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Seemed like low-hanging fruit, no? And before we switch out the fruit to something a bit more attuned to my diet (saturated fats?), we obviously have to start with some of the interesting storylines in the NBA, now just in it’s third week of play. First up, mostly because of the title (now with less fruit and more Funyuns) let us talk not just about Tyrese Maxey, but also the so far near-dominant 76ers team. Joel Embiid is doing Joel Embiid “non-playoff” type things, which is still a bummer we have to qualify, but lucky for us, fantasy ain’t played in May, ya know? I’ll talk a bit more about it later for the Clippers, but Harden while not being on the team has created an interesting aggregate feedback loop with a touch of confirmation bias mixed in on some of these wild storylines, but the tangible effect, i.e. giving minutes for Tyrese Maxey to flourish cannot be argued with. My concerns with Maxey during the preseason was based on his ability to run the 5, play-call, ball-handle and continuing to develop his offense while doing all that.

So far? All of these things have been done well, but the best part is that it hasn’t come at the cost of his stats. With a career-high 50 points against a very good Pacers team, he also had 7 rebounds with 5 assists, 3 blocks on 20-32 shooting (7-11 from 3-point). At just 23-years-old, it’s pretty likely he’ll be shedding off the Tyler Herro and Jordan Poole comps at some point this season. But can he get to the All-Star game and perhaps even an All-NBA selection this year? Excited to find out…

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Well look, I don’t come here with a set agenda in mind for titles, if anything, I blame the redundant title pun on Damian Lillard‘s roller coaster opening two games thus far, going for 39 points in his debut (with the aforementioned title post) and then just scoring 6 points (on 2-12 FG, 2-8 3pT), which was spoiled with today’s post title. While I ponder the ethics of not using a spoiler alert tag, last night’s game against the Hawks (the most mid team ever?) was truly a question mark. While I’d probably not blow things up if I were the Bucks (if only to stave off more “here’s how the Heat can still trade for Dame!” articles), clearly it was only a matter of time before Wisconsin discovered “Lame time”. But don’t fret, we’re literally in the first week of the season still, so weird sh*t gonna happen folks. I mean, SGA scored seven last night, Steph struggled a lot until the end and Nikola Jokic called Chet fat. The last one doesn’t really matter, but everyone should enjoy Jokic thin-shaming someone…

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Look, I was very satisfied with the last episode of “As the Harden Turns…” (the actual turning speed depends on the girth of his fat suit) but no one can argue that actually watching the 76ers play is probably just as entertaining as watching the 76ers not play, so let’s consider last night a wash. And despite Harden not being allowed to get on the team plane (is “No U!” a legitimate DNP reason?), the debut of the newly unstoppable pic n’ pop duo of Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo definitely lived up to expectations, with Dame finishing the night with 39 points with 4 assists and 8 rebounds, 12 of those points coming in the fourth quarter (with two free throws that iced the game) and there’s this below:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Yesterday, we had card metaphors to tie into the great SEO river of aggregate content. So many buzz words so little time! But, what was alluded then is now true, the NBA Season is finally here with two great match-ups tonight with the Lakers vs. the Champion Nuggets (I just call em Chicken Nuggets, but to each their own…) and the retooled Suns vs. the nearly old but probably not busted Warriors. But until we get there in just a short amount of time, we’re wrapping up our quick hits on the 2023-24 season with yesterday’s Easter Conference notes and today’s Western Conference overview. And there was a bit of method with the order, only because of the two, the East is probably the easier to be prescient about. Afterall, there are some very clear teams that will try and tank, there are a few teams we all know are not ready to take the next step, but are getting there… and then there’s a mix of above average teams that do different things in different ways with the Bucks and Celtics as clear favorites. In the West? Well, it’s quite murky. And that’s not to sleep on Denver, they certainly are considered the favorites by myself and many others in the industry, but after that, it gets kinda crowded. So let’s get to it and see how the teams look, along with the Vegas spreads and my takes on the O/U…

Please, blog, may I have some more?

The season is all but here and it is time to lay all the cards on the line. And what a great natural segue, as where do you find playing cards and basketball? That’s right folks, at the casino. And while we do things with the fantasy tilt here at Razz, unfortunately it’s nye impossible to talk anything sports nowadays without the almighty dollar attached to it. You know because I brought out the Olde Ye English. The technical term for serious talk between us and you shan’t forget it. Anyways, we’ll have the usual “potentially” entertaining analysis and content below plus the New World Order (aka the Vegas SPREAD) and my takes on the O/U. So let’s get to the Eastern Conference, a setting that generally feels a lot less competitive than its Western counterparts, but still offers an interesting blend of playoff juggernauts, underperforming teams, and everything in-between. There’s also the Hornets, but really, that should be a category in of all itself. Maybe the “hide your women when they come to town” type of category.

Please, blog, may I have some more?