in-season tournament Archives

Ne-Yo’s NBA In-Season Tournament Final Look Gets Absolutely Roasted

December 10, 2023 by newhiphopnews

Ne-Yo debuted a surprising new hairless look when he took to the court in Las Vegas to perform the national anthem for the NBA In-Season Tournament final. Viewers were shocked when the rapper stepped out with a perfectly bald head. While a beautiful rendition of the “Star Spangled Banner”, fans simply couldn’t get over the fact that Ne-Yo was bald now. “Bold move!” Kevin Hart said during his guest spot on SportsCenter. Hart went on to call the look, due to the green leather trenchcoat, “very Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!”

As for the game itself, LeBron and Anthony Davis absolutely popped off, powering the Lakers to a 123-109 win over the Pacers. Anthony Davis had a 41-20 game to lead the Lakers by example. Meanwhile, LeBron put up 24 and 11 in his own impressive performance. The high-scoring Pacers simply weren’t able to keep up in the shootout. Tyrese Haliburton had 20 points and 11 rebounds. Furthermore, Benedict Mathurin had a huge 20-point game off the bench for Indiana.

Ne-Yo Gets Roasted

It’s not the first time that Ne-Yo has come under fire in recent months. However, back in August, it was what comments he made and not how he looked. “I have no issue with the [LGBTQIA+] community, I have no problem with nobody. Love who you love. Do what you do. I just personally come from an era where a man was a man, and a woman was a woman, and there wasn’t but two genders, and that’s just how it rocked. Now, you could identify as a goldfish if you feel like. I don’t care. That ain’t my business. It becomes my business when you try to make me to play the game with you. I’m not going to call you a goldfish. You want to be a goldfish? Go be a goldfish. We live in a weird time, man,” the rapper told DJ Vlad after catching heat for comments about medical transitioning.

However, Ne-Yo went on to double down on his comments. “1st and foremost, I CONDEMN NO ONE. Who am I to condemn anybody? Your life, your kids, your choice. I was asked a question and I answered it. My opinion is mine. I’m not asking anybody to agree with me nor am I telling you what you can and cannot do with your children. I stated my opinion on a matter and that’s that.
Why should I care if my opinion upsets you when you don’t care if yours upsets anyone? Opinions aren’t special. We all have one. People voice them regularly whether they’re asked or not. I was actually asked mine. Agreeing to disagree is not a declaration of war. Y’all do whatever the hell y’all want to. But my feelings on the matter are mine. Same way yours are yours. Meanwhile, I love everybody. Don’t agree with some of y’all’s ideals….but love you no less,” Ne-Yo wrote in the comments of a Hollywood Unlocked post.

Best Reactions To Ne-Yo At The NBA In-Season Tournament

Ne-Yo with no hat. pic.twitter.com/fZAxgrsa6R

— Rod (@rodimusprime) December 10, 2023

Ne-Yo taking his hat off. pic.twitter.com/N91l0S44y3

— Freestyle Llowship (@LBrothersMedia) December 10, 2023

What do you think about Ne-Yo’s look? Let us know in the comments.

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Charles Barkley Immediately Threatens Stephen A. Smith During In-Season Tournament Crossover Show

December 7, 2023 by newhiphopnews

Charles Barkley had exactly zero chill as Stephen A. Smith joined Inside The NBA. Less than a minute into the crossover episode, put on to celebrate the In-Season Tournament in Vegas, Barkley was already coming for Smith. He warned Smith that it wasn’t First Take and he wouldn’t stand for “all that yelling you do”. Furthermore, Barkley said he’s give Smith an “a– whooping” if the ESPN personality tried anything. Of course, the whole thing was in good fun and Smith appeared to be having a blast. Later Shaq crashed ESPN‘s coverage, pretending to spill a drink on Smith.

As mentioned, the unique crossover event was down in service of ESPN and TNT each holding broadcasting rights for one of the In-Season Tournament semifinals. Pacers-Bucks will be broadcast on ESPN while TNT gets Pelicans-Pacers. Saturday’s tournament final will be broadcast on ABC and ESPN2.

