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Pressure on Activision Blizzard CEO to resign grows
We reported on employees calling for Activision Blizzard boss Bobby Kotick’s resignation earlier this week in TMA, but pressure continues to mount. Alongside more than 800 Activision Blizzard employees and contractors that have signed a petition calling for CEO Bobby Kotick to be removed, there have been responses from both the head of PlayStation, Jim Ryan, and Microsoft’s Phil Spencer.
In a memo obtained by Bloomberg, Spencer reportedly said he and other leaders at Xbox are “disturbed and deeply troubled by the horrific events and actions” that reportedly took place at Activision Blizzard and that Microsoft was “evaluating all aspects” of their relationship with the game publisher.
-Mat Smith
The company may be narrowing its focus.
Bloomberg sources claim Apple is now shifting its attention to a fully self-driving car, not just a more conventional vehicle with semi-autonomous features. New project leader Kevin Lynch wants the very first model to drive itself, according to sources.
The company is reportedly speeding up its plans, too. Instead of a targeted launch in five to seven years, the sources said it was now aiming for 2025 — that’s just four years away.
Continue reading.
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Canadian police arrest teen for stealing $36.

It’s one of the biggest crypto thefts involving a single person.
Police in Canada say they recently arrested a teen who allegedly stole $46 million CAD (approximately $36.5 million) worth of cryptocurrency from a single individual in the US.
The owner of the currency was the victim of a SIM swap attack. Their cellphone number was hijacked and used to intercept two-factor authentication requests, thereby allowing access to their protected accounts. Some of the stolen money was used to purchase a “rare” online gaming username, which eventually allowed the Hamilton Police Service, as well as FBI and US Secret Service Electronic Crimes Task Force, to identify the account holder. Police seized approximately $7 million CAD ($5.5 million) in stolen cryptocurrency when they arrested the teen.
Story continues
Continue reading.
Yes, there’s a product showroom.
The Morning After
Nike announced a partnership with Roblox to offer a free virtual playspace called Nikeland. In its current iteration, Nikeland includes minigames such as tag, dodgeball and the floor is lava that players can check out with their friends. Mobile integration allows you to use your phone to translate real-life movement into the game. In that way, you can do things like long jumps and fast sprints.
Why did Nike team-up with Roblox? Because it’s huge. With more than 200 million estimated monthly active users, it’s one of the most popular games among kids and teenagers.
Continue reading.
Google’s second-gen Pixel Stand is available for pre-order
It has a fan?
The Morning After
The new Pixel Stand is both bigger and more powerful than its predecessor — even if it didn’t make it in time for the Pixel 6 launch. It can charge the Pixel 6 Pro at up to 23W (21W for the regular Pixel 6) and has a fan to keep everything cool, but also presumably make noise while you charge. And while it will charge many Qi-compatible devices at up to 15W, Google phone owners receive some extra perks. You can use the Pixel 3 and newer models as makeshift Google Assistant smart speakers, display personal data like calendars while unlocked or turn your phone into a photo frame.
Continue reading.
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NBA Power Rankings 2021: Each team’s biggest concern through Week 4
We’re officially one month into the 2021-22 NBA season, meaning the small sample sizes are starting to grow and teams are beginning to reveal their true identities.
It’s still too early to deem anything we’ve seen so far as concrete, but there are trends starting to set in across the league, both good and bad. In this week’s edition of our NBA Power Rankings, we highlight each team’s biggest concern through the first four weeks of the season.
As a reminder, these power rankings are a reflection of where teams stand up to this point in the season and not a projection of where they may land later in the season.
Take a look at where your favorite team landed this week.
The undefeated and the winless
Undefeated: Suns (4-0), Nuggets (4-0), Wizards (2-0)
Winless: 76ers (0-4), Kings (0-3), Rockets (0-3), Magic (0-2)
Biggest riser
Wizards: 16 → 8
Biggest faller
76ers: 5 → 13
Weekly scoring leader
Stephen Curry: 34.8 points per game
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NBA Power Rankings 2021
(Getty Images)
https://images.daznservices.com/di/library/sporting_news/53/4b/warriors-star-stephen-curry_1l08dcyuzprjo1cqgtoofymje5.jpeg?t=-1458446540&w=500&quality=80
1. Golden State Warriors
- Previous rank: 3
- Overall W-L: 11-2
- Last week: 3-1
- Upcoming: at Nets, at Cavaliers, at Pistons, vs. Raptors
Biggest concern: Frontcourt depth
The Warriors are humming along and doing a great job of taking care of the soft schedule in front of them, but when Draymond Green went down on Wednesday with a right thigh contusion things could have gotten very real, real quick. While the Warriors backcourt depth has been a pleasant surprise so far this season even without Klay Thompson, are we really sure the frontcourt has the horses to withstand any adversity?
Yeah, the Warriors won the game and Green avoided missing serious time, but you can’t help but worry about what would happen if their depth were to take that kind of hit.
– Carlan Gay
2. Brooklyn Nets
- Previous rank: 4
- Overall W-L: 10-4
- Last week: 3-1
- Upcoming: vs. Warriors, vs. Cavaliers, vs. Magic
Biggest concern: Which version of James Harden will the Nets get?
It’s been an up-and-down start to the season for Harden, who is averaging his fewest points per game (19.5) since 2011-12 at the lowest efficiency of his career (42.6% FG) aside from his rookie year.
