2026 Playoffs Elimination Ruminations: Suns, Blazers, Hawks, Nuggets

PHOENIX SUNS (0-4)

Whether or not the Suns' season was a success is a matter of debate.  They fielded what many considered to be a mediocre roster yet were arguable, throughout most of the season at least, the NBA's most surprisingly-good team.  But then, during the postseason, they proved to be more or less a scrimmage team for the defending champions to warm up against.

I think Phoenix plays too much iso.  Their offense doesn't look like it has any type of discernible strategy.  Some other teams are able to get away with that style of play, but the Suns aren't that all-around talented.

The bigger issue - like I don't now what happened to Mark Williams, but they need more of an interior presence obviously, especially on defense.

I would imagine that, given their current roster, the Suns have some money to spend.  So it'll be interesting to see what they do during the offseason  And besides a big, this team could really benefit from like a Jrue Holiday, i.e. a PG that actually knows how to run a team.

PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS (1-4)

I'm not going to say that Scoot Henderson is a bust, but it's obvious, at least to me, that he isn't a starter.  Still waiting for a highly-touted rookie to breakout after three seasons doesn't sound like a wise bet.

So basically, the Blazers traded Scoot for Dame, reacquired the latter, and it's very much possible that next season, Lillard will be starting over Henderson  That doesn't sound like efficient braintrusting, but then again, neither does hiring a coach who rigs poker games.  And Portland should've known that, unless you're drafting Iverson or some shit, you don't just throw young PGs in the fire like that.

Avidja is a tough, drive-oriented(?) allstar but someone who can benefit from having a teammate more formidable than Robert Williams III or Donovan Clingan downlow.  I'm not dissing either one of them, but you know what I mean.  The Blazers are a wing-oriented team, but their Gs and Fs aren't talented and deep enough to really shake anyone.

Also, how about a round of applause for Holiday?  Dude is old AF in NBA years yet was Portland's best player for at least a couple of games.  He's the consummate professional who, despite his pedigree, doesn't demand to be on a contender and competes, even on a lowly squad like the Blazers.

On one hand, I'm hoping that next season he ends up on a team that can better use his services.  Time isn't really on his side type shit.  But on the other, I'm looking forward to seeing the level-headed, defensive specialist Jrue playing alongside the more sporadic and offensively-talented Dame.  Few backcourts would have balance like that.

ATLANTA HAWKS (2-4)

Even if Atlanta had won the First Round, which for a second there I thought they might, that wouldn't have negated the fact that the Knicks are a much better team.  NYK - as I have said numerous times before - has the most talented starting five in the league, even moreso than the Thunder.

The Hawks traded away Clint Capela - who isn't what he used to be - earlier this season, but now you see the folly in just discarding bigs like that.  They could have at least used a bigger body to throw at the likes of KAT, Robinson and even Anunoby.  Currently, it looks like the biggest guy on this squad is Jonathan Kuminga.  That isn't going to cut it, now that the NBA is trending semi-interior again.

And speaking of busts, what's up with Risacher?  Apparently he isn't injured, yet I didn't even hear his name mentioned this postseason.

Granted, the 2024 Draft has yet to produce any truly exceptional player (besides maybe Stephon Castle), but the Hawks dropped the ball on that one.  They could've at least tried to like trade the pick or something.  And I'm not dissing Zaccharie or anything, but he was amazingly ineffective for a number-one pick.

That said, I can imagine Trae Young got a kick out of seeing his former team get their asses bust like that.  That Game 6 loss is going to linger all the way into next season, even though the Hawks were no match for an inspired Knicks' team.  So it'll be interesting to see how the braintrust adjusts and tries to boost morale during the offseason.  It should probably start with shipping Risacher out who, if nothing else, would arguably benefit from a change of scenery (perhaps even back to Europe).

DENVER NUGGETS (2-4)

All things considered, the Nuggets losing to the Timberwolves isn't overly surprising.  What is is the fact that they lost even though Minnesota didn't have Edwards (and DiVincenzo).  So it's almost like Denver's starters got outclassed by the Wolves' second team.

