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On this day in 2004, the Hawks traded Rasheed Wallace to the Pistons. Atlanta hired him for 10 days and then sent him to Motown for Bob Sula, Chris Mills, Zeljko Rebraca, and the pick that became Josh Smith in a three-team deal. Detroit went from being a good team to a championship team. It’s an hour from here Highlights of Pistons vs. Lakers in the 2004 NBA Finals. Happy Sea Diversary, Detroit!

western question

8 Burning Topics About Stretch Runs

We are officially in the homestretch of the 2025-26 season. Every team has less than 30 games remaining. (Even teams like the Jazz and Kings will see if they can avoid making the Round of 82.) The vaunted Western Conference has a lot to figure out before the postseason. This is my burning question to the West.

Can the Thunder still dominate? Oklahoma City hasn’t gotten much attention for a team that started 24-1 and looked like a historical monster. Since then, the Thunder are 18-13… still pretty dominant, but not as completely certain as we thought. They must get Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (abdominal strain) and Jaylen Williams (hamstring) healthy. If so, will it remind everyone why we thought this would be the first repeat champion since 2017 and 2018? Will Thunder be able to find the gear that will strike fear into everyone else?

Can the Nuggets bounce back? Denver looks like an NBA champion when they have a full team. The problem is that we don’t have that many full members. Aaron Gordon and Peyton Watson are recovering from hamstring injuries. The Nuggets are 8-2 with a preferred starting lineup of Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Gordon, Cam Johnson and Christian Braun. However, he only played 159 minutes with this lineup.

Will Spurs arrive or have they arrived? We’ve seen teams like OKC in 2024 and Houston in 2025 make unexpected breakthroughs to the top of their conferences only to be eliminated early in the playoffs. The Spurs come out of nowhere to become the No. 2 seed and are off to a great week as they challenge for the No. 1 seed. But is Victor Wembaneyama and staff ready to make a big splash in the postseason?

Are the Rockets doing better than last year? Last year, Houston built up its strength past the trade deadline and lost in the first round to the Warriors in good spirits. Now that Kevin Durant is on the roster, the Rockets (33-20) will enter the postseason with…perhaps a hearty first-round exit? This team has a lot of potential, but they need to step into a higher gear. Is KD going to take them to the next step with Alperen Şengün or have the West become too demanding for that to happen?

Are the Wolves sleepers again? Anthony Edwards is better. Julius Randle is truly amazing. Jaden McDaniels has grown tremendously. And they made a big move at the deadline, acquiring Ayo Dosunmu to fill a needed position. The Wolves (34-22) have been surprising conference finalists the past two years. I feel like they are in a great position to win the award for the third year in a row. But do they have enough clutch offense outside of Ant?

Will the Lakers trio move the needle? On SiriusXM NBA Radio earlier this week, Marc Stein and I discovered that the 33-21 Lakers are actually minus-1 on the season. And of those 21 losses, 18 were by double digits. what? How is that possible? Yes, their big three has only been together for 10 games (7 wins, 3 losses) and 152 minutes. However, they are a combined minus-9.6 per 100 possessions. Is this team really a good team?

Do play-in quartets pose a danger? Currently, the play-in teams are Phoenix, Golden State, Portland, and the Clippers. The Warriors won’t have Jimmy Butler. The Suns need Dillon Brooks to be a good scorer. The Blazers have no shots. And the Clippers let James Harden and Ivica Zubac go at the deadline. Maybe the Suns are the team you least want to play for?

How bad is tanking? Jazz has already been fined for its terrible but innovative tanking efforts. Kings waive Zach LaVine Domantas Sabonis this seasonand they’re already on a franchise-worst 14-game losing streak. Memphis will be without Ja Morant for at least a few weeks. Dallas has lost nine straight, and there is some injury news (see below). And pelicans stink. How many more times will Adam Silver be fined?

last 24

📲 Wasn’t it me? There are rumors that Kevin Durant has a separate account. He calls it “Twitter nonsense.”

🏀 Newcomer ranking. According to Sam Veceni, the 2025-26 rookie class is extremely deep. Still, it’s Cooper vs. Conn..

🎯 Next generation. Ray Allen lights up a Boston courtroom. It’s not Ray Allen, it’s his son..

🎮 New additions. NBA 2K26 adds current college players to the roster. When will College Hoops 2K be available again??

💰 Buy a jersey. Cooper Flagg’s debut NBA jersey went on sale recently. It cost a million dollars..

