No one cared when OKC beat Minn, Denver, or Indiana, but if SGA's flopping leads to big, lopsided wins against the Lakers with Luka/LeBron in 4-5 games, lots of fans will be mad. Especially international fans, who love LeBron and don't care about the Decision or all the other stuff that makes him unlikable with Americans.

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On the tanking, I think all the current proposals were too dumb and confusing. Fans need to be able to understand it.

I really like the idea of:

1-2-3 automatically get picks 4-5-6 and everyone else is in a slightly more flattened lottery.

AggieEP said:

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Unrelated, but hilarious how the Lakers keep sprinting one of their forwards back to pin Reed and force him to play post D on them. Really good coaching from Reddick as it's either led to baskets or fouls on Reed several times already.

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Yeah, really good coaching. I wonder how much is JJ, how much is Bron, and how much is Nate McMillan. I think they are all pretty good minds on this type of thing.

Bron is shooting 1-4 and 0-2 and Lakers are only down 9 at halftime.

Give that man a medal.

Can somebody compile a video of all the times Sangun elbows defenders with his off arm when he has the ball.

The plot thickens with regard to Wemby's concussion protocol:

When Victor Wembanyama was not cleared by the NBA to play ahead of Game 3, he requested an examination by an independent neurologist in accordance with the NBA concussion policy, a league source with direct knowledge of the situation told @TheAthletic. Wembanyama informed the independent neurologist that he was ready to play and completed an interview regarding his symptoms, but the NBA determined Wembanyama was not ready to return.

"It was a decision. I'm not saying it was good or bad. But the way the situation was handled, very disappointing," he said.

Full details on how Wembanyama got cleared to return from his concussion and took his revenge out on the Blazers.

Read the story below

When Victor Wembanyama was not cleared by the NBA to play ahead of Game 3, he requested an examination by an independent neurologist in accordance with the NBA concussion policy, a league source with direct knowledge of the situation told @TheAthletic. Wembanyama informed the… pic.twitter.com/xD62Ezzp5i

— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) April 27, 2026

This was my first concern when I heard about the protocol - having the league involved during the playoffs just seems like a huge conflict of interest and problematic.

So you hypothetically either clear them early and now you're on the hook for whatever happens, or you hold them back in game 7 of a hotly contest series and that team loses because their star player is out?

That should put the conspiracy theories that the league is rigged to bed.

Guitarsoup said:

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jsc8116 said:

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I say he plays, no point in having him fly out to Portland if they weren't having him play a game.

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Wemby has passed all the Spurs concussion protocol tests and has to get the blessing of the league doctors now.

He flew out because we expected him to be passed and play in one or both games and also because he is the opposite of Kevin Durant and wants to cheer on his teammates.

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Just pointing out that I reported that Wemby passed through the concussion protocol and the League was the one holding him before The Athletic did.



Timestamp the night before game 4. No edits.

Guitar is the Athletics source confirmed!!!

Was that not public knowledge at that point?

I absolutely love Wemby's grit and resolve, especially considering it's the playoffs.

But, truth be told, I understand the league erring on the side of caution on this one. That would've been a super quick turnaround.

Brian Earl Spilner said:

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Was that not public knowledge at that point?

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Not that I am aware of.

And I am not a source for The Athletic, just thought yall would want to know.

I think Jared talked directly to Spurs people, Wemby, etc. I don't know him and the only people I know at The Athletic don't cover the NBA.

Wemby alluded to it during his his post game conference.

Thought I was seeing similar reports on X around the same time. (Might've been the Spurs subreddit.)

Are you involved with the team?

I have no role with the Spurs, but used to cover them when I worked in the media.

Don't think anyone other than me said it was the NBA not letting Vic play but the Spurs doctors had cleared him before game 4.

But you didn't say the league hadn't cleared him before game 3.

Btw, I vaguely recall you covering the Spurs back in the day. Pretty neat.

Brian Earl Spilner said:

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But you didn't say the league wasn't clearing him.

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Pretty sure I did:

Wemby has passed all the Spurs concussion protocol tests and has to get the blessing of the league doctors now.

Right, but the actual story is that the league is the one who decided he wasn't cleared for game 3.

Your post just confirms that he still needed to be cleared for game 4.

The timeline of recovery almost makes me feel like he didn't have an actual concussion but was ruled positive by the league anyway.

Probably wrong, but the whole situation has felt off.

I have no problem with the league protecting the face of the league. It was probably for the best for all involved. Glad he's healthy and kicking butt. 11 stocks. My gosh.

Listening to his comments post game, I don't think the reporter picked up on him making that comment because it was a perfect opening for a follow up. I think she thought she heard him say that "he was very happy" with how it was handled.

I agree. Maxime asked the right questions and I think that is when Jared and others started digging into it.

Maxime is the French reporter.

Well Tom James might have cut that off really quick too.

Apparently Peter Holt is in some hot water / legal issues at the moment. (Drug smuggling claims.)

Brian Earl Spilner said:

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Apparently Peter Holt is in some hot water / legal issues at the moment. (Drug smuggling claims.)

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Yeah, Holt's yacht captain is being represented by Tony Buzbee '90

https://instagr.am/p/DXfZ4r7kfXJ

All over Duren

JAMAL CAIN BAPTIZES JALEN DUREN pic.twitter.com/o2PkzxPDiP

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) April 28, 2026

Devin or Julian would be Detroits second best offensive player. These Spurs are so loaded.