Category: NBA

Golden State Warriors podcast with David Zizmor: Is this series about four guys vs. one guy? Is Harden going to do all the heavy lifting?

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bleacherreport.com photo: “Who me?” James Harden of the Houston Rockets protests a foul call during Game 1 of the Rockets and Golden State Warriors matchup at Oracle Arena on Sunday night.

On the Golden State Warriors podcast with David:

#1 Is this going to be another series where it’s four or five guys against one guy were talking about the Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson against the Houston Rockets’ James Harden?

#2 Warriors up 1-0 in the series. Did that first game represent an indicator of who the Warriors are and could this series be a walk in the park for Golden State?

David Zizmor does the Warriors podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Warriors get past Rockets 104-100 in Game 1

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Photo credit: @warriors

By: Ana Kieu

There was no rest for the weary Golden State Warriors, whose second round opponent was the Houston Rockets, who reportedly arrived to San Francisco early. The Warriors, however, were determined to defeat the Rockets — and they did just that in Game 1 at Oracle Arena on Sunday afternoon.

The Warriors’ starting five was Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala. Curry (right ankle sprain) and Thompson (right ankle sprain) were available to play Sunday.

The Warriors got their game faces on and headed out onto the hardwood to shoot some hoops. There was a scoreless tie up until 11:47 of the first quarter. Andre Iguodala made a pass to Draymond Green, who made the first bucket of the game.

Kevin Durant made a field goal midway through the first quarter. With the field goal, Durant (1,248 points) passed Wilt Chamberlain (1,246) for fifth place on the Warriors’ all-time postseason scoring list.

Draymond Green drove inside and got the ball into the net to extend the Warriors’ lead to 14-9 with 6:13 left in the first quarter. Kevin Durant joined the three-pointer party by hitting a 3 for a 28-19 lead with just five seconds left in the first. The Warriors led 28-19 at the end of the first.

The Warriors had a slim, four-point lead late in the second quarter. But Steph Curry changed that with a 3 to extend the Warriors’ lead to 43-36 with 5:25 left in the second. Draymond Green and Kevin Durant teamed up to add some buckets into the mix. The Warriors took a 53-53 tie to the locker room at the break.

Kevin Durant displayed his tremendous defensive skills in the third quarter. Durant knocked the ball out of the air as soon as James Harden tried to put it into the net. That was quite a way for Durant to say “no.”

Also, plenty of ball movement led to buckets for the Warriors. The Warriors led 83-76 at the end of the third.

The Warriors were “locked in” in the fourth quarter. Despite being outscored 24-21, Golden State had winning on their minds. Steph Curry made a pass to Kevin Durant, who made a one-footer that was good and put the Warriors up 94-91 with 4:36 left in the fourth. With the point, Durant passed Larry Bird (3,897) for 11th on the NBA Playoffs’ all-time career scoring list.

The Warriors trailed by two late in the fourth quarter. However, Steph Curry made it 103-98 in favor of the Warriors with a three with 24.4 seconds left in the fourth. That was quite a bang that got Curry fired up. The Warriors won Game 1 by a final score of 104-101.

Draymond Green stuffed the Warriors’ stat sheets with 14 points, nine rebounds, nine assists and was 7-9 FG. The Warriors’ Statline of the Game was presented by Zoom.

The Warriors (1-0) and Rockets (0-1) face each other in Game 2 on Tuesday night at 7:30 pm PT.

Marvin Bagley III pops up in wiretaps about payments to recruit him to key schools

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by Charlie O. Mallonee

Multiple reports have the name of Marvin Bagley III appearing in transcripts of wiretaps that indicate payments were needed to steer him to USC to play his college basketball. The money would have come from an athletic shoe company and would have been funneled through an assistant coach or a “wannabe” agent trying to establish himself in the representation business.

It is very important to note that Bagley III is not a person of interest in the case. He is in no way a subject of the investigation. There is no implication that Bagley III ever knew that any proposed payments were being offered for his services as a college player to align him with a specific shoe company as he transitioned into the NBA.

Marvin Bagley Jr. may be a focus of the investigation. It was reported that the Bagley’s filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2008 and appeared to have lost their home in Phoenix to foreclosure. In 2012, the family moved into a very upscale gated community in Southern California while Bagley III enrolled in a very expensive private school.

