Brooklyn has embraced the Nets since their move to the city but the battle for New York is still one they’re trying to win.
Caris LeVert’s huge night at the Barclays would allow the Nets to add another chapter in their rivalry with their crosstown rivals.
The Brooklyn Nets squeaked by the New York Knicks 107-105 on Friday night at the Barclays Center.
Brooklyn guard Caris LeVert’s layup with one second to play gave the Brooklyn Nets the victory as the Nets took their home opener vs the scrappy Knicks.
Caris LeVert, who tied his career-high in the season opener with 27 points, went for a career-high 28 points in Friday night.
LeVert had a efficient night shooting the ball as he went 8-for-13 from the field while making 10 of his 11 free throw attempts. He would add six rebounds and five assists to his strong night.
The Brooklyn Nets used a strong first quarter shooting display (14-for-20 FG, 3-for-3 3 PT) to take a 33-24 lead into the second quarter.
Enes Kanter, who scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds on Wednesday night, carried the scoring load for New York in the first half.
Kanter would score 16 first-half points for the Knicks as New York recovered from a rough shooting first quarter to trail 57-50 at the half.
Behind their youthful talent, New York rallied in the third quarter to take their first lead since the opening moments of the game at the 5:38 mark of the period and would take a 76-74 lead into the fourth.
New York put together an outstanding third period on defense as they limited the Nets to 17 points.
Turnovers would ultimately play a role in New York climbing back from a double-digit deficit in the first half.
Brooklyn would commit 22 turnovers in the game on Friday while New York committed only three.
A back-and-forth fourth quarter saw Brooklyn just slightly doing enough to get the victory at home.
Brooklyn Nets center Jarrett Allen would record his second straight double-double to start the season as he finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
D’Angelo Russell would put forth a solid effort with 15 points, six assists and five rebounds. The Brooklyn Nets dominated the glass as they finished with a 55-36 edge in rebounds.
The Nets bounced back from a tough 103-100 season-opening loss to the Detroit Pistons on the road.
Nets coach Kenny Atkinson talked about late-game execution following Wednesday’s game saying his team failed to do that vs the Pistons. On Friday, they answered their coaches call.
Meanwhile, the New York Knicks, who took a 126-107 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday at Madison Square Garden, put up a tough fight despite a poor shooting game.
New York shot only 40 percent from the field while shooting 9-for-28 from three-point range.
Tim Hardaway Jr. and Enes Kanter would both lead the way for the Knicks with 29 points apiece.
Rookie forward Kevin Knox would rebound from a tough NBA debut by scoring 17 points (7-for-14 FG, 3-for-4 3 PT) while adding six rebounds in 28 minutes off the bench.
The Brooklyn Nets will visit the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night as apart of a back-to-back as they look for their second consecutive victory.
The New York Knicks will return to the Garden on Saturday night as well as apart of a back-to-back as they face the Boston Celtics.
What are your thoughts on tonight’s Brooklyn Nets victory? Leave your comments below!
James’ Effort Not Enough To Rescue Lakers In Season Opener
At times, LeBron James was given a reason to be cheerful and enthusiastic. At other times, frustration and confusion as the Lakers tried to keep pace at the Moda Center.
This is all to say that LeBron James’ first game with the Los Angeles Lakers shows there’s plenty of work to be done.
LeBron James made his long-awaited regular-season debut for the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night vs the Portland Trail Blazers.
LeBron James finished the game with 26 points (9-for-16 FG, 0-for-4 3 PT), 12 rebounds and 6 assists in a 128-119 loss to Portland.
His stellar performance in a way would be offset by six turnovers as the Lakers as a team committed 15 turnovers on the night.
LeBron James has lost all four of his first games with a new team in his career, don’t panic Laker Nation.
A few minutes into the game James would create a steal on a sloppy pass and would go coast to coast for a right-handed slam dunk for his first official points in a Lakers uniform.
On the very next possession after a drive a slam by Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard, Lebron James would fire up Lakers fans in attendance with his second throw down in as many possessions, leading to a timeout by Portland as a animated James got off to a thunderous start in his debut.
The good times would roll for James in the first half as he attacked the basket at will with very little impeding him from doing so.
