Coverage: TNT
- Houston, TX
- Line: LAC -1.0
- Over/Under: 237
Capacity: 18,055
A stadium employee who worked at the XFL's Seattle Dragons home game Feb. 22 at CenturyLink Field has tested positive for the coronavirus, King County health officials said, but as of now, no games scheduled to be played at the facility have been canceled.
The MLS' Seattle Sounders host the Columbus Crew at CenturyLink on Saturday.
The Seattle Times reported that the employee who tested positive for the virus -- which causes the disease known as COVID19 -- was a concessions vendor.
The Dragons hosted the Dallas Renegades in the Feb. 22 game, which had an attendance of 22,060. The King County press office said in a statement that the risk to those who attended the game is low.
"There are no extra precautions required for those who attended the Feb. 22 game or who will attend upcoming events," the statement said, "but all King County residents should know that the risk for infection with COVID-19 is increasing in our community.
"As of now, Seattle's professional sports organizations -- Dragons, First & Goal/Seahawks, Mariners, and Sounders FC -- will continue with scheduled events. The teams are in touch with local health officials and their respective leagues on a regular basis, as this public health issue continues to evolve."
The XFL said it has established a COVID-19 task force and is closely monitoring the issue, with feedback from the league's medical advisory board as well as health and public safety officials on a national and local basis.
"The health and safety of the extended XFL family -- especially our fans in Seattle -- is of the utmost importance," Jeffrey Pollack, XFL president and COO said in a statement. "We share everyone's concern about this public health issue and understand it is evolving on a daily basis."
The Sounders said in a statement that the affected part-time stadium employee did not work any of the team's events.
"At this time, there has been no recommendation from Public Health -- Seattle & King County to adjust scheduling for sporting events, as is the case with Seattle Public Schools and other community institutions," the Sounders said. "As this situation remains fluid, the club is in real-time communication with key community stakeholders, and we will continue to provide updates as new information becomes available."
Western Washington has been the center of the coronavirus outbreak in the United States. In total, 70 people in Washington state have been diagnosed, including 11 who have died.
ESPN's Kevin Seifert and Jeff Carlisle contributed to this report.
The University of Kansas is disputing all allegations of wrongdoing by its men's basketball program that have been levied by the NCAA, the school said in its reply to the NCAA on Thursday.
The NCAA served Kansas with a notice of allegations in September stemming from the college basketball bribery scandal that led to the criminal prosecution of several former Adidas employees and consultants. The notice included five Level I violations, the most serious under NCAA rules.
Among the most serious charges were lack of institutional control by the school and head coach responsibility violations by Jayhawks coach Bill Self. The football program was cited for Level II violations.
In its response issued Thursday, Kansas stated: "In this case, stemming from federal criminal trials in 2018, there are several facts that are in dispute; there are assumptions made; and, perhaps most importantly, there are unprecedented and novel theories put forward that, if found to have merit by the Panel, would dramatically alter the collegiate sports landscape in ways not contemplated by the Membership.
The Jayhawks' statement goes on to say, "The University formally challenges each of the men's basketball related allegations in the Amended Notice of Allegations ("ANOA") as neither NCAA legislation nor the facts support the enforcement staff's allegations."
Specifically, the university and Self dispute that Adidas or its employees were acting as boosters for the program.
Adidas and its employees were at the center of a federal investigation into bribes and other corruption in college basketball over the past two years. The Jayhawks are the company's flagship program and signed a 14-year, $196 million apparel and sponsorship extension in April.
"Of particular concern to the institution, is the NCAA's assertion that Adidas, and Adidas employees and associates, were representatives of the University's athletics interests (as defined by NCAA legislation) during the period of the alleged violations and therefore acting on the University's behalf when they engaged in alleged violations of NCAA bylaws," the university statement said. "The evidence however, based mainly on trial testimony, fails utterly to support a conclusion that Adidas or any Adidas employees acted as representatives of the University during the period in question. Individuals formally associated with Adidas acted in their own interests when they gave money to the family and guardians of student-athletes.
"In fact, sworn testimony makes clear that these former Adidas associates went to great lengths to conceal their activities from Kansas and its basketball staff. The University did not know and, as the evidence reveals, could not have reasonably known, about the conduct of these persons formerly affiliated with Adidas."
The NCAA enforcement staff has 60 days to reply to Kansas' response, and then a hearing before the NCAA Committee on Infractions would potentially be scheduled as early as six to eight weeks later.
