2025 NBA Season Thread

[Cobra Mgr]

Pretend this was started by David Watts

Originally Posted by David Watts

Not the offseason anymore, but I'm not official enough to create the new season thread.

So glad the TNT crew came over to ESPN, especially if it means no more Kendrick Perkins.

Tonight's early gem. They're talking about the race in the West. Shaq asks Charles if he's off the Clipper train. Charles, as dry as usual says, well Kawhi has 2 jobs

[Cobra Mgr]

NBA on ESPN Studio............And so it begins.........

[Amazin69]

Hey, guess who has a NBA-high 14 consecutive winning seasons, the 4th-longest streak of all-time??

Guess who is second only to the Warriors in total wins over that span?

That's right, your Los Angeles Chokers, er, Clippers! So let's get excited!!



Yes, it's the dynasty you didn't know existed! And this year, despite such petty trifles as were detailed in the off-season thread, the Clips are loaded and ready to go. Remember, we closed last season on an 18-3 run, and Kawhi says this is the healthiest he's felt starting a season since Trump was President!

Plus we've added…whichever Lopez won the ring in Milwaukee and Bradley Beal, the guy who ended up getting out-gunned by Cancer in that Ball-hog special from a few years back. (Rockets 200, Wizards 199 in OT, or something like that) and we've brought back Chris Paul, the man who raised us from the hell of loser-dom, lo those many years ago. It's gonna ROCK this season!

To help us celebrate, the NBA has been so kind as to feed us last season's Worst Team in Basketball, the Utah Jazzzzzz, coming off a brain-numbing 17-65 season last year. Woo-hoo! Let's get this party started!!

LAC-108
UTA-129

Don't be deceived by the final score…it was nowhere near that close. Jazz led by 37 in the 3rd quarter before the Mercy Rule kicked in.

Turns out that having the oldest team in the league take lots of bad 3s while the kids run past them is…not a great game plan.

Kawhi was 3-9, 1-5 from 3 and a -25 plus/minus.

Only the Clippers…

(I swear, I don't remember us doing anything like that coming off of a 17-65 season. And, believe me, we had plenty such chances back before we became so awesome…)

[Cobra Mgr]

VJ Edgecombe w/the impressive debut

[David Watts]

Knicks look good last night. I think they played 11 players in the first half. Looks like Brown will differ from Thibodeau in that aspect of the game.

[Pelican]

Sixers slipped by the Celtics in Boston. Maxey and Edgcombe were unstoppable. Embiid looked out of shape. The Boston lineup beyond Brown and White was unrecognizable. Young legs beat old legs. All those who were ready to award ROY to Flagg - time to re-evaluate. Small sample size, but one guy looked NBA-ready, and the other looked far from it.

[Déjà Bru]

Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier arrested in gambling inquiries

[Cobra Mgr]

And leagues continue to get in bed w/gambling enterprises at the expense of their reputations and integrity.

[dsvitak]

Originally Posted by Cobra Mgr

And leagues continue to get in bed w/gambling enterprises at the expense of their reputations and integrity.

I will never look at a player going 2 for 12 the same way again...

[Cobra Mgr]

In the "No, duh" category, Billups & Rozier have been put on immediate leave.

[Amazin69]

Originally Posted by Déjà Bru

Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier arrested in gambling inquiries

Ha! And you thought Kawhi was going to be the first Clipper traded to the pokey!

(I am in fact FURIOUS at Chauncey for tarnishing his legacy this way.)

To be specific, Billups and Rozier were arrested in connection with a big sting run about high-stakes poker games that were rigged by four Mafia families. The other arrest is actually worse, since that is Damon Jones being arrested for passing secret injury information to gamblers, Including info from Billups's Blazers, even if Chauncey isn't facing charges from that part of things.

[dsvitak]

Originally Posted by Amazin69

Ha! And you thought Kawhi was going to be the first Clipper traded to the pokey!

(I am in fact FURIOUS at Chauncey for tarnishing his legacy this way.)

To be specific, Billups and Rozier were arrested in connection with a big sting run about high-stakes poker games that were rigged by four Mafia families. The other arrest is actually worse, since that is Damon Jones being arrested for passing secret injury information to gamblers, Including info from Billups's Blazers, even if Chauncey isn't facing charges from that part of things.

I don't care about Billups playing poker, as far as it relates to the NBA. However...millions of dollars were scammed out of the victims.

Rozier's case is a little more problematic.

[monkeyman576]

I'm waiting to see the evidence. Seems a little flimsy to me. i agree that the draftkings and betmgm deals are part of the problem.

[Cobra Mgr]

Originally Posted by monkeyman576

I'm waiting to see the evidence. Seems a little flimsy to me.

Same here. From what I read on the case w/Chauncey, I don't understand why he is the only NBA player/coach implicated.

[Déjà Bru]

I was tempted to resurrect one of the gambling threads in commemoration of these events, but they attract vermin.

[LD84]

While it is important and should be talked about. Too bad that this gambling scandal is overshadowing what has been a really good start to the NBA season.
So many OT games and close games, and so many compelling story lines going into this season.

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by LD84

While it is important and should be talked about. Too bad that this gambling scandal is overshadowing what has been a really good start to the NBA season.
So many OT games and close games, and so many compelling story lines going into this season.

I don't intend to be over-dramatic with this, but the thought will linger for a while at least: How much of what we are seeing is real? Even a trace of rot may be enough to spoil the experience.

[LD84]

Originally Posted by Déjà Bru

I don't intend to be over-dramatic with this, but the thought will linger for a while at least: How much of what we are seeing is real? Even a trace of rot may be enough to spoil the experience.

And this is why gambling is so serious and not to be tolerated in any form by those who participate in sport.

Once you have fans doubting whether or not the product is genuine, then you risk losing them.

[Cobra Mgr]

Originally Posted by LD84

And this is why gambling is so serious and not to be tolerated in any form by those who participate in sport.

Once you have fans doubting whether or not the product is genuine, then you risk losing them.

I think, if a silver lining was possible, that the scandals have been mostly on prop bets & insider info. Not outright fixing or losing games. So an optimistic view would feel safe that at least the final outcomes are legit. But a realist would never claim that is 100% certain.

And even before sports gambling became legal nationally, I was a realist. I am by no means a conspiracy theorist. I've always felt someone out there had to be in cahoots w/gamblers & mafiosos. So none of what we heard this week shocked me. But the more reports come out, the more my faith in the integrity of the final outcome is eroded.

However, I still don't prescribe to the notion that there is a league wide conspiracy to fix outcomes for specific teams. Because they are from a large market or they have the most popular player. I do believe college conferences will "protect" teams that are highly ranked or are on the bubble for the post season.

[Amazin69]

Clippers pulled up to 1-1 with a nice win in their home opener Friday night, downing Phoenix 129-102.

Not exactly a shock, given that the Suns went 36-46 last season, but they were 4-0 against the Clippers, costing us home-court advantage in the playoffs.

Still, the most interesting news of the night was that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had scored 90 points in this first two games of the season. 90. Man, how stupid would a team have to be to trade that guy away?

(SG-A had a weak game on Saturday, scoring only 30 points and seeing his average sink to 40 PPG. But still.)