Category: NBA

Pelicans’ Brandon Ingram ‘Not Very Confident’ NBA Will Finish 2019-20 Season —

Matthew Hinton/Associated PressThe NBA is set to resume the 2019-20 season at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, on July 30, but New Orleans Pelicans star Brandon Ingram told reporters Monday he’s “not very confident” the league will actually be able to finish the season amid the COVID-19 pandemic.”This is something that’s never…

Pelicans’ Brandon Ingram ‘Not Very Confident’ NBA Will Finish 2019-20 Season —

Matthew Hinton/Associated Press

The NBA is set to resume the 2019-20 season at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, on July 30, but New Orleans Pelicans star Brandon Ingram told reporters Monday he’s “not very confident” the league will actually be able to finish the season amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This is something that’s never been done before, and there’s still a lot of question marks,” his teammate Lonzo Ball added, per Doug Mouton of WWL-TV. 

There are major question marks heading into the NBA restart, given the recent spike in coronavirus cases around the United States and the complexities of gathering 22 teams to conclude the season, even with those teams quarantined in Orlando and subject to rigorous testing and safety protocols. 

While some leagues around the world have had great success minimizing the threat of COVID-19—the English Premier League didn’t have a single positive test in its most recent round of testing—other leagues have already hit major complications.

Most notably, FC Dallas announced Monday it had been withdrawn from the MLS is Back Tournament after 10 players and one coach tested positive for the coronavirus.  

The NBA has had some players withdraw from the return to play, most notably Los Angeles Lakers guard Avery Bradley and Brooklyn Nets center DeAndre Jordan, but no major stars have chosen to sit out at this point. 

If major stars do test positive for the coronavirus in Orlando and are forced to miss time, however—especially once the playoffs begin—it will be fascinating to see how the NBA reacts. Namely, will they want to proceed with a postseason devoid of some of the game’s biggest stars?

That’s a hypothetical for now. And for now, players like Ingram are planning to compete for a title in Orlando. But as players like Ingram and Ball demonstrated Monday, there are very real doubts within NBA circles about how—or if—the league’s restart will actually work. 

Dwight Howard says he’ll join Lakers for NBA restart — Press Telegram

Dwight Howard will join the Lakers for the restart of the NBA season, he announced Monday night. The 34-year-old center went on CNN Tonight on Monday to confirm that he will play for the after about a month of speculation that he might sit out. One of the Lakers’ key rotation players, Howard’s commitment helps…

Dwight Howard says he’ll join Lakers for NBA restart — Press Telegram

Clippers facility shuttered, but players exhibiting enthusiasm online — Press Telegram

Judging by the large piles of footwear pictured on his Instagram feed, Clippers sneakerhead/center Montrezl Harrell is just about ready to go. He and his Clippers teammates will join the 21 other NBA teams bound for the Orlando bubble this week, where the league will finish its 2019-20 season that was interrupted by the coronavirus…

Clippers facility shuttered, but players exhibiting enthusiasm online — Press Telegram

Jaylen Brown Reveals Why Celtics Almost Didn’t Attend Orlando Restart — NESN.com

The NBA is preparing to resume its 2019-20 season in late July at Walt Disney World Resort, though several players from across the league have opted to sit out. And according to Jaylen Brown, a number of Boston Celtics players considered not going to Orlando, as well. Among the players’ chief concerns included the ability…

Jaylen Brown Reveals Why Celtics Almost Didn’t Attend Orlando Restart — NESN.com

The NBA is preparing to resume its 2019-20 season in late July at Walt Disney World Resort, though several players from across the league have opted to sit out. And according to Jaylen Brown, a number of Boston Celtics players considered not going to Orlando, as well. Among the players’ chief concerns included the ability to speak out on social issues and the NBA’s willingness to support their message should they do so.

This came after several C’s players — including Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, Enes Kanter and Vincent Poirier — attended protests addressing racial injustice and police brutality following the recent deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery. All of this, plus a lack of direction regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, sparked concern amongst the team. “I think a lot of guys are choosing to go down to Orlando because we have an ability to play for something bigger than ourselves,” Brown said Monday, via MassLive’s Tom Westerholm. “I think a lot of people — including myself — had some apprehensions not just because of social injustice but COVID-related, etc. And a lot of us just initially, even on this team, just didn’t want to go. But I think the ability and the option to play for something bigger than yourself, I think a lot of guys will sign up for that nine times out of 10. Ten times out of 10.”

