2024 NBA Season

[ajanwalker]

There are 3 teams I follow in the NBA. Boston, Los Angeles Lakers and Golden state. My favorite for the championship this year is the Boston Celtics. My interest in the Los Angeles Lakers is purely because I like LeBron James. In the matches played yesterday, Boston ended the bad situation. Defeated Minnesota at home. The game's top scorer was Jaylen Brown. Los Angeles Lakers lost to Charlotte at home 130-134. LeBron James' 34 points could not prevent the defeat. A championship this year is now a very distant possibility for Los Angeles.

The Celtics and the Warriors are the favorites to win the championship this season. Forget about the Lakers, Lebron is already old and we've see that he cannot carry his team anymore unlike the old days when he was still young, Lakers without Davis is a disaster, that's a real talk.

I don't think he's too old for basketball.
He is only 37 years old and if he takes care of himself, if there is no injury, he can play comfortably until the age of 40-42. He scored 34 points last night, but of course it's not enough on its own. Of course, Anthony Davis should also support it. Basketball is a team game, not tennis after all. Russell Westbrook scored 17 points yesterday, but it wasn't enough.

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[Botnake]

There are 3 teams I follow in the NBA. Boston, Los Angeles Lakers and Golden state. My favorite for the championship this year is the Boston Celtics. My interest in the Los Angeles Lakers is purely because I like LeBron James. In the matches played yesterday, Boston ended the bad situation. Defeated Minnesota at home. The game's top scorer was Jaylen Brown. Los Angeles Lakers lost to Charlotte at home 130-134. LeBron James' 34 points could not prevent the defeat. A championship this year is now a very distant possibility for Los Angeles.

The Celtics and the Warriors are the favorites to win the championship this season. Forget about the Lakers, Lebron is already old and we've see that he cannot carry his team anymore unlike the old days when he was still young, Lakers without Davis is a disaster, that's a real talk.

I don't think he's too old for basketball.
He is only 37 years old and if he takes care of himself, if there is no injury, he can play comfortably until the age of 40-42. He scored 34 points last night, but of course it's not enough on its own. Of course, Anthony Davis should also support it. Basketball is a team game, not tennis after all. Russell Westbrook scored 17 points yesterday, but it wasn't enough.

Of course, he is not old because he can still score over 30 points, like what he is doing during his prime, however, we have to understand that age matters in the game, if you see Lebron now, he is not as aggressive as he was before, he just chooses his move to avoid injury and he is more on a passer now than a scorer. Lebron and Davis's play would complement each other as Lebron could attract the defense so it's easy for Davis to shot the ball when the is open.

[inthelongrun]

Meanwhile, western teams are once again nearing to match the best win-loss record of the east. Generally, the current standings are still close with only 1 to 2 wins and losses that set them apart from the next rank. This might be one of the most competitive regular seasons in the NBA.

Western Conference is in a competitive season right now.
Last time New Orleans Pelicans gained the top spot then there came the Memphis Grizzlies.
Now they are tied with the Denver Nuggets which we didn't expect when Murray and MPJ were still in injury without a timeline about their return.
Phoenix Suns are trying to be on the same spot with Booker on and off and Clippers gaining more wins with Kawhi and PG13 healthy.
West is going to be filled with star-studded teams.
Lakers on the other hand might have a tight spot to squeeze a playoff spot. If ever it happens, it will be a new environment for Lebron.

Yes, the top spot in the western conference has been changed always this season. At the start, it was the Utah Jazz, and then came the Portland Trail Blazers, and so on. Although I am loving this kind of trend since it shows the high level of competition, deep inside I am always rooting for Miami, Utah, and Houston as well. It seems like Jalen Green is having a hard time establishing himself as a leader but at least he is now silent compared to his first year when he constantly tried to trash-talk the first pick.

Until there are changes in the Lakers roster, I am not giving them a serious chance of landing the 8th spot, although I am not taking it away the chance to secure a playoff spot thru the play-ins.

[cryptomaniac_xxx]

Meanwhile, western teams are once again nearing to match the best win-loss record of the east. Generally, the current standings are still close with only 1 to 2 wins and losses that set them apart from the next rank. This might be one of the most competitive regular seasons in the NBA.

