2025 NBA Season

[LogitechMouse]

In other news, Rudy Gobert punched a teammate in a timeout today. I wonder what will happen now since they have their important game against the Lakers for the number 7 spot. In a normal situation he would be suspended for sure but now I’m not sure they will do it with such a big game coming up.

Yeah, here is the video of the scuffle,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrmi1D6qTvU

I don't know, it seems that everyone is frustrated in this game, and with Rudy's performance? emotions are going to run high, and everyone is going to point out fingers amongst this players. And he was sent home in the middle of the game and the management said that they are going to deal with this issues privately. So it might be the Rudy will get suspended, although it was also reported that Rudy already apologizes to the team in their group chat. And that as grown men, they should move on and then just think of the team. He will be very important against the Lakers in their play-in, so I speculate that he will still going to play.

One punch, and then back out.
I don't know what's the root of that, but I'm just hoping that this will not affect their performance on the play-in tournament.

He apologized in the group chat? I guess it would be better if he will apologize in person with his team right? I mean you will feel if the person is sincere or not in that way. Well, like you said they have an important game against the Lakers. On the other hand, I'm looking at the injuries of the Wolves team, and there are some notable players that are currently injured. McDaniels which is their good defender is injured, and same as Naz Reid who is a reliable big and can shoot threes for the team. If they will suspend Gobert for one game, it will affect the whole team's performance as they will not have any rim protector at all aside from Towns.

Overall, this short scuffle must not let the morale of the team go down, or they might be having a hard time winning against the Lakers. Well, if they lose against the Lakers, they still have a chance if they will win against the winner of the Pelicans-Thunder.

[Pamadar]

Phoenix Suns might win this first round without PG13 around but they do have to be careful with Westbrook. That dude will certainly give his all, especially with a goal of a championship. This may be his last chance in a good team with Kawhi Leonard so he will play harder than before.

This is what mistake done by Lakers where they let Westbrook shoot and they penalize by WB for that plan they do. They should remember thay Westbrook is happy and well supporter on Clippers that's why we see him perform compare when he is on Lakers.

For sure Suns will not take him as granted because they know Westbrook still a high caliber player. But I still go with the sun with this match up knowing that PG still not on them and Suns is complete with Durant a reliable star which they can trust on offensive and defensive end.

I go also with the Suns here, knowing that KD is also hungry to win another title with a set of another super team behind him for sure he will bring everything here to help in winning the series.

But like what you have said, WB will be on hype here knowing that it might be his last chance to play with a caliber
team, even without PG13, they've got a healthy Kawai and a support role player who can compete and have a possibility to win.

[püsür]

In other news, Rudy Gobert punched a teammate in a timeout today. I wonder what will happen now since they have their important game against the Lakers for the number 7 spot. In a normal situation he would be suspended for sure but now I’m not sure they will do it with such a big game coming up.

Yeah, here is the video of the scuffle,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrmi1D6qTvU

I don't know, it seems that everyone is frustrated in this game, and with Rudy's performance? emotions are going to run high, and everyone is going to point out fingers amongst this players. And he was sent home in the middle of the game and the management said that they are going to deal with this issues privately. So it might be the Rudy will get suspended, although it was also reported that Rudy already apologizes to the team in their group chat. And that as grown men, they should move on and then just think of the team. He will be very important against the Lakers in their play-in, so I speculate that he will still going to play.

One punch, and then back out.
I don't know what's the root of that, but I'm just hoping that this will not affect their performance on the play-in tournament.

He apologized in the group chat? I guess it would be better if he will apologize in person with his team right? I mean you will feel if the person is sincere or not in that way. Well, like you said they have an important game against the Lakers. On the other hand, I'm looking at the injuries of the Wolves team, and there are some notable players that are currently injured. McDaniels which is their good defender is injured, and same as Naz Reid who is a reliable big and can shoot threes for the team. If they will suspend Gobert for one game, it will affect the whole team's performance as they will not have any rim protector at all aside from Towns.

