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Zion Williamson’s long-awaited NBA debut did not disappoint, well, it didn’t if you watched the entire Pelicans game versus the Spurs.
Zion Williamson’s long-awaited NBA debut did not disappoint, well, it didn’t if you watched the entire Pelicans game versus the Spurs.
Zion Williamson’s long-awaited NBA debut did not disappoint, well, it didn’t if you watched the entire Pelicans game versus the Spurs.
Zion Williamson’s long-awaited NBA debut did not disappoint, well, it didn’t if you watched the entire Pelicans game versus the Spurs.
Alex Kennedy and Cody Taylor discuss Zion Williamson’s NBA debut, the hype surrounding the game, his incredible 17-point explosion and more.
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On this episode of The HoopsHype Podcast, Alex Kennedy is joined by Cody Taylor, who’s the managing editor of USA TODAY’s Rookie Wire. They discuss Zion Williamson’s NBA debut, the hype surrounding this game, that incredible 17-point explosion in the fourth quarter and where Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans go from here, Ja Morant’s excellent start to his NBA career and much more.
Lonzo Ball shared the advice he gave to rookie Zion Williamson ahead of his debut against the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday.
After a fairly mundane opening three quarters in which he struggled in his debut, Zion Williamson had one of the most memorable fourth quarters in recent NBA history on Wednesday against the Spurs. The rookie forward scored 17 of his 21 points in a span of 3:08 in the middle of the fourth quarter, helping the Pelicans overturn a deficit in the process.
While Williamson, who was on a minutes restriction on the night, checked out of the game shortly after his explosion, it was a wild exclamation point to a rocky night in his first game in the NBA. However, it wasn’t surprising to see him off the pace in his debut.
After the game, Ball spoke to reporters about Williamson’s debut and the advice he gave him prior to the game.
“I wouldn’t even call it struggling. This is his first game. He told me before the game even started he was going to ease his way into it. I told him ‘Get a feel for it and go from there.’ In the fourth (quarter), I think he was comfortable and they were sagging off of him so he was just taking the shot.”
Williamson shot 8-of-11 from the field overall and 4-of-4 from three-point territory and 2-fo-4 from the line. He added seven rebounds and three assists. He became the 10th player in league history to have at least 22 points, seven rebounds and three assists in his debut in the process.
His debut brought with it a host of excitement and a packed house in the Smoothie King Center. His outburst in the fourth quarter brought with it an explosion from the home crowd in arguably the best atmosphere of the season for the Pelicans. Ball also spoke about the hometown fans and their role in the comeback on the night.
“I think the energy was there from warm-ups. That’s the most people I’ve seen coming out before the game even started. They were ready to go tonight and they helped us get back in the game for sure.”
While all the efforts came in a loss on the night, it was a sign of what is to come. The Pelicans are nearing full strength for the first time this season and with Williamson in the fold, a run could soon be in the cards for New Orleans.
Zion Williamson exploded for 17 points in a three-minute span in the fourth quarter on Wednesday in his Pelican debut against the Spurs.
Through three quarters against the Spurs on Wednesday, Zion Williamson looked like a man struggling in his NBA debut after missing multiple months with a knee injury.
Then, all of that was rendered meaningless in a three-minute span.
Williamson was hotter than a blowtorch in the fourth quarter, scoring 17 straight points in a three-minute span. He hit all four of his three-point attempts after never hitting more than two at Duke.
And he set all kinds of records in the process. He became the first rookie since Jake Layman in 2016 to score 17 points in a quarter. He became the first player to go 4-for-4 from three-point range in his debut ever.
While it ultimately came in a loss as the Spurs absorbed the run and punched back with one of their own, it was as memorable a debut as there has been in the NBA in years. It set the stage for just what the Pelicans can become in the coming weeks and months this season. And it gave New Orleans fans the show they’ve been waiting months for.
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Despite an incredible fourth quarter from Zion Williamson, one in which he tallied 17 points in a little over three minutes, the San Antonio Spurs controlled the majority of Wednesday’s game and came away with a 121-117 win.
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Despite an incredible fourth quarter from Zion Williamson, one in which he tallied 17 points in a little over three minutes, the San Antonio Spurs controlled the majority of Wednesday’s game and came away with a 121-117 win.
