Category: NBA Basketball

By HoopsHype | October 27, 2021

By Michael Scotto | October 27, 2021 Follow @MikeAScotto

HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto and NBC Sports Chicago’s KC Johnson discussed Zach LaVine’s long-term future with free agency approaching, the NBA’s investigation into the Lonzo Ball sign-and-trade, the expectations for the Bulls this season, and more. The duo also discussed Ball’s development, DeMar DeRozan’s fit, Coby White’s injury update and trade potential, Patrick Williams’ role this season, and Billy Donovan’s chances to win Coach of the Year.

For more interviews with players, coaches, and media members, be sure to like and subscribe to the HoopsHype podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and anywhere else you listen to podcasts. Listen to the podcast above or check out some snippets of the conversation in a transcribed version below.

1:37 Expectations for the Bulls internally

Johnson:

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By HoopsHype | October 27, 2021

By HoopsHype | October 27, 2021

By HoopsHype | October 27, 2021

11:52 PM ET

Denver Nuggets center and reigning league MVP Nikola Jokic was ruled out of Tuesday night’s game at Utah in the third quarter with a right knee contusion.

Jazz center Rudy Gobert was attempting to drive on Jokic along the baseline in the second quarter when he banged knees with him. Jokic went down almost immediately and was in a great deal of pain as he held his right knee area.

He left the game with 1:54 remaining in the second quarter.

Jokic was initially listed as questionable to return by the team. After halftime, Jokic was on the court for warmups but did not start the second half. He was later ruled out for the remainder of the contest.

The Nuggets are already without star guard Jamal Murray, who is recovering from a torn ACL suffered last April.

Jokic won his first MVP award last season and is off to a hot start.

11:57 PM ET

Jamal Collier

The Chicago Bulls are off to the franchise’s best start since the 1996-97 season.

They improved to 4-0 on Monday night with a 111-108 victory against the Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Arena, making Chicago the last remaining unbeaten team in the Eastern Conference. After overhauling their roster in free agency, the Bulls are already reaping the benefits from some of their biggest offseason additions.

Lonzo Ball knocked down five 3-pointers for 15 points and five assists. Alex Caruso added eight points and collected four steals off the bench, adding to the Bulls league-leading 41 steals so far this season. And DeMar DeRozan, who spent the first nine years of his career in Toronto, scored 11 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, including some key buckets down the stretch to stabilize the Bulls and quell a Raptors comeback.

Combine those performances with 22 points from Zach LaVine and the

Oct 25, 2021

Associated Press

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Retired Gen. Martin Dempsey was reelected chairperson of USA Basketball on Monday, while five-time Olympic gold medalist Sue Bird and three-time gold medalist Kevin Durant were among those added to the federation’s board of directors.

Dempsey, who was Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army and served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President Barack Obama, is the second person to be elected chair for back-to-back Olympic cycles, following Jerry Colangelo.

Dempsey will remain in the role through the 2024 Paris Olympics. He said he was proud of USAB’s “remarkable success,” including gold medals in men’s basketball, women’s basketball and women’s 3×3 at the Tokyo Games.

“We remain unflinchingly and enthusiastically committed to winning and rededicate ourselves to representing our country with honor in international competition,” Dempsey said.

Durant and Bird are among five athlete representatives — all Olympic gold medalists —

7:32 PM ET

Brianna Williams

Last month, a South Korean drama titled “Squid Game” was released on Netflix and took the world by storm. Nearly 132 million people tuned in to the show during its first month on the streaming service, which smashed the previous Netflix record of 82 million viewers that was set by “Bridgerton.”

Two of those record-breaking fans were Los Angeles Lakers superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

In an Oct. 12 news conference, James was heard discussing his thoughts about the show’s finale with Davis.

Spoiler alert: The two teammates were left unsatisfied by the conclusion.

“I didn’t like the ending though,” James said. “I know they start it off with a Season 2 but, like, get on the f—ng flight and go see your daughter, bro. Like what are you doing?”

Hwang Dong-hyuk, the show’s creator, had some choice words in response to James’ critiques.

“Have you seen Space Jam 2?” Hwang said

8:00 AM ET

Jamal Collier

MILWAUKEE — Before winning his first NBA championship, Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo used to imagine how it would change his life: how it would be a weight lifted off his shoulders and how he’d finally be able to exhale.

“But it’s false,” Antetokounmpo said after the Bucks received their 2021 championship rings. “If you’re a competitor, your mind creates something different, a different challenge. You might say, ‘OK I did it one time, I need to do it a second time.’ And when you do it a second time, you want to do it a third time.”

For players like Antetokounmpo, there’s always a new goal to achieve, always a new slight — real or perceived — to acknowledge.

“We’re still the Milwaukee Bucks. At the end of the day, there’s a lot of people out there that still don’t believe we can do it again,” he said.

Antetokounmpo, 26,