AROUND the NBA:

[Winter]

Didn’t see the game, but his stats look really bad - did Luka foul him out?

No, he fouled a bunch, and couldn't find any rhythym early and was almost immediately on the bench.

[dirkfansince1998]

Last remaining unbeaten team...6-0 Memphis Grizzlies. Would argue that they benefited from a soft schedule (2x Kings, 2x Utah) but it's still impressive for a team that started the season with Vegas lines in the 30 win range.

[Winter]

Last remaining unbeaten team...6-0 Memphis Grizzlies. Would argue that they benefited from a soft schedule (2x Kings, 2x Utah) but it's still impressive for a team that started the season with Vegas lines in the 30 win range.

Memphis is as deep a team as the Mavs. Boozer looks great.

Acuff was good last night. 38 efficient points. 9-14 from the 3-pt land, 5 assists. But SAC has almost nothing else.

[dirkfansince1998]

Will be interesting to see how the SGA narrative changes now that he has to carry a mediocre/bad team on his own. Can he match the floor raising ability of Jokic or Doncic. Taking mediocre/bad teams to the playoffs (or even on a deep playoff run).

[Winter]

Will be interesting to see how the SGA narrative changes now that he has to carry a mediocre/bad team on his own. Can he match the floor raising ability of Jokic or Doncic. Taking mediocre/bad teams to the playoffs (or even on a deep playoff run).

His shooting percentage and assists have dropped significantly. Defenses are loading up against him, and I guess he has nowhere to go. Mara can only play limited minutes. 

Houston just man-handled them last night in nearly every quarter.

[Scott41theMavs]

Will be interesting to see how the SGA narrative changes now that he has to carry a mediocre/bad team on his own. Can he match the floor raising ability of Jokic or Doncic. Taking mediocre/bad teams to the playoffs (or even on a deep playoff run).

I was checking leaguewide stats last night and noticed that he is toward the bottom of the top 50 in FTA. Bye-bye, MVP candidacy, lol. I feel bad for some Thunder fans. I don't feel bad for SGA.

[myconsumerclub]

https://youtube.com/shorts/xMUxqQcRZgQ?i...156m-X_Gkh

[Chicagojk]

Yaxel with 37 tonight. He has been awesome so far.

[KillerLeft]

Yaxel with 37 tonight.  He has been awesome so far.

in 2031, Cooper Flagg will be the same age Lendeborg is right now. I mean no disrespect to everyone super impressed with him, but OF COURSE he's doing well. It helps that he was drafted by an old team desperate to put him into the perfect role for him immediately. It's just a flat out good match for him in GS, imho. 

He wouldn't be making such an impact here, I don't think, as he would be playing behind both Flagg and PJW (the roster overlap would be even worse) and it probably means the Risacher trade wouldn't have happened. Call me crazy, but Risacher's age and skillset complementing Flagg's is a big deal for me. I'm on record as being a little disappointed with Johnson's start, but I'm still high on his future and very happy with how things are.

[ThisIStheYear]

Man, Yaxel is really effing good. Probably already top 25. I’m not surprised because he was so dominant in College, but still, Damn.

And there’s no of course to it. To be the 20-25th best player in the world at age 24 as your starting point is amazing and better than probably all but one or two guys in his class will achieve.

[KillerLeft]

Man, Yaxel is really effing good. Probably already top 25.  I’m not surprised because he was so dominant in College, but still, Damn.

And there’s no of course to it. To be the 20-25th best player in the world at age 24 as your starting point is amazing and better than probably all but one or two guys in his class will achieve.

Nah, he’s not 20th-25th best player in world. FAR from it. He’s just on a team that needs him to have the ball AND has other, older players who know what they’re doing to complement him. It’s an extremely rare situation for a rookie to find themself in. 

And, again, OF COURSE he’s acclimating faster than other rookies. He’s 24! He’s older than many of the players drafted FOUR years ago!

[CooPerFan]

Man, Yaxel is really effing good. Probably already top 25.  I’m not surprised because he was so dominant in College, but still, Damn.

And there’s no of course to it. To be the 20-25th best player in the world at age 24 as your starting point is amazing and better than probably all but one or two guys in his class will achieve.

Normally a basketball player enter its prime at 24 years of age. That means yaxel is already in his prime as a rookie.

[windjc]

Man, Yaxel is really effing good. Probably already top 25.  I’m not surprised because he was so dominant in College, but still, Damn.

And there’s no of course to it. To be the 20-25th best player in the world at age 24 as your starting point is amazing and better than probably all but one or two guys in his class will achieve.

If Yaxel is top 25 so are Acuff and Boozer. 

He ain’t anywhere close my friend.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Rod Boone: Coby White is not on the injury report for tomorrow's game against Detroit. His season debut is happening tomorrow.

x.com

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Darius Acuff Jr. became the first teenager with nine threes, doing it against the Grizzlies.

HoopsMatic

[dirkfansince1998]

Might be the best version of Luka I have ever seen. Offense ist beyond any doubt anyway but his defense is close to elite/all-defense level right now. Not sure if he can carry an insane load like this for the entire season but he looks leaner and seemingly isn't suffering from any lingering injury issues.
Problem for him is that the Lakers suck. Second time in a row that they have blown a 20 point lead with Luka on the bench.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Mario Hezonja is quickly locking in his roster spot with the Cleveland Cavaliers. His one-year contract becomes fully guaranteed if he stays past November 15, and his early production in the 2026–27 NBA Regular Season makes that look like a certainty. Since returning to the league, the Dubrovnik native has given the team a steady lift off the bench. Playing under head coach Kenny Atkinson, he is averaging 17.8 minutes across six games. He has filled the stat sheet with 7.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per night, helping push the Cavs to a 4–2 start.

EuroHoops.net

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Luka Doncic tormented Toronto to the tune of eight turnovers -- swiping five steals and drawing three charges -- becoming the first player to record those defensive marks in the same game since player tracking began in 2013-14, according to ESPN Research. "Obviously, I'm not the best defender in the NBA, but I think this year, I really took a step forward," said Doncic, whose season-high 15 rebounds also came on the defensive end. "Obviously, people are going to talk about what they want to talk [about] me. ... But I know, and my team knows, that I'm better this year." No player had ever posted a 15-rebound game with 8 threes and 5 steals since the 3-point line arrived in 1979, until Luka Doncic did it in a 131-125 win over the Raptors. Walker Kessler posted a 15-point, 15-rebound game without missing a shot, something no Laker had done since Mitch Kupchak on Nov. 20, 1981.

ESPN

[HoosierDaddyKid]

The latest chapter of Yaxel Lendeborg's explosion onto the NBA scene came in Sunday night's 124-112 win over the LA Clippers. Lendeborg made 13 of 19 shots, including six 3-pointers, and finished with 37 points, the most for a Warriors rookie since Stephen Curry in 2010. On the front end of a back-to-back, the Warriors opted to rest Curry and Draymond Green, saving the duo for Monday night against the Phoenix Suns while clearing the Sunday runway for Lendeborg. "Whenever Steph's not in the game, it's my opportunity to try to be the leader, be the main guy on the team," Lendeborg said. Yaxel Lendeborg already has scoring nights of 26, 26, 31, and 37. He's averaging 22.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 3.7 assists, generating legitimate early buzz for Rookie of the Year.

ESPN

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Even after the two wins, the Heat are still ranked 11th in offense (115.2) and 26th in defense (118.6), which means they’ve been outscored by 3.4 points per 100 possessions, according to numbers from Cleaning the Glass. They still have an awful lot of work to do to wash off the stench of the first week of the season.

New York Times