2023 NBA Off-Season: The Season Begins Now (Or As Soon As KD Says It Does)

[Kingspoint]

Harris attempted only one "3" during the 4th and both OT's. That's on Harden and Melton. He made the one and ended up 7 of 8. To not feed him more opportunities is just poor decision-making. Coach needed to address this during the timeouts. He fixed the exclusion of Embiid down low in the 1st Half, but there were adjustments to be made in the 4th and OT's that just weren't made. Harden should know everything that should be done and should execute them, especially with him being an observer for the last five weeks. I highly doubt if Harden studies much anymore the opponents. He doesn't seem to even know his own teammates' strength's and weaknesses (and his own). Give him time to adjust. Too much experience to not think that he could do well if his minutes were limited to 26 per night.

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I honestly thought that, at some point, they'd just use Tucker on an opposing big and go with Harden/Milton/Melton. That would have been preferable to the death-to-offense lineup they used with, IIRC, Tucker/Thybulle/House/Harden/Reed.

Reed was a monster of energy. I loved his play tonight. Tucker should not have been out there with Milton available and Harris on fire from deep. House should not have been out there, either.

[Kingspoint]

On Houston's end, they won the game, but I highly question their usage of Eason. He never saw the floor in either OT and very little the last five minutes of regulation. Eason just makes the game a lot easier for everyone else on his team. I thought with Sengun fouling out early in the 2nd OT, he'd get a shot, but he went with Bruno. Eason finished with 18 pts in 21 minutes (which seems to be his cap all season) along with 3 Stls and a Blk on 7-11 shooting and 2-3 from deep. Eason is also a good passer and very good rebounder.

[SteelSD]

Harden is cooked. He isn’t able to cook except on rare occasions. Cooked. If Philly wants to win, give his minutes to Milton/Melton.

It's his first game after missing 14 straight and he's really had only 3 rough games shooting this season; coming into tonight with a line of 22-7-10. Melton was right there beside him and Milton has been starting with Harden and Maxey out. The results have been mixed, as expected with that combination.

And other than Tucker- who simply doesn't do anything he was acquired to do, if we're talking "cooked"- I'm really not willing to pass judgment on any of the players until they dump Rivers and find a coach who can actually coax the best out of the rest of the team when healthy. There were a bunch of poor decisions from players tonight; something they should own. But a hallmark of Rivers' tenure has been terrible execution in crunch time along with awful results out of time outs (at any point in the game) and other stop action sequences. The other main issue is Rivers' Jekyll/Hyde rotations- either wonky and inflexible, or appearing to be the result of randomly throwing things at the proverbial wall.

[Kingspoint]

...for Indiana's Rookies Kendall Brown, Mathurin and Nembhard, along with Jalen Smith, lottery pick from 2010 and their only big tonight, and last year's 1st Rounder, Isaiah Jackson, Oshae Brissett and Buddy Hield.

Indiana on a back-to-back after their loss in POR last night led for most of the game, but they had to go back-and-forth in the Warriors' building late in the 4th to secure the win (pulling away). Nembhard seemed to be the catalyst whenever the Warriors got close during the night. He hit two 30-footers late to hand Golden State only their 2nd loss at home all-season. Coming in tonight, the Warriors had the league's best record at home @ 11-1.

Comments from NBC Sports:

Jalen Smith accounted for 15 points (6-of-8 FGs, 1-of-2 FTs), nine rebounds, two assists, three blocks, and two 3-pointers in Monday's win over the Warriors. Smith, who played 28 minutes, was the only big in the starting lineup due to Myles Turner's (hamstring) absence. He was a force on both ends of the floor, scoring efficiently on one end and rejecting shots on the other. Rostered in 70% of Yahoo leagues, Stix provided 13th-round per-game value in 9-cat formats. And if Turner is not available for Wednesday's game against the Timberwolves, Smith will again be of greater importance to the Pacers. Isaiah Jackson played 19 minutes off the bench and had a good night, recording a line of 13 points, one rebound, and three blocked shots. Unlike Smith, Jackson (34% rostered) will be easier to find on waiver wires if Turner has to miss more time.

Bennedict Mathurin finished Monday's 112-104 win over the Warriors with 14 points (4-of-16 FGs, 6-of-8 FTs), two rebounds, and one assist in 40 minutes. With Myles Turner being a late scratch, Mathurin made the first start of his rookie season Monday night. While it didn't go well for him individually, the lottery pick out of Arizona leaves San Francisco with a win. While Mathurin's scoring numbers have been fine, the lack of defensive production and 3-pointers has limited his value, as he ranks outside the top 150 in 9-cat formats. That said, there's still value in rostering the rookie, who has been a key reserve for the surprising Pacers.