Initially, Brown was worried about the NBA’s resumption taking away the momentum gained by the Black Lives Matter movement. But his mind since has changed. “Those were my first thoughts,” Brown said, per Westerholm. “Just the role that sports plays in our society, that it could serve as a distraction. But now, with the conversations that we’ve had, I think it’s going to enhance, rather than dim, the light that’s being spread right now. I think everybody wants to watch basketball and the NBA, and we have voices of influence in our communities and we have obligations to our communities, not just obligations to our organizations. The more the NBA understands that, the better everybody will feel about it, especially players.”

The Celtics are scheduled to resume play July 31 against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Read more at: https://nesn.com/2020/07/jaylen-brown-reveals-why-celtics-almost-didnt-attend-orlando-restart/

Ex-Celtics Center Jared Sullinger Gearing Up For Potential NBA Comeback — NESN.com

[nesn_embed service=dailymotion src=”https://www.dailymotion.com/embed/video/x7usix5″ width=”640″ height=”360″] It’s been three years since Jared Sullinger has played in the NBA. But the former Boston Celtics center is ready for his second act. Sullinger spent all three seasons with the C’s before signing with the Raptors as an unrestricted free agent in June 2016. Sullinger played just 11 games […]

Ex-Celtics Center Jared Sullinger Gearing Up For Potential NBA Comeback — NESN.com

Sacramento Kings Shut Down Practice Facilities — LEAGUE ALERTS

The Sacramento Kings have shut down their practice facility after obtaining a positive Coronavirus test. In the past couple of days, fans have witnessed a multitude of teams shut down their facilities due to positive COVID-19 tests. The Kings are the most recent team to do this. With the transfer over to the Orlando bubble […]

Sacramento Kings Shut Down Practice Facilities — LEAGUE ALERTS

The Sacramento Kings have shut down their practice facility after obtaining a positive Coronavirus test. 

In the past couple of days, fans have witnessed a multitude of teams shut down their facilities due to positive COVID-19 tests. The Kings are the most recent team to do this.

Photo: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

With the transfer over to the Orlando bubble happening in just a couple days, Sacramento is lucky they aren’t missing too much practice time. With that said, depending on who the positive test actually was, this could affect the team drastically.Advertisements

As of right now, the test was not specified. This means anyone in the King’s traveling party could have it, whether that be player, coach or trainer. 

Closing facilities are starting to become a common theme amongst NBA teams. Whether or not this will affect the continued season is unbeknownst to teams and fans alike.

Nets GM: Kevin Durant remains ‘loud voice’ in building for future — The Sports Daily

Kevin Durant may not be joining his Nets teammates in the “Orlando bubble,” for the NBA season restart, but that doesn’t necessarily mean (…)

Nets GM: Kevin Durant remains ‘loud voice’ in building for future — The Sports Daily

Kevin Durant may not be joining his Nets teammates in the “Orlando bubble,” for the NBA season restart, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he isn’t in constant communication with the team.

The Nets have a big decision ahead of them in regards to their head coaching position, with interim coach Jacque Vaughn having a difficult task ahead of him, considering the big-name guys currently out there on the market.

It’s been said that Durant and Kyrie Irving will have input on the team’s head coach going forward, which is a trend we’ve seen in the NBA, as it’s a superstar-driven league. That’s why it was no surprise that Nets general manager Sean Marks told SNY’s Ian Begley that KD continues to be a “loud voice” in the building.

“He continues to be a very loud voice in terms of where we’re going in the future and what we’re doing and I involve him like the other players and staff and how we’ll continue to build this team and how we move forward,” Marks said.

He continued:

“Look, I don’t want to speak for him but he seemed to be in good spirits,” Marks explained. “He’s obviously aware of everything that’s going on whether it’s pandemic and some of the issues going on in society. We’ve had great conversations about all of that.”

It’s still surprising that KD and Kyrie won’t be joining their team in Orlando, regardless. 

Jordan Clarkson had doubts about NBA restart — ABC4 Utah

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4 Sports) – The Utah Jazz head to Orlando on Tuesday to continue practicing for the NBA restart later this month. On Sunday, the media had a chance to hear from Jazz head coach Quin Snyder and guard Jordan Clarkson. Clarkson has been active in the Black Lives Matter movement, and he […]

Jordan Clarkson had doubts about NBA restart — ABC4 Utah

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4 Sports) – The Utah Jazz head to Orlando on Tuesday to continue practicing for the NBA restart later this month.