There's also a possibility the case will be resolved through the Independent Accountability Resolution Process, which the NCAA created last year to handle high-profile cases involving potentially serious infractions. Independent investigators, advocates and decision-makers with no direct ties to NCAA member schools further investigate the case, if necessary, and then adjudicate a ruling. Under those procedures, there is no appeal to the Independent Resolution Panel's ruling.
Memphis was informed on Wednesday that it would be the first school to go through the Independent Accountability Resolution Process. The case is related to the Tigers' recruitment of former basketball star James Wiseman.
In its statement Thursday, Kansas called the NCAA enforcement staff's position "a never before alleged theory."
"Stated otherwise, according to the enforcement staff, every corporate sponsor and most, if not all, individuals associated with the sponsor are boosters of every institution with which the sponsor does business," the statement said. "This theory, if adopted by the Panel, would have far reaching ramifications throughout the Membership given the universal use of corporate sponsorships throughout Division I athletics. Moreover, as is explained in the Response, under the terms of NCAA legislation, innumerable current and former student-athletes would be ineligible due to their pre-enrollment participation in non-scholastic events and on non-scholastic teams that were provided financial support by Nike, Under Armour, Adidas, and others."
After the No. 1 Jayhawks' 75-66 victory over TCU on Wednesday night, Self told reporters the NCAA allegations haven't been a distraction.
"To be candid with you, I haven't had much to do with it,'' Self said after Kansas clinched a share of the Big 12 regular-season title with the win. "I haven't let that bog me down as a distraction. It certainly won't moving forward. That was something that had to happen from a mandatory standpoint, but it is no more than what it was three or four months ago. It's the next play.''
In September, former Adidas consultant T.J. Gassnola was sentenced to probation and fined for his role in pay-for-play schemes to steer recruits to Kansas and other Adidas-sponsored programs.
An attorney for former Adidas executive James Gatto told a jury during closing arguments at an October 2018 trial that his client approved a $20,000 payment to current Kansas player Silvio De Sousa's guardian only after Self and Jayhawks assistant Kurtis Townsend requested the payment through Gassnola.
Gatto, former Adidas consultant Merl Code and aspiring business manager Christian Dawkins were found guilty on felony charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud for their roles in the pay-for-play schemes.
Gatto was accused of working with Gassnola to facilitate $90,000 from Adidas to former Jayhawks recruit Billy Preston's mother and agreeing to pay $20,000 to Fenny Falmagne, De Sousa's guardian, to help him "get out from under" a pay-for-play scheme to attend Maryland, which is sponsored by Under Armour.
The NCAA also included allegations that Gassnola provided $15,000 to an unidentified individual to give to the mother of recruit Deandre Ayton, who signed with Arizona, and that Gassnola "communicated in a text message to Self that he had let Self down" when Ayton signed with the Wildcats.
The NCAA alleges that Gassnola provided an impermissible benefit to another recruit, whose name was redacted in the notice of allegations, "in the form of an indeterminate amount of cash through a wire transfer." Former Adidas consultant Dan Cutler is accused of having impermissible contact with a recruit and promising that he and Adidas would ensure that the recruit's "parents could attend his games by providing financial assistance for their travel expenses."
The university contends that Self wasn't aware of the alleged violations and promoted an atmosphere of compliance and fully monitored his staff.
"As is laid out in great detail in the Response, there is no reasonable conclusion that members of the University, including the men's basketball staff, knew or should have known about any violations of NCAA rules," the statement said. "Head Coach Bill Self had no knowledge of any NCAA rules violations or illicit conduct exhibited by Adidas, its employees or its consultants. In addition, as the University noted in September 2019, voluminous evidence demonstrates uncontestably that Coach Self did, in fact, promote an atmosphere of compliance and fully monitor his staff. The charges leveled against Coach Self are not based on fact."
Free-agent NBA guard Allen Crabbe, who was cited in June in Los Angeles for misdemeanor DUI, has pleaded no contest to a lesser charge.
Crabbe entered the plea on a misdemeanor count of speeding on a highway and was given three years probation. He was also ordered to complete DUI first offender and Mothers Against Drunk Driving programs, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced Thursday.
Crabbe was officially a member of the Brooklyn Nets at the time of the arrest on June 26, but the Nets had agreed to trade him to the Atlanta Hawks.
In January, Crabbe was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves, who waived him Saturday.
Crabbe, 27, played 37 games between the Hawks and the Wolves this season, averaging 4.6 points and 2.1 rebounds.
