Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
LeBron James has triple-doubles against all 30 NBA teams. Here is how he accomplished the feat.
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LeBron James completed the NBA cycle of triple-doubles on Tuesday. He made the Oklahoma City Thunder the 30th team he has accomplished the feat against.
We took a look at how he got there, addressing each of the teams that saw LeBron post a triple-double against it in his amazing career.
LeBron and the Cavaliers lost to the Atlanta Hawks by 126-125 in overtime on April 9, 2017. He played 47 minutes and put up a line of 32-16-10 in the defeat.
L.A. Lakers star LeBron James is leading the NBA in assists and Anthony Davis is receiving more passes than any of his previous teammates.
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It might seem obvious considering that he’s leading the NBA in assists for the first time in his historic 17-year career, but LeBron James is passing the ball more than he has before in his career. And to add to that, nobody in LeBron’s history of past teammates received more passes on a nightly basis than Anthony Davis currently does next to The King.
Bryan Kalbrosky dug into the numbers for HoopsHype earlier on Monday and discovered that Davis is receiving 25.2 passes per 36 minutes from LeBron James. That’s the highest average of any LeBron teammate since that data has become available on NBA.com.
Obviously, it’s still early in the season, so this could change slightly but Davis looks well on his way to surpassing Kyrie Irving’s high mark of 22.3 passes per 36 minutes in 2015-16.
If things continue going the way they are, even Kyle Kuzma could pass Irving’s high mark as well. Davis has been a well of assists for LeBron and that doesn’t figure to change anytime soon, but there are also a couple of other aspects at play when looking at this passing increase.
First of all, LeBron is playing point guard more than he ever has because of injuries and the Lakers general lack of point guard depth. Second, the pace of play (possessions per game) has been steadily increasing over the last five years which of course leads to a higher volume of shots and passes.
Still, the stat that Kalbrosky dug into indicates a big reason why LeBron is leading the NBA assists. Even though Davis hasn’t been his normally efficient self, he won’t be short on opportunities as long as he and LeBron stay on the court.
It didn’t take long for LeBron James and Anthony Davis to develop chemistry and get on the same page, and the numbers back that up.
After a disappointing first year on the Los Angeles Lakers for LeBron James, his team is off to a very impressive start so far this season.
Whether it is because he played the first 10 games of the season without point guard Rajon Rondo or because James has decided to run the offense through new superstar teammate Anthony Davis, James’ assist numbers are now at an all-time high.
James leads the league with 11.2 assists per game and an assist percentage of 52.4 percent. One of the reasons is that he is simply passing the ball far more often.
James has made 68.3 passes per game, the third-most in the NBA behind only Luka Doncic (70.6) and Ben Simmons (69.6) thus far. It’s significantly more passes than any of his other seasons since the statistics were made publicly available in 2013-14.
According to the available tracking data, 23.4 percent of his passes have been to Davis. James has averaged 2.5 assists per game to Davis, establishing a far better rhythm than any he has ever had with a big man.
Brian Windhorst recently wrote about the immediate chemistry that the two stars have displayed (via ESPN):
“Through their first nine games, James had assisted Davis on 26 baskets, 10 more than any other teammate, per ESPN Stats & Information research. Compare that to his first nine games with [Chris] Bosh, when it was 17 assists, and his first nine with [Kevin] Love, which produced only 11. Their pick-and-rolls have resulted in the highlight dunks that fans love and a schematic nightmare for opposing coaches. And even though they sometimes are caught a little out of position, there’s a natural flow that’s easy to see.”
Now after more than a dozen regular-season games together, the tracking data indicates that James has targeted Davis more often than any of his other teammates since 2013-14.
When dividing the minutes they have shared the court by 36, James is averaging more than 25 passes to Davis. That is the most since he averaged 22.3 passes per 36 shared to Kyrie Irving during their 2015-16 campaign, which ultimately resulted in an NBA championship.
For perspective: James averaged 16.9 passes per 36 minutes shared to Kevin Love during his final season in Cleveland and just 12.6 passes per 36 minutes shared to Dwyane Wade during his last year in Miami.
It is also worth noting that given how many more passes per game James is averaging overall this year, James is still able to find other teammates beyond Davis at a remarkably high rate as well.
While it is still a smaller sample size as he missed time to start the season due to injury, Kyle Kuzma has received 2.1 assists per game from James and that is without the forward even being in the starting unit with the four-time NBA MVP.
The new mindset for James is evident in more than just the eye test, showing his willingness to defer. The stats back up exactly how much of a playmaker he has been for Los Angeles thus far.
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Previewing Monday’s Cleveland Cavaliers at New York Knicks sports betting odds and lines, with NBA matchup analysis, picks and tips.
The Cleveland Cavaliers (4-8) and New York Knicks (3-10) tangle at Madison Square Garden Monday night at 7 p.m. ET. We analyze the Cavaliers-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.
