What now for Chris Paul and the Clippers? We answered six questions on the stunning news
What’s next for Paul? What about the Clippers, who are struggling badly? We look at the big roster shakeup.
Author: Editor
Skechers World Champions Cup is great golf happening this week
Skechers World Champions Cup is great golf happening this week
The Skechers World Champions Cup is going on this week and it is some seriously awesome golf.
If you love things like the Ryder Cup, President’s Cup, or Solheim Cup then this is right up your alley. The Skechers World Champions Cup is a bit different those in that it pits three teams against one another (United States, Europe, and an International group), but the level of intensity and competition is the same.
Recently the Tournament Chairman for the event, the great Peter Jacobsen, joined us to talk about the event as the opening round was underway on Friday. You can watch my entire conversation with him here.
This is an event that the world of golf has been looking forward to for some time now. Back in October we spoke with the United States captain in Jim Furyk and personally speaking I’ll be rooting him and our fellow Americans on. As Peter put it though, this is an event that features a lot of competitive drive from everyone involved, but it is great to see these players out there in general, especially at this part of the calendar/year.
Peter mentioned in our chat that part of the benefit of this event is the awareness that it raises for the Champions Tour at large. The Tour is one of great value and skill and that people have an opportunity to see that through this Cup is very cool indeed.
On the subject of seeing… you can watch the second round all day Friday and the final one on Sunday. Coverage is on ESPN+, ESPN, and ABC (final round afternoon session only) and you will surely enjoy it all.
Sources: CP3, Lue weren’t on speaking terms
Sources: CP3, Lue weren’t on speaking terms
Chris Paul was not on speaking terms with Clippers coach Ty Lue for several weeks before his stunning ouster from the team, sources told ESPN.
Campbell, Clemson great, NBA champ, dies at 57
Campbell, Clemson great, NBA champ, dies at 57
Elden Campbell, the all-time leading scorer at Clemson who played for the Lakers in the 1990s and won an NBA title with the Pistons, has died at the age of 57.
Kon Knueppel, Cooper Flagg Named NBA’s Rookies Of The Month
Kon Knueppel, Cooper Flagg Named NBA’s Rookies Of The Month
Kon Knueppel and Cooper Flagg have been named the NBA’s Rookies of the Month for October and November. This marks the first time both winners played for the same college.
Knueppel averaged 18.4 points and 5.7 rebounds while shooting 41.3 percent on three-pointers.
Flagg averaged 16.7 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists.
What analytics predict about NFL’s contenders and pretenders
What analytics predict about NFL’s contenders and pretenders
Nothing in the NFL makes sense this season. Down is up, up is down, the Browns are consistently down, while the Chiefs might be up, even though they’re down right now. If you’ve been trying to make sense of 2025 you’re not alone, because week-to-week it’s impossible to know what is going to happen in the league. That whole mess has snowballed into the spot we’re in now, where just a few weeks removed from the playoffs nobody has any idea which teams are good or not.
At times like this we have two options: We can either throw our hands up and say “none of this makes sense,” or we can look to the cold, steely embrace of analytics to give us some idea about who is actually good or not.
Over at RBDSM we have a fresh tier NFL list, which is a two axis graph that plots offensive EPA/play, and defensive EPA/play allowed to map how all 32 teams stack up. If you’re not familiar with EPA, it stands for “Expected Points Added,” an essentially boils down every single play in a game to a numerical value to see how well the play was executed in terms of adding points on offense, or preventing them on defense. It’s the only advanced metric we have which factors in success rate, penalties, turnovers, everything — all into one stat.
This is interesting to see, because it naturally factors in quality. An explosive play against the horrendous Bengals defense won’t be worth as much as one against the juggernaut Browns defense. Similarly, stopping Matthew Stafford and the Rams is more significant than intercepting a pass thrown by J.J. McCarthy. It’s for this reason that raw wins and losses often don’t match up with EPA rankings due to strength of schedule. Football is always unpredictable (ask the Panthers), but we can use EPA metrics as a predictor for how teams should fair when we hit the playoffs.