Western Conference is in a competitive season right now.
Last time New Orleans Pelicans gained the top spot then there came the Memphis Grizzlies.
Now they are tied with the Denver Nuggets which we didn't expect when Murray and MPJ were still in injury without a timeline about their return.
Phoenix Suns are trying to be on the same spot with Booker on and off and Clippers gaining more wins with Kawhi and PG13 healthy.
West is going to be filled with star-studded teams.
Lakers on the other hand might have a tight spot to squeeze a playoff spot. If ever it happens, it will be a new environment for Lebron.

Yes, the top spot in the western conference has been changed always this season. At the start, it was the Utah Jazz, and then came the Portland Trail Blazers, and so on. Although I am loving this kind of trend since it shows the high level of competition, deep inside I am always rooting for Miami, Utah, and Houston as well. It seems like Jalen Green is having a hard time establishing himself as a leader but at least he is now silent compared to his first year when he constantly tried to trash-talk the first pick.

Until there are changes in the Lakers roster, I am not giving them a serious chance of landing the 8th spot, although I am not taking it away the chance to secure a playoff spot thru the play-ins.

It's really very competitive in both divisions, and obviously in the beginning there could be a lot of lead changes in the top. But later on, maybe near or after the all star break, we will see how the team area going to land and what spot and who will be the leader and win the Western Conference.

As for the Lakers, for me it's going to be a hard fought games for them to even land in the play-in, they are going to be cluster around that 8-12 spot that every game is going to be important. So still a hit or miss for them, even if AD comes back, gonna be hard for the Lakers to meet this season's playoff.

[Japinat]

Until there are changes in the Lakers roster, I am not giving them a serious chance of landing the 8th spot, although I am not taking it away the chance to secure a playoff spot thru the play-ins.

That will only happen if Westbrook will get traded, they might benefit from the drama of the Chicago Bulls, and maybe Westbrook will be traded for Lavine or DeRozan, who knows, right? Davis, on the other hand, has only one problem, which is his inconsistency to stay healthy which is definitely not his fault, however, the faith of the Lakers every season heavily relied upon him.

[Jating]

Until there are changes in the Lakers roster, I am not giving them a serious chance of landing the 8th spot, although I am not taking it away the chance to secure a playoff spot thru the play-ins.

That will only happen if Westbrook will get traded, they might benefit from the drama of the Chicago Bulls, and maybe Westbrook will be traded for Lavine or DeRozan, who knows, right? Davis, on the other hand, has only one problem, which is his inconsistency to stay healthy which is definitely not his fault, however, the faith of the Lakers every season heavily relied upon him.

I think anyone of this trade could happen before the deadline in February, if Lakers wanted to get a roster upgrade or a new team mate for Lebron. I know that Westbrook name has been coming out even last season or before the start, but there are no chances from him, or not what the Lakers expect him to be, so they might as well trade him.

For AD, it's the cycle around his body, wear and tear, always injured when they were about to make a run. But the thing is, will the Bulls think he is still worth huge some of money and then them letting either of their stars for AD?

[yazher]

That will only happen if Westbrook will get traded, they might benefit from the drama of the Chicago Bulls, and maybe Westbrook will be traded for Lavine or DeRozan, who knows, right? Davis, on the other hand, has only one problem, which is his inconsistency to stay healthy which is definitely not his fault, however, the faith of the Lakers every season heavily relied upon him.

It's really hard to trade Westbrook because of how he is currently playing and obviously he is not really effective for his team. If they can only put some effort into decreasing his worth a little, maybe the other teams will gonna gamble to acquire him and will gonna give them a decent offer that is hard to decline. The problem with the Lakers is, they think of Westbrook as an important asset that they can trade for the same price to the other team which really not going to work at all.

[autoprt]

That will only happen if Westbrook will get traded, they might benefit from the drama of the Chicago Bulls, and maybe Westbrook will be traded for Lavine or DeRozan, who knows, right? Davis, on the other hand, has only one problem, which is his inconsistency to stay healthy which is definitely not his fault, however, the faith of the Lakers every season heavily relied upon him.

It's really hard to trade Westbrook because of how he is currently playing and obviously he is not really effective for his team. If they can only put some effort into decreasing his worth a little, maybe the other teams will gonna gamble to acquire him and will gonna give them a decent offer that is hard to decline. The problem with the Lakers is, they think of Westbrook as an important asset that they can trade for the same price to the other team which really not going to work at all.

