Would I? Abso-fuggin-lutely...

Will it happen? Not a chance.

Milwaukee will only let go of Giannis if he specifically asks to leave...which I don't think he will.

Great win last night.

With about 7 minutes to go we were up by double digits and it looked like smooth sailing, 3 minutes later we were only up by 4 points and it looked like a collapse was inevitable. Ime took a chance and threw on Tari and Amen for Jabari and Sengun. The first defensive play with them on the floor Tari comes off his man to block Kyrie's attempt at the rim and Amen secures the ball. Instantly changed the game. When we get those two on the floor at the same time the team really comes alive.

Good win last night and Amen is looking more polished as each game pases.

AG@RICE said:

---

Would I? Abso-fuggin-lutely...

Will it happen? Not a chance.

Milwaukee will only let go of Giannis if he specifically asks to leave...which I don't think he will.

---

I think he will. He's already said that the Bucks might have to trade him. He's trying to put it on the Bucks, but I don't think he is all that happy.

They are a second apron team and they stink. Their bench is awful and even some of their starters shouldnt be starters. They are in big trouble, but also don't have thier own picks.

Milwaukee is also in a weird spot because their picks are owned by several teams. Brooklyn this year, NOLA next year, Atlanta the following year, then Portland for three years.

I feel like Houston is in a good place for a player like Giannis that is a #1 option on a championship team because they have so many young promising players plus valuable firsts. Houston already has a lot more pieces in place than a lot of teams. I don't think OKC would do it, and they dont really have good contracts to include.

I'd give them Smith and Green

This is a .500 team , just so inconsistent, maybe that changes as the year goes on

I watched a bit of the game last night after getting tired of yelling at Mahomes to throw Kelce a touchdown so I could win Fantasy Football.

Why is Jabari Smith still starting and Amen Thompson coming off the bench? He has so much energy and confidence in his game. His fake dish and slam in the fourth quarter was a thing of pure beauty last night.

Great matchup inside as well. Sengun had 25 and 14 on 11 of 15 shooting, along wtih 5 assists and 4 blocks. Towns had 17 points and 19 rebounds but it took him 17 shots get 17 points.

A lot of WC teams scrapping in the early going. OKC is 7-0; Phoenix and GS are 6-1, and then the Rockets are in a 6-way tie for 4th-9th at 4-3.

Ags #1 said:

---

This is a .500 team , just so inconsistent, maybe that changes as the year goes on

---

Last night was a good step in the right direction, shooting 48%. If we can't stay closer to this mark than the 40% we've been shooting this season, staying at .500 all year isn't realistic.

🚀🏀 FREE REED SHEPPARD 🏀🚀

Fred VanVleet leads the Rockets in minutes at 37.6, but his performance has been underwhelming. He’s averaging just 13.3 points on 13.1 shots per game, shooting a dismal 41.2% from 2 and 27.6% from 3. FVV will have better nights ahead of him. But he… https://t.co/YAmAEhsTyz pic.twitter.com/b9Vf7Lipkc

— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) November 6, 2024

Spurs (3-4) @ Rockets (4-3), Toyota Center, 7:00 p.m.
Line: Rockets by 6.5

What's up with the Spurs?
Well, apparently the NBA wants the Rockets and Spurs to play every 3 or 4 days, as this is the teams' third meeting of the year in 8 games. After going 22-60 last year with Frenchy making his debut and adding Stephon Castle with the #4 pick in the 2024 draft, they were a sleeper pick to be the most improved team this year. They've shown some early flashes of that, beating Minnesota by 10 on Saturday but are on about the same level of the Rockets right now, at 3-4 and not able to consistently keep any sort of momentum going early on. The Spurs are without Coach Greg Poppovich who is out indefinitely with an undisclosed by "serious" health issue. The NY Post calls it a "great level of concern". The polarizing coach is 75 years old and has been coaching San Antonio since 1996, which is when I graduated from A&M.

Who Are These Guys?
Victory Wembanyama, or as the Association would call him, "Everyone Knows It's Wemby", is off to a pretty strong start, averaging just under 19 points, just over 10 rebounds, and leading the league with an eye-popping 3.9 blocks per game. He's convinced he can shoot three-pointers and is missing 78% of them so far, so keep that up. Unlike every other 7 footer in history, he's very good from the free throw line He hit 80% last year and is at an insane 93.1% so far this season. Seventy-eight-year-old Chris Paul is starting at point guard and playing30 minutes a game, averaging 12 points and almost 9 assists per game. Their second-leading scorer is Jeremy Sochan from Baylor, their #1 pick in 2022, who is at 15.4 per game and hitting 51.2% of his shots, a big improvement on a small sample from his first two years in the league. Their 2024 rookie, Stephon Castle, has played like absolute crap so far, shooting 31% from the field, 12% from the arc, and is averaging 6 points a game in 20 minutes of action.