The implication is that Nike was very kind to Bagley Jr. and his club team Phoenix Phamily in Arizona. High-level AAU club team being supported by apparel companies for travel and shoes etc. is no secret. It has been done in the open for years. The fact that it has bled over to college recruiting is a logical progression.

This investigation is being driven by some junior assistant Federal Prosecutors who have seen the chance to make some big tabloid headlines because some big name basketball stars and their families are involved. This whole situation should be turned over to the NCAA to deal with and adjudicate. The Federal Prosecutors should be concentrating on things like Russian meddling in our elections.

In the meantime, the NBA could help stop this chaos by allowing 18-year old players to enter the draft without having to play a “sham” year at the college level. If the players do not get drafted, let them play in the G-League and develop their skills in the minor leagues like baseball has for years. It’s time for the NBA to step up and pay to develop their talent.

For Kings fans, do not fear. Marvin Bagley III is not going to go to jail. He is an innocent bystander in this situation. Marvin Bagley Jr. may have some legal issues. Only time will tell if he will have to deal with Federal Prosecutors for his actions.

Warriors eliminate Clippers with 129-110 win in Game 6

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Photo credit: @warriors

By: Ana Kieu

It was a Game 6 showdown in LA on Friday night as the Golden State Warriors looked to close out the first-round series against the Los Angeles Clippers at the Staples Center.

Alfonzo McKinnie has taken a unique route to the NBA. The 26-year-old forward has paid for a G-League tryout, made stops to play 3×3 with international teams and played 14 games with the Toronto Raptors. Now, he has played in 5 playoff games with the Warriors and averaged 4 points and 3 rebounds, including 1 offensive rebound, in just under 10 minutes of action per game.

In case you missed it, Steph Curry became the only player in NBA history to reach 400 career postseason 3-pointers. Check out some of his best postseason 3s in the video below.

The Warriors reportedly talk about resiliency all the time, so they said it should be there Friday.

When asked about his mentality on Game 6, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said: “It’s human nature, as we just talked about. You get threatened, you lose, you don’t sleep that well, you can’t wait for the next game.”

“You win a couple on the road, you get a little happy, a little comfortable, and you lose your edge, and that’s all it takes. So, we’ll have our edge back tonight.”

Turns out, Golden State had resiliency in Game 6.

The Warriors’ starting five featured Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Shaun Livingston, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson. Livingston started for the Warriors over Bogut. Livingston started his first career playoff game since 2016.

The Warriors started off slow, but fought back. The Clippers were up 7-2 at 10:26 of the first quarter, but Kevin Durant made a mid-range shot to reduce the deficit to 3. However, LAC went on a 9-0 run to take a 10-point lead over GS with 6:14 left in the first.

GS, however, picked up the pace and reduced the deficit to 4 with 5:18 left in the first. Durant had 8 points and 1 rebound at the time. Also, the Warrior defense converted into offense, which helped the cause. The Warriors used a 12-2 run to regain the lead 24-23 with 3:41 left in the first.

The Warriors stormed back for a 35-31 lead at the end of the first.

Kevin Durant made quite a few buckets, and as a result, put on a scoring clinic in the second quarter. The Warriors led 48-42 with 5:40 left in the second. Aside from Durant, Kevon Looney got a good amount of lobs in the second.

The Warriors’ largest lead was 59-47 with 3:09 left in the second. Kevin Durant made a pair of free throws, Andre Igoudala blocked a Clipper shot and the Warriors led 72-53 at the break.

Tonight, it wasn’t so much about the Splash Brothers, but Kevin Durant and Steph Curry instead. The Warriors maintained a double-digit lead throughout the third quarter. LAC went on a 18-8 run over five minutes, but Klay Thompson ended the Clipper run with a field goal. The Warriors led 84-71 with 4:45 left in the third.

Andre Iguodala threw down a one-handed dunk to extend the Warrior lead to 89-71 with 3:21 left in the third. Moreover, Kevin Durant became No. 9 in NBA Playoffs history for number of 3-pointers and set a new career playoff high with 46 points tonight (14 of 22 FG, 6 of 12 3FG).

