NBADiscussi0ns

          After months of talking and stirring up drama it has finally happened again, James Harden forced his way out of one team and landed with another. Harden was able to force his way out of Houston, then Brooklyn and now Philadelphia. Harden is going to LA and join Paul George, Kawhi Leonard and Russell Westbrook. The Clippers already had championship aspirations but with the addition of James Harden it is championship or bust.            James Harden was traded to Philadelphia at the trade deadline a couple seasons ago. After the failed experiment of Durant, Irving and Harden in Brooklyn James Harden quietly requested a trade from Brooklyn and landed in Philadelphia. The same deal that sent Harden to Philadelphia also sent Ben Simmons to Brooklyn. Harden and the 76ers finished the 2022 season as the 4th seed in the Eastern Conference and made it all the way to the second-round however they lost the East-Semis to the Miami Heat in six games.            After an early playoff exit

          We are just three games into the regular season and this game was absolutely amazing to watch. The two Californian teams had a great battle going back and forth, going into overtime and resulting in a Kings win. On both teams, some players stepped up while some took a step back. This matchup is going to be exciting as the season progresses and because both teams are in the same division they will play three more times.            On the Kings side the two All-Stars, Fox and Sabonis, had solid performances despite dealing with some foul trouble. Sabonis finished the game with a double-double, scoring 12 points shooting 5 of 8 from the field (63%) and 1 for 1 from 3 point range (100%), 15 rebounds including 1 offensive rebound, 5 assists and a steal. It is worth mentioning that Sabonis did not play in overtime due to fouling out in the fourth quarter. Fox finished the game scoring 37 points shooting 14 of 24 from the field (58%) and 3 of 8 from 3 point range (38%), 4 rebounds i

          With Damian Lillard officially out of Portland, Anfernee Simons is looking to be new face of the franchise along with rookie Guard Scoot Henderson. Simons has shown many offensive flashes but was a bit held back with the ball primarily being placed in Damian Lillard's hands. In the eleven games Simons played without Damian Lillard last season he averaged 28 points per game shooting 46% from the field and 41% from 3 point range, 3 rebounds and 6 assists. Simons has so much potential and now with Lillard in Milwaukee, he has a great opportunity to grow his game.            This season was the first in over a decade that the Portland Trail Blazers did not have Damian Lillard on their roster. This year the Blazers opened the new season against the Los Angeles Clippers in LA. Against the Clippers, Simons played for 27 minutes, scored 18 points shooting 6 of 14 from the field (42%) and 2 of 6 from 3 point range (33%). Of course it's still extremely early into the new season

          This Thursday the Suns faced off against the Los Angeles Lakers in LA. This was the home opener for the Lakers and they got their first win of their season in front of their fans, Lakers 100 Suns 95. The Suns were missing their starting backcourt of Bradley Beal, who has yet to play this season, and Devin Booker. The Suns had to heavily rely on Kevin Durant but it was not enough.           After struggling offensively against the Golden State Warriors for the season opener, Kevin Durant knew without the presence of Booker and Beal he had a lot more responsibilities on the offensive end. Kevin Durant is known as one of the best scorers in NBA history. Durant scored 39 points shooting 14 of 28 from the field (50%) and 1 of 5 from 3 point range (20%), 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 block. While he had a great scoring game he did finish the game with 8 turnovers which is what gave the Lakers momentum towards the end of the game.            Josh Okogie continues to show imp

          Victor Wembanyama has had a lot of eyes on him from the NBA world since this past summer. This years' NBA draft was considered the "Wemby draft" because it was clear that whichever team landed the number 1 overall pick was going to take Wembanyama. It worked out perfectly for Wemby as the San Antonio Spurs landed the number 1 overall pick and on draft night they selected him. The Spurs have had great history with number 1 overall pick bigs like David Robinson and Tim Duncan.            Wembanyama had his official NBA debut in San Antonio against the Dallas Mavericks. Wemby went for 15 points shooting 6 of 9 from the field (67%) and 3 for 5 from 3 point range (60%), 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and a block. Now Wemby was only able to play 23 minutes due to some foul trouble. He still has to get use to the NBA rules and how the refs officiate in the NBA but under coach Pop that won't be a major issue. Wemby scored 9 of his 15 points in the 4th quarter going

          The Phoenix Suns usually begin their season at home but this year that changed. The Suns played their first game of the season in the Bay Area against the Golden State Warriors. There was a lot of familiarity in this game as Chris Paul, who is now on the Warriors, played the past couple season for the Suns and Kevin Durant played for the Warriors for three seasons and won two championships including winning two Finals MVP awards. This was actually the first time since 2019 that Kevin Durant has played in the Bay Area.            This game was very tight but ultimately the Suns were able to get their first win of the season on the road. The Suns made a lot of changes to their roster and coaching staff this summer. While they still have a long way to go on getting comfortable with one another, this game showed they are starting off in the right direction. While Kevin Durant had a sloppy offensive night and Devin Booker did go for 32 points, some performances that stood out were

          Opening night is always an exciting night for NBA fans all around the world. After four months of no NBA basketball we have officially kicked off a brand new season. With the Denver Nuggets being the defending champions they obviously played on opening night and began their season facing up the Los Angeles Lakers. LeBron and the Lakers watched Denver, the team that beat them in the Western Conference Finals, hang up their banner in the rafters and receive their championship rings.            While the Lakers went up to Denver with the goal of spoiling the defending champs' special opening night, the Lakers just couldn't keep up with the Nuggets. Anthony Davis had 17 points shooting 6 for 11 from the field (55%) and 1 for 1 from 3 point range (100%). While AD has an outstanding first half performance he went cold in the second half scoring 0 points and going 0 for 6 from the field. Of course it is just the first game of the season but if the Lakers need to heavily rely

