RyanBlackburn

They were 5-2 and top 3 in the West (I believe they were no. 2) just less than 2 weeks ago. Now they're under 0.500 at 6-7.

But to be fair to them though, they've faced big teams, teams they struggled playing against. The Cavs, Wolves x2, and Denver.

Their upcoming schedule ain't looking rosy either. They play the Thunder again, then the powerhouse Rockets, then @Suns.

We're looking at a potential 8-game losing streak.

All of the Warriors starters only made 1 more 3 on 16 more attempts than Joe including a klanker of a performance from Klay, who shot 1-6 from 3 and 1-10 from the field.

It's hilarious how the Sixers waived Joe in favor of some rando scrub like Kurkmaz or Niang.

It would be nice to see Joe and Jordan Hawkins in the All Star 3pt shooting contest.

PG - Luka

SG - SGA

SF - Mikal

PF - JJJ

C - Ayton

Bench: Trae, Wendell CJ, MPJ, Huerter, Bruce Brown

3rd string: Brunson, Mitch Rob, Anf Simons, Grayson

GLeague: Colin Sexton, Miles Bridges, Donte DiVicenzo, Lonnie Walker, Mo Wag

That's a title contender, right? The 2018 draft is absurdly stacked. If OKC had their haul of picks in 2018, they'd be set for the next decade.

I selected the line ups mainly for the positions, not necessarily the top best players. You could mix the line ups and still end up with a title contender as long as Luka and SGA are starting.

Luka, SGA, MPJ, JJJ, and Wendell is still a pretty good starting unit.

The Lakers looked solid out there. There was ball movement, they played hard on defense, they hustled (remember that Tauren Prince hustle in crunch time chasing after the ball after the Blazers had given up chasing after it?), etc.

Reaves looked solid. Hopefully he's out of his slump. He shot well and kept the ball moving. DLo didn't shoot well but he got 11 assists.

I hate to say this but I think Darvin Ham (not calling him Darvin Hamas. For now.) coached a good game. So that leaves LeBron. Is he too controlling that's why the Lakers have struggled prior to this game?

Why did Kerr only play this dude 1 minute and only when the game was kind of out of reach?

If Podz didn't miss that put back late in the 4th, he'd have 10 points in 1 minute and he would have cut the lead to 2.

Early season MVP race.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/friv/mvp.html

1. Jokic

2. Embiid

3. Maxey

4. Luka

5. Tatum

6. Halli

7. SGA

8. Ant

9. Steph

10. Tobias Harris

3 Sixers in the top 10. Wow. Nick Nurse for COTY. Jokic has a massive lead at 73% though. The next closest candidate is Embiid at 15%.

Chemby (Chet + Wemby), Bran Miller vs Paolo Banchero, Jabari Smith, Jaden Ivey, Jalen Williams, Walker Kessler

I may have forgotten someone but no other 2022 rookie stood out other than Paolo. Guys like Ivey, Kessler, etc. are promising players but they're no franchise cornerstone talents like Paolo.

And to me, Chemby is already better than Paolo. Even this early. merely 3 games in, I'm willing to go out on a limb and say that.

It's getting higher and higher. By the end of the season, he'll be playing the whole game.

Let this poor old man rest once in a while.

AD needs to step up and channel his inner peak Pelicans AD to become the focal point of the offense for the majority of the season. But I doubt he's capable of doing it. I think this is what AD is for the rest of his career, a great no. 2.

These are mostly games between top echelon playoff teams and the Mavs. I included the Mavs because although they missed the playoffs last season, they did reach the WCF 2 years ago, and if Luka had been healthy, they would have made the playoffs too. I excluded some teams like the Grizzlies because they have too many injuries.

• Oct 29: Lakers @ Kings - The Kings were a top 3 seed last season. The Lakers made the WCF in the last playoffs.

• Oct 30: Heat @ Bucks - It was the Heat that knocked out the top-seeded Bucks in the 1st round last season on their way to the Finals.

• Oct 30: Warriors @ Pelicans - The Warriors reached the 2nd round last playoffs. The Pelicans have always been projected to be a top playoff team if Zion was healthy and so far, he is.

• Oct 31: Knicks @ Cavs - The Knicks knocked out the Cavs.

• Nov 1: Nuggets @ Wolves - The Nuggets knocked out the Wolves. The Wolves have a healthy McDaniels now so this match up should be interesting.

• Nov 1: Kings @ Warriors

• Nov 1: Clippers @ Lakers

• Nov 3: Knicks @ Bucks

• Nov 3: Mavs @ Nuggets

It's LeBron James. He passed LeBron James as the number 1 player in most points scored in the history of the game.

Congrats to LeBron James.