2026 NBA Season

[Baofeng]

Not entirely sure if this would make that much of a big difference though. I mean sure D'lo wasn't helping that much, I am not saying they will miss him, he was a non-existent helper, and that's fine to send him away, but giving away three picks away with him, to get Dorian Finney-Smith? I mean that dude isn't that great neither, and got another player along with DFS who I do not even know, Milton or something, never even heard of him.

Lakers might be seeing that those 3 picks might not be good a player, it's 3 2nd round picks, unless they got a lottery and have a great 2nd round player but that chances are slim and so they make the move and for them it make sense and smart one base on their short term goal, at least for this season.

Meanwhile, Finney-Smith is averaging 10.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.6 assists this season.

While D'Lo averaging 12.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 4.7 assists.

So probably close numbers for the Lakers and that's why they pull the trade right away.

[Jating]

Not entirely sure if this would make that much of a big difference though. I mean sure D'lo wasn't helping that much, I am not saying they will miss him, he was a non-existent helper, and that's fine to send him away, but giving away three picks away with him, to get Dorian Finney-Smith? I mean that dude isn't that great neither, and got another player along with DFS who I do not even know, Milton or something, never even heard of him.

So, this isn't really a smart move in the sense that they are losing three first round picks, it is not the D'lo they will miss, it's the first picks. Lebron can't continue forever, so they will eventually start to suck big time, and they will need first picks when that happens but they won't have any left. This wasn't some ok player to star player improvement, it was ok player to ok player change, and lost them picks too. I am not sure what they are expecting but I do not see them improving at all, not even a bit, they will stay exactly the same.

For me the Lakers lost here, although D'lo games are deteriorating, it's because of the rotation and new coach JJ Reddick doesn't really like D'lo at all. There could be reasons though as others say that he is weak mentally and inconsistent, but his style still fits the Lakers more with his passing and outside shooting. But if the coach doesn't trust you anymore and putting you behind as just coming off the bench and second stringer now, then D'lo should have this coming.

At least the Lakers are still trying to improved though, Dorian might be a perfect fight for them for all we know. Shoot from the outside, and probably has the experience since he had played with Luka before and should know what roles he will do in Lakers uniform.

[avp2306]

Not entirely sure if this would make that much of a big difference though. I mean sure D'lo wasn't helping that much, I am not saying they will miss him, he was a non-existent helper, and that's fine to send him away, but giving away three picks away with him, to get Dorian Finney-Smith? I mean that dude isn't that great neither, and got another player along with DFS who I do not even know, Milton or something, never even heard of him.

So, this isn't really a smart move in the sense that they are losing three first round picks, it is not the D'lo they will miss, it's the first picks. Lebron can't continue forever, so they will eventually start to suck big time, and they will need first picks when that happens but they won't have any left. This wasn't some ok player to star player improvement, it was ok player to ok player change, and lost them picks too. I am not sure what they are expecting but I do not see them improving at all, not even a bit, they will stay exactly the same.

For me the Lakers lost here, although D'lo games are deteriorating, it's because of the rotation and new coach JJ Reddick doesn't really like D'lo at all. There could be reasons though as others say that he is weak mentally and inconsistent, but his style still fits the Lakers more with his passing and outside shooting. But if the coach doesn't trust you anymore and putting you behind as just coming off the bench and second stringer now, then D'lo should have this coming.

At least the Lakers are still trying to improved though, Dorian might be a perfect fight for them for all we know. Shoot from the outside, and probably has the experience since he had played with Luka before and should know what roles he will do in Lakers uniform.

They already lose their confidence for D Lo due to his inconsistency that's why he's always been in trade block. Now its good that Lakers successfully trade him its because they could try to add some solid defender.

Although we can't deny that D Lo is also a great contributor for his team but I guess the time already came that they explore things with their roster and they want to get someone who can provide defense and offense for them.

We cannot say its a win trade for Lakers yet since we don't know how everything will change towards this trade happened to them. But let see if they made a right decision to trade D Lo or not.

[jossiel]

Although we can't deny that D Lo is also a great contributor for his team but I guess the time already came that they explore things with their roster and they want to get someone who can provide defense and offense for them.

They just want to get rid of him and start over with a new roster.

