$15 a month is it worth it? Or should I just rely on streaming non televised games? And stream it on my tv via apple airplay…?

Most of the lakers game will be nationally televised this year too.. what should I do guys? Anyone else pay $15 for nba league pass just for Lakers lol ?

GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS @ Los Angeles Lakers

Time: 7:00PM PST

Location: Los Angeles, CA

Broadcast: ESPN2

Line: LAL -2.5

Projected Starters

Roster

Head Coach: Steve Kerr

Injuries/Roster Notes

Live ESPN Box Score

GO DUBS!

I was reading some discussions of who was better between Rudy Gobert and Dikembe Mutombo and that lead me to think about how big men of the past traditionally would sit in the paint and not dare go near the perimeter like most modern bigs do. But was there any big of the past who would be able to adapt to some of the offensive schemes of today such as switches well? Were there any with enough mobility to be able to cover space or did the emphasis on post-up ruin that possibility? Was there any big from the 90s or earlier that could adapt to these things based on what you’ve seen?

I noticed this setting in MyLeague on 2k where it’ll just take the top 16 teams from overall record and seed them into the playoffs instead of East vs West and it got me wondering how desirable/feasible would that be in real life.

From a feasibility point travel is definitely much easier these days than whenever the postseason rules were first developed and you already have teams like Minnesota that basically play in the wrong conference. Clearly, it’s not that big of an issue to the point where it would be unworkable. It might be a bit unfair to take the overall record because teams don’t play each other the same number of times so that would probably have to become slightly more even if this was actually implemented.

However from a desirability standpoint it would help avoid the scenarios when you have a weaker conference e.g. the East in the 2000s where the finals is underwhelming and the WCF basically decided the championship. It would probably also mean that regular season play matters more because you get an easier 1st round matchup in 1-16 than you do when it’s 1-8 if you’re a top seed so we might see more competitive games / less load management.

Curious to hear people’s thoughts

Edit: I’m loving this suggestion from a bunch of folks about top seeds getting to draft their opponents. The vibes, trash talk and narratives would be epic

Not bad shooters who became good, specifically talking about guys who shot a flat ball developing good arc.

Some of these flat shooters were good shooters in college like Cade Cunningham or DeAndre Ayton(in the midrange).

While we’ll need to see them in the regular season, it appears to me these guys still shoot a flat ball. Who’re some guys that have actually fixed this problem?

The Blazers have an indeterminate number of picks in the 2024 NBA draft. Due to the lottery protections on their own pick and Golden State's pick, it is theoretically possible that the Blazers would have no first round pick (Blazers make the playoffs, Warriors miss the playoffs and move up to top 4 in the lottery). However, it is likely that Portland will have one lottery pick and one mid to late first round pick (as well as two 2nd round picks).

While this draft has been labeled as lacking in star power at the top, the strength of this class is a diversity of interesting bigs at different spots in the draft.

Near the top of the draft is the 7'1" Alex Sarr, who's brother Olivier Sarr signed with Portland but didn't play much due to injury. Alex Sarr has improved quite rapidly recently and this season I will be watching to see whether his trajectory continues at this rate or if he levels off. Sarr has excellent tools to cover ground in the modern NBA with his fluid athleticism, 7'5" wingspan, and nimble feet. However, he has some filling out to do and will have trouble holding ground against bruising centers early in his career. In a small sample size, Sarr has shown he can space the floor both vertically as a lob threat and horizontally as a shooter and run DHOs with some fake-n-take threat. Sarr seems best suited to be a complementary player to an offensive engine on offense and a roaming help defender on defense. Similar in role to JJJ, or Evan Mobley.

Later in the lottery to mid first round there are 4 bigs that I find interesting, namely; Donovan Clingan, Izan Almansa, Aday Mara, and Kyle Filipowski.

