So… how are we doing folks?

We at Canis Hoopus usually try to get game recaps out a full day before the games so everyone can get their jokes and thoughts going in the comments. It’s what makes this community so fun for so many of us, myself included. From GIFs to shitposts to real analysis and everything in between, this is where to find it.

However, some of us were a little busy tracking some election day results. We were watching a blue wave instead of watching a wave of blue at Target Center. We were celebrating the left wing, not analyzing the wings left with Anthony Edwards out. We were… You get the point, but I have a ton of these.

Now, with the Minnesota Timberwolves heading down to Texas to face the 7-1, conference-leading Houston Rockets, it’s time to flip red to blue, just as the state just did.

It’s a pretty great day to wake up and rep the Wolves, and to completely destroy now-jobless Greg Abott’s favorite team.

Let’s get into it.

Game Info

• Who:Minnesota Timberwolves (5-3) vs Houston Rockets (7-1)
• When: Wednesday, November 4th at 7:30 PM CT
• Where: Toyota Center — Houston, TX
• Local TV: DAZN-MIN
• Radio: 830 WCCO

Offense to Defense

So far this season, the Houston Rockets have played fast. After being a team largely defined by defense, Houston is now winning their games the way people have been doing for decades: by simply scoring more points than their opponents.

Getting Fred VanVleet back after his season-ending injury has done a lot to organize the Rockets, but it is their ability to turn defense into offense that ultimately has turned them from a Kevin Durant shooting clinic into a well-balanced, well-oiled machine.

To their credit, the Timberwolves have been aiming to do a similar thing in the absence of Anthony Edwards. Without Ant, the Wolves have been relying on the talent and speed of LaMelo Ball. 

“I like to play fast, and he’s faster than no other,” Ball said earlier this week.

While his driving (not the on-court kind) has gotten most of the focus in regard to his speed, Ball has been the fulcrum Minnesota needs to stay in games without their superstar wing and primary half-court shot creator.

However, it has also been Ayo Dosunmu’s incredible play filling in for Edwards that really should get more attention. So much of the conversation around Ayo was about this feigned outrage over a perceived overpay, but the Illinois guard is more valuable for the Wolves than any other team. He can fill in for either Ball or Edwards when needed, and can certainly fit with anyone else in the rotation.

And when he’s in the game, he’s moving.

The Twin Turbos of Dosunmu and Bones Hyland have been the two main beneficiaries of Edwards’ absence, and it’s their pursuit of transition opportunities that has kept Minnesota alive.

The team is coming off a win against the Milwaukee Bucks that showed both of them off, and will now hopefully carry that momentum into Houston.

Kevin Durant’s Gravity

I want all of you to take a look at this clip for a moment. While on the surface it looks like Kevin Durant is once again getting irritated with what seems like a relatively innocuous question, there’s a moment when Durant shifts from being annoyed to actually respecting the reporter’s questions and thoughts.

That’s because this is a really good goddamn question.

For years, the balance for stars has been all about involving teammates while also not shrinking under the lights. Many years ago, 538 put out an article about not just ball dominance but emotional dominance within a team structure. That piece determined that Durant was not an alpha.

It’s been the same argument for much of LeBron James’ career, and it is an argument that continues to be completely asinine.

The best players use their gravity to create for others as they do for themselves. How often they pull off those different things is what we use to define players as scorers or creators.

Maybe it’s not that simple.

Durant has been an underrated playmaker for the entire duration of his career because of how good he is as a scorer. Just a few games ago, Jabari Smith Jr. had a 30-point game largely off of attacking closeouts that Durant put him in position to beat.

The Wolves will have to do a good job of not just defending Durant but also minimizing the ways he can enable everyone around him. That’s so much easier said than done, and may not even be possible in general.

With Alperun Sengun at center, the Wolves can’t move Rudy Gobert to guard Durant, so they will have to ask Jaden McDaniels and Jonathan Kuminga to guard him while not sacrificing their rebounding that has been so vital recently. 

Answers, however, are easy to think of and hard to implement, so watch out for a big Durant game, even if the box score doesn’t necessarily show it.

