Topic: 2019 NBA Pre-Season - page 733. (Read 917033 times)

That game was really entertaining to watch in my opinion with both teams really putting up a show. Unfortunately for Pacers they lost but overall,  they stood up there with the Bucks trading buckets and all that but Bucks should be underestimated and last night they could have slow down a bit but they didn't.

Bucks vs Celtics tonight and uh , I this should be another NBA show time!

The Dallas Mavericks have lot's of struggles since the Kyrie Irving trade.

Before they got Kyrie, they are at the 4th spot of the Western Conference. When the trade happens and got Kyrie, many knew already that it was a fail experiment though many thought that it would be beneficial for the team especially for Luka because he will now have an all-star type of player on his team. What is the expense of the Kyrie trade? Their best defensive player in DFS, their supposed back-up point guard in Dinwiddie and some draft picks. Before the trade deadline, they are already one of the worst defensive teams around the league. After the trade? They got even worse than they are before the trade. Also add the frustration that Luka is dealing on each game, and that also affects his performance on every game.

The Mavericks are now on a position that they might not enter the playoffs this season because of what's happening to them. The team already is 6-14 since they got Kyrie. There is also a chance that the Mavericks might not sign Kyrie on the off-season because he wants a long term contract like a 4-year max contract, and for sure they will not give it to him knowing his drama and controversies that he got a few years ago. They traded their best players for nothing because they might not sign Kyrie on the off-season.

The size of the team is very awful as well, so it would be beneficial for the team to get some bigger wing defenders, but looking at the free agents, I don't see any notable players out there.

For the Timberwolves, the bulk of the points were scored by Towns and Edwards. Reid was able to help a little bit. It was a good start, but it certainly wasn't enough. In this game, Kevin Durant actually wasn't able to get his shots off as he usually does. Of course, early on with the team, it is going to be a little difficult. There is no doubt that he can improve and I wish him all the best. For the Phoenix Suns, Booker did a great job. It was a close and good win for the Phoenix.

KD really had a terrible 1st half in his home debut with the suns, I think on his 6th or 7th shot he finally hit one.
2nd half was slightly better with 2 important 3s but other than that he was not really back yet.

Dallas is slowly getting in deep trouble, as of now they are out of a post season position. Next 2 games are also on the road in MIAMI and Atlanta, 2 solid teams.
Even the last 3 home games after that are not easy (except vs the spurs of course).

I wouldn't bet any money of them getting into the playins but with Luka and Kyrie you never know.

This team definitely need a big push now, otherwise the season is over and the dark horse is out.

Glad the Suns were able to pull out a win tonight against the Timberwolves. That first half was ugly. KAT was putting on a shooting display and Durant couldn’t make a shot. Things changed in the second half though. KD hit a few shots, Booker got hot, and Anthony Edwards was hitting everything. Great game. Glad I got to be there to see KD make his debut in Phoenix.

EDIT: I took a couple photos.  This one was probably my favorite.

I am pretty sure that there is a talk about changing something about this play-in situation. There are more and more teams who have a losing record that is getting at the closer levels of "why are there even there?" situation.

I get that making a bit more money, having a few more games where the teams could sell seats and beers and all that would be profitable for business, but it is not good for the league. Look at the situation at west, there are so many teams with losing records that are fighting for the last spots and that's a shame. Because the top teams are so much better than it is nothing but just watching a sweep happening beforehand basically, because you know it will be easy for the top teams.

Dallas needed to win the game more but Philly won by playing the ending better. Harden returned four games later, and that had a positive effect. Embiid again plays as we know him. Dallas is in dangerous position now. They invested heavily for the season, they have to be in play-in row at least. It's sad to see a team with so much potential go through such a disintegration. Not only their superstars Dončić and Kyrie, but also the side pieces are very good. From Kleber to Wood, Hardaway to McGee, they should've been in a much better rank with this roster.
In fact there are a lot of good teams in the West and they are very close to each other besides their win rate, I can't pick any team to leave out of play-off picture. This season standing may not be determined until the end of last match.

They got the lead early in the first, Bulls went back to tie the game and take the lead at some point, but in the end the Lakers won on the road 121-110.

Davis and Lebron lead the team scoring 38 & 25 points while the whole starting 5 of the Lakers scored a total of 107 points while the bench only scored 14. Well they won on the road, and it's a must win for them as they are trying to at least get a play-in spot.

Anyway, did anybody saw the Reaves doing the "too small" gesture against Pat Bev? Remember on their last game, Beverley did this to Lebron on Crypto.com arena, and now the Lakers got the revenge thru Reaves doing it to Beverley. Even Davis and Russell are too happy with that action, while Beverley acted like nothing happened. Karma strikes him hard. Here's the video anyway, it's' kind of funny that even the commentators surprised and laughed at it. Got the revenge.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMdcO4as9xA

Well, the expected run in the 2nd half came and now it's kind of a blowout , as expected.

Lakers looking good so far as well, now with Lebron back there is a good chance of making the playins or maybe even the playoffs straight up. But there will be another 4 road games ( even though the last one is with the clippers so it's basically a home game ) before finishing the season with 2 games at home. Winning today would be a huge step towards the post season, lets see if they can hold on to the lead in the 2nd half.

