thinks the Bucks can beat anyone in the league, and is making sure to keep things light while he’s on the floor so he can enjoy the moment.

CANADIAN CONUNDRUM: As has been the case many times in the past, Andrew Wiggins is unsure of whether he wants to suit up for the Canadian national team this summer when they’ll be taking part in a crucial Olympic-qualifying tournament. Canada’s poor luck with getting NBA players to suit up for their country continues.

STILL GROWING: Although he’s averaging career-high marks across the board, Terry Rozier believes he still hasn’t proven anything.

WORTHWHILE CAUSE: Joe Harris, Kyle Lowry, Malcolm Brogdon and a few other NBA players are raising a ton of money to provide underprivileged areas in Africa with water. Awesome cause, which has raised tens of thousands of dollars already.

DON’T COUNT THE RINGS: Robert Horry says fans who use the number of titles a player won to judge their greatness are idiots. If the guy who won seven rings in his career is saying that, he might have a point.

QUALITY BONDING: Brandon Clarke and his father Steven, who lives in Sweden, did some serious bonding when they visited the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis back in December.

THE POWER OF TITLES: In the NBA, there’s this growing trend where different organizations have completely unique job titles and hierarchies that don’t match anyone else’s, like the Thunder having a vice president of insight and foresight and the Clippers having an executive director of research and identity. It’s all very Silicon Valley.

SALARY QUIZ: WHO’S THIS NBA PLAYER? 🤔

Click here for the answer.

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Kevin Harlan had a hilarious call on Hassan Whiteside getting kneed in the groin

“He took it where no man wants to get it!”

Kevin Harlan is the GOAT play-by-play guy in all of sports. This shouldn’t even be a debate anymore. If he’s not showing everyone how to call a couple football games at once, he’s dominating while sitting courtside at a NBA game.

He was in Portland on Monday night for the Warriors-Trail Blazers game, which turned out to be a pretty great game between two teams with losing records. And if you just listened to Harlan on the call, you would have thought it was a pivotal playoff game, because he brought his normal incredible energy.

He showed once again that he knows how to perfectly handle a light moment when Hassan Whiteside was kneed in the groin:

I mean, come on. That was great.

He later showed his unrivaled ability to make key moments seem like unreal moments when he called this huge 3-pointer by Damian Lillard that sent the game to OT:

 

Harlan did it again in OT when Lillard hit another big 3-pointer that gave hime 57 points and tied up the game:

The Trail Blazers wound up winning the game thanks to Lillard’s 61 points.

Fans, meanwhile, rightfully sang Harlan’s praises:

Jaylen Brown posterized LeBron James with a powerful dunk and NBA fans loved it

Jaylen Brown dunked all over LeBron James.

Jaylen Brown and the Celtics are looking to snap a 3-game losing streak tonight and make a statement against the LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers in Boston.

Well, Brown sure did make a statement of his own in the third quarter when he dunked all over LeBron on a powerful move to the hoop that left NBA fans in complete awe. He also got called for a technical for taunting LeBron after the jam because refs are lame.

The dunk helped increase the Celtics’ double-digit lead over the Lakers and it almost blew the roof off the Boston Garden.

Check out Brown throwing down this beautiful dunk, which had LeBron couldn’t do anything to stop:

Yup, that was pretty sweet.

NBA Twitter loved it:

NBA fans crushed James Harden after his historically bad shooting performance

James Harden was 1-FOR-17 FROM 3-POINT LAND.

James Harden is going to want to forget all about Monday’s home loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder because man, was it an ugly night for the former NBA MVP.

Not only did the Rockets cough up a 17-point lead, but Harden went an extremely woeful 1-for-17 from 3-point land. That ties him for the most missed threes in a game in NBA history… for THIRD time in his career.

Yikes.

Harden still finished the game, which Houston lost 112-107, with 29 points but it was far from an impressive night for defending scoring champ.

It was so bad that Harden went back out on the court afterward to try to figure out what was wrong with his shot.

Check this out:

Harden had this to say about the game and his performance:

NBA fans had fun ripping Harden for such a bad game:

 

How to Watch Warriors vs. Trail Blazers, NBA Live Stream, Schedule, TV Channel, Start Time

Watch Warriors vs. Trail Blazers Live Online.

