NBA Season 2024-25

[Who]

Toronto only really has 3 reliable players in their rotation today. And they just got Scottie Barnes back. It was 2 before that. RJ Barrett and Poeltl.

No Quickley. He is injured. He'll give them 4 when he returns.

The rest of the team is full of rookies and mediocre journeymen. Ja'Kobe Walter, Mogbo, Jamal Shead. 3 rookies. Agbaji, Davion Mitchell, Chris Boucher. 3 journeymen.

Oh Gradey Dick. He is injured too. He is becoming a reliable player. His shooting & scoring is good. Doesn't do much else.

Edit: Olynyk! I forgot he was on the Raptors. Has not played yet this season. He'll give them a 5th reliable player. They could be half decent when Olynyk comes back.

Edit: Raps are 5-15 already. That is a big hole. Even if they managed to play .500 or near .500, that 10 game hole in the loss column would leave them with around 30 wins. Not enough to threaten a play-in spot.

[keevsnick]

So the Celtics finish with a +23 point differential. The other teams in the running through three games are....
Orlando at +60
Bucks at +29
Detroit at +28
Knicks at +15

So in order to make the cup tournament they will need...

Orlando to beat New York on Tuesday
and
Either Milwaukee to beat Detroit by 5+ or Detroit to beat Milwaukee by 6+ on Tuesday

[Who]

Hartenstein with a terrific block on an dunk attempt by Knecht. Knecht went up to throw it down hard with one hand. Hartenstein met him right in front of the rim and smashed it.

LAL fans love Knecht. You can hear them every time he winds up to take a shot. They get so excited. Make or miss. And they expect it to be a make. They are surprised when he misses.

[Atzar]

Hartenstein with a terrific block on an dunk attempt by Knecht. Knecht went up to throw it down hard with one hand. Hartenstein met him right in front of the rim and smashed it.

LAL fans love Knecht. You can hear them every time he winds up to take a shot. They get so excited. Make or miss. And they expect it to be a make. They are surprised when he misses.

I have no idea how Knecht fell to 17 after what he did to college basketball in his senior year.  Way too many GMs fall in love with these toolsy 19-year-old projects who have to be taught what a basketball is.  Sometimes the guy who is already good is a better bet. 

[Redz]

So the Celtics finish with a +23 point differential. The other teams in the running through three games are....
Orlando at +60
Bucks at +29
Detroit at +28
Knicks at +15

So in order to make the cup tournament they will need...

Orlando to beat New York on Tuesday
and
Either Milwaukee to beat Detroit by 5+ or Detroit to beat Milwaukee by 6+ on Tuesday

Not unfathomable

[SparzWizard]

Lakers loss and Celtics win always a great night

[Phantom255x]

Kind of funny that despite a 15-0 start and everything, CLE might lose the 1 seed as early as tomorrow if they lose to the Celtics 

[Birdman]

I?m only one who doesn?t care about the cup tournament??

[Phantom255x]

So the Celtics finish with a +23 point differential. The other teams in the running through three games are....
Orlando at +60
Bucks at +29
Detroit at +28
Knicks at +15

So in order to make the cup tournament they will need...

Orlando to beat New York on Tuesday
and
Either Milwaukee to beat Detroit by 5+ or Detroit to beat Milwaukee by 6+ on Tuesday

Not unfathomable

The big thing is Orlando needing to beat NY, but if they do that then all of a sudden the C's chances might be pretty good. MIL-DET to me does feel like it could be a double digit win for one side.

[kraidstar]

So the Celtics finish with a +23 point differential. The other teams in the running through three games are....
Orlando at +60
Bucks at +29
Detroit at +28
Knicks at +15

So in order to make the cup tournament they will need...

Orlando to beat New York on Tuesday
and
Either Milwaukee to beat Detroit by 5+ or Detroit to beat Milwaukee by 6+ on Tuesday

Not unfathomable

The big thing is Orlando needing to beat NY, but if they do that then all of a sudden the C's chances might be pretty good. MIL-DET to me does feel like it could be a double digit win for one side.

It's a pathetic event where a team can be 16-3 with a +10.5 point differential and likely not make the "tournament."

What a joke. Either do it right or don't bother.

[Roy H.]

So the Celtics finish with a +23 point differential. The other teams in the running through three games are....
Orlando at +60
Bucks at +29
Detroit at +28
Knicks at +15

So in order to make the cup tournament they will need...

Orlando to beat New York on Tuesday
and
Either Milwaukee to beat Detroit by 5+ or Detroit to beat Milwaukee by 6+ on Tuesday

Not unfathomable

The big thing is Orlando needing to beat NY, but if they do that then all of a sudden the C's chances might be pretty good. MIL-DET to me does feel like it could be a double digit win for one side.

It's a pathetic event where a team can be 16-3 with a +10.5 point differential and likely not make the "tournament."

What a joke. Either do it right or don't bother.

I think they've done it fairly correctly.  The Celtics knew the teams they were competing against and choked against the Hawks.

