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L.A. Notes: Lakers, LaVine, Kawhi, Coffey, Westbrook

December 22nd, 2023 at 7:59am CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers have slumped badly since winning the in-season tournament earlier this month, losing five of their past six games, including the last four in a row, to slip to 15-14 on the season. Following a 118-111 defeat at the hands of Minnesota on Thursday night, star big man Anthony Davis called for more urgency, as Dave McMenamin of ESPN writes.

“It’s the NBA season. There’s going to be ups, there’s going to be downs. Right now we’re in that down period,” Davis said. “We just got to continue to fight and continue to play hard. Play with some effort, some energy and we’re treating Saturday (in Oklahoma City) as a must win.”

As Jovan Buha of The Athletic notes, Davis also spoke about the team’s recent struggles after Wednesday’s loss to Chicago, pointing out that there’s “no break coming” and no “cavalry” the team is waiting on. While LeBron James (left ankle) and Gabe Vincent (left knee) did miss Thursday’s contest, the second end of a back-to-back set, they’re expected to be available going forward.

“We’ve got everyone back now,” Davis said. “We just got to find a way to get into the win column.”

The Lakers have dealt with injuries to rotation players for most of the season, but now that they’re as healthy as they’ve been all year, Darvin Ham and his coaching staff hope to set a depth chart and rotation and stick with it “for the foreseeable future,” sources tell McMenamin.

Here’s more on the NBA’s two Los Angeles teams:

  • Within his latest roundup of trade-related rumors from around the NBA, Kurt Helin of NBC Sports says the sources he has spoken to believe that a deal sending Bulls guard Zach LaVine to the Lakers is unlikely, at best. As Buha suggested at The Athletic earlier this week, Los Angeles would probably only consider a deal if the outgoing package consists of D’Angelo Russell, salary filler, and limited assets beyond that, such as Jalen Hood-Schifino and a protected first-round pick.
  • Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard missed his first game of the season on Thursday night, as the team ruled out him due to a left hip contusion, which head coach Tyronn Lue referred to as a “day-to-day thing,” per Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times (Twitter links). Amir Coffey drew the start at Oklahoma City in what turned out to be the team’s first loss this month — the Clippers have a 9-1 record in December.
  • Clippers guard Russell Westbrook has seen his role reduced since James Harden‘s arrival in Los Angeles, but Westbrook remains supremely confident in his abilities, as Greif details for The L.A. Times. After a strong defensive performance against Luka Doncic and the Mavericks on Wednesday, Westbrook said he can “do anything on the floor at all times” and suggested he wants his due as a defender. “Ain’t too many people defending better than me at this point if we keeping it honest,” he said. “But I’ll let the numbers speak for that and let y’all talk about it. But we just keeping it a buck, ain’t too many people defending better than me at this position all around the league, honestly.”
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Warriors Notes: Poole, Wiggins, Dynasty, Jackson-Davis

December 21st, 2023 at 10:57pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Friday night marks the first time Jordan Poole will return to Golden State since being traded from the Warriors for Chris Paul over the offseason. Poole’s time with the Warriors ended in a rough way despite an overall successful tenure, as a well-documented preseason incident with Draymond Green foreshadowed an uneven season that saw the Warriors fall in the second round of the playoffs and Poole average just 10.3 points per game in the playoffs (down from 20.4 in the regular season).

Poole went from a late first-round pick who struggled to find playing time in his first two seasons to an integral piece of Golden State’s championship run in 2021/22. His efforts earned him a contract extension from Golden State, good for four years and $123MM, but he never ended up playing on that deal before being moved.

With Poole traveling to Golden State on Friday, The Athletic’s Anthony Slater looked back at Poole’s time with the Warriors and caught up with all parties to determine what went wrong.

“I look back at that, and I hate that it happened,” head coach Steve Kerr said. “I know that in my heart, that when [the punch] happened, we handled it the best way we thought we could handle it. But in hindsight — and hindsight is always 20/20 — we could have done better for sure. I just hate the way it ended for Jordan here, because he is a huge success story. For us and for him, this was a great marriage. He helped us win a title. We helped him, you know, become a champion and a guy who signed a big contract, life-changing contract. It was all wildly successful. But I hate the way it ended.”

