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Stephen Curry Named MVP Of All-Star Game

February 21st, 2022 at 6:43am CST by Luke Adams

Warriors guard Stephen Curry was named the MVP of the 2022 NBA All-Star Game in Cleveland on Sunday night, following a record-setting performance in which he put up 50 points and made 16 three-pointers for Team LeBron.

Curry’s 16 three-pointers obliterated the previous All-Star record of nine and are more than any player has made in a regular season game in NBA history (Curry’s teammate Klay Thompson holds that record, with 14).

While Curry’s outside shooting stole the show for much of the night, it was his teammate – and fellow Akron, Ohio native – LeBron James who hit the game-winning shot to secure a 163-160 win for Team LeBron. Curry said after the game that it was an ideal way for an All-Star Game in Cleveland to play out.

“It was kind of a perfect ending,” Curry said, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “Obviously, I got the MVP; I played well the whole night. (LeBron) hit the game winner. All the history of our series and the Akron ties, and all that kind of going into how the night went, so it was pretty — can’t really draw it up any other way. It’s right on the nose of how it should go.”

It’s the first All-Star MVP award for Curry and the fifth time in NBA history that a Warriors player has won it, with Curry joining Kevin Durant (2019), Rick Barry (1967), Wilt Chamberlain (1960), and Paul Arizin (1952).

James (24 points, eight assists, six rebounds) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (30 points, 12 rebounds) were among the other Team LeBron standouts, while Joel Embiid led the way for Team Durant with 36 points and 10 boards.

And-Ones: MVP Race, I. Thomas, Draft, I. Clark

February 17th, 2022 at 9:46am CST by Luke Adams

The top two finishers in last season’s MVP voting appear to be the top two candidates for this year’s award too, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN. Bontemps recently conducted a straw poll of 100 media members and found that Sixers center Joel Embiid narrowly – and unofficially – leads Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic in the MVP race.

As Bontemps details, Embiid received 45 first-place votes from the poll respondents, while Jokic got 43. Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (nine), Suns guard Chris Paul (two), and Warriors guard Stephen Curry (one) were the other players who got first-place votes. Interestingly, Embiid was the only player to show up on all 100 five-player ballots, while Jokic was left off five.

Curry received 94 first-place votes when Bontemps conducted a similar straw poll in December, but the veteran sharpshooter has slowed down since his hot start, while players like Embiid, Jokic, and Antetokounmpo have made stronger MVP pushes.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Free agent guard Isaiah Thomas is expected to rejoin the Grand Rapids Gold – the Nuggets‘ G League affiliate – after the All-Star break, league sources tell Marc Stein (Twitter link). Thomas had a very brief stint in Grand Rapids in December, scoring 42 points in his only NBAGL game before getting called up to the NBA. Thomas signed 10-day contracts with the Lakers and Mavericks before returning to the open market.
Sam Vecenie of The Athletic has published a new 2022 mock draft, while Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report has updated his top-50 big board. Both draft experts currently have Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren at No. 1 and Jabari Smith of Auburn at No. 2, with Purdue’s Jaden Ivey moving up to No. 3 ahead of Duke’s Paolo Banchero.
Veteran guard Ian Clark, who has 330 regular season appearances on his NBA résumé and won a title with Golden State in 2017, has signed with the Sydney Kings, the Australian team recently announced in a press release. Clark played in 60 games for New Orleans in 2018/19, but has been out of the NBA since then.

LeBron Chooses Giannis, Curry In All-Star Draft; Durant Picks Embiid, Morant

February 10th, 2022 at 7:42pm CST by Dana Gauruder

After James Harden was traded away from the Nets on Thursday, former teammate Kevin Durant opted not to pick him in the All-Star draft conducted on Thursday night. Harden was the last player chosen by LeBron James for Team LeBron, as the league announced (via Twitter).

LeBron’s starters, besides himself, are Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Jokic.

Durant, who won’t play in the All-Star Game at Cleveland due to his knee injury, chose Joel Embiid, Ja Morant, Jayson Tatum, Trae Young and Andrew Wiggins as Team Durant’s starters.

James selected Luka Doncic as his top reserve. His guard-heavy team also features Darius Garland, Chris Paul, Jimmy Butler, Donovan Mitchell, Fred VanVleet and Harden.