Tiering is read diagonally from top right, to bottom left. The perfect team would dominate in both offensive EPA and defense EPA allowed — but that’s rare. So the sliced tiers can account for true dominance in one area, while being sub-par in another. It’s for this reason the Cowboys can still be a high-tier team, because they’re one of the best offensive teams in football, and one of the worst defensively.
First a few general observations before we dive into separating the wheat from the chaff when it comes to contenders and pretenders.
No. 1: There is no “elite” team this year
The Rams are about as close as you’ll get to a top tier team, but even so they sit at the cusp of the first and second tier. This isn’t that surprising in the scheme of things. It’s rare to truly have an ideal team, and since EPA tiering began in 2016 there’s only been one true “Tier 1” team that has dominated both offensively and defensively in the regular season, and that’s the 2019 Baltimore Ravens, who boasted the No. 2 offense in the NFL, the No. 4 defense, and dramatically crashed out in the playoffs to the Titans in the shocker.
No. 2: The Titans are legendarily bad
No need to rub salt in the wound, but my God that team sucks.
No. 3: The Chiefs are the most dangerous team outside the bubble
A defining factor of the 2024 Chiefs that made the Super Bowl was the number of one score games they managed to win. This year the coin has flipped to the other side, and they’re 2-6 in one score games this season. This incredibly small margin of error means that Kansas City is still very dangerous, and are easily the scariest potential playoff team — if they can get in.
Contenders vs. Pretenders
In order to do this we’re going to take a team’s ranking in the composite EPA and match it up with their current standing in their conference W/L record. If these match up in a high tier, the team is a bonafide contender. If there is a significant delta between division standing and composite EPA then we have a strong possibility the team is a pretender. A higher number indicates the team’s record is weaker than their EPA making them better than their record shows, while a negative shows the inverse, making a team’s record look much better than they’ve actually been.
AFC
Contenders: Patriots (-1), Bills (+4), Colts (+5)
Pretenders: Jaguars (+5), Ravens (+5) Broncos (+3)
The Patriots really are as good as their record shows, while the Colts are still very good — even if they’ve cooled off a little in recent weeks. Meanwhile we see the absurd weakness of the AFC South and AFC North shine through with the Jaguars and Ravens both being very mediocre teams (15th and 19th in the NFL respectively), but have very high seeding due to their divisions.
NFC
Contenders: Rams (-1), Seahawks (-2) Packers (-5)
Pretenders: Buccaneers (+5), Bears (+4)
We know how good the NFC West has been this year. Football’s most brutal division by a mile, it’s entirely possible we see three teams get to the playoffs out of the west — all of whom could win a playoff game or more. Where this gets interesting is the pretender side. The majority of the NFC has its current seeding match its potential, with two outliers: The Buccaneers, who are below average in both offense and defense this year. Also the Bears. As much as Chicago fans may bristle, their Charmin soft schedule has this team looking much, much better in standings that they do as an analytic team.
The High Score 100: The biggest rankings risers and fallers as we navigate Week 7 in fantasy basketball
The High Score 100: The biggest rankings risers and fallers as we navigate Week 7 in fantasy basketball
The High Score 100 — the top-100 players in Yahoo’s newest fantasy basketball format — is a running reflection of year-to-date performance and trending production. Each weekly update captures who’s actually delivering value and who’s fading.
Here’s a breakdown of the biggest risers and fallers through the sixth week of fantasy basketball — with the complete High Score 100 at the bottom of the article. I’ll be updating my rankings every Tuesday throughout the fantasy basketball season.
Before jumping into the risers, it’s worth noting the ripple effect of stars returning this week. Tyler Herro (36) and Jalen Williams (53) made their season debuts in Week 6, pushing rotational players down the list as usage and minutes normalized. As more stars come back from injury, expect more volatility in the middle tiers of the rankings.