However, there have been some bright spots like his 39-point, 12-assist double-double in a win over the Pelicans this past week where he looked like his usual, prolific scoring self. He also has three triple-doubles on the season, all of which have resulted in wins for the Nets.
With Kyrie Irving’s absence, it’s increasingly vital for Brooklyn’s championship aspirations that Harden finds a groove and plays to his All-Star capabilities consistently.
– Kyle Irving
3. Phoenix Suns
- Previous rank: 8
- Overall W-L: 9-3
- Last week: 4-0
- Upcoming: at Timberwolves, vs. Mavericks, vs. Mavericks, vs. Nuggets
Biggest concern: Keeping momentum rolling at full strength
With consistent minutes, it appears as though Frank Kaminsky can be a big-time contributor to the Suns’ frontline. He’s gotten the opportunity with Deandre Ayton sidelined. Frank the Tank won’t have many 31-point nights like he did last week against the Blazers, but he does give the Suns a solid scoring option on their second unit. When Ayton comes back to the lineup, how will the Suns continue to get the most out of Frank?
– Carlan Gay
4. Chicago Bulls
- Previous rank: 6
- Overall W-L: 9-4
- Last week: 3-1
- Upcoming: at Lakers, at Trail Blazers, at Nuggets, vs. Knicks
Biggest concern: The frontcourt dropoff after Nikola Vucevic
Before he entered the league’s health and safety protocols, Vucevic wasn’t playing up to his usual standards. The two-time All-Star is averaging just 13.6 points per game and shooting under 40 percent from the field through 11 games. But Vucevic is still a guy opposing defenses must respect, unlike backup big men Tony Bradley and Alize Johnson. His absence will put even more weight on the shoulders of DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine.
— Jordan Greer
5. Denver Nuggets
- Previous rank: 10
- Overall W-L: 9-4
- Last week: 4-0
- Upcoming: at Mavericks, vs. 76ers, vs. Bulls, at Suns
Biggest concern: Creating more offense around Nikola Jokic
The Nuggets are scoring at a rate of 104.1 points per 100 possessions, which ranks them 24th in the league. They’re missing a big part of their offense in Jamal Murray, who is still a long way away from coming back. Denver ranks in the 96th percentile on cuts, according to NBA Stats. The only problem with that is the Nuggets only average 6.0 possessions of that per game. For a team with the best passer in the league to not take advantage of that by cutting way more is almost criminal. It feels like the Nuggets are leaving points on the table by not cutting more, especially with Murray out.
– Carlan Gay
6. Miami Heat
- Previous rank: 1
- Overall W-L: 8-5
- Last week: 1-3
- Upcoming: at Thunder, vs. Pelicans, vs. Wizards, at Wizards
Biggest concern: 3-point shooting
The Heat have been a well-oiled machine early on in the season and while you could make the case that lack of depth is their biggest concern, I’m going with 3-point shooting.
In this day and age, you have to knock down 3s in order to keep up with the most high-powered offenses in the league. Through their first 13 games, the Heat rank 20th in 3-pointers made per game (11.2) and 16th in 3-point percentage (34.0%). Known sharpshooter Duncan Robinson hasn’t been his typical self, shooting 33.3 percent on 9.2 attempts per game. Kyle Lowry is shooting 32.9 percent from 3, his lowest mark since 2009-10.
With their two best players – Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo – reluctant to shoot the 3-ball, guys like Robinson and Lowry need to start converting a higher clip to create space for the team’s two go-to scoring options.
– Kyle Irving
7. Utah Jazz
- Previous rank: 2
- Overall W-L: 8-5
- Last week: 1-2
- Upcoming: vs. 76ers, vs. Raptors, at Kings
Biggest concern: Producing offense when Donovan Mitchell’s on the bench
Utah’s offense falls off a cliff when Donovan Mitchell isn’t in the game. Going into last Friday’s action, the Jazz are scoring at a rate of 117.3 points per 100 possessions with Mitchell on the floor. When he sits, that number drops to 103.2. Utah needs more offense outside of Mitchell or it’ll face the same fate it has the past few years in the playoffs.
– Carlan Gay
8. Washington Wizards
- Previous rank: 16
- Overall W-L: 9-3
- Last week: 2-0
- Upcoming: vs. Pelicans, at Hornets, at Heat, vs. Heat
Biggest concern: Is this start sustainable?
Owning the best record in the Eastern Conference, Washington is thriving with a group of players that were seen as outcasts from their former teams. Montrezl Harrell has been a monster, averaging 18.3 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. Spencer Dinwiddie has been a jolt of offense, posting 16.1 points and 5.5 assists per game. Kyle Kuzma has stepped up massively in a new role, posting 15.0 points and 9.2 rebounds per game, recently knocking down a game-winner over the Cavaliers.
Is this Wizards team for real? Or will they fizzle out as the season goes on?
– Kyle Irving
9. Milwaukee Bucks
- Previous rank: 7
- Overall W-L: 6-8
- Last week: 2-2
- Upcoming: vs. Lakers, vs. Thunder, vs. Magic
Biggest concern: Getting Jrue Holiday’s shot back on track
If you take a glance at Holiday’s shooting numbers in a few November games, you may start feeling pain in your eyes: 3 of 8, 6 of 16, 4 of 14, 6 of 25. Yikes. It’s important to keep in mind that the Bucks have struggled with health issues to start the season, and Milwaukee’s “Big Three” of Holiday, Khris Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo has only logged 21 total minutes together. Still, it would be nice to see Holiday move closer toward being the guy who shot 50.3 percent from the field and 39.2 percent from 3-point range last season.
