2024 NBA Season

[Botnake]

The Blazers is being given 2.50 against the Pelicans? Wow! Zion madness!
I may win some this round.

That is the correct line, Lillard is still injured so Blazers will definitely struggle even at home.
I am not saying they will lose in this one but the betting odds is just correct, let's see if CJ would step up to give his team a win, and of course MELO should.

[Yatsan]

Is there a chance that Stephen Curry will leave the Golden State Warriors? 

He's locked for Golden State Warriors for 5 years and I think the last time he's signed the contract was 2017. He's one to have the highest contract and I don't think that GSW will set him free even the contract expires.

Steph has 3 years to stay with golden state as the contract says that he signed last July in 2017. Steph is the highest earning player in the NBA after winning back to back champions and being finals MVP, GSW didn't really hesitate to make a huge contract out of the championships. But the thing now is GSW's win rate is getting worst, the game is turned on by finesse rookies like Trae Young, Luka Doncic and Ja Morant on top of that is the eagerness of Lebron to win this year's championship for Kobe's tribute backing up by Anthony Davis. This year will be a hell of a ride for the NBA, make sure your bets are wisely chosen!

He's like the Kobe24 of GSW.

I may be wrong for saying this or maybe not but Steph is way too far from what the Mamba has done on his 20 year career, Steph is behind from everything. It just so happened that he wins a back to back championship plus their first championship after 40 years making him look like a great player but he is uncomparable to Black Mamba of the NBA.

[Reid]

Oh no! please.
It is like you put Olajuwon and Magic in one team already. I would not break that down unless one of the two want to be traded.
These two are the rising stars of the new league and they are playing old school which I would love to see more.
I would pay a lot just for the two of them and just put role players on their side, all will be well.
You got a good pointguard at a tall figure and then a strong player in the paint. They only lack 3 point shooters to make them move with a lot of space.

Embiid and Simmons are very good players, but let's not compare Embiid with Olajuwon (tho i admit that Embiid could be one of the greats if he was less prone to injuries),

So to whom should I compare him? Luc Longley? I do think that is the nearest we could get.

and especially Simmons with Magic. Until Simmons learn how to shoot

I put my last comment in "bold" to understand it well.
When you are a tall play maker you could easily see openings.

Last year playoff was good example. They almost beat Raptors in last year's playoff, despite subpar Simmons performance, in 7 games vs Raptors he averaged 11. points and 5 assists. You must admit that's not the level of franchise player.  From what i remember, the one who carried them was Butler. Simmons simply doesn't have tenacity and winning mentality, despite obvious BBIQ and playmaking skills.

Oh the time when Kawhi got lucky or as they call it shooters roll?
Dude, Embiid is 24 at that time and Simmons is 23. Already a huge step for them playing against a playoff contender with strong players and yet they put it at Game 7.
You are really putting this all in "Butler"? Really? So, they are not a team at the time?
There is always room for improvement specially with Simmons. Don't we see that now?

In this year playoff I wouldn't be surprised if they end it very early, maybe even in the 1st round, as they will most likely play against Celtics or Heat.

You are so sure about that. Want to make a bet?

[joshy23]

The Blazers is being given 2.50 against the Pelicans? Wow! Zion madness!
I may win some this round.

That is the correct line, Lillard is still injured so Blazers will definitely struggle even at home.
I am not saying they will lose in this one but the betting odds is just correct, let's see if CJ would step up to give his team a win, and of course MELO should.

It's a test for Blazers if they can manage to win at home even without Lillard, CJ and Melo who are needed to step up and give some entertainment for the fans. In the other hand, Zion still impressing everyone with how he played and how he showed his addition to his team. Will going to wait and try betting during the live game.

[Oasisman]

Anybody else think that the Lakers is making a good and wise move by waiving Cousins to make room for Morris?

I mean, Cousins cannot be able to cope up with the Lakers chemistry. Even if he'll be back as early as the playoffs, I guess he won't be able to play his full either, since he sat down for a long period of time, and he might ruin the play and chemistry. Though, It's really hard on his edge since he's very vocal on how he loved to play with the Lakers. The Lakers can sign him next year anyway.
I guess that would be the plan for Boogie and the Lakers management.

[freedomgo]

Anybody else think that the Lakers is making a good and wise move by waiving Cousins to make room for Morris?

This is quite a fresh news : https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/lakers/2020/02/21/lakers-waive-demarcus-cousins-to-sign-markieff-morris/4836908002/

Yes, because Morris is healthy while Cousins is not and though he is talented but his future is uncertain unlike Morris who can provide good energy with the Lakers with the way he plays. Now these two Morris are playing for L.A, either one of them might be champ this season.

[Sanitough]

It's a test for Blazers if they can manage to win at home even without Lillard, CJ and Melo who are needed to step up and give some entertainment for the fans. In the other hand, Zion still impressing everyone with how he played and how he showed his addition to his team. Will going to wait and try betting during the live game.

Unfortunately they lose against the Pelicans at home, no Lillard is really a big downgrade for the Blazers.
As expected,  McCollum and Anthony are the top scorers but it's not enough for their win to win, they will surely have more loses than winnings until Lillard will come, and this would affect their ambition to be in playoffs this season again.

