2026 NBA Season

[Harkorede]

Tough news for Paolo Banchero who according to Shams suffered a torn right oblique. He’ll be out for six weeks. He was looking like a sure thing to win most improved player of the year so I hope this is just a temporary setback. I’ve been surprised how much success Orlando has had with him leading the team.

Terrible news for Banchero and the Orlando Magic at large giving how impressive they’ve started their season, looking really terrific, and picking right up from where the stopped last season, with Banchero also having a new scoring career high just a few nights ago, everything was heading in the perfect direction for him, but hopefully he’d be back even stronger.

[TravelMug]

Tough news for Paolo Banchero who according to Shams suffered a torn right oblique. He’ll be out for six weeks. He was looking like a sure thing to win most improved player of the year so I hope this is just a temporary setback. I’ve been surprised how much success Orlando has had with him leading the team.

Terrible news for Banchero and the Orlando Magic at large giving how impressive they’ve started their season, looking really terrific, and picking right up from where the stopped last season, with Banchero also having a new scoring career high just a few nights ago, everything was heading in the perfect direction for him, but hopefully he’d be back even stronger.

Yeah, it was really heart breaking to hear the news about Paolo Banchero, he had a terrific game a couple of days back and hits 50 points. So it's going to be a big blow for them as their top scorer is down.

Houston defeating Dallas in their homecourt, Houston started hot and build a solid double digit deficit, until the Mavs with their outside shooting was able to close the gap. I thought that they are going to win here, but Jalen Green took over again to snatch this big win.

[Dave1]

I know this might be too early, but what's happening with the Bucks?
1-4 in their first 5 games and all 4 of their losses are by double-digit numbers.

They just lost to the Grizzlies by 23 points 122-99. Giannis played well scoring 37 points and got 11 rebounds as well, but his duo Lillard only scored 6 points, shot 1/12 in the field and have a -29 on the plus-minus rating. I mean I'm not having a high expectation towards the Bucks this regular season, but is this what happens when you have Coach Doc Rivers and assistant coach Darvin Ham on your team? Ever since they fired Coach Bud, it has been a disaster for the whole team. They got AJ Griffin which coached them very well, but they fired him as well just to get Doc Rivers.

I will not speak about the Grizzlies because with lots of young and talented players, I expect them to be returning to the playoffs at best, but for the Bucks, I will not be surprised if they will just end up as a play-in team this regular season. The problem isn't that I think isn't the players, but their coach, and their assistant coach as well.

Lillard and Giannis is not a good combination in my opinion plus they kicked out the coach who Giannis might've respected the most and gave them the championship. It's not the same energy in Milwaukee anymore.
The problem with Lillard is he will keep on shooting threes even though it's not sinking in at his first 3 tries, unlike other players who will attack the pain first if they cannot find their rhythm on outside shots. The Bucks played badly last year and I think it will be the same this year if they cannot find their weak point. They have less defense now and are only relying on Giannis' offensive power moves.

Yeah, it seems that it was not a match made in heaven, Lillard and Giannis are not a good combination. And it seems that that the atmosphere in the Bucks are very different when they traded Holiday and got Lillard.

Although we have seen how competitive Giannis is, but he doesn't have the same chemistry as before when he had Holiday and Middleton. Now it's totally different team, the coach as well might have something to do with it. Maybe at the end of this season, we might see some players being traded already and rebuild after their championship run a couple of seasons ago. Or who knows, maybe Giannis will left for good as he is not happy or frustrated on how the team went.

[AHOYBRAUSE]

Tough news for Paolo Banchero who according to Shams suffered a torn right oblique. He’ll be out for six weeks. He was looking like a sure thing to win most improved player of the year so I hope this is just a temporary setback. I’ve been surprised how much success Orlando has had with him leading the team.

Terrible news for Banchero and the Orlando Magic at large giving how impressive they’ve started their season, looking really terrific, and picking right up from where the stopped last season, with Banchero also having a new scoring career high just a few nights ago, everything was heading in the perfect direction for him, but hopefully he’d be back even stronger.

Damn, my new favorite team and instantly bad news for them. Maybe I am an unlucky charm? Even though it's a tough blow for them I honestly believe they can still handle that. They are young and hungry and Franz will just take more responsibility now, he can do that and has done it before.
Of course it also depends on their schedule. Didn't check it but maybe they are lucky and play many of their easier games in that 6 week stretch, at least that's what I hope. 6 weeks is around 20 games he will miss, almost 25% of the season basically. If they can maintain a 50/50 record over that stretch it's all good.

