Dave DuFour
Appearances
The Athletic NBA Daily
Haliburton’s game winner finishes Bucks + Is Playoff Jamal Murray back?
Denver Nuggets took a 3-2 series lead, and we're heading back to Into a Dome for Game 6. Here to talk about it, Law Murray. Law, I want to give you some credit right off the bat. The other night after Game 4, you and I, we talked about Game 5, Game 6, and Game 7 in this series, which you think is going to go 7. You told me exactly what was going to happen.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Haliburton’s game winner finishes Bucks + Is Playoff Jamal Murray back?
You said, we have not gotten a Jamal Murray game yet. And I think it's coming in game five. And, hey, we got the best Jamal Murray playoff performance since the bubble. That's right.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Haliburton’s game winner finishes Bucks + Is Playoff Jamal Murray back?
Yeah, they missed him in that fourth quarter. You know, when the Clippers made the comeback in game four, they missed Russ. I mean, yes, they missed Russ because they just missed anyone off the bench. But Russ brings energy to these guys, especially in fourth quarters. I mean, he just never gets tired no matter what. And, you know, it's.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Haliburton’s game winner finishes Bucks + Is Playoff Jamal Murray back?
The Russ story is he's going to give you an amazing play that's positive and an amazing play that maybe is negative, and you hope that the positive plays went out, and it did for him in game five. Let's swing to the Clippers side of this. James Harden, not a great game, only 11 points, only gets up nine shots.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Haliburton’s game winner finishes Bucks + Is Playoff Jamal Murray back?
He had that brilliant first half in game three and then kind of has been a little silent since then. I know part of that is they wanted to coast a little bit in the second half and slow things down in game three. But game four, not a lot from Harden. And this one, what does he need to do to bounce back against the Nuggets? Or has Christian Brown kind of figured out how to guard him?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Haliburton’s game winner finishes Bucks + Is Playoff Jamal Murray back?
I think so.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Haliburton’s game winner finishes Bucks + Is Playoff Jamal Murray back?
It's called being professional. You know what I mean? You got to choose your spots. It's a business.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Haliburton’s game winner finishes Bucks + Is Playoff Jamal Murray back?
There you go. All right. We're going to get you out of here. Go to bed. That's going to do it for the show, folks. For Lawbury, thanks for staying up late. For Zena Kata, I'm Dave DeFleur, and this has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us. Now go to bed, Law.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Haliburton’s game winner finishes Bucks + Is Playoff Jamal Murray back?
The Bucs did a pretty good job of, you know, like, I don't know if you're into boxing, Zena, but like when you get tired, right, you can use your jab to keep a guy off you. Right. And that's what the Bucs did down the stretch. They weren't able to, you know, to to build a bigger lead.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Haliburton’s game winner finishes Bucks + Is Playoff Jamal Murray back?
And the Pacers just felt like for the first three and a half quarters, like their offense, just, you know, they weren't making shots. They just weren't doing the things that we're used to them doing. And then we get to overtime. And Gary Trent Jr. goes off.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Haliburton’s game winner finishes Bucks + Is Playoff Jamal Murray back?
By the way, the reason that you even get an overtime out of this game for the Bucs is because Gary Trent, after starting 0 of 7, just didn't miss. And he was lights out in overtime. If it wasn't for the efforts of Aaron Neesmith,
The Athletic NBA Daily
Haliburton’s game winner finishes Bucks + Is Playoff Jamal Murray back?
between hitting a big three, converting on a big layup, getting a big, I mean, offensive rebounds from Aaron Smith, then the Pacers would not have been in a position where Tyrese Halliburton could just dribble past Giannis Antetokounmpo in a way that, you know, you just don't usually see a blow-by on Giannis like that. You know, Halliburton gets the game winner on a dunk, and it's just...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Haliburton’s game winner finishes Bucks + Is Playoff Jamal Murray back?
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily. Coming up, we had some eliminations in the playoffs. Bucks Pacers is electric and we've got Law Murray here to talk about the Nuggets beating the Clippers. Good morning, everybody. Good morning, Zena. How are you?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Haliburton’s game winner finishes Bucks + Is Playoff Jamal Murray back?
You don't expect to see a team lose on that sort of play, but the end of this game was just, as you mentioned, the Bucs were beat. The Pacers had a little bit of juice behind their legs, and they were waltzing to the basket on these guys.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Haliburton’s game winner finishes Bucks + Is Playoff Jamal Murray back?
I've been talking to him for years at this point. Years, years. I was going to say, exactly. Right. This is a series that has some genuine beef going on. It was on the court. I give Tyrus Halliburton a lot of credit. When Dame got hurt, he came out and he said a lot of nice things about Dame. After the game... Giannis gets into it with Tyrese Halliburton's dad.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Haliburton’s game winner finishes Bucks + Is Playoff Jamal Murray back?
And Zena, I'm now at the point where I'm OK with if we just want to ban NBA dads from courtside. I think I'm OK with it. Right. Like, I'm sorry. Like, you know, shout out to Giannis, who is a massive, giant human being for showing so much restraint when this much smaller human being.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Haliburton’s game winner finishes Bucks + Is Playoff Jamal Murray back?
and older got into his face um you know maybe a little reality check for uh for mr halliburton is is overdue um and the honest after the game you know he talked about xena he talked about just uh being humble in victory which okay yeah um you know you are the champ and and i would say that yannis was pretty humble when he won the title um what'd you think about that that incident oh
The Athletic NBA Daily
Haliburton’s game winner finishes Bucks + Is Playoff Jamal Murray back?
I'm great. Welcome back. Congratulations again. Appreciate it. Again, we're just going to keep that vague here on the podcast. You can find that out there on social media. Hey, pretty interesting night of basketball we had last night. The Pacers and Bucks, we've watched this series sort of bubble up. It boiled over after the finish.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Haliburton’s game winner finishes Bucks + Is Playoff Jamal Murray back?
Yeah, the Celtics also eliminated the Magic. You know, this one, this was a series that, you know, again, another physical series. It was the way that Orlando, you know, the one win that they got, the way they stayed in this series. A bit of a weird one, like the Celtics didn't take a lot of threes in the first half and didn't make a three in the first half.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Haliburton’s game winner finishes Bucks + Is Playoff Jamal Murray back?
And we don't see that very often out of them. They also have gotten through this series. We're going to say... A little bit banged up. You know, Drew Holiday was out for the last few games. Obviously, Jason Tatum suffering that wrist injury. Although, you know, since he hurt his wrist and came back, he averaged 36 points, 10 rebounds and five and a half assists.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Haliburton’s game winner finishes Bucks + Is Playoff Jamal Murray back?
So including like taking over this game. So. You know, I mean, how are you feeling about the Celtics? Luckily, there's no drama after this game, right? Like, so we can just talk about the basketball stuff. But how are you feeling about the Celtics after the first round? Again, they survive. They win in five games. They survive a little bit because of the injuries.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Haliburton’s game winner finishes Bucks + Is Playoff Jamal Murray back?
But how do you feel like they look?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Haliburton’s game winner finishes Bucks + Is Playoff Jamal Murray back?
They've got the luxury of having seven starters. Peyton Pritchard started the second half of last night's game. They felt like they needed a little bit more offensive juice. He started the second half. They've got options. Again, I still feel like the Celtics, a lot of people should be
The Athletic NBA Daily
Haliburton’s game winner finishes Bucks + Is Playoff Jamal Murray back?
Seeing them as the favorites, you know, again, they've been there before and they they just they have that defense that they can fall back on. We should talk briefly about the Knicks because the Knicks were not able to close it out at MSG. Our Pistons somehow survive. Kate Cunningham with another nice game. Twenty four points, eight assists, eight rebounds. Asar Thompson, 22 points.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Haliburton’s game winner finishes Bucks + Is Playoff Jamal Murray back?
But before we get to the fallout on the court, let's talk about this game a little bit because In contrast to the way that the Miami Heat were eliminated, Zena, the Milwaukee Bucks, they showed some Bucks culture. They came out, and I thought they took some really good swings. Obviously, they built a really huge lead to start this game, and it fell apart.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Haliburton’s game winner finishes Bucks + Is Playoff Jamal Murray back?
Just he makes like an incredible athletic play just about every game. He had an insane block in the game last night. How do you feel about the Pistons and Knicks last night?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Haliburton’s game winner finishes Bucks + Is Playoff Jamal Murray back?
It's great. And then, you know, they hold Carl Anthony Towns to 17. Again, this is Tobias Harris gets into foul trouble in game four, and that game changes. Because when Carl Anthony Towns sees Jalen Dern out there, it's like his eyes go just extra huge and the basket looks like the ocean.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Haliburton’s game winner finishes Bucks + Is Playoff Jamal Murray back?
emotion right like he doesn't miss when Jalen Duren's on him but Tobias Harris gets under his skin he keeps you know he fights him out of the paint and and he's fast enough to stay in front of him um yeah huge to buy his Harris game you know I I've been getting text messages all yeah I'm apparently the only Tobias Harris guy he replaced Danny Green for me uh but the truth is I mean this is another guy 17 points you know um yep if he's not out 43 minutes
The Athletic NBA Daily
Haliburton’s game winner finishes Bucks + Is Playoff Jamal Murray back?
Yeah, that's big.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Haliburton’s game winner finishes Bucks + Is Playoff Jamal Murray back?
The Knicks have become an easier team to guard for the Pistons because they're not really playing together. There's not a lot of offensive cohesion or movement. That's a great point. Get your shot. I'll get mine. And whatever happens on the periphery happens. But you didn't have a single 20-point score for the Knicks. If they're shutting the water off for Jalen Brunson and for Carl Anthony Towns,
The Athletic NBA Daily
Haliburton’s game winner finishes Bucks + Is Playoff Jamal Murray back?
either OG or Mikael Bridges has to step up and become the primary option. Neither one of those guys have shown that they can do that when Brunson's available. You know, this run that OG went on to end the season, Brunson wasn't out there. I mean, you know, are you nervous at all going into Detroit? You know, the hot and ready slices are going to be out there, Zena.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Haliburton’s game winner finishes Bucks + Is Playoff Jamal Murray back?
because they just don't have the talent to match up with the Pacers. Before we get to the finish of this, Zena, Doc Rivers makes a lineup change. Brooke Lopez comes off the bench. I thought that this was a good move is maybe one that was made a little bit too late.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Haliburton’s game winner finishes Bucks + Is Playoff Jamal Murray back?
You know, they were throwing food the other day. Are you nervous for the Knicks?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Haliburton’s game winner finishes Bucks + Is Playoff Jamal Murray back?
