2024 NBA Season and Playoffs

[Birdman]

LeBonds and the Lakers lose!

TPs for all!!!

I saw only a few minutes of the game, enough to see that a 39-year-old who has played more than 20 NBA seasons and 54,000 NBA minutes looked like the best athlete on the court.

Steroids will do that

[Kernewek]

LeBonds and the Lakers lose!

TPs for all!!!

I saw only a few minutes of the game, enough to see that a 39-year-old who has played more than 20 NBA seasons and 54,000 NBA minutes looked like the best athlete on the court.

Steroids will do that

Since I'm not a professional athlete, you can tell me: where do I get the LeBron steroids? I don't want the Rashard Lewis ones.

[Who]

Does Michael Porter, Jr. only shoot 3's? Does he do anything else offensively?

Asking seriously as I didn't watch much of the Nuggets last season.

Pretty much.  He kind of lacks the handle to reliably create for himself off the bounce and he's not an asset as a passer. 

I've never really been a fan of the guy, but admittedly a high-level shooter has a lot of value playing off of Jokic even if they don't do much else.

MPJ was so much more fun to watch when Jamal Murray was injured. He got more variety of touches and more variety of shot attempts. He has had to cut back his game considerably to make room for Murray's creation off the dribble.

I love watching MPJ come off screens or hand offs. Especially for 15-20 foot jumpers. He shoots them better than most guards shoot floaters. Effortless beauty. They look like layups. Gorgeous. I'd love to see Denver work more of these back into their offense like they had while Murray was out injured.

[Who]

And every time I see Reaves, I'm look who is that farmer on the floor.  He just does not look like he should be playing in the NBA.

This is part of why Reaves reminds me so much of Jeff Hornacek.

Same deal. Never looked like he belonged and then you see the skill level that allows him to compete against guys with much more physical / athletic talent than he had.

[Roy H.]

Former NBA star Dwight Howard has denied sexual assault and battery allegations filed against him earlier this year and asked a court to dismiss a civil lawsuit he is facing in Georgia.

In court documents obtained by ESPN, Howard said Monday that he engaged in "consensual sexual activity" with a man named Stephen Harper during a July 2021 encounter at Howard's Georgia residence. Howard denied that he caused any injury to Harper, according to the filing.

In the original complaint filed in July, Harper's lawyers said he and Howard first began corresponding over direct messages on Instagram in May 2021, with Harper initiating the exchange. Harper accused Howard of sexually assaulting him at Howard's home during the subsequent July 2021 encounter.

"We fully anticipated Mr. Howard to raise the issue of consent in his Answer," Harper's attorney, Olga Izmaylova, told ESPN, adding that Harper did not consent.

Harper's complaint also accused Howard of "intentional infliction of emotional distress" and false imprisonment. Howard's response denied those allegations.

"What was a private consensual encounter was made public for profit and Mr. Howard looks forward to bringing the truth to light in a court of law," one of Howard's attorneys, Justin Bailey, told ESPN. "The allegations against Mr. Howard are contested. Mr. Howard intends to present the truth. The truth is Mr. Howard blocked Mr. Harper on social media and then was confronted with two options -- pay to protect his reputation or have a fabricated story made public. Despite being an easy target due to the subject matter and his status as a celebrity, Mr. Howard chose to trust in the justice system and will rely on all future court filings to speak for themselves."

Harper's complaint includes screenshots of alleged Instagram exchanges between Harper and Howard from 2021, along with an Uber receipt of Harper's trip to Howard's residence on the night of the encounter.

Harper went to police a year later, according to a July 2022 incident report from the Gwinnett County Police Department, which was obtained by ESPN. No charges were filed.

"This report was made following Mr. Harper being blocked on social media and after the first demand for payment was rejected," Bailey said.

In Georgia, the statute of limitations for filing this type of civil lawsuit is two years from the date of incident.

"We had some independent investigation to conduct and Mr. Harper had some private factors to consider," Izmaylova said, "before we all felt ready to proceed with the lawsuit."

Howard, 37, last played in the NBA in 2021-22 with the Los Angeles Lakers. He is an eight-time All-Star and a three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year.

[Phantom255x]

The Lakers benefitted big time last year facing a Grizzlies team with practically no frontcourt (due to injuries), and then going up against a Warriors team that had gone 7 games before in a high-intensity series with Kings. The Warriors looked wiped out. And even before all this, the Wolves choked big time in a very winnable play-in game.

I think they'll regress this season. Their additions look cool but like, I'm still not sure who their legit #3 guy is, and also is AD a reliable bet to play most of this season? Lebron can't do it alone at all. Even in the Nuggets playoff series Lebron had some awesome performances and they still got swept.

[Donoghus]

Former NBA star Dwight Howard has denied sexual assault and battery allegations filed against him earlier this year and asked a court to dismiss a civil lawsuit he is facing in Georgia.

