Three burning questions I have for the NBA Playoffs
The best time of the NBA Season is here.
For those that have been there since the beginning, I started this Substack during the NBA offseason and was begging for hoops to start back up.
That was almost ten months ago. Yes. Ten. Months. Ago.
How has time flown by that fast? Because what do you mean that, after 1,230 regular season games the playoffs are now here??
Anyways, we are set for an entertaining postseason.
There are too many headlines to count.
The Oklahoma City Thunder will try to defend their title, but we haven’t had a repeat champion since 2019. To take that further, the defending champion hasn’t gone past the second round in the next year since 2019 as well.
Victor Wembanyama is making his playoff debut, and will likely be a terrorizing force. LeBron James at the young age of 100 will have to carry a ragtag group of misfits…again. The Boston Celtics will look to reclaim their East throne during their “gap year.” The Detroit Pistons will look to take the next step in their turnaround. The Cleveland Cavaliers are looking for postseason redemption.
I could go on and on and on. That’s why I am doing a mega playoff preview this week. From the burning questions I have, to X-factors, to the players with the most to prove, a lot of writing and social media content is on the way.
So make sure you guys are subscribed here and following theinsidecut_ on Instagram. Now, here are my three burning questions I have for this playoffs.
Can LeBron James give us one more carry job?
LeBron James and friends in the NBA Playoffs. A tale as old as time.
It first happened in 2007 when he dragged a Cavs team that had no business being in the Finals. Then there was 2015, where Cleveland was ravaged by injuries and Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love were shelved. There was the legendary 2018 run, where James had arguably the most dominant regular season and playoffs of his career, playing 104 games total and delivering masterpiece after masterpiece.
We are now in 2026. And it will be LeBron and friends once again.
Luka Doncic has a Grade 2 hamstring strain. Austin Reaves has a Grade 2 oblique strain. James now becomes the number one option, with Rui Hachimura, Luke Kennard, and Marcus Smart as the leaders of his supporting cast.
I mean…yikes.
James has defied the odds before and has shown that he can carry teams in the playoffs. However, this time is extremely different. He’s 41 years old and in year 23. So, this will likely be his toughest task in a long time.
The Rockets aren’t a horrible first-round matchup and have been one of the NBA’s weirdest teams all season. It would be a massive win for LA if they can stay afloat until a potential Game 5, where a Doncic return could happen. Then, it becomes anyone’s series.
And if there’s anyone that could do that and carry his team until that point, it would be James. The question is, can he?
Are we all collectively ready for Wemby to be unleashed?
Yeah, I know I said questions and this one is rhetorical. At least it is for me.
But honestly, I’m not going to believe anyone that says that they know and are ready for the full unleashing of Victor Wembanyama, unless they’re a Spurs fan.
Remember the incredible Olympics run Wemby had? In do-or-die games? Now imagine that level of intensity he had and think about what he is about to do in the NBA playoffs.
Wemby hasn’t played heavy minutes often in his career, if at all. He played under 30 minutes per game this year, but in the ten games in which he played 35 or more minutes, he averaged nearly 31 points per game, 14 rebounds, five assists, and four blocks. He also shot 48 percent from the field and 44 percent from three-point range.
The Spurs have preserved Wemby for this moment. To go all-out in the playoffs for a chance at a championship. They will also have home-court advantage through the first two rounds, where they were 32-8 on the season.
I said in my last column that Wemby’s competitive spirit has been such a breath of fresh air for the league. Now, we are going to see it at full throttle in the postseason.
Buckle. Up.
What is going to happen in the East?
Coming into the year, the two favorites in the East were the New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers. Those two teams are still very much in the mix to make the NBA Finals, but the East is not going to be a picnic that everyone thought it would be.
The Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics surprisingly emerged this season to claim the top two seeds in the East.
The Pistons went from winning 14 games two years ago to the conference’s top seed, thanks to the All-NBA level play of Cade Cunningham, the dominance of Jalen Duren, and emergence of young players like Ausar Thompson, Daniss Jenkins, and Ron Holland.
The Celtics were supposed to take a “gap year”, after Jayson Tatum tore his achilles, but 56 wins later, they are the favorite to come out of the conference. Tatum’s return, along with Jaylen Brown having the best season of his career, will make Boston a tough out.
So that leaves four teams in the East that could make the finals this year. All four have shown flashes of championship potential and if things go according to plan, the second round matchups between the Pistons and Cavs and the Knicks and Celtics could produce the most explosive East second round we have seen in a while.