2026 NBA Season

[Beparanf]

We can only hope that he will remain healthy. We don't know what's going to happen or who is going to have a season ending injury just like what happened to Jimmy Butler. So let's just assume that he will be healthy throughout this season and nothing bad will happen to him so that he can bring the Clippers to the playoffs.

Honestly, Jimmy Butler getting an ACL tear at 37 is a total career changer. Sure medicine is great these days and players do come back but Butler’s whole game is built on physical contact stopping on a dime and just grinding it out. That makes his comeback way more risky. As for the Golden State Warriors, the timing is just too bad. The team was finally finding its rhythm and everyone knew their roles so this injury just throws everything out the window...

Even on his prime he is still inconsistent so I’m not expecting much even if he fully recovered or not because his current skills even before this injury is already not on par with top player that have same salary with him.

Just like PG, Team that acquiring them with huge salary is just paying for the names which their performance is not equivalent to what they are getting paid.

I will not be surprised if GSW is already seeking a replacement for next season.

[tech30338]

We can only hope that he will remain healthy. We don't know what's going to happen or who is going to have a season ending injury just like what happened to Jimmy Butler. So let's just assume that he will be healthy throughout this season and nothing bad will happen to him so that he can bring the Clippers to the playoffs.

Honestly, Jimmy Butler getting an ACL tear at 37 is a total career changer. Sure medicine is great these days and players do come back but Butler’s whole game is built on physical contact stopping on a dime and just grinding it out. That makes his comeback way more risky. As for the Golden State Warriors, the timing is just too bad. The team was finally finding its rhythm and everyone knew their roles so this injury just throws everything out the window...

Even on his prime he is still inconsistent so I’m not expecting much even if he fully recovered or not because his current skills even before this injury is already not on par with top player that have same salary with him.

Just like PG, Team that acquiring them with huge salary is just paying for the names which their performance is not equivalent to what they are getting paid.

I will not be surprised if GSW is already seeking a replacement for next season.

They should start rebuilding for the future instead of looking for an aging stars, i will not waste my assets just for another run this year, they know that they can't make it this year, that is the reality and making this year would be a miracle, as we know the west is jam pack with strong team, they would put stress on Steph body if they will pursue this year, wait for the market who will be available and has potential, we know how could they are in scouting and making a gem out of nothing, but not this year.

[Webetcoins]

Very weird that OKC still keeps losing this much. At the start of the season people thought (including most of us here) they were going for the record, like have only 9 or less losses all season long because they had one of the most impressive winning streaks. However, as we can see, they lost 9 already instead. There is a very strong chance that they will lose 14 or more this season I agree on that, it doesn't look that good for them. Still, that doesn't change the fact that they are the best team in the league right now.

[LogitechMouse]

Very weird that OKC still keeps losing this much. At the start of the season people thought (including most of us here) they were going for the record, like have only 9 or less losses all season long because they had one of the most impressive winning streaks. However, as we can see, they lost 9 already instead. There is a very strong chance that they will lose 14 or more this season I agree on that, it doesn't look that good for them. Still, that doesn't change the fact that they are the best team in the league right now.

There's nothing weird about them. That only just shows that the media just hyped them that much that many are thinking on them like they're a team that's impossible to beat. They even went to a point where some said that they're better than the 73-9 Warriors back in 2016. Now we are seeing who's better now.

You just got with the hype, and I admit that I am as well, but now? I think the hype is already gone, and I don't think that the Thunder wanted to be looked like what many are looking on them months ago. Losing 9 games isn't a big deal because at the end of the day, they're still at the top of the power rankings. Have 14 losses? They don't care. What they care more is winning the title yet again than those losses because let's not forget that those losses will just be useless when playoffs come. You can have the best record in the NBA, but can't win the title.

They have the lowest odds on winning the title, and nothing has changed. I just feel sad for those who put a bets on them that they will have at least 75 wins this season... or not.

[1kodumtek7]

Jimmy Butler's ACL injury at the age of 36 is really sad and worrying. Because he might never return well from this. It could even bring the end of his career earlier. 

He has been a player I like in NBA honestly. Especially his performance for Heat during the series against Bucks in the 22/23 season is unforgettable for me. What next for Warriors then? Will they trade him out soon maybe?

[Stavri]

Honestly, Jimmy Butler getting an ACL tear at 37 is a total career changer. Sure medicine is great these days and players do come back but Butler’s whole game is built on physical contact stopping on a dime and just grinding it out. That makes his comeback way more risky. As for the Golden State Warriors, the timing is just too bad. The team was finally finding its rhythm and everyone knew their roles so this injury just throws everything out the window...

Even on his prime he is still inconsistent so I’m not expecting much even if he fully recovered or not because his current skills even before this injury is already not on par with top player that have same salary with him.

Just like PG, Team that acquiring them with huge salary is just paying for the names which their performance is not equivalent to what they are getting paid.

I will not be surprised if GSW is already seeking a replacement for next season.