Zach Edey – FC, Memphis Grizzlies: 76th overall (⬆️ 16)
The Grizzlies’ big man is becoming such a dominant force in the paint. I had to move him up in the ranks because of his outstanding play to close out Week 6 in a win over Sacramento, racking up 32 points, 17 rebounds and 5 blocks on 16-of-20 shooting. A 64-point fantasy outing was shocking. Still, at this pace, he’s tracking to be a 37-40+ fantasy point asset in High Score. Edey’s averaging 13 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks per game since returning from injury — keep him locked into your lineups.
Josh Hart – G/FC, New York Knicks: 87th overall (⬆️ 16)
Hart’s rotation minutes have ticked up as New York shuffles through injuries, and he’s responded with the multi-category contributions we’ve come to love and expect. Over the past four games, Hart is averaging 17 points, 11.8 rebounds, 7 assists and 3.3 stocks per game, equating to 52.5 fantasy points in High Score. A promotion was necessary after that level of production in Week 6. We can expect that type of stability as long as OG Anunoby remains out and Mitchell Robinson doesn’t play in back-to-backs.
Cooper Flagg – G/FC, Dallas Mavericks: 58th overall (⬆️ 15)
Flagg’s been showing signs of growth offensively over the past month. The rookie phenom posted consecutive weeks of registering at least 50 fantasy points in High Score. Also, he became the youngest player in NBA history to drop 35 in a game in a win over the Clippers in Week 6. Flagg’s versatility is beginning to shine through on both ends, showing the kind of upside fantasy managers expected when drafting him as a top-50 player. The usage spike and month-over-month improvement as a scorer will only send him further up the ranks.
Ausar Thompson – FC, Detroit Pistons: 118th overall (⬇️ 28)
Thompson’s name appears on the fallers’ list in consecutive weeks because his production continues to trend downward. Even though he’s returned to the starting lineup, he hasn’t eclipsed 30 fantasy points since Nov. 9. In his last seven outings, his highest score is 27 and for the season, Thompson is averaging 30.2 fantasy points per game. That’s on the cusp of not being worth holding on your fantasy roster in a default High Score league. He’s playing less than 30 minutes per game this season, so a boost in minutes would certainly improve his production.
Jarrett Allen – FC, Cleveland Cavaliers 100th overall (⬇️ 20)
Like Thompson, Allen is back again and loosely holding down the final spot in the High Score 100. A finger injury has been affecting his performance lately, but we can’t ignore the stats. He hasn’t gone over 30 fantasy points in over two weeks, causing his average to dip to 31 fantasy points per game. He’s actually ranked 107, but I’m giving some grace for his finger ailment.
Jaden McDaniels – FC, Minnesota Timberwolves: 101st overall (⬇️ 10)
I expect McDaniels will have a brief stint on the fallers list after a disappointing Week 6, where he scored 26 fantasy points. With Jalen Williams and Tyler Herro returning, someone had to drop off, and McDaniels’ play of late hasn’t been enough to warrant keeping in the top 100. After a hot start to the season, scoring 18 PPG, which has normalized to 14 PPG over the past 14 games, with improved efficiency that unfortunately won’t factor into High Score.
Complete High Score 100 rankings
The High Score 100 is a running reflection of year-to-date performance and trending production.
Stay tuned for the next look at the High Score 100!
The best Cyber Monday deals for sports fans
The best Cyber Monday deals for sports fans
If you are reading this story, you are probably back at work after a long holiday weekend in the United States, putting off that latest assignment for one more hour as you try and check items off your shopping list.
Allow us to help in that effort.
We get it: Sports gifts can be expensive. That makes finding the best deals possible a must this holiday season. We’ve pulled together some of the gifts we are getting for sports fans in our lives — or gifts we are hoping Santa brings us — for you on Cyber Monday.
And for the record, this is not part of a sponsorship package but rather the gifts those of us who live, eat, and breathe sports every day think you should know about.
Cyber Monday gifts for NFL fans
Like most leagues, the NFL is holding a Cyber Monday sale, where fans can receive up to 60% off merchandise.
You might need to act quickly, however. This Stefon Diggs New England home jersey is almost sold out.
