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      Anthony Davis Is the Teammate LeBron James Has Been Waiting For

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The NBA SeasonVirus Hotspots in the N.B.A.Will the Harden Trade Work Out?The N.B.A. Wanted HerAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyMarc Stein on basketballAnthony Davis Is the Teammate LeBron James Has Been Waiting ForJames, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar, has seemed happier and looser with Davis around. The duo have already won a championship together, but, somehow, seem to be getting better.Anthony Davis may be the best teammate LeBron James has ever had (no disrespect to Dwyane Wade).Credit…Matt Slocum/Associated PressFeb. 3, 2021, 8:00 a.m. ETAnthony Davis started to say that he and LeBron James blend together as a basketball duo with the made-for-each-other properties of peanut butter and jelly. Then Davis caught himself.“I can’t be jelly,” Davis said.Referring to Dwyane Wade, James’s former All-Star running mate in Miami, Davis said, “D-Wade is jelly.”This was a quick but memorable chat we had at Barclays Center last season. Respectful of the bond and championships James shared with Wade on South Beach years earlier, when Wade was the one universally known as James’s most talented teammate ever, Davis searched for an adjacent metaphor that felt more appropriate.“Maybe we’re peanut butter and bananas,” Davis said, sounding unsure for one of the few times since he joined the Los Angeles Lakers.The conversation stays with me — and not only because Davis was so descriptive. I registered it as a measure of his contentment and belief, at an embryonic stage in his partnership with James, that they were already on course to become as dangerous a combo as they looked on paper.It also sticks in my head as the last time I successfully managed to break away from a pack of colleagues to secure some one-on-one time with a coveted subject, however brief, in an N.B.A. locker room after a game. Several of my fellow N.B.A. reporters and I refer to the practice as “sidling” — in tribute to a “Seinfeld” episode in which one of Elaine’s work colleagues, referred to as “a real sidler” named Lou, repeatedly managed to get close to her before she could detect him. In the current climate, such sidling is not possible because the news media’s access to locker rooms went away indefinitely last March because of the coronavirus pandemic.The usual wave of nostalgia I am prone to get swept up in duly hit me recently when I did the math and realized that one year had passed since that successful sidle in January 2020 — with no telling when the next opportunity will come. Yet there is some satisfaction knowing that my last locker-room sidle was such a good one, providing a handy window into the union that ranks as one of the few sure things in today’s N.B.A.Most teams have played at least 20 games, which is a traditional marker for front offices to assess their teams, but not this season. Not when game postponements and coronavirus-related lineup disruptions are so prevalent. Complicating evaluations further: Training camps were condensed, practice time and pregame shootarounds are scarce, and off-court bonding opportunities are drastically reduced.“I think it’s going to take a little bit longer to get a real sense, for any team in the league,” Lakers General Manager Rob Pelinka said in a recent television interview with Spectrum SportsNet.What can be said, six weeks into such an uneven season, is that the Lakers remain on a tier unto themselves no matter what the standings say, thanks largely to their starry twosome of James and Davis.As good as the James-Davis pairing was in last year’s championship season, it may be even more potent this year.Credit…Christian Petersen/Getty ImagesThe Nets created the most ambitious assemblage of offensive talent in league history by trading for James Harden on Jan. 14 to play alongside Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid and Denver’s Nikola Jokic have made big men fashionable again by promptly establishing themselves as certifiable candidates for the Most Valuable Player Award with their performances in January. The Utah Jazz (with a recent 11-game winning streak) and the Los Angeles Clippers (with the league’s best record as of Tuesday morning at 16-5) have likewise made strong opening statements.Yet you wouldn’t put any of those teams on the Lakers’ level. You can’t. Not with the Nets looking so vulnerable defensively and depth-wise in support of their flammable trio. Not until Embiid can sustain his ridiculous near-triple-double production for a longer stretch. For Denver, Utah and the Kawhi Leonard-led Clippers in the West, a question nags at them all, even in prosperous times: What if James and Davis are getting better together?“They’re better than last year,” Sixers Coach Doc Rivers said last week, already treating the matter as decided.After leading the league in assists last season for the first time, James is trying something new: He’s on pace to shoot a career-best 40.9 percent from 3-point range and is attempting nearly seven 3s per game. James also has played each of the Lakers’ 22 games, squelching any notion that, at age 36, he would be skipping chunks of the regular season to preserve his body after the shortest off-season (72 days) in league history.The standards for Davis are so high after he won his first championship in October that his 22.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per game have actually generated criticism that he has started slowly, including from Davis himself. Maybe he won’t be the Lakers’ leading scorer ahead of James again, as he was last season, but Davis’s ability to play so many positions and cover so much of the floor remains the driving force behind the Lakers’ fearsome defense.The Lakers top the league in defensive efficiency, allowing just 104.8 points per 100 possessions, with the versatile and ultra-mobile Davis anchoring L.A.’s resistance. The myriad options he provides Lakers Coach Frank Vogel may be best illustrated by the way Davis memorably guarded Miami’s Jimmy Butler in Game 4 of the N.B.A. finals, then made a rare start at center in the clinching Game 6 victory when Vogel wanted a lineup that could play faster.With six new players on the roster, there are still issues to resolve before the playoffs. Vogel is smoothing out his rotation, and team chemistry will need more time to ferment to reach the levels of togetherness that steeled the Lakers during their stay inside the bubble at Walt Disney World last season. Montrezl Harrell and Dennis Schröder had bigger roles on their previous teams. Talen Horton-Tucker, like Alex Caruso before him, is an emerging role player. Questions abound about how Vogel can possibly find minutes for everyone.Davis was the Lakers’ leading scorer last season, helping ease the burden on James, who typically provides most of the offense on his team.Credit…Ringo H.W. Chiu/Associated PressYet with James and Davis to lead the way, after they agreed to new mega contracts with the Lakers almost in tandem in early December, there are roughly 29 coaches who would trade problems with Vogel. The Lakers played in the Disney World bubble through Oct. 11, but hushed concerns about that very tight turnaround by winning their first 10 road games. Going 5-2 on a 15-day road trip that finally came to an end Tuesday, when the Lakers flew home from Atlanta, only figures to boost their resilience quotient.No James team will ever be devoid of drama, given the scrutiny James invites as an all-time great and how demanding he can be on teammates. Evidence is mounting, though, that James has never coexisted so comfortably with a co-star. Not even Wade.Age is presumably a factor. James is eight years older than Davis, secure in his legacy and at a point in his career when he needs more help than he would care to admit. But it also reflects supreme respect for Davis’s talents — how he is perfectly suited, as a two-way menace who looks ominously bigger than his listed height of 6-foot-10, to complement James’s all-court game.“If you saw their chemistry off the floor, it’s no wonder they’re the best duo in the N.B.A.,” Jared Dudley, the veteran Lakers forward, said of James and Davis.Davis tried to put it into words for me in Brooklyn a year ago. It’s one of the few things he hasn’t managed to pull off since forcing a trade to the Lakers.My opportunity to sidle over to his locker came while a pack of reporters had encircled James. I approached Davis, after covering him a fair bit in his New Orleans days, and told him his presence seemed to make James happier and looser.“He makes me happy,” Davis said.The Scoop @TheSteinLineCorner ThreeCleveland Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton, right, scored 42 points against the starry Nets on Jan. 20. Cleveland won in double overtime.Credit…David Richard/USA Today Sports, via ReutersYou ask; I answer. Every week in this space, I’ll field three questions posed via email at marcstein-newsletter@nytimes.com. Please include your first and last name, as well as the city you’re writing in from, and make sure “Corner Three” is in the subject line.