The Milwaukee Bucks do battle with the 5-2 Boston Celtics tonight as they seek their first road victory of the season. On Monday in Minnesota, the Bucks entered the fourth quarter down just four points after a back-and-forth affair, only to see the rim shrink and, once again, go cold to close out the game. Meanwhile, the Celtics were in Houston and lost to the Rockets in a similar fashion, with their offense running out of steam in the fourth. Milwaukee will look to avoid a Beantown beatdown and hope to see Burries, Jakucionis, and other young Bucks continue to find their stride.

The Task Ahead

Boston was without Paul George Monday evening for a planned rest day, and George is expected back in the lineup, while Jayson Tatum will likely be on the bench for a scheduled rest day himself. In typical Boston fashion, though, they have been a model of consistency with almost any lineup they have thrown out there. The Celtics currently rank 10th in point differential, 13th in Offensive eFG%, and 12th in Defensive eFG%, while playing effective team defense that forces turnovers through help-side rotations. However, when the Celtics struggle, it often happens in the 4th quarter: they are -29 on the season in the final quarter of games, and it nearly cost them in their game against Brooklyn.

For this game, then, it will be about who maximizes their strengths first. Boston runs an effective half-court offence but is 26th in pace; meanwhile, the Bucks, for all their flaws, are fourth in pace. Both teams shoot a lot of three-pointers but are below league average in makes, with the Bucks shooting 33.3% and the Celtics shooting 34.5%. So if the Bucks can get more possessions by winning the offensive glass, they will have a good chance of walking away with an upset win (provided Kyle Kuzma doesn’t have another -22 net rating in 21 minutes of a 12-point loss, of course). This means that Kel’el Ware will need to have his presence felt. The Celtics are a bottom-five team in offensive rebounding; whether that means they aren’t prioritizing the O-boards or don’t have the personnel to get them, Ware has a real opportunity to prove himself as a difference-maker in that area.

Injury Report

Bucks:

• Clean injury report.

Celtics:

• Devin Carter: Out (illness)
• Payton Pritchard: Questionable (right shoulder contusion)
• Jayson Tatum: Questionable (rest)

Player to Watch

Jericho Sims. We saw Sims get his first real minutes against the Wolves, and he was impressive. Was that a blip on the radar, or will we get another impressive performance? Also, the Celtics like to hunt for mismatches, so if the Bucks can deploy a big who has no problems switching, it will do a lot to mitigate that.

Projected Starters

Game Details

Who: Milwaukee Bucks (1-6) vs. Boston Celtics (5-2).

When: 6:30 p.m. CST.

Where: TD Garden—Boston, MA.

Watch: MY24.

Listen: Check local listings.

Prescient Prediction

In his second NBA start, Brayden Burries will find his rhythm and come up in a big way for the Bucks, posting a double-double with 18 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists!

This season the Spurs unveiled their City Edition jerseys with a throwback video:

The reveal, which featured Spurs 2025 draftees Carter Bryant and Dylan Harper, starts in an animated form while the voice of Spurs legend George “The Iceman” Gervin narrates. The duo, who played in the NBA Finals as rookies, eventually appear in place of the animation.

The spot goes on to show Bryant and harper pulled the iconic red, white, and blue ABA balls from the trunk of a classic lowrider, eventually showcasing this years jersey.

Now you can enter to win the Classic on the Court Giveaway.

Per a Spurs press release:
 
“Straight from the HemisFair Arena days, a Spurs classic could be yours! Enter the Classic on the Court Giveaway pres. by Ledger for your chance to win a Classic Edition jersey inspired by the original home uniforms worn in downtown San Antonio, plus tickets and more.”
 
Prize Includes:
🎟️ (2) tickets to Spurs vs. Pacers on Jan. 6th
👕 Classic Edition jersey
🏀 ABA basketball
🔐 Ledger device

Click HERE to enter.

Sean Elliott has promoted the idea that the Spurs should play with the ABA tri-colored ball when they host games in the City Edition jerseys. Perhaps he will get his wish.

