PHILADELPHIA–The Philadelphia 76ers are sitting at 50-26 as they continue to push toward the playoffs. They have six games left, a game each with the Milwaukee Bucks and the Boston Celtics, and the focus for coach Doc Rivers and his staff is now preparing the team for the games that matter most. Considering that their two top players, Joel Embiid …
Read More »Daily Archives: March 30, 2023
March Madness 2023: San Diego State makes Final Four after ‘devastating’ cancellation of 2020 NCAA Tournament
HOUSTON – Aguek Arop tucked his 6-foot-6 frame into the seat for his flight back home after an abrupt and gut-wrenching end to San Diego State’s 2019-20 season. Then, he pulled up a video on his phone that brought the pain into focus. It was a compilation made by SDSU director of basketball operations Matt Soria of footage from the …
Read More »NBA Rookie Rankings: Jalen Williams’ game-winner saves Thunder; Keegan Murray breaks rookie 3-point record
I have to applaud the rookies of the 2022 NBA Draft because, by this time on the NBA’s calendar, we typically see first-year players fall off as the regular season comes to a close. We’re also typically not seeing rookies still steal the show on nights when some of the league’s biggest stars are playing. But in a single night …
Read More »Dusty May to remain coach at FAU, expects to sign lucrative long-term contract after Final Four
HOUSTON — Whenever and however this fairytale Final Four ride ends for FAU, there is one guarantee: Dusty May will not be leaving the program when the season is over. May will coach FAU next season and is set to sign a lucrative long-term contract to stay with the Owls, he told CBS Sports on Thursday. “I love it here. …
Read More »Knicks’ Julius Randle out at least two weeks with sprained ankle
Miami Heat v New York Knicks In just a little more than two weeks, April 15 or 16, the New York Knicks will open the playoffs, likely on the road in Cleveland. They hope to have Julius Randle back for that game. The Knicks’ All-Star forward and leading scorer, Randle suffered a sprained ankle against the Heat on Wednesday night …
Read More »Badgers in contact with St. John’s transfer
The Badgers and their coaching staff have been in contact with AJ Storr, a 6-foot-6 transfer guard from St. John’s. Storr has entered the portal after averaging 8.8 points and 1.9 rebounds in his freshman season with the Red Storm. Considering the fact that St. John’s just brought in Rick Pitino, it appears as if the veteran head coach is …
Read More »Bulls C Andre Drummond misses game vs. Lakers after opening up about mental health
Chicago Bulls center Andre Drummond missed Wednesday’s loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, just one day after he opened up about his struggles with mental health on social media. Drummond said Tuesday on both Twitter and Instagram that he was deleting all of his social media apps and changing his phone number. “Time to focus on my mental health,” he …
Read More »Julius Randle injury update: Knicks star out at least two weeks with sprained ankle
Getty Images New York Knicks forward Julius Randle will miss the last five games of the regular season. The team announced Thursday that he’ll be reevaluated in two weeks after spraining his left ankle in Wednesday’s game against the Miami Heat. This timeline means that Randle could potentially be back at the beginning of the playoffs, which begin on April 15. …
Read More »March Madness came early in topsy-turvy college hoops season
HOUSTON (AP) — Everything seemed set for a college basketball season marked by the familiar — right up until the season, anyway. There was North Carolina returning four starters from a wild ride to last year’s NCAA championship game to open at No. 1 in the preseason Associated Press poll. Fellow bluebloods Kentucky, reigning champion Kansas and Duke were near …
Read More »Kings clinch playoff berth, Play-In Push™ breakdown & Grizzlies vibe check
Subscribe to Ball Don’t Lie Jake and Dan are back with another fun episode of No Cap Room, kicking off the episode with a celebration of the Sacramento Kings making it into the playoffs for the first time since 2006 and ending it with tales from the ranch. Where were you in 2006? Dan and Jake answer that question while …
Read More »Miami’s motivational Larrañaga leads another Final Four run
HOUSTON (AP) — Begin with the end in mind. A devotee of Franklin Covey’s “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” Jim Larrañaga chose Habit 2 to describe Miami’s first trip to the Final Four. “You’ve got to have a vision of where you’re going,” Larrañaga said. “It’s like putting in your GPS, your destination, and I think we put …
Read More »Mavs GM Nico Harrison says Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving are like ‘a Ferrari and a monster truck’
The Dallas Mavericks have lost five of their last six games, are 8-14 since Kyrie Irving arrived and, at 37-40, are one game behind the Oklahoma City Thunder for the final play-in spot in the Western Conference. This is not where they thought they’d be when they made their blockbuster trade in February. In an interview with the Dallas Morning …
Read More »2023 NBA Draft: Houston guard Marcus Sasser turns pro after winning AAC Player of the Year
Houston guard Marcus Sasser is declaring for the NBA Draft after developing into one one of college basketball’s top lead guards over the past four seasons, he announced Thursday. Sasser earned Second Team All-America honors from CBS Sports during his senior season and was also the AAC’s Player of the Year for the 2022-23 season. Sasser entered Houston as just …
