2025 NBA Season

[Botnake]

Without an all-star beside Luka, he will never win a title. That's how NBA is right now. In order for a team to win, you need to have at least 2 all star player on the team. You expect them to be in the play-in tournament. I believe they might make a roster change or make some trades this season, and maybe that might change the tempo of the team. I expect them to be at the 5-8th spot. Slightly higher than your prediction.

Luka is the main man of the Mavericks, he is the Kobe Bryant of LA Lakers and Giannis of Bucks, so you can't really expect to win without him. Dallas IMO are better this season, though they have struggle this early but comes playoffs, Wood will be very useful as they have a good scorer inside unlike last season.

Well, that is true, we cannot deny that because the offense is more focus on him. He was like Lebron with the Cavaliers before, he cannot win a championship that's why he decided to joined Dwayne Wade and Bosh to form a big 3, and he was successful because he won multiple championships.

I guess that time will come for Luka if he feels frustrated with getting eliminated in the playoffs over and over again.

[tygeade]

Without an all-star beside Luka, he will never win a title. That's how NBA is right now. In order for a team to win, you need to have at least 2 all star player on the team. You expect them to be in the play-in tournament. I believe they might make a roster change or make some trades this season, and maybe that might change the tempo of the team. I expect them to be at the 5-8th spot. Slightly higher than your prediction.

They truly need to do quick action about it because they making some huge mistakes right now about how they play and it's not effective enough to secure a top 6 spot in the current league nowadays. The western conference is truly wild random play nowadays and some straight wins these next few days will lift them up to the top and might gonna hold it well if they managed to change their line-ups and the way they play right now of course. Surely Luka is a star player but he really needs someone to rely on to take some contested shots and clutch shots whenever he is doubled.

It's not easy to build a team around someone, look at the old Mavs when they won the title, Dirk was amazing but he didn't had superstars around him, Tyson Chandler, older Kidd and Jason Terry if I am not mistaken, these were not star level players, they were decent to be fair but they were old players that played good on their roles.

I think Luka will have very hard time waiting until a team is built around him, so he needs to start doing some recruiting himself, he needs to make sure that some other superstar wants to play with him. I always assumed that someone like Trae would be great because they are friends, and they could play well together, and a great defender at wing or even at centre.

[arwin100]

Without an all-star beside Luka, he will never win a title. That's how NBA is right now. In order for a team to win, you need to have at least 2 all star player on the team. You expect them to be in the play-in tournament. I believe they might make a roster change or make some trades this season, and maybe that might change the tempo of the team. I expect them to be at the 5-8th spot. Slightly higher than your prediction.

They truly need to do quick action about it because they making some huge mistakes right now about how they play and it's not effective enough to secure a top 6 spot in the current league nowadays. The western conference is truly wild random play nowadays and some straight wins these next few days will lift them up to the top and might gonna hold it well if they managed to change their line-ups and the way they play right now of course. Surely Luka is a star player but he really needs someone to rely on to take some contested shots and clutch shots whenever he is doubled.

It's not easy to build a team around someone, look at the old Mavs when they won the title, Dirk was amazing but he didn't had superstars around him, Tyson Chandler, older Kidd and Jason Terry if I am not mistaken, these were not star level players, they were decent to be fair but they were old players that played good on their roles.

I think Luka will have very hard time waiting until a team is built around him, so he needs to start doing some recruiting himself, he needs to make sure that some other superstar wants to play with him.

They are somehow stars on their prime but when they are on mavs they just do their job and execute well their role. If those people will be like them where they would not care about stats and play according to what set by the coach then provably they can get the same result with Dirks team. But we know its hard because each player have an ego especially right now where social media is booming where many of them try their best to create noise in the mainstream.

[danherbias07]

Thanks for the link and like you, I'm also having a hard time placing my vote. There are many deserving young stars who can be considered to be part of the All-Star while old-timers are tough not to bring them in as well.

Going to sort and see if I'll be able to complete every position, just like what I've said there are
lots of options and that makes it harder to decide, maybe a good combination of old and
new rising stars.

It is.
Oh and please do consider Markkenenn in your lineup.  Just a wish, but it's still all up to you.
Also, please do consider players that won't be able to play at this event.
We don't want spots being filled by players we don't really like and then we regret it in the end. This thing happened last year and could still happen now.
Our votes are important to make the All-Star more competitive so it's better if it's not a bandwagon thing.

Tomorrow. The closest handicap would be Cavs vs Bucks. I might bet for the Cavs here.