Kevin Durant continued to make history with his 50th point with 7:01 left in the fourth quarter. Also, Andre Iguodala picked up the ball from a Clippers defender, spotted Steph Curry wide-open, Curry threw it back to Iguodala, who threw down a dunk that hit the rim. In addition, Green recorded a triple double with 16 points, 14 rebounds and 10 rebounds.

The Warriors won by a final score of 129-110.

Check out the Warriors’ final stats below.

The Warriors play the Houston Rockets in the second round of the 2019 NBA Playoffs.

Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria: What went wrong with Golden State? Clippers just a little better in the end; Did LA pick up on Warrior defense?

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Photo credit: @theScoreNBA

On the Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria:

#1 The Warriors tried and tried to stay ahead of the Clippers on Wednesday night in Oakland, but fell just a few points short in the end. Was it a matter of the Clippers were the better team or was it a matter of the Warriors just had a close but off night?

#2 In a game when your short some seven or eight points, what lacked from the Warriors’ skill set? Were guys letting up or the Clippers were setting up the shot without the pressure and through these playoffs the Clips were able to learn some weaknesses in the Warrior defense?

#3 It was no doubt a team effort by LA from Lou Williams (33 pts), Danilo Gallinari (26 pits), and Montrezl Harrell (24 pts), who led the Clips in scoring.

#4 The Clips are down 3-2 in the series, but you never know what team is going to show up. They came back and erased a 31-point lead by Golden State in Game 2 and they held on in Oakland to win by eight 129-121 on Wednesday night to win Game 5. Is this a fluke or they can come out and do it again?

#5 On the Warriors side, Kevin Durant came out with 45 points, Stephen Curry with 24 pts and Klay Thompson with 22 points. Some nights you can do all you can, but you just end up short. These guys put it all out there on Wednesday.

#6 Lastly in NBA news, did Magic Johnson’s resignation as Los Angeles Lakers team president take you by surprise? He reportedly left  because he saw a negative email that was blindly Bcc’d to him that was written between team owner Jeannie Buss and team general manager Rob Pelinka that said Magic wasn’t getting the job done. Magic decided it was time to resign and met with the media to make the announcement without first giving notice to Buss or Pelinka.

Tony Renteria does Headline Sports each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Warriors lose to Clippers 129-121 in Game 5

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Photo credit: @warriors

By: Ana Kieu

The Golden State Warriors held a 3-1 series lead over the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round of the 2019 NBA playoffs. It was clear the Warriors didn’t want to blow a 3-1 lead like they did to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016.

Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid recently joked about the Warriors blowing a 3-1 lead in a postgame press conference. Warriors big man Andrew Bogut, who was part of the Warrior squad who lost to the Cavs in 2016, responded to Embiid’s joke in his column for Yahoo Sports Australia.

“Joel Embiid saying the 76ers don’t want to do what we did in the 2016 Finals is just Joel being Joel — he’s a bit of a larrikin,” Bogut wrote. “But they have to get to a Finals series first before they can even think about doing that.”

“It’s been a funny talking point for a lot of people in the league. But we haven’t taken any notice of it and it’s not something that’s been mentioned in the locker room.”

Sure, Philadelphia eliminated the Brooklyn Nets 3-1, but the Sixers are a long ways away from the Larry O’Brien NBA Championship trophy. We’ll see how things go in the City of Brotherly Love.

In the meantime, Golden State was more than ready to go for Game 5 at Oracle Arena on Wednesday night. Before the game, Draymond Green said: “We just got to come out with the mindset that it’s 48 minutes. Stay the course, no matter what.”

The Warriors’ starting five featured Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andrew Bogut. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Bogut is open to another Australia-NBA season. Bogut has a verbal agreement to play for the 2019-20 Sydney Kings, and if given the opportunity to return to the NBA, he’d do so after honoring his commitment.

The first quarter remained in close scores, but the Warriors had something to smile about. Kevin Durant poured in the points, recorded his 3,776th career playoff point and passed John Havlicek for 12th on the NBA Playoffs’ all-time career scoring list.

Kevin Durant had back-to-back buckets along with 12 points in the first quarter. But Durant’s performance wasn’t the only highlight in the first quarter. Steph Curry found Andre Iguodala, who passed the ball to Alfonzo McKinnie, who hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer beater to extend the Warriors’ lead to 41-37 to wrap up the first quarter.

