Category: News

Al Horford says chemistry with Joel Embiid is progressing for Sixers

Philadelphia 76ers big man Al Horford says the chemistry with Joel Embiid is progressing.

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For the Philadelphia 76ers to truly reach their full potential, they will need Al Horford and Joel Embiid to form some real, unbreakable chemistry. They need them to be able to play off each other and become the formidable duo the Sixers envisioned when they brought in Horford in free agency.

On Sunday night in a win over the Charlotte Hornets, Embiid had 18 points and nine rebounds while Horford added 15 points, seven rebounds, and five assists. It has been tough for the two to actually get some court time in the early going as Embiid has missed three of the team’s first nine games of the season, but Horford does see some progress in their on-court relationship.

Yeah, I do believe that it is progressing. For me, it’s continuing to understand what we’re trying to do on the offenisve end and just kind of being in the right place and right time for him and for our group and not necessarily thinking like ‘oh what’s this play?’ so it’s coming along. I think everything takes time to be perfect, but it is coming along.

The Sixers are going against the current NBA trend with two traditional big men start in Horford and Embiid so it can be a bit clunky and disorganized a bit in the early going. The only thing that can continue to help them is time and continuing to play together. They just need to continue to trend in the right direction. [lawrence-related id=19038,19027,19013]

New Bears center Cody Whitehair promises to ‘get better as we go’

As the Bears switched Cody Whitehair back to center against the Lions, he had some ups and downs in his return to center.

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The Chicago Bears made some adjustments on offense prior to Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions. Whether that was benching tight end Adam Shaheen or a switch on the offensive line, Matt Nagy was determined to shake things up.

After switching Cody Whitehair to left guard and James Daniels to center during the offseason, the team decided to switch them back after Daniels struggled at his new position over the first eight games this season.

When Whitehair snapped for the first time Sunday against the Lions, it was his first snap to quarterback Mitchell Trubisky since the pair played in the Pro Bowl back in January.

Whitehair struggled with his snaps, including one that could’ve been a disaster as a fumble that Trubisky managed to turn into a 3-yard gain. There were a few others that were high or wide that Trubisky had to adjust to.

“It went OK for me, but I wish I could have a couple [plays] back …” Whitehair said, via the Sun-Times. “It’ll get better as we go.”

Neither Whitehair or Daniels had played their former positions prior to switching during practice last week.

“It’s not easy switching positions within seven days,” Daniels said, “but [offensive line] coach Harry [Hiestand] believed in me.”

The switch comes after some struggles on the offensive line, where Nagy wouldn’t blame Daniels, just like he wouldn’t focus on Whitehair’s snapping issues.

“I think sometimes when, whatever sport it is — if it’s golf and a golfer has the yips or you get into people, pitchers or whatever — the less you talk about it, the better it gets,” he said.

We’ll see if that’s the case when the Bears travel to Los Angeles to play the Rams on Sunday Night Football, where defensive star Aaron Donald awaits.

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ONE Championship 102 highlights: Geje Eustaquio’s sick liver kick, Joshua Pacio’s slick title defense

ONE Championship 102 is in the books, and you can check out the highlights right here on MMA Junkie.

ONE Championship 102 is in the books, and you can check out the highlights right here on MMA Junkie.

ONE Championship 101 took place Friday at Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines, and streamed on B/R Live.

In the main event, Joshua Pacio defended his strawweight title with a second-round arm-triangle choke against Rene Catalan. But ahead of that, there were some brilliant stoppages – including Geje Eustaquio’s one-kick shot to the liver to stop Toni Tauro

You can watch the highlights in the video above.

Kyrie Irving’s lack of free throws vs. Suns problematic

Kyrie Irving took a lot of the blame for what went wrong in the Brooklyn Nets loss to the Phoenix Suns.

One thing Kyrie Irving has done well with to start 2019-20 is getting to the free-throw line. He hasn’t always excelled at creating contact on shots or drives, but this is also a result of his ability to elude contact — something he usually does better than anyone.

Entering Sunday’s game, Irving was averaging 7.3 free throws per game. He’s never even averaged five attempts per game over the course of the season.

Then, against the Suns, Irving did not earn one trip to the line. It’s the first time he’s failed to do so with the Nets. Last year, as a member of the Boston Celtics, Irving didn’t take at least one free throw in a game 13 times.

And his lack of free throw attempts impacted the Nets beyond his point total. Irving explained to reporters in Phoenix:

I don’t think I shot one free throw tonight. That’s just a telltale sign of how aggressive I am not in the game. You know, getting downhill and really just setting a precedent of really slowing the game down and really getting it to my spots. So, a lot of the accountability falls on me.