The peak of Poole’s time with the Warriors was the championship year, as he averaged 17.0 points on .508/.391/.915 shooting splits. As Slater observes, Poole actually started over star Stephen Curry in those playoffs as the latter worked his way back from injury. Poole averaged 22.9 points and shot 46.2% from deep in his first eight playoff games that year.

“We would not have won a championship in ’22 without him,” Klay Thompson said. “Simple as that. So I hope Dub Nation shows him the right ovation on Friday night.”

While the Warriors and Green have been more vocal about the punch that headlined a shifted locker room vibe and the subsequent fallout, Slater writes that Poole has continued to keep his cards close to his chest.

“Successful time,” Poole said. “Learned a lot. Can’t ask for too much more than that. Won a championship. Played with Loon (Kevin Looney). Played with some of the greatest ever. Played with (Andrew Wiggins). Met great guys. The staff is good. It was a cool experience. It was just dope to accomplish something you’ve been looking for your entire life, winning a championship at the highest level, seeing what that takes.”

We have more Warriors notes:

  • Wiggins, who was one of Poole’s best friends with the Warriors, per ESPN’s Kendra Andrews, also spoke highly of Poole and how he dealt with the altercation with Green. “He handled that better than 99 percent of people would,” Wiggins said. “He handled it like a true professional.“
  • An NBA dynasty never lasts forever, opines The Ringer’s Howard Beck, and the Warriors are no different. While it may be true Golden State’s dynasty is coming to a close, it isn’t just because of Green’s recent suspensions, Beck writes. Things have been falling apart on the edges for Golden State for a while, and it’s seemingly coming together now, as the Warriors struggle through a lackluster start to the season. As Beck writes, the Warriors drafted James Wiseman over players like LaMelo Ball and Tyrese Haliburton and their attempts to develop a two-timeline system haven’t come to fruition yet. On top of that, championship architect Bob Myers is no longer with the team. Still, Beck cautions to not write the Warriors off yet, as they won a title in 2022 after some down years and still could pull things together.
  • The Warriors lost their first game after changing up their starting lineup, but have since strung together three wins in a row. Part of that success is coming from giving younger players extended run, and second-round rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis has stood out in each of the last two games. In those outings, he has averaged 12.0 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks. According to Kerr, he’s going to be in the rotation moving forward. “He’s gonna play,” Kerr said (Twitter link via Slater). “He’s gonna be in the lineup.“
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Pistons’ Cunningham: No Way Are We “2-26 Bad”

December 21st, 2023 at 9:44pm CST by Tristan Tucker

The Pistons are one loss away from tying the all-time single-season record for most losses in a row after dropping their 25th straight to the depleted Jazz on Thursday night.

Playing without Lauri Markkanen, Keyonte George, Jordan Clarkson, Talen Horton-Tucker and Omer Yurtseven, the Jazz defeated the Pistons 119-111, as Detroit’s woes off the bench and from beyond the arc continued. Still, Cade Cunningham believes the Pistons can turn it around with this group.

“We’re not 2-26 bad,” Cunningham said (Twitter link via The Athletic’s James L. Edwards III. “No way are we that bad. So, yes, I think we can turn it around. I think we can play a much better brand of basketball — executing game plan, not turning it over, keeping your man in front of you. I was the head of that snake. This isn’t about the system. This is about the players and what we’re doing on the floor. Those three things aren’t about a system.”

As Spotrac’s Keith Smith observes (Twitter link), the Pistons are not only just one game from tying the single-season record of 26 straight losses, they’re also three losses from tying the all-time longest losing streak, a record the Sixers hold from when they lost 28 straight across the 2014/15 and ’15/16 seasons.

“It’s definitely on my mind,” Cunningham said of approaching the record (Twitter link via Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press. “That’s history that nobody wants to be a part of. We’re trying to build something that’s sustainable. It’s not like we’re just trying to win one game. We want to win multiple games.”

Things are at a breaking point in Detroit. As captured by NBA on ESPN (YouTube link), Pistons fans erupted in “sell the team” chants during the game.

To their credit, coach Monty Williams and Cunningham both have taken full responsibility. For a coach in his first year with a team and a young player in what’s essentially his second NBA season, it’s telling that neither have pointed blame elsewhere.

