Notably in May at the 2019 ITTF Challenge Thailand Open in Bangkok, Ibrahima Diaw reached the third round of the men’s singles event, before earlier this month at the 2019 ITTF Africa Cup, extending Quadri Aruna the full seven games distance, only succumbing by the minimum two point margin in the deciding game.
“This is my first time in any multi-sports tournament. I cannot wait to start playing at the African Games. I am particularly thrilled to be here in Morocco, meeting other athletes in other sports. There is no doubt that I am here to show what I can do because after my performance against Quadri Aruna in the quarter-final of the 2019 ITTF Africa Cup, many people now noticed me and they now see me as a potential threat to the dominance of the sport by two of the world’s best players.” Ibrahima Diaw
Currently based in Denmark, in both Bangkok and Lagos, Ibrahima Diaw made a major impact.
“With what I saw in Lagos at the ITTF Africa Cup, it is obvious that the African Games will be tougher because we have some new players and they are here to make names for themselves.” Ibrahima Diaw.
In Rabat, Ibrahima Diaw lines up alongside Mohamed Gueye and Hamidou Sow in the men’s team event; the competition which commences proceedings.
Blade Thomson makes his Scotland debut and fly-half Finn Russell returns for Saturday's World Cup warm-up Test against France.
Full-back Stuart Hogg is the sole starter retained from last weekend's 32-3 hammering in Nice.
Scrum-half Greig Laidlaw captains the side, while New Zealand-born Thomson is joined by Hamish Watson and Ryan Wilson in the back-row.
Peter Horne and Chris Harris form the centre partnership at Murrayfield.
Scott Cummings, making just his second international appearance, and Sam Skinner combine in the second row, while hooker George Turner wins his seventh cap with props Gordon Reid and Willem Nel either side.
Hogg is joined by wings Sean Maitland and Tommy Seymour, while Russell and Laidlaw start together for the 32nd time.
Scarlets' Thomson, 28, who missed the autumn Tests and Six Nations with concussion, is eligible through his paternal grandfather.
Centre Sam Johnson, back-row Magnus Bradbury and hooker Fraser Brown are currently sidelined by injuries.
Head coach Gregor Townsend is demanding a "much-improved performance" after shipping five tries in the south of France.
"France are a very dangerous side if you give them space and quick ball to play, which is what we allowed to happen on too many occasions last week," he said. "Our focus all week has been to remedy this and also create much more from our attacking game.
"It was a stark reminder of how tough things can be at international level if our standards slip."
France have made four changes, with captain Guilhem Guirado back at hooker, Felix Lambey replacing suspended lock Paul Gabrillagues, Arthur Iturria at six and Thomas Ramos at full-back.
Replacements: Stewart, Dell, Berghan, Gilchrist, Barclay, G Horne, Hutchinson, Kinghorn.
'Scotland just have to get better defensively' - analysis
Former Scotland international Iain Morrison talking to BBC Radio Scotland
There is no question that the rugby world knows if you keep the ball tight and batter Scotland repeatedly, eventually they will crack.
Opposition will know Scotland's weaknesses, they will drive the ball, they will have one-out runners. They will test Scotland's defence relentlessly and we just have to be better.
This is not a must-win match but it's one Gregor Townsend would very much like to win and I think Scotland will be very much better than they were a week ago.
A lot changed in the NHL standings during the past decade.
There was an expansion team added, another that relocated and another that was renamed. There were six divisions when the decade began, with the top eight teams in each conference advancing to the playoffs; by 2014, we were down to four divisions, with two wild cards in each conference filling in the blanks behind the top three finishers in each division.
What hasn't changed from previous decades: There have been dominating Stanley Cup winners, worthy runners-up, stunning surprises ... and, of course, teams that couldn't hack it under pressure or were just abjectly terrible.
Here is where the best and worst of the decade currently stand, with the understanding that we've got one more season to go before they're etched in stone.
