It has been three seasons since Kawhi Leonard and Paul George joined the Los Angeles Clippers in the summer of 2019. Instead of dominating the NBA like many had expected, the two haven't taken the team to the Finals even once.

There were, of course, various reasons behind that, including injuries, lack of a solid orchestrator or chemistry, among other things. The Clippers have been trying to fix their problems and their latest effort was signing former All-Star point guard John Wall.

Will the team surpass 50 wins, reach the Finals or win the title in the 2022-23 season?

Host: Li Xiang

Guest: Matthew Watson

Cover designer: Feng Yuan

Chief editor: Chen Ran

Supervisor: Zhang Shilei

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-09-05/CGTN-Sports-Talk-How-much-faith-do-you-have-left-in-the-Clippers--1d5pgZOedWM/index.html

The Cleveland Cavaliers have assembled a very competitive as well as promising squad with the arrival of Donovan Mitchell. He will join Darius Garland to make an All-Star back-court pair with Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley dominating the paint.

More importantly, all of the four have at least three years left of their current contracts with the Cavaliers, not to mention that Garland and Mobley are in the fourth and second year respectively of their rookie deals.

Of course, it's still too early to put them on the top stage in the Eastern Conference with the Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat and Brooklyn Nets, but the Cavaliers are very likely to surprise their opponents in, at most, two years.

Host: Li Xiang

Guest: Matthew Watson

Cover designer: Feng Yuan

Chief editor: Chen Ran

Supervisor: Zhang Shilei

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-09-04/CGTN-Sports-Talk-Are-the-Cavs-a-title-contender-with-Mitchell--1d3H5eJhPsA/index.html

Premier League clubs have spent around 2.237 billion euros (about $2.238 million) during the summer transfer window, almost the same as the total number (2.297 billion euros, about $2.298 billion) of all clubs in La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A and Ligue 1.

Chelsea contributed 278.99 million euros (about $279.13 million) to that number, more than any other Premier League club. Most of their investments were in the backs and the club landed Gabonese striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the last minute.

Manchester United were also a big spender who paid over 223 million euros (about $223.1 million) for Antony, Lisandro Martinez and Casemiro. When Erik ten Hag agreed to take over the club, he said he was given a major say over transfers. So far, the "Red Devils" seemed to have been keeping their word.

Manchester City were quieter than they had usually been on the transfer market since they introduced Erling Haaland for an "economical" price of 60 million euros (about $60.03 million). But Haaland proved with his performance so far, which includes scoring hat tricks in two straight games, that the team may not need to buy more forwards.

Host: Li Xiang

Guest: Josh McNally

Cover designer: Feng Yuan

Chief editor: Chen Ran

Supervisor: Zhang Shilei

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-09-02/CGTN-Sports-Talk-What-did-Premier-League-clubs-buy-with-2-billion--1d0ofv9CEla/index.html

Though basketball has been known as a "big man's game," point guards, who are usually the smallest guys on the court, began to play the same important, or even more significant role since the late 2010s.

CGTN has picked six young orchestrators who are still under their rookie contracts and have been selected for either the All-NBA Teams, All-Star Game or All-Rookie Teams: Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies, LaMelo Ball of the Charlotte Hornets, Darius Garland of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers, Cade Cunningham of the Detroit Pistons and Josh Giddey of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Who is your choice?

Host: Li Xiang

Guest: Matthew Watson

Cover designer: Feng Yuan

Chief editor: Chen Ran

Supervisor: Zhang Shilei

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-08-30/CGTN-Sports-Talk-Who-is-the-best-point-guard-of-the-young-generation--1cVp5b1q0us/index.html

Luka Doncic led the Dallas Mavericks to the NBA Western Conference Finals in the final year of his rookie contract. 15 years ago, LeBron James led the Cleveland Cavaliers to the NBA Finals in the fourth year of his rookie deal in 2007.

The two are very different in terms of athleticism and defense, among other things, but both Doncic and James were carrying most of the offensive duties, which were much more than what their teammates did, even though they were still under rookie contracts.

Though James has a glorious career, he has gone through a lot of ups, downs and transitions while playing for three teams. What is there in his career that Doncic can learn, so he won’t have to take the roundabout courses James already took?

Host: Li Xiang

Guest: Matthew Watson

Cover designer: Feng Yuan

Chief editor: Chen Ran

Supervisor: Zhang Shilei

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-08-28/CGTN-Sports-Talk-Who-is-better-after-his-4th-year-Doncic-or-James--1cRTggk5iJW/index.html

Three star players will meet the clubs they departed from during the summer transfer window in the group stage of the 2022-23 UEFA Champions League.

