2024 NBA Season

[OgNasty]

That DeMar DeRozan pass tonight was absolutely wild. Probably the best assist I’ve ever seen. Google for it if you haven’t seen it. Wild…

Edit: Here’s a link to it on X: https://x.com/bleacherreport/status/1724261168989270437

[dwyane36]

Anyone else believed Harden is the problem? Me, I'm starting to believe he is. What Brian Dameris said was all true no cap heard on his statement regarding James Harden drama.
He's been moving from 1 team to another, teaming up with 2-4 superstars on the same team, but not even the finals he stepped into, except when they were  young in OKC.
Well, he's already there, I guess the Clippers will need to make a huge adjustments to utilise Harden effectively. I thought he'd be a great guy leading the 2nd unit.

There have been at least a couple of teams over the past few seasons that have signed a few star players at once. Such rosters looked promising on paper, but they turned out to be ineffective in reality. It seems to me that the problem is that most of the current all-star players are egoists, i.e. they are more concerned with their individual stats rather than team results. I mean, there are only a few all-star players who would be willing to make concessions and change their role on the team to win a title.
As for the Clippers, their current roster experiment is likely to be a failure, and I personally don't believe that they will have any success this season.

[EFS]

That DeMar DeRozan pass tonight was absolutely wild. Probably the best assist I’ve ever seen. Google for it if you haven’t seen it. Wild…

That was an insane assist. ESPN put it on Youtube, I guess it won't be taken down. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDkUloP0NlA
Besides that, DeRozan had an awful night, 3/14 FG. Bucks won as expected.

Knicks was on fire lately but Celtics schooled them. Tatum dropped 35 effortlessly, 17 in last quarter.

[LogitechMouse]

The losing streak continues, reaching 4 games now. Once again, the offense isn't flowing effectively, and they're scoring much lower than their average before the Harden trade. They are still in the process of figuring out how to fix this issue, but with 4 losses in a row, the chances of solving the problem seem to be diminishing. The next game is against the Nuggets, and in my opinion, that's an automatic loss.

Anyone else believed Harden is the problem? Me, I'm starting to believe he is. What Brian Dameris said was all true no cap heard on his statement regarding James Harden drama.
He's been moving from 1 team to another, teaming up with 2-4 superstars on the same team, but not even the finals he stepped into, except when they were  young in OKC.
Well, he's already there, I guess the Clippers will need to make a huge adjustments to utilise Harden effectively. I thought he'd be a great guy leading the 2nd unit.

Harden going off the bench? His ego is too high to accept that. I'm thinking that Harden will be the next Carmelo Anthony. I think we knew what happened to Melo right?

I will not be surprised if the Clippers will make some stupid decisions even more in the future. They're desperate to get that title thus, they got 4 all-star players. Do they think that still work? Not already. Nets got KD, Kyrie, and Harden, and it ended up pretty badly. Look at the Nuggets last season. They only got Jokic, and Murray as their main players, and yet they won the title very easily (in my POV). Getting many superstars isn't the way to win a title now. It's getting the perfect role players who knows their role on their team.

He has, and always be the problem. Went to Houston, got Dwight, he forced the team to trade him because he don't want him anymore. Same thing with CP3 and Russ. Went to Brooklyn to play alongside Kyrie and Durant, and it ended up badly. He requested a trade to go to Philly. Helped Embiid to get a title, but now he requested a trade again to go to the Clippers. I will not be surprised if no team will try to pursue him after his contract this season because of what's happening. His value might decrease significantly because of the dramas around him.

[avp2306]

The losing streak continues, reaching 4 games now. Once again, the offense isn't flowing effectively, and they're scoring much lower than their average before the Harden trade. They are still in the process of figuring out how to fix this issue, but with 4 losses in a row, the chances of solving the problem seem to be diminishing. The next game is against the Nuggets, and in my opinion, that's an automatic loss.

