NBA Season 2024-25

[SparzWizard]

Cavs trailing by 11 against the Suns in the 3rd. Wow

Cleveland's getting blown out now. Their starting 5 hasn't even cracked 10 points yet. Must be a bad night for 'em. Holy

[BringToughnessBack]

We will sweep them in playoffs if we are healthy.

[jpotter33]

What in the works is going on with the Cavs?? Heading for their fourth straight loss with everyone playing, to the lowly Suns no less.

[Who]

Terry Rozier with back to back DNPs. Got only 6min in the game before that.

Miami have gone bigger on the perimeter in their starting lineup with Duncan Robinson [now J Jaquez] reinserted into the backcourt with Davion Mitchell moving to the bench. Spoelstra has been playing Davion Mitchell ahead of Rozier as the lead backup PG for 3 games now.

What is going on in Miami with T Rozier? Why isn't he playing? He is clearly a much better player than Davion Mitchell. Why is he being DNP'd?

[Vermont Green]

What in the works is going on with the Cavs?? Heading for their fourth straight loss with everyone playing, to the lowly Suns no less.

After wining 20 of 21, they lose 4 straight.  That is still 20 of 25.  I am not sure what is going on though.  Mitchell was 2-18 overall and 0-7 from 3 in this game.  This was probably not due to great PHX defense.  Mitchell has played 64 games with 12 to go.  64 games is about what he averages the last several seasons.  He could be wearing down.  Same with Mobley, his career average is about 66 games per season and he is about at that.  Neither have track records of long playoff runs.

I have been saying all along that I think CLE is every bit as good as they have seemed all year long.  I also suspected that they could wear down.  I predict that they will bounce back and we will probably have to go through them to get to the finals.  The Celtics have fought through a few slumps this season.  CLE has not had to until now.  Let's see how they respond.

[Vermont Green]

Back on the MVP race, I think the MVP should consider total stats, not per game stats, more like baseball.  Most hits, most HR, most RBI, and so on.  Batting average is always a factor in baseball, but there is not really an equivalent in basketball.  I took the traditional basketball stats and compared season totals rank for the assumed leaders:

            Points         Rebs        Assts       +/-
Tatum     4th            16th         19th        6th
SGA        1st            72nd         11th        1st
Jokic       3rd             4th           2nd        3rd

Stacked up this way, Jokic should be way ahead.  SGA is probably slightly ahead of Tatum.

[tazzmaniac]

What in the works is going on with the Cavs?? Heading for their fourth straight loss with everyone playing, to the lowly Suns no less.

After wining 20 of 21, they lose 4 straight.  That is still 20 of 25.  I am not sure what is going on though.  Mitchell was 2-18 overall and 0-7 from 3 in this game.  This was probably not due to great PHX defense.  Mitchell has played 64 games with 12 to go.  64 games is about what he averages the last several seasons.  He could be wearing down.  Same with Mobley, his career average is about 66 games per season and he is about at that.  Neither have track records of long playoff runs.

I have been saying all along that I think CLE is every bit as good as they have seemed all year long.  I also suspected that they could wear down.  I predict that they will bounce back and we will probably have to go through them to get to the finals.  The Celtics have fought through a few slumps this season.  CLE has not had to until now.  Let's see how they respond.

In March (8 games), Mitchell is shooting 32.9% overall and 17.9% from three.  That's even worse than it looks given its the end of the season with teams tanking and defense being played across the league at its lowest point.  It is hard to make up for your #1 star slumping that bad. 

If the Celts are healthy and don't just chuck 3s offensively, the Cavs don't concern me much.  We match up well with them but then again who don't we match up well with.

[Goldstar88]

Clippers have won 5 in a row and are now 8-2 over their last 10. Kawhi is averaging 24pts, 6rebs, 4ast, 2stls  on 52/39/77 shooting splits during that time.

If the Clippers play the Rockets first round, I expect LAC to win the series.

[Phantom255x]

Rockets have also won 9 in a row and they have looked elite.

The big thing for them is, Jabari Smith is back and making an impact for them. Thompson has shown good growth for them this season, and Green has emerged as a nice 20 PPG weapon for them. It's hard to get a gauge, I still feel like while their defense is elite, their offense sometimes will have trouble scoring enough to win playoff games against teams like LAL, OKC and even DEN. But I certainly think they have more of a chance than I did a month ago. Houston is now the 2 seed as well.

