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The teams in last year’s Finals, the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers, are the top seeds in their respective conferences this season. MORE: Sean Deveney’s NBA awards ballot | Teams’ most-feared Round 1 foe The most compelling story lines heading into the 2016 NBA playoffs: Can the Warriors carry their historic excellence into the postseason, or will their pursuit of the Bulls’ record for regular-season wins be too draining?...

Tuesday night, after the Clips lost to the Jazz and fell behind 3-2 in their West playoff series, LA point guard Chris Paul had to field a stunner of a question about whether there’d be a Game 7. MORE: NBA playoffs live scores, updates The questioner seemed hopeful CP3 would get real and give everyone a juicy headline by saying his team was done. When that didn’t happen, the interrogator persisted....

Ibaka spent the ensuing seconds taunting with his arms up as the Raptors completed a four-on-five successfully with a DeMar DeRozan and-one finish at the rim. MORE: DeRozan stole Kobe’s tricks and took his post game to the next level The Raptors are beginning to look like the team we’d hoped would show up in the playoffs. Toronto may have lost its home-court advantage after falling in Game 1, but if Ibaka can sway how Milwaukee attacks the basket, that shouldn’t matter....

With a Washington team leaving the playoffs, the network decided to feature all the living U.S. presidents, plus a few other familiar faces, in its latest Photoshopped work: MORE: Wizards go home after falling to Celtics in Boston White House press secretary Sean Spicer in the weeds (far right) is an Easter egg that could be easily overlooked. Boston, Cleveland, the Bay Area and San Antonio are still represented in the NBA playoffs....

And because that’s the standard to which Golden State is now held, we can say the defending Western Conference champs are right on track as they roll toward The Finals, even if Draymond Green only gave his team a “B-minus” for what it has accomplished thus far. It’s 8-0 in the postseason and its average margin of victory is 16.5 points. Monday night it closed out Utah 121-95 in Salt Lake City....

The Spurs fought hard in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals, but they weren’t able to overcome the Warriors in a 120-108 loss. MORE: Warriors-Spurs Game 3 Score Center Everyone from the Warriors’ starting five managed to hit double-digit points, though Kevin Durant led the game with 33 points and tied for a game-high 10 rebounds. Manu Ginobili led the Spurs with 21 points, while Pau Gasol led the team with 10 rebounds....

The Cavaliers had played for the title in each of the last four years and a LeBron James-led team advanced to the championship round in eight straight seasons. But, James left Cleveland and inked a four-year, $153.3 million contract with the Lakers in July, opening up the door for multiple contenders. The East is wide open as the Bucks, Raptors, 76ers and Celtics all have a legitimate chance to compete for a ring....

The Rockets center scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to help his team close out the Jazz in Game 5 of their series Wednesday. Capela was asked about potentially facing the top-seeded Warriors — who appear likely to advance past the Clippers — in Round 2. “I want — that’s what I want,” Capela told reporters. “I want to face them. … Going to get ready for that. We’ve been working on it all year long....

The immense magnitude of player transfers and the shocking nature of the proceedings in July have left us all eager to witness the results. The regular season kicks off on October 22nd with a mouth-watering Clippers-Lakers clash in store. But until we get our hands on the 2019-20 regular season, let’s take a look at what’s lined up for us in the coming week. In this piece, we will skim through some of the much-awaited preseason clashes scheduled to take place this week, so let’s get to it....

There was no doubt that Williamson would be taken with the first overall pick in the 2019 draft and the Pelicans were fortunate enough to get that selection in the lottery despite only having a 6 percent chance. New Orleans will have to navigate the start of its new, post-Anthony Davis era without the Duke product, who underwent surgery Monday on a knee injury sustained during the preseason. Williamson will surely remain a potentially world-beating talent upon his return, but how have the other No....

The Thunder currently have one of the highest wage bills in the NBA, and due to their lack of success on the court, Jake Fischer of Sports Illustrated is reporting that the franchise is attempting to trade away some of their highest earners: In case you didn’t know… Steven Adams has been a mainstay in OKC’s starting lineup since being drafted in 2014. This season, Adams averaged 13.9 points and 9....

