2025-26 NBA Playoffs

[JustinVerlander07]

Originally Posted by tjforce

The James Harden experience.


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Playoff game 45 with more turnovers than field goals. He's so bad. Only a lunatic would have any faith in this guy coming up well in a playoff game.

[BlueXtreme]

Originally Posted by pingbling23

Probably will be. This year Luka and reaves have been the 2 top scorers for the Lakers. No Luka and reaves rusty and probably not 100%. How you gonna beat the defending champs and top team in the league.

The lakers probably played their best ball to OKC’s worst and it was a 20 point blowout. Outside of LeBron:

Lakers:
33.8 FG %
29.2 3 PT %
15 turnovers to 20 assists

So maybe not their best ball. But that OKC defense deserves some credit for this

[blackbears86]

Originally Posted by BlueXtreme

Tonight was a wasted opportunity. OKC didn’t even play close to their best ball. Can’t imagine this not being a sweep

Just like I said, the Lakers will be lucky to win one game.

I know the Lakers roster is bad, but the guys they are running out there are absolutely terrible. Outside of Lebron and Reeves and maybe( hashimura) I'm not seeing much talent wise.

Horror show

[blackbears86]

Originally Posted by fabiani12333

Am I reading this correctly? Wemby had 12 blocks and only 11 points on 17 shots in his last game against the Wolves?

I'm pretty sure that will never happen again -- crazy.

A 41-year-old LeBron scoring 27 points on 17 shots, with 6 assists and only 2 turnovers, against the reigning champs is damn impressive. Too bad Reeves went 3 of 16 for 8 points.

Still hoping for Thunder-Spurs matchup.

Lebron was fantastic last night. Stellar performance wasted.

[blackbears86]

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.

I'm not heavily invested in Luka (I do have 2018 unopened) but I'm ready to accept he might not win a chip (definitely not this year)---He's a great player, but he does seem to get hurt alot.


Fair or not, that's the stigma with him. It used to be he was fat and out of shape. He finally addressed that this year, which is great.

I'd like to see him play a whole year and not get hurt. Not sure if that will happen.

[blackbears86]

duplicate post deleted

[spurs50fan]

Originally Posted by ninjacookies

Patented 2nd half surge underway.

Playing with their appetizer.

JDub ever comes back and even the Spurs/Wolves won't have a prayer.

If Shai gives them 5+ TOs, anything’s possible. It really is a game of matchups so how they look vs the Lakers…

[BlueXtreme]

Originally Posted by blackbears86

Just like I said, the Lakers will be lucky to win one game.

I know the Lakers roster is bad, but the guys they are running out there are absolutely terrible. Outside of Lebron and Reeves and maybe( hashimura) I'm not seeing much talent wise.

Horror show

Issue is Reaves isn’t great in the playoffs. He’s scored 23 points once. Check his other game logs

[jcardstore]

Pistons in 5.

Harden is terrible. Mobley, Mitchell, Allen…. These guys just don’t have what it takes to win in the playoffs.

I just wish the Cavs would have lost game 7 so I didn’t have to watch this series lol

[BoSoxFan1999]

Originally Posted by BlueXtreme

Issue is Reaves isn’t great in the playoffs. He’s scored 23 points once. Check his other game logs

Losing Vanderbilt may not move the needle a ton, but that doesn't help the Lakers any.

[msink28]

I've gone from thinking Evan Mobley's floor was Chris Bosh to now thinking that's his absolute ceiling.

[blackbears86]

stick a fork in the Lakers. Done

[BoSoxFan1999]

Originally Posted by blackbears86

stick a fork in the Lakers. Done

Unless LeBron starts dropping 50 pieces, it's joever. And even if he does, it still might be joever.

[6celtics33]

Originally Posted by tjforce

The James Harden experience.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Curse more like it. Who will be next to sign him to 30-50 million because… stats and talent

[tjforce]

Originally Posted by msink28

I've gone from thinking Evan Mobley's floor was Chris Bosh to now thinking that's his absolute ceiling.

Maybe he'll get lucky like Garland and get traded out of Cleveland.

He's been all around the Cavs best player in the playoffs (which isn't necessarily saying too much), leading the team in Rebounds, 3Pt %, TS%, eFG%, ORtg, PER, GameScore, Win Shares, Win Shares /48, Offensive Plus Minus, Defensive Plus Minus, Box Plus Minus, and VORP.

But he's only getting 11.5 shots a game since Harden has had so much trouble getting the ball to teammates without turning it over, and Mitchell has 165 shots to only 23 assists.

I don't think there's any scenario where he's 30ppg superstar, but he thrives much more on a roster that doesn't have him playing out of position or as a 3rd option behind 2 old veterans trying still trying to prove themselves.. Another example of how this team is constructed incorrectly.

[yiguiri2002]

SGA was awful, no J-Dub still, LeBron played well and the Thunder won by almost 20.