[Dave1]

Thanks for the link and like you, I'm also having a hard time placing my vote. There are many deserving young stars who can be considered to be part of the All-Star while old-timers are tough not to bring them in as well.

Going to sort and see if I'll be able to complete every position, just like what I've said there are
lots of options and that makes it harder to decide, maybe a good combination of old and
new rising stars.

It is.
Oh and please do consider Markkenenn in your lineup.  Just a wish, but it's still all up to you.
Also, please do consider players that won't be able to play at this event.
We don't want spots being filled by players we don't really like and then we regret it in the end. This thing happened last year and could still happen now.
Our votes are important to make the All-Star more competitive so it's better if it's not a bandwagon thing.

Tomorrow. The closest handicap would be Cavs vs Bucks. I might bet for the Cavs here.

Yeah, Markkenenn was one of the biggest revelation this season. Another huge game for him against the Pistons. Started just slow in the first quarter although hitting 2 three's if I'm not mistaken, and then end up with 38 big points.

It will be the Cavaliers homecourt so not surprised if they beat the Bucks.

But the Sixers vs Detroit could be the "easiest" one to bet on the games tomorrow.

[Eternad]

Without an all-star beside Luka, he will never win a title. That's how NBA is right now. In order for a team to win, you need to have at least 2 all star player on the team. You expect them to be in the play-in tournament. I believe they might make a roster change or make some trades this season, and maybe that might change the tempo of the team. I expect them to be at the 5-8th spot. Slightly higher than your prediction.

Luka is the main man of the Mavericks, he is the Kobe Bryant of LA Lakers and Giannis of Bucks, so you can't really expect to win without him. Dallas IMO are better this season, though they have struggle this early but comes playoffs, Wood will be very useful as they have a good scorer inside unlike last season.

Well, that is true, we cannot deny that because the offense is more focus on him. He was like Lebron with the Cavaliers before, he cannot win a championship that's why he decided to joined Dwayne Wade and Bosh to form a big 3, and he was successful because he won multiple championships.

I guess that time will come for Luka if he feels frustrated with getting eliminated in the playoffs over and over again.

I think the best match for Luka similarities on old gen star is James Harden. Luka don’t bother defense as we seen him a lot before that just watching enemy score during fast breaks but he is shooting accuracy is a monster that compensate his lack of defense. I’m sure he will improve this part of him like what Harden did but he should be doing it early or else he might get the stagnant career that doesn’t get a championship for carrying his team mates alone.

He just need a strong team mates that he can depend on defense and some offense whenever he is resting because he is playing without a restand always put of gas on last quarter.

[TravelMug]

Dallas Mavericks, for instance, I don't think they won't be able to play in the playoffs.

We can have a better preview of what teams might enter the playoffs once the All-Star break commences. It's roughly about over a month and a half to go and team standings might show big changes, especially in the Western Conference where the competition is really tough.

Referring to the Dallas Mavericks specifically, there are games where I am really upset about their performance but still, I believed they will able to enter the playoffs. Although I'm expecting them to compete in a play-in tournament.

I thought that the acquisition of Christian Wood will make the Mavericks better than last season, but I guess I was wrong.

The Mavericks are better last season because their offense was distributed. They have more options to score. Now, most of the points are coming from Luka. I watched a video on Youtube yesterday and it shows that when Luka is off the court, they are -12 on points. Just look at how much points Luka is putting per game. 32 PPG and this just shows that he is doing most of the offense. Wood and Dinwiddie who are we expecting to help him only averages at around 16 and 17PPG.

Without an all-star beside Luka, he will never win a title. That's how NBA is right now. In order for a team to win, you need to have at least 2 all star player on the team. You expect them to be in the play-in tournament. I believe they might make a roster change or make some trades this season, and maybe that might change the tempo of the team. I expect them to be at the 5-8th spot. Slightly higher than your prediction.

They also had Brunson to help Luka not just in scoring but in distributing the ball as well and as we can see, Jalen in New York is thriving in his position.

They haven't learn with KP before though, we thought that another big man will compliment Luka, but that formula is not going to work. Now the same case with Christian Wood. When we think that he is going to be the second option for them, he became so inconsistent that again, the KP situation is plastering all over the Mavs. And not sure why coach Kidd is not doing the adjustment right now. He should find the perfect chemistry and rotation.

[inthelongrun]

Dallas Mavericks, for instance, I don't think they won't be able to play in the playoffs.

