2026 NBA Season

[ingiltere]

What a great end to the match. Julius Randle had a legendary game and crowned it with a buzzer beater. He took the ball out of his hands with 0.1 seconds left and hit a three to win the game for his team. The Suns couldn't take advantage of 7 points in the last quarter. The Timberwolves needed this win badly. They had to beat a Suns team without Durant and they did it, even if it was difficult. The Western Conference is a really tough competition.

[btc_angela]

Let's enjoy now that he's still playing and as much as possible, stop the criticisms against him. Not a Lebron fan since I also criticized him in the past for his flops, but I realized it's only a matter of time before he retires, and we might not see another player the same level as Lebron.

We probably never will, longevity and consistency are two mutually exclusive traits that we don't find in athletes of this generation, they either can't stay healthy for long or they're not consistent enough to remain relevant after half a decade.

We have seen plenty of players with much better peak than Lebron to be fair, hell I would say someone as low on my list as Westbrook had a better peak than Lebron if you ask me, Lebron was always great, but Westbrook averaged three seasons of triple double averages. I am not saying I would take westbrook peak over lebrons peak, but it looked better on paper. The funny part is that we have seen players like Shaq, who was basically unstopabble, to end up having short peaks as well.

Lebron is a great player that is true, but not only he is great, but also nobody had a better period than him for this long. Being great for 20 years, and at 40 years old still being able to do triple doubles is crazy, he has the best longevity ever. I do wonder how long he plans to play too by the way. I mean he has one more son, Bryce, do we think he would wait for him to join as well? That would be a few more seasons I guess, so not sure if he will want to, but if we are talking about if he "could"? Then he definitely could if he wants to.

I don’t know man. When LeBron went to Miami, gained 40lbs, and started shooting 60% from the field he was pretty difficult to deal with. I’d put that Miami LeBron up against anybody. I’d say he had 2 primes even, because his first couple years in the league when he was skinny and quick, he was also one of the best to ever do it.

I agree, Miami Lebron and then Cavs Lebron (second coming), might be the best version of him.

But at his current age, it's really hard to deny that this could be another prime version of him, registering triple double and really playing God mode with his basketball IQ that no one can match in the league. And probably this is where the hate comes from, because the dude can play high level basketball at 40 years gold and you can just at awe at what he can do in the court every night.

[ChiBitCTy]

 I'm not trying to be cruel, but I can't wait until Jerry Reinsdorf passes away. I'm not wishing death on him or anything sick and twisted like that, but he's going to run the Bulls (and white sox) in to the ground until he dies.  He's never going to full give up control to his son or anyone else and he's going to continue to be a cheap piece of shit, try to take more and more tax dollars of hard working chicagoans so he can have things the way he wants them better. 

Chicago Bulls fans are MORONS.  Stop going to the games, stop watching them on TV ..this is why they will never get any better, because they have had the best attendance record 3 years straight and he gets paid bad or good.  So..I will not be watching a single game of my fav team, the team I grew up on that made my childhood sig better.  Sucks.

[AHOYBRAUSE]

What a great end to the match. Julius Randle had a legendary game and crowned it with a buzzer beater. He took the ball out of his hands with 0.1 seconds left and hit a three to win the game for his team. The Suns couldn't take advantage of 7 points in the last quarter. The Timberwolves needed this win badly. They had to beat a Suns team without Durant and they did it, even if it was difficult. The Western Conference is a really tough competition.

Wow, you have been invited by Royse to this new campaign just to write spam like this? Impressive! First of all, 35 points is not a "legendary" game, it's a good game at best. This is the 2024 NBA, not 1990. 

Also, beating a Durant missing team at home is not a difficult task. The Suns now have lost 3 in a row, 2 of them in blowout fashion by the way. I think you should honestly improve the way you are posting, this was the worst and most generic post I have seen in the NBA thread for a long time!

[TravelMug]

What a great end to the match. Julius Randle had a legendary game and crowned it with a buzzer beater. He took the ball out of his hands with 0.1 seconds left and hit a three to win the game for his team. The Suns couldn't take advantage of 7 points in the last quarter. The Timberwolves needed this win badly. They had to beat a Suns team without Durant and they did it, even if it was difficult. The Western Conference is a really tough competition.

