Houston had its six-game winning streak snapped Friday after James Harden connected on a 4-point play in the closing seconds to break the tie.
In the opener of a three-game road trip and their second game of the NBA’s new in-season tournament, the Houston Rockets (6-4, 1-1 in West Group B) had their six-game winning streak snapped courtesy of Friday’s 106-100 loss (box score) to the host Clippers. With the victory, Los Angeles (4-7, 1-2) ended a six-game losing streak.
James Harden, formerly a franchise icon with the Rockets, connected on a tiebreaking 4-point play with only 6.0 seconds left to play. Harden led the way for the Clippers with 24 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists, shooting 8-of-11 from the field (72.7%), 2-of-4 on 3-pointers (50.0%), and 6-of-7 on free throws (85.7%) versus the Rockets.
Kawhi Leonard finished with a game-high 26 points and 5 steals for Los Angeles, shooting 8-of-16 overall and 3-of-6 on 3-pointers (50.0%). Paul George added 23 points for the Clippers with four 3-pointers, though Houston limited him to 8-of-22 shooting (36.4%).
Here’s our look at highlights and postgame interviews from late Friday, along with reaction by media members and fans. Next up for Houston is Sunday’s matchup versus the Lakers, also at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Tipoff is set for 8:30 p.m. Central.
A thorough ranking of the 30 best NBA players over 30 years old.
When I put together my first list of the top players over 30 years old, at the start of last season, the rankings were mostly based on what players had already accomplished in their careers. Predictably, the list was led by LeBron James, and players who were in the middle of obvious declines were also ranked a little too high as a result.
This year, I’m weighing those career accomplishments with some personal projection to try to get a more accurate picture of where players might finish the season. I’m also expanding the list from 20 to 30 names, because 30 over 30 has a better ring to it.
Only the Clippers with Paul George and Kawhi Leonard have comparable star power on the wing, and only a few other ball clubs (the Nets, Magic, Raptors, and Suns) have multiple star-level wings at all.
While there may still be a debate over whether the pair can play together well enough to win on the league’s biggest stage in at least the eyes of a few, when it comes to the pecking order of wing players in the NBA next season, Boston Celtics All-NBA forwards Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have been rated fairly high by a new Bleacher Report assessment of the 30 best wings in the league, coming in at Nos. 1 and 7 respectively.
Only the Los Angeles Clippers with Paul George (sixth overall) and Kawhi Leonard (fifth overall) have comparable star power on the wing, and only a few other ball clubs (the Brooklyn Nets, Orlando Magic, Toronto Raptors, and Phoenix Suns) have multiple star-level wings at all.
Let’s take a look at B/R’s assessments of Tatum and Brown.
“I think he’s gonna play a ton. They’re gonna be a winning team. The way they play is gonna be fun to watch.”
The 2023-24 regular season will feature a prominent race for Rookie of the Year honors. The 2023 rookie class is headlined by Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson. It’ll also include 2022 No. 2 pick Chet Holmgren, who missed all of last season recovering from a Lisfranc injury.
While Wembanyama and Henderson might benefit from usage on their teams, Holmgren will have his status as a key piece on a likely playoff team to his advantage.
The Oklahoma City Thunder will enter the season with playoff aspirations after they went 40-42 last season and finished a win shy of a playoff berth.
On his “Podcast P” podcast, LA Clippers forward Paul Georges thinks this will help Holmgren’s case for Rookie of the Year. He explained why he thinks Holmgren will win the award.
“Imma go Chet. Just because I think he’s gonna play a ton. They’re gonna be a winning team. The way they play is gonna be fun to watch. So, I think he’s gonna get a lot of coverage. He plays both ends. He blocks shots. He’s a little bit more polished — further along I think than Wemby is. Because I think Wemby is gonna have a little learning curve. I know Chet didn’t play much due to the injury his rookie year. But being in the league, seeing the game up close for a year is gonna give him that much more of a head start. So Imma say (and) go say Chet. I think Chet is going to be the Rookie of the Year.”
