Luka Dončić remains the owner of the Timberwolves. Also, Victor Wembanyama should try out my idea

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Want a time capsule? Rudy Gay entered the NBA in 2006. This year, Gnarls Barkley's “Crazy” topped the charts, we were only there for “Mission Impossible III” (Philip Seymour Hoffman is the best villain of all time) and Three 6 Mafia won an Oscar for Best Original Song. More on Gay's career below.

Mavs Hush Wolves Again

Dallas clearly still has Minnesota's number

Back in May, we were supposed to get an epic Western Conference series between the Mavericks and the Timberwolves. The tension lasted for about two games, with Dallas stealing the first two games in Minneapolis in heartbreaking fashion (for Minnesota) before coming away with the victory after five games. The Mavs then ended up in the NBA Finals, but made exciting adjustments this offseason as Klay Thompson, Naji Marshall, Quentin Grimes and others joined the fray.

The Wolves, meanwhile, decided to make a money decision and disguise it as a basketball decision by trading Karl-Anthony Towns for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo. It didn't make them generally better. It made them different, and perhaps would be different, to get through the vaunted West. The teams had their return game last night and we saw many of the same issues from the Wolves as they tried to protect their home court against Dallas.

Things looked good early for Minnesota as Anthony Edwards scored 24 points in the first quarter. His hot hand tied the team record for second-most points in a single period. Edwards was on fire from 3-point range, but slowed tremendously after that. At this point, the Mavericks took control of the game. They survived early rim runs and relentless attacks on the paint. Finally, Kyrie Irving and the disabled Luka Dončić began to increase Dallas' aggressiveness. The Wolves didn't have much of a plan to get things back on track. The Mavs knew exactly where to go when it mattered most.

Sure, it's just one game in the first week of the season. And there is still a lot to do for both teams. But the Mavs (3-1) made a fairly seamless transition and their new players joined the reigning West champions. The Wolves (2-2) have gotten some good moments from their new guys, but there are still times when Randle wanders through the gaps on offense like Mr. Magoo walking through a construction site. All we know is that Dončić enjoys these big players in Minneapolis.

More from last night:

Nuggets 144 (2-2), Nets 139 (1-3) in OT: I think we've found the formula for Denver's success this season: Use everything we can to get to overtime on the road before the game really gets going. Nikola Jokić had an absurd 29 points, 18 rebounds and 16 assists – which reads more like a locker combination than a statistic. He also only had one turnover. But the biggest positive for the Nuggets was Russell Westbrook had 22 points off the bench, helping them get back into this thing.

Kings 113 (2-2), Jazz 96 (0-4): Good news for Jazz fans looking to the future! We don't have to worry about them being too good to tank in the first half of the season. The Kings have the trio of De'Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis and DeMar DeRozan running like crazy at the start of their tenure together.

Warriors 124 (3-1), Pelicans 106 (2-2): Zion Williamson had a good game, Brandon Ingram had a good game and… New Orleans went from leading by 20 points to losing by 18. There was no Steph Curry for the Warriors, but Golden State still held the Pelicans to 21 and made 3- Notes. New Orleans made a total of 22 three-pointers and turned it over 23 times. The Pels are off to a rocky start, and a conversation about what's going on may be needed soon.

The last 24

New cast announced for “Starting 5”.

Have you watched the Netflix series Starting 5, which stars Anthony Edwards, LeBron James, Jayson Tatum, Jimmy Butler and Domantas Sabonis as they journey through the final season? It was mostly a parenting documentary, but there were also a few fun and interesting basketball docuseries. Well, guess what? Another season is currently being filmed. In fact, it's happening right now.

Yesterday we received news that the cast of Starting 5 season 2 will consist of Kevin Durant, James Harden, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jaylen Brown and Tyrese Haliburton. I admit I'm intrigued by this cast, but I'm also a little worried it might be a disappointment. Haliburton has the potential to be fun, but I imagine they'll water it down a bit. Brown could be interesting if he didn't spend the entire series trying to sound smart and just be himself. Harden and Durant will be fun when we actually see them. I have no idea what to expect from SGA, but the Thunder team has a lot of fun personalities.

Starting 5 season 2 roster is OFFICIAL:

Jaylen Brown
Kevin Durant
Shai Gilgeous Alexander
Tyrese Haliburton
James Harden pic.twitter.com/7Gaq7RlVzB

– Netflix (@netflix) October 29, 2024

⏱️ It's the 70th anniversary of the shot clock in the NBA. This contributed to actual basketball being played. David Aldridge has everything you need to know.