What Have They Done Lately?
After their big win over Minnesota last Saturday, the Spurs came out and laid an egg on the road at the Clippers, losing 113-104. Terrance Mann, who was last seen disappearing into the cornfields of Iowa during the ending of "Field of Dreams", was -20 plus minus for the Clippers in 19 minutes, thanks to 23 points from Norman Powell, who sounds like the name of your great uncle, and fat James Harden, who had 17 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and somehow 3 blocks. That can't be right. The Spurs nearly got a triple-double from Wemby with 21 points, 13 boards, and 9 blocks. They kind of remind me of the post-drug suspension / Sampson trade Rockets where they had young Hakeem and a bunch of crap and win 45 games a year.

What's New with the Rockets?
Well they are up from 21st to 14th in the ESPN power rankings, which is pretty awesome. They really need this win because they are at the Thunder next, although after that they have a pretty winnable stretch against Detroit, Washington, the Clippers twice, the Bulls, and the suddenly terrible Bucks. Sengun has been sensational since signing his new contract, averaging 16.4 points, 12.3 rebounds, and 3.9 assists in the first 7 games of the year. All that in just 29 minutes per game. He's currently tied for 5th with the Greek Freak in rebounds. After rallying from a 31-point deficit only to lose in overtime to the Warriors last Saturday, the Rockets blew up the Knicks on Sunday, taking a 109-97 victory featuring my favorite play of the year so far Amen Thompson's fake pass and resounding dunk in the lane. Sengun had 25 and 14 on 11 of 15 shooting and VanVleet was 8 of 14 for 19 points and 5 assists. Jalen Brunson did his best Jalen Green impersonation, shooting 9 of 24, channeling Game 6 1994 Finals John Starks by going 1 of 6 in the fourth quarter.


The Last Time They Played
Stretch your memory all the way back 8 days ago to the Rockets beating the Spurs on the road 106-101. Jamal Green lit it up for 36 with 7 three pointers and Sengun had a 12-12 double double.

Castle has played at a very high level defensively but very low level on offense.

Sochan and Vassell (the two best players under 7'3) are injured and out.

Should be an easy game for the Rockets

Shooting at a high percentage tonight let's keep this trend.

EaDoAg said:

---

Shooting at a high percentage tonight let's keep this trend.

---

Please let Wemby keep shooting non stop three pointers despite being the tallest guy in the league.

5 of 8 on 2 pointers (.625)
1 of 6 on 3 pointers (.167)

For the season
41 of 69 on 2 pointers (.594)
12 of 56 on 3 pointers (.214)

The Porkchop Express said:

---

EaDoAg said:

---

Shooting at a high percentage tonight let's keep this trend.

---

Please let Wemby keep shooting non stop three pointers despite being the tallest guy in the league.

5 of 8 on 2 pointers (.625)
1 of 6 on 3 pointers (.167)

For the season
41 of 69 on 2 pointers (.594)
12 of 56 on 3 pointers (.214)

---

.
.214 for the season he'd be getting benched the next 3 he attempts. No way they are game planning around that.

Wemby will become a great player but last night shows exactly why he sucks now.

As many three point attempts as rebounds. He's 7 foot 3 and plays 30 feet from the bucket. Also for someone who is such a "great defender" why do opposing teams shoot such a high percentage against the Spurs? Just a layup drill when playing the Spurs.

knoxtom said:

---

Wemby will become a great player but last night shows exactly why he sucks now.

As many three point attempts as rebounds. He's 7 foot 3 and plays 30 feet from the bucket. Also for someone who is such a "great defender" why do opposing teams shoot such a high percentage against the Spurs? Just a layup drill when playing the Spurs.

---

What's crazy is Pop allowing it to happen. Wemby is young it was always going to take 2-3 years to develop at that position. The interesting side of it is Pop was supposed to be a plus for him, get him developed and hand the keys to his successor.

knoxtom said:

---

Also for someone who is such a "great defender" why do opposing teams shoot such a high percentage against the Spurs? Just a layup drill when playing the Spurs.

---

Opposing players are shooting over 20% worse at the basket against Wemby than their season average. They are shooting 9% wore overall.

The Spurs have three good defenders, and the entire rest of the team is among the worst in the entire league.

FVV showed last night just how cooked Chris Paul is. Opponents are shooting 13% better against Chris Paul than their average. Same thing with Harrison Barnes (about 8% over season averages.) Those two starters just get cooked over and over - every team hunts them.

https://old.reddit.com/r/nbadiscussion/comments/1gkmo2s/how_rafael_stones_plan_for_phase_1_of_the_houston/

Nice write up on Rafael Stone's model of rebuilding and why it is working.