James finished the half with 18 points, but the Lakers, who missed their first 15 three-pointers, trailed 65-63.
It was a classic track meet between the Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Lakers with James undoubtedly picking and choosing his spots when to turn on the defensive intensity.
The Lakers didn’t have much defensive intensity at all outside of Josh Hart (20 points, 3 rebounds) and Rajon Rondo (13 points, 9 assists), who both had strong performances Thursday night.
James and the Lakers did well to limit Portland’s prolific scoring duo of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum through three quarters, but for the most part were listless on the defensive side of the ball.
An aberration or a product of the Lakers porous defense, no matter which is more true, the Lakers allowed Nik Stauskas — who averaged 4.0 PPG last season — to tie a career-high 24 points on 7-for-11 from the field as he drained five three pointers.
Despite Portland’s high point total on the night, Los Angeles’ inability to hit from downtown was their undoing.
The Los Angeles Lakers shot 7-for-30 (23%) from three-point range. In comparison, the Portland Trail Blazers went 13-for-37 (35%) from three-point range.
The Los Angeles Lakers were never going to finish the season 82-0, but the spectacle and circus around the Lakers with LeBron James now in the fold will be something to behold throughout this 2018-19 season.
James, 33, knows that in order for this mostly young team to learn and grow that he will be the leading force behind that and you could see that throughout the game on Thursday night.
LeBron James was mic’d up for sound during TNT’s broadcast of the game and its clear that James is working to establish newfound chemistry and trust with his new teammates.
A loss in the season opener to a good Portland Trail Blazers team is nothing to panic about. It will be up to coach Luke Walton to find the right balance for the Lakers as a team as the season progresses.
The Los Angeles Lakers will welcome the Houston Rockets on Saturday night to Staples Center for their home opener.
What are your thoughts on LeBron James’ debut? Leave your comments below!
A supreme confidence in his abilities despite the many pitfalls in his career in the postseason is something that wasn’t lost on Alex Cora regarding his veteran left-hander Davi Price.
Placing trust in a left-hander who had never won a postseason start in his career, the Boston Red Sox are headed to the Fall Classic.
The Boston Red Sox have advanced to the 2018 World Series after their 4-1 victory over the Houston Astros on Thursday night at Minute Maid Park in Game 5 of the ALCS.
Maligned and unwanted from his past postseason failures and present day failures in a Red Sox uniform, David Price in a brilliant performance pulled off the biggest victory of his 11-year MLB career.
With Boston in need of outs more than anything else with Chris Sale ailing and unable to go in Game 5, the Red Sox prized left-hander from a few years ago gave Boston his very best outing since putting on a Red Sox uniform.
Having given the Red Sox a solid effort in Game 2, Price did something he had not done in 11 previous career starts.
Get a win.
David Price (1-1) mowed down the Houston Astros hitters over six shutout innings. Price would allow only three hits while striking out a new playoff career-high nine on 93 pitches.
The Red Sox getting the big hit on this night would be third baseman Rafael Devers, who’s sixth inning home run off Justin Verlander padded Boston’s narrow lead.
The home run was the first for the 21-year-old in his postseason career.
Boston is headed to their first World Series since 2013 when they defeated the St. Louis Cardinals in six games to win their eighth World Series title.
The AL Pennant is the 14th in Red Sox franchise history and fourth since 2004.
Boston Red Sox recorded eight hits vs the Houston Astros. J.D. Martinez, Mitch Moreland and Ian Kinsler all finished the game with two hits apiece.
Alex Bregman, Jose Altuve, George Springer and Carlos Correa failed to reliever for the Houston Astros as they went a combined 2-for-16 with eight strikeouts.
Boston is 5-0 on the road this postseason.
It didn’t take long for there to be anxious moments at Minute Maid Park as the Boston Red Sox offense — which makes every pitcher they face sweat it out — was at it again in the second inning.
The Red Sox would rally with two outs to load the bases in the second inning as right fielder Mookie Betts had a bases loaded opportunity vs Astros ace Justin Verlander.
Verlander would win the battle with Mookie Betts as he struck out Betts swinging on a high fastball to end the inning as Minute Maid Park erupted following the strikeout.
