2026 NBA Season

[Mr. Magkaisa]

The Los Angeles Lakers are in a good spot right now, even though they pretty much had a rough time with the Los Angeles Clippers last game I think the team Chemistry has something to do with their recent winnings, and Lebron James is something to be looking forward as his son Bronny James is now on the team we can also see even though the game of Bronny is not that explosive he still has great momentum with his plays and showing some improvement in every game the Lakers have.

Ranked at number 5 now, nice improvement.

However,  I still don’t see this team as a championship contender as I’ve watched their last 10 games ( with a 6-4 record), their performance hasn’t been that impressive. They tend to lose against strong teams, and we all know that in the playoffs, they’ll face those same tough opponents. So I wouldn’t be surprised if they end up with an early exit, the way I see it, there’s still a lot they need to work on to be considered a serious threat.

Lakers is exciting team maybe for now you see them to be like that but for sure things will be different when playoffs came. That reaching at 5 spot on standing in west provably great indication that they became more better team this season.

Their main players is intact and now they are doing good. So if they continue to have a good plays like that then win against strong opponent there's a huge chance that we would see Lakers competing on championship again. Not going to think about they going to exit early since NBA is exciting when Lebron is competing on playoffs so lets watch what's gonna happen and if we see this team to compete on next level or they would just drop early as what you expect here.

The second half of the season is still very critical for most of the team that is in the middle spot. Because that's where teams starting to struggle, just like what we have seen in the Cavs right now. Players getting injured or suddenly they become out of synch. I still remember when James was still with the Cavs, they've struggled in March but it was prime Lebron so he has to pushed himself.

And even last season, the Mavs was fighting and we thought that they will be in the play-in, but suddenly Luka elevated his game to push them to number 5 spot and avoid those play-in games. So there are still those intangibles and there could be surprises from the Lakers.

Lakers is now at number 5, but dont forget to look at the number of wins they have compared on the teams below them.
The +- of the team at the west very close to each other. I do like Lakers but they need to win more and improve a lot.
I want to see a healthy PF and centers on their roster. LBJ is doing good even at his age. I just eally hope.
1 more  shot for the NBA finals for LBJ!

[dezoel]

I think their goal be like to go to the playoff this season with first year coach Reddick, and then see how it goes. In the last couple of years, they have to go to the play-in and it's very difficult task for them. That's why when playoff comes, it seems that they don't have the legs anymore because of that extended series.

So good for them at number 5 right now, but they really need to still go and play hard to keep that record and not to go down to 8th spot again and go to another very hard play-in tournament as teams is desperate to win.

The biggest trouble with Lakers is that, Lebron is old, so yeah they are doing quite well with JJ Reddick right now, but it is not about just the coach, it is not about the team even, it's about the fact that they do not have time.

Lebron won't be playing until he is 45 years old, to be fair if he wanted to I am sure he could, at 40 years old he is still dunking and all, so he could just slow down, lose some weight, gain some condition and fitness instead of having all that mass, forget about dunks and physical play or drives, just become more of a tall point guard which he always is of course but instead of driving he would just shoot threes and playmake that's it, which he is turning into these days but gradually become just that, and then he can totally play until 45 without issues. However, the real problem is that, he probably won't. This means, everyone has to be on their 100% come playoff time, they have absolutely no time to make one mistake, because they may never get this back.

[Rustam Meraj]

The second half of the season is still very critical for most of the team that is in the middle spot. Because that's where teams starting to struggle, just like what we have seen in the Cavs right now. Players getting injured or suddenly they become out of synch. I still remember when James was still with the Cavs, they've struggled in March but it was prime Lebron so he has to pushed himself.

And even last season, the Mavs was fighting and we thought that they will be in the play-in, but suddenly Luka elevated his game to push them to number 5 spot and avoid those play-in games. So there are still those intangibles and there could be surprises from the Lakers.

