}~~~> Official 2024/2025 NBA Thread<~~~{ (Jimmy Butler’s quest to play for every team in NBA)
- Thread starter Mask
- Start date
Jalen "the original Jalen" Rose is back.......OG Jalen
Lakers need to win this cup game. In the end it don't mean shit but at least these players actually play to win in these games.
Sengun's 3rd triple double of the season with 3 blocks & 3 steals. He's been getting after it defensively this whole season.
Amen is going to be a star, I see some Scottie Pippen in his game.
Jalen Green on the other hand must be going through some shit with Draya, because he been shooting tour dates all season. I really wanted them to wait til after this season before they gave him that extension. He's damn near unplayable in close games.
Got our boots smoked again. Why couldn't KD come back the next game!!!!!!!! 82 games. It's a long season so I can't live & die on every game. From now until trade deadline we need to figure out who stays and who goes. D-Lo is out on the first train smoking.
I'll used to think that the immature bullshit like all the hand gun celebrations with the Grizzles was Dillion's bad influence rubbing off.
Well he's been gone for over a year and Memphis is still throwing up hand guns after every big play. Maybe he wasn't the problem
Ja Arenas. Hopefully he doesn't fall in the same traps as that dumbass but it's not looking good. What's sad is Ja is clearly not 'bout that life but he's trying so hard to be down.I'll used to think that the immature bullshit like all the hand gun celebrations with the Grizzles was Dillion's bad influence rubbing off.
Well he's been gone for over a year and Memphis is still throwing up hand guns after every big play. Maybe he wasn't the problem
How does Dickhead Rivers keep getting coaching jobs? He's so scared of concept if using different rotations, that he'll let a clearly drunk man keep balling, instead of subbing him out.
Wow
Guy entered the GOAT convo over 20 years ago.@KingTaharqa , now they have somehow managed to include Kobe in a list of top 5 all time dunkers...
Guy has entered the GOAT convo and Mt Rushmore of NBA dunks post mortem.
Why didn't Jondoe post this cool block Bradley Beal got on the GOAT?
Fakers got blown out again by almost 30.
I told yall Beal would ball out. Arguably the best wing in the league. He can rest now, jobs done.
I can't figure Jalen out he's just so damn inconsistent... if he played lights out defense then I could deal with his poor shooting but it's just bad on both ends. He has the work ethic and all the physical tools, he just has to put it together on a nightly basis.
I think he's one of those guys that has to get rolling early to have success. They gotta run a few pin downs or get him going right away because if not he checks out.
Amen is a difference maker. He has a lot of pippen in his game. If that kid ever develops a respectable jumper it's a wrap. He's fast enough to go around you, athletic enough to jump over you, and selfless enough to make the pass to an open teammate if it's there.
Future is bright for this team. And ime got them boys playing tough. I was scared of that Brooks signing at first but now I want that guy to retire in a Rockets uniform.
For the life of me I still don't see how, with the Lakers and Rockets both having coaching vacancies, we ended up with Udoka and they got Darvin Hamm...
JJ doing good so far, but i dunno if that's just talent carrying them or coaching. We'll see as the season progresses
10 Takeaways From 11/26/24
ONE) Giddey’s Closing… For Now
If you ignore the Grizzlies blowout, that’s now B2B games (vs ATL, vs WAS) of Josh Giddey (11 points, 8 assists) closing for the Bulls. It brings me back to a comment Billy Donovan made a couple of weeks back.
"I've got confidence in Josh. In certain situations, Josh will be closing." - Billy Donovan (11/15)
I think I know the situations Billy’s talking about.
Games without Patrick Williams
Games against shitty defenses
Games they’ve got a double-digit lead in the 4th.