(Responses may be lightly edited or condensed for clarity.)Stein: You can’t say that all of last season’s bubble triumphs have been undone — that’s hyperbole — but I understand the reaction. I don’t like the idea of crowds, either.My position from the start of the season was that, beyond the considerable safety concerns involved, it’s not even fair. Teams that can admit reduced crowds hold a competitive advantage over the teams whose local jurisdictions mandate that buildings stay empty.Utah has increased its capacity to about 3,900 spectators from 1,500 since you voiced these concerns, but none of this is new or exclusive to the Jazz. As noted here, Atlanta and Miami last week became the eighth and ninth teams to start playing in front of reduced crowds at home. On Tuesday, Phoenix made it 10 by announcing that it, too, would begin admitting up to 1,500 fans starting on Feb. 8. The N.B.A. is allowing each of its 30 teams to make the call on letting fans in or not if local laws permit indoor gatherings.I can admit, though, that I reacted as you did when I heard last week that momentum was building toward the staging of an All-Star Game in Atlanta that would require players who were selected to be there March 6-7. Flying a bunch of the league’s best players to one location for an exhibition game in the midst of a pandemic seems especially unwise and needlessly risky — and I would imagine that there are All-Stars who will be reluctant to go.If (when?) this substitute game comes together, admirable philanthropic pursuits supporting historically Black colleges and universities and Covid-19 relief efforts will be part of it, but I would have voted for restricting N.B.A. All-Star business in 2021 to All-Star voting only. Safety first.Q: Why do headline writers use “spoil” so often? It was used on many stories after Cleveland’s Collin Sexton had his career night against the Nets on Jan. 20. Doesn’t the use of this word imply that the win rightfully belonged to the Nets, and that the Cavaliers took something that wasn’t theirs? — Andy Moore (Pittsburgh)Stein: Questions about headlines are best answered by editors rather than writers, since writers typically don’t write the headlines that land on their stories. But I had to try to respond because the copy editor energy in your question was so good.The newsiest aspect of the game in question, for a broad audience, was the debut of Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving as teammates. I don’t see it as sinister to assert that the Cavaliers spoiled the Nets’ hopes for a grandiose opening act for their new star trio.Habit is surely a factor here, too. Virtually every game in every sport has a favorite and an underdog, which feeds into the “spoil” concept. Perhaps most crucially, “spoil” is also a headline-friendly word because it’s short, which will always matter to newspaper copy editors dealing with limited headline spaces. I’ve done just enough copy-desk work over the years to understand that.Q: I’m curious to know if Amar’e Stoudemire is the first N.B.A. player or coach to observe Shabbat this seriously. Also: Is he is forfeiting salary for those days? — Andrew Esensten (Palo Alto, Calif.)Stein: In my 28 seasons covering the league, speaking strictly about players and coaches, Stoudemire’s insistence that he avoid work on Shabbat is certainly the strictest observance I have seen.Ben Falk, who worked in the front office in Portland and Philadelphia before beginning his excellent Cleaning The Glass website, had the blessing from both of those teams to put religion first from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown, as chronicled in this Sports Illustrated article by Chris Ballard. Tamir Goodman played Division I college basketball at Towson University without playing on Shabbat — after turning down a scholarship offer from Maryland because it was impossible to secure that time off.Those, though, are the only basketball examples I can readily cite. It’s difficult to answer more definitively than that.I don’t want to diminish the significance of the Nets’ gesture to allow Stoudemire to be away from the team from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown every week for religious reasons, because it is a wonderful gesture. Yet there’s no denying that this would be much more challenging to work through with an active player or if Stoudemire was a more prominent member of the Nets’ coaching staff.Stoudemire is a player development assistant in his first season with the club. The Nets have several player-development coaches and a big staff in general. Mike D’Antoni, Ime Udoka and Jacque Vaughn are the three assistants who sit beside Coach Steve Nash during every Nets game.Stoudemire, in other words, does not have a role with the Nets in Year 1 that compels him to be with the team every second or to join the traveling party.Numbers GameD’Angelo Russell, third from left, and Karl-Anthony Towns, right, have played in only five games together since Russell was traded to Minnesota on Feb. 6, 2020.Credit…Andy Clayton-King/Associated Press2Only two players were averaging 100 touches per game as the N.B.A. moved into February: Denver’s Nikola Jokic (102.4) and Indiana’s Domantas Sabonis (100). They are both listed at 6-foot-11.29.3In his third season, Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks started 2 for 21 on 3-pointers and is shooting 29.3 percent from long range, which ranks 168th leaguewide. Doncic’s overall statistical production remains spectacular, and he creates numerous good looks from 3 for his teammates that aren’t being cashed in, but his 3-point shooting is cause for concern. He shot 32.7 percent on 3s as a rookie and 31.6 percent last season, struggles magnified by Dallas’s dearth of outside shooters after trading Seth Curry to Philadelphia and the team’s early woes. Injuries, coronavirus-related disruptions and a road-heavy schedule are all factors, but the Mavericks’ 8-13 start is one of the league’s most alarming through the season’s first six weeks.2-8While the Lakers thrive, the Heat were only 2-8 in the 10 games that Jimmy Butler missed while awaiting clearance to rejoin the team via the league’s health and safety protocols. Coming off the shortest off-season in league history at 72 days after last season’s trip to the N.B.A. finals against the Lakers, Miami (7-13) has played several games with a depleted roster and awoke Tuesday at No. 13 in the Eastern Conference.5Saturday is the first anniversary of Minnesota’s acquisition of D’Angelo Russell in a trade with Golden State. Russell and his close friend Karl-Anthony Towns have played together in only five games in that span because of injuries and the Timberwolves’ exclusion from the N.B.A. restart last summer.13Last Sunday was the 40th anniversary of the N.B.A.’s first international broadcast — 13 days after the game was actually played. On Jan. 31, 1981, Primarete Indipendente TV in Italy aired a Boston Celtics home victory over the Los Angeles Lakers from Jan. 18, 1981. This season, when opening night rosters featured 107 international players from 41 countries, Sky Italia will broadcast at least 10 N.B.A. games per week. There were only four international players in the league during the 1980-81 season.Hit me up anytime on Twitter (@TheSteinLine) or Facebook (@MarcSteinNBA) or Instagram (@thesteinline). Send any other feedback to marcstein-newsletter@nytimes.com.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      From Kobe to LeBron: Tragedy and Triumph in the N.B.A.

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The NBA SeasonThe Warriors Are StrugglingVirus Upends Houston RocketsMarc Stein’s Fearless PredictionsThe Reloaded LakersAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storymarc stein on basketballFrom Kobe to LeBron: Tragedy and Triumph in the N.B.A.A year that began with the deaths of two N.B.A. icons could not end soon enough, marked by heartache along the way but also small moments worth celebrating now.Kobe Bryant and LeBron James dominated a year of tragedy and triumph in the basketball world.Credit…John McCoy/Getty ImagesDec. 30, 2020, 9:00 a.m. ETThe longest and possibly saddest year in pro basketball history is almost over. From this world that plays out on hardwood, as with so many other wings of society, there will be few fond farewells to 2020.The basketball public has been losing and grieving since the first day of January, when David Stern, the N.B.A.’s former longtime commissioner, died at age 77. Soon after, a helicopter headed for a weekend youth tournament with nine aboard, among them Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, crashed into a hillside in Calabasas, Calif. There were no survivors.Mere weeks later, the country was gripped by the coronavirus. Inside and outside of the sport’s sphere, life did not get easier and, as 2021 dawns, it still hasn’t.Yet there was some undeniable good along the way, most of all the N.B.A.’s leadership in coping with the coronavirus, and how its players, in tandem with their longtime activist peers from the W.N.B.A., lent many loud and influential voices to a year of profound social reckoning. The N.B.A. was the first major professional sports league to shut down in response to the pandemic, completed its 2019-20 season by engineering an ambitious protective bubble, and amplified the fight for racial justice and equality.Those were real-world triumphs that will be long-lasting.So let’s celebrate them. In the final edition of Year 3 for this newsletter, I have singled out a few of the far smaller victories, too, as opposed to rehashing a frequently dispiriting 12 months in detail. For all the natural Year In Review instincts that kick in for all of us every December, I’d rather reach back for some smiles, thin as they might be, than recount all the tumult and tragedy.Allow me to rewind to All-Star Weekend in Chicago in February, when the much-maligned dunk contest, and a competitive All-Star Game crunchtime enhanced by the use of the Elam scoring system, generated a level of tension and watchability that many skeptics no longer thought possible.Derrick Jones Jr. won the dunk contest during a revitalized All-Star Weekend in Chicago in February.Credit…Kyle Terada/USA Today Sports, via ReutersThere were five uplifting Sundays in a row during the mostly lonely (and scary) days of April and May when a basketball documentary about Michael Jordan, “The Last Dance,” delivered the sort of shared experience and sense of community — through sports — that was otherwise unavailable.Michael Jordan captivated millions each week this spring with his recollections of his Chicago Bulls glory days.Credit…Jon RocheThe recent sports trading card renaissance extended to basketball, and led to rookie cards from LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo fetching $1.8 million — each — at auction.The creative forces behind the acclaimed animated series “Game of Zones” served up one final season that, to my great shock and pride, managed to work in a few lucky sports scribes.The seventh season of the animated show “Game of Zones” by Bleacher Report includes characters inspired by Marc Stein, right, and the former N.B.A. star Dwyane Wade, left.Credit…Bleacher ReportAnd when it comes to something that really matters: Delonte West, the former N.B.A. guard, was back in Maryland to spend Christmas with his family after years of struggling with bipolar disorder and drug use. A video surfaced in late September that appeared to show West, a former Dallas Maverick, homeless in Dallas. That led Mark Cuban, the owner of the Mavericks, to track him down and help West enter a drug rehabilitation facility in Florida.The dunks and trading cards and M.J. memes, to be clear, were mere footnotes at a time even sports struggled to provide its usual escape, but one suspects we will keep coming back to the bigger headlines from basketball’s intersection with a global health crisis.