2026 NBA Season

[Mihaylovic]

Main problem is Rockets has made it a habit to blow huge leads. Just as we praised Udoka last year, we should be slamming him this year. He’s having a bad coaching season. Rockets could figure out the offense with this team even without a coach. But his trademark is supposed to be the defense, but that’s gone too. Rockets tanked for years and this was supposed to be a good year but everything is being fallen apart. They already dropped to 6th in the West with a 17-10 record.

I can't help but to agree that it is unacceptable after all those tanking years. They should indeed be better than this. And they were, at the beginning of the season. There is something wrong with the team that is incomprehensible and inexplicable. The team chemistry was good, but it doesn't look so good anymore. Expectations were high for Amen, and he was playing well, but lately there has been an inexplicable decline in his performance. I think KD move was right. It was a smart thing to do to get rid of Jalen Green and get a superstar like KD. But things are looking very wrong somehow.

Udoka always tries to hold the players responsible for every loss and i really dislike this habbit of him. He needs to accept that he is just as much at fault as the players are. Blaming the players is the easy way out. In every defeat, he finds a different player to blame. one day it’s Alperen for missing the final shot, another day it’s Kevin Durant not taking responsibility, or the rookie Sheppard failing to hit his shots or it’s Fred VanVleet’s injury. The reality is that the team is in a major slump and instead of pulling them together, the coach is killing their motivation. In the last game not even putting Alperen and KD on the floor during the fourth quarter will definitely have a negative impact on the players.

[tech30338]

Whatever happened to Houston, they suddenly started going downhill. Their offensive performance that was very efficient at the start of the season has declined. And defense also started to fall apart. They can’t play the clutch moments at all and have lost almost all of the close games. In my opinion, the biggest factor behind this is Ime Udoka. Right now, he’s a complete handbrake for the team.

Udoka's tactical changes are being heavily criticized. Houston has started losing games recently, and the team is becoming demoralized. Fred VanVleet's absence is being keenly felt. As you know, Fred is out for the season due to injury and won't be playing this year. They're not getting enough contribution from Sheppard. Alperen and Kevin Durant are doing their best, but at some point, their contributions become ineffective.

True. We really feel VanVleet’s absence. But I don't understand why Udoka doesn't build the team around Alperen and Kevin Durant. He can't draw up a good game plan and Rockets keep losing in the clutch. I think he made a huge mistake in yesterday's game too. He didn't even put Durant and Şengün in the game during the fourth quarter. He played with just the bench and Amen and watched the team get crushed. Ok the gap was wide... but Rockets have the character to close that lead with a good performance.

I don't think Udoka don't know what he is doing maybe he is trying to create a combination, that will perform or be able to have advantage, and he is willing to take the Loss, for the success in the future, although I Maybe wrong, I don't think they are in a bad position right now, Fred absence can be felt in this kind of situation, but dwelling on it will just burden the team, they have Sheppard at the moment is the best option, and he is doing great, maybe they just need some adjustments.

Main problem is Rockets has made it a habit to blow huge leads. Just as we praised Udoka last year, we should be slamming him this year. He’s having a bad coaching season. Rockets could figure out the offense with this team even without a coach. But his trademark is supposed to be the defense, but that’s gone too. Rockets tanked for years and this was supposed to be a good year but everything is being fallen apart. They already dropped to 6th in the West with a 17-10 record.

I can't help but to agree that it is unacceptable after all those tanking years. They should indeed be better than this. And they were, at the beginning of the season. There is something wrong with the team that is incomprehensible and inexplicable. The team chemistry was good, but it doesn't look so good anymore. Expectations were high for Amen, and he was playing well, but lately there has been an inexplicable decline in his performance. I think KD move was right. It was a smart thing to do to get rid of Jalen Green and get a superstar like KD. But things are looking very wrong somehow.

Teams really have some off games and no matter how they do it, things sometimes goes not according to what they want besides remember that KD and the rockets is not a team build for years they were just build few months ago, and Amen is just transitioning to a scorer defender, people do adjust, while they are getting better other teams scouting them also, which means their plays were watch, and its for them to adjust and learn, nothing is going sideways here, its normal, i'll worry if they goes down in the ranking but right now they were at six so its okay.

[Vaculin]

KIA rookie ladder top 3..

https://www.nba.com/news/kia-rookie-ladder-dec-23-2025

we have this ranking

1. Cooper Flagg, Dallas Mavericks
2. Kon Knueppel, Charlotte Hornets
3. Derik Queen, New Orleans Pelicans

Happy to see Cooper Flagg finally playing up to the expectations fans had for him, especially after struggling early this season. If he keeps producing like this, I think he can easily take ROY.