Cavaliers: PF Larry Nance Jr. (thumb) is considered questionable for Monday’s game.
Knicks: C Mitchell Robinson (ankle) is expected to be ready to play, while SG Reggie Bullock (neck) is sidelined until at least early December.
NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated at 6:55 a.m. ET.
Cavaliers 103, Knicks 99
The CAVALIERS (+110) are a nice value as short dogs against the Knicks (-134), especially since Cleveland already has a win at New York, 108-87, back on Nov. 10.
New to sports betting? Every $1 wagered on a Cleveland win profits $1.10 if the Cavs prevail. (Ex: Bet $10 to win $11, $20 to win $22, $4.76 to win $10).
Take the CAVALIERS (+2.5, –115), as they’re 5-2 against the spread in the past seven games on the road, and 13-5 ATS in the past 18 on the second end of a back-to-back set.
The Knicks (-2.5, -106) are 0-4 ATS in the past four tries against the Cavs, including Nov. 10, and they’re 1-6 ATS in the past seven tries against Cleveland at MSG. The underdog has hit in four of the past five in this series, too.
The UNDER 208.5 (-110) is the play for each of these erratic offenses. The under has hit in each of Cleveland’s past five games, including each of the past four on the road, while going 19-8 in its last 27 with no rest. The under is 21-7 in the past 28 for the Knicks at MSG dating back to last season, while going 12-3-1 in the past 16 on one day of rest.
Want some action on this game? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips and advice, visit SportsbookWire.com.
Follow @JoeWilliamsVI 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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After their first twelve games of the 2019-20 season, the once-mighty Golden State Warriors currently have the worst record in the league.
After their first 12 games of the 2019-20 season, the once-mighty Golden State Warriors currently have the worst record in the league.
Their roster has been absolutely decimated, mostly due to injuries to their two franchise cornerstones Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. But their wild offseason also included the departures of two former NBA Finals MVP in both Kevin Durant and Andre Iguodala. Golden State hardly resembles the team that won the Western Conference five years in a row.
While the offense has struggled without these players, it has been especially bad on the other end of the court. Their defensive rating (117.2) ranks as the worst in the league. Overall, their winning percentage (.167) is a far cry from their mark in 2018-19 (.695).
According to our research, that would be the largest year-over-year negative difference in NBA history. This pace would be worse than the Cleveland Cavaliers after they first lost LeBron James in 2010-11 and the Chicago Bulls after Michael Jordan retired for the second time.
The good news is their eerie similarities thus far to the San Antonio Spurs in 1996-97. Much like the Warriors who added an All-Star (D’Angelo Russell) in the offseason and have started 2-10, the Spurs signed a former All-Star in Dominique Wilkins before the season began and started 2-13. San Antonio received just six games from David Robinson due to an injury while Golden State lost Curry after only four appearances.
The Spurs finished the season 20-62 and ended up with a lottery pick that was used to draft Tim Duncan. Once he returned from injury and played alongside Duncan, they went on to win two titles together following their rough speed bump in 1997. If Golden State gets a high lottery pick to add alongside Curry and Thompson, perhaps a similar fate is coming to the Bay Area.
For context: This is not the first time that the Warriors have experienced an incredibly poor change in their year-over-year performance. They made the NBA Finals in 1964 behind 36.9 points per game from Wilt Chamberlain, who was traded the following season. Later the year, the team then finished with the worst record in the league.
HoopsHype’s Alberto de Roa contributed research to this report
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The Los Angeles Lakers star also eluded to his 2015 NBA Finals when he played the Warriors without Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving.
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LeBron James doesn’t think it’s all that weird to play a Golden State Warriors team without both Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, but he did acknowledge when he’s watching them on TV the absence of the Splash Brothers is a lot more jarring.
After last night’s comfortable 120-94 win over the Warriors on Wednesday night, James was asked about the state of the Warriors as they fell to a league-worst 2-10 record. LeBron obviously knows what they’re going through, but he wouldn’t use the word “weird” to describe the feeling of playing against a deleted Warriors squad, because he’s been used to playing them with a depleted unit before in the 2015 NBA Finals without Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving.
Video from Kyle Goon of the Southern California News Group
Asked if it's weird to play lopsided game against the Warriors, LeBron says it's weirder to watch on TV, not in an actual game.
Then adds: "I played them in the Finals without Kyrie and Kevin. So, no." pic.twitter.com/FRJiRhprIx
— Kyle Goon (@kylegoon) November 14, 2019
Irving played only one game in the 2015 Finals before suffering a broken kneecap in the first game of the series. Obviously James is still a little salty about that Finals run and who could blame him, as he pushed the Warriors to six games with Matthew Dellavadov and Timofey Mozgov as his 2nd and 3rd options.
James had an incredible stat line in a losing effort in the 2015 Finals, averaging 35.8 points, 13.3 rebonds and 8.8 assists per game.
Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young’s recent run is something the NBA hasn’t seen since LeBron James did it with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
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Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young has been thriving ever since coming back from an ankle injury that caused him to miss games earlier in the season. Including last night’s impressive win at Denver, Young has scored at least 30 points and dished 10 assists in his last three games.
With the current streak, Young became the first player to accomplish the feat since LeBron James did it in March of 2018 when he was still with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Young has been stellar as of late, carrying an incredible scoring and creation load for the Hawks to start the season.
On the year, Young is averaging 28 points, 8.7 assists and just over four rebounds per game while shooting over 40 percent from long distance. Aside from the rebounds and the 3-point shooting, his numbers aren’t unlike a typical LeBron year.
So far this season, James has taken a little bit of a step back in the scoring category as he is averaging 24 points per game after averaging over 27 points the last two seasons. Part of that is because James has taken an even bigger role as the Lakers lead guard, which has resulted in an NBA-leading 11 assists per game to go with 8 rebounds.
What’s gotten into him?
In his eight seasons since the Cleveland Cavaliers took him fourth overall in the 2011 NBA draft, Tristan Thompson has been mostly the same player: a rebounder who mostly scores close to the hoop.
Year after year, the numbers were fine: a smattering of points, a bunch of boards, good field goal percentages and the occasional block. It wasn’t fourth-overall level stuff, but it worked for the Cavs.
But the light went off this year. And suddenly, Tristan Thompson is … exploding.
He’s scoring (16.5 ppg) like never before, and that’s not his only career-high: he’s rebounding (11.4 pg), swatting (1.4 bpg), swiping (0.9 spg) and nailing the occasional trey (3-for-6!).
What has gotten into him!?
Let’s start with the highlights: the 76ers left him wide open on Tuesday night and he punished them for it. Twice.
Tristan Thompson is hitting 3s and letting the 76ers bench hear about it 😂 pic.twitter.com/432WnAlCj7
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 13, 2019
Yes, I see the irony of Thompson hitting threes before Ben Simmons does. There was also this hilarious moment:
Tristan Thompson has no choice but to retire after this. pic.twitter.com/FPkW7Ooh6W
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) November 13, 2019
Whatever. Don’t care. This new Thompson, who can dribble like that, is a revelation.
Look at what Tristan Thompson does in this 26-second span. These are game-changing sequences. #Cavs pic.twitter.com/4YQTJo9Rvf
— Spencer Davies (@SpinDavies) November 9, 2019
Back to the question above: what gives? The thing I noticed is Thompson looks more fit, and according to a Cleveland.com story, that’s correct — after missing a 39 games last year due to a foot injury, he stepped up in the offseason and came to camp a new man.
He’s also gotten the green light to do more from head coach John Beilein:
“His MO is sort of … he’s the rebounder, he’s the guy that sets screens and rolls,” Beilein said. “But we worked hard all summer to let him be a transfer guy too, and can be more involved as a decision-maker. I think he’s an underrated passer, and we’re trying to put it in his hands as well so that he has a lot of assists.”
It’s great news for both parties. Thompson’s doing all this in a contract year, and if he keeps this up for the rebuilding Cavs, he could be an extremely valuable trade target by the deadline. So there’s motivation everywhere for Thompson to keep up this surprising start.
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Previewing Tuesday’s Cleveland Cavaliers at Philadelphia 76ers sports betting odds and lines, with NBA matchup analysis and picks
The Cleveland Cavaliers (4-5) visit the Philadelphia 76ers (6-3) Tuesday at the Wells Fargo Center for a 7 p.m. ET start.
We analyze the Cavaliers-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.
76ers
NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated at 10:20 a.m. ET.
76ers 115, Cavaliers 105
The -715 line for the home 76ERS is a bit of a concern but they are 3-0 at home in the early going despite some wild movement on the betting lines. They have even come in above the projections.
Can Cleveland cover as the underdog seems to be the question? It is unlikely the Cavaliers win outright with a +500 line. This is not impossible, but it would take a poor shooting performance by Philadelphia.
New to sports betting? A $10 bet on the 76ERS to win outright returns a profit of $1.40. It’s very chalky, but it’s better than trying to win with Cleveland.
The CAVALIERS +11.5 (+105) is the play here. A Cleveland cover (lose by no more than 11 points) returns a profit of $10.50.
Cleveland is 3-2 on the road ATS and 7.9 points per game on the cover while Philadelphia is 2-1 ATS at home and 5.8 points per game above projections. Cleveland has the ability to keep this game close enough.
This is a bit rare, but the Over/Under of 216.5 (-106, -115) is one to pass on here. There are just better choices in some of the other NBA games tonight. Philadelphia-Cleveland is a game that could go either way and one call could make a difference. AVOID!
Want some action in this one? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips, visit SportsbookWire.com.
Chris’s NBA betting record: 24-16
Follow @ChrisWasselDFS 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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