Alex Speers
Appearances
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
Ich bin froh, hier zu sein. Ich bin froh, zu Hause zu sein. Sie sehen, wie viele Spiele wir in L.A. während dieser Strecke hatten, oder? Ja. Okay.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
Nein. No. Oh, as away games? Yes, absolutely. No. Yes. That's the wrong kind of anticipation. Alright, that right there, that right there, that's how you get a pick six. Obviously the Clippers used to play in that arena. They very much do not now. You go in the locker room. The visitors locker room at that arena is one of the worst in the league. I've been around the league.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
I've been in the Intuit Dome visitors locker room. Yeah, you absolutely feel like a visitor. I think it's about how do you feel when you're there. So on one hand, yeah, you're local, you're at home and everything. But I mean, that's not your building. The hospitality is not the same.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
I think Clippers, the Clippers players and coaches felt like they were on the road even before they were playing in that arena. So it just fits in.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
Ich meine, ich bin ein Hooper, Mann. Ich liebe es, dort zu gehen. Und bevor ich sogar in die Medienentrennung gehe, ist es ein Basketballplatz draußen. Ja. Ja. Ja. Ja. Ja. Ich liebe es, da reinzukommen. Gestern hat es gestern regnen gegangen und sie hatten ein Auto-Promotion. Ich habe die Strecke nicht wirklich getroffen. Aber das erste Mal in drei Wochen.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
Ich liebe es, in der Plaza mit dem Basketballplatz zu sein. Ich komme einfach rein und schieße mit demjenigen, der da ist. Weißt du, was ich meine? Du kannst auch sagen, wir sind in den Dome, außerhalb des Platzes. Ich und die Tickethalter versuchen einfach nur, eine linke Hand zu machen. Weißt du, was ich meine?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
Hör mal, Mann. James Harden hat die NBA-Historie, soweit ich mich interessiere, nie gesehen. Du hast nie einen Spieler gesehen, der so alt war, an der zweiten Nacht des Back-to-Back, ein Spiel mit einem 50-Berg zu gewinnen. Und es war, die Desperation war großartig. Du weißt, das Junge hatte 23 Punkte im ersten Quartal. He doesn't average that for a game this season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
James has been doing a lot, but I love watching old stars, man, because they, in their mind, feel like they can do this whenever they want. And they're just like, well, I just sacrificed for the game and I picked my spots. He actually did that thing. Like, We scored 23 points in the first quarter. I was like, alright, you know what? This second half is going to be ugly. And no, he pushed through.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
And not only that, he left room for his teammates to still be able to contribute as well. You know, Zu had another 20-point game. Bogdan Bogdanovich, who, he has these ups and downs that are crazy. He went from not shooting, he didn't attempt a single shot in the fourth quarter in Phoenix to
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
an Tuesday night to making two big threes and then a shot that put the Clippers up 10 in the fourth quarter. That was huge. That's why they got that dude. So it's not just that he had 50. He was efficient. He had 50 points on 24 field goal attempts. He got to the line 20 times. That's more than the entire Detroit team. And we can always look back and always be like, well, I've seen this before.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
He did it in Houston. That was another decade ago. It's 2025 and he's doing this. You know what I'm saying? So I thought it was a heroic performance. It was absolutely needed. It's like you really, we always talk about how we can't take guys and what they're able to do for granted. Like this is for real.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
Like he hadn't done it at all in Brooklyn, at all in Philly and not at all as a Clipper until Wednesday night.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
Ich sage immer, dass Verletzungen kein Ausdruck für eine unterstandene Leistung sind. Norman Powell, yeah, he hasn't been able to play and they're missing him badly because it's not just that he scores, it's how he scores. He doesn't need to dominate the basketball. He fits incredibly well with a guy like James because while James is orchestrating,
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
Norm is moving, respotting up, or you can put him in actions that get him going downhill. He scores in transition. Most importantly, that dude scores in the fourth quarter. Like, when everybody else is falling out because they're 35 years old or they've been playing defense all game long, Norm is getting buckets. So, yeah, they're missing that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
Sie hatten Kawhi in vielen von diesen Spielen, aber Kawhi hat etwas Zeit verpasst. Kawhi hat nicht gut gespielt im vierten Quartal. Kawhi hat diese Spiele nicht gut beendet. Es ist inspirierend, dass er wieder da ist und spielt. Das ist eine gute Sache, aber ich denke, dass die Leute es an diesem Punkt schon verstanden haben.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
Mit dem Teil seiner Rückkehr muss er jetzt zeigen, dass er diese Spiele beenden kann und diese Spiele beenden kann und diese Mannschaft gewinnen kann. Vielleicht kommt das dieses Monat. Es sollte dieses Monat kommen. Ich denke, die größte Sache, die, wenn du sagen möchtest, Al auslösen willst, ist der Fakt, dass das ein Team ist, das die Defense gewinnen muss, um Spiele zu gewinnen.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
Sie sind die Top-5-Defense durch die Saison. Das ist überraschend. Was nicht überraschend war, ist, dass sie das Team nicht gewesen sind, nicht nur seit dem Zeitpunkt, in dem sie verloren haben, nach dem All-Star-Bereich, aber ich denke, dass die Defense sogar vor dem All-Star-Bereich begonnen hat.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
Ich denke, dass die Defense, du weißt, im letzten Quartal des Januari, in die Handelszeitlinie, in den All-Star-Bereich, ich denke nicht, dass sie Ich glaube, dass es da einige Herausforderungen gibt. Ob die Clippers das zurücknehmen, bleibt zu sehen. Das ist das, was all diese Spiele im März relevant macht.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
Ich meine, es ist ziemlich weit. Und die Hoffnung ist, dass er das Level des Spiels erreichen kann, das ihm dieses Monat eine All-NBA-Selektion gemacht hat. Sie brauchten es. Das ist der Grund, warum die Clippers einen sehr aggressiven Ansatz genommen haben, wenn es darum ging, ihn bereit zu machen, was sie dachten.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
Sie hatten es noch nie von Kawhi bekommen, seit Sir Alou seinen Head Coach übernommen hat. Und das ist, um ein Playoff zu beenden. He has not played the last game for the Clippers, you know, before exit interviews. Like... Und so siehst du den Ansatz, den sie mit Kawhi genommen haben, und siehst du, was die Philadelphia 76er mit Olympia-Goldmedaillist Joel Embiid gemacht haben.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
Und ich werde immer das vergleichen, weil Paul George in einer Situation war und dann in der anderen Situation ging. Die Sixers waren nicht wirklich vorkommend über Joel's Situation. Die Clippers waren so, er spielt nicht, bis er 100 Prozent ist. Und weißt du was? Kawhi ist seit zwei Monaten zurück und er hat kein recurring issue mit diesem Knie. Seine Minuten haben sich erhöht.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
Seine Leistung, der Erfolg ist nicht linear. Es gab Höhen, es gab Niederlagen, aber er fühlt sich stärker an. Er bewegt die Leute, dass er gut ist. Selbst wenn der Mann fällt, ist es wie wenn ein Roboter aus dem Himmel fallen würde. You know, you wonder if the damn thing is still working right. But no, Kawhi is a player who, even when he has his bad games, he doesn't get too broken up about it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
He's like, I miss free throws. I'm just going to get back to the line and I'm going to get right back at it. You know, he never... Er hat das für ihn. Sein mentaler Ansatz ist fantastisch und er hat alles getan, was er tun sollte. Ich weiß, dass das Gewicht an ihm war, aber das Gewicht hat zu diesem Punkt gearbeitet.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
Offensichtlich muss er jetzt einfach sein Team in die Playoffs bringen und dann durch die Playoffs. die Leistung auf einem hohen Niveau, was ich denke, muss passieren, ist, er ist, und ich denke, wir haben einige Sparzen von diesem in der letzten Woche oder so gesehen, er hat angefangen, weniger Angst zu haben, zu den Rimmen zu gehen, zu den Schmerzen zu gehen.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
Ich dachte, er hatte einen Dunk gegen die Phoenix Suns, einen Dunk in Traffic, den ich nicht alle Jahre gesehen habe, du weißt, es war, als ich mit euch letztes Jahr gesprochen habe, wo wir darüber gesprochen haben, wie viel er dunkte, richtig, er endete mit einem Karriere-High für Dunks in der Saison, das war, das war ein Show, das wir letztes Jahr gemacht haben, und ich I love dunks, man.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
Dunks are health. When I dunk, I'm like, I find a stranger and I'll be like, yo, film this in case I do this again. Dunks are health. I like that line. Absolutely. So that's, I think the key is You know Kawhi Leonard is feeling his best when he's attacking the basket with reckless abandon. That has not happened often enough.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
It's got to be that and it's got to be better performance in fourth quarters.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
Man, Bogey is a pleasure to cover. I will say that. I love learning about players who are open about their process of adjusting to their basketball responsibilities. And the Clippers, Lawrence Frank was pretty forthcoming about the fact that
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
bogey has not had a strong season uh you know with the atlanta hawks and when the trade happened my first reactions i posted on social media about his age the lower body injuries that he's had the time that he's missed this season the percentages being far off what we expected and seen for him for years in atlanta and
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
And the thing that I've learned the most about basketball in my time since joining the Athletic is the process of how you get your numbers is really how we should be telling the story of these teams and these players and how these rosters are put together. So the Clippers didn't value Bogie because of his poor numbers this year.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
They valued him because even though the ball hasn't found the bottom of the net as much, Er spielt einen Stil, den sie als nötig fühlten. Sie sagten, wir sehen ihn nicht nur als einen Schütter oder einen Scorer. Wir können ihn in einer Vielfalt von Aktionen fragen, die ihn komfortabel machen und die sie benötigen. Sie hatten Bogey, damit sie von Kevin Porter Jr.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
weitergehen konnten, weil das eine Frage der Flexibilität war, im kurzen und im langen Termin. Sie haben Marjan Bojkamps Kontrakt benutzt. Ja, genau. You want your players to continue to shoot. You want guys to have that confidence that you'll make the next one even if you're off. The shots selection wasn't bad. He just wasn't making shots. He turns around the next game in Chicago, makes shots.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
You look at how he played against the Pistons the second time around. He made shots. He made big shots. That's what's valuable to the Clippers. It's the fact that he can be a ball handler. He can be a spot-up guy. He can be a movement guy. He can be a pick, slip, pick, pop kind of guy. Er ist in einer Vielfalt von Aktionen zufrieden und er hat keine Angst, das Spiel zu spielen.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
Das sind alles die Dinge, die die Clippers wert sind. Die Leistung ist nach oben und nach unten. Er wird auf die Defensive gefordert, aber er ist 6'5, 220. Es ist nicht so, als wäre er ein 6'2-Guard. Manche Jungs können ihn beurteilen und andere Jungs werden ihn nicht beurteilen, so wie man es mit einer kleineren Leistung beurteilen würde.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
Wenn er gut ist, ist er unglaublich hilfreich für die Clippers. Sie brauchten nur ein bisschen mehr Konsistenz.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
Ich denke, das Schrecklichste an Jordan Miller, für die, die ihn am U-Bahn sehen, ist sein Appetit, um zu schießen. Seine Fähigkeit, Fouls zu schießen. Er ist ein Spongebob. Ich meine, er hat mit Freethrow-Märchen gespielt. James Harden und Norman Powell. Und er hat viel gespielt.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
Und mein Ding mit jungen Spielern ist, du hast die Sommerliga, du hast die Pre-Saison, du hast, weißt du, in einigen von diesen Jungs ist es so, dass sie in die G-League getroffen werden, weil sie nicht in der Rotation sind. Sie sind auf einem 2A-Kontrakt. Weißt du, vielleicht bekommen sie ein paar Bikes und Garbage-Zeit.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
Jordan hat viel gelernt, von seinem Rookie-Training-Camp bis zu seinem zweiten Training-Camp. Und er hatte die Selbstvertrauen, dass er ein Rotation-Spieler sein könnte. Und dann hat er die Chance, ein Rotation-Spieler zu sein. Er hat gut gespielt. Und dann endet er auf dem Scott-Report. Die Leute sehen, was er tun kann. Und er hat, weißt du... He needed to make another adjustment.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
So I'm happy for him that he got his opportunity. I think the Clippers are going to have him continue to... He has to expand his game offensively if he's going to approximate any of the numbers that you see from him against lower competition. They also want him to be a better defender. But he has the tools to be an effective defender. He has an incredible wingspan for a 6'6 player. And he...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
Er spielt das Spiel in der richtigen Art und Weise, er hat den richtigen Anspruch und es ist nur eine Sache, dass er die nächste Zeit, wenn dieser Kerl richtige Minuten bekommt, es vornehmen muss. Die Clippers haben nicht, wie ihr wisst, Leute, die sich mit dem Thunder verbinden können, so gut wie ihr es macht.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
Die Clippers haben nicht genau so viel Geld, um junge Spieler auf die Mannschaft zu bringen. So, you know, Clipper fans, they'll get excited for any second round pick that has any level of, you know, viability going past their rookie deal. So shout out to Jordan for earning that. But the journey is not over for him. He's got to keep improving. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
The thing with the Clippers is they are in a place that, you know, sports fans hate. You know, they want their teams to obviously be good, definitely be in the playoffs, lie to me and tell me you're winning a championship. You know, that's the green light, right? And then the yellow light is to be absolutely terrible, but have some young dudes that you can like...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
Wenn du ein Hornets-Fan bist, weißt du, dass du schrecklich bist. Du musst nicht so viel Zeit investieren. Du kannst eine Familie sein und so weiter. Aber du kannst lachen über LaMelo Ball als deine Repräsentantin sein. Dallas Mavericks-Fans hassen ihre Mannschaft, weil egal, welchen Niveau von Talent sie gewonnen haben, sie hatten einen Mann, der ihres war. Und sie hatten das nicht mehr.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
You know, Oklahoma City Thunder fans, look, they have a bunch of young guys, but the guy who ties it all together and makes them dream they can do anything is Shea Gillespie Alexander, you know, a guy that the Clippers had. Clippers fans still... Rue the day that they don't have that dude. So they don't have the young player. Their era for contending realistically has come and gone.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
They'll still tell you that Kawhi and James are winners. And they are. They are winners in the regular season. They get teams to the playoffs. But do they win championships? That version of Kawhi, we don't know if that guy can be that guy. We're literally talking about the expectations being, can you just play a full playoff series? That's where it is. They are very happy about...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
Ich möchte nur Happy sagen, weil Happy bedeutet, dass man ein Wettbewerb gewonnen hat. Also Happy ist nicht das beste Wort dafür. Aber sie sind aufmerksam und stolz darauf, dass sie seit 2011 keine Verlustsaison hatten. Das ist der längste aktive Streak in der NBA. Und sie sind neun Wiener entfernt von 42 Wienern. Das würde den Streak erhöhen.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
Das sagt viel, wenn deine Erwartungen so niedrig waren. Du hast einen Star in Paul George verloren. Du hast einen Hometown-Mann in Russell Westbrook verloren. Du hattest keinen Kawhi für die erste, die erste Hälfte der Saison. James is at his advanced age and you are asking him to carry a lot with the team that they put together.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
But they put a competitive team together and I think they want to get a playoff series. It's the first year of Intuit Dome. When you build an arena like that, you want to have the biggest games. You want to have moments on it. You want that national TV spotlight. And Sie sind in der Position, diese Dinge zu tun, aber es wird mehr als möglich sein, dass sie in einem Tournament spielen müssen.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
Und ich denke nicht, dass sie sich davon entfernen. Ich denke, sie sehen, was die Western-Konferenz ist. Sie wissen, was der Zustand ihres Teams ist, mit den Verletzungen und so weiter. Und ich denke, wenn sie eine Playoff-Serie bekommen, ist es ein Triumph, weil diese Prediktionen im Oktober sagten, dass die Clippers nicht in dem Spot wären, in dem sie gerade sind. Und ich denke...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
If you're a Clippers fan, you're listening to the ownership, you're listening to the management. And yeah, you're tricking yourself into thinking, yeah, we can do something. And then you're disappointed when they lose six out of seven. It's a very weird, tough spot to be. But I don't think that anyone is rattled as far as the brain trust. The head coach knows what it is.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
The general manager, the front office know what it is. And even Steve, you know, Steve's chilling. He's happy. He just watched a game with Obama. Like, he ain't tripping. Get that team to the playoffs and I don't think anybody's going to be upset about how the season finishes from there.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
Well, you just gave me one. So we're going to go with the Kings. And we're going to go with the Suns.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
Das ist mein vierter Teil an diesem Show.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
I was going to say, one day when I'm really bored, I'll go and tally it up. I was about to say, y'all are a franchise now, especially at The Athletic. You guys gotta start acting like it, dammit.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
John Wall and Russell Westbrook.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
You said 19...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
Lass uns mit Kevin Porter und Amir Coffey gehen.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
Eric Pajkowski.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
Lou Williams.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
Man, das San Diego Teil wird mich töten, aber ich versuche nicht, hier meine Zeit zu verlieren. Sie können kein San Diego Clipper sein. Richtig. Sie müssen es sein.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers Shooting Luck? + Clippers SNEAKY Contenders? | Slam N Jam
Andrew, du hast diesen Kumpel.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LUKA DONCIC TRADED TO THE LAKERS EMERGENCY POD
You brought up that connection to the fan. I mean, that is true. That scenario is like every fan base's dream to draft the guy that not only is an MVP candidate, but like you said, could potentially be like a top 10 player in the sport. I mean, that's the dream. Like to draft a Steph Curry and keep him with your franchise for the entire length. And to take that away from the fan base...
The Athletic NBA Daily
LUKA DONCIC TRADED TO THE LAKERS EMERGENCY POD
Uh, and leaving aside what they got back, like you said, I mean, they could have gotten like the best package in the world and it was still hurt because of, because of that connection. And they didn't get the best package in the world for, for the record. You don't think so? We should jump into that. You don't think they got, you don't like that? AD in a 29 first when a Luke will be 30.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LUKA DONCIC TRADED TO THE LAKERS EMERGENCY POD
Max Christie. Max Christie also in the deal.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LUKA DONCIC TRADED TO THE LAKERS EMERGENCY POD
Well, it's funny you bring up Dirk because going back to like the fans, it's like they were almost recreating this awesome memory that all these Mavs fans grew up with, like drafting the foreign born player that becomes one of the best players in the NBA. He's obviously the focal point of everything.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LUKA DONCIC TRADED TO THE LAKERS EMERGENCY POD
They were kind of like recreating that whole Dirk career that was so awesome for Mavs fans and to just cancel it all out for if I still can't believe the quotes from Nico Harrison. I know.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LUKA DONCIC TRADED TO THE LAKERS EMERGENCY POD
I mean, sorry, I'm just yelling. Yeah, even in that scenario, which would have made more sense, where, like, Luca told them, hey, I'm leaving at the end. I'm leaving next season. You have a year and a half left of me, and then I'm gone.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LUKA DONCIC TRADED TO THE LAKERS EMERGENCY POD
yeah even in that scenario like now with ad like is is their window going to extend that much further beyond like a year and a half no i don't know when you would have had luca anyways even if you had just walked let's play that out then okay luca comes and says hey in 2026 i'm going to miami i love the water and the water great that's where i want to be um and and and
The Athletic NBA Daily
LUKA DONCIC TRADED TO THE LAKERS EMERGENCY POD
Every new detail was insane. Like, the detail that came out that was like, the Mavs approached the Lakers. Like, that was its own tweet. I know.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LUKA DONCIC TRADED TO THE LAKERS EMERGENCY POD
Even in the scenario where there's an injury, I still would trade for Luka. I'd still trade for him. That even wouldn't make enough sense for me. It would have to be some legal thing. That's the only thing. If there was some weird thing that comes out. But even an injury, as the Lakers, I would be like, fine. We'll figure it out with him. We're getting him in here at 25 years old.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LUKA DONCIC TRADED TO THE LAKERS EMERGENCY POD
We'll figure out his injury issues. So even that wouldn't be enough for me to understand the Mavs' perspective.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LUKA DONCIC TRADED TO THE LAKERS EMERGENCY POD
I brought this up on the first segment that we did, but the thing that blew me away is that, you know, last season, they make all these kind of all-in trades. You know, they don't have control of their pick from 2027 to 2030, but it all made sense because Luke is 25. It's like... Lucas 25, Derek live is a rookie like this window is going to be open for a while.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LUKA DONCIC TRADED TO THE LAKERS EMERGENCY POD
We're not really worried about those picks to shorten that window with Anthony Davis. I mean, you know, maybe they're still a good team, but to increase your risk for all those picks that you got rid of, because like how long can even if you're taking like the most positive.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LUKA DONCIC TRADED TO THE LAKERS EMERGENCY POD
No way. You mentioned... Yeah, I just – you said the thing about, like, you don't know if Luka has reached that point, you know, where it's a guy that you just, like, definitely attach yourself to until the sunset. But, like, how many 25-year-olds – I guess he was 24 last year. How many 25-year-olds have led their team –
The Athletic NBA Daily
LUKA DONCIC TRADED TO THE LAKERS EMERGENCY POD
to an NBA Finals I mean that list is so short so like even compared to someone like Shea or some of the other you know Anthony Edwards like Luka had proven so much and had already done so much like he kind of he's other than winning a title he had done kind of everything he could do to be one of those guys for a city
The Athletic NBA Daily
LUKA DONCIC TRADED TO THE LAKERS EMERGENCY POD
Or, you know, enough games. And they had done such a good job of finding those guys. I mean, the fact that they got Lively last year, who felt... I mean, just watching him looks like the ideal teammate for Luka Doncic. Just perfect. And they got him, and he's young, he's under contract.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LUKA DONCIC TRADED TO THE LAKERS EMERGENCY POD
It just felt like they had done everything right and kind of had proven a lot of people wrong who thought that, like, oh, they were going in a little too much, you know, giving up these... picks for a guy like PJ Washington or Daniel Gafford. They really proved a ton of people wrong. They did an incredible job building that team. Around him. And it didn't even last a year.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LUKA DONCIC TRADED TO THE LAKERS EMERGENCY POD
Yeah, I mean I was thinking of like a Houston deal. Like obviously it wouldn't have a player as good as Anthony Davis, but like the number of Suns picks and young players that you should theoretically be able to get for Luka Doncic should just be – I mean it should have been one of the biggest trade packages in NBA history if you're trading 25-year-old Luka. It just should have been.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LUKA DONCIC TRADED TO THE LAKERS EMERGENCY POD
He is one of the untouchables.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LUKA DONCIC TRADED TO THE LAKERS EMERGENCY POD
Yeah, I didn't believe it. Yeah, I think a lot of people just didn't believe it. You assume, oh, Shams must have been hacked. And then even when he had the follow-up tweet that said, it's real, you're like, okay, well, that's something a hacker would say, obviously. That can't be Shams. And finding out that it's real, I mean, you think back to last season. how the Mavs have just gone all in.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LUKA DONCIC TRADED TO THE LAKERS EMERGENCY POD
At the bare minimum, how do you not get the later? How about this? How about you just get the later pick when Luka will be a little bit older? How about just start there? How are you settling for the worst of their two first round picks that they have? I know. Well, I don't think we're going to have any answers tonight, so I can't offer you many words of encouragement.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LUKA DONCIC TRADED TO THE LAKERS EMERGENCY POD
But it sounds like if there's NBA fans out there, fan bases, let Jason know. You can pitch them. You can pitch him.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LUKA DONCIC TRADED TO THE LAKERS EMERGENCY POD
You'll have to pay up. You'll have to come strong. Good lord. Thank you so much, Jason. I hope the rest of your weekend is good.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LUKA DONCIC TRADED TO THE LAKERS EMERGENCY POD
They've traded away so many picks. They're 27 to Charlotte, 28 swap to OKC, 29 to Brooklyn, and 20-30 swap to the Spurs. And the reason you could justify that is because, well, they're superstars 25 years old. This window's going to be open for the next decade. They've got Derek Lively.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LUKA DONCIC TRADED TO THE LAKERS EMERGENCY POD
They just made the finals. Yeah, OK, they gave up a lot of their future, but who cares? Now you trade for a guy... And Anthony Davis, who's already 30-31, so you're looking at your window being maybe the next two to three years, right when all those picks are going to start hitting.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LUKA DONCIC TRADED TO THE LAKERS EMERGENCY POD
And it's just like you not only shortened your window of opportunity, but you also made yourself more – like you could become a bigger victim to these picks that you've given away. Yeah. I just – I can't believe it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LUKA DONCIC TRADED TO THE LAKERS EMERGENCY POD
The thing about the money, though, is that them going all in, one of the benefits of that was that they got those guys in. So they had P.J. Washington, so they could have given him his next deal. If they were willing to spend, they could have kept all of those guys. And if that is any part of this calculation for them, like the money part, when we're talking about Luka...
The Athletic NBA Daily
LUKA DONCIC TRADED TO THE LAKERS EMERGENCY POD
They got away with it. Conveys when Luka's in his prime. Like if that was any other deal, you'd just be like, oh, yeah, that's a late first throw in kind of thing. Right. That's what they got for Luca. Like if they had given us some time to do some fake trade podcasts, I guarantee you we would have come up with much better deals for them.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LUKA DONCIC TRADED TO THE LAKERS EMERGENCY POD
There's no comparison because of his age, the fact that he was under contract for another year and a half, and the fact that we found out he didn't ask for the trade. Like, that's the part that gets me. If we found out, like, Luca told them, I'm leaving for L.A. Yeah, and I'm only going to the Lakers.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LUKA DONCIC TRADED TO THE LAKERS EMERGENCY POD
I'm only going to the Lakers. You're like, okay, I guess they had to do this eventually. But the fact that we know that he didn't ask out, that's, like, the extra piece that makes this the craziest trade ever. I've ever seen.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LUKA DONCIC TRADED TO THE LAKERS EMERGENCY POD
All right. Joining us now, Emmy award-winning director, you know, I'm from the young man of the three, but more importantly tonight, Dallas Mavericks fan, Jason Gallagher. Jason, I'd ask how you're doing, but I have a pretty good idea. So let's just jump right in. What were you doing? Where were you when you heard the news?