Team Durant’s bench includes Devin Booker, Karl-Anthony Towns, Zach LaVine, Dejounte Murray, Khris Middleton, LaMelo Ball and Rudy Gobert.

Thus, numerous teammates will be on opposing clubs for the All-Star game, including the Jazz’s Gobert and Mitchell and the Suns’ Paul and Booker.

The game will be played February 20 in Cleveland.

Andrew Wiggins Named All-Star Starter; Morant Selected For First Time

January 27th, 2022 at 6:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Western Conference starter pool for next month’s NBA All-Star Game included a big surprise.

Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins was chosen along with Lakers forward LeBron James and Nuggets center Nikola Jokic among Western Conference frontcourt candidates. Grizzlies guard Ja Morant was also named a starter for the first time, joining Warriors guard Stephen Curry as the backcourt duo in the starter pool, NBA Communications tweets.

James will be a team captain once again because he is the All-Star starter from the West with the most fan votes in the West.

Wiggins was third in the most recent fan voting results among Western Conference frontcourt players but the fan vote counted for only 50% in the selection. Player voting accounted for 25% and the media also had a 25% say.

Wiggins is averaging 18.1 PPG. He beat out more decorated Western Conference frontcourt players such as Rudy Gobert, Anthony Davis, Deandre Ayton, Karl-Anthony Towns and Draymond Green.

Morant’s selection is much less controversial. He’s averaging 25.8 PPG, 6.9 APG and 5.9 RPG. However, Luka Doncic, Donovan Mitchell and Suns guards Devin Booker and Chris Paul also had compelling cases to be starters.

Pacific Notes: Green, Kuminga, Curry, James, Howard

January 17th, 2022 at 5:25pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Warriors announced on Sunday that defensive stalwart Draymond Green would miss at least two weeks of action due to lingering calf and back injuries. Coach Steve Kerr said they’re playing it safe with Green’s injury issues at this stage of the season, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets.

“The main thing is to be safe and cautious,” Kerr said. “It’s a long season. That’s my sense. That we’re being cautious.”

With Green out, lottery pick Jonathan Kuminga will get expanded playing time. Kuminga irritated the staff with a disinterested performance in a G League game last week but the Warriors won’t hold that against him, according to Slater.

“He didn’t run the floor hard. It was disappointing,” Kerr said. “We talked to him about it. He understood and responded well. This is all part of the process for JK. There’s a lot to absorb and learn.”

We have more from the Pacific Division:

Stephen Curry left the Warriors’ road trip early but it shouldn’t be an area of concern, according to Slater (Twitter link). Curry has a hand injury that the club believes is minor. He could play against Detroit on Tuesday.
The Lakers have dropped below the .500 mark by losing their last three games, including a 37-point thumping by Denver. LeBron James went on social media and pledged to fans the team will get untracked soon. “Lakers Nation I apologize and promise we’ll be better,” James proclaimed on his Twitter feed.
The decision to start Dwight Howard against the Nuggets shows the Lakers can only go so far with small ball lineups, Kyle Goon of the Orange Country Register writes. Coach Frank Vogel doesn’t want James banging against top-level centers such as Nikola Jokic. Howard will still have a role off the bench when Anthony Davis returns, Goon adds.

Western Notes: Curry, Green, Porter Jr., Kings, Kuminga

January 15th, 2022 at 3:35pm CST by JD Shaw

Warriors superstar Stephen Curry downplayed the hand injury suffered during his team’s 138-96 win over Chicago on Saturday, as relayed by ESPN. Curry landed on his right hand after driving to the rim, but the two-time MVP remained in the game.

“Anything that involves the hands, especially the right one, you’re a little concerned,” he said. “But the feeling came back, the strength came back. It hurts, but I’ll be all right.”

Curry feels the injury isn’t significant, but out of caution, he’ll undergo additional examination. Golden State is 31-11 largely because of his play, as the 33-year-old is averaging 26.3 points, 6.0 assists and 5.4 rebounds per game so far this season.

“I have some PTSD from two years ago,” Curry explained, referring to when he broke his hand. “When I landed it felt kind of the same, but we’ll get it looked at and figure it out. Should be all right.”

