2026 NBA Season

[Yaunfitda]

Luka Doncic dropped 50+ points against the Bulls all by himself for the first time. with 51 points and 10 rebounds, he basically said i am the superstar of this team
But there’s one thing I really don’t get about him. Why don't you play defense? You’re a young guy you’ve shown you can come up with steals when you actually want to. Why not be more agile? When you give your maximum, you’re the kind of player who can lead a team to a championship and you are the one that can finish the games in a single quarter...

Maybe what we are seeing now is his "MAXIMUM" already, and let's accept the fact that he isn't that reliable on defense.

That's his problem even since he's still on Dallas. Dude's not that reliable on defense that's why the management back them get some good defensive players like PJ Washington, Daniel Gafford, Lively II, etc. Well that roster worked for at least a season and they've reached the NBA Finals with that roster - something that I didn't expect. Now with LA, the team is at the bottom when it comes to defense, and part of it is because of Luka, and Lebron as well. Also add the fact that the team doesn't have any defense-first players aside from Marcus Smart. Luka's lack of defense is being covered by stepping up on offense hence, the scoring barrage that he did last game.

There are 2 things that the Lakers need to do if they want to build around Luka. They need to accept the fact that he's not that good on defense, and they need to build a roster around him where some of them are good or at least better at defense. What we might be seeing on Luka right now is his MAXIMUM so let's just accept the reality that he's not a good defender, shall we?

On point. He’s not good at defense, that’s it. Not everyone can play defense, and not everyone can play offense. Let’s accept the fact that not everyone can be like Wemby or Kawhi, who are good on both offense and defense. That’s probably all Luka can offer when it comes to defense, and it may not improve much anymore in that area. He’s more of a purely offensive player. It’s not that he doesn’t want to play defense, it’s just that’s all he can offer.

He did try his best to play defense even when he was with the Mavs. But probably since he is European, or that in his mindset, he is more of a offensive player. So it's just a matter of time that Luka will have that kind of numbers and for me, it could be too late to score that huge. But in any case, it's a big 50 points performance. He is sure the superstar of the team and he should be the one carrying them in the playoff since Lebron is somewhat on and off. But it's just a question on can he carry the team with himself like what he did with the Mavs. Reaves and others should really compliment Luka entering crunch time.

[yenerbatmaz]

Detroit started a three-game winning streak after a four-game losing run. In last night's game, they defeated Memphis 126-110. It wasn't easy for Memphis to pull off a surprise in this game anyway.

In a game where Alperen didn't play, Houston managed to beat New Orleans, albeit with difficulty, 107-105.
New Orleans showed good resistance in the final quarter, but it wasn't enough for the win.

[Stavri]

Luka Doncic dropped 50+ points against the Bulls all by himself for the first time. with 51 points and 10 rebounds, he basically said i am the superstar of this team
But there’s one thing I really don’t get about him. Why don't you play defense? You’re a young guy you’ve shown you can come up with steals when you actually want to. Why not be more agile? When you give your maximum, you’re the kind of player who can lead a team to a championship and you are the one that can finish the games in a single quarter...

Maybe what we are seeing now is his "MAXIMUM" already, and let's accept the fact that he isn't that reliable on defense.

That's his problem even since he's still on Dallas. Dude's not that reliable on defense that's why the management back them get some good defensive players like PJ Washington, Daniel Gafford, Lively II, etc. Well that roster worked for at least a season and they've reached the NBA Finals with that roster - something that I didn't expect. Now with LA, the team is at the bottom when it comes to defense, and part of it is because of Luka, and Lebron as well. Also add the fact that the team doesn't have any defense-first players aside from Marcus Smart. Luka's lack of defense is being covered by stepping up on offense hence, the scoring barrage that he did last game.

There are 2 things that the Lakers need to do if they want to build around Luka. They need to accept the fact that he's not that good on defense, and they need to build a roster around him where some of them are good or at least better at defense. What we might be seeing on Luka right now is his MAXIMUM so let's just accept the reality that he's not a good defender, shall we?

Yeah you have probably got a point there. whenever i watch him, i get the feeling that he could do so much more, but something is missing for some reason. i mean, you are incredibly talented and you have guys like Lebron and Reaves by your side, you should be enjoying creating open looks for them. You're in a team where you could put on a real show, yet you're playing with 20-30% effort on defense. but as you said maybe its his max on defense. but man we even show more hustle when we play pickup games in the street.

[ultrloa]

Jokic was much better last season but didn't win. In my opinion, he should've received the award last season. Also if we consider their impact on the team, the Nuggets turn into an average team without Jokic, while the Thunder can manage quite well without SGA. Despite that they didn't give the award to Jokic. There's no reason for them to give it to him this season. It's also doubtful that he'll pass the 65-game threshold.

