Stephen Curry vents amid Warriors season that already looks lost: 'We need to win — immediately'

This isn’t how this season was supposed to go. On the heels of a campaign lost to injury and exodus, 2020-21 was supposed to mark a return to relevance for the Golden State Warriors. Another championship contender in the Bay, old-school Splash Brothers style. But like so much else in 2020, those plans went up in smoke, thanks largely to the offseason Achilles tear suffered by Klay Thompson. It’s a devastating setback that will cost him a second straight season after losing 2019-20 to a torn ACL. Warriors blown out again Two games into the season against a pair of the East’s top teams and the Warriors look a lot closer to the lottery than they do a return to championship form. Golden State followed up Thursday’s blowout loss to the Brooklyn Nets with a Christmas Day dud against the Milwaukee Bucks, a 138-99 setback that suggests the Warriors aren’t ready to compete in a loaded Western Conference. Stephen Curry, the two-time MVP and only mainstay on the floor from Golden State’s championship heyday, is frustrated. Steph vents “We need to win,” Curry told reporters after Friday’s loss. “Immediately.” So what do the Warriors need to fix what’s ailing them? “I don't know,” Curry continued. “We just have to focus more on what we're trying to do. Sometimes when you miss shots, you tend to force and press and not think. “Our group's collective IQ has to get a lot better in those moments where you're not making shots.” Gone from the Warriors’ 2019 Finals core are Thompson and Kevin Durant, who looks very much like an MVP contender with the Nets in his first games back from his own crushing injury. They’re obviously not walking through the door. Draymond Green has also been missing, sitting the 0-2 start with what’s being reported as a minor foot injury. He’s expected to return soon, possibly for Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bulls. New Warriors core not cutting it In their place are Andrew Wiggins, Kelly Oubre Jr. and rookie James Wiseman. With a nod to Wiseman’s more than promising start, this is a core that’s failed to live up to expectations through two games, much less fill the shoes of their All-NBA predecessors. Wiggins was acquired last season to help fill the massive void on the wing left by the departed Durant while ensuring that Golden State would get a long-term return on their investment in D’Angelo Russell. The former No. 1 overall pick, of course, was never expected to replace Durant. But he was supposed to be better than this. Wiggins followed up his 4-of-16 effort on opening night with another disaster from the field on Friday. He tallied 12 points against the Bucks on 6-of-18 shooting, including misses on all four of his 3-point attempts. Oubre has somehow been worse. Acquired this offseason after the Thompson injury, the former Phoenix Sun scored three points on Christmas on 1-of-10 shooting from the field. He missed all five of his 3-point attempts. Friday’s game followed up a 3-of-14 effort against the Nets. A Splash Brother, he is not. There is a bright spot for Golden State Wiseman has provided the beacon of hope in this slow Warriors start. The rookie center is averaging 18.5 points, seven rebounds and 1.5 blocks in his brief NBA tenure while connecting 4 of 5 3-point attempts. It’s the inside-out game the Warriors banked on when making the athletic 7-footer the No. 2 pick in the draft. But a rookie center showing upside isn’t enough to make Golden State competitive, especially when Curry doesn’t resemble his former form. The Warriors sharpshooter is connecting on just 34.2% of his field-goal attempts, a rate that’s weighed down by a 4-of-20 effort from 3-point distance in two games. There’s surely better to come from Curry, who missed all but five games last season with a broken hand. Oubre and Wiggins are likewise bound to improve. How could they not? But even then, it’s hard to envision this version of the Warriors mounting any sort of threat in the West. Basketball stat collect from isports API, for more details please visit www.isportsapi.com .

Messi 'always had the dream' to play in US, could leave Barcelona for free in 2021