[avp2306]

I know this might be too early, but what's happening with the Bucks?
1-4 in their first 5 games and all 4 of their losses are by double-digit numbers.

They just lost to the Grizzlies by 23 points 122-99. Giannis played well scoring 37 points and got 11 rebounds as well, but his duo Lillard only scored 6 points, shot 1/12 in the field and have a -29 on the plus-minus rating. I mean I'm not having a high expectation towards the Bucks this regular season, but is this what happens when you have Coach Doc Rivers and assistant coach Darvin Ham on your team? Ever since they fired Coach Bud, it has been a disaster for the whole team. They got AJ Griffin which coached them very well, but they fired him as well just to get Doc Rivers.

I will not speak about the Grizzlies because with lots of young and talented players, I expect them to be returning to the playoffs at best, but for the Bucks, I will not be surprised if they will just end up as a play-in team this regular season. The problem isn't that I think isn't the players, but their coach, and their assistant coach as well.

Lillard and Giannis is not a good combination in my opinion plus they kicked out the coach who Giannis might've respected the most and gave them the championship. It's not the same energy in Milwaukee anymore.
The problem with Lillard is he will keep on shooting threes even though it's not sinking in at his first 3 tries, unlike other players who will attack the pain first if they cannot find their rhythm on outside shots. The Bucks played badly last year and I think it will be the same this year if they cannot find their weak point. They have less defense now and are only relying on Giannis' offensive power moves.

Yeah, it seems that it was not a match made in heaven, Lillard and Giannis are not a good combination. And it seems that that the atmosphere in the Bucks are very different when they traded Holiday and got Lillard.

Although we have seen how competitive Giannis is, but he doesn't have the same chemistry as before when he had Holiday and Middleton. Now it's totally different team, the coach as well might have something to do with it. Maybe at the end of this season, we might see some players being traded already and rebuild after their championship run a couple of seasons ago. Or who knows, maybe Giannis will left for good as he is not happy or frustrated on how the team went.

Both of them is ball dominant and we see them really didn't click together so I guess its better to separate them because for what I see they will not go anywhere with this tandem. Giannis is showing his interest to leave Bucks again and this will be a disastrous moment for them if they let him do what he want since provably that their team would enter on a rebuild mode.

That's why right now  Bucks is interested to get back Thanasis since they know that he is a good piece to make Giannis decide to stay on their team this is good article regarding in this situation. https://www.eurohoops.net/en/nba-news/1731275/thanasis-antetokounmpo-can-return-to-the-milwaukee-bucks-nba/

[Natalim]

Houston defeating Dallas in their homecourt, Houston started hot and build a solid double digit deficit, until the Mavs with their outside shooting was able to close the gap. I thought that they are going to win here, but Jalen Green took over again to snatch this big win.

I lost on this game thinking Dallas would easily cover, but I didn’t realize Houston was such an underrated team. This team is tougher than I expected; they’ve made great adjustments from last season, which was already impressive. Now it seems like they’re letting Green lead the offense, and that’s been the case over the last few games. Dallas tried to make a comeback but fell short. Thompson didn’t have the big impact I expected - his shooting was fine, but his numbers were low. I was hoping he’d drop 20+ per game

[MK-74]

Houston beat Dallas last night. It was a bad result for me because I had placed a bet on Dallas to win.
I don't understand how they lost, Dallas has a better roster quality than Houston, but they lost.

Alperen Şengün played well again. He deserves the money he earned.

[danherbias07]

Tough news for Paolo Banchero who according to Shams suffered a torn right oblique. He’ll be out for six weeks. He was looking like a sure thing to win most improved player of the year so I hope this is just a temporary setback. I’ve been surprised how much success Orlando has had with him leading the team.

Ah, crap! My wild card. Well, it's basketball, shit happens. I just wish the Wagner brothers would step up their game now that Banchero is out. Suggs will probably do his normal thing and so do Carter but their offense will be in big trouble if no one can contribute whenever they need it. They sure as hell were upgraded in defense thanks to KCP but without offense, defense is nothing too.

Same with your opinion, I think Lilard needs adjustments he can't keep throwing outside if he's not getting his rythm better to attack the basket  draw a foul or drop the ball closer either to Giannis or any big man inside, he can attract the defense which he can provide good space to his teammates, instead of pushing his outside shot without any assurance for a possible 2nd chance rebound, I was in the impression that while in off-season they will work on it seems that Coach Rivers are letting his stars to play whatever they want inside without binding with each other, though too early to judge their playing style or the sytem that they've got, let see if how they will adjust and be a good contender in the east side.