As I said, in my opinion the ranking should be Jokic, Cunningham, SGA, Wemby and if he plays enough games, Doncic could also be part of this discussion.

Yeah he supposed to win since he have more better all around numbers than SGA, but unfortunately individual performance does not guarantee anything. Since team success, people narrative and also voting will give them more higher chance to win and SGA get all of it that's why he got the MVP last season.

This season it seems that SGA still have huge chance to win another MVP if OKC also succeed to advance on more rounds.

Also this is updated season MVP ranking released by NBA https://www.nba.com/news/kia-mvp-ladder-march-13-2026 amazing to see Wemby listed at top 2 on the list.

[AHOYBRAUSE]

Yeah he supposed to win since he have more better all around numbers than SGA, but unfortunately individual performance does not guarantee anything. Since team success, people narrative and also voting will give them more higher chance to win and SGA get all of it that's why he got the MVP last season.

This season it seems that SGA still have huge chance to win another MVP if OKC also succeed to advance on more rounds.

Also this is updated season MVP ranking released by NBA https://www.nba.com/news/kia-mvp-ladder-march-13-2026 amazing to see Wemby listed at top 2 on the list.

I don't get why Jokic isn't the clear frontrunner in the MVP race. This guy averages a freaking tripple double this season so far. Also his impact is MUCH higher on Denver's performance since OKC for example is deeper than the Nuggets, which makes missing SGE not as tough for them as when Denver is missing the joker.

While Wemby is a great player, he should never be considered higher than Jokic, at least not at the moment. Sure, his impact is much higher defensively but on the whole game I would say Jokic is still better.

I think these guys making those lists make winning a way to overrated factor. Putting SGA on top because OKC has the best record is nonsense. The team is great and clicking, even without SGA. Denver is winning also and is only 1 game behind 3rd place in the west, so the winning argument shouldn't be that big imo.

[Dave1]

Jokic was much better last season but didn't win. In my opinion, he should've received the award last season. Also if we consider their impact on the team, the Nuggets turn into an average team without Jokic, while the Thunder can manage quite well without SGA. Despite that they didn't give the award to Jokic. There's no reason for them to give it to him this season. It's also doubtful that he'll pass the 65-game threshold.

As I said, in my opinion the ranking should be Jokic, Cunningham, SGA, Wemby and if he plays enough games, Doncic could also be part of this discussion.

Yeah he supposed to win since he have more better all around numbers than SGA, but unfortunately individual performance does not guarantee anything. Since team success, people narrative and also voting will give them more higher chance to win and SGA get all of it that's why he got the MVP last season.

It's most on the voting, perhaps their is a fatigue amongst those that's why they voted SGA last season. But it's a good vote as SGA moved to bring the Thunder their championship so it's not that bad at all to pick him.

This season it seems that SGA still have huge chance to win another MVP if OKC also succeed to advance on more rounds.

Also this is updated season MVP ranking released by NBA https://www.nba.com/news/kia-mvp-ladder-march-13-2026 amazing to see Wemby listed at top 2 on the list.

Yes, in the beginning OKC was really strong and we thought that they can break the records of the Warriors. But still they are on top and then SGA recently broke Wilt's record so I think it will be considered again by those voters as who they think the MVP would be, and they could be leaning towards SGA again for a 2nd time MVP for him.

[SquallLeonhart]

Dwight Howard has officially retired from the NBA. I still think the Lakers would have won another championship if they didn’t get rid of him and JaVale McGee. Dwight was one of the best big men to ever do it in his prime. A shame injuries and shenanigans limited his career but I’m glad he did get a ring in the end.

The biggest "what if" for me has been the time he got there with Nash. They were already a winning team and doing great, and they had Kobe and Artest and Pau Gassol already there, and that was a great team. And on top of that they got Nash and Dwight together, sure Nash was old at that point but still Nash is Nash, he would have been great for them and Dwight was still great when he got there.

Unfortunately between all kinds of injuries for all the players, that team never ended up being great. Similar to 2004 lakers actually, they had Kobe and Fisher and obviously Shaq and won 3 in a row, they got Malone and Payton and then they lost to Pistons, similar situations.

[emrecemsan]

Yeah he supposed to win since he have more better all around numbers than SGA, but unfortunately individual performance does not guarantee anything. Since team success, people narrative and also voting will give them more higher chance to win and SGA get all of it that's why he got the MVP last season.

This season it seems that SGA still have huge chance to win another MVP if OKC also succeed to advance on more rounds.

