Around the NBA: Week 5 (11/17 - 11/23)

[Mori Chu]

I dunno, he hooks his arm around Shamet and uses it to get leverage to go around him and cause Shamet to be unable to defend his layup. I don't know if he "needed" to hook the arm like that, but he did do it. The commentators are talking about a "bump" by Shamet that may have occurred before the arm wrap-around, and I do see their bodies bump slightly, but I don't see enough contact there to warrant a foul. I'm sure the Mavs are pissed about how it ended, and you can make an argument for a no-call at the end of a close game, but it seems like the right call to me.

[ShelC]

Only posting this because we've been linked to Kuminga. He started the season off hot, then the Ws went on a skid and he got benched, supposedly feels like he's being scapegoated but hasn't played the last 4 games because of knee issues. Kerr wants to play thru Steph but Butler and Kuminga are ISO guys and Dray can't shoot so lineups are an issue...seems like a mess. I still want no part of Kuminga, let the Kings have him.

[Superbone]

[ShelC]

Kings can't catch a break

[Split T]

Actually might be a break for them..makes their path forward clear.

[ShelC]

Still in a good spot here.

[Split T]

The schedule has been very light, but this is still super promising. I think we are definitely a play-in team as our floor at this point(unless we lose Booker for an extended period). Getting into the top 6 will be tough, but I’ll take our chances in the play-in…being a pesky 7/8 seed that steals a game or 2 over OKC/Den in round 1 would be fun…could you imagine if we got Houston? That would be such a good 1st round series.

[In2ition]

Yeah, I don't see this staying the same all season, but it's been nice to see them do well on both ends of the floor. It's also been nice to see them be able to do all of this while taking it easy bringing the rookies along, instead of them being thrown to the wolves immediately. I think that will help their careers and the team in the long run.

[Mori Chu]

I read that we and OKC have the two toughest remaining schedules in the league. Hope we can keep up our impressive winning pace.

[pickle]

Yeah I saw that too. But I feel like these ratings aren’t that useful until we are at least two months into the season. I’m sure the original difficulty rating when we started the season didn’t have the clippers as shit, for instance.

[Superbone]

I read that we and OKC have the two toughest remaining schedules in the league. Hope we can keep up our impressive winning pace.

Maybe you read it in the Game Day opening post?

[Split T]

West Group B ended up being a joke…I guess at least we aren’t group C…group of death for sure.

[ShelC]

Rockets lost the Nuggets last night with KD only scoring 13pts. Fans weren't happy, stans were blaming everyone else. Ya hate to see it.

[Mori Chu]

Rockets lost the Nuggets last night with KD only scoring 13pts. Fans weren't happy, stans were blaming everyone else. Ya hate to see it.

And now we're right behind them in the standings...

To be fair, they lost to the Nuggets, who are anchored by the best player of the 2020s. No shame in that. Jokic is a tough matchup for Houston despite their overall size and strength.

[Furlanfufi]

Yeah, but Houston is suposedly the deeper team, and KD is their saviour.

[ShelC]

Rockets have been very loud about Sengun and how he's near Jokic in terms of game and impact. He got stuffed last night. KD was laying back all night and fans were complaining how nonchalant he was. Last night was a big game for Rockets fans to prove how good their team was and their two best players were basically shut out of the game.

We see them on Monday but it's also the 2nd night of a B2B after the Spurs. Wish we could see them on a full day's rest.

[Superbone]

Rockets have been very loud about Sengun and how he's near Jokic in terms of game and impact. He got stuffed last night. KD was laying back all night and fans were complaining how nonchalant he was. Last night was a big game for Rockets fans to prove how good their team was and their two best players were basically shut out of the game.

We see them on Monday but it's also the 2nd night of a B2B after the Spurs. Wish we could see them on a full day's rest.

And with our full complement of players. It's exciting knowing how well Allen and Green fit in so seamlessly.

[BKinSJC]

Chris Paul is retiring after this season, per ESPN.

Helped the Suns to a short-lived peak that had them just two games from finally getting to the top of the mountain just a few years ago, and was the best or second-best (depending on how you want to look at it) player on the team that set the regular-season franchise record for victories. Arguably had the best two year stretch of any point guard in Suns history, and for this franchise, that's actually saying something.

Ultimate competitor, incredibly smart player, awesome feel for the game. For a 6-foot-nothing player like him to have a 21 year career like he has had is nothing short of amazing, even though he has showed noticeable decline for the last couple. Hall of Fame player as soon as he's eligible.

[ShelC]

Wonder what he does next. I want to see him try his hand at coaching but he could go the broadcasting route just as easily.

[Superbone]