When do they become bad?

We did good.

LAKERS

San Antonio's twirling dismantling of the Lakers on Thursday night was further proof of Los Angeles' age, even its 20somethings (Ayton, Luka, Reaves) play much older. Throw a single spin move at gramps and he's had it.

One would presume the Lakers could coast behind the serenity and countenance familiar with fielding LeBron James on the same side haha just kidding LeBron's more Hollywood than a carefully-curated award show gift bag.

It's just the same moisturizer but in a different jar. And apparently no almonds this year, too many complaints last year. Nothing noble, more allergy bromides than water-wasting aversion.

The Lakers' Net Rating dropped from No. 13 to No. 14 with the Spurs loss, the champing No. 15 Hawks nip-nip-nipping on Los Angeles' dragging sleigh (going the speed limit in the passing lane). Christmas is coming, I don't know if LeBron ever told Bronny the real truth about Santa or if LeBron (busied by work) delayed The Santa Talk and Bronny resents it.

Throw in J.J. Redick and his political podcast tone (chiding, contemptuous) with referees, and it is a chilly season. Are the Lakers the worst great team?

BOSTON

The C's fell apart in the third quarter up in Milwaukee on Thursday, blew a 14-point lead and fell to a 21-point deficit before losing by five.

A 35-point swing, leaving myself and Bucks fans to think of Jason Caffey at the same time. In particular, this game:

This will be the only Bulls reference in this particular email.

Kuzma and the Buck Boys got the better of the Celtics in Wisconsin, possibly an example of Boston's floor away from the parquet. Boston has a top-five Net Rating, somewhat enhanced by winnin' the two Wizards games by a combined score of 282 to 208.

Eh, whatever, stats. This team is rolling, I want to roll with them.

I'd worry about Jaylen Brown's heavy usage (23rd in the NBA last season to third in 2025-26) if it weren't for the potential of the group around him, Brown should have to do less as the season moves along, his teammates will be where he expects them to be, confidence accruing over time. There was always something appealing about Jordan Walsh, like the Celtics had a widdle Battier stashed deep in the rotation, too green to serve until now.

They beat the good teams. Boston (30th in pace) runs like they're coached by Doug Collins, but this hasn't stopped center Neemias Queta's ability to gently lay in some stats: 10 points, eight boards, an assist and a block in 24 low-possession minutes.

Alright, fine, I'll check.

The 2025-26 Boston Celtics' league-low mark of 95.7 possessions per game would rank No. 1 in the NBA in 2000-01, in my opinion the league's nadir. The speediest teams in 2000-01 were the Detroit Pistons (94.7 possessions per game, thank you George Irvine) and Sacramento Kings (94.4). The slowest teams in the NBA in 2000-01 were the Van Gundy-led Knicks (86.7 possessions per game) and Van Gundy-assisted Heat (97.1).

In that 2001 space, the fewest amount of threes attempted per 100 possessions (Randy Wittman's Cleveland Cavaliers, 8.7) more than tripled by now (Houston currently takes 30.4 per 100 in 2025-26), but I'm sure this has nothing to do with the fact that the last decade of NBA basketball has been almost entirely clouded by injury fear, and chatter over load management.

The average game has way more possessions and two-and-a-half times as many three-point attempts per possession, yet the schedule remains the same. The action causes injuries, and neither management nor labor wants to give in on an 82-game schedule.

The NBA could develop a healthy, moneymakin' 82-game season if it wanted to. Now that a decade's worth of kids have grown up knowing nothing but explanations for why superstar attendance is understandably optional in regular season games.

With the obvious inarguably in place, NBA, do something. Be creative, you silly capitalists. The European canon is right there, learn from it!

It is not much fun viewing entertainment with a season-ending, career-altering, franchise-enervating injuries in mind. Watching an entire league not built upon ifs, but whens.

Is Doctah John's medical assertion the culmination of decades of service in the medical industry? No, he's a guy who watches basketball games.

And "roughly" the same amount of games as last year ain't it, Mike.

The game isn't the same as it was last year, or the year before, nothing like it was a quarter-century before. The game isn't like it was even at its highest pace, the NBA's second decade, when teams played three road games in consecutive nights, because the style of sprinting is completely different.

The modern game isn't like it was during the 1980s, and it sure as heck ain't what it was during the Stand-and-Wait-For-the-Illegal Defense glory years of Michael Jordan and his endless array of imagined motivations, as documented irregularly by Peacock in segments I will continue to refuse to watch unless someone brings up Isiah.

The NBA is more run and cut and cut and stop and run than ever, this is unquestionable. Citing raw game or even mileage data does nothing to answer the fact that there are more hard stops and quick cuts than ever before. All five positions require closing out properly on shooters 25-feet from the goal, this changed everything and the NBA hasn't caught up.

The Cup is great! Players enjoy money, fans such as myself enjoy watching players chase money.

But the extra week of rest sounds wonderful until we factor in the spaces for the rest of the games. Before the cup, teams typically had a few more appearances under their belt by the second week of December. Now we'll have to cramp two or three Cup-delayed contests into the final two-thirds of the season, hardly the recipe for keeping the most-pivotal players from pivoting their way toward a career-altering injury.

WASN'T THIS ABOUT BOSTON?

I'm cool with Boston. They like their coach and his sets, the team expects to play among the East's elite and it took no time (the season's first three weeks, a 5-7 start) at all to begin performing that way. A top-five offense (even hotter in December) without Jayson Tatum is marvelous.

Anfernee Simons' domineering paws do right, here, much needed in light of Derrick White and Payton Pritchard's so-so (shooting) starts. Boston doesn't drop. This is the East, it doesn't take much to stay in the hunt.

MEMPHIS

Already went bad, lost to Utah in Memphis on Friday.

Ja Morant missed a layup and a dunk in the fourth, the latter coming while trying to one-up (the much younger) Ace Bailey's dunk on the other end. Ja also made an amazing layup out of a timeout and all the little plays to begin Memphis' near-comeback win over Utah, boxing out and making the extra pass.

Memphis only neared a comeback win because Morant then turned it over, had his shot blocked in the lane, and clanged an unnecessary three-point attempt (while down two) in the final minutes. Memphis will fall without Zach Edey (continuing left ankle problems), fall badly.

Why is Zach Edey driving his own Kia Sorrento? It's an automatic transmission, his left foot curling up uselessly in whatever floorspace is available. Memphis should have him rehab with a four on the floor pickup truck.

PHOENIX

Every so often a rookie NBA head coach successfully pushes an Us Against the World agenda. Some teams respond to Why Not Us, others are better attuned to Us Against the World, especially this Phoenix lot.

Jordan Ott is rookie coach and while I've never heard him preach such sentiments, he appears to own the voice for it.

He has the players for it, including two centers the Hornets didn't even want. Dillon Brooks was spurned by Houston, glowering more than ever, Jalen Green spurned by Houston, chirping more than ever. Devin Booker was the ultimate Is This Good? star for a decade, doubted for ages. These guys have legitimate NBA-styled reasons to be angry, remain good.

Phoenix makes opponents question their gather, their handle, their footwork and hip movement. Fundamental annoyances NBA players don't want to be bothered with, perfect winter entertainment.

WHAT'S YOUR TIPPLE, KON KNEUPPEL

This line will never go bad.

GOIN' DOWN

Thanks for reading!

NEXT UP: 2025 Hall of Fame inductees.