Anyone else believed Harden is the problem? Me, I'm starting to believe he is. What Brian Dameris said was all true no cap heard on his statement regarding James Harden drama.
He's been moving from 1 team to another, teaming up with 2-4 superstars on the same team, but not even the finals he stepped into, except when they were  young in OKC.
Well, he's already there, I guess the Clippers will need to make a huge adjustments to utilise Harden effectively. I thought he'd be a great guy leading the 2nd unit.

Harden going off the bench? His ego is too high to accept that. I'm thinking that Harden will be the next Carmelo Anthony. I think we knew what happened to Melo right?

I will not be surprised if the Clippers will make some stupid decisions even more in the future. They're desperate to get that title thus, they got 4 all-star players. Do they think that still work? Not already. Nets got KD, Kyrie, and Harden, and it ended up pretty badly. Look at the Nuggets last season. They only got Jokic, and Murray as their main players, and yet they won the title very easily (in my POV). Getting many superstars isn't the way to win a title now. It's getting the perfect role players who knows their role on their team.

He has, and always be the problem. Went to Houston, got Dwight, he forced the team to trade him because he don't want him anymore. Same thing with CP3 and Russ. Went to Brooklyn to play alongside Kyrie and Durant, and it ended up badly. He requested a trade to go to Philly. Helped Embiid to get a title, but now he requested a trade again to go to the Clippers. I will not be surprised if no team will try to pursue him after his contract this season because of what's happening. His value might decrease significantly because of the dramas around him.

For sure he won't agree to that since he think he is more greater than anyone else. That's why Clippers is really in big trouble at the moment since they have 4 ball dominant player in their team.

If these four stars would not settle down and adopt the role given to them they would be totally in huge mess. They need to work this out since without having good chemistry as a team will be a total disaster and that is really shameful on their part knowing how good the players in their team at the moment.

Also Harden need to know that he is not the solution but the cause of trouble to many team so if he continue this attitude for sure no team will get him even if he is so good. He's totally expose as toxic on a team where he landed so better he should step out any pride he is and work together with his teammate since this is more better for them.

[wiss19]

Clippers lost 5 in a row if I am not wrong, that seems like a situaiton that isn't just about Harden, hell Harden wasn't even there when this losing streak started. It's obvious that they are not aware how he plays, they need time to adjust. The team has Westbrook, Harden, Kawhi and PG together, if you ask me which four players would be able to play like this, like have some chaotic presence during the game, I would say these four.

I mean it is a wonder how Kawhi played so many games so far, I would have expected him to sit out the season already, isn't that what he does, like play 5 games a year, and then sit out the year, hope that the team goes to playoffs and he comes back during the playoffs, that's all he is good for. In the end, I am not expecting much from Clippers, not because they do not have the talent, they do have talent, but each player does something seriously wrong, on or off the court, and that could be the reason they may do badly.

[OgNasty]

Clippers lost 5 in a row if I am not wrong, that seems like a situaiton that isn't just about Harden, hell Harden wasn't even there when this losing streak started. It's obvious that they are not aware how he plays, they need time to adjust. The team has Westbrook, Harden, Kawhi and PG together, if you ask me which four players would be able to play like this, like have some chaotic presence during the game, I would say these four.

I mean it is a wonder how Kawhi played so many games so far, I would have expected him to sit out the season already, isn't that what he does, like play 5 games a year, and then sit out the year, hope that the team goes to playoffs and he comes back during the playoffs, that's all he is good for. In the end, I am not expecting much from Clippers, not because they do not have the talent, they do have talent, but each player does something seriously wrong, on or off the court, and that could be the reason they may do badly.

It isn’t just on Harden in the sense that he alone on the court isn’t responsible for the losses. However, they had to trade away quite a bit to get him. You can’t just gut your team to add one guy and then expect to hit the ground running. Plus, Harden is old. They had to know him and Westbrook aren’t All Star caliber players anymore. The real loser to all this is Kawhi, who is no longer the highest winning percentage player in NBA history. That severely damages his legacy.