It was a dud of a three quarters followed by one of the greatest fourth quarter runs in recent memory. He scored 17 straight points, hit all four of his three-point attempts and pulled the Pelicans not just back into the game but into the lead. It was everything anyone could have hoped from his return to the lineup all inside of about a four-minute span.
The Pelicans were insistent on bringing him along slowly and it was the right call. During his fourth quarter run, Alvin Gentry called two separate subs back from the scorer’s table that were going to check in for Williamson. He played longer than anticipated and had a memorable debut. But one game isn’t worth the risk of a season-ending injury.
Boy oh boy was it a terrible night for Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy. In one of the most anticipated games of the year, the two could not have missed the mark more if they tried.
In the first quarter, the topics ranged from a long discussion on Williamson’s weight to Luka Doncic and Ja Morant with little time spent on the game itself. The rest of the game was hardly any better. Both openly criticized the Pelicans’ minutes restriction on Williamson, particularly after his torrid fourth. Both openly mocked analytics at different points.
It was as out of touch as the two have seemed in some time. With so many eyes on the game, it was as loud a signal as there has been that these two are no longer the best in the business.
Lonzo Ball had a quiet but effective night. He finished with 14 points and 12 assists to go with eight rebounds and three steals in 39 minutes of action. He made the right call in the fourth by feeding the hot hand and getting Williamson the ball by any means possible.
He hit 3-of-6 from beyond the arc and got to the line four times in the first quarter, hitting three of his attempts.
Previewing Wednesday’s San Antonio Spurs at New Orleans Pelicans sports betting odds and lines, with NBA betting picks, tips and best bets.
The San Antonio Spurs (19-23) and New Orleans Pelicans (17-27) will do battle at the Smoothie King Center at 9:30 p.m. ET. We analyze the Spurs-Pelicans odds and lines, with NBA betting advice and tips around the matchup.
Get some action on this game or others by placing a bet at BetMGM.
Spurs
Pelicans
NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated at 8 a.m. ET.
Pelicans 126, Spurs 117
Back the PELICANS (-167). In one of the most highly anticipated games for the NBA, we finally get to see rookie PF Zion Williamson in action for the first time in a regular-season game, barring a last-second setback. The crowd at Smoothie King Center will be rocking, and it will be interesting to see how head coach Alvin Gentry folds him into action with the Pellies doing well with SF Brandon Ingram up front and solid backcourt play lately.
The PELICANS (-3.5, -115) have the potential to be really good down the stretch. While they’re in last place of the Southwest Division, they’re just 3 1/2 games out of a playoff spot. They’re 3 games back of the Spurs (+3.5, -106), one team they’ll be chasing, so this is a super important game. The Pelicans will use the energy of Zion’s return to ‘spur’ them on to a win and cover.
The OVER 236.5 (-115) is worth a small-unit play, even with this high number. The Over is 11-1 in the past 12 games for the Pelicans, and 6-0 in their past six home games. The Over is 11-5 in San Antonio’s past 16 games overall, and 4-0 in the past four on the road against teams with a losing home record. All signs point to a high-scoring affair.
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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Any competitive advantage in an NBA season is important whether it is home cooking or the comfort and familiarity of your own locker room.
Any competitive advantage in an NBA season is important whether it is home cooking or the comfort and familiarity of your own locker room.
For this study, we subtracted the difference from the team winning percentage on the road from their winning percentage at home. This illustrates, in part, the impact of playing in their own city has had on franchises around the league. We looked at all games played since the Basketball Association of America merged with the NBA in 1946-47.
Note that all numbers included below for teams are based on their records when playing in their current cities. That means that Golden State Warriors accounts for San Francisco both now and in the 1960s (not Oakland) while the Nets are in Brooklyn (not New Jersey), the Grizzlies are in Memphis (not Vancouver), the Jazz are in Salt Lake City (not New Orleans), etc.
Overall, this research helps show how much better a team has historically played depending on the location of the game.
Perhaps the most obvious takeaway is that the two NBA cities with the highest elevations (Denver and Utah) both rank in the Top 3. In fact, the Nuggets have won nearly twice as many games when they have played at home compared to their road appearances.
