Thank the billionaires and the second tax apron. Making NBA great....again?Quote:
Originally Posted by Sanlmar
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Thank the billionaires and the second tax apron. Making NBA great....again?Quote:
Originally Posted by Sanlmar
The woman suing Byron Scott is the same age as me.
Interestingly Scott admits he had sex with her in the janitor's closet. He just claims it was consensual and she lied about her age.
It is not clear if the allegation is that Scott committed forcible sexual assault, or if it's just being called sexual assault because he was 26 and she was 15.
I think it's highly likely that this was consensual, and that he either knew she was 15 or didn't ask her age.
I do wonder how this came to be. Did he see her at the school and pick her out? Or did she seek him out because he was an NBA star? He was married at the time, but that doesn't stop most NBA players.
More info on the Byron Scott thing.
This occurred during the summer of 1987, when the girl was taking summer school classes at Campbell High School in Studio City. That's located in the San Fernando Valley, near Universal Studios. She was between her freshman and sophomore years at the time.
The Lakers were visiting the school in 1987 to film an instructional video in the gym and meet students, parents and faculty members.
Surprisingly, she's only going for $25k.
His defense that she claimed to be 18 is going to be a tough one. Very few students in high school summer classes are 18, because the 18-year-olds have typically graduated. Maybe a few are making up classes in order to graduate, but short of that, pretty much nobody in summer school is 18 yet.
Since I'm born early in the year, I was one of the earlier ones to turn 18 in my high school class, but I was still quite far from 18 during the summer before my senior year.
Daily Mail brings the goods as usual: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/nb...lt-claims.html
It's an alleged forcible assault.
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But when they were alone again, Scott found an unmarked door at the end of a hallway which turned out to be a janitor’s closet. He then ‘forcefully grabbed Hayley by the arm and pulled her inside the room’ leaving her ‘frightened and confused,’ per the suit.
Scott then ‘began kissing her on the mouth as she repeatedly asked “what are you doing?”
‘Then, despite her forceful protests, Scott pushed Hayley to her knees, and, against her will, pulled off her top. Scott the pulled down his shorts, exposed his erect penis, and tried to force Hayley to perform oral sex on him.'
Dylan was ‘terrified’ and ‘pleaded for Scott to stop and tried to turn her head away from his erect penis,' the complaint claims.
Eventually, the complaint says, Scott relented and told his victim to get up off the floor and get dressed then he unlocked the door so she could leave.
Scott’s teammates, the Lakers assistant coach, trainer and film production staff witnessed him lead Hayley away and then return roughly 20 minutes later, according to the complaint.
At that point, school staff, students and parents had departed for the day and the remaining players and production crew were having a wrap party outside the gym where alcohol was being served, the suit says
It continues that Scott gave Dylan an alcoholic beverage which she threw away after one sip. She had never tasted alcohol previously.
By now, Dylan's ‘mind was reeling’ and she was ‘scared’ and ‘disoriented.’ With no school staff or parents on hand, she had no way to get to her home in Encino a few miles west.
That sounds kinda plausible, but the next part made zero sense.
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According to Dylan's lawsuit, Scott took her to his car - a red, two-door Mercedes - where they sat and talked for five minutes, with the player focused on discouraging her from telling anyone about the assault.
He suggested the two could ‘hang out’ and gave her some Lakers merchandise from the trunk of the car, including a satin gym bag with his jersey number on it. Scott wore the number four for the Lakers.
Scott eventually asked a teammate, who lived close to Hayley, if he could take her home but the player, aware that it was inappropriate to drive alone with a young girl, responded: ‘Fuck, no. I’m not putting that girl in my car.’ She then, used a payphone to call her mother who picked her up.
She had "no way to get home" yet it took just a call to her mom from a payphone to come get her? From a few miles away?
Did she really get in Scott's car after the alleged assault? Did Scott really try to recruit a teammate to drive her home a few miles away, after having committed an assault against her? Why was he so worried how she'd get home, and why couldn't he just drive her himself?
