#paul-george

#paul-george

We saw the best of Julius Randle, we saw the worst of Julius Randle.Charitably, we begin on the sunny side of the 2022-23 campaign.Once again, Julius led the New York Knicks in scoring (25 ppg) and rebounds (10 rpg) yet again.He placed second on the team for assists (4.1), behind only point guard Jalen Brunson.

The New York Knicks advanced to the second round of the playoffs after a 106-95 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers in Ohio Wednesday night.The win began much earlier than that.The Knicks won this series on September 25, 2017, the day trading Carmelo Anthony outta town went down.The biggest return New York received from Oklahoma City appeared to be Enes Kanter, but they also acquired a second-round pick owed by a lousy Chicago team that figured to be in the low-to-mid 30s, the sweet spot to take a shot on a project.

Welp.The New York Knicks made it a game, at least.That feels like small comfort when, just last week, they were the hottest team in the NBA.But those days are long gone.Jalen Brunson is hurt, the rest of the team is dog tired, and the games (and losses) just keep coming and coming.The Knicks turned around a fairly rough first half right at the end, when Julius Randle scored seven straight points to give New York a two-point edge heading into halftime.

Wednesday's ESPN doubleheader looms large, so time remains for you to shop for snacks and beverages basketball fans.There are two excellent games on the docket with the Dallas Mavericks (33-32) facing the New Orleans Pelicans (31-34), and then the Toronto Raptors (32-34) taking on the LA Clippers (34-33) .

The New York Knicks lost to the Los Angeles Clippers in yet another MSG heartbreaker, 134-128.I started writing this during the overtime period, because any longtime Knicks fan knew this game was over as soon as the Nicolas Batum released that game-tying three with the clock winding down and the Clippers down three.

When Ron and I last talked, the Washington Wizards had just parted ways with previous team president Tommy Sheppard.Now the Wizards have found Sheppard's replacement - Michael Winger, a 43-year old NBA executive who gained experience with three successful franchises over the past couple decades.The resume version of his background would highlight the fact that he's been part of executive leadership groups that reached seven conference finals and two NBA finals over the past 13 years.

It was the best of times and the worst of times for the Lakers on Sunday.After experiencing the high of a surprise return from LeBron James, the team came out flat against the Bulls and dropped the first of a pair of consecutive contests against Chicago.The return trip on Wednesday kicks off a five-game road trip for the Lakers that is going to go very far in determining their postseason fate.

(Ringo H.W. Chiu / Associated Press)

Four years ago, in the afterglow of one of the most transformative nights in Clippers franchise history, there were some within the organization who found themselves as excited by the additions of Paul George and Kawhi Leonard as they were mournful over the cost.

Russell Westbrook is staying in Los Angeles but switching teams, going from the Lakers to the Clippers by way of Utah.So what does that mean for the other players on the Clippers?Who will be most impacted, and which players will see their role change the most?Here are André Snellings, Eric Moody, Eric Karabell, Jim McCormick, John Cregan and Steve Alexander to explain.

4:40 PM ET



Ohm YoungmisukESPN Staff Writer

CloseOhm Youngmisuk has covered the Giants, Jets and the NFL since 2006.Prior to that, he covered the Nets, Knicks and the NBA for nearly a decade.He joined ESPNNewYork.comafter working at the New York Daily News for almost 12 years and is a graduate of Michigan State University.

Should the Boston Celtics bow out of the Eastern Conference Finals, Jaylen Brown will be a name bandied about the rumor mill every single day - and at times, the price the Cs would ask for him will vary from analyst to analyst.Clipperholics' Iliyan Lakhani believes the price for Brown in a trade involving Los Angeles could involve Paul George, which is correct, but also believes - likely incorrectly in this writer's opinion - that the Celtics would need to be the team including draft capital in a potential deal.

Payton Pritchard's recent decision to replace his current representation with Creative Arts Agency signals the point guard will most likely move on from the Boston Celtics during the upcoming offseason.Pritchard called it a 'business decision.'"At the end of the day, it's a business decision," he told MassLive's Souichi Terada.

Danny Ainge recently revealed a trade he didn't have on the table using Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum as the primary trade chips, and a trade he did have on the table during his time as general manager of the Boston Celtics.The much-publicized Anthony Davis offer with the Pelicans was never on the table, but Jimmy Butler, then a member of the Bulls, was on the table for Ainge to acquire using his best assets.

Fired former Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka will be a highly sought-after coaching target during the upcoming offseason according to Heavy's Steve Bullpett, who reported that several teams were vetting the 45-year-old after his recent talks with the Hawks.Atlanta had fired Nate McMillan midseason but instead went with Quinn Snyder as their replacement.

As the 2022-23 season progressed, we had the chance to learn a great deal about the state of the Chicago Bulls' backcourt this season, as Alex Caruso, Ayo Dosunmu, Patrick Beverley, and Coby White each had plenty of opportunities to start and play heavy minutes for the Bulls this year.Even Clippers star forward Paul George had a few interesting comments to make about the Bulls backcourt himself, in fact, on his self-titled podcast, Podcast P.
It wasn't Caruso, Coby, or Ayo that was the subject of his attention, but rather the injury report staple Lonzo Ball himself.

