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Official NBA General Discussion 2025-26 V1.0

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Re: Official NBA General Discussion 2025-26 V1.0 

Post#1721 » by JB7 » Tue Jul 15, 2025 3:17 am

Tripod wrote:
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Dead weight contract…
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Re: Official NBA General Discussion 2025-26 V1.0 

Post#1722 » by ATLTimekeeper » Tue Jul 15, 2025 1:39 pm

Paul George is going to wear this, but injuries happen. He got paid because Morey reneged on an agreement with Harden, and then had no way to reclaim that talent loss. George is blameless for chasing the bag here. Morey should have been fired, but he got bailed out by the lottery gods.
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Re: Official NBA General Discussion 2025-26 V1.0 

Post#1723 » by djsunyc » Tue Jul 15, 2025 1:50 pm

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Re: Official NBA General Discussion 2025-26 V1.0 

Post#1724 » by Raptorfan2012 » Tue Jul 15, 2025 1:58 pm

djsunyc wrote:Image


Pretty sure the Raptors take it. This Lakers team was basically Kobe & Gasol with scrubs. Our 2019 team was way deeper.
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Re: Official NBA General Discussion 2025-26 V1.0 

Post#1725 » by tsherkin » Thu Jul 17, 2025 12:37 am

djsunyc wrote:Image


I like our chances with that squad. Kawhi was better than Kobe, our defense was excellent and we had considerably better scoring distribution. Also, Kobe's shooting tended to suck a great deal in the Finals, which would leave us a lot of room to punish LA in a fashion very similar to how Boston rooked them in 2008 (and nearly again in 2010, at that).
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Re: Official NBA General Discussion 2025-26 V1.0 

Post#1726 » by OakleyDokely » Thu Jul 17, 2025 2:27 pm

Clippers new lineup.

Zubac
Collins
Kawhi
Beal
Harden

They'd win the title for sure if the year was 2019.
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Re: Official NBA General Discussion 2025-26 V1.0 

Post#1727 » by Kingsway_fan » Thu Jul 17, 2025 3:36 pm

OakleyDokely wrote:Clippers new lineup.

Zubac
Collins
Kawhi
Beal
Harden

They'd win the title for sure if the year was 2019.


Lol. True... but the West in 2025 is stacked... very stacked.
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Re: Official NBA General Discussion 2025-26 V1.0 

Post#1728 » by tsherkin » Thu Jul 17, 2025 3:48 pm

OakleyDokely wrote:Clippers new lineup.

Zubac
Collins
Kawhi
Beal
Harden

They'd win the title for sure if the year was 2019.


They might still if they're healthy come the playoffs. They gave Denver a tough time, and give or take Harden having a few more good games or them going to Zubac more, they might win that one if it's replayed a few times, you know? With some extra spacing from Beal, they're a dark horse contender, particularly if Kawhi finds a rhythm.

Obviously not my first choice and not as dangerous as they would have been 7 years past, but not a team to ignore.
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Re: Official NBA General Discussion 2025-26 V1.0 

Post#1729 » by WuTang_OG » Thu Jul 17, 2025 4:13 pm

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Re: Official NBA General Discussion 2025-26 V1.0 

Post#1730 » by Pointgod » Thu Jul 17, 2025 5:40 pm

tsherkin wrote:
OakleyDokely wrote:Clippers new lineup.

Zubac
Collins
Kawhi
Beal
Harden

They'd win the title for sure if the year was 2019.


They might still if they're healthy come the playoffs. They gave Denver a tough time, and give or take Harden having a few more good games or them going to Zubac more, they might win that one if it's replayed a few times, you know? With some extra spacing from Beal, they're a dark horse contender, particularly if Kawhi finds a rhythm.

Obviously not my first choice and not as dangerous as they would have been 7 years past, but not a team to ignore.


