2024 NBA Season

[Yogee]

[....]They’re still jockeying for position in the playoff race so it should be a hard fought game.

This is definitely the case. It has to be the same with the rest of the teams from fourth to tenth position.

[....]
They are preparing him for the playoffs, as they are already in a good spot. They won't expect too much effort to win, so that way, injuries will be prevented, knowing how injury-prone Embiid is. They will not risk it and instead, they will reserve him to get ready for the playoffs.

Embiid played well against the Warriors, but they lost that game, so his efforts were just wasted. At this moment, I'm not expecting the teams at the top to play hard anymore.

Yeah, probably it's the smart moved to do right now, not taking the risk and let Joel have his rest against the Nuggets, of course we wanted to see him and Jokic 1:1 because they are two front runners for the MVP race, but that can wait, what's important is that they are now in the playoff and they need to be careful for Joel not to get injured or something.

This somehow sound odd to me if that was the reason. Why not just let all the regular starters rest until the regular season is over and have the bench players gain some experience in case they will be needed for playoffs. It just don't make sense to rest only one player at this point. They will most likely lose in the first or second round if only Embiid is available.

[1714641562]

1714641562

[inthelongrun]

And as the regular season is about to close, there are going to be a lot of very close games.

Specially teams fighting for the last play-off spot and then the play-in teams.

The play-in tournament is quite entertaining to watch, as those teams who are vying for a spot are playing like it's their last game in every game. It provides enough entertainment for the fans.

This is probably my first time seeing in the NBA as many teams that are close and are one game apart from each other, especially in the west. Most of them have 7 remaining games left. Maybe it is safe to say that Utah and Portland are now out of the contest unless a miracle will happen.

My eyes will be on #7 GSW and #8 New Orleans later. Both teams are very hungry to add another win for a better chance of getting playoff spots. New Orleans though has no rest day and it is probably the reason why the odds aren't generous in spite of their 5 game win streak.  

[yazher]

Yeah, probably it's the smart moved to do right now, not taking the risk and let Joel have his rest against the Nuggets, of course we wanted to see him and Jokic 1:1 because they are two front runners for the MVP race, but that can wait, what's important is that they are now in the playoff and they need to be careful for Joel not to get injured or something.
And as the regular season is about to close, there are going to be a lot of very close games.
Specially teams fighting for the last play-off spot and then the play-in teams.

They're doing this thing now because they already know when their star players are out in the NBA playoffs, the opponent team will easily beat them and if it's not the case, the next rounds will be harder for them and they can't do anything about it because the trade is no longer available.

This is also been the practice of the other teams as well and mostly they are succeeding in doing this just like what we have seen with the GSW last year.

[Japinat]

Finally, a win for Dallas Mavericks.
I like what Coach Jason Kidd did there, use McGee if you need some height, he is in their roster for a reason so better use him. Don't just stick with Powell especially if they are up against a team whose strength is using the paint. Without Haliburton and Hield, the Pacers will surely attack the rim to get points.
Credits to Jaden Hardy too for helping out the Mavs on the offensive end.

Well, not too late for them to be included in the play-in picture. However, Luka has showed his frustrations and it could drag the team chemistry down. Everyone though Kyrie and Luka works perfectly fine, but it seems like it didn't. Though it's still early to tell and they just played like 10 games (If I'm not mistaken) together. The Mavs have a good depth though.

Oh well, that's what we thought in the beginning, that there could be chemistry between the two. But we don't know who the problem is though because after acquiring Kyrie, it seems that their chemistry has been affected. Perhaps Kidd wanted to try something new, (not to late), to have McGee to take advantage of the opponent's small lineup.

Mavs is still in the 11th spot though, they need to win all their remaining games to be in the play-in at least.

We don't really know what's up with the Mavs because ever since they acquired Kyrie, they began to crumble and they've been having an opposite outcome, so different from what the management has expected them to be. Instead of getting a better performance, they are now down to 11th seed which is not good because they are now chasing to at least participate in the play-in compared before that they are in the upper bracket. Well, let's just hope that coach Kidd was just trying something because it's hard to believe that they are already doing their best.

