If and when big deals happen, it's not just the marquee players whose stats are affected. Trades can shake up teams after stars move on, and players that had smaller roles before suddenly have more opportunity to shine. We'll be doing wall-to-wall coverage of every trade that goes down, so follow us to keep up with players who may suddenly go from a bench role to a fantasy starter.
Around this time last year, I was listening to The Athletic's daily NBA podcast. One host recapped the week in professional basketball, ending with the news that player Terry Rozier was under federal investigation as part of a sports betting scandal. "Brutal," his co-host responded. "From that, um, let's go to our, uh, BetMGM line of the week, brought to you by BetMGM."
During their current five-game win streak, which was extended on Sunday night with a 112-100 win over the Los Angeles Lakers at Madison Square Garden, they rank No. 1 in the NBA in defensive efficiency, No. 2 in opponent three-point percentage, No. 5 in turnovers forced, and No. 6 in opponent field-goal percentage. It is a significant turnaround from the unit that ranked 29th in opponent three-point percentage and 26th in defensive efficiency during an 11-game stretch in January, when they went 2-9.
Kuminga is in his fifth season with the Warriors, but the past two years of his career have essentially amounted to a mutual waste of time. His strengths have been inadequately highlighted, his role has been limited, and his flaws have been unfortunately unresolved. Though fingers can be pointed in every direction, the unfortunate truth remains that Kuminga is a young and talented scorer with a career average of 20.3 points per 36 minutes who has never felt empowered to explore his potential.
Turnovers told the story before anything else had a chance to. The Nets handed the ball away 25 times Sunday night at Little Caesars Arena. The Detroit Pistons turned those mistakes into 39 points, shot 56.5% from the floor and committed just eight turnovers themselves. By the time it was over, Brooklyn walked off with a 130-77 loss, falling to 13-35 in a game that was over long before the final buzzer.
NEW YORK -- Cleveland Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson was fined $50,000 by the NBA for "aggressively pursuing, berating, and making inadvertent contact with a game official" during a game on Friday night. The NBA's head of basketball operations James Jones made the announcement on Saturday. The incident happened after Atkinson was called for his second technical foul and ejected from the game with 10:59 remaining in the fourth quarter of a 126-113 loss to the Phoenix Suns.
Dallas coach Jason Kidd ripped the referees for not calling a foul on Flagg's drive to the basket late in the game. "I saw a foul," Kidd said. "[Officials] Sean [Wright], Simone [Jelks] and Jason [Goldenberg] were awful tonight. The referees were unacceptable. It's a foul, and he needs to be at the free throw line. Now, does he make both? That's up to the player, but the referees did not do their job. They were terrible."
But while the public gets caught up in the storylines, smart money is focused on the value. By activating the latest DraftKings promo code, new users can exploit this high-profile matchup with a massive leverage play: place a wager of just $5 on this East-West clash, and if your read is correct and the bet wins, you secure $300 in bonus bets.
Trent Perry hit a game-tying three-pointer from the top of the key with 1.1 seconds left in regulation before the UCLA men's basketball team went on to lose to Indiana 98-97 in double overtime Saturday afternoon at Pauley Pavilion. Freshman Trent Sisley made the first of two free throws with 0.3 seconds left to give the Hoosiers a one-point lead in the second overtime period.
Through 38 games, Porter has authored the kind of season coaches typically reward when ballots land on their desks. He entered the day 14th among qualified players in scoring at a career-high 25.6 points per game, fifth in the East, while handing out a career-best 3.2 assists. He ranks seventh in the NBA with 145 made 3-pointers, the most by any player through his first 38 games as a Net, and second in the league with 3.8 made 3s per game, trailing only Stephen Curry.
When the Raptors handed Immanuel Quickley a five-year, $175 million extension in the 2024 offseason, many were left wondering about the hefty price tag for a restricted free agent. But in today's NBA, where contracts keep getting bigger, there was also a chance this deal could turn out to be a smart financial move down the line - especially if Quickley makes a significant leap to stardom.
Jordi Fernández obviously didn't ease into this one. With Michael Porter Jr. out, Noah Clowney still sidelined and a season-high-tying seven-game losing streak hanging over the trip, the Nets leaned hard into youth Friday night in Utah and were rewarded for it. Brooklyn beat the Utah Jazz 109-99 at Delta Center, improving to 13-34 and snapping that skid behind a bold starting lineup that featured three rookies and a breakout performance from Egor Dëmin in a building that meant something to him.
For two weeks, West Coast Conference basketball fans have wondered: Will injured Gonzaga star Graham Ike be ready to play Saturday night when Saint Mary's visits the nation's sixth-ranked team? Do they have Ike or not? I don't know, Gaels coach Randy Bennett pondered on Thursday after practice. We're prepared for either team. Gonzaga coach Mark Few said he expects the two-time All-WCC forward to play after missing the past three games with an ankle injury. Still out is Ike's frontcourt mate Braden Huff, likely
