The question about giant bigs aside from their health, is if they are playable in the modern nba game.

Edey, Clingan, and Kessler proved that they can play in the pace and space game of modern nba despite their size.

Do you guys think Mara will at least be as playable as them?

PS: I am comparing him to the trio due to the fact that they are almost similar in size.

Can someone help explain this quote to me? Why does Kawhi require so much babying? Is he physically weaker than other NBA players? Can someone explain to me why he's the only member of the Raptors treated this way? Is he made of actual glass or does he just do what he wants?

Further quote: "he's going to have a whole week working out. Probably he's not gonna play against the Clippers (next Saturday). And hopefully... We're going to start including him in games after that."

Why spend tens of millions on a 35 year old who has never played a full NBA season in close to a decade?

Obviously, there are legends who if you combined their younger selves with their older knowledge who absolutely dominate. But there are also guys who are almost unrecognizable from their original playstyle.

Clippers + Pistons Blake Griffin is probably the gold standard. He was an elite athletic PF with a good post game on the Clippers, but he became a solid shooter and all-around playmaker on the Pistons.

Would Brook Lopez compare? He’d have the post game of his Nets era with the 3 and D of his Bucks era.

Young bruising Al Horford with his Celtics crazy switchability and shooting is maybe a step below, but worth considering?

Anyone else I’m missing?

Edit: I meant to say “wildly”.

Who’s the closest comp to Justin Herbert in the NBA? I ask as on social media I’ve seen lots of defending 2 interceptions for Herbert boneheaded plays. I was wondering who is the closest comp to this in the NBA?

There’s a lot of parallels between these two teams imo. They’re both defense first teams who are subpar offensive teams that rely on an injury prone superstar wing to save them in half court offensive possessions.

They also both have 2nd options that can’t shoot, are surrounded by other non shooters and their centers can’t shoot either and are defensive liabilities.

The Rockets actually overachieved in the regular season last year and given how much time Kawhi misses and how much tougher the East will be this year, it’s looking like the Raptors will be a play in team.

If every NBA team scrapped its current name and renamed itself after the food its city is best known for, this is what we'd get:

Atlantic Division

• Boston Cream Pies: It was invented in Boston. It is also very clearly a cake and not a pie!
• Brooklyn Pizza: There are about 400 different New York foods I could have used, so Brooklyn gets pizza.
• New York Bagels: The Knicks get bagels.
• Philadelphia Cheesesteaks: This one is easy.
• Toronto Peameal Bacon Sandwiches: Toronto's signature sandwich.

Central Division

• Chicago Deep Dishes: Easy.
• Cleveland Polish Boys: Kielbasa, fries, coleslaw and barbecue sauce all on one sandwich...
• Detroit Square Pizzas: Detroit invented a shape, good job.
• Indiana Pork Tenderloins: Another easy one.
• Milwaukee Cheese Curds: I don't think I need to explain this.

Southeast Division

• Atlanta Lemon Pepper Wings: Specifically lemon pepper. Whether they should be wet is a discussion I'm not qualified to moderate.
• Charlotte Bojangles: Named after the famous chicken chain. https://www.wbtv.com/2026/06/30/lebron-james-loves-bojangles-could-it-be-enough-lure-him-charlotte-hornets/
• Miami Cuban Sandwiches: Miami has stone crab, croquetas and a million other options, but the Cuban sandwich wins.
• Orlando Key Lime Pie: Not really from just Orlando, but still.
• Washington Half-Smokes: No wonder they haven't won 50 games since 1978.

Northwest Division

• Denver Green Chile: Denver puts green chile on basically everything it can get away with. Including breakfast.
• Minnesota Jucy Lucys: A burger with the cheese inside the meat instead of on top.
• Oklahoma City Onion Burgers: A classic regional favorite.
• Portland Marionberry Pies: Oregon's state pie uses a berry developed in Oregon.
• Utah Funeral Potatoes: Possibly the least threatening team name ever created.