— Jordan Greer
10. Dallas Mavericks
- Previous rank: 11
- Overall W-L: 8-4
- Last week: 2-1
- Upcoming: vs. Nuggets, at Suns, at Suns, at Clippers
Biggest concern: Getting more out of Kristaps Porzingis
The Mavericks just need to be getting more out of Kristaps Porzingis. He’s averaging just 17.9 points and 7.4 rebounds per game while shooting an ugly 42.1 percent from the field. With Porzingis on the floor so far this season, the Mavs are being outscored by 11.5 points per 100 possessions. When he’s off the floor, they’ve been playing teams pretty even with a net rating of 2.7. Porzingis may not ever get back to the All-Star he was early in his career, but he can be far better than this.
– Carlan Gay
11. Los Angeles Lakers
- Previous rank: 12
- Overall W-L: 8-6
- Last week: 3-1
- Upcoming: vs. Bulls, at Bucks, at Celtics, at Pistons
Biggest concern: Does anyone value the ball?
The Lakers’ turnover problems start with Russell Westbrook. He leads the league in turnovers per game, but he isn’t the only one in Los Angeles who deserves some blame for the early offensive struggles. Other primary ball handlers such as Rajon Rondo, Malik Monk and even LeBron James have been far too careless. These Lakers simply aren’t good enough right now to throw away so many possessions.
— Jordan Greer
MORE: How much time will LeBron miss?
12. New York Knicks
- Previous rank: 9
- Overall W-L: 7-6
- Last week: 1-2
- Upcoming: vs. Pacers, vs. Magic, vs. Rockets, at Bulls
Biggest concern: Losing their identity
Last season, the Knicks were below average offensively and elite defensively. So far this season, they’ve been elite offensively and well below average defensively. Their starting lineup in particular has been a disaster on that end of the court. The Knicks are unlikely to reach the defensive heights they did last season — they made the moves they did in the offseason to address their offense — but it’s hard to see them making noise in the Eastern Conference again if the teams are going to continue scoring on them this easily.
— Scott Rafferty
13. Philadelphia 76ers
- Previous rank: 5
- Overall W-L: 8-6
- Last week: 0-4
- Upcoming: at Jazz, at Nuggets, at Trail Blazers
Biggest concern: What if the offense isn’t for real?
One of the biggest surprises this season has been Philadelphia’s success despite Ben Simmons not playing and having to deal with extended absences from Tobias Harris and Joel Embiid. The biggest surprise? The 76ers entered the weekend with the most efficient offense in the league after ranking 13th in offensive efficiency last season. Maybe this team will be dynamite offensively all season long, but what if they’re not? Are we still looking at a top-five team in the Eastern Conference?
— Scott Rafferty
14. LA Clippers
- Previous rank: 19
- Overall W-L: 8-5
- Last week: 3-1
- Upcoming: vs. Spurs, at Grizzlies, at Pelicans, vs. Mavericks
Biggest concern: Figuring out how Serge Ibaka fits into the equation
It’s easy to forget how big of a deal it was when the Clippers landed Ibaka in free agency in 2020. He joined LA following a season that saw him average a career-best 15.4 points per game on .512/.385/.718. Last season, he was limited to 41 games due to a back injury that required surgery. This season, he’s only appeared in two games. It’s going to take Ibaka time to find his groove again, but both Ivica Zubac and Isaiah Hartenstein have been an important part of the team’s early success. It’s going to be interesting to see how they work him back into the rotation.
— Scott Rafferty
(NBA Getty Images)
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15. Boston Celtics
- Previous rank: 18
- Overall W-L: 6-7
- Last week: 2-1
- Upcoming: at Cavaliers, at Hawks, vs. Lakers, vs. Thunder
Biggest concern: Finishing games
Of the Celtics’ seven losses, two have come in overtime, two have been blown double-digit leads and one ended at the fate of a Luka Doncic game-winning buzzer-beater.
Boston let a 19-point lead slip away against the Bulls a few weeks back and clearly didn’t learn its lesson. This past weekend, they blew another 19-point lead, this time to the Cavaliers, falling in Cleveland by two points.
There aren’t many teams that are more unpredictable on a night-to-night basis than the Celtics and they’ll have to start closing games if they want to reach their potential as one of the top teams in the East.
– Kyle Irving
16. Cleveland Cavaliers
- Previous rank: 20
- Overall W-L: 9-5
- Last week: 2-1
- Upcoming: vs. Celtics, at Nets, vs. Warriors
Biggest concern: Replacing Collin Sexton’s offensive production
The Cavaliers are rolling early on in the season, but they did receive some devastating news this past week.
Former No. 8 overall pick Collin Sexton was diagnosed with a torn meniscus, sidelining the guard indefinitely. The 22-year-old’s scoring average was down to 16.0 points per game due to Cleveland simply having more mouths to feed, but that was still good for second-most on the team.
Sexton is a crucial part of Cleveland’s offensive gameplan and it will need players like Evan Mobley, Ricky Rubio and even Cedi Osman to step up and replace that scoring output while Kevin Love and Lauri Markkanen remain sidelined due to the league’s health and safety protocols.