I don't know what's up with Aaron Gordon.  Apparently he wasn't injured, i.e. unable to play but still proved to be a nonfactor.  Jokic + Murray, imo, are like the best inside-out combination of the 2020s, but Gordon is the x-factor.  When's he unable to play or whatever, it's like Denver loses its grit.

Nikola does get into his fair share of fights, perhaps more than any other player in the league, but he isn't known as a shit-talker media wise.  So the fact that he's been so vocal after Denver was eliminated says a lot, that now, finally a rebuild of sorts is inevitable.  I love Aaron, but he isn't consistent enough these days.  So Giannis, anyone?  I can also sorta picture Kawhi in the equation.

The Nuggets have one of the better braintrusts, so it's unlikely they make a nonprogressive move two offseasons in a row.  Trading Porter Jr. for Cam Thomas, in hindsight, was a mistake.  This isn't a knock against Cam, even though Michael has since proven himself the better all-around player.  It's a knock against the coaching staff for (under)utilizing him the same way they did Porter, i.e. having one of the tallest guys on the court constantly perched behind the 3-point line.  Jokic and the gang have slowly come to realize that they're not going to win again using the same strategy (and players) from 2023.  And speaking of coaches, I bet Mike Malone is getting a kick out of this also.

2026 Play-In Elimination Ruminations: Warriors, Clippers, Heat, Hornets

 WARRIORS (1-1)

Here's how influential Steph Curry is.  Now that he can no longer consistently win games on some miracle 3-pointer shit, the whole entire rest of the league is shifting back towards the inside game.  When he's on, everyone is encouraged.  And when he's off, they come back down to reality.

This is something I've been predicting for awhile.  The world moves in cycles, and it was only a matter of time before NBAers began realizing the value of attacking the paint again.  However, I thought it would be due to emergence of a dominant big, not the decline of Steph and the rise of SGA.

All Steph appears to need, even at this aged stage of his career, is a all-star level player on the side.  In their first game of the Play-Ins, when they knocked off the Clippers, that player was Porzingis.

Kristaps has also been a recurring subject on this blog over the years.  When he's on, he's undoubtedly on of the best players in the league - a European version of Wembanyama(?), if you will   The thing tho is his health is such that you can't even rely on him for two games in a row.  Remember that when the Celtics won their championship is 2024, he didn't even play in like half of the postseason games.

So if you revisit that loss to the Suns, when Curry was walking off the court afterwards crying, shaking the hands of all of his teammates, you'll notice that he sneered at Porzingis.  It isn't his fault, Steph.  If as a team you find yourself relying on Kristaps's consistently for whatevr reason, then you're doomed.  And Golden State's braintrust has long lost their marbles, even gambling on the health of a late-30s Jimmy Butler.

LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS (0-1)

I hope Kawhi isn't forced to leave or whatever TF is going on out there.  I would argue that the Clippers are a better team than the Warriors but unfortunately caught the latter on a hot night, when Porzingis surprisingly decided to show up.

Sometimes, I don't think Leonard even realizes how good he actually is.  He's an alpha who doesn't even need to be on a superteam.  That last championship he won, he was the undisputed alpha.

I understand that he's another player whose health you can't rely on.  But I think the Clippers should continue to build a team that can without him though without adding someone who would minimize his leadership.

So if the Clippers do retain his services, I'm hoping that Los Angeles doesn't go out looking for another perennial allstar unless maybe Giannis.  But if he does leave, it'll be interesting to see him go to the Nuggets, who look like they're about ot embark on some type of rebuild.

MIAMI HEAT (0-1)

I'm just going to go ahead and say it - the Heat could've really used Terry Rozier who, despite not being an allstar, is an above-average scoring point.  I know the temptation must be great, but sometimes when dudes go out doing their thing, wearing x-ray glasses to poker games and shit like that, they need to think about their teams also, like how they'll be affected once you're caught.

You can't just go out and replace a player like Rozier without giving up something in return.  Maybe the NBA will introduce a "Felon's Exception", so that teams whose players are in trouble with the law can get a little bit of extra dough to replace them.

CHARLOTTE HORNETS (1-1)

Entering the postseason, the ROY was Knueppel's to lose, and lose it he did.  Dude just totally disappeared when his team needed him most.

