NBA: 2024-2025 Season

[JohnBM01]

The Houston Texans failed on Halloween, but the Houston Rockets WON! 108-102 was the final as the Rockets won at the defending Western Conference Champion Dallas Mavericks to finally get above .500 on the 2024-2025 season. The Houston Rockets improve to 3-2 on the season with this victory.

 

[JohnBM01]

The Houston Rockets hosted the Golden State Warriors last night. Down by as many as 31 points, the Rockets came storming back in the 2nd Half thanks to a strong 3rd Quarter. This wild game even went into Overtime. The Rockets were winded after so much drama, that they fell to 3-3 on the season with a 127-121 loss in Overtime. Even thought the Rockets lost, this was an incredible effort to try to win. Had the Rockets won, it would have been their largest margin overcome (current record by the Rockets is back from 25 to win). Great shame to lose, but it was an incredible effort.

Rockets host the Knicks next, tomorrow night. A battle of two hungry, up-and-coming teams.

 

[JohnBM01]

Young hungry team vs. young hungry team tonight in Houston. It was the Houston Rockets who prevailed 109-97 over the visiting New York Knicks. This is a very nice win because the Knicks are an up-and-coming team in the NBA, just like the Rockets. It was the boys in red who prevailed on this night, though. Houston improves to 4-3 while New York falls to 3-3.

 

[kjb]

Houston's defense is tough. They had a good game and I think by the 4th quarter the Knicks were worn down. Houston's bench outscored the Knicks bench 30-3. A couple of starters played 40+ minutes. Thibs has got to trust his bench more or they not going to make it through the season. Good win by Houston congrats @JohnBM01 !

 

[JohnBM01]

Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers got suspended three games without pay for shoving a columnist. There was already an investigation on the handling of injury news regarding Joel Embiid. Now things get worse for the boys from Philly.

Only two teams are perfect so far through this season. The Cleveland Cavaliers are 8-0 on the season, and the Oklahoma City Thunder are 7-0 so far. There are no games on tonight on Election Day. Next up for Cleveland: at the New Orleans Pelicans tomorrow night. Next up for Oklahoma City: at the Denver Nuggets.

Finally, have you noticed the Los Angeles Clippers changed their logo? The new Clippers logo features a clipper ship (which is what the Clippers namesake comes from) with some sort of crosshair design. See for yourself with this analysis on another site: https://www.fastcompany.com/9103835...is-what-happens-when-logos-try-to-do-too-much .

 

[JohnBM01]

The Cleveland Cavaliers are 8-0 to start this season. If you're wondering, the most games in a row won before taking their first loss was 24 by the 2015-2016 Golden State Warriors. The Cavaliers are at the New Orleans Pelicans tonight.

 

[JohnBM01]

The Houston Rockets throttled the San Antonio Spurs at home tonight. H-Town won this one 127-100. They never trailed. In fact, as I took a nap before the start of the game, Houston was up 21-8. This is now the Rockets' fifth win of the 2024-2025 season (now 5-3). The Rockets will finally play a game outside of Texas next, when they will be at the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday. Despite this huge win, spare some thoughts for Spurs' head coach, Gregg Popovich, dealing with some health issues.

 

[kjb]

Well my Knocks blew out the Bucks last night to get to 4-4. They have been growing some issues breaking in their new team. Bodega KAT showed up last night and went off. Brunson was okay he has been having a rough start this season. I think he is pressing and needs to calm down. Knicks twitter is going crazy right now because the defense has been bad and the offense looks disjointed. It’s still early and I think they will be okay. But the Bucks are a disaster. The last few moves they have made have not gone well. Doc Rivers has been a disaster and there’s a rumor going around that he has ingratiated himself with ownership to get more power and trading for Dame and sending Holliday away has sunk their defense. I think they will end up trading Giannis. Somehow there’s talk that the Knicks may be interested but I don’t see how that can happen. They went all in with KAT and Bridges

 

[JohnBM01]

The Houston Rockets survived at the Detroit Pistons 101-99. The highlight of today's game was Jalen Green posterizing Cade Cunningham on a SICK dunk! Green got Technical Foul called afterwards, but it was beautiful to watch... unless you're a Pistons fan. Twice the Pistons tried to intentionally miss free throws to try to hit a game-winner or game-tying shot. Both attempts failed, and the Rockets improve to 6-4 on the 2024-2025 NBA season. The Rockets will host the Wizards tomorrow night, and the Pistons will host the Heat this Tuesday.

 

[JohnBM01]

It's time for the NBA Cup! Group Play of the NBA Cup is about to start tonight all the way up until the NBA Cup Final is played. The NBA Cup runs between today (November 12) and the Championship on December 17. Be sure to enjoy all the action starting tonight!

