This is me seeing where my head is at 36 Days into the 2025-26 NBA season.
Hello world! We’re a month-and-a-half into the 2025-26 NBA season, so I figured this would be a good enough time to get my bearings on the landscape of the league. Here are a few musings I have about various teams so far this year…
The Pistons Firing on All Cylinders
The Detroit Pistons are certainly the biggest surprise this season. While I certainly saw them as playoff-caliber team, I never foresaw them jumping out to a 16-4 start and sitting atop the Eastern Conference.
I am of the belief that the 2023-24 team that went 14-68 was not as bad as their record indicated. Instead, they were heavily hamstrung by a coach in Monty Williams that took his bag of money and basically checked out on coaching a competitive team. He imposed bizarre lineups and played players that struggled to compete at a NBA level while benching more capable players. But under J.B. Bickerstaff, he saw something more in this team, and the Pistons have quickly ascended.
I also love seeing Cade Cunningham continue to develop into a superstar. He’s had his hype going back to his days at Oklahoma State, and the flashes have always been there. However, it was a question of if his too-cool-for-school demeanor and shooting struggles would hamper him. Well, he moves as smooth as ever and is only shooting 31.2 percent from outside while leading the top team in the East, so he’s fine for now.
Supposed to Be in Line For the Crown
While the Pistons are shocking the basketball world, the Cavs and –to a much-lesser extent — the Knicks have been a bit of a disappointment.
Now the Knicks are still second the East, and an impressive 10-1 at home, so it’s not the end of the world for them. It’s just a little surprising that a conference finals runner-up is now lagging behind somebody that isn’t the Indiana Pacers.
Cleveland on the other hand is a let-down. Injuries have played a role in their middling 12-9 record, but it’s still unfortunate that last year’s top seed in the East is now sitting in Play-In territory. I do feel there is an intangible aspect of their get-down that keeps them from being a true title contender (for now), but it’s still not great to see such a drop-off this early into the season.
Oklahoma City is Inevitable(?)
The 20-1 Oklahoma City Thunder has been tearing through the countryside at a historic rate. It’s one thing to be a top-ten offensive squad, but their top-of-the-league defense is what has made them so elite. All due applause to them.
So much history is on the table right now. This Thunder could charge through to a second title, winning 70+ games in the process. I’m excited to see if it unfolds, but also a little apprehensive in thinking that it actually can happen.
In a NBA that is the fastest its been since the 80’s while covering more court than ever due to game’s the pace-and-space nature, pushing to win 70+ games feels like a taller task than ever. I admittedly feel a bit burned by the 2016 Warriors, so I don’t want to put too many expectations on the Thunder team.
Also, despite winning a title already, this is still a young squad. We’ve seen from the previous recent champions that a carry-over is not guaranteed. That’s why we haven’t had a repeat champ since 2018.
With them being young champions, will that help them understand the process it takes to win another one? Does it hamper them by making them either over-extend themselves to win 70 games and the championship or make them complacent once they jump out to a big enough regular season record?
So that’s a just few things that have been on my brain about the league heading into this new month. Trust me, I have way more, and I’m also willing to go deeper into the musings I have above as the season progresses.
I mean, that’s what this website is all about! It’s a journal where I speak my mind about the basketball world — the NBA and beyond — and hopefully make some sense along the way.
Welcome to rymndsmms.com. I hope you enjoy!