Are you guys excited for the upcoming 2026 NBA playoffs? Usually I am but it's going to be boring if the OKC Thunder repeat. Which they have a very good chance of doing so if Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is healthy. Their roster is just so deep and SGA can get to the free throw line anytime he wants. He's so shifty and quick. Almost unguardable in today's NBA with the current rules.

In the '90s you could legally hand-check and body up SGA. Beat him up physically to slow him down. But you can't do that in today's game without a whistle being blown. I hate touch fouls. They slow the pace of games down and they're just awful. It's hard to enjoy an NBA game these days without the officiating having their hand in the outcome of close games.

And the Houston Rockets once again have a very flawed roster due to key injuries. No NBA Finals since 1995. I have a reason not to feel overly excited anyway.

I cant wait honestly

Raptors gonna heroically lose in 5 in the second round and I am here for it

Hopefully Cade goes to his first ship

Spurs in the finals would be sick

This post was edited by Crunkt on Feb 13 2026 12:36pm

hoping to see a healthy nuggets team battle the thunder.

bulls decided to tank though, so thats the only really interesting storyline for me. east teams are all boring unless tatum comes back

I'm going with the Houston Rockets vs. Philadelphia 76ers in the 2026 NBA Finals.
Rafael Stone and Daryl Morey. The battle of two brilliant front office minds. LOL

Only negative thing is both teams greatly underachieve and are grossly inconsistent.

Just the other night I lost nearly 1800 FG on the 76ers ML at Portland. 3rd quarter.
1st half was a one-point game. 76ers won the 4th by 9. But the 3rd they lost 49-22.

Not sure how a team can legit compete and play hard for three quarters but totally forget how to play in one. LOL
Happens far too often with the Rockets this season. And I notice the 76ers are the same way in some of their games.

The way our luck is watch the Rockets finally advance past the first round with a favorable 4 vs. 5 matchup vs. the Lakers.
Just to run into the OKC Thunder in the second round. That would feel deflating. SGA led OKC Thunder are on another level.

The San Antonio Spurs vs. Detroit Pistons in the 2026 NBA Finals would bring back memories of the 2005 NBA Finals. You had two legends like Gregg Popovich and Larry Brown coaching. Probably in my top three for greatest NBA Finals of all-time. Spurs won in 7 games. The 1994 Rockets vs. Knicks NBA Finals, interrupted by the O.J. Simpson chase, also went to 7 games and that is my favorite NBA Finals ever played. Two more icons like Rudy Tomjanovich and Pat Riley were coaching. Not to mention all the Hall of Fame players those teams I just mentioned had.

Pistons get knocked out by the Bucks

The Bucks should've traded Giannis at the trade deadline. But I guess they can get a haul for him this summer all the same. If for some reason the Rockets are "one and done" in the playoffs again. May have to consider an Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson trade package for Giannis. It's the best possible trade package the Bucks can receive in a Giannis trade. I'd like to say I'm only kidding but seriously I'll feel so frustrated with the same inconsistencies and underachieving from the Rockets. It would seem easier to blow up a great young core yet again. A panic move basically.

Kevin Durant isn't getting any younger. With Giannis and KD leading the way, provided you can fill the roster admirably enough around them, you may have a strong two or three-year championship window. But given how deep, young and athletic the OKC Thunder are I'm not sure Giannis is enough to take them down in a 7-game series. Would need another superstar in his prime to pair with Giannis. Since KD is an aging superstar.

I decline Sengun and Thompson to keep Giannis to myself. The Bucks are a small market team that has to ride Giannis out all the way to the bitter end. They'll lose way too many fans and revenue the minute they trade Giannis, then the team will get sold to Seattle or Las Vegas.

Alperen Sengun is a 2x all-star and still only 23 years old. Amen Thompson is a 1st team All-NBA defender and just turned 23 years old.
No question we could be looking at two of the NBA's best players over the next decade. But I don't really have the patience anymore.
Does a 31-year-old Giannis thread the needle? I've been desperately waiting since 1995 to see the Houston Rockets win another NBA Finals.