NBA Playoffs overreactions for start of every 2026 first-round series The 2026 NBA Playoffs promised a wide open championship race for a league that has seen seven unique champions over the last seven seasons. The playoffs are already delivering in the first-round, and they’re only going to get better as the march towards the NBA Finals continues.
The start of the first round has already positioned three series as all-out battles with the road team stealing a game. The Atlanta Hawks evened things up against the New York Knicks in Game 2 with an incredible fourth quarter rally led by C.J. McCollum. The Minnesota Timberwolves tied the series vs. the Denver Nuggets in what’s shaping up to be the most physical clash of the first round. The No. 8 seed Orlando Magic knocked off the No. 1 seed Detroit Pistons in Game 1 to immediately raise the stakes in the East. The Houston Rockets vs. Los Angeles Lakers series is shaping up to be competitive too despite major injuries on both sides.
With the first round in full swing, here’s one overreaction from every series so far. Check out our full rankings for every team in the NBA Playoffs, and a list of the top-50 players in the postseason, for more coverage.
The Magic really have a chance to upset the Pistons
Yes, the Magic were my preseason NBA Finals pick, and yes, I was deeply ashamed of it all year. Orlando failed to meet expectations for a variety of reasons this season, but the big ones were: a) injuries, b) poor coaching, and c) a failure to maximize the fit between Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. It looked like the Magic wouldn’t even make the playoffs after they got drilled by the Philadelphia 76ers in their play-in opener, but they put up their best performance of the season in the next play-in game against the Charlotte Hornets to earn the No. 8 seed, then topped it with an excellent Game 1 to knock off the heavily favored Pistons.
I really liked the way the matchups work out for the Magic in this series now that they’re finally healthy. The Pistons are known for their physicality, but they can’t bully Orlando. It was nice to see Banchero and Wagner get their high-low game going. Wagner looked deadly on drives to the rim, and Banchero was doing a good job of not settling for jumpers, where his touch is poor. Jalen Suggs is really one of the most impactful role players in the league, and he looked great in disrupting the Pistons’ perimeter offense. Wendell Carter Jr. had a masterful game switching defensively to deny Detroit’s drives while also spacing the floor on offense.
Detroit should roar back to form in Game 2. The Pistons can make some adjustments to force Banchero into his worst habits, and find more ways to free up Duren offensively. I’ve always been a little skeptical of JB Bickerstaff in the playoffs, though, and the talent gap doesn’t feel like a typical No. 1 vs. No. 8 series here. Questions about Detroit’s halfcourt offense persisted all season, and they should be louder than ever right now. I doubt Game 1 will be Orlando’s only victory in this series. The Pistons will answer, but the Magic really have a chance to advance.
The Celtics are going to roll over the Sixers
Boston showed why they’re suddenly the favorites to reach the NBA Finals out of the East. The Celtics rocked the 76ers from the opening quarter in Game 1 in a display that showed their full might. Jayson Tatum looked fantastic in the first quarter, Jaylen Brown took over in the third, and the defense, three-point shooting, and rebounding were all humming at elite levels. Tatum’s comeback from a torn Achilles suffered 11 months ago has been so impressive, and somehow it feels like the Celtics are deeper than ever even after losing Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis in the offseason. This organization is the gold standard in the game, from the front office to the coaching to the players. The Celtics look scary right now.
The James Harden trade looks genius for the Cavs
The idea of trading for James Harden to bolster a playoff run is objectively kind of hilarious on its face, but it sure feels like it’s working out well for the Cavs. Darius Garland was always going to get picked on in the playoffs for his diminutive frame, and it just didn’t feel like Cleveland could trust him to stay healthy through the entire postseason. Swapping out Garland for James Harden was a fascinating move that shortened the Cavs’ timeline but also gave them the best possible chance to win right now. Yes, Harden has an epic list of playoff failures in his career, but he’s still damn good at age-36, and his arrival has freed up Donovan Mitchell’s workload while maximizing Jarrett Allen’s offensive ceiling in the pick-and-roll. With rumors swirling that Mitchell could be on the trade block if he turns down an offseason extension, the Cavs had to go all-out to try to make the NBA Finals this season, and the Harden trade really did seem to improve their odds. I see this team winning more than one playoff series this year, and this opener against the Raptors shouldn’t be too suspenseful.