While Justin Verlander was at Times his typical self vs the Red Sox high octane offense, he wouldn’t be able to keep Boston off the board for long.
J.D. Martinez would make Justin Verlander pay for a mistake up in the strike zone on a 1-2 pitch in the third inning as he blasted a solo homer to left field to give Boston an early advantage.
David Price, getting the start for the Boston Red Sox in Game 5, was razor sharp to open the game.
The left-hander would establish his fastball and changeup to the Astros righty dominated lineup early as Astros hitters chased pitches out of the zone and failed to get the bat on the ball in this win or go home affair.
The Astros wouldn’t get a man in scoring position until the fourth inning after a two-out double by first baseman Yuli Gurriel. Bearing down, Price would get Marcin Gonzalez swinging to end the inning to preserve Boston’s lead.
Like they have throughout this series, the Red Sox attacked and attacked against Justin Verlander until the they broke him in the sixth inning.
After two consecutive hits to open the sixth, Rafael Devers would hit a opposite field three-run bomb to left field to give Boston a 4-0 lead, stunning what was once a loud crowd at the park.
Justin Verlander would allow four runs on seven hits with two walks while striking out four over six gritty innings of work.
Marwin Gonzalez would get the Houston Astros on the board with a solo home run off newly inserted Boston Red Sox reliever Matt Barnes to make it a 4-1 game.
Alex Cora went with one of his starters, Nathan Eovaldi, in the eighth inning of Game 5. Eovaldi would allow one base runner on a single by George Springer with two outs before getting Jose Altuve to line out to center to end the inning.
On for the ninth inning, a closer in Craig Kimbrel providing more rollercoasters this postseason than Red Sox skipper Alex Cora and the rest of the Red Sox would like.
The Red Sox struggling closer would allow Red Sox fans to exhale on this night as after two strikeouts in the ninth inning, Kimbrel would strand a runner at first as he induced a fly ball by Tony Kemp to left fielder Andrew Benintendi to end the game and put Boston in the World Series.
David Price’s postseason struggles have made him a source of ridicule over the past few seasons as he has on numerous occasions struggled on this stage.
On Thursday night, Price got the last laugh and because of it the Boston Red Sox next game at Fenway Park won’t be for a Game 6 but for Game 1 of the 2018 World Series.
The Red Sox grinding and harassing mentality on offense and depth through the batter order was the difference in this ALCS series.
With two outs, the Boston Red Sox didn’t quit in this series as they made the Astros pitchers work to get that final out and made them pay when they got a pitch to hit.
The Red Sox will be heavily favored to win their ninth World Series title, as would be the case for a team that won a franchise record 108 games this past regular-season and have gone a combined 6-0 following their losses in each of their first two playoff series.
Thursday night’s frustrating season ending loss to the Boston Red Sox ended the Houston Astros run short of where they were a season ago.
The Astros edge after Game 1 is a distant memory after the season concluded with the team not finding enough in them mentally or physically to force a Game 6 back at Fenway Park.
The talk coming out of Houston in the coming days and maybe offseason will be how the series momentum shifted after Jose Altuve’s home run was taken away in the first inning of Game 2 by Joe West.
The reality is, Houston just couldn’t match Boston’s firepower in the ALCS.
The Astros pitching staff was incapable of slowing down this offensive machine and as had been the case in Houston’s losses throughout the regular-season, the team could not for whatever reason score enough runs on their home-field.
It’ll be a bitter pill to swallow watching the Boston Red Sox celebrate on their home-field to end their season, but this Houston Astros team will be around for the foreseeable future.
What are your thoughts on the Boston Red Sox advancing to the World Series? Leave your comments below!
Peyton Manning In MVP Form With Analysis of Josh Rosen
Having your game film broken down by an NFL legend on the same day you have to suit up to play has to be tough.
That’s the case for Josh Rosen, who was a source of interest on the first NFL edition of “The Detail”.
On Thursday, ESPN’s sports streaming service ESPN+ released the first ever NFL version of this show which sports legends breakdown game film on athletes within their profession.
Future NFL Hall of Famer Peyton Manning took his try on the show by analyzing the Arizona Cardinals rookie quarterback.