– Kyle Irving
17. Toronto Raptors
- Previous rank: 13
- Overall W-L: 7-7
- Last week: 1-2
- Upcoming: at Trail Blazers, at Jazz, at Kings, at Warriors
Biggest concern: Re-incorporating Pascal Siakam
When you go six months without playing competitive basketball it’s hard to get back into rhythm. Now, add being a team’s best player at the highest level of basketball and you’ll see why it’s going to take time for Siakam to get back to his old ways.
For the Raptors, it’s a matter of when and not if Siakam gets back to form, but what will that in-between period bring? After a tough outing for Siakam in Boston, Fred VanVleet said, “He’s finding himself, finding his legs… He’ll be OK. It’s gonna take some time, obviously. We would all like it to be tonight or yesterday, but that’s not how these things work.”
The Raptors can’t reach their ceiling without Siakam, but the lows that the process might be frustrating at times. The quicker they can get through the process, the better.
– Gilbert McGregor
MORE: Is Barnes the favourite to win Rookie of the Year?
18. Charlotte Hornets
- Previous rank: 22
- Overall W-L: 8-7
- Last week: 3-1
- Upcoming: vs. Wizards, vs. Pacers, at Hawks
Biggest concern: The defense
After a well-documented hot start to the season, Charlotte came back down to earth rather quickly. During a five-game losing streak, the Hornets allowed 116.4 points per 100 possessions, a rate that would rank dead last among all 30 NBA teams.
Making matters worse is that when you look through a wider lens, Charlotte’s defensive rating of 110.6 still ranks 27th in the league ahead of only the Hawks (111.4), Pelicans (113.0) and, almost surprisingly, the Grizzlies (113.4).
– Gilbert McGregor
19. Portland Trail Blazers
- Previous rank: 17
- Overall W-L: 6-8
- Last week: 1-3
- Upcoming: vs. Raptors, vs. Bulls, vs. 76ers
Biggest concern: A franchise in disarray
The Trail Blazers’ issues extend beyond the court. Portland opened an investigation into president of basketball operations and general manager Neil Olshey earlier this month following allegations of workplace misconduct. But the front office turmoil didn’t stop there. CEO and president of business operations Chris McGowan recently decided to step down, and though he said the timing of his decision had nothing to do with the investigation, it is another worrying sign for a franchise that desperately needs stability.
— Jordan Greer
20. Memphis Grizzlies
- Previous rank: 15
- Overall W-L: 6-7
- Last week: 1-3
- Upcoming: vs. Rockets, vs. Clippers, at Timberwolves
Biggest concern: Jaren Jackson Jr.’s efficiency
Jackson has shot well from 3-point range to start the season. It’s inside the arc where he’s struggled, having converted a career-low 41.3 percent of his 2-point attempts to date. That’s not a great number for a 6-foot-11 big man who sports a 7-foot-4 wingspan. Important as his 3-point shooting is, the Grizzlies would benefit from Jackson being a more efficient scorer around the basket and floater range.
— Scott Rafferty
21. Atlanta Hawks
- Previous rank: 14
- Overall W-L: 5-9
- Last week: 1-3
- Upcoming: vs. Magic, vs. Celtics, vs. Hornets
Biggest concern: Falling in too deep of a hole
Sure, slow starts aren’t out of the ordinary, but large-scale success is still relatively new to this Hawks team. SN’s Scott Rafferty gave the Hawks a 4 on our “panic meter,” citing their turnaround last season, but I’m afraid they won’t be able to get back on track.
There are a number of contenders in the East that are separating themselves and the Hawks want to be more than a Play-In team. If they fall further below .500, that might be the only way they see the postseason.
– Gilbert McGregor
22. Indiana Pacers
- Previous rank: 24
- Overall W-L: 6-8
- Last week: 2-1
- Upcoming: at Knicks, at Pistons, at Hornets, vs. Pelicans
Biggest concern: Is this core good enough?
The Pacers are off to an underwhelming start to the season and it might be time to look in the mirror.
While Indiana has plenty of talented players like All-Star forward Domantas Sabonis, Myles Turner, Malcolm Brogdon and Caris LeVert, is that foursome enough to compete with the best teams in the league?
Injuries have played a role in the Pacers struggles, especially when you consider that arguably their best scorer, TJ Warren, still hasn’t returned to the court with a foot injury that caused him to miss almost all of last season.
But even when he is added to that core, will that be enough to lift the Pacers to the top tier in the East? Judging by the first couple weeks of the season, it doesn’t seem so.
– Kyle Irving
23. Sacramento Kings
- Previous rank: 21
- Overall W-L: 5-8
- Last week: 0-3
- Upcoming: at Pistons, at Timberwolves, vs. Raptors, vs. Jazz
Biggest concern: Closing games
Of the 13 games the Kings have played this season, 10 have been decided in the clutch — the last five minutes of a five-point game. Their record in those games? 3-7. Only the Pelicans have lost as many games that have gone down to the wire as the Kings. The numbers point to their defense being OK in the clutch. It’s their offense that has fallen off a cliff, as they’re shooting only 31.4 percent from the field and turning the ball over at a sky-high rate. The way they lost to the Thunder on Friday was particularly rough.
