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NBA News Update: Marcus Smart and Pat Beverly among the league’s biggest floppers Duncan Robinson recently joined New Orleans Pelicans’ JJ Redick on ‘Old Man and the Three’ podcast. On the topic of flopping, the 36-year-old listed a few players who, according to him, are the best floppers in the league. Reddick said: Reddick went on to clarify that flopping is more of a useful skill than a ‘soft move’. Boston Celtics’ Marcus Smart was recently in the news for drawing a foul with a ‘flop’ that eventually helped his team force overtime against the Miami Heat....

Atlanta is a 1-point favorite at many Vegas bet shops, with a total of about 198, Check The Linemakers on Sporting News’ odds page for current Game 1 spreads and totals. AccuScore has the Hawks as 56.6 percent favorites to win Game 1 outright. The average score after AccuScore ran its 10,000-plus simulations is 98-96. AccuScore best bet: There’s a 53.4 percent chance the Hawks cover a -1 spread, a two-star (out of four) AccuScore hot trend....

Point spreads and totals are current as of Tuesday morning. Check our odds page for updated Las Vegas lines. Dallas Mavericks (1-3 ATS) at Houston Rockets (3-1 ATS) Series: Rockets lead 3-1Game 5 Line: Rockets -7, Total: 222 For the NBA, the story of Game 4 was role players notching double-doubles, Monta Ellis scoring 31 points, and the Mavericks not willing to end their season just yet. As for bettors, the story was the crazy total....

It seems Charles Barkley still has this idea the Warriors are a shoot-happy bunch that only pays attention to half the court. Barkley was at it again Wednesday at halftime of the Warriors’ Game 2 NBA playoffs matchup vs. the Trail Blazers. The score was 55-46, Warriors, at the half, by the way. The Warriors then went out and held the Blazers to six points over the first 7 1/2 minutes of the third period....

Thomas did it all offensively — drives to the basket, midrange jumpers, 3-pointers. Everything was working. It was an unstoppable tour de force that was met with whatever is the opposite of an immovable object. As good (exceptionally good) as Thomas was, he climbed over the 50-point plateau in part because the Wizards offered no solutions in guarding him. MORE: NBA scoreboard | Playoff schedule Celtics coach Brad Stevens has done a tremendous job throughout the season of configuring his lineups and designing sets that create scoring opportunities for Thomas, even with opposing teams knowing he is the No....

KD hit the Dubs’ first basket Monday night in Portland, a quick-release 3-pointer. MORE: Blazers’ social media can’t bear to give the score Minutes later, he pulled off a chasedown block that led to a Steph Curry transition 3. Not bad for a guy who has been nursing a calf injury. MORE: Kerr’s coaching career reportedly in jeopardy because of injury The rout, as they say, was on. By the midpoint of the first quarter, the defending West champs were up 25-5, and a series sweep looked very much like a lock....

MORE: Do the Raptors have any chance of stopping LeBron? That paved the way for a four-game season series marked by some notable absurdities. In January, the Wizards all wore black in the run-up to their game against the Celtics, claiming the garb represented a “funeral” for the Celtics. There was also a postgame run-in between Celtics forward Jae Crowder and Wizards guard John Wall, which prompted Boston police to beef up its presence in the hallway that connects the two locker rooms....

“Dudley has been fined $25,000 for escalating an on-court incident which spilled into the spectator stands by shoving Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid. Butler has been fined $15,000 for escalating it further by then shoving Dudley,” the NBA announced Sunday. Fortunately for both men, they haven’t been suspended and will be able to play in Game 5 in Philadelphia on Tuesday. The incident began when Embiid swatted hard at Jarrett Allen, which prompted Dudley to shove Embiid....

Curry contributed 20 points, three rebounds and five assists as the Warriors defeated the Rockets,115-109, on Tuesday to move up 2-0 in the NBA playoffs’ Western Conference semifinals. Warriors star Curry sustained the injury during the first quarter when trying to knock the ball away from Clint Capela at the rim and headed to the locker room before swiftly returning. “I’ve been there. He’s a warrior – all pun intended – and he came back with a vengeance,” Thompson told ESPN....