energy on their shoulder just enough of a chip on their shoulder to force a game seven so yeah i am a little nervous for the next this series has been a lot closer than than i think anybody expected going into it because the talent advantage is on the next side i don't know um we're going to be looking forward to game six that's going to be in a couple days guys stick around after the break we got law murray here to talk about jamal murray's big game
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kings open to De’Aaron Fox trade | Maxey’s 43 rocks Lakers
Yeah, we're excited here. We actually have included an excerpt of the episode at the end of this one. If you guys like it, go and check out the Athletic Women's Basketball Show, wherever you listen to podcasts. Give the full episode a listen. You know, it's not very often that we get a chance to do this sort of narrative stuff on a podcast. And, you know, the athletic is built on narrative.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kings open to De’Aaron Fox trade | Maxey’s 43 rocks Lakers
Well, let me ask you about that. What what caused it? What caused the speed up? I mean, you know, we probably started talking about De'Aaron Fox as a potential, you know, hey, please trade me guy in the preseason because it just you know, we know how these contracts work. But what sped it up to get it done before the deadline instead of kicking the can to the summer?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kings open to De’Aaron Fox trade | Maxey’s 43 rocks Lakers
Everybody needs one. I mean, Nikola Jokic right now is the best player in the world. Look, the Nuggets didn't start looking good until Jamal Murray played himself into shape. And I think that, you know, if somehow De'Aaron Fox winds up in San Antonio, that's about as perfect a match as you can get.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kings open to De’Aaron Fox trade | Maxey’s 43 rocks Lakers
So please go and check that out over at the Athletic Women's Basketball Show. Zena, we've got some... New trade deadline news. It's not even slop because it's coming from Sam Amick, guys. Sam Amick is reporting that the Sacramento Kings have opened up trade talks for De'Aaron Fox.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kings open to De’Aaron Fox trade | Maxey’s 43 rocks Lakers
Before we get out of here, I want to ask you because we're hitting the midseason mark and you cover so much of the league and you've kind of been in the midst of. Yeah, I would say a lot of the narratives, you know, have gone through the places that you're passing through every day.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kings open to De’Aaron Fox trade | Maxey’s 43 rocks Lakers
So what is like a big picture thought or takeaway that you have from the first half of the season outside of, you know, hey, it's super competitive and there's parity?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kings open to De’Aaron Fox trade | Maxey’s 43 rocks Lakers
Yeah, you sound like Zeta in our group chat when she was watching the same game. Man, but you gotta go back and watch the Rockets Hawks fourth quarter. It was good basketball. That's going to do it for today's show, folks. Thank you, Anthony Slater, for staying up late and joining us. Thank you, Zena Keita. As always, I'm Dave DeFore, and this has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kings open to De’Aaron Fox trade | Maxey’s 43 rocks Lakers
Sam is also reporting that De'Aaron Fox's preferred destination would be the San Antonio Spurs to pair up with Victor Wimminyaba. And I also, I mean, listen, I would like to hang out with Megan Thee Stallion. I have dreams too. De'Aaron Fox would probably have a great career if he got to play with Victor Wiminyama for the next 10 years. I love it for him.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kings open to De’Aaron Fox trade | Maxey’s 43 rocks Lakers
Zena, what do you think about De'Aaron Fox?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kings open to De’Aaron Fox trade | Maxey’s 43 rocks Lakers
Yeah, I mean, it's more about, I would say, with De'Aaron Fox, he just doesn't want to be in Sacramento. And if you're the Sacramento Kings, you're looking at that and you're saying, okay, well, we could hang on to him. Maybe we make a trade in the offseason. But you can maximize the value by moving now because he gets to make a playoff push with whatever team picks him up.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kings open to De’Aaron Fox trade | Maxey’s 43 rocks Lakers
And he's currently, in my estimation, the most valuable player available on the trade market that anyone can get because this guy is ready to compete now. If the Spurs get him, you've got great prospects.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kings open to De’Aaron Fox trade | Maxey’s 43 rocks Lakers
point of attack defense with him uh you mentioned steven castle if he you know depending on who they have to send out in a trade but with wendy and darren fox you've got two pieces of what i think is a playoff team next year instantly whether they make a march this year or not but i think that's a playoff team next year for sure and then you start saying well depending on what the pieces they keep around them and with the growth that they've had i don't know it's gonna get really exciting really fast in san antonio if they pull this off we're gonna talk to anthony slater
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kings open to De’Aaron Fox trade | Maxey’s 43 rocks Lakers
After the break, because, of course, he covers the Sacramento Kings along with the Warriors and the rest of the league. And he's got more info on De'Aaron Fox. So we're going to save it for after the break. Zeno, we got to talk about our Rockets because back to back and it didn't matter. We watched this game together and we were talking.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kings open to De’Aaron Fox trade | Maxey’s 43 rocks Lakers
We were like, man, the Rockets just look kind of tired tonight. You know, Trey Young's out there. They were running on him. But man, the Rockets, they gave us another one of these crazy fourth quarters. They built up a really nice lead and then they let Atlanta get back into it. And it's close at the end.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kings open to De’Aaron Fox trade | Maxey’s 43 rocks Lakers
Before we get started, I heard, Zena, that you guys have something kind of amazing happening over on the Athletic Women's Basketball Show, which, of course, you're one of the hosts of, which I don't think we say enough. What is actually going on on the show this week?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kings open to De’Aaron Fox trade | Maxey’s 43 rocks Lakers
But finally, a men Thompson actually once again finishes the game off with an assist to Alper and Shingun breaking the Atlanta Hawks press to to finally put the game away. But how about these Rockets?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kings open to De’Aaron Fox trade | Maxey’s 43 rocks Lakers
Houston's good. That game that they're going to play on Thursday night against the Grizzlies. And we're going to have Kelly Eco after that game. We have to. That game is crucial. They're about to maybe sweep the Grizzlies. Now, I think that they could have Memphis's number. I mean, when you think about, again, it's another team.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kings open to De’Aaron Fox trade | Maxey’s 43 rocks Lakers
They've got a lot of size and length on the wings that they can throw at John Morant and Desmond Bain. It really bothers those guys. And so. You know, this matchup on Thursday, I think, is fascinating. But the Rockets have really, like you said, they've submitted themselves as the second best team.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kings open to De’Aaron Fox trade | Maxey’s 43 rocks Lakers
And we've got news from our own Kelly Eco that they are not going to be involved in the De'Aaron Fox sweepstakes at all. They like this team. They want to see where it can go on its own. And don't forget, they got Reed Shepard, you know, not playing on this team. In the G League.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kings open to De’Aaron Fox trade | Maxey’s 43 rocks Lakers
Quickly, before we go to break, the Lakers had what can only be called an embarrassing loss. It's second night of a back-to-back. But in my opinion, Zena, this is the second night of a back-to-back where the Lakers showed pretty low effort. I mean, they had the Charlotte game that should have just been a blowout. This should have been a blowout against the Sixers.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kings open to De’Aaron Fox trade | Maxey’s 43 rocks Lakers
You know, only Tyrese Maxey out there really for the Sixers. Well, Maxey puts up 43, has a huge game. AD gets hurt, doesn't come back, and all of a sudden the Lakers drop one that they should have won.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kings open to De’Aaron Fox trade | Maxey’s 43 rocks Lakers
Another team that's supposed to be bad that beat another team that's supposed to be good. The Blazers. How about those Blazers? Chauncey Billups deserves some credit. He called those guys. He said, don't be losers when they lost three games in a row a couple months ago. And you know what? They are not losers. Denny Avdia continues. to have an excellent season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kings open to De’Aaron Fox trade | Maxey’s 43 rocks Lakers
He follows up that game against OKC the other night where he had 28-8-8, scores 30. Zena, he's shooting the ball with confidence. He's tying the offense together. He's defending the rim. Denny Advia, I mean, he's been good, but, I mean, this is kind of a different level from him.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kings open to De’Aaron Fox trade | Maxey’s 43 rocks Lakers
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily for January 29th, 2025. Coming up, De'Aaron Fox is on the trade block. The Rockets survive yet another crazy fourth quarter. And we got Anthony Slater to break down the latest on De'Aaron Fox and talk about the Warriors options at the trade deadline. Good morning, everybody. Good morning, Zena.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kings open to De’Aaron Fox trade | Maxey’s 43 rocks Lakers
He was going at Dame, too.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kings open to De’Aaron Fox trade | Maxey’s 43 rocks Lakers
They got a lot of guys.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kings open to De’Aaron Fox trade | Maxey’s 43 rocks Lakers
They got a lot of guys and they're doing some stuff. Guys, stick around after the break. We got Anthony Slater to talk about the latest on DRM Fox. And what are the Warriors going to do with the deadline, Zena? Great question. We're just over a week away from the NBA trade deadline, and the Warriors win a game last night to bring themselves to 500 without Steph Curry and Draymond Green.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kings open to De’Aaron Fox trade | Maxey’s 43 rocks Lakers
So we needed to get Anthony Slater in here to kind of give us a preview of what the Warriors may or may not do at the deadline. Anthony, I hope you're doing well. What can you give us, man? The Warriors clearly need help. They need some more good players, preferably one really good one. They need a number two.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kings open to De’Aaron Fox trade | Maxey’s 43 rocks Lakers
are you breaking that right here they're sure they're interested if yannis were to become available sources tell me they would be interested yes all right so who i mean who is on their radar that that you know of that that actually makes sense i mean yannis of course makes sense but i don't think it's realistic so is it just jimmy butler or bust for them no um and you know they've been like
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
At PwC, we build for what's next. So you can get there now. So you can protect what you built. So you can create new value. PwC. So you can. PwC refers to the PwC network and or one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
At PwC, we build for what's next. So you can get there now. So you can protect what you built. So you can create new value. PwC. So you can. PwC refers to the PwC network and or one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka and the Lakers get physical | Are the Bucks finished?
I'm happy you talked about the taking home because I saw Julius Randle clapping it up as he walked out of the arena. So it feels as if Minnesota was pretty satisfied with the way they at least they ended the game on a fight and the fact that they now get to go home and bring this fight to their territory.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka and the Lakers get physical | Are the Bucks finished?
Like what what were the vibes in terms of what the Timberwolves are expecting as they transition back to their home court?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka and the Lakers get physical | Are the Bucks finished?
They played all the way to the end. Chet Holmgren, Shea Gill, just like they were all in the game to the final buzzer. And it just shows you just how hungry this team is. And I think that that's a stat. That's an analytical aspect that you can't quantify is just how much they want it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka and the Lakers get physical | Are the Bucks finished?
And so if there's anything to add on top of OKC and what you've already seen all season, they're just on a different level of connected and hungry.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka and the Lakers get physical | Are the Bucks finished?
Back on the defensive side of things, I was pretty impressed with the fact that Minnesota was pretty handicapped with a lot of players being in foul trouble very early in this game. I think Nas Reed got his fourth foul in the first half. But is that something that...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka and the Lakers get physical | Are the Bucks finished?
Chris Finch is at all concerned about the way that his team plays with the physicality it requires to go up against the Lakers, that it could end up backfiring if some of his biggest defenders and best defenders like going to kill Alexander Walker or Nas Reed or Dante DiVincenzo, for example, end up in foul trouble.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka and the Lakers get physical | Are the Bucks finished?
Unreal defense coming out of also really fast offense. I mean, they just looked super young, athletic, amazing.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka and the Lakers get physical | Are the Bucks finished?
more awake like they everything they felt as if they had magnets in their hands to the ball they just felt like everything was easily coming to them as opposed to the bucks looked like they were moving through molasses like it was just like slow basketball on both ends i thought there was opportunities for the bucks to kind of hide the fact that dame lillard came back last night and yes even though he was trying to get things going early in the game
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka and the Lakers get physical | Are the Bucks finished?
it was clear that he'd been out for a month. And there was more that I would have expected for the Milwaukee Bucks to try and pre-switch, kind of hide him off of defenders. But the Bucks brutalized him and kept going after him. And there was a lot there. We're going to dig into it with Shakia, but...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka and the Lakers get physical | Are the Bucks finished?
The Pacers just looked very poised and very ready and like they were building off the energy in their building.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka and the Lakers get physical | Are the Bucks finished?
Good morning, Dave.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka and the Lakers get physical | Are the Bucks finished?
It was so deceptive with the Hezzy's the slightest has these in transition and just blowing past people. Yeah. It was the perimeter defense was non-existent for the bucks.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka and the Lakers get physical | Are the Bucks finished?
The problem was that it happened in the first quarter, happened in the second quarter, third and fourth. They were like, ah, we had too much fun with that. It was working too well. Let's go completely the opposite way. Let's make sure that JJ Redick has that heart attack that he is prepped and poised to have because we keep trying to put him in these stressful situations.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka and the Lakers get physical | Are the Bucks finished?
I mean, it was surreal how much the Lakers completely went away from their game plan just to attack Rudy Gobert. It was ISOs on ISOs on ISOs. Let's do some mixtape on Rudy Gobert. But what they realized is that they were overdoing it. They did too much to where none of their other offense was available to them. No more pick and rolls, no more sets, no more screens, no more pin, pin downs.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka and the Lakers get physical | Are the Bucks finished?
Like nothing was happening other than Luca basically just trying to take Rudy. And that's how Minnesota slowly found their way back into the game. But ultimately Lakers pulled it out.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka and the Lakers get physical | Are the Bucks finished?
That's interesting. I do feel like we saw Barbie Portis go for like 28 tonight off the bench. Like he is a key factor. If Kyle Kuzma can also get into the mix. I think they could win one. All right. They could win one.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka and the Lakers get physical | Are the Bucks finished?
That's one of the things that you saw all throughout the series so far is just how much each team has each player's backs. I mean, between Tyrese Halliburton talking some game to Dame while he was in street clothes, and now that translating into game two, and you're starting to see the physicality, Gary Trent Jr., Pascal Siakam, Bobby Portis. I mean, it just kept starting to build.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka and the Lakers get physical | Are the Bucks finished?
Talk a little bit about the passion in between the two teams and the tension that's been showing up throughout these two games.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka and the Lakers get physical | Are the Bucks finished?
I mean, I was thinking, we were texting each other, Dave, and I was like, how did he find the legs to be able to put that shot up? But you're right. I thought in the first half that Dave Miller was holding his own, considering he hadn't played since March 18th. And he's coming back into it. He played 37 minutes last night against the Indiana Pacers.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka and the Lakers get physical | Are the Bucks finished?
But it was Nembhard, and it was this balance scoring attack that you're talking about. So now we're looking at the Bucs that looked old. What's going to be the answer as they go back home to try and get some sort of juice out of their offense? Get Kyle Kuzma going. Who picked things up tonight? I mean, against the Pacers last night. Get Bobby Portis going again.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka and the Lakers get physical | Are the Bucks finished?
Like, what's going to be the answer for the Bucs?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka and the Lakers get physical | Are the Bucks finished?
Yeah, I think the same could be said kind of about Oklahoma City, right? Like there's not much more new to say about this team. They've been dominant all season. They've been playing as a team all season. But I think even watching this game and how they close it out, because let's give credit where credit's due. Memphis did play better.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka and the Lakers get physical | Are the Bucks finished?