Overall, this short scuffle must not let the morale of the team go down, or they might be having a hard time winning against the Lakers. Well, if they lose against the Lakers, they still have a chance if they will win against the winner of the Pelicans-Thunder.

Gobert's move is of course never excusable but just before play ins, it is utterly unbelievable. We all know things can get heated in sports world, these players have huge egos etc. but he could just deal with it in the locker room. I'm sure much much more things happen behind the scenes. They must be fighting it out or even become enemies or something but have to be done after the game, without cameras. I am sorry to say this to anyone but Gobert might have some problems with his iq or some kind of problem in his brain. What he did with the covid business was also utterly crazy. I don't find him offensively or defensively good also. In the last game, the opponent just played pick and rolls on him with success. With his physical abilities, he should be a much much better player but he is not at all. Still, Timberwolves have a good chance in advancing to the playoffs. They should solve their problems and just focus on basketball.

[AHOYBRAUSE]

Phoenix Suns might win this first round without PG13 around but they do have to be careful with Westbrook. That dude will certainly give his all, especially with a goal of a championship. This may be his last chance in a good team with Kawhi Leonard so he will play harder than before.

This is what mistake done by Lakers where they let Westbrook shoot and they penalize by WB for that plan they do. They should remember thay Westbrook is happy and well supporter on Clippers that's why we see him perform compare when he is on Lakers.

For sure Suns will not take him as granted because they know Westbrook still a high caliber player. But I still go with the sun with this match up knowing that PG still not on them and Suns is complete with Durant a reliable star which they can trust on offensive and defensive end.

I go also with the Suns here, knowing that KD is also hungry to win another title with a set of another super team behind him for sure he will bring everything here to help in winning the series.

But like what you have said, WB will be on hype here knowing that it might be his last chance to play with a caliber
team, even without PG13, they've got a healthy Kawai and a support role player who can compete and have a possibility to win.

Even though media  but the Suns on the number 1 spot to win the title when they traded for KD I don't see them having any chance to actually do it.

CP3 is getting old, Booker is good but can also be inconsistent, KD is not the KD from some years ago and go down due to injuries again any moment and Ayton just can't catch a break in my eyes.

They are also not deep enough for me to win it.

In the west my money is On the Nuggets or the Kings (which would be a decent surprise) . If Jokic is coming back without any issues it will be hard to beat them in 7 games, especially when they are 34:7 at home. Dark horse will be GSW where everything is possible when the 3 is falling.

In the east it's more easy, everything should go between Boston and Milwaukee. These 2 teams are just too good for the rest, even though of course Philly and the Cavs also had impressive results.

[yazher]

Suns picked Clippers instead of Warriors. They could've won the game if they wanted to, but lost to Clippers and became play-off first round opponents. This is pretty logical as they avoid the last champion. Paul George's return is still unknown.
Lakers won but it wasn't enough for 6th place. They need to pass play-in rounds now. Pelicans is also in form but Lakers wouldn't make mistakes here.

The good thing about the Lakers in their next game is they are complete and ready for the NBA playoffs, they just need to win this one in order to secure their spot and go against Memphis and I think that would be a hard match-up for them going against young guns and super fast and athletic team. Their advantage is their experience and when they can somehow get through that, then the rest will surely be easy.

[Yogee]

Suns picked Clippers instead of Warriors. They could've won the game if they wanted to, but lost to Clippers and became play-off first round opponents. This is pretty logical as they avoid the last champion. Paul George's return is still unknown.

Yes it's a smart choice in my opinion too. I think the Clippers are still decent but the addition of Kevin Durrant to the Sun's roster definitely made them the huge favorite to win this series.

I also don't think forcing Paul George to return is best for the Clippers since he won't be 100% healthy for the first round. He will certainly be more banged up for the second should they manage to win by a stroke of luck.

[danherbias07]

Phoenix Suns might win this first round without PG13 around but they do have to be careful with Westbrook. That dude will certainly give his all, especially with a goal of a championship. This may be his last chance in a good team with Kawhi Leonard so he will play harder than before.