That is right second half of season is very important for teams that are in middle. These teams mostly have problems such as players getting hurt or not playing well together. But as you said teams can also start playing better like what happened with players like LeBron James and Luka Doncic in past. They played even better and helped their teams succeed. Lakers are team that could surprise people and it will be interesting to see how they do in second half of season.

[Webetcoins]

Lakers has father time on their side, while that might be an issue in the future, the experience some of these players have is enough. Lebron James has more finals appearances than most teams they are going to face combined would have, so that means they are going to definitely benefit from this. They have been having some issues with Denver, but remember, they have been losing to Denver barely in so many games, whereas Denver has bulldozed over all other teams many times.

We need to realize, if Lakers have a situation where they never face Denver, and some other team beats Denver before Lakers meets them, I believe we are going to end up with a much better situation, it is not going to be the same thing for them at all.

[OgNasty]

Lakers has father time on their side, while that might be an issue in the future, the experience some of these players have is enough. Lebron James has more finals appearances than most teams they are going to face combined would have, so that means they are going to definitely benefit from this. They have been having some issues with Denver, but remember, they have been losing to Denver barely in so many games, whereas Denver has bulldozed over all other teams many times.

We need to realize, if Lakers have a situation where they never face Denver, and some other team beats Denver before Lakers meets them, I believe we are going to end up with a much better situation, it is not going to be the same thing for them at all.

I'm not sure I would consider LeBron as having Father Time on his side.  I get your point about experience, but if there's one thing that LeBron and the Lakers don't have going for them, it's Father Time.  I am hearing their name pretty much every day in a new rumor to acquire a new player.  Anthony Davis is not happy playing center and wants them to get a big man.  LeBron isn't happy with the lack of shooting from their new rookie and wants to get another shooter...  With only a few weeks until the trade deadline, they'd better do something if they want LeBron to have a chance at another ring.

[cryptomaniac_xxx]

Lakers has father time on their side, while that might be an issue in the future, the experience some of these players have is enough. Lebron James has more finals appearances than most teams they are going to face combined would have, so that means they are going to definitely benefit from this. They have been having some issues with Denver, but remember, they have been losing to Denver barely in so many games, whereas Denver has bulldozed over all other teams many times.

We need to realize, if Lakers have a situation where they never face Denver, and some other team beats Denver before Lakers meets them, I believe we are going to end up with a much better situation, it is not going to be the same thing for them at all.

Perhaps what you meant is that father time is going to caught up with them, because of his age. Although we still him playing high level basketball when most of the players going into his stage are no longer  or cannot play anymore.

And probably we have heard the opinions at the start of the season that the Lakers should get at least another big man and we have heard the name of Dwight Howard as during his stint with the Lakers, he was able to contained Jokic that time because he is big and strong. But they decided to get a young and fresh in Jaxson Hayes, but he didn't fit well or at least his style of playing is not what the Lakers wanted that's why they are shopping for a big man right now. Initially reports say that they are pursuing Nikola Vucevic and Jakob Poeltl, but not sure how it goes.

[LogitechMouse]

Lakers has father time on their side, while that might be an issue in the future, the experience some of these players have is enough. Lebron James has more finals appearances than most teams they are going to face combined would have, so that means they are going to definitely benefit from this. They have been having some issues with Denver, but remember, they have been losing to Denver barely in so many games, whereas Denver has bulldozed over all other teams many times.

We need to realize, if Lakers have a situation where they never face Denver, and some other team beats Denver before Lakers meets them, I believe we are going to end up with a much better situation, it is not going to be the same thing for them at all.

The experience might be enough, and we know how important playoff experience is, but the question is, can they handle the toughness, and the competitiveness when it comes to playoffs. Having a new coach doesn't mean they will be a title contender already and I know, I know that there are some Le-GM fans here that wants him to get his final title in LA before retiring, and I know that the Lakers are rolling these past few weeks, but I don't think that they'll be in a better position even they don't face Denver.

Let's take note that the West is a very competitive conference. You have the Thunder that already have an experience in playoffs, and the Grizzlies that are now healthy than ever. I'll exclude the Rockets despite them being 2nd in standings because of lack of playoff experience, but overall, I don't think that the Lakers are in a better situation despite eluding the Nuggets and not facing them.

