@From Twitter/@Lakers

Now it's officially started, NBA season have been started with Utah Jazz playing New Orleans Pelicans and in second game it's between Lakers and Clippers two arch rivals and a match up between two top teams in the western conference. In the start of the game Lakers and Clippers kneel during the national anthem. 

First half , 

Lakers have always taken a lead in the first half. When just over 4 minutes left in the game Lakers have 10 points lead in the game but Clippers made a run and took control of the game and they nearly took a lead in the game but it's missed opportunities or them. Clippers had so many chances in some of the last possession. Lakers' 10 points lead cut to only 2 points after the first half  of play. Lakers had as many as 13 points in the first half.

In the First half Kawhi and Anthony Davis played great. Kawhi scored 19 points and Anthony Davis scored 20 points. For Clippers George scored 11 points and Jackson scored 10 points in the half while for Lakers Kuzma scored 10 points and LeBron James added 6 points with 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Compared to Lakers 7 turn overs Clippers made 13 turn overs despite that they able to cut a lead with only 2 points. Anthony Davis scored 12 points from 13 free-throws.  

Second half,

Third Quarter,

 

Clippers started second half with a travel. 11 minutes left in the third quarter Paul George drained a 3 pointer which gave them a lead 55-54, first lead for Clippers in the game. Zubac had easy chance to score on ally up dunk but he missed it. Paul George Back to Back three pointers gave 6 points lead to Clippers. Just over 8 minutes left in the game George got 4th foul in the game. Zubac dunk on Kawhi's assist gave Clippers 8 points lead. 7:05 minutes left in the 3rd quarter Kawhi Leonard's 3-points play gave Clippers 11 points lead over Lakers. In the first 5 minutes of the 3rd quarter it looks like Clippers' game. LeBron drained a 3 pointer which cut a lead to 8 points and after that Anthony Davis' 2 points play cut a lead to 6 points. 5-0 run for Lakers after timeout. 5:23 left in the game, Patrick drew a foul on Anthony Davis and took a free throws made 2 free-throws, 8 points lead for Clippers after this play. 4:21 left  in the game, What a play by Kuzma, He made a dime to Alex who was running in the lane and a beautiful finish by Alex, lead cut to 4 points. 2:52 left in the quarter, Green made a long range shot and 7 points lead for Clippers. Anthony Davis made 2 free throws to made a 5 points game. 1:38 left in the game Anthony Davis' back to back 3 pointers gave lead to Lakers. Another 3 pointer for Green and 3 points lead for Clipper. One point lead for Clippers after the 3rd Quarter play in the game. 

Fourth Quarter,

 Waiters made a first points in the fourth quarter which gave 1 point lead to Lakers. Patrick's 3 points gave 1 points lead to Clippers but 3-pointers by Waiters took back 2 points lead to Lakers. 9:02 left in the fourth quarter, Kuzma made a 3 pointer on LeBron James' dish which gave them 5 points lead. Over just 8 minutes left LeBron James made 3 pointer which gave 8 points lead to Lakers. 7:55 left in the game and quarter Danny Green made 3 pointer on Kuzma's assist, 11 points lead to Lakers. 17-3 run for Lakers. 7:05 left in the game 5 fouls for Dwaight. Patrick's 3 poitner cut a lead to 6 points but once again Lakers came back with Kuzma's 3-pointer. Kawhi made 3 pointer which cut a lead to 6 points. Just over 40 seconds to play in the game Lakers' had 3 points lead. 28.4 left in the game George made 3 pointer and tied a game what  a play by Paul George. 12.8 seconds left in the game when LeBron James tried to score but he missed it and grabbed a rebound on his own miss to give Lakers 2 points lead in the game. Clippers didn't made a last shot and Lakers took a game 103-101. It was a very close game.      

This is the 50th win for the Lakers of the Season. 

