2026 NBA Season

[ultrloa]

In the first games of the second round, the home teams won all of them and took a 1-0 lead in the series.
Tonight, Oklahoma defeated the Los Angeles Lakers convincingly (108-90).
Lebron once again fought very well and contributed significantly to the scoring.
The Lakers also defended Shai well. Shai usually scores around 30 points, but he only managed 18 in this game.
In my opinion, Austin Reaves was the worst player for the Lakers tonight. He attempted 5 three-pointers and missed both. If Reaves had contributed more points, the Lakers could have won the game.

They really needed Shai in this game, the lakers reaves and Ayton are lost, they don't know what to do, and they are unable to defend even the second unit, they were attacking inside because there were no threat, Ayton need to assert himself in the next game or they will be buried 2-0 in the series reaves needed to stop taking like Steph curry shoot outside, even when he is driving inside he is not looking at the rim anymore, seems he is more of a regular season player, he did not even make to double digits, one of his worse performance, and it needed to be change or else they will be sweep.

Even Shai did not perform good in this game his teammates step up and this is what they actually need to win. Reaves need to step up and there's no room to commit mistakes knowing that OKC is so strong team to defeat. The problem for Lakers is they didn't even win any single quarters that's why OKC manage to dominate them. If they continue to play like that maybe we would see OKC will take again the game 2.

LBJ still doing great but his performance is not enough to help his team to win.

[Harkorede]

I don't think what day it is would have any impact on the result of the game, and while I would rule Lakers chances of causing a major upset, I believe the match would be much more demanding than anything they witnessed against Houston Rockets in the first round.

That being said, we all know how dominant the OKC Thunder can be, leaving no stoned unturned and whenever they bully an opponent, they do so completely, I just don't think that's enough reason to have the Lakers as a 16 points underdog in this match... I won't be taking the Lakers to cover the spread, but I might be looking at the Lakers total points, and go over on that.

Don’t underestimate taco Tuesday. The Lakers are down at the half by 8 after keeping it close for most of the game. Feels like the Lakers are battling hard for their points whereas the Thunder are just going on runs and doing their thing. Lakers looked good in the first quarter. The second not so much…

All things does come to an end eventually, I suppose... Lakers kept it close in the first and second quarter, but still end up losing by more than the +15.5 points spread they were valued for, it just goes to show the continuation of what we saw from OKC Thunder against the Suns in the first round, they are team that plays the same way for the entire 48 minutes, in order to beat them you'll have to match their energy for 48 minutes as well.

It wasn't only the taco Tuesday record that came to an end, SGA's run of consecutive 20-point game also came to a halt, and I wouldn't have expected Lakers to still lose by such margin without SGA scoring heavily.

[AHOYBRAUSE]

Even Shai did not perform good in this game his teammates step up and this is what they actually need to win. Reaves need to step up and there's no room to commit mistakes knowing that OKC is so strong team to defeat. The problem for Lakers is they didn't even win any single quarters that's why OKC manage to dominate them. If they continue to play like that maybe we would see OKC will take again the game 2.

LBJ still doing great but his performance is not enough to help his team to win.

That's the advantage of having a super deep roster. Even with your main guy having an off night, the rest can easily step in and give you and easy win, winning every quarter in the process.
Just shows how scary OKC is. But nevertheless, the Lakers are just way over their head in this one. Will they win a game? I doubt it. Gentleman's sweep maybe, but more than a 4:1 should not happen in this one.

[Oasisman]

Even Shai did not perform good in this game his teammates step up and this is what they actually need to win. Reaves need to step up and there's no room to commit mistakes knowing that OKC is so strong team to defeat. The problem for Lakers is they didn't even win any single quarters that's why OKC manage to dominate them. If they continue to play like that maybe we would see OKC will take again the game 2.

LBJ still doing great but his performance is not enough to help his team to win.

That's the advantage of having a super deep roster. Even with your main guy having an off night, the rest can easily step in and give you and easy win, winning every quarter in the process.
Just shows how scary OKC is. But nevertheless, the Lakers are just way over their head in this one. Will they win a game? I doubt it. Gentleman's sweep maybe, but more than a 4:1 should not happen in this one.