The Kings' first Stanley Cup champions from the 2011-12 season were a bit of an anomaly, what with winning the championship out of the No. 8 seed. But these Cup winners from the 2013-14 campaign were legit: dominant in possession (56.82 Corsi for percentage), the best defensive team in the NHL and with a roster that added Marian Gaborik and Jake Muzzin to the core of the previous Cup victors. Ask the Sharks how good this team could be when it got going (say, after three straight losses to start a series).
The 2008-09 Penguins were the best of Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby-era Stanley Cup champions. But between the 2015-16 and 2016-17 incarnations, we'll give this one the nod. The 2016-17 champs had more points in the standings, but this 2015-16 team was first in the NHL in expected goals percentage (55.68), the second-best possession team in the league (52.72 Corsi for percentage) and better defensively (sixth in the NHL, as compared to 17th the next season). Oh, and it enjoyed a healthy Kris Letang and the "HBK Line" too.
The B's couldn't overcome the "Gloria"-playing St. Louis Blues and their rookie goalie, but Boston amassed 107 points in the regular season and was a defensive machine in front of Tuukka Rask in the playoffs.
Under coach Jon Cooper, the Lightning had 108 regular-season points and the most potent offense (262 goals) in the NHL. They won two Games 7 en route to the Final but ended up giving the Blackhawks the second Stanley Cup of their cap-era dynasty in a six-game loss.
The Sharks have had better teams, but none advanced to the Stanley Cup Final. This one did, fueled by a point-per-game season from Joe Thornton, 38 goals from Joe Pavelski and the second-best expected goals percentage (55.21 at 5-on-5) in the league. The best percentage that season? It was posted by the Penguins, who defeated the Sharks in six games.
The 2011 Stanley Cup Final will be remembered for many reasons (did we mention the riots?). But at its core, this was a series that featured a seemingly overmatched Boston team finding a way to take down a 117-point Presidents' Trophy winner that led the league in goals scored and fewest goals against. It could be argued that this Canucks team was one of the best runners-up in modern NHL history, it was so stacked.
The Canadiens had an upset for the ages in 2010: Taking out the Presidents' Trophy-winning Washington Capitals as a No. 8 seed, who at one point held a 3-1 lead in their series. (It would be the first of three seasons in which the Caps won the Presidents' Trophy and then lost in the playoffs.) The Canadiens weren't done, eliminating the defending Stanley Cup champion Penguins in the second round, before falling to the Philadelphia Flyers in the conference final. Thus began the intense (but brief) Carey Price vs. Jaroslav Halak fan wars.
The Kings barely qualified for the playoffs in 2012, finishing in the No. 8 seed, five points ahead of the Calgary Flames. What happened next made NHL history: conference playoff wins over the Canucks, Blues and Phoenix Coyotes, then the first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history against the New Jersey Devils. The Kings were the lowest seed to win the Cup in the modern era.
It was less plausible than anything that happened in "The Hangover": An expansion team cobbled together over the previous summer finished with 109 points to win the Pacific Division, advanced through the Western Conference and played for the Stanley Cup in its inaugural season. It was a run sparked by the instant bond between the players and their city following the October 2017 mass shooting on the Las Vegas Strip; by the "us against the world" attitude of the expansion draft castoffs (and their coach); and, of course, by their secret weapon -- The Vegas Flu draining their opponents.
The trajectory seemed familiar for Connor McDavid. Like Sidney Crosby before him, McDavid made the playoffs for the first time in his second season, as the Oilers advanced to Game 7 of the second round. In Year 3, Crosby went to the Stanley Cup Final. In Year 3, McDavid ... watched his team drop 25 points in the standings, from 103 down to 78 points (36-40-6). Edmonton would miss the playoffs again the following season, and McDavid will play for his third coach in the 2019-20 season.