Regarding a fit for Westbrook I would say based on how hard he works would be Miami Heat.  I'm not sure with their financials and trade assets if that would work but he would fit into their culture especially if he is willing to come of the bench if necessary.  Spurs have the salary available to take him he would fit in there also but not sure how much he would be wanted by the fans there. 

[danherbias07]

Yes, the top spot in the western conference has been changed always this season. At the start, it was the Utah Jazz, and then came the Portland Trail Blazers, and so on. Although I am loving this kind of trend since it shows the high level of competition, deep inside I am always rooting for Miami, Utah, and Houston as well. It seems like Jalen Green is having a hard time establishing himself as a leader but at least he is now silent compared to his first year when he constantly tried to trash-talk the first pick.

Wow, I never thought we have a Houston Rockets fan here.
They are playing decently unlike last year. The Rockets may be in the last seed in the Western Conference but damn these young players are defeating strong teams surprisingly. I guess they just lack consistency unlike what they did with the Utah Jazz. Same young players in their roster but a different outcome.

Until there are changes in the Lakers roster, I am not giving them a serious chance of landing the 8th spot, although I am not taking it away the chance to secure a playoff spot thru the play-ins.

Yes, that's where their chance could be and they should wish AD will be healthy when that time comes to survive them in the tournament and get a spot for the playoffs.

It's really hard to trade Westbrook because of how he is currently playing and obviously he is not really effective for his team. If they can only put some effort into decreasing his worth a little, maybe the other teams will gonna gamble to acquire him and will gonna give them a decent offer that is hard to decline. The problem with the Lakers is, they think of Westbrook as an important asset that they can trade for the same price to the other team which really not going to work at all.

Teams are not gambling with a veteran anymore.
I mean, look at the teams now, if you are not on the top players, especially in the shooting sector, (i.e. KD, Kyrie) you will have a hard time being signed unless you are young and can show a bright future.

[harizen]

Until there are changes in the Lakers roster, I am not giving them a serious chance of landing the 8th spot, although I am not taking it away the chance to secure a playoff spot thru the play-ins.

That will only happen if Westbrook will get traded, they might benefit from the drama of the Chicago Bulls, and maybe Westbrook will be traded for Lavine or DeRozan, who knows, right? Davis, on the other hand, has only one problem, which is his inconsistency to stay healthy which is definitely not his fault, however, the faith of the Lakers every season heavily relied upon him.

In fairness to Russell Westbrook, I can say that he's performing well overall since coming off the bench.

Trading Westbrook might make sense but saying trading him is the key for the Lakers to improve is still subject to "what if".

The Lakers are doing well recently until Anthony Davis got sidelined again. For let's say Zach LaVine or Demar DeRozan is playing there instead of Westbrook, nothing will really change that much if, on the other hand, Anthony Davis is always out consistently.

[jakelyson]

Spurs have the salary available to take him he would fit in there also but not sure how much he would be wanted by the fans there. 

The Spurs are rebuilding. They will not touch Westbrook. If they are willing to tank this year, then I do not think Westbrook will fit at all in there. They need someone that is young that they can develop to become their top star. Westbrook is the complete opposite of that.

In fairness to Russell Westbrook, I can say that he's performing well overall since coming off the bench.

Trading Westbrook might make sense but saying trading him is the key for the Lakers to improve is still subject to "what if".

The Lakers are doing well recently until Anthony Davis got sidelined again. For let's say Zach LaVine or Demar DeRozan is playing there instead of Westbrook, nothing will really change that much if, on the other hand, Anthony Davis is always out consistently.

                   

He is performing well but it is still not enough. With the salary that he is getting, his contributions coming from the bench are not worth it. He needs to step up more, especially when AD is out or injured.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

[YuginKadoya]

Tomorrow the Lakers will have a tough opponent again, it's the Dallas Mavericks which is a proven playoff team, so I guess we will again see a big win by the home team, and once again the Lakers will struggle to find their offense. The question is, who will stop Luka and Wood, they have good chemistry, Lakers will be having a hard time stopping the offense inside and outside.