We can have a better preview of what teams might enter the playoffs once the All-Star break commences. It's roughly about over a month and a half to go and team standings might show big changes, especially in the Western Conference where the competition is really tough.

Referring to the Dallas Mavericks specifically, there are games where I am really upset about their performance but still, I believed they will able to enter the playoffs. Although I'm expecting them to compete in a play-in tournament.

I thought that the acquisition of Christian Wood will make the Mavericks better than last season, but I guess I was wrong.

The Mavericks are better last season because their offense was distributed. They have more options to score. Now, most of the points are coming from Luka. I watched a video on Youtube yesterday and it shows that when Luka is off the court, they are -12 on points. Just look at how much points Luka is putting per game. 32 PPG and this just shows that he is doing most of the offense. Wood and Dinwiddie who are we expecting to help him only averages at around 16 and 17PPG.

Without an all-star beside Luka, he will never win a title. That's how NBA is right now. In order for a team to win, you need to have at least 2 all star player on the team. You expect them to be in the play-in tournament. I believe they might make a roster change or make some trades this season, and maybe that might change the tempo of the team. I expect them to be at the 5-8th spot. Slightly higher than your prediction.

Same here. I also thought bringing Christian Wood would fill the much-needed points by the Mavs. Wood showed potential in Houston and many fans are also expecting him to become the new Porzingis. Although I am still not giving up on him.

Personally, I do not like Kemba Walker as well. The guy is a veteran but the Mavs need someone that experienced in important games like the playoffs. The Mavs should make an aggressive move before the trade deadline. The Utah Jazz for example has good players available since the team is just busy collecting top first-round drafts and is also eyeing on the Wembanyama lottery.

[Yaunfitda]

Dallas Mavericks, for instance, I don't think they won't be able to play in the playoffs.

We can have a better preview of what teams might enter the playoffs once the All-Star break commences. It's roughly about over a month and a half to go and team standings might show big changes, especially in the Western Conference where the competition is really tough.

Referring to the Dallas Mavericks specifically, there are games where I am really upset about their performance but still, I believed they will able to enter the playoffs. Although I'm expecting them to compete in a play-in tournament.

I thought that the acquisition of Christian Wood will make the Mavericks better than last season, but I guess I was wrong.

The Mavericks are better last season because their offense was distributed. They have more options to score. Now, most of the points are coming from Luka. I watched a video on Youtube yesterday and it shows that when Luka is off the court, they are -12 on points. Just look at how much points Luka is putting per game. 32 PPG and this just shows that he is doing most of the offense. Wood and Dinwiddie who are we expecting to help him only averages at around 16 and 17PPG.

Without an all-star beside Luka, he will never win a title. That's how NBA is right now. In order for a team to win, you need to have at least 2 all star player on the team. You expect them to be in the play-in tournament. I believe they might make a roster change or make some trades this season, and maybe that might change the tempo of the team. I expect them to be at the 5-8th spot. Slightly higher than your prediction.

Same here. I also thought bringing Christian Wood would fill the much-needed points by the Mavs. Wood showed potential in Houston and many fans are also expecting him to become the new Porzingis. Although I am still not giving up on him.

Personally, I do not like Kemba Walker as well. The guy is a veteran but the Mavs need someone that experienced in important games like the playoffs. The Mavs should make an aggressive move before the trade deadline. The Utah Jazz for example has good players available since the team is just busy collecting top first-round drafts and is also eyeing on the Wembanyama lottery.

Kemba Walker is already past his prime, or not the same player prior to him being traded to the Celtics. Because after he moved to the Celtics, he also got injured and become a liability.

Not sure what happen to Christian Wood as a Maverick, when he was in Houston, I would say that he was the first offense for them and we wonder why he was traded.

Maybe this is what the Houston team see in Wood, I mean he is good but not good enough to be an elite player, just saying.

[autoprt]

Dallas Mavericks, for instance, I don't think they won't be able to play in the playoffs.

We can have a better preview of what teams might enter the playoffs once the All-Star break commences. It's roughly about over a month and a half to go and team standings might show big changes, especially in the Western Conference where the competition is really tough.

Referring to the Dallas Mavericks specifically, there are games where I am really upset about their performance but still, I believed they will able to enter the playoffs. Although I'm expecting them to compete in a play-in tournament.

I thought that the acquisition of Christian Wood will make the Mavericks better than last season, but I guess I was wrong.