Clingan is huge and he can move. I don't know how many minutes a night it is realistic to expect out of a player who is 7'2" and 280+lbs, but he is extremely effective when he is on the floor. His per-minute numbers are bonkers, but he only played 13.1 minutes a night his freshman year. While there are productive college bigs of similar size, like Perdue's Zach Edey, the difference is that Clingan is surprisingly coordinated and fluid for his size and managed to rack up more blocks and steals combined than fouls his freshman year, but just barely. Clingan needs to prove he can stay on the floor, both physically and because of his high foul rate. If you liked Joel Przybilla's defense, you'd love Donovan Clingan.

Izan Almansa is a utility big who can do a bit of everything and knows how to be in the right place at the right time on both offense and defense. Offensively, Almansa has good touch near the rim, but his touch fades a bit as he gets father from the hoop. He's a good enough passer and ball handler to keep the ball moving and make high quality decisions quickly, but not so much you'd want to run your offense through him. On defense, he's anticipatory of the action while maintaining patient composure, however he can be overwhelmed by superior athletes. If he's your 5th starter or 6th man, your team is likely pretty good. If he's your best player, you have a ceiling.

Aday Mara is 7'3" and 245. He is stiffer of hip and slower of foot than the guys listed ahead of him, but he's a slick passer and has some touch. On offense, you can give the ball to Mara and surround him with shooters and cutters and trust that he will make good decisions. Mara is strictly a drop big on defense, where his 7'7" wingspan can shut the paint down, but you don't want him chasing small guards. I wish he rebounded better and I wish he'd keep the ball high after the catch instead of bringing it down nearly to his knees as he loads up for a jump, but Aday Mara has as broad a range of outcomes as any big this draft.

Kyle Filipowski is coming off hip surgery and if he is healthy, I believe he could be pretty good. Filipowski's block numbers were low but his steal rate was fantastic for a 7fter and I am very interested to see if his hip injury held his block numbers and 3pt% down. He was productive in spite of his injuries and I think that he has the outline of a high-level role player.

Honorable mention to Oso Ighadaro and Adem Bona as switchy small ball 5s.

I haven't seen Bradshaw enough and I have not been a fan of Kel'el Ware, but I will keep an open mind.

List

1. Franz Wagner (34.4%)

2. Cade Cunningham (32.8%)

3. Jalen Green (22.4%)

4. Mikal Bridges (20%)

5. Evan Mobley (11.2%)

6. Shaedon Sharpe (10.2%)

7. Jabari Smith Jr. (9.6%)

8. Keegan Murray (8.8%)

9. Austin Reaves (6.8%)

10. Desmond Bane (6.4%)

11. Jaden McDaniels (5.6%)

12. Josh Giddey (4%)

13. Dillon Brooks (3.2%)

14. Walker Kessler (1.2%)

15. Jordan Poole, Tyus Jones, Nic Claxton, Scottie Barnes (0.8%)

After seeing just a handful of pre-season games of Wembanyama I am going to make an unscientific guess to say a healthy Victor is worth at least a billion dollars to the NBA every year. If the NBA isn't reading the riot act to opponents about making sure Victor isn't undercut, fouled excessively hard, or anything else that would risk Wembanyama being taken out of service for an extended period of time they are stupid. I am not even a Spurs fan but it is very clear this guy is a gold mine for the league on the levels not seen since Jordan.

SN: I love Jamal Cain

With major moves just behind us and potentially still in front, it really feels like tip-off is sneaking up on us this year. As usual, there's a wide-array of takes on who improved, who might tank, who is set to regress, and who is getting overlooked. The annual Win Totals contest has you put those opinions on (digital) paper, as you compete in predicting the success and failure of each team this season.

The 5th annual unofficial r\nba Win Totals League is now officially open! Join here!

Same prize as last year - winner gets an NBA League Pass subscription for the 2024-2025 season!

Congrats to last year's winner, u/algaebruhh, who must have created some mathematical model to dominate the league. Send me a DM to claim your pass!

A reminder on how it works: project the record of each time, closest overall wins. Don't know where to start? Pre-fill with last year's records go from there.