Rumors

Amen Thompson on adjusting to NBA: “Really the physicality—you’re playing against grown men now. I felt like I was a good size, but like knowing how to use that physicality—people smarter than me could bump me. The defense translated quickly. But just learning how to win in the NBA—that was the part I really wanted to get better at. I’ve always known myself to be a winner, but in the NBA, it’s different. Doing the little things—my first year, obviously—I mean, I’m always going to do the little things—but those were really, really important because that was my way of getting on the court.”

YouTube

Dwight Howard's five-year run in Orlando was so strong that the rest of his career could be pretty “meh” and he’d still rate as one of the all-time great players. The last part wasn’t “meh,” though many might remember it that way, but it wasn’t at the level of those first five seasons. (Howard made All-Star teams in L.A. and Houston, led the league in rebounding in his first tour with the Lakers and won a title as a defensive specialist in his second stint.) As many of you know, I have a formula called “GOAT Points” designed to measure career strength. Howard ranks 35th all time, which is astoundingly high for a player who was left off the all-time 75 list. (Every other player who would have been in the GOAT Points top 50 in 2021 made it except Tracy McGrady. Do we need to investigate for potential voting bias against Magic-to-Rockets careers?)

New York Times

The KD 17s, Book 1s, and Sabrina 2s were the next most popular models, which means two of the top four signature athletes (Kobe and Sabrina Ionescu) currently don't play in the NBA, and the other two (Kevin Durant and Devin Booker) were both on the Phoenix Suns last season. After Sabrina, there is a dropoff to LeBron James, who has released dozens of signature models over his 20-year career, and James Harden’s out-of-this-world designs. Harden (adidas) is the first non-Nike athlete on the list, which might tell you something about Nike’s continued dominance in the basketball shoe market.

HoopsHype

What if Carmelo Anthony had never suffered a second stress fracture in his left foot in November of 2019, leading the Portland Trail Blazers to waive him? Without that injury, which ended his NBA career, would Anthony have ever been given a chance to extend his? At the time, Anthony had been out of the league for more than a year after being unceremoniously dropped by the Houston Rockets just 10 games into the 2017-18 season. The Blazers filled Pau Gasol's roster spot with Anthony, who went from unemployed to averaging 15.4 points for Portland that season. "So my injury gave him the opportunity to play again, prove himself," Gasol said. Anthony added 2,738 points to his career total in his final flourish -- two years with Portland and a final season in L.A., teaming up with James after all those years -- a coda that allowed Anthony to crack the top 10 on the NBA's all-time scoring list.

ESPN

Perhaps that match may be the end of the “Baby Jokic” nickname that has accompanied Sengun over his first years in the NBA. “I don’t think he would want that nickname,” said Turkey guard Shane Larkin with a smile. “You can see the similarities with their games. Alperen has big aspirations. Alperen is a very confident kid. Alperen has a very high level of basketball skill and a very high level of talent. The sky is the limit for him. I don’t think he’s anywhere near his ceiling. I think he’s going to continue to evolve and get better and better.”

EuroHoops.net

“In his younger years, his first year, his second year, you could call him ‘Baby Jokic’ just because their styles are very similar,” Larkin added. “He’s proving during this tournament that he’s ready to take that next step. Last year, he was an NBA All-Star, and I think he’s going to continue to grow and continue to be a better and better player. That nickname was suiting for him maybe a couple of years ago. But he’s much bigger and much better than he was when they gave him that nickname.”

EuroHoops.net

Thirteen, the Midtown restaurant owned by former Houston Rockets star James Harden, is currently locked and closed due to $2.2 million in "delinquent rents and other amounts due to the lease," per a notice posted on the restaurant's door. Per the notice, "the door locks to the premisies have been changed and tenant shall be excluded therefrom due to non-payment of rent." A new key can be provided to Thirteen's management if the delinquent rent is paid.

Houston Chronicle

On the final day of group play in Riga, the much-anticipated duel between Alperen Sengun and Nikola Jokic lived up to the hype, showcasing two of EuroBasket’s brightest stars. Both big men delivered a spectacular performance, but Sengun proved decisive down the stretch, leading Turkey to a 95-90 victory over the three-time NBA MVP and his Serbian team.

