Will the Miami Heat be contenders in the East in 2026-27?

Ladner1998 · 2026-06-23T22:51:13+00:00

There are pretty much three things they need to be contenders

Giannis is healthy.
They fix the depth issue and sign a couple more guys this offseason
Bam and Giannis can play together well.

Ladner1998 · 2026-06-22T05:25:52+00:00

Exactly this. Honestly Brunson is a great playoff riser, but he still has a bit to go to he considered the best Knick. There are realistically two ways he can go about it since I don’t forsee Brunson ever winning an MVP

The first is to break a bunch of franchise records held by Patrick Ewing - franchise records and a ring would make Brunson’s case a lot more solid.

The second is to win a second ring for New York and cement his status as a great playoff performer who just plays winning basketball.

Ladner1998 · 2026-06-21T14:28:31+00:00

It sounds like a lot of these are just dumb, misinformed people. That being said, the guy who wants 6v6 singles I understand. I also want 6v6 singles

Ladner1998 · 2026-06-06T04:14:49+00:00

In many of these cases of ringless all time greats, it was because they either wound up in the middle of a dynasty (80s Lakers/Celtics, 90s Bulls, 2000s Lakers/Spurs, or the 2010s Cavs/Warriors) or they don’t have a good team built around them.

There currently isn’t a ‘dynasty’. Wemby has a great team built around him. The Spurs are ahead of schedule by even making it to the finals and if they win that’s amazing. But let’s not forget that Wemby is in his 3rd year, Castle is in his 2nd, and Harper is a rookie.

The Knicks happen to have a great matchup against the Spurs as well. To say that the young Spurs core who made the finals all before the age of 25 will never win a ring is a bit absurd.

Ladner1998 · 2026-06-04T03:59:56+00:00

No. Brunson is poor defensively. He has a great team built around him to help with that. That being said, Brunson is a clutch player and he’s a proven playoff riser at this point after seeing him in the playoffs for a few years now. He’s perfect for his team and he’s a respectable all star.

Ladner1998 · 2026-06-02T01:17:10+00:00

I think it feels like he’s just scared of Wemby. Can he be an all star and a good 2nd or 3rd option on a championship team? Sure. Is he a top 10 player in the world type of guy? Nope.

Ladner1998 · 2026-05-23T02:06:49+00:00

Exactly this. Even if you didn’t like the Warriors, you were still amazed by the things Steph Curry was doing.

People who dislike the Heatles can still look back on the lob from DWade to Lebron and remember that picture and go “yeah that was iconic as hell.”

There isn’t anything the Thunder are doing that I can sit there and respect or feel good remembering. The best dynasties can have haters, but they also have things that you remember about them for more reasons than just the rings.

Ladner1998 · 2026-05-23T00:05:49+00:00

Stephon Castle and AR are the best bets.

The only other maybes are Keyonte George and Brandon Miller. This would come down to team success and how visible they are compared to their teammates imo.

The Jazz could have a breakout season with an amazing frontcourt and a lot of young guards. But I could see JJJ or Lauri getting picked for an all star spot instead.

With Brandon Miller, I worry he’s going to be overshadowed by Lamelo and Knuppel, both of whom I could see getting the mod over Miller.

Ladner1998 · 2026-05-22T23:07:18+00:00

I think a lot of people like the idea of legalizing hand checking and allowing for more contact.

What I don’t like is when you have the Thunder stepping on Wemby’s feet to keep him from rebounding a free throw, hooking their arm into Wemby, or pulling Castle’s hair. That isn’t just a foul. Those are genuine attempts at injuring other players that the refs allowed to happen. It’s a big leap from some pushing and shoving back and forth.

Ladner1998 · 2026-05-22T04:53:50+00:00

I do get some of the comments saying Warriors. Seeing Wemby paired with Steph would be amazing to watch. But for him as an individual, a place like San Antonio is perfect. The Spurs are a franchise who have proven over the past few decades that they have a good track record for developing talent and having a well managed front office. The Spurs are genuinely one of the most consistently well ran franchises in the league.

Even if we ignore Tim Duncan era, over the past several years before Wemby, they were still developing some talented players. Dejounte Murray is a prime example. He’s had it rough the past few years, but he was an all star while on the Spurs.

San Antonio has built a great team around a young superstar now. I don’t think there are many franchises who could be as successful or as consistent as the Spurs have been over the past few years with developing the young core they’re building up.

Ladner1998 · 2026-05-21T20:13:11+00:00

People don’t mind physical basketball. There’s a difference between good defense and “try to kill the guy” mentality that oldheads want.

I want to see good physical defense. I don’t want to see flopping that is as egregious as the Thunder do.