Another rookie I’m keeping an eye on is Knueppel. Based on what I’ve read, he already has more made three-pointers compared to Curry during his rookie year.
Makes you wonder, could this guy actually turn into the next elite shooter?

[tech30338]

KIA rookie ladder top 3..

https://www.nba.com/news/kia-rookie-ladder-dec-23-2025

we have this ranking

1. Cooper Flagg, Dallas Mavericks
2. Kon Knueppel, Charlotte Hornets
3. Derik Queen, New Orleans Pelicans

Happy to see Cooper Flagg finally playing up to the expectations fans had for him, especially after struggling early this season. If he keeps producing like this, I think he can easily take ROY.

Another rookie I’m keeping an eye on is Knueppel. Based on what I’ve read, he already has more made three-pointers compared to Curry during his rookie year.
Makes you wonder, could this guy actually turn into the next elite shooter?

Wow heard they were teammates before,, I'm surprise Kon is leading in the rookie ladder, before now Flagg is the new no.1 to be rookie to the year, I think this is going to be head to head unless LaMelo jeopardize Kon hunt for that rookie, but who ever wins deserved this, both of them help their team, and for Kon, I hope he continue on what he had started he will be a superstar for sure, he has been leading from the start in that race, they will change position multiple times that's for sure.

[Russlenat]

OKC vs Spurs will have a rematch tomorrow, but this time it’s on OKC’s home court. The big question is whether home-court advantage will actually matter against a team that already beat them twice. Coming off that major blowout loss in San Antonio, can OKC flip the result this time, or do the Spurs still have their number?

[Spack17]

KIA rookie ladder top 3..

https://www.nba.com/news/kia-rookie-ladder-dec-23-2025

we have this ranking

1. Cooper Flagg, Dallas Mavericks
2. Kon Knueppel, Charlotte Hornets
3. Derik Queen, New Orleans Pelicans

It is quite difficult to prepare a top 3 with rookies as there are many on the rise this year. But I still find this ranking okay though.

Cooper Flagg is definitely a player I admire recently.    I think there are similiarities to LeBron in his style. Like his first years in NBA you know...

I think Derik Queen's style resembles to Sengun and Jokic. He is also on a similar path to them if he continues improving like this.

[Stavri]

KIA rookie ladder top 3..

https://www.nba.com/news/kia-rookie-ladder-dec-23-2025

we have this ranking

1. Cooper Flagg, Dallas Mavericks
2. Kon Knueppel, Charlotte Hornets
3. Derik Queen, New Orleans Pelicans

Happy to see Cooper Flagg finally playing up to the expectations fans had for him, especially after struggling early this season. If he keeps producing like this, I think he can easily take ROY.

Another rookie I’m keeping an eye on is Knueppel. Based on what I’ve read, he already has more made three-pointers compared to Curry during his rookie year.
Makes you wonder, could this guy actually turn into the next elite shooter?

First Dirk, then Luka and now in Dallas it feels like we’re watching the beginning of another new era with Cooper Flagg... People were calling this kid White LeBron before he even entered the league. I’m not sure if they meant in terms of the impact he'd have or his actual playing style but he’s got that aggressive, relentless way of attacking the rim. Whether it’s his drives or his cuts he finds such easy ways to score whenever he’s near the basket.

[arwin100]

KIA rookie ladder top 3..

https://www.nba.com/news/kia-rookie-ladder-dec-23-2025

we have this ranking

1. Cooper Flagg, Dallas Mavericks
2. Kon Knueppel, Charlotte Hornets
3. Derik Queen, New Orleans Pelicans

Happy to see Cooper Flagg finally playing up to the expectations fans had for him, especially after struggling early this season. If he keeps producing like this, I think he can easily take ROY.

Another rookie I’m keeping an eye on is Knueppel. Based on what I’ve read, he already has more made three-pointers compared to Curry during his rookie year.
Makes you wonder, could this guy actually turn into the next elite shooter?

First Dirk, then Luka and now in Dallas it feels like we’re watching the beginning of another new era with Cooper Flagg... People were calling this kid White LeBron before he even entered the league. I’m not sure if they meant in terms of the impact he'd have or his actual playing style but he’s got that aggressive, relentless way of attacking the rim. Whether it’s his drives or his cuts he finds such easy ways to score whenever he’s near the basket.

