2025-26 NBA Playoffs

[tjforce]

Originally Posted by Chris P

He's hurt. It's a serious injury...he's not "letting" lebron carry the load..he's got not choice in the matter. I don't get this train of thought at all.

Read what I wrote above.

It's just more evidence that Dallas was right about him not being a guy who's body can hold up.

Again, I hope I'm wrong and he's ready to go Game 3.

[jcardstore]

Originally Posted by tjforce

That some guys can stay more physically fit, heal quicker, and play through injuries better.

I'm not saying he isn't tough. But it goes to show that Luka's not one of those guys. They might have screwed the trade, but the Mavs did trade him because they didn't believe his body would hold up, after all.

You cannot play through a grade 2 muscle strain

[Chris P]

Originally Posted by rhigh2390

It makes sense from a Lebron homer that believes life is just unfair to him.

Jalen Williams is screwing SGA this year too lol

I was going to bring up Jalen Williams too..he's been in and out of the lineup with hamstring issues as well. Luka getting crapped on for being legit hurt is insane to me..like he's willingly not playing to screw Lebron...c'mon

[tjforce]

Originally Posted by rhigh2390

It makes sense from a Lebron homer that believes life is just unfair to him.

Jalen Williams is screwing SGA this year too lol

Nah. Jalen already has a chip. He was huge last year in the Finals. Plus he's only been out since April 22.

But the funny thing is I'm saying that LeBron is not good enough to carry his team past this round and needs the the team's best player to come back and carry his weight. It's not much of a 'homer' take to say "the guy is not good enough".

[tjforce]

Originally Posted by Chris P

I was going to bring up Jalen Williams too..he's been in and out of the lineup with hamstring issues as well. Luka getting crapped on for being legit hurt is insane to me..like he's willingly not playing to screw Lebron...c'mon

Look. I know you're big Luka guy. And I know it's gotta hurt 8 years in that Luka's has no MVP, no Championship, and his been passed by SGA in every way possible. He's behind Giannis and Jokic this this stage in their careers.

And I get it. I have a ton of 2018 sealed wax too, and this being a hobby forum, understand that if Luka had the same accolades that SGA had that we'd be working with estate planners for how we're going to one day move this stuff.

But at some point you need to realize that Luka's health and durability is a concern until he proves otherwise... which I would love to see this series, which is the entire point I'm making here.

[Chris P]

Originally Posted by tjforce

Look. I know you're big Luka guy. And I know it's gotta hurt 8 years in that Luka's has no MVP, no Championship, and his been passed by SGA in every way possible. He's behind Giannis and Jokic this this stage in their careers.

And I get it. I have a ton of 2018 sealed wax too, and this being a hobby forum, understand that if Luka had the same accolades that SGA had that we'd be working with estate planners for how we're going to one day move this stuff.

But at some point you need to realize that Luka's health and durability is a concern until he proves otherwise... which I would love to see this series, which is the entire point I'm making here.

Hurt? Not really..Luka's had an awesome career thus far. Sucks he hasn't won an MVP or Title..but he's still been one of the best players in the league. I have SGA cards too..so glad he's thriving. I never said his health wasn't a concern..I just don't agree with you that it's some kind of bad look that Ant came back from a bone bruise and Luka hasn't come back from his hamstring strain as if Luka is somehow purposely doing to get out of playing

[BoSoxFan1999]

Originally Posted by tjforce

Nah. Jalen already has a chip. He was huge last year in the Finals. Plus he's only been out since April 22.

But the funny thing is I'm saying that LeBron is not good enough to carry his team past this round and needs the the team's best player to come back and carry his weight. It's not much of a 'homer' take to say "the guy is not good enough".

Maybe 2016 LeBron could somehow will this Lakers ragtag bunch past OKC , but not 41 year old LeBron. He's still an elite player, but Father Time is undefeated, and without Luka, there is no way the Lakers can get past OKC. I can see them stealing a game or even 2, but that's it.

[yiguiri2002]

Originally Posted by tjforce

Because Luka is 27, in his physical prime, and he's letting a 41 year old carry the load for him.

