2025-2026: Around the League

[pepe1991]

I really don't understand why nba teams now treat preseason like it's complete garbage, not even playing starters at all. Feels like it went from "preparation games" to "nba forces us to play this but we rather would skip".

Coach complaining about conditioning and even Penda noting that it is really odd to only have one proactive per day, as "even in France, preseason is two-a-days".

How much does a team need to coddle their players????

It's practice.

Basketball game with 35 players involved is anything but basketball game. Even as kid practicing basketball, we had limit of like 11 men to play game

I don't know why teams treat it like such garbage. Why not use it to try some actual lineups ?

[ORLMagicGirl15]

I really don't understand why nba teams now treat preseason like it's complete garbage, not even playing starters at all. Feels like it went from "preparation games" to "nba forces us to play this but we rather would skip".

Coach complaining about conditioning and even Penda noting that it is really odd to only have one proactive per day, as "even in France, preseason is two-a-days".

How much does a team need to coddle their players????

There was an NBA player that said the coach’s are tracking their minutes and advising whether to load manage a player or not letting them come to practice. I think they are listening to the numbers more than they probably should. You can tell the teams need the extra practice. A lot of the older players are saying that they rarely get practice time.

[RookieStar]

Prayers for Nik's juevos, IDK what the issue is but nobody wants a "procedure" anywhere close to the boys.

"Nikola Topic will be reevaluated in four to six weeks after undergoing a testicular procedure on Monday."
https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/282183/Nikola-Topic-Out-4-6-Weeks-After-Testicular-Procedure

That’s a kid I’m really interested in seeing…hope he’s okay. OKC’s FO has built an insane talent pool for Topic to be forgotten and, possibly, unnecessary.

Again, hope he’s okay- poor kid dropped in the draft and missed a championship rookie season already.

Yeah... they didnt go in much detail about Topic's Lamelo's right? Wonder what procedure he did

[Skybox]

I still question Dallas’ ‘luck’

The conspiracy theory makes no sense for a number of reasons.

Unfortunately yes, causation is not correlation but it still seems to somehow happen.

When Mcgrady left for houston we got the NO 1 pick.

Now you can argue part of this is tanking. That odds for lottery were different ect ect.

All I can say is, it is what it is. A bad look.

Didn’t we move TMac after winning the lottery?…I’m far from sure, just some hazy memory of speculation of pairing them.

[RookieStar]

The conspiracy theory makes no sense for a number of reasons.

Unfortunately yes, causation is not correlation but it still seems to somehow happen.

When Mcgrady left for houston we got the NO 1 pick.

Now you can argue part of this is tanking. That odds for lottery were different ect ect.

All I can say is, it is what it is. A bad look.

Didn’t we move TMac after winning the lottery?…I’m far from sure, just some hazy memory of speculation of pairing them.

Yeah... we went on that historic 18 game losing streak?? And Tmac did a Xatticus. Wanted Okafor or was it a trade over drafting D12...

We didnt get the 1st pick because we traded Tmac

[sChOlaRlY_Magi]

Unfortunately yes, causation is not correlation but it still seems to somehow happen.

When Mcgrady left for houston we got the NO 1 pick.

Now you can argue part of this is tanking. That odds for lottery were different ect ect.

All I can say is, it is what it is. A bad look.

Didn’t we move TMac after winning the lottery?…I’m far from sure, just some hazy memory of speculation of pairing them.

Yeah... we went on that historic 18 game losing streak?? And Tmac did a Xatticus. Wanted Okafor or was it a trade over drafting D12...

We didnt get the 1st pick because we traded Tmac

As I recall Tracy wanted veteran help or Emeka, he was anti Dwight.

Imagine if he stayed that one year that was left on his contract…. Dwight’s rookie year. I believe that next season was when McGrady scored that ridiculous 13 points in 8 seconds or whatever it was for the Rockets.

[pepe1991]

Funniest plot twist. "Proven" Okafor was like 21

T mac was never sharpest tool in a shed. Case and point "feels good to be in second round" post game, 3-1 lead.

