BigOrange1

but you do it so well.

just to update, i have received payments from HornontheBayou (x2) and Zepol (x2).

i'm a fan of this development

my goodness malik monk

here is a piece of good news. we officially don't have to start sweating until pick #6 on lottery night: ...but they lose the flip with the warriors and heat for the clippers pick so that one will be #20:

i hesitate to post because the last time i did they went on to lose three straight, but man this team is on fire to start the season. 12-4 and only have 1 short start from max fried, who just so happens to return tonight.

i count 8 total entries (baboon x3, hornonthebayou x2, wulaw, me, ztejas). that's pretty much in line with what we typically have. and its $175 to the winner which is a decent enough prize. i think we should leave it as it is. my picks: east 1st round - milwaukee over miami in 4, boston over atlanta in 5, philly over brooklyn in 6, knicks over cavs in 7 west 1st round - denver over minnesota in 5, lakers over memphis in 7, warriors over kings in 6, suns over clippers in 5 east 2nd round - milwaukee over knicks in 6, boston over philly in 7 west 2nd round - suns over denver in 6, warriors over lakers in 7 east finals - milwaukee over boston in 7, suns over warriors in 7 finals - milwaukee over suns in 6

i wouldn't trade vic for luka and i'm still pretty high on luka. and i'd like to see green and smith play for a competent coach and alongside a true pg before making any determinations on them. green has shown enough in flashes to make me think he could one day be an elite scorer (like top 5 in the nba) and smith finished well enough for me to see a potential future for him where he's like the second best player on a title contender. that's probably the ceiling for both green and smith, 2nd best player on a title contending team. if they both hit that, its a solid long-term nucleus. and it's time to start winning because there is no longer any downside to losing. in this context, "winning" doesn't mean contending for championships, it just means at least being average.

i'm gonna go with the bulls and wolves tonight.

also, for the sake of the clippers pick still falling as high as it possibly can (#18), we need miami to win on friday. if they lose, they'll be in the lottery and the clippers pick will either be #19 or 20 (depending on the results of a coin flip with the warriors).

the big issue with the young guys (meaning green and smith) is that they need someone who can get them the ball in good spots. pg is probably the #1 overall on the court need for the team. wtf are you talking about with "taking the ball out of your young guys hands"

i'm gonna go with the bulls and pelicans tonight. anyone who hasn't joined yet is still free to join. you're only 3 points behind if you missed last night.

tagging @Zepol87 as he expressed interest and didn't make a pick for the miami/atlanta game. still time to make picks for the rest of the play-in games. and anyone else can still join, just can't pick a game that has started.

correct, each game in the play-in tournament is a stand alone game worth three bonus points. my picks for tomorrow are the heat and the lakers.

Ever since the team traded away James Harden in early 2021, the primary goal of the organization has been to lose as much as possible in order to bottom out and add high end talent via the top of the draft. That process ended with a whimper this afternoon as the rockets won their third consecutive game and finished tied with the Spurs for the second-worst record. This means that their own pick in the upcoming draft could fall anywhere between 1-7 (for the time being, there is a possibility they win a coin flip with the Spurs and the worst-case scenario is pick #6). Either way, for the third straight year lottery night (May 16th) is going to be the most significant evening of the offseason for Rockets fans. In addition to their own pick, the Rockets will also have the Clippers' first round pick which will fall somewhere between #18-#20 (i'm pretty sure it will be determined via a coin flip between the Clippers, Warriors, and Heat (assuming they win 1 play-in game and make the playoffs). They got this pick by trading Eric Gordon and Milwaukee's first round pick (which ended up being #30) in exchange. This turned out to be a very good trade for the Rockets IMO, and had the potential to be a great trade should the Clippers miss the playoffs, which was on the table all the way up to the last day of the regular season. Outside of the draft, the Rockets have a ton of cap room and should be able to bring in multiple impactful free agents. #1 on that list just so happens to be a potential reunion with our old pal James Harden. The rumors are so loud that this could happen that I'm not even sure that it really matters how Philly's season ends, though if it ends in the second round or earlier, I think the likelihood of it happening are fairly strong. Harden isn't the player he was back when he left Houston, but he is still a fantastic offensive facilitator who would be a God-send for a young team that has no identity. And since the Rockets aren't in control of their draft pick next year (thanks Westbrook trade!), there is no reason not to try and be at least "good" next year. Aside from Harden, the list of Unrestricted Free Agents isn't anything to write home about, but due to the Rockets' vast amount of cap space, I'm wondering if it may be wise to be very aggressive in Restricted Free Agency? To that end, I really like both Cam Johnson and PJ Washington and think they both make some sense. There is also always the possibility of trading for a highly-paid star player who is unhappy in his current situation with some of the cap space. No matter how it shakes out, for the first time since the Harden trade, the Rockets should be a major player in free agency. They are also going to get to hire a new coach as Stephen Silas was finally let go today. Names that have been mentioned as possible candidates include Nick Nurse, Ime Udoka, Kenny Atkinson, and Scott Brooks. I'm fine with any of them though I do prefer the first two options the most. So here we are. The bottoming out era is over and the Rockets have a lot of important decisions to make before the 2023-24 season tips off in October. It will be a very eventful summer. Here's hoping it is a fun and fruitful summer and the Rockets are a much-improved team next season.

$25 winner take all. this year we're going to incorporate the playoff tournament. 3 bonus points per correct pick in every game. and you don't have to get game 1 correct in order to qualify for the bonus for game 2 (for example, if you pick the hawks to beat the heat and the heat win, you can still make a pick for the winner of the hawks vs. tor/chi game). picks for each play-in game are due by tip off of each respective game. after the play-in, it'll work the same way it's always worked. you pick the winner and how many games the series' lasts. if you get the correct number of games, you get a 5 point bonus (note - in rounds 2-4, you must have the correct matchup in order to be eligible for any bonus points). 1st round - 10 points/matchup, 2nd round, 20 points/matchup, 3rd round, 30 points/matchup, finals, 40 points. post picks in this thread. payments can be made via venmo/paypal/cash app and are due by sunday, april 16th. matchups for the first 4 play-in games are set: hawks @ heat and t'wolves @ lakers are on tuesday, bulls @ raptors and thunder @ pelicans are on wednesday. there will also be two final play-in games on friday and then the playoffs get going full swing on saturday at noon, meaning you'll have to get your full playoff picks in by that point. let me know if something doesn't make sense and i'll try to clarify. i'm on a plane most of the morning/afternoon tomorrow, but should be able to monitor this thread tomorrow evening.

holy fuck!!!!

Shakur Stevenson is going to rule the sport of boxing for a very long time.

did he just call out bud crawford?

i don't see any reason that keyshawn davis isn't a future superstar.

awesome fight.

completely forgot about this - just sent mine.

watched it last night and agree that it was fantastic. thought the line shires had about still feeling uncomfortable during parts of cover me up makes that song even more powerful than it already is.

this has been paid out. congrats to the winners. see you during bowl season.