Official NBA General Discussion 2025-26 V1.0

[Tha Cynic]

Very revealing interview from Pascal.

Well received by his Indiana teammates when he arrived.

Team is unselfish, no ego, nobody cares about who scores the most.

They listen to his leadership in Indiana.

Makes you wonder what it felt like for him here in his last few years.

I remember how right after Lowry was moved, we were heading into the new season and there was a session where the media asked FVV about Siakam as the new leader of the team. FVV basically said “he’ll have to take it”. Those may not be the exact words but it stuck with me, as I was a bit surprised to hear him say something like that.

I think the Raptors would have been a better team with Siakam as leader and most likely would have had better chemistry. His personality though isn’t one where he will overtake another guy’s bigger personality which Van Vleet has/had. So Siakam kind of went into a shell and let Van Vleet become the main spokesperson for the Raptors. The rest is history. Siakam is the type who would need others to simply respect him and let him be the quiet leader and with the personalities we had, it wasn’t going to happen.

[mtcan]

Hard to believe that we are about to do OKC vs Pacers...very hard to believe...that is 2 years in row that Ant-Man showing Stamina issues deep in the playoffs (ankle or not). Randle, after early hopes, is now acting according to his true playoffs self.

On this board, in the past, there were a lot(a lot) of Randle vs Siakam being equivalent...well now we know who is leading his team in scoring ,in the playoffs up, one game-away from the NBA finals.

To be fair...Randle is experiencing a much more pesky and swarming defence against OKC than what Pascal is getting against NY which boggles the mind because the Knicks overpaid for the defensive duo or OG and and Mikal Bridges and Pascal can casually drop 30 on them without much effort.

Let's see how Pascal fares against OKC.

Game 2 : 6pts 2 for 11
Game 4: 5pts 1 for 7
Their Defense is elite but he is just choking as the pressure of the playoffs is rising.
Siakam has nothing to prove there having already scored 30+points on his first NBA Finals over DPOY Draymond (and we all heard what Draymond said the other night)

I'm interested in revisiting this discussion in the Finals one way or another.

[Son Goku 25]

I'm starting to think Tyrese is like an upgraded Steph lol taller and more athletic, at least in these playoffs.

[Agimat]

Plot twist league is pushing Hali to be the face of the NBA

[Psubs]

So good depth, defense, unselfish playmaking and 3pt shooting are what looks like to be successful in the playoffs. Not iso players.

Trade up for Tre Johnson or stock up on 3&D players.

[MiamiSPX]

I’m not sure how people are cheering for Indiana lol. I find Halliburton annoying as heck and he also admitted to tampering to get Siakam to Indiana for over a year while he was on the Raptors. Indiana basically got Siakam for scraps due to Siakam letting other teams know he wouldn’t play anywhere else, though Masai did pretty well in that trade still.

Haliburton is very unlikeable but I just find all the Knicks unlikeable, even down to the coach and owner. And OG wanted to leave our team, so F him. Siakam allowed himself to be tampered with because he saw the writing on the wall with Masai telling him he wouldn't max him, and then ghosting him. We still made out pretty good there.

As others have said, I just don't see how you can win when your best player is an undersized guard, who plays an iso heavy game, and is among the worst defenders in the league. No different than Dame, who can dazzle you on any given night dropping 40+, but the media and fans overlook the 45 he gave up on the other end.

I am not sure firing Thibs is a foregone conclusion. He's a big part of that whole CAA tampering family. And they did get farther than last year. New coach would also undoubtedly inherit Rick Brunson as assistant coach, whether he likes it or not.

[PushDaRock]

I’m not sure how people are cheering for Indiana lol. I find Halliburton annoying as heck and he also admitted to tampering to get Siakam to Indiana for over a year while he was on the Raptors. Indiana basically got Siakam for scraps due to Siakam letting other teams know he wouldn’t play anywhere else, though Masai did pretty well in that trade still.

NY I just don’t care about.

Also , you can see the Anthony Edwards push by the US media against SGA. That has been funny to watch lol.

Rooting on the Blueprint working since we are Pacers North next season

[djsunyc]

Knicks fans turning on Brunson lol

Eye test says they look better without Brunson because of how he plays, he's so ball dominant and Nesmith's doing a good job defending him but he prefers to keep attacking. When he's off the floor they just move the ball better.

there's levels. they are in the conference finals! furthest they've gone in 25 years!

playoffs expose so much - no hiding. folks say the knicks are more talented but are they really? they are missing some big components - no playmaking from any position. brunson is more iverson. hart/bridges/og are 3&d guys for the most part and kat is a scorer. their 1 and 5 are horrible defenders. they are missing a bench.

meanwhile indy has almost all facets of the game covered - that can play any style and have so much quality depth that if one player doesn't have it that night, they can find someone else that does.

and with all that said, 3 of the games came down to the final possession. if hali's 3 in game one doesn't get one of those bounces from the heavens, the series looks drastically different.

nba is great right now. so many good teams and no all time great ones. i think the days of dynasties (i.e. winning 2 chips in a 5 year span) are done with the way the new CBA functions. maybe okc has a shot because of their age but they have to win one first and then deal with upcoming tax aprons so who knows?

so many good players so a lot of this comes down to fit, luck, matchups, etc. the team that can outlast the most matchups with a bunch of luck will win it in any given year.