Yeah, I don't think Luka makes this series competitive.

[yiguiri2002]

Originally Posted by tjforce

Maybe he'll get lucky like Garland and get traded out of Cleveland.

He's been all around the Cavs best player in the playoffs (which isn't necessarily saying too much), leading the team in Rebounds, 3Pt %, TS%, eFG%, ORtg, PER, GameScore, Win Shares, Win Shares /48, Offensive Plus Minus, Defensive Plus Minus, Box Plus Minus, and VORP.

But he's only getting 11.5 shots a game since Harden has had so much trouble getting the ball to teammates without turning it over, and Mitchell has 165 shots to only 23 assists.

I don't think there's any scenario where he's 30ppg superstar, but he thrives much more on a roster that doesn't have him playing out of position or as a 3rd option behind 2 old veterans trying still trying to prove themselves.. Another example of how this team is constructed incorrectly.

Three way trade where the Cavs get LeBron, Lakers get depth around Luka/Reeves and the third team gets Mitchell.

[Scottish Punk]

Originally Posted by jcardstore

Pistons in 5.

Harden is terrible. Mobley, Mitchell, Allen…. These guys just don’t have what it takes to win in the playoffs.

I just wish the Cavs would have lost game 7 so I didn’t have to watch this series lol

As great as this would be, I don't agree with Pistons in 5. Cavs still have more talent and that will be enough in at least two games, especially at home. Everything went well for the Pistons last game and it was tied with 4 minutes left. These games are all going to be tight.

[jcardstore]

Originally Posted by tjforce

Maybe he'll get lucky like Garland and get traded out of Cleveland.

He's been all around the Cavs best player in the playoffs (which isn't necessarily saying too much), leading the team in Rebounds, 3Pt %, TS%, eFG%, ORtg, PER, GameScore, Win Shares, Win Shares /48, Offensive Plus Minus, Defensive Plus Minus, Box Plus Minus, and VORP.

But he's only getting 11.5 shots a game since Harden has had so much trouble getting the ball to teammates without turning it over, and Mitchell has 165 shots to only 23 assists.

I don't think there's any scenario where he's 30ppg superstar, but he thrives much more on a roster that doesn't have him playing out of position or as a 3rd option behind 2 old veterans trying still trying to prove themselves.. Another example of how this team is constructed incorrectly.

This doesn't mean what you think it means.

The Cavs have been flat out bad, someone obviously has to be "the best".

He's fine as like a 3rd option, anything more and the team just isn't gonna be very good.

Mobley has virtually no ability to create his own shot. He's shooting 40% from 3 but just like last year its on low volume and teams don't respect it.

So sure, maybe he can be traded somewhere else but just like Garland he is who he is at this point. What room is there left for him to grow?

[Chryghst]

Originally Posted by yiguiri2002

SGA was awful, no J-Dub still, LeBron played well and the Thunder won by almost 20.

Yeah, I don't think Luka makes this series competitive.

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

May 5 @ Oklahoma City: Thunder 108, Lakers 90

Season: OKC +135 [Average margin of victory: 27]

[gomiamigo]

Looks like OKC will be cruising over the Knicks.

[tjforce]

Embiid OUT for Game 2.

Sheesh

[tjforce]

Originally Posted by jcardstore

This doesn't mean what you think it means.

The Cavs have been flat out bad, someone obviously has to be "the best".

He's fine as like a 3rd option, anything more and the team just isn't gonna be very good.

Mobley has virtually no ability to create his own shot. He's shooting 40% from 3 but just like last year its on low volume and teams don't respect it.

So sure, maybe he can be traded somewhere else but just like Garland he is who he is at this point. What room is there left for him to grow?

He could easily be a 22-24 ppg with 10 rebound guy who's All-NBA defense if he's playing Center doesn't have one of the biggest usage sponges in the league in the lineup with him.

That doesn't make him a 1 on a championship team but he can be the second best player on a legit contender that's built right. Unfortunately the Cavs have thrown the opportunity to build that way out the window in the past couple of years.

And yes, I know exactly what his performance this post season means. Part of the Cavs problem this post season has been that nobody has really played the role of a superstar over the course of 8 games. Outside of 1 or 2 games he's at least been the most consistent of the bunch, with rebounding, assists, and defense anchoring a reasonably high floor.

[Scottish Punk]

Originally Posted by tjforce

Embiid OUT for Game 2.

Sheesh

"Multiple injuries". Dude is just softer than soft. Maybe it is just basketball karma for being a 300 pound man who flops just about more than anybody else.

[49ersSF]

Hate seeing Embiid out. A little-known fact about Joel Embiid...

His per-36 scoring average is the highest in NBA history at 31.2. Combine that with the fact that he is also efficient, with a 50/34/86 means when he is on court, he is one of the greatest ever.