Nice to see us take care of a depleted Spurs team last night and glad we didn't let them back in it late like we have been prone to do early in the season.

Have a good test coming up tomorrow against OKC.

Guitarsoup said:

---

https://old.reddit.com/r/nbadiscussion/comments/1gkmo2s/how_rafael_stones_plan_for_phase_1_of_the_houston/

Nice write up on Rafael Stone's model of rebuilding and why it is working.

---

So many words just to say "they tanked".

Yeah. That was a horrible read.

That was brutal.

Two of the top 3 defensive teams who have both struggled shooting early on. Should be a close game tonight.

Rockets (5-3 at Thunder (7-1), 7 p.m., Hicksville Arena
Line: Thunder by 8.5

What's up with the Thunder?
Well they are off to a very fast start for one, only losing their first game of the year two days ago after a 7-0 start, proving last year's titanic leap forward from 40-42 in 2023 to 57-25 and a WCSF appearance was no fluke. This is the beginning of a 6-game home stand for them. Prior to last year, the Thunder hadn't won more than 58 games since 2014, when they squandered one of the greatest collections of talent on one team together - Harden, Durant, Westbrook, and Ibaka - and fell short of winning a championship. Last year was their first trip to the playoffs since 2020.

Who Are These Guys?
Their main dude is early MVP favorite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is averaging 26 points, 6 rebounds, 6.8 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1 block per game so far. The Canadian swingman who played basketball at Kentucky for about an hour or two before turning pro has already been traded twice by two teams that look really stupid for trading him - Charlotte (for Miles Bridges) and the Clippers along with apparently every draft pick they had for the next 30 years, in exchange for Paul George. Considering George no longer actually plays for the Clippers and the fact that I haven't seen any Clipper victory parades on TV lately, that might have been the rare miss by Clipper management when it comes to player moves. SGA is a baller who has been first-team all-NBA the last two years and was MVP runner-up last season. Behind him, Jalen Williams is off to a nice start, averaging just under 20 points a game, with 6.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists and a whopping 2.3 steals. And there's Chet Holmgren, who has grown a beard so he no longer looks 9 years old. Chet has been way better than I thought he would be, averaging 16.9 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 2.9 blocks per game. He's a lot closer to Wemby than any Spur fan feels comfortable admitting (cue GuitarSoup post).

What Have They Done Lately?
They opened the year with 7 wins in a row, including holding Denver to 87 points on opening, night and have held 5 opponents total under triple digits in 8 games. That changed on Wednesday when Denver beat them 124-122 behind Jokic's ridiculous 23 point, 20 rebound, 16 assist triple double, and 29 points from Russell Westbrook, who is quickly becoming the NBA's Rickey Henderson - every time you think his career is over, suddenly he's good on another team.

What's New with the Rockets?
A nice win over San Antonio go the Rockets to 5-3. It's way early for math, but if you win 5 out of every 8 games, that's 51 wins, kids. The 127 points was one off a season high, and 7 guys scored in double digits, with Van Vleet going 10 of 11 from the field.


The Last Time They Played
Near the end of the Rockets' red-hot March last year, they defeated the Thunder 132-126 in overtime on the road to reach 37-35. They scored 20 points in the 5 minute over time, which is really nuts. Green had 37 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists, and my boy Amen Thompson had 25 points and 15 boards. Of course, SGA didn't play in that game but hey, why don't you shut up? That was the 10th straight win of an 11-game win streak by Houston that took them from 27-35 to 38-35

I really don't enjoy getting 30 pieced…

39% from the field not going to cut it.

They can't compete with that team. The Celtics are really the only team that can.

On to the next game

Smith FVV and Green are the worst shooting trio ive ever seen. Its really disgusting to know what a waste of a pick Smith was/is

TREX01 said:

---

Smith FVV and Green are the worst shooting trio ive ever seen. Its really disgusting to know what a waste of a pick Smith was/is

---

We are bottom 3 in shooting in the league. I get we tanked for years and they are at least playing competitive ball early, but you're not winning with that trio. Trade FVV and Smith let Sheppard take FVV minutes.

That was a really ugly win

WES2006AG said:

---

That was a really ugly win

---

Pistons go 1 for 4 (1 intentional miss) from the free throw line in the last 6 seconds.

Jabari Smith rapidly regressing into Buck Johnson 2.0.

The Porkchop Express said:

---

WES2006AG said:

---

That was a really ugly win

---

Pistons go 1 for 4 (1 intentional miss) from the free throw line in the last 6 seconds.

Jabari Smith rapidly regressing into Buck Johnson 2.0.

---

I knew smith wasn't the guy when we beat him in the SEC tournament.
He was clearly on the better team and the best player on the floor. When the team hit adversity and needed him to take over, he folded like a chair.

Jalen with the poster.

https://streamable.com/674a0x