2026 NBA Season

[boyptc]

Kyrie Irving has reportedly requested a trade from Dallas at the end of the season he wants to join a championship contender next year. Rockets are at the top of his list. Durant and Udoka are close friends of his

Well see, but then it's possible that Durant might also ask for a trade.

This seems so proactive that these stars are looking for the next title of their own with a team that can potentially get it.

The franchise never failed to upset their own fans, I was in the impression that after they acquire AD and Flagg they are just waiting for Kyrie and Klay to be healthy,  a good core in papers but in reality they just pay them to wear Mavs uniform but nothing being materialize to make the team competitive after sending Luka to LA.

Seems that seeing Flagg and Kyrie playing together is no longer possible if Kyrie and Mavs management decided to partways.

Too bad that the Mavs have destroyed their momentum but, what's done is done and they'll have to rebuild it.

They still have a lot of good players there although they've invested so much that they got bad results.

[Eternad]

They probably gave up to the injury fest of their roster and decided to just rebuild around Cooper Flagg with lots of first pick young talents that is more beneficial in the long run instead of relying to Kyrie being healthy every year.

They learned already their lesson with acquiring AD. I like this kind of rebuild especially if they have Kyrie that’s still valuable until now despite being injured a lot.

Lots of top team now are now young talent team while old era star are on the bottom rank team.

It all started when they traded Luka Dončić for Anthony Davis. After that, everything went downhill. If they kept Luka, I’m sure they would still be a playoff team right now.

Luka is not injury-prone and he makes his teammates better, that’s the big difference. Even before they got Kyrie Irving, the Dallas Mavericks were already competitive. Now they look lost most of the time. It feels like they ruined a good thing by trying too hard to change it. 

That’s accurate, I believe owner already admit the mistakes since they already fired the main culprit of this epic fail trade and they are already treating Flagg as Luka now.

They are already invested to Flagg that’s why they are willing to trade those injury prone that still has a lot of value and wait for couple year of team development to achieved a solid team.

It’s a long shot but I think that’s the right move instead of just gambling to injury prone players hoping they will be healthy in full season.

[Russlenat]

There’s a good matchup tomorrow, it even feels like a possible playoff-type game between the Detroit Pistons and the New York Knicks.

I’m not sure yet which side to lean on. Knicks are at home and -4.5, plus they’re coming off a big win where they dominated the Philadelphia 76ers last game. Both teams are well rested after the All-Star break too. If the side looks risky, I’m thinking the over might be the safer play here.

[Shinpako09]

Kyrie Irving has reportedly requested a trade from Dallas at the end of the season he wants to join a championship contender next year. Rockets are at the top of his list. Durant and Udoka are close friends of his

Huh? I searched and I can’t seem to find any article regarding what you’re saying. Care to share the link? The only thing I’ve seen is him skipping the rest of the season and targeting a full recovery, 1000%. Well, even if he could play now, they would be at most a play-in team and wouldn’t go deeper in the playoffs, so it’s a good decision. It’s better to rest and try to make a run next season. If I were the management, I would do the same. It’s not worth taking the risk just to reach the play-in. Right now, he is their only hope, together with Flagg, to help Dallas get back to being a playoff contender.

[1kodumtek7]

Finally the regular season games are about to go on from where it left. There are 10 games tonight. Knicks face Pistons at home in one of those. Pistons trashed them hard for 2 times this season by 30+ point gap in both.

But this time Knicks are favoured for the win. I think they will too but by a close margin. Another one is Clippers - Nuggets. I think Nuggets will beat them for the 3rd time this season while Jokic and Murray both are healthy.

[Mr. Magkaisa]

There’s a good matchup tomorrow, it even feels like a possible playoff-type game between the Detroit Pistons and the New York Knicks.

I’m not sure yet which side to lean on. Knicks are at home and -4.5, plus they’re coming off a big win where they dominated the Philadelphia 76ers last game. Both teams are well rested after the All-Star break too. If the side looks risky, I’m thinking the over might be the safer play here.

This is a good match, home court advantage is the only thing i can say that can help a team, but in terms of line up and play. 2 teams are good to match.

Kyrie Irving has reportedly requested a trade from Dallas at the end of the season he wants to join a championship contender next year. Rockets are at the top of his list. Durant and Udoka are close friends of his

Another trade to a good team? How many times he requested a trade like this and never made it? Another thing is Kyrie is very fragile which any team might reconsider acquiring his talent.

