2024 NBA Season

[Dave1]

Few more games left in the regular season and one of the finalists last year is still struggling for a spot in the playoffs. I am referring to the Miami Heat who's supposed to start having win streaks to finished at least in the top 6. Although the team even if it's in the play-in or inside the top 6 remains as the dark horse in the eastern conference just like the Lakers and the Warriors in the west. There are young teams in the top rankings but I doubt any of these 3 experienced teams enter the finals again this season.

I like the resiliency of Miami Heat, as long as Bam can play in the playoff, they will be the dark horse team and unpredictable, just like last season and the in the bubble wherein they go into the finals against the Lakers.

For the Lakers and the Warriors, it's a long road for this former champions. Specially the Warriors, there still something that is missing with them. Klay is inconsistent, although they are doing their best to be at least in the play-in. But I do agree that either of this teams are not going into the finals. Time for other teams in the West to shine.

[1714948512]

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[1714948512]

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[OgNasty]

That Anthony Edwards dunk from yesterday was something else.  He's definitely the most Michael Jordan-like player in the league today.  Yesterday's highlight was something I'm not sure we've seen since Blake Griffin in his prime.  The crazy thing is Anthony Edwards is still extremely young and getting better.  I think he has a shot at being the best player in the league for a few years in another 2-3 seasons.  I think he makes the all star team no problem next year (I think he was an alternate this year) and once LeBron is gone will probably become the new face of the league along with Luka Doncic.

[LogitechMouse]

I just saw this online, and I think this is the most hilarious jersey swaps in NBA history already.

It's funny but I am still waiting for Grady to make this move with Jalen Suggs from the Orlando Magic.
In my opinion this would be a much more hilarious swap.  

Speaking of jersey swaps, I saw this online which is kind of funny while I'm reading all of them. I just hope that Grady will not really make some jersey swaps with these players because like you said, it would be hilarious.  Well, maybe he can do a jersey swap with either Nasir Little or Trae Young. 

That Anthony Edwards dunk from yesterday was something else.  He's definitely the most Michael Jordan-like player in the league today.  Yesterday's highlight was something I'm not sure we've seen since Blake Griffin in his prime.  The crazy thing is Anthony Edwards is still extremely young and getting better.  I think he has a shot at being the best player in the league for a few years in another 2-3 seasons.  I think he makes the all star team no problem next year (I think he was an alternate this year) and once LeBron is gone will probably become the new face of the league along with Luka Doncic.

He's capable of dunking with other players. The only thing is that, he has no reliable PG that can throw lobs to him like what CP3 is doing with Blake Griffin at his prime. Well, that's why the LA Clippers was called "Lob City" years ago for that reason.

As for Edwards' dunk, that's a monster dunk coming from him and he's been doing it many times in his whole career, but his reaction when he sees the video of him dunking over Collins is just crazy. Between Edwards' dunk and Jackson-Davis' dunk, I would still pick TJD's dunk over Wembanyama because like what the announcer said, "he put the entire country of France in a basket".

[OgNasty]

I just came across this article that was a bit of an interesting read.  I had no idea that Damian Lillard and DeMar DeRozan were good friends like this.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nba/demar-derozan-on-damian-lillard-coming-to-chicago-to-watch-him-play/ar-BB1kaKGJ

It sort of makes you wonder if Dame is planning something for the future or if he just wanted to get some free tickets to watch the Trailblazers play while he happened to be in town.  Certainly there are going to be rumors flying now that Dame is unhappy in Milwaukee and is planning to get back to Portland (he already said he wants to retire there) and is recruiting some buddies to go back with.  DeRozan is certainly unhappy in Chicago, so both of them ending up in Portland wouldn't be totally out of the realm of possibility. 

[Fredomago]

Few more games left in the regular season and one of the finalists last year is still struggling for a spot in the playoffs. I am referring to the Miami Heat who's supposed to start having win streaks to finished at least in the top 6. Although the team even if it's in the play-in or inside the top 6 remains as the dark horse in the eastern conference just like the Lakers and the Warriors in the west. There are young teams in the top rankings but I doubt any of these 3 experienced teams enter the finals again this season.

