Sports
/ArcaMax
Despite years of losing, Magic always believed young core good enough to end playoff drought
ORLANDO, Fla. — When Jalen Suggs was officially introduced less than 24 hours after he was drafted No. 5 overall by the Magic in 2021, he sat in front of a set of microphones alongside fellow first-round pick Franz Wagner, new head coach Jamahl Mosley and president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman.
Mosley had only been hired by Weltman ...Read more
LeBron James calls Nikola Jokic 'one of the best players to ever play this game'
DENVER — After the Lakers’ last practice before their playoff series begins Saturday night, LeBron James praised Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, calling him “one of the best players to ever play this game.”
“He does everything. Does everything. The most important thing is he changes the way his teammates think about their own ...Read more
Jimmy Butler-less Heat batter Bulls, 112-91, behind a Tyler Herro takeover
MIAMI — Immediate challenge conquered.
Greater challenge ahead.
Pushing past the Chicago Bulls a day after learning team leader Jimmy Butler would be lost for weeks with a knee injury, the reward for the Miami Heat for Friday night’s 112-91 win-or-go-home play-in victory is a first-round matchup against the league-best Boston Celtics.
On ...Read more
Steve Kerr sees 'tremendous value' in Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green being Warriors for life
SAN FRANCISCO — In 1998, Steve Kerr was one of the several Chicago Bulls who left the franchise after winning the team’s sixth title.
“There was a documentary about what a disaster the whole thing was, you guys might want to watch it,” Kerr quipped Thursday.
Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman and Kerr won the 1998 NBA ...Read more
Michigan basketball adds four-star guard Justin Pippen to 2024 class
Michigan basketball has received its first high school commitment under new coach Dusty May, and it comes from the son of an NBA legend.
Justin Pippen, a 6-foot-3 guard out of Chatsworth (Calif.) Sierra Canyon, verbally pledged to the Wolverines on Friday, becoming the second member of Michigan’s 2024 recruiting class.
Pippen made his ...Read more
Sean Keeler: Why LeBron James' playoff LeFlops won't be enough to overcome Nuggets, Jamal Murray, Nikola Jokic
DENVER — The best way to play a LeBron James flop? Have a Joker up your sleeve.
“Listen: To have the success that they’ve had, as great as (Nikola) Jokic has been — if you go back and look at that (Western) Conference finals, the Lakers had no answer,” former NBA guard Greg Anthony, now an analyst with Warner Bros. Discovery and NBA...Read more
Ira Winderman: Heat now with a pause to take (needed) stock of Jimmy Butler
MIAMI — This moment was inevitable, whether it came during the play-in, playoffs or the offseason.
At some point, it felt as if the Heat would have to make a decision on Jimmy Butler.
Then, Wednesday night in Philadelphia, came the crashing and crushing reality.
And, so, a crossroads, the intersection of the franchise revival and older and ...Read more
Mac Engel: Mavericks vs. Clippers III: Broadcaster Brian Dameris can 'reunite' with James Harden
DALLAS — When it comes to sportscasters and analysts in Dallas-Fort Worth, Brian Dameris may not be a household name but he did drop the single greatest rant in the history of the broadcasts of the Dallas Mavericks, Dallas Stars, Texas Rangers and Dallas Cowboys combined.
With all due respect to the many men and women who have served as ...Read more
Mike Sielski The Knicks mopped the floor with the Sixers the last time they met in the playoffs. Three decades ago.
PHILADELPHIA — It could have been the start of something big. Maybe it should have been. Crazy as it sounds, when Game 1 between the 76ers and New York Knicks tips off Saturday at Madison Square Garden, it will mark the first time the teams have faced each other in the playoffs in 35 years. And the final image of that series was the sort of ...Read more
Heat teammates praise Jimmy Butler for pushing through injury before being sidelined
MIAMI — As they went into Friday night’s winner-take-all play-in game against the Chicago Bulls, the Miami Heat paused to reflect on the perseverance of their leader.
While a sprained MCL in his right knee took Jimmy Butler out of Friday night’s showdown at Kaseya Center, it did not deter him from playing to the finish of Wednesday night�...Read more
Coban Porter, brother of Nuggets' Michael Porter Jr., sentenced to prison in fatal DUI crash
DENVER — Coban Porter, the brother of Denver Nuggets star Michael Porter Jr., was sentenced to six years in prison Friday for killing a woman in a drunk-driving crash last year.