Also this is updated season MVP ranking released by NBA https://www.nba.com/news/kia-mvp-ladder-march-13-2026 amazing to see Wemby listed at top 2 on the list.

SGA is really like running to the MVP prize for regular season and who knows maybe even playoffs as well depending on Thunder's performance!    He is even breaking records recently such as most number of consecutive games with 20+ points...

I was surprised to see Wemby as 2nd in this MVP ladder though. I thought it would still be Jokic in this place. But it looks like his injury affected him quite negatively. But he is improving his stats again now.

[danherbias07]

NBA Power Rankings: No. 5 Lakers, No. 15 Rockets going different directions, Thunder back at No. 1
https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/nba-power-rankings-lakers-rockets-thunder-march-13/

With almost exactly one month remaining in the 2025-26 NBA regular season, we have a pretty good idea of who the top two seeds in each conference are going to be: Oklahoma City and San Antonio in the West, and Detroit and Boston in the East.

I was not surprised they are this far, and that's because the winning streak stopped. The Hawks, on the other hand, are not stopping just yet. They are now on an 8th winning streak, and that's what is stopping the Hornets from climbing up. The other teams on top of them are doing great.
Their chance is to climb 1 up if the 76ers keep losing their games. It's actually just 1 win away, but if both keep on winning after the season, then the only chance is to make a tough upset in the play-in tournament. Well, it ain't over yet, there are still 14-15 games left.

[coinrifft]

Yeah he supposed to win since he have more better all around numbers than SGA, but unfortunately individual performance does not guarantee anything. Since team success, people narrative and also voting will give them more higher chance to win and SGA get all of it that's why he got the MVP last season.

This season it seems that SGA still have huge chance to win another MVP if OKC also succeed to advance on more rounds.

Also this is updated season MVP ranking released by NBA https://www.nba.com/news/kia-mvp-ladder-march-13-2026 amazing to see Wemby listed at top 2 on the list.

SGA is really like running to the MVP prize for regular season and who knows maybe even playoffs as well depending on Thunder's performance!    He is even breaking records recently such as most number of consecutive games with 20+ points...

I was surprised to see Wemby as 2nd in this MVP ladder though. I thought it would still be Jokic in this place. But it looks like his injury affected him quite negatively. But he is improving his stats again now.

It's because of the impact that Wemby had with his team, they are now second in the league behind the Thunder but 7 games ahead of the Rockets. And I think with just 15 games more or less, the Spurs might keep that second place and it will depend on who they are going to face in the first round. As for Jokic, yes, his injury and missing a lot of games might have taken a toll on him. And SGA with that 7 games winning streak, it's hard to break the Thunder right now as SGA is about to hit again his peak this season. One thing though is that the NBA should not be calling his foul-bait, as it is taking away the defense on him.

[ultrloa]

Yeah he supposed to win since he have more better all around numbers than SGA, but unfortunately individual performance does not guarantee anything. Since team success, people narrative and also voting will give them more higher chance to win and SGA get all of it that's why he got the MVP last season.

This season it seems that SGA still have huge chance to win another MVP if OKC also succeed to advance on more rounds.

Also this is updated season MVP ranking released by NBA https://www.nba.com/news/kia-mvp-ladder-march-13-2026 amazing to see Wemby listed at top 2 on the list.

I don't get why Jokic isn't the clear frontrunner in the MVP race. This guy averages a freaking tripple double this season so far. Also his impact is MUCH higher on Denver's performance since OKC for example is deeper than the Nuggets, which makes missing SGE not as tough for them as when Denver is missing the joker.

While Wemby is a great player, he should never be considered higher than Jokic, at least not at the moment. Sure, his impact is much higher defensively but on the whole game I would say Jokic is still better.

I think these guys making those lists make winning a way to overrated factor. Putting SGA on top because OKC has the best record is nonsense. The team is great and clicking, even without SGA. Denver is winning also and is only 1 game behind 3rd place in the west, so the winning argument shouldn't be that big imo.

That's how rigged the media voting is and it seems that they don't want Jokic to win another MVP award again. There's really huge difference if we look at the stats since Jokic is far away more better than SGA and Wemby.

But it seems that the voters looking at team success and ignore the efforts made of the player. Maybe this is the reason why Jokic has been listed at top 3 while the fact is he really deserve to be listed at the top 1 on the MVP race.

[Maslate]

Jokic was much better last season but didn't win. In my opinion, he should've received the award last season. Also if we consider their impact on the team, the Nuggets turn into an average team without Jokic, while the Thunder can manage quite well without SGA. Despite that they didn't give the award to Jokic. There's no reason for them to give it to him this season. It's also doubtful that he'll pass the 65-game threshold.

