Plenty has changed since Carmelo Anthony last played an NBA game.Zion Williamson had just made his Duke debut. Kyrie Irving had said only a month earlier he planned to re-sign in Boston.There’s been turnover all over the league — including a blockbuster trade between Anthony’s last two teams that sent Russell Westbrook to Houston and Chris Paul to Oklahoma City.When Anthony joins the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday in New Orleans, he will come to an NBA that’s much different since Nov. 8, 2018, and he will try to show he still fits in it.“I just look at that opportunity, that team, and say, ‘Look, this is what I can bring to the team, this where I can help,’ and it will only work if all parties see it the same way,” Anthony said in a video posted Monday.Plenty of fellow players think he can. A former coach hopes he will.“Hopefully this is a good situation,” Houston’s Mike D’Antoni said. “You never know why this didn’t happen before. For whatever reason. Maybe he wasn’t ready. I hope it... [More]

METAIRIE, La. (AP) — Zion Williamson says he expects his absence from New Orleans Pelicans because of his knee injury to be less than half of the regular season but is offering no specific timetable for a return."It's going very well, day by day, getting better," the No. 1 overall pick said after teammates finished practice Thursday. "No real timetable. When I'm ready, I'll come back."When the 6-foot-6, 285-pound Williamson had surgery on his torn right lateral meniscus Oct. 21, the Pelicans announced that his recovery was expected to last six to eight weeks.The Pelicans, who host defending NBA champion Toronto on Friday night, have dropped six of their first seven games this season. But Williamson said he is not concerned about pressure to rush back to try to help his team out of its tail spin."It's not even a conversation I have to have with them about it. It's a long season. This isn't like college or something where it's 30 games. It's 82 games so I don't really see a need to rush back,"... [More]

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Zion Williamson will miss the start of the season after the No. 1 overall draft pick by the New Orleans Pelicans had right knee surgery, sidelining the hyped rookie for nearly two months.Williamson had his torn right lateral meniscus repaired on Monday. The club says his recovery will last six to eight weeks.The 6-foot-6, 285-pound former Duke star averaged 23.2 points in four preseason games. He missed New Orleans' final exhibition game in New York last Friday night.The 19-year-old Williamson turned pro after one season in college, during which he averaged 22.6 points and was voted to the Atlantic Coast Conference's All-Defensive Team. He also averaged 8.9 rebounds, 2.1 steals and 1.8 blocked shots.He was projected to start immediately at forward for New Orleans, alongside guards Lonzo Ball and Jrue Holiday, forward Brandon Ingram and center Derrick Favors.While it remains to be seen how coach Alvin Gentry will change his rotation in Williamson's absence, it appears 6-foot-9, 235-pound forward Nicolo Melli of Italy could be in line for more playing time.Melli, who was acquired in the offseason, averaged 8.4 points and 5.4 rebounds this season.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

MIAMI (AP) — Add Miami's Tyler Herro to the list of rookies who look ready for the regular season.Herro scored Miami's first 14 points on Monday night, going 5 for 5 in that stretch, and finished with 23 points in a 120-87 Heat victory over the Atlanta Hawks.Through three games in this preseason, Herro — the No. 13 pick in this year's draft — is shooting 18 for 33 from the field for 49 points."The kid can play," Heat assistant coach Malik Allen said in a televised halftime interview. "He has a confidence but he's a student of the game, he's smart, he's an extremely quick learner and you're seeing that."Among those taken in June's draft, some have wasted no time in announcing their presence to the NBA world.New Orleans' Zion Williamson, the No. 1 pick, is averaging 23.3 points and shooting 71% in the Pelicans' four preseason games — all wins. Ja Morant, the No. 2 pick for Memphis, is among the league's assist leaders in exhibition season with 23 in his first three games.No. 3 pick RJ Barrett... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Add Miami's Tyler Herro to the list of rookies who look ready for the regular season.Herro scored Miami's first 14 points on Monday night, going 5 for 5 in that stretch, and finished with 23 points in a 120-87 Heat victory over the Atlanta Hawks.Through three games in this preseason, Herro — the No. 13 pick in this year's draft — is shooting 18 for 33 from the field for 49 points."The kid can play," Heat assistant coach Malik Allen said in a televised halftime interview. "He has a confidence but he's a student of the game, he's smart, he's an extremely quick learner and you're seeing that."Among those taken in June's draft, some have wasted no time in announcing their presence to the NBA world.New Orleans' Zion Williamson, the No. 1 pick, is averaging 23.3 points and shooting 71% in the Pelicans' four preseason games — all wins. Ja Morant, the No. 2 pick for Memphis, is among the league's assist leaders in exhibition season with 23 in his first three games.No. 3 pick RJ Barrett... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Add Miami's Tyler Herro to the list of rookies who look ready for the regular season.Herro scored Miami's first 14 points on Monday night, going 5 for 5 in that stretch, and finished with 23 points in a 120-87 Heat victory over the Atlanta Hawks.Through three games in this preseason, Herro — the No. 13 pick in this year's draft — is shooting 18 for 33 from the field for 49 points."The kid can play," Heat assistant coach Malik Allen said in a televised halftime interview. "He has a confidence but he's a student of the game, he's smart, he's an extremely quick learner and you're seeing that."Among those taken in June's draft, some have wasted no time in announcing their presence to the NBA world.New Orleans' Zion Williamson, the No. 1 pick, is averaging 23.3 points and shooting 71% in the Pelicans' four preseason games — all wins. Ja Morant, the No. 2 pick for Memphis, is among the league's assist leaders in exhibition season with 23 in his first three games.No. 3 pick RJ Barrett... [More]

