The Basketball Section

In a move that nobody saw coming, five-time all-star and 2011's Rookie of the Year Blake Griffin has been traded by the Los Angeles Clippers. In a move involving five other players and two draft picks, the Clippers have traded Griffin, along with Willie Reed and Brice Johnson, to the Detroit Pistons for Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley, Boban Marjanovic, a protected 2018 first round pick, and a second-round draft pick. Both teams find themselves just barely out of playoff contention, each sitting in the 9th seed of their conferences, so it looks like both teams are shaking things up to see if they can make a run at the playoffs. The centerpiece of this trade was obviously Blake Griffin. Despite dealing with injuries throughout the season. Griffin has been putting up some great numbers, with some (including me) considering him an all-star snub. For the season so far, Griffin is averaging 22.6 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game while shooting  44% from the field and 3...

With another week of the NBA season in the books, in the pocket, and out of sight, it's time to take a look at the best players of the last week. If you missed last week's, click here. If not, let's get into it, these are the 10 best players of the week. Kevin Durant The Golden State Warriors are already at the top of the Western Conference with the best record in the entire league, and they just expanded the gap between them and the 2nd seed Houston Rockets this past week. Following the perfect 3-0 week, the Warriors find themselves with a 40-10 record, four games ahead of the Rockets. Leading the way for the Warriors were two players, the first of which is Kevin Durant. For the week, Durant averaged 20.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, 9 assists, 1.7 steals, and 2 blocks per game while shooting 45% from the field and 47% from three-point range. Durant's best performance of the week came in a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves when he put up a triple-double with 28 po...

I was all prepared to start writing my list for the top all-star snubs...then this happened. Last night, DeMarcus Cousins' MVP-caliber season came to an end following an awkward landing in a game against the Houston Rockets. Cousins ended up tearing his left Achilles tendon, ending his season after 48 games. While this has big implications for the New Orleans Pelicans, this also changes the All-Star game big time, as Cousins was set to start for Team LeBron at the center position. Who will replace Cousins? That's still yet to be decided, so here are five players I think should fill that spot. As for the requirements, I'm not sure exactly how they'll replace Cousins, but for the sake of this list, these are my requirements. They must be from the Western Conference. They must be either a forward or a center. They have to have played in at least half of the games this season. So with that out of the way, let's get into this. These are my picks for potential...

Well, the full rosters for the 2018 All-Star Game have officially been announced. There were some obvious selections, some unexpected additions, and some big time snubs (which I will cover in another post.) Now all that's left to do is see how the teams shape up with the new all-star draft the NBA is implementing this year. With that in mind, I made up my own quick little mock draft. So let's get into it, here it is. Team LeBron #1 (1st Overall): James Harden Team Curry #1 (2nd Overall): Kevin Durant Team LeBron #2 (3rd Overall): Giannis Antetokounmpo Team Curry #2 (4th Overall): Anthony Davis Team LeBron #3 (5th Overall): DeMarcus Cousins Team Curry #3 (6th Overall): Joel Embiid Team LeBron #4 (7th Overall): Kyrie Irving Team Curry #4 (8th Overall): DeMar DeRozan Team LeBron #5 (9th Overall): Russell Westbrook Team Curry #5 (10th Overall): Klay Thompson Team LeBron #6 (11th Overall): Karl-Anthony Towns Team Curry #6 (12th Overall): Draymond Green Team LeBron #7 (13th Over...

With another week of the NBA season in the books, in the pocket, and out of sight, it's time to take a look at the best players of the last week. If you missed last week's, click here . If not, let's get into it, these are the 10 best players of the week. Chris Paul James Harden did not have a good week this week. He shot below 40% from the field and averaged less than 20 points per game this week, which is the first time that has happened this season. However, the Houston Rockets still have a great player who was able to lead them to a to a 2-1 record on the week, and that player is Chris Paul for the week. For the week, Paul averaged 23.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, 7.7 assists, and 2 steals per game while shooting 49% from the field and 45% from three-point range. Paul's best performance of the week came in a win over the Golden State Warriors where he put up 33 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals. Kevin Durant Even with the Rockets on their tails in ...