None of this makes much sense. It's not like she was stranded 100 miles away. She was at her school with her mom easily reachable by payphone, a few miles down the road.
My guess is that he figured (or knew) she was underage, didn't care, they hooked up (though maybe he initiated it), and then tried to talk her into keeping her mouth shut right after they messed around. Maybe he asked the teammate to drive her because he was worried her mom would see him drop her off, and figure out something happened. Now she's suing him 38 years later.
The low demand is curious, but it makes much more sense if this was done as a thing to try and move on as a genuine victim of sexual assault while simultaneously ruining the reputation of the perpetrator. The standard move here, even if it's not just about the money, is to of course ask for a crazy amount and work down the ladder to a settlement.
If there were more known about the victim it would be more clear - like if she's a really poor person, 25k might be reasonable, but for most people, this type of ask against a public figure would be sent as a message that it's really about outing a predator.
My guess is she isn't poor.Quote:
Originally Posted by VaughnP
Campbell Hall is/was a private Christian school.
Studio City is an upper-middle-class area.
My guess is that she's white, especially with the name Hayley.
She might have her own money, and if she doesn't, I'm sure her elderly parents aren't letting her end up on the street. She also might have already inherited part or all of their estate if they're gone. You just aren't going to find many 1980s private school LA white chicks who are flat broke today in their 50s.
I think you're right that this is making some kind of statement. Perhaps she's harbored resentment against Scott for 38 years (regardless of what the true story was there), and in 2022 she finally decided to take action. It's also possible there was something forcible that happened here, and she has been traumatized ever since, and finally wants some form of justice.
The $25k suit probably means she never made any real attempt to settle, and wanted it out there.
I have so many parlays wrapped around Celtics ML that it’s going to be a very bad day if this is another bizarro NBA 2025 playoff result.
I am hoping for a 30 point lead with 6 minutes left. Short of that, nothing is safe these playoffs.
I had given up on Cavs. Everything I read said Mobiey was 2 week injury. The value of the blue check mark has really went down post X transition. Used to be at least a decent barometer of someone serious. No more.
Do the Right Thing came out my freshman year in college. I feel privileged to get an entire adulthood of watching Spike and that obnoxious Knicks fan base all show up sure this is their year only to watch their Knicks shit the bed. That’s the real Knicks today.
Mavericks just win draft lotto for Cooper Flagg with 1.8% chance. The Silver Adelson Luka to LA draft rigged conspiracy writes itself.
It's difficult to explain the math here, but four teams winning the lottery in an 18 year stretch with such long shot odds is highly improbable. Less than a .1% chance when using the actual precise odds, couple that with every instance coinciding with fishy to extremely fishy circumstances, this one being basically a joke, and it's hard not to agree with the conspiracy theorists.
The worst thing here is the people that will say Nico was some sort of mastermind all along, not a complete fucking retard with now an even longer track record of failing upwards. Still needs fired immediately.
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Originally Posted by VaughnP
Quote:
Originally Posted by VaughnP
I mean you can’t have it both ways. If it’s a conspiracy then he was doing the league a favor with the promise of the first pick. So he was trading Luka for AD and a cheap for 7 years Cooper Flagg. Or he made an idiotic trade.
I have no opinion. I have never understood why a dozen other team owners would be down for giving a Cleveland or Orlando the first pick. Those destinations don’t move the needle.
But that trade was the most suspicious thing I’ve ever seen. Plus Luka in LA elevates everyone’s money. But if we go down that line, then that’s Adelson or the son in law and Silver making a deal and Nico having no say and getting hung out to dry as the scapegoat.
I mean a thousand people made the joke I swear if the Mavericks get the first pick….and then they did
I mean every move Nico made the previous year was smart, and then he
A-made the worst trade ever and it might blow over because he’s the luckiest n-word alive
Or
B-decisions were made over his head and he was forced to take one for the team and has unlimited job security forever
Like they’d have to pay me way more for the second scenario because my name will forever be associated with incompetence and someone could have taken a shot at me at any time. Like this deal amongst the Jews in charge with gambling interests would have to come with a mossad team watching my family. Fixing the lottery is a call made way over his head if you are inclined to lean that way.
