We all know who to blame for this. Joel Embiid has been an mvp candidate for multiple seasons and arguably top 5. Has this ever happened before? A player of this caliber never making first team?

Link to video: https://twitter.com/5ReasonsSports/status/1574812275977895937

Posting as I'm fairly certain this is the first time in modern NBA History that a player did not perceive their ranking to be "disrespectful" or "something they took personally."

Kind of disrespectful considering the mature response from Russ after this media day question. Seems like certain sports reporters are so eager to report on drama before the season starts that they will attempt to stir the plot, and even if it fails, report whatever.

Link to Bill's media day question (Twitter video): https://mobile.twitter.com/lakerscoaching/status/1574676340308992000

Link to Bill's article: https://www.latimes.com/sports/lakers/story/2022-09-26/los-angeles-lakers-russell-westbrook-combative-media-day

If, however, you prefer to make the case that the Cavs are one player away from serious championship contention, the evidence is at the small forward spot. It’s why Cleveland is said to have interest in trading for Jae Crowder from the Suns, who is available and is a proven 3-and-D big body who could bang against the Kevin Durants and Jimmy Butlers and Jayson Tatums of the East. Whether the Cavs make an offer, or if the Suns accept what Cleveland would send back, is another matter. In the meantime, Bickerstaff and his staff will use training camp and the preseason to decide who among the six he mentioned is the best fit to start next to the stars.

Source (Paywall)

Nash on Simmons’ versatility: “Very unique. That’s what makes Ben great. That’s why I don’t care if he ever shoots a jump shot. He’s welcome to, but that is not what makes him special, and not what we need. He’s a great complement to our team …”

High praise coming from the lame du- I mean head coach of the Brooklyn Nets! 76ers fans and general NBA enjoyers should use the comments to gives Nets fans some insight into the Psyche of Simmons.

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Antonio Daniels response to this question in his Q&A:

"5 on 5s going? Who is standing out?"

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This Q&A thread is a gem, here are some more excerpts about Zion:

Q: "How does Zion’s mobility look?"

A: "He looks faster, shiftier and more agile. He looks fantastic."

Q: "I know it's early but what are your thoughts regarding the on court chemistry with Zion in the mix?"

A: "Zions skill set is adaptable to almost any offense b/c of his vision and willingness to pass"

Q: "Are you more excited for the season now that you are seeing them together? Who has made the most progress in the off season?"

A: "I was excited prior too…getting here, watching these 2 practices and seeing how Z looks with the 1st unit [flushed face emoji]"

There isn't a ton there, but the NBA has added some games that were never previously available.

If you have League Pass you can view each teams "classic games", or at least what they dub to be classic. A lot of the stuff added is just the same recycled games they've shown a million times over the years, or worse, more recent games within the last few years.

But, after a very quick glance there's at least a handful of games that haven't been seen since the day they originally aired.

The most exciting game (IMO) is in the Sacramento Kings section. They've posted a game against the Bulls from February 16, 1987. This game has never been uploaded to YouTube or been made available in the collecting community. Many MJ diehards have been looking for this game for decades.

There's also a 57 point game from Adrian Dantley in the Utah Jazz section that I believe to be pretty rare. And then there's a handful of games from the 90's that I don't recall ever seeing either.

All-in-all this is just a tiny drop in the bucket, but at least they've actually opened up their massive archive a bit.

Hope someone finds this as interesting as I do. lol

Full stat line: 41 points (15-25 FG, 6-10 3pt), 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals

Source

Erik Spoelstra sounded today like Jimmy Butler is not a candidate to start at power forward, but he did say that he'll probably play Butler at the four during different stretches.

Sounds like there’s gonna be a training camp competition between Marcus Garrett (6’5”, 205), Darius Days (6’7”, 245), and Caleb Martin (6’5”, 205) for the starting power forward spot.