The Athletic NBA Daily
LUKA DONCIC TRADED TO THE LAKERS EMERGENCY POD
Are you thinking of switching sides?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
And again, collect didn't do a lot outside of his passing, but his passing is legitimately good. And so I have a Kyler collects that for you. He racked up 24 assists over three games this week while only playing a total of 56 minutes. The last two guys who had that many assists over a three game span while playing fewer than 60 minutes were.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
And if you're not looking at it, do you have any guesses? It's kind of a weird stat. You have to think of someone who, like a pass-first point guard who wouldn't get a lot of time. You know, like Tyus Jones would probably be a good guess. You know, someone like him. Yeah, I've read it already, Al. Yeah, the answer is John Wall for the Clippers. Yeah. This was actually in the same season, 21-22.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
And then the guy, Tyler Kolek, is playing behind. Campaign in Phoenix during the 21-22 season. And I thought that was fun because I was on the Nick subreddit. I was just reading comments because, you know, they're getting excited about Tyler Kolek. And now it's become this thing like, who should be playing some of these minutes? Like, should Tyler Kolek be getting more minutes than Campaign?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
They're going back and forth. And it's just funny that Campaign was actually the last guy, one of the last guys to do this. Don't get much more fun than that, Andrew, for a Tyler Kolek stat, I would argue. It did.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
Well, Andrew, our top story this week is unfortunately some injury news in the Eastern Conference. Damian Lillard has been diagnosed with a deep vein thrombosis in his right calf. He's been put on blood thinners and is out indefinitely. There is hope that Dame can return this season, but for the time being, it's a massive blow to a team. that has been fading down the stretch.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
I'm surprised the Clippers are there because I know Zubat's, his individual rim defense numbers are good. So it must be when he's off the court or something else. I also think it's very impressive that Boston's up there just knowing how much time Porzingis has missed this season. Who's like the main guy you think is their rim defender.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
But as I talked about last week, Cornette has been really good. Did you talk about our guy Cornette? That's right. That's right. So finally, Andrew, that brings us to, oh no, not finally, our favorite player. This week, my favorite player. So I was using this week to catch up on some rookies. Led me to doing a bit of a deep dive on Zachary Resache for the Atlanta Hawks.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
Having a very nice end to his rookie season. Now, he didn't have a great game Thursday night against the Heat. But for the month of March, he's averaging just under 15 points per game. 53-38-71 splits. If you stretch it back to January 1st, his shooting splits are 50-40-74. Now, I remember watching the draft with you, Andrew, and not being in to Zachary Versace at all.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
The Bucks aren't in any danger of falling into the play-in probably, but they are now 4-7 in their last 11. They've fallen a half game behind the Pistons for the fifth seed in the East. If the standings held, the Bucks would meet the Knicks in the first round in that 3-6 matchup, while the Pistons would face the Pacers in the 4-5.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
I couldn't believe this guy was going first. And through the early part of the season, when his efficiency was so bad, I felt like I could maintain that position, even as he had some flashes, like when he scored 33 in his ninth game. But going back and watching him more this week, I really undervalued him. I mean, yes, like compared to past number one picks, okay, sure.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
But like he already does so many helpful things on the court. And with his skills and his size, his floor is already so solid as a 19-year-old NBA rookie. Like he gets his shot off so quick. His three ball has really started to look good. He moves well off ball. He just looks so much more confident. His finishing around the rim has improved these last couple months.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
He's shooting 71% at the rim in March. Looking at that Hawks team, he is such a good fit around Trey, Dyson Daniels, Jalen Johnson. And I'm just continuing to feel more intrigued by the Hawks' future than I ever would have guessed last summer. And one of the newer reasons for that has been the play of Reese Aschey. Yeah. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
What makes a factor an X factor for you, Andrew?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
And speaking of the Pacers, they had a game this week against the Wizards.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
in which they scored 162 points it was the most points scored in pacer's franchise history the most points ever allowed by wizards team and the largest loss in wizards history it's one of those box scores where you're looking at it it doesn't initially seem like it should add up to that high of a number because halliburton he was the high scorer he scored 29 points in the game no one else on the pacer scored more than 17.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
I think I would say either Deandre Hunter or Ty Jerome, um,
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
OK, OK, OK.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
I don't disagree, but I think Denver has maybe the biggest X factor in the league based on his recent playoff appearances, which is Russell Westbrook. And if they weren't using him as much as they are, I might not consider him an X factor, but when he's playing 28 minutes a night for the nuggets, like that is the biggest, like is Russ going to be good in the playoffs?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
um in new york yeah the only so that's my x factors list you have you have any beef with with any of that and i would love to hear a trey kirby rebuttal as well to to my list the only one i might change is for the knicks i just think mitchell robinson's presence is huge because he allows them to do things defensively that they just have not been able to do for the majority of this season
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
And if they're relying on cat the way they were for the most of the season, like I just don't have as high a ceiling on that team. But if Mitchell Robinson is playing well, I mean, it really does change their ultimate outcome. Assuming Jalen Brunson's back and healthy and everything else.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
The X factors. um who's like the most i don't want to say insignificant but like the smallest minutes player x factor that could swing a series it might be ty jerome i mean he's he plays a decent number of minutes but for a guy who truly could swing a series i mean he plays under 20 minutes a game he does he'll play a lot um
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
Hey, maybe it's... That's the thing.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
but they did have nine different players scoring double figures. And they also set a franchise record for made threes with 27 in the game. The Pacers are eight and two in their last 10 with their two losses coming against the bucks on the road and a home loss to the Lakers, a game in which LeBron James tipped in the game winning shot as time expired this week.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
That brings us to our final category, our favorite moment of the week. And it couldn't be anything else. Me and Andrew are sharing this because it truly was... I mean, it was my favorite... It might be my favorite moment of the season. It's so good. It is outrageously fun. When people put up that, that image of Martin Scorsese and say like, you know, this is cinema. Like,
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
A lot of times the things we're talking about, not cinema. This, honestly, kind of cinema when you factor in everything. So just to recap real quick, Bulls were down 18 in the fourth. They were down seven with 90 seconds left. They were down three with 26 seconds left and Giddy air balls a floater on the baseline over LeBron on a very nice find from Kobe White.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
Now that should have been the end of the game because Lakers pass it in. Austin Reeves is fouled. He's going to the line with 12.6 seconds. We've all experienced our team being in this position. And in our heads, really the only hope we have is that free throws are missed. But that's not what happened. Austin Reeves made his free throws. They're up by five now with 12.6 seconds left.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
Giddey passes it in to Vooch, who makes an awesome pass. Just ping-ping over to Patrick Williams in the corner, who hits a three. Then Giddey steals the inbounds, passes it back to Kobe White for a three to go. From LeBron, by the way. From LeBron. From LeBron, very lazy pass by LeBron. That moment, that is my favorite thing in basketball.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
When you get the hit a shot, steal the inbounds, hit a shot. Because like going back to that Reggie Miller play, I just love those plays where you have like a five or six point swing in two seconds. And what was so great about this one is that it wasn't enough. Because the very next play, Austin Reeves just kind of walks back.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
to the he just is like the most lightly contested layup considering the stakes yeah giddy moves out of the way he like sort of comes over to help and then does that thing when you're a bad defender where you just like stomp your foot in front of the guy but you're not you're not actually like defending like why did he not go up to contest he just like stomps his foot but moving back you know what happened i don't know what that was the game right there
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
He just let him blow right by him. Giddy didn't feel like doing anything. And then Giddy hits this half court shot. And please, if you have not watched like the entire last five minutes of this game, go watch it because there's so many cool parts of the game. But listen to the crowd when Giddy takes this shot. Like, you know, it's like 20,000 people or whatever.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
It gets so quiet when the ball is in the air and the announcers aren't saying anything. It was so cool. And then he hits it. So they end up scoring nine points in 12.6 seconds. Win the game. A lot of things come out of it. There's that gif of the Lakers fan, which I love because he didn't even look mad.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
He just had this slight smile on his face, just couldn't believe what he had just seen, and the camera's zooming into him. And then you have Stacey King's commentary, who was doing bits from Sanford and Son at The Bulls are making this comeback. And it's just so funny to watch because it adds so much to just the overall experience that was Bulls Lakers. It was such a good moment in the NBA.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
Next up for the surging Pacers is a very fun Saturday afternoon game against another surging team, the Oklahoma City Thunder. Because the Thunder continued their win streak this week, winning their eighth in a row, the longest in the NBA. Their eighth win in that streak was a win over the Grizzlies in OKC, J-Dub's first game back since injuring his hip against Denver two weeks ago.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
It really was probably my favorite moment this season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
That was a great, they cut to the sidelines. There's this random guy in a purple shirt, just running by obviously like just a fan on the baseline, just running. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
Andrew, it is time for the Wheel of Fandom, the weekly segment where we spin a wheel, it lands on a team, and we watch that team spontaneously combust over the next week. Last week, the wheel landed on the Memphis Grizzlies. Like every other Wheel of Fandom team, it wasn't a great week. We didn't get any John Morant, who has now missed five games with a hamstring injury.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
It was announced this week that Brandon Clark would miss the rest of the season with a PCL sprain. The Grizzlies went 1-2 with the win coming over the Jazz. They've lost four of their last five and sit in the five spot in the West at 44-29. Game and a half back of Denver for third, and now only two and a half games up on the Clippers and Golden State.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
But more importantly, shortly before we recorded today, the Grizzlies announced they were parting ways with head coach Taylor Jenkins, who was in his sixth season for the Grizzlies. Per Clean the Glass, the Grizzlies have the sixth-ranked offense and tenth-ranked defense. Andrew, if our favorite team is the Memphis Grizzlies, who is our guest?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
The Grizzlies, who are without John Moran and Brandon Clark, who has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a PCL sprain, kept it close for most of the game. It looked like they might even be able to pull off the upset. But then tied 99-99 in the fourth, the Thunder closed the game on a 26-5 run. Shea finished with 37 in the game, his 46th 30-point game of the season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
Was there enough happening like towards the end of the season where if they had like gone out in the first round, would it have shocked you if they fired Taylor Jenkins in the off season or would that have still been surprising?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
And for the Thunder, it was their 61st win, which sets an OKC franchise record for wins in a season. Now, another one of OKC's wins was a two point win over the Clippers in L.A. While the Clippers didn't get that win, they have been on fire lately, winning nine of their last 11 and moving up to sixth in the West. And this has been the best stretch of Kawhi Leonard's season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
You mentioned that new offense, and I am kind of interested in this idea. Based on Jha's season, do you think that has more to do with just his injuries, or do you think it really has been difficult for him to fit into this offense?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
In March, he's averaging 25, seven and a half, three and a half on 52, 39, 80 splits. And this is translated into the Clippers best offensive month so far. Going into March, the Clippers had the 21st ranked offense per clean the glass. Through 13 games in March, the Clippers have the third ranked offense, only worse than Boston and OKC during that stretch.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
Now, could the Clippers climb even higher? Well, they currently sit only two and a half back of the Lakers and the Grizzlies, who have both lost four of their last five. And speaking of the Lakers, we're going to talk about the Bulls loss a little later. But for now, I do feel like I have to mention the ongoing feud between LeBron James and Stephen A. Smith.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
So I mentioned the news about Brandon Clark, which is a huge bummer. He was having his healthiest season since the tearing his Achilles back in 23. When you're thinking about their playoff hopes, like how do you think this team will adapt? How big of a loss is Brandon Clark for this team?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
Now, I'm not going to go through the individual quotes because no one needs to take a 57-year-old man who says he would have swung on LeBron James seriously. But it was notable that the feud rose to the level of Adam Silver being asked about it and saying, quote, when it becomes very personal between a media member and a player, it's not something I want to see.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
Now, as a reminder, the league let Stephen A. Smith, the 57-year-old who wants you to believe he'd fight LeBron, be a studio analyst for every game in the NBA Finals, the biggest moment in the sports calendar. This is the same guy who didn't know Quinton Grimes had been traded from his favorite team last season. This isn't a serious person. He's barely a fan of his own team, much less the league.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
Well, Keith, thank you for answering all of our questions about the Grizzlies. But it's now time to play Andrew versus the Beat, Grizz Edition. Now, Keith, you've played this before. I've come up with eight questions related to the Grizzlies. You're going to choose a number between one and eight. It will correspond to a question. If you get it right, you'll get at least two points.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
If you get it wrong, Andrew will have a chance to steal. And we'll go back and forth until all the questions have been asked and answered. So, Keith, what number between one and eight would you like to start with?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
Number eight, the final one, 21 players have played for the Grizzlies this season. How many have not started a game for Memphis? Now you get to choose who answers first. So you can make Andrew answer first and then you go higher, lower, or you can answer first and then Andrew would go higher, lower.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
So this is the number of players out of the 21 who have played for the Grizzlies that have not started a game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
And if you get it exactly right, you do get a bonus point.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
All right. Andrew, you want to go higher or lower than that? Oh, wow.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
The correct answer is seven. Only seven of the 21 have not started a game. Yes. Which means Andrew gets a point and Andrea of control of the board. That's wild. That's a lot of players. Um, I'll go number one. Question number one. Jaron Jackson Jr. currently leads the Grizzlies in total points and total blocks.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
There are two other players in the league who currently lead their teams in total points and total blocks. Who are they? And you do get one point per correct answer. Total points and total blocks. They lead their teams currently in total points and total blocks. Okay.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
No. As I completely stall. Yeah, you're stalling, Andrew. Don't throw it back on me. Have you done this question before? We should skip this one. What about Cat? Andrew, that is incorrect. Keith, you get a chance to steal two points. You can name either one.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
That is incorrect. Also incorrect. The two names. One, Victor Wembanyama. Yes, he's been injured for a while, but still leads his team. Total points and total blocks. And the other one, Andrew. Is it Shea? Shea Gilgis Alexander.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
Possibly. Possibly. Okay, Keith. Wow. The board is yours.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
He's a fan of Stephen A. Smith. Why does Adam Silver allow the general discussion of this league to be dominated by Stephen A.? How much longer is the NBA going to pretend this guy is a real analyst and continue to allow him to be front and center for their biggest media partner? Are we just stuck with this guy as the most recognizable and consumed media personality in the league?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
Question number two, Zach Eadie currently has 71 blocks this season. Eadie is the 10th Grizzlies rookie in franchise history to have at least that many blocks as a rookie. And we're going to name the other nine. So how this works is Keith will give me a name, then Andrew will give me a name. We'll go back and forth till one of you stumbles.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
So this is a Grizzly rookie throughout their entire history who had at least 71 blocks as a rookie. And one thing I will say up top, Basketball reference includes the Vancouver Grizzlies, so I'm letting you know that up front. So this is both Memphis and or Vancouver Grizzlies. So, Keith, who would you like to start with? I'll start with Pau Gasol. That is correct.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
That is correct, Andrew. Back to Keith. with Marc Gasol that is also correct back to Andrew oh boy at least 71 blocks so almost a block a game but some of these guys had many more than that almost a block a game I don't think I don't think big country would have done that but you kind of want to say his name don't you
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
What about Shane Battier? Andrew, that is correct. Still alive. Back to Keith.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
Yes, Strohmeyer Swift. That is correct. Back to you, Andrew. There's four names remaining. Four names remaining.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
Andrew, are you forfeiting the question?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
Andrew, you're right in that it's not right. And that means Keith gets both points. Keith, any other names that were on your list you wanted to throw out?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
Yeah, that's good.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
You can't figure out anything else, Adam Silver. NBA social media is just going to be forever dominated with just the dumbest clips from daytime television. You're just going to sit back and let that drive the narrative of the league. Andrew, why is this league so afraid to take their own sport seriously? That's all I'm asking. And finally, we're going to talk about this later.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
Rudy Gay? Yes. Rudy Gay did. Yeah, Rudy Gay did. Wow. He played a lot of minutes. Andrew, the one I thought you might get, Hashim Thabit. Yeah. We got Thabit. Oh, yeah. And Roy Rogers is the other name.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
Roy Rogers. Okay, Andrew, board is yours. Now down by one. Number three. Memphis currently has two rookies that have played over 1,000 minutes each, Zach Eady and Jalen Wells. The last time Memphis had three rookies play over 1,000 minutes each was the 08-09 season. Name all three rookies that played 1,000 minutes for the Grizzlies that season. And you have to name all three to get the points.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
Okay. So you're just going to throw three names out there, and I'm going to tell you yes or no. O.J. Mayo. Okay, that's one name.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
That's two names.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
So are you passing? I just don't have it. Yeah, I'll pass. I have no clue who that is. All right, Keith. Now, if you think Andrew's correct, you have to restate those names and then give us a third name.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
Oh, interesting.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
If you don't answer, nothing happens. We just go on the next question.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
Marc Gasol, OJ Mayo, and Darrell Arthur.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
That is a name I could not have drawn out of my brain. Wow. Keith, board is yours. Up by one. Number four. Per cleaning the glass, when this grizzly is on the court, Memphis' offense is 4.4 points per 100 possessions better than when he's off the court, which is the best mark on the team. Who is that player?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
That is incorrect. Andrew, chance to steal. What about Brandon Clark? Also, incorrect. Correct answer was Luke Kennard. Luke Kennard. Luke Kennard. Shooting is important. Shooting, shooting. Okay, Andrew, let me mark that off. Okay, Andrew, three questions left. High scoring affair. One to two.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
Number five. Number five. Number five. Per cleaning the glass, Memphis ranks worst in which of the following categories? So league wide, they rank worst in which of these categories? Half court offense, transition offense, half court defense, transition defense. Which one are they the worst at, Andrew, when compared to the other teams in the league? I mean, I have no idea. Transition defense.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
But in what was the greatest display of the wheel of fandoms powers this season? Memphis head coach Taylor Jenkins was fired shortly before we started recording this week's episode. Over six seasons with Memphis, Jenkins had a 250-214 record. He was about to make his fourth playoff appearance in literally just a couple weeks, but the Grizzlies decided to fire him.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
Andrew, that is correct for two points. They're ranked 17th in transition defense, 14th in half-court offense, and then fourth in both transition offense and half-court defense. Okay, so Keith, you're now down by one. Two questions remain. Would you like six or seven?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
Zach Eady has 79 dunks this season. Who was the last Grizzlies rookie to have at least that many dunks?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
That is incorrect. Andrew, you have a chance to steal for one point. Well, ask Chrissy's rookie to have more than 79 dunks. Let's see how many. More than 79 dunks. Ja had as a rookie. I bet it was a decent amount. He had 49 as a rookie.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
You have to go all the way back to the 0-1-0-2 season. It was Pau Gasol. 177 dunks. The last time a Grizzlies rookie had more dunks than Zach Eady has had this season. Not many dunkers out there. Wow. All right. Now, Andrew, this is very important. Final question. If you get it wrong and Keith gets it right. Oh, actually, this could go a lot of different ways.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
So I'm just going to read the question to you. Six Memphis Grizzlies have had a 30-point game this season. Three of them are obvious, Triple J, Jha, and Bane. Who are the other three? And you get one point per correct answer.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
Grizzlies. I have to name them all to get it? No, no. You get one point per correct answer. Okay. Okay.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
A lot of points.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
That's why it's a fun question, because the Grizzlies are so deep.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
Okay, that is correct for one point. Now, Andrew, if you get one more correct, you'll have won the week. Otherwise, Keith could tie it up.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
Andrew, that is correct, which means you win the week, Andrew. Congratulations. Any guesses who the last player is? Luke Kennard had the other one.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
They sit fifth in the West with the second best point differential in the conference. Of some note, however, Law Murray posted on Blue Sky that the Grizzlies have not beaten a team with a winning record since February 2nd, going 0-9 since that date. Now, we'll talk more about this later because, of course, it's Grizzlies Week. And those are the top stories this week.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
Luke Kennard, I'm giving you a point for that. Final score, five to three. Great game, guys. Those are tough questions this week.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
tough questions hey go listen to I mean it's a it's a great time to go listen to the grits and grinds podcast you got to know what's going on with this Grizzlies team as they lead into the playoffs all right Andrew that was Grizzlies week which means it's time to spin the wheel of fandom once again you're a fan out there who doesn't like your head coach start start praying that it lands on your team because maybe we could help you out so let's spin the wheel we officially have gone through half the league this season we were down to 15 teams
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
Let's spin the wheel and see who we get. This week's Wheel of Fandom team will be... The Brooklyn Nets. It was so close to being the New York Knicks. But instead going... Oh, my gosh. The Brooklyn Nets.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
I mean, the most exciting thing right now for the Nets is that they have been tied with the Sixers for a while. They've lost five in a row. The Sixers have lost six in a row. They're both tied at 23 and 50. Please tell me we get like a Nets-Sixers game this week or something. That would make me happy.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
it's official now. Like you do not want this wheel to land on your team. Okay. We have enough evidence at this point.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
I think this is more about just how weird this award is, how easily it can be influenced. I mean, we saw last year, Seth part now made that tweet about Marcus smart, like suggesting, Oh, maybe he might be a good, I hadn't heard anyone say anything about Marcus smart before that tweet, like, like someone big. And ever since that tweet, it just started to build and it got momentum.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
And then all of a sudden Marcus smart was defensive player of the year. I feel like this award more than any other can be influenced by like someone big in media, just starting off someone who is considered like a smart analyst and if they like bring up a name, they can influence.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
So these, I mean, I remember back in the day when there wasn't nearly as much media cover as there was, but like whatever Zach Lowe said, basically for defensive player of the year, that would become the dominant name that people would talk about. You got Marcus. Yeah. And it's not like any of these players are undeserving or whatever. It's just more talking about how influenceable this is.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
And just to see Draymond shoot up there when, you know, Evan Mobley was there at the top for a little while after Wemby was there. We had Triple J up there. I mean, Dyson Daniels is still hanging around. Yeah, it's just funny. I don't feel like we have a good...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
And because for the average fan, including myself, it's difficult to compare these players defensively without looking at some advanced stats. I mean, it's hard to watch all of these games and have a good handle on all of these players' defensive capabilities and their impact. And so as a result, I think it's a really hard...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
award to talk about for average fans whereas mvp like we'll argue that to the death you know we have plenty of stuff we can bring up that for for 24 7 um but yeah defensive player of the year is just so much weirder and as a result you can just have these wild swings week to week
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
If you do want like a good sizzle reel for Dort, what he did in the fourth quarter last night during that final run.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
I wish they would send something. I think that's the problem, Andrew. OKC will never do anything like that. Yeah. Send us something. OK, that brings us to our favorites of the week. Send me anything. My favorite quote this week actually was my least favorite quote because George Niang was trash talking Quentin Grimes this week during a game as Grimes lined up to hit some free throws.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
Niang said, quote, if Joel was here, your ass would be in the corner. Joel here, you're in the corner. Tyrese here, you're in the corner. Andrew, what is G-Wagon talking about? Quentin Grimes? What is he talking about? Averaging 28-5-5 in March. Now, are the Sixers 3-12 in March? Yeah, but there are three and ten in games Quentin Grimes has played in, so checkmate.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
Minivan, you're just jealous because you never fell into the greatest career-boosting situation like Grimes has in this two-month window. Quentin Grimes is going to sign a contract this summer with a yearly salary close to what Niang has made over his entire career, $21 million.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
He just needs to accept that LeBron is getting close to retirement, and we are now in the dawn of the Quentin Grimes era, okay? That's right. So get ready.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
They need players, too.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
Yeah. We're going to talk about Stacey King a little bit later because he also added a lot to the end of that Bulls Lakers game. It's it. It's so good. It is so, so good. Our favorite stat this week, I have a fun Tyler Kolek stat for you.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
Get ready. Hope you're sitting down. Got a fun Tyler Kolek stat. Okay, so he's been getting a lot more time lately because Jalen Brunson's out, but then Deuce McBride got injured. Now, he hasn't been scoring much or playing lockdown defense. But he has been racking up a ton of assists. I was watching their game against the Wizards for some reason. It's because he was on 2 p.m. on the West Coast.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins + DPOY Madness | Slam N Jam
It was the only thing on. His passing really jumps out. Like he had this one cross court pass to Bridges who was backpedaling into a corner three that really reminded me of rookie Josh Giddey. Those like standstill passes where he just creates an advantage with his court vision, throws a guy open on the other side of the court.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
Before you go, we did ask you some questions. I would love to play a quick game. It's not trivia. I'm not going to make you play trivia. This is a championship draft, okay? This is just like a temperature check to see how we're feeling about the teams at this point. So you can see, if you're watching us on YouTube, you can see the results of last week.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
And I can tell you that that was probably already going to change dramatically. Yeah. The fourth pick was the Golden State Warriors. So how this works a lot, we're just going to do a snake draft. And I'm going to let you pick what position you draft from. So if you feel really confident about the number one team, you could take the number one slot. Or you could go two, or you could go three.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
And if you pick three, you get the three and fourth pick. So where would you like to start from? Oh, man, give me a number one. Shoot. Okay.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
And Andrew, since last week you did two, I'll put you at three this week. Okay. So, Luff, who is your pick? Your favorite for the title as of right now? Oklahoma City Thunder. That's been the case since October. Wow. Even after that game against Memphis. I know they won, but what a disgusting game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
Well, I have no reason to change up from last week when I took the Boston Celtics number one, so I'll continue to take them. I was especially impressed with their win without Jason Tatum. Over the Magic. So, Andrew, I have a feeling I know who you're taking at three, but who are you going to take it for, Andrew?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
Okay, I will... Off the board.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
I'm glad you took them because I did not have to decide between the Lakers and the Wolves. Because instead, I'm taking the Clippers. As a Thunder fan, I'm terrified of the Clippers. I feel like they are such a scary matchup for OKC. Just the number of defenders they can throw at them compared to what we're seeing right now with the Grizzlies. The Grizzlies just don't have... the bodies right now.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
But there are so many good defenders on the Clippers that I really do think that is going to be a tight series if we go there, if we get there. So, Law, who would you like to take with your second pick? Took OKC in the first round?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
All right. So cleaning up some of the rest of the Western Conference there. Oh, this is exciting for me. Leaves me with the Indiana Pacers, who were drafted last – last time. And now they go up to the second to last.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
Hey, by next week, if they sweep the bucks, I feel like we're going to be taking them second round.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
Uh, so Andrew, you have your choice of a variety of teams.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
All right, so at the end of our Week 2 draft, Law took OKC, Golden State, and Minnesota. I got Boston, the Clippers, and Pacers, and Andrew has Cleveland, Lakers, and Denver. If you look, compare it to Week 1, all the same teams drafted in the same round, except for Minnesota versus Milwaukee last week. So we still feel relatively the same about all these teams, but we'll see. That's good.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
All right, Andrew, our next guest is NBA content creator. You can find him on YouTube at KofiY, K-O-F-I-E-W-H-Y, where he is currently closing in on 100,000 subscribers. More importantly, he is a Detroit Pistons fan. Welcome to Slammin' Jam, Kofi. Thank you for being here. Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
So looking back at the first three games of the series, is there anything that surprised you compared to how you thought the series might play out?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
So looking ahead to Game 4, Game 3, another close competitive game. They come up just a little bit short at the end, 118-116. You mentioned that Nixon made some adjustments. What would you like to see as a Pistons fan? Is there anything specific you'd like to see from the Pistons going into Game 4?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
How satisfying has it been to watch Shaq be forced to talk about the Pistons on a playoff broadcast?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
It's just so awesome to see them kind of carry over that tough-as-nails mentality that you remember about those old Pistons teams. I mean, even last night, seeing Paul Reed get into it with Mitchell Robinson. It's like, yeah, this is what the Pistons are supposed to be. This is great. This is perfect. And they don't even have beef stew out there. This is awesome. There's still someone.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
Last question. Now, this is kind of Pistons adjacent, but the Pelicans announced their new front office this week, which includes Joe Dumars and Troy Weaver. How freaking pumped should Pelicans fans be right now?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
Yeah, so the three-point shooting was like the big difference with LA shooting 46%, Denver shooting 27%. You kind of mentioned the defense. Why did Game 3 look so different from Games 1 and 2? Is it just the shooting variance, or did you feel like they were doing something different defensively that was making it even tougher on Denver than we saw in Games 1 and 2?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
I've been thinking about Troy lately because we're Thunder fans watching the Grizzlies, and just every game remembering that Marvin Bagley is on that team and is getting first quarter minutes in a playoff game in 2025. His buy low...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
Well, Kofi, thank you for answering all of our Pistons questions, but it is now time to play Andrew versus the beat. Our weekly trivia show where Andrew goes head to head against an NBA beat writer, or in this case, Kofi. So, Kofi, how this works, I've come up with eight questions about the Pistons. You're going to give me a number between one and eight. It'll correspond to a question.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
If you get it right, you'll get at least two points. If you get it wrong, Andrew will have a chance to steal for one, and they'll go back and forth until all the questions have been asked and answered. So, to start us off, I just need a number between one and eight.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
Okay, give me seven. Question number seven.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
The Pistons... took 36.1% of their shots from three this season. The only time they've taken a higher percentage of their shots from three was the 2018-19 season, when 36.6% of their attempts were from deep. Who led the Pistons in total three-pointers made that season? So 2018-19 season. Welcome to Slammin' Jam, Kofi.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
He was on the team. Unfortunately, that is not the correct answer. Andrew, give me guesses.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
Number one. Question number one. There were 14 two-man lineups that played at least 900 minutes together for the Pistons this season. Who were the two players in the best of those two-man lineups with a plus 8.1 net rating? Now you get one point per correct name, so you don't have to get them both. But if you answer the first name you give me, if it's wrong, we're going to Kofi.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
So this is the best two-man lineup on the Pistons playing a good amount of minutes. Who was on? Who was in that lineup?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
That is also incorrect. Neither of you got either of the names in the best two-man lineup. The best two-man lineup for the Pistons this season was Malik Beasley and Tobias Harris. Shout out. Shout out. Shout out. All right, Kofi, the board is yours. All right, I'm going to go with two. Question number two.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
Cade Cunningham had nine triple doubles this season, which increases his career total to 11. He's second all-time in Detroit history already. Prior to Cade arriving in Detroit, who were the last two Detroit Pistons to record a triple double? And you do get one point per correct answer. Oh, my gosh. Okay, I'm going to go with Blake. That is incorrect. Andrew, you have a chance to steal.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
Two Pistons who recorded a triple-double most recently other than Kofi. Kofi may have just remembered one of the names.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
That is also incorrect. Kofi, who was the name that suddenly popped into your head?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
Now, one of these players, he got two triple-doubles. Once upon a time, he was on a team and there was an article written in the preseason. How many triple doubles is this guy going to get? It is, of course, Mason Plumlee. Mason Plumlee. And the other name, Dennis Smith Jr. Okay, moving on. Next question.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
I thought you might have gotten Mason Plumlee.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
Pistons trivia is so tough.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
Question number three. Okay, you guys are going to get this one. This is a great one. Dennis Schroeder, he's been a spark off the bench in this series, scored 20 in game two, 18 in game three. In honor of Schroeder playing well for Detroit, we're going to name all of the other eight NBA franchises that he has played for. So how this works, Andrew, you'll give me a name.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
Then Kofi, you'll give me a name. We'll go back and forth till one of you stumbles. And if you get all of them, Andrew, you would get the points since it is your question. So where would you like to start, Andrew? You just can't say Detroit. Any other team? Atlanta. Atlanta. All right, Kofi? I'm going to go with Golden State. Golden State. Andrew? Oklahoma City. Oklahoma City. Back to Kofi.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
I'm going to go with the Lakers. The Lakers. That is correct. Four teams left. Andrew? Celtics. Celtics. The Celtics. Darn, that was my next one.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
Kofi, three names left. Three teams. Three teams, three names. Need another Dennis Schroeder team.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
Yeah, geez. I have no idea who the third is.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
Nets? The Nets. That is correct. Andrew, two teams left. Raptors. That is correct. Kofi, can you get the last name? I realize if Kofi does get this, he should get a point since it is the last question.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
Now that I'm realizing it's an odd or an even number, Kofi, do you know what the last team is?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
The last team...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
Okay, that was wrong. The other team, Andrew, did you remember it at any point? No. I did not remember this one. The Houston Rockets. What? When did that happen?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
All right, let me make sure that's right. Was this the bubble? He played 15 games for them in 21-22. It was actually the same season he played for Boston.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
He was all over the place.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
That is wild to me. Wow. Congratulations, Andrew, on getting that question correct. Kofi, board is yours. Let's go number four. Number four, this is a great question, if I may say so myself. Malik Beasley played in all 82 games this season. In how many of those games did he not hit a three-pointer? Now, before you answer, you get to choose who answers first.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
You can make Andrew answer first, and then you go higher or lower, or you can answer first, and then Andrew would go higher or lower. If either of you got it exactly correct, you would get a bonus point. So there's some risk if you let Andrew answer. So the number of games this season... where Beasley did not hit a three-pointer? I'm going to pass to Andrew, actually.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
All right, Andrew, you get to set the bar. How many games do you think Malik Beasley did not hit a three-pointer, and he did play all 82?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
All right, Andrew, set the bar at four.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
Kofi, would you like to go higher or lower than four?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
Andrew, you are within one game. In 82 games, Malik Beasley did not hit a three in five games, which means Kofi gets the points. I love probability. Shout out probability. Shout out probability. All right, Andrew, it's now three to two. You have control of the board. Five. Question number five.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
While the Pistons' leading block getter, Isaiah Stewart, only averaged 1.4 blocks per game, the Pistons were one of only three teams in the NBA who had four different players total 50-plus blocks this season. Four different guys do that. Who were the other two teams? Now you get one point per correct answer. So this has to be an NBA team who had four players.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
Hmm. And I will say there were several teams with three, which makes this question even more unfair.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
Andrew, that is incorrect. Kofi, you have a chance to steal. You get two points here if you could pull these names out of the hat.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
A chance to, okay.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kawhi the best in the NBA? + The Pistons are here | Slam N Jam
Four different players with 50 plus blocks. I kind of want to say Boston.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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That is correct for one point.
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So we now have a tie game. Kofi, you could pull ahead here if you could get the other team.
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One more team.
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That is incorrect. The other team. Minnesota. Minnesota. It was Minnesota.
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All right. It is a tie game. Two questions remaining. Kofi, you have control of the board. Would you like six or eight?
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Let's go with number six. I feel like eight's like a final boss question. Ooh, interesting. Okay, we'll see.
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Kate Cunningham averaged 26.1 points per game this season. Who was the last Piston to average at least that many points?
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Kofi? That is correct for two points. And Kofi has taken a commanding lead going into the final question. But Andrew, your first dibs on this question, and it is a question where three points are available. So if you got all three, you could win. It was a final boss question.
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All right, here we go. Ready?
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The last time the Pistons were in the playoffs was a five-game series against the Bucs in 2019. Three Pistons took more than 23 pointers in that series. How many can you name? You get one point per correct answer. So we're talking 2019 playoffs against the Bucs. Over the course of the five games, three Pistons took 20 plus threes total.
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I'm sure you were locked into that series.
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Can you get another name to tie the game and at least send it into overtime, Andrew?
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That is incorrect, which means Kofi wins the week. Andrew versus the beat. Kofi, you have any other guesses? I'm going to say KCP and Luke Kennard. Both of those names wrong. Other names... Thawne Maker was in there. He started one game, bro. I tried to come up with a Thawne Maker question because he was second in the team in free throw attempts in that series. Even though he barely played.
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They must have hacked him or something. Langston Galloway. And Wayne Ellington. Wayne Ellington. Okay, Wayne Ellington. So final score, Kofi, five, Andrew, four. Congrats, Kofi, on winning Andrew versus the Beaks.
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I have a correction. There were four surprise teams this year. Because I just went... I don't know how I missed them initially. I went back. They were not on my initial list. But I just went to their basketball reference page, which is what I use for preseason over-under. And the Clippers' preseason over-under was 35.5. Which means they were eligible...
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wow and they are a surprise team so shout out to that listener wow because that might have been lost to history if they did it really would have been it would have been oh my gosh i apologize huge shout out and a huge shout out to us with our overconfidence thinking that it was not that means that this could be the first surprise team to win a title if that happened
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I want to ask you about their offense, because for a lot of this season, the offense was pretty middling. I think on cleaning the glass, they ranked 22nd through March 3rd. But then from March 4th on, they had the number one offense in the league. Is the story of their offense as simple as, well, Kawhi came back and he gradually got better and better? Or is there more to the story?
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So the Clippers feel like a legit title contender now. They're peaking at the right time. Now that the offense is clicking... What are the weaknesses to target at this point? What would you consider to be the weaknesses of this Clippers team?
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Kevin, Stuart, Bob, when the Nets last had a lottery pick, those were just names of regular guys, not cute little yellow guys wearing overalls, okay? And now that I know this, Andrew, and having watched the Nets engage in what I believe is the most ethical tank in NBA history, go look at their recent game logs. They're losing all these games by like two or three points. They lost on Thursday night.
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They lost an overtime game to the Pacers. I would like to award the Nets the official slam and jam team. I want to win the lottery trophy. 15 years. I feel like they deserve it.
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The Cleveland Cavaliers' 16-game winning streak not only came to an end at the hands of the Orlando Magic, the Cavs would go on to lose their next two games as well to the Clippers and the Kings, tying their longest losing streak of the season. Those losses opened the door for the Oklahoma City Thunder, who without J-Dub won four in a row, including road wins over Boston, Detroit, and Milwaukee.
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They should have had like a 13th picks mixed in somewhere in there, right?
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A lot of those guys you mentioned from this season, they're like 3 and D guys. It kind of makes sense. Mikael Bridges is kind of interesting, though.
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Their final win of the week came over the Sixers, who announced this week that Paul George would be out for the rest of the season. But it's not that big of a loss when you consider this stat. Mike O'Connor tweeted out that Quinton Grimes has had three games of 35 plus points for the Sixers this season.
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Moving on to my favorite player. I'm actually pivoting, Andrew, because I read this article. So there's a sub stack called the F5. It's written by Owen Phillips. It's a great sub stack. And he has a lot of good free stuff, too, if you don't want to subscribe. And he has this thing called the most underrated player that he does.
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And basically what he does is looks at guys who have really good advanced stats, but who have very low page views on basketball reference. In other words, guys that are very good that no one cares about. No one's checking in on them to see how they're doing. And the guy he awarded it to this season
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is luke cornett and this week we watched the thunder play the celtics and luke cornett had a legitimately impressive putback dunk over chet in that game yeah and and that made me start thinking about luke cornett a little bit and yeah in this article which if you're a celtics fan go read this article it's really good but he gave some stats that just kind of blew my mind so
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Top 10 pick and roll combos in the league. Now, obviously, Jamal Murray, Nikola Jokic, number one, 1.34 points per possession. Number two, Jason Tatum and Luke Cornett, 1.33. And listen, it's not the same volume, but it's also not insignificant volume. It's 440 pick and rolls. In comparison, like some guys in that range, SGA and Hartenstein, 499. Donovan Mitchell, Jared Allen, 449.