“This will go down as the most remembered year in N.B.A. history,” said Jared Dudley, the veteran forward and frequent unofficial team spokesman for the Los Angeles Lakers. “They will be making movies about 2020 for years to come.”He’s probably right. Tales from the bubble are bound to hold considerable long-term interest, particularly after Dudley’s Lakers emerged from the grand experiment as champions.Hollywood’s team is back on top for the first time since 2009-10, and the ending did include a surprise element: James and Co. have not been subjected to as much asterisk talk as the curmudgeons among us (like me in April) envisaged.My original view stemmed to some degree from fears that the N.B.A. postseason would be truncated from its usual four rounds of best-of-seven series, and thus not constitute a representative championship run. Critics could have also seized on the absence of travel, arenas without fans, and how much living and playing at the same address might have benefited the Lakers, so I still wanted to give it some time to see how their 17th championship would be received.LeBron James said he has won “the two hardest championships” in N.B.A. history, including the 2019-20 title.Credit…Harry How/Getty ImagesThe response has been encouraging. Occasional jabs about James and his supposed “Mickey Mouse” ring haven’t really stuck.Perhaps James went too far the other way with his recent assertion on the “Road Trippin’” podcast that he had won “the two hardest championships” in league history: Cleveland’s comeback from a 3-1 deficit in the 2015-16 N.B.A. finals against the 73-win Golden State Warriors, and the Lakers’ bubble crown. Historians haven’t exactly rushed to endorse those claims, but there is an no shortage of appreciation for what the Lakers did overcome during their 95-day bubble stay, cut off from the outside world.There was a mental toll from essentially living at work. There was isolation. There was an internal conflict to manage, as James and many of his peers would explain, for athletes playing a game and feeding the entertainment industry at a time of so much social unrest in their home communities.The truth, of course, is that you could slap an asterisk on just about anything that happened in 2020, sports or not, since we strayed so far from normalcy in too many precincts to count. Or did so much change get foisted upon all of us that nothing in 2020 should be sullied by the asterisk treatment?Maybe we’ll have that figured out by next year’s final newsletter.The Scoop @TheSteinLineCorner ThreeThe league’s free agency investigation of the Bucks ruined Milwaukee’s chances of signing Bogdan Bogdanovic, who landed with the Atlanta Hawks.Credit…Brett Davis/Associated PressYou ask; I answer. Every week in this space, I’ll field three questions posed via email at marcstein-newsletter@nytimes.com. Please include your first and last name, as well as the city you’re writing in from, and make sure “Corner Three” is in the subject line.(Questions may be lightly edited or condensed for clarity.)Q: It is vital that it be explained why this was the “line in the sand” for the N.B.A. There have clearly been other examples of tampering. Why were no draft picks rescinded in those cases? — @Wanediggity from TwitterStein: I know Bucks fans are upset, but I don’t think the league’s decision to strip their team of a second-round pick in 2022 in the wake of Milwaukee’s failed attempt to court Bogdan Bogdanovic is such a mystery. For all the league’s shortcomings in policing and curbing tampering, it has been consistent in dishing out penalties when violations were blatant. The violations, in this case, were pretty blatant.These were not mere rumblings or assumptions about the sort of free-agent conversations that many of us suspect are happening leaguewide before they are supposed to. The league opened an investigation in response to a detailed news report about a five-player deal involving the Bucks and Sacramento Kings that had Bogdanovic, a restricted free agent, landing in Milwaukee — nearly four days before free agency was scheduled to start.The league took action again on Monday when it fined Daryl Morey, Philadelphia’s new president of basketball operations, $50,000 for a seemingly harmless tweet congratulating James Harden on a statistical milestone he hit when Morey was still his general manager in Houston. It doesn’t matter if the social media post was automated or accidental, as ESPN reported Morey told the league office. The mere fact that Morey publicly “discussed” another team’s player put him in line for a fine.Bucks fans have asked me: What about all the teams that have tried to recruit Giannis Antetokounmpo behind the scenes? My retort: Do we have proof? If there was a detailed news report in circulation about a specific team doing so — or if text messages Antetokounmpo has reportedly received from players on other teams were turned in to the league — I’m quite sure penalties would be imposed on the offending clubs. But no such evidence has surfaced in the public domain. It’s not that the Bucks are the only ones breaking the rules. Other teams have just been better at hiding it.Whether or not Milwaukee or Sacramento wanted this stuff to be out there, it got out. Both were operating as if they had a deal even though Bogdanovic insisted he never agreed to anything. The league wasn’t going to let that go.Even though the league announced in September 2019 that it would institute a new set of anti-tampering regulations to crack down on the practice, there is clearly still much to fix, given how many deals we still saw coalesce in the early hours of free agency on Nov. 20. But the league’s stance on this one, in the words of its general counsel Rick Buchanan, is that Milwaukee had to be sanctioned for “gun-jumping” the start of free agency.There is plenty of skepticism regarding Commissioner Adam Silver’s claim that the punishment “will act as a clear deterrent” to other teams, since the whole episode technically only cost Milwaukee a future second-round pick. Yet it’s also true that the league’s decision to investigate essentially snuffed out any chance the Bucks had of resurrecting a deal for Bogdanovic — someone, by all accounts, Antetokounmpo badly wanted to play with.So losing the ability to pursue Bogdanovic was Milwaukee’s real penalty here, while Sacramento wound up losing Bogdanovic without compensation after electing not to match Atlanta’s four-year, $72 million offer sheet. The Kings did not receive any formal penalty from the league office, but they would have acquired a player they coveted from the Bucks (Donte DiVincenzo) had the original sign-and-trade plan been resuscitated.Q: Any word on the status of Jeremy Lin getting his FIBA Letter of Clearance yet? Many fans want to know! — Tom GardnerStein: To catch up those who weren’t following this saga as it played out on Dec. 19, Golden State needed a clearance letter from the Beijing Ducks, Lin’s last team in China, to sign and then immediately release him before 11 p.m. Eastern time that day. That would have allowed the Santa Cruz Warriors to secure Lin’s G League rights.In part because FIBA’s office is closed on weekends, Golden State couldn’t obtain the letter in time. The rush to get the clearance letter pretty much ended then, because it initially appeared that subsequently obtaining Lin’s G League rights would require some complicated (and more costly) roster gymnastics for the Warriors.It has since emerged that the Warriors will have a new pathway to steering Lin to their G League affiliate that wasn’t apparent then — provided that the G League goes ahead with a 2020-21 season that will be at least partly played in a bubble environment. The N.B.A. is instituting a rule that will enable N.B.A. parent clubs to recruit players to fill one G League roster spot with an N.B.A. veteran who has at least five years of service time. The Warriors will thus have a mechanism to guarantee that Lin can play with Santa Cruz, their G League affiliate, should he decide to sign with the league.Neither the Golden State Warriors nor the Santa Cruz Warriors would sign Lin. He would have to sign with the G League first and then be allocated to Santa Cruz via the new rule, which some G League observers are even calling “the Jeremy Lin rule.” Yet there is no frantic need for the clearance letter now with the G League still trying to resolve some outstanding issues and commit to a season.If Lin decides he wants to go the G League route in hopes that it can boost his chances of an N.B.A. comeback at age 32, and if Santa Cruz is where he wants to play, it will happen.Q: Knowing James Dolan, do you think that the Knicks want to trade for James Harden? I’m sure Dolan is already tired of the Knicks playing second fiddle to the Nets. — Frank AlecciStein: After skipping the opening week of training camp and forcing the league to hit him with an additional four-day quarantine last week, while repeatedly violating the league’s health and safety guidelines in both instances, Harden made his season debut Saturday and promptly uncorked 44 points and 17 assists in Houston’s overtime loss to Portland.As my Houston Chronicle colleague Jonathan Feigen put it, Harden quickly reminded us that, yes, he is worth the trouble on a lot of levels.This would be especially true for a Knicks team that doesn’t have anything close to a certifiable franchise player at the moment. I imagine that Harden would hold appeal throughout the organization — not just with Dolan — despite being under contract only for the rest of this season and next season before he has the right to become a free agent in July 2022.The harsh reality of the Knicks’ current roster, though, is also a problem when it comes to getting into the Harden sweepstakes, since