Remember when New York sucked, won the lottery, and got Patrick Ewing? That sure was lucky.Quote:
Originally Posted by VaughnP
A 39-43 team just shouldn't have access to the #1 pick, period.
A better formula should be constructed to give the true have-nots a chance (while also discouraging tanking). It shouldn't be a situation where a middling team can "luck" into the top pick.
Honestly I think Nico and the other principals in the Dallas organization just flipped out from exasperation with Luka's conditioning and effort level, and made a rash decision. I don't think it goes further than that. Maybe they get him in shape for next season, but if he returns in the same form, Lakers fans will also be exasperated for years.
If it was rigged, it's possible it was done without Nico or anyone in Dallas knowing about it. Perhaps it was just done to quiet the angry masses.
Things happen against the odds….see Saturday Night. Approximately 176,000 MLB played and only 1 21-0 game. What were the odds it would happen again this weekend?
There have been at least two MLB games ending in a 21-0 shutout since 1900. One of these games was a doubleheader game on September 15, 1901, where Detroit defeated Cleveland 21-0. Another instance occurred on May 11, 2025, when the Padres scored 21 runs in a shutout victory over the Rockies, breaking a team record.
The instinct of some is to always look for the conspiracy. For people that are supposed to be mathematically intelligent gamblers and poker players, you sure are suckers at times.
The NBA can't avoid the accusations when there is no transparency in the drawing. NHL has the powerball type machine on stage.
NBA was more transparent 40 years ago! The ole dinged corner for the Knicks for Ewing.
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Originally Posted by BCR
Flagg reminds me a lot of Christian Latener both have that same fiestyness
Yeah that's what they need, at minimum. Full transparency.Quote:
Originally Posted by gut
This trick was used at the Aria in the late 2010s in order to rig lineups for high stakes games. In order to feign "fairness", when a fish would show up, they would take everyone's names to the back and "draw 8 people" to play, as the list would be very long. Coincidentally, the fish was always one of the 8, and the fish's favorite opponents (and other preferred players) would also coincidentally always win. If you weren't part of the in-crowd and/or didn't tip the floorman big, you weren't getting a seat.
Tatum out, torn achilles, already had surgery, will probably miss all of next year...
Wow. Now I really would've loved my Indy to win the title pick at 33-1.Quote:
Originally Posted by 1dollarboxcar
Honestly one of the bigger non-bet regrets in my life.
Would have been a sweat but they'll probably get rolled by whomever comes out of the west.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan DruffWow. Now I really would've loved my Indy to win the title pick at 33-1.Quote:
Originally Posted by 1dollarboxcar
Honestly one of the bigger non-bet regrets in my life.
RIP Celtics, no chance they pay the second apron tax with Tatum sidelined next year.
Shitty look for the NBA that star players are dropping like flies, expect some Knicks will inevitably fall apart in the ECF.
Heard this on a podcast but pretty shit that the last 4-5 champions were basically those teams who faded injuries to key players.
The Nuggets are trying their hardest to give this game back to OKC by for some reason forcing awful shots with the lead and running minimal time off the clock.
Despite the two 64+ winners, it's become clear there are no truly great teams this year. The Thunder are still the favorite after this game, but barely. This team is maybe just a couple notches above full on sounding the fraud alert alarm.
Denver is a weak team with basically zero depth, they were under .500 post All Star break - everyone is aware of this, but despite that with just even minimal bench production the Thunder would be going home this round. This one has to sting the Warriors. If Curry stays healthy and they advanced, there's no way I'd bet against them. I wouldn't count out the Timberwolves just yet, but unless Edwards decides to play lights out they just don't have the offense to have a chance.
18 combined points out of the Nuggets bench in the last two games has to be historically awful for a second round or later playoff team. Not being able to count on anyone to give just Jokic any rest has been the difference in the series.
Yes, this is the most wide open year in a long time.
Actually makes for a good postseason. Most other years it just feels like you're waiting for one of the top two teams in each conference to inevitably make the Finals.