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Now, like the top guys, you know, like Anthony Edwards, Gobert, they're at 883. Murray and Jokic right around 700. But still, like 440 isn't insignificant. And they are scoring 1.33 points per possession in those pick and rolls with Luke Cornett and Jason Tatum. The other stat that he brought up is his evolution as a big man. When he came into the league, he was more of like a stretch five.
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His second year in the season, his average shot distance was 20 feet from the rim, and he took 193 three-pointers. This season, his average shot distance is 2.6 feet, and he's taken two three-pointers, and his true shooting percentage is now 68.7%. Wow.
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He included a post from Kevin Pelton kind of comparing him to like the reverse Brooke Lopez, how he's kind of started out as a three point shooter has now become the basket guy. That's funny. Yeah. And then the last stat is his rim defense. So. Chet is number one. Opponents shoot 51.1% against Chet at the rim. Porzingis is number two, 51.2%. I'll go down the list.
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Peyton Watson is actually number three, lower volume, but Peyton Watson's there. It's cool. Walker Kessler, Triple J, Giannis, Victor Webinyama, Rudy Gobert, and then Luke Cornett is number nine, 53.4% on about 700 field goal attempts defended at the rim.
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That is the same number as Tobias Harris had in his entire run as a Sixer and three more than Paul George has had as a Sixer. Now, it's been a rough season for Paul George, but at least the Sixers now have a legit shot to keep their own pick. Another team that has a shot at keeping their own pick but may not be as excited about it is the Miami Heat.
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And it just made me kind of think about Luke Cornett a little bit differently, because as I think about the Celtics from the last couple of years, it always felt like Luke Cornett was a weak spot in their rotation. You know, like, oh, if Luke Cornett's having to play, they must be really thin. And now it's kind of totally flipped.
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It's like if if Luke Cornett's playing like you can survive and you might actually be able to do really well with Luke Cornett on the court. Now, it's going to be interesting to see in the playoffs because, you know, depending on how Porzingis is doing, you know, he's still apparently dealing with that virus thing.
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They might need to play Cornette a little bit more in the playoffs than they were anticipating going into the season. So we'll see how he holds up in the playoffs. But I think he is well-deserving of this title of most underrated player because to be truly underrated has to be a guy that you wouldn't initially think to give this award to.
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And I would not have thought to give this award to Luke Cornette. So I think he's well-deserving.
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The Heat are currently on a nine game losing streak after Cade Cunningham banked in a game winning three in their most recent game. The losing streak is the longest of Eric Spolstra's coaching career and the longest for the Heat as a franchise since the 07-08 season. The Heat are now the 10th seed in the East, a half game back of Chicago.
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Yeah, for any YouTube creators out there, I would watch a video about Alvin Robertson's 85-86 season because even compared to all these other numbers, you're saying like 301 is absurd. And I know that there was quicker pace, but it's still like it was three points. I was looking it up. It's 3.7 per game that he had.
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And he was the defensive player of the year that year and the most improved player. Yeah. And an all-star. But yeah, some of these numbers from the 80s are just crazy in comparison to these modern guys who just aren't getting them as much. It must be, it has to be some type of change in just like the overall defensive ethos of the NBA, like the overall defensive meta.
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There must be something there where we're not getting as many steals as we once had. Yeah. So Andrew, finally, that brings us to our favorite moment. Of the week, and my favorite moment this week was watching that Wizards Nuggets game. The best games, I will say, are the games that aren't just not on your radar. They're actively off your radar.
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You look at the slate of games, you're saying, well, I won't be tuning to that one. There's no real reason for me to check that one out. There's better games on. But this was everything you would want from a random March game in the NBA. A good team unable to pull away from one of the worst teams in the league. Rookie having his best game of the season. Alex Saar went for 34.
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Another rookie, Keyshawn George, hitting a huge bucket at the end. Jordan Poole dancing in front of the Nuggets bench after a made three and then hitting the game winner on the road. I mean, I was I was cackling watching this game. It was just so random and unexpected out of nowhere. It was one of those perfect NBA games in March that is probably meaningless.
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Like you probably shouldn't take anything away from that game. But it was fun to live in that reality for 48 minutes where the Wizards are the Nuggets kryptonite. Jordan Poole is a hero. Alex Sarr and Keyshawn George are unstoppable. You know, I understand why people get upset with March basketball and how meaningless some of these games can seem.
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Something like, hey, remember when I made my bold prediction that Chicago is going to be the nine seed? Yeah. They're trying. Something I keep bringing up because it always sounds unbelievable when I say it.
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But sometimes the absurdity of March produces some of the most entertaining moments of the season because they just wouldn't happen any other time of the season.
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If the Heat miss the playoffs, it will trigger them sending both an unprotected first to OKC next season and an unprotected first to Charlotte in 2028 as a result of last year's Terry Rozier trade. The good news or bad news, depending on what your goals are for Miami, is that five of their final 13 games are against teams with a bottom five record, so I don't think they're going to lose out.
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Yeah, the Heat have gotten some brutal luck over this nine-game stretch. But for the Pistons... Like, the thing I love about them this season is just every moment they've had to kind of prove to you that they're better than you thought they were, they've totally grasped that moment.
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Like, this being a national TV game, I mean, I can remember as Thunder fans, like, going through those tank years and getting our first national TV game, and we were so pumped. And it ended up being that game against the Miami Heat.
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Jimmy Butler, wasn't he like 40 of 40 from the line? I think that's right.
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It was a disgusting game. Nothing like this game. This was a very fun game. And I just thought it was awesome that this happens a week after Shaq has those comments about the Pistons. Like, one, getting their coach wrong. But then, I'm sure a lot of people know who Kofi is, but Kofi on YouTube had a great video about Shaq's comments on his podcast.
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where one, he said the Pistons were boring, and then he said the Pistons were four games below .500 at a point when they were eight games above .500. And just the disrespect he has for the Pistons for some unknown reason, this is a really fun team to watch. And they've had this, like I mentioned, this fun season where they just keep hitting all of these benchmarks.
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As the season goes on, whether it's like winning streaks or players developing or then having like a huge game winner on national TV. I just feel like they're doing everything you would want from a breakout season for a team.
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All right, Andrew, it is time for the Wheel of Fandom, the weekly segment where we spin a wheel, it lands on a team, and we become fans of that team for the next week. Two weeks ago, the wheel landed on the San Antonio Spurs. Now, the Spurs were without Victor Weminyama, who's out for the season with a blood clot.
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And this week, it was announced that De'Aaron Fox would also be out for the rest of the season, undergoing surgery to repair a tendon in his left pinky. The Spurs went 3-5 over the last two weeks, including a very entertaining win over the Knicks on Wednesday, a game in which Sandro Mamou-Kelishvili scored a career-high 34 points in only 19 minutes, an NBA record.
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Moving up the standings, the Pacers had a fun week. First, they beat the Timberwolves in Minnesota after Obi Toppin hit a game-winning three-pointer from the corner at the end while falling away. The next game, it was Andrew Nembhard hitting the go-ahead three with 16 seconds left to beat the Mavs. And then on Thursday night, Benedict Matherin was fouled on a three-pointer with 14 seconds left.
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Mamou was 13-14 from the field, including 7-7 from three. The Spurs are now 29-39, 13th in the West. More importantly for the draft lottery, the Spurs are currently positioned in the 10th spot, a half game ahead of Miami and Chicago. Per Cleaning the Glass, the Spurs have the 16th ranked offense and 27th ranked defense. Andrew, if the Spurs are our favorite team, who is our guest?
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In a game against Brooklyn, he makes off three free throws. He ties it up, sends the game to overtime, where the Pacers win once again. Indiana is suddenly only three games back of the Knicks, which is still a lot. But a month ago, they were like six back. And the Knicks dropped shockers this week to the Spurs and Hornets.
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So you got Wimby. We got Castle now, seems to have established himself as a key part of this young core. There are several other young players on this roster. So when thinking about the other guys, Jeremy Sohan, Devin Vassell, Julian Champagny, how confident are you in their place in this team's future? Or does it still feel a little up in the air?
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Now, one spot above the Knicks is the Celtics, who it was announced this week had been sold for a record $6.1 billion. That is the largest sale for a sports franchise in North America. The buyer is a Celtics fan named Bill Chisholm. Not the richest sounding name, in my opinion. Sounds more like a cowboy to me, Bill Chisholm.
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But apparently, he is rich, and he will soon have the honor of paying a massive luxury tax bill that the previous Celtics owners have left him. Finally, the West is a mess. The Mavericks slow, sad fall down the standings finally took them out of the playoff picture completely this week as they swap spots with the Suns, who are the new 10 seed.
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Now, it looked like the Wolves were making a push for a top 60, but then they lost two in a row. They fall into eight because the Clippers have won four in a row, moving up to seventh. The Grizzlies lost two straight on the road at Sacramento and Portland and are now the five seed.
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Looking ahead to the draft now, depending on what happens with the Hawks in the play-in, the Spurs could have two lottery picks for the second consecutive draft.
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Assuming they don't jump up and grab one of the top prospects, is there anyone currently projected in that mid-to-late lottery that you think would be a good fit on the Spurs, or at least an archetype of player that you're looking for to add to this team?
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And the Rockets, who had a rough patch not too long ago, have suddenly won eight in a row, the longest winning streak in the league, pushing them all the way up to the two seed, a game up on Denver. And those are the top stories this week.
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Andrew, the top story this week was March madness. I'm not talking about college basketball, Andrew. I'm talking about the month every year when the NBA completely loses its marbles. Dude, March is the NBA's version of the purge, where for 31 days, there are no laws. Anything is possible. And teams and players conspire to create the most insane headlines.
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Well, Matthew, thank you for answering all of our questions about the Spurs. It is now time to play Andrew versus the Beat, Spurs edition. Now, Matthew, I've come up with eight questions all about the Spurs. You're going to give me a number between one and eight, and it will correspond to a question. If you get it right, you'll get at least two points.
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If you get it wrong, Andrew will have a chance to steal for one, and we'll go back and forth until all the questions have been asked and answered. So, Matthew, to start us off, what's your favorite number between one and eight? Let's just go three. Question number three. A great one to start off with. How many career blocks does Chris Paul have? Now, obviously, you don't know the answer to that.
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But you're going to choose who answers first. So you can make Andrew answer first, and then you can go higher or lower. Or you can answer first, and Andrew will go higher or lower. And as a hint, his highest total for one season was 20. So to kind of put you, you can start doing the math there. Maybe that was his best season. So do you want to answer that or do you want to make Andrew answer that?
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All right, Andrew. Would you like to go higher or lower than 120 blocks for Chris Paul? Over. Give me the over. Over. The correct answer... 213 blocks for Chris Paul. That was a tough one. I was kind of surprised by that total. Okay. Andrew does seem like a lot. Number one, question number one, Andrew, who are the last three Spurs rookies to have a 30 point game?
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And you have to give me all three names to get the points.
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Okay, that's one of your names. I'm not going to tell you if it's right or not.
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You have to get all three, Andrew, to get the points.
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Andrew, that is incorrect. Matthew, you have a chance to steal for one. Can you name the last three Spurs rookies to have a 30-point game?
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Gary Neal. The correct answer, you guys, congratulations. You both got Wimby and Steph Castle. The other name, Jeremy Sohan scored 30 points in an overtime game against the Suns. Man, I shouldn't have doubted. I shouldn't have doubted him.
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All right. So, Matthew, you now have control of the board.
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Question number seven. Oh, this is genuinely my favorite question. This week. Chris Paul is in his 20th season. I don't like what this portends. You've gotten both of the Chris Paul questions. Actually, there's one more Chris Paul question. Chris Paul is in his 20th season. We're going to try and name the 10 opponents who Chris Paul has played the most games against in his career.
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So how this works, Matthew, you'll give me a name. Then Andrew will give me a name. And we'll go back and forth until one of you stumbles. So most career games against Chris Paul, essentially. The top 10 teams? No, no, no, no, no, no. Top 10 players. Wait. Who have played against Chris Paul the most? Top 10 players.
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Yeah. Most games against Chris Paul. Do I go first? Yes, yes, yes. I'll need a name. Tony Parker. Tony Parker. Matthew, number one. Most games played against Chris Paul was Tony Parker. Very nice. Andrew. Wow. Russell Westbrook. Andrew, number two on the list. Very impressive, guys. All right, back to Matthew. Kevin Durant. Kevin Durant? Yes. Is number seven.
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That is incorrect. Wow. Really? Matthew gets the point. It is. Isn't that, I mean, he played in the East a lot, you know, So I know he played for a long time. The other names. The reason why I asked this question is there's a ton of Spurs.
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Yeah, Manu's three and Tim is five on the list.
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Wow. Harden's not on the list. He must have been just outside. Okay. Who else is on the list? Three Warriors. Steph, Clay, and Draymond.
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And the last one. That makes sense. Another Spur, Boris Diaw. Oh, Bobo. Really? Yeah, he's number nine.
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I don't think it's for his Bobcat's days. I was going to say, we all know what's in the Bobcats. All right, Andrew. Board is yours. Oh, let me mark off that question. Okay, board is yours. Number two. Question number two. There have been 24 two-man lineups that have played at least 500 minutes together this year for the Spurs. 24 two-man lineups.
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Which two players are in the worst of those two-man lineups, posting a minus 9.6 net rating in almost 700 minutes? Now you do get one point per correct answer. I'm just trying to give me the names of the two Spurs who are in the worst two-man lineup that has played a decent amount of minutes. Okay.
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So this one has played almost 700 minutes, but the one I'm comparing them to have all played at least 500 together. Vassell? Andrew, that is correct for one point. And you get the other name.
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Sohan. That is incorrect. Okay, Matthew, you have a chance to steal one point. You can name the other player in the worst two-man lineup that's played a lot of minutes.
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That is incorrect. Although that is usually the answer to these questions. It's usually like the rookie that everyone loves. In this case, it was Keldon Johnson. Keldon Johnson was the other name. Keldon Johnson is Devin LaSalle. All right. So Matthew, you have control of the board. The game is tied. Two, two. Four. Four.
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Question number four, per cleaning glass, the last time the Spurs had a top half offense and top half defense was the 2016-17 season. How many players from that Spurs team played at least one NBA game this season?
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So the answer is very simple. It's just a number. You don't have to tell me who it is. You just have to give me the number. So these are all guys who played for that 2016-17 Spurs team, and they are all, or at least were in the league at some point this year, played at least one game.
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Well, the first thing I'm interested to see if it changes as a result of last night's Warriors game, because if you haven't watched, Steph Curry fell under the basket. And if you do watch it, watch it on mute, because if you listen to the sound it makes when it hits the ground, it is disgusting.
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two. Ooh, how high is Matthew going to go? It'd be very funny if you just kept counting and got to a really high number, man.
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Because that was the team that played really well in game one against the KD Warriors, right?
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Remember, you don't have to know the names. You could just... I'll go two. I'll go two. That is incorrect. Andrew, what number would you like to say? I don't like this. One...
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One. I also had to look up whether Davis played in the game this season and he hasn't. And the correct answer is four. Congratulations. Yes. Congrats, congrats, congrats.
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Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Dwayne Dedman feels like he was in the league for forever. Nope. He's overseas now.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who are the True Contenders? + The Spurs Future
Yeah, it doesn't sound great. Hopefully he's fine, but that could potentially mess with the odds. I do think the Nuggets should have better odds. Like, I get that they had a terrible, like, goofy week. I guess it wasn't a terrible week. They did, you know, beat the Warriors with no one. So...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who are the True Contenders? + The Spurs Future
Dean DeRue has control of the board. Number five. Question number five. According to NBA.com, who has run the most miles for the Spurs this season?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who are the True Contenders? + The Spurs Future
Is it Castle? That is incorrect. Andrew. Matthew, you have a chance to steal one point tied up here. If you know... Who has just run the most? The most miles.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who are the True Contenders? + The Spurs Future
Most miles. Like total or per game? Total. Total miles run.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who are the True Contenders? + The Spurs Future
Harrison Barnes. Harrison Barnes. He's played the second most minutes. Chris Paul's actually played the most.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who are the True Contenders? + The Spurs Future
I think it's just a minutes thing.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who are the True Contenders? + The Spurs Future
Question number eight. Who was the last Spur, other than Victor Weminyama, to record a triple-double?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who are the True Contenders? + The Spurs Future
Is it Sohan? Also incorrect. It was Trey Jones. Trey Jones. Oh. Last guy. Okay. That makes sense. Oh, that brings us to our final question. This is actually a very fun final question. I totally forgot about Trey. All right. Now, Andrew, listen closely because you get first stab at this, okay? Okay. Chris Paul, at age 39, is leading the Spurs in minutes played.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who are the True Contenders? + The Spurs Future
What was the last season that Chris Paul led his team in minutes played? Now, you're going to guess the season, okay? You will get one season leeway on either side. So, for example, if you said 1979-80 season, which would be a terrible guess, I would count that both for the 78-79 season, 79-80, and 80-81. Okay. So what season would you like to pick?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who are the True Contenders? + The Spurs Future
But I still think the Nuggets with a healthy Aaron Gordon could beat any West team in a seven game series. I'm trying to not put too much stock into what's happening in March because I remember someone a long time ago saying a stat that like what a team does in the first month of the season is actually more predictive than what they do in the last month. So I'm trying to ignore March.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who are the True Contenders? + The Spurs Future
Last time Chris Paul led his team in minutes played.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who are the True Contenders? + The Spurs Future
That is exactly correct. That was the year, and Andrew wins the week. Wow, very impressive, Andrew. 2014-15, the last time. It's been a decade since Chris Paul led his team in minutes played, and he's doing it again.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who are the True Contenders? + The Spurs Future
I enjoyed it, guys. All right, Andrew, that was two weeks of the Spurs, and we are now going to spin the wheel again. We've got 16 teams remaining, a sampling of some of those teams. Washington, Brooklyn, Toronto, Utah. We could get one of those teams, Andrew. What do you think about that?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who are the True Contenders? + The Spurs Future
Yeah, yeah. Washington's not bad. Okay, let's spin the wheel, see who we get next week. Real fandom team will be... Okay. Grizzlies.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who are the True Contenders? + The Spurs Future
Hey, check this out, Andrew. Listen to this. Three-game road trip. Actually, re-trip. The Grizzlies are currently on a five-game road trip. They lost the first two, the Kings and Portland. They play Clippers Friday night. Utah next Tuesday. And then next Thursday night in Oklahoma City.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who are the True Contenders? + The Spurs Future
And if you do that, you should value the Nuggets more just because they've been there before. They have Jokic and Murray. If Aaron Gordon's healthy, I just think they should be valued more. And then up higher, I think the Cavs should be valued a little bit more. I feel like they should be a little bit closer to the Celtics based on what we've seen. And again, it's another March thing.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who are the True Contenders? + The Spurs Future
65, 68, and 4. Yeah, this is great because now I can just keep it up.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who are the True Contenders? + The Spurs Future
Like, yes, they just lost three in a row, but I'm not going to let that change my overall opinion on the Cavs.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who are the True Contenders? + The Spurs Future
Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets getting swept by the Washington Wizards? Sure. Those same Nuggets without Jokic and Murray beating the Warriors on the road, the hottest team in the league? As long as it's March, you can do that. Quinton Grimes averaging over 31 points per game in his last six, including a career-high 46 against Houston? Anything is possible.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who are the True Contenders? + The Spurs Future
So, Andrew, that brings us to this week's favorites, our favorite things of the week, starting with our favorite quote this week. And my favorite quote was tweeted out by Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune when DeMar DeRozan was asked about playing against his former team, the Bulls, this week.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who are the True Contenders? + The Spurs Future
He said that he still checks in on his sons regularly to make sure they're making their beds, especially Dale and Terry. He then said, quote, my baby boy always answers. He knows to pick up the phone when daddy's calling. And Andrew, you know, sometimes NBA fans will get mad at reporters for asking questions that they think are boring.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who are the True Contenders? + The Spurs Future
or obvious they say that they're wasting everyone's time but this is a good reminder that you just never know because you could ask a guy a simple question about if he's excited about playing his old team and all of a sudden the words coming out of his mouth are my baby boy always answers he knows pick up the phone when daddy's calling that is why that is my favorite quote this week
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who are the True Contenders? + The Spurs Future
Like Sandro Mamuchelishvili scoring 34 points in 19 minutes against the Knicks. Even for March, that's a little much. The Chicago Bulls championship banners getting damaged because of pyrotechnics at the Disturbed concert, the band best known for their famous lyric, that doesn't happen in February. Only in March. Suffice to say, it was a strange weekend.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who are the True Contenders? + The Spurs Future
If he, if he gave this quote right after they make the Katie trade, it makes sense. Like that's a quote you can say, but after this season to say, maybe next year won't be as good. In reference to this season? How could it be much worse?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who are the True Contenders? + The Spurs Future
And I think another tough thing for these guys is in the past, I think it was much easier to point out the negatives of tanking. But this most recent class of tanking teams, if you look at Orlando, Houston, OKC, and Detroit, Out of those four franchises, I bet three of those four fan bases would say, you know what, that was actually pretty fun.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who are the True Contenders? + The Spurs Future
That was a good time, and we came out of it relatively quickly, and our team is in a better spot than we've been in a really long time. I don't think Pistons fans would say that, though there was obviously eventually a payoff after four years of Troy Weaver. But I just think we're seeing more and more. There's more positive examples of what the rebuild process can bring you
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who are the True Contenders? + The Spurs Future
And so it's just harder to make that case. And I don't really understand like what case he's making. Cause what would be the plan given the current situation?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who are the True Contenders? + The Spurs Future
Andrew, I fear that he has bull's brain and you don't want bull's brain. Don't want bull's brain. Moving on to our favorite stat of the week. My favorite stat. Listen to this one. This was a stat shared on the Nets subreddit by user shadow underscore spinner zero. It's a stat that makes complete sense when you hear it and yet is still somehow incredible.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who are the True Contenders? + The Spurs Future
The question is, how many years has it been since the Brooklyn Nets had a lottery pick? Simple question. Start going back through the drafts in your head. Keep going, keep going, keep going. The answer is 15 years. Derek favors. Derek favors was the last time the Nets drafted in the lottery. Derek favors had a 12 year NBA career. He retired three years ago.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Who are the True Contenders? + The Spurs Future
And during that entire time, the Nets did not draft in the lottery. Paul George is the only player from that draft class that is still in the NBA. The last time the Nets had a lottery pick, the freaking minions didn't exist, Andrew. We lived in a world... without the unending source of joy that is the Minions cinematic universe.
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
So, Lauren, it...
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
Okay, so that's a little bit of a hint.
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
That's why this question is so hard.
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
That is correct, Andrew. It's got to be right. Yeah. Chris Paul? Chris Paul is correct, Andrew.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Contender Draft + Playoff Preview | Slam N Jam
Gern, zum Rubbeln oder Aufreißen.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Contender Draft + Playoff Preview | Slam N Jam
Spielteilnahme ab 18, Glücksspiel kann süchtig machen.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Contender Draft + Playoff Preview | Slam N Jam
Gern, zum Rubbeln oder Aufreißen.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Contender Draft + Playoff Preview | Slam N Jam
Spielteilnahme ab 18, Glücksspiel kann süchtig machen. Infos unter bzga.de.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
And I'm super interested because in this case, in Portland, the city owns the building, the Moda Center. And so that wouldn't be part of the deal, similar to what happened in Boston. So I don't know how that would affect it. Although clearly it didn't really affect it in Boston since they went for $6 billion there.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
But yeah, I'm super interested to see how it plays out because that whole area where the Moda Center is, it hasn't really been built up. There's just not a ton around that arena. And so I'm interested to see what a new owner would want to do with that entire space when they don't own the building.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
Now, Mike, before you go, we are going to put you on the spot because every week for the last four weeks, we've been doing an NBA championship draft. You can see the results from the last four weeks. Now, this week, we're only going to draft three teams because we're getting close to the end here. Now, how this works is we're just going to each pick one team.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
Now, I did do a special this week, a two-for-one special. You can take Denver and get Boston. You can get both, two-for-one. So think about that. Something to think about. Now, Mike, would you like to draft... First, second, or third, how confident are you in who you think the NBA champion is going to be? Which I feel like is the hardest question ever in my lifetime at this point in the playoffs.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
How can I gain them? Normally you would because normally it was a snake draft. But in this case, there's not really a benefit to the third because we just don't have enough teams left.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
All right, Andrew. Andrew, I'm going to make you pick first because you made me pick first last week.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
Oh, this is brutal. So as a reminder, people, you can pick the Pacers, the Knicks, the Wolves, the Thunder, or you can take the Nuggets and the Celtics. Now we're recording on Friday, so the Celtics may be out by tomorrow, but it's still two teams for the price of one. Think about that. I'll take two teams for the price of one.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
Nothing. No, I don't really have anything to back any of this up with either. Man, that's a shocker, Andrew.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
Yeah, yeah. Not great. I mean, my choices between OKC and Minnesota... I've been really impressed with Minnesota this playoffs, though I do think whoever they play in the next round is going to be a significant jump up compared to a stealthless Warriors team and that Lakers team that was just a terrible matchup. Yeah, I think it's going to be a big jump.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
So I don't want to get too excited because I did the same thing with the Cavs when they beat the Heat. Oh my gosh, the Cavs look unstoppable. Of course, they dealt with some injuries. Man. All right. I'm going to go with OKC. Yeah. So that leaves Mike. You could have either of the Eastern Conference representatives, assuming Boston gets knocked out at some point, or you could take the Wolves.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
Yeah. You know, part of it is, and maybe Andrew feels this way too, like if Denver, Boston or OKC wins the championship, it makes sense in the historical context of the NBA. If any of these other teams win, it's going to be an outlier compared to what we've thought like a title contender, a title winning team needs to look like in the regular season. Yeah. They're going to stand out.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
And so maybe that's why we're attracted to these teams, even though it is so precarious. Because like you said, they could be knocked out by the end of the weekend.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
You don't want to watch game seven? I'm sorry. Just give me a couple more days. I do appreciate, I do appreciate that. I got two days. You get two days. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
So I want to ask you about defensively because a lot of the analysis about the Pacers defensively focuses on targeting Tyrese Halliburton as like the weak link in their defense. And we saw the Cavs go after him in the series. And yet, as you pointed out in your podcast after game five, the Cavs were not as successful as you might have expected in those situations.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
So what have the Pacers done to limit the damage of this expected weak link in their defense?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
You mentioned Neesmith and Nembhard. They've been huge playoff risers so far. Both are posting numbers well above their regular season averages. They've been shooting the lights out. They're both finishing their third seasons in Indiana.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
I was wondering for each player, what do you think has been the biggest area of development in their games over these last three seasons for Nembhard and Neesmith?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
Well, Caitlin, thank you for answering all of our questions about the Pacers. But it is now time to play Andrew versus the beat. Our weekly trivia show where Andrew goes head to head against an NBA beat writer. This week, the challenger is Caitlin Cooper from Basketball. She wrote. Now, Caitlin, you've played this before. I came up with eight questions all about the Pacers.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
Some are easy, some are hard. You'll give me a number between one and eight. It'll correspond to a question. If you get it right, you'll get at least two points. And if you get it wrong, Andrew will have a chance to steal for one. And we'll go back and forth until all the questions have been asked and answered. So to start us off, I just need a number between one and eight.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
Question number two. This is the Pacers' second consecutive conference finals appearance. There are only two Eastern Conference teams who have never made consecutive conference finals. Can you name both? And you do get one point per correct answer.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
Washington has done it once upon a time back in the 70s. Andrew, you have any guesses who the other team is?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
It's Toronto, which is a little surprising. I thought those DeRozan teams at some point.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
Okay. Question number one. During round one, Tyrese Halliburton had double digit assists in four consecutive playoff games. There are only 10 players in NBA history who have accomplished that feat, including two active players. Who are the two active players that have had 10 plus assists in four consecutive playoff games? You get one point per correct answer. Nikola Jokic? No, Andrew. Bad.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
Okay, Caitlin, you get a chance to steal. That's the first time you've ever said bad to me after answering. Bad, Andrew. I'm going to go with Chris Paul. Yes, a very good guess. Very good guess. Chris Paul is one of the answers. Can you get the other name?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
LeBron. No, it is a guy who's currently playing. In fact, he plays on Jokic's team, Andrew. It is, of course, Russell Westbrook. Russell Westbrook, son of a gun. Yeah, that was bad. I deserved the bad. I don't know if I would have gotten that poll. It's kind of surprising that Jokic hasn't done it. Okay, Caitlin, you're up by one and you control the board.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
Question number seven. Oh yeah, this one's hard. Pascal Siakam leads the Pacers in career playoff games with 80 games played. He leads the team. Which NBA player has Siakam played the most playoff games against with 12 games played?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
It is a safe answer, but would you believe he's only played LeBron in the playoffs six times? Only played him six times. I don't know if he missed some games.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
So, Kalen, you're on the right track because it is a buck, but it's not Giannis because he did miss so many games. It is Brooke Lopez.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
because he played against the Pacers you have control of the board I'll go three question number three when this player has been on the court for Indiana in the playoffs the Pacers have held teams to 24.2 fewer points per 100 possessions compared to when he is off the court among players who have played 300 minutes in this year's playoffs that is the biggest on off swing defensively who is the player no wow
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
Really? Question number four. Miles Turner already has 25 blocks this postseason, which leads all players in the league. Unless Chet had more than three last night. I didn't actually look it up after that. He did not. Okay. He did not. Great. There are only three pacers left. who have ever had a postseason with 25-plus blocks. Can you name all three? So this is in a single playoff run.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
They get 25-plus blocks. Three Pacers in the past have done it, other than Miles. Wow. You get one point per correct answer.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
Can you get the final name in all three points? Rick Smith. It is not Rick Smith. Andrew, you can steal one point. Oh, boy. 25 plus blocks.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
Andrew, that is correct. Wow. For one point. There you go, Andrew. Does the comeback start now? You're down 5-2, Andrew, but you have control of the board. Wow. I'm in shock that that was correct. Number five. Question number five. Aaron Neesmith has already committed 40 fouls through 10 playoff games.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
The last time the Pacers made consecutive conference finals in the 98 and 99 playoffs, who led the Pacers in personal fouls committed in both playoff runs? Easy question. There you go. Wait, what? Okay. So forget the intro. Okay. It's about your knee Smith. Not important. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
When the Pacers make consecutive conference finals in 98, 99, who was the Pacer that led them in personal fouls committed in both playoff runs? Wow. Who's just out there hacking away.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
Andrew, that is correct. It is now five to four with two questions remaining.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
Oh, they did, didn't they? So it wasn't the last time. It was two times ago. They've made consecutive conference finals a lot. You said six.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
I love this question that I wrote. What is James Johnson's career high in the playoffs? Now, before you answer, you get to choose who answers first. So you can make Andrew guess, and then you can go higher or lower. Or you can guess, and then Andrew goes higher or lower. If either of you got it exactly correct, you would get a bonus point.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
So we're talking about James Johnson, his career high in points in the playoffs over his entire career.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
Andrew, you were within three points of the correct answer. The correct answer was... 18. Dang it. Which means Caitlin gets the points.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
Well, I was just going to go look that up. Yeah, who were his other teams? I mean, he played on the Wolves, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
I'm going to spend a lot of time looking this up. So just sit back. It better be good. Oh my gosh. He's played so many seasons. Yeah, yeah. Here we go. All right. Drum roll. It was the Miami Heat. Not that exciting. However, his second highest was with the Memphis Grizzlies. So that's kind of interesting.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
It was in a game against OKC. OK, Andrew, you can't win the week. You've already lost. OK, Caitlin's already beat you. But yeah, you can make it really close. It looks like it was a. All right, cue the smoke. You can make it closer so that people who are looking back at the score will be like, wow, that was a really close one. Okay, so here we go.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
So Dallas getting the number one pick unsurprisingly and understandably set off a lot of talk from NBA fans about the lottery being rigged. Now, Mike, back in 2019, you wrote an article where you investigated the idea of rigging the lottery and how realistic of a scenario it would be to pull off. What were some of your big takeaways from doing that story?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
There are nine Indiana Pacers who have had a playoff run where they've hit at least 25 three-pointers, and we're going to name them all. So how this works, Andrew will give me a name, then Caitlin will give me a name, and we'll go back and forth until one of you stumbles. So this is a single playoff run hitting at least 25 three-pointers.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
George Hill did do it. All right. You guys have gotten four of the nine names, five names remaining.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
cj miles do it dj miles no andrew i'm sorry i don't even know if he was close uh caitlin any other any other names it's impressive you remembered him though what chris is chris mullins on the list no i'm surprised there's four players on the current pacers team that are on this list Halliburton, Nembhard, Neesmith, and Miles Turner have all died.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
The oldest name in the past. Actually, I don't know if this is the oldest name, but Jalen Rose also did it. That was like the one kind of surprising based on the based on the era. Yeah, for real. OK, but ending there, Caitlin, you have won seven to four. Congratulations for winning versus the beat.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
I also feel like a lot of fans don't realize that you can go watch what you saw. It is on NBA.com. They put the actual draft lottery in that room. That video is online. You can just go watch it. They don't publicize it that much, but it's there. You can go watch it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
So in addition to attending the lottery, you also wrote an article this week for The Athletic about home court advantage in the playoffs and how its importance has changed over the years. This is obviously a huge topic for a lot of Nuggets and Thunder fans this weekend. What were some of the key stats from your findings?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
And do you have any theories as to why home court advantage isn't quite what it used to be? Man, I miss home court advantage.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
Yeah, on the blazer. These are not sexy things. It's so wild to me that Phil Knight makes that offer of $2 billion back in 2022. And at the time, it seemed like you know, competitive, you know, it didn't seem out of the realm of possibility that they might be sold, you know, if there was some more negotiation. And now just three years later, that is, that would be such an uncompetitive offer.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers Rising + Lottery Madness | Slam N Jam
You know, it seems like with the Celtics selling for 6 billion, like, is it realistic that the Blazers could be sold for like 4 billion? I mean, that's what the Suns were sold for.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why Cooper Flagg will change the NBA | Slam N Jam
post game uh shout out to uh my buddy joe masato from the oklahoma and like tried to ask him again like can you just like tell me more like why like how did you come up with this and he's like well i used some creativity or something like that it was just i don't know it's just too good um okay so we're talking about the the nba draft there's a clear number one guy in this draft, Cooper Flagg.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why Cooper Flagg will change the NBA | Slam N Jam
Welcome to the Saturday Slam and Jam here on the Athletic NBA Daily. On today's show, we're joined by our guy Sam Vecini to discuss the NBA draft, players to watch in the tournament, and then we're going to do a little bit of trivia. With me, as always, is Alex Spears, and we got Sam Vecini in the house. Sam, what's up?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why Cooper Flagg will change the NBA | Slam N Jam
If he's in the draft, it'll be a question as whether great name Jojo Tugler, by the way, one of my favorite names in the draft.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why Cooper Flagg will change the NBA | Slam N Jam
I haven't, but I've just read his name and I love reading his name.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why Cooper Flagg will change the NBA | Slam N Jam
I want to just try to contextualize how good he is. And so I wanted to look back at some of the best prospects of the last few years. So let's go with Cade Cunningham, Palo, Chet, Wimby, Scoot Henderson as prospects only, like pre-draft prospects. Where would we rank them?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why Cooper Flagg will change the NBA | Slam N Jam
Is it better or worse than what Ryan Dunn was coming out of the draft?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why Cooper Flagg will change the NBA | Slam N Jam
On defense. Yeah. Wow. Okay. Which player are you most excited to watch in the tournament other than Cooper Flagg?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why Cooper Flagg will change the NBA | Slam N Jam
Cooper flag amongst those guys, or how would you rank those guys and where would Cooper like fall into the pecking order there?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why Cooper Flagg will change the NBA | Slam N Jam
you know anywhere from like 6 to 20 there feels right there's just a lot of guys in that group where it's all over the map and you know it could go either way shooting is something that we just talk about all the time it's become one of the most important things in the NBA but there's like different kinds of shooting and so I wanted to see like who like the best are these three categories in your opinion so pull up like movement shooters and then spot up shooters
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why Cooper Flagg will change the NBA | Slam N Jam
Like, who's the best at each category?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why Cooper Flagg will change the NBA | Slam N Jam
Every season there's a few prospects whose situation leads them to being undervalued in the draft process. In the past, we've talked about the G League Ignite and how it wasn't a great situation for player development. Are there any players in this year's draft whose situations may be hurting them and it might even be unfair for them in the draft process?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why Cooper Flagg will change the NBA | Slam N Jam
Another slob wizard out there. And his name is Jaeger. Okay, next one. Jace Richardson and Cason Wallace.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why Cooper Flagg will change the NBA | Slam N Jam
I have a couple of ideas. Um, So there's two guys that I'm struggling with. I'll say Cason Wallace for steals. There's so many guys that it could be, though. But I think it is Cason.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why Cooper Flagg will change the NBA | Slam N Jam
That's who I thought it was, too, honestly.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why Cooper Flagg will change the NBA | Slam N Jam
He's missed a lot of time. Why are you so bad at this? Yeah, he's missed a lot of time.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why Cooper Flagg will change the NBA | Slam N Jam
This is such a goofy question. Is... You said three franchises? Is that what you said? At least. At least. Jalen Smith comes to mind. That is correct, Jalen Smith.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why Cooper Flagg will change the NBA | Slam N Jam
What about... I don't know if he's played... Has he played for that many teams? That's a lot of teams to play for in that short amount of time. Shoot. Shoot. Also, James Wiseman. That is correct. For another point. Any other guesses? First rounder. Let's play for three franchises. Poco only played for two. RIP. That's true. Should have played for all of them.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why Cooper Flagg will change the NBA | Slam N Jam
Should have played for every single one. Everyone should have experienced the joy of a guy like Poku who has his own fanny packs. What about Malachi Flynn?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why Cooper Flagg will change the NBA | Slam N Jam
Can you get the final name? I don't know. I don't know. This is a fun class. There's a lot of really good players in that class.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why Cooper Flagg will change the NBA | Slam N Jam