Cyber Monday gifts for NBA fans
Celtics fan Pete Rogers started designing new jerseys for the team following each win during the 2022-2023 NBA season. This year he’s added the Minnesota Timberwolves to his collection, which you can find at Banner18.
While many designs are currently sold out, there are still some available as part of their Holiday Drop.
Cyber Monday gifts for WNBA fans
WNBA t-shirts are absolutely fantastic. Everything is on sale for Cyber Monday, but not everyone likes a jersey. Instead there’s a wide array of both player shirt jerseys, as well as designs that are individualized for specific players — like this awesome Paige Bueckers No. 1 pick shirt that evokes the early 90s in style.
Cyber Monday gifts for NHL fans
Mitchell & Ness is having a Cyber Monday sale, and while they have gifts for fans of any sport, some of their NHL stuff is fantastic.
Particularly their Hartford Whalers collection.
Cyber Monday gifts for college fans
Thank us later.
Cyber Monday gifts for MLB fans
The official MLB Store is having a Cyber Monday sale, with up to 60% off deals for baseball fans today.
However, if you are looking to go above and beyond, MLB Auctions is having a separate Cyber Monday event, as they are auctioning off special “Black Friday Baseball Bundles.” If you ever wanted a chance to bid on four game-used baseballs signed by Colton Cowser, for example, this is your lucky day.
If you are looking for gifts for the baseball player in your life, Dick’s has a big Cyber Monday event happening that includes sales on some of the best bats you can find. For example, this Marucci CATX bat is now $99.99, down from $199.99. Just make sure you get the right size, and also make sure any bat you buy can be used in the league the recipient plays in. Depending on the age and skill level, some leagues only allow USA bats, others allow USSSA bats, while older players are required to use BBCOR bats.
Cyber Monday gifts for F1 fans
If you’ve made it to this part then you probably know … F1 merchandise is really, really expensive.
Which makes Cyber Monday the perfect time to check off gift ideas for the F1 fan in your life.
The official F1 store is having a Cyber Monday sale with up to 70% off items. That includes team wear, such as the official Red Bull 2025 team shirt.
Specific teams are offering Cyber Monday deals. McLaren is offering fans an extra 15% off selected items (although that might not ease fans’ pain after the team bottled the Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday) and Haas has extended their Black Friday deals into this week, where fans of Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman can get up to 75% off selected merchandise.
Teams that have collaborations with specific brands are also having sales. For example, fans can receive deep discounts on the adidas x Mercedes line here.
Ferrari fans can also get a pair of these Drift Cat 11 shoes in white from Puma’s Cyber Monday sale:
The Ferrari fan in you life probably just wants the team to fix the car, however.
Cyber Monday gifts for the sports bettor in your life
Let’s face it: Sports cards are basically gambling. You buy a pack and hope to crack something massive. Topps is having a sale on numerous sets across various sports, all of which have a chance to get a unique collectible. Perfect for the person who wants a little nostalgia in their life, or a chance at landing a big windfall.
Biggest NBA takeaways at the one-quarter mark: 25 takes on the East, West and OKC's run at history
Biggest NBA takeaways at the one-quarter mark: 25 takes on the East, West and OKC's run at history
We’ve reached the NBA season’s one-quarter mark, where every team will have played 20 games by week’s end. What conclusions can we make about the East and West standings at this point? Who are the top title contenders? And can the Thunder really break the NBA record for most wins in a season? Let’s break it all down.
What’s one big takeaway from the East standings?
Ben Rohrbach: The Pistons are legit. The Knicks have a middling defense, though they have been better, and the Cavaliers own a middling record, sitting in seventh place, which opens the door to Detroit. The Pistons are the class of the conference, both by record and eye test, and while we now accept them as possible NBA finalists, they also may be one piece (Lauri Markkanen?) away from more serious title contention against the West winner. The iron is hot. Time to strike.
