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The Dallas Mavericks' poor run of form continued on Wednesday night with a 116-108 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. Losers of five of their last six and 14 of their last 20, the Mavs are now 37-40 on the season, and stuck in 11th place in the Western Conference after having mortgaged a good chunk of their future for Kyrie Irving less than two months ago.  With just five Game s left, the Mavericks are in real danger of following up their Western Conference finals appearance with a trip to the lottery.  "It's kind of a little bit of a cluster--- right now," Irving said. Here's more: This is Kyrie Irving’s very long (and thoughtful) answer to what its been like being traded midseason for the first time in his career, which is where the “it kind of looks like a little bit of a clusterfuck” quote came from. pic.twitter.com/Pt5jHtC9MU — Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) March 30, 2023

Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks are getting dangerously close to missing the playoff s. They are currently 11th in the West with six Game s left to play in the regular season. They have the same record as the Oklahoma City Thunder, who currently hold the final play-in spot. Anytime you have a superstar of Doncic's caliber, lack of postseason success could be costly. When you flirt with missing the playoffs completely after collapsing following a trade for another star, we're talking potential disaster. They could even miss the play-in tournament, finishing behind the New Orleans Pelicans, who have been without Zion Williamson for most of the season, and the rebuilding Thunder. At worst, losing presumably impacts Doncic's desire to play for Dallas long-term. We've seen countless superstars leave for less consequential reasons than missing the playoff s. At the very least, they are wasting a pri

The defending champion Golden State Warriors are off to a frustrating start 7-9 start this season that currently has them outside of even the play-in picture in the crowded Western Conference. Even more concerning, they're under .500 despite some truly brilliant play from Steph Curry. In 15 games, Curry is averaging 32.2 points, 6.7 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game, while shooting 52.8 percent from the field, 44.3 percent from 3-point land and 90.9 percent from the free-throw line. He's third in the league in scoring, leads the league by a wide margin in 3-pointers made (77, compared to 55 for Buddy Hield, who is in second place) and is on pace to join Larry Bird and Steve Nash as the only players with multiple 50/40/90 seasons.  As per usual, much of Curry's dominance has come from outside the arc. Looking even closer than the basic stats, he's shooting an absurd 46.8 percent on off-the-dribble 3

MILWAUKEE -- What would Milwaukee Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer be thankful for? Well, as far as basketball goes, a little more protect ion for his star player -- and, frankly, any player  who may be the recipient of a hard foul. Giannis Antetokounmpo was on the receiving end of a Flagrant 1 from Joel Embiid in the team's last game on Nov. 18, and on Monday night against the Portland Trail Blazers he was once again the victim of some hard contact. Budenholzer, who rarely strays outside the lines, made his feelings clear. "You guys have pool reporters, you can ask again," he said. "The shot the other night in Philly was a significant shot, they don't upgrade that. I just think sometimes the hits that Giannis is taking, the league needs to look at, the league needs to protect him. It's not just him, anybody takes those hits, the league needs to protect players." Rewind to the thir

When you're a team fighting for postseason positioning in the final weeks of the season, one thing you don't want to do is lose to a team that is already resigned to a lottery landing. But, that's exactly what the Dallas Mavericks did twice this weekend, as they dropped consecutive Game s to the Charlotte Hornets, who have the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference.  With their playoff lives hanging in the balance, the Mavericks lost to the Hornets 117-109 on Friday night, and then they followed that up with a 110-104 matinee loss to Charlotte on Sunday. The Mavs have now lost four straight Game s, and they sit on the outside of the playoff picture looking in -- 11th in the Western Conference with a 36-39 overall record.  To make matters worse , Mavericks guard Luka Doncic received his 16th technical foul on the season on Sunday, which means that he's in line for an automatic one- Game su

Ben Simmons will face the Philadelphia 76ers for the first time Tuesday evening since forcing his way out of the city two summers ago. However, when Simmons and the Brooklyn Nets take the court against the Sixers, they'll be doing so against a Philly team that is without Joel Embiid, James Harden and Tyrese Maxey.  While the star power won't be there on the Philadelphia side for this matchup, Simmons knows that won't change what should be an icy reception from Sixers fans. "The fans will make up for it, I think," Simmons said lightheartedly at the team's shootaround ahead of Tuesday's game. "I'm looking forward to it, it's gonna be fun." When asked what he thought about how some Philly fans were frustrated with how his time and tenure with the team ended, Simmons didn't mince words.  "I can't worry about everyone&#

Ben Simmons made his highly-anticipated return to Philadelphia as a member of the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday night to face off against the 76ers . It was Simmons' first game played in the city since Game 7 of the 2021 Eastern Conference semifinals -- the game in which he infamously passed up on a dunk opportunity in the closing minutes of what would be his last contest as a member of the Sixers. Simmons never played another game with the Sixers after that, as he requested a trade -- a wish that was ultimately granted when he was moved to Brooklyn in exchange for James Harden in February.  The Nets played in Philadelphia once after the trade last season, but Simmons was sidelined for the contest. This time around, though, he was prepared to play, and the crowd was prepared for him. Simmons was met with boos as soon as he hit the floor during warmups, and those boos only intensified as the arena filled up and fan

Patrick Beverley was ejected late in the fourth quarter of the Lakers' loss to Phoenix on Tuesday night, and he could very well be looking at a suspension for absolutely leveling Deandre Ayton.  From the looks of it, Beverley didn't like the seven -foot Ayton standing over Reaves, who was knocked to the ground after a flagrant foul (contact with the face) from Devin Booker.  Have a look.  Full replay of Patrick Beverley shoving Deandre Aytonpic.twitter.com/3O9w9CI4Yt https://t.co/1T1C2IG1kB — 𝙏𝙖𝙡𝙠𝙞𝙣’ 𝙉𝘽𝘼 (@_Talkin_NBA) November 23, 2022 That is not a s hove . That's a running-start, shoulder-leading level job. It would be shocking if Beverley doesn't end up suspended for at least a game, if not multiple games, for that act. You can understand Beverley not liking Ayton seemingly taunting a teammate on the ground, but that is entirely uncalled for. 