If the season's over right now, they'll be facing them in the 4-5 match-up. Sound's crazy knowing that the Nuggets beat them 7 times out of 8 in the past 2 playoff matchups.

[wheelz1200]

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/43586624/heat-suspend-star-jimmy-butler-indefinitely-sources-say

Not sure if this is on miami or jimmy but what a complete disaster.  Be honest with you with jimmy being 35 and seeing this all come down i wouldnt want dude on my team.  What if he isnt happy with his new situation? What is he gonna ruin that team too?  With all this drama im betting against miami this week lol.  A lot going on and not about the games looking ahead.  Sad it came to this.

[OgNasty]

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/43586624/heat-suspend-star-jimmy-butler-indefinitely-sources-say

Not sure if this is on miami or jimmy but what a complete disaster.  Be honest with you with jimmy being 35 and seeing this all come down i wouldnt want dude on my team.  What if he isnt happy with his new situation? What is he gonna ruin that team too?  With all this drama im betting against miami this week lol.  A lot going on and not about the games looking ahead.  Sad it came to this.

It’s been obvious that Jimmy Butler is toxic for a while now. He pretty much ruined the Timberwolves on his way out. I’m not sure if you’re familiar with what he did with Karl Anthony Towns’ fiancée or not… Miami is just the latest disaster. I don’t mind him coming to Phoenix though because we’re already a disaster.

[avp2306]

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/43586624/heat-suspend-star-jimmy-butler-indefinitely-sources-say

Not sure if this is on miami or jimmy but what a complete disaster.  Be honest with you with jimmy being 35 and seeing this all come down i wouldnt want dude on my team.  What if he isnt happy with his new situation? What is he gonna ruin that team too?  With all this drama im betting against miami this week lol.  A lot going on and not about the games looking ahead.  Sad it came to this.

It’s been obvious that Jimmy Butler is toxic for a while now. He pretty much ruined the Timberwolves on his way out. I’m not sure if you’re familiar with what he did with Karl Anthony Towns’ fiancée or not… Miami is just the latest disaster. I don’t mind him coming to Phoenix though because we’re already a disaster.

To many rumors before that he is a toxic teammates and to many players also there's a coach defending him regarding on that matter but it seems there's certain truth regarding on that claim since he always create drama once he want to get out on his current team. That controversy against KAT is so big and its everywhere before https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nba/jimmy-butler-karl-anthony-towns-trash-talk-miami-heat-minnesota-timberwolves

But KAT already have this interview KAT finally discuss feud issues against Butler we can see that he's still focus and respect Butler despite of what issues happen.

[Harkorede]

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/43586624/heat-suspend-star-jimmy-butler-indefinitely-sources-say

Not sure if this is on miami or jimmy but what a complete disaster.  Be honest with you with jimmy being 35 and seeing this all come down i wouldnt want dude on my team.  What if he isnt happy with his new situation? What is he gonna ruin that team too?  With all this drama im betting against miami this week lol.  A lot going on and not about the games looking ahead.  Sad it came to this.

It’s been obvious that Jimmy Butler is toxic for a while now. He pretty much ruined the Timberwolves on his way out. I’m not sure if you’re familiar with what he did with Karl Anthony Towns’ fiancée or not… Miami is just the latest disaster. I don’t mind him coming to Phoenix though because we’re already a disaster.

I think it's more on Jimmy Butler than it is on Miami Heat, I completely understand that he wants out of the franchise, and maybe the management aren't making it any easier for him too, but Jimmy Butler from my perspective have been completely unprofessional with the way he's handled the situation from the get go, he just keeps violating every professional term on his contract and it's not only disrespectful to the Heat organization but to his teammates some of whom I suppose he'd regard as friends, missing team flights, meetings, practices and other team functions nonchalantly is a complete low imo.