Preseason numbers often mean almost nothing. Rotations are unusual, starters rarely play much, and few if any teams are putting a premium on winning games.As such, it's tough to glean much from exhibition stats.But what the Boston Celtics and New Orleans rookie Zion Williamson — the No. 1 pick in this year's draft — have been doing so far in the preseason certainly stands out.The Celtics are 3-0 after beating Cleveland on Sunday — and have put together a huge run in all three of those games. The latest was a 50-17 spurt against the Cavaliers, a game that was close for most of the first quarter before Boston built what eventually became a 54-point lead.Boston's other big runs of note in this preseason were a 41-17 stretch last Sunday against Charlotte, and opening the game with a 29-4 burst at Orlando on Friday. On top of the 50-17 run against the Cavs, they added a 26-8 run in the fourth quarter as well.No matter who the Celtics have on the court, defense has been the constant. Boston is... [More]

Preseason numbers often mean almost nothing. Rotations are unusual, starters rarely play much, and few if any teams are putting a premium on winning games.As such, it's tough to glean much from exhibition stats.But what the Boston Celtics and New Orleans rookie Zion Williamson — the No. 1 pick in this year's draft — have been doing so far in the preseason certainly stands out.The Celtics are 3-0 after beating Cleveland on Sunday — and have put together a huge run in all three of those games. The latest was a 50-17 spurt against the Cavaliers, a game that was close for most of the first quarter before Boston built what eventually became a 54-point lead.Boston's other big runs of note in this preseason were a 41-17 stretch last Sunday against Charlotte, and opening the game with a 29-4 burst at Orlando on Friday. On top of the 50-17 run against the Cavs, they added a 26-8 run in the fourth quarter as well.No matter who the Celtics have on the court, defense has been the constant. Boston is... [More]

Preseason numbers often mean almost nothing. Rotations are unusual, starters rarely play much, and few if any teams are putting a premium on winning games.As such, it's tough to glean much from exhibition stats.But what the Boston Celtics and New Orleans rookie Zion Williamson — the No. 1 pick in this year's draft — have been doing so far in the preseason certainly stands out.The Celtics are 3-0 after beating Cleveland on Sunday — and have put together a huge run in all three of those games. The latest was a 50-17 spurt against the Cavaliers, a game that was close for most of the first quarter before Boston built what eventually became a 54-point lead.Boston's other big runs of note in this preseason were a 41-17 stretch last Sunday against Charlotte, and opening the game with a 29-4 burst at Orlando on Friday. On top of the 50-17 run against the Cavs, they added a 26-8 run in the fourth quarter as well.No matter who the Celtics have on the court, defense has been the constant. Boston is... [More]