The Golden State Warriors and Portland Trail Blazers met in the 2019 Western Conference Finals, with the Warriors sweeping Portland in that series. This year, both teams have fallen on hard times, as both find themselves with losing records. In this matchup on Monday, the opportunity to build some momentum for the rest of the season is on the line in Portland.

Warriors vs. Trail Blazers

  • When: Monday, January 20
  • Time: 10:00 p.m. ET
  • TV: TNT
  • Live Stream: fuboTV (watch for free)

Golden State (10-34) got its seventh home win of the season on Saturday, defeating the Orlando Magic 109-95. DeAngelo Russell led the Warriors to victory by putting up 26 points, which was enough to hold off the efforts of Markelle Fultz and the rest of the Magic. Golden State led by only one point at halftime but outscored the Magic by 10 in the third quarter to put the game out of reach. Golden State is doing its best to hold things together without Steph Curry and Klay Thompson.

Portland (18-26) lost in Oklahoma City on Saturday, dropping a 119-106 decision to the Thunder. Damian Lillard scored a game-high 34 points in the loss, going 10-for-23 from the field. However, it was Chris Paul of the Thunder who stole the show, scoring 30 points on 11-for-15 shooting against a Portland defense that was not equipped to stop him. Against DeAngelo Russell, the Trail Blazers will face another tough test.

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LeBron James says ‘hating has no age limit’ after fan throws something at his son Bronny

Bronny James had something thrown at him during Monday’s game.

Bronny James and his Sierra Canyon basketball team were the centers of attention at a big tournament in Springfield, Ma. on Monday and it was perfectly timed as his dad, LeBron James, was able to attend since the Lakers are in Boston to face the Celtics tonight.

But there was an ugly moment in the game when a fan threw what looked like a piece of candy at Bronny before he was about to inbound the ball. The ref immediately stopped the game and called a police officer over to deal with the fan, who was reportedly ejected from the game.

Here’s a look at the incident from a few angles:

LeBron had this reaction after the game:

Bronny, who’s a freshman on the varsity team and comes off the bench, missed both shots he took in the game, which his team lost, 70-62.

After the game, Bronny’s teammate Zaire Williams told Yahoo Sports that Bronny goes through a lot from fans:

“You’d be surprised by all the stuff Bronny has to go through,” teammate Ziaire Williams told Yahoo Sports after the game. “It’s not fair, but he doesn’t let it faze him at all. I’m learning how to be more like that from him and he’s younger than me.”

Hopefully fans stop acting like this.

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How to Watch Lakers vs. Celtics, NBA Live Stream, Schedule, TV Channel, Start Time

Watch Lakers vs. Celtics Live Online

The Lakers have been a juggernaut on the road this season with an 18-3 record. They’ll have a huge challenge Monday evening against the Celtics. Any time this historic rivalry restarts, throw records out the window. The Lakers currently sit atop the Western Conference, while the Celtics are fourth in the Eastern Conference.

Lakers vs. Celtics

  • When: Monday, January 20
  • Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
  • TV: TNT
  • Live Stream: fuboTV (watch for free)

LeBron James scored a team-high 31 points, along with 12 assists in Los Angeles’ impressive 124-115 win over the Rockets on Saturday. The Lakers (34-8) were down by as much as 11 points in the game. Forward Kyle Kuzma was the biggest difference in the turnaround. He had just six points in the first half, but scored 17 points in the second half and was tasked with defending Russell Westbrook. Without Anthony Davis, Kuzma’s performance will go a long way in determining Monday’s outcome.

Without the talents of Kemba Walker and Jaylen Brown in Saturday’s game against the Suns, the Celtics lost 123-119, marking the team’s third straight loss. Even without those two important pieces, the Celtics (27-14) still had plenty of offensive production, as Marcus Smart scored a team-high 37 points. He broke a Celtics all-time record with 11 three-pointers. Jayson Tatum also tallied 26 points. Monday’s game will go a long way in showing just how far the Celtics have to go to reach elite status.

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