[keevsnick]

So the Celtics finish with a +23 point differential. The other teams in the running through three games are....
Orlando at +60
Bucks at +29
Detroit at +28
Knicks at +15

So in order to make the cup tournament they will need...

Orlando to beat New York on Tuesday
and
Either Milwaukee to beat Detroit by 5+ or Detroit to beat Milwaukee by 6+ on Tuesday

Not unfathomable

The big thing is Orlando needing to beat NY, but if they do that then all of a sudden the C's chances might be pretty good. MIL-DET to me does feel like it could be a double digit win for one side.

It's a pathetic event where a team can be 16-3 with a +10.5 point differential and likely not make the "tournament."

What a joke. Either do it right or don't bother.

I think they've done it fairly correctly.  The Celtics knew the teams they were competing against and choked against the Hawks.

I think they've done about as good a job with it as you could expect. It needed to be different enough from the playoffs to be interesting, and they did that by inserting some artificial randomness into process. Four games decide whether you make it, not 82. Single elimination instead of 7 game series. They wanted to get more teams to go all out for a few individual regular season games and I think they've largely done that.

[Roy H.]

So the Celtics finish with a +23 point differential. The other teams in the running through three games are....
Orlando at +60
Bucks at +29
Detroit at +28
Knicks at +15

So in order to make the cup tournament they will need...

Orlando to beat New York on Tuesday
and
Either Milwaukee to beat Detroit by 5+ or Detroit to beat Milwaukee by 6+ on Tuesday

Not unfathomable

The big thing is Orlando needing to beat NY, but if they do that then all of a sudden the C's chances might be pretty good. MIL-DET to me does feel like it could be a double digit win for one side.

It's a pathetic event where a team can be 16-3 with a +10.5 point differential and likely not make the "tournament."

What a joke. Either do it right or don't bother.

I think they've done it fairly correctly.  The Celtics knew the teams they were competing against and choked against the Hawks.

I think they've done about as good a job with it as you could expect. It needed to be different enough from the playoffs to be interesting, and they did that by inserting some artificial randomness into process. Four games decide whether you make it, not 82. Single elimination instead of 7 game series. They wanted to get more teams to go all out for a few individual regular season games and I think they've largely done that.

Yep.  I hated the idea as a dumb gimmick, but it's made games against the Wizards and Bulls fun and consequential.

[Surferdad]

So the Celtics finish with a +23 point differential. The other teams in the running through three games are....
Orlando at +60
Bucks at +29
Detroit at +28
Knicks at +15

So in order to make the cup tournament they will need...

Orlando to beat New York on Tuesday
and
Either Milwaukee to beat Detroit by 5+ or Detroit to beat Milwaukee by 6+ on Tuesday

Not unfathomable

The big thing is Orlando needing to beat NY, but if they do that then all of a sudden the C's chances might be pretty good. MIL-DET to me does feel like it could be a double digit win for one side.

It's a pathetic event where a team can be 16-3 with a +10.5 point differential and likely not make the "tournament."

What a joke. Either do it right or don't bother.

I think they've done it fairly correctly.  The Celtics knew the teams they were competing against and choked against the Hawks.

I think they've done about as good a job with it as you could expect. It needed to be different enough from the playoffs to be interesting, and they did that by inserting some artificial randomness into process. Four games decide whether you make it, not 82. Single elimination instead of 7 game series. They wanted to get more teams to go all out for a few individual regular season games and I think they've largely done that.

Yep.  I hated the idea as a dumb gimmick, but it's made games against the Wizards and Bulls fun and consequential.

I still think it is kind of a gimmick. That said, the potential impact of point differential does change the late-game strategy of blow-out games. For example, instead of playing out the string with long stretches of dribbling by the leading team, that team may continue to play hard to maximize point differential. To me, that is better than pounding the ball to use up clock.

[radiohead]

So the Celtics finish with a +23 point differential. The other teams in the running through three games are....
Orlando at +60
Bucks at +29
Detroit at +28
Knicks at +15

So in order to make the cup tournament they will need...

Orlando to beat New York on Tuesday
and
Either Milwaukee to beat Detroit by 5+ or Detroit to beat Milwaukee by 6+ on Tuesday

Not unfathomable

The big thing is Orlando needing to beat NY, but if they do that then all of a sudden the C's chances might be pretty good. MIL-DET to me does feel like it could be a double digit win for one side.

It's a pathetic event where a team can be 16-3 with a +10.5 point differential and likely not make the "tournament."

What a joke. Either do it right or don't bother.

I think they've done it fairly correctly.  The Celtics knew the teams they were competing against and choked against the Hawks.

I think they've done about as good a job with it as you could expect. It needed to be different enough from the playoffs to be interesting, and they did that by inserting some artificial randomness into process. Four games decide whether you make it, not 82. Single elimination instead of 7 game series. They wanted to get more teams to go all out for a few individual regular season games and I think they've largely done that.

Yep.  I hated the idea as a dumb gimmick, but it's made games against the Wizards and Bulls fun and consequential.

And at the same time it gives teams like the Bulls and Wizards something to aspire for. It is what it is, a gimmicky tournament to keep games interesting.