God, this is really tough. Because there's a lot of guys that have played for two teams. I'm trying to think of the guys that have played for more than that. I don't know if he's even played this year. I have not seen him play this year, but did Kyra Lewis play for anybody this year?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why Cooper Flagg will change the NBA | Slam N Jam
Was there another player? No, that was... That's four.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why Cooper Flagg will change the NBA | Slam N Jam
Who would that be? Such a great class. It's making all the Mavs fans just sick to their stomachs, though. They had the league locked down with this class. Unbelievable.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why Cooper Flagg will change the NBA | Slam N Jam
Done enough damage. There's a couple guys that I just kind of stick out, but I don't know if they would lead in win shares. That's... I don't know. I'll say Mikael Bridges, but I just don't feel like that's right. That is incorrect.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why Cooper Flagg will change the NBA | Slam N Jam
7, 8, 9, 10, and number four.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why Cooper Flagg will change the NBA | Slam N Jam
Andrew, who are you going to guess? Oh, no. What about OG?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why Cooper Flagg will change the NBA | Slam N Jam
He just missed too much time.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why Cooper Flagg will change the NBA | Slam N Jam
I love this so much, Al. He says Zubats and Jakob Pertl combined. They combined their forces from three point. No, this is made three pointers made. Oh, my gosh. Yeah, I the problem is like. I can't imagine Zubats taking a three little like or Jakob taking a three. It just like had to have happened on accident. Um... I won't take the cowardly way out.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why Cooper Flagg will change the NBA | Slam N Jam
I'm going to come up with a number, but I'm trying to think of one that is even remotely okay to say out loud to all of the slamming jammers.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why Cooper Flagg will change the NBA | Slam N Jam
Really, really fun. Yeah, very fun.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why Cooper Flagg will change the NBA | Slam N Jam
I'm just I know I'm just trying to see if I have the courage.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why Cooper Flagg will change the NBA | Slam N Jam
I'm just trying to remember. No, I'm just trying to. OK, I'm going to say it. I think I'm just going to say one.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why Cooper Flagg will change the NBA | Slam N Jam
I was just thinking. I was actually trying to nail the number. I just thought maybe they only made one. I just still can't. I can't imagine them taking a three. Like, I really can't.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why Cooper Flagg will change the NBA | Slam N Jam
I would have gone under. There's just no way. I just thought maybe Jakob made a heave once. and then Zubats didn't make it three.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why Cooper Flagg will change the NBA | Slam N Jam
It has to be. It has to be. Hey, go read Sam Vecini at The Athletic and go listen to the Game Theory podcast and also go subscribe on YouTube to the Game Theory podcast. Sam, anything else that you'd like to plug before you go?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why Cooper Flagg will change the NBA | Slam N Jam
That would be amazing. Sam, thanks again for coming on. And we will talk to you guys again next week.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why Cooper Flagg will change the NBA | Slam N Jam
It is something that I am so obsessed with. Like, I have not... Once I saw him doing it and having no clue what was happening, by the way, while I'm sitting in the arena, saying like, one, why is Dylan Jones checking into the game in this very important game against Denver? And then two...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why Cooper Flagg will change the NBA | Slam N Jam
Dylan Harper, he's largely considered the second-best prospect in this draft, averaging 19-4-4 for Rutgers. He's one of the few like creator guards that has size in this draft, which is like a very valuable position in the NBA. Do you think that he has like what it takes to be like the creator of a team like a tanking team gets Dylan Harper? Can he be like their creator?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why Cooper Flagg will change the NBA | Slam N Jam
And so like what would what would keep him from becoming that in your mind? Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why Cooper Flagg will change the NBA | Slam N Jam
he's not even going in the game and then hearing hearing mark talk about a post game saying he's a permanent sub and explaining what it was like it's a thing that people just know right it was it's one of my favorite things in a very long time it's so funny i'm so glad i'm so glad you brought it out
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why Cooper Flagg will change the NBA | Slam N Jam
So who, who is this year's best? If he can shoot guy, Colin Murray boils point blank.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
Or to try something really goofy. Because if you know Matt McClung is going to throw down something really cool, you can't be like John Collins out there dressing up like an old-timey pilot.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
It's just too embarrassing when Matt McClung is going to do something crazy. I want to get back to our roots where we had props.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
Yes. My favorite stat this week was posted by Reddit user the underscore blind underscore bomber. Since joining the Sixers, Paul George has uploaded more podcast clips to YouTube than field goals made. And folks, it's not close. OK, this this stat was posted a few days ago. I didn't need to look up what Paul George is in subsequent games because it wasn't close.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
Now, this is a funny stat that if Paul George was playing well, wouldn't seem significant at all. But Paul George is having a really bad season. He's averaging under 17 points per game, something he has not done over a full season since he was 21. He's only getting to the line two and a half times per game. And in general, just doesn't look anything close to the player.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
We remember even as recently as last season with the Clippers in a loss to the Nets this week, a game without Embiid and Maxie. So a game where, you know, PG is going to have to step up to give the Sixers a chance.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
During the Mavs' next game, multiple fans were ejected from the game for communicating fire Nico in various ways.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
Paul George scored two points. Two. And that sounds crazy, but what's crazier is that that's the second game this season that Paul George has scored two points. Prior to this season, the last time he scored two or fewer points was 2017. Andrew, is this already the worst contract in the league? He is a 34-year-old averaging under 17 a game who will be making 56 million three seasons from now.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Now, the good news for Sixers fans, depending on your mood, is that the Sixers have moved into a tie for sixth with the Nets in the reverse standings. Which, as of right now, would give them a 34.8% chance of keeping their pick. If they won the tie, it would go up a little bit more. Now, there was a report that just came out. We're recording on Thursday night.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
That Paul George has been dealing with these, like... really uh bothersome injuries like just like small little injuries throughout the season um so you know you hope if you're a Sixers fan you hope that like this is just kind of the season from hell for everyone everyone yeah and that
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
With a summer because they're not going to be playing in the playoffs with a full summer to like rest and recover. Paul George can come back next season and start to look like the player you were expecting to get. Maybe this is just like an injury, weird fluke season. But man, it's rough right now.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
And it's probably also worth mentioning that new Mavs owner Patrick Dumont spoke for the first time after the trade, saying, quote, If you look at the greats in the league, the people you and I grew up with, Jordan, Bird, Kobe, Shaq, they worked really hard every day with a singular focus to win. And if you don't have that, it doesn't work. You shouldn't be a part of the Dallas Mavericks.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
No, you got to ride it out and you got to pray that you get this pick because one thing Daryl Morey has been good at, he has been good at drafting, got Jared McCain last year. If they get a top six pick that could potentially change everything.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
Like even if these next couple of seasons are, you know, below what you expected, you can start building a core of young guys with Maxie McCain and whoever they drafted where you at least would have some hope longterm. If they lose that pick. Yeah. You just start praying.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
Yeah. It must be a frustrating watch for fans. Cause they're obviously so competitive night to night. Yeah. But then they lose these types of games. I mean, now they're on a losing streak. They've dropped below the Hawks. They're in the ninth spot.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
So in summary, instead of a fun conspiracy theory involving backroom deals with the league, the best explanation for the Luca trade a week later appears to be, I think these guys might just be stupid. As LeBron commented on Instagram, quote, when a clown moves into a palace, he doesn't become a king. The palace becomes a circus.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
Listen to the starting lineup that the Heat lost to. Max Christie, Dante Exum, Spencer Dinwiddie, Kessler Edwards, and Olivier Maxsens prosper. That was the Mavericks starting five. Kyrie didn't even play tonight because he has right shoulder soreness. P.J. Washington didn't play. Clay Thompson didn't play. Still got the win.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
Yes. My favorite player this week is Christian Brown. Wow. Yeah. Christian Brown. Listen, Brown. Listen, Brown is having best week of his career outside of winning a ring a few years ago. Over his past five games, he is averaging 21, 8, and 4. Christian Brown is doing that. He's shooting 61% from the field. He's getting to the line over four times a game. That's for the season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
He continues to improve on his strengths. He's a beast getting to the rim. He takes 58% of his shots at the rim, which is in the 99th percentile among winks. And he's shooting 71% on those rim attempts. He's so strong driving to the rim, and we've all seen his dunks.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
In fact, the Nuggets actually released a video this week on YouTube of all his dunks this season commemorating the fact that he has more dunks than any other shooting guard in the league. I don't know why they chose right now, but go watch it. It's all his dunks. He's a great cutter. He's great at finding space. He's elite in transition.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
He averages 1.34 points per transition play, which is number one in the league among players who have at least four transition plays per game. Now, there were some questions about Brown in the preseason. You know, we knew he was stepping into this starting role for the first time, replacing KCP. He hasn't just met expectations. He's gotten significantly better with the increased workload.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
His true shooting has jumped from 55% last season to 66% this season. Wow. And I don't I don't want to get too crazy with this next point, but something that did stick out in this recent run of games were some like real flashes of self-creation. He had some plays in the Blazers, this Blazers game I was watching. I just wasn't aware were in Christian Brown's bag, like taking guys off the dribble.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
spinning into a mid-range shot in the paint, hitting a fadeaway baseline jumper. Now, it's just a handful of plays. I'm not overreacting. But watching him this week, I just realized he can do a lot more than I thought. And that is why he's my favorite player this week.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
The only downside is he's probably going to make a lot of money on his next contract. He's going to make a lot of money. That Denver's going to have to add
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
Meanwhile, in L.A., master negotiator and bad friend Rob Palenka introduced Luka to Lakers fans at a press conference, a game after LeBron had become the youngest and oldest player to score 40 points in a game. Lucas saw his first on-court action since Christmas in a 132 to 113 win over the Utah Jazz. The vibes were high, they were great. But how long would they last?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
Finally, favorite moment of this week. Now, this one is just a happy off-court thing. Finding out that Nate Robb, Nate Robinson, had a successful kidney transplant. If you haven't been following his story, Nate Robb's been dealing with kidney failure for seven years, having to go to dialysis multiple days a week, sit there for hours and hours while he waited for a donor.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
Didn't know if he was going to get one. He posted a picture to Instagram this week with his donor after a successful surgery. Always been a huge Nate Robb fan. Hey, speaking of dunk contests, now there was a showman. Yeah, there was a real dunk contest contestant. He knew how to get the crowd going. He was just one of those players that was impossible to root against.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
And so it was just great to see him get this opportunity after so many years.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
Alright, Andrew, it is time for the Wheel of Fandom, the weekly segment where we spin a wheel, it lands on a team, and we become fans of that team for the next week. Two weeks ago, the wheel landed on the Houston Rockets, and it started off pretty rough with the Rockets losing their first five games, part of a six-game losing streak.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
They did get two wins over Toronto and Phoenix, but ended the week with a loss to Golden State. The Rockets are 34 and 21, fourth in the West, only a half game up on the Lakers with the 12th ranked offense and fourth ranked defense per clean the glass. Andrew, if the Rockets are our favorite team, who is our guest?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
Well, first it was announced that the Mark Williams trade was being rescinded by the Lakers due to a failed physical. leaving the Lakers with a significant hole at center. And later in the week, in Luka's second game, against those same 12-win Jazz, the Lakers gave up 131 points in a 131-119 loss to Utah. Now, despite the loss, the Lakers remained comfortably in fifth in the Western Conference.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
So one bright spot for the Rockets, regardless of the outcome, has been the play of Amin Thompson, who's gone to another level in the new year. He's such a unique player. Everyone knows he's kind of already an elite defensive player. But I'm interested in what you think about his offensive development this season. Where do you think he's made his biggest leaps on that end?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
From two teams trying to establish good vibes after a big trade to a team trying to test the limits of bad vibes, let's check in on the Philadelphia 76ers. On Sunday, while Eagles fans were getting ready to watch their team win the Super Bowl, ESPN sideline reporter Lisa Salters let us know that MB thinks he may need another surgery on his troublesome knee.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
How aggressive do you think they might be this summer? Are you expecting a big splash trade?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
So knowing this might be on the horizon, Some of these young guys might be included in a big star trade, but also the issue with all these extensions coming up. When you think about your young guys, how many of them would you say you're confident will be part of this team long term? It's a good question. They've got a lot of young guys.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
It's time once again to play everyone's favorite game, have the Sixers finally pass the Chicago Bulls in the standings. No, somehow, still no. The Bulls scored 29 points in a half this week and are still a game and a half up on this pathetic Sixers team who entered the All-Star break in the midst of a five-game losing streak. And that streak has included losses to the Raptors without R.J.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
All right, Kelly, thank you for answering all of our Rockets questions. It is now time to play Andrew versus the beat, our weekly trivia show where Andrew goes head-to-head against a beat writer.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
I don't remember. Have you been on more than once? I can't remember if you've been on multiple times or not.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
I was going to say, I think he's been on three times. So this could be a rubber match. We don't know. I might be 2-1, but I might be 3-0.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
Let's say it's two and one so that Andrew can try to tie it up. That'll make it more exciting. Yeah. Okay, so how this works, Kelly will give me a number between one and eight, and it'll correspond to a question. Some are easy, some are hard. If you get it right, you'll get at least two points. If you get it wrong, Andrew will have a chance to steal for one.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
So to start us off, I just need a number between one and eight. Six. Six. Question number six. Ooh, a fun one. What is Steven Adams' career high in points? And you get to choose who answers first. So you can make Andrew answer, and then you could say higher or lower. Or you could answer and then make Andrew say higher or lower. So Steven Adams' career high in points. I'll let Andrew answer that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
Okay. All right, Andrew.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
All right, so Andrew has set the bar at 27. Kelly, would you like to go higher or lower?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
Barrett or Yaka Pirtle, a Brooklyn Nets team led by D'Angelo Russell and Trendon Watford. The Raptors lost left an especially sour taste after Joel Embiid turned down a wide open go ahead three with 11 seconds left so that he could clumsily drive and turn the ball over, effectively ending the game and leading to a chorus of boos from Sixers fans.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
The correct answer was career high. Steven Adams. 27, which means Andrew gets a bonus point for getting exactly correct.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
It's one of the risks, and it's never come through until today. Oh, my God. Yes.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
Question number one, good luck. The Rockets are averaging 14.7 offensive rebounds per game, the most in the league. The last time a Rockets team averaged that many rebounds per game was the 1990-91 season. And on that Rockets team, there were three players who averaged more than three offensive rebounds per game. Oh, my. How many can you name, Andrew?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
So we're talking 1990, 91 Rockets, three guys who each averaged three plus offensive rebounds per game. You do get one point per correct answer. Hakeem Olajuwon. That is correct for one point. Oh, boy. Any other names, Andrew? You big 1990s rocket fan? No.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, average at least three offensive rebounds per game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
You will in a second. Andrew, you can throw out a name, Andrew, if you can think of another Rocket. But it sounds like you might not be able to.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
All right, Kelly, who's the name you were thinking of?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
There's one more.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
Oh, that's it. You got it. Come on. Wow. So Kelly gets two points. I did not think anyone was going to get Larry Smith. When you said Larry, I was like, oh, my gosh, he's so close. F-way. Wow. Well, you needed that, Kelly, because now it is three to two. You're only down by one, and the board is yours.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
Question number eight. Ahman Thompson is on pace to crack 100 dunks this season. Who was the last Rocket to have at least 100 dunks in a season? Last Rocket? Jalen Green. That is incorrect. Andrew, you have a chance to steal. Wait, last rocket? The last rocket to have 100 plus dunks.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
Yeah, in a season. Andrew, do you have any guesses? Clint Capella? I know it. Clint Capella. That would be a long time ago. The correct answer was K.J. Martin.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
We had history this week in Phoenix as Kevin Durant joined the NBA's 30,000 point club, becoming its eighth member. That is the first and last item on the list of good things to happen to the Suns this week. Phoenix has lost six of its last seven with the only win being an overtime victory over the Utah Jazz. The Suns now set a full game behind the Warriors for the final playing spot.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
All right, Andrew, the board is yours. Okay, number two. Question number two. According to Cleaning the Glass, Amin Thompson takes 57% of his shots at the rim. Among NBA wings and forwards who have played at least a thousand minutes this season, there's only one player who takes a higher percentage of his shots at the rim. Who is it? Christian Brown. So this is a NBA wing or forward.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
That is correct, Andrew. Wait, what? Yeah, it's Christian Brown. Isn't that crazy? He takes 58% of his shots. Now, this is only wings and forwards, so he's not being compared to centers, but it is still crazy. He takes 58%.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
I will say, Kelly, that was an unfortunate question for Andrew to get because earlier in the show, I happened to talk about Christian Brown for an extended period. It's true. And may have helped Andrew there. May have helped Andrew.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
Kelly's on to us, Andrew. Kelly, what number would you like next? Let's go five. Five. Question number five. Jalen Green already has the fifth most three-pointers in Rockets franchise history. He's already number five on the list. Harden is obviously number one. Who are the players at two, three, and four on the all-time franchise list for most made threes? You do get one point per correct answer.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
Well, you can name all three. You would get three points if you got it right. But it's just whoever's in second, third, and fourth on the all-time franchise list for most three-pointers made.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
Yeah, Harden's first. Jalen Green is fifth. Who are the three guys in the middle? Eric. Eric. What is Eric's last name?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
Correct for one point.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
That is correct. Can you get the last one, Kelly? Can you sweep it?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
Kelly really wants this point. This would tie the game with only three questions to go.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
And as a bonus, Brian Windhorst reported this week that KD is, quote, probably going to get traded this summer. He knows it. The Suns know it. So let's finish off with a team playing well. The Denver Nuggets have won eight in a row, a winning streak that included a career high 55 points from Jamal Murray in a game against the Blazers. Well, Denver's a
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
Aaron Brooks. Okay, that is incorrect. Incorrect. I will look up where those guys are on the list just for fun.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
Andrew, do you have a guess for the final one? It's got to be up there. What about Catino Mobley? I forgot one. Andrew, he was number six on the list. But I was looking for number four on the list.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
Hasn't played in decades.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
Yeah. Vernon Maxwell?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
No point for you, Andrew. But you did guess it. Okay, Andrew, you're up by one. Three questions to go. Number three. Question number three. Alperin Shingun has over 2,100 rebounds through his first four seasons in the NBA. Who was the last Houston Rocket to have more rebounds than Shingun through his first four seasons in the NBA? So this is rookie year to year four.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
They have to add more than 2,100 rebounds. Now, Shingun might pass this person by the end of the year, of course. It's only an all-star break. But who was that, Andrew? Last Rocket. Wow. Oh, boy. And they had to do it as a Rocket.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
Yeah, as a Rocket. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
Andrew, that is incorrect. Kelly, you have a chance to steal for one point. Yao Ming. Also incorrect, someone since Yao Ming. It was Luis Scola. No.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
haven't been a murderer's row during this streak. That will change after the All-Star break when the Nuggets play the Lakers, followed by a four-game road trip to Indiana, Milwaukee, Detroit, and Boston. Now for the moment, Denver is only a half game back of the Grizzlies for second in the West.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
Two questions left. You can take four or seven. Give me seven. Give me seven. All right, question number seven.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sixers Direction + What's wrong with the Rockets? | Slam N Jam
As of Thursday afternoon, Dylan Brooks led the league in personal fouls. If he ended the season as number one on that list, it would actually be the third time in his eight-year career that he has led the league in personal fouls. Name one other player who led the league in personal fouls over the last eight years. So Dylan Brooks did three of those eight years.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Dylan Brooks did three of those eight years. The other five years, though, other guys. And I will give you a hint, which is that one of the players that you could choose from was a Rocket. So there's a couple names here. One of them was a Rocket. You don't have to name that player. You could name any other player that's on this list. Wow. You just have to give me one name.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Led the league in fouls for a season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Sorry. I may have not made this clear. This is just over the last eight years of Dylan Brooks' career. Oh. If that makes sense. In the last eight years, Dylan Brooks has done it three times. Name one of the other guys who has done it the other five years.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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P.J. Tucker. That is incorrect. Andrew, you have a chance to steal.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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One of them was.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Andrew, that is correct. Damanis Sabonis is one of the names who led the league in personal fouls. The other names, Yusuf Nurkic, Carl Anthony Towns did it twice. And the rocket... No, not Jaron Jackson. The rocket was Jay Sean Tate. Jay Sean Tate. Jay Sean Tate. Jay Sean Tate.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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The Grizzlies, who are seven and three in their last 10, did lose a measuring stick game at home to OKC this week, a game in which Memphis did not get closer than 12 in the second half. OKC was on a seven-game winning streak of their own, but that ended on Thursday when the Timberwolves locked OKC down, handing the Thunder their worst loss of the season, a dominant 116 to 101 win.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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It may have been, yeah. Okay, that brings us to our final question. Jeff Green is in his 17th NBA season and has played basketball in 12 different cities. And we're going to name them all. So, Andrew, you're going to give me a name of a city. Then Kelly will give me a name of a city. And we'll go back and forth until one of you stumbles. So there's some easy ones to start off with.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Who's going first? Andrew's going to go first. Okay.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Seattle. Seattle. Correct. The first one. Kelly. Houston. Houston. Yes. Oklahoma City. Correct. Kelly. Boston. Correct. Andrew. Clippers. L.A. Correct. L.A. Back to Kelly.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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That is correct. That was one I did not remember. Jeff Green is a wizard. Just can't picture it. Andrew, back to you. Memphis. Memphis. That is correct. You all have gotten the first five stops in his career. So back to Kelly. Denver. Denver. Denver is correct. Back to Andrew. Only four cities to go. Cleveland. Cleveland is correct, Andrew. Three cities to go. Brooklyn. Oh, that is correct.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Okay, I will say you guys have left the hardest two for last. So, Andrew. How many points is this worth? How many points is this worth?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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uh unfortunately for you kelly it's only worth one um so you can't win but you can pull within one if i get if i get the last two how many points will i get okay if andrew doesn't get this and then you name both of them i will give you two points and we'll go to sudden death all right orlando i think Oh, and Andrew got it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Andrew, this is a very bad deal for you. I'm not your advisor. You're welcome to do whatever you want.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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That is correct. Got it. Andrew gets the points and wins the week. Kelly, you tried.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Finally, this week was Hubie Brown's final call at the age of 91. Inducted in the Hall of Fame in 2005, Hubie has called NBA games for 35 seasons, including 18 NBA finals. And those were the top stories this week, Andrew. Wow.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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All right, Andrew, that was rockets week. It is once again, time to spin the wheel of fandom and find out who we're going to be following for the next week. Now it is a weird week cause it is all-star weekend. So whatever team we land on, we'll probably only get to see one game. So hopefully they're involved in all-star weekend. Hopefully there's big picture stuff to talk about with them.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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I just hope we get an interesting team. So let's spin that wheel and, And our Wheel of Phantom team for next week will be... The Atlanta Hawks featuring all-star replacement Trey Young.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Uh, yeah, my pick would be Wemby because we saw last year that he was like very into all-star weekend. Yeah. Wanted to play hard. He's on a good team. He's got Shay on his team. So it's not out of the realm of possibility that they could win the whole thing. He's plus 900 third. However, if you want to get crazy, Andrew, let me make you a pitch because at the bottom of this list,
The Athletic NBA Daily
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is all the guys who are going to be on the Rising Stars team. Because the fourth team in this little mini tournament is going to be a Rising Stars team. Those guys currently, their odds are plus 10,000. So take someone like Amin Thompson, for instance. What do we know, Andrew? By the time they get to that tournament, they will already be champions, OK?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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They will already have won the Rising Stars tournament. They will have two games having played together already. Huh? Think about that. And some experience.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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That means you're self-selecting the, the rising stars team that is going to have tried the hardest in that first tournament. So if you feel strongly at all about any of those teams, why not just take one of these plus 10,000 guys? And I chose Amin just because if you look at his team, they're just insanely talented with defensive talent. And if they play hard defensively, they could beat anyone.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Because they have both Thompson twins, Tumani Kamara. They're good.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Yeah, they just lock him down.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Yeah, the problem is Jokic never tries. He's a classic not-try guy in the All-Star game. Yeah, that's true.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Yeah. I mean, Steph makes sense because it is hometown. I'm sure he'll want to show out. But yeah, it'll be Wimby. Wimby will try very, very hard.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Well, Andrew, our top story this week was the continued fallout from the Luka Doncic trade since last week. NBA fans have waited for any new piece of information that would provide a believable explanation for why this happened. Instead, every new detail that comes out just adds to its absurdity. This week, the two involved stars played for their new teams for the first time in Dallas.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Well, the upside is, like, literally Reed Shepard hits 12 threes in the game. Like, that would be very exciting to see. But he has to do it in every game for me to stay engaged.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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I don't even know if there are odds on those guys. Yeah. Are there odds? I think I think we can do Reed Shepard plus ten thousand. There you go. For for MVP. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Yes, my favorite quote this week is, don't trade me, I want to be here. Now, that is apparently what Malik Beasley told Trajan Langdon heading into this trade deadline. It's not really that exciting of a quote, but I just wanted to use it as an excuse to talk about Beasley and the Pistons.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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First, after the last few years, honestly, having any competent NBA player saying he doesn't want to be traded from Detroit, I say that's a win. No kidding. And a sign that this team has finally turned things around. But also, this week, before the All-Star break, Malik Beasley became the franchise leader for most threes made in a season with 212. Isn't that crazy?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Beating Sadiq Bey after hitting seven threes in only 16 minutes of game time. Now, he also became just the fourth player in NBA history to hit 200 plus threes in four consecutive seasons. I don't know if I've ever seen a random role player speed run a franchise record this fast.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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If you're a three point shooter trying to become a franchise leader, Detroit is like the best situation because their franchise leader in threes made Joe Dumars has under a thousand career threes. So let's assume Malik Beasley signs an extension with Detroit this summer.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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If he replicates what he's doing this season or even comes close to it, he will finish next season with the fifth most threes in Pistons franchise history. He'll already be top five. At this pace, Andrew, he could conceivably break the franchise record in only four seasons played. And for the Pistons in general, they've won four in a row.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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They're two and a half games up on the Magic for the sixth seed, which is something I never guess I'd say this season. So things are going well in Detroit. And we're about to see Cade in the All-Star game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Maybe that's what they would call the movie round trip. That's what the movie is called.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Oh, wait, wait, connect, connect. Is there something with connecting flight, connecting flight?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Anthony Davis put up a 14-8-3 in the first quarter. of his first game in a Mavs uniform, leading Dallas to a 116-105 win over the Rockets. Unfortunately, this trade needs to repeatedly slap us in the face to remind us how bad it was, and so of course Davis got hurt during the game on a non-contact play. And of course Davis is now week to week with an adductor strain.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Especially as a rookie. Like, yeah, you just came into a new place. You're just starting to feel comfortable. And then everything changes. Yeah. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Offensively, after averaging only 1.3 post-ups per game last season, he averaged over four per game this season, tied for second most per game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Yeah, he's tied with Shingun and Giannis and scoring a very solid 1.06 points per possession on those post-ups. He had a career high 35 this year. He scored almost 17 points per game, which for me is the definition of I wasn't familiar with your game because I did not know he could have that sort of consistent offensive impact night in, night out. So he gets the award for me.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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On Sunday, the Lakers got a dominant 126-99 win over the No. 1 seed Thunder in OKC, a game in which they made 15 three-pointers in the first half, tying a franchise record for most threes in a half. Two days later... It was Groundhog Day because the Lakers were once again playing the Thunder in OKC and once again hit 15 threes in the first half, tying a franchise record for most threes and a half.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Yeah, he's been great. I mean, honestly, the only negative thing you could say is that he's their best player. And like, how far can you get? Like, how are they going to get that next player? You know, how are they going to find a top 20 guy to pair with Denny?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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But at least they have him.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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I'm a Bub guy. I'm a Bub guy. Our next award, the future is now old man award. This award goes to the player who we believe will be universally considered a top 20 player by the end of next season. Okay. Top 20. It's a big jump. Big jump. My choice for this award is Franz Wagner.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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And I think if the magic season had gone the way it was looking early on, we might already be thinking of Franz that way. But because of the injuries, because it's been so many months since the NBA community at large has even thought about the magic. I was thinking about like listening to national NBA pods, how long it's been since I've heard a magic segment.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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I think as a result of that, his season's gone under the radar a little bit. And assuming they make some much-needed moves this summer to bolster that offense, next season, Andrew, year of the fronts. He put up career highs across the board. Year of the fronts. Put up career highs as far as counting stats. He's right around 24, 6, and 5 per night.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Got his free throw attempts up over five per game. Now, the three-point shooting, obviously still an issue. But I really loved everything else we got from Franz this season as his usage skyrocketed. Did you know he was top 10 in usage this season? Over 31% usage. I think he was like at 25 last season. And that stretch he had early in the season when Paulo went out, it was incredible.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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And I'm just making a bet that as their offense and spacing hopefully improves, things are going to get easier for Franz. They're going to get easier for Paulo and their ceilings are going to start being fully realized. So that is my pick.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Now, the game was much closer this time, however, with Luka hitting a shot with 742 left in the game to put the Lakers up by one. Unfortunately, while trying to shout a couple expletives at a fan after the maid basket, ref JT Orr was in his sightline and assumed that Luka was yelling at him.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Now, Andrew, I noticed that you left Luke Cornett off of your list. Why are you ignoring Luke Cornett?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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I am too. Guys that play significant minutes.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Future starting center, Luke Cornett. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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That would be something. By the end of next season, Luke Cornett was considered top 20.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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That would be my greatest call of all time. Okay. Our next award, the time traveler from August, 2025 award. Yeah. The time traveler shows up from August, 2025. And they only have time to tell you about what happened to one team. This upcoming off season, you get to learn about what happened to the draft free agency, any trades. And this award goes to the team we would pick in that scenario.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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And for me personally, It's an obvious one. It is the Houston Rockets, just because they have the most stuff going on. First, even if they don't jump up, they're likely going to have a top 10 pick in this draft. And I'm so interested to see how they handle drafting and potentially incorporating another high pick.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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seeing how hard it's been for guys like Cam Whitmore or Reed Shepard to really break into this rotation and have a big role. But maybe it's time for a big move, and maybe that pick will be involved in a star trade. They will be one of the few teams that can have cap space. With the rise of Amin Thompson this season, do they start reorganizing their team building around him a little?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Luka was assessed a second technical of the game and ejected, leading to a 29-12 finish for OKC, who picked up their 65th win of the season. The Lakers next game was one of the more anticipated games of the season with Luca returning to Dallas for the first time since Nico Harrison decided his Wikipedia entry needed an update.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Houston has been incredibly patient, to their credit, but it feels like this is the summer where they are primed for a big move. On the other hand, what if they make a run in the playoffs? What if they make a surprise run to the conference finals? How would they handle that? There's so many ways this summer can go for Houston, and that's why they'd be my first choice when that time travel arrives.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Yeah, I was encouraged by some of the things I read about David Edelman. It seems like the players really like him. Apparently, he was going to be a hot name on the coaching market. Like Portland might have been interested in him if they moved on from Chauncey Billups.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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But yeah, thinking about like building around Jokic, it kind of reminds me of like the old hardened teams where it really did feel like you could just stumble into 50 to 55 wins every year. You know, if you just put just some regular NBA players around him and it just feels like they still haven't like maximized it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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You know, Houston had a couple seasons where they I mean, they were in like the 60s, you know, and the fact that this Jokic team, the most wins they have has been 57 last year. You know, it just feels like a Jokic team should be able to win 60 games. You should be able to put a team around Nikola Jokic that wins 60 games. But they've struggled to do that so far. So, yeah, I'm interested as well.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Next award, the Pleasant Surprise Award. This award goes to the player or team we were most pleasantly surprised by. And for me... This story starts back in the 2021 season. The Thunder were in the midst of their first tanking season. And as fans of tanking teams know, it's very easy to start talking yourself into whatever random player your GM has added to the roster.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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The Mavericks played a pregame tribute video for Luca, which left him visibly emotional as the game started. The tears didn't slow him down, however, as he dropped 45 in his return, leading the Lakers to the 112-97 win.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Moses Brown, Tao Maladon, Darius Baisley, Isaiah Roby. Each of these players had a moment where different factions of the Thunder fan base decided, hey, this is a real guy. And Sam Presley is a genius. For me, that guy was Ty Jerome. Now, in his first season, he only played 33 games, but he was awesome.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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And I became very obsessed with a stupid small sample stat in over three pick and roll possessions per game as a ball handler. Ty Jerome was generating one point one nine points per possession. Now, for context, this season, SGA and Tyrese Halliburton lead the league in pick and roll ball handler efficiency. One point one. points per possession. Ty Jerome was off the charts, Andrew.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Now, was it only 100 possessions total? Yes. And did it crater to 0.89 points per possession in his second season with OKC? Also, yes. Yes, it did. I was still convinced that Ty Jerome was a guy. And when he went to Golden State, I thought, OK, this is his chance. And he was solid, but he didn't stick.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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And then he barely played for the Cavs last season after getting injured in the second game of the season, which was actually against OKC. And I kind of forgotten about him at that point.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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So when it all finally came together this season, I was just so pleasantly surprised to not just see him back on a roster, but the fact that he was doing it on one of the best teams in the league and making them better. just made it really awesome. And now it just feels like locked in like Ty Jerome.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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I mean, people are talking about him as like, I saw some people putting him third and like most improved player or talking about him as like a, you know, maybe not like a six man or seventh man of the year type of award type of thing. He's just been awesome.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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And it's just very fun to think back to those early tanking days and how obsessed we were with, I mean, Sfima, Hiluk, you know, I was getting into all these guys, Hamadou Diallo and, And Ty Jerome ends up being the best out of that bunch.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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At the end of the game, Mavericks fans could be heard loudly chanting, fire Nico, with a courtside video showing former owner and guy who thought he would still get to run the team after selling it, Mark Cuban, in significant distress as the chants continued.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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In an article this week on ESPN, Tim McMahon reported that team sources told him the decision to trade Luka will probably cost the franchise nine figures over the next several years as they are projected to lose revenue due to dwindling crowds, plummeting merchandise sales, and sponsors severing ties with the team.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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I mean, shout out to the Rocket Star, the Slammys so far. They've been picking up so much hardware tonight, Andrew. It's unfortunate. All right, our next award, the At Least You're Not Nico Harrison Award. Now, this award goes to the worst in-season decision that does not involve Nico Harrison. So you can't pick the Luka trade. And I'm going with the De'Aaron Fox trade.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Now, I think if you look at the value in a vacuum, it's not the worst trade I've ever seen. But why I hated that trade was that I felt it showed a complete lack of vision from the King's front office. They were the 10th seed when they made that trade.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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The odds of them getting better in the short term in any Darren Fox trade was always going to be low because he was going to be the best player in any deal. But instead of using that trade as an opportunity to pivot, They made treading water the priority in that deal. And they're a great example of how the play-in has warped our view of where teams are at.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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They are seven and a half games back of the eighth seed. They are not a good team. They aren't close to being a good team in this Western Conference. And two seasons from now, the 26-27 season, DeRozan is going to be 37. Levine and Sabonis will be on the wrong side of 30. And the Kings will have just under 150 million committed to those three.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Unless you think Zach Levine is going to turn down his $49 million player option. They've locked themselves into this older core that has no chance of competing in this Western Conference. And they could be fighting just to make the play in in future seasons as younger teams like San Antonio, New Orleans and Portland improve.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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So if you knew that swapping Fox for Levine wasn't going to make you better, which I think everyone would have agreed with at the time, why would you trade for him? It's not like they were trading for a contract that they could potentially flip for value later. The reporting for two seasons now was how cold the market was for Zach Levine. And Chicago's return in that deal supports that idea.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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So what was the vision with that trade? They made themselves worse, which I think was inevitable. That's not a problem. But they also limited their future flexibility by trading for the Levine contract, and the upside is a couple picks, the best of which won't convey until 2031. I just think that trade was really bad and is only going to look worse in these next couple seasons.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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And they're fine.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Now, I wanted to end this part with some good news, but I couldn't really find anything for the Mavs. However...
