NBA: 2023-2024 Season

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JohnBM01

JohnBM01

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The O'Brien Trophy was hoisted by a team that never made it to the NBA Finals or never held it at all. The Denver Nuggets proved they were miles high above their competition when they defeated the Miami Heat in 5 games. The Mile High City celebrated their championship triumph and got the smoke to bring into next season.

However... that was LAST season. We now welcome a new season of NBA basketball. Denver is not guaranteed to be back-to-back champs. Weak sauce teams aren't going to be weak again. Each season is a new book where all of the teams and players write the greatest possible story. So with this said, here is a look at the final standings before the last Playoffs...

(! = Division winner)

--- EASTERN CONFERENCE STANDINGS (End of 2022-2023 Regular Season) ---
1E: Milwaukee! (58-24) <<< best record in NBA
2E: Boston! (57-25)
3E: Philadelphia (54-28)
4E: Cleveland (51-31)
5E: New York (47-35)
6E: Brooklyn (45-37)
~
PLAY-IN EAST (7-10): MIA! (44-38), ATL and TOR (41-41 each), CHI (40-42)
~
REST: IND and WAS (35-47 each), ORL (34-48), CHA (27-55), DET (17-65)

--- WESTERN CONFERENCE STANDINGS (End of 2022-2023 Regular Season) ---
1W: Denver! (53-29)
2W: Memphis! (51-31)
3W: Sacramento! (48-34)
4W: Phoenix (45-37)
5W: Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State (44-38 each)
~
PLAY IN WEST (7-10): LAL (43-39), MIN and NO (42-40), OKC (40-42)
~
REST: DAL (38-44), UTA (37-35), POR (33-49), HOU and SA (22-60 each)

What will the 2023-2024 season bring? How will somebody like Victor Wenbanyama be? Many question asked; many more will be answered. Everything from the NBA Draft to the final NBA Finals game is fair discussion here. Let's talk about the new season! So let's talk NBA basketball, GTPlanet!
 
Ja Morant has been suspended 25 games by the NBA for his "reckless conduct" roles in different situations last season involving brandishing a gun. Some feel these punishments are too light for Ja Morant. I was thinking maybe half a season or even the full season would be sufficient, but 25 games is what the NBA decided on. Debate at will.
 
Tonight is the 2023 NBA Draft. We'll get to see what players will get drafted to whatever teams. Names like Victor Wenbanyama, Scoot Henderson, Amen Thompson, Ausar Thompson, Gradey Dick, and more will get to see what NBA teams they will be playing for in the 2023-2024 NBA season. Hopefully your favorite teams will have some needs filled after this NBA Draft.
 
Having a hard time understanding why Miami picked Jaime Jaquez when Cam Whitmore and Kris Murray were on the board. I feel like they already have a better version of Jaquez in Nikola Jovic.
 
Amen! The Houston Rockets are saying "amen" in getting Amen Thompson with the 4th overall pick. They later picked up Cam Whitmore with the 20th overall draft pick. Maybe this becomes the season where we finally avoid being a doormat in the Western Conference and the Southwest Division, to being a team that can actually contend. Rockets fans who wanted the team to tank to help their chances at getting Victor Wenbanyama can now focus on getting to being at least a Play-In tournament team. The Wenbanyama thing is done. That ship has sailed as the San Antonio Spurs drafted him top overall.

Look, I have nothing against Victor Wenbanyama. He's an awesome talent worthy of the praise he's getting. I think he'll be a great talent for the San Antonio Spurs. I got tired of people here in Houston wanting Wenbanyama as if he can solve all of the Rockets' problems. The Rockets didn't really have a lack of talent; we just had some poor coaching and lack of execution. The new coach and many of the new additions will probably help us forget the Houston Rockets of the past few seasons. I think even Stephen A. Smith admitted he's glad to no longer talk about Victor Wenbanyama now that he's drafted.

Having said all of this, I am very much interested in seeing how the Rockets do this season. By the way, off-topic notes... yesterday (June 22) was the 30th anniversary of the Houston Rockets winning their first-ever NBA Championship in franchise history, and it was also the birthday of Clyde "The Glide" Drexler.


Hopefully your favorite team(s) got the draft talent they were looking for. If teams made trades, hopefully the traded talent helps out your team(s). Let's look ahead to the new season.
 
