Game Spotlight 

Monday, Oct 27

Cade Cunningham and his Pistons flail against the Cavs

The 2-1 Pistons looked to defeat the titan Cavaliers, who have come out as one of the best in the league to begin the 2025 season. While they had visions of a strong win against Cleveland, they did not manifest. The ball in Detroit went quiet for their own side, as the team only scored 92 points. Not a single player on Detroit’s roster scored more than 12 points, and the main star of Cleveland, Cade Cunningham, only scored 12 points on a 23% fg rate. But for Cleveland, the team’s star Donovan Mitchell was in peak form, scoring 35 points on a 72% fg rate, completely running Cade and friends out of their own stadium, dropping 116 points on their head. The Pistons are at a confusing moment of the season with a struggling beginning, so hopefully Cunningham and friends can find their vibe they maintained in the 2024 season.

Final: CLE 116 – 95 DET

Tuesday, Oct 28

The Sixers pull a comeback win out of the Wizards’ arms in OT

Going into the mid-3rd quarter, the 76ers were down by 19 points to the Wizards, and many thought the game was over, but the Sixers were not giving in. Led by an effort from the guards Maxey, Edgecombe, and Grimes, all 3 were able to fight their way to an eventual tying score to send this game into overtime. Once the team got into overtime, Adem Bona, a sophomore from last year’s draft, had 3 blocks in overtime and defensively shut down the Wizards’ comeback. For the 76ers, Tyrese Maxey has had 39-point, 10-assist double-doubles and has come out as one of the best players in the NBA to start the 2025 season, as well as rookie VJ Edgecombe putting up consistent, great rookie performances, as well as Embiid putting up 25 points and Quentin Grimes putting up 23. On the Wizards’ side, Alex Sarr and Keyonte George were mainly carrying their team’s performance, as Sarr had 31 points and 11 rebounds on 56.5% shooting efficiency, and George had a 20/9/7 game. Still, it was not enough to edge out the Sixers’ comeback.

Final(OT): PHI 139 – 134 WAS

Wednesday Oct 29

The Luka and Lebron-less Lakers inch out a victory against the Edwards-less Timberwolves

Going into the season, this game looked like one of the most elite in the league, Lebron and Luka against Anthony Edwards, a rematch of last year’s 1st round, where the Wolves defeated the Lakers in 5 games. But all 3 of these players, James, Doncic, and Edwards, were all out for this rematch, making both teams’ secondary players stand up. For the Lakers, Jake LaRavia had a surprise 27-point, 90% fg performance, along with Austin Reaves’ 28-point performance, while the Wolves’ Julius Randle had 33/5/6, and Jaden McDaniels had a 30-point game. The game was neck to neck during the first half, but the Lakers tried pulling out in the 3rd quarter, even though the Wolves made the game tight, gaining a 1 lead throughout the final minute. Austin Reaves was able to stand his ground and get a buzzer-beater to put the Timberwolves to sleep in Minnesota.

Final: LAL 116 – 115 MIN

Thursday Oct 30

The Bucks come in clutch while missing Giannis

The Bucks throughout this season have seemed like they would struggle without Giannis Antetokounmpo, since most of the roster, outside Ryan Rollins, have been hurting in scoring, and this seemed like a game they would lose. The Warriors have begun the 2025 season strongly, as Steph Curry has played like one of the best in the league, alongside Jimmy Butler’s always-helping performance, leading the Warriors to a 4-1 record, looking to beat out the Bucks. But Ryan Rollins and friends had different plans. Some of the Warriors put up a valiant effort, with Stephen Curry having 27 points and Jimmy Butler having 23 points and 11 rebounds. Ryan Rollins, for the Bucks, put up 32 points on 62% fg and 8 assists. Along with this, the rest of the Bucks contributed to beating out the Golden State by 10.

Final: MIL 120 – 110 GSW

Sunday Nov 2

The Bulls drop their first loss to the Knicks

The Bulls are a team that is overachieving at the moment, with Josh Giddey having a huge breakout from a promising 2024 look after being paid in free agency to stay with the Bulls, and a supporting cast that has stepped up while star Coby White has been injured for Chicago. While Chicago beat the Knicks by 10 last week, they lost by 12 to the Knicks this week, as a 30-point game by Jalen Brunson and the Knicks’ offensive power steamrolled the Bulls, who Josh Giddey led with a 23/12/12 triple-double. The Bulls fall to 5-1, looking to clean up their mess, while the Knicks get back to a .500 3-3 record.

Final: NYK 128 – 116 CHI

Player and Team Spotlight:

The Lakers continue to roll without LeBron

LeBron has been out for the first 2 weeks of this season, but the Lakers have largely filled out what he needed to do and have been dominating the league. Through the first 2 weeks, Luka Doncic is averaging 41 points per game, and Austin Reaves is averaging 31. With one of the best offenses in the league, the Lakers are destroying teams and putting up large efforts against every single team. Another breakout star is Jake Laravia, who was traded to the Lakers for Dorian Finney-Smith, and has looked to be better than the price given. We’ll see if the Lakers can continue their success without LeBron and especially stand out when James returns.

Some locks for the 2025-2026 NBA season

Oklahoma City Thunder: The Thunder have started this season undefeated at 7 – 0, and even if they leave soon, this team is most likely going to repeat at least somewhat of last year’s excellence, especially when Jalen Williams comes back from injury.

New Orleans Pelicans: This team was way overhyped going into 2025. Even though the group acquired Jordan Poole and drafted well-performing rookie Jeremiah Fears, the team is a massive mess playwise and has issues on defense and offense, with Zion underperforming as usual. This team will be one of the worst by 2026.

Brooklyn Nets: The Nets, who were expected to fail, are doing so. Michael Porter Jr. was basically a nothing acquisition, and Cam Thomas is still the only well-performing player, even if he is giving out a nominal amount of assists. The large rookie class of mainly Israeli players is looking unwell so far, but they may grow into something great, who knows. But, at this point, everyone knows Brooklyn will be among the worst of the worst in 2025. 

As the season extends, this list will grow.

Major Game Predictions (Nov 3 – 10):

Monday: Mavericks @ Rockets

Rockets win

Tuesday: 76ers @ Bulls

76ers win

Wednesday: Spurs @ Lakers

Lakers win

Thursday: Clippers @ Suns (Only Thursday game)

Clippers win

Friday: Rockets @ Spurs

Spurs win

Saturday: Bulls @ Cavs

Cavs win

Sunday: Thunder @ Grizz

Thunder win