Pacific Division

• Golden State Sourdoughs: San Francisco sourdough. Imagine Draymond Green getting ejected while wearing a loaf of bread on his jersey.
• Los Angeles Lakers French Dips: The Lakers get the old-school LA food.
• LA Clippers Street Tacos: The Clippers get tacos.
• Phoenix Sonoran Hot Dogs: Bacon-wrapped hot dog with beans, onions, tomatoes and a pile of toppings.
• Sacramento Tomatoes: Sacramento is America's Farm-to-Fork Capital and historically has enough tomato credentials to have been nicknamed the Big Tomato. The Sacramento Tomatoes genuinely sounds like a 1948 BAA team.

Southwest Division

• Dallas Tex-Mex: A legendary culinary staple.
• Houston Viet-Cajun Crawfish: This division is already unfair.
• Memphis Dry-Rub Ribs: Memphis barbecue.
• New Orleans Po-Boys: Gumbo and beignets were sitting right there too. Po-Boys has a ring to it though.
• San Antonio Puffy Tacos: One of my favorite names.

Thought this video was interesting. This guy has a data science degree and built a model that predicts breakout stars. Doesn’t really mean anything, but interesting to see someone with a data science degree try to analytically predict a breakout player. Will be cool to see how the top three players the model came up with do the rest of their careers.

The model’s top three breakout candidates were

1. Ryan Rollins
2. Donovan Clingan
3. Anthony Black

Weekly update from the GOAT ranking I run — career-stats model blended with fan head-to-head voting (fan influence caps at 70% once a guy has enough matchup data).

Biggest movers this week:
- LeBron passed Kareem for #2 (96.18 vs 95.54)
- Wilt jumped Magic for #7 (73.48 vs 73.28)

Full top 10:
1. Michael Jordan 98.47
2. LeBron James 96.18
3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 95.54
4. Bill Russell 85.20
5. Tim Duncan 78.59
6. Kobe Bryant 74.10
7. Wilt Chamberlain 73.48
8. Magic Johnson 73.28
9. Shaquille O'Neal 72.13
10. Larry Bird 69.33

Who's the most overrated guy on this list?

I post these weekly on r/goatchaser.

Let's suppose 5 shooting guards faced off against 5 centers. Assume the following criteria:

• Both teams have average-level players of their respective positions.
• Both teams draft 5 different players of their position.
• If a player is both classified as both a shooting guard and center as their primary/secondary positions, they may play for either team.
• Both teams are have sizes that are relative to the averages for either positions.
• Games will be 4 quarters. Subs will be extra copies of that player.

So which team is more likely to win? Shooting Guards? Or Centers?

He played only in the first half, and he had great dimes in this game.

one of the denver guys secured a defensive rebound, then stepped out of bounds and passed it back in as if it were a made basket? and it wasn't called out of bounds and looked clearly intentional? can someone clear this up?

You can see Rui saying 'FUCK' on the replay.

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But don’t rule outa Bronny James trade, not because the Lakers are seeking to sump him but because he could bring in draft assets–even a second rounder or two, which is what James would bring. “There’s definitely interest there,” one executive said of other teams nosing around on James. “He’s gotten much better in a short period. He knows his role, and it’s hard to find young guys who just want to excel in their role.” Again, we’re not talking first-round picks, and dumping Knecht is still probably the Lakers’ path. But Bronny James being traded because of his own ability and not because of his dad would be a great story.

Source: https://eu.hoopshype.com/story/sports/nba/rumors/2026/10/04/nba-executive-theres-definitely-interest-in-bronny-james-around-the-league/92090247007/

The Trail Blazers acquired a player who once looked like a future face of the NBA for Jerami Grant and Kris Murray. That's how far Ja Morant's value has fallen. Morant once electrified the NBA with his explosive handle, acrobatic finishes and complete disregard for anyone standing between him and the rim. But with injuries, off-court troubles and diminishing on-court performance, it becomes harder to justify paying him more than $40 million in each of the next two seasons.

