The Bounce: Can the Thunder still dominate? And 15 more questions for stretch run

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On this date in 2004, the Hawks traded Rasheed Wallace to the Pistons. Atlanta had employed him for 10 days before sending him to Motown for Bob Sura, Chris Mills, Zeljko Rebraca and the pick that became Josh Smith in a three-team deal. Detroit transformed from a good team to a championship team. Here’s an hour of Pistons highlights against the Lakers in the 2004 NBA Finals. Happy Sheediversary, Detroit!

West questions

Eight burning topics for the stretch run

We’re officially in the home stretch of the 2025-26 season. Every team has fewer than 30 games left. (Even teams like the Jazz and Kings, who will see if they can avoid making it to all 82.) In the vaunted Western Conference, we have a lot to figure out before the postseason. Here are my burning West questions:

Can the Thunder still dominate? Oklahoma City hasn’t looked close to the team that started 24-1 and looked like a historic monster. Since then, the Thunder are 18-13 … still pretty dominant, but not totally foolproof like we thought. They have to get Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (abdominal strain) and Jalen Williams (hamstring) healthy. If they do, will they start reminding everybody why we thought this would be our first repeat champs since 2017 and 2018? Will the Thunder find that gear that put the fear into everybody else?

Can the Nuggets get healthy? Denver looks like an NBA champion when it has its full squad. The problem is, it hasn’t had that full squad much. Aaron Gordon and Peyton Watson are both nursing hamstring injuries. With their preferred starting lineup of Nikola Jokić, Jamal Murray, Gordon, Cam Johnson and Christian Braun, the Nuggets are 8-2. But that lineup has only played 159 minutes together.

Are the Spurs arriving or have they arrived? We’ve seen teams like OKC in 2024 and Houston in 2025 make massive, unexpected leaps to the top of the conference, only to make an early playoff exit. The Spurs are the No. 2 seed out of nowhere, and they’re within a great week of challenging for the No. 1 seed. But are Victor Wembanyama and crew ready to make a deep run in the postseason?

Are the Rockets better off than last year? Last year, Houston rolled with what it had past the trade deadline before a spirited first-round exit against the Warriors. Now with Kevin Durant added to the mix, the Rockets (33-20) will roll into the postseason with … possibly a spirited first-round exit? This team has a lot of potential, but it needs to hit a higher gear. Is KD going to lead them with Alperen Şengün to that next step? Or has the West gotten too tough to make that happen?

Are the Wolves sleepers once again? Anthony Edwards is better. Julius Randle is really this good. Jaden McDaniels is extremely improved. And they made a big move at the deadline to grab Ayo Dosunmu to fill a position of need. The Wolves (34-22) have been a surprising conference finalist the last two years. It kind of feels like they’re in a great position to make it a third straight year. But do they have enough clutch offense outside of Ant?

Does the Lakers trio move the needle? On SiriusXM NBA Radio earlier this week, Marc Stein and I discovered the 33-21 Lakers are actually a minus-1 on the season. And 18 of their 21 losses are by double digits. What? How is that possible? Yes, they have only had their big three together in 10 games (7-3) and 152 minutes. But they’re minus-9.6 per 100 possessions together. Is this team actually good?

Does the Play-In quartet pose danger? Right now, 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 great scorer. The Blazers don’t have any shooting. And the Clippers sent James Harden and Ivica Zubac away at the deadline. Maybe the Suns are the team you don’t want to play the most?

How bad does tanking get? The Jazz already got fined for their egregious but innovative tanking efforts. The Kings shut down Zach LaVine and Domantas Sabonis for the season, and they’re already on a franchise-worst 14-game losing streak. Memphis is without Ja Morant for at least a couple weeks. Dallas has lost nine in a row and has some injury news (read below). And the Pelicans stink. How many more fines will Adam Silver issue?

The last 24

📲 It wasn’t me? There have been rumors of Kevin Durant with another burner account. He calls it “Twitter nonsense.”

🏀 Rookie rankings. The 2025-26 rookie class is very deep, according to Sam Vecenie. It’s still Cooper versus Kon, though. 

🎯 Next generation. Ray Allen is lighting up the courts in Boston. Not that Ray Allen, but his son. 

🎮 New additions. NBA 2K26 is adding current college players to the roster. When are we getting College Hoops 2K again?

💰 Jersey buys. Cooper Flagg’s debut NBA jersey recently sold. It went for $1 million.

Stream the NBA on Fubo (try it for free!) and catch out-of-market games on League Pass.