What the Lakers team or whoever suggests that, sees that it's no use of him anymore. Remember that when there was a game that he has no score at all?

That might be the start of his bad record on them and why they want to remove him immediately. Anyway, let's see if his career will boom on Nets but probably will not.

[Yaunfitda]

Although we can't deny that D Lo is also a great contributor for his team but I guess the time already came that they explore things with their roster and they want to get someone who can provide defense and offense for them.

They just want to get rid of him and start over with a new roster.

What the Lakers team or whoever suggests that, sees that it's no use of him anymore. Remember that when there was a game that he has no score at all?

That might be the start of his bad record on them and why they want to remove him immediately. Anyway, let's see if his career will boom on Nets but probably will not.

Yes, I think him and the new coach could have issues that's why Reddick no longer uses him as starters. He might have disguise is to be just an experiment in his part, but I think it could be a sign that he no longer trust D Lo. No doubt that he can be a offensive player, but he is very inconsistent as there are games that he seems to be reluctant to play with no energy whatsoever. And then there are games that in the first quarter alone, he will have a good shooting spree and the team win. Not sure how his career will boom on the Nets though, there are a lot of so so players there and so everyone is vying to be their franchise player so it will be tough for D Lo unless he will have like 30-40 minutes a game playing time.

[TravelMug]

I thought that the news is real that Filipino player development coach for the Sacramento Kings, Jimmy Alapag will be the new head coach of the Sacramento Kings.

But so far there are no news of it and possible that it is just a fake news. They still have Doug Christie as their interim coach for now and Jimmy still the development coach. And it's good to see that the Kings finally won against the Dallas team although the Mavs rested a lot of their key players this New Year, and Luka is still nursing that hamster injury he suffered against the Wolves.

[Jating]

I thought that the news is real that Filipino player development coach for the Sacramento Kings, Jimmy Alapag will be the new head coach of the Sacramento Kings.

But so far there are no news of it and possible that it is just a fake news. They still have Doug Christie as their interim coach for now and Jimmy still the development coach. And it's good to see that the Kings finally won against the Dallas team although the Mavs rested a lot of their key players this New Year, and Luka is still nursing that hamster injury he suffered against the Wolves.

No news for this, but on the other hand, it's good to see that he will remain in the Kings as their player development coach despite Mike Brown removed couple of days. Obviously, there were questions as what is going to happen to him, however, I do think that their tenure are not the same, so he still stays for now.

On the other hand, I wouldn't want to be on the situation of Doug Christie, I mean he should be under stress now because he will have to find a way to win games for the Kings. And he don't know if he will made a regular coach, just like what the Bucks did to Adrian Griffin was the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks for 43 games before being fired. Adrian takes the role from Mike Dudenholzer who was fired.

[dwyane36]

Yes, I think him and the new coach could have issues that's why Reddick no longer uses him as starters. He might have disguise is to be just an experiment in his part, but I think it could be a sign that he no longer trust D Lo. No doubt that he can be a offensive player, but he is very inconsistent as there are games that he seems to be reluctant to play with no energy whatsoever. And then there are games that in the first quarter alone, he will have a good shooting spree and the team win. Not sure how his career will boom on the Nets though, there are a lot of so so players there and so everyone is vying to be their franchise player so it will be tough for D Lo unless he will have like 30-40 minutes a game playing time.

I agree that Russell is inconsistent, but if such a trade had happened last season, I would have found it very strange, as Russell performed well last season based on his stats. However, if we analyze his current stats, it is noticeable that he is down a lot this season. In this case, a trade for Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton makes sense and could be favorable for the Lakers.

[cryptomaniac_xxx]

Yes, I think him and the new coach could have issues that's why Reddick no longer uses him as starters. He might have disguise is to be just an experiment in his part, but I think it could be a sign that he no longer trust D Lo. No doubt that he can be a offensive player, but he is very inconsistent as there are games that he seems to be reluctant to play with no energy whatsoever. And then there are games that in the first quarter alone, he will have a good shooting spree and the team win. Not sure how his career will boom on the Nets though, there are a lot of so so players there and so everyone is vying to be their franchise player so it will be tough for D Lo unless he will have like 30-40 minutes a game playing time.

