NBA 2025-2026

Hoof the ball said:
A fair point, with one caveat.

The Rockets last year finished 52-30 at 2nd seed.

The Rockets finished this year at 52-30 record again but at 5th seed.

Spurs finished 62-20 this year with Wemby missing 18 games. We won 12 of those, which included most of the top seeds in both east and west.

Experience aside, we're a different animal than the Rockets were last year. Just to illustrate this.....

We were mere 10 Harrison Barnes points away from being the only team in NBA history to have eight players average more than 10 ppg all season.

Not even OKC's finest had that level of depth this season, or ever.

I realise I'm blowing our own horn, but I should. It's a stat that mainstream hasn't picked up on, but you can bet if it was the Warriors or the Lakers we'd never hear the end of how they almost made history.
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Yeah having Wemby makes the Rockets comparison clunky. He's the difference maker. He can mask the lack of experience.

But it's still worth noting. Castle, Harper etc will find themselves in uncomfortable situations. Same thing happened to the Thunder when they made the post season for the first time as a group. They swept the Pels then ran into Luka and the Mavs and all of a sudden, the playoff intensity they showed all season wasn't as much of a factor anymore.

I still believe in your team though. I think you can beat the Thunder in a series, but it would also not surprise me if the team folded in the pressure moments against a very experienced team.
 
OKC have dominated the past two seasons like rarely seen before, and I’m getting slated in here for saying they’re one of the best NBA teams ever. Proves my most underrated team in sports argument :)
 
WeePat said:
Yeah having Wemby makes the Rockets comparison clunky. He's the difference maker. He can mask the lack of experience.

But it's still worth noting. Castle, Harper etc will find themselves in uncomfortable situations. Same thing happened to the Thunder when they made the post season for the first time as a group. They swept the Pels then ran into Luka and the Mavs and all of a sudden, the playoff intensity they showed all season wasn't as much of a factor anymore.

I still believe in your team though. I think you can beat the Thunder in a series, but it would also not surprise me if the team folded in the pressure moments against a very experienced team.
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This much is true. With Ant out for them, hopefully we can finish it early and get rest before (presumably) OKC
 
Spurs are going down with the Wolves. I mean, they’ll have to be at their best to beat Minnesota, let’s see them first beat Minnesota before we start talking about OKC. But OKC will walk into the conference final even if they face the Lakers. That’s the difference.
 
Rams said:
Spurs are going down with the Wolves. I mean, they’ll have to be at their best to beat Minnesota, let’s see them first beat Minnesota before we start talking about OKC. But OKC will walk into the conference final even if they face the Lakers. That’s the difference.
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Yea, the key will be Wemby and whether he can generate offense against Rudy since Wolves perimeter defenders can handle Castle, Harper etc. Also whether Wemby's defense can effect Wolves' offense.

I also have the feeling Wolves will either beat Spurs or it will be a 7 game series.
 
Rams said:
Spurs are going down with the Wolves. I mean, they’ll have to be at their best to beat Minnesota, let’s see them first beat Minnesota before we start talking about OKC. But OKC will walk into the conference final even if they face the Lakers. That’s the difference.
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hasanejaz88 said:
Yea, the key will be Wemby and whether he can generate offense against Rudy since Wolves perimeter defenders can handle Castle, Harper etc. Also whether Wemby's defense can effect Wolves' offense.

I also have the feeling Wolves will either beat Spurs or it will be a 7 game series.
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Come on now :lol:
 
I like Wolves, but my only issue with them beating the Nuggets were injuries.. They can't beat this Spurs team if they arent fully fit. Spurs will also answer with the same physicality... heck, they will love it. It is a damn shame we arent watching injury free Spurs - Wolves series as it would be great.
 
adexkola said:
Was looking at scores last night and did a double take at the Knicks game somewhere in the second quarter :lol:

All things considered they should be very disappointed if they don't make a finals appearance this year. Their strongest competition is a Boston team that relies too much on the 3 shot falling to be competitive, and that assumes they close out game 7
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Yeah I still think its very poor from them that they didn't even get the #1 seed. They have such a stacked team this year, especially with Tatum out. So many losses against quality teams, absolutely demolished by Detroit, I'm not surprised if they get bounced next round. Brown should get more out of this squad. Hopefully they all show up. Those two losses were also just stupid on his part as well.
 
Wooo...man i def didn't expect that turnaround after the first. But I shouldn't have given up bc if there is one thing this team has is that they don't give up. Duren is probably our weakest link when it comes to mental strength.

They better finish the job here in the D now. Hopefully...
 
It's a shame Luka is out. Could have made the series vs OKC slightly interesting if he heated up.

Lakers will be lucky to win a game, but their season is a success considering the Luka injury.
 
23 straight missed field goals for the Magic, wow :lol:
 
Injuries robbed us of what would be an absolutely fascinating final 4 in the west. As it is OKC and SA will be huge favorites.
 
I’ve honestly loved this Pistons - Magic series. Haven’t had time to watch loads of the first round, but have somehow seen most of this (and Nuggets - Wolves).

I’ve no idea if either team is terrible or has a good chance of making the finals. It just feels like they’re playing themselves, and completely exposing each other’s (offensive) weaknesses.

I hate Duncan Robinson’s little tash, but I find myself even more annoyed by Paolo’s baby face (combined with so many stupid decisions) and Bane and his stumpy arms. So come on Detroit. I suspect if they get through they’ll start to look a lot better too, against more straightforward match ups.
 
Eddy_JukeZ said:
It's a shame Luka is out. Could have made the series vs OKC slightly interesting if he heated up.