They made that comparison since Flag fans remember young LBJ on his playing style on which he is so dominance and versatile young forward.

This is really a great compliment at early career of Flagg because imagine he's been compared to one of greatest player in NBA.

Flagg career is promising so let see if Dallas will not waste another great talent again since if they can't develop or suddenly trade him for sure their fans will get angry again on their team. Let's see if he can able to get the rookie of the year award this season.

[dwyane36]

First Dirk, then Luka and now in Dallas it feels like we’re watching the beginning of another new era with Cooper Flagg... People were calling this kid White LeBron before he even entered the league. I’m not sure if they meant in terms of the impact he'd have or his actual playing style but he’s got that aggressive, relentless way of attacking the rim. Whether it’s his drives or his cuts he finds such easy ways to score whenever he’s near the basket.

While Flagg's performance in the early games of the regular season was unremarkable, things have now changed, and he seems to have found his rhythm. So yes, if he continues at this pace, he will most likely win the Rookie of the Year award and then surely become the Mavs' main player around whom the team will be rebuilt.

[xzone]

First Dirk, then Luka and now in Dallas it feels like we’re watching the beginning of another new era with Cooper Flagg... People were calling this kid White LeBron before he even entered the league. I’m not sure if they meant in terms of the impact he'd have or his actual playing style but he’s got that aggressive, relentless way of attacking the rim. Whether it’s his drives or his cuts he finds such easy ways to score whenever he’s near the basket.

While Flagg's performance in the early games of the regular season was unremarkable, things have now changed, and he seems to have found his rhythm. So yes, if he continues at this pace, he will most likely win the Rookie of the Year award and then surely become the Mavs' main player around whom the team will be rebuilt.

I have no doubt this will happen; he's been showing in recent games that he's one of the best players this year. Even before the NBA draft, everyone was talking about this kid, and now we see that he's the best rookie of the season. I don't think he'll be as good as LeBron, but he'll still be among the best in the NBA for many years to come. Both his defensive prowess and his ability to play the game in critical moments show that he's going to be a true star

[Stavri]

First Dirk, then Luka and now in Dallas it feels like we’re watching the beginning of another new era with Cooper Flagg... People were calling this kid White LeBron before he even entered the league. I’m not sure if they meant in terms of the impact he'd have or his actual playing style but he’s got that aggressive, relentless way of attacking the rim. Whether it’s his drives or his cuts he finds such easy ways to score whenever he’s near the basket.

While Flagg's performance in the early games of the regular season was unremarkable, things have now changed, and he seems to have found his rhythm. So yes, if he continues at this pace, he will most likely win the Rookie of the Year award and then surely become the Mavs' main player around whom the team will be rebuilt.

I have no doubt this will happen; he's been showing in recent games that he's one of the best players this year. Even before the NBA draft, everyone was talking about this kid, and now we see that he's the best rookie of the season. I don't think he'll be as good as LeBron, but he'll still be among the best in the NBA for many years to come. Both his defensive prowess and his ability to play the game in critical moments show that he's going to be a true star

Bron was a great playmaker but wasn't much of a shooter. instead, he would drive to the rim and dominate the paint. Flagg is not at LeBron's level but similar in this playing style. But will he have a career like LeBron's? That's very hard. What made LeBron exceptional was his consistency. A level of longevity and reliability that's almost impossible for anyone to match.

[Beparanf]

Bron was a great playmaker but wasn't much of a shooter. instead, he would drive to the rim and dominate the paint. Flagg is not at LeBron's level but similar in this playing style. But will he have a career like LeBron's? That's very hard. What made LeBron exceptional was his consistency. A level of longevity and reliability that's almost impossible for anyone to match.

Bron is a decent shooter back on his prime. His perimeter shots are already enough for the enemy defender to guard him due to 3 point shot threats.

I remember he can do a toe to toe 3 point battle against Curry back then during the Cavs and GSW rivalry.

He is not that Curry level but still above average while his driving skill is exceptional.

[fullfitlarry]

First Dirk, then Luka and now in Dallas it feels like we’re watching the beginning of another new era with Cooper Flagg... People were calling this kid White LeBron before he even entered the league. I’m not sure if they meant in terms of the impact he'd have or his actual playing style but he’s got that aggressive, relentless way of attacking the rim. Whether it’s his drives or his cuts he finds such easy ways to score whenever he’s near the basket.

While Flagg's performance in the early games of the regular season was unremarkable, things have now changed, and he seems to have found his rhythm. So yes, if he continues at this pace, he will most likely win the Rookie of the Year award and then surely become the Mavs' main player around whom the team will be rebuilt.

