NBA 2026 First-Round Exit Report

We grade every NBA team that loses in the first round as good, okay, or bad and explain what the series actually proves about each roster. We also lay out the clearest offseason fixes, from finding shooting and size to deciding when a core has to change. 
• Magic takeaways: Paolo Banchero confirmed as a No. 1 option, need a sniper, patience with a young core after injuries 
• Celtics takeaways: Jalen Brown as a real primary option, Derrick White’s value, run-it-back logic with better role-player targets 
• Raptors takeaways: Scottie Barnes trending toward a No. 1, RJ Barrett growth, Brandon Ingram fit questions, need more shooting and steadier playmaking 
• Hawks takeaways: Jalen Johnson as a second option today, roster needs another big and more spacing, coaching and rotation decisions under the microscope 
• Suns takeaways: outmatched series, need a big man, Devin Booker role debate, retool vs rebuild tension and trade chatter 
• Trail Blazers takeaways: Deni Avdija’s rise, Scoot Henderson improvement, need a shooter to space the floor, lineup questions with veterans 
• Nuggets takeaways: why the loss is unacceptable when healthy, Jokic efficiency concerns, Jamal Murray trade talk, spacing and depth needs 
• Rockets takeaways: inconsistency, missing a true No. 1 option and floor leadership, Kevin Durant chemistry questions, development priorities for Amen Thompson and Alperen Sengun 
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Transcript

Welcome And Episode Roadmap

SPEAKER_00 0:00

What's up, everybody? It's your favorite show's favorite show Get a Bucket. I'm your host, Trey and as usual. Hope you're all having a wonderful, wonderful day. Remember, the show comes on Monday through Friday at 11 o'clock, so hope you stay tuned. But we're gonna talk about here, well, more than just getting a bucket, but we're gonna talk about so far the teams that have lost via the first round of the NBA playoffs. We got the Magic, the Celtics, the Rockets, the Suns, the Raptors, the Hulks, the Nuggets, and the Blazers. We're gonna talk about the whether or not they had a good or bad loss, what we learned about each team, potential changes for next season, player-wise, potentially coach, and then needs to see. Now let's start it off with the magic. We're gonna start with the East and then go to the West. So for the Magic, was this a good or bad loss? I think it was the okay loss. They didn't have Franz Wagner, right, for like the last couple of games. That and it makes you kind of think that maybe if he played, they would have won against this Pistons team, this young, hungry Pistons team. What we learned was that Paolo Bencaro is officially a one option in the NBA. That is certified. Go ahead and bookmark it right now. We learned that Bain is a third option. We learned that go ahead and solidify it right now. We also learned that the Magic actually need a sniper, meaning a shooter, right? Which goes back to what changes need to be made. Well, for starters, I think they just need to run it back. Let's see what happens. Because again, they're still a young team. They had injuries that happened. They had a whole bunch of inconsistencies throughout the regular season that carried over a little bit to the playoffs. So I think now that you have some a little bit of cohesion, a little bit of chemistry, let's see what happens in that second season with this Desmond Bain acquisition where they put a lot of eggs into that basket. Also, I was saying, well, do they need to it should they fire the coach or should they trade a player if they lose in the first round or early next season, right? I'm talking about like play-in, factoring that in. But they already let go of their coach. So I'm curious who they're going to end up getting. But that was a change on the horizon. And keep in mind, too, we had expectations of them potentially getting to the finals. I understand why they let them go. Need to see, I need to see a more dominant regular season, like I said, and a second round appearance, fringe conference finals next season, because we need to see progression. We don't need to see stagnant, right? Because again, you put a lot of eggs into this Desmond Bain basket. So we need to see over this four-year window, you guys getting at least to the second round a couple times. Because that that needs to happen. You guys need to be effective. There are some other teams that are behind y'all that do not need to usurp you guys. So again, that's what we need to see from the magic. But overall, quality first round. It just hurts that they lost that. But again, Franz being out does hurt them. Now let's move on down to the seven, uh to the Celtics. I'm sorry. Good or bad loss. I think it was okay. Again, because remember, Jason Tatum, he was hurt. Like he missed that game seven, which a 76ers fan told me that he felt if Jason Tatum played, they would have lost. The 76ers would have lost. So if that's the if that's the feeling by yourself, and I don't quite feel the exact same way. I get the logic though, but I think that did derail the team potentially. So what did we learn from this year? Well, we learned that JB is a one option. Everybody who's saying that Jalen Brown's not a one-option, or not even better than Jason Tatum, let's pump the brakes there. Because again, I still believe that Jalen Brown is a better one option than Jason Tatum. Who has more talent? Jason