I agree that Russell is inconsistent, but if such a trade had happened last season, I would have found it very strange, as Russell performed well last season based on his stats. However, if we analyze his current stats, it is noticeable that he is down a lot this season. In this case, a trade for Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton makes sense and could be favorable for the Lakers.

Yeah, I think we can all agree that his performance is down for this year. However, if we look at last season, specially against the Wolves and the Nuggets in their playoff battle, DLo was instrumental for them to bring some wins against those tough teams.

But he fell off the rotation and with a new head coach, DLo plays different in the first half of this season. And the Lakers might be thinking that there's a lot of uptake in the thread specially a 2 way like Dorian Finney-Smith. Although they already have Cam Reddish who they developed to be a good defender.

We will see how Reddick will used Dorian Finney-Smith in this case.

[OgNasty]

Jokic and Westbrook both getting triple doubles in the same game is nice to see. Them getting the win is even better and not just because it saves my parlay. If Westbrook can find a way to give Denver stats like this every night off the bench, the Nuggets might be able to make a playoff run this season. I’d love to see it.

[Natalim]

Jokic and Westbrook both getting triple doubles in the same game is nice to see. Them getting the win is even better and not just because it saves my parlay. If Westbrook can find a way to give Denver stats like this every night off the bench, the Nuggets might be able to make a playoff run this season. I’d love to see it.

And they might even win a championship. This is the best team we’ve seen so far for Westbrook as he has been incredibly effective since his OKC days. He put up a triple-double in this game with 100% FG and zero turnovers - an absolutely perfect performance. I just hope he stays healthy because his energy is crucial, especially in the playoffs. If there’s a future market in the NBA with odds like "Will Westbrook win Finals MVP?", I’d happily take him, as long as the odds are x1000.

[avp2306]

Jokic and Westbrook both getting triple doubles in the same game is nice to see. Them getting the win is even better and not just because it saves my parlay. If Westbrook can find a way to give Denver stats like this every night off the bench, the Nuggets might be able to make a playoff run this season. I’d love to see it.

And they might even win a championship. This is the best team we’ve seen so far for Westbrook as he has been incredibly effective since his OKC days. He put up a triple-double in this game with 100% FG and zero turnovers - an absolutely perfect performance. I just hope he stays healthy because his energy is crucial, especially in the playoffs. If there’s a future market in the NBA with odds like "Will Westbrook win Finals MVP?", I’d happily take him, as long as the odds are x1000.

Why doubting Nuggets to reach at Playoffs? while the fact is even if they are struggling still they are winning their games and currently sitting at 6 place on standings in West. With things we saw there's huge chance for them to reach on Playoffs especially if they perform more better on their next games. We see Westbrook doing good in this team and its seems he is happy on his role in Nuggets.

Thinking about winning the Finals MVP? although Westbrook is doing good for sure the ball will always go to the main man on Nuggets and provably he's far to get that achievement if it happens that Nuggets would able to reach in finals and win. Many excited things still about to happen and let see  how everything goes with Nuggets since they are still an exciting team to watch.

[wiss19]

It's obvious that D'Lo is not a superstar as we have expected of when when he enter the league, sure he is a good scorer in the beginning, but there is some flaw in his game and probably not as clutch as we thought him to be.

He’s got the talent but lacks the will to win, so.. not really a superstar mindset. And now he’s back with his old team, lol.

I like what the Lakers got in return, though. Finney-Smith is an amazing defender, and right now, that’s exactly what the Lakers need. They’re not great shooters, so being active and solid on defense is their best chance to win.

The problem is Lakers didn't give him much bigger role since the focus of their rotation always goes always to their star.

Also he's been out of touch since they have so many reliable players which Lakers could pick that's why its good that they trade him since maybe he can perform more well on his old team(Nets).

Also good trade made by Lakers since for sure that they could able to use Finney- Smith on their rotation and curious to see now on what he could bring to Lakers organization.

Lakers tried to give him a bigger role, but every time he was given a bigger role, he has shown everyone how he is not really caring about anything more, he is just looking like a chill dude.