I have no doubt this will happen; he's been showing in recent games that he's one of the best players this year. Even before the NBA draft, everyone was talking about this kid, and now we see that he's the best rookie of the season. I don't think he'll be as good as LeBron, but he'll still be among the best in the NBA for many years to come. Both his defensive prowess and his ability to play the game in critical moments show that he's going to be a true star

Bron was a great playmaker but wasn't much of a shooter. instead, he would drive to the rim and dominate the paint. Flagg is not at LeBron's level but similar in this playing style. But will he have a career like LeBron's? That's very hard. What made LeBron exceptional was his consistency. A level of longevity and reliability that's almost impossible for anyone to match.

He was a decent shooter during his prime, but still though, he is a complete player that can shoot if needed, or drive or pass to his team mates. And there's no need to compare him with Cooper Flag as they have very different style of play.

Maybe there are numbers that early in the career of Lebron that we can look at and see how it is comparable with the Flagg. But still though, it's better to see how Cooper can go with his career but the most important thing is for them to really win the NBA champion versus individual accolades.

[Dave1]

First Dirk, then Luka and now in Dallas it feels like we’re watching the beginning of another new era with Cooper Flagg... People were calling this kid White LeBron before he even entered the league. I’m not sure if they meant in terms of the impact he'd have or his actual playing style but he’s got that aggressive, relentless way of attacking the rim. Whether it’s his drives or his cuts he finds such easy ways to score whenever he’s near the basket.

While Flagg's performance in the early games of the regular season was unremarkable, things have now changed, and he seems to have found his rhythm. So yes, if he continues at this pace, he will most likely win the Rookie of the Year award and then surely become the Mavs' main player around whom the team will be rebuilt.

I have no doubt this will happen; he's been showing in recent games that he's one of the best players this year. Even before the NBA draft, everyone was talking about this kid, and now we see that he's the best rookie of the season. I don't think he'll be as good as LeBron, but he'll still be among the best in the NBA for many years to come. Both his defensive prowess and his ability to play the game in critical moments show that he's going to be a true star

Yeah, initially we doubt why he is the number 1 draft, but in the last games or so, he is showing his true potential as rookie of the year and showing that he can be the next great player coming from the draft.

He has a good chemistry with the team specially Davis. So it's hard to see Davis go from the Mavs as his name is floating around that he might be traded. But let's see how this kind can mature. Again, we've seen the potential, and have seen him breaking records like Lebron did when he started his NBA career. And Cooper is not afraid to go against the veterans of the game and score against them.

[Fredomago]

KIA rookie ladder top 3..

https://www.nba.com/news/kia-rookie-ladder-dec-23-2025

we have this ranking

1. Cooper Flagg, Dallas Mavericks
2. Kon Knueppel, Charlotte Hornets
3. Derik Queen, New Orleans Pelicans

Happy to see Cooper Flagg finally playing up to the expectations fans had for him, especially after struggling early this season. If he keeps producing like this, I think he can easily take ROY.

Another rookie I’m keeping an eye on is Knueppel. Based on what I’ve read, he already has more made three-pointers compared to Curry during his rookie year.
Makes you wonder, could this guy actually turn into the next elite shooter?

First Dirk, then Luka and now in Dallas it feels like we’re watching the beginning of another new era with Cooper Flagg... People were calling this kid White LeBron before he even entered the league. I’m not sure if they meant in terms of the impact he'd have or his actual playing style but he’s got that aggressive, relentless way of attacking the rim. Whether it’s his drives or his cuts he finds such easy ways to score whenever he’s near the basket.

They made that comparison since Flag fans remember young LBJ on his playing style on which he is so dominance and versatile young forward.

This is really a great compliment at early career of Flagg because imagine he's been compared to one of greatest player in NBA.

Flagg career is promising so let see if Dallas will not waste another great talent again since if they can't develop or suddenly trade him for sure their fans will get angry again on their team. Let's see if he can able to get the rookie of the year award this season.

Dallas needs to work keeping him as they already made a big mistake sending Luka away, they need to manifest with how Flagg is bringing fans interest back for this franchise, with how he's performing from the past games that they'll played surely those who expect him to show everything up are now convince that he deserve that number 1 pick for this season, he really bringing excitement and being compared to LeBron that's a good compliment  but a tough one to maintain.