The Mavericks are better last season because their offense was distributed. They have more options to score. Now, most of the points are coming from Luka. I watched a video on Youtube yesterday and it shows that when Luka is off the court, they are -12 on points. Just look at how much points Luka is putting per game. 32 PPG and this just shows that he is doing most of the offense. Wood and Dinwiddie who are we expecting to help him only averages at around 16 and 17PPG.

Without an all-star beside Luka, he will never win a title. That's how NBA is right now. In order for a team to win, you need to have at least 2 all star player on the team. You expect them to be in the play-in tournament. I believe they might make a roster change or make some trades this season, and maybe that might change the tempo of the team. I expect them to be at the 5-8th spot. Slightly higher than your prediction.

Same here. I also thought bringing Christian Wood would fill the much-needed points by the Mavs. Wood showed potential in Houston and many fans are also expecting him to become the new Porzingis. Although I am still not giving up on him.

Personally, I do not like Kemba Walker as well. The guy is a veteran but the Mavs need someone that experienced in important games like the playoffs. The Mavs should make an aggressive move before the trade deadline. The Utah Jazz for example has good players available since the team is just busy collecting top first-round drafts and is also eyeing on the Wembanyama lottery.

Kemba Walker is already past his prime, or not the same player prior to him being traded to the Celtics. Because after he moved to the Celtics, he also got injured and become a liability.

Not sure what happen to Christian Wood as a Maverick, when he was in Houston, I would say that he was the first offense for them and we wonder why he was traded.

Maybe this is what the Houston team see in Wood, I mean he is good but not good enough to be an elite player, just saying.

I'm a UConn graduate and a big Kemba fan.  His best years were in Charlotte even though his lifelong dream was to be a Knick never panned out.  That's basketball.  Christian Wood I thought was going to be the next big thing the way he was playing at one point was looking like he was going to be elite just never got there.

[chaser15]

For me, if Westbrick keeps on targeting triple-doubles it will not be enough, for me, I think do not target a triple-double but a huge output on scoring, like he recently have against the Nuggets it was an impressive triple-double but he needs to do more, and right now Anthony Davis has a foot injury that may cause some losing game for the Lakers but if Russell Westbrick would keep up his triple-double target it will not be enough I think he needs to do more on the scoring because Anthony Davis may return on December 19,

Did Westbrook still target a triple-double per game? Not that I noticed since becoming a 6th man and coming off the bench.

If he's good with rebounds and assists with fewer turnovers on average, that should do. It's not also good for him trying to make huge output on scoring. Refer to their last games and see how effective Westbrook is even not on his usual scoring.

Coach Ham is doing good so far utilizing Bryant, Reeves, Walker IV, and others. Good to see these players doing well with Lebron in the last game.

For me he isn't, or should I say his main goal isn't getting a triple double every game but, that's just how he plays right now. I mean he can do everything. He can rebound, he can be a passer and he can be a shooter as well though he is very awful on that aspect considering how much he's being paid right now.

Lakers are doing well compared to their first 10 games. Their chemistry is being built slowly. Coach Ham is slowly becoming a better coach right now and he utilizes his other players like Reeves, Walker and Schroeder. The problem right now is Davis being out for a month again. After him being the most dominant player to now getting injured again.

I agree with you. It's just that there are still people who think Westbrook still eyeing aggressively doing triple-double per game for his own purpose.

They didn't look at how Westbrook is developing and accepting the role of being a 6th man of the Lakers right now. Not because he is still doing close around triple-double per game, does mean that was only for record purposes. What matter is, he is contributing to the team and people should not just conclude right away that it's because Westbrook is doing that for record purposes or something close to that. His turnover percentage gradually decreases to referring to their past games and that's a good development.

As expected, we can't expect Anthony Davis to be healthy all throughout the season. But even though he is injury prone, I can say that his consistency is always there as there are lots of times he is shown always dominant even coming from injuries. Right now though, the Lakers need to work on their current position on the Western Conference standing that's why as much as possible, the team should keep their healthy status.

[wheelz1200]

How about them NY KNICKS!!  I know they were without steph but first time knicks beat the dubs in NY since 2013.  8 wins in a row in what looks like the dominant eastern division.  Over these 8 games Knicks have been the top defensive team in basketball.  Reminds me of old school knicks.  Starting to really like this squad.  

[Yogee]

.....
The Mavericks are better last season because their offense was distributed. They have more options to score. Now, most of the points are coming from Luka.

Maybe this is what their coach needs to change again. Some players need to build up some rhythm or momentum to really get going and that's not happening when most scoring responsibility is on Doncic. Wood and Dinwiddie are definitely capable of putting up 20 to 30 per game and that could further improve if Kidd could put more trust in them.

