2026 NBA Playoffs - Second round series

[TOO]

This is going to be a running theme all the way through the finals, which hopefully leads to some meaningful changes in the off-season. No shot that OKC loses with the whistle they get, doesn't matter who they play.

[ShelC]

I wonder if there's anything the players/coaches associations can do in the offseason about this. The league is in charge, the officials know how the league wants teams/players officiated. But if everyone stands up and starts calling things out, the league would have to respond at some point, right? Just let the teams play and call the fouls that are fouls.

[Mori Chu]

Even if the refs miss these calls in the moment, the league should review these games afterward and issue retroactive flopping penalties for them. We have the video; it is clear that many OKC players intentionally exaggerate contact and flop to trick the officials. Punish them! Issue fines, give the Lakers free FTs in the next game, whatever it takes. Don't let teams do this without consequences.

[Superbone]

[Kryptonic]

You’d think since sports betting has ramped up that the pressure would be greater to make the right calls…. Unless…

[Mori Chu]

Spurs win and take their 2-1 home court advantage back. That was a big loss for the Wolves, who had stolen Game 1 and could have stayed in the driver's seat in the series. Wemby was exceptional; he had 39 and 15 with 5 blocks, and he altered or bothered countless other shots.

[Wally_West]

[The Bobster]

Oklahoma City has a +19.7 point differential this series.

[Ring_Wanted]

If you watch the other series, it is crazy what a difference there is between OKC and everybody else, even SAS. They attack like surgeons, defend like jacals and even crash the boards like starving wolves. And then they play the refs like they have them on their payroll.

Surely anything can happen on the court but leaving aside the Warriors with Durant, I am not sure I have seen anything like this. 96 Bulls, Lebron Miami, Duncan Spurs, Shaq-Kobe Lakers, none of them felt like this much above the rest.

Your team is playing the best ball of the season yet you look at the scoreboard and you are down by 11. Then somehow you make this crazy string of brilliant plays, cut it to 1 but another wave comes and you are back down by 13.

Will not comment on their chest of picks because come on man. Hopefully ownership is a handicap to them soon.

[AmareIsGod]

Ear this, Lakers fans!

**OKC vs Lakers (3-0):** +18, +18, +23 = +59 over 3 games, **19.7 per game**
**OKC vs Suns (4-0 sweep):** +35, +13, +12, +9 = +69 over 4 games, **17.3 per game**

The Suns sweep got front-loaded by that 35-point Game 1 blowout, but Games 2-4 tightened up (especially Game 4 at 9). The Lakers series has been a steadier beatdown, including last night's 131-108 win in LA.

[Mori Chu]

I don't see any path for any team besides OKC to take home this year's title. They have just been absolutely dominant. At this rate they could be looking at a 16-1 or even 16-0 path through the playoffs. Maybe Wemby and the Spurs can give them a run for their money, but you have to play basically perfectly to even stay in the game against them. Then you add in the refs and the 8-on-5 aspect and it's a long shot to get a win.

I dunno about you guys, but I am not really a fan of NBA dynasties. The '90s Bulls were fun to watch, and I got a kick out of the Curry Warriors (esp. living in Silicon Valley for part of their run), but in general I want every year's playoffs to be competitive and to enter into them without knowing who is bound to win the title. This OKC team may be set up for one of these generational runs, a three-peat and beyond.

[Split T]

The Spurs kinda owned the Thunder this year…I wouldn’t be so quick to crown them…but yes, no one from the east is beating the Thunder or Spurs…that’s the Championship

[Split T]

Looking at payrolls, I think it’s fun to see what OKC is gonna do…they are way over the 2nd apron next year. They do have team options on Hartenstein(28 mil) and Dort(18 mil), that they can decline and get under, but we’ve reached the point where they will need to start making tough decisions. Isaiah Joe(11 million) and Aaron Wiggins(9 million) seem like easy guys to just move elsewhere for no salary. Ajay Mitchell, Cason Wallace, and Jared McCain are cheap now, but won’t be soon. They can’t keep everyone.

[Furlanfufi]

Looking at payrolls, I think it’s fun to see what OKC is gonna do…they are way over the 2nd apron next year. They do have team options on Hartenstein(28 mil) and Dort(18 mil), that they can decline and get under, but we’ve reached the point where they will need to start making tough decisions. Isaiah Joe(11 million) and Aaron Wiggins(9 million) seem like easy guys to just move elsewhere for no salary. Ajay Mitchell, Cason Wallace, and Jared McCain are cheap now, but won’t be soon. They can’t keep everyone.

Yeah, but they have a gazillion picks to get good players on the draft and they can sign and trade this guys for more picks. Sigh.

[Split T]

They don’t actually have that many picks anymore…and the ones they do have aren’t all that great…this Clipper one is probably their best

[Mori Chu]

Looking at payrolls, I think it’s fun to see what OKC is gonna do…they are way over the 2nd apron next year. They do have team options on Hartenstein(28 mil) and Dort(18 mil), that they can decline and get under, but we’ve reached the point where they will need to start making tough decisions. Isaiah Joe(11 million) and Aaron Wiggins(9 million) seem like easy guys to just move elsewhere for no salary. Ajay Mitchell, Cason Wallace, and Jared McCain are cheap now, but won’t be soon. They can’t keep everyone.

IMO this OKC team and its future will be the ultimate indictment of the current salary cap and CBA structure. Like them or not, OKC have built their team almost entirely from home-grown talent. They traded for SGA, but that was very early on before he truly broke out. Then they have drafted Williams, Holmgren, and most of their other core players and grown them together into a superteam. I don't love the idea of OKC dominating the NBA for the next decade, but, why should a team that has the savvy and skill to build such a great roster be punished by being forced to trade them away or let them walk as they become eligible for their next contracts? Why shouldn't they be able to keep their own guys around without facing mountainous penalties? It's BS. I think the league should not punish these teams that are skillful enough to build a great roster organically.

I'm not saying that there should be no salary cap or no luxury tax or whatever. I don't know what a good/fair solution is. And I realize that many ways one might "fix" the problem I'm describing would also leave loopholes that would inevitably help the Lakers of the world hoard all the league's talent. So I'm not sure what would be the best way to address this. But I think it's a huge bummer that so many teams (even our own) have to face this difficult tax/apron crap just to keep their own team together, much less improve it. I want to see more roster continuity in the league, more teams able to keep their cores together and not dump players merely to avoid tax/apron penalties.

[specialsauce]

Players you draft should not count against the salary cap.

There should be a cap on FA/trades, but that should be separated from players on their original team. Encourages retainment, rewards teams that draft well and minimizes the impact of LA/NY/etc

[Superbone]

[Superbone]

It pains me so much! Aww, these poor saps!

[Wally_West]