Author: Chris Porter

The 2019-20 NBA season is fast approaching and will tip off on the 22nd of October. Here, we will take a look at each NBA team in the Western Conference and select one player from each team whose figurative “stock” is trending up from last season. Conversely, we will also look at a player on each team who will regress from last season. Dallas Mavericks Stock Up: Luka Doncic The 2018-2019 Rookie of the Year is primed for another fantastic season. The young guard nearly averaged a triple double in his rookie year and he has an incredibly high ceiling. Stock Down:…

Zion Williamson has been the most highly-anticipated rookie in the NBA since LeBron James. Known for his powerful dunks and drive to win during his time at Duke, Williamson has drawn a lot of media and fan attention. But is the NBA taking too big of a risk to showcase the 19-year-old phenom? In the 2019-20 season, the New Orleans Pelicans will be featured in a franchise-record 30 nationally televised games. While many are excited to see Zion play in over one-third of his scheduled games, the NBA is rolling the dice in such a way that could hurt them…

Team USA was eliminated in the FIBA World Cup Quarterfinals by France on Wednesday morning by a score of 89-79. Nobody outside of Donovan Mitchell on Team USA was able to get it going on offense as the defense of France intended to clamp down on everyone else and force one player to beat them. Mitchell scored 29 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, and recorded 4 assists. Outside of Mitchell only Marcus Smart (11 points) and Kemba Walker (10 points) scored in double digits. For France, the defensive efforts of Rudy Gobert (3 blocks) made the difference. Donovan Mitchell’s teammate recorded…

The United States continued their domination at the FIBA World Cup with a victory over Team Brazil by a score of 89-73. Team USA is now 5-0 in the 2019 FIBA World Cup. There was concern that Kemba Walker would miss Monday’s action due to illness but the Boston Celtics point guard matched Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner for the team lead in points with 16. Jayden Brown (11 points, 5/9) and Harrison Barnes (10 points, 3/6) also contributed to the offensive success of Team USA. Victor Biente led Team Brazil with 21 points. NBA veterans Anderson Varejao and Leandrihno…

Team USA was tasked with facing the 2018-2019 NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo on Saturday. Team USA played excellent defense and won the contest 69-53. Kemba Walker led the way once again for team USA by posting up 15 points and wishing out 6 assists. Jazz star Donovan Mitchell added 10 points of his own. Jayden Brown led team USA with 9 rebounds. Giannis Antetokounmpo posted a fantastic effort of 15 points and 13 rebounds but it was not enough to overcome his team’s 38.9% conversion rate from the field. Strangely enough the United States utilized the defensive skills in an…

The United States made quick work of Japan at the 2019 FIBA World Cup in the final game of the first stage of group play. The United States won by a score of 98-45. Team USA was led by Jaylen Brown who scored 20 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, and recorded two steals. Other notable performances for the United States came from team captain Kemba Walker (15 points, 8 assists) and Harrison Barnes (14 points, 8 rebounds). Jayson Tatum did not play as he rested the ankle he injured against Turkey. Team Japan’s lone bright spot was Yudai Baba who scored…

Team USA squared off against Turkey in game 2 of the first group stage at the FIBA World Cup. Team USA was able to steal the overtime victory by a score of 93-92, thanks to two free throws from Khris Middleton to both tie the game and take the lead with 2 seconds left to play. It was a fairly ugly game for both teams. Turkey played a 2-3 defense, which served to slow down the United States on offense as the US managed just 35% from both the field and three-point range. Kemba Walker managed 14 points, but only…

Team USA captain Kemba Walker led his team with 23 points as the United States defeated Australia, 102-86. Kemba Leads Balanced Scoring Attack Walker also managed to grab six rebounds and dish out an assist. Meanwhile, there were plenty of other notable performances from the likes of Myles Turner (15 points, 14 rebounds), Donovan Mitchell (12 points), Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown (11 points each), including a sweet alley-oop jam in transition between the two Celtics teammates. Defense was the key to the game for the United States, as they forced Australia to commit 14 turnovers, eight of which being…

Team USA won their first international game against Spain by a score of 90-81. The team had a solid outing overall, but the efforts of Donovan Mitchell, Khris Middleton, Kemba Walker and Jayson Tatum made the difference. Balanced Scoring Attack Leads Team USA Donovan Mitchell led the U.S. in scoring, with 13 points. The Utah Jazz star also grabbed four rebounds in his 23 minutes of play. Khris Middleton chipped in 12 points to go along with three rebounds and three assists. However, the MVP in this game clearly belongs to Celtics point guard Kemba Walker, who flirted with a…

As many of you have seen on Twitter, Zach Brunner and I were at the Fiserv Forum on Sunday the 4th to witness some BIG3 basketball. Not only were employees at the venue and for the BIG3 more than hospitable, but the players were also amazing to talk to. We were fortunate enough to interview fan-favorite Brian Scalabrine. Why Scalabrine Plays Those who play in the BIG3 do so for a plethora of reasons. Some, like Joe Johnson, are trying to make an NBA comeback while others, like Brian Scalabrine, simply want to compete and have fun… “You want to…