He was scheduled to make $18.5 million on the season, which was the final year of his contract.
The top eight names entered proceedings in the second stage; in each discipline they were joined by the 24 players who had finished in first and second positions in the initial phase groups.
Thus there were eight groups, four players in each group, first and second in each group advance to the third element where matters are conducted on a knock-out basis.
In the men’s singles event, Rares Sipos, the no.3 seed, followed by Frenchman Jules Rolland, Belgium’s Florian Cnudde and Laurens Devos all experienced defeats as did Russia’s Denis Ivonin and Romania’s Cristian Pletea.
Moldova’s Andrei Putuntica proved the nemesis of Rares Sipos (18-16, 11-8, 9-11, 11-9, 11-6), Hungary’s Csaba Andras overcame Jules Rolland (9-11, 13-11, 11-6, 5-11, 11-6, 11-9), Frenchman Irvin Bertrand accounted for Florian Cnudde (10-12, 11-5, 11-6, 11-7, 9-11, 4-11, 12-10).
Likewise, Russia’s Lev Katsman beat Laurens Devos (11-9, 11-8, 11-8, 5-11, 7-11, 9-11, 15-13), colleague Artur Abusev defeated Cristian Pletea (11-5, 11-8, 11-9, 11-8).
One common factor, the player who caused the upsets ended the day unbeaten; for the celebrated names it was their only defeat of the day. The one exception was Denis Ivonin, he lost to both Germany’s Meng Fanbo (12-10, 11-13, 11-5, 11-5, 6-11, 8-11, 11-7) and Ioannis Sgouropoulos of Greece (11-8, 9-11, 11-8, 6-11, 11-8, 13-11). Two defeats for Denis Ivonin, it is the end of the road, Meng Fanbo and Ioannis Sgouropoulos both remained unbeaten; they now meet to decide first place.
Meanwhile, in the women’s singles event, Russia’s Mariia Tailakova, the no.3 seed, lost to Prithika Pavade of France (9-11, 11-6, 11-9, 11-5, 13-11), Belgium’s Lisa Lung, the no.4 seed, was beaten by Sweden’s Christina Källberg (11-4, 11-8, 11-9, 6-11, 8-11, 11-7), Slovakia’s Tatiana Kukulkova, the no.5 seed, experienced defeat when facing Croatia’s Andrea Pavlovic (12-10, 11-6, 11-8, 11-9)
In a similar manner Russia’s Anastasia Kolish, the no.6 seed, found Romania’s Elena Zaharia very much in form, a close seven games defeat was the outcome (8-11, 11-9, 11-6, 4-11, 11-13, 11-3, 11-9).
However, as with the men, just one defeat for the highly rated seeds, the players to cause the upsets remaining unbeaten; thus for both the door to the round of the last 16 is open.
Rather differently for Slovenia’s Ana Tofant, the no.7 seed, the future is not bright; she lost to Slovakia’s Ema Labosova (11-6, 11-8, 8-11, 11-8, 11-7) and now meets Germany’s Yuki Tsutsui in the match that decides her fate. Notably Yuki Tsutsui remains the only unbeaten player in the group; she accounted for Turkey’s Ozge Yilmaz (11-6, 11-7, 7-11, 11-7, 11-5), followed by success in opposition to Ema Labosova (11-0, 11-4, 11-5, 11-6).
Alas for Spain’s Ana Garcia, the no.8 seed, all hope has gone. She lost to both Camille Lutz of France (11-5, 11-8, 11-6, 11-2) and Poland’s Anna Wegrzyn (11-3, 11-6, 11-9, 11-8). Camille Lutz and Anna Wegrzyn now meet to determine first place.
Surprises, there was also a surprise in the mixed doubles, in the second round Turkey’s Artur Grela and Ozge Yilmaz beat Rares Sipos and Andreea Dragoman, the no.2 seeds (5-11, 13-11, 11-6, 11-9).
Problems for the second seeds, for the top seeds, Vladimir Sidorenko and Mariia Tailakova it was progress, as it was for the next on the list Cristian Pletea and Adina Diaconu alongside Laurens Devos and Lisa Lung.
The leading pairs in the men’s doubles and women’s doubles events have yet to start their campaigns.
Carolina Hurricanes goaltending prospect Jeremy Helvig was detained by police on Thursday in Orange County, Florida on suspicion of battery. The public record specified that the case involves dating violence.