[Who]

Rockets have also won 9 in a row and they have looked elite.

The big thing for them is, Jabari Smith is back and making an impact for them. Thompson has shown good growth for them this season, and Green has emerged as a nice 20 PPG weapon for them. It's hard to get a gauge, I still feel like while their defense is elite, their offense sometimes will have trouble scoring enough to win playoff games against teams like LAL, OKC and even DEN. But I certainly think they have more of a chance than I did a month ago. Houston is now the 2 seed as well.

VanVleet is back as well.

He has played in their last 6 wins.

16.7ppg 4.2apg 4.3rpg 1.8spg 60.9% TS%

Continuing the strong linke between his presence in the team & performance levels with Rockets W-L record. They are now 36 wins 16 losses with VanVleet in the team (56-57 win pace) compared to 10 wins 9 losses without him (.500 team, ~41 win pace).

[Goldstar88]

Rockets have also won 9 in a row and they have looked elite.

The big thing for them is, Jabari Smith is back and making an impact for them. Thompson has shown good growth for them this season, and Green has emerged as a nice 20 PPG weapon for them. It's hard to get a gauge, I still feel like while their defense is elite, their offense sometimes will have trouble scoring enough to win playoff games against teams like LAL, OKC and even DEN. But I certainly think they have more of a chance than I did a month ago. Houston is now the 2 seed as well.

VanVleet is back as well.

He has played in their last 6 wins.

16.7ppg 4.2apg 4.3rpg 1.8spg 60.9% TS%

Continuing the strong linke between his presence in the team & performance levels with Rockets W-L record. They are now 36 wins 16 losses with VanVleet in the team (56-57 win pace) compared to 10 wins 9 losses without him (.500 team, ~41 win pace).

If everyone remains healthy, you guys would take Vanvleet, Senguin, Green over Kawhi, Harden, Powell in a 7 game series with no back to backs?

[Phantom255x]

Rockets have also won 9 in a row and they have looked elite.

The big thing for them is, Jabari Smith is back and making an impact for them. Thompson has shown good growth for them this season, and Green has emerged as a nice 20 PPG weapon for them. It's hard to get a gauge, I still feel like while their defense is elite, their offense sometimes will have trouble scoring enough to win playoff games against teams like LAL, OKC and even DEN. But I certainly think they have more of a chance than I did a month ago. Houston is now the 2 seed as well.

VanVleet is back as well.

He has played in their last 6 wins.

16.7ppg 4.2apg 4.3rpg 1.8spg 60.9% TS%

Continuing the strong linke between his presence in the team & performance levels with Rockets W-L record. They are now 36 wins 16 losses with VanVleet in the team (56-57 win pace) compared to 10 wins 9 losses without him (.500 team, ~41 win pace).

If everyone remains healthy, you guys would take Vanvleet, Senguin, Green over Kawhi, Harden, Powell in a 7 game series with no back to backs?

I'd probably lean Clippers in that series

[Who]

Orlando Magic crazy stat.

The Magic are the worst jump-shooting team in the league. The get 7 fewer points per game on jump-shots than the 2nd worst jump-shooting team in the league which is the Washington Wizards. That 7 point gap is the same gap between the 29th ranked Wizards and the 13th ranked Chicago Bulls. That is how badly Orlando has shot the ball this season. That is crazy.

I don't think ORL are as bad at jump-shooting as their numbers indicate. I believe part of that has been the injuries. Playing with undermanned squads. Less offensive talent. Harder to create open looks. Lower shooting results. KCP having a bad season has hurt them as well. F Wagner has gone from a 36-37% 3PT shooter to a 30% shooter. Suggs had to take a lot of bad 3s with Banchero & Franz both missing time. I think he is more of a 37-38% shooter than a 31% shooter.

So now that they are getting healthier heading into the playoffs, I do expect them to be more competitive with their jump-shooting ... but they are still clearly a bad jump-shooting group.

[Who]

Rockets have also won 9 in a row and they have looked elite.

The big thing for them is, Jabari Smith is back and making an impact for them. Thompson has shown good growth for them this season, and Green has emerged as a nice 20 PPG weapon for them. It's hard to get a gauge, I still feel like while their defense is elite, their offense sometimes will have trouble scoring enough to win playoff games against teams like LAL, OKC and even DEN. But I certainly think they have more of a chance than I did a month ago. Houston is now the 2 seed as well.

