NBA D-League 2016-2017 Season Preview

(photo credit: NBA D-League)

The NBA D-League will kick off its 16th season today. The league expanded to a record 22 teams for the 2016-2017 season. The three new teams joining the league are the Greensboro Swarm, Long Island Nets, and Windy City Bulls. 

Two other existing teams, the Bakersfield Jam and the Idaho Stampede, were bought by NBA teams and rebranded as the Northern Arizona Suns and Salt Lake City Stars. There are now only eight NBA teams that don't have a D-League affiliate. There are two conferences, with 11 teams split into two divisions. 

The Sioux Falls Skyforce, the Miami Heat's affiliate, won the championship last year, and will look to defend their championship starting tomorrow against Salt Lake City. They will have to do this under a new Head Coach, as Nevada Smith will take over for Dan Craig. The Skyforce defeated Los Angeles to take home the title, but expect Los Angeles to be a contender once again this season.

 With the first pick in the D-League Draft, the Erie BayHawks selected Anthony Brown. The Stanford alumni was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round of the NBA Draft, but he was waived by the team before the season started.

 Brown averaged 14.7 points with the Los Angeles D-Fenders last season. The season kicks off with the Canton Charge taking on the Grand Rapids Drive.

2016-2017 NBA Season Preview

(photo credit: fabric.io)

The 2016-17 NBA season kicks off tomorrow night when the Cleveland Cavaliers take on the New York Knicks. The Cavs are the defending world champions, but they are not the biggest story heading into the season.

That would be the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors finished with a 73-9 record in 2015-16, the best regular season finish in NBA history. Unfortunately, they couldn't finish the job and fell to the Cavs in seven games. Now, with Kevin Durant on their team, they're heavy favorites to win the title.

The Oklahoma City Thunder, Durant's former team, are being counted out without him. They shouldn't be. Russell Westbrook has shown he can win without Durant and will do that again this season.

In the Eastern Conference, a lot has changed, as well. The Bulls have Dwayne Wade and Rajon Rondo, the Knicks have Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah and so much more. This will be a very interesting season and it will be interesting to see who hoists the Larry O' Brien trophy in June. 

Raptors Beat San Lorenzo 122-105

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The Buenos Aires-based San Lorenzo de Almagro traveled to Toronto to take on the Raptors in international exhibition play on Friday night. With Toronto sitting most of its top roster players, San Lorenzo was able to keep the game close for a while, but the Raptors pulled away in the fourth quarter to earn a 122-105 victory.

Toronto had just played against the Cleveland Cavaliers the previous night, so head coach Dwayne Casey decided to give a handful of players the night off. Kyle Lowry, Demar DeRozan, Jared Sullinger and Demarre Carroll, amongst others, all watched from the bench as players fighting for the last roster spot got the chance to show off their skills.

Leading the charge were Norman Powell and Fred VanVleet. In just 24 minutes, second year shooting guard Powell put up 17 points on 6-for-8 shooting, with four assists and two highlight reel dunks that were sure to catch the attention of the crowd and the coaching staff. VanVleet, an undrafted rookie point guard out of Wichita State, had significant playing time and filled that box score accordingly. In 38 minutes he deposited 31 points on 12-for-19 shooting, five rebounds, five assists, and a +/- of 25.

San Lorenzo kept the game exciting for quite some time. They had the lead at halftime, and had a 61-59 advantage at the 9:30 mark of the third quarter, but Toronto used a small run to take a 79-73 lead six minutes later. The Raptors were up by just five after three quarters, but eventually pushed the margin to 20 points late in the fourth, before settling for the final score.

The Raptors are 3-2 in the preseason, with additional victories over Cleveland and the Golden State Warriors. The two losses came at the hands of the Los Angeles Clippers and Denver Nuggets. They have two more games to complete their preseason, against the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday and the Washington Wizards on Friday, before they open their regular season at home against Detroit on Wednesday, Oct. 26.

Cavs Resign J.R. Smith to Four-Year, $57 Million Deal

(photo credit: New York Daily News)

Shooting guard J.R. Smith has verbally agreed to a four-year $57 million contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers, according to ESPN’s Marc Stein. Smith announced his decision to sign back with the Cavs via Bleacher Report’s Uninterrupted. Smith is guaranteed to make $45 million over the next three seasons. 

Smith was looking for $15 million per year, but the Cavs were only willing to give him $10-11 million per year. Once the Philadelphia 76ers expressed interest in the streaky shooting guard, Cleveland sweetened the deal to bring Smith back. Cleveland now has its core from last year’s championship team intact. Cleveland will begin their title defense on Oct. 25 against the New York Knicks. 