A healthy Lakers squad *should* be competitive in this series. Any team that can get through the first round with it's best player, a top 3-4 guy in the league, out should be able to put up a valiant fight with anyone in the league. But this guy blew a tire over a month ago and can't suit up.

With all the Willis Reed's, Giannis' Finals runs, and Ant coming off the bench here in Game 1, I'd love to see Luka make an impact of this series before it's over and I'm still hoping it happens.

Your logic is solid but your premise is wrong. Just because the Lakers beat arguably the worse playoff team in the West doesn't mean adding Luka gives them a good chance against the best team in the league.

[sethc1020]

Originally Posted by Chris P

Hurt? Not really..Luka's had an awesome career thus far. Sucks he hasn't won an MVP or Title..but he's still been one of the best players in the league. I have SGA cards too..so glad he's thriving. I never said his health wasn't a concern..I just don't agree with you that it's some kind of bad look that Ant came back from a bone bruise and Luka hasn't come back from his hamstring strain as if Luka is somehow purposely doing to get out of playing

I feel like it is somewhat of a bad look for Luka considering his history of not staying in shape and getting injured. It just sucks that it happened right before the playoffs started in arguably his best season yet and most in shape he has ever been. Im a huge Luka guy myself but I am starting to lose hope at the prospects of him staying healthy for an entire season, winning a championship or MVP. I hope Im wrong

[tjforce]

Originally Posted by yiguiri2002

Your logic is solid but your premise is wrong. Just because the Lakers beat arguably the worse playoff team in the West doesn't mean adding Luka gives them a good chance against the best team in the league.

Good chance, no. But I'd argue they'd have a fighting chance.

And maybe I'm wrong here, but I don't think they are even close to being competitive in this series without Luka. With him, maybe they could outright win a game or two and get to the later in the series, and if OKC has a run of bad luck, get by somehow. Remember, OKC was taken to 7 games twice last year. If that's Shai getting hurt in Game 7 instead of Hali, then they probably aren't champions. Things happen and with Luka I'd think that they'd be in position to possibly take advantage if they did.

[tjforce]

Originally Posted by BoSoxFan1999

Maybe 2016 LeBron could somehow will this Lakers ragtag bunch past OKC , but not 41 year old LeBron. He's still an elite player, but Father Time is undefeated, and without Luka, there is no way the Lakers can get past OKC. I can see them stealing a game or even 2, but that's it.

We're getting into the rounds of the playoff where they don't really get 2 days off between games during the series. LeBron just played 39 mins per game over 6 games, which is incredible for a guy his age. That number is 10th in the NBA and the youngest player with more mins/game is 11 years younger. I just can't see him keeping that up at a high enough level to even the playing field between these two teams.

[tjforce]

Originally Posted by sethc1020

I feel like it is somewhat of a bad look for Luka considering his history of not staying in shape and getting injured. It just sucks that it happened right before the playoffs started in arguably his best season yet and most in shape he has ever been. Im a huge Luka guy myself but I am starting to lose hope at the prospects of him staying healthy for an entire season, winning a championship or MVP. I hope Im wrong

This guy gets it.

I'm with you that I hope he comes back early in the series and competes, but it's getting harder and harder to make excuses as to why he hasn't delivered at the highest level *if* you want to consider him one of the absolute elite tier players of this generation the way that guys like Jokic, Giannis, and Steph are revered.

Now if you're in the camp that Luka is really just on the James Harden/Russell Westbrook tier of this generation, who both won MVP's when they were 28 (Luka is 27), then I have no bone to pick. But I think most of us had even higher hopes and expectations for Luka. I've certainly seen glimpses of it over the years, which is why I'm disappointed that we might not be able to here.

[Chris P]

Originally Posted by tjforce

This guy gets it.

I'm with you that I hope he comes back early in the series and competes, but it's getting harder and harder to make excuses as to why he hasn't delivered at the highest level *if* you want to consider him one of the absolute elite tier players of this generation the way that guys like Jokic, Giannis, and Steph are revered.

Now if you're in the camp that Luka is really just on the James Harden/Russell Westbrook tier of this generation, who both won MVP's when they were 28 (Luka is 27), then I have no bone to pick. But I think most of us had even higher hopes and expectations for Luka. I've certainly seen glimpses of it over the years, which is why I'm disappointed that we might not be able to here.