Welcome to the Thread. Join in the conversation, start your own discussion, and share your thoughts. This is the Spurs community, your Spurs community. Thanks for being here.

Our community guidelines apply which should remind everyone to be cool, avoid personal attacks, not to troll and to watch the language.

We currently find ourselves in the trenches, five games into the season, with the Phoenix Suns sitting at 1-4. And when you’re down in the trenches, you typically don’t have the luxury of looking at things from 30,000 feet. There’s too much happening around you, and the moment you start thinking too big or too far into the future, something changes that demands your immediate attention. Such is life. Ultimately, what defines quality strategy is the ability to balance the immediate challenges in front of you with the health and viability of your franchise over the long term.

But there’s a realization slowly creeping into the frontal lobes of our brains, something we’ve been actively trying to avoid thinking about because we know that once we accept it as reality, the outlook becomes increasingly frustrating and dystopian. Last year’s team saved us from these thoughts. This year’s team may not be able to. The Suns don’t own their own draft capital, and no matter what happens, sucking as a basketball team provides them absolutely no benefit.

The reality of professional sports is that teams ebb and flow. The advantage of possessing your own draft assets is that when an inevitable down season arrives, you have an opportunity to turn that adversity into something useful. Down seasons can happen for a multitude of reasons, with injuries often being the primary culprit. You struggle for a year, acquire a valuable asset through the draft, and get back to work. If you’re a perpetually bad team, the draft provides a pathway toward rebuilding your roster.

There’s no perfect formula for constructing a championship roster, or even one that’s consistently competitive. Throughout NBA history, organizations have employed numerous strategies with varying degrees of success. But as we look at the season ahead, we’re staring at a Suns team that appears disjointed and poorly constructed. The roster features expensive players with duplicative skill sets, an abundance of undersized contributors, and injuries that only complicate matters further.

Things can get really bad in Phoenix, really quickly. The most unsettling part? There’s no eject button.

You might believe that trading Devin Booker is ultimately the answer, but it’s not. Perhaps Booker is overvalued as an asset within the Phoenix market because of everything he’s meant to this organization and how long he’s been its centerpiece. His value on the trade market may ultimately produce a return that falls short of what Suns fans envision. If that return includes multiple first-round picks, there’s a very real possibility those selections end up being far less desirable than what Phoenix would need to meaningfully rebuild over the long term.

Booker is now 30, which isn’t what you would classify as “old”. At least, you wouldn’t have 10 years ago. Kirk Golderberry of The Ringer, however, recently delved into the decline in players over 30 and their impact on the game:

During the 2025-26 regular season, players 30 and older made up just 17.5 percent of the NBA. That’s the lowest share in at least 30 years. Meanwhile, for the seventh straight season, more than half the league (54.6 percent) was 25 or younger. In 1997-98, that number was just 36 percent.

Yeah, that wasn’t exactly my favorite read of the week. Nothing quite like being reminded that the guy who’s supposed to be in his prime and leading this team to victories is rapidly becoming antiquated in a league that increasingly values youth and durability over sustainability and longevity. Great. Fantastic. Love that for us.

I had someone suggest trading Devin Booker to the Detroit Pistons for Ausar Thompson and four first-round picks. As unlikely as that scenario might be, let’s play it out.

The Suns acquire Ausar Thompson, meaning they’re now building around Jalen Green, Thompson, Dillon Brooks, Miles Bridges, and Khaman Maluach. How many games is that team winning? My guess is they’re a .500 team at best. Let’s say, in a best-case scenario, Phoenix somehow ends up with the sixth seed in the Western Conference, although reality probably suggests they’re a Play-In team at best. Regardless, because the Suns don’t control their own draft pick, they’re handing that selection over to Houston. No, the Suns get the worst pick between Cleveland, Minnesota, and Utah. For thought exercise purposes, let’s say Phoenix receives the 25th overall selection.

But wait! You traded Devin Booker to Detroit for four first-round picks! Except now Booker is playing alongside Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren, and suddenly the Pistons look fantastic because Booker is operating in a role that better suits him. Detroit hypothetically ends up with the 24th pick.

