Here are the top 25 teams by power rating based on Vegas Point spreads heading into the season:
For teams in the AP Poll not power rated in top 25:
Illinois ranked 12, Power Rated 31
Indiana ranked 20, PR 30
Iowa St ranked 22, PR 28
Boise St ranked 25, PR 39
I bet this is what gets NBA to update flagrant suspension guidelines for the playoffs. 4 flagrant points in 23 games is a lot, but probably not worth getting suspended for Game 6 of the Finals (and therefore making refs miss fouls to avoid getting someone his 4th flagrant)
It’s dumb that that would get Wemby suspended and because of that, it’s dumb that the Knicks get punished because the NBA have to avoid getting Wemby a flagrant.
(This is why the flagrant suspension rules for the playoffs is dumb. That’s absolutely a flagrant on Wemby, but they’re absolutely not calling that to get Wemby suspended for the next game. It probably gets called if Wemby isn’t already at 3 points for the postseason)
I still occasionally think about Willie Green spending the Suns series bringing Devonte Graham off then bench before Jose Alvarado for 5 straight games and starting Jaxson Hayes over Trey Murphy every single game.
Knicks were down 20 when Jose Alvarado rolled in this 3. Alvarado had 8 points, 3 assists, 0 turnovers, was a +17 in the fourth quarter. Undrafted sub 6-foot guard shifted a Finals game.
*NOT A COMPLAINT OR TALKING POINT, JUST POINTING OUT*
It's crazy that in a 1 point game with 1 second left in the NBA Finals, you have two different fans simultaneously touching the ref.
Mike Brown is not happy with the officiating after Game 3:
"I never thought I'd be in the NBA Finals and see a team get 24 free throw attempts in the second half to another team's eight."
You gotta lay a lot of this at the feet of Mike Brown. You can’t let your team be this focused on their victim complex with the refs, let alone stoke it yourself.
It's been shielded by the fact that Brunson is 12-25 for 32 points in the 4th quarter, but him going a combined 18/56 for 50 points with 11 assists vs 12 turnovers through the first 3 quarters is probably the biggest reason the Spurs have even had a chance in Games 1-3.
Even removing his monster Game 7, SGA was 44/116 for 146 points with 53 assists vs 19 turnovers through 6 games vs San Antonio.
Brunson is 30/81 for 82 points with 13 assists vs 13 turnovers through 3 games.
Brunson has been outright bad by nearly every measure.
Through 11 quarters of the NBA Finals, the Spurs are outscoring the Knicks by 14 points when Jalen Brunson has been on the floor
Knicks outscoring Spurs by 24 points with Brunson off the floor.
I loved going to Bama during the peak of the Saban era, but man I’m jealous of the current students who get to live through this basketball and baseball era.
Adding to this, the Hawks finished the season 19-6.
But they went 11-0 vs tanking teams in that stretch.
And then of their remaining 8 wins, 5 came with the opposing teams resting players or with their best player injured.
NEWS: A judge in district court in Lubbock County, Texas, has granted the injunction requested by Texas Tech QB Brendan Sorsby. He’s set to be eligible for the 2026 season.
We'll see how this plays out, but I continue to believe the biggest misstep Alabama took with the Charles Bediako situation was not just sticking with the judge who was willing to rig it for them.
It's just clearly the right move in this economy.
Spurs did something (maybe by accident) that I've always thought is probably sharp down 10ish late:
you need quick possessions and variance so giving up a couple open 3s early in the shot clock and praying for some misses probably isn't bad win probability maximization.