Tag: Will Barton

Jamal Murray, Gary Harris and Will Barton all likely out vs. Thunder

Looking for the fifth consecutive victory in Orlando on Monday, the Thunder will be facing a Nuggets starting unit decimated by injury.

Thus far, for the Thunder, Orlando really has been the “Magic Kingdom.”

After winning its three exhibition games, Oklahoma City began their gamut of eight seeding games with a resounding victory over the Utah Jazz on Friday.

When Chris Paul and co. square off against the Denver Nuggets on Monday, Nikola Jokic’s team will be far from full strength; the Thunder will be looking to make it five in a row.

On Sunday, Nuggets coach Mike Malone declared three of his starters — Jamal Murray, Gary Harris and Will Barton — as “very, very questionable” for the contest. An injury report released by the time after the coach’s comments confirmed that Harris (hip) and Barton (knee) would each miss the contest, while Murray, who is nursing a hamstring issue, is the only one of the three officially listed as questionable.

The three also missed the club’s first seeding game against the Miami Heat on Friday, and if they’re to avoid an 0-2 start to their resumption, they’ll have to defeat a Thunder team that’s only appeared to have gotten stronger as the season has progressed.

The competition will tip-off at 4:00 p.m. ET and will be nationally televised on NBATV.

Joel Embiid ranks second on Bleacher Report’s top 15 centers list

Sixers star Joel Embiid has been one of the top centers in the league the past two seasons.

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid probably has the most to prove of any All-Star in the Orlando bubble.

It’s not about the lack of rings, but more so the absence of a long playoff run. In two playoff appearances, Embiid has not gone past the second round. Still, he is recognized by many as one of the best at his position.

Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey and Dan Favale released their top 15 centers Friday, and Embiid slotted in at No. 2, right behind Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic. The debate between Embiid and Jokic isn’t new, with Jokic being more dynamic on offense and Embiid being a better defender.

This season, Embiid has continued to dominate in the low post. At the beginning of the video above, he squared up to the basket well and created space to score against Boston Celtics big man Daniel Theis. According to NBA.com stats, Embiid has led the league in points on post-ups (7.4) this season.

Along with his low-post dominance, Embiid has maintained his reputation for being a good interior defender. He has posted a defensive rating of 101.4 this season, and he has averaged 1.3 blocks a game.

As a playmaking center, Jokic is the better passer. Both players can score at about the same level, and neither is significantly better than the other at rebounding.

With Embiid and Jokic being the focal points of their respective offenses, it  comes down to personal preference in choosing who is better.

Jokic is the hub, but the Nuggets are nearly a by-committee offense, with Will Barton, Jamal Murray, Paul Millsap, Jerami Grant and Gary Harris all being viable scoring options.

The Sixers’ offense isn’t as efficient because of their lack of quality spacing. It feeds more on Embiid’s success, and if Embiid doesn’t play well, the rest of the team generally falters.

The Sixers will play their first seeding game Aug. 1 against the Indiana Pacers, with tipoff set for 7 p.m. ET.

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Denver’s overtime comeback extends Warriors losing streak, 134-131

The Warriors couldn’t hold on to a 19-point lead against the Denver Nuggets, losing their tenth straight game. Golden State is still winless since the start of 2020.

For the first 46 minutes of the Warriors home contest against the Denver Nuggets, the game felt like it was leaning towards a Golden State upset. However, a strong final quarter from Nuggets erased the Warriors 19-point lead, sending the game into overtime.

In the extra period, the Warriors were overwhelmed by the Western Conference playoff hopeful. Malik Beasley, Michael Porter Jr and Nikola Jokic all added 10 points in the fourth quarter, enough to take the struggling Warriors into deep water.

Denver handled business in overtime, sealing the comeback win in San Francisco, 134-131. The loss marks the Warriors tenth straight loss and the team is still winless since the start of the 2020 new year.

Seven different members of Golden State scored in double digits, with Damion Lee and Alec Burks leading the way with 21 and 25 points, respectively. Golden State’s collective scoring effort wasn’t enough to slow down the Nuggets duo of Beasley, 28 points and Will Barton, 31 points.

Golden State will have an opportunity to end the losing streak when the Orlando Magic travel to Chase Center.

Starting fast

A primary source of the Golden State Warriors’ struggles throughout the 2019-20 season has been their sluggish first quarters. Golden State has come out of the gate slow in many contests this season, but against Denver, it was the opposite.

Damion Lee, D’Angelo Russell and Jordan Poole combined for 21 points to outscore the entire Nuggets roster alone in the opening quarter. The team shot 50 % from the field and added seven 3-pointers to blitz Denver off the jump The Warriors roared to a 34-19 lead in the first period to set the tone for the remainder of the bout.

Finishing slow

As fast as the Warriors started the game, the Nuggets turned things on when it mattered at the end. Denver dropped 40 points in the final period to cut Golden State’s 12 point fourth-quarter lead.

In the fourth quarter, Russell couldn’t find the ice in his veins, only scoring four points and turning the ball over once ina critical situation.

The Warriors shot a miserable 30 % from the field, while Denver punished Golden State while they were down, shooting 68.2 %. Rookie, Eric Paschall knocked down a late three-pointer to give Golden State the lead, but it wasn’t enough to close out Denver. The Warriors’ sloppy final period opened the door for the Nuggets to stretch the game into overtime.