So Phoenix walks into next year’s draft holding the 24th and 25th overall selections. Cool. No high-end prospects. No obvious game changers. Instead, you’re selecting a pair of developmental projects, hoping they possess enough transferable skills to become viable rotation players three years down the road. You get a couple of Ryan Dunns.

Then it becomes rinse and repeat. Every year, the Suns are struggling to assemble a competitive roster, attempting to do so with Detroit’s draft capital while their own selections remain outside their control.

Why am I bringing this up five games into the season? Why am I looking at the bigger picture when I should be focusing on Portland tonight? I think it’s because the potential worst-case scenario is beginning to unfold before our eyes. And while the fan base desperately rushes to trade machines, searching for some magical combination of transactions that will fix everything, the reality is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. This is a very hard situation to fix.

Perhaps it’s because I’m seeing the suggestions people are putting out there, and while I understand the strategy behind many of these proposed deals, I ultimately find myself asking one question. How the hell did we get here?

To me, the answer is simple: Bradley Beal.

I know plenty of people will argue that acquiring Kevin Durant was the beginning of the downfall of the Phoenix Suns, and I don’t completely disagree. That move was a step in the wrong direction, one that could ultimately take this organization a decade to recover from. The Suns had what makes teams successful in today’s NBA: youth, connectivity, chemistry, and a veteran presence to stabilize it all. It’s reminiscent of the Seven Seconds or Less Suns, a team that was ahead of its time. By the time the rest of the league caught up to that philosophy, Phoenix had already moved on to something different, never fully capitalizing on the strategy it helped pioneer.

Through that lens, I can accept the argument that Durant’s acquisition was the root cause of where we find ourselves today. As for the extracurricular drama he brought to the organization, and the notion that his presence was ultimately more detrimental than productive, I politely disagree. Sure, there were extracurriculars with Kevin Durant. Nobody knows that better than I do. But he was also an elite scorer, someone you could rely on at virtually any moment to get you a bucket. It was the moves made around him that ultimately sunk this team, and none was more damaging than acquiring Bradley Beal.

The Suns acquired a depreciating asset whose skill set was largely duplicative of Devin Booker’s, sacrificed the remainder of their available draft capital to do so, and inherited a no-trade clause that made an already difficult situation even worse. Ultimately, they had to buy Beal out and stretch the financial consequences across multiple seasons.

Think about this team right now and how differently you might view it with an additional $19.3 million in payroll flexibility. Need a point guard? How about another big man who can actually rebound? That money could help address those issues, but it’s unavailable because the Suns waived Bradley Beal. And the ancillary draft capital that could facilitate additional transactions? That’s gone, too, because they shipped it away to acquire Bradley fucking Beal.

That’s the deal we’re going to continue paying for through 2030. That’s the transaction whose consequences continue to suffocate this franchise, even after the player himself is long gone. And that’s the draft capital we sacrificed, capital that could have been used to facilitate the very transactions this team so desperately needs today.

The reality of what the Phoenix Suns might become if they aren’t a competitive basketball team is something we accepted at the beginning of last season. The thought process at the time was that eventually we’d trade Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale, Dillon Brooks was a throw-in from the Kevin Durant trade, and Jalen Green had enough upside to warrant seeing what he could become. Expectations were low as we prepared for this dommsdat scenario to play out. Phoenix surprised us, however, winning 45 games.

The team did eventually trade Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale, and in return acquired Miles Bridges, who thus far has probably been the most consistent player on the team. But we also surrendered our 2033 first-round pick to make it happen. Why? Nobody fucking knows. Because the Suns “expect to be good”, right? They operate as though they’ll never need a contingency plan, and when circumstances inevitably demand one, they’re screwed.

Jalen Green has upside. He has athleticism. And he absolutely does not fit on this team. If he were making $16 million a year, perhaps I wouldn’t think much of it. But he’s making $36.3 million this season and another $36 million next year, with a player option he’s almost certainly going to exercise because he’s unlikely to command that kind of money on the open market. So the Suns are left holding the bag. Again.