Houston has made it clear that it wants a player like Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons to headline the package it receives for Harden. If there is a combination of Knicks players and draft picks that would entice the Rockets, I don’t see it.Numbers GameKevin Durant (7) and Kyrie Irving (11)Credit…Sarah Stier/Getty Images7-11In one of the better quotes from the season’s opening week, Kyrie Irving said he and his Nets teammate Kevin Durant had “introduced the world to 7-11” with their scoring outbursts in the Nets’ first two games. Irving, of course, was referring to their jersey numbers, not the famed convenience store chain.23.2The average margin of victory from the league’s five Christmas Day games was a whopping 23.2 points. Only the first game (Miami over New Orleans by 13) and the last one (Clippers over Denver by 13) could be classified as competitive. Not what the N.B.A. was hoping for when it pushed up the start of the season at the behest of the league’s television partners, who badly wanted a Christmas week launch.107There were 107 international players from 41 countries on opening-night rosters, including a record 17 players from Canada and a record-tying 14 African players. It’s the seventh consecutive season that opening-night rosters included at least 100 international players; 113 at the start of the 2016-17 season is the record. France (nine), Australia (eight) and Serbia and Germany (six each) are the countries with the most players after Canada.5K.C. Jones earned enshrinement to the Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in 1989, but his coaching résumé is perhaps even more H.O.F.-worthy. Jones coached three teams in the N.B.A. across 10 seasons (Washington, Boston and Seattle) and made five trips to the N.B.A. finals in that short span, winning championships with the Celtics in 1983-84 and 1985-86. Jones died on Christmas at the age of 88.4,500There is a strong argument to be made, as a matter of fairness, that fans should not be in N.B.A. buildings until all 30 teams were allowed by local health regulations to do so, because it is a competitive advantage to have a crowd of any size. Yet it’s worth noting just how varied the maximum crowd sizes are for the six teams currently admitting fans. At the low end: Cleveland (300 fans maximum), New Orleans (750) and Utah (1,500). At the high end: Toronto (3,800 fans maximum in Tampa, Fla.), Orlando (4,000) and Houston (4,500).Hit me up anytime on Twitter (@TheSteinLine) or Facebook (@MarcSteinNBA) or Instagram (@thesteinline). Send any other feedback to marcstein-newsletter@nytimes.com.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Nets and Clippers Open N.B.A. Season With Big Wins

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The NBA SeasonNets and Clippers Win BigMVP: LeBron or Luka?The Reloaded LakersWill the Nets Reign?AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyNets and Clippers Open N.B.A. Season With Big WinsThe Nets dominated the Warriors, and the Clippers staved off a comeback attempt by the Lakers. Kevin Durant and Paul George were the night’s stars.Paul George had a strong performance for the Clippers on Tuesday, with 33 points on 13-of-18 shooting.Credit…Harry How/Getty ImagesScott Cacciola and Published More

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      Lakers vs Clippers: Live NBA Season Opener Updates

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The NBA SeasonWarriors vs. NetsMVP: LeBron or Luka?The Reloaded LakersWill the Nets Reign?AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyLIVE UPDATESN.B.A. Live Updates: Lakers vs. ClippersIt’s opening night, which means the official debut of the Kevin Durant-Kyrie Irving pairing, and a ring ceremony for LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers.Scott Cacciola and Right NowFrontline workers are presenting the Lakers with their championship rings.The N.B.A. is back (so soon!) with a doubleheader on opening night, featuring several of the league’s biggest names: LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry and Kawhi Leonard.For Durant, it’s a much-anticipated regular-season debut with the Nets, alongside Kyrie Irving. And for James, it’s a short turnaround for his Los Angeles Lakers after winning the championship just over 10 weeks ago.Follow along with us live.What: Warriors @ Nets, 7 p.m. Eastern time; Clippers @ Lakers, 10 p.m.How to watch: TNTExtras: Western Conference preview | Eastern Conference preview | Times staff predictionsHere’s what you need to know:The Lakers get their championship rings.LeBron says he’s ready, even with little rest this off-season.The Nets beat the Warriors big, 125-99.4th Quarter: Up and down debut for the Warriors rookie James Wiseman.End 3rd Quarter: It might be a wrap.3rd Quarter: 3-pointers are only falling for the Nets.3rd Quarter: Yikes.Kevin Durant got off to a hot start in his regular-season debut with the Nets.Credit…Kathy Willens/Associated PressClick here to refresh for live updates.The Lakers get their championship rings.Before the Lakers took the court for their spectator-free championship ring ceremony, Coach Frank Vogel reflected on just how “surreal” the team’s title run still felt to him.“I don’t really know if it ever really hits you,” he told reporters before the game. “It’s what you dream about. It’s what you work for your whole career. I’m just happy for my family, who made so many sacrifices to allow me to have these opportunities. Grateful to the league for letting us finish the season and creating the bubble environment.”Because of the coronavirus pandemic and the massive shutdowns it caused, Vogel said he had only sporadically been able to get a sense of what the championship meant to fans in Southern California. But whenever he goes grocery shopping or stops by Target, someone will thank him for what the team was able to do, he said.The ring ceremony itself, even without fans in the arena, was surprisingly emotional. In recorded video presentations, the players’ families congratulated them, one by one, before they went to collect their rings. There was even a cameo from the Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo, whose younger brother, Kostas, spent last season on a two-way contract with the Lakers.And in a nice touch, frontline medical workers presented the rings to the team’s assistant coaches. LeBron says he’s ready, even with little rest this off-season.The Lakers added a bunch of new pieces over the off-season, but LeBron James, who will turn 36 on Dec. 30, is back for more. Neither he nor his returning teammates got much of a break following last season’s championship run, which concluded in October, and James’s minutes will be something to monitor early this season. It might behoove the Lakers to rest him more than he usually does, and they appear to have the depth to be able to do that.Before the game, Lakers Coach Frank Vogel said he planned to play — and rest — James in bursts. He does not want James playing extended minutes, or sitting for long stretches and getting cold.“If he’s on the bench for too long of a stretch and has to come back in cold, that’s where you’re in a riskier situation,” Vogel said.In a video call with reporters last week, James was asked whether he expected to be the team’s primary ballhandler, much like he was last season. He said it was too early to tell, though it seems likely that Dennis Schröder will step in to handle more of those duties. James also mentioned how Marc Gasol can operate as a playmaker from the high post.But, as always, James said he was ready to carry an outsize load.“Whatever it takes for our ball club to win, I’m going to bring my game,” James said, “and you know what my game brings for this ball club.”The Nets beat the Warriors big, 125-99.Steve Nash got his first win as an N.B.A. head coach in dominating fashion, as the Nets blew out the Golden State Warriors at home, 125-99. The Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant partnership got off to a fast start: Irving had 26 points and Durant added 22, both in 25 minutes. Neither played in the fourth quarter. But for all 48 minutes, the Nets looked like the championship contenders they were billed to be. The Nets were particularly proficient from the perimeter, shooting 15-35 from deep (43 percent). Caris LeVert, who came off the bench, scored 20 points and grabbed 9 rebounds.Golden State, missing Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, struggled mightily on both ends of the floor. Offensively, the Warriors looked as if they would miss even if they threw a basketball into space from the International Space Station. They shot 10-33 from three (30 percent). Stephen Curry, who missed most of last season, looked overmatched, scoring 20 points on 21 shots. He did, however, have 10 assists. Curry did not get much help from his teammates. Andrew Wiggins, whom the Warriors acquired last season, shot 4-16 from the field for 13 points. James Wiseman, the heralded rookie, scored 19 points and grabbed 6 rebounds, a solid debut, but much of his production came in the fourth quarter when the outcome of the game was not in doubt.4th Quarter: Up and down debut for the Warriors rookie James Wiseman.James Wiseman, the highly touted prospect whom the Warriors drafted second overall in November, has had a mixed N.B.A. debut after Coach Steve Kerr put him in the starting lineup. So far, through 17 minutes, Wiseman has 10 points and 6 rebounds on 3-of-8 shooting. The 19-year-old looked nimble handling the ball but sometimes struggled finishing under the basket and on the defensive end.End 3rd Quarter: It might be a wrap.The game became a blowout early on … is still a blowout entering the final quarter, as the Nets outscored the Warriors by 10 in the third, to lead 99-71. We are all about bright spots here, so we found one for Golden State: Stephen Curry has 10 assists. So there’s that. Aside from that? The Warriors are shooting 24 percent from 3 and only have two players in double figures. Andrew Wiggins is shooting an awful 4-14 from the field for 13 points. For the Nets, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving have combined for 48 points and may not have to play anymore tonight. Caris LeVert has 16 points, Joe Harris has 10, and DeAndre Jordan