NBA Season 2025-26

[Redz]

Cleveland moved past the Knicks into the 3rd spot in the East.

I guess the question begs;  would you rather face Cleveland or New York in the ECSF?

Cleveland.  I don't trust Harden and Mitchell to stay healthy through two rounds of the playoffs.  But it would be a series that induces some sweat from me.

My bigger thing is I want to see Charlotte stay in the 9-10 slot, so that if they make it through the play-in they are the 8 seed.  They have been playing more like a 3-5 seed over the past two months, and I would rather not catch them in the first round if that continues.

C2021 is right, both Harden and Mitchell have a history of wearing down in the playoffs.  Mobley has trouble staying healthy too.  But if Mitchell, Harden, Mobley is the big 3 for CLE, make no mistake, they are a title contending team.  I will concede that this is a big "IF" but I think CLE could cause BOS plenty of problems in the playoffs, especially if BOS does not have home court.

I expect CLE to be one of, if not the best team record-wise for the balance of the season.  They are going to go into the playoffs hot.  Very likely they are the 2 seed before this is done.

I haven?t looked at the schedule, but it does seem like Cleveland will be tough to keep pace with for the second seed.  Though it?s pretty crazy how the Celts have kept winning at such a high rate.  Cleveland is 9-1 in their last 10 and the Celts are 8-2.  Maybe it?s because some of the Celtics losses are such clunkers and that they haven?t had any massive winning streaks, but I?m always surprised when I look at that last 10 games column in the standings and see that they?re 7-3 or 8-2 pretty consistently. 

[Who]

Jokic kept his second-place spot (18 first-place votes), but the bone bruise he suffered in late December that knocked him out for nearly a month has clearly stalled his MVP candidacy. It certainly doesn't mean Jokic has no chance of winning. His stat line -- 28.7 points, 12.7 rebounds and 10.7 assists per game while shooting 59% overall, 42% from 3 and 84% from the free throw line -- certainly helps, though his margin for error has shrunk.

If Jokic misses two more games, he will be ineligible for MVP and all end-of-season awards. That would end a streak of five consecutive top-two finishes in MVP voting, one short of Boston Celtics legends Bill Russell and Larry Bird for the most all time.

I've always been amazed by this by Bird. I didn't know Russell achieved it as well. Or that these are the only 2 in NBA history who have done this.

Bird so unlucky too. A 3rd place finish in 1987 before another 2nd place in 1988. Almost 8 years in a row. And he was harshly done to finish 4th in his rookie year in 1980. He was 2nd for MVP behind Kareem for my money that season. Led that incredible turnaround from a 29 win season to a 61 season. Should have been 2nd ahead of Moses / Dr J (edit: It wasn't even Moses. It was George Gervin who finished ahead of Bird that year). One of the most dominant individual stretches in NBA history.

That would be an incredible achievement if Jokic matches this mark. He can only afford to miss 1 more game though. 2 missed games and he is below the 65 game threshold. I think DEN have 26 more games to go.

Wembanyama has missed 13 games (he actually has missed 14 but gets credit for the NBA Cup title game), meaning he can miss only four the rest of the season.

But in his third season, the French phenom has again been tremendous, averaging 24.4 points, 11.1 rebounds and a league-leading 2.7 blocks per game

Spurs currently 2nd place in the West. They have a 38 win 16 loss record.

They mention Luka who finished 5th in their straw poll. He has missed 12 games. Ant has missed 10 games. SGA has missed 7 games and counting. Currently out. Uncertain when he will be back. Giannis has already missed too many games to win any awards. Steph is two games away from being ineligible (like Jokic). More in terms of All-NBA teams than MVP for him.

According to the straw poll, the top 5 for MVP was SGA, Jokic, Cade, Wemby, Doncic. In that order.

[Silas]

Jokic kept his second-place spot (18 first-place votes), but the bone bruise he suffered in late December that knocked him out for nearly a month has clearly stalled his MVP candidacy. It certainly doesn't mean Jokic has no chance of winning. His stat line -- 28.7 points, 12.7 rebounds and 10.7 assists per game while shooting 59% overall, 42% from 3 and 84% from the free throw line -- certainly helps, though his margin for error has shrunk.

If Jokic misses two more games, he will be ineligible for MVP and all end-of-season awards. That would end a streak of five consecutive top-two finishes in MVP voting, one short of Boston Celtics legends Bill Russell and Larry Bird for the most all time.

I've always been amazed by this by Bird. I didn't know Russell achieved it as well. Or that these are the only 2 in NBA history who have done this.

Bird so unlucky too. A 3rd place finish in 1987 before another 2nd place in 1988. Almost 8 years in a row. And he was harshly done to finish 4th in his rookie year in 1980. He was 2nd for MVP behind Kareem for my money that season. Led that incredible turnaround from a 29 win season to a 61 season. Should have been 2nd ahead of Moses / Dr J (edit: It wasn't even Moses. It was George Gervin who finished ahead of Bird that year). One of the most dominant individual stretches in NBA history.

