2024 NBA Season

[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.

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[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.

[Botnake]

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.

Nope, Gobert was reportedly suspended in the play-in tournament, and I think we won't be seeing him play again this post season.

Timberwolves suspend Rudy Gobert for Play-In game vs. Lakers

Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert will miss Minnesota’s AT&T Play-In Tournament opener after being suspended one game by the team, the team announced Monday. Gobert will be available to play if the Wolves lose in the Play-In to the Lakers or advance to the Western Conference playoffs.

Yes, they need him, but what he did was unacceptable. It would be a shame if the team simply let what happened pass by, as that would be selective justice.

[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.

Just imagine if the Warriors are the ones that the Suns are facing.

The defending champions Vs. the supposed champions of this season because they are at the top in sportsbooks to win the championship when they got KD. What will Durant feel if he got beaten by the team he left because he wants to be the main man on the team? PG13 will not return at least in the first games of the Suns-Clippers, but I hope he will be just ok. The roster of the Clippers are very deep. They got shooters, defenders, reliable big, all-star player, reliable role player etc. but I just don't know if they can defeat the Suns with or without PG13.

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.

I think they have a huge chance that they will retain that 7th spot, and will face the Grizzlies in the first round. After what happened to the Wolves in their last game, and add also the injuries from McDaniels who is their elite defender, and Naz Reid who can stretch the defense of other teams, I don't know if the Wolves can defeat them, but who knows. We might see an upset coming from Towns and Edwards.

[dwyane36]

Yes, they need him, but what he did was unacceptable. It would be a shame if the team simply let what happened pass by, as that would be selective justice.

Of course, Gobert's behavior was unacceptable, and it seems to me the Wolves have a huge problem with team chemistry, given the reactions of other teammates during that incident. In any case, that's a great advantage for the Lakers, and I think they will have no problem beating the Wolves in the upcoming game, as Gobert's absence will make the game in the paint much easier for Davis and the other Lakers' big men.

[AHOYBRAUSE]

Yes, they need him, but what he did was unacceptable. It would be a shame if the team simply let what happened pass by, as that would be selective justice.

Of course, Gobert's behavior was unacceptable, and it seems to me the Wolves have a huge problem with team chemistry, given the reactions of other teammates during that incident. In any case, that's a great advantage for the Lakers, and I think they will have no problem beating the Wolves in the upcoming game, as Gobert's absence will make the game in the paint much easier for Davis and the other Lakers' big men.

It was the only thing they could do. I mean what message would they send if they didn't suspend him for at least 1 game?

Of course this didn't make reaching the playoffs easier but lucky for them they have another shot even if they lose against the Lakers.
Now they are stuck with Rudy after pretty much betting their future on him in this monster, and ridiculous, trade last summer. If that trade didn't look bad enough back then it sure does now.

[Blitzboy]

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.

I can't vibe with your notion that the Lakers taking on the Minnesota Timberwolves is a breeze. Yeah, the Timberwolves' crew is a flaming fiasco, and their depth chart's practically non-existent, but let's not sleep on the fickle nature of sports. As you pointed out, the Grizzlies are no walk in the park, and they'll put the Lakers through their paces. We're looking at a Western Conference tug of war, but it goes beyond that—it's a mind-bending inquiry into the essence of sports and our indomitable spirit. Is it possible for the youthful, skilled Grizzlies to topple the sage, battle-hardened Lakers? It's up in the air, but my gut's screaming full throttle for the Lakers! And hey, maybe the Lakers' lead players will turn heads with their unwavering stamina. Let's pray for a second-round face-off for the ages!

[Reid]

Timberwolves suspend Rudy Gobert for Play-In game vs. Lakers

Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert will miss Minnesota’s AT&T Play-In Tournament opener after being suspended one game by the team, the team announced Monday. Gobert will be available to play if the Wolves lose in the Play-In to the Lakers or advance to the Western Conference playoffs.

Yes, they need him, but what he did was unacceptable. It would be a shame if the team simply let what happened pass by, as that would be selective justice.

Holy molly. This will be a big problem for them. Well then, expect the Lakers to be the first to climb the 7th seed and whoever wins the other game will also have a big chance to take the 8th seed.
Honestly, I also didn't like what Rudy Gobert did. You don't have to use your fist especially with your teammate if you want to be heard.
He has history of anger management, perhaps they should start thinking about putting him in that program to straight things out for him. He shook the whole team with what he did and I wish this will make them stronger like what happened with the Warriors.

[Botnake]

Timberwolves suspend Rudy Gobert for Play-In game vs. Lakers

Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert will miss Minnesota’s AT&T Play-In Tournament opener after being suspended one game by the team, the team announced Monday. Gobert will be available to play if the Wolves lose in the Play-In to the Lakers or advance to the Western Conference playoffs.

