The NBA pre-season is about to get into full swing as the Clippers, Rockets, Kings, and Pacers have already hosted some games for their fans to see.
This is the perfect chance for these teams to come together and for coaches to experiment a lot of things for the upcoming season while fans are getting a preview on what to expect.
James Harden started the festivities with back-to-back explosive games for the Rockets, and he got to show off his newest move too.
On the other hand, the Kings and the Pacers flew over to India to host some games over there as part of Commissioner Adam Silver’s initiative to expand the league’s global reach.
Allow SBOBET to share to you some of the latest happenings and updates within the NBA.
Tracy McGrady praises his former team
Former NBA star Tracy McGrady paid a visit to an Orlando Magic practice last Thursday, and he took the time to share some encouraging words to his old team.
After a three-year stint with the Raptors earlier in his career, it was with the Magic where he thrived and emerged as one of the fearsome scorers of his generation. He would eventually play for the Rockets, Knicks, Pistons, Hawks, and Spurs to round out his 16-year career.
He used his vast experience to share to the Orlando youngsters on what it takes to build a successful team, and they took it to heart especially with their playoff experience last season. At the same time, he expects a whole lot more for the team next season.
“He was talking about basically sticking together, trusting your teammates and just realizing you’ve got to play hard. And if you play hard, that’s going to give you a chance to win,” bared Magic forward Terrence Ross.
The Magic was a pleasant surprise last season. After a subpar record to start, the Steve Clifford-mentored squad kicked things up a notch and they ended their playoff drought. Even if they got eliminated early, Magic fans would have to be more optimistic of their NBA 2019 odds at making it far into the playoffs next campaign.
“There should be a motivation because you were on a six-year drought and you made the playoffs, but now what are you gonna do? I’m sure these guys are motivated more because they got a taste of the playoffs. I think they will do well,” said McGrady.
James Harden back to his bag of tricks
The stepback jumper has been a staple for James Harden for quite some time now, and he’s added a new wrinkle to his favourite move over the summer – the one-legged variation.
Quite an odd move if you ask me. But he was able to pull it off in the Rockets’ pre-season games against the Shanghai Sharks and the Clippers.
In their game against the Sharks, the former NBA MVP notched 10 points, 11 rebounds, and 12 assists in 16 minutes of play, while he exploded for 37 points yesterday against the new-look Clippers.
The scoring dynamo was doing everything out there for his team. He was drawing fouls, knocking down jumpers, and facilitated for his teammates to get them going as well.
Harden’s game continues to evolve by the day as he’ll continue to produce some of the best NBA 2019 highlights. However, what’s more interesting is on how he’ll mesh with Russell Westbrook for the upcoming season.
“It’s easy. When you’re that great of a basketball player, you just go out there and hoop. There’s no ‘you have to change you game.’ We’ll figure it out. It’s not difficult,” said Harden in a previous interview
NBA tours to India
In an effort to reach out to global fans, the Pacers and the Kings were sent to Mumbai, India to host a couple of pre-season games there. And boy, the fans were in for a huge treat.
In what was a high-scoring game, it was the Pacers who outlasted the Kings with a score of 132-131. TJ Warren led all scorers with 30 points while he was backstopped by the centre Domantas Sabonis with 21 points and 12 rebounds. As for the Kings, they were led by the wing duo of Buddy Hield and Harrison Barnes who scored 28 and 21 respectively.
With basketball’s immense growth, Kings’ owner Vivek Ranadive has engaged in talks with Adam Silver about a possible NBA-sanctioned 12-team league in the near future. Silver liked the idea though, but he mentioned that there’ll be a lot more work to do for it to come true.
However, if last night’s game was any indication, I wouldn’t be surprised if the NBA will have it in place at least in the next five years.
“One of the things we need, though, is more of an arena infrastructure. I think this is where [Sacramento Kings owner] Vivek [Ranadive] was a little ahead of the schedule that we might otherwise have been on,” mentioned Silver in a press statement.
“I have had some interesting discussions with developers over the last two days here. I think it’s inevitable that there will be state-of-the-art arenas in major cities in India,” he added.
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