The Athletic NBA Daily
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And Johnny Davis.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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i did google the nhl standings and the dallas stars are second in the west now they are on a four game losing streak and they did get shut out by those damn winnipeg jets in their last game but when you've got miko the moose rontanen signed through 2033 and wyatt johnson at only 21 you gotta be feeling good now also this week we had several teams finishing their season strong three teams currently are on a six game winning streak
The Athletic NBA Daily
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And hey, shout out to the Kings, because I do think that Jake Laravia pickup was very nice, considering they basically didn't have to give up that much at all.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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um next award we got three left andrew best take of the year now this award goes to the take that we are most proud of we and for me we for me it was being out on the grizzlies uh pretty early as a contender i We did a nice little setup for you right there, Al. Yeah, you did. I was sniffing it out early, Andrew. I didn't like what I was seeing.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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I didn't understand why everyone was getting excited about the Grizzlies. They had by far the easiest schedule. And yes, they did beat the Celtics, and that's why I shut up about it after that. But I didn't change my beliefs about that team. And as soon as their schedule turned in the new year, It has just been – I mean, I think they only have 14 wins against teams with a record of 500 or better.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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That is fewer than the Chicago Bulls. That's fewer than the Atlanta Hawks, just to give you some context. And more broadly, I just never understood the idea of – Considering a team, a serious contender that was starting two rookies.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Now, maybe there was some expectation of being a season that by the end of the season, you know, that might have changed with, you know, Vince Williams coming back or whatever. But yeah, I just never bought into this Grizzlies team. They're obviously still a good team and they still have a lot of talent.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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But I think going into this offseason, like there has to be something else added to this team to really help them get over the hump. I think they can be a good team. They can be one of these teams that finishes as like a two or three seed, but I'm still just not convinced that they are ready to be in that contender conversation yet. And some of that is jaw like jaw has to.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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I mean, he's been playing a lot better lately. He has to play like that over the course of an entire season to like really buy into them.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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In the East, the Pacers picked up their sixth straight win by beating a shorthanded Cavs team, locking in a top four seed. The Bucks are also on a six-game winning streak, picking up a very impressive win over the Wolves this week, a game in which they trailed by 24, only 10 minutes left in the game. Milwaukee finished that game on a 39-8 run.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Yeah, I didn't mention it, but Risa Shea, career high, 38 points this week. Yeah. Very impressive. Yeah. And I think going into the season, I'm sure Spurs fans were feeling good. They were thinking, ooh, we might get a juicy pick. And they still might end up getting a lottery pick if Atlanta doesn't get out of play. But, you know, right now that's the 15th pick in the draft.
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And I think going into the season, you probably were expecting, oh, that might be closer to like a top 10 pick. So credit to the Hawks. Now, Andrew, it's our worst take of the year award. The award goes to the take that we are most embarrassed by. And this didn't happen on this podcast, but it was on Down to Dunk. We do over-unders every year. And I took the...
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Cleveland Cavaliers under, which was such a bad take at the time. And I should have there were so many signs, not pointing them to be this great of a team, but there's so many signs pointing them to be better.
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You know, the whole idea with Darius Garland having this jaw injury coming back, having a new coach that everyone kind of universally agrees is was a good coach, you know, based on what he had done in Brooklyn. With Kenny Atkinson. And I think what happened with me is I liked some of these other East teams more. For instance, like the Philadelphia 76ers, who I took the over.
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And as a result, I was like, well, I got to take someone under. I was just focused on the wrong teams. And I didn't take the Cavs as seriously as I should have. Which makes me feel bad because when we started this podcast, they were the first team I picked for surprise team. And that was when they had drafted Evan Mobley. They came out and they were the surprise team that year.
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And I felt like I abandoned them this year. And so I am embarrassed by that. And it was so wrong.
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So that brings us to our final award. It's not really award. It's the bold prediction for the NBA playoffs award. I'm just realizing the sequence of these and what I'm about to say. So first of all, making a bold prediction is, I feel like it has to be something that you are uncomfortable saying, that you feel dumb when the words come out of your mouth. For sure.
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The third team on a six-game winning streak is the LA Clippers. During a win over a shorthanded Rockets team on Wednesday, Avicii Zubac had his first career triple-double, capping off an impressive season. The Clippers finished their season at Sacramento and then at Golden State, a game that will have huge seeding implications.
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I feel like it's kind of hard to do that in the Western Conference because you could kind of make a case for any of these things. Unless you're saying like the Kings are going to win the first round series or the Mavs are going to win. Outside of that, you can kind of believe anything. So I was trying to think of something that would be bold but is like kind of believable.
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So what I settled on coming off of the very last award, the Pacers are going to make their second consecutive Eastern Conference Finals. Now, here's the case. Since December 13th, that's 54 games. They have the fourth best record overall in the NBA. Not just the fourth best record. They've won 70%, over 70% of their games in that 54-game span.
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That's kind of incredible because I don't think people are thinking of them in that way. But that's a huge chunk of the season. They were just so bad at the start that now you just look at them and it's like, oh, yeah, they're a four seed. They beat Cleveland this week. I don't really care about that because Cleveland was shorthanded.
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But there is at least something we can look back on, which is that they beat Cleveland at home when Cleveland was at their absolute peak. They ended a Cavs 12-game winning streak at that point in the season. So they've at least shown that they match up decently with the Cavaliers. Now, the Cavaliers are going to be the overwhelming favorites if that ends up being the matchup in round two.
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But if I'm trying to think of a potential upset, something that would be surprising, that would be bold, I think the Pacers are about the best I can do. They're the one that like it wouldn't. I mean, I don't know if I should say it wouldn't shock me. It would be very surprising. But I think we look back on it as like, well, look what they've been.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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And like the second two thirds of this season, like they've been a really good team. They've matched up well against Cleveland this season. So why not? So that is going to be my bold prediction for the NBA playoffs. Wow. That is bold.
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Guaranteed bold. Can't say it's not bold.
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I think that will be the popular upset pick in round one. Okay, not bold enough. Can you, okay, how about this? How many games? Here we go.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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That's the point. You have to feel really weird when words come out of your mouth.
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Golden State could have solidified their place in the West this week before this matchup with a couple of easy games, but instead they lost to San Antonio on a buzzer beating three by former dub Harrison Barnes. The loss has thrown the Warriors seating into jeopardy and that Clippers game on Sunday may decide if they will fall into the plan or finish in the top six.
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And yeah, you're you're wait, you're picking the Pistons because you like their media members, Andrew. That's what I think about them. I can't I can't separate them. So sure. Sure. For Bryce Simon. Sure. You're making your playoff picks and you're just thinking, I like James Edwards. He's such a nice guy.
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I forgot. Oh, my gosh. I feel like we'll always associate James with the Pistons, even though he is literally on the opposite team now.
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All right, Andrew, it is time for the Wheel of Fandom, the weekly segment where we spin a wheel, lands on a team, and we become fans of that team for the next week. Last week, the wheel landed on the Portland Trail Blazers. Now, the Blazers' play in dreams were officially eliminated this week. After their second half push, during which they had an above 500 record, they had a positive net rating.
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The Blazers are now, though, waiting for the draft lottery, where they will likely have the ninth or 10th best odds per cleaning the glass for the season. The Blazers have the 23rd ranked offense, 17th ranked defense. Andrew, if the Blazers are a favorite team, who is our guest?
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Finally, we get another name added to this year's Hall of Fame class. Dwight Howard has been elected as a first ballot Hall of Famer. Howard was an eight-time All-Star, eight-time All-NBA player, led the Magic to a finals appearance in 2009, and eventually got his own ring with the Lakers during the bubble in 2020.
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Well, Andrew, the top story this week was the Denver Nuggets, who made firing Taylor Jenkins with nine games left in the season look pretty reasonable because on Tuesday, with only three games left in the season, the Nuggets fired both head coach Michael Malone and GM Calvin Booth.
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So Scoot Henderson, his rookie season was a little bit worrying, but he seemed to find his footing this season, proved his efficiency, shot 38 percent from three on good volume in his final 46 games. So now that Blazers fans kind of breathe a little easier, knowing that he's probably not a bust, what parts of his game does he need to develop for him to take that next step?
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He's got to make layups.
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Howard was known for his defensive prowess, making five all defensive teams and winning deep boy three consecutive seasons from 09 to 2011. He finished his career as the Magic's all time franchise leader in points, rebounds, blocks, free throws and minutes played. So congrats to Dwight. And those were the top stories this week.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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What do you think that is? Because, you know, at least last year he shot, you know, over 80% from the line. He seems to be developing his touch from the outside. Like, is it a touch issue around the rim or a footwork issue?
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Before I ask you about the draft lottery, I did want to ask about Shaden Sharp because he seems to have taken like a kind of nice post-All-Star break jump. You know, he's playing a little better post-All-Star break. How much of that do you feel is real?
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Or is there anything that he's done post-All-Star break that you can really point to and feel like, OK, this can definitely carry over to next season?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Okay. So thinking now about the draft outside of the obvious names, obviously it'd be wonderful to jump up and get Cooper flag. That would be an amazing fit. But is there anyone in the mid lottery that you're already thinking about someone you like that you think might fit with this current blazers roster?
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Yeah, no kidding. I would really love Vijay for them. Not in that scenario where they're choosing between Dylan Harper and Vijay, but Vijay just having a defensive guy in that backcourt to go along with Shaden Sharp and Scoot Henderson. I just think that would be really cool.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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The season-ending Slammys. Season ending Slammys. How exciting. The Slammys, we do them roughly two to three times per year. I think I always say we're going to do them three times and then we always do them two times. And our first award, we've got 10 of them, I think, is brought to you by BetMGM because it's the stat of the season award. This award goes to our favorite stat this season.
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Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I wonder if that has been eased up at all with this Cronin extension where he's not like under the gun and it might feel like he has to make a move. But I can certainly understand it from like a Blazers fan position because it has now been, you know, it would be like four or five years at that point where you kind of go into the season.
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If they do make those kind of big moves, kind of knowing that they're not going to be in the playoffs again. But I don't know. I feel like there was so much improvement from the young guys. And then the combo of Denny and Tumani is just like such a fun combo to watch. And so I don't know. As a neutral observer living in Portland who gets good at a lot of Blazers games, I would enjoy it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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I would enjoy not having to see some of the older guys on the roster play and just play the young guys. But I could understand why some Blazers fans would be frustrated.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Well, Mike, thank you for answering all of our Blazers questions. It is now time to play Andrew versus the beat our weekly trivia show where Andrew goes head to head against NBA beat writer this week, Mike Richmond from the locked on Blazers podcast. Now, Mike, how this works. I've come up with eight questions about the Blazers. You're going to give me a number between one and eight.
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And my stat is about the Houston Rockets. And currently the Rockets, who are the second seed, In this Western Conference, a mile with all these teams bundled up, they have the seventh best odds in the West currently to win the West, plus 2,200. It's absurd. It's absurd to me. Because I've been one of these people who have doubted the Houston Rockets all season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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It will correspond to a question. If you get it right, you'll get at least two points. If you get it wrong, Andrew will have a chance to steal for one, and then we'll go back and forth until all the questions have been asked and answered. So to start us off, I just need a number between one and eight.
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I hope he was eight. Otherwise, there's going to be Blazers fans already yelling at you.
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He was six. We'll go six with Bonzi Wells, and we'll be embarrassed. Okay, Anthony Simons. You know, honestly, didn't have a great season, I didn't think, but he did hit a career high 215 three-pointers this season, moving him into third place all time for most three-pointers made Blazers franchise history.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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We're going to name the other nine players in the top 10 for most threes in Blazers franchise history. How this works, you'll give me a name, and then Andrew will give me a name, and we'll go back and forth until one of you stumbles. So who would you like to start with?
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Let me scroll here. And he is on the list. Number one. Correct. Andrew. Oh, boy. C.J. McCollum. Number two on the list. Back to Mike. Wesley Matthews. Number four on the list. Recently supplanted by Anthony Simons. Wow. So, Andrew, back to you. What about Damon Stoudemire? Damon Stoudemire. He was number seven on the list. That's correct. Back to Mike. Terry Porter.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Terry Porter was number five on the list. Back to Andrew. Four names left. You guys are doing great. What about Batum?
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Woo, Nicholas Batum, number six, Andrew. So you guys are doing great. All you got left, eight, nine, and ten. You do a clean sweep here. So back to Mike.
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Cliff Robinson. Is he on the list? Yes, he is. Number nine on the list. Back to Andrew. Andrew, there's only two names left. Can you get one of them?
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Clyde, Drexler, Andrew... He is number 10 on the list. That means we've gotten to the final name. It is number eight on the list, eighth in Blazers franchise history, most made threes, and it is up to Mike to get it. Can you name number eight?
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Andrew, do you have any names left, or was that your last hope?
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Oh, yes, they're having a very nice season. But am I really going to take them seriously in the playoffs? I think depending on who they match up with, they could be an underdog in their first round series, that 2-7 matchup. And one of the things that people don't like about the Rockets or that gives them pause is their offense.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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It's kind of a surprising name because he didn't play in Portland for all that long, and it wasn't really the three-point era. It was Steve Blake.
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Double first name. Congrats. You guys got nine to ten. That's pretty good. The board is yours, Andrew. I'll go number one. Question number one. Denny Avdia is averaging 7.3 rebounds per game at 6'9". Who was the last Blazer who was 6'9 or shorter to average more rebounds per game than Denny?
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7.3. Basically just a short guy, Andrew, okay? You don't have to make it too complicated. A short guy who got a lot of bounds. More bounds than Denny. Is it Bonzi Wells? The aforementioned? Incorrect, Andrew. Mike, any guesses? Is it Scotty? It is not. It is actually very recent. He only played 50, I think 51 games that season because he was traded to the New York Knicks. It is Josh Hart.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Josh Hart. Oh, my gosh. Averaged over eight games.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Wow. Okay, Mike, board is yours.
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Martel Webster. Okay, here we go. Portland. has had 113 clutch minutes this season. Okay, that's minutes where the game is within five points with five or fewer minutes left. There are only two NBA teams with fewer clutch minutes. Who are they? Who are they? Who are they? And as a hint, kind of a hint, these two teams have significantly fewer clutch minutes than Portland. That helps you at all.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Which, you know, for the season 11th, if you look at their offensive rating by month, 9th, 21st, 13th, 8th, 24th and then 7th. But what I think is really interesting and is my stat of the season is that against teams with a top 10 point differential, the best teams in the league. The Rockets are fifth overall in offensive efficiency. Wow.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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So Portland's at 113. These two teams significantly less. I'm up first. Yes. I'll guess our beloved Washington Wizards. That is correct for one point. Can you get the other team?
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Yeah, that's it. Got it. Both of them. Boom. Two points. Nice. All right. Andrew, board is yours. Number two. Thank you. Okay. Seven is still available. I just accidentally marked it out. Two. When this player's on the court, Andrew, the Blazers are 6.4 points per 100 possessions better on offense. The best mark on the team, according to Cleaning the Glass. Who is it? Wow.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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When this guy's on the court, the offense is hubbing. What about Time Lord? Rob Williams. Good guess, Andrew, but that is incorrect. Mike, you have a chance to steal for one point.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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It is Scoot Henderson. Wow. Isn't that kind of impressive?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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That is true. I'm looking at all of the guys who the defense swings the most. And it's all the bench guys. It's like Jabari Walker, T Stiebel, Chris Murray, Robert Williams. That makes sense. Okay. Mike, you've controlled the board. You also have a commanding lead three to one. I'll go three. Question number three. Donovan Klingin has already racked up 105 blocks in his rookie season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Who was the last Blazers rookie to have that many blocks in their rookie season?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Joel Prisbilla. That is incorrect. Andrew, you have a chance to steal. last Blazers rookie to have at least 105 blocks in their rookie season. Joel Prisbilla is a great answer. I love Joel Prisbilla.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Yeah. Andrew, that is also incorrect. The correct answer used to go all the way back. keep uh no let's go all the way back to the 84 85 season sam yeah wow all right andrew board is yours three questions remain you got to get some points andrew yeah it's not going well uh number four number four Shaden Sharp has 65 dunks so far this season. Now, I wrote this question before the Utah Jazz game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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So when they've played the best teams in the league, their offense has stepped up and they've been one of these teams that has absolutely like played up to their competition. You know, sometimes when you see a team like this who goes on a nice run and kind of has a surprise. Oh, my gosh, it's a surprise to seed.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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I don't even actually know if Shaden Sharp's playing in that game. He is. Oh, he is. Okay, so he may have more. He may have 75. He may have 10 dunks in the game, Andrew. But he had 65 when I made this question. At only 6'6", He's one of only seven players in the league who are 6'6 or shorter and have that many dunks this season. Can you name two of the other short dunkers?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Okay, so there's six other short dunkers out there. You get one point per correct answer, and I'm going by their basketball reference listed height. So they have to be 6'6 or shorter. 6'6 or shorter dunkers. A lot of dunks. Yeah, short dunkers.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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J Dub is one of the answers, Andrew. Okay. Correct. For one point.
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Any other guesses? You could tie the game up, Andrew. I would like to do that. I would like to do that.