When was the last time the Suns made a trade and actually won it? When was the last time you looked back three years after a transaction and thought, you know what, “Slam dunk for Phoenix”? The Barkley trade? KJ?

That’s why I’m feeling so much doom and gloom right now. That’s where the frustration comes from. The reality we managed to put off last season because the team overperformed is beginning to show signs of coming to fruition this year. Now another year has passed, Devin Booker’s trade value isn’t getting any higher, and even if it were, it wouldn’t change the fundamental problem. This franchise simply cannot benefit from being a losing basketball team.

I’m writing this because I see all the solutions people are desperately trying to come up with to save the Suns, and every time another proposal surfaces, I find myself asking the same questions: How? Why? Is Dejounte Murray going to be the guy who saves this franchise? Domantas Sabonis? Are those really the answers to the problems we’re facing? No.

The fact that we’ve reached the point of entertaining those possibilities only five games into the season says plenty about the long-term outlook of this organization. And perhaps that’s what I’m really doing here. Trying to mentally prepare myself for a reality we’ve spent the past year hoping we’d never have to confront.

The Suns can improve their execution, find better lineup combinations, and perhaps salvage something from this season. But none of that changes the underlying reality. This organization has sacrificed its flexibility, its financial resources, and its ability to benefit from failure. Five games into the season, we’re already contemplating the consequences of decisions made years ago. The Suns aren’t necessarily doomed to lose. They’re trapped in a situation where losing doesn’t help them win tomorrow.

Ok, for full disclosure, the question in the title wasn’t actually asked. But that is the kind of vibe this mailbag has, so I felt it was representative of the overall feel. And as a reminder, I did ask people to provide their hot takes and questions. So don’t be mad that people delivered. Don’t hate the playa, hate the game. Which, would honestly be fair in this case.

Red_Auerbach_Junior

Hot take 1: Big Country looks out of shape. Over the first few games he’s playing well below how he has performed in prior seasons. I will be interested to see if this continues or if this is a product of the team getting used to Big Mitch and him getting used to the team.

The boring/optimistic answer is to preach patience and give him time to acclimate to his new surroundings and role. The concern is that these things don’t always work out as we would hope. He had a specific role in New York and thrived in that system. What if he doesn’t work within the Celtics structure? We haven’t even hit the first time missed due to injury that we all expected.

At the moment I’m not overly worried (once again, small sample size) but it is something to keep an eye on.

Hot take 2: Derrick White should be traded. There are many trade approaches that could be taken, his contract could be used to grab either another center or forward in an effort to lean into Peyton, Baylor, Hugo, and Ron stepping up to fill his role/shift the ball handler role more onto JT and PG13, the other would be to find a way to make a trade exception, have the aforementioned bench players absorb some of those minutes and also create minutes for Chris Cenac. Ultimately Derrick White is close to his athletic downturn. His playstyle, though not nearly as reliant on his athletic ability, does operate on the right side of a thin margin that contributes of his ability to stay in front, react defensively, and generally use what athletic ability he does have to keep up with the more athletic players he usually is tasked with guarding. Losing a half step, which I believe he is in the process of doing, will put him on the WRONG side of that margin and we need to deal him before he is on the wrong side of that margin.

I love, love, love Derrick White. I do not want to trade Derrick White. I will fight for Derrick White.

With all that said, it is hard to argue that he might be a logical option to move. Not necessarily this year, but perhaps by this coming offseason. Smart GM’s tend to move on from players before they lose a step and White’s shooting woes last year indicate that he might be close to that downturn you are talking about.

He has a large (but not max) contract that could be paired with picks or players to bring back another star or an impact long-term piece.

With all that said, I’d be very reluctant to move White until one or two of the younger players has firmly established themselves as consistent performers. Not just “shows us something occasionally” but contributing on both ends on a nightly basis. You need consistent, effective adults on the floor to win games.