In free agency, the Houston Rockets picked up Fred VanVleet. Reports indicate he signed a three-year deal with HOU worth $130M USD. We also waived Daishen Nix.
 
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A lot of exhibition-style games will be playing tonight. Among them are a handful of NBA Summer League matches.

The Houston Rockets recently added Dillon Brooks to the roster and let go of players like Daishen Nix. I heard Dillon Brooks can be quite a character, so I am a bit skittish about him acting too much a fool to where he costs us wins. We usually say that the Rockets draft for character, not characters. Early thoughts on the Rockets during this offseason is that I have them being at least a Play-In team. A realistic long shot for the Rockets would be them getting into the Playoffs as a 6th or better seed. They don't have to win the Southwest Division, and I don't see them doing so this season.
 
The National Basketball Association is interested in a few things that I will detail in this post.

* It used to be that players would be fined for flopping. Now, if the referees determine you flopped on the floor, you will give up a Technical Foul shot to the other team. So unless you love to give the other team potentially free points, take a foul no matter how hard a foul it may be.

* If you are successful with a Coach's Challenge, you will now be rewarded a chance at a second Coach's Challenge.

* There may be plans for the NBA to expand. Among the candidate cities for potential expansion are Seattle and Las Vegas. The success of the Las Vegas Aces of the WNBA possibly can fuel a new NBA team to call Las Vegas home. Ever since the Seattle Supersonics relocated to Oklahoma City and became the Oklahoma City Thunder, fans have long wanted an NBA team to return to Seattle. It's sad no Eastern teams could be up for expansion talk. Why not put in a team in some major Eastern city? Like, try Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, (maybe) a new New Jersey team, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Nashville, Montreal, or Quebec City. Westward? Perhaps imagine if Vancouver gets a new team after the previous team, the Vancouver Grizzlies, became the Memphis Grizzlies.


Just a few things I wanted to share. Enjoy NBA Summer League!
 
New Jersey barely supported their old team and doubt they will support another one. I think Vegas and Seattle are good choices
 
Seattle, but only if they are gonna be named the Supersonics again :lol: Vegas will front a ton of money and boom they'll cover all major US sporting events, if they are looking at expanding, it's basically a lock for Vegas at this point. LV Vengeance, or LV Velocity (though those sound more like WNBA team names haha).

They may have to follow the NFLs conference and divisional structure of 4x4x2 if they get to 32 teams. Cool stuff though, I am also glad they are adopting the NFL replay rules as time goes on. I know it slows the game down, but for me, its about the right team winning vs waiting an extra 15-20min for the replays. Refs make mistakes the more we can minimize/fix those mistakes the better, yea?


Jerome
 
kjb
New Jersey barely supported their old team and doubt they will support another one. I think Vegas and Seattle are good choices
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New Jersey getting a new team would make no sense. The tri-state area supports the Knicks and laughs at the Nets.
 
You might have heard James Harden trash Daryl Morey. Well, Harden's bank account is now $100K lighter by the NBA for his comments.

I think this NBA season begins on October 22. So we're about two months away from the new season of NBA basketball. It will be great to see the NBA hit the hardwood again. I'm hoping my Rockets can have their best season. The Rockets as a Play-In team would be an accomplishment after being at or near the bottom of the Western Conference standings or overall the past two or three seasons.
 
Jump_Ace
Seattle, but only if they are gonna be named the Supersonics again :lol: Vegas will front a ton of money and boom they'll cover all major US sporting events, if they are looking at expanding, it's basically a lock for Vegas at this point. LV Vengeance, or LV Velocity (though those sound more like WNBA team names haha).

They may have to follow the NFLs conference and divisional structure of 4x4x2 if they get to 32 teams. Cool stuff though, I am also glad they are adopting the NFL replay rules as time goes on. I know it slows the game down, but for me, its about the right team winning vs waiting an extra 15-20min for the replays. Refs make mistakes the more we can minimize/fix those mistakes the better, yea?


Jerome
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Love the name Las Vegas Lights but the soccer team took it already. Spades would also be cool.
 
Kevin Porter Jr. got arrested recently and charged with assault from a domestic violence incident. The Houston Rockets, whom have been a doormat the past few seasons and made strides to get better, doesn't need to have situations like this that potentially can ruin one's career along with ruining the vibes and chemistry of a team. Shame.
 