As long as they got those three things going for them, Giddey’s safe. Real talk for a sec… He’s such a tough watch. I don’t know how much more I can handle. He’s even having trouble passing. Vuc lost it on a cross-court pass, begging him to make the simple play. That’s supposed to be the one thing he’s good at! You know who’s even worse? Lemme tell you about Dalen Terry (2 points, -24, 16 minutes). Ok, I gotta stop before I get in trouble. The good news is Lonzo Ball’s expected back tomorrow. He’s missed the last 15 games with a wrist injury.
“In talking to medical we’ll have to probably go back to where it was at the start of the year where it’s probably going to be 15-16 minutes, four-minute stints at a time. There is a strong possibility that if he can build up, maybe 20-22 (minutes), but he understands he’ll never get back to 35-minute nights.” - Billy Donovan on Lonzo Ball
TWO) Washington’s Defense LOL
No one’s breaking any news here but man, that Wizards defense is gross (118.8 DEF RTG, 30th). They allowed the Bulls to shoot 50.0% from the field, gave up 40 points in the second quarter, and seven Bulls scored in double-figures. Here’s the funny one: They shot 19 free throws in the third quarter and the Bulls shot 0. BULLS STILL WON THE QUARTER 35-34!
Jordan Poole was out for the second straight game with hip flexor soreness. I can’t believe I’m saying this but they kinda missed him. The offense struggled to play through Kyle Kuzma (23 points, 7 rebounds, 28.4 USG%) but at least Alex Sarr tied a career-high with 20 points on 78.4 TS% (4-5 3PT).
“It really came down to one quarter.” - Brian Keefe
Bulls beat the Wizards 127-108. Washington still hasn’t won a game in November.
THREE) No Giannis
Giannis went from probable (calf) to questionable (knee) to out (knee). Vintage Bucks. At least he’s able to rest up now cause their next game’s not until Saturday against the Wizards. There are two clear headlines here: Dame and Portis, both for different reasons.
Damian Lillard went full scorched earth to start, scoring 17 in the first (5-7 FG) and 25 at the half (6-9 FG, 7 assists). Bucks were unconscious from three in the first half, making 61.9% from 3. The offense kinda stalled in the second half as the Heat defense picked up but they held on thanks to two late AJ Green 3s.
Bobby Portis is usually the first guy we think of whenever Giannis is ruled out but that didn’t quite work today. Probably should have sounded the alarms when he wasn’t announced as a starter. Bobby played strictly backup five in this one. Capped all his upside. Now, I know most of y’all tilted your asses off but I was kinda proud of Doc. Portis has been ass this season. Only Delon Wright has a worse net rating on the Bucks. And look what happened, they won. Today was a very bad day for Crazy Eyes.
Khris Middleton is getting closer. He participated in a 5-on-5 scrimmage for the first time this season on Monday in Miami.
"He's good. He's not ready to play yet, but he's working hard. He's gone through 5-on-5, we've done some of that. The next steps are getting on the floor, but I can't tell you when that will happen." - Doc Rivers, on Khris Middleton
FOUR) Sixth Man of the Rozier?
Terry Rozier missed the last two games with foot discomfort and Miami won both games. Spo didn’t wanna mess with what was working so he brought Rozier off the bench. His response? Scored 13 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter on 130.0 TS%!!! You know what they say? It’s not about who’s starting, it’s about who’s finishing. Is that how it goes?
I’m not sure who had a worse day between Bobby Portis and Nikola Jovic. Jovic received his first DNP-CD of the year in a game Miami went 11 deep. They were gonna go 10 deep before Kevin Love left the game with back spasms. Talk about being down bad. The good news for him is Spo is random. Don’t ask how long it takes to project that team’s minutes. Wouldn’t be a surprise at all if he played 30+ tomorrow.
“Very far." - Jimmy Butler on how far the Heat are from where they need to be
Bucks beat the Heat 106-103.