That's the exact word to describe the OKC this year, they are "super deep", that even the 2nd squad alone could beat the Lakers. Trapping SGA like they did to Durant and the Rockets won't really work for the OKC, because they've got multiple guys who can score effectively and efficiently.
I personally don't see the Lakers getting even 1 win in this series. I mean, the OKC completely dominated the Lakers from the regular season up to the playoffs, all of their wins are a blow out, with or without Luka.
The OKC is most likely going to be the champ again this year.

[Cointxz]

OKC looking like a threat to any team with an 18 pt win against the fading Lakers
Great news for me personally as I have them to win the series parlayed with a few other bets.
Keep it up OKC!

It’s a no sweat bet for your OKC parlay my friend. Your problem is the other match you odd on those parlay bet since there might be an upset match depending on who you pick on the 2nd round of the playoffs.

I think I will only worried about my bet if OKC will face Spurs on the finals because they have a tough matchup. TWolves is doing a great job on defending Wemby and limiting his contributions for the Spurs.

[Questat]

I think I will only worried about my bet if OKC will face Spurs on the finals because they have a tough matchup. TWolves is doing a great job on defending Wemby and limiting his contributions for the Spurs.

Spurs need to beat the Wolves first if they really want to have a chance against OKC. And right now, it looks like they are not really in control of this series.
Even if they win Game 2 and somehow extend the series, I don’t think the Wolves are the type of team that will easily fold. They are more experienced, and they look more confident now facing a young Spurs squad.

Honestly, I think the Spurs are a bit overrated. They are good in the regular season, no question about that, but against the Wolves, I just don’t think this is a good matchup for them.

[Shinpako09]

Poor performance from Reaves, just 3 of 16 from the field, that’s only 18.8% FG. He needs to show up this playoffs, not just in the regular season. Even if they lose, at least he could still secure a better bag. They still lost even without JDub, and SGA didn’t even score like he usually does. Even though I’m rooting for the Lakers, I’m not expecting much. It’s just really hard to beat the OKC.

As for the Cavs, I just checked, Mitchell has never missed the playoffs since being drafted, but he’s also never made it to the Conference Finals.

[OgNasty]

I think I will only worried about my bet if OKC will face Spurs on the finals because they have a tough matchup. TWolves is doing a great job on defending Wemby and limiting his contributions for the Spurs.

Spurs need to beat the Wolves first if they really want to have a chance against OKC. And right now, it looks like they are not really in control of this series.
Even if they win Game 2 and somehow extend the series, I don’t think the Wolves are the type of team that will easily fold. They are more experienced, and they look more confident now facing a young Spurs squad.

Honestly, I think the Spurs are a bit overrated. They are good in the regular season, no question about that, but against the Wolves, I just don’t think this is a good matchup for them.

Tonight we’ll find out if the Timberwolves got lucky or if they have the Spurs figured out. I don’t think the Spurs are overrated. Wemby is a space alien who could change any game against anyone. He is just young and the Spurs haven’t had enough time to build around him yet. Spurs are going to be a problem for a long time in the future.

[danherbias07]

I think I will only worried about my bet if OKC will face Spurs on the finals because they have a tough matchup. TWolves is doing a great job on defending Wemby and limiting his contributions for the Spurs.

Spurs need to beat the Wolves first if they really want to have a chance against OKC. And right now, it looks like they are not really in control of this series.
Even if they win Game 2 and somehow extend the series, I don’t think the Wolves are the type of team that will easily fold. They are more experienced, and they look more confident now facing a young Spurs squad.

Honestly, I think the Spurs are a bit overrated. They are good in the regular season, no question about that, but against the Wolves, I just don’t think this is a good matchup for them.

Yes. I agree with that.

The Spurs suddenly didn't look that strong after they were defeated by an undermanned Timberwolves, and Edwards is not 100 percent yet. Or perhaps it's because they are a young roster with no experience on how the playoffs get tougher as it nears the Finals.
They need to win! Wemby should change his style by becoming more aggressive, attacking the rim. He cannot just keep on shooting outside shots with his height and length. Gobert can actually be in foul trouble when he becomes aggressive. I think the only success they made in Game 1 was putting the role players of the Timberwolves in foul trouble, but they have to convert that into scores so they can win.