EuroHoops.net

Houston Rockets‘ rising star, Sengun, led Ergin Ataman’s team with 28 points, 13 rebounds, and eight assists for a PIR of 37, while on the other side, Jokic had 22 points, nine rebounds, and four assists for a PIR of 31. Shane Larkin also had a great game for the winning side, scoring 23 points with nine assists in over 39 minutes on the court. Cedi Osman added 16 points, while Ercan Osmani contributed 10. It’s worth noting that Turkey shot an impressive 18-for-31 from beyond the arc.

EuroHoops.net

How big an advantage is it for a coach to have a player like Alperen Sengun, who makes difficult things look routine? Ergin Ataman: Alperen right now has very important qualities and advantages. He’s reached an elite level. Over the last two seasons, he has played outstandingly in the NBA. He narrowly missed the All-Star Game one season and then made it the next, becoming the most important player for the Houston Rockets. That shows his capacity. But he’s still only 23–24, hungry, and loves the game. He doesn’t treat basketball as just a profession—he truly enjoys it. He also spent most of his career in Turkey and has always played for the national team. Many of these players grew up together, especially in Bandırma, and even if they went their separate ways later—Alperen to the NBA, others to Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe, Efes—they share that bond.

EuroHoops.net

Howard is one of 19 players in NBA history with five consecutive first-team All-NBA nods. The only other centers on that list are Shaq and George Mikan. The only other 21st-century players are LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Giannis Antetokounmpo, O'Neal, Luka Doncic and Kevin Durant -- who, with the exception of the young Doncic, are acknowledged as top-25 players in NBA history. Critics would contend that Howard so thoroughly dominated the All-NBA voting because of a lesser caliber of competition in that era. This idea has some merit: Though the center landscape wasn't quite as barren during Howard's reign as it would be half a decade later -- the All-NBA centers in 2015-16 were DeAndre Jordan, DeMarcus Cousins and Andre Drummond -- the second- and third-team All-NBA centers behind Howard were Amar'e Stoudemire (three times), Yao Ming (twice), Suns-era Shaq, Andrew Bogut, Al Horford, Andrew Bynum and Tyson Chandler. There are good players on that list, but few Hall of Famers.

ESPN

Jalen Williams: Kawhi Leonard had a bad night, I think there's like a clip where Lu (Dort) like didn't even let him get a shot off at the end. So we beat the Clippers. Kawhi had a horrible game. I did a good job guarding him. So, I'm juiced. But we play them back to back. He started the game out nine for nine on me. We go back to the huddle. Mark (Daigneault) is like, this is funny. Mark, everybody don't know but Mark says slick stuff. He's like, "He's busting your ass, Jalen. We need to switch." I looked at him and I was like, "Yeah.” So, Kawhi had nine for nine, then Lu on him, and Kawhi ended up like having 30 something. Klay Thompson, I was playing defense on him a whole night. He hit one from behind the backboard and as it's going in, he slapped me on my butt and said “Good try, rookie”. Kevin Durant hadn't played in OKC in a little bit and he came back to OKC and he was wildin’. Fans chirping at him and KD is like talking back. He’s talking to the fans while he bumping me, shooting over me and stuff. It was horrible, bro. Those are the three like welcome to the NBA moments.

YouTube

Where do you rank Melo’s role with USA Basketball in relation to the role that all the other great players and you and your staff played with the program’s success? Boeheim: “He was such a good scorer that if he started or came off the bench, it didn’t matter. He came off the bench and made 10 or 11 threes in one game. He’s a great international player. Kevin Durant and Carmelo are two of the best international players because they are big and they can shoot the 3. Those guys are hard to defend. That’s why they are two of the leading scorers in Olympic basketball history. They could make 3s and get to the basket and do stuff there.

SportsKeeda

Montenegro prevailed 87-81 over Sweden, and despite losing by an average of 25 points in the first three games of Group B, now has a very good chance to qualify to the Eurobasket round of 16. Nikola Vucevic, with 23 points on 9/15 FG, 15 rebounds, and four assists, had his best game yet in the tournament at the perfect time. On the other side, Houston’s Pelle Larsson also delivered with 28 points on 10/20 FG, but it was not enough. On the contrary, Vucevic was not only much more efficient but made arguably the biggest shot of the game, making the score 83-79 with 33 seconds left and giving his team a two-possession cushion.

EuroHoops.net