Loses 4-3

To be fair, Dwight wasn't that great in first year
But even if T mac stayed, Magic drafted Dwight, timeline would still be questionable. Tracy was pretty much dead weight post 2006. High usage, crappy efficiency, max player a- la today's Derozan. Empty stats on rapid decline.

For 2005-06 season, his eFG was 44%. League's average was 49%.
His TS was 49%, league's average was 54%.

At end of a day T mac was never winning basketball player but guy who played for personal stats and had "megastar " status based on nothing else but counting stats.

[cedric76]

Funniest plot twist. "Proven" Okafor was like 21

T mac was never sharpest tool in a shed. Case and point "feels good to be in second round" post game, 3-1 lead.

Loses 4-3

To be fair, Dwight wasn't that great in first year
But even if T mac stayed, Magic drafted Dwight, timeline would still be questionable. Tracy was pretty much dead weight post 2006. High usage, crappy efficiency, max player a- la today's Derozan. Empty stats on rapid decline.

For 2005-06 season, his eFG was 44%. League's average was 49%.
His TS was 49%, league's average was 54%.

At end of a day T mac was never winning basketball player but guy who played for personal stats and had "megastar " status based on nothing else but counting stats.

Shame we made that wrong Tmax trade, I liked the phoenix offer far better (Johnson+Marion+ a pick).

Hockey guy **** that up big time

[RookieStar]

Funniest plot twist. "Proven" Okafor was like 21

T mac was never sharpest tool in a shed. Case and point "feels good to be in second round" post game, 3-1 lead.

Loses 4-3

To be fair, Dwight wasn't that great in first year
But even if T mac stayed, Magic drafted Dwight, timeline would still be questionable. Tracy was pretty much dead weight post 2006. High usage, crappy efficiency, max player a- la today's Derozan. Empty stats on rapid decline.

For 2005-06 season, his eFG was 44%. League's average was 49%.
His TS was 49%, league's average was 54%.

At end of a day T mac was never winning basketball player but guy who played for personal stats and had "megastar " status based on nothing else but counting stats.

Shame we made that wrong Tmax trade, I liked the phoenix offer far better (Johnson+Marion+ a pick).

Hockey guy **** that up big time

Same.. was thinking of Joe Johnsons to replace Tmac.. i guess the highlight reel of Steve to Cato convinced him..

[pepe1991]

Funniest plot twist. "Proven" Okafor was like 21

T mac was never sharpest tool in a shed. Case and point "feels good to be in second round" post game, 3-1 lead.

Loses 4-3

To be fair, Dwight wasn't that great in first year
But even if T mac stayed, Magic drafted Dwight, timeline would still be questionable. Tracy was pretty much dead weight post 2006. High usage, crappy efficiency, max player a- la today's Derozan. Empty stats on rapid decline.

For 2005-06 season, his eFG was 44%. League's average was 49%.
His TS was 49%, league's average was 54%.

At end of a day T mac was never winning basketball player but guy who played for personal stats and had "megastar " status based on nothing else but counting stats.

Shame we made that wrong Tmax trade, I liked the phoenix offer far better (Johnson+Marion+ a pick).

Hockey guy **** that up big time

Same.. was thinking of Joe Johnsons to replace Tmac.. i guess the highlight reel of Steve to Cato convinced him..

Wanna hear something crazy?

Joe Johnson was all star as many times as T mac.

Wanna hear something crazier?

Joe Johnson has 53 playoff wins. Tracy played 50 playoff games in his entire career.

As for Francis, guy peaked in second year, after that he was never even on his rookie level.

also i remember mainstream media using every moment they could, during Howard/OKafor's first year to tell everybody how Magic made mistake. Experts

[RookieStar]

Shame we made that wrong Tmax trade, I liked the phoenix offer far better (Johnson+Marion+ a pick).

Hockey guy **** that up big time

Same.. was thinking of Joe Johnsons to replace Tmac.. i guess the highlight reel of Steve to Cato convinced him..