He makes millions playing a game he likes, he goes out there, plays whatever he wants to and not cares about getting better or getting wins, just does whatever he wants, and then he goes home and chills. That's the image I have about D'lo, never looked like he ever wanted anything more, never looked like he had anything bigger. I feel like this isn't looking that big, and maybe that is why he was traded as well.

Lebron doesn't have that much time, he could potentially retire at any given moment, obviously I am expecting him to have a farewell tour like Kobe did, so not this season, but next season he may leave. So they are trying to build a squad that is ready to win another title before he leaves, they are failing so far, but it's true that they are trying their best.

[OgNasty]

Some good games on today with the Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics, & Minnesota Timberwolves all playing. Unfortunately the teams they’re playing against leave something to be desired. So I probably won’t be watching any of the games today, especially with it being New Year’s Eve, but hopefully we get some good highlights.

[Yaunfitda]

Jokic and Westbrook both getting triple doubles in the same game is nice to see. Them getting the win is even better and not just because it saves my parlay. If Westbrook can find a way to give Denver stats like this every night off the bench, the Nuggets might be able to make a playoff run this season. I’d love to see it.

And they might even win a championship. This is the best team we’ve seen so far for Westbrook as he has been incredibly effective since his OKC days. He put up a triple-double in this game with 100% FG and zero turnovers - an absolutely perfect performance. I just hope he stays healthy because his energy is crucial, especially in the playoffs. If there’s a future market in the NBA with odds like "Will Westbrook win Finals MVP?", I’d happily take him, as long as the odds are x1000.

This is the prime version of Westbrook that we have seen on him after his OKC days, and for sure he will feel good having a triple double again and the Nuggets winning and pushing themselves in the Western conference. Yes, that is one major issues if he gets injured, but crossing fingers, hopefully he can go healthy throughout this season. Let's talk about them getting into the playoff first before we can see what are their chances to win the trophy for this year. It will be great if they will win one more for Westbrook, at least those who criticized him will not say anything negative for him if he wins a NBA championship.

[btc_angela]

It's obvious that D'Lo is not a superstar as we have expected of when when he enter the league, sure he is a good scorer in the beginning, but there is some flaw in his game and probably not as clutch as we thought him to be.

He’s got the talent but lacks the will to win, so.. not really a superstar mindset. And now he’s back with his old team, lol.

I like what the Lakers got in return, though. Finney-Smith is an amazing defender, and right now, that’s exactly what the Lakers need. They’re not great shooters, so being active and solid on defense is their best chance to win.

The problem is Lakers didn't give him much bigger role since the focus of their rotation always goes always to their star.

Also he's been out of touch since they have so many reliable players which Lakers could pick that's why its good that they trade him since maybe he can perform more well on his old team(Nets).

Also good trade made by Lakers since for sure that they could able to use Finney- Smith on their rotation and curious to see now on what he could bring to Lakers organization.

Lakers tried to give him a bigger role, but every time he was given a bigger role, he has shown everyone how he is not really caring about anything more, he is just looking like a chill dude.

He makes millions playing a game he likes, he goes out there, plays whatever he wants to and not cares about getting better or getting wins, just does whatever he wants, and then he goes home and chills. That's the image I have about D'lo, never looked like he ever wanted anything more, never looked like he had anything bigger. I feel like this isn't looking that big, and maybe that is why he was traded as well.

Lebron doesn't have that much time, he could potentially retire at any given moment, obviously I am expecting him to have a farewell tour like Kobe did, so not this season, but next season he may leave. So they are trying to build a squad that is ready to win another title before he leaves, they are failing so far, but it's true that they are trying their best.

It's because they think that Russell will be a big player for them, but just like the rest of those who played with Lebron, maybe except Kyrie Irving, all of them turn into just another team mate and even if they are given a big role, I don't know they just succumb to the pressure I guess. Another great example is KCP or even Kyle Kuzma or THT, as far as I can remember there's a lot of hype surrounding this players, but when they played with Lebron, nah, all of them wilted under pressure that's why they are no longer with LA and then thrive outside.

KCP becoming a champion with the Nuggets, helping them. While Kuzma had a so-so career with the Wizards, but there are games that he become the number one scorer. THT is with that Jazz, same, he gotten bigger physically, but he can still play. So we will see if Russell can break away from that shadow of playing with Lebron James and carving his own career now.