But if you listen to Jalen Williams in his postgame interview, he said that they expected as in the Thunder, expected the Grizzlies to come back. They were a good team. The first game is after a 36 hour stint. So they knew that they were going to have a better shot at that second game. And the way that they closed it out in game two, OKC did not give Memphis any slack.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
That's crazy. That's wild. And then you think about the age, 57 years old doing five miles a game is like, that's crazy.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
Add it to the list of crises in America, but like there is a referee crisis. It's because you, Our sports leagues, you know, they're private enterprises and there is no like our USA basketball doesn't take it upon themselves to set up like other federations that I've actually got experience working with the German Federation, Georgian Federation.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
They all have a process and a program for up and coming people and referees. They recruit players. You know, whether it's, you know, young coaches, young players who are going to stop playing, you know, they try to get them into the system. And maybe this is a way to bridge that gap. But, you know, 57 years old doesn't surprise me because it's a thankless job. Like we see this all the time.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
I would say they handled them the entire game except for that 10 turnover third quarter where things went awry for the Warriors. It was very strange. It's hilarious. It's almost as if, Dave, you were not with me in that conversation with Eric Name just very recently about the Bucs and how much you cannot trust particularly
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
You know, we hear players getting yelled at about prop bets, but referees, it's the same thing. You know, the gambling aspect of this goes. just goes very, very heavily onto the refs as well. Did that come up at all? The way that the fans actually treat the referees and the chilling effect that that might have on the league.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
Here's my resume. If you can beat it, then we'll have a conversation. I mean, that's basically it. So you can say, maybe you won't say it, but I'll say it. They don't know what they're talking about.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
Absolutely. I think about my Santa Cruz days when I was a sideline reporter and seeing the referees come in and come out like with their little bags and they and it's people are rarely happy to see them. Like, you know, as they're walking in, they're smiling and such, you know, especially when you're on the broadcast desk, they come in, they, you know, give you a little fist bump.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
their offense and also like their desperation defense the Bucks got within three after being significantly down earlier in the game got within three in the third quarter uh and flipped the game pretty much on its head got the lead and you see their defense pick up a little bit you see Jay Lillard chasing down folks on screens switching people off I mean it was amazing And then it went away.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
And that's usually the only smiles they'll get for the rest of the game. Unless it's maybe a player coming up to just be like, you know, tease them about something, but they get in and they get out. And I cannot imagine what that feels like. You talked about, you learned a lot throughout this process.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
You mentioned one of those things that is also surprising to me about the fact that the rule book is not made with the referees. Explain that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
It's pretty small type.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
Well, the lawyers like to draw up the rules so that they can come up with ways to break them. I mean, that's just and you can't have the referees involved because then it's collusion against yourself. You know, we can't have that. OK, so I guess what should we be looking for here in the next month?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
You know, like when we're paying attention to the refs, you know, last year there was this huge change in style of officiating. And we know that it's a different sport now. Once you get from regular season NBA to the playoffs, but you know, is there something that, that maybe you picked up on that you feel like you now notice about referees that you didn't before you worked on this?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
And then the other thing that I- For our viewers, Shakia, sorry. For our viewers, can you explain when you mean up, down, rebound? Can you like add a little context to that?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
If one of you wants to explain it, that would be great. No, no, no. But from what you, I mean, no, I want you to say it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
From a referee perspective. From a referee perspective.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
It was as if it just like they're like, oh, this is enough. We'll keep our three point lead. And of course, in the fourth quarter, the Warriors remembered we're at chase. We know how to hit threes in this arena. Let's go ahead and do that as a team and came back and just obliterated.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
If you're poorly positioned, you have no idea if it's an over the back or not. I had a player fouled out on an over the back that was called from half court, Shakia. How could you see it from half court? I don't know. I'd be mad. Shakia, I really enjoyed this. It was a fascinating piece. I look forward to what you're working on next. Everybody go and read Shakia over at The Athletic.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
If you follow her on the app, you get notifications when it pops up. If you're watching this on YouTube, Like and subscribe, please. Leave us a comment. If you're listening on Spotify, iTunes, however you get your podcasts, please leave us a five-star review. We're working pretty hard over here, having a good time.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
For Shakia Taylor, for Zena Keita, I'm Dave DeFore, and this has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
The Bucs defense, it was a night and day performance from what the Warriors looked like against Denver in terms of being able to have their offense be led by their defense. They kept the Bucs to under 40% from the floor. Big difference. Big shout out to Draymond Green for making life hell for Giannis Antetokounmpo, who finished 5-16 from the floor.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
Giannis struggled inside, and it was because of Draymond Green's physicality. It was him playing rover on the back line of the defense. He was showing up in places that the Bucs couldn't imagine him every time they turned around. And then, of course, the scoring ability of Jimmy Butler. This has been a... slog of news and press around this, but it can't be said enough.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
He is a free throw machine as put in our, some people would say, I mean, listen, you shoot 11 free throws in a game. You are, you are making your money at the line at that point. Right. Jimmy Butler goes 11 for 11 from three or from the free throw line. Excuse me. Quentin Post hits four threes. Brandon Pajemski hits four threes. Buddy Hill hits four threes.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
And they never shoot like this when Steph is out there. And so you start to, you know, you start to get a little bit of hope. And look, we've been hitting these guys since Jimmy Butler got there. They haven't played anybody. They lose to the to the Nuggets without Jokic and Murray. And we start saying, oh, OK, so our. our gut feeling that maybe they're not quite this contender yet might be right.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
But then they have a game like this and you see them without Steph holding the Bucs to 93 points. And I know that we've talked about how bad that Bucs offense can be, but that is huge to know you have that sort of defense in your back pocket when you go into the playoffs and Steph can't play 48 minutes. Right.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
It's massive. It's major. It's major. And the fact, you know, I really do look at the Milwaukee side of this. Like there are some glaring concerns, especially because they're in that conversation of the four, five, six situation on the east side with the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons. You're looking at a team that cannot get creation out of their bench.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
And they also can't get another shot creator besides Dame Lillard. Like this is when you see the absence of Bobby Portis is so imperative for the Bucs. Not only from a defensive perspective, but again, a guy that can create his own shot willingly and easily. And so I do give credit to the Warriors for stepping up in the way that they did.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
And that is going to have some legitimate cachet going into the playoffs. However, I'm still not that impressed.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
I will say this. You said that the Bucs are missing Bobby Portis. The guy that they're really missing, Chris Middleton. They are missing Chris Middleton. And I mean Chris Middleton at full strength.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
They need a decision maker. Yes.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
Another playmaker, a person who can get a shot off the dribble, and someone you can trust in crunch time. And Kyle Kuzma is not that. I will say one of his better games is Buck. He went 5 of 13 from 3. But the Bucks, they shouldn't scare anybody in my opinion. They drop now to the fifth seed. The Warriors pick up a half-game lead on the Timberwolves. Huge. The Timberwolves were idle last night.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
Again, the playoff race right now is so fun. And I know, like, everyone's about to start focusing, especially Zena, about to start focusing on March Madness and all that stuff. But, man, we kind of have our own, not quite a tournament, but we've got our own race here to the finish. It's a lot of fun to watch.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
Yeah, speaking of, let's switch over to the other big game. And, look, for the Cavs, they lose their 12th game of the season. And, Zena, I think we can agree they are frauds. No, no, no. We're not worried about the Cavs. I am not agreeing to that at all. We are not worried about the Cavs dropping a game against the Clippers on the road.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
But anyway, we had a great conversation with Shakia Taylor from The Athletic. She wrote an interesting story about how the NBA is training referees or not training referees. So we talked to her after the break. I hope you guys really enjoy it. Zena. Not a lot of games last night, but there were some really important games, at least for the teams that got wins. Steph Curry, apparently exhausted.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
But I think that the more interesting part of this is really the Clippers side. We've talked a lot of Clippers on here. We've talked about how they've struggled here lately. The defense has slipped. The offense didn't have what we saw last night. While this defense has been slipping, they put up 132 points on the Cavs defense. Kawhi Leonard scores 33 points, goes five and six and three.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
And Zena, if Kawhi is going to be like this come playoff time, he can be the best player in the series. If they somehow work this out, they're the seven seed and they face, I don't know, Houston, who's the current two seed. That's real trouble for Houston, especially if Kawhi looks like this.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
This is what we've been waiting for this entire season is this seamless offense, particularly between James Harden and Kawhi Leonard. But magically at the trade deadline, amazing trade to receive Bogdan Bogdanovich that has been killing, who also I think was 100% from the three last night. Yeah, 4-4. Four for four, unbelievable offense on the perimeter.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
That's not even talking about the fact that Evita Zubats is in the middle, disrupting everything on both ends of the floor. Like you're now seeing all of this click, not only on the defense, but also on the offense. And we already knew just how suffocating. the Clippers could be from a defensive end.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
Now you're talking about someone that even if they're not running in transition off of their deflections or running in transition off of just stolen passes and getting high-flying alleys to Derrick Jones Jr. or wing threes coming out. No, no, no. Put that to the side. That's great. That's on the side for what they can do. They now in the half court have Kawhi cooking like he was before he was out.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
And if his knees hold up And that's huge, right? That's a major factor. That's like my back, if my back holds up. But yeah, but if Kawhi Leonard can stay healthy We haven't even seen the tip of the iceberg for the Clippers.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
Yeah, it does feel like he sort of played himself into shape. You know, obviously, you know, a little bit of rust when you take all this time off that he that he had to miss. You know, Bogdanovich comes off the bench with 20. Evita Zubac, as you mentioned, 28 and 20 on his birthday.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
Yeah, you know, it feels like they probably ran it up a little bit there to get him that 28th point. And look, the one note I have for the Cavs is that this is another, you know, this is another game on film where physicality on the perimeter was able to get them out of their game. Garland and Mitchell combined for 35 points in this game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
That's a little bit lower than what we're used to from them. Evan Mobley in this game, minus 27, right? This is very much in, like, you can see where the Clippers dominated.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
I think if you're Boston, if you're the Knicks, if you're one of these teams that you're going to have to go through Cleveland, this is one of the games that you're going to do a heavy scout on because, again, more of this physicality.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
I'm smiling because let's look at the two teams that they lost to after the 16 game streak, Orlando and now the Clippers. What are those two teams? Teams full of wings. They're just wings basically. And then one center on the inside. And what's hilarious about this is I was actually watching the, the coach took,
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
cast or coaching cast basically it's a coach cast of the same game it was phil handy and um adrian griffin and some other folks just talking about the game and they adrian griffin mentioned that what he loves about the cleveland calves is that they look like what the league looked like when he got in there traditional four or five yeah right traditional four or five big and it's great that cleveland has been able to get those bigs working in tandem in the way that they have
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
in these last two games you saw those two clashes of style come up against each other and in those two games for the cleveland cavaliers the modern style has won out the size the wings the people that can create on the perimeter with and also can play defense with length has been able to beat them out with the quick shifty guards and donovan mitchell and darius garland ty jerome like
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
They haven't been able to match up. So this is now another game of film, as you mentioned, where playoffs come. Coaches can say, let me look down my bench. Let me take some risks. Who's big? Who can get in front of these guys and make things a little bit difficult for them?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
Yeah. And the Clippers match up nightmare for a bunch of teams if they're going to be healthy for the playoffs. Guys, stick around after the break. Shakia Taylor, we're going to talk about refs. We're going to go deep on that. So please enjoy. NBA referees are always a hot button issue.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
gets the night off, and I'm thinking to myself, and I text you, oh, Steph's out. Okay, so the Bucs are just going to roll. And what do you know? Another night where the Warriors surprise us. They surprise us by not showing up when Jokic and Jamal Murray weren't out there, and they lose to the Nuggets.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
Good morning, everybody. Welcome to the NBA Daily. Coming up, the Warriors won a game without Steph Curry. What? The Clippers beat the Cavs. And Shakia Taylor stops by to talk about referees and the referee crisis in America. Good morning, everybody. Good morning, Zena. I don't know if I could have sounded more serious in that rundown, the referee crisis in America.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
Zena and I have been talking about them all season long, whether it comes to replay reviews, the rescinded technicals, the last two minute reports. We've got our issues, but mostly they do a pretty good job here to talk about what the NBA is trying to do or rather not doing to increase their pool of referees. Shakia Taylor from The Athletic making her debut on the NBA Daily. Welcome.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
I enjoyed the piece on the refs. How are you?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
Yeah, it was really good. Super insightful. You talk about a company called Ref Masters where essentially they're taking on the educational component for up-and-coming referees. And, you know... I don't want to get into the app. Guys, I'll put the link in the show description. So go and read it because it is eye opening.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
But to me, I think that the crux for me and NBA fans in general is how come the NBA isn't actually running this program where they're trying to educate up and coming referees because they do have a referee issue.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
I literally love this piece, one, because I think it's pretty unprecedented. And I do want you to get into how this piece came about, just even the access that you had and the conversations that you were having. For me, there are three things that I learned. Number one, there is no such thing as a referee school today, like right now.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
Throughout the entire piece, you talked about folks having mentors within this space, which makes me think about some of the inherent nepotism. within the referee world. I also learned that the average age of over 35,000 officials across sports is 57. That concerns me because in 10 years, what's going to happen? Where are these people going to go?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
And then they surprise us by showing up when Steph Curry isn't out there and they beat the Bucs. I mean, and honestly, they handled them the entire game. You know, it felt like they controlled the entire game. And I really don't know where you hang the credit for this because it was such a weird performance.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors win without Curry + Can NBA referees improve?
