2026 NBA Season

[Gabbylee]

Lakers' struggles without Doncic were evident in the Dallas game. They lost 134-128 to Dallas, a team that has been struggling lately. LeBron scored 30 points and dished out 15 assists. If he had grabbed one more rebound, he would have further improved his record for oldest player to record a triple-double, but it didn't happen.

Laker's success in the playoffs will heavily depend on how long Luka is out for. Lebron is not that guy anymore who can drive a team to glory, and the roster is heavily dependent on Luka. I'm hearing he might miss the first round of the playoffs as there's no stipulated time for his return.

[Jostern]

Lakers' struggles without Doncic were evident in the Dallas game. They lost 134-128 to Dallas, a team that has been struggling lately. LeBron scored 30 points and dished out 15 assists. If he had grabbed one more rebound, he would have further improved his record for oldest player to record a triple-double, but it didn't happen.

Laker's success in the playoffs will heavily depend on how long Luka is out for. Lebron is not that guy anymore who can drive a team to glory, and the roster is heavily dependent on Luka. I'm hearing he might miss the first round of the playoffs as there's no stipulated time for his return.

I think right now everyone can see that the Lakers are the best in what they’re doing, and someone who is leading that charge is Luka he is the most important player that they have available in the team, because he is playing so good and leading the team to something unexpected and unimaginable, just like you have said he needs to stay fit and healthy because right now the success that Lakers would need right now will solemnly depend on him staying fit and healthy then then can have something special in the Playoffs, and right now that Luka is out is a huge blow for the Lakers and they’ve to find a way to get him back to the Court else it will be very detrimental to their playoffs Campaign.

[arwin100]

Lakers' struggles without Doncic were evident in the Dallas game. They lost 134-128 to Dallas, a team that has been struggling lately. LeBron scored 30 points and dished out 15 assists. If he had grabbed one more rebound, he would have further improved his record for oldest player to record a triple-double, but it didn't happen.

Laker's success in the playoffs will heavily depend on how long Luka is out for. Lebron is not that guy anymore who can drive a team to glory, and the roster is heavily dependent on Luka. I'm hearing he might miss the first round of the playoffs as there's no stipulated time for his return.

Imagine losing for struggling Mavs and their current loss expose Lakers that they cannot win against much tougher teams if Luka and Reaves is out on their rotation. Lebron is not same as before on which he can lift his team to win.

Also its important for them to adjust on their current situation and win their remaining games. Maybe this can help them to gain some momentum and they could able to hold on until Luka and Reaves goes back in their rotation.

[Yaunfitda]

Lakers' struggles without Doncic were evident in the Dallas game. They lost 134-128 to Dallas, a team that has been struggling lately. LeBron scored 30 points and dished out 15 assists. If he had grabbed one more rebound, he would have further improved his record for oldest player to record a triple-double, but it didn't happen.

Laker's success in the playoffs will heavily depend on how long Luka is out for. Lebron is not that guy anymore who can drive a team to glory, and the roster is heavily dependent on Luka. I'm hearing he might miss the first round of the playoffs as there's no stipulated time for his return.

Imagine losing for struggling Mavs and their current loss expose Lakers that they cannot win against much tougher teams if Luka and Reaves is out on their rotation. Lebron is not same as before on which he can lift his team to win.

Yes, we have discussed that without their top 2 scorer, Lakers are going to struggle. And that's what we have seen. Klay was able to get into his groove early and hit that outside shot and that is a dangerous sign for the Lakers.

Also its important for them to adjust on their current situation and win their remaining games. Maybe this can help them to gain some momentum and they could able to hold on until Luka and Reaves goes back in their rotation.

This is their first game at least without Luka, their number one scorer, so there's a lot of adjustments to be made on their roster. Lebron needed the help of the whole team. Not naming names, but we all know that Lakers players know need to step up if they wanted to end the regular season with a positive note.

[Stavri]

A tentative return date of May 1st is being given for Doncic. They won’t risk him during the regular season and are trying to get him ready for the playoffs. However, there’s a high probability he might miss the post season entirely and sit out the rest of the year.
Regarding the MVP and All NBA first team honors, i think the NBA organization will find a way to work around that one missing game. in my opinion, he's earned it through and through.