Karl-Anthony Towns should be enough for Knicks to advance
This playoff run feels destined to become a referendum on every key piece for the Knicks, maybe no one more so than Karl-Anthony Towns. KAT badly needs a signature playoff run both for New York’s conference championship chances and his own reputation, and the Hawks’ matchup felt like it should be a favorable start for him. Game 1 showed just how much bigger, stronger, and more skilled Towns is than the Atlanta front court. In Game 2, Atlanta completely took Towns out of the game in the fourth quarter, limiting him to zero points and only two shot attempts. Towns needs to avoid falling into his usual traps — stupid fouls, bad defense, inexplicable moments where he trips for no reason — which is easier said than done. It does feel like his chemistry with Jalen Brunson hit another level late in the season, and he should be able to annihilate Atlanta if both are locked in. It’s time for KAT to remind everyone that he’s one of the best bigs in the league and a former No. 1 overall draft pick. Atlanta can’t stop him, and he has no excuses the rest of this series.
The Thunder will not be challenged by the Suns
I really respect the Suns’ success because I thought they would be terrible and trapped in eternal hell with all their draft picks out the door and the ghost Bradley Beal as an anchor on the cap sheet. Phoenix is a fun, gritty team with an excellent first-year head coach in Jordan Ott. There are levels to this, though, and the Thunder are multiple standard deviations better than the Suns. OKC was the big winner of the final seeding, because they get to watch the Nuggets and Spurs duke it out on the other side of the bracket. I don’t expect the Thunder to be tested until the West Finals.
Playoff Wemby is a legend in the making
Victor Wembanyama’s playoff debut was spectacular, scoring 21 points in the first half to kickstart a rout of the Trail Blazers. I compared Wemby to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar — the third best player in NBA history for my money — a year before he entered the NBA Draft, and I still don’t’ regret it. He’s already in the conversation for the best player in the world at age-22. If he stays healthy, it will feel like an upset he’s not a top-10 player of all-time when it’s all said and done. Wembanyama’s ascent cannot be stopped, and the Spurs have put a good enough team around him to make anything possible this year. Portland will be the first team to feel something many Western Conference adversaries will experience over the decade: Wembanyama is simply a problem without a solution, and your team has no chance if he’s on the other side.
Rudy Gobert will get his flowers vs. the Nuggets
Rudy Gobert has to be the most maligned great player of his generation. There are a thousand podcast clips over the years of former players disrespecting his game. Meanwhile, all Gobert does is continue to lockdown the paint defensively all by himself, and he proved it again in Game 2 against the Nuggets. Gobert only scored two points, but his impact was was so much greater when it came to limiting the Nikola Jokic/Jamal Murray two-man game. Gobert can bother Jokic’s 1-on-1 scoring, and he can hedge or switch out on Murray when he needs to. He also keeps himself in great shape to continue fighting deep into games. I expect the Nuggets to still win this series even after giving up a home game in Game 2, but it won’t be easy with an all-time great defensive center making life miserable for an elite offense.
Ime Udoka will be on the hot seat if the Rockets lose to the Lakers
Ime Udoka inherited a 22-win team when he was hired as head coach of the Rockets, and immediately led them to 41 wins in his first season and then 52 wins in back-to-back seasons after that. Udoka is an excellent defensive coach, and he’s working at a disadvantage right now without Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams plus an unexpected injury to Kevin Durant in Game 1. The Rockets’ biggest problems are more personnel related than coaching, but Udoka could still face some heat if Houston actually gets eliminated to a Lakers team without Luka Doncic or Austin Reaves. It’s hard to believe the Rockets had a top-10 offense this season after watching their pathetic display — a 106.5 offensive rating — in Game 1. Durant’s absence obviously contributed a lot to that, but it just feels like nothing comes easy for this team. I think firing Udoka would be a mistake even if Houston loses, but I would bet we get some hot seat rumors this summer as Houston ponders how to take the next step.
