{"id":311181,"date":"2025-11-24T17:26:17","date_gmt":"2025-11-24T17:26:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/311181\/"},"modified":"2025-11-24T17:26:17","modified_gmt":"2025-11-24T17:26:17","slug":"will-the-thunder-or-pistons-ever-lose-again-plus-ja-vs-klay-in-beef-court","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/311181\/","title":{"rendered":"Will the Thunder or Pistons ever lose again? Plus, Ja vs. Klay in Beef Court"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Bounce Newsletter\u00a0\":basketball:\"\u00a0| This is The Athletic\u2019s daily NBA newsletter.\u00a0Sign up here<\/a>\u00a0to receive The Bounce directly in your inbox.<\/p>\n

The great Oscar Robertson turns 87 today! In 14 seasons, Robertson made 12 All-Star games, nine All-NBA first teams and 11 All-NBA teams overall; he won six assist titles, a championship, and an MVP; and he still ranks 15th all-time in points, ninth in assists and second in triple-doubles. He was the first player to average a triple-double for a season, and that was his second year in the NBA. The Big O is an all-time figure in basketball history.<\/p>\n

NBA stock market<\/p>\n

Pistons and OKC are streaking<\/p>\n

Every Monday on The Bounce, we check out the trends \u2013 both good and bad \u2013 in the NBA. Let\u2019s dive into the Stock Market.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcc8 Oklahoma City Thunder (17-1). There is still so much season to go, but the Thunder are setting the bar so much higher than their historic championship run last season. They\u2019ve won nine in a row. Last season, they set the NBA record for margin of victory at 12.87 points. This season? Their margin of victory is 16.94. That\u2019s absurd! They\u2019re on pace for 77 wins. They\u2019ve done all of this while not having their second-best player, Jalen Williams. The Thunder look to be in prime position to end Adam Silver\u2019s parity.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcc9 Golden State Warriors (9-9). They\u2019ve lost three straight games, including the final two games (in Orlando and Miami) of a tough road trip. Then they finally played at home and lost to Portland. The Warriors haven\u2019t been the same team<\/a> we saw after the Jimmy Butler trade last season. They rank 23rd in offensive rating and 29th in turnover rate. They\u2019re terrible at shooting inside the arc. Golden State doesn\u2019t even score 105 points per 100 possessions with Steph off the floor.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcc8 Toronto Raptors (12-5). The Raptors have won seven straight<\/a>and are second in the Eastern Conference. They\u2019re looking great on both ends of the floor. They have the fifth-ranked offense. They\u2019re 11th in defense. They force a lot of turnovers and are one of the best at defending the 3-point line.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcc9 Minnesota Timberwolves (10-6). The Wolves have won seven of their last 10, and they have a top-seven net rating in the NBA. So why would they be trending down? Their loss to Phoenix on Friday night was incredibly concerning<\/a>, as they allowed a 9-0 run in the final 69 seconds. Anthony Edwards completely choked on both ends of the floor.<\/p>\n

The Wolves\u2019 best win is against the Blazers. Minnesota is 10-0 against below-.500 squads and 0-6 against non-losing teams. And it has had the second-easiest schedule in the NBA.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcc8 Miami Heat (11-6). Four straight wins for the Heat have them fourth in the East. Miami is \u201conly\u201d 13th in offensive efficiency, but it has adopted a push-the-pace style while losing nothing on the defense, where the Heat rank fourth in the NBA. The ridiculous part of their defensive success is that this is a horrible defensive rebounding team. Only the Nets and Wizards are worse at securing defensive rebounds. So they\u2019re not ending possessions properly, and yet they still dominate on that end.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcc9 Charlotte Hornets (4-12). The Indiana Pacers were reeling before they faced the Hornets. Charlotte obliged by giving them a victory. The LA Clippers desperately needed a win. The Hornets let James Harden go for 55 points and lost. The Hornets have lost six straight and are just 1-9 in their last 10. Kon Knueppel\u2019s amazing start can only distract people for so long. Just ask LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcc8 Detroit Pistons (14-2). The pace of their win streak is virtually identical to their historic losing streak two years ago. In 2023, they lost their 13th straight game in Indiana on Nov. 24. On Monday night, they can tie the franchise record with their 13th straight win. Monday is Nov. 24. And their game is in Indiana. I guess what I\u2019m saying is I fully expect the Pistons to win 28 straight games to balance the universe.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcc9 Washington Wizards (1-15). We\u2019re 16 games into the season, and they\u2019re rocking a 14-game losing streak.<\/p>\n

The last 24<\/p>\n

Dallas wins another lottery<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfc0 Whole lotto luck. The Mavericks won the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery, and now the Dallas Wings have won the WNBA lottery<\/a> for the second year in a row. Who will they pick No. 1? Here\u2019s a WNBA mock draft<\/a> from our Ben Pickman.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc02 Not happy! Nikola Vu\u010devi\u0107 and the Bulls won their last game. And the All-Star big man was not happy<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfc0 Ruh roh. The Denver Nuggets are going to miss a key member. Aaron Gordon (hamstring) is out at least 4 to 6 weeks<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udd25 Need a Herro. The Heat are getting their All-Star guard back.Tyler Herro will make his season debut tonight<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\ud83e\udd14 Patience, please. The Kings look pretty bad. But GM Scott Perry says the franchise is on the right track long-term<\/a> in this exclusive interview with our Sam Amick.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\ude80 No KD. Kevin Durant is dealing with a family matter and will be away from the team. The Rockets star is expected to miss two games<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfa7 Tuning in. Today\u2019s \u201cNBA Daily\u201d examines Reed Sheppard\u2019s rise for the Rockets<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Stream the NBA on Fubo (try it for free!<\/a>)\u00a0and catch out-of-market games on\u00a0League Pass<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Goodbye, Point God<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s appreciate CP3 before he retires<\/p>\n