That's good to know that he's going to be back after a month.
So that basically shows that it is enough for him to take a rest for this period of time given to him.
Risking him to play now might result to a worst case scenario even if he pleads to play and help the team.
He's needed most for that period rather than this time of putting his health and the team in high risk.

Hamstring injuries are a real nightmare. he definitely shouldn't play without being fully recovered.
imo Doncic is a crucial player for the future of the Lakers. if necessary, they should sacrifice these playoffs. Besides, they have no chance of competing with the Spurs and OKC this season anyway.

[fullfitlarry]

A tentative return date of May 1st is being given for Doncic. They won’t risk him during the regular season and are trying to get him ready for the playoffs. However, there’s a high probability he might miss the post season entirely and sit out the rest of the year.
Regarding the MVP and All NBA first team honors, i think the NBA organization will find a way to work around that one missing game. in my opinion, he's earned it through and through.

That's good to know that he's going to be back after a month.
So that basically shows that it is enough for him to take a rest for this period of time given to him.
Risking him to play now might result to a worst case scenario even if he pleads to play and help the team.
He's needed most for that period rather than this time of putting his health and the team in high risk.

Hamstring injuries are a real nightmare. he definitely shouldn't play without being fully recovered.
imo Doncic is a crucial player for the future of the Lakers. if necessary, they should sacrifice these playoffs. Besides, they have no chance of competing with the Spurs and OKC this season anyway.

You don't need to look for the future, Luka is their main player now and not Lebron and it's not saying that in the bad way. Lebron is more willing to work as third option now. But when Luka injured and Reaves not playing, Lebron try his best against the Mavs but still lost.

For sure, no one really wanted this to happen to Luka as we enter the playoff. But the Lakers can't do anything but try to work around which player that they have and capable on helping them win in their next games.

[Stavri]

Hamstring injuries are a real nightmare. he definitely shouldn't play without being fully recovered.
imo Doncic is a crucial player for the future of the Lakers. if necessary, they should sacrifice these playoffs. Besides, they have no chance of competing with the Spurs and OKC this season anyway.

You don't need to look for the future, Luka is their main player now and not Lebron and it's not saying that in the bad way. Lebron is more willing to work as third option now. But when Luka injured and Reaves not playing, Lebron try his best against the Mavs but still lost.

For sure, no one really wanted this to happen to Luka as we enter the playoff. But the Lakers can't do anything but try to work around which player that they have and capable on helping them win in their next games.

i used to think the Lakers could only pass one round at most without a proper center but i was still excited about the team cause the chemistry seemed really good. but now, the whole season has been tossed in the trash. it’s time to plan for next year. i hope they move on from LeBron's contract, add some solid big men and build a team around Doncic.

[Dave1]

Hamstring injuries are a real nightmare. he definitely shouldn't play without being fully recovered.
imo Doncic is a crucial player for the future of the Lakers. if necessary, they should sacrifice these playoffs. Besides, they have no chance of competing with the Spurs and OKC this season anyway.

You don't need to look for the future, Luka is their main player now and not Lebron and it's not saying that in the bad way. Lebron is more willing to work as third option now. But when Luka injured and Reaves not playing, Lebron try his best against the Mavs but still lost.

For sure, no one really wanted this to happen to Luka as we enter the playoff. But the Lakers can't do anything but try to work around which player that they have and capable on helping them win in their next games.

i used to think the Lakers could only pass one round at most without a proper center but i was still excited about the team cause the chemistry seemed really good. but now, the whole season has been tossed in the trash. it’s time to plan for next year. i hope they move on from LeBron's contract, add some solid big men and build a team around Doncic.

I don't see any good center though right now, Ayton might be a good fit for them, and Hayes as backup is also solid. Although we have criticized Ayton as being soft but for me he is doing a good job for the Lakers.

Even Marcus Smart was contributing by playing good defense but he also had some games that he missed due to injury. Most likely Dalton will be the first guy that could be traded as he fell off the rotation and JJ is not willing to give him time.

[tabas]

We can only wish them to get back on the right time as the important games are ahead. And despite with the handicap that the Lakers are facing right now, they still have a good odds against the Dallas Mavericks later. As for the team itself, I know that there will be talents that will be uncovered because of this situation that they're facing. The transition is also changing from Lebron as the face of the team, to Luka.