has 10 rebounds.3rd Quarter: 3-pointers are only falling for the Nets.It got ugly here in Brooklyn (depending on your vantage point). The Nets pushed the lead to 31 in the third quarter. The Warriors are only shooting 5 of 21 from deep, compared to 10 of 22 for the Nets. That has essentially been the ball game. Durant now has 16 points; Irving has 26.3rd Quarter: Yikes.So, this is Kevin Durant:And this is how the Warriors are doing:Halftime: Kyrie Irving leads with 24 points.The onslaught continued for the Nets, as they ended the first half up 63-45. Kyrie Irving continued to put on a show, pouring in 24 points on 13 shots and hitting several momentum-stopping jump shots to keep the Warriors from sustaining any sort of run. Kevin Durant had 12 points on 11 shots. Caris LeVert ended the half with 12 points. For Golden State, every point seemed to be a labor. Stephen Curry led with 16 points, but it took 15 shots. He also had 5 assists. Andrew Wiggins shot 2-10 for 8 points. The Nets have looked faster and more aggressive, keeping the game mostly uncompetitive. Their defense also was effective in stopping the Warriors from getting uncontested shots. One potential red flag for the Nets: They only had 10 assists to 13 turnovers. They’re winning based on a lot of isolation basketball. But who can complain when it works?Silver: Others need the vaccine ‘much more desperately’ than N.B.A. players.Commissioner Adam Silver, in a pregame interview on TNT, reiterated that he did not think that N.B.A. players should receive the vaccine right now, saying that he did not want players prioritized over more vulnerable populations.“While there is no doubt a role our that our players can play at the appropriate time, and whether it’s in the African-American community in certain cases, whether it’s demonstrating to young people that it’s safe to get the vaccine should our players feel that way, I just think right now, given that there’s limited doses and given that there’s another cohort of people out there who need it much more desperately than young, healthy people, my sense is we should wait,” Silver said.“But ultimately we’ll follow what the public health officials tell us to do. I know we’ve already had some conversations with public health officials who suggested that there is a role that our players can play in demonstrating to the broader public that it is safe to go ahead and get vaccinated.”2nd Quarter: Caris LeVert is key off the Nets’ bench.It’s just one game. But Andrew Wiggins, who will now have to fill some of the gap left by Klay Thompson’s absence, has had a rough start to the game. He started 1-8 and has missed multiple wide-open jumpers.On the other end, Caris LeVert is thriving early on in his role as sixth man for the Nets. He has 12 points on 7 shots along with 3 rebounds and an assist, providing a spark off the bench while Durant and Irving sit for a spell. LeVert’s ability to keep the offense afloat while the Nets’ star duo rests will be crucial as the season progresses.Side note: TNT’s audio appears to be out of sync with the video. I just heard the clank of a missed jumper seconds after the ball hit the rim on the screen. Look, it’s not just the players who are getting themselves into shape. End of 1st Quarter: The Warriors are struggling.The Nets jumped out to a 40-19 lead in the first quarter, while the Warriors looked out of sorts on offense, before the Nets ended the opening frame leading 40-25. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving were dominant, scoring 27 points on 10-of-15 shooting combined. Joe Harris also scored 6 points, hitting a pair of triples. Kelly Oubre, a new Warriors addition, had a rim-rattling dunk and Stephen Curry had 9 points on 3-of-7 shooting to keep the Warriors afloat, but Golden State had trouble generating quality offensive possessions as a whole.Kevin Durant is hot to start.It’s a beautiful sight to see. Kevin Durant has hit 4 of his first 5 shots. What’s impressive is that all four of his makes have been different. One was a runner, another a 3-pointer, a pull-up jumper which also sent him to the line, and, finally, a baseline dunk. He scored 8 points in the first three minutes of the game. An impressive start so far, pushing the Nets to an early double-digit lead, 18-8. Kyrie Irving has hit 2 of 3 so far for 5 points.Klay Thompson says there’s a ‘huge hole in my soul.’Klay Thompson, the Golden State Warriors guard who will miss this entire season, said on Instagram shortly before Tuesday night’s game that “It pains me every day knowing I won’t be able to chase a chip.”Thompson, a five-time All Star, missed all of last year’s campaign after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in the 2019 finals. In November, as he was gearing up to return for this season, Thompson tore his right Achilles’ tendon, one of the most devastating injuries for a basketball player. He had surgery and was ruled out for his second straight season.“I do not want to be writing this,” Thompson wrote on Tuesday. “My soul is in Brooklyn taking a pregame nap. Unfortunately, reality looks a bit different.”He added: “There’s a huge hole in my soul when I can’t do what I love and compete against the best players in the world. But I plan on playing for a long time and will continue to work every day to get back on the court and help my team bring more championships to the Bay.”It’s a reunion for Durant and Curry.Credit…Sarah Stier/Getty ImagesOpening night won’t just be a long-awaited return to the court for Kevin Durant. His teammate, Stephen Curry, with whom Durant won two championships, also will play. Curry, a two-time Most Valuable Player Award winner, missed 60 games last season because of a broken left hand. Curry and Durant will face each other as opponents for the first time since 2016. After that season, Durant shocked the basketball world by joining Curry in Golden State, forming one of the most talented partnerships in the history of the league. “You always kind of find yourself in awe of stuff he can do on the floor,” Curry told reporters this week, adding, “That was a big part of our success: kind of feeding off of each other, that energy and that pursuit of greatness every day. Seeing it up close and personal, you had no choice but to meet it every day.”Durant, for his part, is not outwardly putting extra stock in Tuesday night’s game, even though it is against his former team. “Playing against old teammates never really ratcheted me up,” Durant told reporters this week. “I always felt like I was on that level no matter who is on the floor. I feel like each game is important to me.”‘Nerves and anxiety’ for Steve Nash in his coaching debut.Before his first regular-season game as an N.B.A. head coach, Steve Nash told reporters that Kevin Durant “does look exactly like he did before the injury, but he also needs a little bit of breathing room to get himself acclimated to competitive basketball.” “The only thing I say about it is that he’s done everything and he’s in absolutely the ultimate position to come back from this injury,” Nash said of Durant, who tore his right Achilles’ tendon during the 2019 N.B.A. finals, which sidelined him for all of last season.Nash continued: “But I think we also have to give Kevin time to play N.B.A. games and not get carried away.” As far as his coaching debut — Nash’s first direct involvement in a N.B.A. game since he retired as a player in 2015 — Nash said that this gameday had a “different rhythm but similar nerves and anxiety” as when he was a player. “I always felt a little nerves until I actually got out there in pregame warm-ups. So I feel that a little bit tonight and that’s probably a good thing,” Nash said.Here’s hoping the Warriors can be great again.I’m not ready to say goodbye to the Golden State Warriors.I find myself pining for the splendor of Steph Curry, the snarl of Draymond Green, the beautiful basketball, the sheer dominance. I fear we may never see it again — at least, not at the level we once did.Klay Thompson’s shredded Achilles’ tendon probably means a second straight lost season, and possibly a fatal blow to the Warriors’ hopes for a revival. And that’s where I truly become wistful.I don’t miss the Warriors as a fan would (my San Jose roots notwithstanding). It’s not just that I’ll miss writing about their roundball artistry (though that’s certainly true, too). It’s more personal than that.To their fans, the Warriors provided endless basketball bliss — a montage of deep 3s and shimmies and raucous parades. To others, they provided a standard of selfless play and joyful domination. They defined an era, and redefined the formula for building a superteam.But they gave me something far more precious: a final few hours with my father. I just didn’t know it at the time.Continue reading by clicking here.Drama for the Clippers. New deals for the Lakers.In some ways, it feels like Kawhi Leonard joined the Clippers a million years ago. In fact, it was only during the summer of 2019 when the Clippers signed Leonard and traded for Paul George, a momentous one-two punch that reshaped the franchise.But some of the behind-the-scenes intrigue of that momentous summer recently resurfaced when Johnny Wilkes, a man who claims to be a Leonard family confidante, accused Jerry West, one of the team’s executives, of reneging on a pledge to pay him for helping deliver Leonard to the Clippers.After Wilkes, who played high school basketball with Leonard’s uncle Dennis Robertson filed a lawsuit, the N.B.A. opened an investigation. The Clippers have denied any wrongdoing, calling Wilkes’s allegations “baseless,” and Leonard told reporters that Wilkes had nothing to do with his decision to sign with the Clippers.Leonard has never been considered among the N.B.A.’s most charismatic stars, but his short tenure with the Clippers has produced no shortage of drama. Also percolating in the background: his contract situation. Leonard suggested this week that he would decline his player option for next season, meaning he would become a free agent.Meanwhile, all is copacetic in Laker-land: LeBron James and Anthony Davis both agreed to new long-term deals over the off-season.More about the Lakers and Clippers:AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      N.B.A. 2020-21 Predictions: LeBron vs. Luka for M.V.P.