Andrew Nembhard shot 13-of-21 from the field in Monday's 112-104 win over the Warriors, tallying 31 points, eight rebounds, 13 assists, one steal, and five 3-pointers in 41 minutes. Mondays have been pretty good to Nembhard recently. His 3-pointer at the buzzer beat the Lakers on November 28, and the rookie was even better in San Francisco. Filling in for the injured Tyrese Haliburton, Nembhard finished two rebounds shy of a triple-double and was in full control of the action when on the court. And he became the third rookie in franchise history to have a 30/10 game, joining Chuck Person and Jamaal Tinsley. With it being unknown if Haliburton will be available for Wednesday's game against the Timberwolves, managers who were already streaming Nembhard need to hold onto him.

I mentioned Hield because after not getting any rebounds two games ago, he got double-digit boards Sunday and then nine against the Warriors. Huge step-up for an extremely short-handed unit in probably the toughest environment right now to get a win.

You can't fault the Warrioers because no matter how hard someone tells themselves not to be overconfident because the other team is very short-handed, mentally you just can't do anything about it. It's just too natural to be overconfident and let your guard down. They almost scrambled back and got the win, but Nembhard imitated Steph and got it done.

[Kingspoint]

Need to give Charlotte a big salute as they came so close (didn't see it, but I'm pretty sure PG got a million calls, while he traveled probably 75 times tonight under the new traveling calls that so many have been randomly flagged for, but he's been ignored). It was Kawhi's return while the Clippers were at full strength.

If anyone can name, without looking, all five of the Hornets Starters tonight, you are either a season-ticket holder for Charlotte or one intense NBA fan. I really thought they were going to win as all five Starters for Charlotte were double-digit in the plus/minus at Halftime. They needed someone to put the ball through the basket the last couple of minutes when the rim seems to shrink in size for most players.

[Bourgeois Zee]

If anyone can name, without looking, all five of the Hornets Starters tonight, you are either a season-ticket holder for Charlotte or one intense NBA fan.

Without looking, I've got Scary Terry, Oubre, PJ Washington, one of the McDaniels, and one of the Plumlees. (Not sure which McDaniel or Plumlee.)

That's their typical starting lineup with Ball out.

IMO, Nick Richards needs to be given more minutes at center. He's proven to be adequate and might be more. Lots and lots of athleticism there and a willingness to both protect the rim and get physical (while also being able to jump out of the gym). So far this year, he's been their big find (though Dennis Smith might disagree).

[Kingspoint]

Without looking, I've got Scary Terry, Oubre, PJ Washington, one of the McDaniels, and one of the Plumlees. (Not sure which McDaniel or Plumlee.)

That's their typical starting lineup with Ball out.

IMO, Nick Richards needs to be given more minutes at center. He's proven to be adequate and might be more. Lots and lots of athleticism there and a willingness to both protect the rim and get physical (while also being able to jump out of the gym). So far this year, he's been their big find (though Dennis Smith might disagree).

You get an A+++++++!!!

[Kingspoint]

Been exercising, so I haven't watched anything tonight, so I went straight to the boxscores and saw "8 minutes" for A. D. (with no shot attempts and no Steals or Blocks or Turnover or Fouls while missing 2 of 3 from the line. I thought immediately he got hurt bad (cause he plays through heavy pain most nights of his career). Glad to hear it's only the flu, but what the heck is the HC doing exposing the rest of the team (and the opponents and staff, etc., etc., etc.)!!!

We'll see if any other Lakers or Cavs go down over the next week from this. Without monster A. D., this is not a good team. There's more talent than there was in September, but there's just no Offense. Everyone not named James were a combined 4-30 from Downtown with a few minutes left in the game. 4-30. I could do better than that blindfolded, literally blindfolded.

Lakers won't win until A. D. returns to the lineup, and probably not his first couple of games back since he'll be recovering from the flu. The way Monster A. D. plays, he must burn up about 3000 calories on the night. Those first 1500 he should be fine, but trying to get through effectively after that, he'll be passing the ball a ton and there won't be any Defense. They'll also be a lot of missed "3"'s.

[Kingspoint]

From NBC Sports...

