#Lakers vs #Clippers “White” James Harden against “James Harden” James Harden is always a fun matchup.

Congratulations to the Knicks. That was a great win and I would dare say that this is the best NBA cup so far. They’ve gotten better every year.

The NBA has gotten incredibly lucky that these NBA Cup games have been awesome AND there have been no major injuries in any of these championship games. All of the “this tournament thing doesn’t matter” people would definitely come out of the woodwork complaining if and when that ever happened.

Mitchell Robinson is the O.J. Mayo of Steven Adamses. He is absolutely beasting on the offensive boards tonight.

Towns is playing fantastically in this third quarter, but it doesn’t bode well for the Knicks that the Spurs keep generating such great shots.

I love how Danny Green never evolved past the mid-aughts urge to wear any and all hats at a jaunty angle.

I predict that KAT is going to foul out of this game. He can’t help but pick up bone-headed fouls, and Wemby is a handful and a half.

Harrison Barnes: Professional Basketball Player.

That Scottie, Barnes and OG Anunoby were on the same team at one point with their absurd builds is funny to think about. Those two have to have the most absurd shoulder size to arm length ratios in the league.

I think that impresses me the most about both Jokić and Sengun is their touch. It is a regular part of both of their arsenals to shoot a push shot in front of the rim that hits the front of the room and then softly bounces over.

I know that Kevin Durant is the big name here, but Sengun has 22,8,8 right now. That is obviously a much better game than KD is having. I swear the NBA sometimes focuses on existing stars too much rather than trying to build new ones.

They were really letting the teams play through the middle part of this fourth quarter and then they give Sengun the softest foul possible. I feel like I complain about refereeing too much these days, but if you’re going to let the guys be physical, let them be physical. Just be consistent.

There is no player in the history of the NBA that I trust more to hit a smothered three-pointer at the end of an expiring shot clock than Nikola Jokić. I wonder if anyone is done an analysis of his percentages on those shots. It feels like he hits one every couple of games.

I had no idea that Josh Ochogie was out here double-clutch dunking.

With 3:14 to go, Wemby is +20 and Kornet is -17. “Michael Jordan would never have had to rest.” —Some guy in his 50s, probably Also, anyone who doesn’t like the NBA Cup has a big dump in their pants.

#Lakers vs #Raptors Not expecting a big game from LBJ tonight. In the road with Luka out… Barnes and his 17 foot arms are likely going to be on LBJ and that doesn’t bode well for the old guy. If he’s going to get the juices flowing again though, LeBronto is as likely as anywhere for it to happen.

This CP3 situation with the Clippers is incredibly nasty work. To treat one of your franchises all-time best players this way is an outrage. You don’t bring in a Paul unless you want some of that Chris Paul leadership (in this franchise more than any other no the value of that).

#Suns vs #Lakers My only thought after this game is at it’s been five games. He is 74 years old. He turns 91 next month. Stop panicking. He still needs to play himself into shape.

Poor one out for Darvin Ham’s undefeated record in the cup.

Alright, hear me out… Anthony Davis to the Clippers? 1) Mavs want to trade him pretty desperately, it seems. 2) Clippers are awful on defense and can’t rebound. 3) Anthony Davis and Kawhi could share rehab secrets. 4) Clippers vs Lakers takes on a whole new dimension. 5) The LOLs.

#Cavs vs #Raptors Having watched many, many Brandan Ingram games over the past few years while he was with the Pelicans, this is by far the most active on defense I’ve ever seen him play.

#Knicks vs #Magic Franz Wagner has superb footwork (as does a lot of European big men). It’s hard to teach “grew up playing soccer frequently,” so non-American players often have a real advantage when it comes to footwork.

#Jazz vs #Lakers Having watched this game for a second time, I think that the Lakers are going to be fantastic on offense and terrible on defense. It could simply be that he’s waiting to get his wind back, but LeBron is a complete liability on defense at this point. Consistently, flat-footed.

#Australia vs #Ireland #QuilterNationsSeries The power of “Sweet Caroline” bellowing through a stadium transcends, it seems, any and all cultural boundaries.

#Thunder vs #Lakers Most of the Lakers defensive issues are issues of effort rather than ability.

#Lakers vs #Hornets There are a lot of reasons to rave about, but one of the aspects of his game that doesn’t get raved about enough is his touch. Whether he’s sprinting or slowing down or stepping back or floating or anything, the ball on his release travels very softly to the rim or the lob

I’m confused by those who can’t get in to the NBA Cup. Having something else to compete for has led to better games and, not for nothing, the In-Season Tournament has actually been a decent predictor for the playoff success.

