Ball Dnt Lie Podcast

Ime Udoka suspended for multiple policy violations. The suspension runs through June 30, 2023, and assistant Joe Mazzulla will lead the team as interim coach for the 2022-23 season.

Reports continue to swirl that Kyrie Irving might be on his way to the Los Angeles Lakers, with a trade involving him and Russell Westbrook apparently in the works.

There is still a lot of time left in the offseason. But the Lakers organization is reportedly optimistic that a swap between the two former All-Stars could be finalized sooner than later.

There are details that the two teams are attempting to work out, such as who else and what else will be included in the deal.

The Nets reportedly want to include Joe Harris in order to make salaries match, but the Lakers would prefer to receive Seth Curry.

Curry, Warriors Grab a Piece of History

Stephen Curry and the Warriors are champions again.

A dynasty derailed by injuries and free-agency departures, it felt at one point as though the Warriors’ championship window had closed. Yet when the dust settled in Boston on Thursday night, it was Golden State back on top, champions of the world, completing a multiyear process that saw the Warriors retool, deal with devastating injuries and reimagine themselves as champions again.

This years belongs to the Warriors, with a title that somehow feels like it means more than the first three. After climbing the mountain a second time, Golden State has officially etched its place in the record books as one of the sport’s all-time great teams and Curry one of the best players to ever suit up.

Andrew Wiggins delivers in Game 5, pouring in 26 points and grabbing 13 boards to help Golden State take a 3-2 Finals lead.He is unlikely to win Finals MVP, may never live up to being a No. 1 overall pick, all that. But just as well, Andrew Wiggins in this postseason has undergone a basketball image cleansing. None of those sins that saddled him prior to now are causing permanent stains anymore.

The Warriors look smart today, not only because they’re a win away from a fourth championship in the Curry Era, but for what they did just over two years ago: trade for a player nobody wanted, a player his former team couldn’t wait to unload, a player who walked in the door at his new place of employment carrying a heavy contract in one hand and baggage in the other.

That player today has chopped up the Celtics’ main weapon, emphatically delivered on back-to-back games in this series, and hasn’t blinked once in the bright lights. That player would be Wiggins, who has 43 points and 29 rebounds in the last two games and has Jayson Tatum mumbling to himself.

Stephen Curry 'wills' Golden State Warriors to victory with 43 points in Game 4. "Felt like we just had to let everybody know that we were here tonight," Curry said. "Whether that's their crowd, their team, our team, whoever wants to see that energy and that fire, we feed off of that."

Curry finished with 43 points on 14-of-26 shooting, including seven 3-pointers, and added 10 rebounds and four assists. He became just the fifth guard in NBA history to have at least 40 points and 10 rebounds in a Finals game.

The Boston Celtics are back in control of the NBA Finals, now just two wins from championship No. 18 . The Celtics blew an 18-point advantage, but quickly responded after the Warriors took a brief lead midway through the third quarter. And a 9-2 run to open the fourth gave Boston the separation that eventually led to a comfortable victory. Jaylen Brown (27), Jayson Tatum (26) and Marcus Smart (24) combined for 77 points, and it was Golden State that had the bigger turnover problem on this night.

Golden State Warriors roars back, Draymond Green sets the tone and sends a message to the Boston Celtics in Game 2 win. Green promised after Game 1 that everything would be different. He said the Celtics needed to "feel" him more, and he went out and unleashed chaos and havoc. Jaylen Brown was his primary defensive assignment, and Brown went 5-for-17 from the field, but that was just the start of it. There were countless possessions in which Green, perhaps the smartest defender in these NBA Finals, ended up guarding three or four different Celtics. He seemed to turn up everywhere he was needed.

After yet another ugly third quarter in a playoffs full of them for the Boston Celtics, it looked to all the world like the Golden State Warriors were on their way to claiming Game 1 of the NBA Finals at Chase Center on Thursday night.

But then the fourth quarter started. And, after an avalanche of Celtics 3-pointers, this game -- and series -- was completely turned on its head.

Boston hit its first seven 3-pointers to open the fourth and outscored Golden State 40-16 to stun the Warriors 120-108. In doing so, Boston became the first team in NBA Finals history to win by double-digits after entering the fourth quarter trailing by double-digits

NEW YORK CITY has lifted the vaccine mandate for athletes and performers, which means starting Sunday against the Charlotte Hornets, Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving is eligible to play home games for the first time this season.

The change in Irving's status arrives just in time for the Nets, who play six of their last eight games at home (with a road matchup against the New York Knicks mixed in). Had the mandate gone unchanged, Irving would have been eligible to play only one more game this regular season. Instead he can play all eight as Brooklyn looks to hold off Charlotte for eighth in the Eastern Conference and maintain a slightly easier play-in path to the playoffs.

Game after game, the Boston Celtics pick up momentum in their quest for Banner 18. The narrative has shifted from whether the team should break up star forwards Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum to how high in the standings can the team climb by the end of the season — and now it is shifting to whether the Celtics can actually win the NBA title for the 2021-22 season.

Both the local and national media are taking note, fascinated by the transformation taking place before their eyes