Jordan Poole figuring it out

A highlight in a disappointing night was rookie Jordan Poole putting together another solid game. Poole registered his third straight double-digit scoring night, dropping 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the field. Poole was a significant factor in the Warriors’ fast start, adding two makes from beyond the arc in the first quarter off the bench.

LeBron James watches Lakers drop third straight game vs. Nuggets

Anthony Davis tried to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a win but L.A. was unable to slow down the depth of the Lakers.

Without LeBron James, the Los Angeles Lakers lost a season-worst third-straight game on Sunday night against the Denver Nuggets, 128-104. Not even the return of Kyle Kuzma and a solid game from Anthony Davis were enough for L.A. to secure a home win to snap a season-worst losing streak.

Davis had 32 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Lakers but aside from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Avery Bradley, nobody else on the Laker hit two 3-pointers or more. Kuzma had a strong showing in his first game back from an ankle injury with 16 points, four rebounds and two blocks. But the Lakers’ defense was non-existent on Sunday.

Davis held up his end of the bargain offensively as the Lakers leading scorer early on with 19 points in the first half. The Lakers had to adjust their offensive supply chain without James in the lineup and they struggled mightily without him. They failed to crack 35% from the 3-point line and they had just 18 assists compared to 31 for Denver.

Without LeBron, Kuzma had nine first-half points but the Lakers still found themselves down 55-53 at halftime. The Lakers outrebounded Denver 30-23 in the first half but they couldn’t maintain a lead for much of the night and Denver managed to close the game to 45-44 by the end of the game.

Also, treading water without LeBron James sounds about as easy as being deep water snorkeling with aqua sox. Hopefully for the Lakers, their excursion without James in the middle of the season won’t last for a long time.

Davis is also feeling banged up in addition to James. The best thing for the Lakers and James to hear is that they have two full days before welcoming Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and the Los Angeles Clippers on Christmas Day.

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Lakers welcome Nuggets as they expect to play first game without LeBron James this season

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is considered doubtful for Sunday’s meeting with the Denver Nuggets at Staples Center.

The Los Angeles Lakers have been on the road plenty over the last month, playing 12 of their last 15 games on the road, but Sunday night’s game against the Denver Nuggets will be a game played in a new territory despite it being played under the stage lights at Staples Center.

For the first time this season, the Lakers will likely be without LeBron James as he is considered doubtful for the game with a thoracic muscle strain. But while LeBron’s mid-back issue should keep him up out Sunday, it sounds like the Lakers are much more sure of themselves in this situation than the much younger Lakers were last year.

The Lakers may also feel like they have something to prove without James in the fold. James is leading the NBA in assists and has been the fulcrum of everything the Lakers do offensively but Sunday could give other Lakers the opportunity to show their stuff, such as Rajon Rondo and Kyle Kuzma in addition to star forward Anthony Davis.

The Lakers can also look back to their last meeting against Denver with encouragement. Back on Dec. 3 in Denver, the Lakers won 105-96 as they were able to score at will down the stretch of the game against an otherwise strong defense.

Without James, it will certainly be harder but at home with a mostly healthy team outside of LeBron, the Lakers should still be in a good position to avoid losing three straight losses for the first time this season.

Sixers defeat Nuggets 97-92 to win 13th straight home game

The Sixers got their third straight win against the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday.

Joel Embiid had another marquee matchup with Nikola Jokic on Tuesday night, but this time Embiid got the better of him.

Embiid scored a team-high 22 points in the Philadelphia 76ers’ 97-92 win over the Denver Nuggets. With the win, the Sixers are now 13-0 at home and have the best home record in the NBA. The win also helped the Sixers earn their best home start since the 1966-67 season, according to Basketball Reference; Philly got 22 straight home wins to begin that season.

Heading into the fourth quarter, the Sixers were up 83-76. The Nuggets had fed off the quality play of Jokic, Gary Harris and Will Barton. Jokic had a team-high nine points in the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Embiid wasn’t much of a factor from a scoring standpoint, finishing with four points. But he grabbed four rebounds, and tallied one steal and an assist.

Jokic finished with 15 points on 53.8% shooting from the field, and he also had 11 assists and seven rebounds.

It wasn’t a premier performance from Embiid. But his game-sealing two free throws helped create enough cushion for the Sixers to win the game.

The last time these two teams played was on Nov. 8, and the Nuggets won 100-97. Jokic had the better outing, scoring 26 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and tallying six assists. Embiid had 19 points and 15 rebounds, shooting 35.3% from the field.

The Sixers’ pace fluctuated throughout the game. Philly played its best when it was gaining stops and getting out in transition. The Sixers rank 12th in fastbreak points (13.8). On Tuesday, they scored 19 fastbreak points, tying their fifth-highest mark of the season.

Along with Embiid’s play, the Sixers showed how their ability to move the ball helps them have an above average offense. Ben Simmons had a team-high seven assists, and the Sixers had 24 as a team.

Still, those passes didn’t necessarily equate to buckets. The Sixers shot 41.6% from the field and 33.3% from deep.

What was most troubling for the Sixers was how their offense stalled late in the game. With 4:09 left, Tobias Harris made a jumper to increase the Sixers’ lead to 95-89. But after that bucket, the Sixers didn’t score again until Embiid sank a free throw with about 15 seconds left.

As the Sixers come off this third straight win, they will prepare to play the Boston Celtics in Boston on Thursday night. The Celtics are currently 17-5, and they’re ranked second in the Eastern Conference.

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