Messi 'always had the dream' to play in US, could leave Barcelona for free originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington Lionel Messi said he "has always had the dream" of playing in the United States in a 90-minute interview with Spanish journalist Jordi Evolve broadcasted on Telemundo on Sunday. “I've always had the dream of playing in another league, in the United States," Messi said. "Maybe it will happen, it doesn't have to be right away. Today I am just focused on these next six months.” Messi had a public fallout with Barcelona this past summer, even requesting to leave but former president Josep Bartomeu refused. Messi was consistent with what he's said since deciding to stay in Barcelona this season, saying he didn't want to take the club to court even if multiple lawyers told him he would've won. Instead, Messi can now negotiate a free transfer once the January transfer window opens up, as the 33-year-old is in the last year of his contract and is free to negotiate terms with other clubs in the final six months of his deal if he doesn't sign a contract extension with Barcelona before then. Messi has won the Ballon d'Or awarded to the best player on the planet a record six times and tied Pele's record for the most goals scored with a single club with his 647th last week. Widely regarded as one of the best players of all time, the Argentine would immediately raise the profile of Major League Soccer to new heights. D.C. United has really only ever acquired one mega-star in Wayne Rooney, and isn't considered one of the favorites to land the generational talent should he decide to play in the MLS one day. Teams with bigger budgets like the LA Galaxy, where Messi could go Hollywood and steal the nation's soccer spotlight, or even David Beckham's Inter Miami, where he could join up with fellow Argentine Gonzalo Higuain. Because Messi's exuberant wages go far beyond those of typical "designated players" in MLS, the league could offer Messi what they gave Beckham -- a discounted rate at owning an expansion club. Messi's unsettled sentiments expressed after crashing out of the Champions League at the end of last season has only carried on to this season, as he admitted “Barca is a great club that is not today in the place where it should be.” Barcelona are in fifth place and have dropped 15 piotns through 14 La Liga games, their worst start to a season since Messi's debut season in 2007. Even so, Messi has started 17 of Barcelona's 20 games across all competitions despite a quick turnaround offseason and leads the team in scoring with 10 goals. Football stat collect from isports API, for more details please visit www.isportsapi.com .

Anthony Davis to miss Lakers game against Timberwolves with calf strain

The Los Angeles Lakers will be without one of their biggest stars against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday night. Big man Anthony Davis will be out nursing a calf strain, according to ESPN reporter Dave McMenamin. In two games this season, Anthony Davis is averaging 23 points and 7.5 rebounds per game while shooting 58% from the floor and 43% from behind the arc on 3.5 attempts per game. He has not reached 31 minutes played in either game. Davis has been taking the load off LeBron James, who is averaging 7.5 assists and has scored 22 points in both his games but is shooting just 43% from the field. Without Davis, James will be missing his running mate. Last season, the Lakers were 6-3 in games without Davis. This year, Los Angeles has more depth. The team can expect Montrezl Harrell, Kyle Kuzma and Markieff Morriss, all of whom came off the bench in the first two games of the season, to play a bigger role without Davis in the lineup. Harrell’s 19.5 points per game is third on the team, and Kuzma is averaging 14.0 on excellent shooting percentages. Markieff Morris has made four of his seven 3-point attempts this year. The Lakers (1-1) are scheduled to tip off against the Timberwolves (2-0) at 7 p.m. at Staples Center. Basketball stat collect from isports API, for more details please visit www.isportsapi.com .

Adam Silver: James Harden wasn't suspended for partying because 'it's Christmas'

Santa has brought James Harden a very special gift this year: no suspension for violating the NBA’s COVID-19 protocols and contributing to the postponement of his team’s first game of the season. The Houston Rockets star was not suspended by the NBA for “attending a private indoor party” with more than 15 people, which is in violation of the NBA’s health and safety protocols, and was instead fined $50,000. Photos and a video surfaced that showed Harden was not wearing a mask at the party, which allegedly took place at a strip club (which Harden has denied). An offense like that seems pretty serious since it appears that Harden knowingly broke the NBA’s rules. So why wasn’t he suspended? NBA commissioner Adam Silver appeared on ESPN’s “The Jump” on Thursday to explain. Silver’s heart was softened by the Christmas holiday. And also because this was Harden’s “first offense” of the season, which is barely two days old. Harden is lucky it’s Christmas, because a less festive time of year might have caused Silver to remember that Harden was late to Rockets training camp because he was allegedly partying in Atlanta and Las Vegas without a mask, as seen in a video and several photos on his Instagram. If Silver had taken that into account and decided to suspend Harden, that would have cost him his salary for one game, which is around $500,000. Harden better be leaving Santa an impressive spread of cookies and milk on Christmas Eve. He owes him big time. Harden has made it clear that he wants out of Houston this season, though he initially gave a very limited list of teams he’d find acceptable. Now, it seems, his list of preferred destinations is growing. Harden, according to The Athletic’s Sam Amick, is now open to deals that send him to the Boston Celtics or the Portland Trail Blazers. He had initially said that he was only interested in the Philadelphia 76ers or the Brooklyn Nets, though later expanded his list to add the Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks. The Heat have reportedly since moved on. Whether either the Celtics or the Trail Blazers are interested in a possible deal for Harden — especially after his latest incident — is unclear. Basketball stat collect from isports API, for more details please visit www.isportsapi.com .