I think it wasn’t that bad, as I remember when Nikola Jokić got injured the Denver Nuggets were still winning games, maybe not as good as when Jokic was actually playing but they were still competitive. Just like OKC Thunder, they can still win games even without SGA, though obviously they look better when he is on the floor.

Both teams are good in my opinion, but in terms of the MVP comparison I would still go for Jokic because I believe he got robbed last season.

As I said, in my opinion the ranking should be Jokic, Cunningham, SGA, Wemby and if he plays enough games, Doncic could also be part of this discussion.

I have SGA at the number 2.

[Gabbylee]

Detroit started a three-game winning streak after a four-game losing run. In last night's game, they defeated Memphis 126-110. It wasn't easy for Memphis to pull off a surprise in this game anyway.

In a game where Alperen didn't play, Houston managed to beat New Orleans, albeit with difficulty, 107-105.
New Orleans showed good resistance in the final quarter, but it wasn't enough for the win.

The major issue the Rockets are facing is the lack of someone playing the point guard position which has played a regressing role in their output.

[Questat]

Detroit started a three-game winning streak after a four-game losing run. In last night's game, they defeated Memphis 126-110. It wasn't easy for Memphis to pull off a surprise in this game anyway.

In a game where Alperen didn't play, Houston managed to beat New Orleans, albeit with difficulty, 107-105.
New Orleans showed good resistance in the final quarter, but it wasn't enough for the win.

The major issue the Rockets are facing is the lack of someone playing the point guard position which has played a regressing role in their output.

That’s where they really miss the service of Fred VanVleet, he is out for the season due to an ACL injury, and he is one of the highest paid players on the team so they are clearly missing a star player. That’s probably why they are struggling to get a good PG as well, because a big portion of their salary is already tied to him.

I guess they know their weakness but they are focusing on their strength which is their size on the floor, and being currently ranked 3rd is not bad at all.

[Fredomago]

Detroit started a three-game winning streak after a four-game losing run. In last night's game, they defeated Memphis 126-110. It wasn't easy for Memphis to pull off a surprise in this game anyway.

In a game where Alperen didn't play, Houston managed to beat New Orleans, albeit with difficulty, 107-105.
New Orleans showed good resistance in the final quarter, but it wasn't enough for the win.

The major issue the Rockets are facing is the lack of someone playing the point guard position which has played a regressing role in their output.

That’s where they really miss the service of Fred VanVleet, he is out for the season due to an ACL injury, and he is one of the highest paid players on the team so they are clearly missing a star player. That’s probably why they are struggling to get a good PG as well, because a big portion of their salary is already tied to him.

I guess they know their weakness but they are focusing on their strength which is their size on the floor, and being currently ranked 3rd is not bad at all.

Fred will bring big impact if ever that he's clear now to play, similar to the reply above you this team is struggling not having him, his leadership executing the system will be better since he's not just passing the ball but if the defense will leave him alone that surely gives him to make a basket, we know how deadly his outside shot's capabilities and with him playing with KD that's a good frontline for the Rockets.

[Beparanf]

Fred will bring big impact if ever that he's clear now to play, similar to the reply above you this team is struggling not having him, his leadership executing the system will be better since he's not just passing the ball but if the defense will leave him alone that surely gives him to make a basket, we know how deadly his outside shot's capabilities and with him playing with KD that's a good frontline for the Rockets.

Sadly, he is out for 2025-2026 which means Rockets need to make an adjustment with their current roster. Vanvleet is proven effective since Rockets befpre KD is already a powerhouse when he is playing. Rockets show a drastic low plays after his injury.

Rockets current roster is still good since Amen Thompson is a decent player. He just needs to become more cautious and clean his play making style since he is still adjusting on this role.

Everything will be tested on playoffs.

[EFS]

On Prime night, the Timberwolves built up a big lead in the first half. The Warriors tried to catch up in the second half but they couldn't keep up. The Warriors have a lot of injuries. Butler, Steph and Draymond were already out, now they also lost Horford and Seth Curry in this game. After so many injuries it will be difficult for them to do anything in the play-in. Podziemski and Porzingis are trying to lead the team. Edwards played really good. They won comfortably.
The Timberwolves had fallen back a bit after losing 3 games but with this win they are back in the race. In the West, 3-7 seed teams are very close. Only 2 games separate 5 teams.

[halcybtc]

 Golden State Warriors signed Ömer Faruk Yurtseven, who recorded double-doubles in all three of his G-League games, to a 10-day contract. I don't understand what he's expected to achieve in those 10 days. Will they renew his contract for another 10 days after that? It seems the logic behind this short contract is to try him out.