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Gabe Vincent is listed as out tonight for Game 5

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Tonight, the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics will play Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Boston was able to keep their season alive with a 116-99 win in Game 4 on the road. The Celtics are still down 3-1 in the series, but a win tonight would give them even more confidence. Playing in Boston’s favor, Miami has already ruled out one of their starters for Game 5. Gabe Vincent is listed as out due to an ankle sprain. 

Reports yesterday have Vincent downgraded to questionable. It’s unusual to see a player ruled out this early in the day, but clearly, he was not going to be ready for Game 5 tonight. That changes the game plan for head coach Erik Spoelstra. However, he’s built up a reputation as being one of the best head coaches in the league.

He’ll have to use some rotation players in extended minutes tonight. Heading into Game 5, Miami is (+260) to win on the road. It’s not impossible to win without Vincent, but Boston’s season is on the line tonight. They will be playing at another level to keep their season alive.

The Heat have already ruled out Gabe Vincent for Game 5 tonight vs the Celtics

So far this postseason, Gabe Vincent had played and started in all 15 of Miami’s games. He’s averaging (13.1) points, (1.6) rebounds, and (4.1) assists per game. His (.375) three-point percentage is better than his (.334) percentage during the regular season. Miami will miss his shooting touch tonight.

Luckily, the Heat do have one player on the bench who would be a starter if they really wanted him to. Caleb Martin has played his best basketball as a Miami Heat in the 2023 playoffs. Specifically the Eastern Conference Finals. He’s averaging (18.5) points and (3.7) rebounds per game.

Martin is also shooting (.457) percent from deep in the Conference Finals. In all four games, he’s played off the bench and is still having incredible production for the Heat. Erik Spoelstra could take a different route tonight and stick with a true PG to replace Vincent. Kyle Lowry has given the Heat valuable minutes this postseason and this could be his chance to step up once again.





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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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76ers’ Joel Embiid Likely to Return From Injury Before NBA Playoffs

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Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid is expected to return to the court before the end of the regular season in time for the 2024 NBA Playoffs, according to Sixers coach Nick Nurse.

“I think there’s a very good likelihood that he will return before the play-in, playoff,” Nurse said before Wednesday night’s home game against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Embiid hasn’t played since Jan. 30, when Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga fell on his left leg in the fourth quarter of a 119-107 loss in San Francisco.

Referring to a few NBA betting sites, the 76ers hold 14th-ranked odds to win the championship. Sportsbooks are showing better odds for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat.

Without the seven-time All-Star since then, the 76ers have gone 10-16, the 10th-best record in the Eastern Conference over that span. Tyrese Maxey has helped the team stay afloat in the standings.

Prior to Embiid’s injury, he was averaging career highs of 35.3 points and 5.7 assists, along with 11.3 rebounds, 1.1 steals, 1.8 blocks, and 34 minutes per game. Plus, he was shooting 53.3% from the field and a career-best 88.3% at the foul line.

Philadelphia 76ers are 26-8 with reigning MVP center Joel Embiid, 13-25 without him this season

Embiid is seven weeks removed from having surgery on the lateral meniscus in his left knee. Nurse added that there’s “no timetable” for his return. However, he also said that Embiid continues to participate in on-court work.

“I haven’t met with him,” Nurse said. “I have talked with him, FaceTimed with him a couple times. He’s on the court, as you guys know, and we still don’t have a timeline for his return.”

“I would imagine he’s getting better each day. It’s just trying to get him strong and confident and in shape and ramped up and all those wonderful words.”

Furthermore, Nurse mentioned to reporters on Wednesday that he would provide an update when Embiid progresses to contact practice or other steps before his long-awaited return to the court.

Embiid underwent surgery to repair the torn meniscus in his left knee on Feb. 6.

The Sixers’ original timeline for Embiid was 6-8 weeks. Eight weeks out from Feb. 6 would be April 2. Philadelphia will host the Oklahoma City Thunder that night at the Wells Fargo Center.

Following that matchup, the team will have a three-game road trip at the Heat (April 4), the Memphis Grizzlies (April 6), and the San Antonio Spurs (April 7) before finishing the season with a three-game homestand.

Last season, the Sixers went 11-5 during the regular season and 2-0 in the playoffs without the reigning MVP. Philadelphia is 26-8 with Embiid this season and 13-25 without him.





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Head coach Ty Lue describes Clippers’ team identity as ‘soft’

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The word “instability” is probably the best way to describe this Clippers‘ season, as they’ve tallied consecutive victories for weeks, as well as gathered losing streaks along the way. After falling to Pacers 133-116 at the start of the week, they dropped to the Western Conference’s 5th place below the Pelicans. At this point, the L.A. team has lost six out of their last nine matches and seem to have lost their identity as the playoffs grow closer. 

Once the contest was over at the Crypto.com Arena, coach Tyronn Lue felt somewhat defeated. When asked about his squad’s recent struggles, he admitted that they forgot their tough spirit and need to rebuild this congruity if they hope to make an impact this postseason.

“So identity for us, it’s got to be toughness,” he explained. “Which means physicality, mental and physical toughness, a high-powered offense — we can score in a lot of different ways — and we got to have a defensive mindset. And so right now, do we have an identity? I think, yeah, we’re soft. That can be an identity if you want to call it that. We gotta be tougher, mentally and physically.”

Before the All-Star break, the Los Angeles team was 36-17 and sat comfortably in the Top 3 positions of their conference. Since then, they’ve produced the 11th worst record in the West at 8-10, and are losing their potential home-court advantages as they fall off the standings.

Lue made a special mention of how different the Clippers are playing now, compared to what they were displaying at the start of the campaign. However, the coach has vowed that things will start to change and can’t hide their struggles any longer.

“We have an identity, when we were 26-5 we had a great identity,” Tyronn said. “You can’t pick and choose when you want to lead. You can’t pick and choose when you want to have an identity. You can’t pick and choose when you want to do things the right way. So just do the right things every night and everything else will fall in order. So, guess we do have an identity, we have to get back to that, because we’ve had it.”

Despite his intentions, the tactician recognises how complicated it is to wake up from a losing streak. “But when you lose games, it’s easy to go the other way and we’re not gonna do that. I’m not gonna let our team do that. I’m tough-minded, I’ve been through everything and so are these guys. So the only way we’re going to get out of it is playing hard for 48 minutes,” he said.

Hall of Famer predicts that if the Clippers don’t wake up they are going to be eliminated in the playoff’s first round

At one point during the season, Paul Pierce was convinced that this Clippers’ squad was destined for greatness, but after this past month he believes they won’t get passed the postseason’s first round. In the most recent episode of Undisputed, the Boston icon said he was disappointed by the team’s spirit and even criticised Lue’s way of describing his own team.

“I see a team that is probably going to a first round exit. We’re at the end of the year and I’m hearing words like ‘no identity’ and ‘we’re soft,’” he expressed at the start of the week.

Not too long ago, he compared the superstars leading the pack in Los Angeles, explaining why he believes that James Harden is the one who can guide them back to the top. Alongside his co-host Kevin Garnett in the KG Certified podcast, he picked the former Sixers guard over Kawhi Leonard.

“James Harden is a bigger superstar than Kawhi Leonard. Kawhi won this won and Harden got the shoes people buy Harden. He is the bigger superstar than Kawhi,” he expressed.





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