NBA 2024-2025: Celtic Pride

[Kingspoint]

Orlando has poured on the Defense the last two games and figured out the Offense, too. Now, this team is figuring out how to win without Banchero. That's going to make them a whole let better when he returns. Just like the Clippers are doing without Leonard.

Kerr is giving a lot of the credit to Stotts, but prognosticators around the league are giving Kerr all the credit for what the Warriors are able to pull off. They are like the Pacers, but with much better Defense.

Pacers are getting hammered by injuries. Jackson and Wiseman already done for the year and now Nesmith out for at least a month and Nemhard out for at least a couple of weeks. They're trying to catch the Pelicans on the injury front, though with the Pelicans, it was all Starters.

[Kingspoint]

After Cam Reddish was mentioned here about not seeing any playing time, he made his season debut last week and has since taken off for the Lakers. Playing the position of Point Defense, he's excelled at it. He's always had the length and has shown flashes of this capability, but it was a change of heart and Reddick's bluntness that Defense was the only way he was going to see the floor for the Lakers. Cam embraced it as a journeyman who has changed his game in order to stay in the league. That's the kind of Veteran you want on a team, not one that plays out his time whining that he's getting a raw deal (they don't know how good I am).

[Kingspoint]

Chet Holmgren's out for 2+ months with a hip fracture. Ouch. Also not great news for the Thunder, which lack size, rebounding and rim protection without him.

I hate to say it, but every time I would see him fall, I've been waiting for this to happen. You're just not going to last in the NBA very long without hitting the weight room on a regular basis. There are exceptions, but generally, they are very rare, and they tend to be guards. It works both ways. Too much fat from not hitting the weight room and you aren't going to last, either.

[M2]

After Cam Reddish was mentioned here about not seeing any playing time, he made his season debut last week and has since taken off for the Lakers. Playing the position of Point Defense, he's excelled at it. He's always had the length and has shown flashes of this capability, but it was a change of heart and Reddick's bluntness that Defense was the only way he was going to see the floor for the Lakers. Cam embraced it as a journeyman who has changed his game in order to stay in the league. That's the kind of Veteran you want on a team, not one that plays out his time whining that he's getting a raw deal (they don't know how good I am).

Reddish's problem is teams will start to defend the Lakers with a scheme that dares him to shoot, at which point he's going to lay a bunch of bricks. Long, young, energy guys can find a role in the NBA, but without a working shot he's not going to keep getting starter's minutes. Also, pretty much every season of his career he's had an early fool's gold game or two before his liabilities catch up with him.

[Kingspoint]

Kenrich Williams, Auser Thompsen ready for season debuts.

https://www.freep.com/story/sports/n...m/76195509007/

https://sports.yahoo.com/kenrich-wil...194434814.html

[M2]

I think I've figured out the Cavs' strategic plan.

[Kingspoint]

The baton will be passed next week to either Allen, Mobley or LeVert for Player-of-the-Week.

Garland won this week. Mitchell won last week.

[Kingspoint]

Having easily taken care of POR on Friday in Minnesota, the T-Wolves get to feast on the Trail Blazers Tuesday and Wednesday in a back-to-back (that's 3 times in 4 games). A good time for the T-Wolves as they try to work out their rotations with their new players. Should they be able to pull off the rare feat of 3 wins against a club in the regular season over 4 games, they will place themselves in a good position at 8-4.

Chauncey just publicly ripped every player a new one for their effort on Sunday against MEM. The inclusion of Sharpe, as I knew it would, completely changed the entire rotation and ability for POR to win games. Laying a Pooper for Cooper is back on.

[Kingspoint]

Some records of EAST teams vs Western Conference opponents:

BOS...(0-1), 9-1 vs East
ORL...(1-3), 4-3 vs East
NYK...(0-1), 4-4 vs East
MIA...(1-3), 3-2 vs East
CHI...(1-5), 3-2 vs East
PHI...(0-4), 2-3 vs East
WAS...(0-3), 2-4 vs East
TOR...(1-7), 1-2 vs East


Some records of WEST teams vs Eastern Conference opponents.

OKC...(3-0), 6-2 vs West
PHO...(2-0), 6-2 vs West
DEN...(4-0), 3-3 vs West
HOU...(3-1), 4-3 vs West
MIN...(3-1), 3-3 vs West
LAC...(2-0), 4-5 vs West
SAC...(3-1), 3-4 vs West
DAL...(2-1), 3-4 vs West
UTA...(1-1), 1-6 vs West

[Kingspoint]

The Gods are telling the Pelicans to "blow it up".