Comparing him to PG is fair in terms of age but Jimmy usually turns into a different person in the playoffs. Now, the big question for the Warriors isn't just when he’ll be back but if he’ll even be the same Jimmy Butler when he does. Ofc we might never see that again too with an ACL injury...

[Velvet78]

It was a quite tough game for Lakers though but they managed to win by 6 points. Luka looked really nice with a double-double.

The rookie Cooper Flagg couldn't answer him well enough in this game. He was 7/20 on FG.

Maybe Lakers have the same amount of wins as Rockets but I don't think they look better as a team by the way.

[Uhde]

Maybe Lakers have the same amount of wins as Rockets but I don't think they look better as a team by the way.

Lakers has 27 win 17 losses record but their total point difference is -10. Just look at the Rockets right above them they have a similar 27-16 record but their point difference is +264. This defensive style is a total brain fade. The fans shouldn't even bother shouting defense, defense anymore, it's pointless...

[Fredomago]

It was a quite tough game for Lakers though but they managed to win by 6 points. Luka looked really nice with a double-double.

The rookie Cooper Flagg couldn't answer him well enough in this game. He was 7/20 on FG.

Maybe Lakers have the same amount of wins as Rockets but I don't think they look better as a team by the way.

Luka managed to handle that pressure and win the game again against his former team, though it's a tough one and Mavs even less of their main cores really did try to compete, just so happened that Flagg got an off percentage but still a good game as they really did try and almost upset the Lakers, similar to what you said, it's a win for the Lakers but the way they are playing the game still something that's needed to adjust as the league is almost nearing to the next round they need to solidify their defense.

[Oasisman]

It was a quite tough game for Lakers though but they managed to win by 6 points. Luka looked really nice with a double-double.

The rookie Cooper Flagg couldn't answer him well enough in this game. He was 7/20 on FG.

Maybe Lakers have the same amount of wins as Rockets but I don't think they look better as a team by the way.

Luka managed to handle that pressure and win the game again against his former team.

We have to give a lot of credits to the defensive dogs in Smart and Vando, and also Rui who helped them overcome the double digit lead late in the 4th quarter, and then Luka successfully finished it this time.
That come back was the same as their last game against the Clippers, and the same people showed up defensively in the 4th. Luka was on the bench when the team rallied back to put the game close to 1 pt Clipper lead. However, Luka didn't deliver another clutch game, maybe he learned from that game moving forward.

The biggest problem the Lakers need to adjust is that, they need to play defense the whole game. What they normally do is only play hard defense in clutch moments, which will cost them a lot of energy and a potential injury. It is not good in a back-to-back game, and the same reason why they can't win one.

The Lakers will become a dangerous team if they can improve their defensive rating and hold the opponent to at least 100 or below. They have done it at some point last year, then magically lost it.

[xLays]

I watched the Detroit vs Kings game today. It really looks like the Kings have already given up on this season. I don’t understand why they aren’t playing their best players more. Those guys could easily play 35 minutes per game, but look they don’t even reach 30 minutes.
They played great in the 1st and 2nd quarters, but in the 2nd half their level dropped because they left the game to their bench. I don’t think they’ll even make it to the play-in tournament.

[Shinpako09]

Maybe Lakers have the same amount of wins as Rockets but I don't think they look better as a team by the way.

I would still choose the Lakers over the Rockets in a best of 7 series, as long as they are complete. They have Luka, LeBron, and Reaves, plus Ayton can score and grab rebounds. Luka also has a better average in points compared to KD. But yeah, their last game against the Mavs would have been different if Kyrie and AD were there. Can’t wait to see them both with Flagg. Maybe the Mavs standing would rise to playoff contender level.

[Jostern]

It was a quite tough game for Lakers though but they managed to win by 6 points. Luka looked really nice with a double-double.

The rookie Cooper Flagg couldn't answer him well enough in this game. He was 7/20 on FG.

Maybe Lakers have the same amount of wins as Rockets but I don't think they look better as a team by the way.

I watched the Lakers game, it was a very interesting game and it was also a very tough game, it was very hard for Lakers to win against Dallas Mavericks, which they only won with 6 points.

However I think Luka have no choice but to perform better this time around, he didn’t play well enough in their last game against Clippers, Luka and LeBron played a good game and I think they wanted to redeem themselves because they’ve been putting poor performances in recent game.

Rui Hachimura’s performance that brought a late 3-point in the game helped Lakers to go ahead in the game which was a very close game for them.

Lakers really have to improve their performance, for them to stand a chance in getting to the playoffs.

[LogitechMouse]

Maybe Lakers have the same amount of wins as Rockets but I don't think they look better as a team by the way.

I would still choose the Lakers over the Rockets in a best of 7 series, as long as they are complete. They have Luka, LeBron, and Reaves, plus Ayton can score and grab rebounds. Luka also has a better average in points compared to KD.

I respect your opinion, but between the 2 teams, I would go with the Rockets.