[Dave1]

Some good games on today with the Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics, & Minnesota Timberwolves all playing. Unfortunately the teams they’re playing against leave something to be desired. So I probably won’t be watching any of the games today, especially with it being New Year’s Eve, but hopefully we get some good highlights.

The Bucks rallied against the Indiana Pacers, at one point they are down by 19 points in the 3rd quarter. But Giannis carry the team with the help from Trent and then AJ Green hit those 3 when they are making a huge comeback.

Giannis is back and so is Khris Middleton who also contributed 15. Dame didn't have a good offensive game, as he just scored 9 points. But his last 3 was crucial in the fourth as well. So they snapped their losing streak with this one. Maintaining a close 5th spot in the Eastern conference.

[danherbias07]

Some good games on today with the Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics, & Minnesota Timberwolves all playing. Unfortunately the teams they’re playing against leave something to be desired. So I probably won’t be watching any of the games today, especially with it being New Year’s Eve, but hopefully we get some good highlights.

The Bucks rallied against the Indiana Pacers, at one point they are down by 19 points in the 3rd quarter. But Giannis carry the team with the help from Trent and then AJ Green hit those 3 when they are making a huge comeback.

Giannis is back and so is Khris Middleton who also contributed 15. Dame didn't have a good offensive game, as he just scored 9 points. But his last 3 was crucial in the fourth as well. So they snapped their losing streak with this one. Maintaining a close 5th spot in the Eastern conference.

The Pacers played good basketball in the 2nd quarter, they are superb on the offensive end. But that ends there and you are right AJ Green played a good role in that comeback for the Bucks, with 3/6 outside shots in 16 minutes of play time, and became the energy for Giannis to pursue the win. Bobby Portis was also the key to their win as most of the rebounds came from him and it was turned into a score. Good win for the Bucks.

This is the 2nd consecutive game of Tyrese Haliburton shooting badly in the three-point line although he scored high in their game against the Celtics by attacking the paint.

[TravelMug]

Some good games on today with the Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics, & Minnesota Timberwolves all playing. Unfortunately the teams they’re playing against leave something to be desired. So I probably won’t be watching any of the games today, especially with it being New Year’s Eve, but hopefully we get some good highlights.

The Bucks rallied against the Indiana Pacers, at one point they are down by 19 points in the 3rd quarter. But Giannis carry the team with the help from Trent and then AJ Green hit those 3 when they are making a huge comeback.

Giannis is back and so is Khris Middleton who also contributed 15. Dame didn't have a good offensive game, as he just scored 9 points. But his last 3 was crucial in the fourth as well. So they snapped their losing streak with this one. Maintaining a close 5th spot in the Eastern conference.

The Pacers played good basketball in the 2nd quarter, they are superb on the offensive end. But that ends there and you are right AJ Green played a good role in that comeback for the Bucks, with 3/6 outside shots in 16 minutes of play time, and became the energy for Giannis to pursue the win. Bobby Portis was also the key to their win as most of the rebounds came from him and it was turned into a score. Good win for the Bucks.

This is the 2nd consecutive game of Tyrese Haliburton shooting badly in the three-point line although he scored high in their game against the Celtics by attacking the paint.

And Giannis somewhat had a good percentage here, he had couple of fade away shots that is right in the money. Lillard just opted to be the play maker in this game and allowed Middleton and Portis or even Lopez to score the game for them.

Yeah, Haliburton though, he had a bad game here, although he hit some 3 points,  but here he has somewhat had lack luster performance with just 12 points. Mathurin lead them with 25 points but not enough to stop the huge comeback of the Bucks.

[dwyane36]

Jokic and Westbrook both getting triple doubles in the same game is nice to see. Them getting the win is even better and not just because it saves my parlay. If Westbrook can find a way to give Denver stats like this every night off the bench, the Nuggets might be able to make a playoff run this season. I’d love to see it.

Well, this is Westbrook's second triple-double this season. And as previously suggested, Westbrook might be useful to the Nuggets if he can find his rhythm even though his regular season stats seem mediocre. Still, Westbrook knows how to make triple-doubles and give a lot of assists, which is exactly what the Nuggets need.