I like the resiliency of Miami Heat, as long as Bam can play in the playoff, they will be the dark horse team and unpredictable, just like last season and the in the bubble wherein they go into the finals against the Lakers.

For the Lakers and the Warriors, it's a long road for this former champions. Specially the Warriors, there still something that is missing with them. Klay is inconsistent, although they are doing their best to be at least in the play-in. But I do agree that either of this teams are not going into the finals. Time for other teams in the West to shine.

It's a tough  road for all of them,  especially for Lakers and Warriors  as we all know how tough the competition from the west side, all those teams on top are really trying to reached the finals,  it's going to be a big test for both Lakers and Warriors as they are still in the play in situation  only one can go and proceed for the next round not unless there's a big changes that may happened a big losing run for those on the top 8 teams and a winning run either from Lakers or warriors that might change the positioning.

On the east  side, heat already  done that before,  even  they are having an issue  on the regular season  but if by chance they manage to make it to the playoffs they always have that capability to upset the top rank.

[Webetcoins]

Lakers got another win, the thing is that teams around them are not doing that much worse neither, so they can't climb up the spots, they are playing at 50%+ most of the time and not having any big losing streaks, in fact getting a few good short win streaks as well and yet they are still not getting any higher, all because teams around them are getting wins too. Like how Dallas just got away with a win over Denver for example.

I think there isn't really any rush to do better neither, because they know they will probably finish 9th, Warriors are not looking like they will climb up, so that means at 9th place they could just place themselves at 8th place with a win at play-in and they could just hope for the best against OKC.

[xLays]

Lakers got another win, the thing is that teams around them are not doing that much worse neither, so they can't climb up the spots, they are playing at 50%+ most of the time and not having any big losing streaks, in fact getting a few good short win streaks as well and yet they are still not getting any higher, all because teams around them are getting wins too. Like how Dallas just got away with a win over Denver for example.

I think there isn't really any rush to do better neither, because they know they will probably finish 9th, Warriors are not looking like they will climb up, so that means at 9th place they could just place themselves at 8th place with a win at play-in and they could just hope for the best against OKC.

I'm sure these two teams (Lakers and Warriors) will make play in tournament and only one of them will make playoffs. Hopefully its Lakers since i still really want to watch Lebron playing Playoffs. NBA fans saying that it possible Lakers and OKC will battle 1st round playoffs and they predicting that OKC will first round exit. I want to but look Lakers really struggling to make playoffs this year 😭

[TravelMug]

Lakers got another win, the thing is that teams around them are not doing that much worse neither, so they can't climb up the spots, they are playing at 50%+ most of the time and not having any big losing streaks, in fact getting a few good short win streaks as well and yet they are still not getting any higher, all because teams around them are getting wins too. Like how Dallas just got away with a win over Denver for example.

I think there isn't really any rush to do better neither, because they know they will probably finish 9th, Warriors are not looking like they will climb up, so that means at 9th place they could just place themselves at 8th place with a win at play-in and they could just hope for the best against OKC.

I'm sure these two teams (Lakers and Warriors) will make play in tournament and only one of them will make playoffs. Hopefully its Lakers since i still really want to watch Lebron playing Playoffs. NBA fans saying that it possible Lakers and OKC will battle 1st round playoffs and they predicting that OKC will first round exit. I want to but look Lakers really struggling to make playoffs this year 😭

If we will have the playoff already, this could be the scenario,

(1) Thunder vs. ( Mavericks/Suns/Lakers/Warriors
(2) Timberwolves vs. (7) Mavericks/Suns
(3) Nuggets vs. (6) Kings
(4) Clippers vs. (5) Pelicans

So in any case top seed Thunder with no experience will have to deal with any of that top teams. So it will be interesting match up, against the Mavs, they have to contained with Luka and Kyrie. Suns their own big three of Durant/Booker/Beal. And the Lakers, even with James entering 20 season, he is still very much close to still being prime and with AD. Of course, the championship DNA of the Warriors. Possible for the Thunder to get upset by any of this teams. This is a series, maybe Thunder will win some game, but if they lack the experience, it could be very difficult for them.

[btc_angela]

Very close game between the Denver and Wolves, ANT had another of his fantastic game but he missed a game trying three points that will force the game into OT. Jokic takes advantage as Gobert is not in uniform and so he started very active and probably his lowest assists for this season at 2.

