{"id":385658,"date":"2026-01-01T23:25:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-01T23:25:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/385658\/"},"modified":"2026-01-01T23:25:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T23:25:12","slug":"trending-topics-reasons-for-hope-for-each-team-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/385658\/","title":{"rendered":"Trending Topics: Reasons for hope for each team in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1959536\" class=\"wp-image-1959536 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/cade3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\"  \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-1959536\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The East-leading Pistons have plenty of reasons to look forward to 2026 with Cade Cunningham leading the way.<\/p>\n<p>From time to time, NBA.com\u2019s writers will share their takes on the biggest storylines and trends around the league.<\/p>\n<p>What reason for hope does each team have in 2026?<\/p>\n<p>Editor\u2019s note: Teams listed by conference in alphabetical order<\/p>\n<p>Steve Aschburner<\/p>\n<p>EASTERN CONFERENCE<\/p>\n<p>Bucks: Giannis discovers a reason to stay<br \/>Bulls: Swapping depth for an alpha<br \/>Cavaliers: Desperation can be good<br \/>Celtics: Awaiting Tatum\u2019s return<br \/>Hawks: A potential Trae trade?<br \/>Heat: More Herro ball<br \/>Hornets: Blending young with younger<br \/>Knicks: Mitchell Robinson\u2019s health<br \/>Magic: Banchero gets his groove<br \/>Nets: Rookies become sophomores<br \/>Pacers: That the \u201cgap year\u201d goes fast<br \/>Pistons: Tightening up the defense<br \/>Raptors: Barnes\u2019 All-NBA future<br \/>76ers: Staggering Embiid and Maxey<br \/>Wizards: Sarr inspires D-first copycats<\/p>\n<p>WESTERN CONFERENCE<\/p>\n<p>Clippers: Ironman Kawhi<br \/>Grizzlies: A healthy &amp; committed Ja<br \/>Jazz: Keyonte George, MIP<br \/>Kings: A productive trade market, perhaps?<br \/>Lakers: Attention to defensive details<br \/>Mavericks: Bright future with Flagg<br \/>Nuggets: Non-Jokic weeks, not months<br \/>Pelicans: Zion thrives as Sixth Man<br \/>Rockets: Some more Steve-o<br \/>Spurs: Wembanyama stays healthy &amp; hungry<br \/>Suns: Heavy East schedule<br \/>Thunder: Sam Presti\u2019s war chest awaits<br \/>Timberwolves: Finding some help at PG<br \/>Trail Blazers: Say it with us \u2014 \u201cAHV-dee-uh\u201d<br \/>Warriors: Some offense from Draymond<\/p>\n<p>Brian Martin<\/p>\n<p>EASTERN CONFERENCE<\/p>\n<p>Bucks: Antetokounmpo back from injury and wreaking havoc<br \/>Bulls: Promising young talent in Matas Buzelis and Josh Giddey<br \/>Cavaliers: This core has won 60+ games when healthy<br \/>Celtics: Third in the East without Jayson Tatum<br \/>Hawks: Jalen Johnson emerging as an All-Star<br \/>Heat: New offense has lifted them from 24th to 3rd in scoring<br \/>Hornets: Kon Knueppel\u2019s strong start to his rookie season<br \/>Knicks: Already have one trophy this season<br \/>Magic: Desmond Bane has been a great fit, elevating the offense from 28th to 16th<br \/>Nets: They\u2019re 7-4 in December, best record in a month since December 2022<br \/>Pacers: Development of young players while Tyrese Haliburton recovers<br \/>Pistons: Cade Cunningham leads young core built for long-term success<br \/>Raptors: Scottie Barnes showcasing his all-around game<br \/>76ers: Tyrese Maxey is making another leap<br \/>Wizards: Development of Alex Sarr, Tre Johnson and Kyshawn George<\/p>\n<p>WESTERN CONFERENCE<\/p>\n<p>Clippers: Kawhi Leonard closing out 2025 on a tear<br \/>Grizzlies: Finding their stride (11-7) after a tough start (4-11 through 15 games)<br \/>Jazz: Keyonte George\u2019s Year 3 leap<br \/>Kings: Maxime Raynaud (42nd pick, 8th on the Rookie Ladder) was a Draft steal<br \/>Lakers: Don\u010di\u0107 entering his prime in purple and gold<br \/>Mavericks: Cooper Flagg\u2019s superstar potential<br \/>Nuggets: Joki\u0107 avoiding a major knee injury<br \/>Pelicans: No. 13 pick Derik Queen is No. 3 on Kia Rookie Ladder<br \/>Rockets: Adding Kevin Durant seamlessly to young core<br \/>Spurs: A 7-foot-5 star named Victor Wembanyama, plus their young guard duo<br \/>Suns: Newfound chemistry and depth compared to last season<br \/>Thunder: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander\u2019s excellence (104 straight 20+ point games)<br \/>Timberwolves: Anthony Edwards is still getting better<br \/>Trail Blazers: Shaedon Sharpe posters and potential All-Star Deni Avdija<br \/>Warriors: Stephen Curry is always a reason for hope<\/p>\n<p>John Schuhmann<\/p>\n<p>EASTERN CONFERENCE<\/p>\n<p>Bucks: Antetokounmpo\u2019s still here<br \/>Bulls: Buzelis could be a huge weapon<br \/>Cavaliers: Too talented to not make a run<br \/>Celtics: Drop-off wasn\u2019t that big<br \/>Hawks: Pelicans\u2019 pick is looking good<br \/>Heat: Great coach, always star-shopping<br \/>Hornets: Knueppel does everything well<br \/>Knicks: The favorite in the East<br \/>Magic: There is offense in Orlando<br \/>Nets: Lots of young guys, more to come<br \/>Pacers: Good year to have a high pick<br \/>Pistons: First place and still young<br \/>Raptors: Barnes\u2019 defense and versatility<br \/>76ers: Maxey and Edgecombe are a special duo<br \/>Wizards: Sarr\u2019s rim protection<\/p>\n<p>WESTERN CONFERENCE<\/p>\n<p>Clippers: Door is open for a run up the standings<br \/>Grizzlies: Coward is already good<br \/>Jazz: George has made a huge leap<br \/>Kings: Raynaud is intriguing<br \/>Lakers: Don\u010di\u0107 is a top-10 offense<br \/>Mavericks: Flagg will be easy to build around<br \/>Nuggets: Best player in the world<br \/>Pelicans: You can build an offense around Queen<br \/>Rockets: Only OKC has a better point differential<br \/>Spurs: Just scratching the surface<br \/>Suns: The culture has changed<br \/>Thunder: A contender for lots of titles<br \/>Timberwolves: Edwards is 24<br \/>Trail Blazers: Avdija keeps improving<br \/>Warriors: Steph is still getting it done<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The East-leading Pistons have plenty of reasons to look forward to 2026 with Cade Cunningham leading the way.&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":370531,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,590,85,207082],"class_list":{"0":"post-385658","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-nba","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-trending-topics-nba"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385658","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=385658"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385658\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/370531"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=385658"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=385658"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=385658"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}