Patrick Beverley led the Clippers in points, rebounds and assists in the first. Beverley, Danilo Gallinari, Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell kept things up in the second quarter to give the Warriors fits. The Warriors trailed 71-63 at the end of the first half.

Kevin Durant continued to hammer it home in the third quarter. Also, Steph Curry hit a 3 to cut the deficit to 87-78 with 6:25 left in the third quarter. But the Clippers built up a 10-point lead and wrapped up the third quarter with a 104-94 lead, so the Warriors had some work to do in the fourth quarter.

The Warriors were off to a good start to open the fourth quarter.

Check out the Warriors’ 4-point play:

The Warriors were down by 6 with 5:58 left in the fourth quarter. However, Steph Curry helped the Warriors out of the flop with a 2-point bucket to cut the deficit to 114-110 with 5:55 left in the fourth quarter.

Kevin Durant knocked down a few jumpers. The Warriors tied the game 116-116 with 3:03 left in the fourth quarter. But the Clippers weren’t ready to back down just yet. Golden State got their first lead of the game since the first half, but LA regained the lead 125-118 with 1:29 left in the fourth quarter.

Steph Curry hit a 3 to cut the deficit to 125-121 with 20.6 seconds, but Danilo Gallinari made a pair of free throws to cap off the scoring. The Warriors (3-2) lost to the Clippers (2-3) by a final score of 129-121.

Despite the Warriors’ loss, Steph Curry became the only player in NBA history knock down 400 career playoff 3s.

Check out the Warriors’ final stats:

Game 6 will be played at the Staples Center on Friday, April 26. The time has yet to be determined. The game will be broadcast on ESPN, NSBA and FSPT.

Headline Sports podcast with London Marq: Kings staying with Walton until evidence proves otherwise; Do you believe in miracles? Could Sharks pull off a second round win?

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Photo credit: @NBCSKings

On the Headline Sports podcast with London:

#1 Kelli Tennant says that she is not seeking jail time or a certain amount of money from the lawsuit she filed against Sacramento Kings head coach Luke Walton, but wanted to share what had been weighing on her mind since she said that Walton sexually assaulted her in April 2015 when he was an assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors.

#2 Tennant spoke to the media in a press conference on Tuesday to tell her side of the story that Walton had invited her to his hotel room to read over some material from the book “The Transition: Every Athlete’s Guide to Life After Sports”. It was in his room she said she was sexually assaulted. In the press conference and after listening to what Tennant said about the assault, will this change the way people view Luke Walton now?

#3 The San Jose Sharks, who were down 3-1 in their last series with the Vegas Golden Knights, found a way to get off the mat and win three straight to advance to the second round.

#4 The Sharks had to come back with four goals in the third goal just to tie the game up, which they did 4-4, but they also had to skate an extra overtime stanza to score a winning goal to win the game so that’s virtually four unanswered goals to come back and win Game 7.

#5 Coming off a dramatic win like the first round the Sharks now open up the second round against the Colorado Avalanche, do you see them coming in with a lot momentum and having a great chance to even win the next round?

London Marq does Headline Sports each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary with Barbara Mason: It’s a miracle, Sharks back home for Game 7; LA Clippers on brink, face Warriors for Game 5; plus more

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Photo credit: @mercnews

Barbara Mason is filling in for Amaury Pi-Gonzalez on That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast:

#1 It’s a miraculous comeback playoff for the San Jose Sharks, who were down 3-1 in the series with the Vegas Golden Knights. The Sharks won games 5 and 6 by scores of 5-2 and 2-1 to force a Game 7 and not much thought they would get this far. Faceoff is on Tuesday night in San Jose for Game 7.

#2 After that horrific 31-point lead they had in Game 2 that got erased, the Golden State Warriors have now been cruising on the Los Angeles Clippers. The Warriors now have a 3-1 series lead and are just about ready to put the final touches in the elimination game on Wednesday night in Oakland in Game 5.

#3 After going through a 191 at-bats against the Pittsburgh Pirates, San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey finally broke out and got a home run, which proved to be the game-winner on Sunday. The Pirates were the only National League team that Posey had not hit a home run off of.

