Lebron and the Lakers have been eliminated by the Minnesota Timberwolves, who will take on the winner between Rockets and Golden State Warriors... Despite the Lakers adding Doncic to their roster in February, I think a lot of people knew their still short of few pieces to be a championship contender, especially a true high caliber center, however, at the same time getting knocked out in the first round is an underachievement from what was expected from this group.

The one goal defeat of Arsenal doesn't seem good to me because they are the host team. They were expected to win PSG by all means, so that when they get to PSG home, they will prepare to draw with them outermost. Learning about this defeat tonight has disorganized the chance of Arsenal reaching the finals of Champions League. It will completely be, another season that Arsenal didn't win a trophy. This is all bad for Arsenal with their level of performance.

Arsenal were the favorites going into the game, but I don’t think anyone would have expected the game to be a walk in the park for Arsenal, because PSG are having a really great and extraordinary season by their own standards.

It’s still quite a open tie and Arsenal would head to Paris knowing that they’ve still got all it takes to turn the tie around.

It's ok now mate, however, I wasn't able to make a bet because of that error and missed a opportunity to bet on the Warriors at -3.5 at that is what I'm seeing in this game. 

Congrats though, Warriors already winning this one, room service coming from Payton and Buddy Hield. They extended the series and with that, Butler can still rest and not necessarily for him to make a comeback.

I didn't place any bet on that game simply because Jimmy Butler was shutdown for the game by the Warriors and to be honest half way through the first half Warriors looked like they were heading for a serious beating, they were struggling pretty badly, they couldn't score and their offense couldn't find any sort of rhythm luckily for them they were able to turn it around in the 2nd half. Now they're in a good spot with the win.

El Clasico match will start in the Copa Del Rey final.

The line up has already emerged.
In this match Mbappe is a bench player not starting - Real Madrid also have a lot of key players injured so their chances of winning this title are slightly less than Barcelona.

According to the bookies' odds
Barcelona 2.21 and Real Madrid 2.85 - in this match I have bet on Barcelona's victory.

The first 20 minutes have gone by, it's still goalless, but the early signs have been all Barcelona. They're currently controlling the tempo of the game, and have tested Thibaut Courtois already.

I hope Barcelona can keep up the game, and take the lead first because it's still anyone's game.

Quote from: Harkorede on April 25, 2025, 12:17:11 AM

I agree with the points you've made, Man City probably have the best set of fixtures compared to all other teams in the EPL fighting for a place in Europe next season, but at the same time Man City are having their worst season in maybe a decade or thereabout so there can't be any room for complacency just yet, every point would have to be earned as far as Man City is concerned this season, they barely had a narrow escape against Aston Villa the other night.

If you take a look the performance of Man City in the last few matches, you must realize that they are improving their performance. Since they only have easy remaining matches, I'm very sure Man City will finish this season in the top 5. There is no doubt that Man City will join UCL in the next season. However, it is still not safe for Nottm Forest and Newcastle because Aston Villa and Chelsea still have a chance to overtake them. The point gap is very small and they still have some difficult matches.

Yeah, I'd agree that Man City have indeed improved over their last couple of matches but you know the job is never done in the EPL, you could easily get stunned when you let complacency set in. I do believe that Man City would finish in the top 5 too, and Chelsea in my opinion would miss out.

What happened to Ja Morant though?

Was busy yesterday that I was just glimpsing on the score and was surprised that they have a good lead and then suddenly the Thunder comes back and win this game again.

He was undercut by Lugentz Dort while trying probably to attack the rim, I know Dort have a penchant for hard fouls/plays but to be very candid he slipped and was only trying to make play on the play, it was indeed a hard fall for Ja Morant and it was pretty obvious he was in pain after the fall, but at the same time, it doesn’t seem like an intentional move, rather an unfortunate one…

Inter Milan seemed to have lost focus in this match. Because usually, even though Inter Milan are in bad condition, their defense is still good. But this match was the opposite of Inter Milan's usual performance.

The matches load and fatigue was definitely bound to set in against Inter Milan at some point sooner or later, playing on 3 fronts at this stage of the season is no child’s play. Although the game against AC Milan came a time when Inter Milan could supposedly have decent of winning the final if they made since it was just that game and the final that was meant to be left, but they couldn’t get the job done. AC Milan scored their first goal with their first shot on target and Inter Milan just weren’t able to get back on level terms before the match was put beyond their reach.

Quote from: Harkorede on April 24, 2025, 07:21:34 AM

The Butler effect is real, If Jimmy Butler didn’t get injured in the starting minutes, perhaps Warriors would have stood a better chance of winning the game. His presence does help the Warriors a lot especially on the defensive and also with the floor spacing. The Warriors really can’t afford to not have him for next games.

Yes, it was a frustrating moment for the Warriors. In fact, Butler had almost no time to do anything in this game due to injury.
Although his injury isn't critical, I think Coach Kerr needs to make some adjustments in the next two games because Curry alone is not going to be able to handle the Rockets.

With how physical the Rockets got last night and the depth of their roster, the Warriors chances doesn't look too great without Butler, if you ask me.

Jimmy Butler does have his way of dictating the tempo of the game and makes the job rather easier for Curry because Butler himself draws a lot of attention from the Rockets defense and without him, it was easier for the Rockets to add extra focus and body on Steph.