Next Game : Los Angeles Lakers Vs Toronto Raptors

                      Los Angeles Clippers Vs New Orleans Pelicans

For Lakers :

Players	Points	Rebounds	Assists
LeBorn James	16	11	7
Anthony Davis	34	8	4
JaVale McGee	6	7
Caldwell-Pope	6	1	2
Danny Green	6	1
Kyle Kuzma	16	7	2
Waiters	11	3	2

For Clippers :

Players	Points	Rebounds	Assists
Kawhi Leonard	28	3	4
Paul George	30	5	3
Zubac	2	3	1
Jackson	10	6	4
Beverkey	12	1	1
Green	8	4	0

NBA

Luis Suarez Who scored both goals For Barcelona. Image From:@twitter/@FCBarcelona 

This is the second draw for Barcelona in 3 games and that faded away their chances to win a title this season. Now they are in the first position in La Liga but not for long. Real Madrid has one game in hand and just 1 point behind Barcelona. If Real Madrid will win a game against Espanyol they will lead the league with 2 points. Barcelona dropped 2 points in this game as Celta Vigo is at the bottom of the table in La Liga. Barcelona needed to win this game with dominance but they missed it.

	Team 1	Vs	Team 2
	Barcelona	Vs	Celta Vigo
	Suarez 20'		Smolov 50'
	Suarez 67'		Aspas 88'
Score	2		2

6 minute of the game, What an unlucky moment for Barcelona, Barcelona got a free-kick, Messi took it and put it in the best position in the post area when the curled ball came into the post area Pique made a contact with a ball with a powerful header. It was unlucky for Barcelona and Pique that a ball hit a post and missed a net.

20 minutes, Goal- Luis Suarez(Barcelona), Assisted by Messi, Messi took a free-kick just outside of the post area, He just lift a ball with his left foot and Suarez was there to take it. Suarez headed a ball into a net. Amazing pass by Lionel Messi and also good and perfect header by Suarez.

24 minutes, A great cutting pass by Dennis Suarez who finds Brais Mendez, Mendez shot a ball with his left foot but Ter Stegen had got enough touch on the ball, and the ball deflected to the post. A wonderful save by Ter Stegen.

40 minutes, Messi with the ball making his way towards the Celta side, He was open and no one was there to guard him. Messi flicked a ball with his left-footed shot but it was just missed a top left corner. Messi never missed this kind of opportunity, It's rare for him to miss this kind of chance.

50 minutes, Goal - Smolov(Celta Vigo), Assisted by Yokuslu, Pique tried to stop Yokuslu but he Yokusu made a pass giving Pique no chance to stop it which in the open area of Barca Post. Smolov just needs to put a ball into the net with ease when no one was guarding him he didn't make any mistake in doing it and put a ball into the net with his left-footed shot. easy goal for Celta Vigo and a sloppy performance by Barcelona in the defense.

67 minutes, Goal - Luis Suarez, Assisted by Messi, Messi made a smooth one-touch pass, Luis Suarez took it and turn around with a ball and his left-footed kick was enough to put a ball into the net of Celta Vigo. What a goal by Suarez. 

  

88 minutes, Goal - Aspas, Ter Stegen had no chance to stop this free-kick, a ball went into the net when Aspas struck a ball with his left foot. Barcelona thought that they won a game Aspas had other ideas.

Now Real Madrid is in a good position to win a title. Barcelona's sloppy performance in this game put them in a bad position to win a title. Barcelona doesn't look like a team they used to be in the past. 

 Next Game: Barcelona Vs Athletico Madrid, Celta Vigo Vs Mallorca

Barcelona's next game against Athletico Madrid is also going to be tough for them if Barcelona will be unable to win a game against Athletico Madrid in this match than it will be tough for them to win a title this season. 

 

                                                                                                Image Credit: @from Twitter/@Lakers

Now it's already decided that the NBA season will be resume and they will play in Orlando in a Bubble environment. NBA released a schedule for their regular season's remaining games. 

Los Angeles Lakers get a tough schedule than the Clippers. Los Angeles Lakers are now 5.5 games ahead of the second-seeded Clippers. Despite they get a tough schedule, it looks mostly impossible for the Clippers to take first place in the Western Conference Standings. 

The regular season will start with a bang when the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers will face each other on July of 30th.

Los Angeles Lakers Schedule :

For the Lakers Avery Bradly's loss will be hurt them in the title race. He is opted out and does not want to play in the bubble environment. Lakers have 2 best players out of the top 10 in today's NBA and they have very good supporting players. Lakers look like they are not going to lose the first place in the Western Conference. After the coronavirus pandemic, all players are refreshed and the best player on the planet LeBron James first time gets the rest time between plays in the regular season. The same goes for the Clippers, Now they are injury-free and all players of the Clippers will play at their highest level, This thing is scary for other teams when Clippers are fully healthy. 