"We are aware of the situation regarding Jeremy Helvig that took place on Thursday morning in Orlando," Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell said Thursday in a statement. "We take this situation very seriously. We will have no further comment at this time as we continue to gather information from law enforcement and await the conclusion of the legal process."
Helvig, 22, was a fifth-round pick of the Hurricanes in 2016. The Markham, Ontario native is currently playing for the Greenville Swamp Rabbits of the ECHL.
The incident probably occurred during the Swamp Rabbits' road trip. Greenville played against the Orlando Solar Bears on Wednesday night in Orlando. Helvig was in net and made 32 saves in the 7-2 win.
Helvig has played two career games for the Charlotte Checkers, the Hurricanes' top AHL affiliate.
The San Jose Sharks are playing their home game against the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night despite a recommendation from Santa Clara County to "cancel mass gatherings" as the coronavirus spreads in the region.
County officials said the number of known coronavirus cases in Santa Clara has risen to 20 people. As part of the county public health department's new guidance on slowing the outbreak, it recommended "postponing or canceling mass gatherings and large community events where large numbers of people are within arm's length of one another."
The Sharks released a statement saying they are aware of the county's recommendation and that their game against the Wild will go on as scheduled. But the team said it will be "evaluating further upcoming events."
San Jose has back-to-back home games this weekend against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday and the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday. The Sharks don't play at home again until March 19.
"SAP Center undergoes a rigorous cleaning procedure after each and every event, with particular attention paid to high-traffic, high public-contact areas. Many areas will receive additional, enhanced measures throughout the course of events for the foreseeable future," the team said.
The virus that causes COVID-19 is a new strain that has surged around the globe. The coronaviruses are a family of viruses that cause illnesses ranging from the common cold to more serious respiratory diseases. Flu is caused by a different virus. There is no vaccine for coronavirus, though researchers are working on one and hope to begin testing soon. Older people, especially those with chronic illnesses such as heart or lung disease, are most at risk. The coronavirus spreads mainly through coughs and sneezes, though it also can be transferred from surfaces.
San Jose's Major League Soccer team, the Earthquakes, also issued a statement after the county's recommendation ahead of their home game against Minnesota United on Saturday night.
"The Earthquakes organization is aware of the recent COVID-19 updates from the County of Santa Clara Public Health Department. Public health and safety are our top priorities and we are coordinating with local agencies, the CDC, MLS officials and upcoming opponent Minnesota United FC to ensure the proper measures are taken to protect our community. We will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates regarding Saturday's match at Earthquakes Stadium."
Coronavirus has impacted hockey events in several countries. The International Ice Hockey Federation cancelled several world championship tournaments. The Swiss National League played the end of its regular season in empty arenas, and postponed its postseason until March 15 because of a government ban on gatherings of more than 1,000 people. The Professional Women's Hockey Players Association postponed a tour of Japan due to concerns over outbreaks.
The NHL said it is studying contingency plans.
"We're aware of and focused on all possibilities," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said, with the Stanley Cup playoffs one month away. "But at this point it would be premature to pick any one of the possibilities, especially because it may or may not become necessary in North America."
The Sharks sent recommendations to fans headed to the game against Minnesota, including hand-washing and sanitizing as well as encouraging fans who are feeling ill to stay home.
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green has signed a multiyear, multimillion-dollar shoe deal with Converse, making him a face of the company and a featured endorser across all brand marketing and product launches. The deal allows Green to continue within the Nike Inc. umbrella of companies, as Nike purchased Converse in 2003 and has been operating the century-old company out of Boston since.
Green joins only Phoenix Suns wing Kelly Oubre Jr. as an endorser with Converse, as the duo looks to launch the brand's re-entry into the NBA and the performance basketball industry.
"The best part about working with Draymond is he was already part of the Nike family. We were able to have these conversations and start to collaborate," said Converse CMO Jesse Stollak, who has been with Nike Inc. for 16 years. "We were really excited about this moment of his career that Draymond is in and this moment that we're at as a brand."
For Green, it was indeed the "right fit and right people" that became a key element of landing his next endorsement deal.
In a behind-the-scenes move that had been in motion months ago, as Nike looks to bolster resources and add a roster of executives at its subsidiary brand Converse, Green's longtime Nike Basketball sports marketing rep, Adrian Stelly, was promoted to a new role at Converse, where he now helps to lead the category as the director of basketball sports marketing.
With Green's prior Nike deal set to expire on Oct. 1, 2019, the timeline of Stelly's move to Converse lined up almost perfectly.