[passwordnow]

That DeMar DeRozan pass tonight was absolutely wild. Probably the best assist I’ve ever seen. Google for it if you haven’t seen it. Wild…

Edit: Here’s a link to it on X: https://x.com/bleacherreport/status/1724261168989270437

Although they lost this game, I was able to stand in my seat when I saw that play in shock. That was so good, and can really be one of the plays this time. Giannis as usual is him for this game, easy going inside as seems no one can stop him. Lopez, the typical big guy who does three points, Lillard did well too.

Clippers lost 5 in a row if I am not wrong, that seems like a situaiton that isn't just about Harden, hell Harden wasn't even there when this losing streak started. It's obvious that they are not aware how he plays, they need time to adjust. The team has Westbrook, Harden, Kawhi and PG together, if you ask me which four players would be able to play like this, like have some chaotic presence during the game, I would say these four.

This is what people are telling that not every team that has a lot of superstars becomes so good. It's just like that they're not compatible at all and the same seems to be strong in terms of paper but inside the court, the game changes. LA Clippers' current standing is 3-6 and they're like one in the bottom of the teams now. There is no momentum on them and this is a bad start.

[YuginKadoya]

at least yesterday the lakers won the game against the blazers, this month it was not good for the lakers as they had 3 consecutive defeats and then in the game before that they managed to break the cycle of defeats by winning, and yesterday they won again and with that They already have two consecutive victories, but we will see in the next game if they will also manage to win and have 3 consecutive victories, with their inconsistency I see that they will hardly have a good campaign, I hope I'm wrong about that.

in this game against the blazers in the first period the lakers won by a small difference of points, there was only a 2 point difference, in the second period the lakers lost by a difference of 4 points and in the third period the lakers recovered and won by a big difference in points, there was a 12 point difference, one would think that in the fourth period they would also win again, but they lost by a difference of 5 points. In my opinion, the Blazers could have come out of this game with a better result if they hadn't made mistakes in the third period

In other words, even though the Lakers won in this game, they still don't convince me and I'm unlikely to bet on them, because they are inconsistent, in this game they won because they did well in the third period, but they could have lost, I see that in the next game the their chances of losing are greater, I hope I'm wrong

They would have done well if Anthony Davis had been on the team as Davis got a double-double of 13 rebounds and 30 points for  the Los Angeles Lakers and if we compared it to the other 3 games' losses the Los Angeles Lakers all of that games was lost for them most of the time The Lakers are struggling if there are no Anthony Davis on the team, and I think the Lakers can not afford another Anthony Davis injury, for sure that will be a struggle for the team,

That DeMar DeRozan pass tonight was absolutely wild. Probably the best assist I’ve ever seen. Google for it if you haven’t seen it. Wild…

Edit: Here’s a link to it on X: https://x.com/bleacherreport/status/1724261168989270437

That was quite something for sure and for sure the pass of the year award will be going to DeMar DeRozan for sure DeRozan was aware that the Inside defense of the Milwaukee Bucks would be this tight which is why that pass on the outer teammate would be helpful and in getting a 3 point play for sure, but the Milwaukee Bucks still won that game with 118 to 109 final score for that game,

[Natalim]

....but the Milwaukee Bucks still won that game with 118 to 109 final score for that game,

Yeah, that was due to Giannis's dominant performance. Even though Lillard had returned to the lineup, you could tell he wasn't at 100% as he struggled in that game. It's still a positive for them, though, as long as Lillard is on the court, it inspires the team to play harder, especially when they have their full starting lineup.

Lillard had 12 points but 3-17 shooting? 

[carlisle1]

Anyone else believed Harden is the problem? Me, I'm starting to believe he is. What Brian Dameris said was all true no cap heard on his statement regarding James Harden drama.
He's been moving from 1 team to another, teaming up with 2-4 superstars on the same team, but not even the finals he stepped into, except when they were  young in OKC.
Well, he's already there, I guess the Clippers will need to make a huge adjustments to utilise Harden effectively. I thought he'd be a great guy leading the 2nd unit.