Here are some other notes from the Western Conference:

Rockets head coach Stephen Silas expressed optimism that Jalen Green and Kevin Porter Jr. will be the team’s backcourt duo for years to come, as relayed by The Athletic’s Kelly Iko in a story about the duo. “They’re better together than they were at the beginning of the season,” Silas explained as part of a larger quote. “Scoot’s (Porter) development as a point guard, where at the beginning of the season, he was really struggling with the turnovers but wasn’t as bad before he got hurt. And then Jalen’s growth as a player, you can see it. I mean, you can see it. So the improvement of those two guys connected to the improvement of the group is the most gratifying thing to me. They’re gonna be together for a long time.”
The Kings didn’t get involved in the Knicks-Hawks trade involving Cam Reddish for a variety of reasons, as James Ham of ESPN 1320 explains (via Twitter). One major reason is how Sacramento doesn’t have the draft assets that New York has, as the Knicks traded away a first-round pick in the deal to acquire Reddish.
Anthony Slater of The Athletic examines the comparison between Warriors rookie Jonathan Kuminga and former NBA player Shawn Marion. As Slater writes, head coach Steve Kerr recently explained how he wants Kuminga to play, noting that it’s similar to how Marion played during his career. “When I was in Phoenix as a GM, we had Shawn Marion. One of the best athletes in the league,” Kerr said as part of his full quote. “Every night, he’d just run the floor hard. He wasn’t the greatest 3-point shooter, wasn’t the greatest passer, wasn’t the greatest ballhandler. But he was an All-Star because he just played hard. By running the floor, all kinds of good stuff would happen.”

Pacific Notes: Curry, Ayton, AD, Ariza, Holmes

December 10th, 2021 at 8:36pm CST by Rory Maher

Warriors star Stephen Curry is running away with the early-season MVP race, according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN. Bontemps ran an informal straw poll of 100 media members mimicking the awards ballot run during the postseason, and Curry received 94 of 100 first-place votes.

Curry, a two-time MVP, is averaging 27.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and 1.8 steals in 24 games (34.2 MPG). He leads the league in three-pointers made and attempts with 5.5 and 13.3 per game, respectively, good for 41.3%. The Warriors have the league’s best record at 21-4.

Rounding out the top five of ESPN’s informal MVP poll were Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, and Chris Paul.

Here’s more from the Pacific:

Suns center Deandre Ayton will miss Friday’s game against the Celtics, per Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic. Ayton left the team’s shootaround early with a non-COVID illness.
Anthony Davis missed Friday’s game for the Lakers with knee soreness, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPN. In an article from McMenamin, Davis say the Lakers need to start playing like underdogs after losing to the Grizzlies 108-95. “These guys already feel like they’re the underdogs when they’re coming in, especially when they’re without their star players,” Davis said of a Memphis team playing without its top two scorers, Ja Morant and Dillon Brooks, due to health and safety protocols. “And we got to play like we’re the underdogs. Which, now, at this point of the season, the way we’re playing, a lot of games, we probably are.”
Lakers coach Frank Vogel says Trevor Ariza could spent some time in the G League as he recovers from ankle surgery, Kyle Goon of the Southern California News Group relays (via Twitter). There’s still no timeline for Ariza’s return.
The Kings will be without starting center Richaun Holmes for at least a couple games. He sustained a cut on his right eye Wednesday vs. Orlando which was surgically mended, tweets Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. He missed Friday’s game vs. Charlotte and will be out for Saturday’s contest with Cleveland, too. Holmes is expected to make a full recovery.

Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant Named Players Of The Month

December 2nd, 2021 at 2:17pm CST by Luke Adams

Two of the NBA’s early frontrunners for the 2021/22 MVP award have been named the Players of the Month for October/November. Warriors guard Stephen Curry has won the Western Conference award, while Nets forward Kevin Durant is the Eastern Conference winner, the league announced today (via Twitter).

Curry led Golden State to an 18-3 record in October and November, averaging 27.8 PPG, 6.6 APG, and 5.7 RPG with an impressive .452/.412/.943 shooting line in 20 games (34.3 MPG). According to the NBA (Twitter link), Curry beat out fellow Western nominees Devin Booker, Luka Doncic, Kristaps Porzingis, Paul George, Nikola Jokic, Ja Morant, and Karl-Anthony Towns for the award.