Guess who the Milwaukee Bucks picked up? Heard of a guy named... Damian Lillard? Yep. He's part of a three-team trade where as Damian Lillard will be going from the Portland Trail Blazers to the Milwaukee Bucks. The Blazers get Jrue Holiday and Deandre Ayton in return. Also involved in this trade is Jusuf Nurkic to the Phoenix Suns. I think the Miami Heat were trying to pick up Damian Lillard, but that deal is off the table.

Wow. So this may give Milwaukee a little extra firepower by acquiring Damian Lillard. Fear the Deer...
 
It was 122-103 in Houston as the Houston Rockets downed the Indiana Pacers. Newcomers Amen (pronounced "ah-men") Thompson and Cam Whitmore did quite well. Both A. Sengun and C. Whitmore each got 15 points in this game. Six different Rockets including Sengun and Whitmore were in double figures. I do feel good about this team this season. This will hopefully be the team that puts the Rockets back into the playoff contender realm after the consistently-losing Rockets of the past few seasons since James Harden wanted out of Houston.
 
JohnBM01
It was 122-103 in Houston as the Houston Rockets downed the Indiana Pacers. Newcomers Amen (pronounced "ah-men") Thompson and Cam Whitmore did quite well. Both A. Sengun and C. Whitmore each got 15 points in this game. Six different Rockets including Sengun and Whitmore were in double figures. I do feel good about this team this season. This will hopefully be the team that puts the Rockets back into the playoff contender realm after the consistently-losing Rockets of the past few seasons since James Harden wanted out of Houston.
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Pretty funny that league bad boy Brooks also got ejected 5 minutes into his first pre-season game as a Rocket.
 
McLaren
Pretty funny that league bad boy Brooks also got ejected 5 minutes into his first pre-season game as a Rocket.
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I only saw maybe... the game from about 5 minutes left in the 1st Quarter. So I didn't see Brooks getting booted early.
 
It's just Preseason, but the Houston Rockets downed the New Orleans Pelicans 120-87. This game was not televised, but it was on AM 790 here in Houston along with on the Rockets' website. I still feel good about the Rockets' chances this season. They still got to take down the better Western Conference teams as well in-state rivals in the Spurs and McLaren's Mavericks. Speaking of the Spurs, we face the Spurs this coming Monday in preseason hoops in San Antonio.

As I learned, Dillon Brooks' bank account is $25K USD light thanks to his groin shot he gave to the Pacers that got him ejected on a Flagrant-2 foul. We need character on our team, but we don't need characters. There's a difference between the two.
 
Ladies and gentlemen, it's time for NBA basketball to return! Here are tonight's games to tip off the 2023-2024 season:

  • LAL Lakers at DEN Nuggets <<< DEN - defending Champions
  • PHX Suns at GS Warriors

Enjoy Opening Night!
 
ROCKETS WIN! It took four tries, but the Houston Rockets finally knock down their first win of the 2023-2024 season. The Houston Rockets downed the Charlotte Hornets 128-119 on Filipino Heritage Night. This game was the 63rd time in team history making 20+ three-pointers. It was the first time with 20+ made 3's since November 7, 2022. I got the Rockets winning 30+ games this season and maybe get in the Play-In Tournament. I can only hope the Rockets finally got it together and can start returning to their past glory. Slow and steady return, that is.
 
For the first time ever, the NBA will host an in-season Tournament. It starts tonight as all 30 NBA teams will compete in Group Play. Both conferences will have three groups of five teams. Those five were determined in draws. This will go on until the Tournament Championship Game on December 9. If you want more information about this new Tournament, check this out: https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/38192234/what-nba-season-tournament-format-schedule-groups .

On a different note, would you GTPlanet NBA fans like to be fashion critics for a moment? There was recently an unveiling of the latest "City Connect" uniforms. You may recall the City Connect uniforms if you follow Major League Baseball. Well now, there is a new set for NBA teams. The new City Connect uniforms will be worn during this new in-season tournament. What do you think about these unique uniforms? See for yourself: https://www.nba.com/city-edition-jerseys/2023-24 . I personally love the one for my Houston Rockets.


Enjoy the inaugural NBA in-season tournament!


[UPDATE Found better site for the City Connect uniforms.
 