 

[JohnBM01]

The Houston Rockets improved to a season-best four games over .500 by winning tonight. They downed the L.A. Clippers 111-103. Alperen Sengun had 13 point sand 11 rebounds in this game. The fun moment was when Alperen Sengun hit a dunk at one end, then running all the way back to block the Clippers' shot at the other end on the next possession. The Rockets are now 8-4 through 12 games this season.


Elsewhere...

The Cleveland Cavaliers are still undefeated. Their latest win was a 114-106 victory at the Philadelphia 76ers. The Cavs are now 13-0.

 

[JohnBM01]

Let me provide a few NBA musings for you all.

* My Houston Rockets improved to 9-4 on the 2024-2025 NBA season with a 125-104 victory against the Los Angeles Clippers. We already faced the Clip Joint on Wednesday. Now we played them in the NBA Cup. Last season through 12 games, Houston was 6-6. Now we're 8-4 after 12 games and now 9-4 after 13 games. So this is a two-win improvement over last season. Next game for the Rockets is on Sunday at the Chicago Bulls. Alperen Sengun logged a triple-double- 16 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. In Rockets history, he has five triple-doubles, 2nd most of any Rockets center behind Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon (13).

* Speaking of the Bulls, how did they do tonight? Well, Cleveland put it on Chicago. The Cavaliers are now 14-0 on the season with a 144-126 victory against the visiting Chicago Bulls.

* New York City pride was on the line as the Brooklyn Nets met their rival New York Knicks. The Knicks held serve at Madison Square Garden with a 124-122 victory.

* Detroit has improved over last season. The Detroit Pistons improved to 6-8 on the season with a 99-95 win at the Toronto Raptors. "We the North" went south to a 2-11 record now.

* The ATL welcomed the boys from Washington, D.C. The Wizards were taken down by the Atlanta Hawks 129-117.

* Staying in the South, the New Orleans Pelicans picked up a nice little 101-94 win at home against the Denver Nuggets.

* Do you believe in Magic? The Orlando Magic is one of three teams to be undefeated at home. The Magic keep cooking at home. This time, they cooked the Philadelphia 76ers quite nicely- a 98-86 victory.

* Victor Wenbanyama may have dropped 50+ points recently, but his San Antonio Spurs couldn't do too much to suppress the visiting Los Angeles Lakers. The Showtime boys won 120-115. Wemby didn't drop 50+ points in this one, but he did account for 28 points and 14 rebounds to help out his Spurs.

* Maybe the most attractive Western Conference match was played in Oklahoma City. It was the Thunder who struck the Phoenix Suns 99-83 to improve to a West-best 11-2 record. The Thunder is currently the only team with double-digit wins so far in the West.

* Shout out to Omnis' Miami Heat on winning tonight. The Heat won 124-111 at the Indiana Pacers. Miami is 5-6 on the season now.


Congratulations to all other recent winners!


[UPDATE] Minor updates and omissions posted.

 

[JohnBM01]

Running [away] of the Bulls. The Houston Rockets hit 10 wins by easily demolishing the Chicago Bulls 143-107 tonight. Houston improves to 10-4 on the 2024-2025 NBA season, 1st in the Southwest Division, and 3rd in the Western Conference. They are currently one of three teams in the Western Conference to hit 10+ wins by now. This game marked the 4th-ever time in team history that the Houston Rockets have scored 80+ points in the paint. This is a back-to-back for the Rockets. Up next- at the Milwaukee Bucks tomorrow night in Milwaukee.

 

[JohnBM01]

The Cleveland Cavaliers have finally been bested. In the latest stretch of NBA Cup games, the Boston Celtics defended home with a 120-117 victory. Cleveland started the season with 15 wins before their first loss. The record most wins to start an NBA season was back in 2015-2016, when the Golden State Warriors won 24-straight games to start the season before their first loss. That Warriors team would end up losing in the NBA Finals to... the Cleveland Cavaliers. This was the Warriors that infamously blew a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals.

 

[JohnBM01]

I really like Alperen Sengun for my Houston Rockets. Since being a part of the lineup, he's been a solid threat. He is also only 22 years old. One thing I didn't know about him is that he used to be a swimmer before learning basketball. The Rockets aren't using Sengun like when Yao Ming was the Rockets' center, but Sengun is more like a solid two-way player. Don't get me wrong- he's a good big man at 6'11", but he operates like someone much lighter and more agile than he. Sengun recently became the first-ever center in Rockets history to record a triple-double in back-to-back games. Not even Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon or Yao Ming accomplished this. I think the Rockets mostly are going to try (or should try) to build around Alperen Sengun and Jalen Green. This is still a fairly young team trying to find their identity and trying to consistently win.

Trade rumors have sparked about maybe the Houston Rockets trying to pick up Giannis Antetokounmpo or Kevin Durant. Those would be nice and would provide a veteran figure for the Rockets; but suffice to say, I think we're kind of fine as is. I certainly would not want to give up Sengun or Green just to acquire that talent.

Houston will host the Indiana Pacers tonight.

 

[JohnBM01]

Let's talk best and worst.