Though we've seen LeBron taking the charge leading the Lakers but support ain't enough to help him to win the game, as Cooper Flagg take that challenge from the king and lead the Mavs to win the game, a short-handed Lakers unable to push the win and same with what you have said, hoping that Luka and Austin make their comeback during the playoffs though their standing or spot might be in the crucial position and moving to the 2nd round will be difficult as the west side are full of heavy weights super teams.

Cooper did well and has set another record for teens that have reached a lot of points. There's great future on this kid unless the Mavs management will start to trade him just like what they did to Luka. While on the funny side, the fans are making fun that Cooper did played with grandpa (Lebron). With more games for Cooper, his exposure will definitely train him for the games that the Mavs need to win. I wonder how strong they are if all of the players on their roster are healthy and he's also given that much time to play with them.

[Questat]

Cooper did well and has set another record for teens that have reached a lot of points. There's great future on this kid unless the Mavs management will start to trade him just like what they did to Luka.

They won’t trade him because they’re rebuilding around him. The problem with that kid is consistency, he just doesn’t have it yet. He’ll likely win ROY, but his performance right now isn’t enough to lead the team into the playoffs. Compared to Luka, it’s not even close. And by the way, LeBron was going crazy this game, almost a triple double, but they still lost, which is just sad.

[freedomgo]

Cooper did well and has set another record for teens that have reached a lot of points. There's great future on this kid unless the Mavs management will start to trade him just like what they did to Luka.

They won’t trade him because they’re rebuilding around him. The problem with that kid is consistency, he just doesn’t have it yet. He’ll likely win ROY, but his performance right now isn’t enough to lead the team into the playoffs. Compared to Luka, it’s not even close. And by the way, LeBron was going crazy this game, almost a triple double, but they still lost, which is just sad.

Don’t be too harsh, that’s just his first season in the NBA and he’s still a rookie. I think he already showed what people expected from him. It’s just that he belongs to a shitty team, that’s why they’re struggling.

But in terms of individual talent, you can already see that he has it, so the Mavericks are lucky to have him. Next season, once they build better chemistry, we’ll likely see a major improvement as a team. I’m really positive about that.

[dwyane36]

i used to think the Lakers could only pass one round at most without a proper center but i was still excited about the team cause the chemistry seemed really good. but now, the whole season has been tossed in the trash. it’s time to plan for next year. i hope they move on from LeBron's contract, add some solid big men and build a team around Doncic.

The Lakers will only make it through the first round without any trouble if Luka and Reaves can recover from their injuries by then.
As for LeBron, his contract is set to expire after this season, but it’s worth noting that he’s still playing well. After all, he nearly recorded a triple-double in the last game against the Mavs.

[tabas]

Cooper did well and has set another record for teens that have reached a lot of points. There's great future on this kid unless the Mavs management will start to trade him just like what they did to Luka.

They won’t trade him because they’re rebuilding around him. The problem with that kid is consistency, he just doesn’t have it yet. He’ll likely win ROY, but his performance right now isn’t enough to lead the team into the playoffs. Compared to Luka, it’s not even close. And by the way, LeBron was going crazy this game, almost a triple double, but they still lost, which is just sad.

Yes, he's just started. But what I meant is what if the time comes that he's already honed and became the face of the team and then the management pulls a stunt just like how they've let go of Luka. If Luka is still there with him, that's a strong team with some good strong back ups too. Though moving on, I like Mavs despite what they did but they've got some freshy there that they shouldn't let go in the coming years when he becomes more mature and gets into his prime.

[MinMan]

Knecht hasn't been given playing time by Reddick, so not sure if he will be played in the playoff. Just like what others have said, it's very dishearten for Lakers fans to see and hear what had happened to Luka. They are building a momentum entering playoff, but suddenly, this accident happen. So this is a bad timing for them and very hard to win their 1st round playoff without Reaves and Luka. Lebron will have to dig deeper and I don't think that he still has that inside of him at this point in his career. The best thing they can do is to extend the series against any team in the 1st round so that they can buy time for Luka to come back.

When you have to, you have to. While he did not get all that much time, because he lacks heavily on defense, and this team is already weak on defense with Lebron and Doncic out, there was no reason to play Knecth on the team.