#NBA #Playoffs #overreactions #start #firstround #series
The 2026 NBA Playoffs promised a wide open championship race for a league that has seen seven unique champions over the last seven seasons. The playoffs are already delivering in the first-round, and they’re only going to get better as the march towards the NBA Finals continues.
The start of the first round has already positioned three series as all-out battles with the road team stealing a game. The Atlanta Hawks evened things up against the New York Knicks in Game 2 with an incredible fourth quarter rally led by C.J. McCollum. The Minnesota Timberwolves tied the series vs. the Denver Nuggets in what’s shaping up to be the most physical clash of the first round. The No. 8 seed Orlando Magic knocked off the No. 1 seed Detroit Pistons in Game 1 to immediately raise the stakes in the East. The Houston Rockets vs. Los Angeles Lakers series is shaping up to be competitive too despite major injuries on both sides.
With the first round in full swing, here’s one overreaction from every series so far. Check out our full rankings for every team in the NBA Playoffs, and a list of the top-50 players in the postseason, for more coverage.
The Magic really have a chance to upset the Pistons
Yes, the Magic were my preseason NBA Finals pick, and yes, I was deeply ashamed of it all year. Orlando failed to meet expectations for a variety of reasons this season, but the big ones were: a) injuries, b) poor coaching, and c) a failure to maximize the fit between Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. It looked like the Magic wouldn’t even make the playoffs after they got drilled by the Philadelphia 76ers in their play-in opener, but they put up their best performance of the season in the next play-in game against the Charlotte Hornets to earn the No. 8 seed, then topped it with an excellent Game 1 to knock off the heavily favored Pistons.
I really liked the way the matchups work out for the Magic in this series now that they’re finally healthy. The Pistons are known for their physicality, but they can’t bully Orlando. It was nice to see Banchero and Wagner get their high-low game going. Wagner looked deadly on drives to the rim, and Banchero was doing a good job of not settling for jumpers, where his touch is poor. Jalen Suggs is really one of the most impactful role players in the league, and he looked great in disrupting the Pistons’ perimeter offense. Wendell Carter Jr. had a masterful game switching defensively to deny Detroit’s drives while also spacing the floor on offense.
Detroit should roar back to form in Game 2. The Pistons can make some adjustments to force Banchero into his worst habits, and find more ways to free up Duren offensively. I’ve always been a little skeptical of JB Bickerstaff in the playoffs, though, and the talent gap doesn’t feel like a typical No. 1 vs. No. 8 series here. Questions about Detroit’s halfcourt offense persisted all season, and they should be louder than ever right now. I doubt Game 1 will be Orlando’s only victory in this series. The Pistons will answer, but the Magic really have a chance to advance.
The Celtics are going to roll over the Sixers
Boston showed why they’re suddenly the favorites to reach the NBA Finals out of the East. The Celtics rocked the 76ers from the opening quarter in Game 1 in a display that showed their full might. Jayson Tatum looked fantastic in the first quarter, Jaylen Brown took over in the third, and the defense, three-point shooting, and rebounding were all humming at elite levels. Tatum’s comeback from a torn Achilles suffered 11 months ago has been so impressive, and somehow it feels like the Celtics are deeper than ever even after losing Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis in the offseason. This organization is the gold standard in the game, from the front office to the coaching to the players. The Celtics look scary right now.
The James Harden trade looks genius for the Cavs
The idea of trading for James Harden to bolster a playoff run is objectively kind of hilarious on its face, but it sure feels like it’s working out well for the Cavs. Darius Garland was always going to get picked on in the playoffs for his diminutive frame, and it just didn’t feel like Cleveland could trust him to stay healthy through the entire postseason. Swapping out Garland for James Harden was a fascinating move that shortened the Cavs’ timeline but also gave them the best possible chance to win right now. Yes, Harden has an epic list of playoff failures in his career, but he’s still damn good at age-36, and his arrival has freed up Donovan Mitchell’s workload while maximizing Jarrett Allen’s offensive ceiling in the pick-and-roll. With rumors swirling that Mitchell could be on the trade block if he turns down an offseason extension, the Cavs had to go all-out to try to make the NBA Finals this season, and the Harden trade really did seem to improve their odds. I see this team winning more than one playoff series this year, and this opener against the Raptors shouldn’t be too suspenseful.