I didn't really see enough of those games to understand why.  Maybe it was the jitters?  Maybe his teammates were so amped up that they ignored him?  Maybe a little bit of both?  I don't know.

Charlotte can be considered one of those teams that's built for perimeter play.  So now you have someone like Banchero - finally being incepted maybe - using his big, strong body attacking the rim instead of playing pansy jumpshot.  Even Franz Wagner was attacking the rim.  And the result?  The Hornets were not equipped to do anything about it.

In any event, taking for granted they'll make the postseason next year, this team needs to focus on keeping Kon involved, even in big games.  Maybe he'll mature enough on his own in the meantime to learn how to make his presence felt.

Finally, the Hornets were able to turn things around and look formidable, after like decades in obscurity, only to win one postseason game due to the opposing squad losing their best player and then getting blown out in the next.  Reason for optimism?  I don't know, but this looks like a team that can finally start focusing on its frontcourt instead of always adding guards. 

The Dilemma of the Unneeded Superstar

I know I talk a lot of shit, but I understand that in reality being an NBA GM type can't be easy - if for no other reason than having to deal with actual human beings are opposed to everything being theoretical or in your head.

For example, it's one thing if I say 'hey, maybe the Pistons are better at this point without Cade Cunningham'.  But it'll be a whole 'nother ballgame for Detroit's braintrust to actually bench him accordingly.  And I can see both the positives and negatives of letting Cade ball.  You can rationalize this decision by arguing that the Pistons will inevitably need him at some point in the playoffs.  But on the downside, the way the team was hot, maybe they would have done better by waiting for that moment rather than instantly forcing him back into the spotlight.

WHAT MAKES A SUPERSTAR?

There's this old saying that in the NBA, a superstar is "a player who makes his teammates better".  I don't know if I necessarily believe that 100%, but let's apply that argument to Cade.

Please forgive me if I don't feel like googling for exact statistics, but in summation, the Pistons started off the season really hot, to the point of Cunningham being in the MVP conversation and the team securing the number1 seed.  Despite playing alongside a fellow allstar in Jalen "Woolridge" Duren, Cade is undoubtedly the face of the franchise.

Then, I think about a month ago, he suffered a "collapsed lung".  Now I don't know exactly what a "collapsed lung" is, but shit sounds life threatening by default.  But lo and behold, not only is he back for the postseason but even the team's very first game.

Now this is why, by that above definition, Cunningham would definitely be a superstar.  The Pistons, under his leaderships, had gotten to the point where they actually playing better without him.  So between October and March, when Cade was healthy, he did in fact make his teammates better, because if you go back like a season or two ago, when dude was hurt niggas was garbage.

And this isn't as much of an anomaly as some people may think.  When Jordan retired the first time, the Bulls would have made it all the way back to the NBA Finals, without him, if not for that bullsh*t call on Hubert Davis.  It was Pippen and them playing in the shadow under Jordan those previous years which got them to that level of greatness.

There was also a time, earlier this season, when the Thunder were virtually unbeatable without Jalen Williams.  Yeah, you really did make your teammates better, mate - so much better that now they can score without you.

SHOUTOUT PAOLO

Readers of this blog can attest to the fact that I've been very critical of Banchero's style of play, like he's DeMar DeRozan, despite being the size of a baby ram.  But now you see your boy finally crashing the paint and reaping the benefits thereof.  He's like a latino Lebron or some shit, like get in his way if you want.

In fact, the league as a whole is starting to re-realize how important the post is, you know, as the easiest place to score from on the entire court.  Lebron also recently had his 'wait a minute' moment, with the Rockets paying the price.  So these teams that are built to defend solely from the perimeter, they're going to have some big problems into the foreseeable future.

In a way, I guess you can say Shai started this trend, but I think it also has a lot to do with the decline of Steph.  Now that his magic is on and off, everyone else is starting to come back to reality.  Talk about influential.

CONCLUSION

The way the Pistons were rolling, even if Cunningham was ready to come back, there was really no need to rush it.  But if they do go on to experience an extended playoff run, I guess the sooner he's back into the mix, the better(?).