Wow, you have been invited by Royse to this new campaign just to write spam like this? Impressive! First of all, 35 points is not a "legendary" game, it's a good game at best. This is the 2024 NBA, not 1990. 

Also, beating a Durant missing team at home is not a difficult task. The Suns now have lost 3 in a row, 2 of them in blowout fashion by the way. I think you should honestly improve the way you are posting, this was the worst and most generic post I have seen in the NBA thread for a long time!

It's a winnable game for the Suns though, they lead 8 with less than 2 minutes, but they can't get that rebound and so the Wolves was able to get a second chance points like a 3 by Anthony Edwards.

And then that final play wherein they got the ball, and there was a no call by the referee and they let it go and so Randle was open for that 3.

So yes, 3 games losing skid for the Suns, and it's obvious that they need to get KD back in the lineup ASAP.

[LogitechMouse]

Let's enjoy now that he's still playing and as much as possible, stop the criticisms against him. Not a Lebron fan since I also criticized him in the past for his flops, but I realized it's only a matter of time before he retires, and we might not see another player the same level as Lebron.

We probably never will, longevity and consistency are two mutually exclusive traits that we don't find in athletes of this generation, they either can't stay healthy for long or they're not consistent enough to remain relevant after half a decade.

The closest one was Giannis for me, but I will agree with what you said that there will never be another NBA player that can surpass Lebron's achievements or at least on par with him. Playing for close to 2 decades and consistently play at the highest level is something that a regular NBA player or even some all-star can't be done. Wait there's one player that can do it. HIS SON!!! 

Giannis with a triple double but still not enough to get the Bucks a win against Charlotte Hornets, when exactly does the Bucks need to press that panic button ? or is it still too early into the season to panic ??

Correct me, but they could've won that game if only the ref made a correct call on the final seconds. Ball tripped himself, and there was no foul there IMO. Even their very energetic announcer said "He tripped on his own PUMAS" which is hilarious. I guess keeping the challenge sometimes helps.

What a great end to the match. Julius Randle had a legendary game and crowned it with a buzzer beater. He took the ball out of his hands with 0.1 seconds left and hit a three to win the game for his team. The Suns couldn't take advantage of 7 points in the last quarter. The Timberwolves needed this win badly. They had to beat a Suns team without Durant and they did it, even if it was difficult. The Western Conference is a really tough competition.

Wow, you have been invited by Royse to this new campaign just to write spam like this? Impressive! First of all, 35 points is not a "legendary" game, it's a good game at best. This is the 2024 NBA, not 1990. 

Also, beating a Durant missing team at home is not a difficult task. The Suns now have lost 3 in a row, 2 of them in blowout fashion by the way. I think you should honestly improve the way you are posting, this was the worst and most generic post I have seen in the NBA thread for a long time!

Hey, you're a bit harsh, but what you're saying is true though. 35 points nowadays can't be considered a legendary especially now that we are on an era where teams focus more on offense rather than defense. Like you, I also consider that game a good game or a normal game at best, I guess.

Not having Durant on the team is also a plus for them as well. Anyway, there might be some Suns fans here saying that it's supposed to be a charge since Randle shoved Okogie, but it's pretty obvious that he flopped. He flopped at the worst moment possible and let Randle had his moment without any defenders near him.

[Natalim]

Not having Durant on the team is also a plus for them as well. Anyway, there might be some Suns fans here saying that it's supposed to be a charge since Randle shoved Okogie, but it's pretty obvious that he flopped. He flopped at the worst moment possible and let Randle had his moment without any defenders near him.

Lots of injuries with this team, but it says Durant is doing well so expect that he'll be back soon.

https://okcthunderwire.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/thunder/2024/11/15/kevin-durants-injury-update-phoenix-suns-forward-out-vs-okc-thunder/76345477007/

“Kevin’s been good,” Suns coach Mike Budenholzer said during Friday’s pregame press conference. “Stayed in touch with him. His work ethic is kind of similar with rehab. He gets after it. He's pushing to get back and be healthy as quick as he can.”

