Category: Sports

Joel Embiid has reportedly suffered an injury that has caused him to experience some pain and discomfort in his right thumb, according to Ramona Shelburne.

Regardless, Embiid practiced on Friday. Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that the extent of the damage was a torn ligament in his right thumb. The Kansas product will continue to play and will reportedly rely on his pain tolerance and the care of the 76ers medical team to help him.

According to Yahoo Sports, Embiid also suffered a wrist injury during the 76ers’ Game 3 win. The injury has left the MVP candidate wearing a brace around his right hand.

“He’s good,” Coach Dic Rivers said about Embiid, per Yahoo Sports. “Yeah.”

Embiid was able to practice fully, according to Rivers.

“We did a lot of stuff,” said Rivers. “We just don’t want anybody hit his arm and all that so he was fine.”

It’s been a year full of surprises and accomplishments for Montverde Academy star Janiah Barker. Earlier this year, the No. 3 recruit in the Class of 2022 earned Burger Girl status when she was named a McDonald’s All American, and earlier this month she helped lead her squad to a Geico National Championship. On Wednesday, the five-star senior announced that she’ll be taking her undeniable talents to Texas A&M and suiting up for the Aggies, making her the highest-ranked signee for the program since Chennedy Carter. 

Barker had initially committed to the University of Georgia but changed her mind after former Bulldogs head coach Joni Taylor left the program for Texas A&M this spring. Other top 2022 Georgia commits like Sydney Bowles and Tineya Hylton also decided to join her in the Lone Star State.   

“I’m excited to start something new, especially with coach Joni,” Barker said back in February when asked about playing for Taylor. “She’s been there but it’s her era now, I want to help her get to where she’s wanting to go…Hopefully, get her a national championship, that’s what I’ve told her. I’m gonna give her one in one of my four years.” 

On the court, the 6-3 forward means business, and in 21 games this season, she averaged 15.2 points and 9.3 rebounds. With her talent and confidence making it look easy to dismantle opposing offenses, Barker attests her confidence to her work ethic and the support she’s received from her family.  “You can only be confident in something you know you’ve been working on,” Barker tells WSLAM. “I just want to be the best. I want to be the best. With that, your work ethic has to be incredible [and] more than anybody. I have to be [in] over time, [putting up] extra shots, in the gym when everybody’s not, [being] the first person there. It can be a lot, but a lot comes with being the best.”

The best is exactly what the future Aggie has her eyes set on becoming, and even with all of her accomplishments, Barker isn’t slowing down any time soon, as she gets ready to enter a new chapter. 

“It’s really surreal,” Barker says. “I’m on a USA team, I got 2 gold medals. That is something that everybody has not done. That is not normal, that’s rare.”

“I thank God I’ve done it, but I don’t see myself in that type of top-tier aspect. And maybe one day it’ll click, and I’ll give myself those props. But right now, I just see myself as me and I just see it like, ‘I did that, it’s an accomplishment.’ There’s more to do than what I’ve done and I just want to keep building, keep going.”

Portraits by Johnny Lewis. Action photo via Getty Images.

The Golden State Warriors took a commanding 3-0 lead in their first-round playoff series against the Denver Nuggets after a 118-113 win in the Mile High city. Veteran forward Draymond Green had a crucial steal in the final minute against reigning MVP Nikola Jokic that helped the Warriors close out the game on a 9-2 run.

In the post-game press conference, Green explained how he was not worried about how many fouls he had but about stopping the Nuggets’ best player from making a play in the final minutes.

“You can’t play defense the final minutes of the game and worry about fouling out,” Green said. “If I do that, I’ll be doing my team a disservice. I’m going against the Joker. I have to be willing to use all six of my fouls at some point.”

Green followed up by talking about the importance of winning on the road, especially in a playoff atmosphere, and taking advantage of silencing an away crowd.

“That’s what it’s all about going into an opposing team’s building and shutting that crowd up; it doesn’t get much better than that. There is no better feeling in sports than entering a hostile environment, and the crowd is yelling and booing, and ultimately you come out with the victory. It’s hard to duplicate that feeling and rush you get from experiences like that. For me, I enjoy the boos and everything that comes with it. I always say the real ones show up and make plays on the road, and then some people just show up at home.”

The Warriors look to complete the sweep on Sunday in Denver to advance to the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 2019.

EDITOR’S NOTE: According to League insider Adrian Wojnarowski, Robert Williams intends on returning for Game 3 and will be playing in limited minutes on Saturday.

Celtics center Robert Williams is expected to return for the Boston Celtics in Games 3 or 4 of their first-round matchup against the Brooklyn Nets. Williams tore his left meniscus on March 27 and was listed out for the season.

Williams participated in a five-on-five this week with the team per Shams Charania of The Athletic, and the team will have a final decision before Game 3 on Saturday. The Celtics currently lead the series 2-0 against the Nets. With the series transitioning to Brooklyn, Williams will be a significant addition to the rolling Celtics team with the entire roster available.

Coach Ime Udoka told Celtics beat reporter Justin Leger that this is the best time for Williams to be with the team, especially in the playoffs.

“This is the time of year we want him around the team camaraderie-wise and his impact just being around the group, to be in that playoff atmosphere,” Udoka said. “He’s had no setbacks, and that benchmark of where we aimed of 4-6 weeks is looking good. We’re happy with his progress.”

Game 3 of the Celtics and Nets series will be on Saturday in Barclays Center.

The Minnesota Timberwolves blew a 26-point lead in the Game 3 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies at the Target Center. Karl-Anthony Towns was not impressed with being down 2-1 in the series and believes Game 4 will be their chance to bounce back.

“We gotta come in with a desperate mindset and do whatever it takes to win this series,” Towns said.”The same way we got up 26 is the same way we gotta come back next game and play. This is home court; we’ve been doing a great job at home defending it. We are one of the best teams at home, so we really gotta up our chops on the line next game.”

Towns finished the game with eight points, five rebounds, and one assist. He shot 3-of-4 from the floor and only attempted one three-point shot. The backcourt of D’Angelo Russell and Anthony Edwards led the Wolves in scoring with a combined 41 points.

Towns followed up his statement by saying he has to work through the adversity and that sticking with his teammates will get them through this series.

“Stick with what got us here, believe what we’ve done all year, and continue to believe in through ups and downs like this, Towns said. “This one hurts, and we have some games like that this year and bounced back, so I just hope we can do that game four.”

The Timberwolves look to tie the series on Saturday when they play Game 4 in Target Center.

The Charlotte Hornets will be looking for a new head coach after reportedly dismissing James Borrego after four seasons, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Charlotte has reached the play-In tournament for consecutive seasons and has improved by 10 wins in each of the past three seasons. However, Charlotte hasn’t won a game in the tournament in either of its appearances, despite their regular-season improvement and the development of SLAM 237 cover star LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges. Borrego went 138-163 during his Hornets tenure.

The Hornets finished the season ranked 10th in the East with a 43-39 record.