Karl-Anthony Towns should be enough for Knicks to advance
This playoff run feels destined to become a referendum on every key piece for the Knicks, maybe no one more so than Karl-Anthony Towns. KAT badly needs a signature playoff run both for New York’s conference championship chances and his own reputation, and the Hawks’ matchup felt like it should be a favorable start for him. Game 1 showed just how much bigger, stronger, and more skilled Towns is than the Atlanta front court. In Game 2, Atlanta completely took Towns out of the game in the fourth quarter, limiting him to zero points and only two shot attempts. Towns needs to avoid falling into his usual traps — stupid fouls, bad defense, inexplicable moments where he trips for no reason — which is easier said than done. It does feel like his chemistry with Jalen Brunson hit another level late in the season, and he should be able to annihilate Atlanta if both are locked in. It’s time for KAT to remind everyone that he’s one of the best bigs in the league and a former No. 1 overall draft pick. Atlanta can’t stop him, and he has no excuses the rest of this series.
The Thunder will not be challenged by the Suns
I really respect the Suns’ success because I thought they would be terrible and trapped in eternal hell with all their draft picks out the door and the ghost Bradley Beal as an anchor on the cap sheet. Phoenix is a fun, gritty team with an excellent first-year head coach in Jordan Ott. There are levels to this, though, and the Thunder are multiple standard deviations better than the Suns. OKC was the big winner of the final seeding, because they get to watch the Nuggets and Spurs duke it out on the other side of the bracket. I don’t expect the Thunder to be tested until the West Finals.
Playoff Wemby is a legend in the making
Victor Wembanyama’s playoff debut was spectacular, scoring 21 points in the first half to kickstart a rout of the Trail Blazers. I compared Wemby to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar — the third best player in NBA history for my money — a year before he entered the NBA Draft, and I still don’t’ regret it. He’s already in the conversation for the best player in the world at age-22. If he stays healthy, it will feel like an upset he’s not a top-10 player of all-time when it’s all said and done. Wembanyama’s ascent cannot be stopped, and the Spurs have put a good enough team around him to make anything possible this year. Portland will be the first team to feel something many Western Conference adversaries will experience over the decade: Wembanyama is simply a problem without a solution, and your team has no chance if he’s on the other side.
Rudy Gobert will get his flowers vs. the Nuggets
Rudy Gobert has to be the most maligned great player of his generation. There are a thousand podcast clips over the years of former players disrespecting his game. Meanwhile, all Gobert does is continue to lockdown the paint defensively all by himself, and he proved it again in Game 2 against the Nuggets. Gobert only scored two points, but his impact was was so much greater when it came to limiting the Nikola Jokic/Jamal Murray two-man game. Gobert can bother Jokic’s 1-on-1 scoring, and he can hedge or switch out on Murray when he needs to. He also keeps himself in great shape to continue fighting deep into games. I expect the Nuggets to still win this series even after giving up a home game in Game 2, but it won’t be easy with an all-time great defensive center making life miserable for an elite offense.
Ime Udoka will be on the hot seat if the Rockets lose to the Lakers
Ime Udoka inherited a 22-win team when he was hired as head coach of the Rockets, and immediately led them to 41 wins in his first season and then 52 wins in back-to-back seasons after that. Udoka is an excellent defensive coach, and he’s working at a disadvantage right now without Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams plus an unexpected injury to Kevin Durant in Game 1. The Rockets’ biggest problems are more personnel related than coaching, but Udoka could still face some heat if Houston actually gets eliminated to a Lakers team without Luka Doncic or Austin Reaves. It’s hard to believe the Rockets had a top-10 offense this season after watching their pathetic display — a 106.5 offensive rating — in Game 1. Durant’s absence obviously contributed a lot to that, but it just feels like nothing comes easy for this team. I think firing Udoka would be a mistake even if Houston loses, but I would bet we get some hot seat rumors this summer as Houston ponders how to take the next step.
