Analysis, features, news plus more – on European football and sports galore!
Victor Wembanyama is having a seismic second season. Averaging 24.4 points, 10.8 rebounds and a league-leading 4.0 blocks per game, he is peerless in that regard and being treated as the king upon returning to his native Paris, having come agonisingly close to Olympic gold in July. Acting as tour guide for the San Antonio Spurs during their two-game overseas trip, he’s a fitting ambassador. Continue reading “All eyes on you, Wemby”
Stephen Curry’s 26-point outing saw him pass Hall of Fame guard Allen Iverson for 28th on the NBA’s all-time scorers list, but besides a 20-point game from Andrew Wiggins, the undermanned Warriors were unable to maintain their lead down the stretch in Toronto and suffered a 104-101 defeat to drop below .500. Continue reading “Curry passes Iverson on all-time points list, but Warriors fall below .500 in Toronto”
Cade Cunningham’s fifth 30-point outing of the season played a pivotal role as the Detroit Pistons reached .500 for the first time after New Year’s Day since 2019 with a nailbiting 118-115 win over the Portland Trail Blazers, whose head coach and former Detroit point guard Chauncey Billups endured mixed emotions on his latest return to The Motor City in their cross-conference clash. Continue reading “Cade leads charge, Detroit reach .500 after New Year’s Day for first time since 2019”
Caleb Martin picked the right night to produce a season-high 23 points, including seven three-pointers, as Philadelphia earned a hard-fought road win on Christmas Day against the defending champion Boston Celtics. Given their injury woes this term, it’s a step in the right direction if able to get more consistent production from their supplementary pieces, like the 29-year-old.
Continue reading “Martin magic for 76ers during marquee Christmas Day win in Boston – any more?”
Having recovered back to full strength after foot surgery in late June, Boston Celtics big man Kristaps Porzingis produced a 16-point, 6-rebound outing with a pair of assists and blocks during the defending champions’ 126-94 win over the LA Clippers overnight. While the overall result was pleasing, they’ll be happier welcoming this sight back into the fold – hoping he can finally stay healthy. Continue reading “Porzingis produces 16-point outing in long-awaited return from foot surgery”
Payton Pritchard’s long-term future looked uncertain as he grappled with the prospect of venturing elsewhere to establish his big breakthrough. Yet here in Year 5, coming off a championship year in Boston with a deep roster, the 26-year-old shooting guard is making his presence felt and people are taking note. Continue reading “Pritchard making welcome strides to get 6MOTY consideration, in Boston no less”
Houston locked up the futures of two rising stars in Alperen Sengun and Jalen Green before the rookie-scale extension deadline elapsed, heading into the new campaign with cautious optimism they can improve upon last season’s encouraging strides taken under Ime Udoka should everyone be fortunate with injuries. Elsewhere, Jalen Suggs and Trey Murphy also inked deals elsewhere. Continue reading “Getting paid: Sengun and Suggs among lucrative rookie-scale contract extensions”
Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle was complimentary of the rookie big man, who finished with 23 points and nine rebounds in 19 minutes as Memphis narrowly prevailed against his side – who rested their All-Star duo – during the preseason matchup. Judging by this, the new campaign can’t start soon enough…
Continue reading “Indiana head coach Rick Carlisle praises Edey, after his 23-point preseason outing”
Three-and-a-half years removed from being the big acquisition in a bold trade from Chicago for All-Star big man Nikola Vucevic, Wendell Carter Jr enters Year 7 with a shiny $59m contract extension set to kick in next season as part of a youthful Orlando core hoping they can bridge the gap among their Eastern Conference rivals from plucky overachievers to genuine title contenders. Continue reading “Orlando lock up their immediate future after Carter Jr gets three-year, $59m deal”
Friday night’s blockbuster three-team trade has now been finalised on the eve of pre-season, after the moving parts were agreed upon in a surprising move for cross-conference sides keen to improve wherever possible following deep postseason runs last term. New York already look much different than last term, but will their summer splash prove decisive in their championship charge?
Continue reading “Stunning three-team trade official, Towns is NY-bound as Randle has a new home”
Continue reading “Mitchell Robinson’s injury recovery setback brings Knicks new preseason woe”
DeMar DeRozan constantly exceeding expectations among valuable but volatile situations from San Antonio to Chicago, has put him in a position where his long-term future was an oft-discussed wrinkle whenever trade season was in play and now he’s part of a handy trio in Sacramento alongside De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis. Why wouldn’t the latter, or his teammates, be excited? Continue reading “Domantas Sabonis excited about DeMar DeRozan trade, and why wouldn’t he be?”
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