Hot take 3: we should flip Garza and give his minutes to Chris Cenac. Right now Garza is the much better player by a decent margin. I agree that the current minute allocation where Garza is the third big in the rotation will lead to the most wins throughout the season. However, Chris and Luka fill very similar niches when they are on the floor. Giving Chris those minutes now will lead to more winning further down the line. The one drawback is that Cenac starts to click early which will increase his value when his rookie contract ends which may cause an unnecessary increase in his first contract negotiations.

I legitimately don’t think either of those last two things will happen, but for the first one I am optimistic that we will see an improvement of Mitch’s fit within the next few games…

I support the idea of finding minutes for Cenac, but I don’t think we necessarily need to bench Garza to get them. First of all, I think he could use the reps in Maine. Secondly, I think there will be plenty of scheduled (or sometimes unscheduled) games off for Mitchell or Queta and there will be opportunities for Cenac to play on the 2nd night of a back-t0-back or in garbage time.

Micah Wilson

I should probably be writing in all caps, cus that’s how people seem to talk on ESPN, but I’ll restrain myself.

Hot take 1: Luka Garza is the Celtics best offensive rebounder.

No disagreement here. At least for now.

Hot take 2: Mitchell Robinson retires mid-season and joins Monster Jam, a place where his truck actually fits in the parking garage.

I wonder if Joe has had any thoughts about “borrowing” the truck to use as a getaway vehicle for his next theoretical ballpark heist.

hurdler17

Queta earned the starting spot last year, and Mitch is did not come in prepared to take over the starting spot. Queta should play the start and ends of the quarters, staggering his rest to be able to play 24-30 mpg. Mitch should play shorter stints in the middle of quarters to about 18-24 mpg; and Luka plays as needed. Refs are morons and they have a quicker whistle for backups. Let Queta’s experience and reputation grow as a starter.

Mitch’s minutes are about the same, points steady, rebounds way down, fouls up, blocks down. He’s a career backup that should be beating up on other backups. Nobody is doing hack-a-mitch at the beginning of quarters. He’s not playing like a starter, and Queta is thrown into a completely different environment from where he was a steady performer last year.

I will admit, I haven’t had a strong take on which big should start. I can see the argument for both of them. Both of them are what I would consider starting quality bigs (based on performance in previous seasons). Both could and should thrive in a bench role. Both should get about the same number of minutes.

The rest is just about fit and chemistry with the units that they play with. I tend to think that the worries about hack-a-Mitch are a bit over-stated. It seems more important to me that he knows where to be on the court and how his teammates are going to be delivering the ball (or how their shots come off the rim). That will take time to develop and the coaching staff is going to need to see what downstream impacts occur in various lineup combinations.

Hmm, that answer seems pretty boring. Is this where I should suggest that he’s washed and the team should trade him as soon as possible (December 15th I believe)? Asking for a friend.

tunaboats

The Celtics will continue to win exactly 3 out of every 4 games and finish the season with 61.5 wins, including the first tie in NBA history.

Now I’m trying to think of the scenario that would result in a tie. Maybe both teams would have to foul out all their players with the score tied. In theory that could happen if the team’s got into a benches clearing brawl right off the tipoff (not that I’m rooting for that).

Oh, what if Tatum and Brown decide to play a full game of 1 on 1, telling all their teammates to clear out (you know, like they typically did in clutch time for years). Each one pounds the ball for 20 seconds, takes a side-step 3 pointer that clangs off the rim, the other one rebounds, and repeats the process. Game ends in a 26-26 tie (on 20% shooting efficiency) and everyone agrees that the game should not continue into overtime for the sake of all our sanities.

Both hug and dap up after the game and go out for a dinner of lamb chops and gravy.

zzanbo1

i would like to see mike conley get some floor time. looked good the only time he played.

Speaking as someone who is, …umm, matured past optimal playing conditions, there are going to be days when he looks as good as his best days in the league (or at least close). But there are also going to be days when he feels like he just got run over by Mitchell Robinson’s truck.