You said that Ayton can score and grab rebounds. As of this moment, the Rockets are at the top when it comes to that category with 48.8 RPG while the Lakers only has 41.5 RPG which is also at the bottom of the standings so while Ayton can get double-double in some games, I will not be surprised if he will be outrebounded by Sengun, or even just Adams which is very good in offensive rebounding as well.

The Lakers have Lebron, Luka and Reaves indeed, but the Rockets have Durant to face Lebron, Amen Thompson to defend Luka, and maybe Reaves is the one that will have a mismatch for most of the time, but let's not forget that the Lakers are one of the worst right now in terms of defense, and that will be a big hole for the Lakers. If the Lakers want to win against any other team in the West, they need to be better at defense because they might be good at offense, but if the opposing team is also scoring, it's kind of useless.

Rebounds and defense disadvantage alone is enough for me to say that the Lakers can't beat the Rockets in a 7-game series but overall, it will still depend because there are some factors like injuries, homecourt advantage and many more. Like what I said, I respect your opinion though.

[Fredomago]

I watched the Detroit vs Kings game today. It really looks like the Kings have already given up on this season. I don’t understand why they aren’t playing their best players more. Those guys could easily play 35 minutes per game, but look they don’t even reach 30 minutes.
They played great in the 1st and 2nd quarters, but in the 2nd half their level dropped because they left the game to their bench. I don’t think they’ll even make it to the play-in tournament.

Yeah, I notice that as well, sad for those who continue to take risk betting for the handicap they are in hope that even the team will lose they will bring a competitive game, but seeing how the stars being played by those minutes are just to show around but the push is not there anymore, their run this season may end short as you said they might have an early exit not reaching even the play-in tournament.

[Ziskinberg]

OKC lost again, and honestly this doesn’t look like the same team we were amazed by before. It feels like their strategy is slowly getting exposed, especially after losing at home this time against the Toronto Raptors. Their three-point shooting was really poor in that game, and getting out-rebounded by Toronto is never a good sign.

For a defending champion like the OKC Thunder, this is a bit worrying.  It makes you wonder if a back-to-back title is still realistic this season, or if cracks are already starting to show.

[ajanwalker]

Los Angeles Clippers added another victory to their winning streak, beating Brooklyn by 37 points. While James Harden was somewhat slow in scoring, John Collins and Jordan Miller provided good scoring contributions. Kawhi was the team's and the game's top scorer with 28 points. The Clippers are steadily climbing the standings.
They are six wins behind Phoenix and the Clippers can close that gap.

Phoenix has lost its last two games. Now it's Phoenix's turn to face Brooklyn. I think Phoenix will most likely win and end their two-game losing streak.

[fullfitlarry]

OKC lost again, and honestly this doesn’t look like the same team we were amazed by before. It feels like their strategy is slowly getting exposed, especially after losing at home this time against the Toronto Raptors. Their three-point shooting was really poor in that game, and getting out-rebounded by Toronto is never a good sign.

For a defending champion like the OKC Thunder, this is a bit worrying.  It makes you wonder if a back-to-back title is still realistic this season, or if cracks are already starting to show.

If I can recall it, there were surveys that the OKC will repeat as a champion by 80%. But there are some who thinks that they can't and so it looks like that kind of prediction could be true. Although the regular season is far from over, but obviously they can't match the record that they have last year.

And yeah, it could be that they have been exposed already and that SGA is not getting the fouls that he used to have. So a back to back title might be in the balance right now and for sure there are many fans that might think that they can't do it.

[Questat]

If I can recall it, there were surveys that the OKC will repeat as a champion by 80%. But there are some who thinks that they can't and so it looks like that kind of prediction could be true. Although the regular season is far from over, but obviously they can't match the record that they have last year.

And yeah, it could be that they have been exposed already and that SGA is not getting the fouls that he used to have. So a back to back title might be in the balance right now and for sure there are many fans that might think that they can't do it.

They’re losing to average teams now, and honestly I’d say SGA is starting to get exposed. I don’t really see him winning MVP again at this point. If Nikola Jokic wasn’t injured, he’d easily be the top MVP candidate for me, but with him sidelined, it feels like he’s already out of the race. So now the question is, who’s really left as a serious MVP contender?

I’m pretty sure a lot of us also got burned betting on the OKC thunder as heavy favorites. I can already imagine the faces of gamblers who added OKC to their parlays thinking it was a sure win, only for it to turn into another upset by their opponent. 

[stadus]

I’m pretty sure a lot of us also got burned betting on the OKC thunder as heavy favorites. I can already imagine the faces of gamblers who added OKC to their parlays thinking it was a sure win, only for it to turn into another upset by their opponent. 

For sure, but I also had action on the other game and ended up losing that one too.

A lot of upsets happened today honestly. The GS Warriors beating the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Toronto Raptors taking down OKC Thunder, NOP winning against the San Antonio Spurs, and then Miami Heat beating Phoenix Suns.

One of those days where favorites just couldn’t hold.