Protesters handed out T-shirts and held up signs in support of Hong Kong on Wednesday night when the Washington Wizards hosted a team from the Chinese Basketball Association.The Wizards beat the Guangzhou Long-Lions 137-98 in a game that included more than a half-dozen protests inside Capital One Arena over the NBA's ongoing rift with the Chinese government.Protesters handed out "Free Hong Kong" T-shirts on the street outside the arena before the exhibition game. The protesters, who said they were from Freedom House, held up signs reading, "Shame the NBA," ''South Park was right" and "Memo to the NBA: Principles over profit! No censorship! USA loves Hong Kong."The problems between the NBA and China began after Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey posted a tweet last week that showed support for anti-government protesters in Hong Kong.The NBA has not apologized for Morey's remarks.A Freedom House spokeswoman said some members were planning to protest inside during the game. A spokeswoman... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Zion Williamson may not be quite as tall as billed.He still soared in his first NBA preseason game Monday night.Showing off the high-flying talents that made him one of the most anticipated rookies in years, Williamson turned in a ferocious slam less than 2 minutes into his debut with the New Orleans Pelicans and dunked it two more times before the first half was done against the Atlanta Hawks."This isn't high school or college anymore," Williamson said. "You've got to go up strong. So I went up strong and I was able to finish."It was quite the close-range repertoire.One with the right hand.One with the left hand.One with both hands.Williamson finished with 16 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals, helping the Pelicans to a 133-109 victory over the Hawks before a much larger crowd — announced at 15,441 — than what normally be expected in Atlanta for a weeknight exhibition between two teams that failed to make the playoffs last season."I didn't expect that... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Zion Williamson may not be quite as tall as billed.He still soared in his first NBA preseason game Monday night.Showing off the high-flying talents that made him one of the most anticipated rookies in years, Williamson turned in a ferocious slam less than 2 minutes into his debut with the New Orleans Pelicans and dunked it two more times before the first half was done against the Atlanta Hawks."This isn't high school or college anymore," Williamson said. "You've got to go up strong. So I went up strong and I was able to finish."It was quite the close-range repertoire.One with the right hand.One with the left hand.One with both hands.Williamson finished with 17 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals, helping the Pelicans to a 133-109 victory over the Hawks before a much larger crowd — announced at 15,441 — than what normally be expected in Atlanta for an exhibition between two teams that failed to make the playoffs last season."I didn't expect that many people... [More]

Robin Lopez and Frank Mason III both scored 14 points to lead the Milwaukee Bucks over the Chicago Bulls 122-112 in preseason action on Monday night.Milwaukee didn't play most of its major contributors, including last year's league Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo, Eric Bledsoe and Khris Middleton.Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said before the game that most of them had a good scrimmage on Sunday so he didn't want to play them in what was essentially a back-to-back stretch.All five of the Bucks' starters scored in double figures. Brook Lopez scored 13 points, Sterling Brown added 12 points and nine rebounds and Wesley Matthews scored 10.Zach LaVine led the Bulls with 16 points. Lauri Markkanen added 14 points, making 4 of 8 of his 3-point attempts.PELICANS 133, HAWKS 109Jrue Holiday led New Orleans with 21 points and Zion Williamson scored 16, including several highlight-reel dunks.Williamson, the No. 1 overall pick in June's draft, threw down his first preseason dunk, a tomahawk... [More]

Robin Lopez and Frank Mason III both scored 14 points to lead the Milwaukee Bucks over the Chicago Bulls 122-112 in preseason action on Monday night.Milwaukee didn't play most of its major contributors, including last year's league Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo, Eric Bledsoe and Khris Middleton.Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said before the game that most of them had a good scrimmage on Sunday so he didn't want to play them in what was essentially a back-to-back stretch.All five of the Bucks' starters scored in double figures. Brook Lopez scored 13 points, Sterling Brown added 12 points and nine rebounds and Wesley Matthews scored 10.Zach LaVine led the Bulls with 16 points. Lauri Markkanen added 14 points, making 4 of 8 of his 3-point attempts.PELICANS 133, HAWKS 109Jrue Holiday led New Orleans with 21 points and Zion Williamson scored 16, including several highlight-reel dunks.Williamson, the No. 1 overall pick in June's draft, threw down his first preseason dunk, a tomahawk... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Zion Williamson may not be quite as tall as billed.He still soared in his first NBA preseason game Monday night.Showing off the high-flying talents that made him one of the most anticipated rookies in years, Williamson turned in a ferocious slam less than 2 minutes into his debut with the New Orleans Pelicans and dunked it two more times before the first half was done against the Atlanta Hawks.It was quite the close-range repertoire.One with the right hand.One with the left hand.One with both hands.Williamson finished the first half with 11 points, five rebounds and two assists, helping the Pelicans to a 75-61 lead over the Hawks before a much larger crowd than what normally be expected in Atlanta for an exhibition between two teams that failed to make the playoffs last season.Of course, the score was irrelevant. This was chance to see the future of the NBA for the first time — not counting his brief stint in the Las Vegas Summer League — and Williamson did not disappoint,... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Zion Williams may not be quite as tall as billed.He still soared in his first NBA preseason game Monday night.Showing off the high-flying talents that made him one of the most anticipated rookies in years, Williamson turned in a ferocious slam less than 2 minutes into his debut with the New Orleans Pelicans and dunked it two more times before the first half was done against the Atlanta Hawks.It was quite the close-range repertoire.One with the right hand.One with the left hand.One with both hands.Williams finished the first half with 11 points, five rebounds and two assists, helping the Pelicans to a 75-61 lead over the Hawks before a much larger crowd than what normally be expected in Atlanta for an exhibition between two teams that failed to make the playoffs last season.Of course, the score was irrelevant. This was chance to see the future of the NBA for the first time — not counting his brief stint in the Las Vegas Summer League — and Williamson did not disappoint, though... [More]