Harden would have to shed the playoff choker moniker before he could ever be taken seriously and there’s no way in hell that Beal and Harden should start in the back court unless you want Zubac to foul out by end of the first quarter
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Re: Official NBA General Discussion 2025-26 V1.0 

Post#1731 » by tsherkin » Thu Jul 17, 2025 6:09 pm

Pointgod wrote:Harden would have to shed the playoff choker moniker before he could ever be taken seriously and there’s no way in hell that Beal and Harden should start in the back court unless you want Zubac to foul out by end of the first quarter


They certainly have their issues, but that's a talented team even in 2026. Not to be taken lightly.
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Re: Official NBA General Discussion 2025-26 V1.0 

Post#1732 » by Psubs » Thu Jul 17, 2025 6:25 pm

Is Beal any good anymore. He has nice shooting splits but his defense is a minus. He's probably as effective as Barrett at half the cost.
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Re: Official NBA General Discussion 2025-26 V1.0 

Post#1733 » by tsherkin » Thu Jul 17, 2025 7:35 pm

Psubs wrote:Is Beal any good anymore. He has nice shooting splits but his defense is a minus. He's probably as effective as Barrett at half the cost.


He can shoot. He can't/won't defend. He isn't much of a playmaker. He's small. "Good" is relative, I suppose. He can still be a very dangerous scoring threat, particularly in reduced volume, but there are a lot of questions about him.
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Re: Official NBA General Discussion 2025-26 V1.0 

Post#1734 » by Pointgod » Thu Jul 17, 2025 7:41 pm

tsherkin wrote:
Pointgod wrote:Harden would have to shed the playoff choker moniker before he could ever be taken seriously and there’s no way in hell that Beal and Harden should start in the back court unless you want Zubac to foul out by end of the first quarter


They certainly have their issues, but that's a talented team even in 2026. Not to be taken lightly.


I like the team a lot better if Beal comes off the bench and Dunn starts. He can be the POA defender in the back court along with Kawhi on the wing and Zubac on the interior. I think they’re still on a lower tier than OKC and Denver.
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Re: Official NBA General Discussion 2025-26 V1.0 

Post#1735 » by tsherkin » Thu Jul 17, 2025 7:43 pm

Pointgod wrote:I like the team a lot better if Beal comes off the bench and Dunn starts. He can be the POA defender in the back court along with Kawhi on the wing and Zubac on the interior. I think they’re still on a lower tier than OKC and Denver.


That would make a lot of sense, yes.

And of course OKC is still a higher-tier team. Health alone guarantees that you can't look at LAC as a first-tier contender. Denver looks pretty interesting, so we'll see, but yes, I'd rank them ahead as well.
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Re: Official NBA General Discussion 2025-26 V1.0 

Post#1736 » by Dr Positivity » Thu Jul 17, 2025 9:44 pm

Teams like the Clippers and Grizzlies have been super competent and may not even make a finals. What we did was hard.
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Re: Official NBA General Discussion 2025-26 V1.0 

Post#1737 » by ForeverTFC » Thu Jul 17, 2025 9:50 pm

Lillard to Portland is just bizarre. Guess the sale is imminent.
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Re: Official NBA General Discussion 2025-26 V1.0 

Post#1738 » by James_Raptors » Thu Jul 17, 2025 10:03 pm

Beal was a net negative on both sides of the court last season, and barely above replacement player value status at 0.4 with a mind numbing 0.68 win shares. Thank goodness he's never played more than 60 games since '19, oh wait... Collins and Beal on the same court together will result in some tough defensive lapses. If Bradley could ever be convinced to play more of a niche, 6th man role, it could, possibly, be a net positive, somehow, maybe, but I wouldn't bet on it.
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Re: Official NBA General Discussion 2025-26 V1.0 

Post#1739 » by WaltFrazier » Fri Jul 18, 2025 2:01 am

JB7 wrote:
Tripod wrote:
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Dead weight contract…


How will this affect his podcasting?
There goes my hero. Watch him as he goes.
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Re: Official NBA General Discussion 2025-26 V1.0 

Post#1740 » by WaltFrazier » Fri Jul 18, 2025 2:04 am

WuTang_OG wrote:
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Referring to what? Beal? Dame?
There goes my hero. Watch him as he goes.

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