One year after losing in the Stanley Cup Final, the Canucks returned as a juggernaut: 111 points to win the Presidents' Trophy and a team that looked every bit like one that could finally bring the franchise its first championship. Instead, they dropped two home games in the first round and lost to the No. 8-seeded Kings 4-1. We suppose the Canucks can take some solace in the fact that, for the third straight season, they lost to the eventual Stanley Cup champion.
With 62 wins, the Lightning tied the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings for the most by a team in the regular season in NHL history. The Lightning's points percentage of .780 was the second-highest rate in NHL history for an 82-game season behind those Wings (.799). The Lightning were only the second team in NHL history to post four different winning streaks of seven games or more in a single season, and their 3.96 goals per game was the highest in the NHL since 1996. Simply put, they were one of the greatest regular-season teams in the history of hockey.
But then they tied another record in the playoffs: fewest postseason wins. The Columbus Blue Jackets shocked the Lightning in a first-round sweep and in the process reminded everyone that even the surest of things are rendered uncertain in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The NHL tried. It changed the draft lottery rules ahead of Connor McDavid's eligibility to go first overall in 2016, reducing the probability for tanking teams to secure the No. 1 pick. But that didn't discourage a few teams in the 2014-15 campaign from clearing the decks and hitting the canvas in an effort to land McDavid. That included the Coyotes, who finished with a 24-50-8 record for a .341 points percentage. They had a goal differential of minus-102, traded away players such as Keith Yandle and Antoine Vermette, and were generally terrible. Alas, all this earned them was the No. 3 overall pick and center Dylan Strome ... because some other team was just a bit worse.
No team in the salary-cap era had a more pathetic goal differential than these Sabres, at minus-113. At the time, no team had a lower points percentage (.329) or fewer wins (23). Their expected goals percentage was 39.26, and they managed only 37.5% of the shot attempts a 5-on-5. But the numbers show just a part of the story. You had to hear the rest: In the cheers of Sabres fans for goals scored against their team, most notably in a March 20, 2015, contest against the Coyotes in which Buffalo fans celebrated an overtime loss for the home team that helped cement its place in the basement. The Sabres players weren't happy. Neither were the Hockey Gods: Edmonton won the lottery and Connor McDavid, while the Sabres drafted Jack Eichel second overall.
It began with the resignation of coach Patrick Roy just weeks before the season. It continued with a stretch in which the Avalanche won seven of 40 games. At the end of the season, the Avs had a minus-112 goal differential, a new cap-era low 22 wins and a humbling points percentage of .293, the ninth lowest in NHL history for an 82-game season. The bad news? They lost the draft lottery and picked fourth overall. The silver lining? That's where they selected defenseman Cale Makar.
Cristiano Ronaldo has said transfer fees in football have got out of hand and that a player of his calibre in the market would now sell for €300 million.
His transfer to Real Madrid from Manchester United in the summer of 2009 was a then world record £80m, but eight years later, Neymar left Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain for €222m.
Asked what he would likely be sold for now, he told Portuguese TVI: "Based on how football is nowadays? It's difficult to calculate.
"Today there is a lot of emphasis placed on potential and the football industry is different. I'm going to put aside [Portugal international Joao] Felix's [€120m transfer to Atletico Madrid from Benfica] case. Nowadays, any player is worth €100m having proved nothing, there is more money in football.
"A goalkeeper, a centre-back is worth €70m, €80m -- I don't agree. But this is the world which we live in, the market is like that and you have to respect it. Is there a football player that has more records than me? I don't think there is a player that has more records than me."
Ronaldo left Real Madrid to join Juventus for €100m last summer and, pressed on what his worth would now be, he added: "If I were 25, if a goalkeeper is worth €75m, a player that does and has done what I have done in recent years has to have a value of three or four times that, easily, but I no longer have that desire."
The 34-year-old also said "the challenge" of winning individual and collective trophies at the top level keeps him motivated to continue playing football. The Juve forward said he could retire next year if he wanted as he has amassed a fortune in wages, endorsements and investments yet the temptation is there to play until he's 41 as he craves more silverware.