But for just Grant and Murray, I understand why the Blazers took the chance. Deni Avdija needs a co-star. Scoot Henderson hasn't shown enough consistency to become one. Damian Lillard is returning from a torn Achilles. Shaedon Sharpe is recovering from knee surgery. Taking the next step could require a gamble on talent Portland wouldn't otherwise have a realistic chance to acquire. And maybe, just maybe, Morant could be that piece.

In his first 12 games last season, Morant was as bad as he's ever been. He scored 22.4 points per 36 minutes on 47.7% true shooting and struggled to get to the basket. All that was missing was the James Harden fat suit, because Morant clearly didn't want to be in Memphis anymore. But after returning from a calf strain in December, he posted 28.5 points per 36 on 58.7% true shooting over his final eight appearances. His efficiency and shot distribution resembled his two All-Star seasons, when he produced 29.6 points per 36 on 56.6% true shooting.

Ja began to look more like Ja. In the clips above from his 40-point game against the Sixers, he displayed burst off the dribble and finished acrobatically with either hand. His ability to get into the paint was returning, and so were the opportunities it created for everyone else.

In the next three games, he logged 36 assists: 11 against the Lakers, 13 against the Magic and 12 against the Hawks. He manipulated defenders with his handle, drew help and found the open man. In transition, he pushed the ball ahead before defenses could get organized.

For a brief moment before a sprained ligament in his left elbow and a Grizzlies tank job ended his season, Morant finally began to look like himself again. Of course, it was only eight games. But at 27, imagine what a healthy Morant could do for Avdija, who averaged 24.2 points, 6.9 rebounds and 6.7 assists last season.

At 6-foot-8, Deni's combination of size, downhill scoring and passing turned him into an offensive centerpiece. And at only 25, he may be only just tapping into his ceiling. Having another player capable of getting downhill could spare him from having to beat a set defense so often.

But can these Blazers blend?

Even at his peak, Ja had a shaky jumper and defensive limitations. Portland can help mitigate those flaws with Jrue Holiday and Toumani Camara there to take the tougher defensive assignments. The both of them also offer spot-up shooting, screening and connective passing on offense. But the core pieces need to offer enough of those role-player qualities too.

Morant has made 33% of his career catch-and-shoot 3-pointers, compared with Avdija's 34.5%. Spacing could become an issue for this team if Camara can't sustain his improvement from last year and if Donovan Clingan can't successfully become a spot-up threat.

Is Dame supposed to play off-ball most of the time now just to offer some spacing? Maybe early on. But he averaged 24.9 points and 7.1 assists in his last season in Milwaukee and was named an All-Star. At age 36 coming off a torn Achilles, there's no telling how much he has left. But Blazers fans know more than anyone how foolish it'd be to ever count out Dame.

Last season, Portland ranked 22nd in isolation scoring efficiency and 28th in pick-and-roll scoring efficiency, per Synergy Sports. Lillard could help solve those problems with his pull-up jump shooting. So could Ja. And their shared presence alleviates the pressure on each other to be themselves right away. Especially for Dame. At age 36, in his first year back from a torn Achilles, it might be beneficial for him to take on a lighter workload. And there will still be plenty of moments that everyone in the building knows the ball should be in Dame's hands.

It's been a weird year in Portland. But looking purely at the basketball situation, the Blazers hired one of the league's most-respected assistants in Micah Nori and have an impressive blend of proven veterans and young players. Maybe Scoot takes a leap in a sixth-man role. Maybe Clingan becomes the rare center who can both put a lid on the rim and shoot 3s on the other end. Maybe Deni goes from All-Star to All-NBA. Maybe Dame looks like Dame once again. And maybe Ja still has a few prime seasons left in him. Or maybe Morant shoots Portland in the foot.

Link: https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/the-blazers-are-betting-on-a-ja-morant-comeback-170000225.html