FIVE) Amen > Jalen
Remember that stretch of games last season when Jalen Green couldn’t get any fourth-quarter run? It might be happening again. Jalen didn’t close the last game and he only played a couple of minutes in the fourth today against the Wolves. It’s been Amen Thompson (15 points, 8 rebounds, 7 stocks) getting the minutes, and rightfully so. Green is shooting 30.7% of his 3s and has a career-worst 50.2 TS%. Amen has all the makings of a star, between the freakish athletic ability and defensive instincts. Had a clutch steal and a bucket to help send the game to OT. Rockets are inching closer to overtaking the Thunder for best defensive rating and that’s because of guys like him.
Even Dillon Brooks (22 points, 4-7 3PT) was doing this thing and reminded Minnesota about it every chance he could. That defense held Ant to 0-of-6 shooting in the fourth quarter. Alperen Sengun (22 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds) has his third triple-double of the season already. Had a total of four in his first three seasons. Jabari Smith (19 points, 7 rebounds, 3-4 3PT) was a game-high +30 and is making 51.6% of his threes over his last seven games. This guy was shooting 25.0% in their first twelve.
“When we play like this, it’s like really hard to play against us. We play hard, we share the ball, everyone enjoying, you know? That’s the game we have been playing lately. We look different this season.” - Alperen Sengun
SIX) The Rob Dillingham Game… Kinda
Donte DiVincenzo (3 points, -15) got his second straight start with Mike Conley (toe) missing his third straight. Not a strong showing at all. With careless turnovers and drives without intent, Finch decided to see what Rob Dillingham (12 points, 7 assists, 24 minutes) could bring since the team looked so lost and lazy. The rookie instantly injected life into Target Center. Seemed like a hard thing to accomplish since they were booing for much of the night. Wolves erased a Rockets 18-point lead late and they rode Dillingham because of it, which backfired. He was leaving shooters wide open in the 4th and had two killer turnovers. It really put a stain on his breakout game. Either way, he was by far the best Wolves player on the court today (+26) which says a lot. They ended up closing with NAW (13 points 30 minutes) but I think they realized tonight that they need to see what they got in the kid. They can’t just fall apart when Conley’s not there.
“I think from the way it feels, it feels like when we start the game, the other team is a little more alert, a little more physical. We always take one quarter or one half to get going, and we get slapped in the face and all of a sudden we realize that if we don’t react, we’re gonna get embarrassed.” - Rudy Gobert on the Wolves slow starts
Rockets beat the Wolves 117-111.
SEVEN) Wemby
The last time Wenby faced Utah, he had a 5x5. Looked like he was gonna score 55 mid-way through. He scored 24 of his 34 by halftime. I can’t comprehend what’s exactly going on but this is already his 4th game of the season with at least six threes. He just refuses to wanna work down low and I guess that’s fine if you’re shooting like this. He’s now shooting 41.2% from 3 over his last five. This is straight-up some bizarro world shit.
While we’re on Wemby, he might have a new backup. Zach Collins was pulled after basically doing nothing in his six minutes. Mitch Johnson went to Charles Bassey instead for the rest of the game. He was later asked if Collins was hurt and said no. Said he wanted to try something else which is code for being benched.
“We’ve been fortunate that Victor, Zach, Charlie, all those guys have given us good minutes. Again, our depth is hopefully slowly becoming one of our strengths. Just giving guys opportunities. Charlie didn't play last game or so after he had a good run and we wanted to give him a shot today.” - Mitch Johnson on playing Bassey over Collins
EIGHT) Lauri’s Knee
Late in this game, Wemby and Lauri banged knees and Lauri immediately fell in pain. Was down hiding his knee for a while before having to get helped off the court. He was shortly ruled out after with a left knee contusion. I feel fairly confident that he’ll miss tomorrow which means we should be getting a decent amount of Brice Sensabaugh (16 points, 26 minutes). Brice can’t do a lot of things but he can shoot, which is what you’ll need without Lauri in the lineup. Also, I wouldn’t be shocked if Wemby missed either the more I think about it. The same thing happened last time: he banged his knees with Anthony Davis on the front leg of a back-to-back, then missed three straight. I’m not trying to say he’s about to miss a week but maybe a game.