I mean he lead the Mavs to a finals run as the leader of the team so I think he's above the Harden/Westbrook level in my opinion who as team leaders haven't been able to get to that level. Winning a championship is hard, even the guy people have proclaimed the best player in the world, Jokic has only 1. Anyways, I'm not going to get into the whole spiel of winning titles and expectations. If you feel he's in that Westbrook/Harden tier so be it. And it's not like he hasn't had amazing seasons...guys like SGA and Jokic have just had better seasons than him. He"s still producing at a 1st team All NBA Level.

[Chryghst]

Originally Posted by tjforce

Good chance, no. But I'd argue they'd have a fighting chance.

And maybe I'm wrong here, but I don't think they are even close to being competitive in this series without Luka. With him, maybe they could outright win a game or two and get to the later in the series, and if OKC has a run of bad luck, get by somehow. Remember, OKC was taken to 7 games twice last year. If that's Shai getting hurt in Game 7 instead of Hali, then they probably aren't champions. Things happen and with Luka I'd think that they'd be in position to possibly take advantage if they did.

OKC is a significantly better team now than a year ago. Last year they had regular extended spells the offense just fell off a cliff, and those have been much less frequent. Ajay Mitchell, Cason Wallace, Chet have all improved. Shai’s efficiency hasn’t dropped off regular season to playoffs as it has previously.

OKC has always struggled when the opposing team’s offense revolves around its center. The vertical defensive spacing has given them problems generating the extra possessions versus perimeter-centric systems for some reason. Indiana was also a nightmare to play against with their full court pressure combined with random offense (no set plays) combined with insane 48 minute pace sustained by bench depth.

Imo the only team that gives OKC trouble is SAS because Wemby stretches their system in so many unique ways. But I think OKC has ironed out many of the challenges they saw last year over this season and improved greatly because of it.

[sethc1020]

I would agree with a healthy Luka, Lebron & Reeves they had a chance for sure. Without Luka=No Chance

[cms11]

Originally Posted by BoSoxFan1999

Maybe 2016 LeBron could somehow will this Lakers ragtag bunch past OKC , but not 41 year old LeBron. He's still an elite player, but Father Time is undefeated, and without Luka, there is no way the Lakers can get past OKC. I can see them stealing a game or even 2, but that's it.

I'm rooting for the Lakers, but this is the reality. LeBron is still close to prime Grant Hill, but the Thunder are way too deep for that to be enough.

[Chryghst]

Originally Posted by cms11

I'm rooting for the Lakers, but this is the reality. LeBron is still close to prime Grant Hill, but the Thunder are way too deep for that to be enough.

Nov. 12, 2025 @ Oklahoma City: Thunder 121, Lakers 92

Feb. 9 @ Los Angeles: Thunder 119, Lakers 110

April 2 @ Oklahoma City: Thunder 139, Lakers 96

April 7 @ Los Angeles: Thunder 123, Lakers 87

Season: OKC +117

I think they’d need to add prime Grant Hill and Luka to see Game 6!

[blackbears86]

I honestly don't think the Lakers are going to win one game this series.


If we had a healthy Luka, maybe one win by the Lakers tops. The Lakers just do not match up well to the Thunder.

[ninjacookies]

Ocho Mile playing with their food rn.

[Chryghst]

Why are NBC/Peacock broadcasting playoff games simultaneously and not back to back?

[AwesomeBrian]

Harden = Cheeks

[ninjacookies]

It's time.

[ninjacookies]

Big Dickerstaff now just a single dub away from achieving more success than he ever did in his 5 seasons with the Clevalandites.


Gee. Who woulda thunk going to an actual talented roster with a defensive-first mantra would prove beneficial?










I did.

[Scottish Punk]

Good game one. Always nice to start a series with a w. Well played game by the Pistons. Lots of contributions everywhere. Need to repeat on Thursday.

[ninjacookies]

Surprisingly decent first half fight from the Fakers. Has to be a level of concern with LeMorganFreeman being their top dog yet again.

AR15 looking more like a saturday night special.