#4 The Oakland A’s not only got swept by the Toronto Blue Jays over the weekend. A’s pitcher Brett Anderson rolled his ankle coming off the mound to field a grounder hit by the Jays’ Randal Grichuk in the top of the third inning and had to leave the game. Anderson is hopeful for his next scheduled start on Saturday in Toronto.

#5 With the loss on Sunday to Toronto, the A’s have lost four straight in Saturday’s 10-1 loss. A’s manager Bob Melvin was upset up about the lack of hitting. The A’s pitching staff was exhausted using six pitchers, including first baseman Kendrys Morales as a ninth inning reliever.

Barbara Mason is filling in for Amaury Pi-Gonzalez for That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Golden State Warriors podcast with David Zizmor: Warriors can move onto next round with win over Clippers Wednesday night

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Photo credit: @SNYtv

On the Golden State Warriors podcast with David:

#1 Since that 31-point erasing by the Clippers in Game 2, the Warriors have been on track with some consistent basketball and flawless play in games 3 and 4.

#2 Warriors star Kevin Durant led Golden State in Game 4 with 38 points. Durant might be the round one MVP at this rate.

David does the Warriors podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Sexual assault allegations of Luke Walton puts Kings in damage control

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Photo credit: tmz.com

By: Ana Kieu

TMZ Sports first reported female sports reporter Kelli Tennant’s lawsuit against current Sacramento Kings head coach Luke Walton on Monday night. Sure, it may seem like just another headline among the tabloids, but sexual assault isn’t a joke, it’s a serious issue that has to be addressed in the general public. Some accusations may not be true, but about this accusation, we’ll have to wait and see if it turns out to be true.

Walton was hired by the Kings on April 14th. That, my friends, was only eight days ago. Before joining the Kings, Walton served as the Los Angeles Lakers head coach from 2016-19, Golden State Warriors assistant coach from 2014-16, Los Angeles D-Fenders player development coach from 2013-14 and Memphis Tigers assistant coach in 2011. Walton played in the NBA from 2003-13 after being a second-round draft pick at the 2003 NBA Draft. Walton played NCAA basketball at Arizona from 1999-2003.

Kelli Tennant is a host for the Ceremony Wellness podcast and a sports reporter who has worked for ESPN, PAC12, E! News, Fox Sports, Spectrum Sportsnet, and SportsNet LA. Tennant is a Temecula, Calif. native whose alma mater is the University of Southern California. Tennant played NCAA volleyball at USC for two seasons.

According to TMZ, Kelli Tennant claimed that before Walton became the Lakers head coach, he asked her to meet him at his Santa Monica hotel to discuss a book she was writing. She says they had a business relationship for several years and she wanted him to write a foreword.

In the suit, Tennant said when she arrived at Walton’s hotel, he convinced her to come up to his room so they could discuss the book. She claims when they got up to his room, Walton suddenly pinned her to the bed, placing his hips and legs over her body.

In the docs, Tennant claimed Walton began forcing kisses on her neck, face and chest. She claimed she screamed for him to stop and tried to free herself, but he held her down, groped her breasts and groin, and rubbed his erection on her leg.

Tennant says he eventually relented and let her get up from the bed, but as she was walking towards the door to leave, he grabbed her from behind and forced his body up against hers.

Tennant claimed when Walton finally released his grasp, she opened the door and left, but could hear him say, “Good to see you.”

Tennant claimed she did not initially report Walton’s conduct, but was forced to continually interact with him because of her job. She saied each time she saw him, he’d impose himself on her with a big hug or a kiss, even though she thought she made it clear his advances were unwanted.

In the suit, Tennant claimed on one occasion, Walton greeted her by uttering, “vulgar, guttural sounds at her” and said, “Mmmm…you’re killing me in that dress.” She says he then forced an aggressive hug on her and rubbed his body against hers.

While it’s unclear what exactly promoted Tennant to come forward, I can reassure you that the Kings are in damage control mode right now. Walton hasn’t released a statement, and it’s unclear if he’ll comment on anything. The Kings haven’t commented on the matter either. Sam Amick of The Athletic tweeted, “The Kings have issued a statement regarding sexual assault allegations against their new coach, Luke Walton, as reported by TMZ. We are aware of the report and are gathering additional information. We have no further comment at this time.”