Alvarado now out at least 6 weeks.

Sell everything that isn't nailed down. Have a fire sale. Don't drag it out to the Summer when many teams are selling.

Since luxury tax penalties are calculated by determining a team’s total cap hits at the end of its season, a team that starts the year above the tax line could get under it before the end of the season by completing trades or buyouts. The Pelicans did just that in 2023/24, moving out of tax territory by salary-dumping Kira Lewis‘ expiring contract in January.

New Orleans is one of just two NBA teams that has never been a taxpayer (Charlotte is the other) and is operating only narrowly above the tax line this season, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the team make another mid-season deal to duck the tax.

[Kingspoint]

November 12th, 2024 at 9:17am CST by Luke Adams

https://www.hoopsrumors.com/

With the NCAA men’s basketball season underway, draft experts Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo have updated their 2025 NBA mock draft at ESPN.com (Insider link), projecting next June’s top 30 picks based on their own scouting and intel from executives around the league.

There are no surprises at the top of ESPN’s latest mock draft. The projected picks at No. 1 (Cooper Flagg), No. 2 (Ace Bailey), and No. 3 (Dylan Harper) remain unchanged since Givony and Woo published a mock in June, and V.J. Edgecombe and Nolan Traore are still in the top five. Still, there are some notable risers or fallers elsewhere in the first round. Duke freshman Kon Knueppel (No. 17 in June) is up to No. 6, while Ratiopharm Ulm guard Ben Saraf comes in at No. 13 after not showing up in June’s mock draft. Conversely, Real Madrid wing Hugo Gonzalez has slipped from seventh to 12th, while Miami freshman Jalil Bethea is down to 25th after having placed 13th in June.

[Kingspoint]

Christian Wood has setback...out 4 more weeks.

That should be enough time for Robert Williams III or Jeremi Grant to improve their tradeability. New Orleans should be in the picture here.

[M2]

The Gods are telling the Pelicans to "blow it up".

Alvarado now out at least 6 weeks.

Sell everything that isn't nailed down. Have a fire sale. Don't drag it out to the Summer when many teams are selling.

Since luxury tax penalties are calculated by determining a team’s total cap hits at the end of its season, a team that starts the year above the tax line could get under it before the end of the season by completing trades or buyouts. The Pelicans did just that in 2023/24, moving out of tax territory by salary-dumping Kira Lewis‘ expiring contract in January.

New Orleans is one of just two NBA teams that has never been a taxpayer (Charlotte is the other) and is operating only narrowly above the tax line this season, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the team make another mid-season deal to duck the tax.

All right, group project time. Let's find teams for Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum.

I'll start with a jot list for CJ. Here's the wannabe playoff teams with 3-point shooting issues: Sacramento, Houston, Philly, Lakers, Orlando.

[Kingspoint]

All right, group project time. Let's find teams for Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum.

I'll start with a jot list for CJ. Here's the wannabe playoff teams with 3-point shooting issues: Sacramento, Houston, Philly, Lakers, Orlando.

And, all is forgiven regarding rules about aprons, etc., because honestly, does anyone understand it all?

Try to use the spotract trade machine. They at least have some restrictions involved and use the aprons, but they don't list trade exceptions that can be part of trades, nor do they list draft picks. We can assume that if it's at all possible, teams will try to get a 3rd team involved to make some things work.

https://www.spotrac.com/nba/trade-machine/

But, this sounds like a good exercise. I would think other G.M.'s are circling right now.

Here's a link that will help...everyone's future 1st Round picks...

https://basketball.realgm.com/nba/dr...re_drafts/team

[Kingspoint]

With Chauncey Billups trying to figure out how to manage 3 Centers, one of the solutions is to give one of them a night off.

Tonight, Donovan Clingan makes his first career Start against Rudy Gobert and the T-Wolves. Ayton will get his first game off this season. Not a bad idea with a back-to-back against MIN tonight and tomorrow. Already know that Robert Williams won't be playing in any back-to-back's real soon, so he'll probably get tomorrow off after coming in for Clingan tonight. Foul trouble may dictate how much Clingan plays, but I imagine that Chauncey will want to try to stretch him out and get more than 20 minutes out of him tonight. He probably doesn't want to play Robert Williams III for 28 minutes, so I imagine that POR will go with a no-Center lineup when Gobert is out of the game.