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      AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyN.B.A. 2020-21 Predictions: LeBron vs. Luka for M.V.P.Our panel predicts a big year for the Nets and the Pelicans’ Zion Williamson, a surprise from Damian Lillard, a Lakers repeat and a fierce battle among the rookies.Our predictors see a two-man race for the Most Valuable Player Award: LeBron James vs. Luka Doncic.Credit…Gary A. Vasquez/USA Today Sports, via ReutersDec. 22, 2020, 3:00 a.m. ETThe last time the sports staff of The New York Times and assorted friends gathered to make the annual set of N.B.A. preseason predictions, we got some things right.Ahead of the 2019-20 season, several of us thought that Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks would repeat as the N.B.A.’s most valuable player. (Yawn.) Others predicted that the Oklahoma City Thunder would have a surprisingly successful season after a summer in which they traded Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers, and that the Memphis Grizzlies’ Ja Morant would win the league’s Rookie of the Year Award over Zion Williamson of the New Orleans Pelicans.But no one predicted that the Los Angeles Lakers would win the championship — let alone advance to the N.B.A. finals. (The Clippers were the unanimous choice to come out of the West.) Or that the Lakers’ title run would come after the arrival of something called the “coronavirus,” which would suspend the season for four months and before resuming in a spectator-free bubble at Walt Disney World outside Orlando, Fla.The point being: Predictions are difficult, and sometimes impossible. But that is not about to stop us from trying again.Here is a look at some of our highly unscientific picks and prognostications for the season ahead:(The New York Times does not permit its staff to vote for the official N.B.A. awards.)The predictors:Jonathan Abrams, sports reporterHarvey Araton, Hall of Fame sportswriterElena Bergeron, assistant sports editorJonah Bromwich, staff writerScott Cacciola, sports reporterSopan Deb, sports reporterEvan Easterling, senior staff editorShauntel Lowe, N.B.A. editorMarc Stein, Hall of Fame sports reporterMost Valuable PlayerPortland’s Damian Lillard could have a shot at the M.V.P. Award with a top-five finish for his Trail Blazers.Credit…Pool photo by Kevin C. CoxAbrams: Anthony Davis (Lakers)Araton: Luka Doncic (Mavericks)Bergeron: LeBron James (Lakers)Bromwich: Damian Lillard (Trail Blazers)Cacciola: Stephen Curry (Warriors)Deb: LeBron James (Lakers)Easterling: Luka Doncic (Mavericks)Lowe: LeBron James (Lakers)Stein: Luka Doncic (Mavericks)Why Curry? “He’s back. The Warriors won’t be title contenders without Klay Thompson. But they’ll be in the thick of the playoff race with Curry putting on nightly shows.” — CacciolaWhy Lillard? “The smart pick here is Kevin Durant or Luka Doncic, but I love Lillard, everyone else loves Lillard and if the Blazers crack the top five in the West, he’s got a great chance at it.” — BromwichRookie of the YearThere’s no consensus winner for rookie of the year, but Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball has been fun to watch during the preseason.Credit…John Raoux/Associated PressAbrams: Obi Toppin (Knicks)Araton: Immanuel Quickley (Knicks)Bergeron: LaMelo Ball (Hornets)Bromwich: Isaac Okoro (Cavaliers)Cacciola: Tyrese Haliburton (Kings)Deb: James Wiseman (Warriors)Easterling: LaMelo Ball (Hornets)Lowe: LaMelo Ball (Hornets)Stein: Deni Avdija (Wizards)Why Ball? “More offense will run through Ball than rookies on teams that are closer to contention, like James Wiseman in Golden State, or joining ready-made tandems, like Anthony Edwards, who’ll play alongside Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell in Minnesota. In limited preseason action, he showed signs his passing ability will translate to the N.B.A., a skill that will be augmented by playing with Gordon Hayward and Devonte’ Graham.” — EasterlingDefensive Player of the YearMany people and players thought the Lakers’ Anthony Davis should have been named the best defensive player last season.Credit…Mark J. Terrill/Associated PressAbrams: Anthony Davis (Lakers)Araton: Anthony Davis (Lakers)Bergeron: Anthony Davis (Lakers)Bromwich: Anthony Davis (Lakers)Cacciola: Anthony Davis (Lakers)Deb: Anthony Davis (Lakers)Easterling: Joel Embiid (Sixers)Lowe: Anthony Davis (Lakers)Stein: Anthony Davis (Lakers)Sixth Man of the YearThe best bet for sixth man will be one of these two Nets guards: Caris LeVert, left, and Spencer Dinwiddie, right.Credit…Harry How/Getty ImagesAbrams: Dennis Schröder (Lakers)Araton: Caris LeVert (Nets)Bergeron: Danilo Gallinari (Hawks)Bromwich: Spencer Dinwiddie (Nets)Cacciola: Spencer Dinwiddie (Nets) or Caris LeVert (Nets)Deb: Caris LeVert (Nets)Easterling: Tyler Herro (Heat)Lowe: Caris LeVert (Nets)Stein: Caris LeVert (Nets)Why the best sixth man will come from the Nets: “Whichever guard — LeVert or Dinwiddie — Coach Steve Nash chooses to bring off the bench is going to produce big numbers for a team that has all the components for a title run.” — CacciolaMost ImprovedAbrams: Lonzo Ball (Pelicans)Araton: Tyler Herro (Heat)Bergeron: Michael Porter Jr. (Nuggets)Bromwich: Deandre Ayton (Suns)Cacciola: Deandre Ayton (Suns)Deb: Rui Hachimura (Wizards)Easterling: OG Anunoby (Raptors)Lowe: Tyler Herro (Heat)Stein: Christian Wood (Rockets)Wild Predictions for Houston:“John Wall will have a bounce-back season, leading a James Harden-less Houston Rockets team to fringe playoff contention.” — Abrams“It’s not that wild: John Wall is going to ball out in Houston. He seems fully rehabbed and highly motivated to show out, and the fresh start will help him bounce back from a rough two years off the court.” — BergeronCoach of the YearThe first-year coach Steve Nash has a lot to deal with, but if he can manage, the Nets can be champions.Credit…Kathy Willens/Associated PressAbrams: Monty Williams (Suns)Araton: Erik Spoelstra (Heat)Bergeron: Erik Spoelstra (Heat)Bromwich: Steve Nash (Nets)Cacciola: Steve Kerr (Warriors)Deb: Steve Nash (Nets)Easterling: Michael Malone (Nuggets)Lowe: Monty Williams (Suns)Stein: Steve Nash (Nets)Why Steve Nash? “The Nets and the Clippers remind me of each other a bit: superteams assembled in the last normal off-season, with sky-high potential and possibly combustible chemistry. The Nets will overcome the inevitable Kyrie Irving-related distractions and Nash will get credit for making it all run smooth-ish.” — BromwichExecutive of the YearRob Pelinka made significant upgrades to the defending champion Lakers’ roster this year.Credit…Michael Reaves/Getty ImagesAbrams: Rob Pelinka (Lakers)Araton: Sean Marks (Nets)Bergeron: Rob Pelinka (Lakers)Bromwich: Rob Pelinka (Lakers)Cacciola: Rob Pelinka (Lakers)Deb: Daryl Morey (Sixers)Easterling: James Jones (Suns)Lowe: Rob Pelinka (Lakers)Stein: Rob Pelinka (Lakers)Wild Prediction: “Tired of paying mega-salaries for meager results, Michael Jordan cashes out as majority owner of the Hornets to go all-in on NASCAR.” — AratonBest Record in the LeagueThe Bucks have had the best record two years in a row, but could not make it out of the East.Credit…Mark J. Terrill/Associated PressAbrams: Milwaukee BucksAraton: Miami HeatBergeron: Milwaukee BucksBromwich: Milwaukee BucksCacciola: Milwaukee BucksDeb: Milwaukee BucksEasterling: Milwaukee BucksLowe: Milwaukee BucksStein: Brooklyn NetsWild Predictions: What happens to James Harden?Cacciola: The Rockets will wait until the trade deadline to deal James Harden. What’s the rush?Deb: James Harden remains in Houston all season.Easterling: The Indiana Pacers trade for James Harden.Worst Record in the LeagueThe Cavaliers seem to be in a rebuild with all of their young players.Credit…Jason Miller/Getty ImagesAbrams: Detroit PistonsAraton: Detroit PistonsBergeron: Detroit PistonsBromwich: KnicksCacciola: Cleveland CavaliersDeb: Chicago BullsEasterling: Cleveland