Yesterday, Patrick Beverley made sure to let Lebron know that he's too small.Tonight the Bulls are staying in LA to face the Clippers at Crypto.comArena in the second night of a back-to-back for Chicago.Is Pat Bev going to bring that same energy against Kawhi Leonard and another one of his former teams?

After Thursday's win for the Lakers over the Suns, the fourth seed in the conference (Phoenix) and the 12th seed (Pelicans) are separated by three losses.It's really impossible to overstate how absurd this playoff race has been and will be in the final weeks of the season.Every game will be a big one for the Lakers moving forward, but a chance to win the season series and tiebreaker against the Thunder on Friday makes that game enormous as is.

There are few traditions better than LeBron James spending the entire NBA All-Star draft tampering.While Sunday wasn't his greatest performance, it was still a prime LeBron display.For the first time ever, the draft was held live, in-person just ahead of the game itself.Because the NBA thinks players' feelings would be hurt by being picked last WHEN THEY'RE ALREADY AN ALL-STAR, the reserves were selected first.

We already knew that the Dallas Mavericks, Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers all had some degree of interest in Kyrie Irving, but on Saturday, a new team entered the 2023 NBA trade deadline 's saddest, most chaotic and high-stakes game of musical chairs: The LA Clippers.Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN and Law Murray of The Athletic dropped our latest heaping helping of trade slop as the Lakers were winding down their Saturday collapse against the New Orleans Pelicans:

The Nets are proceeding in talks as though they're determined to find a deal for Irving ahead of Thursday's trade deadline, sources said.-

Mar. 23-EPHRAIM JOHNSON
Paxton-Buckley-Loda baseball
➜ His favorite athlete is ... Yadier Molina.➜ His favorite team is ... the St. Louis Cardinals.➜ If he could attend any one sporting event, it would be ... the World Series.➜ His favorite sport besides baseball is ... spikeball.QUINN KUHNS
Fisher baseball
➜ His favorite athlete is ... Max Bruggman.

Every strong team Kawhi Leonard has been part of has met his same, personal criteria.It's not defensive rating.It's not assist-to-turnover ratio.It's not quantifiable at all."It's a feeling when you know you have a great team," the Clippers ' star wing said Sunday."It's not always [leading] to a championship, it's just about you knowing that everybody's on the same page.

Slipping down a San Francisco baseline past Phoenix's Chris Paul late Monday, Stephen Curry claimed a basket and the final word."This ain't 2014 no more," the Golden State star told his longtime combatant as cameras rolled.Paul later claimed he didn't know the reference, but on his podcast, Curry's Warriors teammate Draymond Green explained its laden meaning - that it had been that long since Paul could be considered the better player.

They are building momentum again, each win by the Clippers just a little more impressive than the previous.Along the way, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are showing why they are one of the NBA's top duos, and why the Clippers still hold championship aspirations.Leonard was outstanding again in scoring 38 points, with his left-handed dunk late in the fourth quarter providing the finishing touches on the Clippers' 106-95 victory over the New York Knicks on Saturday at Crypto.com

Around 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, as a little more than three hours remained until the NBA's trade deadline, the Clippers didn't have any trades close to happening, said Lawrence Frank, the team's president of basketball operations.By 7:30 p.m. on Friday, the fruits of those final hours could be seen on the home team's bench inside Crypto.com

Five months into a Clippers season that has produced more consternation than joy, every setback and shortcoming dissected under a microscope of their own championship expectations, came a practice Monday that left a notable impression on forward Nicolas Batum.New backup point guard Bones Hyland was a burst with the ball.

When the Clippers arrived here late Saturday, they were without their winning streak and their coach.After coaching Saturday in a loss to Orlando in Los Angeles that ended the Clippers' turnaround at four consecutive wins, Tyronn Lue did not join the team on its flight to Oregon while recovering from what the team called a non-COVID-19 illness.

Andrew Wiggins' absence isn't the sole reason the Warriors lost to the Clippers in Los Angeles.Nor is it the reason the Warriors haven't won a road game since January.But the Dubs' wing has been on an excused absence for family issues for 13 games now, and the team has no idea when he might return.And my goodness, they could have used him Wednesday.

LOS ANGELES Draymond Green is facing a one-game suspension after picking up his 16th technical foul of the season Wednesday.Green was slapped with a technical at the 40.8-second mark of the second quarter of Wednesday's game against the Los Angeles Clippers after he appeared to throw the basketball at Russell Westbrook's head after Ivica Zubac's basket.

LOS ANGELES The Warriors' 134-124 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday was a fitting way for Golden State to enter its All-Star break.The defeat dropped the Warriors to 29-29, marking the 16th time this season their record has been evenly split between wins and losses this tumultuous season.

