8:00 AM ET NBA Insiders Which underperforming teams should hit the panic button? The defending champion Milwaukee Bucks and the team they beat to reach the Finals, the Atlanta Hawks, are both under .500 to start the season. Can the Bucks get healthy and begin a climb toward the top of the Eastern Conference, and
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12:42 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN BROOKLYN, N.Y. — After the Brooklyn Nets were routed by the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night on their home floor, losing 117-99 to fall to 0-4 this season against the Warriors, Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks, Nets coach Steve Nash said his team doesn’t belong in the
12:43 AM ET NEW YORK — Golden State Warriors swingman Klay Thompson has been cleared for full contact as he continues his rehab from a torn Achilles suffered in 2020. Thompson, who stayed behind on the Warriors’ four-game East Coast swing with several members of the Warriors’ support staff, has started doing some 5-on-5 work
2:05 AM ET ESPN News Services LOS ANGELES — Staples Center is getting a new name. Starting Christmas Day, it will be Crypto.com Arena. The downtown Los Angeles home of the NBA’s Lakers and Clippers, the NHL’s Kings, and the WNBA’s Sparks will change its name after 22 years of operation, arena owner AEG announced
6:40 PM ET Associated Press MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee Bucks forward Khris Middleton is practicing with his teammates again and expects to play Wednesday against the Los Angeles Lakers after missing eight games due to a positive COVID-19 test. “I’ve been working out the last couple of days here while guys were on the road,” Middleton
3:45 PM ET Eric WoodyardESPN Deron Williams’ phone was flooded with calls and notifications once his boxing match against former NFL running back Frank Gore was announced last week. Among the first to reach out was Phoenix Suns point guard Chris Paul. Williams once challenged Paul for the label as the NBA’s top point guard
1:56 PM ET Associated Press CLEVELAND — Cavaliers rookie forward Evan Mobley could be sidelined for a month with a sprained right elbow suffered Monday night in a loss to Boston. The No. 3 pick in this year’s draft got hurt when his arm got tied up while battling Celtics center Enes Kanter under the
5:17 PM ET Andrew LopezESPN New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson has been cleared to participate in contact drills, the team announced, the latest step toward his eventual return to the court. Williamson, who is in his third year, has missed every game this season because of a right foot fracture suffered in the summer.
4:30 PM ET DALLAS — Dallas Mavericks superstar guard Luka Doncic will miss Wednesday’s road game against the Phoenix Suns due to left knee and left ankle sprains, the team announced. The injuries are “not too serious,” a source told ESPN. The Mavs are optimistic that Doncic will not be sidelined for an extended stretch,
12:04 PM ET There’s growing optimism that Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James — who has been out two weeks with an abdominal strain — could make his return against the Boston Celtics on Friday, sources told ESPN. James has been making good progress, and Friday’s meeting with the Celtics (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) looms