— Scott Rafferty
24. San Antonio Spurs
- Previous rank: 25
- Overall W-L: 4-9
- Last week: 1-2
- Upcoming: at Clippers, at Timberwolves
Biggest concern: Is this the backcourt of the future?
This isn’t to question Dejounte Murray, who is having a Most Improved Player of the Year caliber season averaging 18.1 points, 7.8 assists and 7.7 rebounds per game, all of which are career-highs.
This question is directed toward Derrick White, who the Spurs signed to a four-year, $73 million extension last December. White has struggled to start the year, averaging just 10.8 points per game while shooting 37.9 percent from the field and 31.5 percent from 3-point range, both of which are career-worst marks. He’s a strong defender which helps his case, but is the 27-year-old the right backcourt mate for Murray to build around for the future?
– Kyle Irving
25. Minnesota Timberwolves
- Previous rank: 23
- Overall W-L: 4-8
- Last week: 1-3
- Upcoming: vs. Suns, vs. Kings, vs. Spurs, vs. Grizzlies
Biggest concern: Avoiding long losing streaks
Karl-Anthony Towns said it best following the Timberwolves third-straight loss to the Clippers on Wednesday, Nov. 3, “We’re on a three-game slide right now in the NBA. If I know one thing about slides here in Minnesota, it could go from three to 18 to 19, 20 really quick.”
Towns may have been foreshadowing a bit, as the Timberwolves ended up losing six-consecutive games before finally getting back in the win column with a statement victory over the Lakers.
Minnesota has plenty of exciting young pieces, but it is having trouble stringing together wins. Last year, it had two separate losing streaks of longer than seven games, burying any chances of staying in the playoff hunt. If the Timberwolves want to at least compete for a Play-In Tournament spot, they’ll have to avoid falling into long stretches of losing.
– Kyle Irving
26. Oklahoma City Thunder
- Previous rank: 27
- Overall W-L: 5-7
- Last week: 2-1
- Upcoming: vs. Heat, vs. Rockets, at Bucks, at Celtics
Biggest concern: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s All-Star campaign
Okay, this isn’t really a “concern,” per se. The Thunder are playing with house money this season as their historic rebuild is underway in full force. They’ve earned some quality – and surprising – wins early on, but no one is expecting them to compete for a playoff spot.
The most important thing this season is the development of their young talent, and wouldn’t it be awesome to see Gilgeous-Alexander take the leap to All-Stardom?
The 23-year-old has been fantastic so far, averaging 22.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game. While his scoring, assists and shooting efficiency are down in the slightest from last year, he still has plenty of opportunities to raise those averages to All-Star caliber numbers. It may be hard to receive consideration for a spot if the Thunder are toward the bottom of the West, but don’t count out a possible All-Star bid for Gilgeous-Alexander if he can ramp up his production.
– Kyle Irving
27. Detroit Pistons
- Previous rank: 30
- Overall W-L: 3-9
- Last week: 2-1
- Upcoming: vs. Kings, vs. Pacers, vs. Warriors, vs. Lakers
Biggest concern: Guys… please… make a shot
OK, that concern may seem way too general, but Detroit is a historically bad shooting team. After a 98-78 loss to the Cavaliers, the Pistons dropped down to 39.6 percent shooting from the field, the worst mark by any team since 1960. They have three starters (Saddiq Bey, Cade Cunningham and Killian Hayes) shooting below 40 percent. They own the worst offensive rating in the league by a significant margin. No one expected the Pistons to be a playoff team this year, but man, this is rough.
— Jordan Greer
28. Orlando Magic
- Previous rank: 28
- Overall W-L: 3-10
- Last week: 0-2
- Upcoming: at Hawks, at Knicks, at Nets, at Bucks
Biggest concern: Jalen Suggs’ shooting numbers
It’s been a rough start to Suggs’ career. According to NBA.com, the No. 5 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft is currently shooting 57.1 percent in the restricted area, 20.0 percent from floater range, 17.6 percent from midrange and 20.6 percent from 3-point range through 12 games. It’s still way too early to hit the panic button on any rookie, of course, but there were some concerns about Suggs’ jump shot coming into the NBA. It’s something to monitor the rest of the season, if nothing else.
— Scott Rafferty
29. Houston Rockets
- Previous rank: 26
- Overall W-L: 1-12
- Last week: 0-3
- Upcoming: at Grizzlies, at Thunder, at Knicks
Biggest concern: Young backcourt’s early struggles
This season is strictly about the development of Houston’s young talent, but it’s been a slow start for No. 2 overall pick Jalen Green and his backcourt mate Kevin Porter Jr.
Green has had some serious bright spots, but averaging 13.8 points per game while shooting 35.2 percent from the field and 27.0 percent from 3 is certainly lower than expectation. Porter is posting 13.2 points and 5.2 assists, but he’s also shooting poorly at 37.5 percent from the field and 31.0 percent from 3 and his 4.4 turnovers per game are fourth-most in the NBA.
At 19 and 21 years old, respectively, this tandem is learning through experience. It’s going to take patience in Houston and it should be fun watching Green and Porter grow together as the season goes on.