Stephen A. Smith Goes On Bizarre Rant About Women

However, a TNT crossover isn’t the only Stephen A. Smith vehicle to recently go off the rails. When asked the question “BBL versus natural” on The Stephen A. Smith Show, Smith went off a nearly five-minute rant. After establishing that he likes women with “curves” and said he needs a woman who has “more A and T than me”, Smith went completely off the rails.

The crux of his rant was that men want a “strong 7” in terms of their partner’s appearance. “10s” are “too much maintenance”, Smith argued. “9s” are also out for Smith because “she got enough people telling her she’s a 10”. The rant continued to get more and more bizarre, with Smith arguing that “too much independence” in a woman is a bad thing because it can reach a level where you (the man) start to feel dependent on your partner. After a certain point, like with many of Smith’s rants, it feels like he ran out of things to say. As a result, his point ends up being something along the lines of “get yourself a woman who is just a little insecure about her own appearance because that’s the best way to keep her around.”

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Jayson Tatum Rails Against In-Season Tournament Tiebreaker

December 7, 2023 by newhiphopnews

Jayson Tatum has become the latest NBA star to speak out against the In-Season Tournament tiebreaker rules. “We was in the game and I was like, I remember I tapped, I think it was Torrey Craig. I was like ‘yo bro, I don’t really want to be out here right now.’ Cause we were up 30 going into the fourth. If it was a Wednesday I would have been sitting on the bench and the younger guys would have gotten in. It just didn’t feel right,” Tatum told SB Nation‘s Point Break podcast.

The primary tie-breaker for the in-season tournament was point differential. This meant that come the final games of the group stage, teams were running up the score as much as they could to try and make the next round. This led to the bizarre, and uncomfortable, scenes of full starting lineups playing late into games with 30- or 40-point scoring gaps. Boston began fouling Andre Drummond so much to force him to shoot three throws that their coach openly apologized mid-game to his counterpart in Chicago.

In-Season Tournament A Success, But Players Hate The Tiebreaker

As mentioned, Tatum is just the latest player to speak out against the bizarre rule. The Celtics kept their starters in throughout the fourth quarter despite starting the frame up 29. Similarly, the Knicks scored 35 in the fourth quarter against the five-win Hornets to ensure they secured the Eastern Conference wildcard spot on point differential.

“It was interesting. I don’t really like it. We were focused, at first, just about winning. The last couple of minutes it feels weird. At a certain point, you just start chasing points, doing all that. So it kind of messes with the integrity of the game a little bit,” the Knicks’ Josh Hart said. “To be honest, it was a little weird, but the ultimate goal was to come out and get a win tonight, and that’s what we did. It’s tough because that’s just not how the game is supposed to be played. You’ve got to respect your opponents,” the Celtics’ Jaylen Brown added.

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NBA Players Feel “Weird” About In-Season Tournament Tiebreakers Forcing Them To Run Up Scores

November 29, 2023 by newhiphopnews

Numerous NBA players have expressed their dislike of the consequences of the in-season tournament tiebreaker rules. With point differential being a major tiebreaker, several teams had to run up the score in their final games of the group stage to ensure they qualified for the quarterfinals. The Celtics kept their starters in throughout the fourth quarter despite starting the frame up 29. Similarly, the Knicks scored 35 in the fourth quarter against the five-win Hornets to ensure they secured the Eastern Conference wildcard spot on point differential.

In-Season Tournament Quarterfinals Set

Josh Hart finished his postgame availability with the following request: “Just so you know, I’m not a disgruntled player. Make sure y’all tweet that shit. Josh Hart said he’s not disgruntled.”

— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) November 29, 2023

“Weird” feelings aside, Tuesday night marked the conclusion of the in-season tournament’s group stage. The quarterfinals will take place next Monday and Tuesday. In the West, the Lakers take on the Suns while the Kings face the Pelicans. Meanwhile, in the East, the Bucks take on the Knicks while the Pacers play the Celtics. The respective winners will play in a regional semifinal on December 7 before the East v West final on December 9.

However, results aside, the tournament format has been proving to be a big hit with fans. ESPN reported a 20% increase in viewership for in-season tournament games when compared with comparable games last year. Over 1.5 million watched ESPN‘s eight-game Friday night slate, compared with 1.2 million over the same period in 2022. Furthermore, tiebreakers aside, players and coaches have expressed their appreciation for the added incentive, especially early in the season, that the in-season tournament provides.

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