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Pistons’ Cory Joseph (back) out, Isaiah Stewart (shoulder) questionable vs. Nets

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Detroit Pistons guard Cory Joseph (low back soreness) has been downgraded to out, and Isaiah Stewart (left shoulder soreness) is questionable for Thursday night’s road game against the Brooklyn Nets.

Isaiah Livers (right ankle sprain) is also questionable, Killian Hayes (left shoulder contusion) was upgraded to probable, and Marvin Bagley III (fractured right hand) remains out indefinitely. Of course, Cade Cunningham (left shin stress fracture) is out for the season.

Based on a few NBA betting sites, the Pistons have 29th-ranked odds to win the championship. Sportsbooks are ruling out a playoff appearance this season, needless to say.

Prior to Monday night’s 150-130 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, Cory Joseph missed four straight games due to lower back soreness. Through 36 appearances this season, the 12-year veteran is averaging 4.6 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists. Also, he’s shooting 38.7% from the floor and 30.9% from 3-point range.

On Nov. 20, in the Pistons’ 137-129 loss versus the Sacramento Kings, the guard scored a season-high 12 points in 16 minutes off the bench. He finished 5-of-10 (50%) shooting from the field and drained two 3s.

Pistons’ Cory Joseph (low back soreness) is out, Isaiah Stewart (left shoulder soreness) is questionable against Nets on Thursday

Furthermore, for Isaiah Stewart, the third-year center is averaging career highs of 11.6 points and 28.6 minutes per game. To add to these statistics, he’s logging 8.1 boards and 1.2 assists while shooting 44.7% from the floor. The 21-year-old is shooting a career-best 73.9% at the foul line as well.

As for Brooklyn’s injury report, Kevin Durant (right MCL sprain) remains out indefinitely. And Day’Ron Sharpe (back) is listed as questionable to play in Thursday night’s intraconference mismatch.

Detroit is 2-8 in its last 10 games. The team is now on a four-game skid. Additionally, the Pistons are winless in their past seven meetings versus the Nets. They’re 0-6 in their previous six road games against Brooklyn. Detroit has failed to cover the spread in its last six encounters versus Eastern Conference opponents.

Meanwhile, the Nets are 4-6 in their past 10 contests. However, they’ve won two of their previous three games. Brooklyn is 11-3 in its last 14 home games. For another notable betting trend, the Nets are 3-9 ATS in their past 12 matchups versus Central Division teams.

Besides comparing betting trends, the Pistons are 6-19 away, 11-37 as underdogs, 11-12-2 ATS away, and 12-37 overall. On the other side, Brooklyn is 13-7 at home, 22-10 as a favorite, 9-11 ATS at home, and 29-18 outright. Sportsbooks show the Nets as seven-point favorites at home.





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Denver’s Michael Porter Jr. defends brother Jontay amid betting investigation

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Toronto’s Jontay Porter has missed his last two NBA games due to “personal reasons,” until insiders revealed on Monday that he was actually being investigated by the league for betting issues. This is why his brother Michael, who stars for the Nuggets, decided to speak out in his sibling’s support this Wednesday evening. The Denver player is convinced he would never do anything to jeopardise his career. 

The investigation is based on multiple instances of betting irregularities over the past months, especially gambling props from games on January 26 and then March 20. An NBA spokesperson then confirmed the news, revealing that the league is “looking into it.”

When asked about it, Porter Jr. explained that he doesn’t know more details than the press does, but guarantees his younger brother is innocent. “Jontay loves the game of basketball. I’ve known my brother my whole life. I know what type of dude he is and I know he’s excited to play basketball, and I highly doubt he would do anything to put that in jeopardy,” he said about the two-way Raptors player.

The six-foot-10 athlete has only started in 5 games this campaign, and is averaging 4.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 26 contests so far. Jontay is yet to publicly addressed his situation, as he patiently waits for a resolution to return to defend the Toronto badge.

It might be obvious, but players and team employees in general aren’t allowed to bet on any NBA events, including prop bets. According to the league officials, participating in gambling are considered violations that could result in fines, suspensions and potential termination of contracts, among other consequences.

Nevertheless, Jontay’s older brother acknowledged that NBA athletes are very much aware on how their performances affect gamblers and these situations are only increasing in the league. “Yeah, especially the last few years you hear people in the crowd saying what they need you to score tonight or what they don’t want you to score.

“Every night you’re disappointing someone. You’re disappointing people if you score too much because they may have bet on the under, and you’re disappointing people if you didn’t score enough. So, it’s a part of the game now,” Michael recognised.

The Nuggets forward admitted that betting is slowly becoming a “dangerous habit” surrounding the NBA world

Despite speaking out in support of his younger sibling, Michael Porter Jr. does recognise that the gambling world is growing closer everyday alongside professional sports and has become a temptation for many athletes. “I think that it’s obviously a dangerous habit. It’s a dangerous vice for people,” he explained.

“You know, the love of money is the root of all evil. So, I think that even though it is a thing, we as players just have to accept that,” the player added. “We get paid a lot of money to play this game, and I know these people, these fans, they want to make some money, as well. It’s definitely something that has kind of taken over the sporting world — I don’t know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing.”