Jonathan Isaac was assigned to the G-League’s Lakeland Magic on Tuesday to practice with the team. This appears to be a real, positive step for Isaac. Other players around the league have returned just a couple weeks after being assigned to practice with their team’s G-League affiliate. Considering it has been over two years since Isaac last played in the NBA, it may be a little more time, but he’s clearly making progress. His fantasy potential is off the charts, but it’s unclear what he’ll look like and what his role will be when he does eventually return to the court. If you have an IL spot open, he might be worth the stash.

[BuckeyeRed27]

Bally Sports Mitchell is good.
TNT Mitchell is first team all NBA.

[Kingspoint]

Bally Sports Mitchell is good.
TNT Mitchell is first team all NBA.

It is so very, very, very difficult to put 17 rocks through the hoop. If I recall, the great Jerry West only did it about six times,...maybe fewer times than that. West may have only done it four or five times. I think West reached 20 only once and then 17-19 three or four times.

It's just really, really hard to do.

Of course, it is about a thousand times easier than it was during West's days because nobody was allowed to get a layup without punishment and to accumulate a ton of baskets on a single night, the punishment is going to be very severe if you even attempt to come into the paint. Bob Love and Dave Bing and Wes Unseld are going to send you to the ground, and you'll get up slowly, and they won't be called for a foul. The body is part of the ball.

[Kingspoint]

How impressive was that back-to-back by DAL? @Home vs PHO, then on the road at Mile High, where everybody dies of exhaustion without it being the 2nd of a back-to-back. DAL had a miserable 2-8 road record going into tonight's game vs DEN, and Coach used a rotation of only 9 players against DEN, the same as he did the night before vs PHO (pulled everyone for the last two minutes of the blowout, but that doesn't count). The Nitty-gritty Nine showed no signs of being tired hitting 47% from "3" tonight after hitting 49% from "3" vs PHO.

Nuggets are missing Michael Porter big-time.

[Kingspoint]

Forgot to add "the return of Jarrett Allen". Overshadowed by A. D.'s departure from non-COVID, flu-like symptoms after 8 minutes and Mitchell's dominant performance, Allen came back from a 5-game absence to display his own dominance over a Davisless Lakers squad. He was 11-14 from the field with 11 Boards (3 Offensive), 3 Steals, 1 Block, 24 points and a +/- of +21 (matching Mitchell's and 35 more than Kevin Love's -14 in 9 minutes). Allen played 38 minutes in his return.

Cleveland could be adding Rubio sometime soon.

[Kingspoint]

So far M2, you've been 100% correct about MIA. They have major problems that may not be fixable by a season's worth of great Coaching by Eric Spoelstra. It's still very possible he could turn them into Conference Champions, but they just got crushed at home by DET Tuesday Night. They lost by 20, and it wasn't that close. MIA never had a chance even with Herro hitting 12 of 17 shots. Bogdanovic, the Pistons MVP this season, did one better hitting on 12 of 16 shots.

Kyle Lowry played injured (left ankle discomfort) for 34 minutes and was a miserable 1-6 from the floor, and a 2nd-worst on the team -16 +/-. He did have 5 Steals, three more than the rest of his teammates combined.

Oladipo returned from injury to play a miserable 19 minutes going 3-9 with no steals, no blocks and only 2 Rebounds, while being part of a -12 +/- while on the floor.

I've seen Cody Martin play great Defense, but who was he guarding tonight? I'm going to guess it was a combination of Hayes and Ivey, who both played point. Spoelstra likes to put him on the ball-handler in order to cut down the time left on the shot-clock to execute a play, but the 3-pt shooters were clearly getting open as DET shot 46% from "3". Butler would have made a difference there, but he missed the 2nd of a back-to-back after returning from a 7-game absence against MEM (where they scored only 16 in the 4th to lose by 8).

Spoelstra plays those who play hard the entire game, but he's clearly still looking for who it's going to be. Injuries have surely been an issue for them, but Lowry, Butler and Oladipo are always going to be injured, so they better find a couple of other Defenders they can rely on every game. Defense doesn't work if one guy screws up, so there's that. Continuity is really important. Miami is far from having that. Let's see what they look like four weeks from now.

[Kingspoint]

Blazers assistant general managers Sergi Oliva and Mike Schmitz both had seats reserved in Vivint Arena for the Jazz’s game vs. Indiana.

Both teams are clearly potential trade candidates as Portland is far from done on their retool.

Vanderbilt must have heard about it because the next game he goes 4-4 from "3". In his entire career he had only made three of them (on 22 attempts), so POR never got anyone within 15 feet of him, even after he made his first three.

Speaking of UTA, Conley is set to return. That will make the bench much stronger as one guard goes down a notch in the rotation.