Wanna hear something crazy?

Joe Johnson was all star as many times as T mac.

Wanna hear something crazier?

Joe Johnson has 53 playoff wins. Tracy played 50 playoff games in his entire career.

As for Francis, guy peaked in second year, after that he was never even on his rookie level.

also i remember mainstream media using every moment they could, during Howard/OKafor's first year to tell everybody how Magic made mistake. Experts

Yeah JJ had somebody called Steve Nash with him so that explained the wins.... also multiple all stars in Marion and prime Amare.

[pepe1991]

Same.. was thinking of Joe Johnsons to replace Tmac.. i guess the highlight reel of Steve to Cato convinced him..

Wanna hear something crazy?

Joe Johnson was all star as many times as T mac.

Wanna hear something crazier?

Joe Johnson has 53 playoff wins. Tracy played 50 playoff games in his entire career.

As for Francis, guy peaked in second year, after that he was never even on his rookie level.

also i remember mainstream media using every moment they could, during Howard/OKafor's first year to tell everybody how Magic made mistake. Experts

Yeah JJ had somebody called Steve Nash with him so that explained the wins.... also multiple all stars in Marion and prime Amare.

He only played one season with Nash and two playoff series total with Suns.

Once as second year player where he sucked. They lost in first round (4-2).
Second time, in his 4th year (only one with Nash), they went to WCF and lost to Spurs, who won title that year. JJ got his face broken ( orbital bone fracture) and missed part of playoffs.

After that, he was sign&traded to Atlanta. All other playoff wins & first round passes happened with him as best player. Especially that one year when second best player on his team, to second round was Josh Smith.

[drsd]

Wanna hear something crazy?

Joe Johnson was all star as many times as T mac.

Wanna hear something crazier?

Joe Johnson has 53 playoff wins. Tracy played 50 playoff games in his entire career.

As for Francis, guy peaked in second year, after that he was never even on his rookie level.

also i remember mainstream media using every moment they could, during Howard/OKafor's first year to tell everybody how Magic made mistake. Experts

Some "Hall of Famers"

Frank Ramsey
Era: 1954–1964 (Boston Celtics)
Career stats: 13.4 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 1.6 APG, 44% FG
Negatives: Never a full-time starter, no All-Star selections, short career (7 full seasons), modest individual production, inducted mainly for being the “first sixth man.”

Arvydas Sabonis
NBA career: 1995–2003 (Portland Trail Blazers)
NBA stats: 12.0 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 2.1 APG, 50% FG
Negatives: Entered NBA at age 31, limited mobility after injuries, short prime in the league.

Ralph Sampson
Era: 1983–1992 (Houston Rockets and others)
Career stats: 15.4 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 2.4 APG, 48% FG
Negatives: Only 465 games played, career derailed by knee injuries, limited impact beyond first few seasons, short peak compared with typical Hall members.

Bill Bradley
Era: 1967–1977 (New York Knicks)
Career stats: 12.4 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 2.8 APG, 45% FG
Negatives: Never an All-Star, average numbers for his role, viewed as a team glue player rather than a star, induction seen as influenced by political fame and team success rather than elite play.

[pepe1991]

Wanna hear something crazy?

Joe Johnson was all star as many times as T mac.

Wanna hear something crazier?

Joe Johnson has 53 playoff wins. Tracy played 50 playoff games in his entire career.

As for Francis, guy peaked in second year, after that he was never even on his rookie level.

also i remember mainstream media using every moment they could, during Howard/OKafor's first year to tell everybody how Magic made mistake. Experts

Some "Hall of Famers"

Frank Ramsey
Era: 1954–1964 (Boston Celtics)
Career stats: 13.4 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 1.6 APG, 44% FG
Negatives: Never a full-time starter, no All-Star selections, short career (7 full seasons), modest individual production, inducted mainly for being the “first sixth man.”

