Game 18: GSW @ Sacramento. The Chris Paul - Scott Foster feud. The Return of Draymond! NBA CUP TOURNAMENT. Plus open thread.
All the In-Season Tournament tiebreaker details here
One very puzzling thing about the Chris Paul - Scott Foster feud
Okay, on this whole CP3 - Scott Foster feud… I need someone to explain the most insane thing about the feud, which is that CP3 says Foster has an issue with CP3’s son.
Chris Jr is 14 right now. How could a grown man have a years-long beef with a middle school kid? And CP3 talks about how he had a mediation meeting about it when he was with the Clippers, which is 2016 or before. CHRIS PAUL JR WAS SEVEN YEARS OLD. What is going on? I cannot construct any scenario where a grown man has honest beef with a 7 year old, no matter how annoying he is.
Gilbert Arenas’s podcast came up with this explanation (at 47:32) https://www.youtube.com/live/zKYKhL6nB_I?si=JLFS2KiV8GtQu3LA
The gist is well summarized by this Reddit post:
[Gil's Arena] After a game, Little Chris was playing in the tunnel. Scott Foster in a car honks the horn at him and yells at him, "GET THE F*CK OUT THE WAY"...and some other expletives
CP3 wanted to fight Foster, and in the end, the NBA kept Foster off CP3 games for a while but brought him back in the Bucks-Suns Finals.
The NBA needs to go back to not having Foster be referee for CP3 games.
Some more background: https://theathletic.com/5093993/2023/11/27/chris-paul-scott-foster-beef-ejection-fight/
Warriors 2023 In-Season Tournament Schedule and Details
West Group C
Here’s a look at the West Group C standings with point differential in parentheses.
▪ Kings 3-0 (+29)
▪ Timberwolves 2-1 (-3)
▪ Warriors 2-1 (+5)
▪ Thunder 1-2 (+27)
▪ Spurs 0-4 (-58)
Tiebreakers
1. Head-to-head record in group stage
2. Point differential in group stage
3. Total points in group stage
4. 2022-23 regular season record
Scenarios
▪ Kings: The Kings will win West Group C with a win over the Warriors. They can also win the group with a loss to the Warriors if the Timberwolves beat Oklahoma City and the Kings win the three-way tiebreaker over Golden State and Minnesota based on point differential. The Warriors would have to beat the Kings by 12 points or more to finish group play with a higher point differential. The Kings cannot win the wild card in the West because with a loss to the Warriors it would be mathematically impossible to top the Suns’ plus-34 point differential.
▪ Warriors: The Warriors will win West Group C with a win over the Kings and a loss by the Timberwolves. The Warriors can also win the group with a win over the Kings and a Timberwolves victory if they win the tiebreaker over Sacramento and Minnesota. The Warriors can win the wild card if they beat the Kings, finish second in the group and win the tiebreaker over the other second-place teams in West groups A and B. The latter scenario is unlikely because the Warriors would have to beat the Kings by 28 or more to top Phoenix’s point differential, and in that case they would probably win the group.
Other details
Eight teams will advance to the Knockout Rounds: the team with the best standing in Group Play games in each of the six groups and two “wild cards” (the team from each conference with the best record in Group Play games that finished second in its group). The Knockout Rounds will consist of single-elimination games in the Quarterfinals (played in NBA team markets on Monday, Dec. 4 and Tuesday, Dec. 5) and Semifinals and Championship (played in Las Vegas on Dec. 7 and Dec. 9, respectively). The Knockout teams will compete for a prize pool and the new In-Season Tournament trophy, the NBA Cup.
Each of the 22 teams that do not advance to the Quarterfinals of the In-Season Tournament will be assigned two regular-season games (one home game and one away game) that will be played on Wednesday, Dec. 6 and Friday, Dec. 8.
Also there is prize money:
The players on the winning team will each get $500,000, while the runners-up will get $200,000. The losing players of the semifinals will each get $100,000, and the losing players of the quarterfinals will each get $50,000.
ESPN Sources: As the NBA pushes to accelerate the competitive environment of the new In-Season Tournament, the league’s coaches are joining the players in getting paid a financial prize pool for advancing into the final stages of event.
GAME DETAILS
WHEN: 2023-11-28 7:00 PM Pacific
WHO: Golden State Warriors @ Sacramento
WATCH: NBCSN Bay Area, TNT
Folks, please look directly into the harmless light over here: https://dubnationhq.com/p/post-game-zen-14-cp3-and-gp2-injured
The Mother Of All Chokes. A 24 point lead blown. Mistake after mistake. WIN NOW, DONE AND DUSTED. 31 Personal Fouls. Starters cannot play a full game with pace. They are old and tired and smug. This is what happens when you don't develop your young guys to integrate into the team. Too much reliance on the past and what used to work. This team really needs to re-invent itself.