"We've built a friendship most importantly," Green said. "To be able to continue to be in business and continue to work with Stells and go over and try to build something, that's something that we've always talked about."
Their conversations began in the fall of 2019, then "picked up" at the start of the calendar year, before "talks solidified" over a lengthy Boston dinner between Stelly, Green and Stollak, when the Warriors were in town to play the Celtics in late January. It was the brashness for which Green is known, and his winning résumé, that ultimately appealed to the brand.
"People who are unapologetically themselves, no matter the circumstance," said Stollak. "As we look to build our presence back in the basketball world, we want to make sure we're building a family that really embodies that spirit."
After helping to headline Nike's team shoe series like the Hyperdunk and HyperRev, Green will debut the new Converse G4 in Thursday's game against Toronto, a modernized update drafting off of some of Converse's most classic 1980s-era designs. The shoe, featuring Nike technologies like React cushioning in the heel and forefoot Zoom Air under the hood, will be released in both high and low-top editions this spring.
Green is expected to have his own "signature expressions of that, in a player edition form," according to Stollak, with potential releases expected later this calendar year.
Recalling when he was just coming into his own with the sport at Central Middle School in Saginaw, Michigan, Green fondly remembers one of his first basketball shoes -- a retro edition of the iconic Lakers-hued Converse Weapon from 1986. They were once worn by NBA star Magic Johnson, who grew up just an hour from Green in Lansing, and also attended Michigan State University.
"My school colors were purple and gold, and it was almost impossible to find a purple and gold shoe," he said. "Back then, I'd get one shoe, and I'm wearing that shoe for the entire year!"
After his own accomplished career at Michigan State, the eventual second-round draft pick quickly carved out a versatile role with Golden State, all while developing an interest in the business side of the athletic industry, and his own potential in the marketing world.
"I can think back to my second year in the league, I used to ask him, 'Stells, how can I get in a commercial? How can I can have a photoshoot with Nike?'" said Green. "He used to always tell me, 'You go play. You continue to get better. You give me something to work with, and I'll handle everything on this side.'"
Now a three-time NBA champion, three-time All-Star, Defensive Player of the Year and multiple-time All-NBA and All-Defensive player, Green boasts the accolades and awareness to warrant Converse utilizing the dynamic 6-foot-8 forward in brand campaigns and new sneaker roll-outs.
"He's an explosive, powerful, hybrid player, who really creates space on the floor," said Stollak. "He's someone that can be a brand ambassador, and not just somebody that serves a category."
Converse, known of course for its iconic Chuck Taylor silhouette, had been a staple of the footwear industry for more than 100 years, dating back to its launch in 1908. After being acquired by Nike in 2003, the brand signed a handful of NBA rookies as it looked to make a return to the performance basketball category, most notably landing eventual NBA Finals MVP Dwyane Wade.
When Wade left for Jordan Brand in 2009, the company transitioned away from the performance sector, focusing on lifestyle and skate products instead. After adding Oubre Jr. as an ambassador in late 2018, Converse launched the All Star Pro BB in 2019, its first new basketball sneaker in nearly a decade. The brand is now hoping Green can help in that evolution as Converse continues to reestablish itself in the space.
"We're not in any rush to sign a whole bunch of athletes," Stollak said. "We're really trying to create a collective of athletes who bring something different and special in their individuality, but then collectively, they have an impact, a force and stand for the ethos of the brand."
While there is an appeal to being just one of a select few at the brand, Green insists his decision to join Converse goes beyond that.
"I wouldn't just go to any brand just to be the headliner. It's not about that for me," he said. "The opportunity to stay within the Nike family, but then also, [be with] a brand that I like. I've always worn Chucks. It's a brand that I've always been comfortable with. Now, to have the opportunity to actually be a part of the brand, help build the brand up and bring some new life to the brand, that was an exciting thing to me."
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- LeBron James was named the NBA's MVP four times through his first 16 seasons in the league; however, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar claims he never set out to acquire a pile of Maurice Podoloff Trophies.
"It's never motivated me," James said Thursday on the eve of the Lakers' matchup with reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks. "Regular-season MVP has never motivated me. To be the best -- to be the best to ever play the game has motivated me and has resulted in me being able to be league MVP a couple times.
"But I've never gone into the season saying, 'OK, league MVP is what I want to be.' I've gone into the season saying, 'OK, I want to be the MVP of this team; I want to be the best player in the world,' and how I approach my game every day, how I take care of my body every day has resulted in that [award]."
