NEW YORK (AP) New York Knicks rookie R.J. Barrett will miss at least a week with a sprained right ankle.
Barrett was hurt during the Knicks’ loss to Phoenix on Thursday. On Friday, he had X-rays, which were negative.
The Knicks announced afterward that Barrett will be re-evaluated in a week.
The No. 3 pick in the draft from Duke is averaging 14.1 points.
The 76ers found one way to solve their spacing issues.
Philadelphia showed good ball movement, finding Furkan Korkmaz for an open corner 3-pointer. The catch? Korkmaz got open, because the 76ers had six players on the floor.
I love Kyle O'Quinn trying to slink off the court. He wanted to get away with it. Tobias Harris, who jogged to the bench, was practically begging to get caught.
Honestly, I’m a little surprised how quickly the Bulls noticed the violation. It’s not as if their defense scrambling is anything new.
Marcus Morris loathes the Suns.
Unfortunately for him, his Knicks lost to the Suns, 121-98, yesterday.
Morris, via Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News:
“Kudos to Phoenix, but at the end of the day, we were a better team,” Marcus Morris said postgame. “We should have got that win tonight.”
Nahhh.
The Knicks stink. They’ve lost seven of eight. Morris talked about energy, and New York’s could be better. But this is what happens on losing teams. The Knicks’ roster just isn’t good enough. It’s not more complicated than that.
The Suns aren’t great, either. But they’re much better than New York – no matter how much that grinds Morris.
“I mean, it’s transparent. It’s out there. It’s glaring, in terms of the pieces that we need in order to be at that next level… we’ll worry about all the other stuff, in terms of moving pieces and everything else, as an organization down the line in the summer… but it’s pretty glaring we need one more piece or two more pieces.”
That was Kyrie Irving after the Nets’ recent loss to the 76ers. Was he too harsh? Is that how to inspire and lead a team?
Irving doesn’t care what you think. Here’s what he said Friday when asked about his comments and leadership, via SNYtv.
Kyrie Irving with STRONG words at practice:
"It's not like I'm an ass—- yelling at everybody in the freaking locker room all the time … If it's harsh as a leader or it's too much for anybody, you're not in our locker room—stay the f— out." pic.twitter.com/peVcXQgsun
— SNY (@SNYtv) January 17, 2020
“It’s a telltale sign of the career that I’ve had. Some of the moves that I’ve made individually, and then as well as coming to different environments and organizations. …It’s not like I’m an a****** yelling at everybody in the freaking locker room all the time and you hear all these stories.
“At the end of the day, my name… is in a lot of people’s mouths all the time and it is what it is. I’ve earned that respect in terms of how great I am as a player and there’s still more goals I want to accomplish in this league, and I can’t do it without improving an organization and winning a championship and that’s what it comes down to. So I’m going to continue to push and continue to demand greatness of myself and demand greatness out of my teammates, and we go from there.”
“If it’s harsh as a leader or it’s too much for anybody, you’re not in our locker room — stay the f*** out. It’s as simple as that.”
Irving is his own cat, and he leads in his own style. Whether that works for his teammates depends on his individual teammates (as it does with LeBron James‘ teammates, or Kobe’s, or Tim Duncan’s or… you get the idea).
Irving’s leadership gets questioned by fans (and media) because of what happened in Boston last season and on the court over the past two seasons — when Irving plays the Nets/Celtics have been 42-39 (51.9%), when he sits they are 25-16 (61%). However, real leadership is much more than wins and losses. We don’t know what the Brooklyn players really think of Irving.
The Nets are an interesting chemistry experiment. General Manager Sean Marks and coach Kenny Atkinson built a Spursian, selfless team and identity, a lunch-pail group that worked their way into the playoffs last season. Now that they have added Irving and Kevin Durant, world-class talents but also big egos, guys used to winning by doing things their way. How this all shakes out remains to be seen.
Whatever happens, Irving will be Irving. He knows no other way.
Combine the brands of LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers and it’s going to sell a lot of jerseys.
If you needed confirmation of that — and why would you? — the NBA announced that LeBron leads the league in jersey sales through the start of this season (October 2019 through the end of the calendar year). Giannis Antetokounmpo is second, and Stephen Curry rounds out the top three. Then the list gets interesting.
Here are the top 15 players in jersey sales:
1. LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers
2. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
3. Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors=
4. Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics=
5. James Harden, Houston Rockets
6. Luka Dončić, Dallas Mavericks
7. Kawhi Leonard, Los Angeles Clippers
8. Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers
9. Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers
10. Kyrie Irving, Brooklyn Nets
11. Ben Simmons, Philadelphia 76ers
12. Kevin Durant, Brooklyn Nets
13. Russell Westbrook, Houston Rockets
14. Kemba Walker, Boston Celtics
15. Zion Williamson, New Orleans Pelicans
Tatum climbing up to fourth — in front of Harden and some other established stars — shows both the growth in his popularity and the power of Celtics’ nation.
The fast-rising popularity of Luka Doncic also is evident with him being sixth, in front of Kawhi Leonard and Anthony Davis, both of whom switched teams (which often can spike jersey sales).
Also, note Zion Williamson is 15th without having stepped on an NBA court. Yet.
The Lakers head the list of the team with the most merchandise sold, with the Celtics second and the 76ers third. Toronto is fourth after its championship run (their first time in the top five), and the Brooklyn Nets are in the top 10, a first for that franchise.
These results are based on NBAStore.com sales from October 2019 through December 2019.