This is what mistake done by Lakers where they let Westbrook shoot and they penalize by WB for that plan they do. They should remember thay Westbrook is happy and well supporter on Clippers that's why we see him perform compare when he is on Lakers.

For sure Suns will not take him as granted because they know Westbrook still a high caliber player. But I still go with the sun with this match up knowing that PG still not on them and Suns is complete with Durant a reliable star which they can trust on offensive and defensive end.

I go also with the Suns here, knowing that KD is also hungry to win another title with a set of another super team behind him for sure he will bring everything here to help in winning the series.

But like what you have said, WB will be on hype here knowing that it might be his last chance to play with a caliber
team, even without PG13, they've got a healthy Kawai and a support role player who can compete and have a possibility to win.

He is hungry. That's all I can think of this season with the Clippers. Expect him to do triple-doubles again. With Kawhi around and some chemistry with Eric Gordon from being a Houston Rockets before, it might become a hard-fought game for the Suns.
KD might be on their side but there's also Batum who could defend him well with a reach that could suffice to put a hand in the face of Durant.

I have seen some speculations that the Warriors would finish it in 4 but I really doubt that. I think basketball analysts like Stephen A. Smith is forgetting that Mike Brown was the assistant coach of Steve Kerr. He knows what they are planning, he knows their plays, and he knows what they can do next in crucial games.
I would not underestimate the Kings yet. They might even win this series if all goes well. Plus, they have the homecourt advantage at 4 against 3.

[OgNasty]

Suns picked Clippers instead of Warriors. They could've won the game if they wanted to, but lost to Clippers and became play-off first round opponents. This is pretty logical as they avoid the last champion. Paul George's return is still unknown.
Lakers won but it wasn't enough for 6th place. They need to pass play-in rounds now. Pelicans is also in form but Lakers wouldn't make mistakes here.

The good thing about the Lakers in their next game is they are complete and ready for the NBA playoffs, they just need to win this one in order to secure their spot and go against Memphis and I think that would be a hard match-up for them going against young guns and super fast and athletic team. Their advantage is their experience and when they can somehow get through that, then the rest will surely be easy.

With the Rudy Gobert nonsense in Minnesota it seems like that team will be an easy opponent for the now hot Lakers. I don’t think Memphis would be a problem either. The Lakers might’ve just lucked themselves into a pretty easy path towards round 2 of the playoffs in my opinion.

[stadus]

Suns picked Clippers instead of Warriors. They could've won the game if they wanted to, but lost to Clippers and became play-off first round opponents. This is pretty logical as they avoid the last champion. Paul George's return is still unknown.
Lakers won but it wasn't enough for 6th place. They need to pass play-in rounds now. Pelicans is also in form but Lakers wouldn't make mistakes here.

The good thing about the Lakers in their next game is they are complete and ready for the NBA playoffs, they just need to win this one in order to secure their spot and go against Memphis and I think that would be a hard match-up for them going against young guns and super fast and athletic team. Their advantage is their experience and when they can somehow get through that, then the rest will surely be easy.

With the Rudy Gobert nonsense in Minnesota it seems like that team will be an easy opponent for the now hot Lakers. I don’t think Memphis would be a problem either. The Lakers might’ve just lucked themselves into a pretty easy path towards round 2 of the playoffs in my opinion.

The Los Angeles Lakers facing the Minnesota Timberwolves is almost a no brainer because the latter almost got no depths at all and speaking of experience, they won't last against the enduring Lakers especially now that the Wolves roster is in a hot mess. But facing the Grizzlies on the 1st round? That sounds interesting because I'm sure that the Lakers will be tested how much they can endure as the Grizzlies is not an easy team to beat and they are just too unpredictable. That just shows how tight the West is.

[jakelyson]

The Lakers on the other hand need to locked in at the 7th spot and there's a lot of speculations on Youtube now with NBA analysts that they might get it.
But, I would not underestimate the power of BI and CJ. Those two can go hot at any instance, a good defender should be posted on them. Vanderbilt will be a good choice to be posted against BI and Reaves for CJ.