The Suns (9-3) are 1-2 without Durant as they face Oklahoma City (10-2) in Friday’s NBA Cup West Group B game. The victory came at Utah in NBA Cup group play.

The Suns are also without Bradley Beal (left calf strain), Grayson Allen (right hamstring soreness) and two-way player Collin Gillespie (right ankle fracture).

At least they showed they can keep up, even with fewer players. Too bad they couldn’t hold their lead in the end, such a waste of effort. Nevertheless, it was still a great game. Nice try, better luck next time!

[danherbias07]

At least they showed they can keep up, even with fewer players. Too bad they couldn’t hold their lead in the end, such a waste of effort. Nevertheless, it was still a great game. Nice try, better luck next time!

I think that's all we could say about the Suns' performance today. They tried but they will fall short without KD.
Now that loss put the Utah Jazz at the bottom of the West. I am a big fan of Markkanen and I don't like seeing his team mostly lose their games. They had a good start last year but now it's not working pretty well for them.
They won 2 of their 6 games ever since the return of Markkanen and those numbers are not good. Their next game will be up against the Lakers and I can already see another loss that will pile up to their record. Stat-wise, their defense is weak and they have lots of turnovers, their offense is good because every player can actually score which means they can spread the floor but they need defense converted to offense too.

[dezoel]

What a great end to the match. Julius Randle had a legendary game and crowned it with a buzzer beater. He took the ball out of his hands with 0.1 seconds left and hit a three to win the game for his team. The Suns couldn't take advantage of 7 points in the last quarter. The Timberwolves needed this win badly. They had to beat a Suns team without Durant and they did it, even if it was difficult. The Western Conference is a really tough competition.

Wow, you have been invited by Royse to this new campaign just to write spam like this? Impressive! First of all, 35 points is not a "legendary" game, it's a good game at best. This is the 2024 NBA, not 1990. 

Also, beating a Durant missing team at home is not a difficult task. The Suns now have lost 3 in a row, 2 of them in blowout fashion by the way. I think you should honestly improve the way you are posting, this was the worst and most generic post I have seen in the NBA thread for a long time!

I mean not to defend him or anything like that lol. But I would say it's still a hard thing to beat Suns, even without Durant, yeah they are on a bad roll I agree with that but they shouldn't be, and the longer they lose, the more people start to think "well eventually they gotta win!" . So they have Booker, so that should be something, but obviously they had basically nobody else, dude tried to carry the team all by himself and nothing happened, didn't they also had Beal or something? Whatever happened to them is a mystery to me honestly.

At one point I remember them having CP3, Beal, Booker, Durant all on the same time, now I look at them and Tyus Jones is the second most played player on that game, really a shame. So not everyone is caught up with how terrible Suns got. Wolves on the other hand makes a lot more sense now, with Randle taking KAT's place, they were good last year, expected to eb a lot better this year, still above .500 levels but I expected a bit better to be fair, like 10-4 would have made more sense than 8-6 for them.

[OgNasty]

What a great end to the match. Julius Randle had a legendary game and crowned it with a buzzer beater. He took the ball out of his hands with 0.1 seconds left and hit a three to win the game for his team. The Suns couldn't take advantage of 7 points in the last quarter. The Timberwolves needed this win badly. They had to beat a Suns team without Durant and they did it, even if it was difficult. The Western Conference is a really tough competition.

Wow, you have been invited by Royse to this new campaign just to write spam like this? Impressive! First of all, 35 points is not a "legendary" game, it's a good game at best. This is the 2024 NBA, not 1990. 

Also, beating a Durant missing team at home is not a difficult task. The Suns now have lost 3 in a row, 2 of them in blowout fashion by the way. I think you should honestly improve the way you are posting, this was the worst and most generic post I have seen in the NBA thread for a long time!