Hot Takes We Might Actually Believe: The Lakers will repeat as NBA champions, and it won't be close

The 2020-21 NBA season is almost upon us, but Hot Take SZN is here, and at the end of another eventful offseason we will see how close to the sun we can fly and still stand the swelter of these viewpoints. LeBron James believes he has been “part of two teams that have won the two hardest championships in NBA history,” lumping this year’s victory with the Los Angeles Lakers inside the Orlando bubble into the same category as his Cleveland Cavaliers’ 3-1 comeback against a 73-win Golden State Warriors team. Granted, the bubble took its toll on everyone, both mentally and physically, but basketball-wise, this fourth ring was James’ breeziest yet. The 35-year-old got a four-month break from the season to recharge before riding the eight-game seeding schedule on auto pilot to the No. 1 overall seed. The Lakers were never tested in any of their four playoff rounds, trouncing the exhausted and injury-depleted Portland Trail Blazers, rolling the imploding Houston Rockets, avoiding the rival L.A. Clippers in the Western Conference finals and beating a fifth-seeded Miami Heat team that lost two of its three best players in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. The Lakers boasted the two best players in the bubble and avoided anyone who might have challenged them for that moniker. Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry played a total of five games last season. Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Milwaukee Bucks lost their rhythm. Damian Lillard rode his body into the ground. Russell Westbrook undercut James Harden’s Rockets. And Kawhi Leonard’s Clippers crumbled. Credit LeBron and his veteran Lakers for avoiding the momentum, chemistry and injury issues exacerbated by the bubble. The Lakers may have beaten all comers anyhow. Their mental toughness was unrivaled in a season rocked by the coronavirus pandemic, but they enter this campaign with a claim James has not been able to make since he played for the Heat: His roster is clearly the league’s most talented, bolstered by an offseason that better equipped it to beat any challenger at its best. So, yes, the Lakers will repeat as NBA champions. All the Lakers needed last season were two competent role players alongside James and Davis to coast to the title without ever sniffing a Game 7. Rajon Rondo’s career resurgence and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s career postseason were enough to mask the inconsistencies of Danny Green, Kyle Kuzma, Markieff Morris, Alex Caruso and Dwight Howard — easily the worst supporting cast for which Green has been a headliner. According to Cleaning the Glass, the Lakers outscored opponents by 15.9 points per 100 possessions in non-garbage playoff minutes when James and Davis were on the floor, regardless of who played with them. That is absurd, all the more so when you consider JaVale McGee was in their most commonly used lineup. Before the shine wore off the franchise’s latest Larry O’Brien Trophy, Lakers vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka revamped the roster around his two superstars. He dealt for Dennis Schroder before signing Montrezl Harrell, Marc Gasol and Wesley Matthews. Schroder and Harrell alone would have been a coup. After all, they are respectively the winner and runner-up for the Sixth Man of the Year award. With Gasol and Matthews, they represent a significant collective upgrade over Rondo, Green and the big man tandem of Howard and McGee. Half a championship roster was swapped out for a better model. Both Caldwell-Pope and Morris re-signed. Kuzma is entering the final year of his rookie contract, but just agreed to a three-year extension. Many of those who played significant minutes on the Lakers’ title run, including Caruso, will be pushed further down the depth chart, where they belong. Let us be honest: Nobody but James and Davis could have led last season’s role players to a title, and they made it look easy. What might they do with a proper rotation? They will win another championship, even if the road is harder. And it may not be. It remains to be seen whether the Clippers can reach their potential, even if Serge Ibaka may have been an upgrade over the outgoing Harrell. The Rockets are a mess. Warriors star Klay Thompson suffered another season-ending injury. The Denver Nuggets lost Jerami Grant from their starting lineup. The Lakers are in a tier of their own out West, and their potential challengers in the other conference are full of question marks. Pelinka’s offseason was so successful that it swayed James and Davis to sign long-term contract extensions in L.A. The only question left for them will be whether James can get to six rings, because Father Time is the only opponent standing between him and Michael Jordan now. But that is a hot take for another year Basketball stat collect from isports API, for more details please visit www.isportsapi.com .

Manchester City hopes of signing Lionel Messi dealt blow as Argentine says he is excited about future at Barcelona