SAN FRANCISCO Warriors coach Steve Kerr says his team is finally jelling.Draymond Green thinks so, too.It's hard to disagree with either man.And it's hard to ignore what that means for the Warriors and the NBA with Steph Curry likely to return to the Dubs' lineup this weekend.Without Curry, the Warriors have won four straight games and are playing some of their best basketball of the season.

SAN FRANCISCO A bad Draymond Green game typically spells trouble for the Warriors' defense.Having played six games over the last nine days winning five in a row at home Green's tank was running on empty Friday night against the New Orleans Pelicans.He fouled out late in the fourth quarter with one assist, four turnovers and five rebounds.

Paul George is a superb basketball player and a seemingly wonderful guy, but like LeBron James, he is a horrible general manager.All the Clippers needed to add at the trade deadline was a solid backup center, which they accomplished by acquiring Mason Plumlee.However, they didn't need the other three guys they got, and Coach Lue seems to have no idea how to get chemistry with these additional players on the squad.

As Bones Hyland stood in one corner beyond the three-point arc Thursday morning before Clippers practice, Mason Plumlee curled around the top of the arc to set an imaginary screen used by Eric Gordon.He caught a pass from Russell Westbrook, and coach Tyronn Lue blew his whistle, calling for the group to run the play again.

White AirPods in his ears, his gaze locked onto the Sacramento highlights playing on a locker-room television, Russell Westbrook bobbed his head Friday night at a locker a few feet down the Crypto.comArena hallway from his old one.Situated within new digs and a new offense and surrounded by new teammates, the former Laker and newest Clipper prepared for his first opportunity to show a new side: One in which the former most valuable player could quell his most damaging traits, emphasize his most useful, all while raising the Clippers ' potential.

When the Clippers signed Russell Westbrook this week, coach Tyronn Lue said he wasn't expecting miracles from the nine-time All-Star and future Hall of Famer.The Clippers, Lue said, " want Russ to be Russ."That's what they got on Friday in his debut, a 17-point, 14-assist, seven-turnover performance against Sacramento that wasn't so different from the late stages of his Lakers tenure except that Lue played him during crunch time.

Kawhi Leonard called it "ridiculous."Russell Westbrook called it "crazy."His new coach with the Clippers, Tyronn Lue, called it a performance that left him "intrigued by what I saw" - and just as galled by what he didn't.Terance Mann called it nothing out of the ordinary - another role change in a career, and season, full of them.

With their steady stream of injuries, the nights off for rest and their consistently inconsistent lineups, the Clippers ' last five months were spent playing wait-and-see.Yet five weeks before the postseason begins, time is running out for coach Tyronn Lue to decide the players he will rely on during the playoff push and, as a result, for the Clippers to decide who they will be.

Fred VanVleet tried to take a double breath before addressing reporters.But the Toronto Raptors guard was unable to suppress his frustration with referee Ben Taylor and his crew.VanVleet was extremely critical of Taylor after the Raptors' 108-100 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night not only for being called for a technical foul, but for the disparity in fouls and free throws.

There were a couple moments Friday night when Sacramento coach Mike Brown wishes he could have enjoyed being a part of the second-highest scoring game in NBA history.Brown and his Kings though were able to savor something that is more important in the long run a hard-fought victory.Which NBA rivalries could shape basketball's next five years?

Mar 3, 2023



Ohm YoungmisukESPN Staff Writer

CloseOhm Youngmisuk has covered the Giants, Jets and the NFL since 2006.Prior to that, he covered the Nets, Knicks and the NBA for nearly a decade.He joined ESPNNewYork.comafter working at the New York Daily News for almost 12 years and is a graduate of Michigan State University.

The Clippers began this season believing their depth and talent would set them apart in a class of their own within the West.They have done just that.Over the first 67 games, they have undergone a unique transformation, going from what many within the organization believed would be one of the NBA's best teams to perhaps its most confounding.

Eyes on the rim, feet at the stripe, Kawhi Leonard set himself to shoot a free-throw in Wednesday's first half when a cry arose from section 112 inside Crypto.comArena."Thank you for the banner!" a row of fans wearing Toronto jerseys yelled.In an era when superstars don't stay put long, Leonard's departure from Toronto, and its newly won NBA title, for Los Angeles four years ago can feel like an eternity.

The Toronto Raptors found themselves on the wrong end of more Scott Foster nonsense, as poor officiating put the nail in the coffin of their spirited effort against the Denver Nuggets.Rather than playing .500ball, Toronto is just a half-game above the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference.The Los Angeles Clippers have been one of the most difficult teams in the league to figure out.

As the NBA season surpasses the 80% mark of the schedule, it may not surprise you that the Raptors and Clippers have similar records.What is surprising is that they're both hovering around .500.With each passing game, the opportunity to climb the standings - and out of the play-in - lessens for each team.

For Eric Gordon, Monday's setting was as familiar as the assignment.The 34-year-old guard practiced for the first time since being traded last week from Houston to the Clippers inside the same Playa Vista practice facility he'd called home during three seasons to start his NBA career, from 2008-11.It was the first opportunity to learn teammates' preferences and the Clippers' specific terminology.