Holmgren continues to earn praise from his colleagues. George praising him is a ringing endorsement considering he’s been one of the best players in the league throughout his entire career.
Paul George doing Charles Barkley’s voice is too good.
What can’t Paul George do? We’re learning that list is short the more we see him in the public eye.
We already know George is a great basketball player. And he’s really good at podcasting too. As it turns out, he can also do impressions well — or at least he has a Charles Barkley impression down to a tee.
On a recent episode of Podcast P with Paul George, a mailbag writer asked which impression was George’s best. Co-hosts Jackie Long and Dallas Rutherford suggested the character Franklin Saint from the hit FX show Snowfall.
George wasn’t ready to pull out Saint on the spot, so he did Barkley instead, and man, it was spot on.
Barkley’s distinct voice makes him an easy target for impersonators, with the most popular probably being comedian and co-host of the Grant & Danny show Danny Rouhier. His impression earned him an invite on to TNT’s Inside the NBA to interview Barkley as Barkley, and a spot in a FanDuel commercial alongside Barkley.
With PG, we now have another voice out there to do Barkley.
The conversation touches on the pressure on both sides to perform, the power dynamics in interviews, and the athletes’ responsibility regarding the public’s perception of them.
The NBA has never been more accessible to its fans than it is now, but that is not always a good thing for all involved. On a recent episode of the “Podcast P with Paul George,” the eponymous host was joined by ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith to talk about the complicated relationship between NBA players and the media.
Smith had plenty to say about players taking on the role of media themselves but acknowledged some resentment from media who fear they are taking jobs away from them. George reflected on the toll of being in the spotlight and highlighted the import of athletes having a platform to express themselves.
The conversation touches on the pressure on both sides to perform, the power dynamics in interviews and the athletes’ responsibility regarding the public’s perception of them.
To hear a nuanced talk about one of the newer developments in NBA media and how it is changing the way we consume the game, check out the clip embedded above.
Stephen A. Smith took things a bit too far with the Kwame Brown rant.
I don’t think anyone would necessarily characterize Stephen A. Smith as a man who regrets much of anything.
It just doesn’t seem like it’s in his nature. We’ve rarely gotten an apology out of ESPN’s hot take machine, let alone any admission of regret. That’s just not how he ever does it.
That’s all window dressing, though, if we’re being honest. Smith is human, just like the rest of us. He’s certainly got some things that he wishes he could take back. We all do.
In an extremely real moment with Paul George on the Playoff P podcast, Smith actually revealed one of his. We all know it well. It was the infamous Kwame Brown rant that still resonates all these years later.
Here’s what Stephen A. had to say about that moment in his conversation with George.
"Kwame Brown… I know what I said. I did mean it… But I didn't know it was gonna be like this. Remember, I said it before Twitter, Facebook."
Stephen A. Smith on the one thing in his career that he would do over again
“Kwame Brown, I wish I could do that over. I wouldn’t do it. I know what I said. I did mean it. I ain’t going to sit here and tell you I didn’t mean this [expletive] that I said. But I didn’t know it was going to be like this…I didn’t know 15 years later they were going to have memes and videos. And when I see what he says, I realize how hurt he is.”
Such is the nature of the beast. Stephen A. gets asked a question on the air about the Lakers including Brown in the Pau Gasol and he just goes in for the soundbite. He called Brown a “bonafide scrub” and said he couldn’t play basketball.
All these years later, that video is still a meme. People still play it. And Kwame Brown still seems pretty hurt by it and it’s almost been 20 years since it happened in 2005.
Even back then it felt pretty harsh. Today, it feels even worse. That’s why it’s good to see Smith being honest here and telling us he regrets it. He should. He took things a bit too far.
That probably won’t mend things between he and Brown, but it’s certainly a nice place to start. Hopefully, these two can mend the fence one day.
This is an important season for Paul George and the Clippers.