"My motivation is my obsession for success, I admit it," he said. "But it is a good obsession.
"I know I'm already in the history of football. I know that I'm one of the best in my field but that is not by chance. I could end my career next year but I could also play until I'm 40 or 41.
"It's about the challenge. I still feel motivated to win individual and collective trophies, and if I wasn't, I would end it [career]. I have everything I want, I have an excellent family, I have spectacular businesses. From a financial standpoint, I'm very well. I don't need football to live well. I will live well all of my life.
"What I always say to myself is to enjoy the moment. My present is excellent and I have to continue to enjoy myself. I look at it as projects and the enthusiasm [they bring.]"
Ronaldo helped Juve win Serie A last season, becoming the first player in history to win league titles in England, Spain and in Italy.
"The Juventus project attracted me," Ronaldo said. "It was exciting.
"It was a team that I liked, not only because it's the best team in Italy but it's a combative team that always tried to win the Champions League. I also wanted to win here, like I had done in England and in Spain. I achieved that, something that no player had done."
Dimuth Karunaratne, Sri Lanka's relatively new captain, doesn't ride players hard, doesn't tear them down for taking aggressive options, and when criticism is required, he ensures it's constructive. Perhaps this is all a bit sappy, but it is the feedback from several members of this Sri Lanka dressing room.
Thisara Perera spoke of Karunaratne being "like a brother" during the World Cup campaign. Acting coach Rumesh Ratnayake spoke of the calmness Karunaratne spreads through the dressing room. And now, ahead of the second Test against New Zealand, Niroshan Dickwella has given Sri Lanka's fifth Test captain in three years an endorsement of his own.
Dickwella had been Karunaratne's deputy during the Test series victory in South Africa. And although no vice-captain has been officially named for this series, with Dickwella's own place in the XI not assured ahead of the first Test, he spoke about the unique qualities Karunaratne has brought to the role.
"Dimuth is a very different kind of captain," he said. "His way of managing players is different, and every captain has their own style. I've played a lot with Dimuth and what he does is give the player the freedom to go and express themselves 100% in the match.
"What Dimuth says is go and do what you want to do, and what you feel you can do. If we make a mistake, he'll pull us aside and say this happened, why don't we fix that mistake for next time? He talks a lot about being confident about your abilities. And he gives you that confidence."
Sri Lanka have so far won each of the three Tests they have played under Karunaratne, but they arrive now at a venue at which they have struggled. Sri Lanka have lost five of their seven most recent Tests at the P Sara Oval, including their last match to New Zealand here, in 2012. The pitch, Dickwella said, should favour fast bowlers and batsmen more than the Galle surface, on which neither team crossed 300. Sri Lanka's victory in Galle was ultimately comfortable, but the team remains wary of a New Zealand resurgence, particularly at a venue that often provides good bounce for seam bowlers.
"It's a big challenge. Having won one game, we have a big responsibility to win the series. We have the confidence, but we need to keep making good decisions at crunch moments," Dickwella said. "Close-in fielders, including me, have missed some chances in Galle, but those were difficult chances - you don't have even seconds to react. But still, we spoke about that. We're happy to improve on those areas.
"In the batting, we were 142 for 2 and then collapsed to 168 for 7 in the first-innings, so we have to improve on that as well. When it comes to bowling, when one bowler is bowling well, from one end, we need to build a partnership from the other end as well."
David Warner shapes to defend Mitchell Starc, misses, and the plastic stumps in the Headingley nets go flying. All manner of dismissals take place in the nets, real or imagined depending on the fields "set" by the bowler or throw-downer, but few quite so dramatic.
The moment rather summed up Warner's Ashes tour thus far, in which he is yet to reach double figures across four knocks. Married up with his closing three innings in South Africa prior to the Newlands scandal ban, Warner is in the second longest streak without a half century of his career - his worst run was eight innings in New Zealand and Sri Lanka in 2016.
