<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-news-real-reason-boston-traded-georges-niang-jazz');   ga('set', 'title', 'The real reason Celtics traded Georges Niang to Jazz');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Celtics-Brad-Stevens-.jpg"><figcaption>Winslow Townson-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>The real reason Celtics traded Georges Niang to Jazz</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-08-07T08:49:08-07:00">August 7th, 8:49am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-08-07T12:38:54-07:00">August 7th, 12:38pm</time><address><a>Brett Siegel</a>Brett Siegel joined ClutchPoints as a credentialed NBA insider and reporter in May 2023 after previously covering the NBA for Fastbreak on FanNation and NBA Analysis Network, as well as working with Louisville Basketball. From playing to coaching to covering the game as a media member, Brett has been involved with the game of basketball from many different perspectives. Breaking the news of various free agent signings, yearly NBA Draft news and other key stories around the league, Brett is always on the phone, getting the latest news and rumors around the NBA. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @BrettSiegelNBA.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Boston Celtics</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Brad Stevens has been a busy man this offseason for the Boston Celtics. Aside from meeting with and charting a path for the future with new ownership taking over in Boston, Stevens has also been tasked with <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-news-recent-roster-move-second-apron-implications">significantly cutting the Celtics’ overall payroll</a> and tax bill. That is why Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday were involved in separate trades that brought Anfernee Simons and Georges Niang to the C’s.</p><p>Of course, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-news-jayson-tatum-said-injury-rehab-patriots-visit">Jayson Tatum’s Achilles injury</a> played a major role in these decisions to take a step back and endure a small retool during the 2025-26 season. Then again, it was inevitable that the Celtics would be forced to make tough roster decisions and cut a significant amount of money.</p><p>Even after trading for Simons and Niang, Stevens wasn’t done. Before he was even introduced to the team in a press conference, the Celtics traded Niang again, this time <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-news-boston-salary-dumps-kristaps-porzingis-trade-piece-jazz">sending him to the Utah Jazz on Tuesday</a>.</p><p>Along with trading the 32-year-old forward back to the team he spent four of his first five years in the league with, Boston also included two future second-round picks to acquire rookie RJ Luis Jr., who signed a two-way contract for the 2025-26 season.</p><p>The Jazz will be receiving a second-round pick in 2027 (best of BOS/ORL) and 2031 (best of BOS/CLE).</p><p>So why did the Celtics ultimately make this trade for a player who hasn’t even stepped foot in an NBA game?</p><p>The answer is simple: money.</p><h2><b>How Georges Niang trade saved Celtics financially</b></h2><p>Around this time in 2024, the Celtics were still celebrating their championship run and creating dreams of becoming the first team to go back-to-back since the 2016-17 and 2017-18 Golden State Warriors.</p><p>Now, Stevens and the Celtics are prepared to enter the 2025-26 season knowing that making the playoffs is their likely ceiling.</p><p>This is a “reset year” for the Celtics, and Tuesday’s trade involving Niang was yet another example of the organization making moves to significantly cut their overall costs.</p><p>By <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/boston-celtics/kristaps-porzingis-trade-grade-hawks-celtics-deal">trading Porzingis to the Atlanta Hawks</a> and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/nba-stories/sources-implications-celtics-blazers-trade-jrue-holiday-anfernee-simons">Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers</a> earlier this offseason, Boston saved itself over $250 million in salary and luxury tax payments. The decision to move Niang, along with two future second-round picks, saw the Celtics’ tax bill decline by nearly $43 million.</p><p>While this did increase slightly after they decided to sign Chris Boucher, Boston saw their <a href="https://x.com/BobbyMarks42/status/1952831386378756546" rel="noopener">overall tax bill</a> decrease from $540 million as of June 15 to $239 million as of August 5, when the Niang trade was agreed to, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN.</p><p>That is a significant financial drop, which has opened up options for the Celtics to rebuild their roster moving forward once Tatum is healthy and back on the court. It is expected that the organization will explore pathways to cutting down its tax bill and overall costs further entering the 2025-26 season, especially before the trade deadline in February.</p><p>The Celtics can move completely below the luxury tax line for the entire year if they can cut $12 million in salary.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

