Loy Basketball

The Toronto Raptors and Golden State Warriors play Wednesday night (10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) in a game that is sure to be closely watched ... by the LA Clippers. The Clippers, it seems, closely watch every Raptors and Warriors game this season. Even though they are having a terrific season of their own -- experiencing the rare joy of expectation-free success in the NBA -- the Clippers are rather transparently obsessed with chasing Kawhi Leonard and Kevin Durant in free agency next summer. It's clear from their books. They've cleared a path to open two max salary slots. It's clear through their actions. They've been treating the two like college recruits and sending executives just to watch numerous Warriors and Raptors games so they're visible. It's clear in their hiring. They've brought on NBA legend Jerry West and respected journalist Lee Jenkins to the front office in an effort to prepare a grand slam pitch when the time is right. For the past dec...

SAN ANTONIO -- Uncharacteristically, the San Antonio Spurs toiled for 14 days below .500 before walloping the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday to even their record. The Spurs then padded the ledger by besting the LA Clippers 125-87 on Thursday for their fourth consecutive win in arguably the most significant test of their current six-game homestand. More importantly, San Antonio showed signs it finally might be turning the corner in familiarizing all the new faces with the "Spurs Way." "I thought that we played a really good defensive game, and that fuels your offense in most situations," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "I like to think we're getting better, more consistent defensively, and I think that showed tonight." One of the main ingredients of the "Spurs Way," which has helped the team maintain continuity for more than two decades, was San Antonio's uncanny ability to spawn offense by consistently playing lockdown defense. That s...

Tatum drew the ire of coach Brad Stevens early in the third quarter of a pre-Thanksgiving loss to the New York Knicks -- a debacle that might well have been the low point of the Celtics' season -- when he settled for a long midrange jumper after Stevens vehemently stressed at the half that he wanted his team to drive the ball and take high-quality shots. The decision landed Tatum on the bench just 1 minute, 10 seconds into the quarter. Tatum pointedly stood outside the huddle during the next two timeouts while assistant coach Jay Larranaga attempted to re-engage him. When Stevens called Tatum's name later in the game, he helped lead a late-game charge that fell short. This, undoubtedly, is the kind of reaction the Celtics hope to get from Brown as he works to regain his mojo. When Irving publicly gave a thumbs-up to the current starting lineup that includes Smart, Al Horford, Tatum and Marcus Morris, it raised eyebrows regarding his relationship with Brown. Kyrie says it...

So here's my reality I'm an NBA player on the Boston Celtics, a team that has a chance to compete for the NBA championship. Nothing else really matters. (2)

Was the Jimmy Butler trade a precursor to an active trade season? With most free-agent signing restrictions set to be lifted on Dec. 15, that question will be answered over the next two months leading up to the Feb. 7 trade deadline. We break down what to watch for all 30 teams and what kinds of moves they can make. ESPN +

A little over a month into the college basketball season, here are five prospects who have worked their way into the NBA draft conversation and might continue to rise as the year moves on. ESPN + Subscribe to ESPN+ to get access to all premium articles, Fantasy tools, plus thousands of live sporting events and ESPN Originals for just $4.99/mo! Start Your Free Trial Already an ESPN+ subscriber? Log in here. NFL playoff picture: AFC, NFC seeds through Week 15 play Scott Van Pelt says to look out for the Bears' and Cowboys' defenses in the playoffs and questions the Steelers, who are going in the wrong direction. (0:59) 5:30 AM CET Kevin Seifert NFL Nation Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email print The Kansas City Chiefs have been one of the NFL's best and most entertaining teams all season. But after an ill-timed loss Thursday night, they are now struggling to hold on to the lead in their own division. A wild 29-28 loss to the Los Angeles...

HOUSTON -- The Los Angeles Lakers found themselves so frustrated by the officiating in the second half of Thursday's 126-111 loss to the Houston Rockets that several players, LeBron James and Lonzo Ball among them, purposely held their hands behind their backs on a series of defensive possessions to make a point to the referees. "Just trying to defend without fouling," James said, who briefly locked his hands behind his body on a Rockets possession in the third quarter. "That's a point of emphasis anytime you play Houston. They got guys that can sell calls really good -- Chris [Paul] and James [Harden] -- so you got to try to keep your hands out of the cookie jar." EDITOR'S PICKS 'He flops on offense': James Harden and the art of drawing a foul Harden possesses a deep bag of tricks, all designed to drive defenders crazy and get the reigning MVP to the line at an historic clip. Harden scores 50, Rockets bury Lakers in fourth James Har...

HOUSTON -- James Harden's first bucket of the game gave his Houston Rockets teammates a feeling that this would be a spectacular performance for the reigning MVP. After a couple of jab steps, Harden blew by Los Angeles Lakers guard Lonzo Ball, sliced down the lane and threw down a vicious, lefty tomahawk dunk over center JaVale McGee. Harden, who usually plays it cool by pretending to have a nosebleed after dunks, flexed with both arms and snarled. "I was like, 'Wow!'" Rockets center Clint Capela said. "I've never seen James like that, especially flexing after a dunk. Is that a new James in front of me or what? I've never seen him like that in five years. That was something -- and it sent a message to everybody." This was a game the Rockets, off to a disappointing start on the heels of last season's trip to the Western Conference finals, desperately felt they needed to win. And Harden refused to let Houston lose, finishing with 50 poi...

When Nike succeeded adidas as the NBA's official jersey supplier, it already had ideas for all the new alternate uniforms it would produce -- the so-called "city edition" uniforms, and the new "earned edition" set the NBA unveiled today as a sort of replacement for the mothballed one-day-only Christmas jerseys. Almost every team listened. Some teams adopted Nike's ideas almost wholesale. The Heat looked over Nike's proposals, which included one jersey featuring a palm tree print, and politely sent them back. They had a plan, and they weren't deviating. They were right to hold fast. The so-called "Vice" jerseys, in white, then black, and as of today in pink as part of the "earned edition," have rolled out to near-universal praise. Last year's white version -- the original -- finished as the No. 1-selling "city edition" jersey, per the NBA's official data. (Only teams that made the playoffs in the prior seaso...

Before the solo 11-0 run, before the rumblings of jaw-dropping pickup games in Dallas, and even before the draft hype peaked and turned into doubt, Goran Dragic was comparing Luka Doncic to James Harden. "[Doncic has] a great instinct to be a point guard, but there's the quickness factor," Dragic told ESPN at the 2017 EuroBasket. "I think position 2, he can play that. Like Harden." Dragic's reasons for the comp between his then-18-year-old Slovenian teammate and the upcoming NBA MVP: a unique form of athleticism combined with positional size, skill and craft. "Maybe because of his size he looks slow, but [Doncic] is not slow," Dragic said. "OK, he's not super quick, but he has that first step that if he gets the angle on you, it's really tough to defend him. He really uses his body well." And 14 months later, Dragic is beginning to look prophetic. Doncic has thrived in a more open NBA. He has looked Harden-esque with his...