I mean not to defend him or anything like that lol. But I would say it's still a hard thing to beat Suns, even without Durant, yeah they are on a bad roll I agree with that but they shouldn't be, and the longer they lose, the more people start to think "well eventually they gotta win!" . So they have Booker, so that should be something, but obviously they had basically nobody else, dude tried to carry the team all by himself and nothing happened, didn't they also had Beal or something? Whatever happened to them is a mystery to me honestly.

At one point I remember them having CP3, Beal, Booker, Durant all on the same time, now I look at them and Tyus Jones is the second most played player on that game, really a shame. So not everyone is caught up with how terrible Suns got. Wolves on the other hand makes a lot more sense now, with Randle taking KAT's place, they were good last year, expected to eb a lot better this year, still above .500 levels but I expected a bit better to be fair, like 10-4 would have made more sense than 8-6 for them.

I sort of agree about the Suns.  This current team is not performing as well as the team that made it to the Finals.  They lack a true point guard and a good center.  I've been saying that team has been trending downward since letting Ayton go.  We'll see if they make any moves throughout the season.

I disagree that the Timberwolves are better after trading KAT.  I think KAT just lacked the killer instinct and didn't get along with Ant, but he's a better player than Randle.  Maybe a better fit.  We'll see.

[Questat]

I sort of agree about the Suns.  This current team is not performing as well as the team that made it to the Finals.  They lack a true point guard and a good center.  I've been saying that team has been trending downward since letting Ayton go.  We'll see if they make any moves throughout the season.

The stats don't lie, Ayton's loss is the main reason this team is no longer a championship contender. They should’ve kept Ayton and maybe traded Paul and a few others instead. Ayton was a big threat in the paint, and right now, they don't have anyone like him in their lineup. Plus, injuries are piling up, making things worse. The thing is, they lost again today. It’s hard to compete when your roster is thin and missing the most important player like Durant.

I disagree that the Timberwolves are better after trading KAT.  I think KAT just lacked the killer instinct and didn't get along with Ant, but he's a better player than Randle.  Maybe a better fit.  We'll see.

Yeah, we will see how these teams hold up in the playoffs, but I’ve got a feeling the Wolves won’t make it to the WCF this season.... They’re just not as consistent or dominant as they used to be. Honestly, I miss the twin tower lineup, it felt like they had something special back then.

[wiss19]

While I do agree that Lebron is doing great job, the whole "for a 39 year old" doesn't really make sense to me at all. He is averaging 23.3 points per game, 9.2 assists, 8.6 rebounds per game and he does that with 51% fg with 43% three pointers as well.

So he is not really scoring very little because he can't, he is picking his shots but having 9.2 assists meaning that he is passing his chance to teammates to bring them higher this year, to give them a bit more confidence.

This is why I honestly believe that he is doing great for any age, it's not just great for 39, that makes it sound like if a 25 year old kid did it we wouldn't care this stats, but when a 39 year old does it we care about it. That's not the case, if you see 23-9-8 from anyone with 51-43-76 splits then we would say that's a good player and that is why I believe that we should not be really considering his age when complimenting his age. Lebron is definitely the GOAT and he is proving that every season.

[LogitechMouse]

While I do agree that Lebron is doing great job, the whole "for a 39 year old" doesn't really make sense to me at all. He is averaging 23.3 points per game, 9.2 assists, 8.6 rebounds per game and he does that with 51% fg with 43% three pointers as well.

So he is not really scoring very little because he can't, he is picking his shots but having 9.2 assists meaning that he is passing his chance to teammates to bring them higher this year, to give them a bit more confidence.

This is why I honestly believe that he is doing great for any age, it's not just great for 39, that makes it sound like if a 25 year old kid did it we wouldn't care this stats, but when a 39 year old does it we care about it. That's not the case, if you see 23-9-8 from anyone with 51-43-76 splits then we would say that's a good player and that is why I believe that we should not be really considering his age when complimenting his age. Lebron is definitely the GOAT and he is proving that every season.

Right now, in his career, I think that he doesn't need points anymore because we know it already that he's the leading scorer all-time.
Aside from him being a scorer, he's also a good passer as well thus, that 9.2 assists per game. That puts him at the 3rd right now in assist per game.