Kelly Iko: The fifth-place Hawks survived November without Trae Young. Atlanta won 10 of its 15 games with a top-10 defense — and fifth-year forward Jalen Johnson has been flat-out awesome as a playmaker and distributor. Combine that with his elite rebounding, floor spacing (45.9% from 3 on over four attempts) and aggressive three-level scoring and you could make the argument that Johnson should be the focal point in Atlanta moving forward, even when Young returns.
Nekias Duncan: I’ll put on my Propaganda Pants: the Southeast Division is the most fascinating group in the East. The Heat’s new-but-not-really-new-but-certainly-different offense has made headlines and they’re now looking to fully implement Tyler Herro into the fold. The Magic are rounding into form defensively and scoring all of the buckets since Paolo Banchero has been out. The Hawks have ramped up their activity defensively, and their everyone-eats offensive style without Young has kept them afloat. Only a game sets them apart, and they’re all playoff teams right now. It’s been a blast.
Steve Jones: It’s a land of opportunity in the East this year, so the overall competition stands out. As I write this, nine teams have records of .500 or above and seven have won 7 of their last 10 games. Detroit has earned its way to the top, but the Knicks are knocking on the door. If you look at the standings, every single one of these teams believes they can beat each other. Makes for some fun basketball every night.
Dan Devine: The East feels like it’s going to be a game of rock-paper-scissors. How the teams up top navigate their respective top-line injury absences and reintegrations — Jaden Ivey in Detroit, OG Anunoby in New York, Tyler Herro in Miami, Trae Young in Atlanta, Paolo Banchero in Orlando, et al. — figures to go a long way toward determining seeding, which in turn will determine matchups, which in turn will determine which styles wind up making which kind of fights. Damn near everybody has at least some reason to believe they can win a playoff series, given health and the right opponent. But that also means everybody can get got.
What’s one big takeaway from the West standings?
Iko: The Lakers, Nuggets and Rockets are staying within closing distance of the Thunder. All three are in the top 10 in net rating against the league’s elite, all three possess top-five offenses and all three have the depth that necessitates a seven-game slugfest with the reigning champs. I’m not exactly betting against a team that has won 20 of its 21 games, but don’t be so quick to crown Oklahoma City.
Rohrbach: The Clippers stink. The last-place Pelicans, who owe their first-round draft pick to the Hawks, are about as bad as anyone could have anticipated, but the Clips, whose first-rounder belongs to the West-leading Thunder, are almost as bad. There was a time not long ago, at the start of last year’s playoffs, when we figured them for the conference’s second-best team. That now feels quaint. How does their deep-pocketed owner, Steve Ballmer, respond? As a buyer?
Devine: Zach Edey: small sample size MVP?
The sophomore center is averaging 13.6 points on 67.2% shooting to go with 11.1 rebounds and 2.3 blocks in just 25.4 minutes per game since returning from offseason surgery on his troublesome left ankle. Memphis has gone 5-2 in the seven games Edey has finished thus far and has walloped opponents by 103 points in his 203 minutes. As loudly bad as the vibes in Memphis were amid a 4-9, Ja Morant saga-inflected start, they’ve quietly and dramatically improved as the Grizz have climbed back into the play-in mix and within hailing distance of .500, thanks in large part to the return of one very, very large man.
Jones: The Thunder have not stopped rolling, but the current battle between the Lakers, Rockets and Nuggets has been fun to watch. It’s not just that all three are stacking up early wins, it’s that they’re getting it done on the road (a combined 8-2 on the road as of this writing). The Western Conference is a gauntlet, and a tough week can send you sliding down the standings, but establishing yourself early can open up a pathway for a run.
Duncan:[Looks around] Well, I’ll talk about the Thunder! With all due respect to the fun jockeying below them, and the sadness I will personally ignore as it pertains to the Clippers, it’s hard to overstate how ridiculous the Thunder have been. They’re a top-five offense despite an early shooting slump. They’ve flat-out been the best defense of the modern era. They’re on pace for an easy 70-win season. It’s hard to have a bigger takeaway than that.
Power rank your top-5 title contenders.