[freedomgo]

But this time Knicks are favoured for the win. I think they will too but by a close margin. Another one is Clippers - Nuggets. I think Nuggets will beat them for the 3rd time this season while Jokic and Murray both are healthy.

Knicks won’t allow this to be another heartbreaking loss for them. They look more composed now, winning their previous games by big margins, so I believe they can beat the Detroit Pistons here. It’s just different when the Knicks are playing at home. If they start strong and lead by double digits early, most of the time the game ends that way. That’s why the first quarter is very important. They need to come out aggressive from the start.

[xzone]

Finally the regular season games are about to go on from where it left. There are 10 games tonight. Knicks face Pistons at home in one of those. Pistons trashed them hard for 2 times this season by 30+ point gap in both.

But this time Knicks are favoured for the win. I think they will too but by a close margin. Another one is Clippers - Nuggets. I think Nuggets will beat them for the 3rd time this season while Jokic and Murray both are healthy.

The New York Knicks aren't a bad team, but I think Detroit will win again. Looking at the betting odds, I think betting on Detroit makes sense; I don't see any reason for them to lose. We all know they're the best team this season, and considering the players are well-rested, I think we'll see a great game. It's sure to be a good match, and exciting. I'm starting to watch the league again after the All-Star game; I haven't been this interested in regular games in a long time

[OgNasty]

Finally the regular season games are about to go on from where it left. There are 10 games tonight. Knicks face Pistons at home in one of those. Pistons trashed them hard for 2 times this season by 30+ point gap in both.

But this time Knicks are favoured for the win. I think they will too but by a close margin. Another one is Clippers - Nuggets. I think Nuggets will beat them for the 3rd time this season while Jokic and Murray both are healthy.

The New York Knicks aren't a bad team, but I think Detroit will win again. Looking at the betting odds, I think betting on Detroit makes sense; I don't see any reason for them to lose. We all know they're the best team this season, and considering the players are well-rested, I think we'll see a great game. It's sure to be a good match, and exciting. I'm starting to watch the league again after the All-Star game; I haven't been this interested in regular games in a long time

The Knicks and Pistons are the first game of an Amazon Prime doubleheader but I don’t have an interest in watching that game. The later game between the Warriors and the Celtics strikes me as a more entertaining watch so maybe I’ll try and catch that one.

[tygeade]

Kevin Durant has always been known as a guy who had a chip on his shoulder, and even after winning titles with warriors, he never felt happy there because the whole world told him that he joined the team that had the highest win in a season record. Sure that same year Warriors also lost to Cavs, and after that Durant joined them, but they were 73-9 before Durant joined them, hence it wasn't a big title win for Durant because he did something easy.

I think that chip on his shoulder never left and this caused him to have some sort of clap backs that he wanted to keep doing and wanted to be in the talks of being one of the greatest and he never was and he hated that. He will have hard time following this situation without a doubt.

[Stavri]

Kevin Durant has always been known as a guy who had a chip on his shoulder, and even after winning titles with warriors, he never felt happy there because the whole world told him that he joined the team that had the highest win in a season record. Sure that same year Warriors also lost to Cavs, and after that Durant joined them, but they were 73-9 before Durant joined them, hence it wasn't a big title win for Durant because he did something easy.

I think that chip on his shoulder never left and this caused him to have some sort of clap backs that he wanted to keep doing and wanted to be in the talks of being one of the greatest and he never was and he hated that. He will have hard time following this situation without a doubt.

KD has been a player who drops 30 points every single night but his scoring doesn't actually benefit any team or elevate them to the next level. throughout his career, there isn't a single team he hasn't left in a worse state or managed to carry on his own. for years now, he has failed at every stop and just keeps jumping from team to team. His greatest achievement remains joining an already championship caliber Golden State team fitting into an established system to hit shots and pick up rings. He has never been seen succeeding on a team where he is the clear cut primary option.

[OgNasty]

Kevin Durant has always been known as a guy who had a chip on his shoulder, and even after winning titles with warriors, he never felt happy there because the whole world told him that he joined the team that had the highest win in a season record. Sure that same year Warriors also lost to Cavs, and after that Durant joined them, but they were 73-9 before Durant joined them, hence it wasn't a big title win for Durant because he did something easy.

