NBA 2025-26 NBA Thread

[Robz4000]

You could have bet me anything you wanted before the season that after 20 games CMB would be at 40% from 3 and I would said you're crazy and gone all in...

This year's and next year's draft classes will go down as two of the best we've ever seen tbh.

 

[bozhemoi]

Here’s the thing, you can sort of, for a bit, get away with being an asshole if you can perform the same things you’re demanding. I saw it the final years in Phoenix. He would scream at Ayton about D and effort and then be absolutely butchered by teams switching on to him. Luka destroyed him in 2022 playoffs and Murray did same in 2023. Murray wasn’t even shooting well but could get downhill and to the lane at will and averaged almost 6 ppg more vs Suns than regular season despite shooting lower percentages from range.

I can’t even imagine how awful his defense and effort is now 3 years later.

Nobody, especially not Strip Club Stoners like Kawhi and Harden, wants little man raging at them while a turnstile to traffic cone on D and effort.

Possibly, but my guess is more that he was getting on players in a locker room where he's the new guy and wasn't reading the situation correctly. We already know Kawhi has a completely different set of rules and Harden is a non-leader, so there's a dynamic going on already. Paul steps in and gets in people's grill because they're like 5-16 and no one likes it because that's not his role, so he had to go. You can't challenge the leadership void that way.

 

[STAT88]

WORRIERS

 

[Guru of Nothing]

Last minute of Warriors @ Philly is must see. Edgecombe with a putback for one point lead with seconds left, and Maxey closing out the game with a Luke-like flying blocked shot.

 

[STAT88]

Damn was hoping for a Lakers L without Luka.

 

[STAT88]

Living and dieing by Brandon Ingram isos in crunch time is probably not going to work out well for the Raptors in the long run. But they’ve been good this year.

 

[STAT88]

At this point with Reaves being a 30-7-7 guy the Bucks might like the Lakers package of Reaves + picks for Giannis

 

[jeebus]

I haven't watched Lebron play in ages; has he looked this washed all season?

 

[STAT88]

Damn did LeBron’s double digit scoring streak just end (since 2007).

 

[mo7888]

I haven't watched Lebron play in ages; has he looked this washed all season?

Yes he has

 

[timtonymanu]

lol if Lebron is still voted into the all star game by fans

 

[Robz4000]

lol if Lebron is still voted into the all star game by fans

He absolutely will be tbh. Honestly prolly gets voted in by the players and media too since this is looking like his last season (at least it should be, he looks done).

 

[SpursBills]

You could have bet me anything you wanted before the season that after 20 games CMB would be at 40% from 3 and I would said you're crazy and gone all in...

I think that in 2-3 years CMB is going to be everything that many of us had hoped Sochan could but did not develop into. I also think that Sochan's entire arc really turned a lot of Spurs fans off this type of player unfortunately.

 

[Robz4000]

Is Austin Reaves a top 15 player in the league tbh?

 

[Quentin_Compson]

According to some here, he is only a third option player, so probably not ...

 

[Valparaiso]

Here’s the thing, you can sort of, for a bit, get away with being an asshole if you can perform the same things you’re demanding. I saw it the final years in Phoenix. He would scream at Ayton about D and effort and then be absolutely butchered by teams switching on to him. Luka destroyed him in 2022 playoffs and Murray did same in 2023. Murray wasn’t even shooting well but could get downhill and to the lane at will and averaged almost 6 ppg more vs Suns than regular season despite shooting lower percentages from range.

I can’t even imagine how awful his defense and effort is now 3 years later.

Nobody, especially not Strip Club Stoners like Kawhi and Harden, wants little man raging at them while a turnstile to traffic cone on D and effort.

And people love to quote his steal numbers, which used to be good, but he was still always a target defensively in the playoffs. In the finals against Milwaukee, the Bucks worked switches to get him on Giannis, Middleton, and Jrue, and he couldn't stop any of them. He had the worst defensive rating on the team in that series. That's one of the issues with undersized point guards-- they can get away with it during the regular season due to superior talent, but once it comes time to face the best teams in the conference semifinals, conference finals, and championship finals, they're now dealing with other superior talents but with a built in height disadvantage, and usually the better teams figure out a way to use that.