Porter, 22, pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide and vehicular assault in February on the condition that he would be sentenced to no more than eight years in prison. ...Read more
UConn's Stephon Castle officially enters NBA draft as 'one-and-done'
HARTFORD, Conn. — From the start it was clear Stephon Castle wasn’t your typical “one-and-done” player. He came to UConn all in for winning a championship, and fulfilled that commitment to coach Dan Hurley.
In fact, Hurley called him “the anti-five star,” because his team-first attitude was different from the typical high-end ...Read more
Duke roster turnover continues with freshman Sean Stewart entering transfer portal
DURHAM, N.C. — As a seventh Duke basketball player entered his name in the NCAA transfer portal on Friday, the Blue Devils are closing in on their first addition.
Sean Stewart, a 6-9 freshman reserve forward, became the latest Blue Devils player from last season’s team to announce his departure via the portal on the same day Syracuse ...Read more
Jalen Brunson, Knicks using costly turnover vs. Heat as motivation in playoffs
NEW YORK — The only time Josh Hart spoke about it was to poke fun at Jalen Brunson.
After all, Brunson’s 2023 playoff run ended in similar fashion to the brutal ending to Hart’s Villanova career.
With a turnover.
Hart and Brunson were teammates on the 2017 Wildcats team bumped from the NCAA Tournament’s second round by the Wisconsin ...Read more
Mark Story: In the unending war between Calipari and Pitino, Ricky P. has won the latest battle
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Over the past 10 days, the coaching conflict that has defined Kentucky college hoops in the 21st century has flipped 180 degrees.
In what has essentially been an unending war between the “House of Calipari” and the “House of Pitino,” the forces of “Ricky P.” have secured a stunning victory.
On April 8, the ...Read more
Chip Scoggins: Timberwolves coach Chris Finch feeling heat of the Suns as playoff battle looms
MINNEAPOLIS — The countdown clock started around 5 p.m. Sunday and expires Saturday afternoon, a protracted gap between games that must feel like an eternity in the NBA's rhythm of life.
The playoff format grants the Timberwolves five full days to prepare for the Phoenix Suns, a Monday-through-Friday workweek that is the most important time ...Read more
Knicks ready for unique defensive issues Sixers pose to Jalen Brunson: 'He'll continue to find a way'
NEW YORK — Elite Bulls defender Coby White had a unique way of describing Jalen Brunson after the Knicks’ All-Star point guard hung 45 points in a near wire-to-wire victory in Chicago on April 9.White called Brunson a ‘motherf-----.’
Brunson is that good. He’s proven it against each of the NBA’s premier individual and team defenses:...Read more
Troy Renck: Why are the Nuggets the Lakers' daddy? Because L.A. has no answer for Nikola Jokic -- and neither does anyone else.
DENVER — They gave us what we wanted: The Nuggets back on stage with Maury Povich and a manila envelope. In the case of the 64-year-old Los Angeles Lakers, you are the father.
Denver welcomes the Lakers back to Ball Arena on Saturday as family. Cup your ears from Trinidad to Windsor and you can still hear the “Who’s your daddy?” chant ...Read more
GM Mike Dunleavy says 'everything is on the table' for Warriors' offseason
SAN FRANCISCO — The Warriors have an aging roster that just finished a middling season. They just paid a ludicrously large luxury tax bill with a team icon hitting free agency. They have a responsibility to compete for titles as long as Steph Curry remains great and a moral obligation to keep their dynastic core intact — possibly ...Read more
Clippers still unsure if Kawhi Leonard will play Game 1: 'Very unpredictable'
LOS ANGELES — Day 3 of the continuing injury update regarding Kawhi Leonard brought in Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank to explain more details and to tell the media that his All-Star forward will be listed as “questionable” for Game 1 of the playoffs Sunday against the Dallas Mavericks.
Leonard, who missed the ...Read more
Popular Stories
- Knicks ready for unique defensive issues Sixers pose to Jalen Brunson: 'He'll continue to find a way'
- Troy Renck: Why are the Nuggets the Lakers' daddy? Because L.A. has no answer for Nikola Jokic -- and neither does anyone else.
- GM Mike Dunleavy says 'everything is on the table' for Warriors' offseason
- Mark Story: In the unending war between Calipari and Pitino, Ricky P. has won the latest battle
- Chip Scoggins: Timberwolves coach Chris Finch feeling heat of the Suns as playoff battle looms