I really love the way that Joe Mazzulla is giving him a chance to play the role of player-coach. Between that and giving his assistant coaches opportunities to shine in preseason and elsewhere, Joe is developing a positive reputation. One that could lead to future players in the waning years signing on to get that kind of coaching internship experience. And when the current assistant coaches move on to greener head coaching pastures, more will be excited about joining the program.

thruthelookingglass

Two ideas: (1) All due respect to Red_Auerbach_Junior, will Luka Garza take us to the promised land on sheer effort? and (2) will this be the year the Maine Celtics take the G League championship?

You laugh about Garza and his piston pumping arms when he runs, but every single banner in the rafters included contributions from unsung, try-hards that gave it their all. Sometimes it just takes that one 50-50 ball going to the Celtics because someone just flat-out wanted it more. Give him a Tommy Point!

The Maine Red Claw Celtics are going to have a stacked roster, no doubt. The one thing that could hurt them is the Celtics load-managing the parent team and calling up the best players. But it should be fun most nights.

EZwind

Here’s one more:

Will some fans stop claiming that the new owners are cheap after they just donated $200 million to Boston Children’s Hospital?

I support the tax write off.

Seriously though, I get the frustration. Celtics fans have had to watch their title winning team get dismantled piece by piece. Most understand the difference between being “cheap” and working within the strict confines of the aprons, but it is still a tough pill to swallow.

At some point, Brad Stevens is going to bring them a deal that cashes in on the “optionality” and asks them to pay well into the tax. He knows that it will have to be the right deal and he can only play that card a few times. So far, he’s proven he’s a lot smarter than most GMs at this. Will the ownership group agree? We’ll see, but I’m hopeful.

Veknironth

The Celtics will defeat the Grizzlies to win the NBA cup with Boston sitting it’s top 9 players to save the from injury. They will not hang the banner.

The Celtics “stay ready” group would absolutely give it their all and make for an entertaining Cup game. Still not sure if I’m ready to be a “cup respecter” or whatever the kids are calling it, but hey, it is something to talk about. So why not try to win it?

Veknironth

Here’s a non-Celtics one. In order to increase the teams’ giddiness, the Timberwolves will trade for Josh Giddey

I see what you did there and I approve.

Morpheus6610

Is Paul George the partner and mentor that Tatum has always needed?

Tatum has had plenty of positive mentors over the years (Al Horford, Marcus Smart, Jrue Holiday, etc.). And having Jaylen Brown on his team had a lot of very real positives (like a ring, for example). But it is no secret that Tatum idolized George growing up and patterns a lot of his game off the vet.

Makes you wonder what might have happened if Tatum was paired with him earlier in his career (preferably during a healthy stretch). but I guess we’ll never know.

I will also point out that replacing Brown would not be an easy gig for most players on the downswing of their careers. Thus far, George has handled himself exceptionally well and deserves the respect he’s getting.

Sportzballer

Is Walsh only Boston’s 4th or 5th best prospect?

First of all, it is worth noting that Walsh at 22 is a year younger than rookie Dillon Mitchell. Which should put some perspective on his development.

Finn McGrath

Is Jayson Tatum going to be able to come off the bench to allow Amari Williams to develop as a starter?

I’m starting to think that Amari is the center version of JD Davison. Too good for G-League, not quite good enough for a regular role in the NBA. But I’ve been wrong before.

Mitchs Dad

What are the chances that PP makes the All Star team?

He needs to be a little more consistent night-in-night-out against the league’s best defenses, but he has that kind of potential. Might also take a few stat-padding games early in the season to boost his numbers and chances.

Move the Ball

Do you think RH, Jr. will see the light of day this year? And something I’ve always wondered about: Why are some carrots oranger than an orange?

Hey man, there will be load management games where the stay ready guys will have to stay readier than ready.

I also think there could be another 2 week stretch where Harper is the soup du jour on Joe’s menu.

Not sure about carrots, but have you ever seen Eminem explain how it is possible to rhyme the word “orange?” Amazing stuff.

Clish

Sorry, Jeff. But I wouldn’t pretend to be Perkins if you paid me!

Fair enough! Thanks for the hot takes and questions everybody!