Tatum. Who's a better one option? Jalen Brown. And again, T Mac had more talent than Kobe, but Kobe ended up being the better player. So that's the notion that I'm thinking about. But we also learned that JB, JT, and DW, that's Derek White, that's a big three that could be worth mentioning. And it's crazy because Derek White literally does all the dirty work and can still give you about 15 a game. Granted, game seven, he really snapped the other games he did not, but we've seen Derek's trajectory, Derek's history, and we know that his trajectory should be pretty solid, even though he's getting older in age, and based on his on his role on the team, that could be problematic. But changes that we need to see, I say let's run it back with a question mark. Reason why. We saw them get to the second seed in the East. What was it? Third in the league, or maybe even fourth. And you had no Jason Tatum. So let's run it back and see what we can get, ladies and gentlemen. You got the role players. Let's re-sign them. Let's bring back some things. Let's make something shake. If we can't do that, I get it, but I need to see what type of role players we're targeting. Because the ones y'all had, we're all right. Now need to see, again, if the role players can take another step, like I've been mentioning. If I I think we can trade players after next season if you lose in the first round or earlier in the season, or earlier next season. So again, if you get to the play-in, which is crazy to hear, and you lose or lose in the first round, and it's a bad loss, too. All right, now we can talk about trading players. Maybe even to potentially Derek White. Or maybe I can. I actually know I wouldn't still trade it. I wouldn't want to trade JB or JT just yet either. That's you may need to lock them in. But that's what that's the only time we need to really worry about players being traded. So again, let's run it back with a slight question mark, but again, that's only if you can find better, quote unquote, players, or quote unquote better players. Now, moving on down to the Raptors. Was it a good or bad loss, right? They ended up playing the Cavs. I can't say this was a bad loss, right? Like the Celtic, the Celtics, right? Everybody so far has been a okay loss. Like Joel and B comes back, that changes things in the series. The Raptors lost Brandon Ingram. And there was a time period where I thought, hey, maybe the Cavs could end up losing this as I'm watching. Going into the series, I thought the Cavs were going to win in five or six. They took it to seven, though, ladies and gentlemen. And again, they lost BI during the series. That's quite key. What we learned is Scotty is a fringe one option. He might even be a one-option just to boot. You might as well, you might, we we might need to book him there, honestly. But I'm saying fringe, give me another postseason to verify it. RJ Barrett, he's coming along better than what I realized, to be honest with you. And again, BI, we we learned that he could be expendable. I put a question mark around that because again, they took the Cavs of game seven. I'm not overly impressed with the Cavs, to be clear, but they're still a decent enough team, and I wasn't expecting this out of the Raptors. So maybe if they swap BI for somebody else, could that be something? I don't know. Or maybe this was the chip on the shoulder that B.I. needed. Let's wait to see what happens. But changes that need to be made. I think they can run it back, or if they get smart acquisitions. Like let's say if they get a floor general, some height and some shooting, oh, we may be talking about something now. Because again, Scotty Barnes, fringe one option. I don't think they had the shooters that we could have used. The floor general, I like quickly, but we could quickly move off from quickly because you know, if you get another guard with a better playmaking ability, a better assist to turnover ratio, I can I'm I I may hear that notion. I don't know. Like, let's say if they could if they could acquire someone like a Jamal Murray, keep Scotty, keep RJ, hey, that could be interesting. Let's figure it out. But what I need to see is going forward, Scotty Barnes taking over more. Because I've been I've been stating this. I think Scotty is a fringe top 10 player in the game. At least he has that talent, that level of production, that potential. And he's showcasing that now. Could we get are we there now at this very moment? No. But could we get there very soon? I think so. So let's be on the lookout for Scotty Barnes. But that's what I need to see from Scotty, because if we can't, then I need to change him and get him paired with Anthony Edwards, get get Jordan's offspring, another Scotty, just saying. But again, that's what we learned from the Raptors. Now let's talk about the Hawks, ladies and gentlemen. Uh, was this a good or bad loss? It was an okay loss. I had good loss coming in to the series. No, no. Right before game six. I had it as good loss if they lost. It swapped down to okay just because, granted, the Hawks are young, but yo, that final game was horrendous. It was ridiculous. Like, what was 51-point loss? The Chiefs, hey, yo, that's tough. Now, what did we learn about this Hawks team? Granted, we went went up against the Knicks. So Jalen Johnson did have a couple wings to go up against, but I think Jalen Johnson, as of right now, is a second option. Can he be a first option? We