The real reason Celtics traded Georges Niang to Jazz

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-grades-georges-niang-trade-chris-boucher-signing');   ga('set', 'title', 'Celtics grades for Georges Niang trade, Chris Boucher signing');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Celtics-trade-grade-for-Georges-Niang-deal-with-Jazz.jpg"></figure><h1>Celtics grades for Georges Niang trade, Chris Boucher signing</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-08-06T04:42:56-07:00">August 6th, 4:42am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-08-06T04:42:56-07:00">August 6th, 4:42am</time><address><a>Daniel Donabedian</a>Daniel Donabedian is a beat reporter for ClutchPoints covering the Boston Celtics. He's also covered Villanova men's basketball and Big East basketball, building a strong reputation in the northeast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Boston Celtics</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Boston Celtics have kept busy this summer, moving around multiple key pieces in order to circumvent the second apron. And although Massachusetts native <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-news-georges-niang-public-enemy-no-1-kristaps-porzingis">Georges Niang was hoping to prove himself in Boston</a>, the forward was dealt to the Utah Jazz before he had a chance, departing on Tuesday afternoon <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-news-boston-salary-dumps-kristaps-porzingis-trade-piece-jazz">as part of a salary-dumping trade</a>.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">The Boston Celtics are trading Georges Niang and two future second-round picks to the Utah Jazz for rookie RJ Luis Jr., sources tell ESPN. <a href="https://t.co/l7h0cGobfU">pic.twitter.com/l7h0cGobfU</a></p><p>— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1952824522052088018?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 5, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>The full swap sent two second-round picks and Niang — who played in over 200 games for the Jazz from 2018 to 2021 — to Utah in exchange for undrafted rookie RJ Luis Jr. But before the NBA world could break down this trade, <a href="https://x.com/ShamsCharania/status/1952829181558943800" rel="noopener">Boston made the news</a> again, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-news-boston-agrees-contract-historic-raptors-champion-jazz-trade">signing former Toronto Raptor Chris Boucher</a> to a one-year, $3.3 million contract, per ESPN insider Shams Charania.</p><p>Now that the dust has settled, let’s look at the Celtics’ latest offseason business and grade each decision, starting with Niang.</p><h2><b>Celtics trade Georges Niang and 2 second-rounders for RJ Luis Jr.</b></h2><p>While Niang grew up less than an hour from Beantown, there <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-news-fans-react-jaylen-brown-georges-niang-squashing-beef">weren’t many fans clamoring for him to come home</a>.</p><p>However, the 32-year-old knows what it takes to contribute to a winning culture, as he has the most regular season victories of any player in the 2020s (with just four more than Celtics star Jayson Tatum). Boston could’ve used a veteran presence like that with <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-rumors-al-horford-exit-all-but-confirmed">center Al Horford likely on his way out</a>, and it doesn’t hurt that Niang is also a 39.9% 3-point shooter for his career.</p><p>That still wasn’t enough to convince de facto Celtics general manager Brad Stevens to keep Niang around. Yet, this move, like many of the Celtics’ recent deals, largely revolved around cost-cutting.</p><p>After removing Niang’s $8 million contract and adding Boucher, the Celtics are $7.8 million under the second apron. That’s a decent amount of breathing room in comparison to when the offseason started, giving Boston’s front office more financial flexibility while it tries to keep building around Tatum and 2024 NBA Finals MVP Jaylen Brown.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Celtics updated roster <a href="https://t.co/8tZT0uC090">pic.twitter.com/8tZT0uC090</a></p><p>— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) <a href="https://twitter.com/BobbyMarks42/status/1952836579179020450?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 5, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>As for the other side of this trade, Luis Jr. is an intriguing prospect with some New England roots of his own. The 6-foot-7 wing spent his freshman year with the UMass Minutemen before transferring to St. John’s in 2023.</p><p>In Queens, Luis Jr. blossomed into a reliable starter, averaging 18.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per game during the 2024-25 season. For his efforts, he was named Big East Player of the Year, but his college career didn’t have a storybook ending.</p><p>After Luis Jr. helped the Red Storm blow out the Omaha Mavericks in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, he went up against coach John Calipari’s Arkansas Razorbacks. This matchup was a nightmare for the All-American, as he finished with nine points and missed 14 of his 17 field goal attempts in the upset defeat. To make matters even worse, St. John’s coach (and former Celtics skipper) <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/ncaa-basketball/st-johns-basketball-news-rj-luis-transfer-portal-march-madness-benching">Rick Pitino benched Luis Jr. with almost five minutes left</a> in the contest, surely hurting his best player’s draft stock.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"You know he was 3-17… You're answering your own [question]. I'm not going to knock one of my players." </p><p>St. John's HC Rick Pitino responded to reporters asking about RJ Luis being benched late in the loss to Arkansas <a href="https://t.co/j5pRJJnFMG">pic.twitter.com/j5pRJJnFMG</a></p><p>— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) <a href="https://twitter.com/CBBonFOX/status/1903572416384860312?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 22, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Even though the 22-year-old wasn’t selected in the 2025 NBA Draft, he landed a two-way contract with the Jazz. The Celtics now have control of that agreement, meaning Luis Jr. can spend time developing with the Maine Celtics, Boston’s G League affiliate.</p><p>Since he’s a subpar 3-point shooter coming off a poor March Madness performance, Luis Jr. has a lot to prove. But, for all his shortcomings, he excelled in one of the toughest conferences in college basketball and has more upside than most undrafted guys.</p><p>Given the addition of his talent and the subtraction of Niang’s contract, this isn’t a bad swap for the Celtics. Of course, it’s more money-related than anything and probably won’t pay dividends immediately, preventing it from truly moving the needle for Boston.</p><p><b>Grade: B</b></p><h2><b>Celtics sign Chris Boucher to a one-year, $3.3 million contract</b></h2><p>It’s no secret that the Celtics were desperate for frontcourt help after losing starting center Kristaps Porzingis and backup big man Luke Kornet this summer.</p><p>Until Tuesday, Boston’s only centers were rookie Amari Williams, first-year Celtic Luka Garza, and potential starter <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-news-center-neemias-queta-offseason-knee-surgery">Neemias Queta, who’s not too far removed from knee surgery</a>.</p><p>This lackluster group needed a boost, explaining why the C’s brought in Boucher at an affordable price. The 32-year-old center is no longer in his prime, but he still has more experience than every other Celtics center combined.</p><p>Boucher played in at least 50 games for the Toronto Raptors in six consecutive seasons and managed to average 10 points in just over 17 minutes per outing during the 2024-25 campaign. In addition, he’s an adequate 3-point shooter with exceptional length and was the last player left from the Raptors 2019 championship team for a reason.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Chris Boucher as a Raptor:</p><p>— 1st in bench points<br>— 1st in bench rebounds<br>— 1st in bench blocks<br>— 1st in bench stocks<br>— 1st in bench threes<br>— 1st in bench free throws<br>— 1st in bench wins<br>— 1st in bench double-doubles </p><p>Going to Boston. <a href="https://t.co/fPANrmH8Ko">pic.twitter.com/fPANrmH8Ko</a></p><p>— StatMuse (@statmuse) <a href="https://twitter.com/statmuse/status/1952830291451469848?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 5, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Similarly to Niang, the two-time NBA champion and former G League MVP understands what winning basketball looks like in the NBA. He also understands how the Green Team operates, as he’s played in 22 games against the Celtics, even dropping 30 points on them in a narrow loss back in 2021.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/boston-celtics/nba-rumors-celtics-longtime-interest-in-raptors-big-man-hints-at-trade-pursuit">Stevens has an affinity for unheralded players who’ve burned his team</a> — just ask Oshae Brissett, Dalano Banton, and others. Boucher serves as another example of this, except he has a shot at earning more minutes than all of the aforementioned names.</p><p>With Boucher, Boston is addressing an area of need without breaking the bank. That’s essentially Boston’s team-building strategy while Tatum recovers, so Stevens deserves some credit for staying active in free agency.</p><p>Ultimately, the Celtics still aren’t in great shape to seriously contend for a championship at the moment. Boucher is a step in the right direction, yet there’s no guarantee this acquisition is more than a rental amidst a potential down year.</p><p><b>Grade: A-</b></p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Celtics grades for Georges Niang trade, Chris Boucher signing

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-news-georges-niang-public-enemy-no-1-kristaps-porzingis');   ga('set', 'title', 'Why Celtics’ Georges Niang is ‘public enemy No. 1’ after Kristaps Porzingis trade');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Why-Georges-Niang-is-public-enemy-No.-1-after-Kristaps-Porzingis-trade.jpg"></figure><h1>Why Celtics’ Georges Niang is ‘public enemy No. 1’ after Kristaps Porzingis trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-07-23T11:59:29-07:00">July 23rd, 11:59am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-07-23T11:59:29-07:00">July 23rd, 11:59am</time><address><a>Daniel Donabedian</a>Daniel Donabedian is a beat reporter for ClutchPoints covering the Boston Celtics. He's also covered Villanova men's basketball and Big East basketball, building a strong reputation in the northeast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Boston Celtics</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>In theory, Boston Celtics fans should love forward Georges Niang. The 32-year-old hails from Massachusetts and grew up less than an hour away from TD Garden. He also plays selflessly and is all about team, explaining why he has the most regular season wins of any NBA player since 2020 (with Celtics star Jayson Tatum close behind). But, in reality, a lot of Celtics fans <i>do not</i> love Niang, and he knows it.</p><p>The NBA journeyman arrived in Beantown this offseason <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/boston-celtics/kristaps-porzingis-massive-trade-means-celtics-offseason">following a significant trade that sent former Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis to the Atlanta Hawks</a>. Niang believes this summer swap — barely a year removed from Boston’s 2024 championship run that Porzingis was a key part of — is a major reason why Celtics fans aren’t thrilled about his homecoming.</p><p>“You know how tough Boston fans are, they don’t give a s**t if I’m from Boston or not,” Niang <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfttqNkUjBs&amp;pp=0gcJCccJAYcqIYzv" rel="noopener">told former NBA veterans</a> Mike Miller and Udonis Haslem on ‘The OGs’ podcast. “‘You just took our Unicorn and replaced it with a Minivan. Get the f**k outta here.’ I’m like public enemy No. 1. They’re like, ‘What is this? This ain’t shiny. It’s got scratches on it, man.”‘</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Mass. native Georges Niang realizes he’s not winning any popularity contests in Boston following the Porzingis trade:</p><p>“They don’t give a s*** if I’m from Boston. ‘You just took our Unicorn and replaced it with a Mini Van’…I’m like public enemy number 1.”</p><p>(Via <a href="https://twitter.com/theOGsShow?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@theOGsShow</a>) <a href="https://t.co/qcxc9MrmxT">pic.twitter.com/qcxc9MrmxT</a></p><p>— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) <a href="https://twitter.com/danield1214/status/1948005743934005521?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 23, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Niang, who nicknamed himself the “Minivan” for his reliability and humility, might have a point about Celtics fans being upset about losing Porzingis. The ex-Celtic is often called a “Unicorn” for his unique mix of size and skill, and Boston will miss the talented 7-footer on both ends of the floor.</p><h2><b>Why don’t most Celtics fans like Georges Niang?</b></h2><p>However, a fair portion of the ire Niang faces has nothing to do with who he was traded for. During Game 7 of the 2023 Eastern Conference Semifinals, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-news-nba-makes-final-decision-jaylen-brown-technical-after-georges-niang-incident">the former Philadelphia 76er grabbed the knee of Celtics star Jaylen Brown</a>.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Jaylen Brown and Georges Niang were both given a technical foul after Niang appeared to grab Brown's leg from the bench. <a href="https://t.co/rBwelUVROZ">pic.twitter.com/rBwelUVROZ</a></p><p>— ESPN (@espn) <a href="https://twitter.com/espn/status/1657847677378494466?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 14, 2023</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Since he did this from the bench and not amid the chaos of the on-court action, Niang was caught red-handed on replay and received a technical foul. While the New England native denied any wrongdoing, the hold transpired right when Brown and the Celtics were trying to push the pace.</p><p>The Celts went on to win that do-or-die game in dominant fashion and eliminate the rival 76ers, but many Celtics fans never forgave Niang. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-news-fans-react-jaylen-brown-georges-niang-squashing-beef">Fortunately for him, Brown seemingly has</a>, as the two were spotted together this summer during a WNBA game between the Connecticut Sun and the Indiana Fever.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">JB 🤝 Niang ☘️ <a href="https://t.co/9omGD7UKDB">pic.twitter.com/9omGD7UKDB</a></p><p>— Boston Celtics (@celtics) <a href="https://twitter.com/celtics/status/1945314717569896927?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 16, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>If Niang truly wants a pardon from the Boston faithful, all he has to do is contribute to winning. The Celtics are severely undermanned <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-news-jayson-tatum-relentless-mindset-full-display-secret-workout">due to Tatum’s Achilles injury</a> and a multitude of offseason departures, making Niang’s role on the roster more crucial than it would’ve been in previous seasons.</p><p>The NBA vet understands that but knows there’s always an expectation of winning in Boston, no matter what the roster looks like. And if Niang made one thing clear in his time on ‘The OGs,’ it’s that he’s willing to do whatever it takes to help his hometown team.</p><p>“You don’t want to be in Boston losing, that’s for sure,” he said. “What can I do this summer? Can I come in, in the best shape that I’m in, and also mentor, and kind of teach, and also learn — because they’ve won championships. And kind of dial all that into one, and focus every day on how can I win the day, and then win games.”</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Why Celtics’ Georges Niang is ‘public enemy No. 1’ after Kristaps Porzingis trade