Cris Cyborg still wants Amanda Nunes rematch in a Bellator vs. UFC cross promotion fight

Cris Cyborg still wants a rematch with Amanda Nunes in a Bellator vs. UFC cross-promotion fight.

On the heels of her first loss in more than 13 years, [autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag] still wants to avenge her setback to [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag].

But now that she is part of the Bellator banner, doing that could be difficult. Following her first-round knockout loss to Nunes at UFC 232, where she lost her featherweight title, Cyborg (21-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) rebounded with a unanimous decision win over Felicia Spencer at UFC 240.

But her complicated relationship with UFC president Dana White, who claimed that dealing with Cyborg is a nightmare, got in the way of a potential rematch with Nunes (18-4 MMA, 11-1 UFC). Cyborg was a free agent after her win at UFC 240 in July and signed with Bellator in September.

Speaking to TMZ, Cyborg said the first thing she asked Bellator president Scott Coker is if they could do a cross-promotion with the UFC and get the Nunes rematch done.

“Before I signed with Bellator, the first thing I asked Scott for (is) maybe to have the possibility to fight (against UFC fighters) – the same he’s doing for Rizin (with) his champions fighting with champions in Japan. … I said maybe if he’ll be able to do that,” Cyborg said.

Cyborg is set to make her Bellator debut when she challenges 145-pound champ Julia Budd for the title at Bellator 236 on Jan. 25. The former UFC, Invicta and Strikeforce featherweight champ is hoping to add another belt to her collection, then hopefully get her rematch with Nunes.

“Cris Cyborg (vs.) Amanda Nunes – she’s the UFC champion, and I hope in the future (UFC) vs. Bellator champion, maybe the fight will happen. Scott said yes, we can do that,” Cyborg said. “Dana White (just has) to call him and make this happen, and I think everybody would like to watch.”

“One-fight deal – just call Scott.”

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Bears LB Nick Kwiatkoski steps up in place of injured LB Danny Trevathan

The Bears lost starting LB Danny Trevathan to a gruesome elbow injury, but reserve LB Nick Kwiatkoski stepped up in his absence.

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When Bears linebacker Danny Trevathan suffered a gruesome elbow injury, backup Nick Kwiatkoski rose to the occasion in his place in Chicago’s 20-13 victory over the Lions.

Trevathan left the game in the first quarter after his arm bent the wrong way as he attempted to sack Lions quarterback Jeff Driskel. Trevathan immediately left the field, knowing that something was wrong.

While Bears coach Matt Nagy didn’t offer an update on Trevathan’s injury, it appeared to be similar to defensive tackle Akiem Hick’s elbow dislocation, perhaps worse.

Kwiatkoski relieved Trevathan with one of the best games of his career. He finished second in tackles with 9, recorded a sack and had the Bears’ lone takeaway — an interception of Driskel early in the third quarter, which led to a Bears scoring drive.

Kwiakoski once again proved to not only be an adamant fill-in but a productive one, just like he did earlier this season in place of linebacker Roquan Smith, who was a healthy scratch against the Minnesota Vikings.

‘‘It’s just preparation,’’ he said, via the Sun-Times. ‘‘As a linebacker, you plan on playing. Things happen throughout the course of a season, and you have to be ready for it.’’

Trevathan looks to be out awhile with his elbow injury, and Kwiatkoski suddenly has a big opportunity in front of him.

‘‘It’s not the way I want it to happen,” Kwiatkoski said. “Danny’s a close friend of mine.’’

But Kwiatkoski will get his chance this week as the Bears travel to Los Angeles to play the Rams on Sunday Night Football.

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DeAndre Jordan: Nets need to ‘pay attention to the gameplan’

DeAndre Jordan explained some of the reasons the Brooklyn Nets’ have struggled on the defensive end.

A lot went wrong for the Brooklyn Nets in Sunday’s 138-112 loss to the Phoenix Suns. Specifically, the defense was an issue — which shouldn’t come as a surprise given how many points the Suns posted.

Defense has been far from Brooklyn’s strong suit to start the 2019-20 season. Though, each night there seems to be some different wrong with the defense.

After the loss, DeAndre Jordan explained to reporters in Phoenix the issues he’s seeing:

Defensively, we gotta be better. We have to come with a defensive mindset, with physicality. We gotta pay attention to the gameplan.

Although Jordan stated, “We gotta pay attention to the gameplan,” fairly casually, this comment is a bit alarming. If the Nets aren’t listening to Kenny Atkinson before the opening tip, Brooklyn has another problem on its hands.

Jordan also added:

Teams are gonna come and jump on you early. That’s just the way the league goes at times. You can play great defense and teams are still gonna hit tough shots. Your defense may break down at the end, but we gotta be able to sustain that for 24 seconds, and then get a rebound at the end. We did it in spurts, but the great teams do it throughout.