got to wait and see. He's still young. But right now, I have him as a second option. I did the same thing for Paolo Banquero, too, ladies and gentlemen. I'm talking about both, and these are Duke products. And y'all know I'm a Duke fan, so I'm not biased about this. I'm being unbiased. Now, for the for the Hawks, talent, it needs more time. So, and also this team needs a sniper and maybe another big. I like Okonwu at 6'10, they have him listed. He could be somewhere between 6'8 and 6'10. But if they get another big to work with, alright, that could be cool. So maybe Asan Newell, he was a rookie this year. Maybe he does something next year. But changes, I say we run it back, spend the block with it. All right. You got Dyson Daniel, Nikil, Alexander Walker, Jonathan Kaminga, Jalen Johnson, and Oneko Okongu. I think those should be your starters. Let's see what happens with that. And then you got players like CJ McCollum. Hopefully you can bring him in on a nice little friendly discount. Buddy Healed, you got players like that. He's a sniper. Zachary Risha Shea, the former number one pick. We need to see you producing now. Jock Landell off the bench. Like, why was he not utilized this series? That was very disgusting. And that makes me wonder: should we, in fact, fire Quentin Snyder? Because again, you got a big man, 6'10, 6'11. I'm not talking about the biggest rim protector, but damn, he's 6'10, 6'11 and can shoot about 37 plus from the three-point line. Space out the floor allowed. Jalen Johnson attacked the paint a little bit more allowed. Jonathan Kamingan to attack the paint a little bit more. Why was he not utilized at all? At all. That's trash. So again, need to see. I need to see more fluidity from the Hawks. They need to have easy transitions and easy threes. Teams should be flying around the court, switching like the Celtics used to, attacking the paint and crashing the boards hard. Also, they need to draft. Well, I think they get like maybe the number seven pick this year, which is actually kind of crazy to hear. But I need to see that as well as them revisiting their their coach and Quinn Schneider. Should they make a move from Quinn? That that may be another discussion for another day. But ladies and gentlemen, that does conclude the East. So let's now transition on down to the West. And we got to start it off here. Let's start it off with the with the Suns. Did they have a good or bad loss? I think it was a good loss. I think this was this was a good loss. Reason why? Because they were outmatched from Jump. Like you didn't have your big in Mark Williams, but it's not like Mark was going to defend Hartenstein or Chet overly well. Like, to be clear, Mark Williams did do well against Chet in college. But it's a little bit different now. But what we learned about the Suns, D-Book is a second option. And I say that because I understand he had a lot of playmaking responsibilities. I wanted to see him dominate a little bit more than what he did, and he did not. We also learned that this is a mediocre team with interesting pieces. And the team needs a big man. So will they join the Giannis sweepstakes? I don't know if they have the talent to do so, but could they? Let's wait to find out. What changes need to be made? I have a question mark around should they look to trade Devin Booker? Because look, Jalen Green's value isn't as high. And I mean, remember, we got Jalen Green for Kevin Durant. Did Jalen Green improve? He he tried. And I think his stats did prove that he's still inefficient, though. But he gave more effort and defensively, I did like him trying a little bit harder. Also, Dylan Brooks, his he could be valuable for other teams. Like, for example, if he's on my Lakers, hey, we might be doing something. So again, ladies and gentlemen, when I'm looking at the Suns, we could be talking about arguably their two best players potentially being traded if they're trying to do something differently. Because I don't know what the value is for Jalen Green. But on the flip side of that, too, I think, damn, I'm getting Jalen Green still. He's still young, so that could that's maybe a selling point for either your fan base or some teams. But something's got to change. Because this team did not look, I was surprised they got to the playoffs. Now, need to see, again, changes to the team. They need to retool or rebuild. Maybe unless they get a major signing, which I don't know how they're going to get a major signing, honestly, ladies and gentlemen. But we need to see something from the Suns. Then let's go on down to the Portland Trailblazers. Was this a good or bad loss? We got an okay loss. Reason why they didn't get swept. But keep in mind the Spurs did not have a lot of experience. So they they lost in their gentleman's sweep to a young team, but also the Portland Trailblazers are fairly young themselves, despite having some quality vets like Drew Holliday, Jeremy Grant, Rob Williams, the third. Like they have some interesting guards, right? But I mean players, experience-wise. No Dame, but I don't know how much Dame really would have worked against this port but against this Spurs squad. So I think it was an okay loss for sure. And you lose to Wimby and Company. Again, they're the second best record in the NBA, not just the West, in the NBA. So what did we learn? We learned that Denny Abdia is at worst a second option. We also learned that Scoot Henderson, he has