#zion-williamson

#zion-williamson

Any season, good or bad, has a multitude of positive and negative trends.Obviously, you want to amass a whole bunch of positive ones and some teams do, but there's ups and downs for everyone.Last night, the Raptors were matched up with a New Orleans team that possesses one of the only players in the league, Zion Williamson, who can outmatch O.G. Anunoby in the strength x speed department.

Well... it was definitely Zion Williamson's night in New Orleans as he led the Pelicans to a dominant win against the Toronto Raptors.It didn't start that way - Pascal Siakam scored 9 in a row on 4/4 shooting to start the game and hopes were high he'd take over.Yet, there was Zion to score 5/5 from the field to start himself.

Celtics The Celtics got a huge game from Jaylen Brown and a victory on Wednesday.The Celtics claimed a hard-fought - and somewhat controversial - win over the Timberwolves on Wednesday, holding off a fourth-quarter charge for a 104-102 victory.Here are the takeaways.1.In 10 games since the All-Star break, Jaylen Brown has been the Celtics' best player, averaging 28.1 points and shooting 50 percent from the field.

Being a Knicks fan is its form of malaise.Especially within the last 20-year sample size, it's easy to be a misanthrope in today's Knicks fandom.Shit sucks, and it has for a very long time.The Knicks under Leon Rose has been akin to a hamster wheel, the team running in circles, approaching nowhere, towards nothing.

The Toronto Raptors begin their first of two games away on a two-game trip against the New Orleans Pelicans.The Raptors comfortably beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 100-88 at home with the return of Pascal Siakam, Scottie Barnes, and Dalano Banton.Raptors: You never would have guessed that Siakam didn't play a game of basketball for over 20 days from the way he was playing.

The Lakers head to New Orleans, where they commence a quick road trip and back-to-back games versus the Pelicans and the Houston Rockets.The purple and gold have won seven out of their last 10 crucial games, and while that has certainly helped their quest in extending their season past April, no game holds more weight than Tuesday's against the Pelicans.

With All-Star weekend in the rearview mirror and none of the core dealt at the trade deadline, the push for a playoff spot begins now.The next six weeks promise to be wild.The Raptors' have the 5th hardest remaining strength of schedule in the NBA. 9 of their 23 games left are against top-4 seeds, 13 of 23 are on the road & they'll play 3 sets of back-to-backs.-

Welcome back!You read the preview, you read The Rap-Up, so you know the deal: the Toronto Raptors are 4.5 games out of sixth place in the Eastern Conference, with 23 games to play.And they start their effort to make up that ground tonight against the New Orleans Pelicans.And thIs should indeed be the start of a good thing.

[We had a bit of a mix-up, and two guys wrote previews for Saturday's game.I think they're both good, so we're posting both of them.Enjoy! -Ed.]I remember the Vlasic pickle spokesman being a pelican with a cigar who talks like Groucho Marx.When I looked it up, I saw he's not a pelican, but a stork.What is it about pelicans that lends itself to confusion?

After a raucous win the night before, the Wizards were somnambulant in the first half.They fell behind by as much 19 to the Houston Rockets - a team designed to lose.Kyle Kuzma and company apparently imbibed some halftime Red Bull and staged a spirited comeback.That, plus an impossibly sloppy Rockets performance, was enough for the Wizards to pull out the 108-103 victory.

Four days after picking up arguably their most dominant victory of the season against the New Orleans Pelicans in The Big Easy, the Miami Heat return home to face those same Pelicans on Sunday inside Miami-Dade Arena at 3:30 ET.Miami's victory over the Pelicans was its only win against New Orleans over their three-game road trip, capped by a 115-90 loss against the Dallas Mavericks - who had the NBA's 25th-ranked defense heading into the game - on Friday.

Pascal Siakam will have to trade sunny beach weather for Utah winter, but that just means he's headed to the NBA All-Star Game this weekend in Salt Lake City!He'll join Scottie Barnes and the rest of the All-Star players for a weekend full of events and celebrations.There's much more going on than just the All Star Game too, check out all the action below!

The debut of Jayson Tatum's signature Jordan Brand shoe could not have gone better.Tatum wore his new shoe for the first time during Sunday's All-Star Game, winning MVP after dropping a game-high 55 points to lead Team Giannis to a 184-175 victory over Team LeBron.Speaking to reporters after the game, Tatum admitted he wanted to capture the MVP to coincide with the shoe release.

The Toronto Raptors are officially back after their brief All-Star Game excursion, meaning that Nick Nurse, OG Anunoby, and the rest of the team will be under immediate pressure to perform and win immediately.Failure to do so would be an embarrassing showing.Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum are trying their best to stop the bleeding with Zion Williamson out of commission, but the New Orleans Pelicans have fallen far down the NBA standings after their mercurial No. 1 overall pick went down with an injury.

The Toronto Raptors were supposed to preview their brand new 2022-23 lineup against the New Orleans Pelicans.After trading for Jakob Poeltl at the deadline, Nick Nurse was expected to start him at center, Scottie Barnes and All-Star Pascal Siakam at forward, and Fred VanVleet and OG Anunoby in the backcourt.

