The Latest
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Who will Bulls target after Jim Boylen's firing?
On a cold Chicago night in late February, the Bulls were down 10 with 30 seconds to go, moments away from their eighth loss in a row. It was the first night of a back-to-back and many fans had begun shuffling toward the United Center exits. Just about everyone wanted to go home. Except for Jim Boylen. The 55-year-old head coach,…
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Ben Simmons' injury puts Sixers at a crossroads
Global pandemic aside, this was not the season the Philadelphia 76ers expected in 2019-20. On Monday, Ben Simmons reportedly underwent surgery in Philadelphia to remove a loose body from his left knee, all but ending his season. The Sixers are locked into the No. 6 seed in the East with Joel Embiid already dealing with a sore left ankle. Before…
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How did T.J. Warren become NBA's bubble superstar?
With no fans in the building and extraordinary measures in place to keep a global pandemic out, wonky stuff was bound to happen inside the Orlando bubble. But T.J. Warren turning into peak Kevin Durant? This is an entirely different idea. The 26-year-old North Carolina State product set the Orlando bubble ablaze. In his first three games, the 6-foot-8...
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Zion Williamson, Alex Caruso headline Western Conference storylines
You can exhale now. After a nearly five-month layoff, the NBA is back. The bubble is holding tight so far. The daily testing regiment and strict quarantine protocols appear to be working. Unlike Major League Baseball, the NBA hasn’t faced an outbreak within its locker room. Knock on wood. We still have a long way to go before the...
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Giannis or LeBron? MVP debate shouldn't be about age
With the NBA announcing that regular-season award ballots have to be filled out this week, the Los Angeles Lakers have hit the campaign trail in Orlando and dialed up the LeBron James-for-MVP talk to ludicrous levels. First, there was the media session following Monday’s practice in which James was asked about the race against Giannis Antetokounmpo. James pointed to...
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NBA, sportsbooks must solve for superstar absences in bubble
James Harden’s whereabouts were finally revealed, but the mystery was hardly solved. Just before midnight on Tuesday, the 2017-18 MVP entered the NBA bubble in Orlando, joining the hundreds of NBA players already on location for the resumption of the 2019-20 season. The public knew this bit of information solely because the Houston Rockets’ official Twitter feed posted a...
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COVID testing priority a potential issue for NBA
With teams making their way into the Orlando bubble this week, the NBA is surely crossing its fingers, or perhaps even looking for some divine assistance. “There are no atheists in the league office right now,” one team executive told NBC Sports. Months of planning have led to this moment. All 22 teams have successfully arrived in Orlando. The early…
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Zion Williamson, Pelicans enter NBA restart as most compelling team
With the NBA heading to Orlando next week, there is no shortage of storylines to follow in the leadup to the league’s late-July restart. Everyone will be closely monitoring the coronavirus front. Go ahead and brace yourself for silly asterisk talk. Keep an eye on the lack of home-court advantage. The mental health aspect of spending months in a...
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2020 NBA champion will join long list of titles with asterisks
The resumption of the NBA season is around the corner. On Monday, the Toronto Raptors arrived in Southwest Florida, the first of 22 teams expected to start making their way toward the Orlando campus. On Tuesday, teams began mandated coronavirus testing. Now, the tough part begins. The list of players opting out of the NBA bubble is growing. Earlier this…
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NBA's Disney World bubble could give players chance to grow
There’s a certain elegance and connectedness to Dr. William D. Parham’s words when he talks. The director of mental health and wellness for the National Basketball Players Association, Parham sounds as if he’s speaking in cursive. While I ask him about the NBA’s resumption of the season in a sequestered environment and the possible psychological impacts on players’ minds,...