Hopefully retirement, but what's going to happen to the sports that they officiate? And then now also, you know, I learned about ref masters and I learned about this program. So talk to me about even the NBA, allowing you to talk to James Williams to get this information and what the conversations were like with the NBA about the app.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Gritty Warriors win play-in + Orlando moves on
What did you think about how the Warriors came out and, in particular, how aggressive Jimmy Butler was attacking the basket? I mean, that was the difference in the game to me.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Gritty Warriors win play-in + Orlando moves on
Memphis and Golden State, the Warriors get the big win. We went deep on the Warrior side with Marcus. So stick around for that after the break. Yes, the Grizzlies are not done, even though they did get beat by the Warriors. They've got to go on to play another game Friday night. We don't know who the opponent is going to be yet, but either Dallas or Sacramento.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Gritty Warriors win play-in + Orlando moves on
They went from what, like about the seven minute mark of the second quarter to So the fourth without hitting a three, right? I mean, that was when Memphis erased that big lead. What did you think about the rotations? You know, I thought Quentin Post gave him good minutes, but what did you see with what Steve Kerr was doing rotation-wise?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Gritty Warriors win play-in + Orlando moves on
What do you think about the Grizzlies? I mean, you know, they come back from down 20. And they have that really great run. Ja Morant goes out with an ankle sprain, comes back, and actually has kind of a heroic run there. Give me your impressions of how the Grizzlies played.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Gritty Warriors win play-in + Orlando moves on
It was eeny, meeny, eedy for the first half of the game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Gritty Warriors win play-in + Orlando moves on
I know the game just ended, but you want to think about the Rockets at all? How do you feel about the Warriors going into Houston? Steph Curry.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Gritty Warriors win play-in + Orlando moves on
Well, he's put up great numbers against Houston all season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Gritty Warriors win play-in + Orlando moves on
Are you making the trip down there, Marcus?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Gritty Warriors win play-in + Orlando moves on
Well, we're going to get you in here next week. Guys, go and read Marcus over at The Athletic. I'm sure, you know, big written piece. Steph Curry, baby. That's right. Steph Curry all day.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Gritty Warriors win play-in + Orlando moves on
That's going to do it for the show, folks. Thank you guys for listening. For Marcus Thompson and Esperante, I'm Dave DeFore, and this has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Gritty Warriors win play-in + Orlando moves on
Well, that was going to be where I was heading next. Jaron Jackson winds up with 18 points in the game, you know, four fouls. So at least, you know, he stayed out of foul trouble. But as it felt to me like he just didn't make any real impact on the game. He was four of nine from three. Again, he scored 18 points, but he was minus seven.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Gritty Warriors win play-in + Orlando moves on
And single game plus minus doesn't tell you everything, but it can tell a story. And again, I contrast that with winning the Zach Eady minutes and losing the Jaron Jackson minutes. And that's your game. You know, it's a five point game. Jaron Jackson's minus seven in thirty nine minutes.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Gritty Warriors win play-in + Orlando moves on
Ja and Jaron pick and roll, but what happened to that? Why aren't we getting more of that? Again, we get plenty of screens from Zach Eady, but Zach Eady is not a threat to Pop at all. He doesn't really apply the same pressure to the defense. Again, he can finish, and he's huge, which you cannot teach huge. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Gritty Warriors win play-in + Orlando moves on
You know, to get Jaron going and to open things up for Ja, I mean, again, this is when you've got to get Edie on the bench because you want those driving lanes open. But they've got the shooting, and it seems to me that they should have been able to go to that lineup with Santee Aldama at the four and Jaron Jackson at the five.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Gritty Warriors win play-in + Orlando moves on
He was. But to be able to match up with the Warriors, especially in that run where the Warriors were hitting shots – And the Grizzlies just couldn't. And now the fortune changed in the second half. Obviously, the Warriors just weren't making shots. Grizzlies started to. You mentioned Desmond Bain when we first started. He put up 30. He was five of eight from three.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Gritty Warriors win play-in + Orlando moves on
The three that he missed, they were in the basket. I mean, they just they rolled out and clutch moments, too. Yeah, he is. He is, to me, become a big game player. You know, he's done this now a couple of years in a row where he's had a big play in or early, early playoff game. When jaw went down, the only reason this game stayed close was because Desmond Bain hit a few ridiculous shots.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Gritty Warriors win play-in + Orlando moves on
It's not done yet, but it's not looking great. Okay. The early game, the Orlando Magic just dusted the Hawks by 25. They look great. Paolo Bancaro started this game off. His first quarter S was kind of funny. He had five assists. He had eight free throw attempts, and he made no – Field goals. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Gritty Warriors win play-in + Orlando moves on
Yeah, Cole Anthony, Anthony Black. I mean, it really like they got some key performances from just a bunch of guys, which is what they've been missing. You know, that was the thing as like this team when they were healthy and they were in the top of the standings and they were getting contributions from everybody. And then all these role players just kind of fell off.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Gritty Warriors win play-in + Orlando moves on
And obviously they've they've had guys in and out of the lineup. Trey Young. Got ejected in the game. And, you know, we didn't see on the TV broadcast exactly what happened, but apparently unsportsmanlike conduct. He did fake out the ref with the behind the back. What do you think about that?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Gritty Warriors win play-in + Orlando moves on
I didn't get why he got attacked.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Gritty Warriors win play-in + Orlando moves on
Where, you know, oftentimes at halftime, entertainment is a lady who's on a unicycle juggling bowls. So... And she is incredible at what she's done. But let's be honest here, right? Like, you know, it is an entertainment thing. But it was a weird night. I mean, it's just Atlanta never really got anything going. And obviously, you know, they didn't have – they don't have their full roster, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Gritty Warriors win play-in + Orlando moves on
Like no Jalen Johnson is really the guy that when I was watching this game, I kept thinking, Oh wow. They are missing a long athlete to, to match up against, uh, you know, Franz and to match up against Paolo. Um,
The Athletic NBA Daily
Gritty Warriors win play-in + Orlando moves on
I think Boston is too solid. And, you know, you said this the other day on the show. If if Boston had to sit Jalen Brown for the whole first round, they'd still win. Everyone's still taking Boston in five or six. I don't I don't. I just don't think Orlando has the offensive juice. They put up 120 in this game, but it's Atlanta. Boston has been so locked in, especially the last six weeks.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Gritty Warriors win play-in + Orlando moves on
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily. Coming up, the Warriors beat the Grizzlies. We got Marcus Thompson to talk about it. And we're going to go a little bit deep on Orlando and Atlanta. Good morning, everybody. Good morning, S. Good morning. Play in action last night. We were so back. Yeah. You know, I'm not going to say we got two good games. We did get one really good game. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Gritty Warriors win play-in + Orlando moves on
I just don't think it's going to be anywhere close. It'll be a fun defensive challenge, though. I agree with that. I was going to ask you, what's the matchup that you're looking forward to with Orlando and Boston?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Gritty Warriors win play-in + Orlando moves on
I mean, like Boston, we know the recipe to beat Boston. hold them below 35% on threes and you shoot 40%, right? Like they have missed theirs and you've got to hit yours. And, and frankly, I just, I don't trust Orlando to do it. I mean, Cole Anthony and Anthony black came off the bench and we're ridiculous. Yeah. Can they do it again? Can they do it? Right. I just, you know, it is what it is.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Gritty Warriors win play-in + Orlando moves on
The talent gap between those two teams, I think, is just too far. Atlanta, they're going on. I mean, it feels like we're just setting up for Atlanta versus Chicago play in Friday night. You know, this is what it's all about.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Gritty Warriors win play-in + Orlando moves on
Anyway, guys, hang out. Stick around after the break. Marcus Thompson postgame after the Warriors win.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Gritty Warriors win play-in + Orlando moves on
The Warriors survived the play-in, and they will go on to face the Houston Rockets. Here to talk about it, because he was in the arena, Marcus Thompson. Marcus, give me one word to describe the game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors waving the white flag? | Cavs bounce back
The Sacramento Kings had been the hottest team in basketball until they ran into the Bucs and got stopped. The Bucs have been up and down. So we needed to get Eric Naiman here to give us a little update on what's going on with these guys. Giannis recorded his 50th career triple-double in this win. It's the most points that they've scored all season after getting smacked by the Knicks.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors waving the white flag? | Cavs bounce back
Who are the Bucs, Eric? Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors waving the white flag? | Cavs bounce back
Well, Also a lot of fun. I don't know if you guys, if you're listening to us, you may not know, but over at the athletic podcast network, we have until Saturday, that's our college football show. We've got David Ubin. We've got Chris Vanini. We got Damian Harris, all in Atlanta, bringing you predictions behind the scenes. They've got some interviews.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors waving the white flag? | Cavs bounce back
I think Paul Feinbaum also from ESPN is going to be making an appearance on the show. So they're going to be in Atlanta all week. They're going to have their Instant Reaction podcast, and it's going to be on YouTube immediately following Monday's championship game. So go and subscribe to Until Saturday, wherever you listen to podcasts, and go and subscribe to the YouTube.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors waving the white flag? | Cavs bounce back
It's easy to forget that every single team that wins the title has some luck on their side and whether it's injury luck in the positive as, as they stayed healthy or injury luck as in everyone else kind of fell apart around them. So, I mean, that's baked in, but yeah, the truth is this is it for this squad, right? Like this is the run for this team at this is this season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors waving the white flag? | Cavs bounce back
And then they're going to have to revamp everything this summer for whatever the future looks like. So what does the immediate future look like for the bucks?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors waving the white flag? | Cavs bounce back
Like, are they going to be active in the next few weeks looking to improve this team or are they going to stay Pat and, and feel like, Hey, as long as we can nurse our way through the season and we're healthy, this is a championship level team.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors waving the white flag? | Cavs bounce back
On the copy they gave me, I'm going to just full disclosure, it says... Subscribe to the podcast or the YouTube. No, do both. Just like with us, guys. Go and subscribe to the YouTube if you're only listening to the pod. And if you're only watching on YouTube, subscribe to the pod.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors waving the white flag? | Cavs bounce back
Let's get to some hoops because, hey, look, it's another night in the NBA, which means we had games that were important. Cavs and Pacers.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors waving the white flag? | Cavs bounce back
Yeah, I mean, look, I'm on team make a trade. I think they got to make a move. They're just not good enough. And like you said, they're old. That's going to do it for today's show, folks. Thank you, Eric, for always coming in whenever we need a Bucs update and for hanging out with us. For Zena Kata, I'm Dave DeFore, and this has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors waving the white flag? | Cavs bounce back
uh they're back to back basically home and home split and the Cavs got back on this one they look more like the Cavs that we're used to seeing a little bit of a revenge game right like look like Donovan Mitchell especially looked like he was coming out looking to score it's interesting Donovan Mitchell
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors waving the white flag? | Cavs bounce back
Yeah, him and Garland, they combined for 59 points, had 10 assists. And again, Mobley and Allen have another nice game. I mean, the Cavs, I think we've just been talking about them so much at this point. We didn't expect them necessarily to lose a game, but of course they were going to. But the bounce back, right? Two in a row. There was no way I would have been shocked if they had lost this one.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors waving the white flag? | Cavs bounce back
A funny thing happened with Benedict Matherin in this game. He actually was assessed three technical fouls. One was a non unsportsmanlike for doing a pull up on a dunk. And then, you know, he got into it with the ref and he got two quick texts rightfully. And I don't even know, Zena, he was arguing a call that just doesn't make any sense to me. And it makes me think that these guys look.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors waving the white flag? | Cavs bounce back
There's a certain status I think you have to have before you can go argue in a call. And maybe Rick Carlisle should just sit him down and be like, look, man, you're not good enough or important enough to be able to argue that call.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors waving the white flag? | Cavs bounce back
It was such an obvious foul.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors waving the white flag? | Cavs bounce back
That was incidental contact, by the way. He was not like, there was no, I mean, it definitely wasn't on purpose. The Mavs and Nuggets met up, and we got a little bit of a surprise yesterday afternoon. We got the news that Kyrie Irving was coming back after missing five games with the back issue. He looked a little rusty. He looked like a guy who has a sore back and didn't look great.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors waving the white flag? | Cavs bounce back
And even worse for the Mavericks, before we get to the Nuggets part of this, which was all upside down, They lost Derek Lively to an ankle roll that looked pretty nasty, came down really hard on Jokic's foot and just fully turned that ankle. So we're hopefully going to get some good news about that later on today.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors waving the white flag? | Cavs bounce back
Hopefully he's not going to be out for long because this is a team that's already been dealing with, you know, no Luca, obviously Kyrie just coming back. But the Nuggets took full advantage of the Mavericks being shorthanded. And Jamal Murray came out and scored 32 points in the first half. And he's only had one 30 point game all season, put up 45 in the game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors waving the white flag? | Cavs bounce back
And I got to start at this point, like we all keep wondering, when is Jamal Murray going to show up? When is Jamal Murray going to be in shape? Hey, maybe Jamal Murray is back. I mean, he looked like he was trying to make a statement in this game and he did to me.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors waving the white flag? | Cavs bounce back
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily for January 15th, 2025. Coming up, we got Cavs Pacers Part 2. The Cavs struck back, luckily, starting another win streak, I'm guessing. We got some weird vibes with the Warriors, and I need Zena's opinion on this whole thing. And then we got Eric Name to stop in and talk to us about the Bucs after stopping the Kings win streak. Good morning, everybody.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors waving the white flag? | Cavs bounce back
Yeah, he was gunning. Whenever he's hunting that little mid-range jumper from the short corner, I think that, all right, this is Jamal Murray. Funny stat from this game. Number one, Nikola Jokic, of course, puts up another triple-double. This is just what he does. But they had a 15-point lead in the game, the Nuggets did, before Nikola Jokic even attempted a shot. That is absurd.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors waving the white flag? | Cavs bounce back
You want to talk about just controlling a game without looking at the basket. I mean, he really just... And this is when you know that Jokic is feeling comfortable because he's not a score-first guy. I actually think that... You know what we've seen out of him where he's had to put up these 40 point games to try to get them, you know, keep them in games.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors waving the white flag? | Cavs bounce back
I mean, I think about the Raptors games where, you know, hey, if if Jokic doesn't put up 40 and 15 and 20 assists, they're not beating them. And that's not what we're used to with the Nuggets. But now that they're getting healthier. Jokic only has 10 points in this game. They're now only a half a game behind Memphis for the three seed, Zena.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors waving the white flag? | Cavs bounce back
Yeah, they're going to be, look.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors waving the white flag? | Cavs bounce back
And I think right now, look, I'm ready to say that the Nuggets are, they're a much more serious basketball team than they started the season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors waving the white flag? | Cavs bounce back
They're definitely here. They're here. Maybe they never left. I don't know. Maybe we were all too harsh. Are we being harsh enough on the Suns? They drop a game to the Hawks, which, look, the Hawks actually play everyone pretty tough. But no Jalen Johnson, no DeAndre Hunter for Atlanta, and it didn't matter. Trey Young puts up 43 on.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors waving the white flag? | Cavs bounce back
Now, let me ask you what's more impressive, 43 points or 31 shot attempts? Ooh, that's crazy.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors waving the white flag? | Cavs bounce back
Good morning, Zena. Zena, you know what? I was watching a lot of basketball this weekend, and usually I will use social media to help steer the direction of the show for the week. What are the film guys watching? What were the best clips from the weekend? And I will be honest, I felt like This past weekend was just dominated by college football.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors waving the white flag? | Cavs bounce back
I mean, Atlanta's going to have to win a lot more. For sure. Trey may be a guy who could sneak into, maybe he sneaks into third team, just because, third team All-NBA, just because of how many guys are out. But I don't even know that. Trey Young, unfortunately, there's a little bit of,
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors waving the white flag? | Cavs bounce back
I think, like you said, there's a little bit of a stink on Trae Young where they need to win games, I think, for him to lose that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors waving the white flag? | Cavs bounce back
Well, he's finally got some guys that can run with him. Kevin Durant had 31 in this game, but did not score for the final seven minutes of the game. So that I mean, that really was the game for Atlanta. And they locked him down before we go to break and go talk to Eric name. I got to ask you, Zena, because.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors waving the white flag? | Cavs bounce back
you're there in the bay you know you do warriors tv you're kind of plugged in locked in i gotta ask you about the vibes around the warriors uh draymond green steph curry and steve kerr have all come out in the last few days and essentially said it's irresponsible to mortgage the future we shouldn't mortgage the future it doesn't make sense to mortgage the future
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors waving the white flag? | Cavs bounce back
You've got Joe Lacob going on Warriors plus minus with Marcus Thompson, one of our favorite people, and saying, you know, we've got this algorithm that we run to find value. OK, this sounds to me like a bunch of people starting to raise a white flag on the season. I mean, am I way off base here?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors waving the white flag? | Cavs bounce back
And I learned via osmosis because I didn't watch a single second. But I learned that Ohio State and Notre Dame are in the national championship game. They are.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors waving the white flag? | Cavs bounce back
Yeah, I mean, that is the definition of rock in a hard place. But I do think that when you have the best player who is ever going to, whoever has, or who is ever going to play for your franchise, and this is it. This is the waning years of his career. Your choice is pretty clear to me.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors waving the white flag? | Cavs bounce back
You start talking about improving the team around him, or you start talking about where does he want to finish out his career? Does he want it to be...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors waving the white flag? | Cavs bounce back
in golden state or does he want it to be elsewhere where he's trying to compete for a championship now i think steph curry probably wants to stay there for the rest of his career but if they're not going to be competitive how long does he even want to play that's the question for me so uh i don't know we're going to watch this and see what happens here over the next few weeks guys stick around after the break eric name is going to talk to us about the bucks if they bounce back are they going to make some moves at the deadline he's going to let us know
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
Interesting. You think that he would go there?
