Daniel Hackett

To be fair, it would be quite the marvel if you did see a sunset in the early morning. I say stick to your story.

First real feel good win since opening night. Much better defensive approach this time around on Giannis.

Might be one of the more impressive defensive performances I’ve seen from Scottie.

Once Darko stopped messing around and hard matched Scottie with Giannis it was over.

Good win, even against an injured team. Thought there was a lot of good to build off of.

Starting to get a little concerned about some of the lineups we are seeing out there, but will give Darko more of the season to hopefully find a groove with the rotation.

I've been pretty pleased with the offence from the Raps thus far this season. It's the defence that is super concerning. Part of that is Jak being hobbled/out and him still being absolutely crucial to the team's success there.

But the unnecessary switches, doubles, bad rotations... Brutal to watch.

Overall though was a good fight throughout, got real sloppy on both ends late. Seemed kinda like the game wore the Raps down mentally trying to manage Giannis. Plan is for it to work the other way most nights. Even the FTs showed it.

Not a terrible loss. Just one you move on from, learn a bit from.

Finished the Raps game on delay. Overall a good effort. They really struggled with Giannis. Pretty common problem, but also indicative of not really having a big wing defender. As much as I wouldn’t want the availability of a rookie to be a decider, this would have been a fascinating game for CMB.

Can’t ask for much more than that from a season opener. Thoroughly great game up and down the roster.

Absolutely loved CMB's debut. I might have started him for the preseason crowd rather than Mogbo. Mamu was good too, pretty much as advertised.

I'm one of the few not assuming Gradey is the 6th man. Feels more like 11th than Ja'Kobe does. Some bright spots, but man he struggles on D.

Finally finished Raps' first preseason game last night. Ingram looks like the fit we were hoping for. RJ seems comfy around him (even if still lacking a little on D), IQ found some shots, Scottie might need a little time to find his happy spot on the floor. Mogbo there instead of Jak didn't help.

Game day! This has been a long off-season, very glad it's coming to an end.

Although in general (as a frequent blood tester with a full time job) I agree with this frustration, there are many blood tests that require fasting, which complicates things.

Blood labs being appointment only, especially for specific time ranges, would help.

Simply put: I trust Bobby way more than whoever Rogers might have picked out of the field. Good news.

Good fight late from the Raps to make that one fun. Fell a little short, too many blah stretches throughout to overcome with a couple awesome stretches.

Overall really liked our first look at CMB.

Huh, pulling all the good players didn't help things. Maybe it woke them up for when they check back in.

Well, not the start you want.

Now this is a starting lineup.

CMB playing like a star.

Way to close the half, basically tied. Any shooting success at all and this one is there for the taking.

Wow what a pass by Chomche! Great finish by Martin too.

CMB looking aggressive early. Also has some of that early Scottie playmaking where he's making some passes that teammates aren't expecting but would otherwise be great.

No Mogbo, but otherwise no shutdowns? Not bad. Still weird Castleton is starting. Wonder who gets a look now that Mogbo is out.

Yep!

With the Hawks winning by only 4 points, tonight is truly a win-and-you're-in scenario for the Raps. Any win now guarantees them a spot in the semis.

So, if the winning team of the SAS-CHA match, and the other two 3-0 teams playing tonight, all win by the margins above, Raps miss out even if they win, unless they win by a big enough margin.

Long story short: win and you're (very, very likely) in! But winning by more will help.

Here's how much the other undefeated teams need to win by tonight to overtake the Raps' minimum +13.0/game:

Spurs: +3 points
Hawks: +25 points
Clippers: +26 points
Hornets: +27 points

One less point than the above and it goes to total points scored, where Raps have a big edge on everyone but ATL.

With the Raps only behind one team that's already finished (if they win), then to miss the playoffs that would mean 3 of the 4 other remaining 3-0 teams winning tonight, and also catching the Raps for point differential. And only 3 can win as there is a head to head match between 2 of them.

But is winning enough?

Assuming the Raps win by 1 point tonight, they'd have a better point differential than 2 of the 3 teams that are already 4-0 at +13.0/game (Thunder are at +14.8).

If the Raps win by more than 1 point tonight, the totals other teams need below will go up by the same amount.

So, playing with scenarios for Raps making the summer league playoffs. There are 8 undefeated teams, with 3 of them already at 4 wins. Two of them play each other tonight, so there will be at least four 4-0 teams. Only 4 teams make the playoffs, so Raps have to win their game tonight to make it.

Great game! Held on against some hot shooting late from the Nuggets. Chomche is awesome, Jakobe and Shead looked like NBA regulars as they took control, CMB with a really solid game overall, building nicely on last game.

Like seeing that closing lineup for the half. A "trying to win" lineup.

Start the 2nd half with Chomche, go small for the other minutes, run some more actions through CMB (and have him roll instead of pop) and Raps can stay undefeated.