2026 NBA Playoffs Thread

Russ Smith · May 4, 2026

Wemby with 8 blocks in the first half. Only has 6 points but my god he's impacting the game on defense

Hoop Head · May 4, 2026

The Knicks have no excuse and no one in their way, anything short of a finals appearance would be a disaster and signal it's time to blow it up. 39 point win Philly is a nice start. I suspect they'll face Cleveland but Harden will choke as usual.

Hoop Head · May 4, 2026

Minnesota has stepped up. San Antonio's inexperience is also showing. If everyone stays healthy this could be a great series. Really didn't expect Minnesota to play this well in game 1, largely do to Ant.

Hoop Head · May 4, 2026

Harper had a good look to win it but they probably should have played for OT. Good finish. Looking forward to game 2.

Minnesota 104 - San Antonio 102

Cheesebeef · May 4, 2026

Hoop Head said:
The Knicks have no excuse and no one in their way, anything short of a finals appearance would be a disaster and signal it's time to blow it up. 39 point win Philly is a nice start. I suspect they'll face Cleveland but Harden will choke as usual.

Yup. Looked like no excuse last year, but this they really have no excuse.

BooksOrangePlanet · May 4, 2026

chemistry counts - it's easier when you've played a few years together

clyde2tw · May 4, 2026

Minny's gonna win this series. Shannon played great for them, much better than our sophs and rooks. When Donsumu and Edwards become healthy they might even win it all this year.

clyde2tw · May 4, 2026

Raindog said:
I will maintain to my dying day that both the Durant and the Beal trades were all James Jones' brainstorms, especially the throwing in every possible draft pick from here to eternity.

Ishbia signed off on that because he was the new owner and was obviously insistent on doing something splashy to win over the fanbase, but the Durant trade was being cooked up well before Ish was the new owner. I assume Sarver was likely reticent about it because we all know how he felt about any risk of any potential cap penalties, but once Ish took over, that was no longer a consideration.

But even before, it had long been obvious how much Jones believed in the "superstar roster" personnel strategy, as well as his documented disregard for the draft. It should be clear to anyone that he was the primary architect of that disaster (albeit possibly with Isiah Thomas's additional input).

Ishbia should have been more circumspect about that, but was likely over eager to impress with his new toy.

I still believe the KD trade idea was not bad, but the deal was bad, and then the follow up deals with BB, Ayton. They could've at least insisted on trading Crowder for Hachimura for our own use and replace him with Saric for salary matching. Beal was the deal that killed any chance of success of the team. In hindsight they'd better let CP3 walk and find FAs with the MLE. Also I thought they had Pacer's Turner offered in sign-n-trade for DA but declined. And then they signed Watanabe, Metu etc who didn't pan out.

Phrazbit · May 5, 2026

clyde2tw said:
Minny's gonna win this series. Shannon played great for them, much better than our sophs and rooks. When Donsumu and Edwards become healthy they might even win it all this year.

If the Spurs can keep Wemby upright I think they'll win. The Wolves did a great job of frustrating him on offense and keeping him from his spots in game 1... I think the Spurs will counter in the next game.

One of the things I love most about the NBA playoffs (especially in a series where I don't really care who wins) is the way strategy changes between games. I feel really strong about a Spurs win in game 2.

Adrian · May 5, 2026