I thought they will play against the Pelicans but when I checked the schedule, they are matched against the Timberwolves. I guess the Timberwolves have the tiebreaker against the Pelicans. This makes it easier for the Lakers to sustain their position for the playoffs since I think the Timberwolves are imploding. I just saw it in passing but I think there was news on Gobert punching a teammate. That is bad to the team if it was true and could spell disaster on their run in the playoffs.

I go also with the Suns here, knowing that KD is also hungry to win another title with a set of another super team behind him for sure he will bring everything here to help in winning the series.

But like what you have said, WB will be on hype here knowing that it might be his last chance to play with a caliber
team, even without PG13, they've got a healthy Kawai and a support role player who can compete and have a possibility to win.

The Clippers have a tough first round. Since there is still no set date for the return of PG13, it will be hard for them to beat the Suns. Even with a healthy Kawhi and an inspired Westbrook. They will need Paul George since they are against KD and 3 more stars on the Phoenix Suns side. Though they are still lucky since they are facing the Suns in the first round. They are still rested and healthy.

[freedomgo]

Can someone explain what will happen if they all end up with a season standing of 43-39? Will there be a tiebreaker game, or if not, who will finish in the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th places? I didn't know how tiebreakers work in a play-in tournament.

I shared how the mechanics will be 2 days ago here. https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1220979.msg62054312#msg62054312
I hope that helps.

Suns picked Clippers instead of Warriors. They could've won the game if they wanted to, but lost to Clippers and became play-off first round opponents. This is pretty logical as they avoid the last champion. Paul George's return is still unknown.
Lakers won but it wasn't enough for 6th place. They need to pass play-in rounds now. Pelicans is also in form but Lakers wouldn't make mistakes here.

Phoenix Suns might win this first round without PG13 around but they do have to be careful with Westbrook. That dude will certainly give his all, especially with a goal of a championship. This may be his last chance in a good team with Kawhi Leonard so he will play harder than before.

The Lakers on the other hand need to locked in at the 7th spot and there's a lot of speculations on Youtube now with NBA analysts that they might get it.
But, I would not underestimate the power of BI and CJ. Those two can go hot at any instance, a good defender should be posted on them. Vanderbilt will be a good choice to be posted against BI and Reaves for CJ.

The Lakers are still not locked in that 7th spot, as you have said, BI and CJ are making a run in their last 10 games so it will be a tight race for that very important 7th spot.

As for the Suns vs Clippers, they already have KD, I think that will be the breaker here. If it will be just Booker against Kahwi and Leonard, and even with PG, Clippers have a good chance. But know the Suns has one of the best offensive weapon right now and it's KD and we haven't seen him really play the level that all we all know. So in this series it will be close but I will have to go with the Suns.

Good point, it's really undeniable that the Phoenix Suns have improved their chances to reach further this time by having KD on their side and whoever the team will face, they will surely have a hard time grabbing a win because the Suns are quite stacked right now especially if all four core players are present, their offense and defense is just hard to penetrate. For the Clippers, their chemistry will be heavily tested in the first round and I look forward that they will give an interesting game because PG and Kawhi are there to lead the whole roster plus there's WB and Powell on the sides who are always available when the duo needed them.

[passwordnow]

With the Rudy Gobert nonsense in Minnesota it seems like that team will be an easy opponent for the now hot Lakers. I don’t think Memphis would be a problem either. The Lakers might’ve just lucked themselves into a pretty easy path towards round 2 of the playoffs in my opinion.

That's still hot and Lakers can capitalize that situation and can be said that fate is with them while that punching seen wouldn't be forgotten easy unless, Anderson has already moved on and they've reconciliated quickly for the sake of the team's standing because every game from now on is important to the team. Things are becoming better for the Lakers and this is actually a good thing to be seen because they've been from the bottom and now, they're even seeing some windows to push for more. I just realized that Dallas is out, sad.