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
That's why I'm telling you that stuff matters. I've got a buddy, Mike Weisenberg, who covers the draft. He actually goes to prep events and he gets measurements. He's there doing... height, weight, vertical, because these guys want to know, and it's a good way to get information, and teams really want to know that stuff. The truth is, people ask me how to get into basketball.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
You want to work in basketball? Go out to high-level middle school tournaments, start with a tape measure, and get started. That's where the curve is on scouting players right now. Eighth graders.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
See, okay, but functional height, right? What's his shoulder height? What's his wingspan? What's his standing reach?
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
So he's 6'6", functionally, on a basketball court.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
I just tried to make ass laugh at this point.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
I mean, yeah, it really is a real thing. You ever watch a guy play and it looks like he's got high hips?
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
You know, Thon Maker. I call it high hips, high, high hips.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
So, you know, think about how you have to play. It's all, you can only really face up. You're never going to back anybody down. You're going to be, you're going to be like, it's going to be hard for you to guard in the paint. Like you're, especially if you're a big and you've got high hips. So, you know, like this stuff, The biomechanics matter.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
If you're drafting a guy and you're looking for a shooter, short arms.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
I don't know. I think it's kind of interesting, right? It turns into a 2K franchise then, right? Where you trade, you know, you tank or you don't even tank. You just trade away players and you get draft picks and you wind up with all the top picks. Yeah. That's kind of cool. The De'Aaron Fox thing is kind of in the way there. Yeah. Where it's a fully... be what it could be, but I don't know.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
Where's that spacing coming from?
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
There's some hilarious stuff. Does Nico make it to even make these decisions is the number one thing.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
I don't know. I think we're all a little too comfortable with the idea that he's not getting out of this.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
That's like, yeah, I was going to say, that's like, uh, you know, you ever known anybody who got divorced and then got remarried to, to their ex?
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
And you're just like, yeah, that's what that would be.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
The thing is, they're not going to be as good because Kyrie's going to be out. Who are they going to get to play guard?
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
Or Daniel Gafford for Austin. You know what? That's not enough. For Austin Lakers.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
Yeah. It's got to be more than that. I don't think Dallas has the juice, really. Like, lively, maybe. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Lively for Austin. But I'm not giving up lively. But Nico might. I don't know. You never know. It's a weird situation. But I do think, like... The smart move would be move – it's similar to what you've got like Boston has a similar kind of situation, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
Like Kyrie's going to be out next season, most of the year, and what's he going to look like right when he comes back? Probably not great if we're judging on history. Yep. Okay, so next year is probably – if it's not a lost season, you're in the play-in. in the West at best. They were on the play-in this year. That's what I mean, right? So you're right back where you were.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
So does that make any sense? Anthony Davis is 31. He'll be 30 next year. He's age 32 season. So by the time you're even thinking about actually being competitive, it's a whole other calendar year. He's 33. You're about to sign him to another max because that's just how the NBA works. And your competitive window is already closed. Yeah. Because Kyrie's going to be 36 when he comes back, 35.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
I think the Dallas thing is the funniest thing that could have happened by far.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
This is why I get those guys now. Got to do it. Got to do it. And then when you bring Kyrie back in February, March to just show, hey, look, this guy, guess what? His legs work. He's Kyrie. And you get that nice little hope, that hope run where Cooper Flagg, he solidifies his rookie of the year case. Derek Lively looks great again because they're playing with Kyrie.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
Everybody goes into the summer, move Kyrie, and now you're ready to actually restart. And you've got these two guys in Lively and Cooper Flagg that are going to bring you to a level of defense that most, young teams never hit. Yeah. I just, I think that Andrew, like, I know it's a funny thing to say like, Oh, they should move Dave. Absolutely. The right basketball move is to trade Anthony Davis.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
It's not like, like would, I mean, would the Knicks do something? Um, I don't know. I'm looking in the East, right? I think that if you're Dallas, you're calling up some of these Eastern Conference teams and you're selling them on the idea. Anthony Davis could get you to the Eastern Conference finals or to the finals if you look at it next year, right? Like Boston's out of it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
Those above the break threes with Miles Turner are super important.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
Yeah. Now, that would be the funniest thing. Yes. Now, that would be the funniest thing is, yeah, you trade for Tyler. I mean, but, you know, that's unrealistic.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
He is an all-star. You know, how many teams would want Anthony Davis just in the league? Okay. A lot. 10, 12, right? Yeah. Chicago. For sure. Ooh. Now, hold on.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
Yeah. But you need more than just Kobe White. Yeah, well, it's Chicago. Come on. They're going to give you the farm, right? Are we allowed to borrow future draft picks from 50 years from now to get Anthony Davis? I do think that Chicago would be interesting. And honestly, he could play next to Vooch. That works pretty nicely.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
Well, right. I mean, one of the first ones was the frozen envelope for Patrick Ewing.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
I think that's a trickier one.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
Yeah. I mean, what about I mean, you have to rope some other teams in, but like with the Sixers. want to trade Paul George for Anthony Davis in some sort of a way that sends Paul George not to Dallas, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
Yeah, no. But, like, AD next to Embiid?
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
If Embiid's playing, you know?
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
We already heard – I mean, we know, like, their payroll is not sustainable. Yeah. They have to get off these players. Horford, I don't know if he's going to retire or what. Yeah. Porzingis, I think they've got to move Porzingis. And then Holliday. Should they try to reset Horford?
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
Now, see, this is the question here because is Jalen Brown a part of the next version? You think so?
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
What about, what about, what about this? What about you play? I mean, I know that there's no way Dallas is trading that pick, but man, I would have called Nico immediately and said, Hey, how about Jalen Brown for number one pick? Jalen Brown's really good. He is really good. This is my point though. My point is that he is really good. He is the most valuable available, not available.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
Cause I don't think he is actually available, but he would be the most valuable thing that the Celtics would have. And if you were going to do a reboot, I think about the Herschel Walker trade a lot.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
For those of you who don't know, Herschel Walker was traded from the Dallas Cowboys to the Minnesota Vikings for a huge haul of picks that set the Cowboys up to win multiple titles and be competitive throughout the 90s.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
They might know. Sorry, that one from when I was a kid. So I would talk about Willie Mays or whatever.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
There you go. You know, so this is this would be a thing. And the difference being Jalen Brown's in his prime. But I just think Tatum is a star. The salaries, their payroll is crazy. This would be an interesting time for them to pivot. They were going to have to pivot anyway.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
Five seed. I mean, it's the East.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
Yeah. Jalen Brown is going to have – Have a wrist injury. Have a surgery. Right. Yeah. Yeah. See, you can't have, listen, why, why can't you tank? I don't think Jalen Brown can miss a, have a, have a lost season in his prime. Do you know what I mean? It's not ideal, but that would be an interesting idea.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
I mean, and then you come back the next season and you have whatever that draft pick winds up being, which they could turn into a player. and then you have Derek White, Jalen Brown, and Jason Tatum with a new version of what you're making.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
This is not conspiracy theories. They do. Exactly. It's so close. You can fake anything you want. Exactly.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
It would have to be a fake one, right? And one that turns into two seconds or the 28th pick. Because, I mean, he's like on a bad team and has been benched.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
You think they should go for someone? Well, look, Cam Boozer, you've got to at least think about it. I love that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
I think it's a great idea. That's a fun pick. I think he would do well there. He would. I agree.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
Exactly. That's right. The thing is, though, that They just are at such a dearth for talent that there's no path to contention for them. So the best team they could put together doesn't even make the play-in, probably.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
Yeah. They petitioned to move.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
Let me ask you guys. Could Utah start slinging those picks around? Sure. For what? I don't know.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
One of those guys that they definitely can't trade for. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
We'll take Larry Markkinen. Bradley Beal.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
Does Bradley Beal like skiing? I know he likes the nice weather in Phoenix, but how does he feel about skiing?
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
How does he feel about sledding? How does he feel about cold weather?
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
They never should have traded Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert. They should have just tried to keep him for as long as they could. Because they're never going to be into that. How do they get there again without tanking into... They have to tank. That's the only thing.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
Detroit was able to sign these role players that they got because they had some hope. They had some infrastructure.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
Yeah, well, they're going to just be bad, right? No matter what. They don't have enough talent. They're going to be bad. And so they have to lean in. But they're developing. yeah yeah well star was a different player by the end of the year yeah and will dawkins knows how to do this right you know they just started the teardown this is by the way amazing job security
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
Well, listen, let me tell you, I've been here three years tearing it down. We haven't even started the teardown. Listen, this is a seven-year program that we're on. Judge me year eight, guys. Just judge me in year eight.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
To me, look, and I've been on the record with this. If I was Adam Silver, if I was the commissioner, I would absolutely rig the lottery.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
Okay, but that was for different reasons, right? Or Weaver drafted well, I'm just saying.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
Who can they talk into Jordan Poole? Dallas.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
I would rig it every single year. I mean, I just, oh, if there was like, what's a cool, fun team that is one piece away from being in the playoffs for you guys, right? Yeah. Oh, I don't know. The Wizards are Cooper flag away. Sure. The Wizards were Cooper flag away, let's say. Okay, but are they cool and fun? I don't know. But they could be, right? Okay, let's throw them a bone.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
It's just, we can talk Dallas. I know. I know. Is that what it is? Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
Somebody said Colin Sexton in the chat. And I actually think that he would be great coming off the bench in Orlando.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
Are they the team that makes a bad trade this summer?
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
Maybe they don't get the first pick, but they need a guard. Give them the second pick. I would do that. Victor Wiminyama to the Spurs. But then it's like, it is perfect.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
But it's been a mess for years now. Yeah. With no direction. You look at their roster for the last three or four years, and it's gone. I don't know. It went from this Project 6-9 thing to Vision 6-9. That's right. Project 6-10 is actually working in Orlando because they got good players. That's the thing about the Raptors is they commit to Emmanuel quickly. Who was racing to give him that money?
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
Is there, is there some kind of scam going on with the
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
At some point, at some point you got to just get the best player.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
That's it. Toronto Raptors just need to take the best player every single year instead of trying to find some archetype that doesn't actually exist. Yeah. Otherwise, what's the point? They are just going to spin. They're the Chicago Bulls north of the border to me. I think they're better than the Bulls. Look, they've got Kawhi Leonard in one of the luckiest trades ever.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
And if they don't win that title, I think we all feel completely differently about how the Raptors have been. Well, absolutely. Right. And so, you know, but the last few years, it's just a mess, man. Like, it's just it's such a weird basketball team. And I don't even know what they're trying to accomplish anymore.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
We could go through, you know, that's a redraft idea. Let's do a podcast where we go back and we bake a conspiracy for every single number one pick. I feel like we could.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
The Raptors may have the hardest path to building a team, period, because they're in Canada, right? Like that actually does make it more difficult.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
to be healthy with his ankle you know is he gonna he gets an extension this summer right you already got an extension he got the extension okay i was i couldn't remember whether he was due one or he got it he got the that's insane to hear i didn't i didn't hear anything listen dave when you have the chance to lock after score you do it you take it Oh, my God.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
The Raptors are the saddest franchise, man.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
What's the basketball direction of the franchise, right? I mean, you're not building around Scotty Barnes because he's not that guy.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
Honestly, I don't know. How about the Bulls? The Bulls had it bad. They lose the coin flip that becomes the Mavs' number one pick.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
And then they're going to pay Josh Giddey.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
It is addicted to bad decisions.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
Yeah, because it's a bad decision. Again, I don't understand. I do not understand why there's 45 million a year. The Bulls get such a pass in the national media like they just get ignored, actually. which is somehow even worse. There's not even a level of disdain by people. You know, remember when the Knicks were bad and it was like, oh, this is awful. It's like a moral crisis in the NBA.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
Like, oh man, you know, like the Lakers, they're not allowed to be bad. And they never are. But the Bulls have just been bad forever. They lucked into Derrick Rose and they had a nice little run. They did. And it fell apart. And outside of that and Michael Jordan, they have just been awful. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
They should be amazing. Like this is like one of the biggest media markets. It's Chicago. They're the bulls. This is a situation where I wish the NBA would just, you know, pull a Pelicans going, Hey, we're just going to take this team and we're going to hand it to some basketball people and see what happens.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
Honestly, that's how you should rig it. Risha Shea is going to be a third, fourth best starter on the Hawks in a couple years. That's what they need. They don't need to have...
