#lamelo-ball

#lamelo-ball

In a year where the Chicago Bulls gave fans quite a lot of reasons to be pessimistic, one of the brightest silver linings for the team this season was undoubtedly the rapid development of Coby White.In a contract year with everything to prove, White displayed arguably more improvement this season alone than he did in his prior three years combined with the Bulls.

The Chicago Bulls are clinging to the No. 10 spot in the Eastern Conference, but they have a chance to pick up a win on Thursday against the struggling Charlotte Hornets.The Hornets are 14th in the East, and they have lost seven of their last 10 games coming into this matchup.Charlotte could get LaMelo Ball (ankle, questionable) and Gordon Hayward (hamstring, questionable) back for this game, but the Bulls are still favored on the road.

Celtics Boston began to pull away in the third quarter, outscoring the Hornets 33-19 behind Tatum, who was 7 of 12 from the field, including four 3-pointers.CHARLOTTE, N.C.(AP) - Jayson Tatum scored 17 of his 33 points in a pivotal third quarter, Malcolm Brogdon added 30 points, and the Boston Celtics beat the Charlotte Hornets 122-106 on Saturday night to push their winning streak to six.

Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images With Jaylen Brown missing his third straight game because of right adductor tightness, the onus was on Jayson Tatum to carry the scoring load Monday afternoon against the Charlotte Hornets.He was more than up to the task.Tatum absolutely went off to the tune of 51 points, nine rebounds and five assists, leading the Eastern Conference-leading Boston Celtics to a 130-118 win at Spectrum Center.

On the second night of a back-to-back, the New York Knicks are still in Florida, this time to face the Orlando Magic.The Knicks find themselves in what has become a much too familiar situation, one in which the team has a pseudo-must-win game following a loss that many would describe as disappointing and frustrating.

The now 32-28 Miami Heat head to Charlotte for the second night of a back to back against Lamelo Ball and the Hornets.Miami lost the last time these two teams met in Charlotte and are coming off an embarrassing blow out loss last night to the Giannis-less Bucks.Luckily, the Heat still stay as the 7th seed but are now 1.5 games behind the 6th seed New York Knicks and 2.5 behind the 5th seed Brooklyn Nets.

The New York Knicks had been cruising.They'd won nine straight games, including two over the Eastern Conference favorite Boston Celtics, and had gotten within a game of moving into fourth in the East.Everything seemed to be going their way until they ran into one of the most unlikely obstacles.Just a win away from having the fourth-longest winning streak of the season, the Knicks were shocked at home in a 112-105 loss to a Hornets team that was 26 games under .500

LOS ANGELES - Exiting a tense offseason, the Lakers as a franchise collectively hung their hopes on a new leader's ability to galvanize a group whose collective vibes and performance have both fallen just about as far as possible in the NBA.Few humans can wield both the gravitas necessary to tamper the oversized egos of the league's preeminent superstars and the sensitivity to keep them on your side.

Games that happen within 24 hours of the trade deadline are always a bit strange, especially with two sub .500teams like the Wizards and Hornets.But let's concentrate on basketball and numbers.As much as possible.The Wizards got Bradley Beal back for this one.Kyle Kuzma was still out and so was fan favorite and Wizards' draftee Kelly Oubre Jr.

The Lakers have not only played their way into the play-in positions, they've now put themselves in a position to where there's now ground between them and the teams out of the play-in race.After games on Wednesday, the Lakers are in the ninth seed on tiebreakers over the Pelicans with Oklahoma City, Portland and Utah all a game behind them.

Wearing a white Nike head band that conjures images from the past - think Paul Pierce - 14-year-old Jason Crowe Jr. of Lynwood High hardly was resembling the freshman phenom his supporters were bragging about.He had zero points as the first quarter was ending.Lynwood's coach and Crowe's father, Jason Sr., sat his son on the bench to rest and reflect.

At 14 years old, Lynwood High freshman guard Jason Crowe Jr. brings back memories of another 14-year-old freshman trying to succeed against hold-back players his same grade - LaMelo Ball of Chino Hills.It's challenging when you're not as strong driving down the lane, but the 6-foot-3 Crowe has grown up playing in the backyard against his father, Jason Crowe Sr., a former professional player and Lynwood's head coach.