Toronto averages 104 points per game, the most in the Eastern Conference. If the Raptors’ offense can stay strong in the postseason, they’ll have a big advantage. Another obvious advantage is Toronto’s home court. MORE: 8 teams that can win the title | Playoff tickets The Raptors play well at home, but more important is how poorly the Wizards play on the road. Washington has a 17-24 record when playing away from Verizon Center....

At least four members of the roster are out because of COVID-19 contact tracing protocol while others have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to the league. Star James Harden is unavailable after violating NBA health protocol; he was seen maskless at a club this past week. “Three Houston Rockets players have returned tests that were either positive or inconclusive for coronavirus under the NBA’s testing program,” wrote the NBA in a statement....

The deal, ratified at a meeting Thursday in Chicago, takes effect this season, replacing the final year of the existing contract, and runs through 2022. MORE: 10 must-see games this season | Ref Crawford tells Mozgov to shut up “The NBA takes great pride in our world-class referee program and we are pleased to extend the league’s partnership with the NBRA for another seven years,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement....

WIN $500: Play DraftStreet Fantasy Basketball for big prizes UPDATE: Here is the full gallery of images for Christmas Day unis, courtesy of the NBA and adidas.

The opportunity to mentor Boston Celtics forwards Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown is one that any aspiring coach would be excited about. The two All-Stars are developing into a lethal duo that could rival any wing tandem in history. Teaching them how to use their talents and skills for the Celtics’ collective success will be one of the key challenges for the upcoming season. This is exactly why the Boston Celtics want a former NBA player to take the reins....

NBA Rumors: LA Clippers and Chicago Bulls join the race to sign Paul Millsap According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, the LA Clippers and the Chicago Bulls are the two latest teams to join the Paul Millsap sweepstakes. The free-agent center was earlier linked with the Golden State Warriors and the Brooklyn Nets. Millsap is a hard-nosed NBA veteran who made his name with the Atlanta Hawks. Millsap averaged 9 points, 4 rebounds, and an assist for the Denver Nuggets last season, where he spent four years of his career....

In case you didn’t know… Giannis Antetokounmpo has spent his entire career with the Milwaukee Bucks, and the 24-year-old was named MVP last season after an excellent campaign in which he led the Bucks to the Eastern Conference Finals. Antetokounmpo is eligible to sign the largest contract in NBA history in the 2020 offseason ahead of potentially becoming an unrestricted free agent the following season. Meanwhile, Victor Oladipo was selected second overall by the Magic in 2013, and the shooting guard was a solid role player over three-years in Orlando and his season in Oklahoma City....

NBA Rumors: Executives across the league believe Spencer Dinwiddie could land a contract in the ‘high teens’ According to recent NBA rumors, Spencer Dinwiddie is expected to get an offer in the ‘high-teens’ in the upcoming free agency. Various executives across the league believe Dinwiddie wants to take up a starting role in the 2021-22 season, which will see him take on more responsibility as compared to his situation with the Brooklyn Nets....

If you don’t know by now, the Clippers were able to sign Kawhi Leonard in free agency and immediately after made a blockbuster deal for Paul George. But a similar deal was almost sent to the Raptors, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. In Woj’s story recapping the deal, he reports the Thunder were willing to trade Russell Westbrook and George to the Raptors, assuming Leonard stayed in Toronto. The deal was centered around Toronto’s Pascal Siakam....

The league released its full 2017-18 schedule Monday night, about a week after releasing its opening-week and Christmas slates. It’s beginning the season about a week earlier than usual to cut down on the number of back-to-back games, which in turn might entice teams to not rest stars for big nationally televised games on the road. MORE: What has been unveiled from NBA’s new Nike uniforms (so far) So start marking those calendars for the best rematches, reunions, beefs and boasts (all times Eastern)....

The 2019 NBA Draft was one of the more exciting drafts in recent memory as there were a huge number of trades that took place between various teams. With the draft now in the rearview mirror, there will be players that will be classified as busts and then there will be players who will go on and become headliners of this 2019 draft class. Without waiting for the season to decide for us, let’s take a look at the 5 biggest players that can be considered as the steals of the draft based off just their mock draft positions and where they actually ended up going in the draft....