Manning found himself impressed with the 21-year-old quarterback while breaking down the film of Josh Rosen’s Week 6 performance.
“I love the confidence and the aggressiveness to make throws into tight coverage. That will serve him well,” Manning said of a 35-yard completion by Josh Rosen early in the first quarter vs Minnesota Vikings.
Manning also spoke highly of Rosen’s ability to identify coverages and blitzes from the Minnesota Vikings defense.
Manning was not harsh on the young quarterback, offering him high praise throughout for his ability to play in tough conditions at a loud U.S. Bank Stadium.
Of his criticisms of Rosen was missing a wide open wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald on a crossing route for a touchdown on the same play where he made the 35-yard completion to wide receiver Christian Kirk.
Arizona came away with a field goal on the drive, but it could’ve been more. There were some miscues like a bad handoff, hesitation on a pass rolling out to a running back and nearly throwing a redzone interception that received some mention, but overall Manning was fair in his assessment.
Josh Rosen and the Cardinals, trailing by 17 points with a little over nine minutes to go, put together a touchdown drive to make it a 27-17 game with a little over six minutes to play.
That drive impressed Manning, who went on to reminisce about his rookie season back in 1998 and tried aligning his rough experiences with those that Rosen and others like him will endure.
“I used to throw a lot of interceptions in these games (trailing by double-digits in the fourth quarter). I used to kinda say, ‘Hey coach, if you need to take me out it’s not the worst thing in the world’,” Manning said.
“I was tired of throwing all of these interceptions. Coach Mora he kept me in there. You learn a lot about yourself. You learn a lot about football in the fourth quarters of these games you’re not supposed to win and I think Josh did that in this series.”
Josh Rosen finished the game going 21-for-31 with 240 passing yards and 1 INT in a 27-17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
Peyton Manning during his rookie season threw a career-high 28 interceptions while completing only 56.7 percent of his passes. He would start all 16 games for the Indianapolis Colts, who went 3-13.
That season was nothing more than a blimp on his radar, however, as today he ranks near the top of every statistical category at quarterback in NFL History.
Manning finished his NFL career throwing for 71,940 passing yards (2nd in NFL History), 539 TDs (1st in NFL History), 251 INTs while finishing with a 96.5 Passer Rating.
Josh Rosen made his first career start back in Week 4 vs the Seattle Seahawks where he passed for 180 passing yards and 1 TD in a 20-17 loss.
He picked up his first career win the following week in a 28-18 win vs the San Francisco 49ers.
Rosen and the Arizona Cardinals host the Denver Broncos Thursday night at State Farm Stadium.
What are your thoughts on Peyton Manning’s analysis of Josh Rosen’s Week 6 game vs the Minnesota Vikings? Leave your comments below!
Giancarlo Stanton may be viewed at as public enemy No. 1 in New York, but Yankee fans will concur with him on his World Series pick.
Or lack thereof.
Giancarlo Stanton, who’s Yankees were bounced last week in the ALDS by the Boston Red Sox, told TMZ Sports who he’s going for to win the World Series.
“I’m rooting for a draw,” Stanton said.
Not spending too much time with TMZ as he headed inside of a vehicle with others behind him, Stanton curbed his amusement some by saying he just hopes to see a great World Series.
The Boston Red Sox currently hold a 3-1 edge over the Houston Astros in the ALCS. Game 5 is tonight as Boston looks to wrap up the series.
Meanwhile the Los Angeles Dodgers own a 3-2 series lead vs the Milwaukee Brewers, but will need to win another game at Miller Park to advance to the World Series.
Here is the video below
Who do you want to see win the World Series? Leave your comments below!
Magic Joins First Take To Discuss Lakers Upcoming Season
There are high hopes in Laker land this season to return to their past glory.
No one knows that better than Los Angeles Lakers’ president of basketball operations Magic Johnson.
Ahead of the LeBron James’ highly anticipated Los Angeles Lakers, Magic Johnson spoke ESPN’s First Take on Thursday about his expectations for the 2018 NBA season.
The Los Angeles Laker great believes that the Los Angeles Lakers will have a strong regular-season that culminates in Los Angeles making the postseason.
