Matildas' squad named ahead of the Asian Cup - and there is one HUGE inclusion which will delight local fans ahead of the tournament on home soil
The Matildas superstar is set to return from a long injury lay-off just in time for the major tournament on home soil.
Cavaliers finally get a full practice with James Harden coming out of All-Star break
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio (AP) — Kenny Atkinson was able to do something on Wednesday for the first time since the Cleveland Cavaliers traded for James Harden on Feb. 4.
The Cavaliers held their first practice in a couple of weeks after returning from the All-Star break and began gearing up for the second half of the season.
“We only have one practice. I think your first reaction is, ‘Man, we’ve got to do all these things,’ but just try to keep dialing back and keep it as simple as possible and then kind of add as we go,” the Cavaliers coach said. “It’s like, how can we reduce it to the things that matter? I think we accomplished that.”
Harden had only film sessions and walk-throughs during his first three games with Cleveland, but the 17-year veteran proved to be a quick study. He is averaging 19.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 8.7 assists along with two double-doubles with the Cavaliers.
Jaylon Tyson said he didn’t realize how much of a defensive presence Harden could be until he was his teammate.
“The offensive part, nothing’s really surprised me, but defensively, he’s actually pretty good. He got a couple blocks. He’s definitely not what you call a cone,” Tyson said.
All-star guard Donovan Mitchell has three straight games with at least 30 points, but knows there is still an adjustment period going on with Harden.
“We haven’t even gotten to playing a two-man game together and what that looks like. So I think as we build, you’ll start seeing that as well. But I think the biggest thing now is we found something that works,” Mitchell said.
Most of Wednesday's prepractice film session and practice was devoted to defense. The Cavaliers are tied for the third-worst 3-point defense in the league, allowing 37.2% from beyond the arc, and are in the middle of the league in most categories.
Atkinson said they went back to some of the stuff installed during training camp to get newcomers Harden, Dennis Schroeder, and Keon Ellis up to speed, and to provide a refresher course for the veterans.
Atkinson added that it is likely Evan Mobley and Dean Wade could return to the lineup on Thursday. Mobley, the reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year, has missed the last seven games due to a left calf strain, while Wade was sidelined for three games due to a sprained left ankle.
The Cavaliers have won all three games with Harden in the lineup. Cleveland is also on a five-game winning streak going into Thursday night’s game against Brooklyn. It is 17-5 since Dec. 29 and has a league-best .772 winning percentage during that span.
Cleveland (34-21) is fourth in the Eastern Conference, but is only 1 1/2 games behind Boston for second. The game against the Nets begins a stretch of five in seven days, including a trip to Oklahoma City on Sunday and a home game against the New York Knicks on Tuesday.
“We all have to make sure we’re locked in and ready to go,” said Mitchell, who is fifth in the league in scoring at 29.0 points per game. “This is no easy stretch. You can look up and be in bad shape right off the bat.”
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
Rutgers 85, Penn State 72: Eat At Arby’s.
In what was supposedly their best chance at earning another win for the remainder of the season, Penn State face-planted in epic fashion. A combination of lousy defense, poor ball security, and atrocious shooting allowed Rutgers to build an 11-0 lead, with the Nittany Lions not even getting on the scoreboard until Kayden Mingo nailed a mid-range jumper at the 13:28 mark of the half. The awfulness continued through the remainder of the half, as Rutgers took a 39-20 lead to the locker room, its largest halftime lead ever as a Big Ten conference member.
The second half saw the classic “Penn State fights back after a horrible start, but still comes up short” performance, as the Nittany Lions managed to whittle a 20-point deficit down to eight with a little under three minutes to play, but the Scarlet Knights were able to quiet the run with a few buckets of their own down the stretch to ultimately preserve a wire-to-wire victory.
Players of the Game
Josh Reed – 22 points, 6 rebounds
Kayden Mingo – 16 points, 6 assists
It was a career night scoring-wise for Reed, who helped PSU narrow the deficit some in the second half. Meanwhile, Mingo dropped half a dozen dimes to go with his 16 points.
Random Observations
- LOL, favorites?? Believe it or not, the Nittany Lions were a 4.5-point favorite coming into this game. I guess the pressure of being favored for once was too much for them to handle.
- Back to the basement – Tonight’s loss drops PSU to 2-14 in conference play, good enough to be dead last once again. Given that the upcoming schedule features the likes of Nebraska on the road, Iowa and Ohio State at home, and a return trip to Rutgers, it’s a good bet they will remain in the basement.
Up Next
Penn State (11-16, 2-14) travels to Nebraska this weekend, when they take on the ninth-ranked Cornhuskers (22-4, 11-4). If you truly hate yourself that much, the game will tip off at 2:00 PM EST Saturday (2/21) on Big Ten Network.