At Edgbaston and Lord's, Warner's rapid exits were somewhat less of an issue for Australia, bolstered as they were by the genius of Steven Smith. But with Smith out of action in Leeds due to concussion, the tourists' batting stocks have been made to look exceedingly thin. More than ever, Australia need Warner to find something. The captain Tim Paine is hopeful that Warner will do so this week, referring to Smith's absence as the "poke and prod" the opener needs.
"David, I've spoken a lot about the fact he averages close to 50 in Test cricket and he's done that over a long period of time," Paine said. "I think with Steve missing this game I think it might be the little poke and prod Davey needs. He likes that responsibility and my experience with Davey is when people doubt him and his back is against the wall he comes out swinging. I'm expecting the very best David Warner this week."
How Warner finds his best is somewhat complicated by the way he has approached this tour. For so long a combative, aggressive batsman, his stated goal in England this time around was to calm himself, slow his tempo, and find a balanced rhythm at the crease more sustainable over long innings. During the World Cup, the method worked to a reasonable extent, as he peeled off centuries against Pakistan, Bangladesh and South Africa.
"My experience with Davey is when people doubt him and his back is against the wall he comes out swinging. I'm expecting the very best David Warner this week"
Tim Paine
But in the semi-final against England he was swiftly beaten by a sharply rising delivery from Chris Woakes, and so far during the Ashes has been found wanting in terms of defensive tightness and decisiveness at the hands of Stuart Broad and Jofra Archer, both pursuing a rigorous line at him from around the wicket. It is a method seldom seen against Warner - Broad has admitted he had previously thought primarily about finding Warner's edge rather than constraining him by targeting the stumps - but it is proving fiendishly effective.
One close observer of Warner has been England's captain Joe Root, who has marshalled the plans against the left-hander while also mired in his own poor run of batting form. How does Root think a player struggling for runs can find rhythm and confidence again? It starts with honest self-assessment.
"You need to be realistic about how you are getting out. And be fair," Root said. "Sometimes as hard as it might be you have to give credit to the opposition when they've bowled some good balls. You don't want to be over-critical when you don't need to be. But there are times as well when you got to understand when you got it wrong. And then work it back from there. You don't become a bad player overnight.
"You don't lose the runs you've scored already. And you know you've got it in the bank and you've proven it before. From my point of view, I have got Ashes hundreds in there in the bank and I know and I know what it takes to win games of cricket. Of course from Dave's point of view, we'll be trying to keep him to single figures for as long as possible because he's a proven performer for Australian cricket."
An intriguing returning presence around the Australian side will be Ricky Ponting, who commented during the Lord's Test that Warner need to be showing more positive intent to score. Certainly, this is the view of Warner's longtime batting coach and sounding board Trent Woodhill, who has always focused on the 32-year-old's ability to put bowlers under pressure, leading to fewer deliveries challenging his defence, rather than trying to make him "tighter" or able to bat for longer periods.
Most of Warner's most memorable and impactful innings have been extraordinarily bold in their strokeplay, and it is difficult to see how, given his current struggles in defence, how he will be able to score runs without at least reverting to a more aggressive posture, eyeing off the smallest errors in line or length to pick off. Another window into Warner's state of mind has been the fact that, at slip, he has struggled to hold catches so far - being a primary offender among the five chances put down at Lord's. In a vote of faith, Paine reckoned Warner would be staying in the cordon.
"I think Davey will probably stay in there, and Marnus - for people who haven't seen him - he's probably as good a slipper as there is going around," he said. "And everywhere else in the field, so he'll cover Steve with the fast bowling I think at second slip, and then we have Usman Khawaja who did pretty well in Australia last year for Lyno [Nathan Lyon].
"So we've got a few options there, we've got Matthew Wade who's a wicketkeeper and he can field anywhere. So we've got a number of options to go through that spot if we need to. But I expect Davey to go back there, he's allowed to have a bad day."