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-news-fans-react-jaylen-brown-georges-niang-squashing-beef');   ga('set', 'title', 'Celtics fans react to Jaylen Brown, Georges Niang squashing playoff beef at Summer League');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Brown-guards-Niang.jpg"><figcaption>David Butler II-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Celtics fans react to Jaylen Brown, Georges Niang squashing playoff beef at Summer League</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-07-16T14:54:35-07:00">July 16th, 2:54pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-07-16T14:54:35-07:00">July 16th, 2:54pm</time><address><a>Jackson Stone</a>Jackson Stone is a Mercer University senior from Atlanta on track to graduate with a BA in communications. A lifelong sports lover, Jackson is a die-hard fan of all Atlanta teams. He joined ClutchPoints in 2023.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Boston Celtics</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>It’s been an <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-news-derrick-white-breaks-silence-on-trade-rumors">eventful offseason thus far for the Boston Celtics</a>, who have traded 2024 NBA<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-news-brad-stevens-admits-hardest-part-jrue-holiday-kristaps-porzingis-trades"> champions Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis</a> as part of their effort to get under the second apron. In the Porzingis deal, which sent the Latvian big man to the Atlanta Hawks, the Celtics got back wing shooter Georges Niang.</p><p>As it happens, Niang has quite a history with the Celtics, most notably during the 2023 NBA playoffs, when he was a member of the Philadelphia 76ers. During the second round series between those two teams, Niang drew the fury of the Celtics’ fanbase when he appeared to grab Celtics star Jaylen Brown’s knee on the sidelines during Game 7, which led to a brief skirmish between the two sides.</p><p>Celtics fans were quick to recall that memory when the team announced the trade for Niang–the reception wasn’t exactly warm. However, Brown and Niang appear to have squashed their beef, if <a href="https://x.com/celtics/status/1945314717569896927" rel="noopener">a recent photo</a> posted by the Celtics of the two at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas is any indication.</p><p>https://x.com/celtics/status/1945314717569896927</p><p>Still, fans in the comment section on X, formerly Twitter, weren’t thrilled.</p><p>“Still don’t forgive him, get him off the team,” wrote one angry fan.</p><p>However, other fans were more understanding.</p><p>“Ok if JB forgives him my beef is over,” wrote another.</p><h2><b>A vastly different Celtics squad</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Porzingis.jpg"><figcaption>Dale Zanine-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>There’s a real possibility that Georges Niang will start for the Celtics in 2025-26, at least to begin the year.</p><p>The only two guaranteed starters for Boston at this point are Brown and Derrick White. Jayson Tatum is expected to miss the entirety of the season with the torn Achilles injury he suffered in the second round this year against the New York Knicks. Holiday and Porzingis were the other two starters from last year’s team and both are gone now.</p><p>Luke Kornet has departed for the San Antonio Spurs in free agency, and Al Horford is widely expected to follow him out the door.</p><p>It remains to be seen what kind of reception Niang will get from Celtics fans when his name is announced on opening night.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Celtics fans react to Jaylen Brown, Georges Niang squashing playoff beef at Summer League

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/atlanta-hawks/hawks-news-georges-niang-shares-eye-opening-good-habits-warriors-takedown');   ga('set', 'title', 'Hawks’ Georges Niang shares eye-opening take on ‘good habits’ after Warriors takedown');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hawks-news-Georges-Niang-shares-eye-opening-take-on-good-habits-after-Warriors-takedown.jpg"></figure><h1>Hawks’ Georges Niang shares eye-opening take on ‘good habits’ after Warriors takedown</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-22T20:33:58-07:00">March 22nd, 8:33pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-23T07:00:09-07:00">March 23rd, 7:00am</time><address><a>Malik Brown</a>Malik Brown is a multimedia reporter based in Atlanta who covers the Hawks and Dream for ClutchPoints. Malik has worked in entertainment and sports, and he specializes in the NBA and NFL.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Atlanta Hawks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Atlanta Hawks held down the fort at home against the Golden State Warriors, <a href="https://x.com/ATLHawks/status/1903620310735171611" rel="noopener">winning 124-115</a>. The Hawks had the lead for over 46 minutes in the game, and every time it felt the Warriors were going on a run, they had an answer for every opportunity. Those are the things that can shape a winning team, and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/hawks-news-georges-niang-issues-sacrifice-take-building-chemistry-hawks">Georges Niang knows what it takes</a> for a win like this to happen.</p><p>“The biggest thing for us is continuing to focus on building good habits,” Niang said after the game. “When you look at our team, there’s a lot of first, second, third, fourth, or fifth-year guys. If you can consistently build habits of no matter what happens win, loss, draw, happy, mad, sad, and I’m going to do these three or four things night in or night out basis, I think at the end of the road you see that you start to become successful, and success is not linear.”</p><p>With the Hawks coming down to the stretch of the season, every game is important if they want to end up in a good position at the end of the year. The team is starting to see their hard work pay off, and from here on, it’s going to take consistency to stay in this flow state they’re in.</p><p>“We won four in a row, then we lost to Brooklyn, and now we win two in a row, and it’s like we want to keep that going,” Niang said. “You also want to win in the margins, that’s contesting shots or always running back on defense, building a wall, or rebounding. You want to build those habits to where they become second nature.”</p><h2><b>Georges Niang, Hawks defeat Warriors for second straight win</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Georges-Niang-1.jpg"><figcaption>Brett Davis-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>It was an impressive win for the Hawks as they stayed fairly consistent on both sides of the ball throughout the game. They set the tone in the first quarter, opening up with a 40-23 lead and shooting 65% from the field. The Warriors made a run in the second quarter, but the Hawks were still able to maintain, with Onyeka Okongwu scoring 13 points in the period.</p><p>The second half belonged to Niang as he knocked down six 3-pointers to help the Hawks maintain their lead. Though Niang was on a heater, he still wanted to play within the flow of the offense.</p><p>“I learned at a young age that calling for the ball usually ends in the reverse, so I usually like to have my eyes wide open and show my hands, maybe clap,” Niang said. “Obviously, when you’re rolling, you have a sense of that, and you never want to make it above you.”</p><p>Caris LeVert and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/hawks-trae-young-reaches-steve-nash-territory-with-big-night-vs-pacers">Trae Young brought it in for the Hawks</a> in the end, and with them having another scorer to help down the stretch it brings another dynamic to the team.</p><p>“He brings a lot of scoring ability, he brings a lot of attention,” Young said after the game. “So when I’m off the ball and he has the ball in his hands, more times than not, the guy is face-guarding me now and not letting me go. Gary Payton II was on me tonight, holding me the whole time.</p><p>“Whenever he starts going, beating his defender, and getting to the lane, it forces the defense to help in other ways so I’m able to get the ball later in the clock, get downhill and shoot a floater, find somebody else late in the clock. That just helps us and adds another dimension to the team.”</p><p>It was another true team win for the Hawks, and they’re going to need that going into the final weeks of the season.</p><p>“I think when you have a locker room full of good guys that are willing to put their egos aside and put winning in the forefront of everything,” Niang said. “Our leader is Quin Snyder and then the coaching staff, and I think coach Q does a good job of spelling things out of what he expects from guys and being honest enough where you know what’s expected of you on a night-in and night-out basis.”</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Hawks’ Georges Niang shares eye-opening take on ‘good habits’ after Warriors takedown