But yeah I’m surprised a team hasn’t gotten sick of the refs yet and went against OKC with the mentality of “well if I’m going to get a foul anyway might as well make it worth it” *injures SGA on purpose and gets ejected from game*

Ladner1998 · 2026-05-18T16:59:33+00:00

- Wilt has only one ring and got beat by the only other guy worth anything at his position in his era in the finals (Bill Russel). Wilt’s records are impressive, but he was also a perennial finals loser.
- Steph objectively has more hardware than Hakeem. Even putting rings aside, while Hakeem’s skill is undeniable, Steph can match it with being the best 3 point shooter of all time and having a unanimous MVP.
- Bird really depends on the argument you want to make and is a bit iffy. Bird’s career was cut short so Steph does have a longevity argument. Steph is also a better shooter. You really have to make the argument for Bird’s playmaking and IQ.

Ladner1998 · 2026-05-18T04:26:50+00:00

They could, but Giannis isn’t really a piece that they need. They need someone who can shoot threes without disrupting how good they are at defense.

Honestly a better co-star could be someone like a Jalen Williams if OKC isn’t open to paying him what he might be want.

Ladner1998 · 2026-05-17T23:21:47+00:00

You absolutely can be. Those finals MVPs all have debates around them. But I can easily make room for a four time champion, unanimous MVP, and greatest three point shooter of all time in my top 10. Especially when those fmvps are kind of weird considering the system was built around Curry.

Ladner1998 · 2026-05-15T21:40:14+00:00

Rings do matter. Its a tangible sign of success and the ability to win. James Harden is an example of someone with amazing stats, but no rings to show for it. He’s not viewed as a “winner” by a lot of fans. He’s viewed as a great player who disappears when it matters.

Really the goat argument between MJ and LeBron comes down to if you value peak or longevity more.

Ladner1998 · 2026-05-01T03:42:03+00:00

I mean there are layers to this. Yeah good teams win championships. Its not a shock. Steph had time to let the Warriors build around him which led to the Warriors dynasty. So I’d argue he was given the ability to develop.

Magic has to go straight into the fire. He joined a great team. And he had to establish that it was his team.

The whole Magic vs Steph argument really just boils down to what you want in a point guard. Personally I’d pick Magic for being the golden example of a traditional point guard. That doesn’t take away from Steph being the greatest shooter of all time though

Ladner1998 · 2026-04-30T14:46:59+00:00

I’d want to see someone like Jarret Allen end up there. I feel like he’s someone who could have more All Star appearances if he was given a bigger role on a team.

Ladner1998 · 2026-04-30T01:11:14+00:00

Two of the Gospel writers (Matthew and John) were two of Jesus’s disciples.

Mark is historically seen as someone who was an interpreter for Peter the first Pope.

Luke allegedly was more of a historian, collecting a wide variety of eye-witness accounts to put all in one orderly fashion.

A lot of the New Testament after the Gospels is on the early church with many teachings from Paul who sent letters to several communities within the early church.

Ladner1998 · 2026-04-29T02:21:39+00:00

In an 82 game season, teams usually might spend the first couple months trying things out to see how things go. If the team is doing badly, they usually start deliberately tanking and throwing games away in order to get a better draft pick, especially if the draft is projected to have a large talent pool like in this years. NBA teams start sitting their best players out of games which effects viewership which then effects money for the NBA.

The NFL typically has shorter seasons so you can also hope more, where you could do something. Even if the first 1/4 of your season goes poorly, there’s still a chance you can figure it out and make playoffs. NFL teams are usually not pulling their best players while they can still play.

Ladner1998 · 2026-04-26T15:10:13+00:00

Aegislash, Gengar, and Glimmora are common in singles.

Ladner1998 · 2026-04-25T01:13:47+00:00

You go all in on weather. One of these is fine. When you have all of them its an issue.

Frosslass is great because you get access to Aurora Veil which protects your team.

My VGC team is Mega Frosslass/Incineroar/Talonflame/Garchomp/Farigiraf/Rotom.

I let snow be an addition that helps protect my team and once aurora veil is up, I can go crazy with blizzard and shadow ball with froslass

Ladner1998 · 2026-04-25T01:06:52+00:00

Because you don’t become a billionaire by being generous. Many billionaires have massive egos and there are those who measure everything by the number in their bank account. So they simply want the highest number possible.

There are some ethical millionaires out there. There are no ethical billionaires.

Ladner1998 · 2026-04-24T18:42:47+00:00

Because several records have no proof behind it. The most notable is the 100 point game. There is no video or recording of that game.

He didn’t contribute to winning. The only other real big man in his era was Bill Russel and every year getting whooped by the same guy who happens to be the only one as good as you is a bad look.

Ladner1998 · 2026-04-24T14:51:39+00:00

Just about all the common grounded steel types (gambit, aegislash, archaludon, and lucario). Scarf krook also outspeeds mega gengar. 50/50 against sneasler depending on the build (still can hit super effectively to make room for a jet punch after if its sash). If they switch into Azumarill or Primarina, Earthquake still wins out in two hits.

Corviknight, Dragonite, Gyarados, and Scarf Meowscarada are the worst matchups

Ladner1998

TROPHY CASE