But him and Porter made clutch basket in the last 5 minutes. And although the Wolves try to make a comeback with back to back threes to close the gap, their FT is enough to get a good separation and ANT didn't convert.

[Japinat]

Very close game between the Denver and Wolves, ANT had another of his fantastic game but he missed a game trying three points that will force the game into OT. Jokic takes advantage as Gobert is not in uniform and so he started very active and probably his lowest assists for this season at 2.

But him and Porter made clutch basket in the last 5 minutes. And although the Wolves try to make a comeback with back to back threes to close the gap, their FT is enough to get a good separation and ANT didn't convert.

Very competitive game for the wolves despite being undermanned. They manage to make it a close game despite Denver able to take control early. No 2 big men for the team, still they could almost get a win and could give another L for the Nuggets who loss to the Mavs from Irving's winning shot.

I agree that ANT is really good but honestly (no offense), this guy is not a clutch player, so probably 40% success rate only will be given to him based on my personal assessment.

[Baofeng]

Very close game between the Denver and Wolves, ANT had another of his fantastic game but he missed a game trying three points that will force the game into OT. Jokic takes advantage as Gobert is not in uniform and so he started very active and probably his lowest assists for this season at 2.

But him and Porter made clutch basket in the last 5 minutes. And although the Wolves try to make a comeback with back to back threes to close the gap, their FT is enough to get a good separation and ANT didn't convert.

Very competitive game for the wolves despite being undermanned. They manage to make it a close game despite Denver able to take control early. No 2 big men for the team, still they could almost get a win and could give another L for the Nuggets who loss to the Mavs from Irving's winning shot.

I agree that ANT is really good but honestly (no offense), this guy is not a clutch player, so probably 40% success rate only will be given to him based on my personal assessment.

Jokic really played it very well, no Gobert in the middle and so every opportunity they can get to have a switch and let a smaller Wolves guard him, it's automatic 2 points for him in the paint.

ANT just need to be clutch though, very emotional but he needs to cool down in the stretch. If he could only nail that 3, and force OT, the result might be different as it looks like they have the momentum already in that game. They just run out of time chasing the Nuggets in the last minute.

[püsür]

Houston Rockets are preparing to give a new contract to Alperen Şengün. If he gets a max contract, Alperen can earn $225 million in 5 years. Alperen, who increased his statistics this season, deserves to receive a max contract. It's not easy to find such a good center. If he gets this contract, Alperen will make history in Turkish sports. The Turkish athlete will be the one who earns the most. And he's still very young. He has already become a player who will write his name in history.

Just don't get too cocky in getting his new contract this has happened to a few NBA stars after getting their max contract they suddenly change and are barely practicing like what happens to Ben Simmons and Jordan Poole after getting their max contract they were truly exposed not having something with the team and a disappointment for them, I think those 2 really fits the bill.

I agree that it can happen to him and we have witnessed number of times that it happened. He is also very very young. I hope he will not do the same mistakes as other players who got huge contracts. His situation is little bit different, thankfully. He was always very good for his age, almost always the best player and he was also his country's league MVP at the age of 18 before coming to the Nba. He seems like a very down to earth guy and very hardworker.

I'm not sure Rockets are doing the right thing though. He is extremely young and still missing some things from his game, like shooting. I realize it is very hard to find great centers and he seems like a future all star, but it might be too risky to give him this much in this stage of his career. Unrelated but Rockets are surprisingly doing good without him. After Sengun's injury, I thought season is almost over for Rockets. It will be a great success if they can make it to the play-ins.

[danherbias07]

Very close game between the Denver and Wolves, ANT had another of his fantastic game but he missed a game trying three points that will force the game into OT. Jokic takes advantage as Gobert is not in uniform and so he started very active and probably his lowest assists for this season at 2.

But him and Porter made clutch basket in the last 5 minutes. And although the Wolves try to make a comeback with back to back threes to close the gap, their FT is enough to get a good separation and ANT didn't convert.

Michael Porter Jr. is back to his old self in his recent games. The confidence is there unlike after the back injury was healed, I guess it's all mental for him and he somehow got over it.
This is the only game that I saw Jokic not passing too much, he only made 2 assists and I believe Coach Malone wrote that plan because the Timberwolves have no big man that will protect the rim. They need to take advantage of it while Gobert and KAT are not playing.