Welcome to Layup Lines, our basketball newsletter where we’ll prep you for the tip-off of tonight’s action, from what to watch to bets to make. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox every afternoon.
No matter how you feel about Paul George as a basketball player, I think most of us can agree he has one of the smoothest games in the NBA. When the eight-time All-Star has it rolling, there aren’t many players more fun to watch.
Unfortunately, since his trade from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Los Angeles Clippers, we haven’t been able to watch him much.
After playing in at least 75 games in six of seven seasons before joining LA, George hasn’t eclipsed 56 games once in the last four years. Because of injuries, George has played in just 189 of a possible 308 regular-season games since the 2019-20 season.
In other words, George plans to show out in 2023-24, and we know exactly what it looks like when he does.
In his last fully healthy season, 2018-19 with the Thunder, he averaged a career-high 28 points and 8 rebounds while also playing incredible defense to finish third in MVP voting. Even in his time with the Clippers, he’s averaged 23 points on good shooting splits. The problem is he and Kawhi Leonard — who joined the Clippers at the same time and has played in just 161 games — haven’t been able to play nearly enough. As a result, the Clippers haven’t consistently competed at the level most expected when the two arrived.
Now, each enters a critical season, as their contracts are set to expire. The both have player options for 2024 and are extension eligible, but it’s a tough decision for the Clippers to again invest max money in two players who haven’t been available. The only way it makes sense is if George is, in fact, on his bully and Leonard can come back to help LA make a deep playoff run. If not, this could be the last year we see the Clippers run it back with this duo.
The Tip-Off
Some NBA goodness from around the USA TODAY Sports network.
Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Team USA rolled over Puerto Rico Monday in the last day of World Cup training camp and the first tune-up game.
Yeah, for sure. I mean the last couple days we might have possessions where we overpass. The guys we have on our team, we feel really good about how they play. If the roles were flipped we just swing-swing to the corner, you make that pass because the next time, if you’re fortunate, it could be a pass to you.
So it’s a good feeling knowing that we’re ready to catch and shoot whenever, and with the talent that we have with that we could do really good things.
Reaves, who scored nine points himself, also discussed his expectations for the Lakers this coming season in the full interview with Sam Yip.
In the NBA of today, capable wings who defend with the same intensity they score are the most sought player type — for good reason.
Such stars as Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum power modern clubs on both ends of the floor, and contenders need at least one to have a shot at winning it all.
At a more granular level, the variety of skill, athleticism and experience among various star wings in the league differ — and will do better or worse in certain contexts as well. So when the folks behind the I Am Athlete “Paper Route” podcast debated on which of Tatum, Paul George and Jimmy Butler to start, bench or cut, a lot of those contexts came to the fore.
To hear their case in full, check out the clip embedded below.
Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Simmons has seen his career take a turn for the worse ever since the 2021-22 season began with his holdout on the Philadelphia 76ers that preceded his back issues that he deals with to this day. The good thing for Simmons is, someone prominent in the NBA still believes in him.
In a recent episode of the “Podcast P With Paul George” podcast, Simmons came up as a topic of discussion since Nets guard Mikal Bridges was also on the show. After Bridges gave a glowing endorsement of Simmons with regards to how the Aussie behaves as a teammate, Los Angeles Clippers superstar Paul George followed that up by voicing his support for Simmons as well.
Simmons, 27, has played just 42 games, all played last season, in the past two years thanks to a combination of his holdout on the 76ers that eventually forced Philadelphia to trade Simmons to Brooklyn in exchange for James Harden. Due to issues with his back, Simmons did not play even after being traded to the Nets as he needed to have surgery to prevented him from getting on the court.
Simmons, the first overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, was ready to get on the court last season, but had recurring injuries to his knees and back that forced him to miss time throughout the campaign. Eventually, Simmons had a nerve impingement in his back that prematurely ended his 2022-23 season after just 42 games played. Despite what Simmons has been through for the past two years, George still believes in Simmons:
“I’m a big fan of Ben Simmons, man. He still has that game in him like you don’t (just) lose it.”