Yes, they need him, but what he did was unacceptable. It would be a shame if the team simply let what happened pass by, as that would be selective justice.

Holy molly. This will be a big problem for them. Well then, expect the Lakers to be the first to climb the 7th seed and whoever wins the other game will also have a big chance to take the 8th seed.
Honestly, I also didn't like what Rudy Gobert did. You don't have to use your fist especially with your teammate if you want to be heard.
He has history of anger management, perhaps they should start thinking about putting him in that program to straight things out for him. He shook the whole team with what he did and I wish this will make them stronger like what happened with the Warriors.

Yes, that was a bad decision for Rudy Gobert. He got caught up in his emotions, and now he will miss the most important game of the season. Anderson also has some anger issues as well. I saw some highlights from their previous game where he had some problems with Jalen Green of the Houston Rockets. So, that leads me to conclude that Anderson is not a cool guy either.

Jalen Green throws the ball at Kyle Anderson then Kyle shoves Jalen in the back

[Hypnosis00]

The Wolves have to deal with their current situation. They have no choice but to fight and try to win despite being heavy underdogs. They had a better standing compared to the Lakers, but in their remaining games, they keep losing. Hopefully, they'll break that and stay positive.

The healthy Lakers versus the undermanned Wolves – I think we already know who will win.

[boltz]

The Wolves have to deal with their current situation. They have no choice but to fight and try to win despite being heavy underdogs. They had a better standing compared to the Lakers, but in their remaining games, they keep losing. Hopefully, they'll break that and stay positive.

The healthy Lakers versus the undermanned Wolves – I think we already know who will win.

Too bad for Wolves man...because they really had a hard working season , they trained well , stayed in shape and now they are facing Lakers in first game ? We all know that Lakers are really a hard team to beat when it comes to elimination games and in the last games , Lakers really looked solid and ready to fight to save the season as they really had a rough one with a lot of changes and players that came and left within months.

[yazher]

It was the only thing they could do. I mean what message would they send if they didn't suspend him for at least 1 game?
Of course this didn't make reaching the playoffs easier but lucky for them they have another shot even if they lose against the Lakers.
Now they are stuck with Rudy after pretty much betting their future on him in this monster, and ridiculous, trade last summer. If that trade didn't look bad enough back then it sure does now.

That's why the Utah Jazz didn't hesitate to trade him and will gonna build their team once again because Rudy might be hard to tame but once they got out of this mess I think they will gonna still have a chance to chase the final spot but that if the other teams in the play-in tournament will struggle as well. But when the Pelicans will play well even in the absence of Williamson, then their ticket to the NBA playoffs will be over and they better fix and be better both in their play and chemistry next season because if they won't they will find themselves at the same spot again, struggling and merely get to the top 10.

[carlisle1]

The Wolves have to deal with their current situation. They have no choice but to fight and try to win despite being heavy underdogs. They had a better standing compared to the Lakers, but in their remaining games, they keep losing. Hopefully, they'll break that and stay positive.

The healthy Lakers versus the undermanned Wolves – I think we already know who will win.

Unless shit happens with the lakers chemistry during the game and on the other side, the undermanned Wolves will come up
with good shooting night, anything can happen here.

Though with the current connections between AD and LeBron plus the rest of their current role players, the winning chance of Lakers is better.

Let see who's going to move to the playoffs between these two teams.

[Kelvinid]

The Wolves have to deal with their current situation. They have no choice but to fight and try to win despite being heavy underdogs. They had a better standing compared to the Lakers, but in their remaining games, they keep losing. Hopefully, they'll break that and stay positive.

The healthy Lakers versus the undermanned Wolves – I think we already know who will win.

Too bad for Wolves man...because they really had a hard working season , they trained well , stayed in shape and now they are facing Lakers in first game ? We all know that Lakers are really a hard team to beat when it comes to elimination games and in the last games , Lakers really looked solid and ready to fight to save the season as they really had a rough one with a lot of changes and players that came and left within months.

They also acquired Gobert to help their team on the defensive side, and they were ready to play the twin towers but then this thing happened. Gobert did not understand how important his role was to the team, and he messed up their opportunity to make the playoffs. So with what happened, I doubt the team would still keep him.

[ultrloa]

The Wolves have to deal with their current situation. They have no choice but to fight and try to win despite being heavy underdogs. They had a better standing compared to the Lakers, but in their remaining games, they keep losing. Hopefully, they'll break that and stay positive.

The healthy Lakers versus the undermanned Wolves – I think we already know who will win.

Too bad for Wolves man...because they really had a hard working season , they trained well , stayed in shape and now they are facing Lakers in first game ? We all know that Lakers are really a hard team to beat when it comes to elimination games and in the last games , Lakers really looked solid and ready to fight to save the season as they really had a rough one with a lot of changes and players that came and left within months.