improved. I don't want to hear no more Scoot slander. Now it's to see how Scoot continues to improve. And we also learned that this team needs a sniper. We need somebody who can space the floor out. And they don't quite have that just yet. They have a couple interesting pieces. I still like Shaden Sharp. I like the pieces that they have, but maybe some of these vets might be moved. And now we can issue in a new era. But they need to find somebody to help compliment Denny. And I get they're getting Dame back next season. So that makes me think for changes. Do they revamp the team a little bit? Again, you got Drew and Dame. What will their impact be like on the team next season? Because if you have Drew and Dame as your one and two, maybe Scoot is sixth man of the year candidate. And then maybe those two players can help Denny out a little bit. Maybe. And then what happens with Klingon if he if he takes his game to a next level? Maybe Portland can do something. So I need to see Portland get Denny some help. And again, having Dame, Drew, Denny, Jeremy Grant, and Donovan Klingon as your starters with Scoot Henderson, Shaden Sharp, Kamara Thibel, and Ra Williams. That's not a bad team, actually. It just hinges on Dame and Drew really being them. Jeremy still being solid and Denny being a one option. If they can't have that happen, then we're gonna have to wait and see what Portland does. Now let's move on to the Nuggets. Good or bad loss. I say it's a bad loss. And ladies and gentlemen, I say it's a bad loss because of this. They were healthy and they went down 3-1. They got called out by Jaden McDaniels and they ended up losing without Anthony Edwards playing. Without Ayo DeSumo, who dropped 43 in a game, what? Five or six? Five, I think. Yeah. And then Dante out with the Achilles. So you don't have three of their top guards, their best player, and you still lost, that's a bad loss, ladies and gentlemen. And you're healthy. You're healthy. And your chemistry is pretty much intact. We learned that Jokic is not as dominant anymore. I'm putting a question mark around that because he usually dominates with the triple doubles, but also the efficiency. This round, he did not have an efficient series. And unless you guys are willing to say, well, Rudy Gobert is a stellar defensive player, I don't know if you like again, I've been hearing people talk about Rudy in a negative way, so may want to pump the brakes on that because you're getting, I know some people have been hypocrites. As well as Jokik is a bully in a bad way. Because I have not seen him go up at some bigs the way he did at the Wolves Guards. I guess we can put JD McDaniels as a forward too, but he ain't doing that. He's not going at those saying he's not going at, let's say Joel Embiid score, makes a layup at the end of the game. He's not running at Joel Embiid. Nicola Yoke is not. So again, ladies and gentlemen, we're learning that he's a bully in a bad way. We also learned that Jamal Murray is overrated. Last season in the playoffs, he was acting pissed poor. And he also didn't perform well. This series, he didn't act pissed poor. It was just his playoff performance that was pissed poor. So again, it may be time to move on from Jamal Murray. And I'm actually looking to see what type of trades we can make for Jamal Murray. Nuggets, we also learned, and I've said this before the series started, so I'm glad they finally proved me right. I think y'all messed up by trading away MPJ. Because to be honest, Cam played well. Cam Johnson played well, but ladies and gentlemen, MPJ was needed, and I thought he could have been their second option going forward, potentially even being a first option, if he played well enough. But he has that level talent, but y'all traded him away. So what do we need to see changes-wise? We need to see some adjustments made. I would like to see a Jamal Murray trade start to occur. Because he just became an all-star this past season. He had an MVP-esque season, bottom tier, but still he did well. Use this season to maybe get some depth. Maybe you can get a nice little young piece to pair with Jokic because Jokik still is dominant. And this was the first time when we said, hey, he's not as efficient as he needed to be, in the playoffs specifically. So for what I need to see, I need to see next next start next season, Jokik dominate efficiency-wise again, or else it's going to be tough putting him in conversations that y'all have been trying to put him in. Because that's been the reason why he's been so stellar. It's not defensively. He's still not a good defensive player. He's just active and he's 6'11. Active enough, I should say. We also need to see AG fully healthy because it might start to be time to move on from AG. Start to find some new players to replace Aaron Gordon. Or maybe we change Aaron Gordon's role. And speaking of role, role players, y'all need to hit more shots to space the floor. So that's what we need to see. So do you need to get new players, run it back? I don't know. I don't know if you need to quite run it back. You could for sure, because again, they just won the championship in 2023. But I'd like to see them start to think, at minimum, about making a few changes, starting with their number two. That's Jamal Murray. But this was a bad loss for sure. And this is back-to-back seasons now where Jamal Murray has not played well in a series where you thought he could have played