The Toronto Raptors are not going to suddenly fall out of the rumor mill, as teams from all around the league will be calling Masai Ujiri and trying to convince him to part ways with one of his starters.Given his contract situation, several contenders and rebuilders alike may consider Fred VanVleet as a one-year rental or long-term fix.

Pelicans' Zion Williamson dunks the ball during the second half of a 126-108 win over the Raptors on Wednesday night in New Orleans.(Gerald Herbert/The Associated Press) Zion Williamson had 33 points, four steals and two blocks, and Trey Murphy added six three-pointers and 26 points as the Pelicans beat the Toronto Raptors 126-108 on Wednesday night in New Orleans.

Pascal Siakam and the Toronto Raptors went into their matchup against Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans with their health intact and a two-game winning streak in their back pocket.With Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum both injured, it wouldn't be outrageous to expect a victory from the Canadian side.

Don't look now but the Toronto Raptors are above .500,getting healthy and are about a week away from a soft spot in their schedule.With Pascal Siakam back in the fold and looking sharp - 18 points, 11 rebounds and five assists in a rousing 100-88 win over the Cavaliers on Monday - Toronto is ready to see their basketball team ascend.

When: Saturday, January 28 at 8 p.m. ET
Where: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, LA
How to watch: NBC Sports Washington
WIZARDS - Monte Morris, DAY-TO-DAY (hamstring); Kristaps Porzingis, OUT (ankle)
PELICANS - Dyson Daniels, OUT (ankle); Zion Williamson, OUT (hamstring); E.J. Liddell, OUT (knee)
In this five-game road trip, Washington is currently 2-0 winning both games against the Dallas Mavericks and the Houston Rockets.

The Washington Wizards and New Orleans Pelicans were missing their franchise players in Bradley Beal and Zion Williamson, respectively.This gave some fans hope that the Wizards would pull through with a victory.Unfortunately, that didn't happen as Washington lost 132-112.Despite an early 10 point lead by Washington, the make-or-break period happened in the second quarter.

This is the second straight "extended garbage-time loss" the Washington Wizards suffered.That leads to the inevitable question: Never, never, ever tank?On paper, the Wizards were facing a Pelicans squad missing its two big stars: Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram.The Wizards were missing their top player in Bradley Beal.

Kyle Kuzma is having the best season of his career.He has blossomed into a two-way combo forward with great positional size, tenacious rebounding, and an ability to make plays on both ends of the floor.He is averaging over 21 points per game.Yet, he needs to shoot less for the sake of the Wizards offense.

The Miami Heat came into their game on Wednesday night off a tough defeat at the hands of the Atlanta Hawks in a Martin Luther King Day matchup.Allowing the Hawks to go up big on the backs of their bonkers offensive efficiency to start the game and through the first half, the Miami Heat would get it down to just a few possessions at points late in the game, but couldn't fully seal the deal.

If you're a Toronto Raptors fan, there isn't much you'll want to remember about the team's 126-108 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night.The Raptors were competitive for about seven minutes before the Pelicans ran away with it, eventually leading by more than 30 points.Sure, Gary Trent Jr. had a season high, and Pascal Siakam had some sensational early moments, but selective amnesia is the best prescription here.

LeBron James is all but assured to be a captain in the All-Star Game yet again this year after the penultimate voting returns show his commanding lead in the Western Conference.LeBron's 6.5 million votes are nearly 1.5 million more votes than second place Steph Curry and over 500,000 more than Giannis Antetokounmpo for the most in the league.

The higher quality the opponent, the uglier the game.That much has rung true in the Nets' last two outings, first Wednesday's loss to the Chicago Bulls and then Brooklyn's come-from-behind 108-102 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday.The Pelicans were without All-Stars Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson but mucked the game up on the boards and on 50-50 balls.

Is another significant winning streak on the table in Brooklyn?The NBA's schedule-makers would like to have a word.If there's anything the Nets proved through their 12-game winning streak, their 12-1 stretch in the month of December and a 16-1 span leading into Wednesday's loss to the Chicago Bulls, it's this.

Three and a half years ago, the Chicago Bulls entered the 2019 NBA Draft Lottery likely hoping they'd be able to land one of the class' elite guards like Ja Morant and Darius Garland, or even the biggest prize of them all in Zion Williamson.Unfortunately, they'd end up with the 7th overall pick and select UNC's Coby White, a score-first guard who has unfortunately been able to leave a big imprint on this Bulls' team.

Fifteen games into the 2022-23 season, it doesn't seem like the Chicago Bulls can buy a win right now.After a loss to the New Orleans Pelicans, who were without Zion Williamson, the Bulls have fallen to a 6-9 record and are scuffling.For a season that started with high expectations and dreams of a deep playoff run, the Chicago Bulls' play on the court has left a lot to be desired.

Losers in four of their last five games, the Chicago Bulls enter precarious territory as they sink below a .500record in a highly competitive Eastern Conference.Things won't get easier from here, as two of their next three games come against the Celtics and Bucks, which is why picking up a win tonight against the New Orleans is crucial.