[djsunyc]

Very revealing interview from Pascal.

Well received by his Indiana teammates when he arrived.

Team is unselfish, no ego, nobody cares about who scores the most.

They listen to his leadership in Indiana.

Makes you wonder what it felt like for him here in his last few years.

I remember how right after Lowry was moved a we were heading into the new season. There was a media session where the media asked FVV about Siakam as the new leader of the team. FVV basically said “he’ll have to take it”. Those may not be the exact words but it stuck with me, as I was a bit surprised to hear him say something like that.

I think the Raptors would have been a better team with Siakam as leader and most likely would have had better chemistry. His personality though isn’t one where he will overtake another guy’s bigger personality which Van Vleet has/had. So Siakam kind of went into a shell and let Van Vleet become the main spokesperson for the Raptors. The rest is history. Siakam is the type who would need others to simply respect him and let him be the quiet leader and with the personalities we had, it wasn’t going to happen.

so many times in sports, it's about circumstance. one person's role in one place may be different than in another. sometimes folks just need to be in a different environment. i don't know if siakam could be a leader here the same way he is in indy. that's this young team without any real success and a champ walks in the door so they can listen. here, he already had his legacy so everything is just comfortable - there's no new car smell if you get what i mean.

[djsunyc]

I’m not sure how people are cheering for Indiana lol. I find Halliburton annoying as heck and he also admitted to tampering to get Siakam to Indiana for over a year while he was on the Raptors. Indiana basically got Siakam for scraps due to Siakam letting other teams know he wouldn’t play anywhere else, though Masai did pretty well in that trade still.

NY I just don’t care about.

Also , you can see the Anthony Edwards push by the US media against SGA. That has been funny to watch lol.

Rooting on the Blueprint working since we are Pacers North next season

if there's a blueprint, it's this - just get as many guys that can play well at the nba level as possible and hope they have chemistry.

iq + rj + bi + scottie + yak + shead + dick + ochai + jakobe can all play. that's a pretty good # of folks.

for me, jury is out on mogbo. we also have #9 joining that group and maybe #39. we are 1/2/3 heavy and need some 4/5 to balance it out but we have some time to figure it out.

[tsherkin]

I’m not sure how people are cheering for Indiana lol. I find Halliburton annoying as heck and he also admitted to tampering to get Siakam to Indiana for over a year while he was on the Raptors. Indiana basically got Siakam for scraps due to Siakam letting other teams know he wouldn’t play anywhere else, though Masai did pretty well in that trade still.

NY I just don’t care about.

Also , you can see the Anthony Edwards push by the US media against SGA. That has been funny to watch lol.

Rooting on the Blueprint working since we are Pacers North next season

if there's a blueprint, it's this - just get as many guys that can play well at the nba level as possible and hope they have chemistry.

iq + rj + bi + scottie + yak + shead + dick + ochai + jakobe can all play. that's a pretty good # of folks.

for me, jury is out on mogbo. we also have #9 joining that group and maybe #39. we are 1/2/3 heavy and need some 4/5 to balance it out but we have some time to figure it out.

Mogbo's interesting. He has physical tools, he has hustle and efficacy on D. He finishes plays all right. No touch away from the basket at all, but he's an interesting one to see going forward.

[Psubs]

Knicks fans turning on Brunson lol

Eye test says they look better without Brunson because of how he plays, he's so ball dominant and Nesmith's doing a good job defending him but he prefers to keep attacking. When he's off the floor they just move the ball better.

there's levels. they are in the conference finals! furthest they've gone in 25 years!

playoffs expose so much - no hiding. folks say the knicks are more talented but are they really? they are missing some big components - no playmaking from any position. brunson is more iverson. hart/bridges/og are 3&d guys for the most part and kat is a scorer. their 1 and 5 are horrible defenders. they are missing a bench.

meanwhile indy has almost all facets of the game covered - that can play any style and have so much quality depth that if one player doesn't have it that night, they can find someone else that does.

and with all that said, 3 of the games came down to the final possession. if hali's 3 in game one doesn't get one of those bounces from the heavens, the series looks drastically different.

nba is great right now. so many good teams and no all time great ones. i think the days of dynasties (i.e. winning 2 chips in a 5 year span) are done with the way the new CBA functions. maybe okc has a shot because of their age but they have to win one first and then deal with upcoming tax aprons so who knows?

so many good players so a lot of this comes down to fit, luck, matchups, etc. the team that can outlast the most matchups with a bunch of luck will win it in any given year.