I think that chip on his shoulder never left and this caused him to have some sort of clap backs that he wanted to keep doing and wanted to be in the talks of being one of the greatest and he never was and he hated that. He will have hard time following this situation without a doubt.

KD has been a player who drops 30 points every single night but his scoring doesn't actually benefit any team or elevate them to the next level. throughout his career, there isn't a single team he hasn't left in a worse state or managed to carry on his own. for years now, he has failed at every stop and just keeps jumping from team to team. His greatest achievement remains joining an already championship caliber Golden State team fitting into an established system to hit shots and pick up rings. He has never been seen succeeding on a team where he is the clear cut primary option.

I feel like he was the primary option on the Warriors and that’s why he won the Finals MVP. Sure, he joined an already great team, but he definitely elevated them to another level and gave them options they didn’t have before. Steve Kerr even said how easy it was to coach them. He just said to give KD the ball whenever they needed a bucket.

[CLS63]

I'm quite curious about how things will go on at Rockets after the current rumours circulating related to KD. Will they go on the same or will we see the team chemistry going down?

Even at the moment they are quite questionable you know. They lost many games that they could have won with better choice of plans. Udoka is still criticized. We will see what they do tonight against Hornets. They lost in their last head-to-head game.

[EFS]

There are 2 games on Prime night. The Pistons @ Knicks game is a must-watch for me. In the 2 games this season, the Pistons beat the Knicks by more than 30 points both times. Supposedly the Knicks are one of the top 2 or 3 teams in the East, but there's clearly a huge gap between them and the leader Pistons.
This time, Stewart and Duren won't be playing. After the All-Star break, I'm not sure if the Pistons can win at MSG, but the Knicks should play better to avoid losing by 30 again.

[danherbias07]

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver talks anti-tanking options with GMs, AP sources say
https://apnews.com/article/nba-tanking-adam-silver-59d357f8f4c00b666b16d0b3c892c425

Commissioner Adam Silver — who said last weekend at the league’s All-Star events that “every possible remedy ... to stop this behavior” is on the table — detailed several possible options to the league’s general managers on a call Thursday, said the people who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the league has not publicly announced any specific plans.

What is tanking in the NBA?

Tanking in the NBA is the strategy where a team deliberately plays at a non-competitive level to lose games and secure a higher draft pick in the next NBA draft. Teams often trade away veteran talent and rely on younger players to improve their lottery odds. It is a form of long-term rebuilding, sometimes described as a "gap year" or "development year"

Just recently.

Tanking has been a major talking point across the NBA in recent weeks, with the Utah Jazz getting fined $500,000 “for conduct detrimental to the league” — specifically, sitting Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. for the fourth quarters of two games. The league said the Jazz did so “even though these players were otherwise able to continue to play and the outcomes of the games were thereafter in doubt.”

The remedy:

“I think we’re coming at it in two ways. One is, again, focusing on the here and now, the behavior we’re seeing from our teams and doing whatever we can to remind them of what their obligation is to the fans and to their partner teams,” Silver said at All-Star weekend. “But number two ... the competition committee started earlier this year reexamining the whole approach to how the draft lottery works.

“We want to have fair competition, we want to have fair systems and to keep an eye on the fans, most importantly, and their expectation that we’re going to be putting the best product forward,” he said.

The reason is to secure a high draft pick position in the NBA draft, especially for teams that are reorganizing their team and targeting new players to become their new face of the franchise. Also, it can be used for trades, and having a higher pick is like a big trading piece, so they will lose every game they can to get that spot.

Who is affected by this bad strategy?
The fans. Imagine wanting to see Lauri Markkanen perform in live games, and suddenly they sit him down for almost the whole game. It can also affect the business as fewer tickets will be sold. So, GMs may be protecting their players for the next season while tanking, but somehow it's gaining a bad reputation from their fans.

[Webetcoins]

we can't compare the issues of Ja Morant to KD. Ja is more of his mental aspect and trying to be a gangsta or maybe he can't really handle everything that he had that time, money, fame, being good in basketball.

But in KD? it's totally different. I mean you are considered one of the best of your generations, winning multiple rings with GSW and then MVP. But behind that you have this alter ego of yours attacking your team mates with your burner account? That is something that we haven't seen in any sports. Other players pick fights in the locker room, while you as a keyboard warrior? Lol.