![MLB trade deadline preview: Tarik Skubal, buyers, sellers, and sleepers With the MLB trade deadline fast approaching and intrigue swirling everywhere around where-oh-where Tarik Skubal will go, I thought we could have a little more fun than the tried-and-true ranking of trade candidates (which I have already done) and revive one of the greatest forms our beloved sports media ever took: the mega preview.Anyone else remember those old Sports Illustrated MLB preview issues with their 40-odd pages of info on every team, what to watch that season, cool graphics, cutouts and photos with flashy presentation and peak magazine aesthetic? It might have just been because I was 10, but I lived for this stuff.So in my never-ending battle against those that would leave the mega preview to die alongside many other forms of written sports content, we’re bringing it back… digitally… with significantly fewer graphics… and a much smaller production staff (me)… and we can’t cover every team here because, ya know, priorities… but the energy of the mega preview will abound like Christmas cheer when Buddy the Elf starts to sing. There will be categories; there will be fun everywhere you look. After all, the mega preview is worth preserving, even in formaldehyde.Q: Will the Detroit Tigers, who have surged since the beginning of June, actually trade Tarik Skubal?A: I find it kind of hard to believe they won’t. The Tigers have apparently set an “outrageous” price for Skubal for interested teams, which may read like they will only trade him for an absolute heist. As they should, given the two weeks they have to induce some team to panic and trade the farm for a guy on an expiring contract. But leverage is fickle, and the Tigers may realize that come August 3, they may wind up keeping Skubal for an already-doomed run and lose him for nothing this winter. That will be a tough pill to swallow.A: That’s an almost impossible question to answer. On one hand, you have the teams you’d expect him to probably sign with next offseason: the Los Angeles Dodgers, sure, but reports suggest the Chicago Cubs, Tampa Bay Rays and Atlanta Braves are strong candidates to go all in with Skubal. I particularly like the Braves as a landing spot, as that rotation is not as good as it looks on paper.Q: But could he end up with [insert your favorite team]?A: Yes, provided they are any type of contender, though there are a few teams I don’t think could or would produce a Skubal package. The San Diego Padres are not really tracking to make the postseason and are clean out of elite prospects to trade, even though they would usually be a prime suspect to go in on a big name. Nor is my favorite team (the Boston Red Sox) being run in a way that suggests they’re going to go all-in on a rental, no matter how well they’ve played pre-deadline. But you can rationalize quite a lot of teams, particularly some fringe actors who wouldn’t really expect to re-sign Skubal. Dare to dream!The MLB trade deadline rules because every team can get involved. According to FanDuel, there are 15 entire teams with between 10-1 and 50-1 World Series odds, which may seem long but actually suggests a high level of parity… behind the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are teetering on the edge of having minus odds to win it all. But every team in that group can talk themselves into being a buyer, and every other team probably feels like a seller. So who are the splashiest participants?1. Detroit Tigers — what the Tigers do (or do not) do will define this deadline, as whatever contender adds Skubal to their rotation will immediately vault into supercontender status. He’s that game-changing.2. Washington Nationals — the Nationals possess two top-tier young position players: James Wood and CJ Abrams, and while I don’t think they are likely to trade Wood (I know, scintillating analysis), anything is possible with Abrams. This team has major building blocks for the future and could set themselves up well for the future with a good deadline.3. New York Yankees — I can’t see the Yankees standing pat at this deadline with how the American League is just sitting there for them to take. They have a lot of holes in the roster, especially with their injuries.4. Boston Red Sox — a team that was going to be one of the deadline’s biggest sellers has turned this whole thing around and now looks like a potential buyer, though it could still go either way. Relief pitching always sells like hotcakes at the deadline, and the single-best reliever on the market was Aroldis Chapman. Do the Red Sox believe enough in this utility-laden roster to hang onto a 38-year-old closer when they could get major value in return?5. Minnesota Twins — how often do you get to run back-to-back fire sales? The Twins could really make the deadline interesting if they chose to make Byron Buxton available, and Joe Ryan could finally be heading for greener pastures after