Lionel Messi appears to have given Barcelona some encouragement he could stay at the club after admitting he was feeling “excited” about the future after what has been a tough year. The Argentina forward wanted to quit Barcelona last summer after a breakdown in relations with former president Josep Maria Bartomeu only to agree to stay rather than drag the club into a legal fight to force his departure. Messi’s future remains uncertain and Manchester City - who face Arsenal in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night - have been watching developments with interest amid hope of signing the 33-year-old next summer when his contract expires. He will be free to talk to foreign suitors next month, with City the favourites to sign him if he did leave the Nou Camp. But Messi insists his dispute with Barcelona - which he says impacted his form this season - is behind him and that he is focused on helping the club “through a difficult time”. “Right now I’m feeling good and looking forward to fighting for every competition we have ahead,” he said in an interview with Spanish TV channel La Sexta. “I know the club is in a difficult moment at institutional level and on the pitch and everything surrounding Barça right now is difficult, but I’m feeling excited.” Messi scored his 643rd goal for Barcelona in a 2-2 draw against Valencia on Saturday to equal Pele’s goals record for a single club but has struggled for form this season, as have his side, who trail La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid by eight points. He has nine goals in all competitions this term, five of which have been penalties, and has yet to claim an assist in 13 league games, with the player admitting last summer’s troubles have taken their toll on his form. “Everything that happened before the summer, how the season ended, then the burofax and everything else … I dragged everything into the start of the season a bit,” Messi said. “The truth is right now I’m feeling fine but in the summer I had a very bad time.” Barcelona have elections on January 24 to determine the successor to Bartomeu, who resigned in October, and have been battling financial issues off the pitch. But they are still hoping to strength the team next month, despite those battles, and Eric Garcia’s Manchester City team-mates believe he is heading to Barcelona. Barcelona tried to sign the Spain central defender during the summer transfer window only for a deal to collapse on deadline day after they failed to meet City’s €20 million (£18.3m) pricetag. Pep Guardiola, the City manager, wanted to keep Garcia but the 19-year-old has his heart set on a return to Barcelona and is hoping a deal can finally be struck between the clubs next month. Garcia - who is out of contract at the end of the season - joined City from Barcelona in 2017. Garcia’s determination to join Barcelona is widely accepted in the City dressing room and there is a firm expectation he will return to Spain, even though the club have a series of financial concerns. Barcelona have been looking to offload players to help facilitate a deal. Last month, Barcelona’s players agreed to wage cuts that would save the club €122 million. They also agreed with their players to have about £45m of variable payments deferred over a three-year period. Barcelona’s accounts for 2019/20, published in October, revealed that the club’s net debt had more than doubled to €488 million as they felt the sharp impact of the Covid-19 crisis. Despite his desire to leave, City have had no problems with Garcia and Guardiola continued to select him until a recent injury. The teenager was forced off after 28 minutes of the 3-0 Champions League win over Marseille on December 9 and ruled out for up to three weeks. Football stat collect from isports API, for more details please visit www.isportsapi.com .

Mohamed Salah dropped by Liverpool after revealing 'disappointment' at captaincy decision and hinting at Spain move

Mohamed Salah was omitted from Liverpool’s starting lineup against Crystal Palace, hours after giving an interview in which he admitted he was "disappointed" to be overlooked as the club's stand-in captain and hinted that he could entertain a move to Spain. Salah scored twice as a second-half substitute in Liverpool’s sensational 7-0 thrashing of Palace at Selhurst Park, with manager Jurgen Klopp saying the forward was being rested. Klopp added that he had “nothing to say” about Salah’s interview. In the piece with Spanish publication AS, the Egyptian international said he thought he would be handed the role for the Champions League dead rubber against Midtjylland after Jordan Henderson started on the bench, and with vice-captains James Milner and Virgil Van Dijk unavailable due to injury. But Klopp opted to reward youngster Trent Alexander-Arnold with the temporary leadership role, a position the academy graduate is expected to absorb full-time later in his career. Salah said he was not happy with the decision. “Honestly, I was very disappointed,” he told AS. “I was expecting to be the captain. But it's a manager's decision, so I accept it.” The timing of the remarks, and the fact that they could be construed as disrespectful to Alexander-Arnold, is certain to cause consternation at Anfield. It also prompted speculation that Salah’s omission from the team against Palace was a form of punishment. Asked after the game about the decision to leave Salah on the bench, Klopp said: “It is the first time for a while we had the opportunity to do something like this. We played Sunday and Wednesday so we needed fresh legs today. “Mo missed only seven minutes from the last four games. It is a massively intense period, so it was clear it would be him. Bringing him in for the last half an hour, I thought it was a good idea.” When he was pressed on Salah’s comments in the interview, Klopp replied: “Nothing to say from my side about that. All fine.” The fact that the interview appeared in one of Spain's biggest-selling publications will only add to the suspicion that Salah's representatives could be laying the groundwork for a transfer. Asked if he has ambitions to move to one of the La Liga clubs, Salah told AS: “I think Madrid and Barcelona are top clubs. We never know what is going to happen in the future, but right now I'm focused on winning the Premier League and the Champions League again with my club.” Salah signed a new five-year contract in 2018, but when asked how long he will stay at Anfield, he replied: “That's a tough one, but right now I can say that everything is in the club's hands. Of course I want to break records here and, I repeat, every record in the club, but everything's in the hands of the club.” Liverpool have never offered any hint of wanting to sell one of the modern legends who helped them win the Champions League and Premier League. Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino have formed what is widely considered the most effective front three in Europe over the past years, each of them rewarded with new deals during that time. Football stat collect from isports API, for more details please visit www.isportsapi.com .