That's the problem with Lillard, he doesn't have the passing capability, unlike Steph who can find open men whenever he doesn't feel right with his shooting capability and Steph attacks the paint too so that he will be unpredictable. I think Giannis is better when he is surrounded by defensive players. Allen, Tucker, Jrue, that's why they won that championship.

[LGD2Business]

Houston beat Dallas last night. It was a bad result for me because I had placed a bet on Dallas to win.
I don't understand how they lost, Dallas has a better roster quality than Houston, but they lost.

Alperen Şengün played well again. He deserves the money he earned.

Dallas only looks at the hands of Luka and Kyrie, while the Rockets are more balanced with the ball. Klay made 2/9 threes and only had 12 points. Luka scored 29 points, Kyrie 28, and no one else joined them. The Rockets had 6 players in double digits. Jalen Green and Alperen Şengün had double-doubles, while Brooks, Smith Jr., Eason and Thompson also reached double digits. This is the biggest difference between them. It would have been different if it was a play-off game, but in the 82-game regular season, teams don't care too much about such losses. That's why I usually avoid moneyline bets, especially early in the season.

[Baofeng]

Houston beat Dallas last night. It was a bad result for me because I had placed a bet on Dallas to win.
I don't understand how they lost, Dallas has a better roster quality than Houston, but they lost.

Alperen Şengün played well again. He deserves the money he earned.

I think majority of the NBA bettors have lost a lot during that game as we have Dallas as the favorite to win. Unfortunately, they really start slow and was under a double digit lead most of the time. Alperen Şengün had a good game against the big of the Dallas, playing 1 on 1 or isolation behind and they can't guard him.

And then the young Jalen Green, which is improving every season put up a good show and that dagger 3 put the game away for them. Dillon Brooks as well had one of his best games. With this win, the Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets are tied at 3-2 together with the Lakers in the Western Conference.

[btc_angela]

Houston defeating Dallas in their homecourt, Houston started hot and build a solid double digit deficit, until the Mavs with their outside shooting was able to close the gap. I thought that they are going to win here, but Jalen Green took over again to snatch this big win.

I lost on this game thinking Dallas would easily cover, but I didn’t realize Houston was such an underrated team. This team is tougher than I expected; they’ve made great adjustments from last season, which was already impressive. Now it seems like they’re letting Green lead the offense, and that’s been the case over the last few games. Dallas tried to make a comeback but fell short. Thompson didn’t have the big impact I expected - his shooting was fine, but his numbers were low. I was hoping he’d drop 20+ per game

Right, they are now banking on Green to be their franchise player, they re-signed G Jalen Green to a rookie scale extension and then re-signed C Alperen Sengun to a five-year rookie scale extension.

However, I don't know how Houston name is on a 3 team deal wherein Giannis will go to Houston. I think this is just rumor for now, and not sure if Giannis wanted to go to the West though.

[livingfree]

For the first time, there's a new #1 rank in the Eastern Conference. It's been held by Celtics for the longest, cmiiw.

On the West, Thunder is doing good with that placing. Although these are just from the few games from the very start of the season but once momentum is built, they're going to continue for so long.

[cryptomaniac_xxx]

For the first time, there's a new #1 rank in the Eastern Conference. It's been held by Celtics for the longest, cmiiw.

It's been held by the Cavs now, for those who are not aware. They are the #1 team in the East with 5 straight wins. And Donovan Mitchell is having a great start that's why the Cavs hasn't lost a game yet.

On the West, Thunder is doing good with that placing. Although these are just from the few games from the very start of the season but once momentum is built, they're going to continue for so long.

They've held the number 1 spot from last year, tied with the Nuggets. So I'm not surprised by the Thunder leading the West right now. What surprises us is how the Nuggets are struggling right now. And even if Jokic has great numbers in the last couple of games, they are still 2-2, though they are now on a 2 game winning streak.