“Rob (Pelinka) and I actually built this team really for the playoffs. This a playoff team,” Johnson said on the show. “I think that when we get to the playoffs we’re gonna be a tough team to beat.”
In addition to the huge signing of LeBron James this past offseason, the Los Angeles Lakers went out and signed notable free agents such as Rajon Rondo, JaVale McGee, Lance Stephenson and Michael Beasley.
The Los Angeles Lakers enter this season with the third best odds to win the Western Conference, but the absence of a legitimate, ready-made star next to LeBron James have people questioning those odds.
Johnson when speaking on that topic said that when it comes to a player emerging to take the load of LeBron James’ shoulders, he expects that player to be Brandon Ingram.
“It’s gotta be Brandon Ingram because every year he’s taken a step forward. He’s gotten better and better,” Johnson said on the show. “He has the game to score 20 points a night. We’ve seen signs of that. So if Brandon can take the step that we all feel that he can take I feel that will make us a dangerous team.”
The third year forward bounced back from a subpar rookie campaign during the 2016-17 season to average 16.1 PPG, 5.3 RPG, and 3.9 APG.
Ingram, 21, scored 20 or more points in 15 of his 59 games last season as he finished tied for the team lead in points per game with fellow Lakers’ forward Kyle Kuzma.
Looking for improvement from his 2017 first round pick, Magic Johnson is hoping to see Lonzo Ball up his level of aggressiveness as a scorer.
“He has to learn how to attack the paint and get his floaters and then take it all the way to the rim,” Johnson said. “He loves to pass first and that’s fine we want him to stick with that.
“But a lot of times the defense is baiting him now, ‘go ahead and drive the lane we know you’re gonna kick it out’, so they don’t really play him. So he’s gotta take it all the way.
“He’s gotta be able to score and once he’s able to score he can do everything else. He plays defense. He’s one of the best rebounding guards in the league and he knows how to get his teammates great shots. So we want him to keep the pace going because we want to run, run and run (on offense).”
The Los Angeles Lakers looked to sign free agent forward Paul George this past offseason in addition to LeBron James, but when George elected to re-sign with Oklahoma City, the attention shifted to the 2019 free agent class that includes trade target Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Jimmy Butler.
The Los Angeles Lakers will have enough cap space to offer any of those players a max contract. For now, Magic Johnson wants to stay in the now, which is a team looking to start something special for one of the NBA’s glamour franchises.
“We’re focused on this season. We feel we’re gonna have a really good season. And then we know next season we’re gonna have cap space for another player. We’ll concentrate only on this season and then we’ll wait and see what happens and what type of player we need to bring in.”
The Los Angeles Lakers open their 2018 season Thursday night on the road vs the Portland Trail Blazers.
What are your expectations for the Los Angeles Lakers this season? Leave your comments below!
![[SPORTS] LEVERT SCORES GAME WINNER AS NETS DENY KNICKS](https://i0.wp.com/sloppyvinyl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/img_8287-2.jpg?resize=756%2C477&ssl=1)
![[SPORTS] LEBRON JAMES SOLID IN LOS ANGELES LAKERS DEBUT](https://i0.wp.com/sloppyvinyl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/img_8277-1.jpg?resize=600%2C429&ssl=1)
![[SPORTS] DAVID PRICE’S GEM LEADS BOSTON RED SOX TO WORLD SERIES](https://i0.wp.com/sloppyvinyl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/img_8271-1.jpg?resize=600%2C400&ssl=1)
![[SPORTS] PEYTON MANNING BREAKS DOWN JOSH ROSEN’S GAME FILM ON “THE DETAIL”](https://i0.wp.com/sloppyvinyl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/img_8269-1-2.jpg?resize=640%2C480&ssl=1)
![[SPORTS] GIANCARLO STANTON WANTS A DRAW IN THE WORLD SERIES](https://i0.wp.com/sloppyvinyl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/img_8268.jpg?resize=600%2C415&ssl=1)
![[SPORTS] MAGIC JOHNSON GIVES HIS EXPECTATIONS FOR LAKERS 2018-19 SEASON](https://i0.wp.com/sloppyvinyl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/img_8266-2.jpg?resize=534%2C401&ssl=1)