MMA Junkie Radio #3000: UFC Moscow, Bellator 233, Nate Diaz, more

Hosts “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” break down the latest MMA news, including UFC Moscow and Bellator 233 recaps, Nate Diaz and much more.

Monday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with hosts “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here!

On the historic 3,000th episode of the podcast, the guys break down the latest MMA news and notes, as well as look back at UFC on ESPN+ 21 and Bellator 233 from this past weekend. And they look back at their crazy 3,000-episode run in the sport.

The rundown

  • The UFC’s return to Moscow had some big highlights, and we look back at them
  • Bellator 234 went down in Oklahoma, and it featured the final fight for Muhammad “King Mo” Lawal.
  • Nate Diaz teased that he was retiring, and then said he’s not.
  • Did you watch the KSI vs. Logan Paul boxing match? And if so, do you want to see more of those kinds of spectacles?
  • Is boxer Tyson Fury going to make his way over to MMA next?
  • Should Kelvin Gastelum have been fined for his UFC 244 weigh-ins incident in New York?
  • Now 3,000 episodes in to the show, we look back at some of the big moments.

Stream or download this and all episodes of MMA Junkie Radio over at AudioBoom, or check it out above. You can also catch it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and more. A new episode of the podcast is released every Monday and Thursday.

Despite win, Brett Brown says Sixers turnovers are a ‘problem’

Despite a win on Sunday, Philadelphia 76ers coach Brett Brown was not happy with the turnovers the team committed.

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The Philadelphia 76ers picked up a much-needed 114-106 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday to put a stop to a three-game losing skid and it gave some good vibes to the team. However, despite the win, there are still some issues the Sixers must figure out.

One of them is limiting turnovers which have been their biggest issue to begin the season. Their turnovers cost them the game in Denver to end the road trip and their 20 turnovers on Sunday, 12 of which came in the first half, were an eyesore.

Coach Brett Brown understands that this is a new team and it will take time to figure everything out, but the turnovers are an issue as he stated:

This is what I tell the team: until we can fix this, this is a house built on sand. It is fool’s gold and we have to find a discipline and a better way to control that. The turnovers in the first half, some of them were live ball, a lot of them were just getting things batted out of our hands. We can’t fool ourselves, this is a problem. This is a problem and we need to own it.

Generally, turnovers are a coaching issue that needs to be taken care of and it falls on Brown and his staff to help the players understand their issue so they can grow in that area.

I’m the head coach. I’ve got to find a way to fix it. There needs to be a level of accountability with the players and that’s that. It’s not anything we take lightly, we don’t dismiss it, the times are over where you’re looking at some of the young guys and you can justify it. You can’t do that anymore and it’s time that we get better at that. The players know it, they understand it, but we’ve got to fix it. That’s how I see the turnover thing in general.

Tobias Harris, who had a team-high four turnovers to go along with his 14 points, has accepted his role in the turnover issue and understands that he needs to better as well.

Yeah, I mean that’s been our biggest thing this year. A lot of them have just come from myself, like today with two travels in the beginning. We were continuing to find each other and our spots. We were looking at how we want to play and things we can do to execute better, so if we can just limit the turnovers to half of those and protect the ball a little bit better, I think that’ll help us out a whole lot.

The Sixers entered the night ranked 20th in the league in turnovers averaging 18.5 per game and with the 20 they tallied on Sunday, the number will rise a tad.

A lot of it is due to the newness of the team and it will take time to get the chemistry down pat and for them to feel each other out, but this is a very real issue for Philadelphia. They can get away with it against the Hornets, but against the better teams, it will cost them games.

Kenny Atkinson: Nets ‘not resilient enough to get stops’

Brooklyn’s defense was once against a problem in the Nets loss to the Phoenix Suns.

Kenny Atkinson wasn’t thrilled with the fact the Nets allowed the Phoenix Suns to score 138 points in Brooklyn’s loss on Sunday.

Despite the fact the Nets have identified their defensive struggles since the start of the season, they haven’t been able to get it together on that end of the floor through the first nine games. Communication has been a problem. Rotations have been sloppy, too.

On multiple occasions, the Nets offense has been able to make up for Brooklyn’s defensive deficiencies. But the offense wasn’t clicking on Sunday, so the Nets had next to no chance against the Suns.

Atkinson made clear after the game, “we’re not resilient enough to get stops.”

One thing we gotta do, when we’re not making shots like tonight, you gotta learn how to get stops when you’re not making shots. We’re missing and missing, and they’re coming at us. It’s tough when you’re missing all the time, but we have to be more resilient.