CavaliersLowe: Cleveland CavaliersStein: Cleveland CavaliersWild Prediction: “In the preseason, I watched the Cavaliers surprise Indiana twice, and then totally missed them losing to the Knicks in their next two. That means I’m unjustifiably excited about the Cavs, particularly Collin Sexton and Isaac Okoro. My wild, semi-informed prediction is that Cleveland will be fun to watch for the first time since LeBron left, and — why not? — will sneak into a play-in game.” — BromwichBreakout StarZion Williamson was injured for much of his rookie season, but he is expected to have an exciting Year 2.Credit…Gerald Herbert/Associated PressAbrams: Collin Sexton (Cavaliers)Araton: Zion Williamson (Pelicans)Bergeron: Christian Wood (Rockets)Bromwich: Talen Horton-Tucker (Lakers)Cacciola: Michael Porter Jr. (Nuggets)Deb: Devonte’ Graham (Hornets)Easterling: Michael Porter Jr. (Nuggets)Lowe: Obi Toppin (Knicks)Stein: Zion Williamson (Pelicans)Why Williamson? “Fully unleashed on the league.” — AratonEastern Conference FinalsMiami looks to be returning to the top of the Eastern Conference with its young stars Duncan Robinson, far left, and Tyler Herro, center right.Credit…Chris O’Meara/Associated PressAbrams: Sixers over BucksAraton: Heat over NetsBergeron: Bucks over HeatBromwich: Nets over BucksCacciola: Celtics over NetsDeb: Bucks over NetsEasterling: Heat over NetsLowe: Nets over BucksStein: Heat over NetsWestern Conference FinalsThe Lakers are the favorite to come out of the Western Conference over their in-house rivals, the Clippers.Credit…Harry How/Getty ImagesAbrams: Lakers over Trail BlazersAraton: Lakers over JazzBergeron: Lakers over MavericksBromwich: Lakers over ClippersCacciola: Lakers over ClippersDeb: Lakers over WarriorsEasterling: Lakers over MavericksLowe: Lakers over ClippersStein: Lakers over ClippersN.B.A. FinalsNo matter the Eastern Conference foe, the Lakers are our pick to win the championship.Credit…Kim Klement/USA Today Sports, via ReutersAbrams: Lakers over SixersAraton: Lakers over HeatBergeron: Lakers over BucksBromwich: Lakers over NetsCacciola: Lakers over CelticsDeb: Lakers over BucksEasterling: Lakers over HeatLowe: Lakers over NetsStein: Lakers over HeatWhy the Lakers will win again: “I will never again bet against LeBron, even if he runs for president.” — AratonAdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      N.B.A. Western Conference Preview: The Lakers Reloaded

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      AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyN.B.A. Western Conference Preview: The Lakers ReloadedTheir championship glow still strong, the Lakers are poised to make another run, even as the Warriors bounce back and the Suns ascend.The Los Angeles Lakers could be having a double-championship parade at the end of this season behind Anthony Davis and LeBron James.Credit…Kirby Lee/USA Today Sports, via ReutersDec. 21, 2020Updated 10:00 a.m. ETLeBron James was surprised, and a little annoyed, when the N.B.A. unveiled its schedule for the 2020-21 season. He had been hoping for a mid-January start for his title defense with the Los Angeles Lakers. It was wishful thinking.“I was like, ‘Wow!’” James said at a recent news conference.The Lakers, just 72 days removed from winning the franchise’s 17th championship, will return to the grind on Tuesday when they face the Clippers, another team with big goals, at Staples Center, the Los Angeles arena that both teams share.Here is a look at how the Western Conference shapes up after the shortest off-season in league history:The ContendersSomehow, the Lakers look even better this season than they did for last season’s championship run.Credit…Kevin C. Cox/Getty ImagesLos Angeles Lakers2019-20 record: 52-19 (No. 1 seed, N.B.A. champions)Key additions: Dennis Schröder, Marc Gasol, Montrezl Harrell, Wesley MatthewsKey subtractions: Danny Green, Rajon Rondo, Avery Bradley, Dwight HowardOutlook: The mere presence of James and Anthony Davis, both of whom recommitted to the freshly minted champions with new deals in recent weeks, would be enough for any team to contend for a title. But give the Lakers credit: They were anything but complacent over the league’s abridged off-season. In fact, the front office made upgrades by acquiring Schröder and Harrell, the league’s two top reserves last season. And Gasol and Matthews are crafty veterans who add depth. Add it all up, and the Lakers are even better positioned for a championship run than they were in the bubble.The Clippers have a new coach but the same two stars and threshold for success: winning a championship.Credit…Mark J. Terrill/Associated PressLos Angeles Clippers2019-20 record: 49-23 (No. 2 seed)Key additions: Serge Ibaka, Nicolas Batum, Luke KennardKey subtractions: Montrezl Harrell, Landry Shamet, JaMychal GreenOutlook: The Clippers would probably love to have a little more distance from their debacle in the bubble, a premature exit in the Western Conference semifinals that raised questions about the team’s chemistry and led to Coach Doc Rivers’s departure. (He landed on his feet with the Philadelphia 76ers.) But the bubble memories have surely lingered for Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, two stars who watched from home as the Lakers claimed the ultimate prize that both teams had been chasing. Now, under the direction of Tyronn Lue, the team’s new coach, the pressure will only mount on the Clippers to deliver.Michael Porter Jr. showed a lot of potential during the bubble over the summer, raising expectations for his play this season.Credit…Mark J. Terrill/Associated PressDenver Nuggets2019-20 record: 46-27 (No. 3 seed)Key additions: Facundo Campazzo, JaMychal GreenKey subtractions: Jerami Grant, Torrey Craig, Mason PlumleeOutlook: Coming off an enthralling run in the bubble in which they reached the Western Conference finals for the first time in 11 years, the Nuggets appear primed to build on that momentum. Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray have established themselves as bona fide stars, and Michael Porter Jr. is an elastic-limbed talent with enormous potential. The off-season was a mixed bag — the losses of Grant and Craig could hurt the team on defense — and Coach Mike Malone has groused about the team’s focus in the preseason. But no team put more into the league’s restart last season, or came out of the experience better for it.The MaybesLuka Doncic could end Giannis Antetokounmpo’s reign as the league’s most valuable player this season.Credit…Jerome Miron/USA Today Sports, via ReutersDallas Mavericks2019-20 record: 43-32 (No. 7 seed)Key additions: Josh Richardson, James Johnson, Wesley IwunduKey subtractions: Seth CurryOutlook: Is this the season when the Mavericks — and Luka Doncic, a fashionable pick to win his first N.B.A. Most Valuable Player Award — break free from the middle of the Western Conference pack and make a deep playoff run? The team tried to address concerns about its porous defense by acquiring the likes of Richardson and Johnson, who add toughness. But there are lingering concerns, too, and Kristaps Porzingis finds himself at the center of them. Porzingis, who has struggled to stay healthy dating to his days with the Knicks, had surgery on his right knee in October.The Jazz signed Donovan Mitchell, left, and Jordan Clarkson, right, to big deals this off-season.Credit…David Zalubowski/Associated PressUtah Jazz2019-20 record: 44-28 (No. 6 seed)Key additions: Derrick FavorsKey subtractions: NoneOutlook: Since 2016, the Jazz have doing good job being relevant. Not extraordinary. Not dominant. Just relevant. Now, after their second straight first-round playoff exit, the Jazz are hoping that they can take another step with largely the same pieces. Over the off-season, they committed millions to Donovan Mitchell and Jordan Clarkson while doing little to remedy their issues defending perimeter scorers.Stephen Curry is back, but