But now that Doncic is gone, Doncic was never a defensive ability player, he was never good at stopping anyone, and replacing him with Knecth will not be all that bad on defense, the offense is the difference, he will not score like Doncic, so that would be a problem, but not on defense.

[OgNasty]

The Chicago Bulls have fired their executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley. I assume this has something to do with the backlash from releasing a player for his religious beliefs… Idiots…

[el kaka22]

Lakers will be at playoffs because Doncic got injured very late int other season and they already made their place certain, so Lakers will be at the playoffs without a doubt because of how they did all season long. But that doesn't mean that they are a playoff level team anymore, not right now. With all these injuries, it would be a shock if they can pass the first round, even a sweep at first round would not be a shocking result, they are missing their best player.

So we should just hope that they do better next season. They have built a good team, Doncic was playing great, he will come back and be good, if they can also keep Reaves, then they will have some draft rights as well, so they can actually build a team that can fight for a title next year.

[CLS63]

Lakers will be at playoffs because Doncic got injured very late int other season and they already made their place certain, so Lakers will be at the playoffs without a doubt because of how they did all season long. But that doesn't mean that they are a playoff level team anymore, not right now. With all these injuries, it would be a shock if they can pass the first round, even a sweep at first round would not be a shocking result, they are missing their best player.

So we should just hope that they do better next season. They have built a good team, Doncic was playing great, he will come back and be good, if they can also keep Reaves, then they will have some draft rights as well, so they can actually build a team that can fight for a title next year.

As I also said before Lakers don't have much chance left to proceed further in playoffs. It is just a very unlucky situation that they lost their most important players just before the most important stage of the year.

Surely they can get better next season. But to be more competitive for especially playoffs I believe they need to bring a solid center. Or they can go for a solid forward like Giannis after LeBron's departure. But I don't know if the cap will be enough to get him.

[coinrifft]

Cooper did well and has set another record for teens that have reached a lot of points. There's great future on this kid unless the Mavs management will start to trade him just like what they did to Luka.

They won’t trade him because they’re rebuilding around him. The problem with that kid is consistency, he just doesn’t have it yet. He’ll likely win ROY, but his performance right now isn’t enough to lead the team into the playoffs. Compared to Luka, it’s not even close. And by the way, LeBron was going crazy this game, almost a triple double, but they still lost, which is just sad.

Yes, they will have to build players around the kid, still very raw as we can see, although he has putting numbers already and setting records. But it's not enough for him or the Mavs to go to the playoff. But we can all understand this as they've lost Davis to injury again. We shouldn't compare him with Luka on his days as a rookie on the Mavs though as it's not even close. Although for the ROY, him and his former teammates Kon are still battling it out. Fan favorite vs numbers are going to be the key here. I like Kon and his Hornets are doing though so it's going to be a close fight.

[EFS]

I thought it would be an easy game for the Rockets, but like so many times before, they froze after a lead and the gap melted quickly. They even fell behind, but Alpi managed to hit the game-winner. The Warriors actually look pretty good, they might get through one round in the play-in, but probably not more than that.
Both the Nuggets and the Rockets look likely to pass the Lakers. I actually predicted this 2 games ago. After losing to the Mavericks as well, the Lakers have a tough job in their last 4 games. They may beat Jazz, but other 3 games will be hard.

[dimonstration]

I thought it would be an easy game for the Rockets, but like so many times before, they froze after a lead and the gap melted quickly. They even fell behind, but Alpi managed to hit the game-winner. The Warriors actually look pretty good, they might get through one round in the play-in, but probably not more than that.
Both the Nuggets and the Rockets look likely to pass the Lakers. I actually predicted this 2 games ago. After losing to the Mavericks as well, the Lakers have a tough job in their last 4 games. They may beat Jazz, but other 3 games will be hard.

Rockets always crumbling their lead because they don’t have good 2nd unit to cover for their main roster on mid games. Rockets starters are truly a beast but the problem starts when fatigue is already dragging them down.

Warriors on the other hand has a balance roster with experienced coach and player on handling game like this that’s why they can catch up when there’s an opening.

GSW can beat Rockets on playoffs if they have complete roster due to Rockets weakness on the late game.