NBA News

The turn this Lakers’ season took, it should go down as one of the franchise’s great what-ifs, coulda-woulda-beens, we’ll-never-knows … Shared regret for a legion of Lakers fans who were, for the full 15-2 month of March, vibing with their team, screaming excitedly like 6-year-olds and riding hard on the MVP campaign trail for Luka Doncic. Advertisement But then things …

Who would you rather have in a Game 7: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokić or Victor Wembanyama? Wemby will no doubt be the answer to this question at some point in the (perhaps not-too-distant) future. But for now, I defer to those with at least some playoff experience. For my money, Jokić still reigns supreme as the best player alive, and …

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Lakers spent six months building and working toward the opportunity to make some noise in the playoffs. And then Los Angeles’ hopes and plans all collapsed during one quarter in Oklahoma City earlier this month. Advertisement Luka Doncic made a move toward the Thunder’s basket, but stopped suddenly and hopped gingerly off the floor with …

Tony Bradley hadn’t played much for the Pacers in the postseason at that point last year, and he wouldn’t play in the Eastern Conference finals until the second game, but he still watched as Tyrese Haliburton’s last-second heave stunned the Knicks by forcing overtime in Game 1. And Bradley saw how that draining result — the Knicks’ double-digit lead late …

I had to crack up laughing when I saw the Gil’s Arena crew post a video about Draymond Green’s lockdown defense on Kawhi Leonard entitled, “How A Podcaster ENDED Kawhi’s Dream Season”. Green is arguably the greatest defender of his generation, so him playfully being referred to by his side gig dropping hot pods on YouTube is a nod to …

Latvian big man Kristaps Porziņģis had arguably his best game with the Golden State Warriors last night against the Los Angeles Clippers, notching 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists on 8-of-12 shooting from the field (3-of-6 on threes). However, his availability is up in the air for tomorrow’s tilt against the Phoenix Suns. Should Porziņģis be unavailable tomorrow, it …

Send in your questions now for this week’s episode of The Pindown: A Detroit Pistons Podcast to discuss everything Pistons. Submit your question to the comments section here or on X/Twitter to @TheRealWesD3 and/or @blakesilverman. Join us live on Saturday afternoon for the show where we’ll preview the Pistons’ postseason. We’ll know who the Pistons play in the first round by the time we record, …

Toronto Raptors (46-36, fifth in the Eastern Conference) vs. Cleveland Cavaliers (52-30, fourth in the Eastern Conference) Cleveland; Saturday, 1 p.m. EDT LINE: Cavaliers -8.5; over/under is 219.5 EASTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND: Cavaliers host first series matchup Advertisement BOTTOM LINE: The Cleveland Cavaliers host the Toronto Raptors to open the Eastern Conference first round. Toronto went 3-0 against Cleveland during …

Houston Rockets (52-30, fifth in the Western Conference) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (53-29, fourth in the Western Conference) Los Angeles; Saturday, 8:30 p.m. EDT LINE: Rockets -5.5; over/under is 207.5 WESTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND: Lakers host first series matchup Advertisement BOTTOM LINE: The Los Angeles Lakers host the Houston Rockets to open the Western Conference first round. Los Angeles went …

Atlanta Hawks (46-36, sixth in the Eastern Conference) vs. New York Knicks (53-29, third in the Eastern Conference) New York; Saturday, 6 p.m. EDT LINE: Knicks -5.5; over/under is 216.5 EASTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND: Knicks host first series matchup Advertisement BOTTOM LINE: The New York Knicks host the Atlanta Hawks to open the Eastern Conference first round. New York went …

Charlotte Hornets (44-38, ninth in the Eastern Conference) vs. Orlando Magic (45-37, eighth in the Eastern Conference) Orlando, Florida; Friday, 7:30 p.m. EDT LINE: Hornets -3.5; over/under is 218 PLAY-IN GAME: The Magic and Hornets square off to decide the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. Advertisement BOTTOM LINE: The Orlando Magic and the Charlotte Hornets take the court for …

Golden State Warriors (37-45, 10th in the Western Conference) vs. Phoenix Suns (45-37, seventh in the Western Conference) Phoenix; Friday, 10 p.m. EDT LINE: Suns -3.5; over/under is 219.5 PLAY-IN GAME: The Suns and Warriors square off to decide the eighth seed in the Western Conference. Advertisement BOTTOM LINE: The Phoenix Suns host the Golden State Warriors for the NBA …