On Sunday, the media had a chance to hear from Jazz head coach Quin Snyder and guard Jordan Clarkson.

Clarkson has been active in the Black Lives Matter movement, and he said he had doubts about whether the return of basketball would overshadow the fight for social injustice.   

“It isn’t the ideal situation for us to go play now but we are going in,” he said. “I know a lot of players have agendas and things they want to put out using their platform.”

Clarkson has used his platform by participating in marches and being active on social media. And he has strong words for those who think athletes should just stick to sports.

“I think that everybody who is saying shut up and dribble, maybe they should shut up and go look in the mirror,” he said. “Really think to yourself, there really is something wrong so you got to face it and something has to change, its a problem that everybody is noticing.”

Clarkson was one of the players who thought hard about not going to Orlando, for fear of risking injury coming in to a contract year.

“After I read through a lot of stuff, I don’t think the NBA is going to put us in any kind of harms way,” he said. “I want to go hoop! I’m bored sitting at home and ready to go back to work.”

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But the players will be going to work without their teammate, Bojan Bogdanovic, who is out after having wrist surgery. So everyone is going to need to step up.

Head coach Quin Snyder says flexibility is going to be a key.   

“I think one of the key things to this experience is being able to adapt,” Snyder said.

“All of us are going to have to step up, Royce, Mike, Donny, just go down the list,” Clarkson added. “That’s a big loss for us but everybody is going to have to step up and make it happen.”

Snyder always preaches defense, but he knows finding more offense with Bogdanovic out will be important as well.

“I think we need to get a lot of shots, I think we need to play with confidence,” Snyder said. “We’re a group that needs to be in attack mode.”

Even though the Jazz have yet to be on the court at the same time, Snyder feels like his team is ready to go.

“The enthusiasm right now is around playing basketball,” he said. “The format is foreign to everybody, it’s new, but the courts and the baskets and the balls are the same whether there are fans or not. Guys are going to compete and I know our guys are looking forward to having that opportunity.”

The Jazz will restart the NBA season July 30th against New Orleans.

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Tyler Herro studied Ray Allen, Klay Thompson during quarantine — The Rookie Wire

Grizzlies rookie Ja Morant detailed his two goals heading into the season restart this month at the Walt Disney World Resort.

Tyler Herro studied Ray Allen, Klay Thompson during quarantine — The Rookie Wire

Miami Heat rookie Tyler Herro said this week that he spent part of his time in quarantine studying some of the best shooters the NBA has ever seen on the hardwood.

Herro has been touted as a strong 3-point shooter himself, converting on 39.1% of his 5.4 attempts per game. Of course, there is always room to improve so the former Kentucky Wildcats guard took it upon himself to study some of the greats.

Herro said on a conference call with reporters, according to Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel, that he specifically looked at those players that were great at the catch-and-shoot.

I’ve watched the same guys. Klay Thompson, Ray Allen, CJ McCollum, Steve Nash and Bradley Beal are the guys that’s I’ve watched — but just picking different things from each player.

Klay and Ray, they do the catch-and-shoot very well. So that’s the thing that I pay attention to when I’m watching them. But every player that I watch, or the coaches have me watch, I can dissect something new or something different from their game to try to add it to mine.

Herro missed 15 games prior to the season shutdown with an ankle injury but said this week that he is 100% healthy again and ready to play. Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said it will be a process integrating Herro back into the lineup so the eight seeding games figure to be important for the team to finalize a rotation prior to the start of the playoffs.

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Former Warriors talk social justice: Jamaal Wilkes reacts to George Floyd murder, his own experience with police and the importance of resuming NBA season — Times-Standard

In a multi-part series, the Bay Area News Group will be discussing racial justice in America with former Warriors players from the last six decades. Jamaal Wilkes supports the police, up to a point. The former Golden State Warriors forward said he’s proud to be an American and wants law and order while at the…

Former Warriors talk social justice: Jamaal Wilkes reacts to George Floyd murder, his own experience with police and the importance of resuming NBA season — Times-Standard

Lakers assistant Lionel Hollins won’t travel to Orlando due to health concerns — Press Telegram

As coronavirus cases have continued to rise throughout the last two weeks, the NBA has massaged the messaging behind its Disney World campus: With a controlled environment, aggressive testing and monitoring and limited personnel, the so-called bubble where the league is staging its restart could potentially be safer than the world around it. But there…

Lakers assistant Lionel Hollins won’t travel to Orlando due to health concerns — Press Telegram