Devine: 1. Thunder; 2. Rockets; 3. Nuggets; 4. Lakers; 5. Knicks
Oklahoma City, a runaway war rig that’s only now getting whole, remains the rabbit everyone’s chasing. Houston — the only other team besides OKC to rank in the top five in offensive and defensive efficiency — has looked since opening night like the league’s best rabbit hunter. What Nikola Jokić (and Jamal Murray) and Luka Dončić (and Austin Reaves, and now LeBron James) are capable of doing offensively at the controls of top-four seeds merits respect. And amid a mish-mash of imperfect options atop the East, I still think I buy New York — now 5-2 since losing Anunoby, their best defender and a viable All-Star candidate before his injury — more than Detroit, Toronto, Miami or Orlando.
Rohrbach: 1. Thunder; 2. Nuggets; 3. Rockets; 4. Pistons; 5. Knicks
I don’t think anyone could argue against the Thunder (20-1) as clear-cut favorites to repeat as champions. The Nuggets and Rockets, probably in that order, have been the league’s next two best teams. The Pistons, firmly in first place in the East, belong in any conversation of serious title contenders, as do the Knicks, who have as good a chance as anyone to emerge from the weaker conference, as their record is now commensurate with their potential.
Jones: 1. Thunder; 2. Nuggets; 3. Rockets; 4. Lakers; 5. Pistons
OKC has lost one game since winning a championship. The Nuggets have shown a high ceiling on both ends when at full strength. The Rockets, whose defense is their identity, now have offensive punch with the two-man game of Kevin Durant and Alperen Şengün and the growth of Amen Thompson/Reed Sheppard/Jabari Smith Jr. In L.A., Luka Dončić is playing at an unreal level, Austin Reaves has grown and LeBron James has returned to elevate this team on both ends. And the Pistons have showcased a belief in who they are: a physical defense that gets after you and a two-man game between Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren that keeps pressure on you.
Duncan: 1. Thunder; 2. Nuggets; 3. Rockets; 4. Knicks; 5. Wolves
The real answer here is probably the full-strength Thunder, then four different variations of the Thunder missing a role player. They’ve been that good. The Jokić-Murray-Gordon trio with more defensive answers is a formula that speaks to me. Houston’s collective size paired with the Şengün-Durant duo has been a force to be reckoned with. The Knicks are finding the right balance between general flow, off-ball movement, and KAT-centric possessions offensively; I also trust that their defense will return to a more passable form once OG Anunoby returns. I lean Wolves here, very slightly ahead of the Pistons and Lakers. Anthony Edwards has gotten better, Julius Randle is having one heck of a year. The defense, while shakier than we’re accustomed to, has worked its way back to top-10 levels. The Edwards-Randle-McDaniels-Gobert quartet is blowing teams out of the building, and this is a group that’s fresh off back-to-back conference finals appearances.
Iko: 1. Thunder; 2. (fully healthy) Nuggets; 3. Lakers; 4. Rockets; 5. Knicks
Denver’s defense was allowing a stingy 109.4 points per 100 possessions with both Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun on the floor. The reshuffling of the Lakers’ hierarchy — moving Austin Reaves ahead of LeBron — was necessary and gives them an edge no other team has (James as the third option). The Durant/Şengün two-man game has given Houston a deeper X’s and O’s look. Once Anunuoby returns, New York’s eight-man playoff rotation looks exquisite — and I’m taking the All-NBA-esque defender shooting 40% from 3, with that depth, over Detroit’s fantastic story.
Name a contender that concerns you.
Duncan: Well, I thought the [redacted non-Lakers team in Los Angeles] would be a contender, but that seems firmly out. I’ll roll with the Cavs, who are firmly good but haven’t hit the high notes on either end of the floor that I’ve expected them to. Injuries have derailed the chemistry-building process; Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley are seeing multiple bodies virtually every time they try to attack, which has put a damper on some of the Beautiful Game flow we saw last year. There’s still plenty of time for them to round into elite form, but I’d like to see that soon.