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/atlanta-hawks/hawks-news-why-georges-niang-has-been-seamless-fit-atlanta');   ga('set', 'title', 'Why Hawks’ Georges Niang has been seamless fit in Atlanta');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hawks-news-Why-Georges-Niang-has-been-seamless-fit-in-Atlanta.jpg"></figure><h1>Why Hawks’ Georges Niang has been seamless fit in Atlanta</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-10T17:17:10-07:00">March 10th, 5:17pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-10T17:17:10-07:00">March 10th, 5:17pm</time><address><a>Malik Brown</a>Malik Brown is a multimedia reporter based in Atlanta who covers the Hawks and Dream for ClutchPoints. Malik has worked in entertainment and sports, and he specializes in the NBA and NFL.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Atlanta Hawks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Georges <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/atlanta-hawks/hawks-news-georges-niang-issues-sacrifice-take-building-chemistry-hawks">Niang has made a nice impact</a> on the Atlanta Hawks since being traded from the Cleveland Cavaliers, and he’s giving the team another <a href="https://x.com/AcrossCavs/status/1893990271999672465" rel="noopener">reliable three-pointer shooter</a>. Other than what he does on the floor, he’s a veteran that the Hawks could use for such a young team, and head coach Quin Snyder sees the difference he’s made.</p><p>“I have a lot of familiarity with George, and some of the things that he brings, his role here is more significant than it was in when I had him in Utah, which makes sense as he’s gotten older as a player and become a vet in this league,” Snyder said. “Clearly his ability to shoot the ball is something that makes him unique.</p><p>“I think his understanding of the game, just an intelligent player, as far as reading situations, coupled with, his ability and willingness to communicate where he can impact the game in a lot of subtle ways that maybe don’t show up on the stat sheet the way the shooting does.”</p><p>So far with the Hawks, Niang is averaging 13.6 points while shooting almost 41% from three. Though it’s a small sample size, he’s also playing the most minutes in his career due to the injuries the Hawks have dealt with at the forward position.</p><p>He’s hit some big shots for the Hawks so far and also had some of the biggest scoring games in his career in just a short amount of time on the team. As they continue to try and fight for better seeding down the stretch of the season, Niang will be an important part of their success.</p><h2><b>Georges Niang fitting in well with the Hawks</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Georges-Niang_31176c.jpg"><figcaption>Brett Davis-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Coming from the Cavaliers, who are the best team in the Eastern Conference, Georges Niang knows what it takes to be a competitor. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/atlanta-hawks/hawks-news-caris-levert-georges-niang-cavs-tenure-help-atlanta">He spoke about leading by example</a> on his first day on the team.</p><p>“We kind of had a young core over there with Darius [Garland] and Evan [Mobley], and not to do comparisons or anything, but you look at the young core that is here,” Niang said. “You want to lead by example. I think being an everyday guy, not just a sometimes guy, and I think that’s something that me and Caris pride ourselves on.”</p><p>It’s taken some time for the news guys to mesh on the team, but over the past few games, you can see the hard work finally paying off with some wins.</p><p>“This coaching staff doesn’t get enough credit because it’s not like this everywhere where you can just implement guys seamlessly and find production,” Niang said. “You look at all the games we’ve lost, yes they’re losses, but we’re not getting blown out. Nobody is happy about that, but gelling takes time. It’s not lightning in a bottle. Like Trae said, I really feel like we’re finding our niche and I’m excited to see what the rest of March looks like.”</p><p>As the Hawks come down this final stretch of the season, it’s important that they continue to build on the chemistry they have and win games.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Why Hawks’ Georges Niang has been seamless fit in Atlanta

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/hawks-news-georges-niang-echoes-trae-young-sentiment-ahead-stretch-run');   ga('set', 'title', 'Hawks’ Georges Niang echoes Trae Young’s sentiment ahead of stretch run');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Georges-Niang-echoes-Trae-Youngs-sentiment-ahead-of-stretch-run.jpg"></figure><h1>Hawks’ Georges Niang echoes Trae Young’s sentiment ahead of stretch run</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-06T20:48:27-08:00">March 6th, 8:48pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-06T20:56:28-08:00">March 6th, 8:56pm</time><address><a>Malik Brown</a>Malik Brown is a multimedia reporter based in Atlanta who covers the Hawks and Dream for ClutchPoints. Malik has worked in entertainment and sports, and he specializes in the NBA and NFL.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Atlanta Hawks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Atlanta <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/atlanta-hawks/hawks-news-trae-young-highlights-mentality-needed-stop-losing-close-games">Hawks found themselves in another tight game</a> after losing against the Milwaukee Bucks two nights ago. This time, the Hawks were up against the Indiana Pacers, and in the final minutes, they were able to walk away with the win, 124-118.</p><p>It was Georges Niang who came up big for the Hawks, scoring 12 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter and knocking down back-to-back threes to help give them a small cushion down the stretch. The Hawks are still finding chemistry with the new guys on the team, but there have been some good moments, and Niang <a href="https://x.com/_MalikATL/status/1897857101076242585" rel="noopener">acknowledged the growth</a>.</p><p>“This coaching staff doesn’t get enough credit because it’s not like this everywhere where you can just implement guys seamlessly and find production,” Niang said. “You look at all the games we’ve lost, yes they’re losses, but we’re not getting blown out. Nobody is happy about that, but gelling takes time. It’s not lightning in a bottle. Like Trae said, I really feel like we’re finding our niche and I’m excited to see what the rest of March looks like.”</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/atlanta-hawks/hawks-news-trae-young-highlights-hope-remainder-season">Trae Young also sees the growth</a> that they’re building within the unit and thinks they’re real close to figuring it out.</p><p>“You definitely see the moments, and you feel the connectivity on the court with each other when we play, but it’s not going to be perfect right now, and luckily, we still have some games to go to find the rhythm with each other and try to string some wins in a row, and try to find a rhythm at the right time,” Young said.</p><p>“We’ve been playing real well with each other and starting to find a rhythm, especially Caris [LeVert] and Georges, and even Terance [Mann]. We got a long way to go, but we’re right there,” Young continued.</p><h2><b>Hawks finish fourth quarter strong in win against Pacers</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Georges-Niang.jpg"><figcaption>Brett Davis-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The Hawks were down numerous times throughout the game, but they always found a way to get back in it. The Pacers threw numerous defenses at them, but it never fazed them. Myles Turner was at the free-throw line to put the Pacers up 102-101 with 5:55 remaining, and Georges Niang and Tyrese Haliburton had a friendly back-and-forth on the sideline. The Hawks came down on the offensive end, Niang hit a three, and coming down on defense, he gave Haliburton a stare.</p><p>The Hawks then got a stop on defense, and Niang came down to hit another big three to put the team up 107-102. From there, they didn’t surrender the lead and came out with the win.</p><p>“I enjoy my moments on the court and trash-talking is something that I grew up on,” Niang said after the game. “Not to say I’m going to be one of those people that’s like ‘Yeah it’s his fault.’ That’s not how I operate. Just friendly banter, and unfortunately for him, we went on a run after that.”</p><p>As the Hawks try to climb up the standings and push for the playoffs, these are the types of games that they’re going to have to win. With the team starting to find a rhythm and the new guys clicking, this stretch run will be critical for them.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Hawks’ Georges Niang echoes Trae Young’s sentiment ahead of stretch run

