The Starting Five (Oct. 19)

Larry Nance Jr. will not be playing against the Thunder. NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Pelicans reserve forward Larry Nance Jr. has been scratched from the lineup for the Western Conference play-in game Wednesday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Nance hurt his ankle during New Orleans’ regular-season finale, a loss Sunday at Minnesota that relegated…

Jayson Tatum is fired up for Game 2. And so are we. Let’s get you ready for tip off. THE LINEUP What’s inside today’s edition? Game 2 In 1 Minute: Everything you need to know before tonight’s tip-off Familiar Territory: Dallas faces a 1-0 deficit for the third time this Playoffs Ready For Response: Boston…

LAS VEGAS — First came the backlash. Next, backlash to the backlash. By Tuesday, much of the whipsawing over competitive balance — or more accurately, imbalance — as an NBA problem rising to the level of crisis had calmed down. Yet powerful voices from the league’s summer nerve center could not dismiss it entirely as…

Ja Morant has averaged 25.3 points on 62% shooting in three games against San Antonio this season. Get ready for Tuesday’s pair of Play-In games on ESPN with five key stats to know about each Western Conference matchup. Also, take a deep dive into the stats with John Schuhmann’s numbers preview for all four West…

Neither the Heat nor the Warriors have started the season looking like the contenders they were billed to be. In order to cite the most perplexing teams in the NBA, you must first define the term itself. For these purposes, we’ll stick with which teams are “baffling, confusing and straight-up head-scratchers.” That explains it. That…

They’re fighting back. It may amount to nothing in a year’s time, but those who would challenge the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference didn’t sit on their hands and whine about how unfair the world was. And that set up what was an unexpectedly vigorous first week of free agency and trades —…