Arvydas Sabonis
NBA career: 1995–2003 (Portland Trail Blazers)
NBA stats: 12.0 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 2.1 APG, 50% FG
Negatives: Entered NBA at age 31, limited mobility after injuries, short prime in the league.

Ralph Sampson
Era: 1983–1992 (Houston Rockets and others)
Career stats: 15.4 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 2.4 APG, 48% FG
Negatives: Only 465 games played, career derailed by knee injuries, limited impact beyond first few seasons, short peak compared with typical Hall members.

Bill Bradley
Era: 1967–1977 (New York Knicks)
Career stats: 12.4 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 2.8 APG, 45% FG
Negatives: Never an All-Star, average numbers for his role, viewed as a team glue player rather than a star, induction seen as influenced by political fame and team success rather than elite play.

Sabonis is in HOF because it's basketball, not nba HOF and he was one of best players in the world from 1984-1992.
By the time he got to nba, he was kind a done.

Sabonis vs David Robinson in 1986 was joy to watch. It's a shame. He was so much ahead of his time in basketball. 7'4 shotblocking, fadeaway shooting, transition running, passing bigs.

[GelbeWand09]

Wanna hear something crazy?

Joe Johnson was all star as many times as T mac.

Wanna hear something crazier?

Joe Johnson has 53 playoff wins. Tracy played 50 playoff games in his entire career.

As for Francis, guy peaked in second year, after that he was never even on his rookie level.

also i remember mainstream media using every moment they could, during Howard/OKafor's first year to tell everybody how Magic made mistake. Experts

Some "Hall of Famers"

Frank Ramsey
Era: 1954–1964 (Boston Celtics)
Career stats: 13.4 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 1.6 APG, 44% FG
Negatives: Never a full-time starter, no All-Star selections, short career (7 full seasons), modest individual production, inducted mainly for being the “first sixth man.”

Arvydas Sabonis
NBA career: 1995–2003 (Portland Trail Blazers)
NBA stats: 12.0 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 2.1 APG, 50% FG
Negatives: Entered NBA at age 31, limited mobility after injuries, short prime in the league.

Ralph Sampson
Era: 1983–1992 (Houston Rockets and others)
Career stats: 15.4 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 2.4 APG, 48% FG
Negatives: Only 465 games played, career derailed by knee injuries, limited impact beyond first few seasons, short peak compared with typical Hall members.

Bill Bradley
Era: 1967–1977 (New York Knicks)
Career stats: 12.4 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 2.8 APG, 45% FG
Negatives: Never an All-Star, average numbers for his role, viewed as a team glue player rather than a star, induction seen as influenced by political fame and team success rather than elite play.

Sabonis is in HOF because it's basketball, not nba HOF and he was one of best players in the world from 1984-1992.
By the time he got to nba, he was kind a done.

Sabonis vs David Robinson in 1986 was joy to watch. It's a shame. He was so much ahead of his time in basketball. 7'4 shotblocking, fadeaway shooting, transition running, passing bigs.

The 1st german national team game i've seen as a kid was germany vs. Lithuania (Euro 95) the summer before Sabonis came in the NBA. Didnt knew anything about him, european basketball or the Lithuanian Team. Only knew Marčiulionis from my short NBA fandom. Thought germany gonna win easy as the defending champion but than a 7'4 giant completely destroyd the german team.

[pepe1991]

Some "Hall of Famers"

Frank Ramsey
Era: 1954–1964 (Boston Celtics)
Career stats: 13.4 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 1.6 APG, 44% FG
Negatives: Never a full-time starter, no All-Star selections, short career (7 full seasons), modest individual production, inducted mainly for being the “first sixth man.”

Arvydas Sabonis
NBA career: 1995–2003 (Portland Trail Blazers)
NBA stats: 12.0 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 2.1 APG, 50% FG
Negatives: Entered NBA at age 31, limited mobility after injuries, short prime in the league.

Ralph Sampson
Era: 1983–1992 (Houston Rockets and others)
Career stats: 15.4 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 2.4 APG, 48% FG
Negatives: Only 465 games played, career derailed by knee injuries, limited impact beyond first few seasons, short peak compared with typical Hall members.

