Quotes

Cats in the NBA

The Los Angeles Lakers comfortably won the first round of the Playoffs. Their superstar duo of Anthony Davis and LeBron James were at their best, and the Blazers had no answer. Despite being inexperienced in the playoffs, Davis played like a veteran and James was proud.

While speaking to Spectrum SportsNet, LeBron praised Davis’ ability to do everything on the floor and his potential to become better.

“It’s crazy because I feel like we’re just scratching the surface,” LeBron said. “Just 13 games for him under his belt in the playoff career, not quite sure where I’m at but I know I have a lot more than 13. But just to see what he’s able to do on the floor both offensively and defensively, he has no weaknesses.

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Kentucky Basketball

Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari is willing to listen to a group of UK faculty who have called for the Rupp Arena name to be changed.

“From what I understand they were talking about a lot of different things (to change at UK),” Calipari said. “This is another chance for us to listen and learn. Some people agree, some people are not going to agree. I would tell you, again, for me personally, knowing the (Rupp) family, knowing (Adolph Rupp’s son) Herky like I did, what’s out there that tells me it’s something different? I’m all ears. I’m going to listen.”

Rupp’s questionable record on racial integration has led to a call from the UK’s faculty of African American and African Studies program to change the name of Rupp Arena, where the men’s basketball team has played its home games since 1976.

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Cats in the NBA

Bam Adebayo played huge all four games, even when his raw numbers didn’t jump off the stat sheet. Particularly on nights like this one, where his 14 points, season-high-tying 19 rebounds and 6 assists loomed extra large with fellow Heat All-Star Jimmy Butler limited by a sore left shoulder.

Tyler Herro scored a combined 36 points in Games 3 and 4, coming up with some of the biggest plays on both ends of the floor during crunch time of Monday’s 99-87 series clincher. He led a bench brigade that outscored the Heat starters at halftime, 25-23, and the Pacers’ bench, 41-3, on the night.

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Kentucky Basketball Recruiting

Four-star small forward Bryce Hopkins has picked up a scholarship offer from Kentucky, becoming the second recruit from the 2021 class to land the honor from UK on Friday night.

Shortly after five-star point guard Hunter Sallis announced his scholarship offer from the Wildcats’ staff, Hopkins received the same treatment during a video conference with UK’s coaches. The 6-foot-6 prospect from the Chicago area has emerged in recent days as a major Kentucky target. Rivals.com ranks him as the No. 34 overall player in the class of 2021.

Hopkins had been committed to Louisville since last November before backing out of his commitment to the Cardinals earlier this month. Indiana, Michigan and Oregon are among the many major programs that have expressed heavy interest in his recruitment, but the Herald-Leader was told this week that Kentucky is the clear team to beat for his commitment, which could come in the very near future.

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Kentucky Basketball Recruiting

2021 four-star point guard Nolan Hickman committed to John Calipari and Kentucky Saturday afternoon.  The 6′2′’ guard from Wasatch Academy in Mount Pleasant, Utah is Kentucky’s first commit in its 2021 class.  He commits to the Wildcats over Oklahoma, Arizona and Kansas.

According to 247Sports, Hickman is the No. 51 ranked player in the country and the top player in Utah. He is also considered a Top 10 point guard in the country.  Hickman averaged 17.3 points, 3.4 assists and 1.8 steals per game while shooting 38 percent from behind the three-point line his junior season.

Cats in the NBA

Before game two, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said he wasn’t ready for how the Rockets loaded up and protected in the paint. Whether it was will or just learning from his mistakes, Gilgeous-Alexander lit Houston up on Thursday, scoring 31 points in 31 minutes, a 180-degree turnaround from his 9 point performance on Tuesday.

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Cats in the NBA
Photo by Ashley Landis-Pool/Getty Images

Over the course of his eight-year career, Anthony Davis has made the NBA playoffs just two times: once in 2015 and again in 2018. In both instances, the New Orleans Pelicans were the lower seed. In fact, prior to this season, Davis had never finished higher than sixth in the Western Conference.

This season, Davis has helped lead the Los Angeles Lakers climb back to the top of the Western Conference for the first time in a decade and the expectations for both him and the team are as high as they’ve ever been.

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