Yesterday, the NBA announced the starters for the 2018 All-Star Game and named leading vote-getters LeBron James & Stephen Curry as the team captains. With 10 all-star spots in the books, that leaves 14 spots left, 7 for each conference. Today, I'm going to give my thoughts on who I think should be the reserves. I've already done the Eastern Conference , so here are 7 players I think should make the all-star game from the Western Conference. Russell Westbrook Let's start with the obvious one. And when I say obvious, I mean blatantly obvious. The reigning MVP, Russell Westbrook has continued to put up fantastic numbers for the Oklahoma City Thunder, who currently sit at a 25-20 record on the year. Even with the additions of Paul George and Carmelo Anthony, Westbrook is still averaging a near triple-double on the year and has consistently been one of the best players in the league. For the season, Westbrook is averaging 24.8 points, 9.7 rebounds, a league-high 9.9...

Yesterday, the NBA announced the starters for the 2018 All-Star Game and named leading vote-getters LeBron James & Stephen Curry as the team captains. With 10 all-star spots in the books, that leaves 14 spots left, 7 for each conference. Today, I'm going to give my thoughts on who I think should be the reserves. Starting with the Eastern Conference, here are 7 players I think should make the all-star game. Andre Drummond His team might be having the strongest season so far (the Detroit Pistons are 22-21 on the year), but Andre Drummond has been having a fantastic season. Drummond has been putting up some of the best numbers of his career, is having his best season since his all-star selection in 2016, and has shown a huge improvement in his free throw shooting. For the season so far, Drummond averages 14.5 points, a league & career-high 15 rebounds, a career-high 3.8 assists per game, a career-high 1.6 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game while shooting 54% from the fiel...

Unfortunately, NBA Hall of Famer Jo Jo White passed away yesterday on January 17th, 2018 at age 71. White began his NBA career in 1969 after being drafted by the Boston Celtics with the 9th overall pick. White's career would span a total of 12 years with three different teams before retiring in 1981. For his career, White averaged 17.9 points, 4 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 44% from the field. Along the way, White racked up several accolades, including seven all-star appearances, two selections to the All-NBA 2nd Team, and two NBA Championship victories, the second of which saw him take home the Finals MVP in 1976 after averaging 21.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. White was honored in 2015 with an induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame, rounding out his excellent career. Aside from basketball, White started the Jo Jo White Foundation to provide support for brain cancer research. In honor of his memory, I'm ta...

With another week of the NBA season in the books, in the pocket, and out of sight, it's time to take a look at the best players of the last week. If you missed last week's, click here . If not, let's get into it, these are the 10 best players of the week. Damian Lillard The Portland Trail Blazers really needed a strong week to push them ahead in the Western Conference. Instead, the split 4 games and went 2-2 on the week, giving them a 22-20 record on the season. They now find themselves in the 6th seed in the Western Conference, only one game ahead of the 9th seed-Los Angeles Clippers. Despite their bad week, one of their players had a great showing, and that was Damian Lillard. For the week, Lillard averaged 26 points, 8 assists, and 2.5 steals per game while shooting 47% from the field.  Kevin Durant Coming off a week that saw him miss two games, Kevin Durant returned to the court following a calf injury. After missing one game this week, Durant helped lead t...

With another week of the NBA season in the books, in the pocket, and out of sight, it's time to take a look at the best players of the last week. If you missed last week's, click here . If not, let's get into it, these are the 10 best players of the week. DeMarcus Cousins The New Orleans Pelicans are still an average team, and every single week that statement is reinforced. Following a 1-1 week, the Pelicans are at 19-19 record on the year, about as average as you can get right now. Still, the Pelicans have two sure-fire all-stars this season who, despite their team's lackluster performance this season, have been excelling. The first of those players is DeMarcus Cousins, who even on a slightly off week still put up some of the best numbers of the week. For the week, Cousins averaged 21 points, 13 rebounds, a steal and 2 blocks per game while shooting 59% from the field, 44% from three-point range, and 92% from the free throw line.  John Wall As the top three ...