Rohrbach: Cavaliers. Darius Garland cannot stay healthy. Mobley has not taken the leap necessary to vault Cleveland into another stratosphere. Mitchell has to do too much. The problems that have plagued them in the playoffs are starting to impact their success in the regular season, and we have to wonder whether the awkward fits between Garland and Mitchell in the backcourt and Mobley and Jarrett Allen in the frontcourt are their Achilles heels.
Jones: Nuggets. Yes, I have them at No. 2, but they need to navigate this stretch without Aaron Gordon and keep their defense at a high level. The concern is less with the whole and more if a losing streak could bump them down the standings. The Spurs have not gone away without Wemby and the Wolves always make a run.
Devine: Cavaliers. They entered the season with the best championship odds of any team in the East. They’re now 4-9 against teams over .500, and their offense has generally been a disaster whenever Mitchell’s been off the floor. Meanwhile, their core four has played a grand total of 57 minutes together due to injuries. Viewed through one lens, that’s cause for optimism: Get the main guys healthy, and maybe Cleveland starts looking more like last year’s No. 1 seed. The longer the Cavs go without clicking into gear, though, the further away last year looks … and the further away they seem from being the contender they were purported to be.
Iko: 76ers. I was alive when they were propped up by some to be the most dangerous team in the East in a year where the Celtics, Bucks and Pacers were decimated by injuries or lack of depth. Philadelphia today is 10-9, sitting in ninth place and struggling against good teams. Paul George’s reincorporation has been rough. You could debate some of Nick Nurse’s rotations — Jared McCain is averaging just 17 minutes per night a season — but the vibes just don’t look great, Joel Embiid looks different and something is off in the city of brotherly love.
Fill in the blank: The Thunder will win _____ games.
Jones: 69. The Thunder have been outstanding on both ends, and Jalen Williams’ return only makes them tougher, but they are going to keep getting everyone’s best shot.
Rohrbach: 70. At the quarter mark, the Thunder are operating at a 78-win pace, largely without Williams, who only recently returned from wrist surgery. Another injury, especially one to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, could send them “spiraling” toward 60-something wins, as could the relentlessness of another 82-game campaign in the wake of a championship run, but at worst they have a shot to be the third team ever to eclipse 70 wins.
Iko: 72. I can’t really see this team losing more than nine more times the rest of the season, barring any major injuries. SGA looks better than last season, Williams is back and they’re brilliantly coached on both sides of the ball. After winning a title and starting this year at this blistering rate, why not go for 70+?
Duncan: 71. I’m already on record with that prediction so I don’t think I can change it in good faith. Just know that I am very, very prepared to be wrong. It feels closer to 74 or 75 at this rate.
Devine: 75. Unlikely? Of course. But if these Thunder are historically good — and considering they’re the fourth team ever to win 20 of their first 21 games, that they currently boast the best defense since the ABA-NBA merger, and that they’re on pace for the largest average margin of victory ever — then why not have a little fun and project a little bit of history?
NBA Cup contender check-in with J.E. Skeets
NBA Cup contender check-in with J.E. Skeets
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Kevin O’Connor is joined by J.E. Skeets to break down the matchups in the knockout round of the NBA Cup. They discuss reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s efficiency and the Oklahoma City Thunder’s continued dominance with a historic start to the season.
Then, they share why Dillon Brooks is in heaven with the Phoenix Suns, whether Austin Reaves and Luka Dončić are the most dynamic duo in the NBA and how the Lakers can solve their defense.
Next, the duo breaks down how the San Antonio Spurs are continuing to develop without Victor Wembanyama and whether the Magic are playing their best basketball without Paolo Banchero. Plus, is Sandro Mamukelashvili a top contender for Sixth Man of the Year? Are the Knicks the favorites in the East?
(0:13) NBA Cup contender check-in
(0:58) Oklahoma City Thunder
(8:00) Phoenix Suns
(14:04) Los Angeles Lakers
(21:45) San Antonio Spurs
(26:49) Orlando Magic
(33:16) Miami Heat
(39:57) New York Knicks
(45:07) Toronto Raptors
Troy Wayrynen
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