– Kyle Irving
30. New Orleans Pelicans
- Previous rank: 29
- Overall W-L: 2-12
- Last week: 1-3
- Upcoming: at Wizards, at Heat, vs. Clippers, at Pacers
Biggest concern: Getting and staying healthy
Unfortunately, it’s been the story of the season so far for the Pelicans. Zion Williamson has yet to play and Brandon Ingram missed time lately with a hip injury. Ingram is back in the lineup now, but it’s still unclear when we could see Williamson on the court again. The reality is, as long as the Pelicans are without their two best players, wins are going to be hard to come by.
— Scott Rafferty
MORE: Expert medical analysis on Williamson’s injury
90,000 Nike CEO John Donahue says he is proud of the whole company This news was generated by our new employee – the robot Electron. He is just learning to work with text, this process is not fast, and it is not immediately given to our colleague. But he tries and constantly makes progress. Don’t judge him harshly. He works for the future. We are constantly improving the quality of his work as far as possible, so that in the future a real professional in his field will work in our editorial office.Nike NKE reported first-quarter earnings that were drowned out by lingering supply chain problems caused by production delays due to plant shutdowns in Asia.
As with the outbreak of the pandemic, I am proud of how our entire NIKE Inc team handled macro resilience, ”says John Donahoe, Nike President and CEO, during a conference call with analysts.
Over the past 18 months, we have demonstrated our ability to handle turbulence by creating stronger and better positions.And this is what we will continue to do as we get past these current supply chain issues. He added that we will focus on what we can control using the many levers at our disposal.
Supply chain constraints were created by Nike CFO Match Friend. During a conference call with analysts, he revealed that his brand has lost 10 weeks of production since mid-July. According to a friend, it usually takes about 40 days before a pandemic to move products from North America to Asia.Due to container shortages, labor shortages and overcrowded ports, transit times are now up to 90 days.
This gap will persist until factories can produce and reopen, he said. While Nike’s manufacturing facilities are on high alert, nearly all operations in Vietnam have remained closed. Because of this, Nike was forced, as some analysts predicted, to reconsider his short-term prospects.
We now expect 22-year budget revenues to rise in the middle over the prior year, compared to our previous guides for low double-digit growth, due to the supply chain impact I just described. Specifically, for Q 2, we expect revenue growth to flat to low single digits yoy, as plant closures have impacted production and delivery times during the holidays and spring seasons, Druzhinnik said.
In the market, short-term production shortages, combined with longer transit times, will result in short-term inventory shortages for the next few quarters. We predict robust market demand will exceed available supply to balance the ’22 budget. We have optimistic inventory availability that will improve direction in fiscal 1973 amid a very strong brand and healthy market across all geographies. Despite a rare drop in revenue, the Shweosh brand does indicate the leading digital agility in its industry.
Nike Air Force direct sales were $ 46.7 billion, currency detached, neutral. On a neutral currency basis, digital sales increased 29%, or 25%. Donaho says that digital brand success is proof of creative product innovation, brand power, and scale that drives meaningful customer relationships.
Nike’s CEO cites the recent fall on Sin-JDD Dunk and reaffirms what many shikahs have long wondered about: company factors in people who skipped the past fall to determine which users to get exclusive access to.
165 invited abroad Dunka went to members who lost from previous cooperation outside the EU over the past two years. As Donaho said, the result is that Dunk will end up “overboard” in the hands of hundreds of thousands of our most worthy members, doing what we call exclusivity at scale.
We remain focused and confident in our long term business prospects. Our competitive edge, including our new products, brand power fueled by compelling storytelling, our list of the world’s best athletes, and increasingly our industry leading digital retail experiences will continue to create departments.As we drive strong, sustainable consumer demand, our confidence remains unchanged, he said.
Reggie Wade is a writer for Yahoo Finance magazine.
Webinar “How CFOs Improve the Efficiency of Financial Services. Experience
Webinar “How CFOs Can Improve Financial Services Efficiency. Experience of Nike Global Licensee “
March 25, 2021 at 18:00 BDO Unicon Outsourcing together with the strategic outsourcing association” ASTRA “invite to webinar ” How CFOs to improve the efficiency of financial services.The Nike Global Licensee Experience ”. During the event, Veronika Arakelova, head of accounting practice at BDO Unicon Outsourcing, Viktor Chistyakov, CEO of Athlete Performance Solutions (a global licensee of Nike Inc), and Elena Babicheva, manager of Athlete Performance Solutions (a global licensee of Nike Inc), will talk about which tasks should be delegated to the provider, and which ones are definitely not worth it, how to competently automate business processes in order to free up time for solving strategic issues, how to convince partners to follow your goals.
Speakers:
Viktor Chistyakov, CEO of Athlete Performance Solutions (global licensee of Nike Inc)
Elena Babicheva, manager of Athlete Performance Solutions (global licensee of Nike Inc)
Veronika Arakelova, head of accounting practice at BDO Unicon Outsourcing
Event program:
17: 45-18: 00 Participants connection
18: 00-18: 05 Moderator’s opening speech
18: 05-18: 40 Case study Athlete Performance Solutions (Nike Inc. Global Licensee) : Growth 400% in one year.However, thanks to the teamwork of the customer and the provider, as well as the automation of processes, the organization managed to keep the costs of services at the same level. We will tell you how this is possible.
18: 40-19: 10 Discussion with the participants of the event: why the interaction between the provider and the customer may be ineffective, whether the customer should take part in the process or the outsourcing company should do everything, how to build a model of correct outsourcing.