Anthony Davis has been a monster of late for the Lakers, who were riding a three-game winning streak coming into Phoenix Tuesday night. The winning streak ended with a 115-105 loss to the Suns, but Davis' run of dominance continued with a stat line you have to see to believe: 37 points, 21 rebounds, five steals and five blocks.  Since blocks and steals became an official stat in 1973, Davis is the only player to put up that line.  Blocks and steals were first officially recorded in 1973. Since then, Anthony Davis is the only player ever to have 35+ PTS, 20+ REB, 5+ STL, and 4+ BLK in a single game. pic.twitter.com/KS0BP1Bx4z — NBA (@NBA) November 23, 2022 This is remarkable to me. Watching the first half of this game, I found myself saying, "same ol' A.D." as he wasn't getting into the paint and forcing downhill action like had been in his three previous perfor

LeBron James has missed the past five games for the Los Angeles Lakers due to an adductor strain , but it seems as though he's nearing his return to the lineup. On TNT's broadcast of Wednesday's game between the Lakers and Phoenix Suns, Chris Haynes reported that James will make his return to the lineup in their next game on Friday, when the Lakers travel to San Antonio to face off with the Spurs. James has been out for five games, and the Lakers have held their own without him. They are 3-2 in that stretch after opening the season with a 2-9 record. Anthony Davis has picked up the slack in that stretch, averaging 32.6 points and 17.4 rebounds per game since James has been out.  According to James , Davis has looked like his old self recently, and the Lakers have benefitted tremendously from his return to form.

The Utah Jazz trade d pretty much everybody that wasn't nailed down last offseason. Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert and Bojan Bogdanovic were all dealt in an apparent rebuilding effort, and as such, it was widely expected that the Jazz would continue to offload veterans during the season to set the stage for a lengthy tank. Instead, they have been the surprise success story of the season. They are 12-7 through 19 games and currently occupy the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. As such, it seems as though their plans are changing. According to Yahoo's Jake Fischer, the Jazz are signaling to other teams that they plan to keep breakout forward Lauri Markkanen as well as incumbent guard Jordan Clarkson. Markkanen was acquired in the Mitchell trade and is a strong candidate for Most Improved Player this season as he's averaged 22.4 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Clarkson was in place last season, but

The Charlotte Hornets will be without forward Gordon Hayward due to a fractured shoulder, his agent told ESPN on Friday. Hayward is out indefinitely and will be evaluated for a return to play on a week-to-week basis.  Hayward's shoulder issue dates back to Nov. 2 when he did not return for the second half of the team's loss to the Chicago Bulls. He then sat out the next eight games with what was deemed a shoulder bruise, before returning on Nov. 18 against the Cleveland Cavaliers.  He played in three games, but did not look like himself and also appeared to reinjure the shoulder against the Washington Wizards on Nov. 20. Finally, after a poor outing versus the Philadelphia 76ers on Nov. 23, in which Hayward finished with seven points and four turnovers on 3-of-10 shooting, the team shut him back down. He did not play in their win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday and it's unclear when he'l

The Cleveland Cavaliers lost to the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night, 117-102, for their second double-digit defeat against their division rival in the span of 10 days. They built a 16-point lead early, but collapsed in the second half, with a 35-10 third quarter for the Bucks being the turning point.  It was a rough night for most in Cavaliers jerseys, as the team shot just 39.1 percent from the field. Evan Mobley, in particular, struggled with the strength and physicality of Milwaukee's frontline. But despite finishing with eight points and eight rebounds on 2-of-12 from the field, the budding young star left an impression on Giannis Antetokounmpo.  "He can be better than me," Antetokounmpo said to Cleveland.com. "I don't see why he can't. It's up to him. I will always try to improve. Every day. But he has the skill set to be a very, very good player. He's 7-feet tall. He can mo

Los Angeles Clippers center Ivica Zubac had himself a game during his team's 114-110 win over the Indiana Pacers on Sunday afternoon. In 36 minutes of action, Zubac posted 31 points and a whopping 29 rebound s, including 12 offensive rebound s. The 29 rebound s were a career-high.  Zubac also added three blocks and three assists to his stat line, while shooting an impressive 14-of-17 from the floor. In the process, the big man became the first player to tally 30 points and 25 rebound s in a game while shooting at least 80 percent from the field since Shaquille O'Neal in 2004, per ESPN. He also became just the third player in NBA History to have at least 31 points , 29 rebound s and three blocks in a single game, and the first to do so since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1978.  Check out some highlights from Zubac's big game below:  Ivica Zubac dropped a MASSIVE double-double in the @LAClipp