They also acquired Gobert to help their team on the defensive side, and they were ready to play the twin towers but then this thing happened. Gobert did not understand how important his role was to the team, and he messed up their opportunity to make the playoffs. So with what happened, I doubt the team would still keep him.

To bad Gobert over reacted on situation and never extend his patience towards what happen during that game. If he just shake up his frustration they will never be in bad position especially at the moment their next assignment is to take down laker which is having a good momentum due to their winning streaks gotten due to good trades happen to them recently. For his Gobert absence it gives big advantage for Lakers to defeat Wolves and they need to avoid doing such mistakes so that they could not create more big problems on their important games.

[vennali]

They also acquired Gobert to help their team on the defensive side, and they were ready to play the twin towers but then this thing happened. Gobert did not understand how important his role was to the team, and he messed up their opportunity to make the playoffs. So with what happened, I doubt the team would still keep him.

Would be nice if Wolves win their games without Gobert and then start losing them, once he is back. That would mess him and the team up so much. It would be hilarious.

[Russlenat]

They also acquired Gobert to help their team on the defensive side, and they were ready to play the twin towers but then this thing happened. Gobert did not understand how important his role was to the team, and he messed up their opportunity to make the playoffs. So with what happened, I doubt the team would still keep him.

Would be nice if Wolves win their games without Gobert and then start losing them, once he is back. That would mess him and the team up so much. It would be hilarious.

That's easier said than done. The Lakers are too dominant inside the paint with Davis and LeBron, and now that they have improved because of their great chemistry, I have no reason to believe that the Wolves will upset the Lakers. This game is very important for the Lakers as LeBron's reputation is at stake here. He is the king, and he can't miss the playoffs.

There will be more teams that the Lakers could beat once they are in the playoffs.

[EFS]

Just imagine if the Warriors are the ones that the Suns are facing.

I think they have a huge chance that they will retain that 7th spot, and will face the Grizzlies in the first round. After what happened to the Wolves in their last game, and add also the injuries from McDaniels who is their elite defender, and Naz Reid who can stretch the defense of other teams, I don't know if the Wolves can defeat them, but who knows. We might see an upset coming from Towns and Edwards.

I think it would definitely be funny if the Warriors came instead of the Clippers, but the Suns would still have the advantage. The Warriors had a very volatile period in the regular season, it was unclear how it would turn out before most matches. Play-off basketball is very different though.

Play-in matches will begin tonight. The teams are very close to each other, I don't see any favorites.
Whole Gobert thing is really ridiculous. Gobert has been suspended for one game, he won't play against Lakers. Heat and Lakers should use their home court advantage. Otherwise the next match will be much more difficult and even if they make it to the play-offs, they will have to play the first round very tired.

[OgNasty]

They also acquired Gobert to help their team on the defensive side, and they were ready to play the twin towers but then this thing happened. Gobert did not understand how important his role was to the team, and he messed up their opportunity to make the playoffs. So with what happened, I doubt the team would still keep him.

Would be nice if Wolves win their games without Gobert and then start losing them, once he is back. That would mess him and the team up so much. It would be hilarious.

Nah, I’m looking forward to watching them get smashed tonight. I think the Lakers are going to be firing on all cylinders and they just picked up a point guard for the purpose of shutting down Ja Morant so they must feel pretty confident about tonight. I’ll definitely be watching.

The playoffs (ins) are here! Happy days ahead.

[btc_angela]

Just imagine if the Warriors are the ones that the Suns are facing.

I think they have a huge chance that they will retain that 7th spot, and will face the Grizzlies in the first round. After what happened to the Wolves in their last game, and add also the injuries from McDaniels who is their elite defender, and Naz Reid who can stretch the defense of other teams, I don't know if the Wolves can defeat them, but who knows. We might see an upset coming from Towns and Edwards.

I think it would definitely be funny if the Warriors came instead of the Clippers, but the Suns would still have the advantage. The Warriors had a very volatile period in the regular season, it was unclear how it would turn out before most matches. Play-off basketball is very different though.

Play-in matches will begin tonight. The teams are very close to each other, I don't see any favorites.
Whole Gobert thing is really ridiculous. Gobert has been suspended for one game, he won't play against Lakers. Heat and Lakers should use their home court advantage. Otherwise the next match will be much more difficult and even if they make it to the play-offs, they will have to play the first round very tired.

The favorites are the Heat against the Hawks, and then the Lakers against the Wolves.

I thought that Gobert is not going to be suspended, but I guess the management has to send the message that no one is above the team. And even if  they are going to lose this game against the Lakers, they make the right decision of not allowing him to play because of that incident. I'm thinking though it might fire up the team against the Lakers. However, Lebron and AD will not get this one slip away from them. They wanted to go to the playoff so this is going to be fun to watch and it should be close.