VanVleet is back as well.

He has played in their last 6 wins.

16.7ppg 4.2apg 4.3rpg 1.8spg 60.9% TS%

Continuing the strong linke between his presence in the team & performance levels with Rockets W-L record. They are now 36 wins 16 losses with VanVleet in the team (56-57 win pace) compared to 10 wins 9 losses without him (.500 team, ~41 win pace).

If everyone remains healthy, you guys would take Vanvleet, Senguin, Green over Kawhi, Harden, Powell in a 7 game series with no back to backs?

I have very little faith in the Rockets as a playoff team. I think they are built more for the regular season. Their offense is too weak and they lack a true go-to guy for playoff success. We will have to wait and see the matchups but, generally speaking, I expect Houston to lose in the 1st round. I don't think their young guys are ready.

I don't know what to make of the LA Clippers. I watched a couple of games a short while ago and Kawhi looked poor in those games despite putting up good numbers. He no longer looked an All-Star caliber player. A clear notch, heck two notches, below All-Star level. Word is he has looked much better last 2-3 games. He is still on a comeback from that injury.

So I don't know what to make of Kawhi yet. Based on his performance from 1-2 weeks ago, I would say the Clippers will have a hard time winning a playoff series. However, if Kawhi is back at an All-Star level, not even an All-NBA or MVP level, then yes I do see them as a legit threat in the playoffs. They got a nice mix of guys there with Zubac, Norm Powell, Bogdanovic, Batum, K Dunn, and a co-star in Harden.

I don't know where that leaves me with LAC vs HOU. Kawhi of 2 weeks ago, I pick Houston. If Kawhi is back at an All-Star level, I pick LAC. I think they would win comfortably in that series. The games would be hard fought but LAC would have another gear to their offense that gives them that separation consistently to win convincingly in a short to medium length series.

[Goldstar88]

Rockets have also won 9 in a row and they have looked elite.

The big thing for them is, Jabari Smith is back and making an impact for them. Thompson has shown good growth for them this season, and Green has emerged as a nice 20 PPG weapon for them. It's hard to get a gauge, I still feel like while their defense is elite, their offense sometimes will have trouble scoring enough to win playoff games against teams like LAL, OKC and even DEN. But I certainly think they have more of a chance than I did a month ago. Houston is now the 2 seed as well.

VanVleet is back as well.

He has played in their last 6 wins.

16.7ppg 4.2apg 4.3rpg 1.8spg 60.9% TS%

Continuing the strong linke between his presence in the team & performance levels with Rockets W-L record. They are now 36 wins 16 losses with VanVleet in the team (56-57 win pace) compared to 10 wins 9 losses without him (.500 team, ~41 win pace).

If everyone remains healthy, you guys would take Vanvleet, Senguin, Green over Kawhi, Harden, Powell in a 7 game series with no back to backs?

I have very little faith in the Rockets as a playoff team. I think they are built more for the regular season. Their offense is too weak and they lack a true go-to guy for playoff success. We will have to wait and see the matchups but, generally speaking, I expect Houston to lose in the 1st round. I don't think their young guys are ready.

I don't know what to make of the LA Clippers. I watched a couple of games a short while ago and Kawhi looked poor in those games despite putting up good numbers. He no longer looked an All-Star caliber player. A clear notch, heck two notches, below All-Star level. Word is he has looked much better last 2-3 games. He is still on a comeback from that injury.

So I don't know what to make of Kawhi yet. Based on his performance from 1-2 weeks ago, I would say the Clippers will have a hard time winning a playoff series. However, if Kawhi is back at an All-Star level, not even an All-NBA or MVP level, then yes I do see them as a legit threat in the playoffs. They got a nice mix of guys there with Zubac, Norm Powell, Bogdanovic, Batum, K Dunn, and a co-star in Harden.

I don't know where that leaves me with LAC vs HOU. Kawhi of 2 weeks ago, I pick Houston. If Kawhi is back at an All-Star level, I pick LAC. I think they would win comfortably in that series. The games would be hard fought but LAC would have another gear to their offense that gives them that separation consistently to win convincingly in a short to medium length series.

Agreed. Also, Kawhi is playing at an allstar level right now. last 10, he is averaging 24pts, 6rebs, 4ast, 2stls on 52/39/77 shooting splits.