NBA analyst and former All-Star Wally Szczerbiak takes a shot at some playoff Q&A with Post columnist Steve Serby. Szczerbiak will be in studio with Bill Pidto and Alan Hahn for MSG Network’s pre- and postgame coverage during the Knicks’ first-round matchup against the Hawks — with contributions by Alex Monaco, Monica McNutt and Tyler Murray.  Q: Are the Knicks …

Mitchell Robinson has seen it all as a Knick, from toiling on the league’s worst team to now being the X factor on a contender that has a chance to be the best. The Knicks’ road to a title — the bar set by ownership — starts with Saturday’s first-round Game 1 against the visiting Hawks. Robinson, the longest-tenured player …

This is a golden opportunity for Bronny James. He can prove himself. He can silence his detractors. He can show the world he belongs. Or he can stumble backward, making the negative noise louder. The Lakers’ Bronny James is poised to have some breakout performances during the NBA playoffs. AP With Luka Doncic (hamstring) and Austin Reaves (oblique) sidelined, James …

Unfortunately for the Lakers, there hasn’t been much positive injury news regarding their two biggest stars, Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves. Both missed the last five games of the regular season and have been ruled out indefinitely. Reaves is dealing with a Grade 2 oblique strain with a timetable of 4-6 weeks, and Dončić is suffering from a hamstring strain. …

The matchup for the 2026 NBA Mexico City Game is set. USA TODAY Sports has learned that the Denver Nuggets will face the Indiana Pacers at Arena CDMX on Nov. 7, 2026, marking the 35th NBA contest played in the city since 1992. Advertisement It’s an intriguing matchup that should feature a fully healthy Tyrese Haliburton, the Pacers star point …

WASHINGTON (AP) — Wizards general manager Will Dawkins said he’s expecting coach Brian Keefe to return next season after Washington finished with the NBA’s worst record. “Yeah, I anticipate Brian Keefe to be here,” Dawkins said Thursday at his end-of-season news conference. Advertisement Keefe took over in the middle of the 2023-24 campaign, replacing Wes Unseld Jr. That was Washington’s …

Bright lights, big stage, same LeBron. Unmoved by postseason pressure, superstar LeBron James said he doesn’t plan to change his preparation ahead of the Lakers’ playoff opener against the Houston Rockets on Saturday. Approaching his record-tying 19th postseason appearance, James has reason to believe in his well-established routine. Advertisement “Nothing changes for me from the regular season to the postseason,” …

There’s been plenty of discourse over the past couple of days following the Phoenix Suns’ loss to the Portland Trail Blazers in the 7–8 game. A lot of it has centered on Devin Booker and Jordan Ott’s rotations. That’s the natural reaction. You focus on what went wrong and look for ways to fix it. But “moving forward” is now …

The playoffs are here. After 82 games and 62 wins, the Spurs have an established identity and a set rotation. A big reason for their success has been their depth outside of their main guys. The role players have stepped up, bringing shooting, defense, and playmaking. San Antonio’s top nine is not perfect, but it’s good enough to beat anyone, …

Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here. Whether you’re saddling up at the urinal, putting on a one-man show, or making your NBA postseason debut, stage fright can get the best of us. Advertisement Just ask Charlotte Hornets rookie sensation Kon Knueppel, who suddenly forgot how to shoot in Tuesday’s …

Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here. The Golden State Warriors aren’t done yet. Golden State was able to rewind to 2017 for 12 minutes and live another day, setting up Friday’s NBA Play-In Tournament showdown with the Phoenix Suns for the No. 8 seed in the West (and the …

The postseason atmosphere in Denver won’t be confined to the seats inside Ball Arena this spring. In a move aimed at extending the playoff experience beyond the building’s walls, Kroenke Sports & Entertainment announced plans to transform the area surrounding the arena into a large-scale, open-air viewing and fan engagement space for both Colorado Avalanche and Denver Nuggets home playoff …

The Cleveland Cavaliers finally discovered midway through this season that they’re better when Jarrett Allen is heavily featured than they are when he’s not. That process was halted at the beginning of March when he injured his knee during the team’s win over the Detroit Pistons. Allen returned to the lineup the last week of March, but admitted that he …