[OgNasty]

Interesting news about old Boston Celtics favorite Isaiah Thomas. He is reportedly pursuing an NBA return. He has signed a deal with the Utah Jazz's G League affiliate to get him into the organization and give him a shot at a potential NBA return. I personally think too much time has passed, but wish him luck.

[dwyane36]

Interesting news about old Boston Celtics favorite Isaiah Thomas. He is reportedly pursuing an NBA return. He has signed a deal with the Utah Jazz's G League affiliate to get him into the organization and give him a shot at a potential NBA return. I personally think too much time has passed, but wish him luck.

I think Thomas will dominate in the G-League anyway. By the way, he's 35 years old, so if he's lucky enough to make it back to the NBA, he could potentially play 2-3 more years.
His determination is really impressive, and I think he deserves to be signed to a full contract by some team, even if it's only a veteran's minimum.

[arwin100]

Interesting news about old Boston Celtics favorite Isaiah Thomas. He is reportedly pursuing an NBA return. He has signed a deal with the Utah Jazz's G League affiliate to get him into the organization and give him a shot at a potential NBA return. I personally think too much time has passed, but wish him luck.

I think Thomas will dominate in the G-League anyway. By the way, he's 35 years old, so if he's lucky enough to make it back to the NBA, he could potentially play 2-3 more years.
His determination is really impressive, and I think he deserves to be signed to a full contract by some team, even if it's only a veteran's minimum.

Seeing his stats https://www.espn.ph/nba/player/_/id/6472/isaiah-thomas we can see that he's still doing good and could give valuable contribution to his team.

But I don't think he can dominate the G.League since even if he's still a good player for sure there are lot of young good players out there also trying their best to get a spot light and will be noticed by NBA team.

Let just see what Isiah Thomas can do on his new team since if he perform so well then maybe there's another team in NBA would get his service again.

[Fredomago]

Lakers has father time on their side, while that might be an issue in the future, the experience some of these players have is enough. Lebron James has more finals appearances than most teams they are going to face combined would have, so that means they are going to definitely benefit from this. They have been having some issues with Denver, but remember, they have been losing to Denver barely in so many games, whereas Denver has bulldozed over all other teams many times.

We need to realize, if Lakers have a situation where they never face Denver, and some other team beats Denver before Lakers meets them, I believe we are going to end up with a much better situation, it is not going to be the same thing for them at all.

Perhaps what you meant is that father time is going to caught up with them, because of his age. Although we still him playing high level basketball when most of the players going into his stage are no longer  or cannot play anymore.

And probably we have heard the opinions at the start of the season that the Lakers should get at least another big man and we have heard the name of Dwight Howard as during his stint with the Lakers, he was able to contained Jokic that time because he is big and strong. But they decided to get a young and fresh in Jaxson Hayes, but he didn't fit well or at least his style of playing is not what the Lakers wanted that's why they are shopping for a big man right now. Initially reports say that they are pursuing Nikola Vucevic and Jakob Poeltl, but not sure how it goes.

They need a big man that can fit well with how LeBron and AD playing the game, someone who can move alongside with AD, and help him up with towering their defense, I think Vucevic would fit as aside from being big he can contribute if its needed, we never know what will happen next as for sure there are movements that may take place as each teams are really hoping to make their presence after this regular season and catch that spot for the playoffs.

[Japinat]

The Rockets are on fire. After beating the Cavaliers twice, they took down the Celtics too. Amen Thompson is on another level, this guy isn’t just a solid defender and rebounder, he’s clutch when it matters most. Honestly, the Rockets this season look like potential championship contenders. They’ve got trust in each other, and they stay composed even when they’re down by double digits. Nothing feels safe against this team right now.

[danherbias07]

The Los Angeles Lakers are in a good spot right now, even though they pretty much had a rough time with the Los Angeles Clippers last game I think the team Chemistry has something to do with their recent winnings, and Lebron James is something to be looking forward as his son Bronny James is now on the team we can also see even though the game of Bronny is not that explosive he still has great momentum with his plays and showing some improvement in every game the Lakers have.