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For the first time since October 2021, the Houston Rockets are above .500 on the season. That Rockets team was at 1-1 then. This year's Rockets are at 3-3, having won three straight games. They could push that to four with a win against the visiting Los Angeles Lakers tomorrow.

The Houston Rockets are currently 3-3 on the season and 3rd in the Southwest Division. Worlds better than being the Southwest Division doormat as the past few seasons. Their three victims were Charlotte (128-119), and the Sacramento Kings twice (107-89, and then 122-97). No road wins yet this season for Houston. We're actually on a fairly long home stand. Rockets just got to take advantage of this home stand.

I have the Rockets down for at least 30 wins and maybe sneak into the postseason in the Play-In Tournament. At this rate, 27 to go to reach my predicted wins total for this team.


How are your favorite NBA teams doing?
 
For the first time since February 2021, the Houston Rockets have an above .500 record. They just got through whacking the Los Angeles Lakers 128-94 here in Houston. This is now four straight wins for the Rockets. This is also the 4th time in team history the Rockets beat the Lakers by 30+ points. In fact, I don't think the Lakers ever tied or lead this game. So start-to-finish victory tonight.

NBA fans don't have to bandwagon the Rockets right now, but at least the Rockets should get a bit more noticed now. Proud of my boys!
 
The Houston Rockets beat the New Orleans Pelicans 104-101. Fred VanVleet did most of the late magic to lift the Rockets over the Pelicans for their 5th straight win. New Orleans has now lost four straight. Their next opponent is the Denver Nuggets here in Houston this Sunday.

I like how this team is actually competing again, because I didn't know what the heck Houston was under Stephen Silas (besides sorry). This has become a team to at least follow or take notice of. Not exactly a team to pull to make some postseason magic, but this is still a rebuilding team trying to learn to win and contend. They are doing just that.
 
From an 0-3 start to six straight wins, the Houston Rockets have turned some heads so far in 2023-2024. I still have my Rockets as a team winning at least 30 games and perhaps sneaking into the Play-In Tournament this season. We're currently 4th in the West and 2nd in the Southwest Division. Ahead of Houston in the West are Denver and Dallas (tied for 1st) and Minnesota (3rd). Dallas leads the Southwest Division currently. We're 1.5 games back of the Dallas Mavericks in the Southwest Division and in the West. We don't play until this Friday at the Los Angeles Clippers to continue the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament.

Speaking of the Clippers, good grief. They're borderline a hot mess retirement home. It just isn't working out in Los Angeles. Sure the Lakers have their woes, but the Clip Joint got it worse. Ever since James Harden joined the Clippers, this team is now 3-6 and have been 0-4 since Harden joined the Clippers. While the Clippers don't have the worst record right now (Detroit does at 2-9), the Clippers are on the outside of the Play-In Tournament ranked teams. It is still early, but the Clippers have some top-level talent that simply are not performing and executing. Imagine building a super team that plays worse than an expansion team. That's the Clippers right now. If my Rockets win this Friday at the Clippers, that will compound things even more for the Clippers.

James Harden was great with the Oklahoma City Thunder and with the Houston Rockets. I believed in J. Harden even if he was trash with the Rockets. Having said all of this... I think J. Harden is done. I gave up on him being an NBA Finals MVP or a championship-winning player. Unless he has an absolute Renaissance and revival, I think we are witnessing the sunset of an otherwordly player like James Harden.
 
Well, if you're a Golden State Warriors fan, you're going to miss Draymond Green for about five games. The NBA dropped the suspension hammer on Draymond Green after his incident with Rudy Gobert. Not even 100 seconds passed until the Timberwolves and Warriors got into a tangle. D. Green ended up headlocking Rudy Gobert. So... no Draymond Green for five games for the Warriors.
 
The Houston Rockets' six game winning streak heading into their game at the fledgling Los Angeles Clippers has ended. Can't win 'em all. James Harden knocked down the go-ahead score on one of his former teams and got fouled in the process. So the Clippers found their remedy for losing- just beat the Rockets. Great shame. First loss of the In-Season Tournament, and still no road wins yet for the rebuilding 2023-2024 Rockets. A lot of the Rockets' fans felt the referees rigged this game. Anyhow, final score: 106-100, Clippers.
 

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