he was nearly traded last year. Those would easily be two of the biggest non-Skubal names.6. San Francisco Giants — Rafael Devers has perhaps revived his stature as an elite hitter, but the Giants are still cooked as far as 2026 goes. They have a lot of tradable players, from Jung Hoo Lee to Luis Arraez and Matt Chapman. If the Giants have talked themselves into this Devers power spike and want to keep his gargantuan contract on the books, great. If they think instead that this is an aberration that has salvaged his trade value, they could maybe try to offload his contract much like Boston did a year ago.A paragraph of the best trade assets you’ve never heard of (or at least haven’t thought about in a while)Reid Detmers is not a name I had anywhere near any of my radars after he was moved the Los Angeles Angels bullpen last season for unclear reasons. I wrote a whole analysis of Detmers and why he’s considered so valuable despite his 4.39 ERA, and I think he could be a really impactful player in a better environment and could command a shockingly high price because of his age. Speaking of the bullpen, I also like Rico Garcia from the Baltimore Orioles, who has kinda just been mowing dudes down all year on a team that’s going nowhere fast. And while you may have heard of them, a pair of New York Mets pitchers in Clay Holmes (a starter) and AJ Minter (a reliever) feel like mortal locks to be dealt with how poorly this Mets season has gone.One final perplexing player for the roadI’m curious about everything going on with Mickey Moniak and the Colorado Rockies. Here is a former number-one overall draft pick with serious pull-side power who’s 28 and has bounced around the league so much you’d think he was running from something. He’s come into his own in the mile-high air, and was seriously hot to start the season before cooling off a bit. There are red flags everywhere with Moniak, given his stats on the road pale in comparison to his Colorado numbers, but he has the bat speed and hard-hitting profile that could work for a lot of teams. But he strikes out too much, doesn’t walk enough and really only hits to one side of the field. He may not cost that much because of the risk, but could pay off big time for someone willing to take it. #MLB #trade #deadline #preview #Tarik #Skubal #buyers #sellers #sleepers](https://i0.wp.com/platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/gettyimages-2285210665.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C10.737302671694%2C100%2C78.525394656611&w=1200&ssl=1 "MLB trade deadline preview: Tarik Skubal, buyers, sellers, and sleepers With the MLB trade deadline fast approaching and intrigue swirling everywhere around where-oh-where Tarik Skubal will go, I thought we could have a little more fun than the tried-and-true ranking of trade candidates (which I have already done) and revive one of the greatest forms our beloved sports media ever took: the mega preview.Anyone else remember those old Sports Illustrated MLB preview issues with their 40-odd pages of info on every team, what to watch that season, cool graphics, cutouts and photos with flashy presentation and peak magazine aesthetic? It might have just been because I was 10, but I lived for this stuff.So in my never-ending battle against those that would leave the mega preview to die alongside many other forms of written sports content, we’re bringing it back… digitally… with significantly fewer graphics… and a much smaller production staff (me)… and we can’t cover every team here because, ya know, priorities… but the energy of the mega preview will abound like Christmas cheer when Buddy the Elf starts to sing. There will be categories; there will be fun everywhere you look. After all, the mega preview is worth preserving, even in formaldehyde.Q: Will the Detroit Tigers, who have surged since the beginning of June, actually trade Tarik Skubal?A: I find it kind of hard to believe they won’t. The Tigers have apparently set an “outrageous” price for Skubal for interested teams, which may read like they will only trade him for an absolute heist. As they should, given the two weeks they have to induce some team to panic and trade the farm for a guy on an expiring contract. But leverage is fickle, and the Tigers may realize that come August 3, they may wind up keeping Skubal for an already-doomed run and lose him for nothing this winter. That will be a tough pill to swallow.A: That’s an almost impossible question to answer. On one hand, you have the teams you’d expect him to probably sign with next offseason: the Los Angeles Dodgers, sure, but reports suggest the Chicago Cubs, Tampa Bay Rays and Atlanta Braves are strong candidates to go all in with Skubal. I particularly like the Braves as a landing spot, as that rotation is not as good as it looks on paper.Q: But could he end up with [insert your favorite team]?A: Yes, provided they are any type of contender, though