2026 NBA Season

[danherbias07]

Hornets' historic blowout streak raises the question: Is Charlotte actually a contender?
https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/hornets-nba-standings-historic-blowout-streak-six-straight-15-point-wins/

The Charlotte Hornets are the NBA's hottest team. After a dominant 118-89 win against the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night, the Hornets are now on a league-leading six game winning streak. They've pulled to above .500 for the first time since Oct. 26, when they had a 2-1 record to open the season.

I took the risk on that game because I believed in them.
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5091185.msg66474673#msg66474673

They are hot. So why not? They have done that winning streak before the All-Star break, and they are just doing it again. I don't know what happened, but something clicked on this roster. They are playing like a team, and they are showing great chemistry. Plus, you can see in their performances that they are really enjoying it.

The Hornets have now claimed a spot for the play-in tournament, and if this keeps up, they might even get a safe seat for the playoffs. What they are doing is magnificent.

[OgNasty]

A couple of good games on Amazon prime tonight. You have the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets facing off with Kevin Durant playing his old team. You also have the Los Angeles Lakers and the Denver Nuggets going at it in a battle of stars. Good night to be an Amazon prime subscriber.

[cryptomaniac_xxx]

A couple of good games on Amazon prime tonight. You have the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets facing off with Kevin Durant playing his old team. You also have the Los Angeles Lakers and the Denver Nuggets going at it in a battle of stars. Good night to be an Amazon prime subscriber.

I'm keen on the Lakers vs Nuggets games as the Warriors vs Rockets. The Rockets has all the advantage against the Warriors as they don't have Butler and Curry and it will be in the home court of Rockets so it should be easy.

Lakers have their 3 game winning streak on the line, both are fighting for the 5th and 6th position.

So this is going to be a interesting game, another great game is the Spurs vs Cade's Pistons.

[OgNasty]

Shams is saying that Jayson Tatum could return on Friday against the Dallas Mavericks. Only 10 months after tearing his Achilles tendon. I think this is a bit soon and I’d save him a little longer, maybe even until the playoffs. If he’s ready though, some extra time to get fit back in with the team will be good. I just hope he doesn’t tear it again trying to return too soon.

[xLays]

Shams is saying that Jayson Tatum could return on Friday against the Dallas Mavericks. Only 10 months after tearing his Achilles tendon. I think this is a bit soon and I’d save him a little longer, maybe even until the playoffs. If he’s ready though, some extra time to get fit back in with the team will be good. I just hope he doesn’t tear it again trying to return too soon.

Yeah, that’s true. It’s still different when player is already fully recovered from an injury. Boston Celtics are already impressive this season even without Jayson Tatum, they are still the second seed in the East standings. They’re still very strong even without him. What more if he comes back fully recovered? Maybe they could even break the Golden State Warriors 73–9 record this season if Tatum play 100%. lol.
By the way, is Tatum’s return just a rumor or already confirmed? Can you link Shams report?

[Distraction]

Shams is saying that Jayson Tatum could return on Friday against the Dallas Mavericks. Only 10 months after tearing his Achilles tendon. I think this is a bit soon and I’d save him a little longer, maybe even until the playoffs. If he’s ready though, some extra time to get fit back in with the team will be good. I just hope he doesn’t tear it again trying to return too soon.

This is perfect news for Celtics! I thought Tatum would be out for the season truthfully. He is really returning earlier than the expectations.

With Tatum I can't imagine how much stronger they could be. However I don't wait for him to start performing as usual together with his first game of course.

He needs time for full recovery. It's nice that he will have many more regular season games ahead to do so. Then playoffs will be so much fun!! 

[ajanwalker]

Charlotte defeated Boston after Dallas and continues its winning streak. This victory marks their sixth consecutive win. They had a poor start to the season, but they've had a great start to 2026 and are doing very well now. Charlotte is a young and dynamic team. It might be difficult, but I would love to see them play in the conference finals. They absolutely deserve it.

[EFS]

They've been saying for a while that Tatum is ready. I don't think his return is being rushed. There were even reports that he could come back in the third week of February, but they waited a bit longer. If he's truly ready, it would be good for him to play before the play-offs and regain his match rhythm.
This season had started to feel like Brown's team for the Celtics, so I guess Tatum wants to take that back a bit as soon as possible.

[avp2306]

They've been saying for a while that Tatum is ready. I don't think his return is being rushed. There were even reports that he could come back in the third week of February, but they waited a bit longer. If he's truly ready, it would be good for him to play before the play-offs and regain his match rhythm.
This season had started to feel like Brown's team for the Celtics, so I guess Tatum wants to take that back a bit as soon as possible.

