[West] 2026 Playoffs, First Round

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

vs.

Oklahoma City Thunder (1) vs. Phoenix Suns (8)
Game 1, April 19: Phoenix at Oklahoma City (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
Game 2, April 22: Phoenix at Oklahoma City (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Game 3, April 25: Oklahoma City at Phoenix (3:30 p.m. ET, NBC)
Game 4, April 27: Oklahoma City at Phoenix (TBD p.m. ET, TBD)
Game 5, April 29 (if necessary): Phoenix at Oklahoma City (TBD p.m. ET, TBD)
Game 6, May 1 (if necessary): Oklahoma City at Phoenix (TBD p.m. ET, TBD)
Game 7, May 3 (if necessary): Phoenix at Oklahoma City (TBD p.m. ET, TBD)

vs.

San Antonio Spurs (2) vs. Portland Trail Blazers (7)
Game 1, April 19: Portland at San Antonio (9 p.m. ET, NBC)
Game 2, April 21: Portland at San Antonio (8 p.m. ET, NBC)
Game 3, April 24: San Antonio at Portland (10:30 p.m. ET, Prime Video)
Game 4, April 26: San Antonio at Portland (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Game 5, April 28 (if necessary): Portland at San Antonio (TBD p.m. ET, TBD)
Game 6, April 30 (if necessary): San Antonio at Portland (TBD p.m. ET, TBD)
Game 7, May 2 (if necessary): Portland at San Antonio (TBD p.m. ET, TBD)

vs.

Denver Nuggets (3) vs. Minnesota Timberwolves (6)
Game 1, April 18: Minnesota at Denver (3:30 p.m. ET, Prime Video)
Game 2, April 20: Minnesota at Denver (10:30 p.m. ET, NBC)
Game 3, April 23: Denver at Minnesota (9:30 p.m. ET, Prime Video)
Game 4, April 25: Denver at Minnesota (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
Game 5, April 27 (if necessary): Minnesota at Denver (TBD p.m. ET, TBD)
Game 6, April 30 (if necessary): Denver at Minnesota (TBD p.m. ET, TBD)
Game 7, May 2 (if necessary): Minnesota at Denver (TBD p.m. ET, TBD)

vs.

Los Angeles lakers (4) vs. Houston Rockets (5)
Game 1, April 18: Houston at Los Angeles (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
Game 2, April 21: Houston at Los Angeles (10:30 p.m. ET, NBC)
Game 3, April 24: Los Angeles at Houston (8 p.m. ET, Prime Video)
Game 4, April 26: Los Angeles at Houston (9:30 p.m. ET, NBC)
Game 5, April 29 (if necessary): Houston at Los Angeles (TBD p.m. ET, TBD)
Game 6, May 1 (if necessary): Los Angeles at Houston (TBD p.m. ET, TBD)
Game 7, May 3 (if necessary): Houston at Los Angeles (TBD p.m. ET, TBD)

 

[hrdboild]

I guess I'm rooting for the Suns by default.... for approximately 5 games, starting with eliminating the Warriors tonight.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

I guess I'm rooting for the Suns by default.... for approximately 5 games, starting with eliminating the Warriors tonight.

**** that, I'm rooting for the Warriors for the history of it: no team that finished the regular season in 7th place has ever missed the playoffs.

 

[hrdboild]

**** that, I'm rooting for the Warriors for the history of it: no team that finished the regular season in 7th place has ever missed the playoffs.

You don't seem to be On Brand with hating the Warriors and rooting for their humiliation and defeat in any and all circumstances. This is a perfectly reasonable position to take and yet I find it baffling.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

You don't seem to be On Brand with hating the Warriors and rooting for their humiliation and defeat in any and all circumstances. This is a perfectly reasonable position to take and yet I find it baffling.

You have to remember, though, I'm not from Northern California. The whole Sac/Bay "rivalry" thing is completely lost on me. I am ambivalent about the Warriors, like, 97 percent of the time.

 

[KainLear]

You have to remember, though, I'm not from Northern California. The whole Sac/Bay "rivalry" thing is completely lost on me. I am ambivalent about the Warriors, like, 97 percent of the time.

To each their own. I’m not from the U.S., I grew up playing point in high school, modeling my game after Tim Hardaway because I loved Run TMC. Half my wardrobe back then had some kind of Warriors logo on it.

I don’t really respect this "dynasty" Warriors' success as much as others might, and I can’t stand this team, their overall antics and behavior just turn me off.

Good for you, though.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Oh, I don't respect the Warriors at all; I just don't care. I'm also possibly the only person on this message board that doesn't hate Draymond.

 

[KainLear]

Oh, I don't respect the Warriors at all

Thats all I wanted to hear

 

[hrdboild]

You have to remember, though, I'm not from Northern California. The whole Sac/Bay "rivalry" thing is completely lost on me. I am ambivalent about the Warriors, like, 97 percent of the time.

I don't feel any kind of way about the inter-city California rivalries. I'm a nomad who was lived in the Bay Area, Sacramento, and L.A. long enough that all of them feel like home in their own ways. I generally liked the Warriors and rooted for them indirectly until the current Steph era unleashed an epidemic of illegal screens, an obsession with three point shooting, and a general degradation of the entire concept that "dribbling" is not supposed to be optional. Collectively these trends have all but ruined the NBA as a sport that I enjoy watching. I would even say that I was something of a Draymond Green apologist myself up until "the stomp" and the attendant multi-day propaganda campaign of broadcasters trying to portray Domantas Sabonis as the villain in that encounter. So you see it's not the city or the franchise I have a problem with -- it's this particular group of players and their coach.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

1. I've hated the three-point shot since the three-point shot happened, so I don't necessarily put that on Curry, or his "era." If anything, I put that more on Nelson/D'Antoni and Nash.
2. That dribbling thing I tend to put more on Harden than Curry, too.
3. Fair enough, I guess. For me personally, though, I had already quit the Kings by the time The Stomp™ happened, so I don't have the trauma associated with being on the other side of that incident to influence my feelings about them.
4. I also kinda lowkey still like Kerr.

 

[hrdboild]

1. I've hated the three-point shot since the three-point shot happened, so I don't necessarily put that on Curry, or his "era." If anything, I put that more on Nelson/D'Antoni and Nash.
2. That dribbling thing I tend to put more on Harden than Curry, too.
3. Fair enough, I guess. For me personally, though, I had already quit the Kings by the time The Stomp™ happened, so I don't have the trauma associated with being on the other side of that incident to influence my feelings about them.
4. I also kinda lowkey still like Kerr.

Guys were getting away with traveling before in subtle ways but what I blame the Warriors for is a particular brand of breaking the rules by focusing the offense on quick passes, moving without the ball, and tacking on freebie steps before and after my dribble. Now the way the game is being called I can catch the ball on the run and take a free step as I receive the ball, dribble once and maybe cram in two steps or even three if I'm moving fast enough when I catch the ball, and then I get my gather step and two additional steps after that. The NBA wants me to believe that I can take up to 7 steps for every one dribble and also the defense can set moving screens to free me up before I catch the ball. That's just not even basketball anymore at that point, it's pseudo-rugby.