[OgNasty]

Kevin Durant was really going in on people on X late last night. Taunting his fans that bet on him because his team won but he didn’t hit his point total so gamblers lost who bet on him. I’m not sure taunting your fans on social media is the move and I question if he’ll be punished by the league for talking about gambling on his games, but he’s an interesting dude…

[AHOYBRAUSE]

Kevin Durant was really going in on people on X late last night. Taunting his fans that bet on him because his team won but he didn’t hit his point total so gamblers lost who bet on him. I’m not sure taunting your fans on social media is the move and I question if he’ll be punished by the league for talking about gambling on his games, but he’s an interesting dude…

Durant on twitter/X is a never ending story, haha. I just had to google it when he defended himself with a secondary account, pretending he is some regular guy defending KD:

https://www.reddit.com/r/lakers/comments/70t4rh/kevin_durant_uses_a_second_account_to_defend/

The man really is special, on and off the court. I mean on the court he really likes to trash talk as well, I only say "trop petit". 

[OgNasty]

The Magic are getting destroyed without their star player.  A shame because they were off to such a great start and seemingly were going to outperform this year.  I'm looking forward to the Nuggets and the Timberwolves game that is tipping off here in about 15 minutes.  I think it is more than likely that will end up being the Western Conference Finals matchup at the end of the year but both teams have to adjust after making some offseason changes.

[yahoo62278]

For the first time, there's a new #1 rank in the Eastern Conference. It's been held by Celtics for the longest, cmiiw.

On the West, Thunder is doing good with that placing. Although these are just from the few games from the very start of the season but once momentum is built, they're going to continue for so long.

We are 6 games into the season and Boston is only down 1 game. I don't think Cleveland will hold the #1 spot the whole season, most likely they lose it within a week. We need to see around 25% of the season before we can really have a definitive answer as to who has the momentum and who can carry the momentum all the way to the playoffs.

[LogitechMouse]

---

Lillard and Giannis is not a good combination in my opinion plus they kicked out the coach who Giannis might've respected the most and gave them the championship. It's not the same energy in Milwaukee anymore.
The problem with Lillard is he will keep on shooting threes even though it's not sinking in at his first 3 tries, unlike other players who will attack the pain first if they cannot find their rhythm on outside shots. The Bucks played badly last year and I think it will be the same this year if they cannot find their weak point. They have less defense now and are only relying on Giannis' offensive power moves.

That's why things aren't good for Milwaukee right now. To add to their problems, their team is currently the oldest team right now, and for me, the older you are, the lower the value unless you're an all-star player. I will not be surprised if Giannis will ask for a trade to whatever team that has cap space or at least those teams that have many draft picks if the Bucks decided to rebuild. As for Lillard, his performance really declined ever since he went to Milwaukee. He isn't the same one anymore on offense, but on defense, he's also one of the worst.

Just to add, the Bucks are now 24th on defense and they have a problem in perimeter defense. An awful defense will not lead to a title hence, there's a chance that Giannis might request for a trade. Hmmm Why did the Bucks didn't resign Thanasis?

For the first time, there's a new #1 rank in the Eastern Conference. It's been held by Celtics for the longest, cmiiw.

On the West, Thunder is doing good with that placing. Although these are just from the few games from the very start of the season but once momentum is built, they're going to continue for so long.

We are 6 games into the season and Boston is only down 1 game. I don't think Cleveland will hold the #1 spot the whole season, most likely they lose it within a week. We need to see around 25% of the season before we can really have a definitive answer as to who has the momentum and who can carry the momentum all the way to the playoffs.

But the Cavaliers right now is the team that surprises me currently because nobody's talking about them when we talk about the East. It's all Knicks, Celtics, Sixers, Bucks, but not Cavaliers. Now they're saying, "we're here as well, and we're here to compete". Like what you think though, I don't also think that the Cavaliers will hold that top spot as well. My prediction is that they might end up at 3rd as the highest in the regular season, but a good start for them overall.

[danherbias07]

God damn! How could the Nuggets blow that lead?
They are winning, the starters are doing a great job at controlling the pace and all they need is to spend the time and score some two points but they are stuck at 116 and didn't score for the last whole 3 minutes of the game. That was so damn frustrating and I think they will be all furious in the locker room.
What went wrong? They got relaxed unlike how they played when they were trying to chase the Timberwolves' lead.

Anyway, I still think they played a great game. I consider the Timberwolves as one of the strongest teams in the whole league right now and defeating them will be difficult. Their core and bench are both strong and they are balanced in both offense and defense.

This will probably be played over and over for the whole season and in highlights.
Christian Braun dunks over Rudy Gobert.

[OgNasty]

That Christian Braun dunk over Rudy Gobert was crazy. Not everyday that somebody gets a defensive player of the year like that. Gobert was probably right to get angry with Braun screaming in his face like that afterwards too. He looked scared when Westbrook was running over. Glad nobody did anything to get suspended.