Also, the offensive rebounds are killing them. Once Wemby is boxed out, no help is coming. They need another guy who will get the rebound.

[Fredomago]

I think I will only worried about my bet if OKC will face Spurs on the finals because they have a tough matchup. TWolves is doing a great job on defending Wemby and limiting his contributions for the Spurs.

Spurs need to beat the Wolves first if they really want to have a chance against OKC. And right now, it looks like they are not really in control of this series.
Even if they win Game 2 and somehow extend the series, I don’t think the Wolves are the type of team that will easily fold. They are more experienced, and they look more confident now facing a young Spurs squad.

Honestly, I think the Spurs are a bit overrated. They are good in the regular season, no question about that, but against the Wolves, I just don’t think this is a good matchup for them.

That's something that Spurs needs to prove, they need to best the wolves before moving forward and faced the defending champion for the west conference title, and similar to what you said they are having difficulty as wolves have better experienced against them, though it's still early to conclude but if Spurs system will again be executed properly the chance still up and not be biased I'm rooting for them to win the series as I want to see the match up between them and OKC for the west side finals.

[xzone]

Poor performance from Reaves, just 3 of 16 from the field, that’s only 18.8% FG. He needs to show up this playoffs, not just in the regular season. Even if they lose, at least he could still secure a better bag. They still lost even without JDub, and SGA didn’t even score like he usually does. Even though I’m rooting for the Lakers, I’m not expecting much. It’s just really hard to beat the OKC.

As for the Cavs, I just checked, Mitchell has never missed the playoffs since being drafted, but he’s also never made it to the Conference Finals.

Reaves played very badly, and if he continues like this, the Lakers have no chance. I was already sure the team would struggle after beating the Rockets. LeBron can't get through this series alone without enough support; Reaves needs to contribute much more to the scoring.
OKC is a good team; I really like their scoring distribution. All the players can score, and they have many alternative scorers

[OgNasty]

Poor performance from Reaves, just 3 of 16 from the field, that’s only 18.8% FG. He needs to show up this playoffs, not just in the regular season. Even if they lose, at least he could still secure a better bag. They still lost even without JDub, and SGA didn’t even score like he usually does. Even though I’m rooting for the Lakers, I’m not expecting much. It’s just really hard to beat the OKC.

As for the Cavs, I just checked, Mitchell has never missed the playoffs since being drafted, but he’s also never made it to the Conference Finals.

Reaves played very badly, and if he continues like this, the Lakers have no chance. I was already sure the team would struggle after beating the Rockets. LeBron can't get through this series alone without enough support; Reaves needs to contribute much more to the scoring.
OKC is a good team; I really like their scoring distribution. All the players can score, and they have many alternative scorers

Besides just coming back from injury, I don't think Reaves matches up well with OKC.  If the Lakers want to have a chance they need LeBron playing bully ball and for Ayton to step it up and dominate the skinny OKC big man (Chet).  I don't think it's going to happen.  Especially if the Lakers can't find a way to score in the triple digits.  A shame that Luka went down when he did.  It probably cost him the MVP and a potential run at a championship before the Lakers lose LeBron.

[tygeade]

Even Shai did not perform good in this game his teammates step up and this is what they actually need to win. Reaves need to step up and there's no room to commit mistakes knowing that OKC is so strong team to defeat. The problem for Lakers is they didn't even win any single quarters that's why OKC manage to dominate them. If they continue to play like that maybe we would see OKC will take again the game 2.

LBJ still doing great but his performance is not enough to help his team to win.

That's the advantage of having a super deep roster. Even with your main guy having an off night, the rest can easily step in and give you and easy win, winning every quarter in the process.
Just shows how scary OKC is. But nevertheless, the Lakers are just way over their head in this one. Will they win a game? I doubt it. Gentleman's sweep maybe, but more than a 4:1 should not happen in this one.

That's the exact word to describe the OKC this year, they are "super deep", that even the 2nd squad alone could beat the Lakers. Trapping SGA like they did to Durant and the Rockets won't really work for the OKC, because they've got multiple guys who can score effectively and efficiently.
I personally don't see the Lakers getting even 1 win in this series. I mean, the OKC completely dominated the Lakers from the regular season up to the playoffs, all of their wins are a blow out, with or without Luka.
The OKC is most likely going to be the champ again this year.