What awaits Robert Lewandowski at the Allianz Arena after he left Bayern Munich on very unpleasant terms to join Barcelona?

Do Manchester City know better than Borussia Dortmund how to use Erling Haaland after spending £51.2 million (about $60.6 million) to introduce the 22-year-old Norwegian striker?

Angel Di Maria has given his best time to Paris Saint-Germain and this time he will play against his old teammates as a member of Juventus.

Host: Li Xiang

Guest: Josh McNally

Cover designer: Feng Yuan

Chief editor: Chen Ran

Supervisor: Zhang Shilei

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-08-26/CGTN-Sports-Talk-Meet-your-ex-in-2022-23-UEFA-Champions-League-1cONVWIvDgY/index.html

Liverpool and Manchester United, which have been long-time rivals in the Premier League, both had a frustrating start in the 2022-23 season with no wins in the first two games.

United broke that awkward situation first by defeating Liverpool 2-1 at home on Monday, but that didn't hide the fact that the "Red Devils" lost to two mediocre teams.

Liverpool already trailed Manchester City by five points after three games. Though it's still early in the season, that deficit could be lethal because "The Reds" lost in the Premier League championship contest last season by one point in the end.

Host: Li Xiang

Guest: Matthew Watson

Cover designer: Feng Yuan

Chief editor: Chen Ran

Supervisor: Zhang Shilei

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-08-23/CGTN-Sports-Talk-Who-are-more-disappointing-United-or-Liverpool--1cJBRjOQb3W/index.html

The Denver Nuggets will have two star players, Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr., back for the 2022-23 season. Murray missed the whole 2022-21 campaign during which Porter Jr. only played nine games, both because of injuries.

Murray was able to score 50+ points in multiple games in one playoff series when he was healthy. Porter Jr. is a 2.08-meter-tall athletic forward who can drain 2.8 triples at 44.5 percent of 3-point rate per game.

They can ease the burden on the shoulders of Nikola Jokic, who was named the NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) for both of the past two seasons, and turn the Nuggets into a more competitive franchise.

The question is, will the Nuggets be competitive enough for Jokic to pocket the MVP award for the third consecutive time and to go further in the postseason?

Host: Li Xiang

Guest: Matthew Watson

Cover designer: Feng Yuan

Chief editor: Chen Ran

Supervisor: Zhang Shilei

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-08-16/CGTN-Sports-Talk-How-competitive-are-Nuggets-with-full-roster--1cy4GKQLjOg/index.html

The Boston Celtics brought in Malcolm Brogdon and Danilo Gallinari during the offseason after losing to the Golden State Warriors 4-2 in the NBA Finals last season.

Brogdon is a solid defender and a trustworthy orchestrator, the lack of which partly cost the Celtics the Finals.

Gallinari, though 34 already and went through a lot of injuries in his career, can still provide efficient firepower off the bench as a big man shooter with underestimated isolation skills.

However, these two are no greater than premium pieces for a franchise instead of game-changing stars. That role belongs to Jayson Tatum, who, was truly a disappointment during the Finals.

Perhaps that's why the Celtics have been involved with the trade rumors of Kevin Durant, but is 33-year-old, social-media-obsessed and easily-pouting Durant worth trading half of the franchise for?

Host: Li Xiang

Guest: Matthew Watson

Cover designer: Feng Yuan

Chief editor: Chen Ran

Supervisor: Zhang Shilei

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-08-12/CGTN-Sports-Talk-How-much-better-have-the-Celtics-grown--1croosolSAo/index.html

Every time LeBron James is up for a contract extension, he grabs tremendous attention from both media and fans. The fact that he is turning 38 years old in four months, and the Lakers are in a difficult situation, doesn't change this.

The biggest deal the Lakers can offer will be a two-year, $97.1 million contract, and they have no reason to hesitate to either offer or ink it if James nods his head to the deal.

However, no deal has been reached yet despite the "productive" discussions between the two sides. Apparently, it will take more than money to convince James to stay with the purple and gold. Building a competitive squad to contend for the NBA Championship can be helpful, but the Lakers won't have the assets to do so until 2023 summer, when James' current contract comes due.

Meanwhile, James has been talking about playing with his first-born son LeBron James Jr., who will be able to enter the NBA Draft in 2024. There may be teams trying to lure the father with his son in two years.

Host: Li Xiang

Guest: Matthew Watson

Cover designer: Feng Yuan

Chief editor: Chen Ran

Supervisor: Zhang Shilei

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-08-07/CGTN-Sports-Talk-Should-LeBron-James-sign-extension-with-Lakers--1cj1s8urNIc/index.html