[autoprt]

It's good to see a comment on Knicks / GSW last night.  Not surprised Knicks won but the amount they won by was a little surprising thought GSW would get more out of Klay and Draymond.  Since it's still the Knicks I'll wait a while to say whether they are legit or not.   The NBA is always better off though when the Knicks are relevant.

[Yogee]

.... thought GSW would get more out of Klay and Draymond.

Poole's "inconsistency" being blamed for some of their losses but really it's these guys who also need to step up their game.

Since it's still the Knicks I'll wait a while to say whether they are legit or not.

Still hasn't sink in that they won 8 games in a row right? They have three players putting up decent numbers on a regular basis but I get what you mean since they haven't faced the top contenders during that winning streak.

The NBA is always better off though when the Knicks are relevant.

How long has it been? hehe.

[martyns]

It's good to see a comment on Knicks / GSW last night.  Not surprised Knicks won but the amount they won by was a little surprising thought GSW would get more out of Klay and Draymond.  Since it's still the Knicks I'll wait a while to say whether they are legit or not.   The NBA is always better off though when the Knicks are relevant.

The NBA season is one of the most preview season to experience new results from teams. We wouldn't be surprised if the mediocre teams have possession over the strong team. My expectations is to see knick go far this season and the players should be at their best form in other to achieve their targets for the season. Knicks are one of the underrated team in the season and they won't get a slide defeat due to their heavy strong defend line and the teammates have strong teamwork in the court.

[boltz]

Great win by Bulls last night and Vucevic finally had a great game that was important not for himself but also for Bulls in general because last games was been nothing else but a nightmare for them as nothing worked in their favor. Inside news of Bulls are not great but they can leave whatever issues they have away for now and focus in play-offs spots because with a bit of luck , Bulls can make it even if they won't have a great run in them... .

[ajanwalker]

Denver Nuggest is in great form and beat Memphis, who are in very good form at home, in last night's game. In Denver, 5 players hit double digits and showed how good they were as a team. Ja Morant scored 35 points for Memphis but could not prevent the victory. With this result, Denver rose to the top of the western conference. He will leave with a win in the next two games at home and most likely in those two games.

[OgNasty]

I'd say the Knicks and Nuggets win tonight.

Hey, look at that.  I got myself a decent parlay win. 

Lots of games tonight but none of them televised where I am, unfortunately.  I do like a couple of the matchups.  Houston Rockets vs Orlando Magic to see who is the worst in the league.  Lakers vs Kings is usually a good game as they were rivals back in the Shaq, "Sacramento Queens" era.  If Stephen Curry wasn't out the Golden State Warriors vs Brooklyn Nets game would be a great one to watch, but still might be interesting although the Nets should take that win.

[freedomgo]

....
Can Jordan Poole repeat what he did against the Raptors or will this just be another game to give up without Steph Curry around?
I want to see a new face stepping up his game, maybe Moody, Lamb, or Kuminga. Just to fill the missing piece while their injured players are resting.

Jordan Poole is very talented but Curry is a legend who can do it night in and night out.  It takes years to get to that level.

40+ night in and night out is tough to pull off even with the likes of Curry or any other legends. Jordan Poole is already doing 20 to 30 a night and has been consistent with that range lately.

It's one thing to be the 3rd option and get your shots in but when teams are game planning for you it's a whole different level which is why you need the superstar guys who can do it when other teams game plan to stop them.

Right but we already know the GSW system doesn't just rely on too many ISO plays. They are pretty good at ball distribution and setting up screens which allows many opportunities for open shots so any defensive plays aimed at stopping just one player like Poole isn't really going to work long-term.

That's right, you're not wrong at all. As long as a player can successfully take responsibility for himself in the absence of Stephen Curry, then I do not think there is a problem so long as he is able to do so successfully. In fact, I am looking forward to seeing the Warriors play their next game. Specifically, I would like to see if Poole can actually perform as well as he did in the last game or if someone else needs to take on that responsibility.

Aside from successfully taking that responsibility, consistency is as well needed because anyone can take any responsibility but the question will be, will that player be efficient in his new role and responsibility? So far, the Warriors doesn't have any troubles because one of them, Jordan Poole is taking a step further to fill Curry's absence and with the help of the rest of the roster, I bet they will still making wins along the way.

Later, they will face the Brooklyn Nets. Poole has been leading the team for the 2 consecutive games already, let's see how they will manage the situation later.