The NBA

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Boos are raining down in Philadelphia.

Tyler Herro is like, look, I missed out last time.

24 minutes in, and my Sixers have managed only 39 points as Miami is playing a zone defense Philly can’t crack so far. To say it’s been ugly would be an understatement.

[Kirby101]

24 minutes in, and my Sixers have managed only 39 points as Miami is playing a zone defense Philly can’t crack so far. To say it’s been ugly would be an understatement.

Spoelstra out coaching Nurse.

[Kirby101]

Now it's a game. 3 minutes left, 1 point difference.

[frankiedetroit]

Very glad Philly advanced. Now I'm hoping the Bulls can put an end to the Hawks (and that Miami beats the Bulls).

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Yeah, my Sixers looked horribly inept in the first half, but the team flipped the switch in the second half, led by five treys off the bench by Nicolas Batum while Joel Embiid found his footing and Philly survived to face the Knicks.

[Kirby101]

Yeah, my Sixers looked horribly inept in the first half, but the team flipped the switch in the second half, led by five treys off the bench by Nicolas Batum while Joel Embiid found his footing and Philly survived to face the Knicks.

Like the Pels with Zion, Butler being hurt was the difference. But injury can always be a factor.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Like the Pels with Zion, Butler being hurt was the difference. But injury can always be a factor.

I'll give Butler this much, he was a warrior and played through the pain, at times, it was hard to tell if he'd been injured at all. However, he'll be getting his knee looked at today to learn if he'll be available to face the Bulls tomorrow.

[Kirby101]

Butler out for a few weeks. They have to win the play in without him. And then the Celts if they win that.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Butler out for a few weeks. They have to win the play in without him. And then the Celts if they win that.

A pity. I like watching Butler play. My Sixers should NEVER have let him walk.

[Surf]

Indeed (about gambling in sports).

Same thing goes for other major sports like MLB, which is sponsored by DraftKings and FanDuel, and NFL has sportsbooks inside their stadiums that are open on game days. NBA/MLB/NFL are better off having no official relationships with gambling companies of any kind. IMO, of course.

But then I am totally against state lotteries too. Its all predatory.

Gambling, Sports Betting. Online sports betting by way of cellphones has become a major player in entertainment period. It's not just ALL the sports league now have a partner. Several of the guys whose podcasts I listed too are sponsored by some entity and not all of them are about sports. On air talent now are making picks, discussing spreads and over/unders. Many of these entities are publicly traded. Sports books inside stadiums?? FOH, Wilma would have LEFT Fred Flinstone's ass over gambling debts if he had not been born when he was. Mind you in his day, getting backed into by a dinosaur that didn't see you would be fatal. He survived that everyday and still had a gambling problem.

All three major leagues have had to discipline players behind this and it's not going to end. It's very predatory, more than the lottery cause there is a larger entertainment value to it. State lotto's is all about the juice.

[hyped78]

Exciting play-in games. The Heat and the Pelicans seem to be battling uphill now without Butler and Zion, respectively

[hyped78]

Thoughts on the announced/assembled Team USA for the Paris Olympics?

The team looks stacked and mitigates the past issue of not having enough big men to bang with the big foreign centers, but I think it's key that Embiid stays healthy (he might exit the Playoffs quickly anyways, if Jalen Brunson and friends have their way; sorry WPP!)

[hyped78]

News from 2 days ago but Blake Griffin has confirmed he is retiring:
https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/bla...172030579.html

[Surf]

News from 2 days ago but Blake Griffin has confirmed he is retiring:
https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/bla...172030579.html

Shoutout to Blake Griffin, last in the line of the former NBA's Shaun Kemp lineage. Don't forget last season, or season before last he was the Nets best option in game 4 or 5 the last year Durant was there during that Playoff series. He just ran out of gas.

The second in-game dunk on the great Gasol, HOF'er and Champion Pau Gasol, was the sickest bang in a career of sick dunks on people. The shove by Jordan used to take me out. Deandre damn near tore his knee up after Gasol fell into him. Pau Gasol was quoted at the time 'it was assult' or something to that effect. I laughed out loud, he wasn't wrong.

Now Kia's are everywhere. Happy retirement.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

News from 2 days ago but Blake Griffin has confirmed he is retiring:
https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/bla...172030579.html

Do tell. I thought he retired several years ago.