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Oftentimes it can be because they're just beating up on all the bad teams and they're just OK against the good teams. That's not really the case with Houston. They've actually been very good against the good teams in the league. In fact, they have the second best record in the West against teams that are 500 or better.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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That is correct, Andrew. You got both points. Good job. Mike, when you were sitting there, were you thinking of any names?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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surprisingly no he would qualify but he does not have that many dunks yeah i thought he would be there too doesn't like i mean yeah and like and jaw but he swore off dunking for whatever like a game and a half and then he doesn't because he missed so many games yeah yeah it is sad that both those it's sad that both those guys don't dunk more honestly yeah don't dunk more you agree
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Steph castle as a rookie is doing it. Zach Levine, who I just always forget about as a dunker, but yes, he's, he's a big dunker. He's a dunker. Cool. Bali, who I thought was taller than six, six. Wait, what? He's listed at six, six on basketball reference.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Wow. I know again, I just had to go buy something. And then Derek Jones jr. Again, thought he was taller than six, six. He's apparently six. Well, he's six, five on basketball reference. That was the other name. Okay, so that brings us to a tie game with only two questions remaining. Mike, would you like five or seven? I'll go five. Question number five.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Now, Malone ends his 10-season run with Denver as the franchise's winningest coach, leading them to the 2023 championship. Calvin Booth, he traded for KCP. He drafted Christian Brown. Two important moves for the Nuggets title run, but things had gotten rockier since then with Booth and Malone butting heads over team building philosophy and roster decisions.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Robert Williams made his first career three-pointer this season. How many career three-point attempts does Time Lord have? Now, before you answer, you get to choose who answers first. So you can make Andrew answer, and then you just have to go higher or lower. Or you can answer, and Andrew goes higher or lower.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Now, the risk is that if you make Andrew answer, and he gets it exactly correct, he would get a bonus point. So what would you like to do?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Okay. Andrew, Mike has set the over-under at seven. Would you like to go higher or lower? I'll go higher. Higher. Well... In a slam and jam first, Mike has just won the week. No way. Even though there's one question remaining because he got it exactly correct, which means he gets a bonus point. Which means he has six points now to three. He has won the week.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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So I think it's at least, you know, as we as we get these matchups, at least worth considering, are we underrating the Rockets a little bit, at least in maybe these first two rounds? So that is my stat of the season award. Even just round one. Yeah, just round one.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Now, he's still got one question left, but that was amazing. You nailed it. Seven points. Three-point attempts. Seven three-point attempts. Wow. Now, I'm very sad that this last question won't end up mattering, but I do love this question. You can make it count for three points if you wanted two or four points. No, it counts for two. Andrew, you can get within one.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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You can lose by one if you get this right. Okay. The Blazers' original mascot was Bigfoot. OK, actually, Bigfoot was played by a former blazer. It was a former blazer in the costume of Bigfoot. Wow. He only lasted from 1987 to 1989. Bigfoot's time as a mascot came to a premature end after an in-game skit caused the opposing coach to complain to the media. What was the offending skit?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Now I'm going to give you four possible answers and you're going to tell me which of those Bigfoot did that got him ultimately fired.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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And you'll see that there's a pattern to these. Okay. Okay. Was it that Bigfoot crushed a leprechaun under his foot while Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond played? Was it that Bigfoot crushed a model of the Golden Gate Bridge while I Left My Heart in San Francisco by Tony Bennett played? Was it Bigfoot crushed a model of the Hollywood sign while L.A. Woman by The Doors played?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Or was it Bigfoot crushed multiple models of several American made cars while Detroit Rock City by Kiss played? Which one got Bigfoot fired, Andrew? I'll go with the Leprechaun. The leprechaun crushed under his foot. Andrew, that is incorrect. Mike, do you happen to know this piece of Blazers lore?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Mike, before you answer, can I ask you a mascot question? Because was the original plan with Dougie to phase out Blaze the Trail Cat, or was it always to have two?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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He was doing a great job. And I, and then Dougie comes out of nowhere and, Got a big old smile on his face.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Well, the opposing coach was Don Nelson, who was coaching the Golden State Warriors at the time. And Bigfoot crushed a model of the Golden Gate Bridge. So offensive. I love my heart. It's extremely offensive. Extremely offensive.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Yeah. I don't know why this was so offensive to Don Nelson. And why the Blazers took his criticisms so seriously and fired Bigfoot as a result. I would love to know more about this story. But unfortunately, that's all I have for you. That was all that was on Wikipedia.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Awards "The Slammies" + The Blazers Future | Slam N Jam
Hey, draft coming up. That's right. Draft season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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A free bonus stat, Andrew, because it's one I found this week that I thought was funny. We talked about how, you know, games that were decided by three points or less. OKC's only had five of those games this entire season. So I went back and I expanded it to five points. Just a game that ended within five points. Yeah, they've had six of those games. So you have one more game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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It's crazy how dominant they've been at the end of some of these games where some of these games have been close, you know, five minutes left. And then by the end of the game, you know, it's a 10 point game. Yeah, I went back and looked.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Things came to a head after the Nuggets lost four in a row and looked at risk to fall into the play-in. has taken over as the Nuggets head coach for the rest of the season and got his first win as head coach against Sacramento on Wednesday night. Adelman started Jalen Pickett in the game and only played Russell Westbrook 16 minutes, his lowest minute total since early December.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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So that brings us to our second award, the quote of the year award. This award goes to our favorite quote of the season. And my quote of the year award, it's a very recent quote. It's a quote from this week because I thought it perfectly summed up what was the biggest story of the year.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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When Jason Kidd was asked to address Mavs fans who feel hopeless post-Luka trade, Kidd said, quote, this is a business. It happens, right? Trades happen. This won't be the last trade. Someone compared it to Babe Ruth, which is kind of cool. Every single opportunity post-trade, anyone who has spoken for the Mavs organization has somehow been able to conjure up the most out-of-touch response.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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It's kind of incredible. You know, Mavs fans are just looking for, like, a glimmer of competence or maybe some genuine empathy to make them feel that someone in this organization cares about the fans. And instead, they've gotten things like Jason Kidd referencing the comparison of a 100-year curse in a positive way. Oh, it's kind of cool. It's kind of cool.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Awards "The Slammies" + The Blazers Future | Slam N Jam
It feels like everyone in the Mavs organization still hasn't realized the gravity of that trade. And even when they do for a brief moment, the response is that's kind of cool. This trade is the defining moment of this season. And the Mavs obliviousness has been the defining feature of that organization post trade. So congrats to Jake Kidd winning my quote of the year award.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Reports suggest that Westbrook's playing time and preferential treatment had been one of the issues this season for the Nuggets. Now, after a rocky week, the good news for Nuggets fans is that Jamal Murray, is likely to return on Friday night for a huge matchup with the Memphis Grizzlies. As of now, the Nuggets sit in fourth in the West, one game behind the Lakers, who also had an eventful week.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Two things. One, I thought it was really funny. Zach Lowe comes back, you know, he's doing his podcast. One of the first things he brings up was about, it should be a quote like, you know, 28 other teams or whatever would try for our roster.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Yeah. I know. I just thought it was so funny that Zach's been gone for like a year and that's been the quote. It's just, he's just been waiting to talk about. Yeah. And then the other thing, John Hollinger had a good article on the athletic this week, kind of making the case that they, they have to consider a Devin Booker trade. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Yeah, because because it is like they're one out where they could recoup a lot of value because the value that you would get from a KD trade is questionable right now based on him being an expiring contract. I just don't know how much you would get back. So that brings us to our next award. I wasn't familiar with your game award.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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This award goes to the player who changed our opinion about them the most compared to how we felt coming into the season. And for me, listen, I was very wrong about the Clippers, Andrew. You were wrong. We were wrong. There are aspects of getting the Clippers wrong that I can look back on now and say, yeah, I should have seen that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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You know, James Harden playing a full season and being good after he'd done the same thing last year. I could have seen that coming. Like Norm Powell being able to pick up some of the scoring slack, considering he was almost a 20 point per game score several years in Portland. I could have seen that coming. Chris Dunn being a really good pickup after being good in Utah the previous year.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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If I didn't have my OKC blinders on greedily wanting that Clippers pick to be valuable, I could have seen those things coming. But the thing I don't think I would have ever seen coming was the jump that Evita Zubats had this season. Now, maybe I could have seen him becoming the anchor for a top three defense since that's been his calling card in the NBA.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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And this Clippers team has so many good defenders. But the jump he's made offensively has blown me away. And as I mentioned earlier, what a great week to be talking about him after he has his first career triple-double defensively. putting up 2011 and 10 against Houston.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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they might have to you know get off and and as we're talking about like if they go down in the second round pretty meekly that could really change some stuff yeah uh before you go anthony we do have a little game for you now this is not trivia um but this is our nba championship draft this is something we've done for the last three weeks
The Athletic NBA Daily
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You'll be able to see the results of the last three weeks on the right-hand side if you're watching on YouTube. But basically, we're going to draft teams that we think at this point, as of Friday, May 9th, are most likely to win the NBA title. Now, because you are our guest, you get to pick whether you want to draft first, second, or third.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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This is a snake draft, so if you pick third, you'd get the third and fourth pick. And we're only going to draft six teams, which I'm just going to say this up front, this is the most difficult week that we have ever done this.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Yeah. Yeah, for the first time, I've taken all East teams, but now, based on how things are going, I am going back home and taking the Oklahoma City Thunder, who could lose tonight. By the time people are listening to this, they could be down 2-1 to the Denver Nuggets. It's possible.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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No, I think that's a good pick because, I mean, we know as Thunder fans, over the last two years, Minnesota has played the Thunder so tough. All those games are disgusting. They have. They're very good defensively against OKC. So at the very least, I could see that series going long. So that's who I was hoping would fall. But go ahead, Andrew. Who do you want?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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It would be between Denver and Indy, but I'm going to go with Buddy. Plus, I made my bold prediction at the beginning of the playoffs that the Pacers were going to make the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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It just seems correct. It did not work out the way I wanted because Cleveland got hurt. Right. Yeah, I just think Indy's playing great right now. Yeah, you should be terrified of Halliburton as well. He seems automatic at the end of these games.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Yeah. Leaving Denver off. Yeah. It's, it's the, it's like the injury to Michael Porter Jr. I think is, is relevant. And the fact that they're already thin and they're relying on a guy who's got a busted shoulder, who needs to be one of their best six players. They're just so thin right now. Because they have Jokic, they could still win this series.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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They could be up 2-1 by the time you're listening to this. But I think between Indy and Denver, Indy just has the clear path right now.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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You mentioned Tatum. Looking over his last three postseasons, he shot 32% from three in the 2023 playoffs, 28% from three in last year's playoffs, currently shooting 32% from three so far in this year's playoffs. Each of those playoffs runs, he's taken seven plus threes per game. What do you think the future is for his outside shot?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Is there a breaking point where he's just not consistent enough as an outside shooter where he has to change his shot profile, even though it's such a big part of the Celtics approach?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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So, Jared, you've been around this team for several seasons. You've seen them fall down 0-2 before, most notably in the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals against Miami, which they end up losing in seven. How would you compare the mood around the team in this series compared to that infamous series against Miami?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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So the other team that was knocked out this week was the Rockets. For the first couple seasons of Alperen Shingun's career, the narrative around him was that he could be Jokic light on offense, but then when he got to the playoffs, he was going to be targeted defensively. We've now seen him in the playoffs, and it was actually his inefficient offense that was more of an issue.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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All right, Jared, thank you for answering all of our questions about the Boston Celtics, but it is now time to play Andrew versus the beat our weekly trivia show where Andrew goes head to head against the NBA beat writer this week, Jared Weiss. Now, Jared, you've played this before. You know how it goes. I've come up with eight questions this time, all about the Boston Celtics.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Celtics done? | Slam N Jam
You're going to give me a number between one and eight. It'll correspond to a question. If you get it right, you'll get at least two points. If you get it wrong, Andrew will have a chance to steal for one. And we'll go back and forth until all the questions have been asked and answered. So, Jared, to start us off, I just need a number between one and eight.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Okay, question number seven. According to Cleaning the Glass, when this Celtic is on the floor during this year's playoffs, the Celtics' offense is 22.9 points per 100 possessions better than when he is off the floor. Who is it?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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That means, Andrew, you have a chance to steal. Celtics offense is just amazing when this player has been on the court in the playoffs. Wow.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Peyton Pritchard. I guess that would make sense. Wow.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Number one. Question number one. Oh, this is great. Last week, one of our trivia questions was about James Harden's low-scoring games in the playoffs. So we're going to do it again, but this time with Jason Tatum. So Jason Tatum has played 119 playoff games. In what percentage of those games... Did he score 15 points or fewer? Now, Andrew gets to choose who answers first.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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You can make Jared answer first, and then you go higher or lower, or you can answer first, and then Jared would go higher or lower. If Jared got it exactly correct, though, he would get a bonus point.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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For reference, Jared, last week when we did the same question about James Harden, the correct answer was 25%. 25% of his playoff games, he scored 15 points or fewer. To give you a rough idea of where it was for Harden. So, what do you think, Jared? What percentage of Jason Tatum's playoff games did he score 15 points or fewer?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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His counting stats were impressive, but he shot 45% from the field. What did you think about Shingun in that Warriors series, and how committed do you think Houston should be to building around him going forward?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Say lower. Jared, you were within one percentage point. But it was lower, wasn't it? And the correct answer. It was 18%.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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There we go. So, Jared, there are three... Active players who are still playing in the NBA playoffs. They have played for Boston, but they are not currently playing for Boston. How many can you name? You get one point per correct answer. So active players still playing in the playoffs, played for Boston once upon a time, not currently playing for Boston.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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You got two points. Andrew, you have a chance to steal the other name.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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There's no chance Andrew's getting it. It's Javante Green. It is Javante Green. Yeah, I was not getting that. I was not getting that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Yeah, let's see. Actually, he's played... Let me see how many minutes. He's played 29 minutes so far in the playoffs for Cleveland. Okay, Andrew, board is yours. I will take number two. Question number two. The last home team to go down 0-2 in the playoffs and win the series was the 2021 LA Clippers. Kawhi and PG led the Clippers in minutes played that series.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Who played the third most minutes in that series for the Clippers? Oh my gosh. So 2021. I believe they were playing the Utah Jazz. Yeah. Or no, the Mavericks.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Andrew, he was on the team, but it was not Reggie Jackson. Dang it. Garrett, you have a chance to steal. Repeat the question, please. The question was 2021 Clippers. They were the last team, the home team, to go down 0-2 in the playoffs and then win the series. Kawhi and PG, they led the team in minutes played during that series.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Celtics done? | Slam N Jam
Who was the third most in minutes played for the Clippers during that series? And it's not Rich Jackson.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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It was none other than Marcus Morris. Marcus Morris. Yeah, Marcus Morris. The legend. Okay, Jared, board is yours. Three, please. The Celtics have lost two games in a row in the regular season. There were five teams that beat Boston twice. Now, three of those teams, OKC, Cleveland, Indiana, are still in the playoffs. Who are the other two teams that beat Boston twice in the regular season?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Celtics done? | Slam N Jam
I think this is Atlanta. It is the Atlanta Hawks. The Giant Slayers. Very nice. Also did it to Cleveland. Yeah. Okay. Oh, I didn't mark that off. Andrew, board is yours. Three questions left. Four to three. You're down by one. What a game we have on our hands. Number four. Question number four. The Celtics scored 90 points in game two against the Knicks, their second lowest total this season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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The fewest points they scored this season was 76 in a game against the Magic. Which two Celtics led Boston in scoring during that game with 15 points each? You do get one point per correct answer, Andrew. 76 points. 30 of those were scored by these two guys. Wow. Now, this would really help if you followed this team, if you were a fan of this team. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Celtics done? | Slam N Jam
Because otherwise, it would probably be pretty tough.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Celtics done? | Slam N Jam
And then the other one, Baylor-Shireman. Oh, Baylor-Shireman. Wow. Pritchard just seemed too obvious to me for that. It makes sense, though. It makes sense. Everyone else was out of that game. Okay, Jared, board is yours. Number five. Question number five. Jason Tatum hasn't been scoring well, but he has had double digit rebounds in four of his six playoff games this year.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Among active players, Tatum's 47 double digit rebound games in the playoffs ranks eighth. We're going to name the other active players in the top 10 for most double-digit rebound playoff games. So how this will work, Jared, you'll give me a name, then Andrew will give me a name. So these are only active players, and this is just in the playoffs, games with double-digit rebounds over their careers.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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So Jared, who would you like to start with? Jokic.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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KD is number seven on the list. All right.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Draymond is number two on the list. Wow. Back to Jared. Yeah. Back to Jared. Three names remaining. I don't know why that felt risky to me when I said it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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He is number 10 on the list. Okay, there's two names remaining. Andrew. Remaining. Could you get one of them?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Carl Anthony Towns? Andrew? That is incorrect. Oh, sorry, Andrew. Jared, any other guesses? Kevin Love? No, the other names. Kawhi. which you might not think of.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Yeah, he was number nine. And the reason I was hoping you would get Kawhi so they would set up the final name, who was actually number three, current Celtic Al Horford.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Yeah. Well, maybe they rounded up for this. Stathead did some rounding. Andrew, here's the good news. You get the final question, first dibs, and it has a potential three-point answer, which means you could tie it up because right now it is six to three. Okay? Okay. Here we go. So lock in.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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There are four active players who have scored 500-plus points against the Celtics in the playoffs over their careers. Now, LeBron is the obvious one. Can you name the other three? You get one point per correct answer. These are active players who have scored 500 career points at least against the Celtics specifically in the playoffs. Wow.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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You have to run the table to tie it up and send this into overtime, Andrew. Can you do it? I don't like this.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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You got one point, Andrew. Here we go. Giannis is one of them.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Andrew, that is incorrect, which means Jared wins the week. Congrats, Jared. Six to four. Jared, any guesses? Just a rubbing in Andrew's face? Yeah. I lost service.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Giannis, number three. Any guesses who number four is? See, I was hoping it would end on this name because, again, similar to the Horford question, former Celtic, Kyrie Irving.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Celtics done? | Slam N Jam
We should get Josh Robbins to join us. That's a great idea.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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So, Anthony, you wrote a great article this week about the ways in which the Wolves and Warriors have been linked to each other. Going back to the 09 draft when then Wolves GM David Kahn drafted two point guards before Curry. who was drafted at number seven. One of the more interesting links is the 2020 draft.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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And I was wondering for our listeners who haven't read the piece, could you recap the Warriors approach to that draft and what happened when they worked out Anthony Edwards?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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This is not, in my opinion, a good stats, bad team situation. He's been a major factor with them turning their season around because in their first 41 games, they were 13-28. And since then, they are 21-15. They have the 10th best net rating in the league. they've become like a legitimately good defensive team. And that combo of Denny and Tumani Kamara is a big part of that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Now they're not going to make the play in most likely unless a couple of these teams really collapse. So this season may end up feeling a little disappointing for some Blazers fans since they're not going to make the play in. They're also not going to get an amazing pick, but I do think it's important that they clearly have an identity now, which a lot of teams at this stage don't have.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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And they have a player in Denny Avdia who as the Blazers continue to improve is going to get a lot more attention.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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And he's huge. He's one of those guys that's bigger in person than you realize. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Four players I mentioned plus Marcus Sasser were suspended a game, though Beef Stew got an extra one for his history of on-court beef. And in their very next game, the Wolves were involved in one of the more memorable games of the year, a double overtime win over the Nuggets in Denver, their sixth straight win over Denver going back to last year's playoffs.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Yeah, and that four out of six stat, I really think the number of guys who are triple-double threats on a night-to-night basis really just shows how much more skilled the league is now. There are so many more of those guys who can just do it night-to-night. Andrew, that brings us to our favorite moment.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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And my favorite moment this week was the Ja Morant game winner against the Heat on Thursday night. Huge step back shot in the paint against Clillware. Bounced around the rim for a few seconds before falling. Coming off last week, things were feeling pretty bleak for the Grizz. They fired their coach. They lost a bunch of games.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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A lot of the attention was focused on Ja, who has had a disappointing season. And it wasn't looking like things were getting any better this week. They built a four-game losing streak, which in their defense was about as tough as a four-game stretch can be. Thunder, Lakers, Celtics, Warriors. During the Warriors game, there was the finger guns controversy when Ja pointed at the Warriors bench.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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I think he was fined 75K for that. So with all that drama of the past few weeks, I was just happy for Grizzlies fans seeing Ja get that game winner. And while we didn't get to see any Ja during our Wheel of Fandom week, he was back in full force this week. He was great. He averaged right around 29-6-6 on good efficiency during that brutal stretch of opponents.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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For the Wolves, it was Anthony Edwards who scored 24 of his 34 in the fourth quarter in overtime, and Akeel Alexander-Walker scored 26, including five three-pointers and the game-winning free throws after Russell Westbrook fouled his three-point attempt as time expired in the second overtime.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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The only bad news for the Grizz is the schedule doesn't totally lighten up. They've still got games against Detroit, Minnesota, and Denver in their Final Five. And that Minnesota game is going to be huge, as I mentioned, because those two teams are currently tied in the standings, and the Wolves are in a four-game winning streak.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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So it doesn't get easier for the Grizz, but at least for one night, Grizzlies fans got some relief.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Yeah. You know, the thing, and this is why I brought up Westbrook last week as an X factor, because, you know, as we know, having watched him for so long, like nothing he does is quiet. Everything is loud. The good stuff is super loud. The bad stuff is super loud. And yeah, Like watching that game and seeing how it played out, like it couldn't have been any other player than Westbrook.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Like that's just how things happen. And it had to be that loud. It had to be at the end of the game. Yeah, that was just brutal for Jokic to have that game and for it to end like that end to end on free throws. I was watching that game with my uncle. We were having a great time. And for it to end just like on these two free throws, he misses the last one.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Now for the Nuggets, it was already a tough loss, but it was made even tougher because Nikola Jokic had one of his best games ever, putting up 61 points, which is a career high for Jokic and the most points scored by any player this season. He also had his customary 10 rebounds, 10 assists, making it the first ever 60 point triple double.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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It was kind of a bummer of an ending, but it was an amazing game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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All right, Andrew, it is time for the Wheel of Fandom, the weekly segment where we spin a wheel, it lands on a team, and we become fans of that team for the next week. Now, last week, the wheel landed on the Brooklyn Nets. And if you've been following the Wheel of Fandom this season, you know that the vast majority of teams have had a very bad week when the wheel lands on them.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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So what would happen when the wheel landed on a team that needed to lose to maintain their draft position? Well, they'd go on a two game winning streak. Of course, the Nets went two and two this week, losing to the Clippers and Wolves, but beating the Mavs and Wizards. They are now 25 and 52 and appear likely headed for the sixth best odds in the upcoming draft lottery.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Per cleaning glass, the Nets have the 28th ranked offense and 24th ranked defense. Andrew, if the Nets are a favorite team, who is our guest?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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And to add insult to injury, the Wolves game was the first night of a back-to-back for Denver. They had to play the Spurs the next night, and because Jokic had played 53 minutes, head coach Michael Malone opted to rest him, leading to a second straight loss.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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The Nuggets remain third in the West, however, but just a half game up on the Lakers, while the Timberwolves have the same record as the Grizzlies, who are currently in sixth. Those two teams will meet next Thursday in a game that could decide the final guaranteed playoff spot.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Yeah, I was on the Nets subreddit, and it's fun reading Nets fans' comments as they try to cope with this. I saw one argument that was like, yes, the Suns pick might be around 12 this year. Ours is 6. If you wanted to trade up from 12 to 6, that would cost you an extra first. So that kind of accounts for one of the firsts that we traded away. So I don't know if that helps you at all.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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That was one I saw.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
So in a rebuilding year like this, the hope is that you find some diamond in the rough, a player that you weren't thinking about at the start of the season who you now see as a future rotation player. Oh, he's going to be a part of the next good Nets team. Are there any players like that for you or like an encouraging developmental story? Nope.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Elsewhere in the West, the Golden State Warriors continued their charge up the standings, also winning all four of their games this week, including two crucial ones over the Grizzlies and the Lakers. In the win against the Grizzlies, Steph had 52-10-8, including 12 three-pointers. It was Steph's fourth career game with 12-plus three-pointers.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
He and Klay are the only players in NBA history who have done that more than once. Jimmy Butler scored 27 in the game, which was his highest as a Warrior, and Draymond had a 13-10-12 triple-double. Now in the win against the Lakers, Steph was good again, 37, but it was Brandon Pajemski who was the X-Factor, scoring 28, including a career-high 8 three-pointers.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
Agreed. You know who could be a free agent, Mike? Kyrie Irving.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
Now, Mike, you had a little trouble coming up with a diamond in the rough. Yeah. Or anything to get excited about, it sounded like. A turd in the grass. That's what we got. We have turds in the grass. Yes. People seem very hyped on Nets head coach Jordy Fernandez. Hell yeah. Very popular. Hell yeah. Now, six years ago, Chris Mannix tweeted, you are the GM of an expansion team.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
You have your choice of any NBA player or Brad Stevens. Who do you choose? Yeah. And at that time, 34.2% of voters picked Brad Stevens over any NBA player. So now the Nets are the ones with the exciting young coach and Jordy Fernandez. I'm going to give you names from some NBA of some NBA players. You're going to tell me whether you choose that player or you take Jordy Fernandez.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
In the 20 games Brandon Pajemski has played since the Jimmy Butler trade, Pods is averaging 14-6-3 while shooting 41% from three-point land. The Warriors have moved all the way up to the fifth spot, only a game back of the Lakers and a game and a half back of Denver. And by the time you hear this, Golden State will have had a huge matchup versus Denver on Friday night.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
You can only have one. Okay. And in the case of you choosing a player, you don't know who the coach is going to be. It could be anyone. It could be, was there a movie, was Air Bud ever a coach in any of his spinoff movies?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
Would he tour his ACL? Had to be. Yeah, that would be a really boring Air Bud movie.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
We're talking Jordy or this player. You don't know who the coach would be if you take the player. Okay, so here we go. Herb Jones or Jordy Fernandez?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
But I would say, I mean, Thunder fans had the same thing where Mark Dagnall was like, so obviously good in that early tank year where it was like, Hey, we're winning too many games. Like what was this guy doing? But at the same time, you got to feel good because you know, down the road, like you've got a good guy.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
Yeah. Yes. I feel like their goal over the last three years is like, what do we have to do to make it not look like Will Hardy's a good coach? Because it's so hard. We have to keep taking away players. Yeah. We have to arrest random guys on random nights. What can we do to really screw up Will Hardy? They finally figured it out. I mean, they have the best odds right now.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
Yes. Okay. More. More players. Okay, so just saying, it sounds like you would have taken Herb Jones over Will Hardy.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
Now at the top of the West, OKC's winning streak continued, stretching to 11 straight wins after winning all four of their games by an average margin of 21 and a half this week. The Thunder are now 64 and 12, 14 and a half games up on the second seed Rockets, who the Thunder play on Friday night. This week, we'll also see the Thunder play the Lakers twice in three days.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
So, wow. Mike, you're coming across as very smart and sane with your answer to this question. I was hoping I didn't even get to get to my final one, which was going to be way too quickly.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
Yeah. Just so the listeners know, I had like eight more of those to do.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
Well, I actually was doing all players from 2022 drafts. So Jalen Suggs, Alperin Shingun, Trey Murphy, Franz Wagner, Evan Mobley. And then I was going to finish on Cade Cunningham. I thought we might get all the way there. You're ridiculous.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
OK, bad. Just so you know, I'm coming from a point where 34 percent of people six years ago would have taken Brad Stevens over like Giannis dummies. A bunch of dummies out there.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
Two juicy matchups that could preview a future playoff matchup, but are also critically important for the Lakers' final seating. In the East, the Cavs cross the 60-win mark with back-to-back impressive wins over the Clippers and Knicks. This is the first time in franchise history the Cavs have won 60 games without LeBron James on the team.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
And at 61-15, the Cavs have a chance to set the franchise record for wins at 67 if they win their final six games.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
now the bucks who had their first full week without damian lillard they got two needed wins after a four game losing streak combined with the pistons losses to minnesota and okc the bucks have jumped back ahead of the pistons as of friday morning in the standings for the time being but something to look ahead to is the final two games of the season when the bucks and pistons play twice in three days
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
Mike, thank you for answering all of our Nets questions. But it's now time to play Andrew versus the Beats Nets edition. Now, Mike, I think you've played this before. I'm sure you have. I've come up with eight questions about the Nets. You're going to give me a number between one and eight. It will correspond to a question. If you get it right, you'll get at least two points.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
If you get it wrong, Andrew will have a chance to steal. for one.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
All right, so Mike, I just need a number between one and eight to get us started. And that's draft position at the moment. As of today, how many Brooklyn Nets would qualify for regular season awards having reached the 65 game minimum? Now you get to choose who answers first. You can make Andrew answer first and then you go higher or lower or you can answer first and Andrew goes higher or lower.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
If either of you get it exactly right, you do get a bonus point. So how many Brooklyn Nets as of today would qualify for regular season awards?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
I think it's really low. I think it's like four. All right. Andrew's going to set the bar at four.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
Going under. Well, Andrew, you did get within one. Now, was it five or was it three, Andrew? Correct answer was three, which means Mike gets the points.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
Um, yes, yes.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
Oh, no, sorry, it's Nick Claxton instead of Zaire.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
Now, at the bottom of the standings, the Sixers announced this week that Tyrese Maxey would be out for the rest of the season. Not too concerning. But more importantly, it was announced that Joel Embiid will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee that's been bothering him all season, and he'll be reevaluated in six weeks.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
He might get there.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
Okay. Andrew, the board is yours. Number one. Question number one. Andrew, who leads the Brooklyn Nets in total assists?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
Total assists for the Brooklyn Mets.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
That is correct. Yes. It is Ben Centro.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
And enough games to still lead the team in assists. Okay, Mike, board is yours. Two. Question number two, Cam Johnson has attempted 408 three-pointers this season. Well, that was as of Wednesday night. In Nets franchise history, there have only been 12 other players to attempt at least 400 threes in a season, and we're going to name them all.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
So how this works, Mike's going to give me a name, then Andrew will give me a name, and we'll go back and forth until one of you stumbles. So you just have to give me a Brooklyn net throughout franchise history that had a season where they took at least 400 threes. And to give you context, that's what Cam Johnson has done this season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
Let's see how many he had. Let's see if you were even in the realm.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
So he's about 100 short.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
Andrew, you're done. You're done. Mike, you said Kevin Durant. All right, Andrew, you just have to name one person to get the point. D'Lo? Oh, that's Andrew Russell. That is correct.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
Finally, Andrew, it was announced this week that Carmelo Anthony will be elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Carmelo won a NCAA championship as a freshman at Syracuse. He won three consecutive gold medals as a member of the Olympics team and had a decorated NBA career, making 10 All-Star Games, six All-NBA teams and making the NBA's 75th anniversary team.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
The other name. Okay. You said Joe Harris. That's correct. I want to throw out some other names, please. Just for fun. Bridges. Bridges. Yes. Mikhail Bridges. Okay. Alan Crabb. Yes. Alan Crabb. Great pull. Did Vince do it? What are you doing right now? Are you writing down these names?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
Yeah. Vince. Do you have any contributions? No. I don't think Vince. Vince Carter did. Andrew, congratulations.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
I'll name the other guys. D. Will, Kerry Kittles, Spencer Dinwiddie, Joe Johnson, Royce O'Neal, Patty Mills, and Torian Prince. Wow. Those are your names. Patty Mills. I don't think I could have pulled that. Wow. So, Andrew, board is yours. You're up by one. Three. Three. The Nets currently have the 28th ranked offense per cleaning the glass.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
The last time they had an offense ranked that low was the 2016-17 season. Who were the top two leading scorers for the Nets that season? Total points, you get one point per correct answer. Total points. Leading scores for the 2016-17 Nets. Top two leading scores.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
That is correct for one point.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
What about like Karis Levert? I think he was on the team then. I don't know. That's a name. That's a name. But unfortunately, that is wrong. Karis Levert was on the team, though. Congratulations on that. Mike. Any chance you know this? Second leading scorer. The 2016-17 Nets. I have a funny answer. It might be right. Sean Kilpatrick. It is Sean Kilpatrick.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
You could bomb the rest of this trivia and that alone proves that you are a huge Nets fan. The fact for real could get Sean Kilpatrick.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
Okay. Eight. Okay. Question number eight. Question number eight. Oh, this is a fun one. Darren Williams' number. There are five major regular season awards in the NBA MVP, six man of the year, defensive player of the year, rookie of the year and most improved player. The last time a Brooklyn net won one of those awards, which award was it?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
In his best individual season, the 2012-13 season with the Knicks, Melo averaged 29-7 for a 54-win Knicks team, finishing third in MVP voting. He also led a 54-win Nuggets team to the Western Conference Finals in 08-09. He'll be remembered as a lethal scorer, averaging over 20 points per game for the first 15 seasons of his career.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
That is incorrect. Andrew, you have a chance to steal one point.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
Well, you can just pick an award. You have a one in four shot.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
It's not right. You have to go, Mike, do you know it? Or were you, or you, I was wrong already.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
Again, uh, you have to go all the way back to the 1990, 91 season. The last time a Brooklyn net won one of these awards and it was rookie of the year and it was Derek Coleman. It's how far back you have to go for some really good question. Wow. Yeah, that's it. That was a crazy one. I started going through them. Couldn't find any nets. Um, In fact, Nets haven't won a lot of these awards at all.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
Like, never been a Net. Yeah, it's been a good franchise. Andrew, you have control of the board. Three questions to go. Number four. Question number four. Jalen Wilson leads the Brooklyn Nets in total minutes played while averaging fewer than 13 points per game. There are six players in the NBA who also lead their team in total minutes played while averaging fewer than 13 points per game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
Can you name two of them? And you get one point per correct answer. Oh my gosh. So they have to lead their team in total minutes played, but they have to score fewer than 13 points per game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
So, Andrew, that part is correct. Unfortunately, he is averaging 15 points per game, so it is not the correct answer. Mike, you could steal two points here. You could steal two of them.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
He is Meesee. Wow, nice. Nice pull. Can you get another one?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
He holds the franchise record for most points in a game by a Knick and finishes his career with over 28,000 points, 12th on the all-time list. Congrats to Mello. And those were the top stories this week.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
gafford uh no you had the right idea though the mavs spencer dinwiddie is one of the answers the other answers bub carrington contavious caldwell pope that one makes sense when you think about it yeah tamani kamara for the blazers uh and the one i thought andrew might get chris paul cp3 oh yeah OK, so we have two questions left and we have a tie game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
Now, Mike, you get to choose question number five or question number seven. Seven. Question number seven. This former All-Star was drafted by the Nets, but was immediately sold to the Sixers so that the Nets could pay for Summer League and buy a copy machine.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
It's pretty easy. Ben Simmons. Andrew, this brings us to the final question. Okay. And you have to get the question right to send it into overtime. Okay. Okay. There are three players that have had a 30 point game as a Brooklyn net this season. Can you name all three?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
Oh, and actually, I'm just realizing, this is one point per correct answer. So if you theoretically did get all three, you could win the game. Oh, shoot.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
Dennis Schroeder did do it. Now, the game is currently tied. If Andrew gets the final name, he will win the week. However, if he doesn't get it right, Mike will have a chance to steal and win the week. I know the answer.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
It didn't even go well in OKC. It didn't even go well. It was still great.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
Andrew, that is correct. You have won the week with a Tyrese Martin poll. Wow.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
Yeah. Wait a second. Wait a second.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
If he, if he did, you're looking, he did do it a hundred percent. I mean, he's had to have done it multiple times, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
How did he not pop up when I searched on staff? Yeah. I think he's had a 40-point game, right? Yeah. Wait a second. That means that Mike has tied it up, sending us into overtime.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
It's a party! Overtime! Unless you guys find another name, and then that person would win for that reason.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
Um, okay. So we're going to do, uh, well, we can't do career three pointers since we already basically did that question. Um, I'm just looking for a good question for you guys where we can go back and forth, back and forth. How about in honor of, uh, Jalen, uh, Wilson, uh, leading the team in minutes, let's do the top 10 franchise history for minutes played. Okay.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
So since Mike is our guest, Mike, you can go first and Andrew will go, we'll go back and forth. So total minutes played, franchise history. Brooke Lopez. Brooke Lopez is number three. Over to Andrew. Jason Kidd. Jason Kidd is number two. Back to Mike. Walt Williams. Walt Williams. No. Walt Williams. Andrew, can you give me one more name? Walt Williams. What about Kerry Kittles? Yes.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
Kerry Kittle's number five. Why did you say Walt Williams? Why did you say Walt Williams?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
I'm looking at a guy named Walt Williams, a.k.a. The Wizard, who played from... Are you thinking of Buck Williams? Yeah, you were thinking of Buck Williams, who is number one. Yeah. Unfortunately, you said a guy who has never played for the Nets.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
Now, hold on a second. I was going to go check because Buck sounds like a nickname. Yeah. But it looks like Buck Williams' first name is Charles. Charles Linwood. So I couldn't give it to you for that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
No, that's a pretty good excuse.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
That's a pretty good excuse.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
That's correct.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
If you had just said Williams, I might have had to give it to you. I'm such a dummy. The other names, Richard Jefferson, Chris Morris, Bill Melchione, Vince Carter, Billy Paltz, and Mike Gaminski.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
All right, Andrew, that was Nets week and what a week it was. Congrats to the Nets two and two. Let's see who our wheel fandom team for next week is going to be. And I know I say this every week, but there are so many good teams that are in the midst of of playoff seeding battles right now. We got Milwaukee on their Minnesota Golden State Sacramento trying to hold on to the last spot.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
Yeah, let's see who the wheel is going to give us this week. This week's wheel of phantom team will be oh hey the portland trailblazers okay talked about denny obdia earlier yeah uh that's not the worst you know maybe something crazy will happen and they'll still have a shot at the plan uh they did win last night so who knows
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
Oh, I think JJ should be happy. I mean, Jason Daniels, Christian Brown as two of the top three. I mean, those are the types of guys he's talking about. Zubats. Yeah. But also, like, I think he was being asked this in reference to Austin Reeves, who does not appear on this list, but probably, you know, that's perfectly good candidate as well. I get what he's saying.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
I do think it's been like that traditionally, like when Ja won.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
Yeah, I think those, well, Markkinen now, technically, he was a high draft pick and is on a max contract now. But at that time. Yeah, at the time he wasn't. But yeah, I think if like Dyson Daniels win, who's the favorite right now, I think that's a great story. Like that is the perfect representation of a most improved player in my mind. Yeah. Yeah, I get that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
Now it's time to move on to our favorites, starting with our favorite quote this week. And my favorite quote this week. It came from Hawks in-game host Shamia Morton. During a timeout break, two Hawks fans were playing tic-tac-toe, the game where for each layup you make, you get to put down an X or an O in the middle of the court.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
The game started, and before one of our participants, James, could even attempt his first layup, he slipped on the court and appeared to suffer a major knee injury. While this was happening, James's opponent continued playing the game while the Hawks in-game host, Shamia Morton, became increasingly concerned for James. James, oh no, let's make sure my guy is good.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
And then when the other participant officially won, she said, can you just be kind and come over here with me and check on James? Now, some people out there, they were questioning the sportsmanship of the other participant who continued playing the game. But if you watch the replay, Andrew, to his credit, he did briefly pause before laying down the final winning marker.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
It did look like he might not have continued the game if not for one Harry the Hawk. Yes, that's right. The Hawks mascot, if you watch it back, he was standing at midcourt. He's the one that motioned the fan to go ahead and win the thing. So if you have beef with the winning fan for not being appropriately concerned about James, direct that toward Harry the Hawk.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
The good news out of all this is the Hawks did provide an update to TMZ saying that James, the injured season ticket holder, is in good spirits. He expects a full recovery. That's about as bad a night as you can have attending an NBA game. And I hope the Hawks get them something nice. Maybe like a signed team basketball or jersey or something.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
But we're all thinking about you, James, especially Andrew, who has a recent experience messing up his knee while playing a child's game. Hopefully, when he's fully recovered, James will be able to enjoy that video with his family because there admittedly are some funny parts. None more so than Shamina Morton's commentary as she tried to figure out how to handle that situation.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
Oh, no.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
Well, Andrew, the top story this week was the race to the finish line in the Western Conference with the fourth seed through eighth seed only separated by two games. First, it was a big week for the Wolves. The Wolves won all four of their games this week and did so loudly. In a win over the Pistons, we got a big old dust-up in only the second quarter.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
Those are good ones, Andrew. That brings us to our favorite stat. And my favorite stat this week is actually about our Wheel of Fandom team, the Brooklyn Nets, because I was spending some time on the Nets Daily blog.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
Yeah, you're getting your fill for the year this week. I saw a stat that I just thought perfectly summed up this weird season for the Nets where they trade for their own picks back and then they're unable to lose as many games as some fans might have hoped for.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
So while the two wins this week push the Nets firmly into that sixth spot in the reverse standings, it's really hard to blame those wins when they come against the Mavs and the Wizards. You know, one team's really struggling. One team's just really bad.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
But if you're a Nets fan feeling disappointed in their current lottery position and want to get mad at something, look no further than this stat from Colin Helwig on Nets Daily. The Brooklyn Nets are currently 8-7 on the road against Western Conference teams this season. Above 500 on the road against the Western Conference.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
The only other teams in the East who can say that are Boston, Cleveland, Detroit, and Indiana.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
It's incredible. And I know some of that came at the beginning of the season, you know, when they were a little bit more of a complete team. When they had Ben Simmons, you guys, when they had Ben Simmons. They did have Ben Simmons. But still above 500 on the road against the West for a team that's going to finish with the sixth worst record is pretty impressive.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
That's a great one because I did not know that as a Thunder fan, and I'm also now very excited for it. Tom Garrick, I'm looking at his basketball reference. Rookie year, 0-13. Then he has four for 21 on fire. Wow, what a year. And then he had his 0-22 season. And never really went well after that. So, yeah, maybe Hartenstein could get on that list. That'd be pretty cool. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
This started between Nas Reed and rookie Ron Holland. Confrontation between Reed and Holland quickly grew as Dante DiVincenzo, Beef Stew got into the mix, and the mass of players and coaches went into the first row under the basket. In the end, five players and two coaches were ejected from the game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
Next up, favorite player. My favorite player this week, Denny Avdia. I've always been a fan of Denny when he was with the Wizards. When Portland traded two first round picks for him last summer, I was expecting big things, Andrew. Because the Blazers needed another playmaker. Denny brought that while also just being a really good all-around player. But then his season just did not start off great.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
Through his first month, Denny's shooting splits were 37-26-79. And he was barely averaging 10 points per game. But things started to gradually improve. He's talked about it. He just got more comfortable. He was worried about fitting in when he first got to Portland, being on a new team with some established players. But he's eventually gotten more comfortable.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
And over the past couple of months, I would say he has clearly been the Blazers' best player. In 19 games post-All-Star break, he's averaging 22.5 points, 9.6 rebounds, 9.6 rebounds, and 5.2 assists while shooting 51, 43, 78. Those are massive numbers. And Denny had his best week of the season this week. In three games, he put up 30 and 12 with almost seven assists per game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
He had 32, 15, and 10 against the Hawks. And his contract... which is going to pay him under $12 million in the 27-28 season, was always going to look good. But with his recent play, it's looking like one of the best contracts in the league. And I think it's important to point out that as Danny has improved over the season, so have the Blazers.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
But but also they are they're a storied franchise and a city that has experienced success. And while it's been a long time, I think it's good that if they didn't give us any ovation, it's probably good because like under fans at the time, it was like, we're just glad to be here. Everybody stand up for the NBA. Everyone, can you believe this? You know, like that's how it felt.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
It was really fun. I like having the two games. I really enjoy having the two games, which is very fun. We are recording this late, late Thursday. So when you're listening to this on Saturday, you're confused about the two games that I'm talking about. So it's just one game on Friday. Not talking about that, but we are going to talk about the Eastern Conference to start with.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
Okay, so finally we have the Milwaukee Bucks, who not only lost Damian Lillard to an Achilles tear, but we're now focused on the 24-7 Giannis trade speculation. The Athletics' John Hollinger wrote about how trading Giannis was Milwaukee's best option. But a lot of Bucs fans make the argument that you usually only get a player of this caliber once in a lifetime.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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And so why would you voluntarily go into the post Giannis era? Assuming Giannis wants to stay, what would you do as the Bucs?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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They have several what just feels like unmovable contracts. Not only Dame, but Kyle Kuzma. We're locked in, baby. Who's taking that contract now? You don't have the assets to even get off of the contracts that you have. It is a very tricky situation. It is very, very tricky. I'm with Hollinger. I don't see another way out unless you just want to ride this out and Giannis is content.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
But Giannis has already said that he wants another title. Yeah. And so how can you even...