Smith has missed all of training camp and five preseason games, but he’s been seen with the team, including at last week’s Cleveland Indians MLB playoff game. The Cavaliers had a similar dispute over a contract with Tristan Thompson last year, but it didn’t take as long to end the stalemate as this one did. Smith was traded from the Knicks to the Cavaliers in the 2014-2015 season. Smith has played a vital role on both Cavaliers teams that have made it to the NBA Finals the past two seasons. 

Smith has provided knockdown three point shooting and a shooter that can space the floor. Smith was a starter last season and should be in the lineup for the upcoming season. Smith averaged 12.4 points while starting in 77 games. Smith was ranked seventh in the league in three-pointer (207). Smith converted on 50% of his three point attempts against the Detroit Pistons and Atlanta in last year’s NBA playoffs. Smith scored 12 points in Cleveland’s Game 7 NBA Finals win over the Golden State Warriors. 

Rockets Beat Pelicans 116-104 in Beijing

(photo credit: Houston Rockets/Twitter)

The Houston Rockets and New Orleans Pelicans faced off again in the NBA preseason in Beijing Wednesday morning. The two met in Shanghai back on Sunday with the Rockets coming out with the 123-117 win.

The Rockets would best the Pelicans for the second time in China this preseason, beating them by a final score of 116-104. The biggest story from this game is Pelicans forward Anthony Davis left the game in the first quarter with an ankle injury.

James Harden led the Rockets with 14 points on 5-11 shooting from the floor. Ryan Anderson was the only other Rockets player to record double figures (11 points) and also led the team with seven rebounds.

Solomon Hill led the Pelicans with 12 points on 2-8 shooting (1-5 from three). He also led the team with seven rebounds.

Kings Beat Maccabi Haifa 135-96

(photo credit: Sacramento Kings/Twitter)

The Sacramento Kings won their first game of the preseason Monday evening at the Golden One Center against Maccabi Haifa 135-96. The Kings showed they could dominate inferior competition, but it was a great opportunity to see what some of the newest players on the roster were capable of.

Their newest addition at point guard, Ty Lawson had a near triple double with 13 points, seven rebounds and eight assists. Sacramento's two draft picks showed promise as well. Former Kentucky big man Skal Labissierre finished with 10 points and Syracuse standout Malachi Richardson chipped in nine as well. Ben Mclemore also had a game-high 18 points off the bench.

When you talk Kings basketball, the conversation always goes back to Cousins. Boogie was just too physically dominant for Maccabi Haifa's undersized front court to stand a chance. The Kings star had 14 points in 17 minutes of play but also had five fouls. If the Kings are to make a serious push for the playoffs after such a long drought, it is essential Cousins controls his himself in the paint.

Sacramento's new head coach, Dave Joerger, has plenty of new pieces to use this year as he tries to do the impossible and rebuild the culture in Sacramento. The Kings were never in danger of losing in this game and were up by as many as 46 points. They continue their preseason Thursday, Oct. 13 against the Lakers.

Rockets Beat Pelicans 123-117 in Shanghai

(photo credit: Houston Rockets/Twitter)

The Houston Rockets and the New Orleans Pelicans rekindled their divisional rivalry overseas on Sunday morning, when the two teams met in Shanghai at the Mercedes-Benz Arena. This is the first of two meetings between Houston and New Orleans in the preseason, as they’ll meet again on Wednesday in Beijing. Houston used a strong fourth quarter to defeat the Pelicans, 123-117. 

The game was a shootout from the beginning, as both teams combined to score 67 points in the first quarter. After trailing by seven at the end of the first, New Orleans played much better in the second quarter to cut Houston’s lead to 68-65 at halftime. The Pelicans would outscore Houston by five in the third quarter to take a two point lead into the fourth quarter. 

Houston responded by outscoring the Pelicans by eight in the fourth quarter, which would give them the six point victory in front 15,844 fans in Shanghai. New Orleans was led by E’Twaun Moore, who scored 25 points and shot 4/4 from beyond the arc. Anthony Davis added 23 points and five rebounds. Former Rocket Omer Asik posted 14 points and 14 rebounds for the Pelicans. 

On the other side, fan-favorite James Harden led the way for Houston. Harden recorded 26 points, while adding 15 assists and seven rebounds. Former Pelicans Ryan Anderson (21 points) and Eric Gordon (24 points) both had big days against their former team. K.J. McDaniels chipped in 11 points and eight rebounds off the bench. Houston (3-0) will play the Pelicans (1-2) on Wednesday at 7:30 a.m. ET at the MasterCard Center in Beijing.