Bill Bradley
Era: 1967–1977 (New York Knicks)
Career stats: 12.4 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 2.8 APG, 45% FG
Negatives: Never an All-Star, average numbers for his role, viewed as a team glue player rather than a star, induction seen as influenced by political fame and team success rather than elite play.

Sabonis is in HOF because it's basketball, not nba HOF and he was one of best players in the world from 1984-1992.
By the time he got to nba, he was kind a done.

Sabonis vs David Robinson in 1986 was joy to watch. It's a shame. He was so much ahead of his time in basketball. 7'4 shotblocking, fadeaway shooting, transition running, passing bigs.

The 1st german national team game i've seen as a kid was germany vs. Lithuania (Euro 95) the summer before Sabonis came in the NBA. Didnt knew anything about him, european basketball or the Lithuanian Team. Only knew Marčiulionis from my short NBA fandom. Thought germany gonna win easy as the defending champion but than a 7'4 giant completely destroyd the german team.

Soviet Union & Yugoslavia and their "workout plans".

From today's POV it's a miracle how people can still walk who went through that.

Bulargian weightlifters used to train twice a day, for an hour, max weight every practice, 6 times a week.

Injury treatment: votka + pain killer + your father telling you to not be a b***h.

[JoshuaPotter]

The real crime I am presently witnessing is how many days its been between exhibition games.

[Knightro]

I really don't understand why nba teams now treat preseason like it's complete garbage, not even playing starters at all. Feels like it went from "preparation games" to "nba forces us to play this but we rather would skip".

Coach complaining about conditioning and even Penda noting that it is really odd to only have one proactive per day, as "even in France, preseason is two-a-days".

How much does a team need to coddle their players????

The NBA season is *significantly* longer and more stressful on players' bodies than any other basketball league by a wide margin.

The French League that Penda just came from only plays 30 games from September to May. So of course they have way more time to practice.

The NBA plays 82 games from October to April. Plus every single road game for the Magic requires a flight to and from well, so you're throwing in significantly more travel time on top of almost triple the amount of games too.

Not to mention a deep playoff run is a potentially 20-25 game two month grind as well.

That's pretty much why they baby these guys during the preseason and regular season.

[drsd]

The NBA season is *significantly* longer and more stressful on players' bodies than any other basketball league by a wide margin.

The French League that Penda just came from only plays 30 games from September to May. So of course they have way more time to practice.

The NBA plays 82 games from October to April. Plus every single road game for the Magic requires a flight to and from well, so you're throwing in significantly more travel time on top of almost triple the amount of games too.

Not to mention a deep playoff run is a potentially 20-25 game two month grind as well.

That's pretty much why they baby these guys during the preseason and regular season.

Sure, but early season wins count the same as late-season wins. If the Magic wants home-court, then piling on wins early when other teams are using the first 10 games as "training camp" would be a great idea.

[jezzerinho]

I really don't understand why nba teams now treat preseason like it's complete garbage, not even playing starters at all. Feels like it went from "preparation games" to "nba forces us to play this but we rather would skip".

Coach complaining about conditioning and even Penda noting that it is really odd to only have one proactive per day, as "even in France, preseason is two-a-days".

How much does a team need to coddle their players????

The NBA season is *significantly* longer and more stressful on players' bodies than any other basketball league by a wide margin.

The French League that Penda just came from only plays 30 games from September to May. So of course they have way more time to practice.

The NBA plays 82 games from October to April. Plus every single road game for the Magic requires a flight to and from well, so you're throwing in significantly more travel time on top of almost triple the amount of games too.

Not to mention a deep playoff run is a potentially 20-25 game two month grind as well.

That's pretty much why they baby these guys during the preseason and regular season.

Pretty much all Euro teams play in more than one competition though. The league is just one. They may play in 3 other tournaments (cup comp, euro league/cup etc). But your point is still v valid. NBA plus playoffs is a grind.