Where'd all these fleas come from?

Terry Rozier is arrested for tipping player unders. Chauncey Billups is arrested for running fixed poker games for The Mafia and may have also tipped gamblers his players' availability while coaching an NBA team. HOW COULD ALL OF THIS POSSIBLY HAVE HAPPENED? Hmm. Good morning. Let's basketball.

Time to rewrite the NBA coaching hot seat column. Clearly, the likelihood of being arrested on charges of being the bait for fixed Mafia poker games was undersold as a liability, so putting Chauncey Billups at No. 7 in the rankings even after a contract extension in April was too hopeful. Billups is alleged to have helped bilk professional poker players on behalf of legitimate Mafia actors, which is terrifying. But he's also been implicated in the insider gambling investigation that has finally taken down Terry Rozier, months after the NBA cleared him.

As for Rozier, he appears to be involved in the same scheme that ended Jontay Porter's career: he told associates to bet unders on player props involving him, then took himself out of the game in the first quarter to make sure they hit. As it was with the Porter case, this is really, really stupid and super illegal and Rozier will never play another NBA minute as a result, unless these allegations are proven false.

An NBA head coach matching Billups' description is alleged to have done the same thing, with a twist: he allegedly gave information on players' availability status to the same dudes Rozier was involved with, and who were also associated with the poker games, before it became public. In particular, he told one of the associates that the Blazers were going to tank down the stretch in 2022-23, giving a tip that Damian Lillard would sit the rest of the season before Lillard was ruled out for the first time in that stretch. Damon Jones did some similar stuff when he wasn't apparently an official employee of any team, but had info on his friend LeBron James' health.

Rozier's alleged actions are beyond the pale. Billups' insider trading is awful for different reasons: getting involved in gambling when you have that much control over the playing time for so many players and team strategy and more inside information than anyone is really, really stupid. Given that some of the same non-NBA people were involved in both cases, it makes you wonder if Billups was forced into the insider trading based on how deep he was in the poker scheme, which apparently predates his coaching career.

In other words, Billups was palling around with dogs. It should be no surprise he got fleas. And the NBA has been palling around with the gambling world. It should be no surprise it got fleas.

There's no way this stops here: Malik Beasley remains in a fugue state where there is debate about whether he's been cleared of wrongdoing for similar allegations with lots of rumors circling on the internet. This could be the tip of the iceberg, and that iceberg could even go beyond players and coaches. (Keep in mind that we are in an era of the FBI in which every case seems to have a politicized tinge, to put it mildly. Powerful people in this administration have beefs with high-level NBA personnel. Adam Silver's personal friendship with Jared Kushner isn't going to save anyone.)

The iceberg's here. We're going to get an underpaid team staffer roped into one of these busts at some point. We're going to get a prominent member of the media roped into one of these busts at some point. (Has the 2022 NBA Draft betting line weirdness ever been sufficiently explained?) We're going to get a star player roped into one of these busts at some point. Gambling apologists are saying that as sports gambling becomes more prevalent the leagues and sportsbooks will figure out how to make it safe, that this is all a bunch of growing pains, that it's good that idiots are getting caught. Bill Simmons, who was one of the first mainstream media members to fully embrace betting culture decades ago, pretty much said as much in his Thursday podcast, that some stupid people will do bad things and Adam Silver will figure out how to protect the league and work the kinks out.

But man, what are they going to do with all these fleas?

Widespread sports gambling is a net negative for society. The leagues going all in was a calculated risk; backers would say that the financial infusion has been worth the periodic drama. We'll see if they are still saying that when the next scandal hits. And the one after that. And the one after that. We'll see if they are still saying that when the fleas become so widespread they blot out the sport itself.

Scores

Thunder 141, Pacers 135 (2OT) – Four overtimes in two games to start the season for Oklahoma City. Woof! I'm being totally serious when I say Shai Gilgeous-Alexander might need some rest soon because he is doing a whole lot out there. A new career high of 55 in this one. And it's true: Ajay Mitchell is a real live player for OKC. He might win Sixth Man of the Year and Most Improved (if he can beat ultra-favorite Bennedict Mathurin, who was absolutely dealing). Holy smokes. The Thunder have another guy.

We're only three days in but Shai is on track to repeat as MVP. Sheesh.

Nuggets 131, Warriors 137 (OT) – Aaron Gordon hit 10 threes and the Nuggets lost. Damn.

Nikola Jokic was dreadful from the floor in his season debut (8/23, 2/13 from three) and Cam Johnson didn't really do a whole lot of good. Are the Warriors just ... going to have a good offense? Is this real life? Steph Curry stepped it up and had an extremely Steph Curry game, complete with some late game flamethrower action.

The basketball, it's great.

Schedule

Twenty-six more games coming this weekend. All times Eastern.

FRIDAY
Bucks at Raptors, 6:30
Hawks at Magic, 7
Celtics at Knicks, 7:30, Prime Video
Cavaliers at Nets, 7:30
Pistons at Rockets, 8
Heat at Grizzlies, 8
Spurs at Pelicans, 8
Wizards at Mavericks, 8:30
Timberwolves at Lakers, 10, Prime Video
Warriors at Blazers, 10
Jazz at Kings, 10
Suns at Clippers, 10:30

SATURDAY
Bulls at Magic, 7
Thunder at Hawks, 7:30, NBA TV
Hornets at Sixers, 7:30
Pacers at Grizzlies, 8
Suns at Nuggets, 9

SUNDAY
Nets at Spurs, 2
Celtics at Pistons, 3:30
Bucks at Cavaliers, 6
Knicks at Heat, 6
Hornets at Wizards, 6
Pacers at Timberwolves, 7
Raptors at Mavericks, 7:30
Blazers at Clippers, 9
Lakers at Kings, 9

Alright, that was opening week! Be back on Monday. Be excellent to each other.