LOS ANGELES -- During the one season he played under Mike D'Antoni, Patrick Beverley became accustomed to one of the things that the coach is known for.

"With D'Antoni, we didn't practice a lot," Beverley said this week, smiling.

Now Beverley is with the Los Angeles Clippers and coach Doc Rivers has his team practicing, practicing and ...Read more

The extent of Joel Embiid's availability is perhaps the biggest 76ers story line entering the regular season.

It was obvious that, as of Monday afternoon, the Sixers hadn't discussed a minutes restriction with their franchise center. That's when Sixers coach Brett Brown was asked how many minutes a game Embiid is expected to play at the start ...Read more

Most NBA conversations these days end with the same foregone conclusion: Just hand the Warriors another championship trophy already.

After all, that's probably what people should say when a team has the experience and talent to reach a familiar destination seemingly on autopilot.

But any would-be foregone conclusion begs for a devil's advocate...Read more

The University of Louisville Athletics Association voted unanimously to fire men's basketball coach Rick Pitino for cause Monday afternoon following revelations from an FBI investigation into alleged corruption in college basketball.

The determination came after Pitino's lawyers presented their case for why he should not be fired for cause ...Read more

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- LeBron James told J.R. Smith he hasn't missed an opening game since he began playing basketball as an eight-year-old.

Based on that conversation, Smith seemed sure Monday that James will be ready Tuesday night when the Cavaliers tip off the season against Kyrie Irving and the Boston Celtics at Quicken Loans Arena.

James ...Read more

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- Kevin Love loved playing with Kyrie Irving for three seasons and hated going against him in practice.

Love doesn't expect that to change Tuesday when the Cavaliers host Irving and the Boston Celtics in the season opener at Quicken Loans Arena.

"We all know Kyrie is a gamer," Love said Sunday. "Between the lines it's going...Read more

LOS ANGELES--Evaluating any measure of progress the Los Angeles Clippers may have made during the preseason cannot tell the entire story because they were an incomplete group for the majority of the time.

A deluge of injuries that started in Hawaii set the Clippers on a bad course the rest of training camp. They recovered enough to have plenty ...Read more

LOS ANGELES--After the hype and excitement of a productive offseason receded this month, the mundane business of training camp commenced.

Officially, training camp was short. In an effort to alleviate the strain of an NBA schedule and allow for more rest, the NBA season starts more than a week earlier than it did last year. So the Los Angeles ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Rodney McGruder thought it was nothing. It is why he continued to play. And why he never expected the devastating news that was delivered after finishing Wednesday's preseason victory over the Washington Wizards at AmericanAirlines Arena.

"I've been having a little shin pain," McGruder said Friday. "I thought it was like ...Read more

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- UNC-Chapel Hill on Friday morning received its long-awaited judgment from the NCAA Committee on Infractions, which "could not conclude academic violations" in the case, according to a statement the NCAA released along with its findings.

Therefore, the committee did not sanction the institution with any significant penalties...Read more

LOS ANGELES--Los Angeles Lakers rookie Kyle Kuzma has turned himself into a fan favorite with his play this preseason.

But he's done more than that.

Kuzma has forced himself into the discussion about the starting power forward position -- a discussion that at one time only included Julius Randle and Larry Nance Jr.

"It's more than who's ...Read more

LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Thursday might as well have been Joel Embiid Day at the University of Kansas.

It sure felt like that inside Allen Fieldhouse during the 76ers practice. At least 30 media members waited in the hallway, while the Sixers participated in an hour-long private portion of practice. Others, including Kansas coach Bill Self, Jayhawks ...Read more

Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg offered an optimistic assessment of Zach LaVine's recovery from left ACL surgery, while stressing the late-November timeline to be cleared for contact remains intact.

"Zach is coming along great," Hoiberg said Thursday. "He's been really good, very vocal with our players. He's ahead of schedule. He's cleared to do more ...Read more

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Count Tom Izzo as a strong, vocal proponent for racial equality.

But if his Michigan State basketball team will do anything this season to bring light to any injustices, the Hall of Fame head coach said the Spartans will do it as a unified unit.

"It's kind of up to all of us to do something about it," Izzo said Wednesday...Read more

Michael Jordan doesn't grant many interviews.

When he does, the Bulls' Hall of Famer and Hornets Chairman rarely disappoints.

Speaking with Cigar Aficionado magazine, Jordan weighed in on a wide variety of topics, including whether he's the greatest player of all time and the state of today's NBA.

"I never played against Wilt Chamberlain," ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Miami Heat's injury-free training camp hit a sobering detour with the team confirming that potential starting small forward Rodney McGruder has a stress fracture of his left tibia, expected to undergo surgery Tuesday.

While the team said "any timetable is premature," Yahoo Sports reported that McGruder will be sidelined ...Read more

Kentucky coach John Calipari said Thursday that his basketball program has not been contacted by federal authorities or the NCAA as part of the investigation into corruption in college basketball.

"We haven't been contacted. The NCAA hasn't contacted us," Calipari said at UK's media day. "We're going about our business of coaching this team."

...Read more