Lakers will be lucky to win a game, but their season is a success considering the Luka injury.
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Luka wouldn't have made a difference, OKC is the only team he struggles with offensively because Dort can match him physically. Doncic isn't bothered by length, like McDaniels, but struggles when he can't physically bully a defender.
 
hasanejaz88 said:
Luka wouldn't have made a difference, OKC is the only team he struggles with offensively because Dort can match him physically. Doncic isn't bothered by length, like McDaniels, but struggles when he can't physically bully a defender.
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One of the three best players in the world wouldn't make a difference? The same guy who beat Okc and dort in a series just a couple years ago? The problem OKC presents isnt Dort but the fact that they have like five different guys they can stick on Luka and keep the fouls spread out. Even their best players are great defenders.Their team is just elite defensively, not just about the individual match up.
 
Desert Eagle said:
One of the three best players in the world wouldn't make a difference? The same guy who beat Okc and dort in a series just a couple years ago? The problem OKC presents isnt Dort but the fact that they have like five different guys they can stick on Luka and keep the fouls spread out. Even their best players are great defenders.Their team is just elite defensively, not just about the individual match up.
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They lost 4 times this year with Luka. He really wasn't a difference maker against OKC currently. Loss of JDub has not made significant difference as Ajay has stepped in smoothly and they still have McCain and Joe waiting in the bench.

OKC play a tough bruising defense and I'm not sure LeBron has it left in him to go the distance. Reaves needs to step up big time and without Luka, it certainly looks a extremely difficult proposition.
 
Best and worst of Embiid tonight. Has been a brilliant watch, but behaving appallingly in the fourth. :lol:
 
adexkola said:
Was looking at scores last night and did a double take at the Knicks game somewhere in the second quarter :lol:

All things considered they should be very disappointed if they don't make a finals appearance this year. Their strongest competition is a Boston team that relies too much on the 3 shot falling to be competitive, and that assumes they close out game 7
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Told ye

I know Tatum was out but I was still worried. Worries justified

Knicks vs 76ers will be interesting.
 
Rams said:
Spurs are going down with the Wolves. I mean, they’ll have to be at their best to beat Minnesota, let’s see them first beat Minnesota before we start talking about OKC. But OKC will walk into the conference final even if they face the Lakers. That’s the difference.
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Spurs aren’t going to have any issue with the Wolves.
 
I'll never get tired of watching the Celtics lose. Gonna be a great matchup, NY vs Philly.
 
Pseudonymous said:
They lost 4 times this year with Luka. He really wasn't a difference maker against OKC currently. Loss of JDub has not made significant difference as Ajay has stepped in smoothly and they still have McCain and Joe waiting in the bench.

OKC play a tough bruising defense and I'm not sure LeBron has it left in him to go the distance. Reaves needs to step up big time and without Luka, it certainly looks a extremely difficult proposition.
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That's a Lakers versus OKC thing not a Luka specific issue imo. The matchup is not a good one for LA for sure. We'll be lucky to avoid the sweep. With a healthy Luka and Reaves I think we give them a competitive series even considering how they hammered us during the regular season.
 
The Celtics got complacent, didn’t they? Everyone had them as firm favorites in the East, and they bought into the narrative themselves
 
Beans said:
What went wrong for the Celtics?
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They live and die at the three-point line. In the games they lost, they shot below 30%. And when those threes don't fall, for some reason, they shoot even more of them. The 76ers protected the paint well and tried their best to defend the isos. The Celtics pushed the self-destruct button. The first quarter of Game 5 was funny because Philly was ready to fold. Zero belief and half-arsed on both ends of the court. But the Celtics couldn't score and, at some point, Embiid started to attack the paint, Maxey got his game going, and the rest followed.
 
TheRedDevil'sAdvocate said:
They live and die at the three-point line. In the games they lost, they shot below 30%. And when those threes don't fall, for some reason, they shoot even more of them. The 76ers protected the paint well and tried their best to defend the isos. The Celtics pushed the self-destruct button. The first quarter of Game 5 was funny because Philly was ready to fold. Zero belief and half-arsed on both ends of the court. But the Celtics couldn't score and, at some point, Embiid started to attack the paint, Maxey got his game going, and the rest followed.
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Maxey doesn't get talked about enough, what a great pick he was. Philly has done well with late picks.
 
Well, that was shocking defeat by Spurs. I expected easy win. They underestimated Wolves or what?
 
12 blocks for Wemby, playoff record. So nice to have Ant back again that early as well, and excellent win for the Wolves to make this series interesting early on.

Not holding my breath for the Lakers game tonight, still expecting a sweep. If Minnesota pulls off another upset, there's no way OKC doesn't repeat imo.
 
Known playoff risers rise in the playoffs. Minny are playoff veterans and they're a damn good team.
 
Andycoleno9 said:
Well, that was shocking defeat by Spurs. I expected easy win. They underestimated Wolves or what?
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You expected an easy win but then wonder if the Spurs underestimated the Wolves?
 
RobinLFC said:
12 blocks for Wemby, playoff record. So nice to have Ant back again that early as well, and excellent win for the Wolves to make this series interesting early on.

Not holding my breath for the Lakers game tonight, still expecting a sweep. If Minnesota pulls off another upset, there's no way OKC doesn't repeat imo.
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Wemby and Fox scored only 21 point together. And still Champaigne had open 3 pointer for the win.
I expect 4-2 for Spurs.

With Doncic, Lakers - OKC would be tight, but without him it will probably be sweep.
 
Not worried about Spurs - they'll win this comfortably most of the times., if/when Wemby and Fox score 20 each (which they will).
 
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