The Athletic NBA Daily
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get close to accomplishing that when you look across and even you're in the eastern conference man like you can't even do it in the eastern conference um i yeah i don't i don't see i don't see a path either whenever you're whenever you're relying on the players that they have on their roster right now i just i can't imagine it getting better and i can't imagine like a way out of this
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
Yeah, that is definitely playing energy. If Kevin Porter Jr. is a part of your plan, your plan is toast.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
And so the second round of the Eastern Conference is set. Most people are already looking ahead to a Cavs-Celtics conference finals. But I want to ask you the same question about both series. An upset feels unlikely, but what would need to happen for the Pacers and Knicks to make these long series?
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
I mean, that's a great example, though. Just because you can restart your franchise on stuff like that. If you make the right trade. But also, if you're a Bucks fan, you know the history of the Bucks and the Luau-Sender trade. And they weren't able to get a player of that caliber until Giannis. And it is difficult. Building in a small market is really difficult.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
That's not a fun game. That sounds like a horrific trivia game that you would make me play.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
I'll take the Thunder. Number one, the thunder for not dealing. They're not dealing with any injuries right now. Yeah, that's true. Like super rested. Like Boston is. They have slept in their own beds so many times in the last three weeks. It's been absurd. Yeah, they're feeling good. they need to absolutely destroy whoever it is in game one.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
Like, absolutely dismantle them and send a message with all this rest that they have. So, yeah, I feel very confident with the Thunder as the number one pick here.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
The team that has no path. I know. How could you beat a team that has no path?
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
That Knicks team is so weird. I do not trust them at all.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
Yeah. Is that who you'd pick? Yeah, they got Jokic. They got Altitude. What about Nicholas Batum? I just wonder if old man Batum can do that ever again. Is the thing I thought after that game was over. He was incredible. He was so good. But I don't know. You got... When you have James Harden on one side and then Jokic on the other, I don't know. I just lean Jokic.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
So I don't know. Yeah, I actually I actually would double down. Maybe I would take them number one, honestly, if I knew they were going to wear them again. For my second pick, it would be logical to take the Clippers here, but I won't use logic. I'm going to take the Golden State Warriors. Okay.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
I don't feel good about it, but they just feel... A lot of times, it has felt at times like they were dead, but then they continue to just... They continue to just like become this like zombie version of themselves and they just win basketball games. So I don't know. I'm just not betting against that whole infrastructure that they have in Golden State.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
They're good. That's a good basketball team. Yeah. Got a good five guys. Got a good five guys. That's right. So recording before Friday night's game between the Warriors and Rockets, the winner of that series will meet the Minnesota Timberwolves, who beat the Lakers in five.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
How much of the Wolves' domination in round one was the specific matchup with the Lakers versus the Wolves maybe being a lot better than people thought coming into the playoffs?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Yeah, that's a very normal playoff rotation, which a lot of these teams don't have. It's just funny to watch some of these teams that just don't. They have nobody that they can go to. And the Lakers were that way. And they had one fastball. And the Wolves showed pretty quickly that they knew how to hit the fastball. And it was over. Like, that's over. Like, what do you do?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Like, we'll just try it again. You know, let's try it more is what JJ tried to do, you know, in the last couple games. Like, there was nothing that they could do just because they could not match up with them. And so I do wonder... what it looks like in round two with a team that could perhaps match up with them a little bit better and has more than really four or five guys that they trust.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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So, yeah, I do wonder. I do think a lot of it was matchup specific for them. I do think the Wolves are very good and they showed, I think they had like the fourth best net rating in the league this season, but I don't know. They also have inconsistencies. And they also had just moments down the stretch of games in the regular season where they would just completely let go of the rope.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
And so I'm curious to see them play a team that's a little bit more prepared and has a little bit more going in their favor. Like a center? Like plays a team with a center? Plays a team that plays a guy that plays the position of center. Yeah. It would be nice to see them play a team like that. What would you be more interested in watching?
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
Amon Thompson trying to guard Anthony Edwards or the Wolves trying to figure out Steph Curry?
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
Yeah, the muscle watch for Luca is going to be unbelievable this summer. Like when August rolls around and we start seeing photos of Luca, people are going to freak out one way or the other.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
I mean, JJ set it up, set this up to be the ultimate muscle watch. Like he really has.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
Yeah. No, I'm very much looking forward to it now because he was clearly, I mean, he didn't ever mention Luca by name, but he was clearly talking about Luca. Like who else is going to talk? Who is he talking about? He's not talking about Jared Vanderbilt.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
Gabe Benson's like, man, I really got to get in shape. No, it's clear who this was about. And yeah, cannot wait for Muscle Watch already.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
I mean, they cannot go back to that well, can they? Like, honestly. They need some kind of lob threat. If that happened, I would lose it. If they're like, you know what, Derek Lively for Gabe Vincent and Jared Vanderbilt defense wins championships.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
So many games. Under 20% from three. That's a lot of games. The last decade, that's where it's... Yeah, it goes back to 2015-16.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
Wow. Okay. Drummond's in there with the, gotta be the numbers.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
Okay. I first need to grapple with what is a reasonable percentage.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
a lot of games in Oklahoma city where he did come off the bench. Um, I guess it was only one year. Nevermind. Um, no, no, no, that's not true. No, that was, that was several years. Um, that was three years.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
No, no, no, no. I was thinking I was thinking more like Mike to start with, that it would be like 15 ish percent. But no. I don't know why I went with the seven, though. That was my mistake. Is it my pick? Yes, Mike.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
Yeah, it feels like we're heading back into the Dion Waiters era of the Miami Heat again.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
Hornets always an answer. It's always a good crutch there for teams that lose.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
That's right. Personally love it. I mean, there's a coffee mug. There's a coffee mug above my shoulder right now of Dion waiters and a Miami heat Jersey. So it's actually, I'm very, very excited for the future of the heat. Another team that said farewell this week was the Orlando Magic. The Magic's needs are maybe the most obvious in the league.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
The president of basketball ops, Jeff Weltman, was interviewed this week and said what everyone else thinks, which is what we need is a proven shot making, proven offensive player, someone that is going to come in and help augment our weaknesses. As Weltman pointed out, future moves will likely need to involve trades. Do you have any favorite targets for the Orlando Magic?
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
You got to think about the long playoff runs, but the five is tough because there's a couple of guys I'm thinking of that like they didn't even make the playoffs some year. So this is. I don't know. I think about Jimmy, Jimmy Butler. How about Jimmy Butler? Andrew.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
Does he even have double digit points in those games?
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
Tillman Senior. The way that we all say his name. That's how it's listed here. Mike, thanks so much for coming on the show. Go check out NBA Bit on YouTube. Anything else that you want to plug before we go?
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
Thanks for coming on, Mike. Hey, and you can leave us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts, and we will read it on the show, just like this one from SF Slim. Your show is still the best with your weekly deep dive with various teams, beat writers, and great trivia. Oh, I read this one last week. I'm not doing this one. I'm cutting this.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
This is the guy telling us that the Clippers are the surprise team. But this is... Wait, this is a... Is this the same one, though? Maybe I won't cut this. This should be the whole read. Keep all this. This is the whole thing. Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on. I think this is another person telling you that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
That's a huge... Nope. I was wrong. Still the same one. You know what? Thanks for leaving that five-star review still. Really appreciate it. Leave us a five-star review. We'll read it on the podcast. We might even read it two weeks in a row. Hope you guys have a great weekend. We'll talk to you guys again next week.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
Is that enough? Is Anthony Simon's enough? I mean, you've watched, you've watched him up close a lot. Yeah. But is that, is that, is that enough for Orlando? You think he's clearly better than like most, most guards on this magic team, which is a pretty low bar. Yeah. But is that enough?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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What do you, are you wanting to take the next step enough to take the next step for the magic?
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
Yeah, just competent playmaking and like the point at like elite point of attack defense in this NBA is so important. And like the Thunder have like tripled down on that. And like that's how they become like what they are defensively. And so I do think he matters so much to what they're doing. You could see Simons fitting next to him. The thing with Simons... He could fit.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
Yeah. What about Kobe White? Would you rather have Kobe White or would you rather, I mean, what, I think I would like Kobe White a little bit better than Anthony Simons, but you could, you could talk me into either side of it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
Welcome to the Saturday Slammin' Jam here on the Athletic NBA Daily. On today's show, we're talking to Mike Zakarian about the NBA playoffs. We'll do another championship draft. And we'll be doing some NBA playoff trivia with me, as always, is my good friend Alex Spears. And joining us from NBA Bit on YouTube is my friend, Mike Zakarian.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
Yeah. You also have to, you just have to leave room for growth too, for these guys. Like Asar only played 23 minutes tonight, but had a really big impact. And if he could just get some semblance of an offensive game, you know, I mean, he, he's clearly an impact player that needs to play more. Um, We didn't even see Beef Stew out there this whole series, which was kind of a bummer.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Especially against the Knicks and in a contentious series. The cameras always found him, but he didn't get to play. I'm kind of with you. I don't think that they need to do much. I think that Cade, who's still a young player himself, is still evolving. Now they know what it takes. Now they know what it takes in a playoff series and I think they'll be fine. I think that's a team.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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We talk about Orlando. Who are you taking for the next three seasons? Are you taking Detroit or are you taking Orlando?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Really? There's very, very fixable things. I think the turnovers were a huge problem for the Pistons. Everything just screamed. We're a young team that's just not quite ready yet. You watch the end of that game, and they... just fumbled everything away at the end of that game. And it was just like, we're young and we're not ready to do this yet. It's just what it screamed the entire time.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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And Brunson was clearly ready to just snatch it away from them. But I think Cade is just like the exact kind of guard that you need. And I just think Orlando on offense is just way too clunky. I just think you add one, you add Anthony Simons to that mix. And I just don't know that that is making the difference. I think like having a guy like Cade that can handle and pass and do everything for you.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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I'd rather have that guy than almost any other young player in the Eastern Conference, to be honest.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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But the numbers are so bad that I'm almost optimistic because they feel unsustainably bad. And knowing what his contract is, I feel like all you really can do is hope that it's unsustainably bad because I think he's going to be in Portland for a while.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Well, Andrew, the top story this week was the first matchup between Luka and the Mavericks since the worst trade in NBA history was made. Nico Harrison was in attendance and was showered with love from Lakers fans who chanted thank you, Nico, several times during the game. Luka started off the game hot and ended with a triple-double.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Maybe Dayron Sharp? Killian Hayes, who I just added to my fantasy team in 2025.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Und wenn sie den Wettbewerb nicht gemacht hätten, dann würde man sich gut fühlen. Weil es ist so, wow, die Sons werden die Playoffs verlieren. Ja. Seine Wahl könnte besser sein als die Nets. Und du würdest das bekommen und du hättest immer noch all diese Zukunftspieler.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Ja, die Blazers, die ich denke, ist mehr verständlich und aufregend für ihre langfristige Gesundheit, weil es Leute wie Tumani Kamara sind. Es sind Leute wie Donovan Cleans. They've got some young guys, yes. Donovan Kling, his advanced stats are looking really good. He's an incredible rebounder. He's good around the rim. So I think that one you can feel good about. You know, like
The Athletic NBA Daily
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was sie tun werden. An diesem Punkt ist es das, was es ist. Sie haben drei Spiele gewonnen. Ich denke, man kann es einfach ausrechnen. Hoffentlich werden sie ihre jüngeren Spieler mehr und mehr spielen, in der Länge der Saison. Aber ja, es ist ziemlich unglaublich, weil wir sprechen über eine 15-Game-Sammlung.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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An diesem Punkt, dass diese zwei Teams die zweit- und drittbeste Defense in der Liga sind. Also ziemlich wild. Okay, das bringt uns zu unserem Lieblingsspieler dieses Wochenende und meinem Lieblingsspieler. was Cade Cunningham. It was a statement week for Cade and the Pistons, who, as I mentioned, have a five-game lead now over the Magic for the last guaranteed playoff spot.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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And Cade was a huge part of the Pistons' success this week, as he always is. In the four games, Cade put up 29 points, 5 rebounds, 10.5 assists per game on 51-50-86 shooting. He scored 38 against Atlanta, including a career-high 7 three-pointers. It's just awesome to see How much things have changed for Cade in a year's time.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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I mean, it wasn't much more than a year ago when there was that game during the losing streak where Cade just looked completely broken at the end of the game. And Mirren Fader wrote an article for The Ringer this week about Cade and that journey from his rookie season until now. But there was a lot of focus on last season. And Cade opened up about his mental health struggles.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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He talked about how during that 28-game losing streak, Er bleibt manchmal die ganze Nacht auf, bis um 6 Uhr, nur durch Social-Media-Kommentare zu scrollen. Ich denke, viele von uns können damit empathisieren und wissen, wie schmerzhaft das gewesen sein muss. Es ist unglaublich, dass Cade all das bemerkt hat, diese Saison zurückzukommen und so gut wie möglich zu spielen.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Ich liebe es, dass er und die Pistons noch nicht verbessert sind. Sie haben den mittleren Schritt komplett verpasst, den ich denke, viele von uns, auch du und ich, erwarteten von ihnen diese Saison. Wir dachten, sie wären besser, sie würden mehr als 14 Spiele gewinnen. But we thought it would just kind of be like that middle step and then maybe something would happen the next season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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But Cleaning Glass has them on pace for 44 wins, which would represent a 30-game improvement. They're currently on pace for somewhere around the fifth largest year-to-year improvement in NBA history by win percentage. And a lot of that is because of Cade, who is a deserving favorite player of the week.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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I should have picked him.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
Es war nicht eine gute Woche für die Nuggets, die auch zu den Bucks verloren haben am Donnerstag. Die Bucks haben angefangen, ihre Fußgänger zu finden, nachdem sie den Mittelland-Vertrag für Kyle Kuzma gemacht haben. Seit Kuzma 30 plus Minuten pro Nacht abgesehen hat, haben die Bucks 5 von 6 gewonnen, mit der einzige Verletzung zu den Rockets in Houston.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Du hast seine Stat-Line erwähnt, nach dem All-Star-Break. Aber die Box-Szene, die sind verrückt. 27, 16 und 4. 24, 8 und 10. 25, 16 und 6. 21, 8 und 12. Das war wild. Ich hätte ihn gewonnen. Letztens, mein Lieblingsmoment dieser Woche. Für mich war es eine tiefe Runde. Er hat das super-flotte Baby in New Orleans, das alle anderen Babys in der Pelicans-Baby-Runde zerstört hat.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Now, I'm not going to give you any context for that score and how it relates to other scores. I'm just going to complain. You got to get it together, NBA.com. You know that dunk wasn't a 113.9. If you think that was a 113.9, you're a fool. You gotta fix it. I'm the only one who cares about this. But I think the dunk score is a cool idea.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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And there's no reason why that should not be the best dunk of all the dunk scores. It's barely better than that John Collins dunk I mentioned a while back. But it's obviously better. In fact, the number one dunk, do you know who it is, Andrew? Bist du auf deinem Dunk-Score? Nein, ich bin weit hinter meinem Dunk-Score. Es ist ein Quinton Grimes Dunk, okay? Und es ist ein guter Dunk.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Aber es ist ein 118er, Andrew. Und der einzige Grund dafür ist, dass sie die Defense überwerten oder nicht korrekt identifizieren. Sie wollen, dass der Kerl auf dich steht. Was mit Shaden passiert ist, dass der Kerl aufhört und Shaden ihn aufhört. Und es war nicht wirklich eine Kollision am Rimm.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Aber komm schon, wir können ästhetisch sehen, dass der Schaden-Sharp-Dunk der beste Dunk, den wir dieses Jahr gesehen haben. Also, ich denke, sie müssen... Sie sollen tweeten, Andrew!
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Das ist eine tolle Idee, Andrew, weil ich dir versichere, dass diese mehr geteilt wurde als der Quentin Grimes-Dunk. Und hier ist noch eine andere Idee. Jeder klagt, dass die NBA-Spieler, die du sehen willst, nicht in den Dunk-Kontesten sind. If you're going to give out random scores, why not fudge the scores for the guys that you want to be in the dunk contest? Make a big deal about it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Vor diesem 6-Game-Stretch für die Bucks hat Milwaukee 6 von 8 verloren.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Artificially inflate their dunk scores to get them excited. Look at these dunk scores you're doing. Check out your dunk scores.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
But also, there's got to be someone in that role, Andrew.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Someone's got to be the Rasheed Wallace. I was thinking, I knew Luca and Draymond were big tech guys. I kind of forgot that Trey Young... Ja. Ja. Ja.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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I saw two of those in Portland when he got ejected in like nine seconds. Yeah, that was pretty fun.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Andrew, it's time once again for the Wheel of Fandom, the weekly segment where we spin a wheel, it lands on a team and we become fans of that team for the next week. Last week, the wheel landed on the Phoenix Suns, a team fighting for the playoffs. This week, Suns started the week off right, four point win over the Bulls.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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They followed that up with three straight losses, including losses to Toronto and New Orleans, and a particularly tough 151-148 overtime loss to the Grizzlies. The Suns have lost nine of their last 11, with the only wins being over Chicago and an overtime win against Utah. Phoenix has the hardest remaining schedule with only three of their final 23 games against teams currently below .500.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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These Suns are 27-32, 11th in the West, 12th ranked offense, 27th ranked defense per cleaning the glass. Andrew, if our favorite team is the Suns, who is our guest?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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die Kavs für den jüngsten gewinnenden Streak in der Liga. Sie sind aktuell zehn Spiele vor dem Zeitpunkt, um ein Überraschungs-Team zu sein, was bedeutet, dass sie ihre Über- und Unterspieler in 20 Spielen gewinnen könnten. Diese Woche haben die Pistons ein paar schöne Spiele gewonnen über die Clippers und Celtics. Der 8-Spiele-Winnerstreak ist die Pistons längste seit 2008.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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So, KD was on Draymond's podcast this week. He discussed the trade deadline, how he didn't want to be traded mid-season. He would rather wait for the off-season, if that's what the Suns want to do. So, knowing that a KD trade is likely coming this summer, do you think most Suns fans want to try and retool around Booker, or are more fans in the camp of just blowing everything up and starting over?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Wenn du über einen KD-Trad denkst, hast du irgendwelche Erwartungen, wie ein Rückfall dieses Sommer aussehen könnte?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Sie sind jetzt 21-9 in ihren letzten 30 Spielen und haben einen 5-Spiel-Lead über den Magic für den 6-Sieg geöffnet. Aber weißt du was? Setz deine Sätze nicht zu niedrig, denn die Pistons sind nur ein Halbspiel zurück in Milwaukee für den 5. und ein Spiel zurück in Indiana für den 4.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Ich werde ein bisschen später über Kate sprechen, aber wie ist es mit Malik Beasley, der auf einem absoluten Heater von 3 ist? Nach diesem 8-Spiegel-Winnerstreak hat er 5,5 3s pro Spiel auf 52% gespielt. Sobald ihr das hört, werden die Pistons den Winnerstreak wieder testen, mit einem Spiel gegen die Nuggets am Freitagabend. Mit den Pistons aus dem Spiel, schauen wir mal, was da los ist.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Du hast meine nächste Frage beantwortet. Ich wollte fragen, ob es irgendwelche Positiven gibt, die man von dieser Saison nehmen kann. Gibt es eine Story für die Entwicklung des Spielers oder etwas, das man von dieser Saison nehmen kann?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Wir haben drei Teams, Orlando, Miami und Atlanta, alle in einem Spiel zwischen den 7, 8 und 9 Spots. Und dann haben wir diesen 10-Spot, den niemand will, aber den man legal besitzen muss. In dem 10-Spot sind die Chicago Bulls. Sie haben sieben von den letzten acht verloren, mit ihrem einzigen Sieg über die Sixers. Die Sixers sind nicht mehr im 11. Platz.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Ja, ja. So to start us off, Sam, I just need a number between one and eight. Let's go with four. Question number four. Phoenix is allowing a league-worst shooting percentage in what area of the court? So this is opponent shooting percentage. Which area of the court? At the rim, mid-range, above the break, threes or corner threes? Where are they allowing a league-worst percentage?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Sam? That is correct for two points on the board. Alright, Andrew? Number one. Ryan Dunn has already played over 900 minutes in his rookie season. Who was the last Suns rookie to play at least 900 minutes?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Sie sind zu zwölf gestiegen, sie haben neun Spiele in der Liga verloren. Die guten Nachrichten für die Sixers-Fans sind, dass Paul George diese Woche veröffentlicht hat, dass er eine Pause vom Podcasten hatte, um sich auf den Kampf für ein Wettbewerb zu konzentrieren.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Es ist Cam Johnson für zwei Punkte. Gut gemacht, Andrew.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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2-2. Sam, you have control of the board. Let's do number 7. Question number 7. How many players on the current Suns roster have scored 30 points in a game during their career.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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George didn't specify which championship he was referring to, leaving listeners guessing as to what other competitions PG might be involved in. Moving ahead of the Sixers this week was the Brooklyn Nets, the team that traded the 25, 27 and 29 Phoenix first rounders along with the, I forgot this, Mavericks 2029 first to get two of their own picks back.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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That is... Unglaublich. Andrew, du hast die Chance zu stehlen.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Andrew, das ist auch falsch. Die richtige Antwort ist fünf. Fünf. Ich möchte nur darauf achten, ob dieser Typ noch auf dem Team ist. Damian Lee ist noch auf dem Team, oder?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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1819. Total Blocks. Total Blocks.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Es ist falsch, Andrew. Er war zwölf short von diesem Spieler. Sam, weißt du, wer es war?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Das ist richtig. Es war Rashawn Holmes.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Er hat wieder Spielzeit. Ich habe ihn für Fantasy geschaut, weil er die Stats für die Wiener hat. Ich habe ihn geschaut. Ich habe ihn geschaut. Okay. Whose turn is it? Sam.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Frage Nummer drei. Es gibt 20 Mann-Lineups, die mindestens 500 Minuten zusammen gespielt haben für die Sons dieses Jahr. Welcher Sons-Spieler erscheint in allen von den sechs schlechtesten von diesen Lineups? Lass uns mit Tyus Jones gehen.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Andrew, du hast die Chance, zu stehlen. Oh boy. So 20 of these lineups, this player is in the 6th worst of them. By net rating. I have another idea. I won't get to say it. Is it Bradley Beal?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Yeah. Yeah, and I forget the Linus, but I wonder if it has something to do with him coming off the bench and so he gets put in a lot more bench lineups. I think there is a little bit of that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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So that they could do whatever it is they're doing right now. They have gone 6-4 in their last 10. They sit only a game and a half back of the Bulls. The Nets won three more games in February than Philly and Chicago combined. Is this team really going to make the play-in? Does anyone want this to happen? Jetzt, von der oberen Pläne bis zur westlichen Pläne, haben wir ein bisschen Bewegung.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Fun question, Andrew. How many coaches in NBA history have coached more playoff games than Mike Budenholzer? Now you get to choose who answers first, and it's not really a hint, it's more just a detail. There have been 354 coaches in the Basketball Reference Database. So you have to choose a number between 1 and 354. Now you can make Sam answer first and then you can go higher or lower.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Or you can answer first and make Sam go higher or lower. So number of coaches, more playoff games than Mike Budenholzer. Wow, I'll say 13. Alright, now would you like to say Sam higher than that number or lower than that number?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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So just to be clear, we're saying fewer coaches have coached more playoff games.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Okay, okay, okay. I wanted to make sure. Sorry, sorry. Yeah. So the correct answer is in NBA history, 21 coaches coached Sam gets the point. How old is Bud? How old is Bud? Do we know? He could get up there.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Not with this team, but he could.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
Let's do 8. Frage Nummer 8. Welches der folgenden ist nicht ein offizieller Basketball-Referenz-Nickname für einen aktuellen Sons-Spieler? Also ich werde dir fünf Nicknames geben. Vier von ihnen erscheinen auf Basketball-Referenz. Einer von ihnen ist gemacht. Hier sind die Nicknames. Blank Check, Big Panda, Green Room, Big Meal und Blue Magic.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Once again, that is Blank Check, Big Panda, Green Room, Big Meal, and Blue Magic.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Green Room is a nickname of Kevin Durant that I have never heard before. Green Room? What is that from? No idea. It is the most recently added word. I'll look it up. Andrew, so I'll give you the four remaining ones. Blank Check, Big Panda, Big Meal and Blue Magic. Oh, weißt du was? Das Name für KD kam von seinem Vater. Er hat das in der Hochschule genannt. Wie wusste ich das noch nie?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Warum hast du das nur eingeführt?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Vielleicht habe ich es noch nie bemerkt. Aber es ist ein Begriff für die Wartezeit für die Lotterie. Green Room. Okay. Du hast gesagt, Big Meal, Andrew? Nein. Okay, erzähl mir die Namen wieder. Well, you did say it. Blank check. I did. Big Panda, Big Meal, Blue Magic.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Die Warriors haben seit der Jimmy-Butler-Trade weiterhin gut gespielt. Sie haben alle Spiele dieses Wochenende gewonnen, insbesondere eine 121-115-Rodewinn über die Magik am Dienstagabend, die Steff mit 56 Punkten gedroht hat, mit 12 Dreipunkten. Tom Ziller hat gesagt, dass es das effizientste 55-Punkte-Spiel jemals war, mit Steff mit einem 92,5% echten Schuss. Die Warriors haben sich bewegt.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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So you've heard of Blank Check and Blue Magic? Is that what you're saying?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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That is correct, Andrew. That is a made up nickname. Big Panda is Bradley Beal. Big Meal is Royce O'Neal. And Blue Magic is another Bradley Beal nickname that I've never heard of.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Okay, this is great. We have a tie game, 4-4, going into the final question. And it's a great question to end on. So Andrew, you'll get first dibs at this, but it's one of the ones that goes back and forth. So Devin Booker has played 651 regular season games for the Suns. The only NBA team he's ever played for.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Among active players, there are only 12 other players who have played 500 plus games, regular season games, for only one team. And we're going to name them all. So these have to be active players. They have to have been with one team and played at least 500 games. So Andrew. And we'll go back and forth until one of you stumbles. So Andrew, give me a name. Steph Curry. That is correct.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Korrekt. Zurück zu Andrew. Jason Tatum. Das ist korrekt. Jalen Brown. Das ist korrekt.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Giannis ist korrekt. Andrew. Das ist ein guter. Zurück zu Sam.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Jokic. Jokic, das ist korrekt. Ja. I feel like I know the guy that you both are dancing around, talking about injuries. Yeah, there's a guy. There's actually several that I'm like, has this guy played enough games? Because 500 is a lot.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Dwight Powell, that is correct, Andrew.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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So, you guys were mentioning Joel Embiid, and he's on my list. Yeah. But then you kept saying, like, I don't know if he's done it. I don't know how he ended up on my list, because he's actually only played 452 regular season games for the Sixers, which means, Andrew, you win. Now, the other names you could have gotten, Miles Turner, which is a great one. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Kevon Looney.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Die Warriors sind in der siebten Position, nur eine Halbzeit zurück von den Clippers für die sechste. Während die Wolves letztendlich die Position im Spiel verloren haben, sind sie in der achten Position gefallen. Sie hatten einen der größten Unmöglichkeiten in letzter Erinnerung, in einem Rennspiel gegen die Thunder in der OKC. Die Wolves fanden sich bei 22 auf dem Anfang der vierten Position.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Which doesn't sound right. He's played 575. Jamal Murray, another teammate. Yeah. And then the last one, Bam Adebayo.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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All right, Andrew, that was son's week, which means it's time to spin the wheel of fandom again to see what team we're going to become fans of this week. There are 18 teams remaining on our wheel. Will we get a team like the Knicks? That would be nice. Golden State. That would be a fun one right now. Will we get a team like the Wizards? Actually, the Wizards would be fun because Josh Robbins.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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I was going to say, we get Josh back on.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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He's dying to get back on the Slammin' Jam. And see who we get. This week's Wheel of Fandom Team will be... Ja, das ist großartig. Ich denke, das ist großartig.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Jetzt, wenn die Gegner auf der Straße sind, ist das wahrscheinlich ein Verlust, aber vielleicht gibt es eine Chance. Wie geht es denn, wenn man unter 4 Minuten im Spiel ist? In diesem Moment hatte OKC eine 99,8%-Chance, zu gewinnen, aber es war nicht 100%. Die Wolves haben einen Weg gefunden, diese 0,2%-Chance zu öffnen, um die Thunder zu übernehmen, bevor sie endlich 131-128 gewinnen.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Sie haben fünf von ihren letzten sieben verloren, aber sie sitzen nur ein Spiel zurück von den Clippers für den sechsten, die sechs von zehn gespielt haben, um gegen die streaking Lakers ein Friday-Night-Match zu gehen. Finally, it was an exciting week for collectors of wiped iPhones.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Adrian Wojnarowski announced this week that he'd be auctioning off the iPhones he used to break some of the biggest trades in the NBA. For the current low price of $2,000, you can bid on the phone Woj used to break the news the NBA was suspending the season because of a virus that would kill millions of people. Ask yourself, can you really pass up that opportunity?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Now, if you don't have the funds right now, Don't worry, I have a little life hack for you. You can just tell people your phone was once owned by Woj. No one's going to check because no one cares. And those were the top stories this week.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Yeah, it makes sense in terms of sentiment, current sentiment right now about these teams. But it's just amazing, you know, for how much of the season it was Memphis and Houston in that two and three spot. And how much we were talking about those teams and we were debating whether they're contenders or not.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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And now, like, it feels like, at least looking at these odds, they've almost become afterthoughts to some extent. I mean, the Grizzlies are still there at plus 1300, but the Rockets drop them below the Mavs, who are currently in the nine spot. They have worse odds than the Mavs, and they have worse odds than the Clippers as well, who are at plus 3,000.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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I do think it's interesting to look at the Timberwolves, who are plus 4,000, just because, yes, they've been on this losing streak, but as we've seen in now two games, and really three games against OKC, they can play with the best teams in the league, Julius Randle ist seit einiger Zeit rausgekommen, was vielleicht nicht gut oder schlecht ist.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Und dann hat Rudy Gobert die letzten vier Spiele verpasst. Also, wenn sie Gobert zurückhaben können und einen Rhythmus finden können, denke ich, dass diese Chancen in ein paar Wochen anders aussehen werden. Also, ja, das ist es. Ich denke, es macht Sinn, wie es jetzt aussieht, aber es ist einfach unglaublich, wie viel Bewegung wir in den letzten paar Wochen gesehen haben.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Yeah, especially for the Warriors.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Definitely, definitely. So, Andrew, that brings us to our favorites of the week. And we're going to start off with our favorite quote this week. And my favorite quote, it's not really a quote. It's a line from a Sam Amick article this week, writing after the Mavs-Lakers game, referring to things people around the Mavs have said about Luka. Amick wrote, quote, they predict his basketball demise.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Highlighting a health history that, as some see it, will likely lead to catastrophe in the next five years or so. I just love how dramatic this is. Demise. Catastrophe. It feels like the Mavs keep upping the ante. All the reporting started with, you know, like, oh, the Mavs were unhappy with the conditioning. Now we're talking about basketball demise, pending catastrophe.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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The Mavs messaging since this trade has basically been, oh, you'll see. You'll see. Just wait. No, just wait. You'll see. Meanwhile, the Lakers have the third best odds to win the West. The Mavs might need to win two play-in games just to make the playoffs. But you'll see, Andrew. Give it five years or so and when AD turns 37, you'll see, Andrew.