[Rikafip]

So to whom should I compare him? Luc Longley? I do think that is the nearest we could get.

No need to compare him to anyone really. As i said, he has everything needed to be among best big guys ever, but only if  he has more luck with injuries.Talent is there, no questions about it, but what i question is his health in the long run.

I put my last comment in "bold" to understand it well.
When you are a tall play maker you could easily see openings.

No one questions his playmaking abilities, but it makes it much harder for players in paint when guards can focus on them, while Simmons is alone at 3pts line, completely uncontested. I often saw defenders completely ignoring him. Isn't it weird that Embiid is more comfortable at shooting than Simmons? Lack of spacing is still an issue, as it was before, in previous years.

You are really putting this all in "Butler"? Really? So, they are not a team at the time? There is always room for improvement specially with Simmons. Don't we see that now?

Of course he didn't do it alone, but he was their best player in those 7 games against Raptors. Regarding Simmons, i expected that this year he will start shooting those damn threes, but as we can see, it's not really happening. What Simmons need is a team with more shooters around him, then he would show his full potential, but 76s management decided to go different way. Imho, they overpaid Harris,  5 year / $180,000,000 is way too much for him.

You are so sure about that. Want to make a bet?

I said that I wouldn't be surprised if they finish playoff run in the 1st round, that's quite far from being sure about it. Still quite a few games to be played before playoff, and injuries are always the factor. Especially when it comes to 76s.
Also, it will be interesting to see how this will work with Horford coming off the bench.

[stadus]

Anybody else think that the Lakers is making a good and wise move by waiving Cousins to make room for Morris?

I mean, Cousins cannot be able to cope up with the Lakers chemistry. Even if he'll be back as early as the playoffs, I guess he won't be able to play his full either, since he sat down for a long period of time, and he might ruin the play and chemistry. Though, It's really hard on his edge since he's very vocal on how he loved to play with the Lakers. The Lakers can sign him next year anyway.
I guess that would be the plan for Boogie and the Lakers management.

With Morris on the line up of the Lakers, I would say they'll become more than a championship contender.
just for a clarification, it's Markieff Morris that will sign with lakers, his twin brother is currently playing with the Clippers now which is Marcus Morris.

[Viscore]

Anybody else think that the Lakers is making a good and wise move by waiving Cousins to make room for Morris?

I mean, Cousins cannot be able to cope up with the Lakers chemistry. Even if he'll be back as early as the playoffs, I guess he won't be able to play his full either, since he sat down for a long period of time, and he might ruin the play and chemistry. Though, It's really hard on his edge since he's very vocal on how he loved to play with the Lakers. The Lakers can sign him next year anyway.
I guess that would be the plan for Boogie and the Lakers management.

With Morris on the line up of the Lakers, I would say they'll become more than a championship contender.
just for a clarification, it's Markieff Morris that will sign with lakers, his twin brother is currently playing with the Clippers now which is Marcus Morris.

Comparing their stats, it's Marcus who has a better record compared to his brother, rough start with the Clippers but I am sure he will get his usual average over time. If the Lakers will be able to acquire Markieff, let's hope he will perform well in this team and his stats will improve.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/morrima03.html

https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/morrima02.html

[Captain Corporate]

 This is one of those days when you see basketball is a business just like any other business. Cousins was just in a interview type of thing with I think Matt Barnes and another person and he was talking about how the team spirit was high and how everyone was friends and "if one guy goes to movies, we are all going to movies" and that type of thing nad mentioned how he has never been part of a team like that etc etc. Now he is gone. Of course if you look at it from Lakers point of view, now they got a player who may or may not play, he is a decent guy but I have no idea if he will be a 10 minute guy or a 20 minute guy or 9th guy that comes in only on blow outs, but it is still miles better than having a player that will certainly not play at all, Lakers signed him when he wasn't injured, it is a marvel that they kept him so long.

 The silver lining here, Cousins (if he wants to) can continue his rehabilitiation at Lakers buildings, use their doctors, use their trainers, use their practice courts etc, he just can't go to the games (well in uniform, he could buy a ticket like any other viewer) but aside from that he could be part of the team while he is getting better until the off-season which I am sure Lakers already said to him anyway even without any rules. So he will get the best care in the world while getting better, certainly much better than doing it on your own, but since he is waived, maybe he may want to leave, that would be understandable as well.

[FanEagle]

This game for blazers was quite important to actually see how the others play and not if they could win or not. Pelicans are not really a great team of course so they could have still won the game however when your best player is out (and I wish CJ was out resting as well, would emphasize this better) you get to see who are the other players that you know that could help the team out, Lakers literally did that last year and kept Kuzma while sending all others, sure there were other things involved but they could have easily sent Kuzma as well.

Here blazers saw that they could rely on other players as well when Dame is not on his best day or he is guarded extra etc etc, we all knew CJ was good but seeing Melo still playing well really helped them and hopefully their playoff chase is not just over yet.

[joshy23]

Anybody else think that the Lakers is making a good and wise move by waiving Cousins to make room for Morris?