19: 10-19: 30 Session “Question-Answer”
Moderator: Maxim Chubak, Member of the Board of ASTRA, Marketing Director
“SberService”
The event will be interesting for: financial, general directors, chief accountants medium and large business.
The webinar will be held on the Zoom platform.
To participate, you need to register register
VTB launches a series of free online events for business
A series of online conferences “VTB Business Day” with the participation of bank experts and other market professionals will start on the Closer to Business educational platform of VTB for entrepreneurs.The first event will take place on July 7 and will be dedicated to the stages of the company’s development – from launch to active growth.
At the online conference, VTB representatives will talk about new products, digital services and bonus offers for entrepreneurs, analyze practical cases and give recommendations on going online, optimizing business processes, working with large suppliers and other business-relevant topics. The guest speaker will be Andrey Krishnev, ex-CEO of Nike in Russia.His presentation will be devoted to choosing a successful strategy for working in online commerce and organizing work with marketplaces. During the event, participants will be able to ask questions of interest, to which the speakers will answer online.
“We always take care of our clients and help them in solving important issues, including obtaining modern skills and competencies. To this end, VTB, following its strategy of investing in education, is developing the Closer to Business information and educational portal, the number of users of which has grown by 53% since the beginning of the year.More than 340,000 entrepreneurs visit the platform every month to explore articles and courses on topics that are relevant to them – we’ve made this resource completely free to help entrepreneurs improve their business skills. As the next step, we launched a series of online events in which both bank experts and invited speakers – market leaders – will take part. I am sure that the participants will receive valuable knowledge that will give them the opportunity to increase the profitability of their business and achieve the most ambitious goals, ”said Spartak Solonin, Head of the Corporate Digital Business Department – Senior Vice President of VTB.
Free courses and recordings of webinars on marketing, sales, management, finance, law and other topics from market professionals are available to visitors on the Get To Business information and training platform. In addition, the site contains news, expert articles with practical advice on business development, as well as interviews with entrepreneurs and other relevant content.
Detailed program and registration for the VTB Business Day online conference on the kdelu website.vtb.ru/businessday
Nike CEO: Nike is a brand for China and for China
Shanghai residents walk past a Nike store on Nanjing Road on April 17, 2010 in Shanghai. Today, 41% of Nike shoes are made in Vietnam and 32% in China. Photo: Feng Li / / Getty Images
US-based Nike CEO John Donahue told US analysts on June 24 that his company is Chinese for China. The head of Nike made his statement amid recent media reports about the company’s involvement in human rights abuses committed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
“Nike is the brand for China and for China,” John Donahue told Wall Street analysts last week in response to a question about competition from Chinese companies during a talk about fourth-quarter earnings.
“We have always had a long-term vision. We’ve been in China for over 40 years, ”Donahue said, expressing optimism that the brand’s popularity will continue to grow rapidly in the world’s most populous country.
Donahue also mentioned clothing brand co-founder and former CEO Phil Knight.
“Phil first put a lot of time and energy into China, and today we are the largest sports brand there,” he said.
Recently, a US Senator criticized Nike for turning a blind eye to forced labor in China, thereby forcing American consumers to indirectly participate in Beijing’s repressive policies.
Speaking in the Senate on China’s crackdown on Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang, Senator Marco Rubio noted that many US companies have not realized that they are “profiting from the Chinese government’s abuses.”
Senator Marco Rubio on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC February 23, 2021 Photo: Drew Angerer / Pool / AFP via Getty Images
“For too long, companies like Nike, Apple, Amazon and Coca-Cola have used forced labor. They benefited from forced labor or procured from suppliers suspected of using forced labor, Rubio said. “These companies, unfortunately, made all of us complicit in these crimes.”
Human rights groups, researchers, former residents and some Western lawmakers say the Xinjiang authorities have facilitated forced labor, arbitrarily detaining about 1 million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in camps since 2016.
Sophie Richardson, director of Human Rights Watch, a human rights group for China, told the Senate Commission that Beijing’s “extreme repression and surveillance” made it impossible for companies to conduct due diligence on human rights.
Nike officials did not respond to a request for press comment.
90,000 Nike reported quarterly revenue growth, but below-expected profitSports brand sales grew 8% in North America and 22% in China.Nike continues to invest in direct consumer sales, its supply chain for new products and stock stores.
Sportswear manufacturer Nike (NKE) reported fourth quarter earnings and profits and reported full fiscal 2019 results on Thursday.
Quarterly earnings per share were $ 0.62, below the analyst average of $ 0.66 per share. Revenue rose 4% to $ 10.2 billion, above forecasts of $ 10.16 billion.
The company reported an 80 basis point increase in gross profit to 45.5%, mainly due to higher average selling prices. But the company also reported a 9% increase in administrative and selling expenses to $ 3.4 billion, while marketing expenses rose 3% to $ 1 billion.
Total sales in North America, excluding exchange rates, rose 8% to $ 4.17 billion. Sales in China increased 22% to $ 1.70 billion.Despite the ongoing trade war between the United States and China, the company said it has not yet felt any impact on its business.
Mark Parker – Chairman, President and CEO of Nike said, “We are and remain a brand for China and for China.” “Positive consumer sentiment for Nike in China has actually been pretty strong.”
Sales of Nike footwear in North America increased 9% during the reporting period, sales of apparel grew 6% and sales of sports equipment increased 7%.