I think they didn't rush his comeback since they don't need to chase since they are top 2 team in east. Maybe Celtics is preparing him for playoffs to avoid issues, much better if he slowly comeback play with limited minutes so that he can really shake off those rusty play if there is rather than trying to get back his rhythm on big games like in playoffs.

Amazing to see Brown step up and manage to lead Celtics in this position, if Tatum is back on his feet and sync well this is huge for Celtics. They became more dangerous and maybe their chance to go on finals is big especially if they play well together.

[EFS]

There are 2 games on Prime tonight, but I'll probably sleep soon. I expect the Rockets to beat the Warriors. Curry, Butler and Porzingis are still out. Rockets shouldn't make mistakes in games like this if they want to keep the 3rd seed.

As for the Lakers and Nuggets game, I don't really have a favorite. Gordon looks like he might return tomorrow, Watson is also still out. It should be a tight game. I usually miss Western Conference games because they started too late for me.

[Shinpako09]

Shams is saying that Jayson Tatum could return on Friday against the Dallas Mavericks. Only 10 months after tearing his Achilles tendon. I think this is a bit soon and I’d save him a little longer, maybe even until the playoffs. If he’s ready though, some extra time to get fit back in with the team will be good. I just hope he doesn’t tear it again trying to return too soon.

If I were Tatum and the Celtics management, I wouldn’t rush his comeback. There’s no need to bring him back too quickly since they already have a secured spot in the playoffs, and the teams they’ll most likely face in the playoffs shouldn’t be a problem for their current lineup. If it’s just for tuning up, maybe a few games before the playoffs with restricted minutes would be enough.

[Dave1]

As I have said before, Rockets needs to be consistent and they let this game slip away from them as the Golden State won in OT against them. They shot badly in the first quarter allowing the Warriors to take a double digit lead.

And after that it was a back and forth game. But in the OT, they made one costly error and then Podz takes over the game. They are in the 4th position, but regardless of the result of the Nuggets vs Lakers, they might go down a notch.

It looks like the Durant-Sengun marriage is not looking good right now.

[LogitechMouse]

----
They are hot. So why not? They have done that winning streak before the All-Star break, and they are just doing it again. I don't know what happened, but something clicked on this roster. They are playing like a team, and they are showing great chemistry. Plus, you can see in their performances that they are really enjoying it.

The Hornets have now claimed a spot for the play-in tournament, and if this keeps up, they might even get a safe seat for the playoffs. What they are doing is magnificent.

Being hot on the regular season doesn't mean that it will also translate during the playoffs/play-in tournament.

Just to add to why I disagree, they don't have any playoff experience. The last time that the Hornets clinched to the playoffs was a decade ago in 2016, and the roster during that time is different from what they have right now. As much as I want to agree that they're a contender, I don't think that they will pass the first round at most. Who they will be facing if they clinch the playoffs? Either the Pistons or the Celtics, and despite of the Hornets defeating them in the regular season, we know that the playoffs is different and I always believe that experience in the playoffs is a big factor.

I still commend them though for being the hottest team right now, and defeating some playoff contending teams, but despite all of that, I still have low expectations with them. They can surprise me though, and defeat some top teams in the East.

[OgNasty]

The Los Angeles Lakers nearly came back to beat the Denver Nuggets but just couldn’t get it done at the end. LeBron went down with an injury after banging his elbow on the floor and that was it… Almost an impressive come back, but Jokic couldn’t be stopped at the end from putting it out of reach.

[Oasisman]

The Los Angeles Lakers nearly came back to beat the Denver Nuggets but just couldn’t get it done at the end. LeBron went down with an injury after banging his elbow on the floor and that was it… Almost an impressive come back, but Jokic couldn’t be stopped at the end from putting it out of reach.

They got the chance to tie the game up with Reaves on the line, and LeBron came back after that scary fall, then Reaves missed the opportunity and was down by 1. No, I'm not blaming LeBron for it, he's had a good game with a lot of highlight reel worthy assists, I just think he just jinxed that opportunity LOL!
Seriously, they could have won it if Marcus Smart had been able to sink those couple of clutch threes. I mean, he's been on fire beyond the arc but couldn't convert down the stretch. Still, I can say it's a "OK" kind of loss, because they fought hard and tried to come back whenever they were down by double digits.
One of the mistakes the Lakers had in this game was that they failed to attack Jokic when he had 4 fouls. Though he had 9 turnovers tonight, but he was able to seal the win.

