E.K. Johnson

While the 2026 NBA Playoffs start today here is my prediction for each round and who will ultimately win the 2026 NBA Championship. East 1st Round: (1) Pistons v. (8) Magic: DET wins 4-1 (2) Celtics v. (7) Sixers: BOS wins 4-1 (3) Knicks v. (6) Hawks: NY wins 4-3 (4) Cavs v. (5) Raptors: TOR wins 4-2 East 2nd Round: (1) Pistons v. (5) Raptors: DET wins 4-2 (2) Celtics v. (3) Knicks: NY wins 4-3 Eastern Conference Finals: (1) Pistons v. (3) Knicks: DET wins 4-3 West 1st Round (1) OKC v. (8) Suns: OKC wins 4-0 (2) Spurs v. (7) Trailblazers: SAS wins 4-1 (3) Nuggets v. (6) Timberwolves: DEN 4-2 (4) Lakers v. (5) Rockets: HOU wins 4-2 West 2nd Round: (1) OKC v. (5) Rockets: OKC wins 4-2 (2) SAS v (3) DEN: DEN wins 4-3 Western Conference Finals: (1) OKC v. (3) DEN: OKC wins 4-3 NBA Finals: (1) Pistons v. (1) OKC: OKC wins 4-2

@BleacherReport ANT coming back to put BTA on the French Baguette and friends.

Anthony Edwards will play in Game 1 vs the Spurs just 9 days after his left knee injury, per HC Chris Finch Finch says Edwards will be on 'some sort' of minute restriction, and did not reveal if he would start

@MarzTalksSports I’ll continue to say that there isn’t a universe where 2014-2015 Steph Curry was EVER better than 2014-2015 James Harden, so much so that their own peers knew who the real MVP was and should’ve been….. God Bless though 🤷🏿‍♂️

@mshap2 And we saw how that looked in the playoffs. You can’t “out athletic” or “out rebound” your way out of having an incompetent offense, especially in the playoffs.

Rafael Stone offered a lengthy explanation on why the Rockets didn’t aggressively pursue a point guard after Fred VanVleet’s season-ending injury: “What I don't believe in philosophically is just going to get a point guard because they're a point guard.” Full quote ⬇️ “Just because somebody is a good ball-handler and good passer but they can't defend and they can't shoot, I'd rather just cobble it together rather than, ‘hey, we can get into our offense, but no one guards them after they make the initial pass and on the other end they're just a sieve.’” “And those players do exist in the NBA, there's quite a few of them, and they're available. But I didn't think that would make us better on the whole. So I do think there's an opportunity cost. ... Our team this year was very big and we were very physical, and when Fred went down, we made a conscious decision to just lean into that.” Stone notes there were trade-offs to not acquiring a new PG. Added the “timing” of FVV's injury created difficult scenario to make short-term deal.

So the sentiments I got from the Rafael Stone x Ime Udoka presser are that the Rockets will look to run this team back as presently constructed while also trying to add more shooting “on the margins” Additionally the coaching staff will not change, while our playing style will be more “versatile offensively” which seems to be a contradiction, unless Royal Ivey, Will Dunn, Ben Sullivan and company become offensive geniuses within the next 3 months. So all in all, my apprehension in this FO proven to be correct. #AllFire

@BinkleyHoops Basically what I said two days ago. This FO is something else man.

The theme so far today seems to be the Rockets are open to making moves but are leaning more into seeing what this team will be fully healthy.

@_CheckThaMethod It’s just makes me shake my head at this point.

@CoalitionHoops Boy they find a way to piss me off every other day dawg 😂

Looks like I was right about this FO smh

@PauloAlvesNBA So I guess I was right about the FO smh

Here is Rafael Stone's full, 3 minute answer to the "Why didnt you get a true PG question?". It didnt boil down to the single quote everybody is throwing around, he goes pretty in depth into what went into the decision. Listen to it, it'll serve you better than a one liner.

Jaylen Brown talking about the NBA referees “conspiracy” against him 😂

@BleacherReport @JoseLAL23 Chet stealin my whole f*ckin flow! x.com/coalitionhoops…

Chet Holmgren sees a little bit of MJ in Rui Hachimura’s game 👀😅

Natasha Cloud has signed with the Sky.

@warriors @ownedby30 @StephenCurry30 I’ll continue to say that there isn’t a universe where 2014-2015 Steph Curry was EVER better than 2014-2015 James Harden, so much so that their own peers knew who the real MVP was and should’ve been….. God Bless though 🤷🏿‍♂️

11 years ago today, @StephenCurry30 was named NBA MVP for the 2014-15 season 🏆

@ClutchPoints @FirstTake Stephen A Smith speaking on LeBron James……again.

"LeBron will go out there and beat you. MJ will snatch your heart... I'm telling the world, you'll never convince me that LeBron is the GOAT over Michael Jordan." - Stephen A. Smith 🗣 (via @FirstTake)

@LegionHoops There were 3 Game 7’s this weekend and 2, 3-1 comebacks but let’s talk about LeBron not being the GOAT…..again This shit is tired man

Stephen A. Smith: “You'll never convince me that LeBron is the GOAT over Michael Jordan.”

@YahooSports @NoahF31511 I’ll continue to say that there isn’t a universe where 2014-2015 Steph Curry was EVER better than 2014-2015 James Harden

11 years ago, Steph earned his first MVP, joining Wilt Chamberlain as the only players in Warriors franchise history to win the award 🏆 ▪️ 23.8 PPG ▪️ 7.7 APG ▪️ 4.3 RPG ▪️ 2.0 SPG ▪️ 3.6 3PM ▪️ 44.3 3P%

Huh?

@BleacherReport @ShamsCharania @BannedMacMahon Mavs fans after running Nico Harrison out of town.

@ShamsCharania @espn Mavs fans after running Nico Harrison out of town.

Sources: Mavs hire ex-Raptors exec Masai Ujiri as prez - via @ESPN App espn.com/nba/story/_/id…

@HoopSpaces x.com/coalitionhoops…

Joel Embiid injury history. Say what you want about this guy, but he’s a Warrior in every sense of the word and the fact that he dropped 30 + in two of his four games played, to complete a 3-1 comeback on the road, makes him different than other players with lesser injuries/injury history. ARGUE WITH A WALL