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
He's not even going to come back when he's doing TV next year.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
I do that on the radio. If I was doing Oklahoma City radio, I'm, oh, hey, you know what? This is going seven. Denver's going to win. If I'm in Denver, I'm like, I don't know how Denver wins game six.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
He... Top of the key soundboard shuffle.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
They need the Jamal Murray game in game six.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
He got going in the third, right? And we were texting during the games, right? And he hit the Murray flurry in the third. He did. And I was thinking, oh, okay, he's starting to see the basket. Well, I went back and rewatched. Now, he was hitting some wild shots.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
And that's different than when Murray's going. Like, the thing is, he's not in shape. His first step is non-existent, really. Dort can stay in front of him without even using his hands. And that's not what playoff Jamal Murray normally is doing. The mid-range is really how he gets the three ball going. It's just not happening. The other thing is, he can't post these guys up.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
And Jamal Murray actually does a lot of post-up. He'll get in the high post, he'll get in the mid post, and he's not able to post up OKC's guards. He can't get into rhythm. It's a little bit like Jokic was having a similar problem, and he solved it in the last game. I was talking to some people, and the theory that we worked on is part of where Jokic gets hot from three
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
is because he gets hot inside, right? So defense starts to sink all of a sudden because it's like, well, we're sending two and he's still scoring. Plus he's seen the ball go in a couple of times. So now you've got that extra step and his shot, obviously he can get it off over a lot of people, but it creates that one, that little bit of space that he needs.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
But there's also the mental aspect, I think with him of seeing the ball going, but Murray is just, I just don't think he's got it like he should.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
Well, the screen setting for the Nuggets is actually I mean, I think Gordon's doing a good job. MPJ is not not getting physical enough on those screens. I mean, he's obviously he's dealing with the shoulder thing out there. Yeah. You know, and I think Brown is doing a pretty good job of trying to force switches, but it doesn't matter because OKC is just he's too skinny.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
We haven't talked enough about how skinny those two guards have been for Denver. In the playoff, think about KCP last year. He was just too small.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
I think that what they did before the end of the season signaled a bit of a sea change.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
Oh, I think – I mean, look, even if you win the title. Even if you win the title, if you're – you have to be smart, especially because they don't want to spend money.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
They have to be able to do this on the fly around Jokic. And I do think a lot of stuff would be on the table. I mean, like is there – I don't think they've got – their draft picks aren't going to be good enough. No, they only have the one. Giannis and Jokic would be amazing together.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
They don't have anything to trade. They don't have anything to trade. Unless Jamal Murray is interesting to the Pelicans, and maybe you take back C.J. McCollum, and maybe you can get those picks sent to Milwaukee or something like that. You'd have to be extremely creative. We don't even know who. Is Tim Connolly going to go back?
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
Are we going to get Tim Connolly Bowl 2? In the conference finals, right? If the Nuggets get through and play the Wolves, then does Tim Connolly go out of them? I'll just go to whichever team wins.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
Yeah, it won't be the Nuggets. It won't be the Nuggets.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
Yes, go for it. I've thought about this a lot. What you could do is a salary scale instead of a draft lottery. Worst record, you get to offer the most money in a rookie contract.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
and then the players is that enough of an incentive though well depends if you're if you're cooper flag and you know uh the wizards come and they say hey we can give you 30 million dollars a year four-year contract it's guaranteed as a rookie not bad or you're playing for the minimum or whatever it is.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
But it is a free market. Because endorsements. Now, the problem is it's not meant to distribute talent. It's not meant to. Because the best organizations are going to figure out.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
They voted 29-1 for the current odds and they really hate it. The one team, though.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
Sam Presti was right would be a good one if they win. Oh yeah, that would be a good one.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
I would say all 30 because you think the bad teams deserve some sort of a chance to get talent. I guess because of the fact that small markets can't attract.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
That's the thing. You get stuck in the middle because you take a guy and he's not – You know, he's DeAndre Ayton. Yeah. You know, that's and you're stuck.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
The other thing is top five picks don't win a lot of titles with the team that drafted them.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
The Celtics last year with Tatum and Brown. That's probably the last one.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
Oh, keep going. Keep going. Yeah, yeah. Keep going. They're like... 28th, 29th most interesting, if we're being honest. Come on.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
It's a different world, though. The talent curve is so different now than it was in the 90s. I mean, even the early 2000s. Just players are so much better, right? So the bottom of the draft has come up closer to the top of the draft. That's another thing that's at play here, right? Part of why we have so much parity in the NBA is that
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
There's I mean, there's so many good role players like Aaron Neesmith, right? Like this guy, he gets drafted by Danny Ainge just because of his body. Yep. And he turns himself into this kind of player. So it's just I don't know. I do think it's tough because these small markets cannot compete. They just can't like no one's signing in Charlotte ever.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
I actually think, you know what? The teams that get out of that, you know what? They're the best at is pro personnel scouting. They're the ones that – like Ty Jerome, you know what I mean? They find those guys.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
Oh, okay, this guy just needs more of an opportunity.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
But the NBA has gotten bad at that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
because it doesn't it's not incentivized there's no incentive to go out and make your team better with existing talent when you can sell this hope of a tank and like unfortunately that's just kind of it makes sense because if you land cooper flag you've made hundreds of millions of dollars for your business yeah so i understand it like it's not it's it's there's nothing sexy about going out and getting davion mitchell
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
Andrew Wiggins could be available this summer, and he could make us a much better team, but I don't know.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
Indiana has done a very good job of building a team. They're unique. Cleveland too, right? Cleveland starting from nothing, right? After LeBron left. Yeah. Well, there is a path there to doing it. But those are franchises that are just run better.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
Although Charlotte also has two top five picks.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
Who's he going to get it for?
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
Measurables, yeah. Measurables because it's one of the few things that when you get them and you know they're accurate that you actually know. You can say, I know this guy has a 7'2 wingspan. I know his vertical is this, right? Like, I mean, those little things really do. They do matter.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Draft Lottery Fallout | Morning Shoot Around
I, I, I, I have, I have a measurement guy. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers advance to Conference Finals + Thunder survive Jokić
Honestly, Lou Dort went from me saying, wow, they can't go back to Lou Dort. Why is he starting the second half of this game? They can't go back to Lou Dort. To hitting the three biggest shots of the game that gets OKC back in it. And look, this is, again, Mark Dagnall, I'll apologize for questioning it. This is why you stick with your guys, Zena. This is the old ball coach thing, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers advance to Conference Finals + Thunder survive Jokić
You stick with your guys and it pays off. And Dort was incredible.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers advance to Conference Finals + Thunder survive Jokić
Yeah, I think, look, if you were going to look back at just this series, you would say that the Pacers and the Cavs were much closer than their records look like, right? The Cavs get off to this great start. They have multiple 15 or three, right? 15 game win streaks or something like that. I mean, at least two. I can't remember if there was a third one that made it there. There's two.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers advance to Conference Finals + Thunder survive Jokić
Well, that's what turned the game around for them down the stretch, right? Like the energy that they had to close the game and a lot of that showed because they were getting to those balls. I do want to talk a little bit about the way that they played down the stretch where they played five out. I thought that was interesting. Hmm. As the Nuggets started to lose momentum and lose energy, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers advance to Conference Finals + Thunder survive Jokić
I mean, Jokic, we know about the minutes load that he's playing. They basically have five guys that they can trust. And one of them happens to be Michael Porter Jr., who was absolutely atrocious in the game, gave him nothing. But I thought it was interesting that after getting killed a little bit, Jalen Williams is not the guy you want guarding Jokic.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers advance to Conference Finals + Thunder survive Jokić
I thought it was interesting to go to him and to try to space them out. And it worked. Not only were they getting better looks on offense, but they were just so much faster to the ball. You think that game six, maybe we see a little bit more of that five out to try to wear them out even sooner?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers advance to Conference Finals + Thunder survive Jokić
And so Gordon in no man's land. Right.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers advance to Conference Finals + Thunder survive Jokić
I think it was 12 games it made it to. And the Pacers got off to a rough start, but then they finished the season 34 and 14. Andrew Nembhard comes back. All of a sudden, that defense makes so much sense. And and in my opinion, the way that the Cavs kind of went into the playoffs was so different than the way that their regular season had gone up to that point.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers advance to Conference Finals + Thunder survive Jokić
We haven't even gotten – look, we got the Murray flurry in the third quarter, and I thought we were going to maybe get the Murray game, and he was going to come out strong. We haven't gotten the Murray game yet. They're going back to Denver. We'll put you guys on the spot before we get out of here. Is this going to go back to OKC? Are we going seven? Andrew, you go first. Dang, sorry.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers advance to Conference Finals + Thunder survive Jokić
Going seven. I think Jokic has the defense figured out. I mean, he just was incredible.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers advance to Conference Finals + Thunder survive Jokić
If Murray can give him.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers advance to Conference Finals + Thunder survive Jokić
You know, they were blowing a lot of games in March. They started picking up injuries. Right. They go into this series, they pick up some injuries to key players. Darius Garland misses a couple of games. Deandre Hunter's out. Evan Mobley was out. And then you see in this game, you know, last night, man, they've really missed Evan Mobley and they missed him being 100 percent.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers advance to Conference Finals + Thunder survive Jokić
The playbook for beating the Nuggets make Jokic score. It's his seventh career playoff game with 40 or more points. The Nuggets dropped to 2-5 with the loss to OKC in those 40-point games.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers advance to Conference Finals + Thunder survive Jokić
Whew. Yep. They got three guys. It's not even five. They got three. All right. Well, we got three people right here. Good show, guys. We're going to get out of here. For Andrew Schlecht and Zena Kata, I'm Dave Dufour, and this has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers advance to Conference Finals + Thunder survive Jokić
And I mean, he made a big difference, but it wasn't enough to keep him in the series. Cavs kind of ran out of steam, but. Indiana won this series, right? They were the better team. I thought they were the better team in pretty much every single game, even the one that they got blown out.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers advance to Conference Finals + Thunder survive Jokić
I thought there was a lot of stuff that was positive for Indiana outside of Tyrese Halliburton having a really awful game. They just wound up having more guys that were playoff players. You know, Ty Jerome just didn't didn't bring it. And I think that what we're seeing throughout the playoffs is about having, you know, do you have six guys you trust?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers advance to Conference Finals + Thunder survive Jokić
Yeah, I mean, they obviously missed Garland, right? Like Garland in his fourth quarters, he really, he won him a lot of games. Games that they had leads, right? He would come in and slam the door shut. And on the other side, right? Tyrese Halliburton has a monster, monster game. Never looked tired, really, in this series, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers advance to Conference Finals + Thunder survive Jokić
Like you think about how injured he was last season, how he looked injured to start this season and was inconsistent. Yeah. He didn't really look tired. He had 31 points. Pascal Siakam had 21. Halliburton getting off the ball and being able to move off the ball with Nembhardt on the other side, who is still a threat to score. I mean, that's that's the difference. Right.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers advance to Conference Finals + Thunder survive Jokić
And if Garland had maybe been 100 percent, there's a world in which, you know, he's able to provide the same sort of release for Cleveland. But the truth is they I mean, the Pacers kind of had the Cavs number all year. And Garland was a big piece of that, because I do think that the size and the activity of the Pacers really bothers him.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers advance to Conference Finals + Thunder survive Jokić
I mean, you know, he's a small guard and he kind of plays small.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers advance to Conference Finals + Thunder survive Jokić
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily. Coming up, the Pacers are in the Eastern Conference Finals, finishing off the Cleveland Cavaliers in five. And Oklahoma City has a three games to lead over the Denver Nuggets. We got Andrew Schlecht here to talk about it after the game. Wow, we are moving along in the playoffs. Zena Kata, I'm Dave Dufour.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers advance to Conference Finals + Thunder survive Jokić
I'm glad you mentioned Miles Turner because he's a little bit of a forgotten guy there. But he might have been the key to them winning the entire series. Number one, his ability to hit above the break threes. It just makes so much sense for the way they play offense.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers advance to Conference Finals + Thunder survive Jokić
He gets to trail the play when they're in transition and he'll just bomb away. But the other thing is he played bigger this season. You know, he played bigger. He's played bigger so far in the playoffs. He's been more aggressive offensively in the paint during fouls. So, anyway, hats off to the Pacers. And on defense. And on defense. Well, yes.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers advance to Conference Finals + Thunder survive Jokić
He's amazing at blocking shots. Right, of course. But hats off to the Pacers. We don't know who they're going to play yet, although it does look likely that they're going to meet the Knicks. But... You know what we do around here when the team gets eliminated? We have to start thinking about their summer. And the Cleveland Cavaliers are a very interesting team.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers advance to Conference Finals + Thunder survive Jokić
They had the best record in the Eastern Conference. They were the one seed. This is a disappointing finish. But you have four really good players. I mean, Donovan Mitchell is, you know, a perennial all-star, all-NBA level guy. Evan Mobley, just one defensive player of the year. Do you run it back just like it is?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers advance to Conference Finals + Thunder survive Jokić
Or, Zena, did you see some warts in this playoff run that you think that maybe they need to address?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers advance to Conference Finals + Thunder survive Jokić
Zena, the Pacers are the first team to make the conference finals. What do you think? Just initial gut reaction to the Pacers making a second consecutive conference finals.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers advance to Conference Finals + Thunder survive Jokić