Keyonte George was shot out of a canon in the first quarter. Scored 15 points on 88.9 TS%. He’s proven to be a much more effective scorer off-ball. Playing next to Collier has helped a lot. He finished with 26 points and 7 assists. He’s made 40.5% of his threes over his last ten games.
"I really do think that ultimately tonight we beat ourselves… Close game at home going into the fourth. They have eight offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter alone, and another night where we have 20-plus turnovers. It's just hard to win. " - Will Hardy
NINE) Welcome Back KD (and Beal)
How badly have the Suns been waiting for these guys to get right? Suns were 1-6 without KD, you tell me. With him, they’re now 8-1 after embarrassing the Lakers. It must have felt nice for Booker to score four points, playing the entire first quarter, and still be up six. The man finally has help. Mike Budenholzer said that they were going to be smart with their respective minutes load considering all the time missed. Beal and Durant both played about 15 first-half minutes. The starters subbed out with 3 minutes to go in the fourth because of the blowout so I’ll assume their limit was close to 30. Neither looked the least bit rusty. They combined for 46 points on 59.4% shooting. KD said that he couldn’t have returned sooner after the seven games out and was grateful for the 5-day break to help him recover. Josh Okogie is back out of the rotation now that they’re full. I thought he earned some run after how well he played in their absence
“If we handle games early, I probably won’t play a lot of minutes. If we’re in a tight game, then expect me to be out there on the floor. I’m 36, I don’t know how much time I got left, so I wanna be out there as much as I can.” - KD on his minutes
TEN) Lakers Changes Coming?
JJ Redick has a lot to think over. The Lakers have given up 118+ points in four straight games now. They’ve been outscored 73-33 in their last two third quarters and he’s going ten-man after preferring nine-man early in the season. His head’s gotta be all over the place. Their defense was a total trainwreck (123.3 DEF RTG). They could not guard the perimeter, leaving guys open all game and the transition defense was as bad as advertised (dead last).
There will be changes and Redick’s already talking about some of the possibilities. He said that maybe Knecht could get into a better rhythm as a starter and that’s something he’s thinking about. Why’d they send him back to the bench anyway? Vibes have changed. Rui looks hesitant as hell, LeBron even got angry that he didn’t take a shot at one point. He also said that they may have to reconsider their defensive strategies. Said the Suns’ offense was “getting whatever they wanted” against them. I don’t know if there’s an easy fix with this flawed roster but be on the lookout. Man, Bron was really a -30? Sheesh. Jaxson Hayes had to be helped to the locker room later after hurting himself after a dunk. Think it was an ankle, not sure. They had no info after the game.
"We're not very good defensively or very good offensively the last couple games.” - LeBron James
Suns beat the Lakers 127-100.
Amazing you can be a pedophile but long as you white is all forgiven
Right. Story got swept under the rug fast
They barely covered the story when the case was still ongoing.
Let that had been a black player, just the allegation alone would have been enough for front page news for at least a week or two.
Ex-WNBA star turned model reveals what life is like after getting cut
Kysre Gondrezick, a guard, was cut by the Chicago Sky in June after seeing just 16 minutes of action on the court in the WNBA this year - but that doesn't mean she isn't booked a busy.
The two worlds of Kysre Gondrezick: A fashion model looking for another WNBA chance
Kysre Gondrezick had two careers to fall back on after being waived by the Chicago Sky in June.
nypost.com
The Lakers fans losing their shit on social media is kind of funny. But they have valid gripes.
One game they faced a Nuggets team who’s only fucking goal is to beat them and nobody else
and then face a Suns team who’s star players decided to all come back on the day they played the Lakers.
One game they faced a Nuggets team who’s only fucking goal is to beat them and nobody else
and then face a Suns team who’s star players decided to all come back on the day they played the Lakers.