[carlisle1]

Suns picked Clippers instead of Warriors. They could've won the game if they wanted to, but lost to Clippers and became play-off first round opponents. This is pretty logical as they avoid the last champion. Paul George's return is still unknown.
Lakers won but it wasn't enough for 6th place. They need to pass play-in rounds now. Pelicans is also in form but Lakers wouldn't make mistakes here.

The good thing about the Lakers in their next game is they are complete and ready for the NBA playoffs, they just need to win this one in order to secure their spot and go against Memphis and I think that would be a hard match-up for them going against young guns and super fast and athletic team. Their advantage is their experience and when they can somehow get through that, then the rest will surely be easy.

With the Rudy Gobert nonsense in Minnesota it seems like that team will be an easy opponent for the now hot Lakers. I don’t think Memphis would be a problem either. The Lakers might’ve just lucked themselves into a pretty easy path towards round 2 of the playoffs in my opinion.

The Los Angeles Lakers facing the Minnesota Timberwolves is almost a no brainer because the latter almost got no depths at all and speaking of experience, they won't last against the enduring Lakers especially now that the Wolves roster is in a hot mess. But facing the Grizzlies on the 1st round? That sounds interesting because I'm sure that the Lakers will be tested how much they can endure as the Grizzlies is not an easy team to beat and they are just too unpredictable. That just shows how tight the West is.

It will be an interesting matchup with the Lakers as we see that they are really aiming to move forward, against Minnesota
yeah it can be an easy game for them considering the healthy squad now.

But facing the Grizzlies, they will be tested here if how good the coach is and how the players will blend when facing an unpredictable team.

I would like to see how Ja and LeBron take their responsibilities for being the alpha of both squads.

[jakelyson]

It will be an interesting matchup with the Lakers as we see that they are really aiming to move forward, against Minnesota
yeah it can be an easy game for them considering the healthy squad now.

But facing the Grizzlies, they will be tested here if how good the coach is and how the players will blend when facing an unpredictable team.

I would like to see how Ja and LeBron take their responsibilities for being the alpha of both squads.

It would be fun to watch them play though I do not think that Grizzlies have it already to beat a veteran team. They are impressive in the regular season, but I think the experience gap between the two teams will be a great factor in determining who will move to the next round. The Grizzlies do not really have a veteran leadership that I think they really need. Both Lebron and AD already have been through a lot and are not lacking in experience to crumble in pressure. As long as these two remain healthy in their series against the Grizzlies, I think they will come on top.

[FanEagle]

With the Rudy Gobert nonsense in Minnesota it seems like that team will be an easy opponent for the now hot Lakers. I don’t think Memphis would be a problem either. The Lakers might’ve just lucked themselves into a pretty easy path towards round 2 of the playoffs in my opinion.

That's still hot and Lakers can capitalize that situation and can be said that fate is with them while that punching seen wouldn't be forgotten easy unless, Anderson has already moved on and they've reconciliated quickly for the sake of the team's standing because every game from now on is important to the team. Things are becoming better for the Lakers and this is actually a good thing to be seen because they've been from the bottom and now, they're even seeing some windows to push for more. I just realized that Dallas is out, sad.

To be fair, the reason why Lakers are ranked so low right now is not because they are a bad team, it is because they WERE a bad team along with the fact that they had injuries all season long. Now that they made a good trade sending away Westbrook and getting some defenders and giving minutes to some good players, along with Lebron and AD dominating, I would guess that they are a much better team than the standings show.

Obviously this is playoff basketball and anything could happen, we could see them even lose right away and not even be in playoffs, but if you ask me they are definitely high up there along with Nuggets this year in the west. They will probably got as further as western conference finals which would be awesome.

[wheelz1200]

It will be an interesting matchup with the Lakers as we see that they are really aiming to move forward, against Minnesota
yeah it can be an easy game for them considering the healthy squad now.

But facing the Grizzlies, they will be tested here if how good the coach is and how the players will blend when facing an unpredictable team.