Still, Antman did a great job here, and just like the commentator said, Coach Chris Finch should still be happy for the competitive spirit that was shown by his team. They are playing back-to-back games for crying out loud and they are still giving the reigning champions a difficult time. Then, they are undermanned.
McDaniels stepped up his game way high in this game. The last time I saw him play like that was against the Kings but I did expect him to play well, not just this much, which is why I added him to my props.

[Fredomago]

Lakers got another win, the thing is that teams around them are not doing that much worse neither, so they can't climb up the spots, they are playing at 50%+ most of the time and not having any big losing streaks, in fact getting a few good short win streaks as well and yet they are still not getting any higher, all because teams around them are getting wins too. Like how Dallas just got away with a win over Denver for example.

I think there isn't really any rush to do better neither, because they know they will probably finish 9th, Warriors are not looking like they will climb up, so that means at 9th place they could just place themselves at 8th place with a win at play-in and they could just hope for the best against OKC.

I'm sure these two teams (Lakers and Warriors) will make play in tournament and only one of them will make playoffs. Hopefully its Lakers since i still really want to watch Lebron playing Playoffs. NBA fans saying that it possible Lakers and OKC will battle 1st round playoffs and they predicting that OKC will first round exit. I want to but look Lakers really struggling to make playoffs this year 😭

If they've got AD as healthy as possible the chance of making it to the playoffs is still possible but if they will be playing in the play-in without a healthy AD the chance might be slim especially if they'll going to compete against the Warriors, both are still holding for the last possible spot for the upcoming next round and only one can push their way up.

The days are for LeBron is really nearing he's aging and even he can still paly outstanding game he's capability to lift his team is not the same, the level of competitions are high, just good for the fans that he still got something to showcase and give entertainment for those who continue supporting him.

[Finestream]

If they've got AD as healthy as possible the chance of making it to the playoffs is still possible but if they will be playing in the play-in without a healthy AD the chance might be slim especially if they'll going to compete against the Warriors, both are still holding for the last possible spot for the upcoming next round and only one can push their way up.

The days are for LeBron is really nearing he's aging and even he can still paly outstanding game he's capability to lift his team is not the same, the level of competitions are high, just good for the fans that he still got something to showcase and give entertainment for those who continue supporting him.

That's for sure, I have no doubt about that. Lebron alone could not carry this team,  but with AD, they'll be a good playoff contender and I put a little chance for them getting into the Finals again. AD's experience in the playoffs and since he already won a championship with the Lakers, it's easy to tell that without him it's really a big problem for the struggling LA Clippers.

Let us not forget that Lebron is not getting any younger, although he can still get 20+ points easily but the impact on the team compared to when he was still young and very dominant is just not that big anymore. So to conclude, without AD, Lakers are done.

[arwin100]

If they've got AD as healthy as possible the chance of making it to the playoffs is still possible but if they will be playing in the play-in without a healthy AD the chance might be slim especially if they'll going to compete against the Warriors, both are still holding for the last possible spot for the upcoming next round and only one can push their way up.

The days are for LeBron is really nearing he's aging and even he can still paly outstanding game he's capability to lift his team is not the same, the level of competitions are high, just good for the fans that he still got something to showcase and give entertainment for those who continue supporting him.

That's for sure, I have no doubt about that. Lebron alone could not carry this team,  but with AD, they'll be a good playoff contender and I put a little chance for them getting into the Finals again. AD's experience in the playoffs and since he already won a championship with the Lakers, it's easy to tell that without him it's really a big problem for the struggling LA Clippers.

Let us not forget that Lebron is not getting any younger, although he can still get 20+ points easily but the impact on the team compared to when he was still young and very dominant is just not that big anymore. So to conclude, without AD, Lakers are done.

We all see how bad they are when AD is out so maybe they should find a good solution unto this issue since they know AD is injury prone and anytime he will not available to play especially on crucial games and it will be bad if they can't find any good adjustment made in this situation.