well, especially because he had a chip on his shoulder or should have, because this same team made him look bad last season. But let's move on from that. I'm not going to try to keep the horse watch down too long. We're going to talk about the Rockets. Was this a good or bad loss? I say eh. The reason why I say eh is because it's very close to a bad. Keep in mind we had, and I'm saying we because I'm a Lakers fan, we had no Luca, no Austin for like the majority of the series. We had no Luca at all, but Austin came back for the last two games. And we were down, we were up 3-0. That's a problem. Even if KD only played one game, that's still a problem. KD gave you nine turnovers. Yes, that's bad, KD. And there's some issues looming to the point that you're getting a whole video, whole audio about just you and the dilemma that you've been causing. So what have we learned? This Rockets team is too inconsistent and they need a number one option. They also need that vocal leader, because granted, Fred Van Fleet was still on the bench, but still he needs to be on the floor. And that impact, that injury impact was felt quite heavily. How much though? Because I didn't think it should have been this bad, to be honest with you. They should have got past us. I was very surprised that they that they that all I what? Because they could have beaten the Spurs actually and then gotten to the Western conference. This is just disgusting work. Also, Eme, I need you to tighten up your reins a little bit on the team. That's what we learned. Again, I give you a little bit of grace. KD was out, FVF was out, but still, I expected you to do better against the Lakers than what y'all did. Y'all went to game six, kudos, especially down being 3-0. Could have gotten to game seven, and maybe even won it. But you shouldn't have been there to begin with. Changes, think they could run it back, but if so, they need to dominate early. If they can't dominate early and they run it back, they need to trade Kevin Durant. And I think they should potentially look to trade Kevin Durant. One, if they can't dominate, but two, over the offseason, because I did hear that maybe it was a chemistry issue because KD was moody, which he's been moody before. But again, if it's not his team, ladies and gentlemen, I don't know how much that moodiness is really going to impact them. Because all you need for KD to do is give you about 25. And they needed some more playmaking, some more spacing, which I thought they would have had enough too. That's why, again, I'm very confused at what happened. And now I'm wondering, could they even trade for Giannis? Like, what if the Bucks decide to take Shingoon? Now, but I got to keep Amin Thompson if I'm them perfect if I'm the Rockets personally. But now I got Giannis and KD. I like those odds too. And again, Giannis is the leader that I would need to pair with Kevin Durant. So what do I need to see next season? I need to see Amin Thompson. His offense I need to see improved. Specifically, his shooting. I'm not even talking about his threes. I'm just talking about him shooting the ball. Getting a mid range, a consistent mid range, that would have been stellar because too many times the defense sags off, you can't make them pay. You got to consistently drive and make a tough layup. He can do that. He has done that. Make it easier on yourself and the team. Also, Alprin Shingoon, I need you to dominate more. Like the way DeMontis Sabonis or the way Yokick have been dominant. That's what we need to see. We need to see you dominating a little bit more so. And getting a little bit better on defense. Like to be clear, he was fine on defense. But if you can uptick that just a little bit, I'd appreciate it. And then Jabari, yeah, Jabari Smith, Reed Shepard. I need y'all to shoot better. Because if not, we need to see if we can get some shooters and use y'all as trade bait. And then also Fred Vance Lee and Amin Thompson, I need y'all to run teams successfully from a point guard standpoint. Yes, Reed Shepard's there. I look at Reed as more of like a six-man coming off the bench, right? Well, six man is coming off the bench, obviously. But I these those are your three playmakers. I don't need to keep seeing KD having to bail teams out by being a complete player. Is he? Yes. Has he messed up at times? Yes, he has. Again, nine turnovers. You can't excuse that. But if you have Fred Van Fleet and you have Amin Thompson and they're doing what they need to do from a point guard perspective, I think this team could run smoothly. So again, ladies and gentlemen, I say eh, loss. It hint it is trending on a bad loss. There are reasons why, and I get it, but still, eh, it was a loss. So again, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, you heard my thoughts about each team that lost in the first round. But I'm curious, what did y'all think about each team? Was it a good or bad loss for them? What did you specifically learn? What changes do you think need to be made from a player perspective? We can even throw in coaches. And then what would you like, what do you think needs to see happen next season? I'm curious your thoughts. But ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, that does conclude the end of the episode. So please make sure to like, subscribe, comment, tell anyone who's anyone about the show. My name is Trey. I'm the host of Get a Bucket. I hope you are all having a good one. Take care.