[ad_1]
The most important story of the NBA preseason did not go well with up till Tuesday. Sure, sure, as a lot enjoyable as gamers like Talen Horton-Tucker and Theo Maledon have been, the on-court motion pales compared to the drama surrounding James Harden and the Houston Rockets. The previous MVP nonetheless desires out, but and not using a deal in place, he should undergo the uncomfortable dance of sporting a Rockets uniform till a commerce will be discovered.
He did so for the primary time this preseason on Tuesday. That was the headliner of the night time, however a lot extra got here out of the night’s small however tantalizing three-game slate.
NBA Preseason scores for Tuesday, Dec. 15
Philadelphia 76ers 108, Boston Celtics 99
Houston Rockets 112, San Antonio Spurs 98
Sacramento Kings 114, Golden State Warriors 113
A tough state of affairs for Harden
Harden goes to play for the Rockets as a result of he’s contractually obligated to play for the Rockets. That is not going to make the video games he does play in crimson and white any much less awkward, and a uneven preseason debut was proof of that. Sure, there have been flashes of his typical brilliance.
However he shot solely 3-of-10 from the sphere in an uneven offensive night time. His backcourt accomplice John Wall once more stole the present with 15 factors and three steals, however despite his prior recruiting efforts, he did not precisely appear captivated with Harden’s willingness to stay in Houston.
“On the finish of the day, he will do what’s greatest for him,” Wall told reporters. “The group goes to what’s greatest for them additionally.”
One of the best factor for all events concerned is a commerce. It would not want to come back proper this second, however Harden not seems inquisitive about ticking away his prime on a sub-championship-caliber workforce, and the Rockets, with an overhauled roster, ought to embrace that wave of change to provide themselves an opportunity to rebuild after he is gone.
Pritchard pays off
The Boston Celtics needed to choose Tyler Herro. It is one of the worst-kept secrets in basketball. They got here one slot quick when the Miami Heat grabbed him at No. 13 general within the 2019 NBA Draft. Round 15 months later, Herro was knocking them out of the 2020 Jap Convention finals. Not solely did they miss out on the younger shot-creator of their desires, however they needed to watch that participant within the NBA Finals at their expense.
That is the type of loss that may hang-out a corporation for a decade. The Celtics could by no means recover from their ex, however they’ve discovered a brand new love in a rookie from Oregon with a considerably comparable recreation. Payton Pritchard is not as massive as Tyler Herro. He is not as expert but both. However he definitely regarded like Herro in dropping 16 factors on 60 p.c taking pictures in his first recreation as an expert.
Pritchard is not the one rookie guard to publish gaudy numbers in a preseason game. Malachi Flynn drew this identical love on Monday. But it surely’s laborious to not discover Pritchard flashing that elite shotmaking that made him a First-Group All-American at Oregon and take into consideration the guard Boston nearly drafted a yr earlier. No, Pritchard isn’t Herro. However he would possibly simply be capable to occupy the function Boston supposed for him final season, and assist lead them previous Herro’s Warmth in a playoff rematch this season.
Rumors of Stephen Curry’s demise have been vastly exaggerated. Curry’s 3-of-10 taking pictures night time within the preseason opener launched a wave of Warriors pessimism. How would they be capable to rating with out supernova Curry? Effectively, if Tuesday was any indication, supernova Curry is not going wherever.
Curry completed the sport with 29 factors on 11-of-21 taking pictures in 28 minutes. The numbers themselves have been spectacular, however the aggressive method by which he got here by them stood out. Golden State’s egalitarian offense normally finds Curry photographs within the stream of the system. He sometimes is not Harden, dominating the ball and racking up absurd quantity.
However with out Klay Thompson, Curry must generate extra of his personal photographs this season. He did simply that on Tuesday, attacking the basket and ending in site visitors like a a lot youthful guard. Curry may not have the very best roster in basketball supporting him anymore, however we will see flashes of his MVP self once more this season. Tuesday was simply the beginning.