There have been at least a couple of teams over the past few seasons that have signed a few star players at once. Such rosters looked promising on paper, but they turned out to be ineffective in reality. It seems to me that the problem is that most of the current all-star players are egoists, i.e. they are more concerned with their individual stats rather than team results. I mean, there are only a few all-star players who would be willing to make concessions and change their role on the team to win a title.
As for the Clippers, their current roster experiment is likely to be a failure, and I personally don't believe that they will have any success this season.

Exactly, if by papers and by individual stats it seems that this trade gives a good edge for the Clippers but looking for the actual results from the
team perspectives and actual result.

The trade gives Sixers the big advantage, bringing out the best from Embiid and Maxey plus all the role players are also helping them in winning games.

That Clippers experiment seems to be a failure in terms of their performances, might be needed to change the coach or maybe another trade
the 4 stars selection is not working for them.

[Kasabus]

That Clippers experiment seems to be a failure in terms of their performances, might be needed to change the coach or maybe another trade
the 4 stars selection is not working for them.

Changing the coach would be insane, especially considering that their decision to make the trade was aimed at addressing lineup issues. They are actively working to improve, so contemplating a coaching change seems like a bad idea. They are in the midst of fixing the problem, so it's important to give them the time to make the necessary adjustments.

[ultrloa]

That Clippers experiment seems to be a failure in terms of their performances, might be needed to change the coach or maybe another trade
the 4 stars selection is not working for them.

Changing the coach would be insane, especially considering that their decision to make the trade was aimed at addressing lineup issues. They are actively working to improve, so contemplating a coaching change seems like a bad idea. They are in the midst of fixing the problem, so it's important to give them the time to make the necessary adjustments.

To early to think about changing there coach since this could give them more problem knowing that they are adjusting with their new player addition and now they want to adjust the new system of the new coach so this might be a huge trouble for them. They should settle with the asset they have since the only thing they need is to discuss all the situation happening to them and those stars should play according to the rule set by their coaching staff. If Leonard,PG,Westbrook and Harden can play as a team without thinking their current status then maybe they get more better result. They need to develop their chemistry since this is the solution of their problem.

Changing of coach would really be an insane idea since they don't actually need to do that. Their players should adjust and set aside their pride so that they can play more better basketball and win on their next matches. If they loss this will be a huge issue to them and can lower down more their morale and that is really bad if that's gonna happen.

[danherbias07]

....but the Milwaukee Bucks still won that game with 118 to 109 final score for that game,

Yeah, that was due to Giannis's dominant performance. Even though Lillard had returned to the lineup, you could tell he wasn't at 100% as he struggled in that game. It's still a positive for them, though, as long as Lillard is on the court, it inspires the team to play harder, especially when they have their full starting lineup.

Lillard had 12 points but 3-17 shooting? 

Same with Steph, they both like shooting a lot and coaches do allow this to happen because once they get hot it will not be easy to stop them.
I think the Milwaukee Bucks played well considering the Chicago Bulls is a decent team that almost defeated the Suns last time. Giannis though seems to be working harder than it is when Jrue Holiday was there. I bet he is getting frustrated about what is happening to their team. He said he needed help not another burden.  
Back to winning games but the Raptors will be next which they didn't win in their first meeting.

How about the Kings versus the Cavaliers? One heck of a return from De'Aaron Fox after a long rest from his injury. I thought he is going to take it slow and restrict his minutes but damn he was so aggressive in the first quarter and no Cavs can stop him.

[Yogee]

That Clippers experiment seems to be a failure in terms of their performances, might be needed to change the coach or maybe another trade
the 4 stars selection is not working for them.

Changing the coach would be insane,...

To early to think about changing there coach since this could give them more problem....

Changing of coach would really be an insane idea since they don't actually need to do that....

