BASKETBALL NBA ARTICLES

Doc Rivers and Gregg Popovich are two of the sharpest minds in the NBA. Rivers and Pop have both been at it for a long time and both coaches are great at maximizing what they can get out of their players. They have each been fantastic at finding ways to win without superstars, and each coach has their team right in the thick of things in the loaded Western Conference. That’s about where the similarities end when the Los Angeles Clippers host the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday night though.... 

LeBron James knew there would be growing pains. The Los Angeles Lakers were a team full of young, but talented, players before he arrived and his role was to be a mentor as much as anything else. However, James has expressed frustration at times, and in an interview on Monday he told reporters that he nearly lost his cool earlier in the year. James is the greatest basketball player since Michael Jordan, and possibly of all-time, and after winning the Eastern Conference for eight consecutive seasons, it’s frustrated him to be second fiddle. His Lakers are just 7-6, and a loss to the surging Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night would bring them back to .500. ... 

The Jimmy Butler circus is over. Butler’s antics over the past month finally became too much for the team and owner Glen Taylor, and Tom Thibodeau reluctantly traded him away. He was moved to Philadelphia for Dario Saric, Robert Covington, Jerryd Bayless, and a 2022 second-round pick, which was considered a relatively good haul given how toxic the relationship had become. Now, it’s up to Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins to move on and gel with the new pieces to turn the Minnesota Timberwolves into a winner. They will start to see how it all comes together at home against the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday. ... 

The San Antonio Spurs lost their star, Kawhi Leonard, this offseason, and he has done well with the Raptors. But true to form, as the players change, San Antonio just continues to win. The Spurs are 6-4 in the earlygoing and will aim to add another win this week against Western Conference foe the Houston Rockets.... 

Nobody has ever questioned the talent of the Golden State Warriors, but with the regular season such a formality, there were some wondering if they would be locked in from the get-go in 2018-19. The Warriors have not let up early on as they have the NBA’s best record at 10-1. They will aim to keep it rolling in a matchup with the Los Angeles Clippers this week.... 

The Utah Jazz began the season on fire, including road wins over the Rockets, Pelicans and Mavericks and a close loss to the Warriors. However, they have struggled lately and fallen to below .500 on the season. Utah will aim to get back on track with a tough matchup against the Boston Celtics.... 

The Milwaukee Bucks have been the biggest surprise in the NBA to begin the year, but they get a severe test next time out. If Milwaukee manages to hang with the Golden State Warriors this week it would be really big.... 

The Houston Rockets have shaken off a slow start to finally get rolling. They are still under .500 on the season but have won three straight. Houston will look to keep it going in a matchup this week against the Oklahoma City Thunder.... 

The honeymoon period is over in Los Angeles. There are reports that Lakers coach Luke Walton is already on the hot seat as the team has struggled out of the gate in 2018-19 despite the offseason addition of LeBron James. The season is young but the pressure is on as Los Angeles hosts the Minnesota Timberwolves this week.... 

The Indiana Pacers and Philadelphia 76ers are both confident they can compete near the top of the Eastern Conference. While the Celtics are the favorites, it is pretty open now that LeBron James is in the West. The Pacers and 76ers figure to be jockeying for position throughout the season and an early head-to-head matchup this week could be integral down the line.... 

The beat goes on for the Golden State Warriors, who have come out this season looking just as sharp as in years past, solidifying themselves as the team to beat in the race for the NBA title. Golden State has been perfect at home early on and will be huge favorites to keep that streak intact when they host the Memphis Grizzlies next time out.... 

The Boston Celtics were happy to integrate Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward back into the lineup after last year’s injuries, but it took a little time early on to work out the kinks. The Celtics are playing well now as they take a four-game winning streak into a matchup against the Indiana Pacers.... 

The Oklahoma CIty Thunder and Washington Wizards have been perennial playoff participants the past few seasons and have designs of making postseason runs once again in 2018-19. If that is going to happen, each team needs to pick up its play. The Thunder and Wizards are off to slow starts as they prepare to face off against each other this week.... 

There have been some surprises early in the NBA regular season, as the Milwaukee Bucks are the last unbeaten team and the Houston Rockets are really struggling. There is one thing that has lived up to expectations, and that has been more dominance from the Golden State Warriors. The Dubs are raining down 3s from everywhere and over-running their competition as they prime for yet another NBA championship push. Golden State will be expected to keep it rolling this week when it hosts the Minnesota ... 

No team in the NBA may rely on one player more than the New Orleans Pelicans lean on Anthony Davis. So when the team’s superstar big man has an injury, that’s not a good thing. Davis is dealing with an elbow injury that has kept him sidelined the past two games. The Pelicans hope to have him available when they face off against the Portland Trail Blazers this week.... 

There is one undefeated team remaining in the NBA, and it isn’t the one that would have been expected before the season began. While teams like the Warriors and Rockets have already lost, it is the Milwaukee Bucks who are off to the best start in the league with a 7-0 record.... 

With LeBron James now in the Western Conference, myriad teams feel like they have what it takes to make a run in the East come playoff time. The Indiana Pacers are in that group and they are off to a nice start. The Pacers have won four of their first seven games and have a point-differential of plus-6.1, which is third-best in the conference. Indiana will aim to continue its encouraging play on the road this week in a matchup against the New York Knicks.... 

The Phoenix Suns have been in a state of rebuild ever since Steve Nash left the Valley, and they don’t seem to be getting out of that any time soon. After a season-opening win Phoenix has lost five straight games to drop back to its familiar spot among the dregs of the Western Conference. The Suns are hoping to show some signs of life when they host the San Antonio Spurs this week.The Spurs aren’t the same perennial power they used to be but they have always shown the ability to reinvent themsel... 

The Toronto Raptors are one of two undefeated teams remaining in the NBA and will put that flawless record on the line when they host the Philadelphia 76ers. These two teams are expected to be among the best in the Eastern Conference this year. Even though the season is young, this game could be another hint at the pecking order in the conference.... 

The Los Angeles Lakers will wrap up a tough stretch of four games in six days on the road against the Minnesota Timberwolves early next week. Los Angeles is trying to figure out its chemistry on the fly and this will be a key game against another projected playoff contender in the Western Conference.... 

The San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers faced off in a phenomenal game on Oct. 22, and here comes the rematch five days later. The Spurs went on the road and pull out an overtime squeaker. The Lakers would love to return the favor by claiming a victory in this showdown.... 

The Golden State Warriors are the best team in the NBA. The New York Knicks are one of the worst. Their matchup this week may not be super competitive.... 

The Oklahoma City Thunder has designs of finishing among the top teams in the Western Conference but is off to a slow start. The Thunder has lost the first three games of the 2018-19 season and will aim to turn it around in a tough matchup against the Boston Celtics next time out.... 

The LeBron James era in Los Angeles has gotten off to a slow start. The Lakers have lost three consecutive games to open up the regular season. They will look to get their first win at home against the Denver Nuggets this week.... 

The Milwaukee Bucks are trying to make the jump to Eastern Conference contender in the 2018-19 season, and they are off to a good start Milwaukee will puts its 3-0 record on the line when it hosts another solid Eastern Conference team, the Philadelphia 76ers, next time out....