* The team with the BEST overall record is the Cleveland Cavaliers at 16-1, also the best Eastern Conference team. Their only blemish was at the Boston Celtics earlier this week. The best Western record is held by the 11-3 Golden State Warriors.

* Now the WORST teams. The team with the worst record is the Philadelphia 76ers at 2-14. Trust the process... again?! The worst in the West is the Utah Jazz at 3-11.

--- CURRENT DIVISION LEADERS (as of: November 21, 2024) ---

• EAST-ATLANTIC: Boston (12-3)
• EAST-CENTRAL: Cleveland (16-1)
• EAST-SOUTHEAST: Orlando (9-7)
• WEST-NORTHWEST: Oklahoma City (12-4)
• WEST-PACIFIC: Golden State (11-3)
• WEST-SOUTHWEST: Houston (11-5)

It's sad how poorly Philadelphia has been this season compared to last season. Still lots of room to improve, but you got to hope the ship isn't sinking if you're a Sixers fan.


Tonight's schedule:

• DET Pistons at CHA Hornets
• MIN Timberwolves at TOR Raptors
• UTA Jazz at SA Spurs
• ORL Magic at LAL Lakers

Keep watching NBA hoops!

 

[JohnBM01]

Say it ain't so! Hubie Brown says this will be his final season covering NBA basketball. The 91-year old is an institution in covering NBA basketball on TV. Now, he'll hang it up after this season.

 

[JohnBM01]

This young Houston Rockets team gutted out two straight Overtime wins recently. This is a back-to-back with the Rockets at the Minnesota Timberwolves followed by at the Philadelphia 76ers. The Rockets won at the Timberwolves 117-111 in Overtime last night. Tonight, they downed the floundering Philadelphia 76ers 112-115 in Overtime. Most of the damage in the 76ers game was done by Jalen Green, who balled out with 41 points (career high is 42, which he accomplished twice). According to a stat I read, this is the first time the Rockets have won back-to-back Overtime games since February 1991.

The Houston Rockets sit at 14-6 overall. That's first in the Southwest Division, 3rd in the Western Conference, and 5th overall in the NBA.

 

[JohnBM01]

Happy Thanksgiving, America! Let's update the NBA standings, shall we? Here's how things are looking so far...

* = current Play-In Tournament team

--- STANDINGS UPDATE (as of: November 29, 2024) ---
EAST-ATLANTIC: Boston (15-3), NY (10-8), BKN (9-10), TOR (5-14), PHI (3-14)
EAST-CENTRAL: Cleveland (17-2), MIL (9-9), IND (9-10), CHI and DET (8-12 each)
EAST-SOUTHEAST: Orlando (13-7), MIA (8-8), ATL (8-11), CHA (6-12), WSH (2-15)
CURRENT EAST PLAYOFF: CLE, BOS, ORL, NY, MIL, MIA, IND*, BKN*, ATL*, CHI*

WEST-NORTHWEST: Oklahoma City (14-4), DEN (10-7), MIN (8-10), POR (7-12), UTA (4-14)
WEST-PAFICIC: Golden State (12-6), LAL (11-7), LAC (12-8), PHX (10-8), SAC (9-10)
WEST-SOUTHWEST: Houston (14-6), MEM (12-7), DAL (11-8), SA (10-9), NO (4-15)
CURRENT WEST PLAYOFF: OKC, HOU, GS, MEM, LAL, LAC, DEN*, DAL*, PHX*, SA*

At the time I talked about my Rockets on Facebook, the Rockets were 3rd in the West. Now, they are 2nd in the West.


Still a lot of season to go. The NBA goes back to work tomorrow with NBA Cup action.

 

[JohnBM01]

You know something I realized? The Washington Wizards of the NBA finished November 2024 winless. This is the 16th time in NBA history that any team has finished a month winless, and the Wizards now have two of those 16 winless months. The Washington Wizards are currently 2-16, the worst record in the league so far this season.

 

[JohnBM01]

The NBA Cup is in the Quarterfinals stage now. Tonight continues the 2nd-ever NBA Cup tournament. The Quarterfinal matches are as follows:

--- Tuesday, December 10 ---

• ORL Magic at MIL Bucks
• DAL Mavericks at OKC Thunder

--- Wednesday, December 11 ---

• ATL Hawks at NY Knicks
• GS Warriors at HOU Rockets

These are the Knockout rounds. So if you lose here, your NBA Cup run is over. The winners advance to Las Vegas for a chance to win this season's NBA Cup. Enjoy these games coming up!

 

[JohnBM01]

The Rockets' 2024 NBA Cup run is OVER. They were ousted in the semifinals by the Oklahoma City Thunder 111-96. One too many missed shots did in the Rockets as the Thunder pulled away late. It's okay- the Rockets still have a solid team that can only get better. This would have been a statement maker had they pull off the win tonight. Rockets fans still have nothing to be too ashamed of.