I didn't bet on this game because I think it will be a pretty much hard prediction even though it seems that Lebron James might have an injury it is still questionable if he can not play or not, and right now sometimes it is unpredictable if the Lakers could get a high volume with this game, but pretty much it is a safe bet to bet for the Mavericks, and you are right that Luka Doncic it seems that he has the chemistry of the other players of the Mavericks so in no time they could come up with play they don't usually do,

There are 3 teams I follow in the NBA. Boston, Los Angeles Lakers and Golden state. My favorite for the championship this year is the Boston Celtics. My interest in the Los Angeles Lakers is purely because I like LeBron James. In the matches played yesterday, Boston ended the bad situation. Defeated Minnesota at home. The game's top scorer was Jaylen Brown. Los Angeles Lakers lost to Charlotte at home 130-134. LeBron James' 34 points could not prevent the defeat. A championship this year is now a very distant possibility for Los Angeles.

I only got the Golden State Warriors and Utah Jazz for this season, but for the Lakers, I really think they will fail again this season don't get me wrong Lebron James is old sure enough he and Anthony Davis is not staying healthy, and right now Lebron James is questionable if he can play for the team, or if he can play for a limited time only because of injury, Russell WestBrick is still a Brick, no pun intended, Russ really need to focus and stop making mistake because for me the Lakers are doing it little by little,

[RealMalatesta]

As for the Lakers, for me it's going to be a hard fought games for them to even land in the play-in, they are going to be cluster around that 8-12 spot that every game is going to be important. So still a hit or miss for them, even if AD comes back, gonna be hard for the Lakers to meet this season's playoff.

AD not being available is not really the issue that people make it out to be. They were bad when he played, and they are bad without him, maybe even worse. If you ever expected them to be suddenly great and fight for a title then you must be sad that he is going to miss games.

However, even with the win streak I never trusted them to make a big leap and I believed the very best they could do would have been a first round exit, and missing a first round exit is not that much of a big miss. I would rather miss the whole playoffs instead of losing in the first round, so that I would have more time to rebuild the team and let the players rest a lot more.

[Kasabus]

We might see again a close competition in the play-in tournament in the Western Conference.

At least from the 6th spot to the 10th spot, the gap is not that much. Pointing to the Lakers, they need to do everything to improve their position before the half of the season as they might end up competing on the play-in spot instead and not on the playoffs spot.

Tough year for the Lakers that when they are now starting to get along, another injury happened to their main scorer that showed dominance before being injured. We can't expect Lebron to carry a team now as his role is now being a role player.

Yes, it will be a tough year again for the Los Angeles Lakers but I cannot really say that I'm surprised about this because I know that with Davis aggressiveness, his time will come again that he will get injured. Worse is if he will be sidelined for several weeks just like now where he is expected to be out for a month. I don't know but I do think that it will be too much to ask to get Davis healthy for the whole season where we can see the Lakers advancing in full power.

[Vaculin]

Regarding Hornets even if they do get Bridges back this year have dug a hole so deep no way they can dig out to get to playoffs but we'll see.

I don't expect either that they will reach the playoffs though, they are not a top team so no expectation at all, what is disappointing is the Lakers have keep losing after a great run, so they aren't consistent without Davis which is a big problem for the team.

Yes and as we have said about the Lakers this season, it's already a dead season for them, very difficult to make the playoff with AD constantly getting injured and then Westbrook coming off the bench and no where the prime Russ where he can average a lot to help and aging Lebron as well.

Lots of good games, like the Knicks vs Sixers, good test for the Knicks against one of the hottest team. And then Boston vs Bucks.

Tomorrow the Lakers will have a tough opponent again, it's the Dallas Mavericks which is a proven playoff team, so I guess we will again see a big win by the home team, and once again the Lakers will struggle to find their offense. The question is, who will stop Luka and Wood, they have good chemistry, Lakers will be having a hard time stopping the offense inside and outside.

Their game will start in like 2 hours from now, the Mavericks will host the game later and somehow I'm already expecting what would be the outcome. The Lakers will surely struggle on this one because if they got defeated by the Hornets which is by the way not a playoff contender then how much more if they will face a much heavier team like the Mavericks. They need to find and fix the missing piece puzzle as soon as possible because if not, they should just say goodbye from participating the upcoming playoffs.