“I want to be careful with my words because this one hurts more than most of them,” Williams said (Twitter link via Sankofa). “A team that played last night gets 30 points off turnovers and rebounds. This one is unbelievably hard to understand how we can get outworked in those categories. That is absolutely on me.”

The Pistons next play the Nets in back-to-back games before facing the Celtics and the Raptors. They have four chances to avoid taking sole possession of the worst losing streak in NBA history.

“To be on the wrong side of history, nobody wants to be there,” Cunningham said (Twitter link via Sankofa). “That is definitely an extra edge that we have to have, and we should’ve won this game. We didn’t, so gotta come back next game and be locked in. I gotta come in and be locked in and more solid down the stretch.“

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Southwest Notes: Morant, Mamukelashvili, McCombs, Mavs, Doncic

December 21st, 2023 at 8:30pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Grizzlies star guard Ja Morant made his dramatic return to the team on Tuesday following a 25-game suspension, hitting a game-winning bucket at the buzzer to lift Memphis past New Orleans. According to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, Morant originally suggested to run a play for Jaren Jackson Jr., a plan teammate Desmond Bane rejected upon seeing Morant amid a 30-point outing.

“He told me, ‘F–k no, you get the ball,’” Morant said after the victory. “So at that point, I pretty much just had to lock in and go deliver. And I did.”

For the Grizzlies, Morant’s return led to the end of a five-game losing streak for a team that stumbled to a 6-19 record before his 2023/24 debut.

“It felt different out there, having our guy back, our leader,” Bane said. “He does so much for us on the court, of course, but the spirit and the energy and all that that he plays with is infectious. … I ain’t surprised at all. I’ve seen him do a bunch of crazy things. I’m not going to say I was expecting something like this, but I knew he was going to be himself.”

In a separate story, The Athletic’s Kelly Iko details Morant’s return to play, writing that communication and comfort between Morant and the organization were built up in his absence. Still, in order for the Grizzlies to jump back into the picture of Western Conference contenders, it’ll take maturity from Morant, Iko opines.

“He’s been awesome outside of not being able to play in games,” Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said last week. “He’s taken every opportunity to be with his teammates. He’s really leaned into the team a lot — off-court stuff, leadership role he’s taken. The voice, he’s Zooming in during games talking to his teammates, connecting with them after the game and on plane rides.”

Morant made his return in front of a Memphis crowd that featured his father, Tee Morant, and best friend, Davonte Pack.

“That kid ain’t did nothing to nobody,” Tee Morant said. “I feel bad as a father because I want to take all the (blame) for anything he does wrong — give it to me. But don’t do him like that if he doesn’t commit a crime. Everybody writes what they write, but now when y’all see, the proof is in the pudding.”

We have more from the Southwest Division:

  • Spurs coach Gregg Popovich would like to play big man Sandro Mamukelashvili more, but hasn’t figured out how to best utilize him, according to The San Antonio Express-News’ Tom Orsborn. “I don’t think he’s a five, but I wonder sometimes can he guard a three or is he big enough to be at the four, or do we just play perimeter players and don’t call him anything,” Popovich said. “All kinds of thoughts go through your head with him. I don’t know if it is because he is European or not, but he moves better than most players, like a lot of the foreign kids do. … he knows how to play.” Mamukelashvili has averaged 7.8 points and 5.0 rebounds in 30 games with the Spurs since joining the team in ’22/23, but he’s only averaging 7.6 minutes and 2.5 points in a limited role this year.
  • The Spurs announced Wednesday that the McCombs family is joining the organization’s investor group as its newest strategic partner. The McCombs family has been in San Antonio since 1958 and were part of the original investor group that brought professional basketball to San Antonio in 1973, so this signals a return to the franchise. “Red, Charline and the entire McCombs family mean so much to the Spurs and San Antonio,” said Peter J. Holt, Spurs Sports & Entertainment managing partner. “To see the McCombs family come full circle and officially welcome them back into our investor group is beyond special.“
  • The banged-up Mavericks — down two starters and two rotation players — have lost three of their last four games, but Tim Cato of The Athletic writes that they’re learning from their adversity. Some players, like Derrick Jones Jr., have been pleasant surprises and are continuing to earn more opportunities, while others, like Grant Williams, haven’t lived up to their billing, Cato suggests. Cato also notes that the team has been leaning on star Luka Doncic heavily, as he’s played 40 or more minutes in four of Dallas’s past seven games.
  • It’s going to get worse before it gets better for the Mavericks on the injury front, as Doncic is out for Dallas’ Friday game against the Rockets, according to Marc Stein at Substack (Twitter link). He’s dealing with a quad injury.
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Central Notes: Merrill, Walker, Pacers, Middleton