there are a few teams I don’t think could or would produce a Skubal package. The San Diego Padres are not really tracking to make the postseason and are clean out of elite prospects to trade, even though they would usually be a prime suspect to go in on a big name. Nor is my favorite team (the Boston Red Sox) being run in a way that suggests they’re going to go all-in on a rental, no matter how well they’ve played pre-deadline. But you can rationalize quite a lot of teams, particularly some fringe actors who wouldn’t really expect to re-sign Skubal. Dare to dream!The MLB trade deadline rules because every team can get involved. According to FanDuel, there are 15 entire teams with between 10-1 and 50-1 World Series odds, which may seem long but actually suggests a high level of parity… behind the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are teetering on the edge of having minus odds to win it all. But every team in that group can talk themselves into being a buyer, and every other team probably feels like a seller. So who are the splashiest participants?1. Detroit Tigers — what the Tigers do (or do not) do will define this deadline, as whatever contender adds Skubal to their rotation will immediately vault into supercontender status. He’s that game-changing.2. Washington Nationals — the Nationals possess two top-tier young position players: James Wood and CJ Abrams, and while I don’t think they are likely to trade Wood (I know, scintillating analysis), anything is possible with Abrams. This team has major building blocks for the future and could set themselves up well for the future with a good deadline.3. New York Yankees — I can’t see the Yankees standing pat at this deadline with how the American League is just sitting there for them to take. They have a lot of holes in the roster, especially with their injuries.4. Boston Red Sox — a team that was going to be one of the deadline’s biggest sellers has turned this whole thing around and now looks like a potential buyer, though it could still go either way. Relief pitching always sells like hotcakes at the deadline, and the single-best reliever on the market was Aroldis Chapman. Do the Red Sox believe enough in this utility-laden roster to hang onto a 38-year-old closer when they could get major value in return?5. Minnesota Twins — how often do you get to run back-to-back fire sales? The Twins could really make the deadline interesting if they chose to make Byron Buxton available, and Joe Ryan could finally be heading for greener pastures after he was nearly traded last year. Those would easily be two of the biggest non-Skubal names.6. San Francisco Giants — Rafael Devers has perhaps revived his stature as an elite hitter, but the Giants are still cooked as far as 2026 goes. They have a lot of tradable players, from Jung Hoo Lee to Luis Arraez and Matt Chapman. If the Giants have talked themselves into this Devers power spike and want to keep his gargantuan contract on the books, great. If they think instead that this is an aberration that has salvaged his trade value, they could maybe try to offload his contract much like Boston did a year ago.A paragraph of the best trade assets you’ve never heard of (or at least haven’t thought about in a while)Reid Detmers is not a name I had anywhere near any of my radars after he was moved the Los Angeles Angels bullpen last season for unclear reasons. I wrote a whole analysis of Detmers and why he’s considered so valuable despite his 4.39 ERA, and I think he could be a really impactful player in a better environment and could command a shockingly high price because of his age. Speaking of the bullpen, I also like Rico Garcia from the Baltimore Orioles, who has kinda just been mowing dudes down all year on a team that’s going nowhere fast. And while you may have heard of them, a pair of New York Mets pitchers in Clay Holmes (a starter) and AJ Minter (a reliever) feel like mortal locks to be dealt with how poorly this Mets season has gone.One final perplexing player for the roadI’m curious about everything going on with Mickey Moniak and the Colorado Rockies. Here is a former number-one overall draft pick with serious pull-side power who’s 28 and has bounced around the league so much you’d think he was running from something. He’s come into his own in the mile-high air, and was seriously hot to start the season before cooling off a bit. There are red flags everywhere with Moniak, given his stats on the road pale in comparison to his Colorado numbers, but he has the bat speed and hard-hitting profile that could work for a lot of teams. But he strikes out too much, doesn’t walk enough and really only hits to one side of the field. He may not cost that much because of the risk, but could pay off big time for someone willing to take it. #MLB #trade #deadline #preview #Tarik #Skubal #buyers #sellers #sleepers")
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