🏀 Joel Embiid received a technical foul. He was labeled one by the league after Monday's game against the Pacers for waving a towel while making free throws. He has committed more technical fouls than he has played seconds on the floor.

🏀 The 76ers were fined. There was a $100,000 fine for misrepresenting why Embiid is currently missing games. Here's what they said about why he's out.

🤕 Lonzo Ball sprained his wrist. He is expected to be out for 10 days. Luckily it's not the knee.

🩼 Bogdan Bogdanović is out for a month. Keep your hamstrings warm, everyone!

📲 I can't get enough of Larry Bird's trash talk stories. Shawn Kemp is heavily featured here and that's worth its weight in gold. These stories live forever.

📺 Curious about when NBA games will air on NBC and Amazon next season? Mike Vorkunov is here for you.

📺 Don't miss this game tonight. The Celtics (4-0) defeat the Pacers (1-3) to reignite the Eastern Conference playoffs. 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN or Fubo.

📺 Best matchup between young men and big men. Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs (1-2) visit Chet Holmgren and the Thunder (3-0) to remind us what giraffes fighting over a basketball look like. 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN or Fubo.

📺 Do you love it when families go home? The Lakers (3-1) face the Cavaliers (4-0) because LeBron and Bronny James are playing on their old turf. 7:00 p.m. ET on League Pass.

Rudy Gay is retiring

🫡 to a “what could have been” legend

Let me start by saying that Rudy Gay had a very successful career. Yesterday he announced that he is officially retiring from the NBA after 18 seasons in the league. The 38-year-old could cook up a few people in the Big 3 one day if he feels like it, a la Joe Johnson, but he's done in the NBA. You can't have an 18-year career without being really good. This is what the No. 8 draft pick accomplished in 2006:

• 1,120 games | 71st-highest of all time
• 17,642 points | 89th of all time
• 15.8 points per game for his career while shooting 45.2 percent from the field
• An eight-year stretch of averaging 19.6 points per game
• $184 million salary

He could really play. The problem when you look at Gay's career is that he never came close to fulfilling his potential. He was subbed by his team twice in his career (Memphis to Toronto, Toronto to Sacramento), and the former team immediately improved. Coincidence? Perhaps. But it was enough to confuse the basketball people. Gay was a big wing who could get anywhere he wanted on the floor. He was able to defend several positions. He wanted the last shot and was good at it.

However, I always had the feeling that something was missing. He was never an All-Star. He only played in 19 playoff games. As I've delved deeper into this business, I try to pay special attention when a player's colleagues and contemporaries rave about how good someone was. Gay's colleagues certainly feel that way about him, recognizing how gifted and athletic he was throughout his career. Plus, he's been a killer in every year of NBA 2K.

I will always celebrate Rudy Gay's talent. I know what a problem he was for the opponents. But I will also always wonder what could have been with him, because he was The Good. A salute to a long and lucrative career.

I am 38 years old.

I had an 18-year career in the NBA.

It's time to hang it up. Thank you for everything – it’s all love. @PlayersTribune https://t.co/GOEjp3rollL

— Rudy Gay (@RudyGay) October 29, 2024

Happy Wembday!

Could someone stop this Wemby idea?

Maybe we'll file this under “ideas that don't actually make sense,” but I had this epiphany with Wemby the other night when I saw him line up against the Rockets: Even though he's now listed at 7-foot-3 instead of… With A height of 7ft 4 from last year – which is just shy of the reality of his height of 7ft 5 – Wembanyama is obviously still taller than most players. (We'll look at how he shrinks another time.) Since his height and wingspan exceed those of his peers, I began to wonder if he should shoot the ball more often.

These are screenshots of a shot early in the game where Wemby missed against Alperen Şengün's contact but scored a tip dunk from his own miss. But what if he created an unblockable shot instead?

When Wemby jumps straight up in the lane and almost masters a half-hook throw-in from above, there is literally no denying that. If you block it, it will be on the downward trend and become a keeper. If you try to get to the ball before it leaves his hand, nine times out of ten you will commit a foul just trying to reach that peak. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's skyhook was unstoppable. This would be the modern version of it. Is it feasible? I actually don't know. In this way, however, he is shaping the future of basketball. 🧠

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