In court documents obtained by ESPN, Howard said Monday that he engaged in "consensual sexual activity" with a man named Stephen Harper during a July 2021 encounter at Howard's Georgia residence. Howard denied that he caused any injury to Harper, according to the filing.

In the original complaint filed in July, Harper's lawyers said he and Howard first began corresponding over direct messages on Instagram in May 2021, with Harper initiating the exchange. Harper accused Howard of sexually assaulting him at Howard's home during the subsequent July 2021 encounter.

"We fully anticipated Mr. Howard to raise the issue of consent in his Answer," Harper's attorney, Olga Izmaylova, told ESPN, adding that Harper did not consent.

Harper's complaint also accused Howard of "intentional infliction of emotional distress" and false imprisonment. Howard's response denied those allegations.

"What was a private consensual encounter was made public for profit and Mr. Howard looks forward to bringing the truth to light in a court of law," one of Howard's attorneys, Justin Bailey, told ESPN. "The allegations against Mr. Howard are contested. Mr. Howard intends to present the truth. The truth is Mr. Howard blocked Mr. Harper on social media and then was confronted with two options -- pay to protect his reputation or have a fabricated story made public. Despite being an easy target due to the subject matter and his status as a celebrity, Mr. Howard chose to trust in the justice system and will rely on all future court filings to speak for themselves."

Harper's complaint includes screenshots of alleged Instagram exchanges between Harper and Howard from 2021, along with an Uber receipt of Harper's trip to Howard's residence on the night of the encounter.

Harper went to police a year later, according to a July 2022 incident report from the Gwinnett County Police Department, which was obtained by ESPN. No charges were filed.

"This report was made following Mr. Harper being blocked on social media and after the first demand for payment was rejected," Bailey said.

In Georgia, the statute of limitations for filing this type of civil lawsuit is two years from the date of incident.

"We had some independent investigation to conduct and Mr. Harper had some private factors to consider," Izmaylova said, "before we all felt ready to proceed with the lawsuit."

Howard, 37, last played in the NBA in 2021-22 with the Los Angeles Lakers. He is an eight-time All-Star and a three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year.

Wait, what?!!

[celticsclay]

If this is a false allegation I feel pretty bad for Howard.

[Roy H.]

If this is a false allegation I feel pretty bad for Howard.

It will be interesting to see what evidence the man allegedly has.  I can certainly see how something like this could be extortion. 

If he's a rapist, then Howard deserves a lot more than a civil judgment against him.  And, if he was involuntarily outed because he refused to pay an extortionist's demand, he's got my full sympathy and I hope the false accuser gets what's coming to him.

[RJ87]

If this is a false allegation I feel pretty bad for Howard.

This isn't the 1st time allegations like this have come up against Howard. Alleged victims have popped up a few times over the years. After a while, so much smoke usually means there's a fire somewhere.

Unfortunately, there's such a stigma against sexual assault victims especially in the LGBTQ+ community. If it turns out to be true, I hope his victims get healing.

[celticsclay]

If this is a false allegation I feel pretty bad for Howard.

This isn't the 1st time allegations like this have come up against Howard. Alleged victims have popped up a few times over the years. After a while, so much smoke usually means there's a fire somewhere.

Unfortunately, there's such a stigma against sexual assault victims especially in the LGBTQ+ community. If it turns out to be true, I hope his victims get healing.

Howard has been accused of sexual assault multiple times? I definitely have not heard of this before.

[Donoghus]

If this is a false allegation I feel pretty bad for Howard.

This isn't the 1st time allegations like this have come up against Howard. Alleged victims have popped up a few times over the years. After a while, so much smoke usually means there's a fire somewhere.

Unfortunately, there's such a stigma against sexual assault victims especially in the LGBTQ+ community. If it turns out to be true, I hope his victims get healing.

Howard has been accused of sexual assault multiple times? I definitely have not heard of this before.

I know there has been some paternity stuff over the years but I don't recall sexual assault stuff.

[Roy H.]

Surprisingly, ESPN showed some restraint by not reporting the alleged details. 

[celticsclay]

If this is a false allegation I feel pretty bad for Howard.

This isn't the 1st time allegations like this have come up against Howard. Alleged victims have popped up a few times over the years. After a while, so much smoke usually means there's a fire somewhere.

Unfortunately, there's such a stigma against sexual assault victims especially in the LGBTQ+ community. If it turns out to be true, I hope his victims get healing.

Howard has been accused of sexual assault multiple times? I definitely have not heard of this before.

I know there has been some paternity stuff over the years but I don't recall sexual assault stuff.

This is my memory as well.

[Who]

Chandler Parsons saying Austin Reaves is near his max potential and will be a 15/5/5 type guy.

With the scoring bump the league has seen, I see old 14-15ppg threats from 10-12 years ago more like 17-18ppg guys now.