He's the definition of longevity not only in the NBA, but in whatever sport it is. Just imagine at 39 years old, he's doing things that a normal 39-year-old player isn't doing. His stats currently are far better than more than 75% of the league right now. That's why for some; he's the GOAT and not Jordan, and we can't blame them because at the end of the day, Lebron made achievements in his NBA career that can't be surpassed anymore, or other players will be having a hard time surpassing them.

Anyway, I agree with what you said that he's passing so his teammates boosts their confidence. He doesn't want to be put into a situation anymore where he's carrying the team in terms of offense anymore because he knows he can't do it anymore.

[fruktik]

While I do agree that Lebron is doing great job, the whole "for a 39 year old" doesn't really make sense to me at all. He is averaging 23.3 points per game, 9.2 assists, 8.6 rebounds per game and he does that with 51% fg with 43% three pointers as well.

So he is not really scoring very little because he can't, he is picking his shots but having 9.2 assists meaning that he is passing his chance to teammates to bring them higher this year, to give them a bit more confidence.

This is why I honestly believe that he is doing great for any age, it's not just great for 39, that makes it sound like if a 25 year old kid did it we wouldn't care this stats, but when a 39 year old does it we care about it. That's not the case, if you see 23-9-8 from anyone with 51-43-76 splits then we would say that's a good player and that is why I believe that we should not be really considering his age when complimenting his age. Lebron is definitely the GOAT and he is proving that every season.

With his experience and not score? Hmmm, that's complete nonsense. Of course, LeBron is good even at 39. Although for basketball this is already a rather respectable age, but such players are worth their weight in gold. Even at 50 years old, they will not be inferior to younger opponents, since they have many games under their belt, from which they have gained colossal experience. Even without points in the game, they can give effective passes. That is why such basketball players will have jobs.

[danherbias07]

Another loss from the Pacers and it's against the Raptors. Damn! I don't feel the same energy as they did last year battling for the NBA Cup (In-Season Tournament) Finals. This ain't the Pacers that I loved watching back in 2023. They are fast-paced and an offensive threat to every team. Anyway, that's another loss to my bet because I was badly expecting them to win that match.

The other surprising loss is the Kings' against the Atlanta Hawks, but I understand, as they battled back-to-back games with teams that really exhausted them. I will not be surprised if they will gain momentum after another win but they need Sabonis back to enhance their winning chance.

[Dave1]

Another loss from the Pacers and it's against the Raptors. Damn! I don't feel the same energy as they did last year battling for the NBA Cup (In-Season Tournament) Finals. This ain't the Pacers that I loved watching back in 2023. They are fast-paced and an offensive threat to every team. Anyway, that's another loss to my bet because I was badly expecting them to win that match.

The other surprising loss is the Kings' against the Atlanta Hawks, but I understand, as they battled back-to-back games with teams that really exhausted them. I will not be surprised if they will gain momentum after another win but they need Sabonis back to enhance their winning chance.

I lost my bet on the Atlanta Hawks upset on the Kings, although I wasn't able to watch the game live, there were moments when I think that they are going to win specially when Fox hit a 3 for a 99-96 lead. My beat is -3.5 on the Kings, and so I thought that they will have that momentum going on the last 4 minutes, but the Hawks are very tenacious in this game and the Kings missing crucial shots.

Same for the Pacers, when I'm going to bet on them, somewhat it will be a different team that is showing.

Warriors losing to the Clippers, as Steph missed that trying 3 in the closing that might have pushed the game into OT.

[dwyane36]

Right now, in his career, I think that he doesn't need points anymore because we know it already that he's the leading scorer all-time.
Aside from him being a scorer, he's also a good passer as well thus, that 9.2 assists per game. That puts him at the 3rd right now in assist per game.

He's the definition of longevity not only in the NBA, but in whatever sport it is. Just imagine at 39 years old, he's doing things that a normal 39-year-old player isn't doing. His stats currently are far better than more than 75% of the league right now. That's why for some; he's the GOAT and not Jordan, and we can't blame them because at the end of the day, Lebron made achievements in his NBA career that can't be surpassed anymore, or other players will be having a hard time surpassing them.