NY's really lacking a back up PG, while Indiana has McConnel and Nembhard.

[PushDaRock]

Rooting on the Blueprint working since we are Pacers North next season

if there's a blueprint, it's this - just get as many guys that can play well at the nba level as possible and hope they have chemistry.

iq + rj + bi + scottie + yak + shead + dick + ochai + jakobe can all play. that's a pretty good # of folks.

for me, jury is out on mogbo. we also have #9 joining that group and maybe #39. we are 1/2/3 heavy and need some 4/5 to balance it out but we have some time to figure it out.

Mogbo's interesting. He has physical tools, he has hustle and efficacy on D. He finishes plays all right. No touch away from the basket at all, but he's an interesting one to see going forward.

The passing ability is also very intriguing. His player type doesn't grow on trees, it's a unique combination of size, length, athleticism and skill set and worth being patient with and hoping the offensive game comes around.

[tsherkin]

The passing ability is also very intriguing. His player type doesn't grow on trees, it's a unique combination of size, length, athleticism and skill set and worth being patient with and hoping the offensive game comes around.

Yes, that's true. And honestly, we don't need to make the mistake with him that we made with Barnes, asking too much from him on O. He can be a play finisher. We have enough scoring threats to work with now, just let him get the dirty points, you know? He'll get better at those; he had a rough first year in terms of scoring efficiency but we'll see what year 2 and a better offensive environment brings. He has a lot of potential utility for us.

[OakleyDokely]

The thing with the rooks is, given how the season went, they were forced to play a lot against the other teams starters. Mogbo and Walter started 18 games, Shead started 11 and Battle 10. That's a lot to ask from a mid 1st, two 2nd rounders and an undrafted FA in their rookie years. Next season, we just need them to be competitive against the opponents bench hopefully.

[Psubs]

The thing with the rooks is, given how the season went, they were forced to play a lot against the other teams starters. Mogbo and Walter started 18 games, Shead started 11 and Battle 10. That's a lot to ask from a mid 1st, two 2nd rounders and an undrafted FA in their rookie years. Next season, we just need them to be competitive against the opponents bench hopefully.

Adding Ingram, has that reduced.

[causal_fan]

Very revealing interview from Pascal.

Well received by his Indiana teammates when he arrived.

Team is unselfish, no ego, nobody cares about who scores the most.

They listen to his leadership in Indiana.

Makes you wonder what it felt like for him here in his last few years.

Not revealing or surprising in the least - that's what almost all athletes say when having success on a team and after leaving his previous team under unhappy circumstances - means nothing - what would be revealing news is if he said something different - I've been a big fan of Pascal & OG and am happy about their playoff success but that level of success was likely not coming here and the Raptors were right to move on (should have been sooner) - let's see in a year or two how the Raptors are doing and how the returns for Pascal & OG have worked out.

[Brinbe]

Knicks gotta retool but building around Brunson isn't easy and simply getting rid of him isn't an answer. It's his team and he already sacrificed on his deal, taking less to ensure they can pay everyone. If you're trading him, might as well blow it all up.
They're a great team but gonna be hard to be a best team when Brunson/KAT are a terrible defensive duo. You can't hide both.

Combining KAT and Bridges to consolidate for an upgrade could be an option but the targets that would be an upgrade and available aren't obvious. AD could be a fit but Dallas /Nico aren't moving off him for KAT. Giannis is a pipe dream and he's too ball dominant to be a great fit next to Brunson. And they'd need to trade Mitch for a stretch big.

[tsherkin]

The thing with the rooks is, given how the season went, they were forced to play a lot against the other teams starters. Mogbo and Walter started 18 games, Shead started 11 and Battle 10. That's a lot to ask from a mid 1st, two 2nd rounders and an undrafted FA in their rookie years. Next season, we just need them to be competitive against the opponents bench hopefully.

Agreed. The whole environment of the team should be better next season, providing for health. It'll allow a more conventional set of roles and responsibilities throughout.

[MiamiSPX]

Knicks gotta retool but building around Brunson isn't easy and simply getting rid of him isn't an answer. It's his team and he already sacrificed on his deal, taking less to ensure they can pay everyone. If you're trading him, might as well blow it all up.
They're a great team but gonna be hard to be a best team when Brunson/KAT are a terrible defensive duo. You can't hide both.

Combining KAT and Bridges to consolidate for an upgrade could be an option but the targets that would be an upgrade and available aren't obvious. AD could be a fit but Dallas /Nico aren't moving off him for KAT. Giannis is a pipe dream and he's too ball dominant to be a great fit next to Brunson. And they'd need to trade Mitch for a stretch big.

It's Brunson's team, of that there is no doubt. Leon Rose is his godfather, they hired his Dad as a (tampering) means to get him, etc. They will die on that hill (and die they will, you can't win with that guy as your top player IMO).

I think they revert to the Knicks of old and double down somehow. Should be a fascinating summer.