Day	Team 1	Vs	Team 2	Date
Thursday	Clippers	Vs	Lakers	30-Jul
Saturday	Lakers	Vs	Raptors	1-Aug
Monday	Lakers	Vs	Jazz	3-Aug
Wednesday	Lakers	Vs	OKC	5-Aug
Thursday	Lakers	Vs	HR	6-Aug
Saturday	Lakers	Vs	Pacers	8-Aug
Monday	Lakers	Vs	Denver	10-Aug
Thursday	Lakers	Vs	Kings	13-Aug

Los Angeles Clippers Schedule :

Day	Team 1	Vs	Team 2	Date
Thursday	Lakers	Vs	Clippers	30-Jul
Saturday	Pelicans	Vs	Clippers	1-Aug
Tuesday	Suns	Vs	Clippers	4-Aug
Thursday	Mavericks	Vs	Clippers	6-Aug
Saturday	Portland	Vs	Clippers	8-Aug
Sunday	Nets	Vs	Clippers	9-Aug
Wednesday	Nuggets	Vs	Clippers	12-Aug
Friday	OKC	Vs	Clippers	14-Aug

There are only 8 games that will be played in the regular season and the Clippers are 5.5 games behind the Lakers to top the Western Conference but it looks like it impossible for them to do it. Lakers are not going to lose all 8 games, If the Lakers lose more than 6 games and the Clippers will win all 8 games they will be top of the Western Conference. Clippers have Kawhi Leonard and Paul George who is regarded as the best two players in NBA and they have the best sixth man in the NBA and some toughest guys who are too good at defending a ball. 

Now in the Standing at the top, It clearly Los Angeles Lakers will be there but for the NBA title Lakers have the upper hand but the Clippers have a great team. It is nearly impossible to tell which team will be the NBA champion.  

 

NBA

                                                                                    Image Credit: From Twitter/@AminYounes11

It has been a bad night for the Juventus and Ronaldo as they lost to Napoli in the Finals. Ronaldo didn't take a penalty in the game. He resisted taking a penalty in the middle of the penalty shootout he wanted to take the last penalty in the penalty shootout.    

Napoli 0 - Juventus 0: Penalty Shoot Out(4-2)  

Juventus made it into the finals by defeating Ac Milan with the away goal meanwhile Napoli won 2-1 against Inter Milan in the Semifinals.

5 minutes, Dybala turned around and put a ball in the center of the penalty box Ronaldo run through the penalty box and tried to score a goal with a right-footed shot but it was denied by Napoli Goalkeeper Alex Meret. 

22 minutes, Insigne tried his luck and fired a powerful free-kick which was just touched by Buffon and it touched a post and missed a goal. Nearly scored a goal by Insigne's effort but just some lack of luck. 

38 minutes, Juventus had a great chance but it was missed by Ronaldo looked like he is not in his old self after this Corona Pandemic It looks like he was tired a bit and the Juventus player put a ball in the post with a wonderful position but Ronaldo couldn't catch it. Napoli Goalkeeper Alex Meret did a great job, he reached the ball before Ronaldo could catch it.

41 minutes, Diego Demme past two Juventus players and made it to the penalty area and tried to score a goal with a right-footed shot between the leg of Buffon but Buffon put away the ball. Another great save by Buffon.

41 minutes, Another right-footed curl kick by Insigne but it was once again stopped by Buffon. Two consecutive save done by Buffon in just one minute. There was less excitement in the game like they are playing in the final. The first half ended without any goal. Napoli had more chances but it all denied by Buffon. 

75 minutes of the game, Ronaldo turned with the ball and shoot to score a goal but it was denied by a Napoli player.

92 minutes, Maksimovic was open and no is guarding him, he got an open header and it was a powerful header but once again Buffon came in a way and he stopped a ball. It was a superb save by Buffon. 

The Second Half was also scoreless, Juventus didn't play a good, Napoli tried their best but there all effort was denied by Buffon and the match went into a Penalty Shoot out, No Extra Time in this game.     

Penalty Shoot Out :

In the Penalty Shoot, Out Dybala took the first penalty but his penalty was stopped by Alex Meret. and Danilo also missed his chance to score a goal when he shot a ball just over the post. Two consecutive missed by Juventus. Napoli scored both penalties. Milik scored the last penalty and seal a deal for the Napoli and now they are the champion of the Italian Cup. Juventus lost to Napoli in the penalty shoot-out 4-2. Ronaldo didn't get a chance to shoot a penalty. He just watched a penalty shoot out.  