Anyway, I agree with what you said that he's passing so his teammates boosts their confidence. He doesn't want to be put into a situation anymore where he's carrying the team in terms of offense anymore because he knows he can't do it anymore.

I think LeBron could easily average 30+ points if he wanted to, but as you said above, it's not necessary. His current stats show that he averages close to a triple-double per game, and it seems to me to be much more efficient than just scoring a lot of points per game. By the way, even though the regular season is still in its early stages, the Lakers are already looking good, as they are currently in third spot in the Western Conference standings.

[TravelMug]

Right now, in his career, I think that he doesn't need points anymore because we know it already that he's the leading scorer all-time.
Aside from him being a scorer, he's also a good passer as well thus, that 9.2 assists per game. That puts him at the 3rd right now in assist per game.

He's the definition of longevity not only in the NBA, but in whatever sport it is. Just imagine at 39 years old, he's doing things that a normal 39-year-old player isn't doing. His stats currently are far better than more than 75% of the league right now. That's why for some; he's the GOAT and not Jordan, and we can't blame them because at the end of the day, Lebron made achievements in his NBA career that can't be surpassed anymore, or other players will be having a hard time surpassing them.

Anyway, I agree with what you said that he's passing so his teammates boosts their confidence. He doesn't want to be put into a situation anymore where he's carrying the team in terms of offense anymore because he knows he can't do it anymore.

I think LeBron could easily average 30+ points if he wanted to, but as you said above, it's not necessary. His current stats show that he averages close to a triple-double per game, and it seems to me to be much more efficient than just scoring a lot of points per game. By the way, even though the regular season is still in its early stages, the Lakers are already looking good, as they are currently in third spot in the Western Conference standings.

And it's a big shift on Lebron's mentality, it's like we are seeing another version of him. Yeah, if he wanted to go 30+ points a game he can do it. But no, he let Davis do that and now as early as this season, Anthony's name are one for the discussion of the best player, or the MVP awards.

Curry and the Warriors lost against the Clippers and so the Thunder takes the number 1 spot again and then Warriors 2nd, Lakers in 3rd.

So everything looks good with them right now, and we could also give credit to their new coach for the rotation and the right personnel at closing minutes.

[AHOYBRAUSE]

I think LeBron could easily average 30+ points if he wanted to, but as you said above, it's not necessary. His current stats show that he averages close to a triple-double per game, and it seems to me to be much more efficient than just scoring a lot of points per game. By the way, even though the regular season is still in its early stages, the Lakers are already looking good, as they are currently in third spot in the Western Conference standings.

He could, but at what cost. Sure he still runs like a young guy but he must also conserve his energy. The season is long, injuries can happen at any time if you take it too hard and force it too much. We are still in the early stage of the season and obviously it's better the safe the best for last, meaning the playoffs or at least the rest towards it, if necessary.
LBJ always knew to keep his body in the best possible shape, so I think he also knows that doing too much would probable harm him more than doing good.

[Jating]

I think LeBron could easily average 30+ points if he wanted to, but as you said above, it's not necessary. His current stats show that he averages close to a triple-double per game, and it seems to me to be much more efficient than just scoring a lot of points per game. By the way, even though the regular season is still in its early stages, the Lakers are already looking good, as they are currently in third spot in the Western Conference standings.

He could, but at what cost. Sure he still runs like a young guy but he must also conserve his energy. The season is long, injuries can happen at any time if you take it too hard and force it too much. We are still in the early stage of the season and obviously it's better the safe the best for last, meaning the playoffs or at least the rest towards it, if necessary.
LBJ always knew to keep his body in the best possible shape, so I think he also knows that doing too much would probable harm him more than doing good.

Yes, he could have been preserving his energy right now as it is very early of the season. Or maybe this is not by design, he could have been just playing this way and his team his winning as he registered triple double.

And I have seen in player props now that this is a thing with Lebron, there are odds if Lebron will make a triple double every game. Nevertheless, whatever it is, for sure LBJ is just showing another of his skill sets.