I disagree, if SGA keeps not getting calls like this game, Lakers actually has a chance to win. Why? Because while other players OKC have are good, they are not consistent, and the only thing SGA good at is being a free throw merchant, take these two away and they are not that good. So Lakers could just guard SGA close, and if its not called all the time, then other players will be decent at some games, but you are not going to see them play better every game.

Another thing is that while OKC can be stopped offensively, Lakers do not have what it takes offensively to beat OKC defense, that is causing the issue. Keeping OKC at 108 is good, but only scoring 90 points? That is only good at 1990's man, in this age, you gotta score more.

[Harkorede]

Reaves played very badly, and if he continues like this, the Lakers have no chance. I was already sure the team would struggle after beating the Rockets. LeBron can't get through this series alone without enough support; Reaves needs to contribute much more to the scoring.
OKC is a good team; I really like their scoring distribution. All the players can score, and they have many alternative scorers

Besides just coming back from injury, I don't think Reaves matches up well with OKC.  If the Lakers want to have a chance they need LeBron playing bully ball and for Ayton to step it up and dominate the skinny OKC big man (Chet).  I don't think it's going to happen.  Especially if the Lakers can't find a way to score in the triple digits.  A shame that Luka went down when he did.  It probably cost him the MVP and a potential run at a championship before the Lakers lose LeBron.

Lebron would be Lebron regardless of which team he faces and it's now about who else on the Lakers roster can step up offensively, their defense doesn't look like the issue to be honest, we saw what the defense did against Houston Rockets, we saw the Thunder average well over 120+ points per game against Phoenix, which has reduced in their first game against Lakers, a game which they won, but Lakers would need a lot more than they needed offensively against Houston to go stand a chance against OKC, I believe this is were Luka Doncic would have been their go to guy if he was available.

[mirakal]

bad  news for sixers.

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid has been ruled out for Game 2 of the Sixers-Knicks second-round playoff series, according to a report by ESPN's Shams Charania.
After the blowout loss in Game 1, now Embiid is out too, so I don’t know how the Sixers will be able to respond and try to even the series.

They no longer have that real threat inside, so they need to be more consistent with their perimeter shooting. If their outside shots are not falling, it will be very hard for them to keep up. Somehow, it could also be good news in a different way, because the ball movement will likely get better without everything going through Embiid. Let’s see if they can adjust, but this is really a tough spot for them.

[cryptomaniac_xxx]

bad  news for sixers.

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid has been ruled out for Game 2 of the Sixers-Knicks second-round playoff series, according to a report by ESPN's Shams Charania.
After the blowout loss in Game 1, now Embiid is out too, so I don’t know how the Sixers will be able to respond and try to even the series.

They no longer have that real threat inside, so they need to be more consistent with their perimeter shooting. If their outside shots are not falling, it will be very hard for them to keep up. Somehow, it could also be good news in a different way, because the ball movement will likely get better without everything going through Embiid. Let’s see if they can adjust, but this is really a tough spot for them.

Bad news for them, they might have Joel in the Sixers series, although bruise as well but perhaps it's more on a mental game for his as he wanted to beat the Celtics so he pushes his body.

But I guess there are limits that your body can take and it's evident that it shows right now. So the Knicks will have full control of the series now as they have one less problem in the paint. Maybe Joel will be day to day under observation, so let's see if he can get back after game 2 though.

[tech30338]

bad  news for sixers.

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid has been ruled out for Game 2 of the Sixers-Knicks second-round playoff series, according to a report by ESPN's Shams Charania.
After the blowout loss in Game 1, now Embiid is out too, so I don’t know how the Sixers will be able to respond and try to even the series.

They no longer have that real threat inside, so they need to be more consistent with their perimeter shooting. If their outside shots are not falling, it will be very hard for them to keep up. Somehow, it could also be good news in a different way, because the ball movement will likely get better without everything going through Embiid. Let’s see if they can adjust, but this is really a tough spot for them.

Bad news for them, they might have Joel in the Sixers series, although bruise as well but perhaps it's more on a mental game for his as he wanted to beat the Celtics so he pushes his body.