Well, it was supposed to be tied to Rome, you know, and it was all year. But the lights of the playoffs are really, really bright. And I think a lot of us probably question whether Ty Jerome was going to be able to do the exact same thing he did in a regular season. You know, come playoff time. It just you got to see it usually from these guys. What about you? Do you think they run it back?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers advance to Conference Finals + Thunder survive Jokić
I mean, I guess that they probably would. I do think that Jason Tatum's Achilles injury is going to take him out probably all of next season. And, you know, let's just say like the Celtics are going to have a very interesting summer because they were already talking about making some changes due to that giant payroll that they have coming. You know, that bill is going to come next season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers advance to Conference Finals + Thunder survive Jokić
So I think that, you know, if you're the Cavs, you probably listen. You have to do due diligence and you have to look around. They have to kick the tires on Giannis, for instance. Like you just you have to do those things. I don't think that they need to do any sort of massive move wholesale change. I'm with you. I think you try to get the bench better. You sell the idea. Hey, look.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers advance to Conference Finals + Thunder survive Jokić
Look at the run we just had. Come be a part of it. There's a guy that's in L.A., right, that maybe would like to come home and would fit right in as another playmaker.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers advance to Conference Finals + Thunder survive Jokić
And it just seems like if a guy who had played 20 seasons was going to wind down the last few years of his career, go into the Eastern Conference where you don't have a lot of talent, you don't have a lot of stars, you've got an easier path to the finals, and you kind of have a team sitting there that, Maybe you could plug and play on. So, you know, maybe we just start those rumors.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers advance to Conference Finals + Thunder survive Jokić
What do you think? Like LeBron... LeBron returned home 2.0. I mean, that would be fun, right? But I don't know. Honestly, I think that they're in a weird spot, and this is going to be a crazy summer because everyone's going to be active. You know, I think we all assume Giannis is moving, and we all... We know KD's going to move, and who knows what Boston's going to do. So...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers advance to Conference Finals + Thunder survive Jokić
Yeah, so maybe it's next season for them. Yeah, year one, not too bad, but the Pacers might be a buzzsaw. Guys, stick around. After the break, we got Andrew Schlecht live after OKC picks up a huge win.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers advance to Conference Finals + Thunder survive Jokić
The Oklahoma City Thunder survive an insane Nikola Jokic game to go up three games to two. Andrew Schlecht joining us still in shock from that game. What was it like being in the building for the last five minutes of that game? It was just back and forth, big shot, big shot, big play. Must have been fun.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Haliburton 4-point play drops Bucks + Cavs win 15th straight, again
They're going to play Saturday. Back in Fiserv Forum.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Haliburton 4-point play drops Bucks + Cavs win 15th straight, again
The free throw.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Haliburton 4-point play drops Bucks + Cavs win 15th straight, again
The new audiobook by Sebastian Fitzek. Now only on Audible.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant reaches 30k career points | Sixers lose 4th straight
They've lost four in a row, Zena. And this fourth one might be the most embarrassing one. They just look completely lifeless. And they were doing it at home in front of the Super Bowl champion Eagles who showed up. And the game ends, and I'm just going to jump straight to the end. They lose to the Raptors because the Raptors have turned into this punchy team who's doing things.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant reaches 30k career points | Sixers lose 4th straight
I'm on board. He's good. He's good.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant reaches 30k career points | Sixers lose 4th straight
Just be good. I don't want theoretical good.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant reaches 30k career points | Sixers lose 4th straight
There were stretches against the Pacers where I did think Cat played some really good defense. And the thing is, you don't see it enough out of him. And there's an argument maybe he uses up so much energy on the offensive end. I don't buy that because there's plenty of people who can play both ways. But it is what it is. And maybe with that defense, look,
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant reaches 30k career points | Sixers lose 4th straight
we know cat can play next to a big you know his floor spacing maybe mitchell robinson if he comes back it'll help shore things up i want to talk about josh josh hart a little bit because he's been overlooked a little bit absolutely 30 points 10 rebounds, first 30 and 10 for Josh Hart. You go look at his numbers and you compare him to some of these all-star guys.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant reaches 30k career points | Sixers lose 4th straight
You consider it like 10 rebounds a game at 6'4", you know, some of the things that he does. Man, I'm not willing to make the argument directly that he's an all-star or got snubbed, but it's not that crazy of a conversation.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant reaches 30k career points | Sixers lose 4th straight
He's a weird player, James, in a good way, right? He is this purpose-built tool, almost, designed to do only the things that he does, and he's just one of these rare guys that's happy doing it. I mean, he's a special player in my opinion.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant reaches 30k career points | Sixers lose 4th straight
We're going to have to talk to someone up there, maybe just us. But the end of the game, Joel Embiid, it's his moment. This is the reason he has the big five-year $300 million left on his contract. Gets the ball wide open, 10 seconds left. They're down two. He has a chance to win or maybe take a step in, tie the game up, and instead, he doesn't look comfortable. He does a little drive.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant reaches 30k career points | Sixers lose 4th straight
And I think Josh should know when to fly hard around a screen and take a bump and draw the offensive foul too. I mean, like, He just plays the game in four dimensions at all times. And it goes unnoticed too often. I mean, we get excited about Josh Hart. I mean, it's kind of like a man and a czar, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant reaches 30k career points | Sixers lose 4th straight
That's actually surprising.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant reaches 30k career points | Sixers lose 4th straight
Before we get out of here, what do you got coming out? What are you working on?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant reaches 30k career points | Sixers lose 4th straight
He loses the ball and somehow dribbles the ball off the back of his head. I feel bad for him because he doesn't look right physically, Zena, but
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant reaches 30k career points | Sixers lose 4th straight
Yeah, it's amazing. People don't do this with People trading stocks and similar, you know. Anyway, yeah, that's not a fun story, but it is an important one. So thanks for writing it. Go and read that over at The Athletic. Go and follow James as he chronicles the quest of the Knicks to, I don't know, are they going to shock the world in the playoffs? Can they do it?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant reaches 30k career points | Sixers lose 4th straight
Fair point. There we go. That's a fair point. All right. Well, that's going to do it for today's show, folks. For James Edwards and Zena Kata, I'm Dave Dufour, and this has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant reaches 30k career points | Sixers lose 4th straight
So I'm glad you I'm glad you asked, because, you know, the other day during the during the ESPN broadcast, Lisa Salters, she she mentioned that Joel Embiid believes he's going to need offseason knee surgery. Out of nowhere, even that's not even a red flag. Right. You know what I mean? Like a red flag is a warning that is literally saying, oh, no, I am. We're past it. Like we're now scheduling.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant reaches 30k career points | Sixers lose 4th straight
Past the warning part. So that's a disaster. And then postgame last night, you know, Nick Nurse is asked about Tyrese Maxey's poor performance and essentially alludes to the fact that he's injured, which he has been injured as well this season. Yeah, I just you know, Paul George isn't 100 percent. And you know where I'm going now, Zena. Mm hmm. Mm hmm.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant reaches 30k career points | Sixers lose 4th straight
They need to get into the bottom six to keep that pick. I don't know if they're even going to make the play in with the way things have gone for them. And I just got to ask you, like, should they just shut it down? Is it time to just say, hey, it's not worth the risk for Embiid. Let's go ahead and get that surgery now. Maybe he can be healthy for next season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant reaches 30k career points | Sixers lose 4th straight
Yeah, it just seems like a risk. And the thing about Embiid, this contract is untradeable. You cannot move it right now. So this is your team for next year. I mean, Paul George has not had a great season. I don't know what the market would look like for him. You certainly are going to lose out on a deal if you try to move on this summer.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant reaches 30k career points | Sixers lose 4th straight
We launched a Discord. Now, Zena, I don't really know what Discord is, but I don't either. It's like a chat room. No, no, no, no.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant reaches 30k career points | Sixers lose 4th straight
So to me, why not start gearing things up for next year and try to at least give it one more shot with these guys before you try to tear things down? Yeah, we've got some I guess this is a little bit of good news and bad news. I mean, the bad news is that the Suns lost and the Grizzlies really handled them until the end of the game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant reaches 30k career points | Sixers lose 4th straight
Katie gets hot and it kind of coincides with him getting his 26th point of the game, which, of course, was 30,000 for his career. And he led this nice little comeback. And really, like he made a couple of defensive plays right after it was kind of like he got pumped. But before we talk about the game, I do want to talk about KD. Look, 30,000 points. Finishes this game. Think about it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant reaches 30k career points | Sixers lose 4th straight
He has 30,000 points. Finishes this game with 34 points. I mean, the guy is still putting up 34 a game. Had five blocks. He is the eighth leading scorer in NBA history. Eighth guy to pass 30,000 points. Do you want to hear a fun stat? Do you know who the next guy that has a chance at 30,000? Take a guess. The next active player. James Harden.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant reaches 30k career points | Sixers lose 4th straight
The next two guys, actually, that have a shot at 30,000 is James Harden and Russell Westbrook. So that's a heck of a big three.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant reaches 30k career points | Sixers lose 4th straight
you know it's like it's like a chat for the for the show uh we're gonna take questions there it's place for us to hang out during games maybe you know uh try to build a little community here i'll include that like it'll be in the show description and show notes so uh please join us and uh come talk hoops with us it'll be fun you can teach us how to use it how about that you know like they can i love that teach us how to use it um
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant reaches 30k career points | Sixers lose 4th straight
KD is a good enough player that we're talking about the game like the Suns won. You know what I mean? I know. He's a special enough player that we kind of did that. I will say the Grizzlies, look, they're just a better basketball team than the Suns. But the Suns might have stumbled into a starting center because Bol Bol – He put up 18 points, 14 rebounds, had a few blocks.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant reaches 30k career points | Sixers lose 4th straight
But most importantly for the Suns, spaced the floor. He took 10 threes. He hit three of them. So maybe Shaq was on to something. I'm just saying.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant reaches 30k career points | Sixers lose 4th straight
That's right. The Bulls could have used them, especially at the start of the game. We're not going to talk about this game because the Pistons just dusted them. They could have doubled up the score.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant reaches 30k career points | Sixers lose 4th straight
0 for 20 from 3.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant reaches 30k career points | Sixers lose 4th straight
Unbelievable. Unacceptable. They scored 29 points in the first half. Man, the Bulls are just sad, Zena. And finally, before we go to break, Jaleel Okafor played three minutes for the Indiana Pacers. Welcome back, Jaleel. That's right. He last played the NBA in the 2020-2021 season. He played for the Pistons. But this guy, you know, Highly touted prospect. Number two pick in the draft.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant reaches 30k career points | Sixers lose 4th straight
Obviously, it doesn't work out for him because he's this big man, throwback guy coming up when everyone's looking for a stretch big. But we're big on bigs on this show, not just you. And this guy fought and clawed and came back, got a 10-day contract. This is a great story.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant reaches 30k career points | Sixers lose 4th straight
Insanely skilled player who's so much fun to watch. So I don't know. He's probably not going to contribute all that much, but still great story. Guys, stick around after the break. We got James Edwards late. We kept him up late.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant reaches 30k career points | Sixers lose 4th straight
Look, it seems so often that we've been tied up in trade minutia and trade news. It's nice to finally be back to the games.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant reaches 30k career points | Sixers lose 4th straight
The last few weeks have just been dominated by the Western Conference, the trade deadline, Luka Doncic especially. But the New York Knicks are a pretty good story, Zena. You know, they're the third best team in the East pretty easily, I'd say. So James Edwards, our New York Knicks beat writer at The Athletic, following the team around.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant reaches 30k career points | Sixers lose 4th straight
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily. Coming up, believe it or not, the Sixers are down pretty bad right now. The Grizzlies beat the Suns in spite of KD passing the 30,000 point mark. And we have James Edwards on to talk about the Knicks and their big win over the Pacers. Good morning, everybody. Good morning, Zena. Before we get started, I want to tell you guys a bit of exciting news.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant reaches 30k career points | Sixers lose 4th straight
You're in Indiana where they just really just handled the Pacers. Not really a problem there. Huge win over a team that's been playing very well in the Pacers. The Knicks just don't have a ton of these kind of wins to hang their hat on. So, like, I mean, how big is this one?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant reaches 30k career points | Sixers lose 4th straight
It's only been a week. No, it's been like two weeks. The Luka trade just killed me. So we're back to the games. It's been like many years. We're back to the games. The Sixers having just not a great season, but hey. Three games in a row where they have Paul George, Joel Embiid, and Tyrese Maxey out there. Finally, things looking good. Oh, wait, no. They've lost all three of those games.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Michael Malone out in Denver + Thunder get revenge on Lakers
What do you think this means for like the Jamal Murray injury? Because that's what I went to initially. I was thinking, OK, like you, I felt like Michael Malone's time was probably running up. I mean, Moda Kiel was on on this podcast feed last year kind of saying the exact same thing. And it's just the thing that happens with NBA coaches.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Michael Malone out in Denver + Thunder get revenge on Lakers
But I assumed he was going to get a chance to see this through. And so, you know, I'm looking at this Jamal Murray injury, which we've been hearing reports the last few days and in postgame press conferences, it makes it feel like it's worse than maybe just nursing him through the rest of the season to get to the playoffs.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Michael Malone out in Denver + Thunder get revenge on Lakers
I mean, do you think that this means that he's not going to be available somehow for the playoffs or just diminished?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Michael Malone out in Denver + Thunder get revenge on Lakers
I mean, it was a team building disagreement where you have a coach who didn't want to play the young guys and you had Calvin Booth who thought you could have a bench that was, you know, mostly young players. And it seems like the KCP move, you know, allowing him to walk was maybe the straw that broke the camel's back from a relationship perspective.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Michael Malone out in Denver + Thunder get revenge on Lakers
But I mean, did you feel like the winds sort of papered over a lot of this? I mean, and you even went back to the championship. I mean, Did that championship maybe paper over a relationship issue?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Michael Malone out in Denver + Thunder get revenge on Lakers
