Month: December 2019

Chance The Rapper and Common will perform at the 2020 NBA All-Star game

Three-time Grammy Award winners and Chicago natives Chance The Rapper and Common will headline musical performances at the 2020 NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, Feb. 16 at United Center in Chicago.

Chance The Rapper’s brother, fellow rap artist Taylor Bennett, will perform at halftime of NBA Rising Stars on Friday, Feb. 14 at United Center.

The 69th annual game will air live at 8 p.m. ET on TNT and will reach fans in more than 200 countries and territories in more than 40 languages.

On Sunday, Feb. 16, Common will welcome fans to Chicago with anarrative about what basketball means to the city. This prior to introducing players from both teams before tip-off of the NBA All-Star Game.

At halftime, Chance The Rapper and special guests will perform a medley of chart-topping hits, including tracks from his first studio album, The Big Day.

Suns center Deandre Ayton out with ankle sprain

Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton recently returned from a 25-game suspension, played well, but is now out with an ankle sprain.

Here’s the Arizona Republic:

The Suns haven’t had their full roster healthy all season. That unfortunate trend will continue as Deandre Ayton is ruled out Friday’s game at Oklahoma City with a right ankle sprain he suffered in the second half of his return game from a 25-game suspension Tuesday at the Los Angeles Clippers…

The Suns (11-16) have also been without Devin Booker their last three games because of a right forearm contusion. Booker is listed as questionable for Friday’s game.

It’s unclear how big a deal that sprain is. Hopefully it’s minor. The team hasn’t released an official statement yet.

Anthony Davis will play in Lakers vs Bucks game tonight

The biggest game of the NBA season so far is the Lakers vs Bucks matchup on TNT at 8 p.m. ET tonight. Both teams are 24-4, and are the current favorites, if you had to make a prediction today, to reach the 2020 NBA Finals.

While the Bucks are without injured guard Eric Bledsoe, the Lakers will have forward Anthony Davis in action, said the team this evening.

Per ESPN.com, “Davis did not play in the Lakers’ loss at Indiana on Tuesday due to the mild ankle sprain. It was the second game Davis has missed this season. He is leading the team in points (27.4), rebounds (9.3) and blocks (2.6) per game.”

It’s a must-watch game. Tune in.

The Basketball Africa League (BAL) logo revealed

The Basketball Africa League (BAL), a new professional league featuring 12 club teams from across Africa and scheduled to begin play in March 2020, today unveiled the league’s official logo. The new logo, which features the silhouette of a basketball player taking a jump shot on a vibrant green, yellow, red and royal blue background, celebrates the Pan-African footprint of the league, Africa’s diversity and the continent’s rich basketball heritage.

The announcement was made today by BAL President Amadou Gallo Fall prior to the BAL qualifier game at the Kigali Arena in Kigali, Rwanda in the presence of Rwanda President Paul Kagame, Rwanda Minister of Sport Aurore Mimosa Munyangaju, FIBA Africa and BAL Board President Anibal Manave, FIBA Africa Executive Director Alphonse Bilé, two-time NBA All-Star and South Sudan Basketball Federation President Luol Deng, and former NBA player Olumide Oyedeji (Nigeria).

The BAL logo is inspired by the NBA and FIBA’s commitment to establishing the BAL as a world-class professional league that champions inclusion and youth development, provides an entertaining product for fans of all ages, and drives economic growth across the continent.

Minutes scarce for talented Raptors big man Chris Boucher

Talented Raptors forward Chris Boucher deserves more minutes. But head coach Nick Nurse has tough decisions to make in order for that to happen. Here’s the Toronto Star reporting:

“It’s not an easy thing to figure out,” Nurse said. “If you say you want to give someone more minutes that means you are taking some away from somebody else, and I don’t really know who that is right now.

“Do I chip a couple away from Pascal (Siakam)? Maybe. I certainly don’t think OG (Anunoby) is in position to have his (clipped). He’s wanting more the way it is. Serge (Ibaka) has been pretty low. Marc (Gasol) has been pretty low.

“There is not a lot of free minutes there. I will keep thinking about how I am going to figure out how to expand his role.”

There are worse problems for a coach to have.

Suns center Deandre Ayton returns from suspension

The Phoenix Suns have their young center back, as Deandre Ayton returned to action yesterday. Here’s Arizona Sports reporting:

In his first time speaking to the media since being suspended 25 games, Deandre Ayton commented on testing positive for a diuretic.

“I know what I did,” he said to the assembled media before Tuesday night’s matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers, his return game. “It was the biggest mistake, and unintentional mistake that happened in my life and it’s just something to learn from and just build from it. It’s a mistake and everybody makes mistakes.

“It’s just how you bounce back. I think that’s what everybody is waiting for. I already did my time so I’m here.”

Ayton returned on a night in which the Suns faced a tough task — a visit to Los Angeles to face the Clippers. And although Ayton’s shot was a bit off, he put up nice numbers: 18 points and 12 rebounds in just 24 minutes. Despite this, the Clippers, who had three scorers put up 20 or more points, came away with a 120-99 win.

Still, getting Ayton back is a win for Phoenix.

The next Suns game is Friday on the road against the Thunder.

 

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Jazz guard Mike Conley dealing with left hamstring injury

Utah Jazz guard Mike Conley was evaluated by the team’s medical staff on Wednesday and the following was determined:

Conley reinjured his left hamstring during Utah’s game against Orlando in Salt Lake City last night. He will be reevaluated during the team’s upcoming road trip. Any further updates will be provided when necessary.

According to the Salt Lake Tribune, “Conley missed five games after experiencing hamstring tightness, which was frustrating for the Jazz point guard. “That’s why they’re like, ‘Be patient, be patient, don’t push it.’ And I’m just trying to push it every day,” Conley said before his return.”

Conley has appeared in 22 games (all starts) in his first season with Utah, averaging 13.6 points, 4.6 assists and 3.3 rebounds in 29.4 minutes per contest.

 

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Stephen Curry reportedly attends Kanye West’s Sunday Service

For those of you who enjoy keeping up with off-court pop culture news, especially when it involves Kanye West, here’s the San Jose Mercury News:

You may have heard of Sunday Service, a weekly gospel concert led by rapper Kanye West that has attracted a who’s who of celebrities — including Brad Pitt, Katy Perry and Idris Elba, among others… Steph Curry is the latest celebrity to attend the music performance/spiritual service.

There is no word yet on exactly when Steph may return to action for the Warriors.

Wizards forward Rui Hachimura injured, out at least five games

Wizards forward Rui Hachimura suffered a groin injury late in the first half of last night’s 133-119 win at Detroit. He is out for the next five games and will be re-evaluated when the team returns from their upcoming road stretch.

According to the Washington Post, “Hachimura, who has averaged 13.9 points and 5.8 rebounds through 25 games, sustained the injury in the closing seconds of Monday night’s win over the Pistons. As Hachimura attempted to secure a defensive rebound, teammate Isaac Bonga accidentally made contact, kicking Hachimura between his legs.”

Hachimura, a 6-foot-8, 230-pound rookie from Japan, was drafted 9th overall by the Wizards in 2019, and has started all 25 games he’s played in.

 

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