Juventus missed their chance to win 14 Italian Cup and Napoli won this title sixth time. This is the first trophy for Napoli after 2014 and after six years of gape, they won again this title.

Juventus won this title last time was in 2018. They won this title consecutively 4 years in a row from 2015 to 2018. Last time Lazio won a title against Juventus. 

Sarri said to RAI," He is in the same shape as the others, Like Paul Dybala and Douglass Costa, He is lacking sharpness to do what works best for him. I didn't say much to the players after a game. I was angry and disappointed just like them, so at these moments it's best to stay silent. There is a disappointment for the boys, for the club, for the fans, but this is a particular moment, both for the physical condition and for some important absence. We made different choices than usual, pressing less high to have a better grip at a distance and played a game with a good level. Right now, however, we lack  brilliance and without that brilliance, it becomes more difficult to beat man, which our players  are usually used to doing easily and finding other solutions."

 After this game fans are unhappy with Ronaldo as he did not take 3rd penalty of the penalty shootout.  

    

Football

Image Credit: From Twitter/@FCBarcelona

Barcelona won its first game in style and now they played at home after resuming La Liga season against Leganes.  After 101 days game played in the Barcelona Stadium Camp Nou. They won the match 2-0 with the help of Lionel Messi and Ansu Fati.

In the last match, Barcelona won against Mallorca 4-0 and it was a dominance performance by Barcelona. 

Messi registered 699 goals for Barcelona and his national team Argentina. He scored 629 goals for Barcelona and 70 goals for Argentina. Barcelona won consecutive 39 games without any loss at home. 

12 minutes, Leganes nearly score when Roque Mesa made a headed pass to the open man Guerrero, Guerrero had so many spaces to shoot a ball and he manages to shot a ball into the net with his right-footed shot, his shot passed Ter Stegen but Lenglet blocked the ball and gave Barcelona slight relief. 

13 minutes, Miguel Angel Guerrero's right-footed shot hit the right side of the post-it was inch away from scoring a goal. It was Roque Mesa who put a ball in that position.    

42 minutes, Goal Ansu Fati. Fati made some cuts, turn and hit a ball with his right foot, and the ball went into a net. A stunning goal from a young talented player.

50 minutes, Lionel Messi won a free-kick and he took a free kick with the left foot but it was saved by Leganes Goalkeeper.

54 minutes, Roger Assale's right-footed shot was stopped by Ter Stegen. 

64 minutes, Antoine Griezmann scored a goal with left-footed touch but it was overturned after a VAR review. He was just offside.  

67 minutes, What a run by Messi he passed so many Leganes players, made an awesome run, and drew a foul. Messi didn't miss this golden opportunity and scored a goal by putting the ball into the bottom right corner of the net. Leganes Goalkeeper jumped to the left side to stop the ball.   

82 minutes, Carrillo right-footed shot just missed a post, A ball passed to him by Kevin Rodrigues.  

88 minutes, Riqui Puig shot was blocked by Leganes' goalkeeper. 

Not a great performance by Barcelona but it was enough to take a win at home. Leganes had many chances to score a goal but it all blocked and saved by Barcelona. There was not good play by Barcelona from the defensive side.  

Barcelona dominated the game in the possession by taking a ball 75% in their feet. 

Next Game: Barcelona Vs Sevilla

                      Leganes vs Mallorca

Also Read: 

Ronaldo didn't take a penalty as they lost to Napoli in the Italian Cup Final.       

Messi

                                                                                                                 From Twitter/@juventusfcen

First Leg was played in February and the score was 1-1 there at San Siro where It was away goal for Juventus which helped them to reach in the Italian Cup Final. 

This semifinal played after the COVID-19 pandemic.

	AC Milan	Vs	Juventus(Adv. Thro.Away Goal)
Leg 1	1		1
Leg 2	0		0
Aggregate	1		1

 

Ronaldo missed a penalty in a game after 15 minutes of play in a game but he scored one goal from a penalty in the first leg which helped them to win the semifinals and make it into the final of the Italian Cup. AC Milan was ahead in the game in the first leg when they scored on 61st minute Ante Rebic's well-placed Strike, nearly Milan won the first leg but Ronaldo scored a goal from a penalty Kick in the stoppage time. 