I would like to see how Ja and LeBron take their responsibilities for being the alpha of both squads.

It would be fun to watch them play though I do not think that Grizzlies have it already to beat a veteran team. They are impressive in the regular season, but I think the experience gap between the two teams will be a great factor in determining who will move to the next round. The Grizzlies do not really have a veteran leadership that I think they really need. Both Lebron and AD already have been through a lot and are not lacking in experience to crumble in pressure. As long as these two remain healthy in their series against the Grizzlies, I think they will come on top.

I disagree. Memphis is going to be a tough out, their guard play is going to be tough to guard.  Reeves can't really guard athletic 1/2s they should get exploited.  Lakers have a tough time against ylteams like that.  Should be fun to watch but I'm expecting Memphis to roll.  That's even if the Lakers play them.  Winning the play in game isn't a gimme. 

[LogitechMouse]

Suns picked Clippers instead of Warriors. They could've won the game if they wanted to, but lost to Clippers and became play-off first round opponents. This is pretty logical as they avoid the last champion. Paul George's return is still unknown.
Lakers won but it wasn't enough for 6th place. They need to pass play-in rounds now. Pelicans is also in form but Lakers wouldn't make mistakes here.

The good thing about the Lakers in their next game is they are complete and ready for the NBA playoffs, they just need to win this one in order to secure their spot and go against Memphis and I think that would be a hard match-up for them going against young guns and super fast and athletic team. Their advantage is their experience and when they can somehow get through that, then the rest will surely be easy.

With the Rudy Gobert nonsense in Minnesota it seems like that team will be an easy opponent for the now hot Lakers. I don’t think Memphis would be a problem either. The Lakers might’ve just lucked themselves into a pretty easy path towards round 2 of the playoffs in my opinion.

The Los Angeles Lakers facing the Minnesota Timberwolves is almost a no brainer because the latter almost got no depths at all and speaking of experience, they won't last against the enduring Lakers especially now that the Wolves roster is in a hot mess. But facing the Grizzlies on the 1st round? That sounds interesting because I'm sure that the Lakers will be tested how much they can endure as the Grizzlies is not an easy team to beat and they are just too unpredictable. That just shows how tight the West is.

Also, include the fact that the Wolves suspended Gobert for one game for what happened between him, and Anderson. I mean that game is against the Lakers, but anyway if they will lose to the them, they still have a chance to retain that 8th seed if they will win against the winner of 9th-10th seed.

Now assuming that the Lakers will face the Grizzlies as the 2-7 seed. It really sounds interesting, but I think that the Grizzlies will win on this one, but in 6-7 games, or at least they will be having a hard time defeating the Lakers. A young Grizzlies team against a veteran, and full of experience Lakers team. TBH, I'm rooting for the Grizzlies, but I still think that the Lakers has a chance knowing how they improved after the trade deadline. The problem with them is the inconsistency of their main players, and injuries since we know that LeBron and Davis are prone to injuries already. If both of them alongside other main players will play the whole series, I think they will have a chance, but I'll go with Grizzlies with this one.

I would love to see the Grizzlies advancing to the second round as well as the Warriors, so we will see an interesting match-up in the second round.

[Dave1]

Suns picked Clippers instead of Warriors. They could've won the game if they wanted to, but lost to Clippers and became play-off first round opponents. This is pretty logical as they avoid the last champion. Paul George's return is still unknown.
Lakers won but it wasn't enough for 6th place. They need to pass play-in rounds now. Pelicans is also in form but Lakers wouldn't make mistakes here.

The good thing about the Lakers in their next game is they are complete and ready for the NBA playoffs, they just need to win this one in order to secure their spot and go against Memphis and I think that would be a hard match-up for them going against young guns and super fast and athletic team. Their advantage is their experience and when they can somehow get through that, then the rest will surely be easy.

With the Rudy Gobert nonsense in Minnesota it seems like that team will be an easy opponent for the now hot Lakers. I don’t think Memphis would be a problem either. The Lakers might’ve just lucked themselves into a pretty easy path towards round 2 of the playoffs in my opinion.