Ranked at number 5 now, nice improvement.

However,  I still don’t see this team as a championship contender as I’ve watched their last 10 games ( with a 6-4 record), their performance hasn’t been that impressive. They tend to lose against strong teams, and we all know that in the playoffs, they’ll face those same tough opponents. So I wouldn’t be surprised if they end up with an early exit, the way I see it, there’s still a lot they need to work on to be considered a serious threat.

Yeah, number 5  but the competition in the Western Conference ranks 5th - 10th are super close. 1 - 2 game wins difference so we still cannot tell if the Lakers can keep this place. The Timberwolves and the Phoenix Suns are also on a winning streak so 1 wrong step by the Lakers and those two could go in the higher rankings. Well, we will have many games left so we cannot tell if Lebron can pull his team up or will they be in the play-in tournament.

The Eastern 4th place to 9th place are also in a close battle. I like this kind of setup as the teams who will be safe in the playoffs are still unpredictable. We may have a good competitive season after the All-Star. That's when they will feel every win is important.

[LogitechMouse]

The Rockets are on fire. After beating the Cavaliers twice, they took down the Celtics too. Amen Thompson is on another level, this guy isn’t just a solid defender and rebounder, he’s clutch when it matters most. Honestly, the Rockets this season look like potential championship contenders. They’ve got trust in each other, and they stay composed even when they’re down by double digits. Nothing feels safe against this team right now.

Had watched the game, and the lead of the Celtics at one point went to as high as 12, Udoka called a timeout, and from there, everything has changed. Houston made run that caused them to tie the game. At one point, I saw the odds of Houston winning the game on Betpanda at 10.00.

This is what's good at the Rockets. They have Sengun and Green as their key players, but when they're having an off night, they still have players like Brooks and Thompson to help the offense. Speaking Brooks, he just had his career-high in 3pts made with 10. Both the Thompson twins are thriving in both in Houston and Detroit and in one interview, Amen said that he felt like Kobe when he made that shot. As for the title contender debate, I respect your opinion, but the team consists of players that doesn't have any playoff experience. Remember the Thunder last season? They're the top 1, but because they lack playoff experience, they just got defeated in the 2nd round. Like what I said to the Thunder, give this team at least 3-5 years and they might be title contenders.

Still, I hope that the West will not sleep on this team as they defeated the current top 2 teams in the East.

[sana54210]

Lakers are definitely looking good, they look like they are high enough that they won't even be in play-in situation, which has been a while since they weren't there. I am pretty sure that they are going to go deep this season on playoffs.

I believe, and I know this is a very very weak chance and probably won't happen, but I believe IF somehow they manage to win the title, then Lebron will retire at the end of the season. Of course this is a very unlikely situation, I do not think that they will actually win the ring, but there is a chance of it and if that ever happens this year, then Lebron may just retire at the end of the season. If not, I am sure that he will just let everyone know when his last season will be, so that he would have a Kobe like retirement tour on his last season.

[OgNasty]

Lakers are definitely looking good, they look like they are high enough that they won't even be in play-in situation, which has been a while since they weren't there. I am pretty sure that they are going to go deep this season on playoffs.

I believe, and I know this is a very very weak chance and probably won't happen, but I believe IF somehow they manage to win the title, then Lebron will retire at the end of the season. Of course this is a very unlikely situation, I do not think that they will actually win the ring, but there is a chance of it and if that ever happens this year, then Lebron may just retire at the end of the season. If not, I am sure that he will just let everyone know when his last season will be, so that he would have a Kobe like retirement tour on his last season.

I think it's isn't so much the Los Angeles Lakers that are playing well as much as it is Anthony Davis.  He's been on a tear lately while complaining of not having enough help in the middle.  If they can get him what he wants and he can stay healthy, maybe the Lakers have a shot at a postseason run.  I don't think LeBron retires either way.  Nobody retires without trying to run back a championship.  Even Michael Jordan was pretty much forced out of the Bulls by management and would've liked to have gone for 4 in a row with Chicago.