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/hawks-news-caris-levert-georges-niang-cavs-tenure-help-atlanta');   ga('set', 'title', 'Caris LeVert, Georges Niang reveal how Cavs tenure can help with Hawks');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Hawks-news-Caris-LeVert-Georges-Niang-reveal-how-Cavs-tenure-can-help-with-Atlanta.jpg"></figure><h1>Caris LeVert, Georges Niang reveal how Cavs tenure can help with Hawks</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-07T17:25:02-08:00">February 7th, 5:25pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-07T17:25:02-08:00">February 7th, 5:25pm</time><address><a>Malik Brown</a>Malik Brown is a multimedia reporter based in Atlanta who covers the Hawks and Dream for ClutchPoints. Malik has worked in entertainment and sports, and he specializes in the NBA and NFL.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Atlanta Hawks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Atlanta Hawks introduced their new players before their game against the Milwaukee Bucks, and all seem ready for the new opportunity they’re a part of. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cavs-news-deandre-hunter-hawks-trade">Georges Niang and Caris LeVert were traded</a> to the Hawks for De’Andre Hunter, and they’re leaving a team that was one of the best in the league this season.</p><p>For a team like the Hawks, who aspire to be at the top of the conference, what Niang and LeVert <a href="https://x.com/_MalikATL/status/1888008221732032695" rel="noopener">learned from their tenure</a> with the Cavs can help them.</p><p>“We had a very veteran group, I know this group is very young, so for us it’s just bringing that presence here,” LeVert said.</p><p>“We kind of had a young core over there with Darius [Garland] and Evan [Mobley] , and not to do comparisons or anything, but you look at the young core that is here,” Niang said. “You want to lead by example. I think being an everyday guy, not just a sometimes guy, and I think that’s something that me and Caris pride ourselves on.”</p><p>Both Niang and LeVert bring experience and skills that the Hawks are looking for on the team now and in the future, and they will make a nice impact whenever they’re on the floor.</p><h2>Hawks’ new additions ready to compete</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Georges-Niang.jpg"><figcaption>Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The Hawks’ new additions should fit in seamlessly with the current roster, and most importantly, they give Trae Young more options so he can rack up assists. When asked about playing with Young, Georges Niang had a hilarious answer.</p><p>“I’m just happy I don’t have to guard him because it seems like every time I fouled him,” Niang said. “Every time I was caught up in a switch or a ball screen, so I’m looking forward to being on the receiving end. Being able to play with somebody as dynamic and special as Trae is really going to be a treat for all of us. He draws a lot of attention, and I think all of us can benefit from playing alongside him.”</p><p>Niang and Caris LeVert have been solid three-point shooters throughout their careers, and their lives will be easy with Young finding them for open shots.</p><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/bogdan-bogdanovic-gives-farewell-to-atlanta-after-clippers-trade">Hawks also acquired Terance Mann</a> from the Los Angeles Clippers, and he can be a good defender to play alongside Young and the rest of the roster. Some would say that the Hawks’ roster took a step back after the trades, but it’s hard to say that with the quality players they’ve added.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Caris LeVert, Georges Niang reveal how Cavs tenure can help with Hawks

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/iowa-state-basketball-news-georges-niang-blunt-reaction-iowa-takedown');   ga('set', 'title', 'Georges Niang fires blunt reaction to Iowa State’s Iowa takedown');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Former-Iowa-State-basketball-player-Georges-Niang.jpg"><figcaption>© David Richard-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Georges Niang fires blunt reaction to Iowa State’s Iowa takedown</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-13T06:41:40-08:00">December 13th, 6:41am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-13T06:42:55-08:00">December 13th, 6:42am</time><address><a>Benjamin Adducchio</a>Benjamin Adducchio is a journalist and writer with more than a decade of experience in covering sports news. Ben is a passionate sports fan who loves college football, basketball, and the New York Yankees.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NCAA Basketball</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Former Iowa State basketball player Georges Niang is watching his old team this season. Niang released a social media post after his old school took down Iowa, 89-80.</p><p>Niang made his feelings known while <a href="https://twitter.com/GeorgesNiang20/status/1867397323526967717" rel="noopener">also posting a picture</a> of Iowa State basketball coach T.J. Otzelberger.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">I’m thinking the same thing coach when are they gunna learn!! <a href="https://t.co/ugOvO7y3tY">pic.twitter.com/ugOvO7y3tY</a></p><p>— Georges Niang (@GeorgesNiang20) <a href="https://twitter.com/GeorgesNiang20/status/1867397323526967717?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 13, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“I’m thinking the same thing coach when are they gunna learn!!” Niang said on X, formerly Twitter.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/iowa-state-basketball-news-4-star-recruit-announcement-turn-heads-entire-big-12">Iowa State basketball is doing very well</a> under Otzelberger, who is in his fourth season with the team. The head coach has Iowa State rolling once again this season, after the Cyclones took the Cy-Hawk Trophy in a recent game. The Cyclones are 8-1 on the year.</p><p>Niang is currently playing with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The forward is averaging more than 8 points a game, while grabbing 3.8 rebounds a contest.</p><p>The Cavaliers forward is one of the best hoopers to ever put on the sneakers for Iowa State. Niang was named the Big 12 Tournament MVP in 2015, and was twice named a first-team conference selection. Niang scored more than 2,000 points at Iowa State.</p><h2>Iowa State basketball is a contender in the Big 12 once again this season</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Tamin-Lipsey.jpg"><figcaption>Nirmalendu Majumdar-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The Cyclones are looking to make their fourth consecutive NCAA tournament under Otzelberger. He’s been to the Sweet 16 twice in the last three seasons. Otzelberger has resurrected the Iowa State basketball program after some tough years under Steve Prohm.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/iowa-state-basketball-news-t-j-otzelberger-has-confident-claim-after-historic-win-over-houston">Iowa State basketball is once again ranked</a> and projected to finish near the top of the Big 12. The conference is under major renovation, as four new schools are in the league this year. Those are: Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah. Big 12 conference schools will also play 20 conference games this year, instead of the usual 18 contests.</p><p>Iowa State has competition in the Big 12 this season for a possible championship run. Houston, Kansas, Baylor and Arizona are just a few of the teams looking to capture a title. Even teams like West Virginia and Colorado have started the season with some upset wins. It looks like the Big 12 will be the hardest league once again in college basketball.</p><p>Otzelberger immediately found success in Ames, but it wasn’t always smooth sailing for the coach. He spent two years at UNLV, where he finished with an overall losing record. Otzelberger also coached at South Dakota State, where he took the Jackrabbits to the NCAA tournament twice.</p><p>Iowa State basketball next plays Omaha on Sunday. The Cyclones open their conference schedule with Colorado on December 30. Niang will clearly keep following his team as it continues its journey.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Georges Niang fires blunt reaction to Iowa State’s Iowa takedown