That, as much as anything, will be key to Warner finding the runs Australia so dearly need from him at Headingley. Just as he responded to Starc's stump rattler by calmly picking up the broken wicket and resetting for the next ball, Warner needs to put the Edgbaston and Birmingham dismissals out of his mind and strike a blow when battle is rejoined in Leeds. The incentive, to be a key player in the Test match that sees the Ashes retained by Australia, is enormous.
Daniel Brettig is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. @danbrettig
Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross has stepped down from the NFL's social justice committee, the team announced Tuesday.
"Stephen made the decision last week and informed the NFL and members of the working committee that he was going to step aside from the group and continue to focus his efforts on RISE," a Dolphins spokesman said. "He believes in and is still fully committed to the work that has been done by the group and will always be a passionate supporter and tireless advocate for social justice causes, the fight for equal rights and education."
The committee includes players and team owners and is intended to address social justice issues. Last season, members of the committee included Arizona Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill, Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank and Washington Redskins cornerback Josh Norman.
Ross, who was a founding member of the social justice committee, has drawn criticism for hosting a fundraiser for President Donald Trump earlier this month.
Former NFL defensive end Chris Long initially addressed Ross' departure from the group in an interview with Sports Illustrated. He then expanded on the reasoning in a pair of tweets Tuesday evening.
Just read every mention here and they're all pretty shortsighted. We've worked w a number of owners who lean conservative and have even supported trump in the past. However (and I have no idea why I'm explaining this because you'll never concede the point).....
He held a fundraiser for a guy who called protesting players "sons of bitches" + campaigned for them to lose jobs. The working group is directly involved. You can see how that's a conflict of interest that transcends politics. I respect SR's work w RISE. Don't get it? Can't help.
Dolphins wide receiver Kenny Stills initially called out Ross in a tweet Aug. 7, saying "Someone has to have enough courage to let [Ross] know he can't play both sides of this." He said last week that he had spoken with Ross and that they have "agreed to disagree."
Following Stills' tweet, Ross issued a statement saying he has been friends with Trump for 40 years and that while they agree on some things, "we strongly disagree on many others" and that he has never been "bashful" about expressing his opinions to the president.
INDIANAPOLIS -- Larry Bird likes the mural, just not the tattoos.
A lawyer for the former NBA star has asked an artist to remove certain tattoos from a large painting of Bird on an Indianapolis multifamily residence. The tattoos include two rabbits mating on his right arm, a cardinal on his cheek and a spiderweb on a shoulder.
Artist Jules Muck painted Bird in a blue basketball uniform. It's a replica of a 1977 Sports Illustrated cover when he played for Indiana State.
Attorney Gary Sallee says Bird "needs to protect" his brand and "doesn't want to be seen as a tattooed guy."
Sallee told the Indianapolis Star that he expects a compromise in which all the tattoos will be removed except one of the word "Indiana" on his left arm.
Muck said she adds things like tattoos to her art to avoid creating a complete copy of a photo and is trying to reach an agreement with Bird's representatives.
"They said the tattoos are the problem," she told the Star. "I can't just do an exact replica of a photograph. Plus, I don't want to. We'll see. It's going to be a matter of how much we have to do to change it."
1. What is your biggest takeaway from the results?
Chris Herring, FiveThirtyEight: That the outlook for each conference has seemingly reversed in the past few months. It had felt as if Golden State and Houston were the only two clubs that had a solid chance of reaching the NBA Finals for a while in the West, whereas the East had four or so contenders to reach that stage. Now the East has a pair of teams that look much further along than the others, while the West has at least six teams that can all credibly say they have a decent chance of reaching the Finals.
Jorge Sedano, ESPN: We haven't really seen multiple teams truly be championship worthy out of the East since LeBron, Wade and Bosh had their battles versus Chicago, Boston and Indiana. Since they don't have to go through the gauntlet out West, Milwaukee and Philadelphia clearly qualify as teams that can win the title this season.