Would you still say it is a bad idea if it's coach Pop will be the one to take over? It's a hypothetical question but I just want to put it out there because I think they need someone with a resolve to tell a player like harden to sit down and come off the bench. Ty Lue doesn't seem to have that and he's willing to give him more authority on the court,

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10097062-lue-james-harden-doing-too-much-to-try-to-fit-in-with-clippers-since-76ers-trade

"He's doing too much to try to fit in," Lue said, per Tomer Azarly of Clutch Points. "We had a meeting yesterday and we said he needs to be James Harden… we have to allow him to be himself… We're going to play through James."

Lue also said that he told the team that "James needs to be James" and that they will increase his time with the ball in his hands, per Mark Medina of Fox Sports.

It looks like Harden will be the system again.

[inthelongrun]

Clippers lost 5 in a row if I am not wrong, that seems like a situaiton that isn't just about Harden, hell Harden wasn't even there when this losing streak started. It's obvious that they are not aware how he plays, they need time to adjust. The team has Westbrook, Harden, Kawhi and PG together, if you ask me which four players would be able to play like this, like have some chaotic presence during the game, I would say these four.

I mean it is a wonder how Kawhi played so many games so far, I would have expected him to sit out the season already, isn't that what he does, like play 5 games a year, and then sit out the year, hope that the team goes to playoffs and he comes back during the playoffs, that's all he is good for. In the end, I am not expecting much from Clippers, not because they do not have the talent, they do have talent, but each player does something seriously wrong, on or off the court, and that could be the reason they may do badly.

It isn’t just on Harden in the sense that he alone on the court isn’t responsible for the losses. However, they had to trade away quite a bit to get him. You can’t just gut your team to add one guy and then expect to hit the ground running. Plus, Harden is old. They had to know him and Westbrook aren’t All Star caliber players anymore. The real loser to all this is Kawhi, who is no longer the highest winning percentage player in NBA history. That severely damages his legacy.

It's still fresh in my memory when someone posted on Facebook asking who will beat the Clippers when Harden is shipped. And here they are, suffering from a 5 losing streak. Later they will face the defending champions at Denver so it'll be another losing game I guess.

But to be fair, all of these 4 stars are past their prime. On the bright side though, the season is still early. The Clippers are also 3-1 at home so that's something to be seen since they were on the road for 4-straight games.

Personally, though, I am not expecting something from this team. I just don't think Kawhi can be healthy for a whole season and the playoffs.

[xLays]

....but the Milwaukee Bucks still won that game with 118 to 109 final score for that game,

Yeah, that was due to Giannis's dominant performance. Even though Lillard had returned to the lineup, you could tell he wasn't at 100% as he struggled in that game. It's still a positive for them, though, as long as Lillard is on the court, it inspires the team to play harder, especially when they have their full starting lineup.

Lillard had 12 points but 3-17 shooting? 

Same with Steph, they both like shooting a lot and coaches do allow this to happen because once they get hot it will not be easy to stop them.
I think the Milwaukee Bucks played well considering the Chicago Bulls is a decent team that almost defeated the Suns last time. …......

The Bucks can get better. Dame needs to play off the ball, stop trying to draw fouls that don't get called and mix up his shots instead of just threes. He should show he's as good as Curry and improve his free throw shooting. Imagine a play where Dame screens for Giannis giving him choices to drive or pass to Dame on the outside.

[beerlover]

It was always obvious that Harden was the issue, since Rockets period as well. I mean in normal cases, like for example with Dame and all, I understand players being upset and wanting out, because he played over a decade there and they did not build a good team around him, and that looks like there was no desire by the team to win anything, they are happy to just spend as little as possible and make the team worth go up thanks to inflation, NBA getting more popular means their team worths more and they are happy owners. However, Rockets was never like that, all those calls about them getting Howard, getting CP3, getting Westbrook, and him still wanting out and not getting anything with that team was obvious. That famous 27 shots missed in a row was the demise of Harden, ever since that day, he never went back to being a star player, he just became a cry baby that wanted things all the time without actually giving anything back for getting what he wants. A player may want to get traded, but if he keeps making teams pay for him, and he doesn't do anything for them, then why would any team want him again?