[ingiltere]

It was Batum's night. He made 8 three pointers in only three quarters. The match finished early, if Bulls kept the difference closer Batum could've played more and possibly break a record. Clippers made insane threes, %50 with 20/40, that made the difference. Bulls mostly play with mid-range shooting. They have one of the worst records for three points attempting so it's hard to win games in this era without any significant three points number. Westbrook vs. Beverley was fun to watch.
Bulls is in comfortable position in tenth place in the East. Wizards can't catch them. It was an important win for Clippers because the West is a mess. Anything can change in one game. Fourth and eleventh place has only three win difference.

[Kasabus]

Nothing too exciting going on in the NBA today. A couple games on TNT but the only game that seemed interesting to me was the late game between the Golden State Warriors and the New Orleans Pelicans. They’re still jockeying for position in the playoff race so it should be a hard fought game.

Yes, no interesting games to watch except the Warriors vs NOP match-up but I'll be watching the Cavs vs Hawks because I got a feeling that it will be a good one, and betting on the sidelines.

Anyway, the Warriors are expected to bounce back in this game and improve their standing, and although the Warriors are already proven to be devastating at home, they can't slack on this one because the Pelicans are always performing in an unexpected manner especially McCollum when he's hot. Now, regarding the Warriors line-up, Green and Poole is probable while Zion and Alvarado are still ruled out on NOP's side.

Everyone in New Orleans is hoping we see Zion Williamson sooner than later.

The latest update about Zion is that he is going to be re-evaluated in the next two weeks, the same with Alvarado.

[Marvell1]

Yeah, probably it's the smart moved to do right now, not taking the risk and let Joel have his rest against the Nuggets, of course we wanted to see him and Jokic 1:1 because they are two front runners for the MVP race, but that can wait, what's important is that they are now in the playoff and they need to be careful for Joel not to get injured or something.
And as the regular season is about to close, there are going to be a lot of very close games.
Specially teams fighting for the last play-off spot and then the play-in teams.

They're doing this thing now because they already know when their star players are out in the NBA playoffs, the opponent team will easily beat them and if it's not the case, the next rounds will be harder for them and they can't do anything about it because the trade is no longer available.

This is also been the practice of the other teams as well and mostly they are succeeding in doing this just like what we have seen with the GSW last year.

This is not a very alien type of tactic. This has been done before and this has also worked for other teams as well, as far as I know.

Already missing important players in the playoffs. Missing any other players going into the playoff is certainly going to result in bad situations for them.
So, I also believe that this is the right thing to do.

[ChiBitCTy]

The Bulls are getting 4.5 points here.  Really tough call.  Any suggestions? 

I guess keep rolling mate, Bulls are in a mission to win while the Clippers have been struggling recently due to the loss of PG. I would take the same, maybe I'll even put a little bet on the moneyline as this team is legit, they are having a good momentum now.

The Clippers are currently leading, but I think they will be in trouble soon as Leonard is not scoring as usual. Meanwhile, the Big 3 of the Chicago Bulls are leading their team in scoring. So, I still think it's nice to take the moneyline bet for the Bulls while they are down. There's still plenty of time left, and the Bulls have come back before against different opponents.

Bulls are currently 3.75.

Well thankfully I didn’t put any coins down on the game as I guess internally I knew better than to expect the Chicago Bulls to keep such a hot streak alive, especially when facing off against a team that has been playing better than them.

I wish at this point the Bulls would just quit trying and try to tank. It would do them a lot better than just getting a middling draft pick and their stuck in no man’s land. 

[Dave1]

Finally, a win for Dallas Mavericks.
I like what Coach Jason Kidd did there, use McGee if you need some height, he is in their roster for a reason so better use him. Don't just stick with Powell especially if they are up against a team whose strength is using the paint. Without Haliburton and Hield, the Pacers will surely attack the rim to get points.
Credits to Jaden Hardy too for helping out the Mavs on the offensive end.

Well, not too late for them to be included in the play-in picture. However, Luka has showed his frustrations and it could drag the team chemistry down. Everyone though Kyrie and Luka works perfectly fine, but it seems like it didn't. Though it's still early to tell and they just played like 10 games (If I'm not mistaken) together. The Mavs have a good depth though.

Oh well, that's what we thought in the beginning, that there could be chemistry between the two. But we don't know who the problem is though because after acquiring Kyrie, it seems that their chemistry has been affected. Perhaps Kidd wanted to try something new, (not to late), to have McGee to take advantage of the opponent's small lineup.

Mavs is still in the 11th spot though, they need to win all their remaining games to be in the play-in at least.