The Los Angeles Lakers facing the Minnesota Timberwolves is almost a no brainer because the latter almost got no depths at all and speaking of experience, they won't last against the enduring Lakers especially now that the Wolves roster is in a hot mess. But facing the Grizzlies on the 1st round? That sounds interesting because I'm sure that the Lakers will be tested how much they can endure as the Grizzlies is not an easy team to beat and they are just too unpredictable. That just shows how tight the West is.

Also, include the fact that the Wolves suspended Gobert for one game for what happened between him, and Anderson. I mean that game is against the Lakers, but anyway if they will lose to the them, they still have a chance to retain that 8th seed if they will win against the winner of 9th-10th seed.

Now assuming that the Lakers will face the Grizzlies as the 2-7 seed. It really sounds interesting, but I think that the Grizzlies will win on this one, but in 6-7 games, or at least they will be having a hard time defeating the Lakers. A young Grizzlies team against a veteran, and full of experience Lakers team. TBH, I'm rooting for the Grizzlies, but I still think that the Lakers has a chance knowing how they improved after the trade deadline. The problem with them is the inconsistency of their main players, and injuries since we know that LeBron and Davis are prone to injuries already. If both of them alongside other main players will play the whole series, I think they will have a chance, but I'll go with Grizzlies with this one.

I would love to see the Grizzlies advancing to the second round as well as the Warriors, so we will see an interesting match-up in the second round.

It will really be a good match up if the Lakers vs Grizzlies are going to happen in the first one. I also think that the Grizzlies will win this series, but it's not going to be easy for them. Both are very tough teams both in offense and defense, but I think what separate the Grizzlies here is their youth. Body of Lebron and AD might not take the grueling 6-7 game series against a young team like Memphis. And Ja Morant has to proved himself this season, he said that he is fine in the West, so let's see if he can even reach the finals.

[danherbias07]

The Lakers on the other hand need to locked in at the 7th spot and there's a lot of speculations on Youtube now with NBA analysts that they might get it.
But, I would not underestimate the power of BI and CJ. Those two can go hot at any instance, a good defender should be posted on them. Vanderbilt will be a good choice to be posted against BI and Reaves for CJ.

I thought they will play against the Pelicans but when I checked the schedule, they are matched against the Timberwolves. I guess the Timberwolves have the tiebreaker against the Pelicans. This makes it easier for the Lakers to sustain their position for the playoffs since I think the Timberwolves are imploding. I just saw it in passing but I think there was news on Gobert punching a teammate. That is bad to the team if it was true and could spell disaster on their run in the playoffs.

Aw! I didn't notice that, thank you for correcting me.
So it's Pelicans versus the Thunders and the Lakers versus the hot-blooded Timberwolves with Gobert punching his teammates.  I think the Pelicans might have a chance to steal that 8th spot if ever they win against the Thunder and play with the Timberwolves afterward.

How about the Eastern Conference?
If there are still people who are confused about how the play-in tournament works, here is the image created by NBA to understand it easier.

https://www.nba.com/bulls/news/the-2023-nba-play-in-tournament-format-explained

My prediction: Miami Heat will take the 7th spot and Chicago Bulls will take the 8th spot and upset the Hawks after defeating the Raptors. We will see.

Correction on the image shared. NYK should be ATL.

[Oasisman]

In other news, Rudy Gobert punched a teammate in a timeout today. I wonder what will happen now since they have their important game against the Lakers for the number 7 spot. In a normal situation he would be suspended for sure but now I’m not sure they will do it with such a big game coming up.

Pretty sure there will be no suspension on any of the player involved as they are about to play against the Lakers in a very important game this year. However, the Timberwolves ' chemistry now are in jeopardy. There will a two different side of stories regarding that scuffle, and some teammates may pick who ever side they think is right.
Well, they can't afford to lose Gobert though. Let's see if they can sort things out and play like nothing happened.