Bobby Marks, ESPN: It's interesting how much Milwaukee and Philly have benefited from Kawhi Leonard's move. And on the other side, the West has 14 teams (sorry, Phoenix) that can compete for a playoff spot.
Marc Spears, The Undefeated: Boy, the East isn't respected much -- there are only three East teams in the top 10 here.
Kevin Pelton, ESPN: That people are accounting for the gap between the East and West. I don't think people would say the two best teams in the league are in the East, but the top two projections come from there. That's partially because of the difference between regular-season and playoff performance, but also seems to reflect the way the West will beat up on itself.
Pelton: Chicago (32 wins, No. 11). Statistical projections are largely unanimous that the Bulls should be near .500 this season after adding a number of quality role players (including Otto Porter Jr. at the 2019 trade deadline) to go with the young core that struggled to win games last season.
Sedano: Miami (43 wins, No. 7). You give Erik Spoelstra a top-15 player in Jimmy Butler and the Heat are going to win a lot of games. The last time he had a player of that caliber on a non-LeBron team, Miami won 48 games (2015-16). People don't realize how poorly constructed Miami's roster has been the past two seasons. I'm betting big on Spo.
Spears: After they added Malcolm Brogdon, Jeremy Lamb and T.J. Warren, I'll take the Indiana Pacers (46 wins, No. 4).
Herring: I wasn't in love with some of the Hawks' summer moves (the Jabari Parker signing doesn't strike me as a great fit), but I wouldn't be surprised if they make a slightly bigger jump than what's projected here (34 wins, No. 10). We all know about Trae Young, but if other youngsters like John Collins and Kevin Huerter show linear growth -- and the team can actually learn to make stops -- I think Atlanta could get closer to the high 30s. After a 21-41 start, the Hawks came to life and played nearly .500 basketball in March. They seem another year or two away from doing real damage, but I wouldn't be surprised if they give chase for that last spot in the East.
play
2:07
The dates to mark off on the Zion debut tour
The hype surrounding Zion Williamson is seldom seen, and Scoop Jackson lists the important dates for when Zion and the Pelicans hit the road.
3. Which West team is most underrated?
Herring: Oklahoma City (33 wins, No. 13 in the West) is the most underrated team by far on this list. I'm not even sure it's debatable whether the Thunder would be a playoff team if they played in the East. (We wrote at FiveThirtyEight that they barely fall outside playoff range in the stronger West.) The real question here is when and whether Sam Presti will find a way to deal off the team's remaining veteran assets, who could surely help other clubs while further enriching OKC's rebuild. If that happens, it's fair to think little of the Thunder's chances. But I feel the current roster -- with a healthy Chris Paul, Steven Adams, Danilo Gallinari and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander -- is pretty decent, and would pretty easily win more games than projected.
Spears: The San Antonio Spurs as a borderline playoff team at 43 wins and No. 8 in the West.
Marks: Sacramento (37 wins, No. 12). The team that won 39 games a season ago is penalized by a deep Western Conference. The Kings bolstered their depth with the free-agent signings of Cory Joseph, Trevor Ariza and Dewayne Dedmon, return their starting five and are still projected to drop two games in the win column for 2019-20. If the Kings can get an All-Star-type season from De'Aaron Fox, the same consistency from Buddy Hield and continued development by Marvin Bagley III, they should win 45-46 games and compete for one of the final playoff spots this season.
Pelton: Dallas (41 wins, No. 9). The Mavericks underperformed their point differential last season, which typically would have translated into 38 wins instead of the 33 games they actually won. If Dallas was starting at 38 wins, the addition of Kristaps Porzingis and improved depth would surely translate into expectations higher than 41 wins.