[OgNasty]

They got the chance to tie the game up with Reaves on the line, and LeBron came back after that scary fall, then Reaves missed the opportunity and was down by 1. No, I'm not blaming LeBron for it, he's had a good game with a lot of highlight reel worthy assists, I just think he just jinxed that opportunity LOL!

Sometimes LeBron does things that are a bit embarrassing to watch.  That "scary fall" was one of them to me.  He seemingly hit his elbow on a photographer's shoe, and then was holding both his arms and his side like he took a hit.  He didn't.  Maybe it was a cramp or he smacked his funny bone hard enough to freak him out, but if you look at that fall and how he reacted, it is the reason people always call him a flopper.  If he made that layup and didn't leave with an injury, they probably would have won.  Oh well...  Just a regular season game.

[Cointxz]

They got the chance to tie the game up with Reaves on the line, and LeBron came back after that scary fall, then Reaves missed the opportunity and was down by 1. No, I'm not blaming LeBron for it, he's had a good game with a lot of highlight reel worthy assists, I just think he just jinxed that opportunity LOL!

Sometimes LeBron does things that are a bit embarrassing to watch.  That "scary fall" was one of them to me.  He seemingly hit his elbow on a photographer's shoe, and then was holding both his arms and his side like he took a hit.  He didn't.  Maybe it was a cramp or he smacked his funny bone hard enough to freak him out, but if you look at that fall and how he reacted, it is the reason people always call him a flopper.  If he made that layup and didn't leave with an injury, they probably would have won.  Oh well...  Just a regular season game.

To be fair, he flops a lot that’s why basketball view already assume that everything he is showing is just a drama. It’s like the story of the boy that keeps on lying until no one believes him already even though what he’s telling is the reality.

Bron build his career with lots of flops same with SGA which they both capitalized since refs do some bias calls with them.

I don’t expect much about him on his current age but I do acknowledge his skills during his prime as a Spurs fan which he is the biggest hurdle on championship way back when he is on Heat.

[joeperry]

To be fair, he flops a lot that’s why basketball view already assume that everything he is showing is just a drama. It’s like the story of the boy that keeps on lying until no one believes him already even though what he’s telling is the reality.

Bron build his career with lots of flops same with SGA which they both capitalized since refs do some bias calls with them.

I don’t expect much about him on his current age but I do acknowledge his skills during his prime as a Spurs fan which he is the biggest hurdle on championship way back when he is on Heat.

I agree with you, leBron and SGA flops a lot to the point that it's just being an petty attempt to get a free throw to get points and it removes the competitiveness in the game that instead of doing real work to score, you'll just flop to get some easy points, I think they are really utilizing it since it works a lot and it's being part of strategy. But he's a great player in general and he even surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most field goals in this match so, it's actually a history.

[Shinpako09]

The Warriors managed to beat the Rockets in OT by 2 points. KD went from making 36 consecutive free throws to missing a crucial one. I laughed when the announcer blamed the other commentator, saying it was the announcer’s jinx. LOL. I remember when Steph missed a free throw and pointed at the announcer like he was saying, that was on you. Anyway, Porzingis has already missed six games since his debut, and there’s still no clarity about his illness. His contract is ending, and if any team signs him, it will probably be on a vet minimum or maybe no offer at all.

[Alphie12]

Hornets' historic blowout streak raises the question: Is Charlotte actually a contender?
https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/hornets-nba-standings-historic-blowout-streak-six-straight-15-point-wins/

The Charlotte Hornets are the NBA's hottest team. After a dominant 118-89 win against the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night, the Hornets are now on a league-leading six game winning streak. They've pulled to above .500 for the first time since Oct. 26, when they had a 2-1 record to open the season.

I took the risk on that game because I believed in them.
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5091185.msg66474673#msg66474673

They are hot. So why not? They have done that winning streak before the All-Star break, and they are just doing it again. I don't know what happened, but something clicked on this roster. They are playing like a team, and they are showing great chemistry. Plus, you can see in their performances that they are really enjoying it.

The Hornets have now claimed a spot for the play-in tournament, and if this keeps up, they might even get a safe seat for the playoffs. What they are doing is magnificent.

the funny thing is it all happened overnight, not like they signed anyone that totally changed everything. they were bad at the beginning of the season all of a sudden, they became the hottest team in the NBA.