Quarterly sales of the Converse brand alone were $ 491 million. Nike is also trying to increase sales for female shoppers by releasing more products for women.
Nike attributed the low quarterly profit and high income to the investment the company is investing in building direct sales to consumers, bypassing wholesalers. Nike has chosen this strategy as stores such as Sports Authority have filed for bankruptcy and department stores are facing slower sales growth.
The company is also investing more in its supply chain to create new products such as Vapormax sneakers and stock stores for shoppers. These moves should give Nike an edge over big competitors like Adidas and Under Armor.
Fiscal 2019 results showed strong revenues for the direct-to-consumer division of $ 11.8 billion, driven by 35% growth in online sales and 6% growth in in-store sales.Nike’s wholesale sales to wholesale customers are up 10% year over year.
“Fiscal 2019 has been a pivotal year for Nike as we continue to implement our direct-to-consumer strategy,” said Nike’s CEO. “Our distinctive innovation, digital edge and broad brand portfolio have led to accelerated growth around the world.”
The company recently launched a feature in its flagship app called “Nike Fit,” which scans shoppers’ feet and tells them their exact shoe sizes.
“The major discovery we will see over the next few years is the opportunity that digital technology provides,” said Parker.
Nike shares are up 15.3% in the past 12 months, bringing the company’s market capitalization to about $ 130.71 billion, well above the S&P 500 Retail ETF (XRT) index, which is 14% lower than a year ago.
90,000 Nike plans to reduce time-to-market to 10 daysNike CEO Mark Parker and other senior executives have been convincing shareholders that the new strategy will help Nike overcome the decline in sales.
One of the key aspects of Nike’s new strategy is to move production closer to North America, the company’s largest market. Nike currently manufactures most of its products in Asia, but the company has actively begun to relocate production to Latin America, where it is introducing modern automation technologies to reduce personnel costs and speed up production.
Nike COO Eric Sprunk spoke about the first results of a two-year partnership with the Flex manufacturing company.Nike recently teamed up with Flex to launch a new shoe factory in Latin America that will ship 3 million pairs of sneakers to the US next year, and Nike and Flex plan to produce tens of millions of pairs in the region by 2023.
More than a quarter of this volume will be demand-driven models. Previously, the standard production cycle to market launch took six months, the direct path from production to the counter took 60 days, and now Nike intends to reduce this period to 10 days or less.
Tens of millions of pairs is a fairly small volume on a Nike scale, with plans to sell 1.3 billion pairs of shoes next year.
Similarly, Adidas is moving production closer to the consumer: in order to flexibly respond to changes in consumer demand in Europe, the company has launched a plant in Germany, in the American market – in Atlanta.
Analysts are wondering how the strategy of sea carriers, which is based on the maximum increase in vessel capacity, relates to new trends that are being introduced by cargo owners.
Adidas and Nike intend to cut time-to-market by six times by moving production closer to consumer markets. This will mean a reduction in the average travel distance of one container. And the shorter the distance, the less the savings from using large container ships.
However, in a recent study, McKinsey noted that shorter routes will serve 50,000 TEU container ships.
Andy Lane, a partner at analytical agency CTI Consultancy, disagreed with this prediction in his review for The Loadstar.According to his estimates, a ship with a capacity of 50 thousand TEU should carry an average of about 130 thousand containers in one round trip. Taking into account the productivity of today’s most advanced terminals, such a volume would mean that the vessel will spend at least 21 days at the berth, i.e. three weeks per flight. Moreover, on intercontinental routes, the flight lasts four weeks. But for regional routes no more than two weeks in length, the ratio becomes unprofitable.
Insiders: adidas Yeezy has a new CEO.Who he is – DTF MAGAZINE
John Wexler, adidas VP of Marketing and Entertainment, has become the CEO of Yeezy within the company. It was Wexler who invited Kanye to collaborate with adidas
The publication Sole Collector reports on his appointment, citing its own sources, but Veksler himself, adidas and Yeezy have not yet commented on this information.
Wexler has promoted Yeezy in ads and social media and has spoken to the brand in interviews.In addition, over the past 13 years, he has also been responsible for adidas’ work with music ambassadors – among his invited artists are Pharrell Williams, Pusha T and Big Sean (moved to PUMA in 2017 – approx. DTF Magazine).
On artist collaborations, he worked with Erik Liedtke, who was in charge of adidas’s global marketing strategy. In October this year, Liedtke announced his departure from the brand.
Big change: Nike and Under Armor CEOs are leaving, adidas is losing
Kanye himself repeatedly mentioned that they had a strong partnership with John.During his acceptance speech at the 2015 Shoes of the Year award (they were the Yeezy Boost 350 sneakers. – Approx. DTF Magazine), West admitted that Wexler “saved his life” and gave him the opportunity to create.
“I said to John:“ You have to save my life. I don’t create anything and it affects my music, my relationships and everything around me. … I want to make shoes as hell and it doesn’t matter if someone thinks I should be doing something more serious, ”said Kanye.
Gather Everyone: How Brands Tackled Musicians
Learn more about how the Yeezy brand is developing and what adidas plans for it in our article.
John Wexler has been with adidas since 2006. He first served as a brand manager and then began working on attracting ambassadors.
Before joining adidas, from 2004 to 2006, Veksler worked as the director of lifestyle marketing for Converce and even planned to sign a contract with Nike.
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