And this could be the last straw on James Harden, if the Clippers didn't go to the playoffs, or at least relegated to 6th spot in the West and then have to go to a play-in just to make the playoffs, then we know who should be the problem with the Clippers. They are just started to have a season with their big 3 of Kawhi, Paul George and then Westbrook. Unfortunately, the management decided to get James in return and they lost a good defensive player in Nic Batum, who can also shoot 3 in crucial minutes. Just because Harden wanted to go to Clippers that Steve Ballmer gave in to the request and think that Harden is a good addition. Harden has a history already and the teams should learn from it. Now the curse is on the Clippers right now, they've lost a bunch of future picks as well so for now we can definitely say that the risk is not paying off.

I believe that the biggest example of why Harden is not good for teams would be how Sixers are doing right now. It's been very few games so I am not saying those are the ones that matters the most, but they are leading the eastern conference right now, and they are 8-1 and that should show you how Harden is not all that helpful. Imagine you have a "star" player in your squad, and you do better without him than you did with him, would you still consider that player a star player?

I personally would stop considering that player as a star player. In 2016 or in 2018 this Clippers squad would have been insanely good, everyone was great, but when we are talking about 2023, these are all has been that used to be good but no longer good at all, they are not even remotely good. The squad is also lacking size, they are all "guards" if you think about it, sure PG and Kawhi could be considered wings, but still no Power Forward at all, a pure small ball line up.

[owengtam09]

Harden definitely deserved all the heat he got, dude has been just jumping from one place to another whenever he wants and he is not happy, there are a ton of players in the league who would rather be somewhere else too, but they have contracts that they are abiding. I am not saying Harden can't get out of a contract, if he agrees to terminate his deal, he is free to leave, but asking for a trade means that he keeps pushing his teams to have worse squad. Sixers are much worse now after the trade, did they deserve that? They traded Ben Simmons for Harden, and all they got was a terrible player who failed at playoffs with an MVP teammate and bunch of picks after he left.

For sure he is controversial right now because he is doing the Kyrie Irving tactics, sure or getting the Kyrie Irving attitude, but can we blame him he must have been eager to win this season and wants to be on a team that could bring him the ring, for sure James Harden is already getting older so he is doing something even though it could surely ruin his career and his principles just to get those ring for him,

I do agree, however, I just read that he says that he need at least 10 days to fully acclimatized himself with the Clippers system and the players. So most likely this is just an excuse for him though, to at least justify that he is not the reason why the Clippers are missing.

But if we have followed NBA for a long time, we know that he has this history of requesting trade if he knows that his current team is not doing good or least himself is not the leader or the Alpha. So same here with the Clippers, Kawhi is the franchise player and not Harden. So maybe sooner or later after a disastrous season for the Clippers we might hear him asking for a trade again.

Actually, I believe him he is in the new team so he would likely need time and his new teammates to get used to each other gameplay performance, or they will likely need to build up chemistry for sure, even though the Los Angeles Clippers consist of pretty much well-known players they are having trouble because I think their coach doesn't really know what to do with such players and I don't know what they kind of doing actually but maybe they will be great in the long run who knows,

[stadus]

Ty Lue doesn't seem to have that and he's willing to give him more authority on the court,

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10097062-lue-james-harden-doing-too-much-to-try-to-fit-in-with-clippers-since-76ers-trade

"He's doing too much to try to fit in," Lue said, per Tomer Azarly of Clutch Points. "We had a meeting yesterday and we said he needs to be James Harden… we have to allow him to be himself… We're going to play through James."

Lue also said that he told the team that "James needs to be James" and that they will increase his time with the ball in his hands, per Mark Medina of Fox Sports.

It looks like Harden will be the system again.

So what would happen to PG being PG, Kawhi being Kawhi, and WB being WB?

If they'll allow James Harden to dictate the team based on his style, that will make his teammates less productive because his style is he'll be the one doing more on the scoring and the ball would be on his hands most of the time. I think the solution here is still sticking with the system they build before James harden but the crucial thing coach Lue has to realizet that he can't play this big 4 altogether.