#Spurs vs #Lakers Probably the most surprising aspect of Wemby‘s comical proportions is his completely normal shaped and sized head.

I’ve been seeing rumors about Morant to Miami. Ja’s personality and general knuckleheadedness clashing with Pat Riley’s iron-grip on “Heat Culture” and any hint of a distraction would be one of the top three funniest things to happen in sports this century.

Random basketball thought that I’ve been mulling over today is “Which player’s #NBA career would be most impacted if they were +/- 3” taller/shorter?” Currently, I think Dennis Schröeder easily would be the most impacted. Schröeder +3” could be a top 10 player, -3” and he wouldn’t be in the NBA.

#Nuggets vs #Trailblazers My first ever in season tournament game. I 100% thought that Jokić was about to hit that shot. The guy is unbelievable. Great atmosphere and a good win by the Blazers. This team really fights.

#Timberwolves vs #Lakers Luka has gotten down in a defensive stance twice in the first two minutes and actually contested a McDaniels shot really well. Who is this man? White James Harden would never play that level of defense. Always thought that he was eventually going to beat those allegations.

#Suns vs #Clippers Collin Gillespie: Professional Basketball Player

#Spurs vs #Pelicans Would love to see an analysis of avg blk/min for Wemby in the first six minutes vs the rest of the game. Adjusting to his unorthodox length, almost like boxers tossing the jab to find the range, guys probe to see how far away they have to be to not get swatted into oblivion.

#Nuggets vs #Warriors For most casual fans, the modern NBA probably doesn’t feel like there are many defined offenses so much as just team-provided guidelines for the best players to read/react to. Both of these teams feel like they are running defined offenses with multiple sets per possession.

#Thunder vs #Pacers Isaiah Hartenstein has one of the hardest tattoos in the NBA.

#Timberwolves vs #Trailblazers Dame with the Blazers just feels right. Also, that sweater he’s wearing is hard.

#Pistons vs #Bulls Isaac Okoro’s shoe just popped off and this is the third or fourth game so far where that’s happened. I wonder if that’s a result of it being early in the season or if that’s just a more common occurrence then I thought it was.

#76ers vs #Celtics It’s impossible not to feel at least a little bit bad for Joel Embiid. He has to be one of the great historical what ifs at this point. Injuries have made it so we’ve never gotten the very best version of him. Even his MVP season wasn’t him able to go as hard as he could.

#Wizards vs #Bucks Milwaukee‘s entire team feels like it turned over this off-season. A lot of new faces, it feels to me like they traded a lot of like for like.

#Kings vs #Suns Not sure which of these teams is more of an island of misfit toys. Lots of castoffs from other franchises.

#Raptors vs #Atlanta This Toronto team has a lot of potential. The defense is swarming and the amount of length on the floor is really going to cause problems for a lot of teams. That said, the team is filled with guys that you would be thrilled to have as your third guy. 45 wins loading.

#Cavaliers vs #Knicks KAT is looking early like he’s going to be the top vote-getter on make my All-Bonehead Team for like the third year in a row. How can he be one of my favorite players, but also frustrate me so with the most unnecessary fouls imaginable?

#Spurs vs #Maverick Dallas desperately needs a point guard. Playing Cooper up at point guard isn’t going to work long-term and Jason Kidd is in all likelihood going to put D’Angelo Russell in the starting lineup until Kyrie returns from his torn ACL.

#Pelicans vs #Grizzlies New Orleans most effective offensive stretches in the half court are based on paint penetration. Their half court offense does not really work if they’re not playing read and react. Willie Green could stand to institute some actual plays occasionally. Point Zion, ftw.

#Clippers vs #Jazz Starting four white guys on opening night is dastardly.

#Nets vs #Hornets Eric Collins is beyond delightful.

#Heat vs #Magic Bam Adebayo seems to have made a concerted effort his 3 ball. His midrange and 3 pointer form look almost identical now. That consistency in his release should serve him well. If he’s going to take six per game like he did last year, he definitely needs to shoot better than 33%.

#Lakers vs #Warriors I remain convinced that Luka Dončić learned to play basketball at Hogwarts.

#Rockets vs #Thunder How long after KD retires before the Thunder will honor him? The fans still booing him whenever he touches the ball shows that there’s still a lot of hurt feelings down in OKC. He won’t get a statue, but he’ll eventually get his jersey retired by OKC and probably the Warriors.