I remember earlier in the season, I expressed some doubts about OKC, and some said I was wrong -- that they were far and away the favorite to take the West. The way this has played out is exactly what I was getting at.
Even the Celtics were choking away leads and getting upset various times this season. I didn't have tremendous confidence in them, either. And I found Cleveland might be another OKC.
I know I keep saying this, but the team which has looked consistently best this postseason has been Indiana. I expect them to take out New York. Whether they can hang with whoever comes out of the West remains to be seen, but so far they've looked like the only team which really has it together.
I concede on the MVP point, both Joker and SGA have had a couple of subpar games in this series but Joker firing on all cylinders (like last night) is as or more dominant than any player I've ever seen.Quote:
Originally Posted by VaughnP
SGA is probably going to win and in most years his season would be completely uncontroversial but Jokic is far more impactful and it isn't particularly close.
For the third straight game the Nuggets have the lead at the end of the 3rd quarter - will this be the third straight game where the deeper team runs them down?
They're resting Jokic and no Nugget can get a shot off. Rofl
I would root for the Thunder but it's basically impossible with the way the SGA plays. The guy falls down or jumps toward someone every other time he has the ball. The play earlier in the quarter he decided to just sit down in an attempt to get a cheap foul call, and how surprising, now he hit the deck again.
No.Quote:
Originally Posted by VaughnP
Why it’s hard to quantify defense.
For the series, the 5 Nuggets starters when they are on the floor through 6 games.
Gordon +9
MPJ -13
Jokic -17
Murray +3
Braun -13
Murray, Jokic, and Gordon play roughly the same minutes per game. Gordon plays like 2 less. Jokic worst +/- among all starters. The game they lost by 40+ skews all their totals, but not one more than the other. AG -36 that game, Jokic -36, Murray -34.
Jokic used to dominate this stat in the past and his team was infinitely better during his minutes. Not so much this playoffs run.
Jokic is obviously the most dominant offensive player in the world, but Murray and Gordon continue to be really underrated players.
Been a great series. Hope Nuggets can keep it close in game 7.
Was 'weird' how the officiating approach pivoted entirely in 2Q and OKC started racking up fouls, but the ones that got them into trouble were earned. Went both ways, Jokic got called for a couple.of chickenshit fouls as well.Quote:
Originally Posted by BCR
Great series, tempted to grab points and take Nuggets. Jalen Williams is playing scared and Jokic could easily put up 45-10-7. Like the chances of one of Gordon, Murray, MPJ getting hot over any non-SGA Thunder player.
Probably will pass but gun to head I like Nuggets more.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sloppy JoeWas 'weird' how the officiating approach pivoted entirely in 2Q and OKC started racking up fouls, but the ones that got them into trouble were earned. Went both ways, Jokic got called for a couple.of chickenshit fouls as well.Quote:
Originally Posted by BCR
Great series, tempted to grab points and take Nuggets. Jalen Williams is playing scared and Jokic could easily put up 45-10-7. Like the chances of one of Gordon, Murray, MPJ getting hot over any non-SGA Thunder player.
Probably will pass but gun to head I like Nuggets more.
Now Gordon might be out. They aren’t deep enough to miss any of their core 3. And it’s a hamstring, so even if he tries, he isn’t going to be himself.
https://x.com/ShamsCharania/status/1924099706130514392
This isn't surprising, but even if they somehow win this game, this really is just turning into another of the "who can dodge injuries" playoffs.
Back to the Nuggets situation - if Jokic puts up 40+ and Murray puts up 25+, with Gordon out where do the points necessary to have any shot at winning come from? I hope it somehow happens, but with him out it feels like the line should be OKC -12 or better. That is already a tough place to play, and in a game 7, I'd bet if there were a decibel meter that this would be among or possibly the loudest modern NBA crowd ever if the game is close.
im fully suckered in on the denver nuggets getting 8.5 also todge can you change vaughns name to ron please
Gordon is playing, but unless his injury has been completely over exaggerated there's no way he's going to be anywhere near as effective as normal.