Over the weekend, future first-ballot Hall of Famer Chris Paul announced he is going to retire<\/a> at the end of the season. The two-time LA Clippers guard is struggling in his 21st season, and at 40 years old, it makes sense that he\u2019d want to hang up his sneakers at the conclusion of this campaign. Regardless of the outcome.<\/p>\n

First, let\u2019s take a look at some of his accomplishments:<\/p>\n

12-time All-Star
\n11-time All-NBA (four firsts, five seconds and two thirds)
\nNine-time All-Defense (seven firsts, two seconds)
\nSix-time steals champion
\nFive-time assist champion
\nFive-time finisher in top-five MVP voting
\n36th all-time in points
\nSecond all-time in assists and steals
\n4:1 career assist-to-turnover ratio
\n15th all-time in games played
\n18th all-time in minutes played<\/p>\n

No, he never won a championship. But also, it shouldn\u2019t matter. Usually, that gets brought up when someone wants to discount an all-time great. Make no mistake that CP3 is one of the greatest point guards we\u2019ve ever seen and will ever see. Yes, he\u2019s super annoying. Yes, he has a weird reputation as an overbearing teammate. Yes, he\u2019s hit opponents intentionally in the \u2026 well, the title of this YouTube video explains that<\/a>.<\/p>\n

At the same time, he excelled in one of the most important roles in sports. Historically excelled. RINGZZZ Culture has been dismantled and proven foolish so many times on the internet. But it still applies when convenient for many basketball fans. Don\u2019t like a player, and they haven\u2019t won a ring? Mention that they don\u2019t have a title.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not even imploring people to like CP3. I understand the dislike for him. I, personally, appreciate his game and the wizardry he performs with a basketball more than I abhor his constant nitpicking and angling with the referees. But not liking a player shouldn\u2019t come with denying their place in history. He\u2019s one of the best to ever do it. And it\u2019s been an arduous but spectacular career.<\/p>\n

Beef Court<\/p>\n

The case of Ja Morant v. Klay Thompson<\/p>\n

Maybe you went into Saturday\u2019s game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Memphis Grizzlies not expecting much. Both squads are missing key stars on the floor, and both teams are off to sad starts. But something contentious happened during the Grizzlies\u2019 102-96 victory in Dallas. Thompson and Morant got into it, despite Ja not suiting up.<\/p>\n

Klay stuck up for Cooper Flagg after Santi Aldama seemed to intentionally trip him<\/a> upon getting tangled up. Later in the game, the Grizzlies\u2019 broadcast team (whom I typically find to be very good) tried to shame Thompson by saying he\u2019s not an enforcer<\/a>. But 1) Klay was doing what any good teammate should do and 2) let\u2019s not forget the Grizzlies pretended for years that Dillon Brooks is tough.<\/p>\n

Then after the game, Ja and Klay exchanged words and pointed fingers. Morant appeared to successfully troll<\/a> Thompson and further upset him. When Cam Spencer was interviewed postgame on the court, Morant interrupted with this:<\/p>\n

\u201cTell \u2018em who the best shooter in the house was, it wasn\u2019t bro from Golden State.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dang, Ja \ud83d\ude2c https:\/\/t.co\/WhnGq1d3GS<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/ijk0EcMQ5T<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 23, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Thompson then addressed the media after the loss and had this to say about Morant<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a funny guy,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cHe\u2019s got a lot to say all the time. Especially for a guy who rarely takes accountability. But that\u2019s for another day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing of intelligent depth,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cHe was just running his mouth. He\u2019s been running his mouth for a long time. It\u2019s funny to run your mouth when you\u2019re on the bench. It\u2019s kind of the story of his career so far. Leaving us wanting more.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a lot of spice! And it\u2019s, more importantly, a lot of beef. That means we take it to Beef Court!<\/p>\n

The case for Thompson: Klay speaking up for Cooper on a dirty, unnecessary move by Aldama was correct. Thompson also has the ultimate trump card over Ja because the Warriors beat the Grizzlies in the 2022 playoffs on the way to their fourth title as a group. Also, his condescending diatribe about Morant after this game was something many people would cosign.<\/p>\n

The case for Morant: The Grizzlies won Saturday\u2019s game, and unfortunately, Thompson doesn\u2019t appear to be the same player we\u2019re used to seeing. He\u2019s shooting 34.7 percent from the field and 32.1 percent from deep. Spencer is over 42 percent from deep and averaging nearly as many points (9.5) as Klay is (10.1).<\/p>\n

Verdict \ud83e\uddd1\u200d\u2696\ufe0f: We side with Ja. Before our ruling, special counsel Amin Elhassan offered up the theory that Morant wasn\u2019t talking about Thompson in that postgame moment. He might have been referring to Cam\u2019s brother, Pat, who played for Golden State. As much as I love trash-talking and pettiness, the court accepts this argument. Case closed.<\/p>\n