require.config({"baseUrl":"https://sportsfly.cbsistatic.com/fly-62/bundles/sportsmediajs/js-build","config":{"version":{"fly/components/accordion":"1.0","fly/components/alert":"1.0","fly/components/base":"1.0","fly/components/carousel":"1.0","fly/components/dropdown":"1.0","fly/components/fixate":"1.0","fly/components/form-validate":"1.0","fly/components/image-gallery":"1.0","fly/components/iframe-messenger":"1.0","fly/components/load-more":"1.0","fly/components/load-more-article":"1.0","fly/components/load-more-scroll":"1.0","fly/components/loading":"1.0","fly/components/modal":"1.0","fly/components/modal-iframe":"1.0","fly/components/network-bar":"1.0","fly/components/poll":"1.0","fly/components/search-player":"1.0","fly/components/social-button":"1.0","fly/components/social-counts":"1.0","fly/components/social-links":"1.0","fly/components/tabs":"1.0","fly/components/video":"1.0","fly/libs/easy-xdm":"2.4.17.1","fly/libs/jquery.cookie":"1.2","fly/libs/jquery.throttle-debounce":"1.1","fly/libs/jquery.widget":"1.9.2","fly/libs/omniture.s-code":"1.0","fly/utils/jquery-mobile-init":"1.0","fly/libs/jquery.mobile":"1.3.2","fly/libs/backbone":"1.0.0","fly/libs/underscore":"1.5.1","fly/libs/jquery.easing":"1.3","fly/managers/ad":"2.0","fly/managers/components":"1.0","fly/managers/cookie":"1.0","fly/managers/debug":"1.0","fly/managers/geo":"1.0","fly/managers/gpt":"4.3","fly/managers/history":"2.0","fly/managers/madison":"1.0","fly/managers/social-authentication":"1.0","fly/utils/data-prefix":"1.0","fly/utils/data-selector":"1.0","fly/utils/function-natives":"1.0","fly/utils/guid":"1.0","fly/utils/log":"1.0","fly/utils/object-helper":"1.0","fly/utils/string-helper":"1.0","fly/utils/string-vars":"1.0","fly/utils/url-helper":"1.0","libs/jshashtable":"2.1","libs/select2":"3.5.1","libs/jsonp":"2.4.0","libs/jquery/mobile":"1.4.5","libs/modernizr.custom":"2.6.2","libs/velocity":"1.2.2","libs/dataTables":"1.10.6","libs/dataTables.fixedColumns":"3.0.4","libs/dataTables.fixedHeader":"2.1.2","libs/dateformat":"1.0.3","libs/waypoints/infinite":"3.1.1","libs/waypoints/inview":"3.1.1","libs/waypoints/jquery.waypoints":"3.1.1","libs/waypoints/sticky":"3.1.1","libs/jquery/dotdotdot":"1.6.1","libs/jquery/flexslider":"2.1","libs/jquery/lazyload":"1.9.3","libs/jquery/maskedinput":"1.3.1","libs/jquery/marquee":"1.3.1","libs/jquery/numberformatter":"1.2.3","libs/jquery/placeholder":"0.2.4","libs/jquery/scrollbar":"0.1.6","libs/jquery/tablesorter":"2.0.5","libs/jquery/touchswipe":"1.6.18","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.core":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.draggable":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.mouse":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.position":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.slider":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.sortable":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.touch-punch":"0.2.3","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.autocomplete":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.accordion":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.tabs":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.menu":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.dialog":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.resizable":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.button":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.tooltip":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.effects":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.datepicker":"1.11.4"}},"shim":{"liveconnection/managers/connection":{"deps":["liveconnection/libs/sockjs-0.3.4"]},"liveconnection/libs/sockjs-0.3.4":{"exports":"SockJS"},"libs/setValueFromArray":{"exports":"set"},"libs/getValueFromArray":{"exports":"get"},"fly/libs/jquery.mobile-1.3.2":["version!fly/utils/jquery-mobile-init"],"libs/backbone.marionette":{"deps":["jquery","version!fly/libs/underscore","version!fly/libs/backbone"],"exports":"Marionette"},"fly/libs/underscore-1.5.1":{"exports":"_"},"fly/libs/backbone-1.0.0":{"deps":["version!fly/libs/underscore","jquery"],"exports":"Backbone"},"libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.tabs-1.11.4":["jquery","version!libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.core","version!fly/libs/jquery.widget"],"libs/jquery/flexslider-2.1":["jquery"],"libs/dataTables.fixedColumns-3.0.4":["jquery","version!libs/dataTables"],"libs/dataTables.fixedHeader-2.1.2":["jquery","version!libs/dataTables"],"https://sports.cbsimg.net/js/CBSi/app/VideoPlayer/AdobePass-min.js":["https://sports.cbsimg.net/js/CBSi/util/Utils-min.js"]},"map":{"*":{"adobe-pass":"https://sports.cbsimg.net/js/CBSi/app/VideoPlayer/AdobePass-min.js","facebook":"https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js","facebook-debug":"https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/all/debug.js","google":"https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js","google-platform":"https://apis.google.com/js/client:platform.js","google-csa":"https://www.google.com/adsense/search/async-ads.js","google-javascript-api":"https://www.google.com/jsapi","google-client-api":"https://apis.google.com/js/api:client.js","gpt":"https://securepubads.g.doubleclick.net/tag/js/gpt.js","newsroom":"https://c2.taboola.com/nr/cbsinteractive-cbssports/newsroom.js","recaptcha":"https://www.google.com/recaptcha/api.js?onload=loadRecaptcha&render=explicit","recaptcha_ajax":"https://www.google.com/recaptcha/api/js/recaptcha_ajax.js","supreme-golf":"https://sgapps-staging.supremegolf.com/search/assets/js/bundle.js","taboola":"https://cdn.taboola.com/libtrc/cbsinteractive-cbssports/loader.js","twitter":"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js","video-utils":"https://sports.cbsimg.net/js/CBSi/util/Utils-min.js"}},"waitSeconds":300});
[ad_2]
Source link