December 21st, 2023 at 6:50pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Cavaliers guard Sam Merrill led Cleveland to a victory over the Jazz on Wednesday behind a franchise record-tying eight three-pointers off the bench. After beginning the year on the outside looking in to the Cavs’ rotation, Merrill is establishing himself as a key depth piece over the past week, which was highlighted by his career-high 27 points against Utah.

In his past five games, Merrill is averaging 14.0 points while shooting a scorching-hot 53.8% from downtown on 7.8 attempts per game.

“This is what the NBA is about. It’s about making dreams come true,” Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff said of Merrill, per Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor (Subscriber link). “He’s worked his tail off, and he’s definitely making his dream come true.”

Fedor further explores the Utah State product’s rise to the top of Cleveland’s bench in a separate subscriber-only story, detailing his climb from unheralded high school guard to an eventual 10-day contract with the Cavs late last season, where he has remained since.

“J.B. reiterated the trust that the whole staff has in me and what I can do,” Merrill said. “For me, it’s always going to be a fight to show that I can do more than just shoot. I think they’ve understood that from the moment they signed me that there’s more to it, especially on the defensive end competing and staying in front of guys and being in the right spots and whatnot. I certainly came away with quite a bit of confidence.”

We have more from the Central Division:

  • Pacers rookie forward Jarace Walker is showing signs of progress with his play as of late, writes IndyStar’s Dustin Dopirak. The 2023 No. 8 overall pick played three straight games with the Pacers, totaling more minutes in those games than he had all season. Still, according to coach Rick Carlisle, the organization is impressed, but is keeping to a specific developmental timeline with Walker and they sent him back to the G League after their Dec. 16 game against Minnesota. Center Myles Turner missed Indiana’s Dec. 18 outing, but per Dopirak, the Pacers stayed committed to their plan of having Walker spend more time with the Mad Ants. When asked what Walker needs to improve, Carlisle said he wants Walker to be “a more disciplined defender than his instincts want him to be” and to “limit willy-nilly gambles.” (Twitter link via Dopirak).
  • Carlisle refrained from making any drastic changes to the Pacers rotation, even though he floated the idea, after the Pacers lost four games in a row soon after the In-Season Tournament championship, Dopirak writes in another piece. After staying the course with the current lineup, Indiana responded with a 31-point victory over the Hornets on Wednesday. “Coming off a high high at the In-Season Tournament and coming back to regular NBA basketball, it was a transition nobody was used to,” guard Buddy Hield said. “That’s the first time we all went through that. We figured it out, weathered the storm.“
  • Bucks wing Khris Middleton endured a difficult year in 2022 and into 2023, dealing with personal matters and injury flare ups, writes Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Jim Owczarski. Now he’s back to playing a full workload for the first time since April 2022. Middleton went into detail with Owczarski on his difficult journey as of late. “I’ve been thinking and hoping that I’m getting out of that stretch of my life where I can move on to a little bit more positive things,” Middleton said. “But yeah, it got really high then it got really low for me the last year or two. But that’s life. We go through things at different stages and you learn from it and grow from it. I think that’s the most important thing. Try to let a lot of frustration go and realize part of it is life and just try to grow with it and learn from it all and appreciate things a little bit more.” I recommend checking out the piece in full here.
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Atlantic Notes: Knicks Frontcourt, Skapintsev, Embiid, Harris, Smith

December 21st, 2023 at 5:21pm CST by Tristan Tucker

As the Knicks grapple with injuries to Mitchell Robinson and Jericho Sims, they’re beginning to look for options to add to their frontcourt depth — which currently consists of Isaiah Hartenstein and Taj Gibson — according to SNY’s Ian Begley (Twitter link). One such option, per Begley, is Dmytro Skapintsev, who is currently playing for New York’s G League affiliate, the Westchester Knicks.