          There is no doubt that Giannis Antetokounmpo is one of the best players in the NBA however this summer his future in Milwaukee was in question. This past season Giannis and the Bucks finished with the best record in the entire league and were the favorite to win the NBA championship. In their first-round matchup against the Miami Heat Giannis was sidelined for most of the series with a back injury which he suffered in Game 1. However, even when Giannis returned for Games 4 and 5, the Bucks just did not have an answer for Jimmy Butler. The Milwaukee Bucks faced total embarrassment losing the first-round series to the 8th seed Miami Heat in five games, making the Heat just the sixth 8th seed in NBA history to beat the 1st seed.            Now Giannis still has a couple years left on his current contract however he was eligible for an extension but told the Bucks and the NBA world that he was in no rush to sign it. After losing the first-round series he wanted to make sure the B

          October 23rd is the deadline for teams to extend players who are on the final year of their rookie contracts. Usually teams wait until closer to the deadline to get a contract extension done. For this years' rookie extension deadline a lot of young players were able to get business done and have secured themselves financially. However in some cases players were not able to get a deal done and these players will enter the following summer as Restricted Free Agents. As a Restricted Free Agent the team have the right to match any offer given to said player and more likely than not they end up going back to their team.             Wizards Forward Deni Avdija has agreed to a 4-year, $55 Million contract extension. His deal kicks in the following season and will last until the 2027-28 season. It is worth mentioning the deal is fully-guaranteed. Pacers Forward Aaron Nesmith agreed to a 3-year, $33 Million contract extension. Nesmith started his career with the Boston Celtics but

          Grizzlies starting Center Steven Adams has been sidelined since the month of January with a knee injury. Adams missed all of the second half of the regular season including the playoffs. Adams initially injured his posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and he was receiving treatment, specifically non-operative rehabilitation but it did not do much help as the Grizzlies hoped. It was just announced by the team that Adams will undergo season-ending surgery. The Grizzlies also announced that Adams is expected to make a full recovery ahead of next season.            There is some other news regarding another Grizzlies big man and injury. Brandon Clarke injured his achilles early in the month of March in a game against the Denver Nuggets. Clarke was sidelined for the remainder of the season including the postseason. It was announced during media day by the Grizzlies that Clarke would not be back on the court for the start of this upcoming season. While he has not been rule

          Dru Smith is a young guard who spend two years playing basketball at the University of Evansville then another two at the University of Missouri. Smith declared for the 2021 NBA draft but would not hear his name be called that night. After going undrafted he signed an Exhibit 10 with the Miami Heat and would later get waived. That meant he would go to Sioux Falls and play for the Skyforce, the G-League affiliated team of the Miami Heat. For the 2021-22 G-League regular season Dru appears in 10 games out of the total 35 and averaged 8 points on 40% shooting from the field and 30% from 3, 3 rebounds and 3 assists.            For the NBA 2022-23 season Dru Smith was in and out of the Miami Heat roster. During the season the Heat dealt with injuries in both front and back court and those injuries had an influence on Dru Smith's status with his two-way contract. After being waived by the Heat he did end up signing a two-way with the Brooklyn Nets and joined their G-League affi

           If you had to pick a player on the Miami Heat roster that is due to break out this season, many would guess Nikola Jovic. While that may be understandable there has been another player on the Heat that has shown great improvement in their game. Haywood Highsmith joined the Miami Heat in the middle of the 2021-22 season. Last season Highsmith experienced his first full NBA season and through the ups and downs it has helped him grow as a player.           Highsmith was in and out of the rotation last season but this season he is proving to Erik Spoelstra and the Heat coaching staff that he should stick. Highsmith played in four of the five preseason games and there is significant  improvement in his game, especially on the offensive end. In four preseason games Highsmith averaged 9 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists while shooting 56% from the field and 60% from 3. Now it may just be preseason but this small sample is a great look for what Highsmith can provide for the Heat this

         When Jordan Poole got traded to Washington there was an early indication that his offense was going to look better with the more touches he is going to get there compared to when he was in Golden State. In Washington, Jordan Poole is going to be a massive piece to the franchise so his game has a great opportunity to grow especially on the offensive end. Some may even say Poole has an opportunity to rise and be an All-Star level player.  This new Washington Wizards team looks like it can rise in the future but even now this team may be the team to shock the league this upcoming season.          Jordan Poole has shown flashes of his offense during his time in Golden State and we just got another big flash. We are still in the middle of preseason and the  Washington Wizards went up against the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden. Poole had himself an explosive game going for 41 points. Poole went 10 for 19 from the field (53%), 6 of 12 from 3 (50%), 5 rebounds, 2 assists and

                      Kevin Porter Jr has had himself an eventful offseason. On September 11th, Porter Jr was arrested on domestic assault charges after allegedly assaulting his WNBA girlfriend Kysre  Gondrezick. Gondrezick had to be taken to the hospital and had been diagnosed with a fractured neck vertebrae. Once the Houston Rockets saw this news they made plans to immediately move on from the young guard. The Rockets made Kevin Porter Jr available to be traded, the Rockets told teams they would give up multiple second-round picks for a team to take him off their hands.           It was recently announced that the Manhattan Assistant District Attorney dropped the second-degree assault charge against Kevin Porter Jr due to "insufficient evidence." Kysre Gondrezick, Porter's girlfriend, recently came out and said that Kevin Porter Jr did not hit her. Gondrezick said "he didn't hit me. He never balled his fists up and hit me. And he definitely didn't punch me