Read More »Draymond Green wants Warriors to see Sacramento Kings in the playoffs
Draymond Green is looking at the Western Conference standings and sizing up who the Golden State Warriors would like to face in the first round of the playoffs like most teams at this point in the season. As a four-time NBA Champion, certain Hall of Famer, and competitor of Green’s caliber, you’d think it wouldn’t matter who the Warriors matched …
Read More »March Madness 2023: UConn’s live mascot Jonathan the Husky may not attend Final Four due to travel issues
Getty Images Jonathan the Husky, the live mascot of the University of Connecticut men’s basketball team, is currently unable to make the trip to Houston for the school’s Final Four matchup with Miami due to logistical issues pertaining to his travel. According to the mascot’s Twitter account, Jonathan XIV is too big to fit under the seats on an airplane, …
Read More »Can Celtics handle Bucks in a likely playoff preview? Plus, best MLB Opening Day bets and more
We could all stand to take an Opening Day approach to our every day lives. Opening Day is the day when anything is possible. The MLB season is full of unexpected trials and tribulations. Yet, on Opening Day, no matter what the expectations are for your favorite team, anything is possible. The division nobody expects you to win? You can …
Read More »A Wisconsin native enters the transfer portal
Another talented Wisconsin native entered the transfer portal on Wednesday. Marcus Domask, a 6-foot-6 senior who averaged 16.7 points per game last season for Southern Illinois, entered the portal on Wednesday. He announced the decision on Twitter. Domask was one of the best players in the Missouri Valley Conference last season, and has averaged at least 13 points per game …
Read More »March 30 East playoff picture after Sixers beat Mavericks at home
The Philadelphia 76ers were able to pick up a 116-108 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday back at home to halt a three-game losing skid. They were able to welcome Joel Embiid and James Harden back to the lineup after they missed time with injuries and the Sixers will be looking to gain momentum for the playoffs. Until the …
Read More »Arkansas forward Trevon Brazile returning to Arkansas next season
Hours after Arkansas freshman guard Nick Smith Jr. announced he was declaring for the 2023 NBA Draft, the Razorbacks received some good news regarding next season. Forward Trevon Brazile announced that he would be returning to Fayetteville next year via his personal Twitter account. Brazile transferred to the Razorbacks from Missouri ahead of last season and immediately made an impact, …
Read More »Suns’ Kevin Durant discusses Kyrie Irving trade and leaving Nets
Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant played 129 games for the Brooklyn Nets over the course of three-plus seasons with the team. During that time, there was a lot of hype surrounding Brooklyn since they had a combination of superstars, Durant and Kyrie Irving, that could potentially win a championship. However, things did not work that way as the furthest the …
Read More »Five ‘splash signings’ the Aggies can make in the transfer portal
Texas A&M finished off the 2022-2023 season with a memorable 25-10 record, a 15-3 finish in the SEC, a second consecutive appearance in the SEC Tournament Championship game, and their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2017. Even though the Aggies fell to Penn State in the opening round of the tournament, Head coach Buzz Williams has continued to …
Read More »Sixers’ James Harden says Achilles has bothered him for months, Joel Embiid says calf feels ‘good enough’
This time of year, injuries are a fraught subject in the world of the Philadelphia 76ers. Dating back to 2018, when Joel Embiid missed the first two games of their first-round series, wore a mask for his playoff debut and called himself “The Phantom of the Process,” they have dealt with some sort of injury to a star player every …
Read More »2023 NBA Draft: Alabama’s Brandon Miller turns pro after excellent but controversial freshman season
Alabama’s Brandon Miller is declaring for the 2023 NBA Draft after a prolific freshman season, the star forward told ESPN on Thursday. The 6-foot-9 SEC Freshman of the Year and SEC Tournament MVP was the focal point for an Alabama team that became the first in program history to secure a No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament. Miller’s lone season …
Read More »Nick Nurse a potential head coaching candidate for Rockets
If Houston decides to move on from Stephen Silas, longtime Raptors head coach Nick Nurse could be in play for the Rockets in the 2023 offseason. according to Toronto Star reporter Doug Smith. The Rockets hold a team option on Silas’ contract for the 2023-24 season, which could it make it a financially convenient time to move on, should they …
Read More »Iowa’s Caitlin Clark wins AP Player of the Year
caitlin clark DALLAS — Caitlin Clark has put together one of the greatest individual seasons in NCAA history with eye-popping offensive numbers. Iowa’s junior guard, though, saved her best performance for the game’s biggest stage, recording the first 40-point triple-double in NCAA history to get Iowa to the Final Four for the first time in 30 years. Clark was honored …
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