Durant, meanwhile, led the NBA in scoring in October and November, with 28.6 PPG. He also put up 7.5 RPG and 5.6 APG and shot .539/.389/.863 in 20 games (35.8 MPG). His Nets sit atop the Eastern standings with a 15-6 record. The other Eastern nominees for the award were Jarrett Allen, Darius Garland, Giannis Antetokounmpo, LaMelo Ball, DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, Tyrese Maxey, and Trae Young.

The NBA also announced its Rookies of the Month for October and November today, awarding that honor to Thunder guard Josh Giddey in the West and Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley in the East (Twitter link).

Giddey has immediately slid into the starting lineup for the lottery-bound Thunder and filled up the box score with 10.4 PPG, 7.2 RPG, and 5.8 APG in his first 20 games (29.4 MPG), though he struggled with his shooting efficiency (.391/.257/.654). Mobley, meanwhile, has been the most impressive of the rookie of the 2021 class so far, posting 14.4 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 2.5 APG, and 1.8 BPG in his 17 games (33.8 MPG) in October and November.

The other nominees for the Rookie of the Month awards were Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun, Davion Mitchell, and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl in the West, and Scottie Barnes, Cade Cunningham, Chris Duarte, and Franz Wagner in the East (Twitter link).

Atlantic Notes: Watanabe, Knicks Offense, Irving, Millsap

November 18th, 2021 at 6:53pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Raptors’ Yuta Watanabe initially feared he tore his Achilles when he injured his left leg early in the preseason, he told Eric Koreen of The Athletic. Watanabe was diagnosed with a calf strain that has continued to keep him out of action. He aggravated the injury in a preseason practice with the team’s G League squad.

“Really frustrating,” Watanabe said. “My leg is painful, but what is the most painful is now that (my teammates are) playing basketball — like, that’s what I love doing it. So it’s been very stressful, to be honest. I just love playing basketball.”

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

The Knicks retooled their roster with the additions of Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier but the offense has deteriorated almost game by game, Steve Popper of Newsday notes. The Knicks are 19th in the league in field goal percentage. “It’s just weird out there right now,” Julius Randle said. “That’s the best way I could describe it. It’s just kind of weird and just a little bit choppy and we’re just trying to figure it out. I think everybody’s hearts and intentions are in the right place. It’s just a little weird right now.”
A lopsided loss to Golden State and Stephen Curry this week showed how much the Nets miss Kyrie Irving, Mike Vaccaro of the New York Post opines. Curry had 37 points, including nine 3-pointers, on just 19 shots as Brooklyn couldn’t keep up with the red-hot Warriors.
Nets forward Paul Millsap has been away from the team but it’s not related to his limited playing time this season, Brian Lewis of the New York Post tweets. “Paul’s away for personal reasons and that’s totally separate from basketball,” coach Steve Nash said. Millsap joined the Nets on a one-year, veteran’s minimum deal.

Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant Named Players Of The Week

November 15th, 2021 at 2:44pm CST by Luke Adams

Two of the NBA’s biggest stars – and former teammates – have been named the Players of the Week for November 8-14, with Warriors guard Stephen Curry earning the Western Conference honor and Nets forward Kevin Durant taking it home in the East (Twitter link).

Curry’s Warriors lost in Charlotte on Sunday, but they still have the NBA’s best overall record at 11-2 after going 3-1 in the last week. Curry averaged 34.8 PPG, 7.8 APG, and 2.3 SPG on .489/.414/.931 shooting in those four games, including a 50-point, 10-assist outburst vs. Atlanta last Monday.

Curry beat out Anthony Davis, Luka Doncic, Luguentz Dort, Paul George, Nikola Jokic, and Chris Paul, the West’s other nominees, for the Player of the Week award (Twitter link).

Durant’s Nets also won three of four games in the last week and now rank second in the Eastern Conference at 10-4. Durant averaged 32.3 PPG, 7.8 RPG, and 4.5 APG in Brooklyn’s last four games, with an otherworldly shooting line of .629/.526/.912.

The other nominees for the Eastern Conference’s Player of the Week award were LaMelo Ball, Montrezl Harrell, and three pairs of teammates — Malcolm Brogdon and Myles Turner (Pacers), Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan (Bulls), and Darius Garland and Evan Mobley (Cavaliers) (Twitter link).