As Jontay has now missed the last two games for his club, his coach revealed that he only became aware of the investigation until this past Monday. “I never doubt injuries. I never doubt honesty from players,” Darko Rajaković shared. “Obviously, I’ve never had a situation like this before.”

The Serbian then revealed that he’s yet to discuss this issue with the rest of the locker room. “I don’t know their reaction,” he said. “I just know nobody wants those kind of situations to happen to anybody, to any team. We’ve just got to deal with it.”





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Rui Hachimura Records 103.6% Effective FG, 6th Highest All Time

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Los Angeles Lakers forward Rui Hachimura posted an effective field goal percentage of 103.6%, the sixth highest in NBA history in a 30-point, 10-rebound game, in Wednesday night’s 136-124 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.

Hachimura, 26, ended his outing with 32 points, 10 rebounds, one assist, and two blocks in 35 minutes of action. He shot 11-of-14 (78.6%) from the floor, 7-of-8 (87.5%) from 3-point range, and 3-of-4 (75%) at the foul line.

The Lakers were coming off a thrilling 128-124 double-overtime victory in Milwaukee without LeBron James on Tuesday night. It was Los Angeles’ fifth straight win to pull within 2 1/2 games of the No. 6-seeded Dallas Mavericks.

James registered his fourth triple-double of the season with 23 points, 14 rebounds, and 12 assists against Memphis. The four-time MVP has been impressed by Hachimura’s performances in the second half of the season.

Rui Hachimura is averaging career highs in effective field goal percentage, true shooting percentage

“Very comfortable,” James said of Hachimura’s play since Hachimura became the starting small forward on Feb. 3. “He knows where his shots are coming from. He knows he’s going to be on the floor. And he knows he’s going to get minutes.

“Gives us another big body, another athletic wing out there. When we downsize, a night like tonight, we had to play small at times, me and him, we can switch some things and still be able to clean glass. So he’s been very key for our success since he got here.”

Through 59 games (30 starts) this season, Hachimura is averaging 13.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 26.2 minutes per game while shooting a career-best 53.3% from the field and 42.3% from deep.

His effective field goal percentage (60.5%), true shooting percentage (62.4%), and win shares (3.2) are all career highs. The forward’s 3-point shooting percentage ranks 13th in the NBA this season as well.

In the Los Angeles Lakers’ 138-122 win over the Utah Jazz on Feb. 14, he notched a career-high 36 points on 13-of-19 (68.4%) shooting from the floor, 6-of-8 (75%) outside the arc, and 4-of-5 (80%) at the free throw line.

His seven 3-pointers at Memphis were a career high.





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Wizards considered moving their NBA franchise from Washington to Virginia

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The City of Alexandria, Virginia has huge plans for the future, as they intended to lure the NBA’s Wizards and NHL’s Capitals from Washington to find a new home in their land. However, it seems as if their ambition is too big for the moment, while negotiations came to an end as the two teams “will not move forward.”

The plan was offered by Governor Glenn Youngkin to relocate Ted Leonsis’ teams to Alexandria and create a development district with a new arena for both franchises. However, in a statement posted on their website, they expressed their disappointment as the project was blocked by lawmakers in the state’s General Assembly.

Once the news came out, new reports suggested that D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser is finalizing a contract that will maintain the teams in Washington at their current home for 25 more years. According to the Washington Post, the city will provide $515 million that will be invested in modernising the Capital One Arena through 2050.

About three months ago, Leonsis revealed his teams were considering this potential relocation in Alexandria, which was to be a part of a larger $2.2 billion development project. “As stewards of the City’s economic health and development, City leaders believed the Potomac Yard Entertainment District opportunity was worthy of community discussion and Council consideration.

“We negotiated a framework for this opportunity in good faith and participated in the process in Richmond in a way that preserved our integrity. We trusted this process and are disappointed in what occurred between the Governor and General Assembly,” the city announced in a statement.

Despite the bad news, the city from Virginia was determined to show their citizens how big their dreams really are, and hope to continue planning their development. “We engaged in substantial community engagement over the past months that informed our negotiations and would have made the proposal even better for our community.

“That continued conversation would have also allowed us to consider how a project of this scale could support our plans for growth and our community’s future. … We will continue to pursue economic opportunities that improve our quality of life and economic health,” it reads.

Governor Youngkin expressed his frustration over the demise of a project that would potentially create $12 billion

The proposal made to Washington’s NFL and NBA teams had years in planning, and the past months in negotiation. As the news came about the rejection of the plan, Governor Youngkin couldn’t hide his disappointment over the resolution, as he believed if would’ve potentially created $12 billion in economic investment.

“This should have been our deal and our opportunity,” he said in a statement. “But no, personal and political agendas drove away a deal with no upfront general fund money and no tax increases, that created tens of thousands of new jobs and billions in revenue for Virginia.”

Back in December, both the Governor and Leonsis had revealed at a public event that they were reaching an understanding of a plan that would start by creating a $2 billion development district with a new sports arena in Alexandria, which is only a few miles from where Capital One Arena is today.

The idea was that the offering would ask the General Assembly to set up an authority that would create bonds to finance most of the ambitious project, which was backed partly by both city and state governments. According to the plan, a lot of the investment would’ve been repaid through a mix of tax revenues recaptured by the project itself.





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