We don't really know what's up with the Mavs because ever since they acquired Kyrie, they began to crumble and they've been having an opposite outcome, so different from what the management has expected them to be. Instead of getting a better performance, they are now down to 11th seed which is not good because they are now chasing to at least participate in the play-in compared before that they are in the upper bracket. Well, let's just hope that coach Kidd was just trying something because it's hard to believe that they are already doing their best.

I'm thinking that maybe, Jason Kidd's job as coach is also on the line right now. I mean they made this trade with Kyrie and thinks that it will be better for the team, but it turns out to be the opposite as they used to be on the top bracket before the acquisition. And what made it worst is that Luka got injured and then the technical fouls on his is piling up as well. So he is really frustrated with what is going on and they didn't expect that they will go down and slide as far as 11th place and now trying to salvage their season just to be in the play-in.

[el kaka22]

Having an understanding how the league works and understanding that rest is crucial for playoff success is an important part of a coaches job. I understand that Sixers may want to rest some players, and there are other teams who started to ease some of the players off and give them either rest days or even give them less minutes so they can rest, and instead focus on player development of their young players just in case.

However, this is not an option at west, as we all know the west is closer than even from nearly 6th to 11th place, and that is why most teams there are still playing everyone all the time, it's the top teams that are taking some rest days and nobody else.

[dwyane36]

It was Batum's night. He made 8 three pointers in only three quarters. The match finished early, if Bulls kept the difference closer Batum could've played more and possibly break a record.

Yeah, Batum performed well against the Bulls. Out of curiosity, I checked his stats this season and noticed that he only makes 3-point shots and has almost no other activity on the court. I don't know if it's the Clippers coach's decision to use Batum that way, but it's weird to me. Honestly, I used to think Batum was a more versatile player, especially when he played for the Blazers.

[terrific]

Hornets with MJ's management should be released and he's good that he's selling it now.
Dallas is such a terrible team by not having a good results with both Kyrie and Luka playing. The fans have expected a lot from both but that's it.
They're both great ball handlers but it seem that they're exploding and I mean by exploding is like that there's no direction while I'm seeing them play both.

Well, MJ got his profit now, so I guess it's time for him to sell his shares already. Now the question is will there be any buyer?

Yeah, it's taking profit now and that's around 10x of profit from his initial capital and investment upon purchase of the Hornets.

Luka-Kyrie tandem is a fail at least for me. Yes their offense got better (I guess), but their defense gotten worse. Their defense has been bad already since they got Irving, and letting go their defensive player just made them even worse defensively. No wonder why they are now out of the play-in tournament.

They've won against Pacers and again good feedbacks are coming to them and that's what most fans want to see with them.
If they're too bad with defense then they might just keep on attacking and be good with offense.
It doesn't look good when they're not doing well together but let's see on where this journey will end for them together.

[Captain Corporate]

Lakers getting better is a great story but the one I am really sad about is Mavs, I still can't believe that they have been this bad. And this happened right when all the teams are close to each other and all the games are getting close to end, if they had some more time then everything could be different. All in all I believe that we shouldn't really be worried about the situation for Mavs since they have Luka Doncic and one way or another they will build a great team for him. They tried Porzingis on his early years, now they are trying Kyrie, and none of that worked but one day they will do something that will work out for him for sure.

[Volgastallion]

Dallas wakes up? Or its only temporal for one game?, what a mess they are.

I cant believe how the NBA managers can make a good team around Doncic, seems like they have to learn some things. Anyways this also talk bad of Doncic, he cant make play the team better, also with another star like Irving. I dont know what to think.

If they cant go to play off this can be one of the most shit mega teams in history.

[danherbias07]

Finally, a win for Dallas Mavericks.
I like what Coach Jason Kidd did there, use McGee if you need some height, he is in their roster for a reason so better use him. Don't just stick with Powell especially if they are up against a team whose strength is using the paint. Without Haliburton and Hield, the Pacers will surely attack the rim to get points.
Credits to Jaden Hardy too for helping out the Mavs on the offensive end.

Hardy is the Mavericks' new discovery, and he has been contributing well in their recent games. Maybe coach Kidd will give this kid decent minutes once they are in the playoffs. Luka and Irving both had a good shooting night, with high percentages. I think it's great that they are getting everyone involved and not just relying on the two of them to make a big percentage of the total shot attempts.