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/news/cavs-news-donovan-mitchell-georges-niang-react-unexpected-guardians-heros-hr');   ga('set', 'title', 'Donovan Mitchell, Georges Niang react to unexpected Guardians hero’s HR');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.cavsnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/CAVS-NATION-Cavs-news-Donovan-Mitchell-Georges-Niang-reacts-to-unexpected-Guardians-heros-HR.jpg"></figure><h1>Donovan Mitchell, Georges Niang react to unexpected Guardians hero’s HR</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-17T19:34:52-07:00">October 17th, 7:34pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-17T19:36:16-07:00">October 17th, 7:36pm</time><address><a>Alex House</a>Alex House is a sportswriter who is comfortable covering many different sports. He grew up in a New York sports-heavy region in Connecticut and earned his journalism degree at the University of Rhode Island. His in-depth knowledge of two of the most passionate and raucous fan bases in the country gives him a truly unique writing voice.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cavs News</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Cleveland Cavaliers begin their <a href="https://cavsnation.com/news/cavs-news-donovan-mitchell-bold-championship-take-ahead-2024-25-season" rel="noopener">2024-25 NBA season</a> in less than a week, but players are still keeping their eye on another local team during the MLB playoffs. Donovan Mitchell and Georges Niang were left stunned, just like all of Ontario Street, when the Guardians earned one of their most electrifying victories of the last decade.</p><p>The ballclub blew a two-run lead in the eighth inning and entered the ninth trailing the New York Yankees, 5-3. Down to its last out, Cleveland turned to slugger Jhonkensy Noel. The 23-year-old Dominican Republic native blasted a pinch-hit two-run home run off closer Luke Weaver, a supremely clutch shot that <a href="https://twitter.com/spidadmitchell/status/1847076674879606957" rel="noopener">reverberated throughout the whole city</a>.</p><h2><b>Cavs players go bonkers for Guardians</b></h2><p>“Wow Cleveland must be going bananas right now,” Cavs forward Georges Niang posted on X, formerly Twitter. “GOTTA BE !! !! !!” <a href="https://cavsnation.com/news/cavs-news-donovan-mitchell-slighted-by-charles-barkley-in-top-50-ranking" rel="noopener">star guard Donovan Mitchell</a> chimed in.</p><p>The Guardians solidified their great escape in the 10th inning after utility man <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/guardians-news-guardians-hero-pulls-off-bonkers-feat-not-seen-since-1995-albert-belle" rel="noopener">David Fry launched a walk-off homer</a> versus Clay Holmes. What seemed destined to be a heart-wrenching and American League Championship Series-defining Game 3 loss amazingly turned into an unforgettable feat of resiliency.</p><p>Two unlikely heroes have guaranteed that the team will host Game 5 on Saturday. Will this be a catalyst for a landmark upset, or is this just a temporary dose of euphoria before the Yankees land a fatal blow this weekend? Who knows, but Stephen Vogt’s scrappy group is giving Cleveland a triumph to savor.</p><p>While Mitchell has witnessed his beloved New York Mets craft their own improbable journey to the playoffs, he obviously has some enthusiasm to spare for the team that resides just a couple minutes away from his Cavs. He and Niang are surely taking note of the October sorcery that Jhonkensy Noel, David Fry and the rest of the Guardians just released in Progressive Field.</p><p>Maybe they can use some of the leftover magic to help the Cavaliers jump start their own notable campaign.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Donovan Mitchell, Georges Niang react to unexpected Guardians hero’s HR

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/cavs-news-georges-niang-insight-kenny-atkinsons-offense');   ga('set', 'title', 'Cavs’ Georges Niang gives insight into Kenny Atkinson’s new offense');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Georges-Niang-gives-insight-into-Kenny-Atkinsons-new-offense.jpg"></figure><h1>Cavs’ Georges Niang gives insight into Kenny Atkinson’s new offense</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-08T18:30:06-07:00">October 8th, 6:30pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-08T18:30:06-07:00">October 8th, 6:30pm</time><address><a href="https://www.downeuclid.com">Evan Dammarell</a>Evan Dammarell is an award-winning sports journalist covering all things Cleveland, including the Cavs, right off the shores of Lake Erie. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>There’s been hype surrounding head coach Kenny Atkinson’s new offense during the offseason and training camp. Under Atkinson, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cavs-news-kenny-atkinsons-tactics-ahead-of-competition">the Cavs are expected</a> to utilize a motion-based offense that wants to play with pace and get up three-pointers. There’s also an emphasis on moving the ball and empowering his players to make the right reads. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/kenny-atkinson-to-slowly-reinvent-cavs-entering-training-camp">The idea under Atkinson</a> is to play with flow and pace and create advantages that make the players on the floor effective. This system will empower players to grow and develop, honing skills that could eventually become strengths. But for as much talk as there was about it, it’s hard to mentally visualize it without viewing it. Thankfully, Cavs veteran forward Georges Niang <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlXoDTKGCsY" rel="noopener">gave great insight into how</a> Cleveland will play under Atkinson.</p><p>“It’s flying the ball off the court with the pass,” said Niang. “We have two elite rim-running bigs. So, getting them easy layups and dunks by running the floor keeps them motivated to run the floor.</p><p>“The ball is going to get to them to pass more than you know. We are going to be dribbling the ball up the court. So, I think playing with pace for us is advancing the ball with the pass, getting into the lane, and then starting our cycle of drive and kicks.”</p><h2><b>Cavs’ new offense on full display in first preseason game</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Georges-Niang-Cavs-timeout.jpg"><figcaption>Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Thankfully, Niang’s insight came to fruition in Cleveland’s first preseason game against the Chicago Bulls. Within the first five minutes of action, the Cavs roared out to a 19-7 lead. It was all predicated on pace, space, and intelligent passing. It all gelled together nicely, picking apart a haphazard Bulls defense and showing early signs of how Atkinson wants Cleveland to play.</p><p>Twenty-seven of the Cavs’ 47 made field goals came off of assists. Those 24 dimes led to 58 points scored by Cleveland, more than 64.1% of their total points. Seven resulted from the Cavs driving toward the bucket and then kicking back to the open shooter. The remaining 20 were either off crafty dimes to big men Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, who both took turns bullying the Bulls inside. Or they came off of pull-up jumpers or attempts within the perimeter.</p><p>For reference, the Cavs assisted on 2299 of their made field goals last season. Sure, the 67.1.% assist percentage is roughly the same as what Cleveland had against Chicago. Last season’s numbers came in the regular season. The Cavs could put together these numbers with their starters only playing minutes into the second half and Atkinson going deep into his bench throughout. Atkinson started to stretch things out midway into the third and entered the final frame. Regardless, Atkinson’s system kept trying to find clean looks off of constant movement, irrespective of where the attempt came from on the floor.</p><p>Before the game, Atkinson said he didn’t have a firm number of three-point attempts that he wanted Cleveland to take. However, he did joke that he won’t discourage his players from firing away from the perimeter, regardless of whether or not they were contested. Nearly half of the Cavs’ attempts in this game came from the perimeter. Meanwhile, Cleveland saw more than half of their attempts in the paint. The remaining 4.6% of their attempts were considered inefficient by analytical standards.</p><p>That’s the idealized form of Atkinson’s offense. It’s a heavy dose of analytics where his team looks to get the most efficient shot whenever possible. Niang provided a teaser of what to expect, and Cleveland more than backed up their veteran forward’s words against Chicago. Again, these numbers are a bit watered down. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cavs-news-impact-of-max-strus-exiting-preseason-game-early-against-bulls">The Cavs lost</a> Max Strus early and pulled their starters in the third quarter. So, things could be even more refined once the regular season begins. It’s an encouraging first step, even if Cleveland lost to Chicago.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Cavs’ Georges Niang gives insight into Kenny Atkinson’s new offense