METAIRIE, La. (AP) — Zion Williamson has thoroughly enjoyed his jet-setting, appearance-making first offseason as a pro.The Pelicans' top overall draft choice suspects he'll like his first training camp even more."It's been crazy and fun. Always on the move," Williamson said Monday of the months since he left Duke for the NBA. "I think when people look at what I'm doing, they'd say it's very stressful, but I'm having fun with it."Bouncing from city to city, sitting in three-, four-hour meetings, listening to people trying to pitch you on their company. It's a lot, and only having like an hour or two to try to get in the gym and then hop back on a plane and go somewhere else," Williamson continued. "But for now that part has slowed down a lot. ... For now, it's just focusing on the Pelicans."In recent weeks, Williamson has increasingly been working out at Pelicans headquarters with trainers, focusing on core strength exercises and flexibility more so than traditional weights. David Griffin,... [More]

TORONTO (AP) — Kawhi Leonard has moved on and Danny Green is gone, but the Toronto Raptors still have an NBA title to defend.This season, a group led by All-Star guard Kyle Lowry, breakout talent Pascal Siakam and defensive standout Marc Gasol is turning "We the North" into "We Want More.""If I had to express it in one word, I would say 'hungry,'" Gasol said Saturday when asked what he expects of the new-look Raptors. "I think it's a very hungry team. We all understand what Kawhi meant to the team and how well he played in the playoffs. But we also understand how good we can be as a team, and we're all going to invest everything in it to be that team."Leonard signed a free-agent deal with the Los Angeles Clippers after leading Toronto to six-game NBA Finals victory over Golden State in his lone season north of the border. Once Leonard passed on returning to the Raptors, Green did the same, signing with the Los Angeles Lakers.General manager Masai Ujiri, who traded franchise icon DeMar DeRozan... [More]

METAIRIE, La. (AP) — Saints quarterback Drew Brees doesn't see himself and Pelicans rookie forward Zion Williamson as an odd couple from different generations and sports.Brees sees key parallels in the timing of each of their arrivals on New Orleans' pro sports scene, and is eager to share what he's learned if it can help Williamson understand the task — and opportunity — at hand."Certainly, I am always going to be there for Zion," Brees said after practice Thursday at Saints training camp. "Whatever I can do to help guide, to help advise, to help mentor, I'm there."If he wants to go one-on-one, I'll do that, too," Brees added smiling, but perhaps only half-joking, given his strong reputation in the Saints' locker room as a pick-up basketball player. "There's a kinship regardless of a generational gap, right? There's a kinship because I'm in a different sport and yet I understand the pressures."The Saints and Pelicans have been under the same ownership since 2012, when Tom Benson and his... [More]

METAIRIE, La. (AP) — Saints quarterback Drew Brees doesn't see himself and Pelicans rookie forward Zion Williamson as an odd couple from different generations and sports.Brees sees key parallels in the timing of each of their arrivals on New Orleans' pro sports scene, and is eager to share what he's learned if it can help Williamson understand the task — and opportunity — at hand."Certainly, I am always going to be there for Zion," Brees said after practice Thursday at Saints training camp. "Whatever I can do to help guide, to help advise, to help mentor, I'm there."If he wants to go one-on-one, I'll do that, too," Brees added smiling, but perhaps only half-joking, given how his strong reputation in the Saints' locker room as a pick-up basketball player. "There's a kinship regardless of a generational gap, right? There's a kinship because I'm in a different sport and yet I understand the pressures."The Saints and Pelicans have been under the same ownership since 2012, when Tom Benson and... [More]