2017 NBA All-Star Game Preview

(photo credit: wikipedia.org)

The culmination of all-star weekend, after the celebs take the court, the sharpshooters empty the racks and the greatest athletes in the game shake the rim, is always the highest scoring event of the year. And while this year’s all-star contest will be no different, but there will be added drama due to tension among teammates.

With Steve Kerr coaching the West All-Stars, he will have to decide how best to handle Russell Westbrook playing with his own Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and most importantly, former Thunder star turned Warrior Kevin Durant.

Kerr will be coaching against Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens and the East All-Stars lead by LeBron James and up and coming star Giannis Antetokounmpo.

The East have won four of the last five years and last years game was the highest scoring game in All-Star history, with the East winning 196-173.

The game will be in New Orleans on Sunday at 8 p.m.

Mavericks Outlast Suns in Mexico City, 113-108

(photo credit: Dallas Mavericks/Twitter)

The NBA continues to stretch its borders with a pair of games in other countries on Thursday evening. While the Denver Nuggets put a 140-112 drubbing on the Indiana Pacers in London, England, the Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns put on a more competitive show for the residents of Mexico City, with the Mavericks pulling away, 113-108.

For the Mavericks, all five starters finished in double figures. Deron Williams and Harrison Barnes led the way with 23 and 22 points, respectively, while Dirk Nowitzki and Wesley Matthews both had 18, and Seth Curry contributed 12. Dwight Powell scored 10 of Dallas' 20 points off the bench. Williams ended with 12 assists, and four of the starters (all but Barnes) connected on at least three 3-point attempts.

For the Suns, Devin Booker did everything he could to keep Phoenix in the game. He scored 39 points in 37 minutes, shooting 14 for 20 from the field, including six for seven from beyond the arc. Tyson Chandler added 14 points and 19 rebounds down low.

Phoenix had a 59-57 lead at halftime, but Deron Williams' jumper just 68 seconds in gave Dallas a 62-59 lead that they would never relinquish. The deficit got as high as 76-63 later in the third quarter, but stayed within reach to the end.

The game was played in front of 19,874 at Mexico City Arena. With the victory, Dallas improved to a tied record with Phoenix of 12-27.

Nuggets Beat Pacers 140-112

(photo credit: Denver Nuggets/Twitter)

After a five-game losing streak, The Denver Nuggets got a much needed win against The Indiana Pacers in London today. The Nuggets were lead by their skilled big man Josif Nurkic who lead them with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Mike Malone's squad played unfazed while competing in the NBA's seventh ever game in London at O2 Arena. Danilo Gallinari also contributed with 18 points which Coach Malone called his best game so far this season.

The Nuggets outscored The Pacers 39-20 in the third quarter and shot 73.7 percent in that period to put the game away. CJ Miles scored 20 and point guard Jeff Teague added 14 points and nine assists for the Pacers. The Nuggets hot start was due to Gallinari making 3 field goals from beyond the arc in the first quarter and the entire team finishing 15-32 from three.

This loss for Indiana snapped a five-game winning streak and leaves them sixth in the Eastern Conference. Both teams will have their next game this coming Monday as The Pacers will have a rematch against The Pelicans and The Nuggets will host the Orlando Magic.

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

(photo credit: nba,com)

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.