[ingiltere]

I called it a crap expectation then. Expecting an old Lebron to consistently score 30+ PPG because Anthony Davis is out of context. Believe me, the Lakers without Lebron should handle the Hornets. No need for Lebron to supposedly make a 30+ score. The Hornets are currently at worst with just a winning percentage of .273. Therefore, it doesn't make sense to point out that if only Lebron played a leader in that game, they should win it as you are saying. Can you detail completely what you see on that game to the point that you see Lebron didn't act as a leader in that game?

At this point it feels like I'm being trolled. You either don't understand what you read or do that on purpose, so I'm just ignoring this kind of attitude.
LeBron is already the leader of the team and he did whatever he can do but Lakers rotation is so narrow and there is only a few players who take responsibility, so it's hard for them to win games like that unless LeBron, Walker or Westbrook do something extraordinary. It wasn't that hard to understand.


It's a great game day, five matches live on TV and started already with Knicks - Sixers game. Celtics - Bucks game is also a must see. I wish everyone have fun and Merry Christmas.

[bitgolden]

I think anyone of this trade could happen before the deadline in February, if Lakers wanted to get a roster upgrade or a new team mate for Lebron. I know that Westbrook name has been coming out even last season or before the start, but there are no chances from him, or not what the Lakers expect him to be, so they might as well trade him.

For AD, it's the cycle around his body, wear and tear, always injured when they were about to make a run. But the thing is, will the Bulls think he is still worth huge some of money and then them letting either of their stars for AD?

If I am not mistaken it is the last year of Westbrooks contract, and they have only Lebron and AD for more than just one year, that means they are going to actually drop to a very very low salary levels, and they will have open books for anyone.

I think trading at this point wouldn't give them any success, they will be bad this year no matter what, however, if during this summer they could use the free agency decently and even trading block decently then they could actually get a lot of great players for sure. I am not in support of AD staying neither, with very open books, AD being traded, and free agents everywhere, they could fill around Lebron with amazing players.

[carlisle1]

I think anyone of this trade could happen before the deadline in February, if Lakers wanted to get a roster upgrade or a new team mate for Lebron. I know that Westbrook name has been coming out even last season or before the start, but there are no chances from him, or not what the Lakers expect him to be, so they might as well trade him.

For AD, it's the cycle around his body, wear and tear, always injured when they were about to make a run. But the thing is, will the Bulls think he is still worth huge some of money and then them letting either of their stars for AD?

If I am not mistaken it is the last year of Westbrooks contract, and they have only Lebron and AD for more than just one year, that means they are going to actually drop to a very very low salary levels, and they will have open books for anyone.

I think trading at this point wouldn't give them any success, they will be bad this year no matter what, however, if during this summer they could use the free agency decently and even trading block decently then they could actually get a lot of great players for sure. I am not in support of AD staying neither, with very open books, AD being traded, and free agents everywhere, they could fill around Lebron with amazing players.

I go with your opinion, for this season better not to pushed anything the chance is low now and even you'll going to get new stars or players
that will surround LeBron there's no guarantee that it will improve the team's winning chance.

Let the season past if they can't get that spot even in the play-in, take the opportunities to make a good value of what will happen this coming
summer as the contract of those players who got a huge salary will expire.

That will open up good space to land stars and good role players to start working with LeBron.

[Baofeng]

What a game between the Sixers and the Knicks, I thought that the Knicks will take this one at home as they took a good lead in the 2nd and maintain it 3rd quarter. But at the start of the 4th, Harden hits a 3 and then Niang back to back to push their lead even further, and that's all they needed to win this game.

Randle lead the Knicks with 35 points, started hot as well with 3's, but they can't sustained their offense down the stretch.

Sixers is again lead by Embiid with 35 points as well.

[dwyane36]

The Celtics and the Warriors are the favorites to win the championship this season.

The Celtics hold the top spot in the standings, and their current performance looks much better compared to the last regular season. So the Celtics can really be called the favorites of the championship, and it looks like they have a good chance to reach the finals again.
At the same time, I wouldn't call the Warriors the favorites this season. The Warriors are 11th in the Western Conference right now, and I guess they'll drop even lower in the standings as they've performed pretty mediocrely without Curry.