[tech30338]

KIA rookie ladder top 3..

https://www.nba.com/news/kia-rookie-ladder-dec-23-2025

we have this ranking

1. Cooper Flagg, Dallas Mavericks
2. Kon Knueppel, Charlotte Hornets
3. Derik Queen, New Orleans Pelicans

Happy to see Cooper Flagg finally playing up to the expectations fans had for him, especially after struggling early this season. If he keeps producing like this, I think he can easily take ROY.

Another rookie I’m keeping an eye on is Knueppel. Based on what I’ve read, he already has more made three-pointers compared to Curry during his rookie year.
Makes you wonder, could this guy actually turn into the next elite shooter?

First Dirk, then Luka and now in Dallas it feels like we’re watching the beginning of another new era with Cooper Flagg... People were calling this kid White LeBron before he even entered the league. I’m not sure if they meant in terms of the impact he'd have or his actual playing style but he’s got that aggressive, relentless way of attacking the rim. Whether it’s his drives or his cuts he finds such easy ways to score whenever he’s near the basket.

They made that comparison since Flag fans remember young LBJ on his playing style on which he is so dominance and versatile young forward.

This is really a great compliment at early career of Flagg because imagine he's been compared to one of greatest player in NBA.

Flagg career is promising so let see if Dallas will not waste another great talent again since if they can't develop or suddenly trade him for sure their fans will get angry again on their team. Let's see if he can able to get the rookie of the year award this season.

Dallas needs to work keeping him as they already made a big mistake sending Luka away, they need to manifest with how Flagg is bringing fans interest back for this franchise, with how he's performing from the past games that they'll played surely those who expect him to show everything up are now convince that he deserve that number 1 pick for this season, he really bringing excitement and being compared to LeBron that's a good compliment  but a tough one to maintain.

if Dallas did not experiment they would have been better from the start, Kidd did not realized that playing him in a not natural position would cost Flagg and the team big, after putting him back that's when Flagg becomes more effective and productive, if Kidd could have continue that mistake he would have cost the team and a player career in ruins, could thing he realized that there is no other way but to put him back in that position again.

[Stavri]

Bron was a great playmaker but wasn't much of a shooter. instead, he would drive to the rim and dominate the paint. Flagg is not at LeBron's level but similar in this playing style. But will he have a career like LeBron's? That's very hard. What made LeBron exceptional was his consistency. A level of longevity and reliability that's almost impossible for anyone to match.

Bron is a decent shooter back on his prime. His perimeter shots are already enough for the enemy defender to guard him due to 3 point shot threats.

I remember he can do a toe to toe 3 point battle against Curry back then during the Cavs and GSW rivalry.

He is not that Curry level but still above average while his driving skill is exceptional.

True. but im not talking about his prime. LeBron was a physical force player when he came into the league. His shooting was his biggest liability. In his early seasons, opponents utilized sagging defense against him, often sitting 3,4 feet back to go under screens and cut off his drives.

[Harkorede]

San Antonio Spurs are currently up by 9 points going into halftime against OKC Thunder, of the 4 defeats suffered by OKC this season, the Spurs have been responsible for 2 of them and if they should defeat OKC Thunder yet again this night, that’d be the 3rd consecutive time, does that means of all the teams in the league, Spurs have been the only one to figure this Thunder team out, because 3 times consecutively surely cannot be considered a coincidence.

[CLS63]

San Antonio Spurs are currently up by 9 points going into halftime against OKC Thunder, of the 4 defeats suffered by OKC this season, the Spurs have been responsible for 2 of them and if they should defeat OKC Thunder yet again this night, that’d be the 3rd consecutive time, does that means of all the teams in the league, Spurs have been the only one to figure this Thunder team out, because 3 times consecutively surely cannot be considered a coincidence.

Mate it will really be unbelievable if Spurs beat Thunder 3 times in a row this season. Who would have thought Spurs would make such a big improvement this season?

Even though Wemby has missed lots of games so far they are still doing pretty good. Big thanks to their skilled rookies here. Castle is playing really good again. Fox is having a pretty decent game at the same time.

[xLays]

I thought the New York Knicks were going to lose in today’s Christmas game because the Cavs were up by almost 15 points in the 4th quarter, but the Knicks still managed to make a comeback. KAT had a low scoring night, while Jordan Clarkson recorded season high 25 points. JC also had more playing time compared to KAT in this game.

As for the OKC vs. San Antonio Spurs game, it looks like the Spurs might beat OKC again this season. As of now the Spurs are leading by more than 10 points. If this holds, OKC will be 0–3 against the Spurs this season.. just wow knowing that OKC is the most favorite team to make again the championship.