NBA 2025-26 Thread

[Headache in a Suitcase]

well we knew that

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Maybe we can have the Thunder play the Dodgers

 

[Hewson]

81-1?
How did they lose to Portland?

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Portland's better than people realize... but, yea, i dunno.

Their schedule gets harder as the season goes on. We'll see how it plays out. They will technically play 83 games this year if they win on Saturday. So that could be 82-1 lol.

This may be the craziest stat outside of Wayne Gretzky still being the all time leader in points if he never scored a single goal...

OKC has played more minutes this season where they have had a lead of 20 points or more than minutes where they have been trailing by 1 point or more.

• Minutes ahead by 20+ points: 264 minutes and 17 seconds.
• Minutes trailing at all (any point differential): 249 minutes and 53 seconds

OKC also holds at least one (and possibly two) lottery picks in next year's draft - and four first round picks in all in what's supposed to be a very deep draft.

• Clippers pick - unprotected from Paul George trade (fast becoming the worst trade in NBA history). Clippers currently have the third worst record in the NBA.
• Utah's pick - top 8 protected. Utah currently has the 8th worst record in the NBA.
• Philadelphia's pick - top 4 protected. the same one they would have gotten last year if Philly didn't jump into the top 4. This is from taking on Al Horford's contract.
• Houston's pick - top 4 protected. This one's bounced around a bunch. It's actually a conditional pick that they picked up in that PG3 trade that somehow the Wizards are also tied into. OKC gets the two best picks of LAC, Houston and OKC, while the Zards get the worst of the 3... which will obviously be OKC's own pick at 30.

 

[phanan]

Good thing the C's won when they did.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Good thing the C's won when they did.

i think the Celtics are winning the east.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Remember how there were people in the second week of the season saying that Cooper Flagg was a bust?

 

[phanan]

Imagine not understanding that it might take a bit for an 18 year old to get adjusted to the NBA.

 

[U2inUtah]

Remember how there were people in the second week of the season saying that Cooper Flagg was a bust?

Still can’t beat the lowly Jazz

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Nikola Jokic. That's it. That's the post.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Break up the Zards

 

[U2inUtah]

Jazz keep winning for some reason

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

David Aldridge trying to explain why lottery reform is a problem in his most recent Athletic article...

Imagine a wildly successful and popular band — U2, maybe — adding Derek Trucks to the band, or H.E.R., because it could, and because it’s already a legendary band, and who wouldn’t want to join it, and because it already has a worldwide following that would gladly accept people who can shred guitars like those two can. Would that make U2 even better as a group, even more influential? Would it be great for the careers of Trucks and/or H.E.R. to do guitar duets with The Edge? Certainly.

But what’s better for the music industry: an even greater U2, or an already great U2, along with an up-and-coming H.E.R./Tedeschi Trucks Band, providing their own sound and growing their own fan bases? What if you wanted to see Trucks/H.E.R. do their own thing, with their own bands, rather than just riffing with Bono?

The NBA continues to try to fix the lottery because the lottery continues to fail at what it’s supposed to do — get teams in and out of it, in short fashion, making room for the next group of teams that need immediate help. Maybe the problem is the lottery, not the attempts at reforming it.

 

[Hewson]

A good apples to watermelons comparison.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

TALKIN' LAKERS - Yea there's zero chance I expected the Lakers to be 7-2 at this point. There are a few worrying signs - namely their point differential and the number of close games they've played. But some of that can be written away by the injuries they've faced. They won a bunch of games without Luka, and LeBron hasn't played a minute. But the other Western teams at the top... OKC, Houston, Denver... they all have double digit point differentials. They're dominating. The Lakers? Their point differential is 3.0. 6th best in the conference - barely above Portland. So it's entirely possible that they fall back to earth. But Luka has been amazing in the games he's played, and AR looks like he's taken another step. The big question mark is obviously LeBron. When he returns, what type of player will he be? Is he truly willing to take a back seat - be a cutter and a secondary player, and not be nearly as ball dominant as he was in the past? The only time that's happened before was in years 2 and 3 in Miami (which also coincide with when LeBron was at his absolute peak as a player, but i digress). If he is willing to fully turn the keys to the car over to Luka and just fit in? This team has a chance to be really good. If he wants to take over and be his typical ball dominant self? Yea, they can't compete with the top dogs with him playing that way.

Lakers are 13-9 since this post and now have a negative point differential. They haven't lost a game by single digits all season - meaning they either muster enough offense to win, or they get blown out. There are no in betweens. Their defense is atrocious and there is no chance of it getting better as long as they play so many negative defenders at once (Luka, LeBron, Rui, AR, sometimes Ayton depending on if he wants to show up that day or not).

Ruh roh

 

[Hewson]

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Knicks were 24-12 through 36 games last season... in a tougher eastern conference.

They're 23-13 this season, in a significantly weaker conference with a favorable home/road early schedule.

Be careful what you ask for, Knicks fans who wanted Thibs canned for years... you just might get it.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Knicks record last year through 43 games... 27-16
Knicks record this year through 43 games... 25-18

Knicks this year
Net rating - 2.9 (9th)

Knicks last year
Net rating - 4.0 (8th)

Knicks are facing a weaker conference, have had an easier schedule - both by SOS and by home/road, and are playing the (stronger) bench more. Their most impactful defensive player - Robinson - has been healthy this year, whereas last year he was out until late in the season.