But I guess there are limits that your body can take and it's evident that it shows right now. So the Knicks will have full control of the series now as they have one less problem in the paint. Maybe Joel will be day to day under observation, so let's see if he can get back after game 2 though.

Yea seems his not playing in game 2, but i think in this series it might actually better at the moment to test if without Embiid in the lineup can they match the speed of the knicks, they could make the tempo faster, lets see but the thing that they need to stop also are the three point shooting of the knicks, they were making those shots the last time, also PG can now be the scorer also since they need to balance the load now that embiid is out, thats 30+ points per game they need to fill the gap that is missing, this series might go to game 7, but who knows.

[EFS]

If Embiid is out, Knicks would have an easier game. They are already the favorite at MSG. I don't think they would let Sixers to take home court advantage. I expected them to play better but it looks like Knicks will finish this series earlier than my first thought.

Spurs lost first game, they won't lose 2 games in a row at home. Only 1.05 odds for moneyline though, not worth the risk. Not sure about handicap, it's always a bigger gamble to play on them. Spurs may win with only a couple of points. A win is a win in the play-off, doesn't really matter the points difference.

[tech30338]

If Embiid is out, Knicks would have an easier game. They are already the favorite at MSG. I don't think they would let Sixers to take home court advantage. I expected them to play better but it looks like Knicks will finish this series earlier than my first thought.

Spurs lost first game, they won't lose 2 games in a row at home. Only 1.05 odds for moneyline though, not worth the risk. Not sure about handicap, it's always a bigger gamble to play on them. Spurs may win with only a couple of points. A win is a win in the play-off, doesn't really matter the points difference.

Actually this game is closer than we expect at the same time they even take the lead, they giving the knicks a hard time until the last few minutes, sixers issue with the rebounding, expose in the last few minutes is Drummond injured or why did the coach sit him out in the last quarter, they moving better with him.
Why sit him out they even got better spacing, with him inside yes he has 4 fouls but its already 3-4 minutes remaining and its when the knicks are getting better shot inside mid range shot, that was a poor decision, they could have put him in the center not Barlow.

[Jostern]

Don’t underestimate taco Tuesday. The Lakers are down at the half by 8 after keeping it close for most of the game. Feels like the Lakers are battling hard for their points whereas the Thunder are just going on runs and doing their thing. Lakers looked good in the first quarter. The second not so much…

I’m starting to believe this might come true despite they are now down by dozen but still Lebron is unstoppable when attacking the paint and getting offensive rebound. He is a beast even on old age already which is he is older to the OKC coach.

Austin is still finding his sweet spot shot since he is still struggling a lot. He will be a game changer for Laksrs in case he went hot on 4th quarter.

OKC is also struggling with their turnovers. Lakers is having a good job limiting SGA hold the ball.

It seems that Reaves and Ayton are lost they don't know what to do, reaves is just taking long three's lay-up almost not looking, if they will play like this in this series they better just hand the series to OKC, they are the two players needed to click in this series no way lebron can carry them all with this much firepower of OKC, besides the call seems to be leaning in OKC,
We almost see a comeback for the cavs but the pistons did not give them a chance to be able to capitalized they are closing with pistons, but the pistons playing style and unselfish play give them space and the lead to be able to win this game, extra pass when driving really helps the pistons.

I thought he is just warming up waiting for the last quarter to explode but he is in the real deep shit choking after his injury recovery. Lebron alone can’t carry Lakers anymore against consistent OKC with so many reliable young talent that contributes from the bench.

SGA only have a very low FT and shooting attempts but still they manage beat Lakers with huge gap just because Lakers is also struggling hard with their offense.

An easy sweep I think.

Might not really be an easy sweep as much as we are going to think anyways, it’s obvious that LeBron alone can’t carry Lakers because we can say that the age is far gone, anyways we should understand that situations like this should be handled and be well taken care of, OKC have a very good team full of talented young players, who can actually contribute from anywhere.

It’s a difficult game for both sides that are playing in the game which is why it’s better to keep them on consistent performance, SGA have also tried to carry this team all along, and it’s not been very easy of a performance for him either so he has to try and stay consistent as well and they have taken this one on a clean sweep.