That would be an incredible achievement if Jokic matches this mark. He can only afford to miss 1 more game though. 2 missed games and he is below the 65 game threshold. I think DEN have 26 more games to go.

Wembanyama has missed 13 games (he actually has missed 14 but gets credit for the NBA Cup title game), meaning he can miss only four the rest of the season.

But in his third season, the French phenom has again been tremendous, averaging 24.4 points, 11.1 rebounds and a league-leading 2.7 blocks per game

Spurs currently 2nd place in the West. They have a 38 win 16 loss record.

They mention Luka who finished 5th in their straw poll. He has missed 12 games. Ant has missed 10 games. SGA has missed 7 games and counting. Currently out. Uncertain when he will be back. Giannis has already missed too many games to win any awards. Steph is two games away from being ineligible (like Jokic). More in terms of All-NBA teams than MVP for him.

According to the straw poll, the top 5 for MVP was SGA, Jokic, Cade, Wemby, Doncic. In that order.

When was this poll taken? and where is JB?

[Who]

Jokic kept his second-place spot (18 first-place votes), but the bone bruise he suffered in late December that knocked him out for nearly a month has clearly stalled his MVP candidacy. It certainly doesn't mean Jokic has no chance of winning. His stat line -- 28.7 points, 12.7 rebounds and 10.7 assists per game while shooting 59% overall, 42% from 3 and 84% from the free throw line -- certainly helps, though his margin for error has shrunk.

If Jokic misses two more games, he will be ineligible for MVP and all end-of-season awards. That would end a streak of five consecutive top-two finishes in MVP voting, one short of Boston Celtics legends Bill Russell and Larry Bird for the most all time.

I've always been amazed by this by Bird. I didn't know Russell achieved it as well. Or that these are the only 2 in NBA history who have done this.

Bird so unlucky too. A 3rd place finish in 1987 before another 2nd place in 1988. Almost 8 years in a row. And he was harshly done to finish 4th in his rookie year in 1980. He was 2nd for MVP behind Kareem for my money that season. Led that incredible turnaround from a 29 win season to a 61 season. Should have been 2nd ahead of Moses / Dr J (edit: It wasn't even Moses. It was George Gervin who finished ahead of Bird that year). One of the most dominant individual stretches in NBA history.

That would be an incredible achievement if Jokic matches this mark. He can only afford to miss 1 more game though. 2 missed games and he is below the 65 game threshold. I think DEN have 26 more games to go.

Wembanyama has missed 13 games (he actually has missed 14 but gets credit for the NBA Cup title game), meaning he can miss only four the rest of the season.

But in his third season, the French phenom has again been tremendous, averaging 24.4 points, 11.1 rebounds and a league-leading 2.7 blocks per game

Spurs currently 2nd place in the West. They have a 38 win 16 loss record.

They mention Luka who finished 5th in their straw poll. He has missed 12 games. Ant has missed 10 games. SGA has missed 7 games and counting. Currently out. Uncertain when he will be back. Giannis has already missed too many games to win any awards. Steph is two games away from being ineligible (like Jokic). More in terms of All-NBA teams than MVP for him.

According to the straw poll, the top 5 for MVP was SGA, Jokic, Cade, Wemby, Doncic. In that order.

When was this poll taken? and where is JB?

The article is on the front page of ESPN NBA page so recent.

At the bottom, it says JB came in 6th.

Celtics forward Jaylen Brown has continued his remarkable campaign, finishing sixth in the straw poll. Considering Brown was ninth in December's poll, his jump is a nod to both his impressive play and the short-handed Celtics hitting the All-Star break in second place in the East.

It mentions 3 other names after JB. Donovan Mitchell in 7th, J Brunson in 8th, and Ty Maxey in 9th.

[Who]

I was listening to Tim Leger and Adam Mares making the case for Cade Cunningham as MVP.

They were usin SGA as a comparison. OKC has 43 wins and 14 losses. DET has 41 wins and 13 losses. Neck and neck. This despite Cade having no co-star as talented offensively as Jalen Williams. Arguably even as a talented as Chet Holmgren. Duren gets 17.7ppg but he can't create much for himself offensively. He needs other guys to create for him. Cade has no co-star. SGA does. Despite this, their teams are neck and neck for the best record in the league.

His other teammates -- Tobias Harris, Duncan Robinson, Ausar Thompson, Isaiah Stewart, Ron Holland -- create little offense by themselves. Cade is a one-man offense. The next best creator on team is arguably Caris LeVert.

25.7ppg 9.7apg 5.7rpg
1.5spg 0.9bpg = 2.4 stocks per game
3.7 turnovers per game
46.3% FG 33.5% 3PT 81.0% FT (7 FTAs per game)
56.9% TS (league average 58.0%)

Does Cade deserve more love for MVP? Should he be considered one of the main candidates alongside SGA and Jokic? Or should he stay in the next tier competing for a place in the 3rd-5th range well behind the two front-runners SGA and Jokic? More of an honourable mention.