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/76ers-news-tyrese-maxey-tobias-harris-react-georges-niang-big-game-for-cavs');   ga('set', 'title', '76ers’ Tyrese Maxey, Tobias Harris react to Georges Niang’s big game for Cavs');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/76ers-Cavs-Tobias-Harris-Tyrese-Maxey-Georges-Niang.jpeg"></figure><h1>76ers’ Tyrese Maxey, Tobias Harris react to Georges Niang’s big game for Cavs</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-03-30T09:47:11-07:00">March 30th, 9:47am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-03-30T09:47:11-07:00">March 30th, 9:47am</time><address><a>Sam DiGiovanni</a>Sam DiGiovanni started at ClutchPoints as an associate editor in 2021 and became the site's Philadelphia 76ers beat reporter ahead of the 2022-23 season. He graduated from Marist College in May of 2022 and has written for TheKnicksWall.com and CenterFieldMarist.com in the past.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Philadelphia 76ers fell to the Cleveland Cavaliers despite holding their star backcourt of Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland to 28 combined points. Georges Niang, who just left the Sixers for the Cavs this offseason, shot the lights out and helped the Cavs <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/76ers-vs-cavs-instant-breakdown-tyrese-maxey-donovan-mitchell-kyle-lowry">secure the win</a>.</p><p>Niang scored a game-high 25 points on 10-14 shooting from the field and 5-8 on threes. He didn’t record a rebound or an assist in his 30 minutes. The only other stats he added to his final line was a block and a foul. All it took was pure buckets to make a former beloved role player in Philly the enemy for a night.</p><p>In the three other games Niang played against the 76ers this season (64 total minutes), he recorded 21 points total on 7-17 shooting along with 17 rebounds. The veteran sharpshooter spent two seasons there, becoming a staple of the bench. He’s looking to do the same in Cleveland.</p><p>“It sucks being on the other side of it,” Tyrese Maxey told reporters. “We know what he’s capable of doing, we know if he sees one or two go in, it’s gonna be hard to contain him from the three-point line. But you gotta run him off. We ran him off the three-point line a couple of times but he made some plays today.”</p><p>The 76ers’ defense prioritized the pick-and-roll that Garland and Mitchell ran with Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, leaving Niang open in the corner as his man cheated over to the paint. As Niang showed on his first bucket, he’s capable of attacking closeouts and scoring inside the arc.</p><figure><video><source src="https://videos.nba.com/nba/pbp/media/2024/03/29/0022301067/111/f1683582-3010-9f0c-fa81-822b85c485b8_1280x720.mp4?_=1" type="video/mp4"></source></video></figure><p>The Sixers had a lot of space to cover when rotating back out to Niang. But because of his height and high release point, he still had plenty of space to fire away. The Cavs’ big men can all <a href="https://x.com/CavsNationCP/status/1773886032875852019?s=20" rel="noopener">make passes on the roll</a>, putting Philly’s defense in a major bind after bringing its centers up to the level of the on-ball screen.</p><figure><video><source src="https://videos.nba.com/nba/pbp/media/2024/03/29/0022301067/255/e1a570dd-ca0b-943a-cd34-5f345fcd4da5_1280x720.mp4?_=2" type="video/mp4"></source></video></figure><p>It was an unusual scoring distribution for the Sixers, too. They were led by Kyle Lowry, who notched <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/76ers-news-nick-nurse-honest-take-kyle-lowry-standout-game-loss-to-cavs">an efficient 23 points</a>. Maxey recorded 16 points and 11 assists on 7-26 shooting and Tobias Harris chipped in 21 points on 8-17 shooting. But in the end, Philly allowed Niang to get up good shots and he made them pay.</p><p>“He made some timely shots for them, big  shots  for them — those type of threes that create momentum for their group that he’s able to make,” Harris told reporters. “And somebody who shoots it that well, we gotta be better at [defending]. A lot of that comes from we gotta maintain the basketball, as well.”</p><p>Harris said that “too many drive-bys” allowed the Cavs to get open three. The 76ers have gotten better defensively without Embiid but still have weaknesses to exploit. That’s when an inefficient night from Maxey can really sink them, as it did in this game against the Cavs.</p><p>“So, a couple of things that we can tweak and get better at and get ready for the next one,” Harris said. The next one for the Sixers is an Easter Sunday showdown against the Toronto Raptors.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

76ers’ Tyrese Maxey, Tobias Harris react to Georges Niang’s big game for Cavs

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/cavs-reason-caris-levert-georges-niang-struggles');   ga('set', 'title', 'Why the Cavs keep leaning on Caris LeVert, Georges Niang despite their struggles');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Why_the_Cavs_keep_leaning_on_Caris_LeVert_and_Georges_Niang_despite_their_struggles.webp"></figure><h1>Why the Cavs keep leaning on Caris LeVert, Georges Niang despite their struggles</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-02-25T21:03:42-08:00">February 25th, 9:03pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-02-25T21:03:42-08:00">February 25th, 9:03pm</time><address><a>Evan Dammarell</a>Evan Dammarell is an award-winning sports journalist covering all things Cleveland, including the Cavs, right off the shores of Lake Erie. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. He can also be found three to five times weekly on Locked On Cavs, a part of the Locked On Podcast Network.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Mini-Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Coming out of the All-Star break, things have been topsy-turvy for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Sure, that’s to be expected from any team after taking nearly a week off, especially when the Cavs opened up the second half of the season with five games in seven nights. But, it’s been hard for them to find balance, especially when Darius Garland and Evan Mobley are still playing their way back into proper shape.</p><p>While Cleveland waits for Garland and Mobley to be 100%, they need their role players to step up and deliver. Thankfully, Isaac Okoro and Max Strus have done precisely that, giving the Cavs defense, energy and scoring whenever they’re on the floor. But, <a href="https://cavsnation.com/cavs-news-caris-levert-gets-100-honest-on-recent-struggles" rel="noopener">when it comes to Caris LeVert</a> and Georges Niang, two key rotation pieces for Cleveland, it hasn’t been as easy.</p><h2><b>Why the Cavs are leaning on Caris LeVert and Georges Niang</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Caris_LeVert_s_status_is_up_in_the_air_as_the_Cavs_lock_horns_with_the_Bucks.webp"></figure><p>In the three games back from the All-Star break, LeVert has averaged 10.0 points on 29.0% shooting, 6.3 rebounds and 4.7 assists in 27.0 minutes per game. Niang, meanwhile, has put up 8.7 points and 3.0 rebounds in 18.0 minutes per game, lacking some of the scoring punch he’s given Cleveland most nights. Unfortunately, the scoring woes LeVert and Niang are currently dealing with are part of the human nature of basketball. Neither player can be perfect every night and so the Cavs will keep riding with them until they can find their groove leading up to the postseason.</p><p>But, while LeVert and Niang struggle, Cleveland fans continue to grumble when Sam Merrill and Dean Wade, players who aren’t on the same level as LeVert and Niang but provide similar things, are seldom seeing the floor now that the team’s finding a clean bill of health. While it’s fair to wonder what damage it would do some nights to give Merrill or Wade a little extra burn in place of either LeVert or Niang, it’s not that simple. Sure, it could help the Cavs lock up another win and help maintain their grasp on the second-best record in the Eastern Conference. But, taking time away from LeVert and Niang is counterproductive to the real goal for Cleveland over this final stretch of the season: getting this squad ready for a deep playoff run.</p><p>Before their first game back after the All-Star break against the Orlando Magic, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cavs-taking-it-slow-after-all-star-break-with-eyes-on-playoffs" rel="noopener">Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said</a> the plan is to gradually start ramping up the intensity leading to the postseason. That means more minutes for certain players and overall tighter rotations, with Cleveland ultimately settling on the top eight players to win a playoff series. Of course, the star-studded quartet of Garland, Mobley, Donovan Mitchell and Jarrett Allen are the center of it all. Outside of that group, it’s become clear that Okoro, Strus, Niang and LeVert finalize Bickerstaff’s top eight. It means that once the playoffs begin, that’s the group that will see the lion’s share of minutes every game.</p><p>With so few of games remaining in the regular season, it first and foremost matters to give Georges Niang and Caris LeVert as many chances to find their rhythm as the team ramps up their run to the playoffs. Moreover, it’s even more important to have Garland and Mobley, who missed over a month mid-way into the season, to also find a rhythm and cadence when sharing the floor with either Niang or LeVert. There aren’t many opportunities to practice left in the NBA’s regular season and in the limited chances they have, it’s chalked up to film review, rest and recovery.</p><p>So, while as tempting as Merrill and Wade might be in the interim to roll with, it could hamper the big picture and goals for the Cavs come playoff time. That’s counterproductive to what matters most: a serious playoff run and possibly a championship. Besides, Merril, Wade, Niang or LeVert aren’t going to be the ones who decide a playoff series. But, having the best supporting cast around your stars sure helps.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Why the Cavs keep leaning on Caris LeVert, Georges Niang despite their struggles

