data-mm-id=”_yt9nj8qdi”>The Denver Nuggets had a nice run, but the clutch performance of Anthony Davis on the biggest stage of his career has put their season in peril yet again. In previous rounds the Nuggets fought back to advance and prove they were the present and future of the NBA, but running into LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers has them in danger of being labeled frauds just by losing to the better team.Previous examples of this took place in the first two rounds of the Western Conference Playoffs when the Lakers beat the Portland Trail Blazers and Houston Rockets. Coming into the NBA bubble and then the playoffs, the Blazers were touted as the toughest possible opponent for the top-seeded Lakers. The Damian Lillard-CJ McCollum backcourt teamed with the return of Jusuf Nurkic presented the Lakers with a seemingly impossible task. Some experts went so far as to guarantee the Blazers would beat the Lakers before they had even made it into the postseason. After the Blazers won the first game of the series, Charles Barkley predicted a sweep. The Lakers went on to win the next four games by a combined 60 points. The Blazers were immediately dismissed as pretenders. A weak 8-seed that barely made the playoffs and never stood a chance against the Lakers. A similar narrative played out in the Western Conference Semifinals as the Lakers faced the small ball Houston Rockets. Houston featured two former MVPs and a unique lineup where everyone could shoot the three and switch everything on defense. James Harden in his prime has been an unstoppable force. Harden had led the league in scoring three consecutive seasons. "If Houston ends up running into the Los Angeles Lakers, Houston, we might have a problem [for LA]."@stephenasmith is liking the bubble Rockets. pic.twitter.com/2vYf8HJX31— First Take (@FirstTake) August 3, 2020Houston also won Game 1 as bettors loaded up on the Rockets.Updated Odds: Rockets have a 63 % chance of beating the Lakers according to @FiveThirtyEight https://t.co/MDMfvAUcTl pic.twitter.com/9Wa9P8rxdT— ContentNBA (@ContentNBA) September 3, 2020By the time the Lakers won the next four games by a combined 51 points, Houston's team was reduced to a failed experiment. Westbrook injured and a poor excuse for a modern NBA player anyway. Harden a choker who will never actually win in the postseason anyway.Now it's the Nuggets' turn. They lost Game 2 at the buzzer and trail the series 0-2. Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic were one of the best duos in the NBA after they completed two 3-1 comebacks. Unless they beat the Lakers in four of the next five games, those accomplishments will be diminished. The Jazz pretenders and the Clippers overrated. How can a team be for real when Michael Porter Jr. is their third-best player? He only averaged 16 minutes a game in eight games this season. The same fate awaits the Miami Heat or Boston Celtics. If the Lakers end up winning a title against either of those teams, who cares? If you want a real title you have to beat the best team in the Western Conference. This will just be another case of LeBron picking on a weaker Eastern Conference.
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Former Liverpool midfielder Jan Molby has heaped praise on Georginio Wijnaldum following his impressive start to life at Anfield.
The Netherlands international joined Liverpool from Newcastle United ahead of this season and the versatile midfielder has already won over Molby with his intelligent displays.
Wijnaldum is a clever player, Molby, who won three league titles with the club, told Liverpool s website.
I have always thought he was a really good player and he fits the way we want to play.
He breaks the lines and he makes great runs forward. He has had more of a deeper role so far at Liverpool, but it does not surprise me that he can play there.
He is technically very good and the more you see of him, the more you like. He has an exc…
Manchester City centre-back Joleon Lescott says the club s fans must resist the temptation to celebrate Premier League glory prematurely.
Barring a miraculously large win for Manchester United at Sunderland, Roberto Mancini s men will seal the Premier League title by virtue of goal difference with victory over QPR at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
While the former Everton defender is refusing to get carried away, Lescott revealed his side s growing belief that they will seal the title.
It s a massive game at the weekend. It s not all over yet but, if we could close the title out, it would be unreal, Lescott told reporters.
You dream of these things. I never once thought: Yeah, I m bound to win the Premier League . But it was always in my mind. It will be c…
Prediction: Draw
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The Premier League is back in our lives once again this weekend after a short and sweet break, courtesy of the quick turnaround due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All 20 teams have been making preparations ahead of what looks set to be a very competitive league campaign, and today, we re going to be previewing the clash between West Bromwich Albion and Leicester City. The home side will try and avoid relegation after their return to the top flight, whereas the visitors will try and prove that they re still an elite club after their capitulation last season.
West Brom
Slaven Bilic knows what it s like to compete at this level as a manager and he recognised that his side needed to make crucial changes in the summer t…
Andriy Yarmolenko rescued a point for Borussia Dortmund with the equaliser in a 1-1 draw against 10-man Bayer Leverkusen that might earn head coach Peter Bosz a stay of execution.