Skapintsev, 25, went undrafted in the 2020 NBA Draft after spending his young professional career in Ukraine. He began playing for the Knicks’ G League affiliate in 2022 and has played there since. Skapintsev played in the 2023 NBA Summer League for the Knicks, then signed an Exhibit 10 contract with New York over the summer before being waived and re-joining Westchester.

In 12 Showcase Cup games with Westchester, Skapintsev averages 5.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 18.9 minutes per game.

The Knicks don’t currently have a standard contract opening, but a feasible way to have Skapintsev join the rotation could be by replacing one of their two-way contract players with him until Sims, who is expected to be out one-to-two weeks, comes back.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

  • Sixers superstar center Joel Embiid is on a tear over the past month, averaging 41.4 points and 12.9 rebounds through eight games in December. Embiid scored 51 points against the Timberwolves — the top defensive team in the league — in a 14-point Sixers victory on Wednesday. “He’s unstoppable, man,” guard Anthony Edwards said per Star Tribune’s Chris Hine. “I don’t see how they lose a game, honestly. I don’t see how they lose.“
  • After a strong start to the season, Sixers forward Tobias Harris has regressed on the offensive side of the ball, writes The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Keith Pompey. Harris finished with nine points in Wednesday’s win over the Wolves and he’s averaging 11.3 points in his past 11 games. Pompey opines that while Philadelphia’s two-man game of Embiid and Tyrese Maxey is working well now, they need Harris to step up in order to find long-term success.
  • Nets guard Dennis Smith Jr. was upgraded to probable for Brooklyn’s Friday game against the Nuggets, tweets the New York Post’s Brian Lewis. Smith hasn’t played since Dec. 6 while dealing with a back injury. On the year, he’s been limited to 13 games and is averaging 6.7 points and 3.5 assists in those outings.
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Injury Notes: Jazz, Lakers, Sixers, Leonard, Payton, Clarke

December 21st, 2023 at 3:56pm CST by Rory Maher

The Jazz will be shorthanded for Thursday’s back-to-back in Detroit, with Lauri Markkanen (left hamstring — injury maintenance), Keyonte George (left foot inflammation) and Talen Horton-Tucker (left foot soreness) among the eight players who will be unavailable, per Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link).

Utah is just 2-13 on the road this season, but the team will be facing the Pistons, who have lost 24 straight games, two shy of the single-season record. If Detroit hopes to snap the skid in the near future, tonight certainly seems like a good opportunity.

Here are a few more injury-related notes from around the NBA:

  • LeBron James (left ankle peroneal tendinopathy) and Gabe Vincent are out for Thursday’s back-to-back in Minnesota, tweets Mike Trudell of Spectrum SportsNet. Lakers center Anthony Davis (left ankle sprain/bone bruise), meanwhile, is questionable for the matchup against the West’s current No. 1 seed.
  • Sixers guard De’Anthony Melton exited Wednesday’s victory with a thigh contusion, but it’s not expected to be a serious injury, tweets Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Melton, Nicolas Batum (hamstring) and Robert Covington (illness) did not practice on Thursday, according to Derek Bodner of PHLY Sports (Twitter link). On the league’s official injury report, Melton is questionable for Friday’s matchup with Toronto, while Covington is probable and Batum has been ruled out.
  • He has yet to miss a game this season, but Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard popped up on the injury report ahead of Thursday’s back-to-back in Oklahoma City. He’s officially questionable with a left hip contusion.
  • Warriors guard Gary Payton II has been “making good progress” from his right calf strain and has been cleared to start “various forms of team practice,” the team announced (via Twitter). Payton, who has missed the past nine games, will be reevaluated again early next week, per the Warriors.
  • Grizzlies forward/center Brandon Clarke tells Marc J. Spears of Andscape he expects to return to action sometime around the All-Star break. A key rotation player for Memphis, Clarke has been sidelined since March 3 of last season after tearing his Achilles tendon.
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And-Ones: MVP Poll, All-Stars, Basketball Day, Bazley

December 21st, 2023 at 2:26pm CST by Rory Maher

After finishing runner-up to Nikola Jokic in 2020/21 and ’21/22, Sixers center Joel Embiid won his first MVP award last season. And he’s arguably been even better through the first third of the ’23/24 season, averaging career highs in multiple categories, including points (35.1), assists (5.9) and free throw percentage (89.3%).