Back in 2013, Neil Payne contextualized the geographical advantages for these games (via ESPN):
“One explanation for this phenomenon is that Denver and Salt Lake City are, at 5,883 feet and 4,227 feet, respectively, the two highest-altitude cities in the entire NBA by far. (Ranking third in elevation is Phoenix at a paltry 1,132 feet.) Certainly, this is a major factor – the relatively thin air at such high elevations causes the players’ bodies to have less oxygen available for circulation to their muscles, resulting in quicker fatigue. Denver and Utah players seem to acclimate to this, offering them a presumed advantage.”
The aforementioned advantage is so distinct that in 2015, the league made an effort to schedule the Nuggets as the first stop on a trip from the east or put a day of rest in between games for teams coming from the west.
Another interesting takeaway is that cities that are known for a more vibrant nightlife (Miami, Los Angeles and New York) all fall fairly low on this list. It is common to hear “Los Angeles nightlife is undefeated” or the “South Beach Flu” after the Heat or the Lakers win a game at home. But the win-loss totals indicate that visiting teams may not be as impacted as many thought.
For further proof, Sports Insights NBA expert Carl Sack told The Action Network’s Matt Moore in 2018 that his data also indicated a regression to the mean rather than anything particularly noteworthy about party cities.
One final note is that the teams that have played the fewest total games at home (Oklahoma City Thunder, Brooklyn Nets and Golden State Warriors) fared the worst for these rankings.
These three teams rank in the Bottom 4 for home games based on sheer volume and newness in their home arenas. Whether it’s based on earning loyalty from the fans or something deeper, it was particularly interesting to see some kind of correlation even if there is no causation.
HoopsHype’s Alberto de Roa contributed research to this report
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Previewing Monday’s San Antonio Spurs at Phoenix Suns sports betting odds and lines, with NBA matchup analysis and picks.
The San Antonio Spurs (18-23) play in the back end of a back-to-back and travel to Arizona to take on the Phoenix Suns (18-24) Monday. Tip-off is at 9 p.m. ET at Talking Stick Resort Arena. We analyze the Spurs-Suns 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.
Spurs
Suns
NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated at 2 p.m. ET.
Suns 112, Spurs 105
The SUNS (-189) are playing much better of late, having won seven of their last 11 games. They won their two games without Oubre playing, getting great performances from Devin Booker, Mikal Bridges and Deandre Ayton. The Spurs (+155) are a miserable 6-13 on the road this season and are on the back end of a back-to-back after beating the Miami Heat 107-102 Sunday. The Suns are a respectable 8-7 at home when favored but have not taken advantage of rest advantages, going 4-10 when having more rest than their opponent.
The Suns are playing well and the Spurs are coming off an impressive win, which could lead to a letdown on the road. I’d take the SUNS at -189.
New to sports betting? A $10 wager on the Suns returns a profit of $5.29.
The SUNS (-3.5, -129) are laying 3.5 points against San Antonio. The Spurs are 2-1 against the spread with no rest but are 6-7 ATS as road underdogs. The Suns are 6-9 ATS when favored at home but have won and covered their last two games. Expect Booker and Ayton to continue to roll and for the Suns to get the win and the cover.
The total is set at a high 226.5 points. The Suns have played to the Under in five of their last seven games and in six of nine. Spurs games have gone Under in three of their last four. The Suns don’t struggle to score points, and they can give up a lot. When the Spurs are on the road, they’ve played to the Over in 10 of 18 games. I like the UNDER 226.5 (-129) in this game. The Suns have been playing better defensively, Gay will not be 100% if he plays and the Spurs will wear out at the end.
Want some action on this game? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips and advice, visit SportsbookWire.com.
Follow @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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HoopsHype ranks the five players who have popped up the most in trade rumors over the past week, including Spurs big man LaMarcus Aldridge.
There hasn’t been a shortage of NBA trade rumors over the past week, and as we get closer to February, the scuttle will only continue to become more frequent, a trend we’re already starting to see now, in early January.
Below, HoopsHype ranks the five players who have popped up the most in rumors on the site’s Trade page over the past week.
5. KEVIN LOVE
The Cleveland Cavaliers’ attempts to trade Kevin Love have not been fruitful so far, with the latest rumors on this front telling us that league execs believe Cleveland will have to attach assets in a potential Love deal for a team to actually be interested.