Maybe they need other player to step up since they have good talents reserve. They should not focus the play on Lebron since he's not getting any younger anymore as said so they need to give confident to their young player to play more better since for sure this will be the key for their success. Maybe they need proper plays or good rotation so that they can make their roster work together and contribute good numbers without relying to much on Lebron and AD.

[Kelvinid]

If they've got AD as healthy as possible the chance of making it to the playoffs is still possible but if they will be playing in the play-in without a healthy AD the chance might be slim especially if they'll going to compete against the Warriors, both are still holding for the last possible spot for the upcoming next round and only one can push their way up.

The days are for LeBron is really nearing he's aging and even he can still paly outstanding game he's capability to lift his team is not the same, the level of competitions are high, just good for the fans that he still got something to showcase and give entertainment for those who continue supporting him.

That's for sure, I have no doubt about that. Lebron alone could not carry this team,  but with AD, they'll be a good playoff contender and I put a little chance for them getting into the Finals again. AD's experience in the playoffs and since he already won a championship with the Lakers, it's easy to tell that without him it's really a big problem for the struggling LA Clippers.

Let us not forget that Lebron is not getting any younger, although he can still get 20+ points easily but the impact on the team compared to when he was still young and very dominant is just not that big anymore. So to conclude, without AD, Lakers are done.

We all see how bad they are when AD is out so maybe they should find a good solution unto this issue since they know AD is injury prone and anytime he will not available to play especially on crucial games and it will be bad if they can't find any good adjustment made in this situation.

Maybe they need other player to step up since they have good talents reserve. They should not focus the play on Lebron since he's not getting any younger anymore as said so they need to give confident to their young player to play more better since for sure this will be the key for their success. Maybe they need proper plays or good rotation so that they can make their roster work together and contribute good numbers without relying to much on Lebron and AD.

There's nothing they can do here, not at the very short period of time going to the play-in tournament which I think is their best chances based on the current standing. They can make a strategy but the current roster of the Lakers are not good enough to compete against a championship team or a proven playoffs teams. I don't want to underestimate them, but we can do the simple math here, this Lakers signed AD and won a championship, now AD is injured, that could easily mean championship hopes are gone too.

[Twentyonepaylots]

Lakers got another win, the thing is that teams around them are not doing that much worse neither, so they can't climb up the spots, they are playing at 50%+ most of the time and not having any big losing streaks, in fact getting a few good short win streaks as well and yet they are still not getting any higher, all because teams around them are getting wins too. Like how Dallas just got away with a win over Denver for example.

I think there isn't really any rush to do better neither, because they know they will probably finish 9th, Warriors are not looking like they will climb up, so that means at 9th place they could just place themselves at 8th place with a win at play-in and they could just hope for the best against OKC.

With few games left for the season and with news that Vanderbilt, Vincent, and Wood are out for the remainder of the season, It will be a tough challenge for the Lakers to keep their record or go up in the standings since those players are some of the key players for the Lakers, especially Vando and Wood. The presence of both of them on the defensive end will surely be missed. 

What the Lakers need to do is keep the pace, and of course, do not lose games. They hope to avoid any more injuries and win the play-in. The most critical aspect of this end-season stretch is who they are facing in the play-in. If it's the Warriors, maybe they do have a chance, but if it's the Kings, I don't know about that; AD is 0-10 against Sabonis. We don't know when that streak will be stopped, but as of the moment, it will continue.

[dwyane36]

I'm sure these two teams (Lakers and Warriors) will make play in tournament and only one of them will make playoffs. Hopefully its Lakers since i still really want to watch Lebron playing Playoffs. NBA fans saying that it possible Lakers and OKC will battle 1st round playoffs and they predicting that OKC will first round exit. I want to but look Lakers really struggling to make playoffs this year 😭

I would say that the Warriors are struggling to get into the play-in tournament as the Rockets, to my surprise, continue to win and are catching up to the Warriors in the standings. The Lakers are doing a little better in this regard, and I think they can compete for the 8th spot in the standings.

[OgNasty]

I watched LeBron James and JJ Redick’s new podcast yesterday. It definitely shows off LeBron’s basketball IQ but I’m not sure how other NBA players will feel about LeBron calling out their ability to run plays and flip them without needing a coach to draw it out. Seemed almost like he was stroking his ego a bit. We’ll see how episode 2 goes…