 

[Fabbs]

Is CP0 enough of an A-hole to have purposely upped his irritation game persona to be free to ring chase with the Lakers?
The article i read said he was irritating EVERYONE, front office, staff, fellow players, the maintenance crew.
Is GM Lebron lobbying?

 

[JMarkJohns]

Is CP0 enough of an A-hole to have purposely upped his irritation game persona to be free to ring chase with the Lakers?
The article i read said he was irritating EVERYONE, front office, staff, fellow players, the maintenance crew.
Is GM Lebron lobbying?

I’m all about this conspiracy. Haha

 

[spursistan]

Clippers acting like CP3 was the problem

And, Mavs are suddenly looking decent with AD back and the emergence of Ryan Nembhard. I think they and Memphis could knock the Warriors out of play-in if they stay healthy.

 

[JMarkJohns]

Mavs are going to do the dumbest thing imaginable and going to play just adequate enough to hang around and get Kyrie back then commit to trying to win, only to see Davis and their fragile bigs go down and Nembhard hit the rookie wall and Kyrie not be exactly himself and they get a worse draft pick to be middle of pack probably lowering Davis’ return value. While not cutting costs and acquiring picks to surround their 19 year old with quick.

 

[djohn2oo8]

Mavs are going to do the dumbest thing imaginable and going to play just adequate enough to hang around and get Kyrie back then commit to trying to win, only to see Davis and their fragile bigs go down and Nembhard hit the rookie wall and Kyrie not be exactly himself and they get a worse draft pick to be middle of pack probably lowering Davis’ return value. While not cutting costs and acquiring picks to surround their 19 year old with quick.

GG. Again.

 

[Valparaiso]

The Clippers are a great case for how certain legacies can miss by a hair, and never recover. In the covid year, they lose 4-3 to Denver in the conference semi-finals with a game 7 where Jokic and Murray both play out of their minds (and show the league for the first time that they're legit), and the next season they make it to the conference finals, but Kawhi gets hurt. They had a legit shot for two years at winning it all, and just imagine how different the narratives would be if they had managed to win just one ring: if they win in '20, Kawhi and Lebron are both at 3 rings each.

 

[STAT88]

The Clippers are a great case for how certain legacies can miss by a hair, and never recover. In the covid year, they lose 4-3 to Denver in the conference semi-finals with a game 7 where Jokic and Murray both play out of their minds (and show the league first the first time that they're legit), and the next season they make it to the conference finals, but Kawhi gets hurt. They had a legit shot for two years at winning it all, and just imagine how different the narratives would be if they had managed to win just one ring: if they win in '20, Kawhi and Lebron are both at 3 rings each.

Yeah Clippers were very close every year from 2020-2022.

2020 as you said they lose in 7 when they were up 3-1 and up 15 in game 5. Incredible collapse. Lakers Clippers were the 2 best teams all year in RS.

2021 and 2022 if Kawhi stayed healthy in the playoffs they most likely win as those were two very weak years/champions. The main threat in the West was a CP3 lead Phoenix Suns and a past their prime Warriors who fell into the 2022 ring. Then a Mavs team with a young Brunson as the second option and Dwight Powell-Reggie Bullock-DFS as the starters. The 2021 Bucks were a good squad and would have given the Clippers a tough series.

 

[mo7888]

Mavs are going to do the dumbest thing imaginable and going to play just adequate enough to hang around and get Kyrie back then commit to trying to win, only to see Davis and their fragile bigs go down and Nembhard hit the rookie wall and Kyrie not be exactly himself and they get a worse draft pick to be middle of pack probably lowering Davis’ return value. While not cutting costs and acquiring picks to surround their 19 year old with quick.

You packed alot in there.... and I think you're probably right...

 

[Gayson Jarrett]

OKC roster is just perfect for modern NBA. There’s four guys that stand out (SGA, JDUB, Hartenstein and Chet ) and then it’s like 50 mix and match 6’6 athletic three and D slashing guys that are never ending off the bench