The difference is friendship. Ja Morant didn't hurt any of his friendships, it was a gun thing and while owning a gun is of course very bad for someone that big, and acting all "gansgta" is wrong for someone who should be a role model for kids to grow up and look up to and want to be like them, we had NBA players who were actual gang leaders.

So the difference here is that KD talked shit about his friends in the league and his teammates and that is something that is hard to comeback from without a doubt.

[EFS]

What a game! Cade was incredible. 42 pts, 8 reb, 13 ast. The Pistons swept the Knicks. The whole team played well. The Pistons are clearly the best team in the East. Hopefully their road to the Finals stays open.
The battle for second place is also exciting. The Celtics, Knicks and Cavs are fighting for second place. I think the Celtics have a good chance to finish second. They're playing against the Warriors now and they look pretty good. If things keep going like this, Tatum could come back for the play-offs.

[Dave1]

What a game! Cade was incredible. 42 pts, 8 reb, 13 ast. The Pistons swept the Knicks. The whole team played well. The Pistons are clearly the best team in the East. Hopefully their road to the Finals stays open.

Yes, he just shows that even without their big men, Cade can take over the game and they've proven their point as why they are the best team now in the East. I think they have the mentality to go in the playoff as the top seed and could reach the finals.

The battle for second place is also exciting. The Celtics, Knicks and Cavs are fighting for second place. I think the Celtics have a good chance to finish second. They're playing against the Warriors now and they look pretty good. If things keep going like this, Tatum could come back for the play-offs.

James Harden with the Cavs though looks very different. Maybe he just needed this kind of team to help and became the second option again. So I wouldn't be surprised as they are also in the winning streak and Harden's version in Cavs hasn't lost a game yet.

[Stavri]

KD has been a player who drops 30 points every single night but his scoring doesn't actually benefit any team or elevate them to the next level. throughout his career, there isn't a single team he hasn't left in a worse state or managed to carry on his own. for years now, he has failed at every stop and just keeps jumping from team to team. His greatest achievement remains joining an already championship caliber Golden State team fitting into an established system to hit shots and pick up rings. He has never been seen succeeding on a team where he is the clear cut primary option.

I feel like he was the primary option on the Warriors and that’s why he won the Finals MVP. Sure, he joined an already great team, but he definitely elevated them to another level and gave them options they didn’t have before. Steve Kerr even said how easy it was to coach them. He just said to give KD the ball whenever they needed a bucket.

As for Durant, despite winning Finals MVP at the Warriors, he remained eclipsed by their core trio. he stayed in Westbrook’s shadow at the Thunder and even at the Nets, he was overshadowed by Kyrie. In all these teams, despite actually being the best player on the roster he never managed to become the franchise player. i feel his career won't get the credit it deserves. because of this perceived lack of leadership and his tendency to seek out the easiest path, his immense talent and success might always be overshadowed.

[OgNasty]

KD has been a player who drops 30 points every single night but his scoring doesn't actually benefit any team or elevate them to the next level. throughout his career, there isn't a single team he hasn't left in a worse state or managed to carry on his own. for years now, he has failed at every stop and just keeps jumping from team to team. His greatest achievement remains joining an already championship caliber Golden State team fitting into an established system to hit shots and pick up rings. He has never been seen succeeding on a team where he is the clear cut primary option.

I feel like he was the primary option on the Warriors and that’s why he won the Finals MVP. Sure, he joined an already great team, but he definitely elevated them to another level and gave them options they didn’t have before. Steve Kerr even said how easy it was to coach them. He just said to give KD the ball whenever they needed a bucket.

As for Durant, despite winning Finals MVP at the Warriors, he remained eclipsed by their core trio. he stayed in Westbrook’s shadow at the Thunder and even at the Nets, he was overshadowed by Kyrie. In all these teams, despite actually being the best player on the roster he never managed to become the franchise player. i feel his career won't get the credit it deserves. because of this perceived lack of leadership and his tendency to seek out the easiest path, his immense talent and success might always be overshadowed.

Ya, I don’t agree with any of that. Pretty sure Steph, Kyrie, and Russ wouldn’t either.

The Lakers are reportedly raising prices by 40% next season according to current season ticket holders… New ownership group already making an impact. They’d better at least shell out the money to get Giannis at those prices.