Yeah, he is already getting the minutes and I think he deserves it. What I want to see for Coach Kidd is how he can manage to still use the other players like Justin Holiday who is the one affected by the sudden growth of Hardy. They have a deep bench, he might as well maximize it and try other combinations that might lift this Mavs back up for a play-in tournament chance, and who knows if they can steal the 8th spot for the playoffs.
They are not that far, tied with the Lakers and Thunder at 37 wins and they still have 6 games left while 7 games for the teams that was mentioned, it can still be done.

I don't know why in the hell Coach Jason Kidd isn't utilizing the height of McGee. I mean like you said, he's been with the team, but he isn't playing that much, and most of the time, they're using Kleber and Powell as their centers and not using him which is kind frustrating. I mean McGee has been a good role player when he's with the Warriors, and now the Mavericks aren't using him at all.

He is trying to space the floor more by using threats in 3-point field goals but they are forgetting that the rim is always open when they do that. This is not far from what GSW has done and still doing now. But, they have Draymond or Looney as rim protectors although they are not really helping much to space the floor. There must be balance and he cannot leave a lay-up open.

[Baofeng]

Dallas wakes up? Or its only temporal for one game?, what a mess they are.

A win is a win though.

I cant believe how the NBA managers can make a good team around Doncic, seems like they have to learn some things. Anyways this also talk bad of Doncic, he cant make play the team better, also with another star like Irving. I dont know what to think.

If they cant go to play off this can be one of the most shit mega teams in history.

I guess it's learning process for Luka, to be fair he got injured as well causing the Mavs losing skid. If they don't make the play-off or at least be in the play-in, they will have to talk and sit down and probably look at the tapes and see areas for improvement.

Too early to conclude that it's a bad marriage between Luka and Kyrie.

[LogitechMouse]

Nothing too exciting going on in the NBA today. A couple games on TNT but the only game that seemed interesting to me was the late game between the Golden State Warriors and the New Orleans Pelicans. They’re still jockeying for position in the playoff race so it should be a hard fought game. Everyone in New Orleans is hoping we see Zion Williamson sooner than later.

As for Zion, this is what's stated on ESPN website.
"Williamson (hamstring) has been cleared for on-court activities and will be re-evaluated in two weeks."

The playoffs starts on the 15th of April, and they will re-evaluate them for 2 weeks. If the Pelicans will get at least the 10th spot, I'm guessing he will not play still in the play-in tournaments, but he can in the playoffs. Nevertheless, him getting injured really impacted the whole Pelicans team too much because he's one of the main offensive player, and their main guy when they got the top spot at the start of the season. Unfortunately, they are like the Nets when Durant got injured last season. Both teams are at the top at one time, and when their main guy got injured, their standing went down in an instant.

As for the Warriors and Pelicans, I will watch the game, and probably bet while watching.

[Maslate]

As for the Warriors and Pelicans, I will watch the game, and probably bet while watching.

I'm with you on this, but I'll be placing my bet on the Warriors. I plan to wait for an opportunity for them to fall behind by double digits before placing my bet, as I believe this will give me better odds or spread. A spread of -3.5 should be reasonable as I don't think they will mess up again. The fact that the Warriors may be down early is not a problem, as they are known for their ability to come back and beat their opponent by double digits.

Since this is an important game for both teams, it is likely to be more defensive. I will also be betting on the under.

By the way, did you watch the Celtics vs Wizards game? The game has already ended, and the Wizards upset the Celtics with a blowout win. The spread was +11 for the Wizards before the game.

[Botnake]

Charlotte has just secured another win against a play-in tournament contender by defeating the OKC Thunder, following their two victories over the Dallas Mavericks. Despite being out of the competition, this team is not done yet. It's unfortunate that they have been inconsistent throughout the season and only seem to get better in the later rounds. However, there's hope that they will be fully healthy next season, and who knows, they might have a chance to make it to the playoffs.

The last time Charlotte made it to the playoffs was when Kemba Walker was leading the team. It will be interesting to see if they can make it back to the playoffs and possibly even further with their current roster.

[Yamifoud]

@Maslate, I hope you had a chance to place a bet on the Warriors as predicted. As anticipated, they were down by double digits, and their odds were around 1.70. If you took the bet, you would have been comfortable watching the game, knowing that the Warriors would eventually make a comeback. Perhaps the first half belonged to the Pelicans, but the Warriors would push for a strong second half to secure the win.