I mean, Cousins cannot be able to cope up with the Lakers chemistry. Even if he'll be back as early as the playoffs, I guess he won't be able to play his full either, since he sat down for a long period of time, and he might ruin the play and chemistry. Though, It's really hard on his edge since he's very vocal on how he loved to play with the Lakers. The Lakers can sign him next year anyway.
I guess that would be the plan for Boogie and the Lakers management.

With Morris on the line up of the Lakers, I would say they'll become more than a championship contender.
just for a clarification, it's Markieff Morris that will sign with lakers, his twin brother is currently playing with the Clippers now which is Marcus Morris.

Much better than an injured Boogie, if they will waiving Cousins and get Morris they interior help will be much solid. His addition fits the lakers
system together with AD and Lebron power from inside paint is expected, Morris is a role player so he can help the lakers in their rotations
it's not hard for him to adjust.

[Reid]

This game for blazers was quite important to actually see how the others play and not if they could win or not. Pelicans are not really a great team of course so they could have still won the game however when your best player is out (and I wish CJ was out resting as well, would emphasize this better) you get to see who are the other players that you know that could help the team out, Lakers literally did that last year and kept Kuzma while sending all others, sure there were other things involved but they could have easily sent Kuzma as well.

Here blazers saw that they could rely on other players as well when Dame is not on his best day or he is guarded extra etc etc, we all knew CJ was good but seeing Melo still playing well really helped them and hopefully their playoff chase is not just over yet.

They really need that win to get away from the 10th and 11th seed which is the Spurs(24) and Pelicans(24).
Grizzlies is at 28 at 8th seed and 25 for Blazers.
It is not that far. There is a chance for those three team. This injuries though is killing the Blazers.
Zion on the other hand, is really on trail of something. He want that playoff spot.

Pelicans are losing against strong teams like Bucks and Thunders but never with the lower seeds.
As of their 10 games, they only lose against the Rockets, Bucks and Thunders. They really got stronger with the addition of Zion.

[Finestream]

They really got stronger with the addition of Zion.

Pelicans have a 7-3 record in their last 10 games, they are tied with the Lakers, Rockets, and the OKC, this means they are really doing well.
I don't have a complete stats of the OKC from the moment Zion played but based on observation, they are really doing well.

currently rank number 10 but a lot of things will happen, and looks like they are destined to go forward.

[stadus]

currently rank number 10 but a lot of things will happen, and looks like they are destined to go forward.

I believe they'll be able to reach in the playoffs this season, they'll take out the Memphis in the standing and I am afraid that Spurs might also miss this season's playoffs, that's based on the way they play games recently.

[danherbias07]

Anybody else think that the Lakers is making a good and wise move by waiving Cousins to make room for Morris?

This is quite a fresh news : https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/lakers/2020/02/21/lakers-waive-demarcus-cousins-to-sign-markieff-morris/4836908002/

Yes, because Morris is healthy while Cousins is not and though he is talented but his future is uncertain unlike Morris who can provide good energy with the Lakers with the way he plays. Now these two Morris are playing for L.A, either one of them might be champ this season.

I am with Cousins for long term only. But they want this year to be the champion so Morris will do fine.
Injuries really bring his value down and I think he needs to think about that too.
Coming back strong like how he had always been had been a large wall to him.

Lakers management is pouring their rosters with known players, even the 2nd team can win against a lower seed team. 
Can the Clippers still win with this gigantic line up?

[mirakal]

Can the Clippers still win with this gigantic line up?

Actually it was the Clippers who first add a Morris, the Lakers just try to compete with that by signing his brother, but the Marcus has a better record compared to his twin brother so the Clippers has the edge on this one, IMO.

[Botnake]

The Blazers is being given 2.50 against the Pelicans? Wow! Zion madness!
I may win some this round.

That is the correct line, Lillard is still injured so Blazers will definitely struggle even at home.
I am not saying they will lose in this one but the betting odds is just correct, let's see if CJ would step up to give his team a win, and of course MELO should.

It's a test for Blazers if they can manage to win at home even without Lillard, CJ and Melo who are needed to step up and give some entertainment for the fans. In the other hand, Zion still impressing everyone with how he played and how he showed his addition to his team. Will going to wait and try betting during the live game.

And they failed on their test, they can't stop Zion and it looks like the Pelicans are now having a chance to be in the playoffs, although not in the standing yet. Tonight, Blazers will be facing the Pistons, playing still at their home court so since Pistons are also a banged up team, let's see if the Blazers can win here.

[fullhdpixel]

Clippers also just lost to Kings once again, not saying Kings are better compared to Clippers (not a chance) but we are seeing why Clippers are no longer seen as the favorites for the championship by many people. They are a disgruntled bunch of players and even though they are all talented and even though they definitely have the roster to challenge for a cup, they also do not have neither the team chemistry nor the mentality to work together and create that synergy.

Look at Lakers and Bucks, those two teams definitely deserve the Finals both because they are very talented just like Clippers, but also they are a great team and they play amazingly together as well, they have fun together, they spend time together after the games and practices, you need that type of brotherhood for a championship.