Here’s what The Athletic’s David Aldridge reported this week on the Love trade front:
Love certainly could help the Blazers, or Pacers, or Rockets. But that contract is hard to match up in a way that makes sense for Cleveland, which understandably is asking for a lot in return. “I don’t think Kevin has a lot of value,” a Western Conference executive said Monday. “The contract is obvious, but you know he is going to miss games with the toll on his body… I don’t see teams taking Kevin on (without) at least taking back a first-round draft pick or multiple seconds.”
Love’s injury history, age (31) and so-so production this season undoubtedly hurt his value, and that’s without even mentioning the fact that he’s set to be paid like a Top-20ish player for the next four seasons.
Cleveland might be better served playing the campaign out and trying to move Love again this offseason, in hopes his value rebounds over the course of the rest of the season.
4. ROBERT COVINGTON
Minnesota Timberwolves wing Robert Covington has been one of the hottest commodities on the trade market this year, drawing interest from a variety of contenders around the Association.
Among the teams who have inquired about Covington, according to The Athletic, are the Dallas Mavericks, the Houston Rockets and, most interestingly, his old team, the Philadelphia 76ers. In that same report, however, it is clearly stated that Minnesota won’t trade Covington for cheap, even as they struggle through the 2019-20 campaign.
Covington is under contract for two more seasons after this one, for a total cost of just over $25 million, a fairly team-friendly price which surely factors in to the heavy interest teams appear to have in him.
Of course, his skill set, that of a 3-and-D specialist on the wing shooting over 35 percent from three, must also intrigue contenders league-wide.
3. LAMARCUS ALDRIDGE
Making a rare appearance in these rankings, LaMarcus Aldridge earns his spot on this list after being mentioned in trade rumors by two different outlets over the past week, one out of San Antonio and the other – from Miami.
First, San Antonio Express News’ Mike Finger reported that Aldridge hasn’t been placed on the trade block by the Spurs quite yet, but that if that were to happen, there would be plenty of takers, a logical conclusion considering Aldridge is averaging 19.1 points and 7.5 rebounds per game while shattering a career-high three-point percentage of 43.7 on over 100 attempts from deep.
Couple those numbers with the fact that Aldridge will be off his team’s books by the summer of 2021, which many project to be a loaded free-agent class, and you can surmise why Aldridge would have plenty of suitors in the trade market.
What’s more, per a report from the Miami Herald, one of those interested suitors could be the Miami Heat, who have been specifically been mentioned as a team looking forward to 2021 free agency, and who are projected to have max cap space that offseason. Landing Aldridge would give Miami a second All-Star to pair with Jimmy Butler – an All-Star who they have chased in free agency in the past, no less – and still allow them to maintain financial flexibility for the all-important 2021 offseason.
2. DENZEL VALENTINE
For a lot of this season, the Chicago Bulls have made third-year guard Denzel Valentine a healthy scratch, handing him DNP-CD after DNP-CD, even as the team struggles for consistency and lacks veteran leadership a lot of the time.
That’s not to say Valentine would fix all of Chicago’s issues on his own, but he’s shooting nearly 39 percent from three over the last two seasons he’s played, and comes from a winning culture in college (Michigan State), so there’s no doubt he could contribute something for the Bulls if given the chance.
Regardless, it looks like the next time Valentine gets the chance to contribute anything will be for another team, as although he won’t request a trade, the Bulls reportedly don’t see him as a part of their future, so there’s a chance he gets dealt this month to a team willing to take a flyer on the former lottery pick.
1. ANDRE DRUMMOND
Well, we appear to have one less potential suitor for Detroit Pistons All-Star Andre Drummond, as it was reported this week that the Pistons and Atlanta Hawks have nixed their trade talks centered around the double-double machine.
The rumored deal between the two teams would have included Chandler Parsons, Damian Jones (or Allen Crabbe, who has since been shipped to Minnesota) and a first-round pick, but now, it appears the Hawks will just chase Drummond in free agency this summer instead.
Another report this past week (courtesy of the New York Post) mentioned that the Knicks are also out on Drummond, which makes sense considering they’re nowhere near a playoff position so why swing a big move for a very expensive player now?
The expensive nature of Drummond’s deal could also make him a difficult sell for contenders lacking in the frontcourt, since salary-swapping on such large contracts can be tricky for teams already at or near the luxury tax.
Nevertheless, there’s a chance Drummond gets traded before next month anyway, so he’s still a player to keep an eye on ahead of the 2020 trade deadline.
You can follow Frank Urbina on Twitter: @FrankUrbina_.