Stream the NBA on Fubo (Try it for free!) Catch off-market games league pass.

injury news

Kylie is done, Franz needs rest

There were two breaking reports of injuries yesterday. Let’s start with the Kyrie Irving news. irving He has decided to sit out the entire 2025-26 season. Hoping to make a full recovery from a torn ACL suffered 11 months ago. Irving turns 34 next month, but won’t be back on the court until October. Of course, this will only benefit a Mavericks team that can actually use their top draft pick after Cooper Flagg.

The Mavs (19-35) have lost nine straight and have a real chance to move up the draft board. My biggest question is, are the Mavs going to keep Kyrie around forever? Will he definitely play in Dallas again? Will the Mavs try to move him before the next deadline? How much roster turnover will this team have over the summer?

Then there’s another injury news for Franz Wagner and Magic. Orlando missed 25 games this season with an ankle sprain. I’ll re-evaluate him in 3 weeks.Because the pain continues. The Magic are just 28-25 this season, and Paolo Banchero and Wagner have played together in just 58 games since the start of last season. They have 29 wins and 29 losses in those games. This is not how this season was supposed to go after acquiring Desmond Bane in a four-game start and pick swap in the summer.

Not to mention, Jalen Suggs continues to miss a lot of time. This group is not running out of time, but the work ahead will be quite costly. It’s fair to wonder if the management will decide to change the lineup or just blame it on injuries. Or will he blame Jamal Mosley, who continues to struggle offensively? Orlando should be able to finish the season with good health and continuity that will lead to wins.

east question

Major issues for Knicks, Celtics, etc.

Let’s move east to address some pressing questions about this stretch run. Now that we’ve covered some of the Magic above, let’s focus on the other teams. And of course, let’s not forget about tankers.

Is the piston gear high? we discussed yesterday Why do so many people not believe in the Pistons, even though they have the best record in the NBA? But given how hard this team plays and everything they do game by game, I wonder if they’re in a higher gear in the playoffs. Is this another Tom Thibodeau situation where the team always plays at its best? There may be no other gear.

Will Tatum come back in good shape? I remember in 2004, the Kings had Peja Stojakovic playing like an MVP candidate and doing well despite Chris Webber’s knee injury. When Webber came back, he was good, but not great. Peja’s role diminished and the team never regained its form. Could something similar happen with Jayson Tatum and he return to the Celtics? Or will he be competent enough to dispel any concerns?

Have the Knicks fixed their defense? Through the first 43 games, the Knicks went 25-18 and had the 18th best defense in the NBA. Since then, they have gone 10-2 with the league’s best defense. They were attacked from 3-point shots and couldn’t stop them most of the night. Since then, they have been the best at blocking shots, allowing few second chances. Has this been fixed or is this just a tough stretch on defense?

Will Harden actually change Cleveland’s fortunes? You’ve probably never looked at a team struggling in the playoffs and thought, “We should add Harden to fix the problem.” But with the addition of Harden, Cleveland made many people believe in its chances. They need Evan Mobley to get healthy, but they know the Cavs (34-21), who have won five straight, have underperformed for most of the season. That is if you believe that last year is who they really are.

Have the Raptors maxed out? We know that Toronto is phenomenal defensively, but mediocre offensively. Can the Raptors (32-23) produce better results on both ends of the floor? I don’t think it’s unreasonable to ask them to be more defensive. But they also don’t seem to have the outside shot to advance their offense. This might be fine.

Can the Sixers rely on two-thirds of their big three? We know Tyrese Maxey is great and an MVP candidate. Joel Embiid played great when he was on the floor. Paul George is still trying to adjust (currently serving a 25-game suspension for violating the league’s drug policy). But Embiid and PG don’t have the best reputation in the playoffs. Can the Sixers (30-24) get what they need in their remaining games?

Will Giannis make the play-ins dangerous? Orlando is struggling with injuries. Charlotte was a story of great change, but people are waiting for the bubble to burst. Atlanta’s performance was well below expectations. And Miami’s new identity still hasn’t brought the desired stability to the offense. The only way to make the East play-in dangerous is to get Giannis Antetokounmpo healthy and give the Bucks a magical run with him and Cam Thomas? Does that even make sense?

Will the tanker flood due to fines? The Pacers have already been fined $100,000, which puts them in the NBA’s spotlight. The Wizards may not be able to play in the last month and a half after acquiring Trae Young and Anthony Davis in trades. I don’t know what Brooklyn is doing on the court. And Chicago may start using tanks in earnest. How many fines will be thrown at you?