 No team was able to score in the second league of the semifinals despite AC Milan was playing with 10 men just after 16 minutes of the game when Ante Rebic made a hard foul on Juventus's player. Theo Hernandez and Samu Catilejo suspended in a game, Theo got a suspension due to a red card he received from the last Semifinal.

Napoli will play against Inter Milan which got a one-goal advantage over Inter Milan. Whichever wins this team they will face Juventus in the final of the Italian Cup.

 

Zlatan Ibrahimovic missed a game due to a calf injury which he got in training last month.

Leonardo Bonucci plays as a center back and he said to  RAI Sport," Even the greatest miss, Cristiano is always important for us. His luck was not good in this game and Gonnarumma did a good job."

He also said to Public Broadcaster RAI 1" After 90 days away from playing in an empty stadium without fans, It was difficult at the start. "

Italian Cup Final will be played on June 17 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rom.

Also Read: 

Ronaldo didn't take a penalty as they lost to Napoli in the Italian Cup Final.

 

Football

                                                                           IMG Credit: @twitter/@Bucks@Lakers@LAClippers 

LeBron's Lakers or Giannis Milwaukee Bucks's or Kawhi's Los Angles Lakers who is the favorite to win an NBA title after the COVID-19 pandemic. Lakers look like the who is going to win a chip but there is a healthy Los Angles Clippers who are one of the favorites from the start of the season to win a championship, They will compete with the Lakers to advanced in the NBA finals.

From the East, there is only one team got a chance to compete for a playoff spot, and look like they have not any chance to make in the playoff spot. There are only 8 games that will be played in the regular season and they are 5.5 games behind 8th placed Orlando Magic and 6 games Behind Brooklyn Nets. As per ESPN Washington Wizard have only 5.9% to make it into 8th place while having a 0% chance to make it to the 7th place in the Playoffs. Brooklyn Nets is favorite to take the 7th place in the playoffs.

And in the Western Conference, there are 6 teams which will compete for the playoff spot- Pelicans, Portland Trail Blazers, Spurs, Grizzlies, Suns, Kings. Portland and New Orleans Pelicans both are 3.5 games behind 8th seeded Memphis Grizzlies in the Western Conference. Spurs are 4 games behind and Phoenix Suns are 6 games behind from the Memphis Grizzlies. As per ESPN Portland Trial Blazers have 35.3%, Memphis Grizzlies have 32.4%, New Orleans Pelicans which have a more chance to make it to the playoffs before the COVID-19 Pandemic, they have a 29.4% chance to make it to the Playoff now and the Spurs have only 2.9% chance to make it in the playoffs. 

Which team is going to make into the Eastern Conference Finals :

Milwaukee Bucks: This is the heavy favorite to make it to the finals. If there isn't any upset happens than they are going to make it and even they are going to make it to the finals.

Boston Celtics: Boston Celtics is another team that is a bit underrated but they have a potential and even they have the potential to be champion.

Brooklyn Nets: if there is any possibility of playing Kevin Durant with Nets than they also have some chances.

As per ESPN Bucks got 88.2% to make it to the NBA Finals. Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics got 5.9% to make it to the NBA finals. 

From The Western Conference :

Los Angeles Lakers: Los Angeles Lakers is the most Favorite to make into the Western Conference and to win an NBA title. 

Los Angeles Clippers: If they will not face the Lakers before the Western Finals than they will make it to the Western Finals but if both teams will face each other than only one team will advance through the finals.

Los Angeles Lakers got 61.8% to make it to the NBA finals and Los Angeles Clippers got 38.2% to make it to the NBA finals. 

Who is favorite to win an NBA Title?

As per ESPN before this suspension, Milwaukee Bucks was the favorite to win an NBA title ahead of the Los Angles Lakers and Los Angles Clippers but now the Lakers get the upper hand over both those teams. As per ESPN Lakers have a 50% chance to win a title, the Bucks have 26.5% and the Clippers have a 23.5% chance.

Lakers and Clippers have some injury issues before this pandemic but now both teams will be fit to play in the games after this long rest. Lakers got an odds of +200, Bucks got +275 and the Clippers got +325 as per Caesars Sportsbook. 

This year it's really hard to predict who will be the NBA champion between all these teams but after all this scenario Lakers gets the most possibilities to lift the trophy.

Also Read:

NBA: LeBron James Tops In The Prime Time Players List!

  

   

NBA