Dortmund went into the game with Bosz under intense pressure after a run of six games without a win, but his side fell behind after half an hour.
Kevin Volland s opening goal came after a defensive howler from Neven Subotic, but Leverkusen then had Brazilian full-back Wendell sent off just before half-time.
Against 10 men, the visitors dominated the second half possession but failed to break down Heiko Herrlich s well-drilled outfit until Andre Schurrle teed up Yarmolenko for his third league goal of the season.
Despite salvaging a point, the laboured nature of Dortmund s perfor…
A host of Premier League clubs have been linked with a summer move to sign Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez, .
The Mexico international is currently on a season-long loan with European Champions Real Madrid, though he has started just five games in all competitions for Carlo Ancelotti’s side.
Now Stoke City, Everton, West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur are all set for a battle to secure the 26 year old’s services, with a future at Old Trafford looking unlikely.
Hernandez moved to Manchester in the summer of 2010, and has racked up one hundred and fifty-nine appearances for the club, scoring fifty-nine goals and was part of the squads that won the Premier League title in both 2011 and 2013.
Internationally, he has thirty-eight goals …
UAE outfit Al Nasr are interested in signing Palermo striker Fabrizio Miccoli, according to reports from the Middle East.
The Dubai club, who are coached by former Palermo boss Walter Zenga, have already held talks with the Sicilian outfit according to Sport360.
Al Nasr are expected to release Luca Toni after he struggled to make a significant impact at the club having joined in January and Miccoli is seen as his replacement.
The 32-year-old 10-time Italy international has long been linked with a move to the Middle East and recently admitted his future with Palermo was 50-50 . Miccoli has one year to run of his current contract with the Sicilians.
Miccoli and Zenga know each other well, with the former Italian goalkeeper coaching Palermo in 2009 and 2010…
Southampton F.C. have completed the signing of midfielder Oriol Romeu from Chelsea for a fee believed to be in the region of £5 million.
Romeu becomes the Saints seventh summer recruit following the arrivals of Cédric Soares (Sporting CP), Cuco Martina (FC Twente), Jordy Clasie (Feyenoord), Juanmi (Málaga), Maarten Stekelenburg (on loan from Fulham) and Steven Caulker (on loan from Queens Park Rangers).
The former Spain Under-21 international, who joined Chelsea from Barcelona for €5 million in the summer of 2011, has put pen to paper on a three-year deal at St Mary s.
It s very good to be a part of this club, Romeu said.
I was looking for a good club and for something new in my career. After spending two years on loan, I needed …
Zenit St Petersburg manager Luciano Spalletti has backed Pep Guardiola to become the new Russian manager.
The Football Union of Russia published a 13-strong list of candidates deemed to be worthy successors to Dick Advocaat, including stellar names such as the former Barcelona coach, Marcelo Bielsa and Fabio Capello.
And Spalletti, who has been in charge of Zenit since departing Roma in 2009, believes Guardiola is the best man to take the nation forward.
From my point of view, the best of all the coaches to take over would be Guardiola, he told Zenit s official website.
It would be nice, because I feel a little Russian, if our team is coached by him.
However, the Italian also earmarked his veteran midfielder Sergey Semak as a future Russia co…
Angel Di Maria soaked up the love and adoration of the Paris Saint-Germain faithful as his brilliant brace inspired a rampant 4-0 Champions League triumph over Barcelona.
PSG were knocked out of the competition by Barcelona in 2013 and 2015 but Luis Enrique s side now require a comeback unprecedented in Champions League history having been put to the sword in the French capital.
Di Maria, celebrating his 29th birthday, dispatched a free-kick that rewarded PSG s dominant start and Unai Emery s men never relinquished their grip on the first leg of the last-16 tie.
Former Sevilla boss Emery had only beaten Barcelona once in 23 previous attempts but he was well on his way to number two when Julian Draxler scored on his Champions League debut for PSG, as he did in Li…
Former UEFA president Lennart Johansson says he was never informed of the alleged payment made by Sepp Blatter to Michel Platini that lies at the heart of the latest FIFA corruption scandal.
Outgoing FIFA president Blatter and his UEFA counterpart Platini were provisionally suspended by the Ethics Committee of world football s governing body for 90 days on Thursday.
Blatter is the subject of a criminal investigation from the Swiss attorney general into an alleged disloyal payment made to Platini in 2011, widely reported to be £1.35m relating to work the former France captain undertook for FIFA between 1999 and 2002.
Johansson, who was UEFA president between 1990 and 2007 and stood unsuccessfully against Blatter for the top job at FIFA in 1998, told InsideWor…