The Pacers are hanging tough against the Bucks, end of second half, they are just down 4, 69-73.

What's interesting is that Giannis has almost a triple double this early, with 20 points and 10 rebounds and 9 assists. The Bucks is the overwhelming favorite in this game obviously as there are no Haliburton and Myles in the line up for the Pacers. So let's see in the 2nd half of the game, the initial spread is like -9.5 for the Bucks to win and if the Pacers keeps in competitive, they might not cover it, just saying.

KD will give open opportunities to Booker as the defender mostly needs to double him to make a good stop but with a pointgod like
CP3, he will always use that as advantage.

Double teaming either KD or Booker will give space to other players to create a good offense, I agree that KD will be fit to Suns the way
he was with GSW.

Can't wait to see him back and play the usual numbers that he can provide for the team.

I think that trade has benefited both sides in one way or another. The Lakers started to perform better without Westbrook and even improved their place in the standings. At the same time, Westbrook got less criticism now, but it looks like he has not had other significant changes because he has about the same stats as he had with the Lakers. So Westbrook's future career in the NBA might still be questionable because there are doubts as to whether the Clippers or any other team will offer him a new contract during the offseason or not.

Same here, I thought that he might suit up, but not tonight, but I guess the Suns wanted to see Durant now not later as they still need to win games before the playoff. And it's another tough win who wanted to go to the playoff, the Timberwolves. They are in a 4 game winning streak, KAT and Naz Reid which is the big surprised for them in the last 5 games, plus they still have another big men in Gobert, so Ayton and Biyombo will have their hands full against those guys. But the big difference could be Durant if he play in this game, so adding him to the mix against the Timberwolves, it's going to be big. I'm going to watch and this game and most likely going to bet on the Suns at home.

As for the big Warriors win, that is the Warriors that we all know, they have the championship DNA and can come back from big deficit and snatch that win, specially in their very own Chase arena. Steph Curry, still playing at MVP levels again.

Oh well I thought he won't be back until the playoffs but here we go. I think Durant fits with the Suns just as good as he was in GSW. We've seen their offensive fire power when he and Booker are both playing. Plus they have CP3 and Ayton, these guys needs to be double teamed when caught on fire. However, double teaming one of these guys will lead to another open man and that makes the Suns looks scary in the playoffs.

Thanks, I have the same observation and it seems the line for the Bucks is a trap as they are listed -12.5 initial spread for this game. Sure, Haliburton is not going to play, but it is reported that Holiday too is out and maybe Giannis could be in restricted minutes.

So lot of scenario that might not favor us gamblers, so either we skip this game, just do live betting to see who is going to play or not.

Of course Bucks needs to win this one to stay on top, but if they can do it with Giannis sitting then it's already a plus for the big guy as he can take a rest.

Probably Green's technical fouls has awaken the Warriors, it's a must win for them to at least get out of the bunch of players to secure their playoff spot.


I agree, they are known to be a 3rd quarter them, beating their opponents for just one quarter and that's it. They will have the momentum going to the 4th and that's what happen here. Curry wouldn't let the team lose, he carry it in the 4th and then Poole and Klay Thompson found their rhythm to hit that 3 to make a separation against the Pelicans. I don't think they are going small ball lineup, they still have Looney to play the traditional center position for them and grab those important rebounds or even tap the ball for a offensive rebounds too.

I have to disagree though, I mean yeah sure they went to the finals in the bubble against the Lakers and probably that is the best version of the Heat since their last championship with DWade and Lebron.

But after that, they went downhill, although nothing much has chance in the lineup, they didn't have the success that they had after that final run. It seems that Butler and Bam and others have grown up apart and the team need a change next season if they want to be more competitive and reach the finals again. Coach Spo has done his best with the current lineup and it's not working.

Warriors are indeed a good team with a high chance of winning after being down by huge deficits,
those who continue to trust them will surely enjoy the odd during the live event when they are down.

Once the game is already done, you will enjoy all the profits that this team provided to you. Though it's not every time but the chance
is good if you are a risk taker and also a Warrior's fans.

It's funny reading about Russell Westbrook and Patrick Beverly talking smack to each other about how they were going to "bust" each other's "ass" on the floor.  This is quite a change from a couple of months ago when they were teammates talking about all the great things they've done for each other and how great of friends they are...  Time reveals all.  Luckily for Westbrook, his new Clippers were able to beat the Bulls where his former team just lost to them.  That has to make him feel a little better after his time in LA.  Russell Westbrook has had some great games lately, so it's looking like his career might not be quite finished yet.

Curry is certainly the best player for the warriors. Of course, I agree that without the help of his teammates, he wouldn't have been able to do it on his own. Poole is someone who is always actively helping out Stephen Curry. But in the end, it is always Stephen Curry who is doing the bulk of the scoring.



The Celtics seem to be showing signs of improvement right now. They are at least a little more consistent compared to what they were a few weeks ago. But they are still losing matches like if they win three, they lose one. I think it is not going to be a crime to expect better from them.