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/cavs-news-georges-niang-proving-heart-and-soul-hot-streak');   ga('set', 'title', 'Cavs’ Georges Niang proving to be heart and soul of team amid hot streak');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Cavs__Georges_Niang_proving_to_be_heart_and_soul_of_team_copy.webp"></figure><h1>Cavs’ Georges Niang proving to be heart and soul of team amid hot streak</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-02-15T13:28:20-08:00">February 15th, 1:28pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-02-15T13:28:55-08:00">February 15th, 1:28pm</time><address><a>Evan Dammarell</a>Evan Dammarell is an award-winning sports journalist covering all things Cleveland, including the Cavs, right off the shores of Lake Erie. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. He can also be found three to five times weekly on Locked On Cavs, a part of the Locked On Podcast Network.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Whenever you’re around the Cleveland Cavaliers, you can quickly tell that Georges Niang is the loudest guy in the room. The more you get to know him, the more you learn that Niang is also unapologetically himself and doesn’t mince words. For example, after going 13-of-14 from the field in <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cavs-total-team-effort-vs-bucks-keys-historic-blowout-win" rel="noopener">Cleveland’s 135-95 win</a> over the Milwaukee Bucks in January, including 5-of-6 from three-point range, Niang was brutally honest when he learned he’s been shooting 32.1% from three-point range over the Cavs’ last 13 games.</p><p>“Oh, so you’re telling me I stink,” Niang sarcastically quipped after <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cavs-learn-live-die-by-three-win-over-bulls" rel="noopener">Cleveland defeated the Chicago Bulls</a> on Wednesday. “But it’s a fact. I mean, I haven’t been making three-pointers, so I’ve got to find other ways to be effective.</p><p>“I’m not going to sit here and be offended. That’s not how it is. And I know that moving forward, I’m going to have to take and make shots, especially in the playoffs. And I’m eager and excited to show you that or show everybody that.”</p><p>Niang making himself the butt of the joke, aware of his issues on the court, is just one instance in which he’s proven to be <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/georges-niang-becoming-vital-cavs-success" rel="noopener">one of the leaders</a> for a young, up-and-coming Cavs squad. But the brashness of his delivery in acknowledging this cold streak is another lens into what kind of player Niang can be on the court, even when his shot isn’t falling. It gives Niang true grit, and his “don’t take crap from anybody” attitude gave Cleveland a spark in a nail-biter against Chicago.</p><h2><b>Niang’s fiery leadership</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Georges_Niang_and_Coby_White_altercation.webp"><figcaption>Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Early into the fourth quarter of Wednesday’s game, Niang and Bulls guard Coby White <a href="https://x.com/ClutchPoints/status/1757955456058773592?s=20" rel="noopener">exchanged shoves</a> and heated words while tallying double-technical fouls. As Niang guarded him, White appeared to throw his head back in an attempt to sell a foul. White then passed the ball, pushed Niang’s left arm down, and received a shove in return. Aside from the double technicals, Niang picked up his fourth personal foul during the official review of the play.</p><p>Later, Niang fouled out of the game completely with just four minutes and 39 seconds remaining on the game clock. He checked out with a total of 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field, including 1-of-5 on his attempts from beyond the arc. But what Niang had done in that limited stretch, standing up against a Bulls team that was very physical with the Cavs all night, was a system shock that allowed Cleveland to scratch and claw their way to victory.</p><p>“I love it,” All-Star Donovan Mitchell said when asked about the Niang-White altercation. “The sense of fire — that’s the biggest thing as a team, just having that. We’re not going to go out there and fight. This isn’t WWE. This isn’t UFC. So just being able to set that tone, I think, was huge.”</p><p>Cavaliers swingman Isaac Okoro called Niang an enforcer for his actions in the game against Chicago. While Niang knew it was probably said in jest, he took the compliment from Okoro in stride.</p><p>“Coming from Isaac, I’m sure that was a little sarcastic, but I appreciate that coming from him,” Niang stated. “But, no. I play with a lot of tenacity. I play with a lot of intensity, and that’s just who I am. I don’t back down from anybody, and I hope that rubs off on all our guys because I think we have a great team.</p><p>“We have a chance to do something special.”</p><p>Niang finds himself as part of a tonal shift, one that gives the Cavs the grit they lacked for most of last season. Although one of the league leaders in technical fouls, Max Strus has aided in establishing this new foundation since being acquired in a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cavaliers-news-max-strus-sign-and-trade-free-agency-4-year-63-million-contract" rel="noopener">sign-and-trade</a> from the Miami Heat this past offseason. Veteran big man Tristan Thompson, who is suspended until March for <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cavs-news-tristan-thompson-suspended-25-games-violating-anti-drug-program" rel="noopener">violating the league’s anti-drug policy</a>, also brings a level of grit to this team given his multiple postseason appearances and scuffles through the years.</p><p>Clearly, Cleveland isn’t afraid to get physical and to continue talking trash while their foot is on their opponent’s throats.</p><p>Can it be annoying? Sure. But if an opponent starts feeding into it, the Cavs know they’ve already won since they’ve broken the opposition from a mental standpoint.</p><p>Niang, being as bold and brash as he is, has helped enforce this new mentality. Given all the dynamic play from elsewhere on the roster, this is a recipe that allows the Cavs to keep scrapping and clawing until they prove to be the team to beat in the Eastern Conference.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Cavs’ Georges Niang proving to be heart and soul of team amid hot streak

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/georges-niang-becoming-vital-cavs-success');   ga('set', 'title', 'Georges Niang is becoming vital to Cavs’ success');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/georges-niang-is-becoming-vital-to-clevelands-success.webp"></figure><h1>Georges Niang is becoming vital to Cavs’ success</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2023-12-09T13:31:51-08:00">December 9th, 1:31pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2023-12-09T13:31:51-08:00">December 9th, 1:31pm</time><address><a>Evan Dammarell</a>Evan Dammarell is an award-winning sports journalist covering all things Cleveland, including the Cavs, right off the shores of Lake Erie. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. He can also be found three to five times weekly on Locked On Cavs, a part of the Locked On Podcast Network.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Cleveland Cavaliers needed a spark against the Miami Heat on Friday, staring down the barrel of a 16-point deficit early in the second quarter.</p><p>The starting unit looked shaky and All-Star guard Darius Garland had racked up four quick, questionable fouls. It forced the Cavs to lean on Craig Porter Jr., someone who has earned the trust of head coach J.B. Bickerstaff despite being a rookie. Porter never seemed phased by the moment’s significance and, to the surprise of no one, shouldered the responsibilities Garland typically carries on the floor.</p><p>While Porter was great, he wasn’t the catalyst that helped Cleveland roar back into the game and eventually defeat Miami <a href="https://www.nba.com/game/cle-vs-mia-0022301220/box-score#box-score" rel="noopener">111-99</a>. Instead, those honors go to backup forward Georges Niang, the loud, brash and now vital member of the Cavs on a nightly basis. Niang was Cleveland’s leading bench scorer, finishing the night with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting along with three rebounds and two assists.</p><h2><b>Georges Niang making his imprint on Cavs</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/cavs-2023-offseason-recap-max-strus-georges-niang-highlight-added-depth.jpg"></figure><p>For Niang and the Cavs, this is what everyone expected from him as a key reserve, replacing the production shooting-wise that Kevin Love gave Cleveland at times last season. It took a bit for him to get there and Niang had a slow start to 2023-24. His shot wasn’t falling and he was getting shredded by opponents on defense. But it was an expected part of the acclimation process as the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cavs-2023-offseason-recap-max-strus-georges-niang-donovan-mitchell" rel="noopener">free agency acquisition</a> tried to find his place on a team with strong roster continuity from top to bottom.</p><p>Niang went scoreless in his Cavs debut and scored double-figures just three times in his first 11 games. Bricked, wide-open jumpers and three-pointers led to outside noise and questions about whether he was worth the three-year, $25.5 million contract Cleveland gave him over the summer.</p><p>But internally, Niang had the faith and support of his teammates who knew it would take time for him to adjust to a new situation. Considering that his 13 points against the Heat is the eighth time in 10 games Niang has scored in double-digits, the wait was worth it for Cleveland. Now, he has become a vital steadying force for the Cavs’ second unit, averaging 8.6 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists while connecting on 36.7% of his three-point attempts per game.</p><p>“First 10 games, I was running around, looking around, but I definitely feel a lot more comfortable knowing my role, what’s expected of me, what I can do, where my spots are gonna be and what I have to do every single day,” Niang said before Cleveland took the road. “I feel extremely comfortable, but when we get our full lineup here, sometimes you have to sacrifice, sometimes you’re expected to do more, sometimes you have to do less. Sometimes you kinda got to get in where you fit in.”</p><p>Niang gives the Cavs a new wrinkle off the bench as an offensive specialist and, now, a consistent shooting threat. He was Cleveland’s most impactful reserve in the win over Miami, especially with sixth man Caris LeVert sidelined by a knee injury. The bold and brash forward has become a vital piece for the Cavs both on and off the court and is shaping up to be the glue guy who brings everyone together and helps the team thrive in a very strong Eastern Conference.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2023-24 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
9.9	3.4	1.4	0.2	0.4

2023-24 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
9.9	3.4	1.4	0.2	0.4

Georges Niang news

Georges
Niang news