without Klay Thompson the Warriors are unlikely to contend for a championship.Credit…Kyle Terada/USA Today Sports, via ReutersGolden State Warriors2019-20 record: 15-50Key additions: James Wiseman, Kelly Oubre Jr., Kent BazemoreKey subtractions: Klay Thompson (again)Outlook: After making five straight appearances in the N.B.A. finals and coming away with three championships, the Warriors were essentially on hiatus last season. Their stars were injured. Coach Steve Kerr played a bunch of young guys, and things got glum in a hurry: Golden State finished with the worst record in the league. The good news is that Stephen Curry is back this season, and the Warriors bulked up their frontcourt by selecting Wiseman with the second pick in the draft. Now, the bad news: Thompson, after missing all of last season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, tore his right Achilles’ tendon in an off-season workout and will be sidelined for his second straight season. Without him, the Warriors cannot expect to vie for a title. But they should be back in the playoff hunt.Damian Lillard will have a little bit more help this season with Robert Covington and Derrick Jones Jr.Credit…Pool photo by Kevin C. CoxPortland Trail Blazers2019-20 record: 35-39 (No. 8 seed)Key additions: Robert Covington, Derrick Jones Jr., Enes Kanter, Harry GilesKey subtractions: Trevor Ariza, Hassan WhitesideOutlook: Credit the Blazers for addressing one of their weaknesses by acquiring Covington and Jones, versatile forwards who can defend and shoot. But all eyes are again on Damian Lillard, the All-Star point guard who is coming off his finest season for an underperforming team. He has repeatedly pledged his loyalty to Portland, and he has a long-term contract to prove it. He needs his supporting cast to come through.James Harden wants to be traded, but the Rockets don’t need to rush to oblige him.Credit…Mark J. Terrill/Associated PressHouston Rockets2019-20 record: 44-28 (No. 4 seed)Key additions: John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Christian WoodKey subtractions: Russell Westbrook, Robert CovingtonOutlook: In the wake of a tumultuous off-season in which the general manager (Daryl Morey) and the coach (Mike D’Antoni) both decamped for new roles, the team’s best player wants out, too. James Harden finally showed up late to training camp after partying in Atlanta and Las Vegas, and it is clear he wants to be traded. The front office can take its time with that request as the franchise acclimates itself to a new-look roster that includes Wall and Cousins, two big-name reclamation projects who are coming off serious injuries.The NoncontendersThe Suns haven’t made the playoffs in 10 seasons, but this could be the year they return.Credit…Rick Bowmer/Associated PressPhoenix Suns2019-20 record: 34-39Key additions: Chris Paul, Jae Crowder, Abdel NaderKey subtractions: Kelly Oubre Jr., Ricky RubioOutlook: The Suns, led by Devin Booker, made an impression by closing out last season with an eight-game winning streak in the bubble. Then they made an even bigger splash in the off-season by engineering a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder to acquire Paul, the veteran point guard. Don’t overlook the addition of Crowder, either. There are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the future of the Suns, who could find themselves back in the playoffs after a 10-year absence.The Grizzlies may not win a championship, but they should be fun to watch.Credit…Mike Ehrmann/Getty ImagesMemphis Grizzlies2019-20 record: 34-39Key additions: NoneKey subtractions: NoneOutlook: Led by Ja Morant, the N.B.A.’s rookie of the year, the Grizzlies were among the league’s fun surprises last season. They are young and talented, and this figures to be another growing season — especially after they welcome back Jaren Jackson Jr., their starting center, from a knee injury he sustained in August.The Pelicans lost Jrue Holiday, but Zion Williamson should make a major leap in his second season.Credit…Jasen Vinlove/USA Today Sports, via ReutersNew Orleans Pelicans2019-20 record: 30-42Key additions: Eric Bledsoe, Steven AdamsKey subtractions: Jrue Holiday, Derrick Favors, E’Twaun Moore, Frank JacksonOutlook: The Pelicans are going to be preaching patience after trading Holiday to the Bucks for a gleaming collection of future first-round picks. They also re-signed Brandon Ingram to a long-term deal. And Zion Williamson should take another step in his development if he can stay on the court. But this figures to be a building year under Stan Van Gundy, who has returned to coaching after a foray as a broadcaster.Last season was rocky for the Timberwolves, but their core of D’Angelo Russell, left, and Karl-Anthony Towns, right, should be better this season.Credit…Hannah Foslien/Getty ImagesMinnesota Timberwolves2019-20 record: 19-45Key additions: Anthony Edwards, Ricky RubioKey subtractions: James JohnsonOutlook: The Timberwolves are coming off a disappointing, injury-marred season. But they presumably have their core in place, after adding Edwards, a shooting guard and the top overall pick in November’s N.B.A. draft, to a roster headlined by Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell. There will be growing pains, of course, and it would be surprising to see the Timberwolves in the thick of the playoffs. But they should show improvement.The Spurs had made the playoffs for 22 straight years before missing them last season. A return is not guaranteed this season, either.Credit…Soobum Im/USA Today Sports, via ReutersSan Antonio Spurs2019-20 record: 32-39Key additions: Devin VassellKey subtractions: Bryn ForbesOutlook: The Spurs had made 22 straight playoff appearances before they fell short last season. It could be another challenging season for Coach Gregg Popovich after a quiet couple of months for the front office. The Spurs still employ DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge, which means they will have a fighting chance to make the playoffs. But in a power-packed conference, it will be a steep climb.The Thunder are firmly in rebuilding mode.Credit…Sue Ogrocki/Associated PressOklahoma City Thunder2019-20 record: 44-28 (No. 5 seed)Key additions: Al Horford, George Hill, Trevor ArizaKey subtractions: Chris Paul, Dennis Schröder, Steven Adams, Danilo GallinariOutlook: The Thunder have amassed an incredible collection of future first-round picks by trading players like Paul, a veteran who had been instrumental in leading the team last season. But General Manager Sam Presti has chosen to take the long view as the Thunder seek to build through the draft. In the short term, that means they could be facing a lean few months.De’Aaron Fox is a promising player for the Kings, but overall team success doesn’t appear likely in the short run.Credit…Kyle Terada/USA Today Sports, via ReutersSacramento Kings2019-20 record: 31-41Key additions: Tyrese Haliburton, Hassan WhitesideKey subtractions: Bogdan Bogdanovic, Kent Bazemore, Harry GilesOutlook: It seems a safe bet to add another season to the league’s longest playoff drought. The Kings opted not to match the Atlanta Hawks’ contract offer to Bogdanovic, a restricted free agent, as they look toward the future with De’Aaron Fox, Marvin Bagley III and Haliburton, a first-year shooting guard.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      LeBron James and Anthony Davis Sign Up for Lakers’ Bright Future

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      AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyLeBron James and Anthony Davis Sign Up for Lakers’ Bright FutureThe N.B.A. champions signed their two most important players to new or longer contracts on successive days, after upgrading other areas of their roster.LeBron James and Anthony Davis led the Los Angeles Lakers to a championship this October in their first season together.Credit…Ashley Landis-Pool/Getty ImagesBy More