Injury news

Kyrie is done, and Franz needs rest

We had a double dose of breaking injury news yesterday. Let’s start with the Kyrie Irving news. Irving has decided to sit out the entire 2025-26 season for a full recovery from the ACL tear he suffered 11 months ago. Irving turns 34 next month and now won’t be back on the court until October. Of course, this only benefits a Mavericks team that could really use another high draft pick next to Cooper Flagg.

The Mavs (19-35) have lost nine straight and have a real chance to move up the draft positioning board. My biggest question is how deep into the future do the Mavs plan to keep Kyrie. Will he definitely play for Dallas again? Could the Mavs try to move him by next deadline? How much roster turnover will this team have over the summer?

Then there’s the other injury news with Franz Wagner and the Magic. His high ankle sprain has cost him 25 games so far this season, and Orlando is going to re-evaluate him in three weeksbecause of persisting soreness. The Magic are just 28-25 this season, and Paolo Banchero and Wagner have played just 58 games together since the start of last season. They’re 29-29 in those games. This is not how this season was supposed to go after they acquired Desmond Bane for four firsts and a pick swap in the summer.

Not to mention that Jalen Suggs keeps missing a lot of time. This group isn’t running out of time, but it is quite expensive moving forward. It’s safe to wonder if management will decide to make roster changes or just chalk things up to injuries. Or maybe they’ll blame Jamahl Mosley for the continued struggles on offense? Orlando could really use some health and continuity that lead to wins to finish the season.

East questions

Major issues for Knicks, Celtics and more

We move to the East for the pressing questions for this stretch run. We kind of covered the Magic above, so let’s concentrate on other teams. And, of course, we won’t forget about the tankers.

Do the Pistons have a higher gear? We discussed yesterday why more people don’t believe in the Pistons, even though they hold the NBA’s best record. But when you think about how hard this team plays and everything it does on a game-to-game basis, I wonder if they have a higher playoff gear. Could this be another Tom Thibodeau-like situation, in which a team always plays as hard as it can? There might not be another gear.

Will Tatum come back in a good way? I remember in 2004, the Kings had Peja Stojaković playing like an MVP candidate, and they were thriving despite Chris Webber’s knee injury. When Webber came back, he was good but not great. Peja’s role diminished, and the team never found its groove again. Could we see something similar with Jayson Tatum and a return to the Celtics? Or will he be good enough to quell any concerns?

Have the Knicks fixed the defense? In the first 43 games, the Knicks were 25-18 and held the 18th-best defense in the NBA. Since then, they’re 10-2 with the league’s best defense. They were getting lit up from 3-point range and just couldn’t stop shots from going in most nights. Since then, they’re the best at preventing shots from going in and don’t allow many second- chance opportunities. Is this fixed or just a hot stretch defensively?

Does Harden actually change Cleveland’s fate? I’m not sure I’ve ever looked at a team with playoff struggles and thought, “They should add Harden to fix it.” But in adding Harden, Cleveland made a lot of people believe in its chances. They need to get Evan Mobley healthy, but we know the Cavs (34-21), who have won five straight, have underperformed most of the season. That is, if you believe last year is who they truly are.

Have the Raptors maxed out? We know Toronto is phenomenal on defense and mediocre on offense. Can the Raptors (32-23) generate anything better on both ends of the floor? I don’t think it’s reasonable to ask them to defend better. But they also just don’t seem to have the outside shooting to progress on offense. This might be as good as it gets.

Can the Sixers count on 2/3 of their big three? We know Tyrese Maxey is awesome and an MVP candidate. Joel Embiid has played great when he’s on the floor. Paul George is still trying to fit in (and currently serving a 25-game suspension for violating the league’s drug policy). But Embiid and PG don’t exactly have the best playoff reputations. Are the Sixers (30-24) going to get what they need from them the rest of the way?

Does Giannis make the Play-In dangerous? Orlando is struggling and injured. Charlotte has been a massive turnaround story, but people are waiting for the bubble to burst. Atlanta has fallen far below expectations. And Miami’s new identity still doesn’t bring as much consistency on offense as you’d like. Is the only way to make the East Play-In dangerous getting Giannis  Antetokounmpo healthy and having the Bucks go on a magical run with him and Cam Thomas? Does that even make sense?

Will fines flood the tankers? The Pacers received a $100,000 fine already, so they’re on the NBA’s radar. The Wizards may not play Trae Young and Anthony Davis after trading for them in the last month and a half. I have no idea what Brooklyn is putting on the court. And Chicago may start tanking hard. How many fines get tossed around.