James' four MVPs ties him with Wilt Chamberlain for fourth in league history, trailing Michael Jordan and Bill Russell (five) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (six).
Should James, 35, win the award this season, he would become the oldest league MVP since Karl Malone in 1998-99. He is averaging 25.4 points, a league-leading 10.7 assists and 7.8 rebounds per game in his 17th season. If it was up to his Lakers brethren, the "L-e-B ..." on his name would already be engraved on this season's trophy.
"The body of work he's put forth for our team I don't really think it compares to anybody else," Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. "A lot of great performances throughout the year with other players, so I don't want to take anything away from anyone else, but it's pretty unbelievable what he does. What he means to us on both sides of the ball, defensive IQ and the way he impacts the game with his strength, athleticism, scoring the way he does, but also leading the league in assists. And the most important stat is how much we're winning.
"So, to me, it's his."
To call Antetokounmpo's season great is an understatement by any standard. He's averaging a career-best 29.6 points on 54.8% shooting, a career-best 13.8 rebounds (fourth in the league) and 5.8 assists.
And as impressive as the Western Conference-leading Lakers (47-13) have been, the Bucks (53-9) have been the best in the league.
Should Antetokounmpo win the award again, he would be the first back-to-back recipient since Golden State's Stephen Curry in 2014-15 and 2015-16.
Lakers forward Anthony Davis says James' on-off numbers show his true value. There is a plus-11.4-point differential when James is playing for the Lakers versus when he's on the bench, according to the website Cleaning the Glass.
"You guys see when LeBron's off the floor, how our team operates," Davis said. "We kind of struggle a little bit with him off the floor. And I think it's about who is most valuable to their team. And for me, just being around it this whole season, my vote goes to LeBron."
Vogel said all the intangibles that James brings to the franchise push his candidacy over the top, particularly his leadership ability.
When James was asked to describe how he knows he's on track to achieve his stated goal of becoming the best player in the world, he also pointed to leadership.
"I think it's the games that I play, leadership, how my teammates feed off my presence and feed off my word. It's so much more than, for me, being the best player in the world than just going out and doing it on the floor," James said. "I think leadership has a lot to do with it. Having a command. Holding yourself accountable. Allowing others to hold you accountable as well. So I have a lot of tiers to trying to be the best player in the world. It's not just about the basketball side."
Being held accountable includes taking guff from his teammates on occasion as well.
"He made a comment the other day during the game that he's a machine. He don't like coming out of games because he's a robot. Soon as he said that, the next play he had the little 'Shaqtin' A Fool' thing," Davis said, referring to when James dribbled the ball inbounds instead of passing it late in the Lakers' win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday, resulting in a turnover.
"That was a little malfunction right there. Yeah, but he does the things necessary to give himself the title of being the best in the world."
When asked to describe the challenge of stopping Antetokounmpo, James pointed to the structure of the team around him.
"I think what a lot of people are misunderstanding about how great Giannis is, is how they put that team together," James said. "They put that team together around him that fits his attributes perfectly. It allows him to get space because they keep so many shooters out on the floor at the same time. It allows him to get downhill because you have to stop him at the point of attack and you also have to get out to sharpshooters."
Antetokounmpo looked like a sharpshooter himself in the Bucks' 111-104 victory over the Lakers on Dec. 19, as he shot 5-for-8 from 3. Vogel said his team will have to respect Antetokounmpo on the perimeter Friday.
"It's pretty much kind of, 'Put your hand up,'" Vogel said. "That's kind of a soft suggestion. If a guy's on the other team, shooting the ball, maybe put your hand up."
Coverage: TNT
Capacity: 18,055
Win %:65.1
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Paul George makes dunk (Patrick Beverley assists)
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British number one Johanna Konta advanced to the quarter-finals of the Monterrey Open with a 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 win over Germany's Tatjana Maria.
World number 91 Maria had beaten Britain's Heather Watson in three sets in the previous round.
But in her first meeting with the 32-year-old, second seed Konta sealed victory in one hour 47 minutes.
Konta, 28, will play Russian 18-year-old Anastasia Potapova in the last eight on Friday.
Meanwhile in the Challenger Series event in Indian Wells, Britain's Katie Boulter lost 6-3 6-3 to Ukraine's Lesia Tsurenko in the last 16.
The 23-year-old from Leicester, the world number 396, was beaten by the 30-year-old world number 127 in an hour and 11 minutes.
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