In the first MVP straw poll conducted by Tim Bontemps of ESPN (subscriber link), Embiid is the clear frontrunner, receiving 63 first-place votes and 848 points. However, several top players are in the mix, with Nuggets center Jokic (630 points), Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (352), Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (340) and Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (306) rounding out the top five.

12 total players received at least one top-five vote in the informal poll, which features 100 media members and mimics the NBA’s scoring system. Embiid made it clear he’d welcome more hardware.

“I have a pretty good chance [at another MVP],” Embiid told Bontemps. “I mean, if I have a chance to be in the conversation, why not? I want it all. I’m not shy about it. I’m not going to sit here and be like, ‘Oh, I don’t care about this.’ Anything that I can get my hands on, I want it.”

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

  • All-Star fan voting is underway, prompting Zach Harper of The Athletic to choose his starters to this point in the season. Out West, Harper has Gilgeous-Alexander and Doncic in the backcourt, with LeBron James (Lakers) and Kawhi Leonard (Clippers) joining Jokic in the froncourt. For the East, Harper selects Jalen Brunson (Knicks), Tyrese Haliburton (Pacers), Jayson Tatum (Celtics), Antetokounmpo, and Embiid.
  • In a press release, the NBA announced its celebrations for the first-ever World Basketball Day, which was established by the United Nations earlier this year during the World Cup. It will be observed annually on December 21 — the day Dr. James Naismith first introduced the game of basketball at the Springfield YMCA in 1891.
  • Former first-round pick Darius Bazley is attempting to make his way back into the NBA through the G League after being waived by the Nets prior to the season. Playing for the Delaware Blue Coats (the Sixers‘ affiliate), Bazley had a huge game at the Winter Showcase on Wednesday, recording 43 points, 18 rebounds, three steals and six blocks in the victory over the Texas Legends (Twitter link via the NBAGL).
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Knicks Notes: Robinson, Trade Targets, Hartenstein, 2019 Draft

December 21st, 2023 at 12:43pm CST by Rory Maher

Knicks center Mitchell Robinson will reportedly miss the remainder of the 2023/24 season following left ankle surgery. Robinson took to social media in response to the news, and he was understandably discouraged.

“I just don’t get it…I do everything I’m asked when it comes to my body and this s–t still happens like wtf. Another year another disappointment,” he wrote on Snapchat (Twitter link via New York Basketball).

Robinson has battled injuries throughout his career, including being limited to 59 games last season. Despite missing the past six contests, he still ranks second in the league in total offensive rebounds. He was averaging career highs in rebounds (10.3), offensive rebounds (5.3) and steals per game (1.5) prior to the injury.

Here are a few more notes from New York:

  • When the Knicks initially ruled Robinson out for at least eight-to-10 weeks, they weren’t in a rush to find a replacement center, league sources tell Fred Katz of The Athletic. In fact, they haven’t been actively involved in trade conversations this fall, according to Katz, who wonders if that will change after applying for a disabled player exception for Robinson. Katz considers potential trade targets who could potentially fit Robinson’s role, either using the DPE or more traditional means. Some players mentioned include Andre Drummond (Bulls), Clint Capela (Hawks), Precious Achiuwa (Raptors) and Daniel Gafford (Wizards).
  • Prior to Wednesday’s game in Brooklyn, center Isaiah Hartenstein was asked about the team’s rivalry with the Nets. “Is there a rivalry? I mean, I don’t feel it,” Hartenstein said, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. “I mean, most of the time we go to Barclays it’s mostly Knicks fans so I don’t know if it’s really a rivalry at this point.” As Hartenstein mentioned, the Knicks are far more popular than the Nets, and they currently have a better record as well (16-11 vs. 13-14), winning last night’s contest in a blowout.
  • The Knicks lost a franchise-record 65 games in 2018/19 in hopes of landing the No. 1 overall pick and selecting Zion Williamson, who has missed more than half of his career games to this point with injuries. They ultimately landed the No. 3 pick and chose RJ Barrett. In a subscriber-only story for The New York Post, Bondy re-drafts the top-15 picks of 2019, with Williamson, Ja Morant and Darius Garland making up his top three, followed by Barrett and Tyler Herro.
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