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Yeah, I think this is how you fight back like that. The players need to talk about this more. And I would say more explicitly, like naming names, like because I do think sometimes it just gets lumped into like, oh, they're talking about like, you know, the worst of the worst, you know, the guys like Skip Bayless or Stephen A. Smith, like the way they cover the game more for entertainment purposes.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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But you know, it's coming from a lot of other places as well. And so I think if players keep bringing this up, the fans are ultimately going to side on the players. They will. They will side with the players. The players are infinitely more cooler than anyone in the media talking about the players. So if they just keep bringing it up, I do think it would change.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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My favorite stat this week, I found a stat over the weekend, made me laugh so much, I just wanted to share it. Jeremy Grant, not having a great season, averaging under 15 points per game and three and a half rebounds per game, while playing 32 minutes a night. But the stat that sticks out is the two-point percentage. On six two-point attempts per game, Jeremy Grant is currently shooting 38.1%.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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That is lower than what he shot on twos for the Process Sixers his rookie season. It feels impossible. He's almost shooting better on threes, where he's shooting 37%, than he is on twos. And as a reminder, Jeremy Grant is 6'7". He plays the four. So I went to Stathead and I looked up who was the last player to shoot that poorly on that volume of two-point shots while also being 6'7 or taller.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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And the answer, you have to go back to the 2018-19 season when none other than 19-year-old rookie Kevin Knox played 75 games for the Knicks. That is where we're at. That is the last time this happened. And if you're thinking, you know, he just needs to cut out the mid-range shots. I have terrible news for you. He's also shooting 46.2% in the restricted area.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Yeah, and if they're going to keep doing these reviews, I feel like all the refs need to be funny. They all need to be engaging. There's one ref that is willing to be funny.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Yeah, the most convincing anti argument or the argument against this I saw was that teams wouldn't start playing their stars less. They would continue playing them 30 plus minutes a game. And so it would just like shrink the number of role players that are actually consistently getting minutes in the league, which I do think is what would be true.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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I don't think teams would suddenly start playing like EuroLeague teams where, you know, like the best player might be getting like 26 minutes a game or something like that. That's not happening. No, no, no. There's no way. My favorite quote comes from the Coos, Kyle Kuzma. At the end of last week, he had a great game. They played the Suns.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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He scored a season-high 30 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists. Josh Robbins, friend of the show. They were asking Coos about his game, and he was saying that he made a conscious effort to be more assertive. One of the things he said was, I think today I just decided to be myself and not really just try to fit into everything that we're doing. And they were like, well, hold on a second.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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What are you talking about not fitting in? And his quote was, I mean, just not trying to fit into what we're trying to do here. Just being more assertive, demanding the ball, not just going out there and trying to let people develop. Just playing my game. I just thought that was a very funny quote. Anytime you engage in the practice of tanking, there's going to be some weird stuff that happens.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Even for a team like OKC, who mastered the art of the tank, only took them two years, they still lost a game by 73 points. There's always going to be some anomaly within there, some baggage from it. And I would say this is some baggage for the Wizards, the fact that one of their players is just saying, I'm just trying not to do what we're trying to do out here. I don't want to let people develop.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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I'm just playing my game. I wonder if he regrets not accepting that deal last year to go to the Mavs because it feels like his trade value is as low as it's been. I mean, he has not had a good season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Now, Fox has been with the Kings since he was drafted in 2017, made an all-star game in 2023, helped the Kings break their 16-year playoff drought. Fox has made it known that he wants to go to San Antonio to play with Victor Weminyama. But our own Sam Amick reported that the Kings have heard from over half the teams in the league about Fox's availability.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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In some respects, this was a showcase game for Kuzma, I guess, because it did remind you, okay, this guy still is able to do this, but it just doesn't feel like other teams are as interested in him as they might have been last trade deadline a year ago.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Yeah, you need guys definitely past their prime who know they're past their prime. Like Jonas Valanciunas. Yeah, that works. Okay, our favorite stat this week, Andrew, mine is about the Wizards. Let's just continue some Wizards talk. They've lost 16 in a row. I'm a big fan of streaks, losing or winning. So I'm very excited to see where this one goes.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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This means that they've now had two separate 15-game losing streaks in one season. And I wanted to find out how rare that was. So I went over to StatHead, did some clicking, and here's what I found. By my count, in NBA history, the Wizards are only the seventh team to have two 15-game losing streaks in a season. They've actually had three 15-game losing streaks in the last calendar year.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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That's pretty impressive.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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but not as impressive as the 92-93 and 93-94 Dallas Mavericks, who over the course of two consecutive seasons had four separate 15-game losing streaks. That's great. Very impressive. Now, I was going to go through some of these other teams, but I got completely sidetracked. as you will now hear.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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So the first team to do this, lose 15 games twice in a season, the pioneers of being ass, were the 1968 San Diego Rockets, who despite their 15-win season that year, had an all-star that season. And his name was Don Kogis, Donald R. Kogis. I hope I'm saying his last name correctly. Now, I found out several things about Mr. Kogis that I found entertaining.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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So first, Wilt Chamberlain once described Don as, quote, the most jumping white boy ever. That's a great quote. Wouldn't you love it if Wilt Chamberlain called you the most jumping white boy he's ever seen? I'd have that on my tombstone. In the 1966-67 season, Don is playing for the Bulls. Now, San Diego would be an expansion team the following season, the year that they would actually do this.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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And so there was going to be an expansion draft. Kojic's name was accidentally added to the list of unprotected Bulls players because the team's owner mistakenly added him to the list while he was drunk on a flight to New York for the draft. So that's how he ends up in San Diego during their inaugural season. Makes the All-Star game, though.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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He actually made two All-Star games in a row with San Diego. And then lastly, depending on which source you believe... Kojic is sometimes credited with introducing the alley-oop to basketball, a play that was originally called the Kangaroo Cram. That's what it used to be called, the Kangaroo Cram.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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How did we get away from the Kangaroo Cram? How did we? And the Cram, by the way, spelled with a K to go along with Kangaroo. So, yeah, that's my favorite stat this week. Also... Another favorite wizard stat for me is that if you go and look at the standings, you can do expanded standings, and you can look at the team's record in 10-point games.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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So games where the difference was at least 10 points. So for a team like Cleveland, they've had 32 of these games. They're 28-4. OKC's had 30 of these games. They're 29-1. Even the bad teams, like Utah Jazz, they've had 25 of these games. They're 5-20 in those games. The Pelicans have had 26 of those games. The Washington Wizards have had 38 of those games, and they are 2-36 in those games.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Now, another popular all-star snub was Trey Young, who was averaging close to 23 points per game, to go along with a league-leading 11.4 assists per game. Now, the Hawks were having a nice season, Andrew. They peaked at around 22-19. They were the sixth seed just a couple weeks ago. Similar to the Kings, however, there's more drama in Atlanta than just a snub.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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I mean, they've only played 47 games. 38 of the games have finished with a difference in double digits, and most of them are not favoring the Wizards. I mean, in comparison, the Hornets, who are terrible, 12-32, they've only played 19 of those games. They've doubled them. The Wizards have doubled them.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Since hitting that 22-19 mark, the Hawks have lost seven in a row, tumbling down to the ninth spot in the East. And to make matters worse, it was announced this week that Hawks forward Jalen Johnson has a torn labrum in his shoulder. He's going to miss the rest of the season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Yeah, I was on the Wizards subreddit, and they had the stat of Bilal's stats with and without Kuzma, and it really is a big difference. They've got to get rid of Kuzma.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Hey, Andrew, I just got a stat texted to me live, Andrew. Seriously? Okay, let's hear it. Who would you guess in the month of January, minimum 30 attempts, who has the top pull-up three-point field goal percentage?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Obviously, it's going to be someone crazy. Yeah, it's got to be somebody strange. It's got to be somebody strange. I don't know. Kyrie Irving? Shout out to Blake who sent this to me. It is none other than Scoot Henderson, 51.5% in the month of January.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Okay. Favorite player. Now, my favorite player this week. Another all-star snub, perhaps, depending on your opinion. Tyrese Maxey of the Philadelphia 76ers. Now, it's been a rough year for the Sixers and Maxey somewhat, who has struggled at times to carry the load for the Sixers team.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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He is averaging a career-high 27.1 points per game, but his three-point shooting, which has kind of been his calling card, down under 34% on the season. Yeah. But... He's steadily been getting better this season and is currently on an absolute heater. This week, in four games, Maxie averaged 33 points per game, shooting 53% from the field.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Johnson was having an awesome season, averaging close to 19-10-5, and was one of only six players in the league to average at least one three, one steal, and one block per game. Can you name the other five, listener? I will give you until the end of this sentence. Again, that is one steal, one block, and one three per game. The other five are...
The Athletic NBA Daily
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This was all part of a four-game winning streak for the Sixers. They saw them pick up some legitimately big wins. including their biggest win of the season, three-point win over the Cavs. In a game against the Lakers, Maxie had 43 points, two off his season high. Now, he's been asked to do a ton this season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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If you just look at his usage over the last four seasons, it's jumped from 20 to 23 to 27 to now 30%. And if you take out garbage time, that usage goes up even higher to 32%. And it felt like that was a little too much for him early in the season, but it's starting to feel like he's getting more comfortable in that role. He's been great in January.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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You know, it's been a mostly miserable season for anyone associated with this team, but there finally does seem to be like something for Sixers fans to cheer about. They still haven't passed the bulls. However, they are like tied with them in the standing. So I expect that the Sixers will move into that 10th spot sooner rather than later. Um,
The Athletic NBA Daily
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But yeah, Tyrese Maxey, I'm just glad to see him finally getting back to the Maxey that we know and love.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Yeah, I was looking at Harden's stats. You've got to give him credit for leading this Clippers team to a very respectable start without Kawhi Leonard. Very surprising start. I mean, they've basically been in the sixth spot for a while now. But at the same time, Andrew, shooting 39.9% for the field.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Shooting 45% on two-pointers. Turning the ball over on almost 20% of his possessions. It's brutal. I just think either Sabonis or Kyrie deserve that. Sabonis, if you look at Sabonis' on-off numbers, they're crazy. They're a plus 14.5 with Sabonis on the court. And it's not just their offense getting better. Their defense actually gets significantly better, too, when Sabonis is on the court.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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So yeah, I probably would have taken either of those guys over Harden, even acknowledging that what Harden has had to do this season is pretty tough. All right, favorite moment of the week. Mine came, it was a play, single play in Clippers-Bucks. You probably saw it if you saw any highlights. Kawhi had it out the three-point line. Derek Jones Jr. screened Giannis. Dame came up to guard Kawhi.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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And Kawhi just went behind his back so casually. Just left Dame completely behind. Then he drives. You're already like, oh, my gosh, what a move. He drives. Brooke Lopez is right there. He finishes an up and under, avoiding Brooke Lopez at the rim. Watching it live, I was blown away. It felt like it just came out of nowhere.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Victor Wiminyama, Shea Gilgis-Alexander, Jaron Jackson Jr., Draymond Green, and PJ Washington Jr. Wow. Wow. Wow. Another all-star snub was Grady Dick. I'm kidding, of course, but I needed an excuse to talk about the Red Hot Toronto Raptors. Now, we admittedly haven't talked much Raptors this season, and I'd argue for good reason. But this team decided it was time to start winning.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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I know that he's been getting better and better as he continues his comeback, but that was a genuine wow moment for me, just a realization that, man, Kawhi is still really good. He looked so good on that play, so smooth, so confident. It's just really exciting because if we can get a healthy Kawhi in the playoffs, what if we got a first-round series, probably an ugly series, but Clippers Rockets?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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wouldn't that be fun like harden going back against his old team the rockets first playoff having to face off against that clippers team just you know like a really nasty team i think that would be a disgusting series but maybe a really fun series and if we got a healthy kawaii that would be great
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Okay, Andrew, it is time for the Wheel of Fandom, the weekly segment where we spin a wheel. It lands on a team, and we become fans of that team for the next week or the next three weeks in this case because three weeks ago, the wheel landed on the Boston Celtics. And over that period, the Celtics have gone 6-5.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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They are now 33-15, still second in the East, but only a game up on the New York Knicks. According to Cleaning the Glass, the Celtics still have the third-ranked offense, sixth-ranked defense. Andrew, if our favorite team is the Celtics, who is our guest?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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And they've won their last five. They've won seven of their last eight, including a win over the Boston Celtics. This run has brought their record all the way up to... 15 and 32, so still pretty bad. But, you know, if you're worried about their draft pick, they'll probably be fine.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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If you forget about the slump for a second, when you think about when this team has been at their best this season, are there any areas where you think they could be better than last year's team come playoff time?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Now, unless Masai Ujiri decides to be a buyer at the deadline, and according to Mark Stein this week, the Raptors have emerged as a team to watch for Brandon Ingram.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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The Raptors aren't the only team on a five-game winning streak. Joining them are the New York Knicks, who got two big home wins this week. The first, a 143-106 blowout win over the Memphis Grizzlies, which they followed up with a 10-point win over the Denver Nuggets. After the Celtics' recent swoon, the Knicks are now only a game back of the Celtics for second in the East.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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thank you for the plug yes the native plug um okay looking ahead to the playoffs knowing that Boston probably won't enter these playoffs as quite the overwhelming favorite that they were last season are there any potential first round matchups that you think might worry Celtics fans I mean I'm looking at like Pacers Heat and Magic like how would you rank those potential matchups uh
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Well, Jay, thank you for answering all our questions about the Celtics, but it is now time to play Andrew vs. the Bait, our weekly trivia show where Andrew goes head-to-head against an NBA beat writer. This week it's Jay King for the Celtics. So I've come up with eight... Celtics questions. Jay, you're going to give me a number between 1 and 8. It will correspond to a question.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Another team on a five-game winning streak is the mercurial Minnesota Timberwolves. It seems like every time we start rehashing the Julius Randall trade, how bad it was, how the Wolves blew it. They win some games and shut us up for a while. In that five-game streak, the Wolves dominated the Nuggets, 133-104.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Some are easy, some are hard. If you get it right, you'll get at least two points. If you get it wrong, Andrew will have a chance to steal for one. And we'll go back and forth until all the questions have been asked and answered. So to start us off, Jay, I just need a number between 1 and 8.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Question number four. Sam Houser takes 85.5% of his shots from three. Among players who have played at least 25 games, only three players in the NBA have taken a larger percentage of their shots from three. How many can you name? You get one point per correct answer. You could get three points here. Wow.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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And during the game, Anthony Edwards, who is 23, set the franchise record for most made threes.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Wow. Jay, one more. You're doing great. You're making this long answer worth it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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I need to go three for three. He's like whittling this down. This is amazing. I will say, I do not think you will go three for three.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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I mean, Cat hit a lot. I mean, that's shooting big in the history of the game. I know. It's just bizarre. The Wolves are now only a half game back of the Clippers for the sixth spot. And finally this week, things may be getting scarier for Scary Terry. Just a year after the Heat traded a first round pick for him, he's averaging only 12 points per game, shooting 29% from three.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Phoenix bum. That is incorrect. The Phoenix bums. Shout out to Ryan Dunn, the Phoenix bum. Andrew.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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I can tell you right now.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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He's only at 52%. Andrew, do you have any guesses for the final name? You've had a lot of time to think.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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I don't know. Okay, that is also incorrect. The random guy plays for the Orlando Magic. It's Caleb Houston.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Andrew, the top story this week is I'm sick, so if my voice sounds weird, I apologize. The top story in the NBA this week was the announcement of the All-Star Reserves. In the East, we got Jalen Brown, Pascal Siakam, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, Kate Cunningham, Damian Lillard, and Tyler Hero.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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I could look it up right now.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Well, you know what's funny? If you go on Basketball Reference, they have your number of dunks, but they also have the percentage of your field goal attempts that are dunks. And in his rookie season, it was .005, which means that he missed a dunk as a rookie, and maybe that scared him off. And it's been zero ever since. Wow. Andrew, the board is yours. You're already down by two in this scam.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Number one. Okay, this is a very special question because this is the first ever Slam & Jam listener-submitted question. This question comes from listener Nicholas Boonstra, who emailed me this question. Jason Tatum, averaging a career-high nine rebounds per game. Who was the last Celtic to average double-digit rebounds in a season?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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And as a bonus, you can get a bonus point if you can name the season that they did it. Oh, my gosh.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Because maybe you don't know Nicholas's game. Maybe he's, he's fooling you. Maybe it was very recent.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Andrew, that is incorrect, which means Jay, you can steal.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Things are bad on the court, but they look worse off the court because this week we found out that federal prosecutors have opened an investigation into whether Rozier manipulated his performance during a 2023 game as part of an illegal sports betting scheme.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Maybe we'll change the name of the game to that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Kevin Garnett? That is... Also incorrect. It was Al Jefferson.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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That's what I was about to say. It was Al Jefferson. Al Jefferson. 06-07 season. Wow. Now, of course, I didn't double check this. I probably should have. How close did KG get? Let's see. Let's see. Kevin Garnett.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Yeah, you would think in that first season. Yeah, he averaged 9.2 in the first season in Boston.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Okay, Jay, the board is yours.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Question number five. Jason Tatum is averaging nearly 27 points, nine rebounds, and five and a half assists per game among active players who has had the most 27, nine, and five seasons in their career where they averaged at least those marks. 27, nine, and five. Active player.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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The gambling ring that is being investigated for abnormal betting is the same group that was involved in the Jonte Porter scandal that led to his permanent dismissal from the NBA. Ooh, boy. And those were the top stories this week, Andrew.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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That is incorrect. Andrew, you have a chance to steal.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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That seems like the most logical answer. It's not Andrew. That's also wrong.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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He didn't even get the top two. Jokic was two. And number one, Giannis.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Of course it's Giannis. Of course it's Giannis.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Why would you say that?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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It's a lot, actually.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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It was like seven or eight. It was like a lot. For Giannis? For Giannis, yeah. How many times has Jokic done it?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Jokic has done it twice. He's doing it currently. Oh, okay. And then he did it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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I think you guys are actually cheating select right now. Russ did it once. He did it his MVP season, and that's it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Yeah. That kind of blows my mind. He either didn't have the points or he didn't have the rebounds.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Number two. I wish you hadn't chosen this one, Andrew. Is that okay? Thank you. Because the answer changed. That was dumb. Okay, I know it. I'm going to change this question a little bit. Okay, this year's Celtics team isn't as good as last year's team, but they do rank higher than last year's team in a couple categories. Which category are they significantly better than last year's team in?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Okay, so it's either half-court offense, transition offense, half-court defense, or transition defense. Which of those categories are they better than last year's team to the greatest extent? Because they're actually better than two things.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Probably half court defense. I think that's the only one you haven't said. Yeah, the defensive side.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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So they are slightly better in half-court defense, but it's actually transition defense.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Where they're giving up almost four fewer points per 100 possessions compared to... Wow.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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No, that's back to Jay. Jay, back to you. We're going seven here. Question number seven. Oh, this is a great one. How many career dunks, we were talking about dunks earlier, does Sam Houser have? And you get to choose who answers first. So you can make Andrew answer first, and then you go higher or lower. Or you can answer first. Go higher or lower. Okay, so I go first.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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I don't know. Okay, Andrew has set the over-under at 15. Jay, would you like to go higher or lower than that? That's a pretty good guess, but I'm going under. Andrew, you are within two dunks. You got to be kidding me. And the correct answer is 13, which means Jay gets the points. He's now up four to zero on Andrew. This is embarrassing. This is embarrassing. Andrew, you have control of the board.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Three questions left. Three. Three. Among Celtics players that have played at least 500 minutes, which is 10 players on the roster, so a decent number, guys. Okay. The Celtics hold opponents to 5.1 fewer points per 100 possessions when he is on the court, the best mark of the team. Who is that player? Derek White? No, Andrew. Jay, do you got a guess?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Jay, that is correct. Wow. Jay is now up five to zero. Putting it on Andrew. This is embarrassing. There's still two questions to go. Jay, you could make it even worse. Let's go eight. This will be a fun one. Thank God Jason Tatum got a triple-double this season because otherwise the Celtics would be one of 12 loser teams that haven't recorded a single triple-double this season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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We're going to name all 12 of those loser teams. So how this works is Jay, you'll give an answer. Then Andrew will give an answer. We'll go back and forth. Am I allowed to bring up the standings again? Sure. So these are teams that have not recorded a single triple-double This season. Hopefully there wasn't one last night because I actually didn't check. But... Uh-oh. Uh-oh. Uh-oh.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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There's just no way. Wizards. We're going Wizards. That's a great guess. That is correct. No Wizard has done it. New Orleans? The New Orleans Pelicans. Andrew, they are not on the list, which means somebody did it. Sorry. Sorry, Andrew. I'm having a bad day. So, Jay, you get the points. You guys want to throw out some other teams? Could you have rattled off more, Jay?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Golden State's correct. Atlanta? Atlanta? No, Andrew. I'm sure Jalen Johnson did it. Oh, Jalen Johnson. That's right. Raptors? Raptors? No. Scotty Barnes, maybe? Scotty. I'm really bad at this one. I need to stop talking. They don't have one? They do. I don't know who it was. I don't know who it was. It could have been anyone. Maybe it was Duncan Robinson. The other teams. Help us. Charlotte.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Charlotte's actually surprising because... Charlotte? That's one that... That is really surprising. Cleveland, Indiana, Minnesota, OKC, Orlando, Phoenix, and Portland. Yeah, I didn't think that Shea had done it, but I questioned myself. But you didn't know.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Yeah, what in the world? Andrew, you're down 7-0. But you do have a chance to score two points, so you could end this game 7-2 if you can get this last question correct. Okay. This is Al Horford's 18th season in the NBA. The last time a player with 18 years of NBA experience played for the Celtics, he only played a couple minutes. Who was it?
The Athletic NBA Daily
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I'll just say P.J. Brown, but whatever. Andrew, that is incorrect. Jay, what is the answer? Joe Johnson. Joe Johnson played two minutes in his 18th season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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I love these details. Wow. Wow. I can't believe you don't remember that, Andrew. Listen to how special that was.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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All right, Andrew, that was Celtics week. Three weeks of the Celtics. This next team, they're only going to be getting one week, Andrew, okay? We're not just giving out three weeks to everyone. Okay, here we go. Next week's Wheel of Phantom team. We're going to spin a wheel. It'll land on team. And we'll become fans of this team next week. And that team will be the...
The Athletic NBA Daily
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It almost landed on the Pelicans, which we've already done, and I just forgot to take off. So that would have been so embarrassing.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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And we would have had to do it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Real quick, real quick. The schedule this week for the Rockets. Yes, two games against the Nets. Okay. But the other two games at the Knicks and at the Wolves. Great games.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Yeah, I was surprised, Andrew, that you didn't bring up that Bradley Beal is on this list at a plus 10,000. Why did you not mention that? Do you want that? You want those odds for Bradley Beal? No, I mean, I think the only other interesting one is Amin Thompson, just because you can feel a momentum building with just people talking about him in general.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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And I think there will be a desire to reward that in some way. Yeah. You know...
The Athletic NBA Daily
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i don't we both don't really like most improved player for a second year yeah um so this might be the one although he's starting but he's not he's gonna start though he has to start the rest of the season you know that's the thing like he's played he's played 44 games he started 17 so he's already close to like tipping those scales towards starter minutes so
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Now, that is three All-Stars for the Cleveland Cavaliers, which is the fourth time in franchise history that they've had three All-Stars in the same season. Now, in the West, we've got Anthony Edwards, Anthony Davis, James Harden, Jaron Jackson Jr., Alperin Shingun, and Jalen Williams, a.k.a. J-Dub.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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So, uh, we do have a few updates before we get to our favorites of the week. The first is our first time all-stars update. Now, if you remember, uh, we do this every off season. We try to predict, uh, Who are going to be the first-time All-Stars? Because even though this stat sounds crazy, on average, there are 6.11 first-time All-Stars each season. And this year was no different.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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There were eight. I almost said 18. There were six. There were six. I don't know why I almost just said 18. Oh, I know why. Because Victor Wemenyama, he's the 18th second-year player to do it. Okay. That's why I almost said 18. Okay. Victor Wemenyama, Evan Mobley, Kate Cunningham, Alperin Shingun, J-Dub, and Tyler Hero. So let's take a look back, Andrew, at who we selected.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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We each drafted five guys in the offseason. You went with J-Dub. Great job, Andrew. McHale Bridges, nope. Chet probably would have been right if he hadn't gotten injured. Jamal Murray, nope. And Brandon Miller, nope. Although he was having a really good season until he left. He left us with an injury. And same with me, my first pick, Jalen Johnson, having a pretty good season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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I don't think he would have made it. I mean, he didn't make it because he just got injured. He didn't make it, but he was having a really good season. I did take, though, Alperin Shingun and Kate Cunningham. So I got both of those. And then Derek White, Kobe White. Nope. No on those.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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I think looking back, the fact that neither of us took Franz Wagner, who he didn't make the All-Star game, but if he had been healthy, obviously would have made the All-Star game. Yeah, no question. That was bad on us. I don't think I would have ever guessed Tyler Hero. I mean, that final spot where I took Kobe White, that would have been a great place to take Tyler Hero.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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I wasn't even thinking of Tyler Hero, to be honest with you. And then Evan Mobley, that would have made sense. I think we were a little let down by Evan Mobley last year. It scared us off, but that would have been a good pick as well.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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Yeah, for sure. Another update, a surprise team update. Now, Andrew, a few weeks ago, I got a DM from a listener named Zach McCartney. Now, Zach has created a surprise team tracker. Shout out.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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This is James Harden's first All-Star appearance since 2022, his 11th overall, which ties him with Steph Curry for fourth most among active players. Wow. of the All-Star Reserves always brings with it cries of snubbery. And this year was no different.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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surprise team tracker website now if you're watching on youtube i'm going to bring this up on the screen so you can check it out so if you're a new listener before every season we try to predict who the surprise team will be and what that means is that it's a team with an over under below 36 who wins at least 10 more games than their over under and zach has built a beautiful website where at any moment during the season cool
The Athletic NBA Daily
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you can go and see what each team's status is. So, for instance, right now, the only team that is currently on pace to be a surprise team is the Detroit Pistons, who are five games ahead of the pace needed. They're plus five, meaning they're currently on pace to win 15 more games than they're over under. Now, Andrew, your selection, the Atlanta Hawks, they are currently nine wins off the pace.
The Athletic NBA Daily
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It did. And my Raptors, even with this recent run, they are 15 wins off the pace. So bad job by us. But who knows? Maybe the Raptors will never lose another game. And look at this. Portland. Portland right now is only one game off. Isn't that weird? They would need to be a surprise team. I don't think we really took them that serious in the beginning. I feel like we talked about Detroit.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Celtics Still Favorites? + SNUBS and Lineups | Slam N Jam
We thought about it, but we probably should have thought a little bit harder. And the other cool thing is you can click on a team. And it will show you where they've been relative to being a surprise team over the course of the season. It also tells you, for instance, that the Raptors might pick only need to go 26-9 to be a surprise team. Isn't that nice?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Celtics Still Favorites? + SNUBS and Lineups | Slam N Jam
They could do that, Andrew, if they keep this up. It's a really awesome site, and I'm honored that Zach would make this for us. So if you'd like to check it out, I've made a tiny URL so that you can access it very easily. Just type in tinyurl.com backslash surprise team. That's it, tinyurl.com backslash surprise team, and you can go check it out too. It's very cool. Thank you, Zach.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Celtics Still Favorites? + SNUBS and Lineups | Slam N Jam
One of the biggest snubs was King center Damanis Sabonis, who is averaging 21 points per game with 14 and a half rebounds and six and a half assists. He's been a big part of Sacramento's turnaround this season, bringing them back from the depths of despair and firmly into the play and race.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Celtics Still Favorites? + SNUBS and Lineups | Slam N Jam
Unfortunately, anytime something good happens to the Kings, anytime there's a whiff of good vibes, the universe must unleash all hell on Kings fans. And this week that came in the form of a report from multiple reporters saying that the Kings were listening to trade offers for guard De'Aaron Fox.