The Warriors are coming off a loss against the Orlando Magic, while the Raptors won their matchup against the New York Knicks. The two teams with the best record at the end of four games will play in the championship finals. Match Details Fixture: Toronto Raptors vs Golden State Warriors | NBA Las Vegas Summer League 2021. Date & Time: Wednesday, August 11th; 8:00 PM ET (Thursday, August 12th; 5:30 AM IST)....

New Orleans sent its first No.1 overall pick Anthony Davis to the Los Angeles Lakers for a bevy of assets, including Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart and three first-round selections. The Pelicans now have one of the most talented young cores in the NBA, and Williamson, who turns 19 in July, will be at centre stage in the franchise’s renaissance. New Orleans’ play will be different in 2019-20 and we take a look at how....

ESPN’s sources referred to the surgical procedure as “a minor scope” and indicated Morant will need three to four weeks to recover fully. Morant, a 6-foot-3 point guard, raised his profile considerably during the NCAA Tournament when he registered a triple-double (17 points, 16 assists, 11 rebounds) in Murray State’s first-round win over Marquette and he followed it up with 28 points in the Racers’ loss to Florida State. Morant was a combined 7-for-8 from 3-point range in those two games....

NBA Draft 2020: Charlotte Hornets want to secure James Wiseman James Wiseman only played three games for the Memphis Tigers before the NCAA handed him a 12-game suspension. In his limited appearances, he managed 19,7 points, 10.7 rebounds, and three blocks per game. The Charlotte Hornets have seemingly bought in and want Wiseman to be their long-term solution at the center spot. Charlotte Observer stated: Only two teams – Minnesota Timberwolves and Golden State Warriors, in order – will pick before Charlotte Hornets in the 2020 NBA Draft....

The Cavaliers dominated three quarters, then withstood another Warriors comeback attempt to win 96-91 Tuesday night at Quicken Loans Arena. And this injury-ravaged underdog suddenly has a 2-1 lead in the NBA Finals. MORE: Must-see NBA Finals photos | LeBron’s breathtaking alley-oop | LBJ’s greatest NBA Finals performances James made sure of it. His run of jaw-dropping stat lines in this series continued, as he posted 40 points (on 14-for-34 shooting), 12 rebounds and eight assists....

MORE: SN tracker: Where the top FAs have landed The former Mavericks center was averaging a double-double before the All-Star break last season, but the 32-year-old wore down late and finished with 8.6 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. DEVENEY: Durant to Warriors not bad for NBA business Pachulia was expected to field offers for more than the $2.9 million, but instead he opted to join the Warriors’ star-studded rotation....

According to a report from ESPN, the Bucks center is expected to ink a four-year, $52 million dollar deal when free agency begins. Lopez averaged 12.5 points and 4.9 rebounds in 28.7 minutes per game for Milwaukee in 2018-19. He shot 45.2% from the field and a career-best 36.5% from 3-point range on 6.3 attempts per contest. The Bucks made it a “priority” to keep the big man and have effectively done so despite Lopez being a top target for other teams....

The center, who said earlier this month he hopes to re-sign with the Lakers, will meet with the Rockets when free agency starts Sunday at 6 p.m. ET. The 31-year-old center, who averaged 12.0 points and 7.5 rebounds in his first season with the Lakers, said that he enjoyed playing with star LeBron James and wants to play another season in Los Angeles, but will listen to a pitch from the Rockets before making a decision....

The Pelicans have expressed interest in the 26-year-old forward, according to a report from The Athletic, which cites unidentified league sources. The Mavericks, Grizzlies, Jazz and Nets are reportedly all also considering adding Harris. The Clippers could pursue Harris, as well, if they miss out on Kawhi Leonard this summer, while the 76ers want to re-sign him, the report says. Los Angeles sent Harris to the 76ers at the 2018-19 trade deadline....