Sedano: Sacramento. I thought hard about OKC at 33 wins but decided on the Kings. While I don't expect them to make the playoffs, I do believe they'll improve upon last season's win total, even after a big jump last season. Fox is arguably the best young point guard in the NBA, and new coach Luke Walton wants the Kings to play a fast-paced style that fits their personnel perfectly.
4. Which East team is most overrated?
Sedano: Brooklyn. Let me start by saying that I love the Nets' front office and coach. Obviously, the Durant signing was incredible for their franchise. However, he's not playing this season and they're no longer surprising anyone. Irving has an injury history that is concerning and I (like many others) wonder about him being the top option on a team. Also, I don't love the potential fit of DeAndre Jordan playing over Jarrett Allen.
Pelton: Philadelphia (55 wins, No. 2 in the East). I'd be surprised if the Sixers had the second-best record in the NBA given Joel Embiid's limited availability. Yes, Philly added Al Horford and will now have an All-Star center when Embiid sits. But somebody's going to have to play power forward when Horford slides to the 5, and I think those options are a substantial downgrade.
Spears: None of East teams look overrated here.
Herring: It seems ambitious to expect Boston (48 wins, No. 3) to win at basically the same rate as last year. We can certainly debate the switch from Kyrie to Kemba Walker (especially if there was a growing rift between Irving and his teammates last season), but losing Horford's perimeter shooting and defensive versatility, even at his age, will be challenging. The latter is something Enes Kanter will be tested on repeatedly come April. Aside from the new players, though, it's also fair to wonder whether one of last season's issues -- the glut of talented wings who all need shots playing alongside a high-usage point guard -- will be any less a problem this season.
Marks: Washington (28 wins, No. 12). That starts with the Wizards making it well known that the development of Rui Hachimura, Troy Brown Jr. and Thomas Bryant will take precedence this season. Yes, Washington returns All-Star Bradley Beal, but the season-long absence of John Wall, replaced by committee (Ish Smith and Isaiah Thomas), could bring the win total of the Wizards down into the teens.
Herring: Add me to the list of folks who see a ton of upside for the Mavs going forward. I liked both the Delon Wright and Seth Curry signings quite a bit. But marking Dallas down for more than 40 wins in the stronger of the two conferences strikes me as a small reach, if only because of how long it may take Porzingis to regain a rhythm after sitting out a season to rehab following his ACL tear.
Sedano: I don't think any of the West teams are overrated. Maybe Portland wins fewer than 47 -- I don't love the Hassan Whiteside fit. But Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum are so terrific -- not to mention how good a coach Terry Stotts is -- that I think they can overcome any pitfalls.
Spears: The Houston Rockets at 53 wins, behind just four other teams in the league.
Pelton: Speaking strictly in the context of the regular season, the Clippers (54 wins, No. 2). Statistical projections generally have them in the high 40s or low 50s, which makes sense given a likely load management program for Kawhi Leonard and the possibility that Paul George misses the start of the regular season after shoulder surgery. The Clippers probably won't be at their best until May, which is when they'd want to peak.
Plus, vote on tomorrow's topic: most likely title teams.
Eastern Conference standings
The Bucks and Sixers are the clear leaders in the East, and they came out with the top projections in either conference.
Will a third team break out as a contender to crash the NBA Finals? And can an up-and-coming team such as the Bulls or Hawks break into the playoff picture?
Teams with the same projected record had ties broken before rounding.
Western Conference standings
Continuity wins in the West, as the Nuggets retained their core while adding a nice piece in Jerami Grant, though they held off the Clippers by only a fraction of a win. Then it's a tight playoff race all the way down to Sacramento at No. 12. Even if teams take time working in new additions, the Western Conference will be loaded.
I Dig® is a leading global brand that makes it more enjoyable to surf the internet, conduct transactions and access, share, and create information. Today I Dig®attracts millions of users every month.r
Phone: (800) 737. 6040 Fax: (800) 825 5558 Website: www.idig.com Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Phone: (800) 737. 6040
Fax: (800) 825 5558
Website: 
Email: 