And some of the stuff that's that's been coming out through press conferences the last month, month and a half. I mean, you have Michael Malone being a little bit more aggressive, I would say, and calling out the players saying they were full of it basically and didn't watch film and, you know, calling out the defense here recently.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Michael Malone out in Denver + Thunder get revenge on Lakers
Russell Westbrook had a bit of an in-game meltdown and cost them a huge game the other night. And he hasn't really spoken to the media. And I wonder like when I see stuff like that, you know, Adam, you know, I've been in those rooms and I understand like, OK, there are a lot of fractures happening.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Michael Malone out in Denver + Thunder get revenge on Lakers
To fire the coach with six games left in the season, this is unprecedented for a team that's going to be in the playoffs and has the best player in the world.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Michael Malone out in Denver + Thunder get revenge on Lakers
So, you know, you make the case for me that they are going to get fired up from this and this is going to spur them on into a title instead of what's happened to the Grizzlies, which since they've let go of their coach has just gone into a complete free fall. We're questioning whether they're going to move on from Ja Morant.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Michael Malone out in Denver + Thunder get revenge on Lakers
So what's next for them? Let's say this playoff run is disappointing. Maybe it's a first-round exit. Maybe they make the second round. What do you see happening for them this summer? Because it feels like they've got multiple decisions to make, whether it's that looming Michael Porter Jr. trade that we've maybe been talking about since he signed his contract, maybe a potential Jamal Murray move.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Michael Malone out in Denver + Thunder get revenge on Lakers
Obviously, they've got to find a new head coach, new GM. Where do you think this franchise is going?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Michael Malone out in Denver + Thunder get revenge on Lakers
And now that we've lived through the Luca Dante trade, we know that anything is possible. Adam Morris, you guys can find him DNVR and the all city, all NBA podcast. He does that with Tim Lego. There's a great show. If you follow the entire league, like I do, thanks to us and Andrew for hanging out, talking a little bit of thunder Lakers. That's going to do it for the show folks.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Michael Malone out in Denver + Thunder get revenge on Lakers
Thank you guys for listening. This has been the NBA daily. Thanks for waking up with us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Michael Malone out in Denver + Thunder get revenge on Lakers
Well, with what the Lakers are able to do again, you, you mentioned paint touches and spraying the ball to the corner. And then if you cover the corner, that kick is going to Austin Reeves or it's going to LeBron, two guys that know how to put the ball on the floor and then make a decision. So everything just becomes more difficult.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Michael Malone out in Denver + Thunder get revenge on Lakers
The momentum of this game shifted in the third quarter in the Lakers direction. I mean, obviously their defense just came out. I thought in the second half, a lot more aggressive, but again, Luca himself was just getting to the basket. He was scoring more and then obviously gets ejected and things change. What allowed the game to get away from the Lakers?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Michael Malone out in Denver + Thunder get revenge on Lakers
Because, I mean, it was, yes, of course, no Luca out there. But there were things that the Thunder were doing that were upsetting them on defense. I thought the physicality went up a notch for the Thunder, which is a funny thing to say. But in that fourth quarter post ejection, what did you see out of the Thunder when they sealed the deal?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Michael Malone out in Denver + Thunder get revenge on Lakers
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily. Coming up, Andrew Schlecht, live postgame with someone doing the elliptical next to him after Thunder Laker. And then I've got Adam Mares to talk about Michael Malone being fired by the Nuggets. Good morning, everybody. Good morning, guys. Andrew, thanks for hanging out post-game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Michael Malone out in Denver + Thunder get revenge on Lakers
All right. Well, we're going to let you get out of here before they pack you up with the arena. Thank you, Andrew Slack for hanging out. Big night in the NBA. I mean, big day. Michael Malone getting fired. Guys, stick around after the break. Went pretty deep with Adam Mares on what it means for the Nuggets. S, you got any quick takes on Michael Malone and Calvin Booth being out in Denver?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Michael Malone out in Denver + Thunder get revenge on Lakers
Well, we talked about MVPs in purgatory the other day. I'm not sure if you caught that show as well. We had another MVP playing last night. Giannis Antetokounmpo has had a ridiculous season. He picks up his third straight triple-double, and the Bucs mounted a 24-point comeback to beat the Timberwolves. And, man, this Bucs team, every single time I feel like – They're done. Let's write them off.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Michael Malone out in Denver + Thunder get revenge on Lakers
Giannis does something ridiculous. And this is why John Wilmas the other day said he feels like as long as Giannis is healthy, the Bucs can win a playoff series. This is the sort of performance that he's talking about.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Michael Malone out in Denver + Thunder get revenge on Lakers
Yeah, they drop out of that pack that was all tied up there with the same record. And again, this is the sort of stuff that has been happening for the Wolves all season. Exactly. This snaps a five-game win streak that they were on. The Bucs right now on a five-game win streak. But it snaps a five-game win streak, and it does it in an awful way. You blow a 24-point lead in the fourth quarter.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Michael Malone out in Denver + Thunder get revenge on Lakers
The Thunder get a little bit of revenge on the Lakers for the blowout, but I got to start with this, Andrew. How did you get Luka Doncic ejected from this game?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Michael Malone out in Denver + Thunder get revenge on Lakers
I mean... That's that is one of your worst losses of the season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Michael Malone out in Denver + Thunder get revenge on Lakers
Listen, with the way that the coaching carousel is looking right now, I'm already starting to think, oh, I don't know. Is Chris Finch on the hot seat for stuff like this? I don't know. You got to kind of figure those things out when you're an NBA coach. The Celtics took overtime.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Michael Malone out in Denver + Thunder get revenge on Lakers
Jason Tatum hits a game-tying shot with about three seconds left with OG Ananobi all in his face to force that overtime. The Celtics needed overtime, but they beat the Knicks 119-117. The Knicks... Still haven't beat a good team, S.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Michael Malone out in Denver + Thunder get revenge on Lakers
Yeah, and the Celtics have been great. 20-4 since the All-Star break. You know, I kept hitting, banging this drum. Number one offense in March, 30th in pace. They have been fantastic. Porzingis, you know, he hits the go-ahead three in overtime here. Like, you start to see things come together. And now this Jalen Brown knee thing is kind of raising its head.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Michael Malone out in Denver + Thunder get revenge on Lakers
And, you know, the debate here is, do you rest him? Or do you, you know, let him play through it like he's doing now and hope that he's ready to go for the playoffs? And, I mean, frankly... I don't know, because this team, I still feel as if they are the favorites to win the title. They did it. You know, we just saw them do it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Michael Malone out in Denver + Thunder get revenge on Lakers
And I think that when you look at the way that they've been playing here in the lead up to the playoffs, it kind of backs that up. Yeah. But they need to be perfect and they need everyone healthy. And Jalen Brown is such a huge piece.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Michael Malone out in Denver + Thunder get revenge on Lakers
I don't know. We only got five days left in the season, so I think we'll have an idea by the time we get to next week. Guys, stick around after the break. Adam Mares from DNVR is here to talk about Michael Malone, Calvin Booth, Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and what comes next for the Denver Nuggets.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Michael Malone out in Denver + Thunder get revenge on Lakers
The NBA world was in shock with the news that the Nuggets are moving on from coach Michael Malone. Here to talk about it, my man over at DNVR and the All-NBA, All-City, All-NBA podcast, Adam Mares. How are you, buddy?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Michael Malone out in Denver + Thunder get revenge on Lakers
Yeah, a bit of a wild, unexpected day. I think that's a good way to put it for everybody. Not only are the Nuggets moving on from Michael Malone, but they have made it known that they're not going to extend Calvin Booth. So this is a complete sea change organizationally. What is your initial impression? Did you see this coming?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
Yeah, you know, I'll give you a couple of examples like coaching wise. One, like when I coached high school, we would do scrimmages right before the regular season. This is this is common. But I would talk to the opposing coach before the game. I'd say, hey, look, this is practice. Here's the stuff I need us to work on.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
And then I would say, is there anything you need us to do to help you get ready for the season? That was the one way that I could crank things up. It was the best way to install a press because it's hard to do in practice because you know the guys on your team that can't dribble, right? It's hard for you to actually work around that, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
then the other is international stuff you go and do friendlies against other up-and-coming you know countries or teams or whatever and those guys want to win those friendlies like those are real matches like you'll see this as the soccer world cup uh rolls around you know we've got euro basket coming this summer like those smaller countries that don't make the competitions
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
They see these as real, real games. And that's a great way to ratchet yourself up to get ready for, you know, for playing in group play and elimination. But there is no mechanism because I don't even think like NBA teams would be allowed to say, hey, college all stars, Oklahoma City, you guys all played in college. Now you're doing whatever in Oklahoma City.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
finish i mean had the pacers come out serious for the first half of that game we don't get the epic conclusion so thanks to the pacers for coming out flat but finishing strong i still can't believe it i still can't believe that happened i mean that's that's two nights in a row like you have the aaron gordon shot yeah ac that happened right in front of my face and then you have that the knicks come back the other day the next you know this was insane this has been um
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
We're going to keep you around as a practice squad. for when we're going to have 10 days off in the playoffs. I don't think that there would be a mechanism for that. But if any team was going to pull something like that off, it feels like OKC would be high up on the list.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
No, they don't. No, they definitely don't. No. Yeah. That makes sense. But I don't think they can. Oh, yeah. There are a lot of rules about practice, too.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
The Spurs use their player development staff for that. That's why they kind of have an intro.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
Yeah, I mean, I would say I understand that like the top four in the East are as good as the top eight in the West. That's kind of the thing.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
Yeah. But the top, you know, at the top, it's it's basically anybody's it's going to be a matchup thing. Right.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
Well, because, I mean, hell, look at the Nuggets were the fifth seed, and there's a strong argument they've been the second best team in the West all year.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
I mean, the Spurs were potentially going to make the playoffs before... women. Yeah. Right. Like, I mean, I forgot it would have been even more crowded.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
It's just the West is kind of this is is this going to be the thing that that drives the non-conference playoff?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
We assume they're going to be two West teams, you know?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
What about no? Wait, I'm sorry. Mark Dagnall is the Pete Buttigieg of basketball.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
extremely it well no lead is safe in the nba yeah but now it just seems like we have more guys that uh that that step up yeah right like more clutch players right now um which is hard to argue against that man i can't remember a time where we had this many like it feels like march madness it kind of does that's the parody yeah
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
He raises his voice, though.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
He actually yelled at referees.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
Is the line of demarcation the Mississippi River? It seems like it. Then it's Memphis, and I would say New Orleans stays in the West. Is it two teams that have to move? Is that right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
I kind of agree with you there, right? If you're to the east of the Great Plains, you're in the east.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
Probably. But if you were doing this from a logistics standpoint, right? We're trying to cut down on travel. It's Minnesota.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
Well, it's, you know, that moving the team from Vancouver really did mess with the conference alignment. I mean, for instance, the Thunder being in the Northwest Division. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
makes a lot more sense this team diagonal these teams up here which is bizarre yeah how would you realize look would you realign and do uh okc the texas teams absolutely pelicans what makes the most sense right yeah yeah just call that the texarkana division yeah might as well might as well
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
like college basketball man uh man like i mean they wound up over 16 from three they were what uh five of 29 for the game uh after going seven of 47 yeah uh the other night just the shooting oh man between them and the celtics i don't know which was worse right like
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
I don't see how. Look, they're talking on the broadcast about how he can't put weight on his leg.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
Darius Garland's got an injury that they said he would be out for a couple weeks if this was the regular season, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
I like it. What's the bottom one there? It's a D? Yeah. Definitely not worried.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
They bought some time by winning. But, I mean, obviously we'll find out today. I don't know what I'm more excited for, the Papal Conclave or the Steph MRI result. But if Steph is going to miss – I'm not ready to chalk it up as a loss, by the way, that he's just going to be out. I know that's a crazy thing.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
Listen, we've watched too many teams just totally crap the bed when they should win the game, right? Like the Pacers almost did, right? Like the Pacers all year we've seen them blow games that they're supposed to win. We saw them – they should have lost to the Cavs. It took an incredible turn of events.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
It took Aaron Neesmith making – I mean, just one of the most awesome free throw putbacks I've ever seen. uh haliburton getting his own rebound on the free throw and then making that shot i mean there was a lot of stuff there right yeah so i'm not ready to chalk it up as a loss because the warriors defense can get you into a rock fight.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
And obviously, like, the Wolves have a hard time throwing the rock into an ocean. So I don't know. But winning that game gave them a nice buffer, right? If they lose the next one, we all say, hey, you know what? They don't have Steph, of course. They go back. Maybe the role players go off in game three. Like, maybe you get, like, one of those 30-point Pajemski nights.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
Well, Jimmy's got to shoot. And this is the Jimmy Butler conundrum, right? It's time for Jimmy to shoot. He took some shots. He's got to make his shots.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
yeah he's gonna have to not only take those shots but also make those shots well let's just start with the taking like if he just takes them that's half the battle but yeah so i'm not ready to chalk it up as a loss for him but i i'm with you andrew i think that that's i mean you maybe can put them down one uh tier just because no step right like they are gonna potentially be down two to one let's say if he comes back best case scenario he's back for game four yeah
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
At least the Timberwolves, like, they only shot 29 of them last night.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
And the thing is, they were good looks. The Celtics were some trash looks that they were throwing up. I mean, Drew Holiday had one where it looked like he was just, you know, I don't know, twirling to the three-point line on an offensive rebound, and he just kind of flicks it up for no good reason.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
It's where Jimmy Butler needs to put pressure on the rim. He's got to get Gobert in foul trouble, right? He's got to try to get Gobert out of the game, basically, to give him a chance. And then if you look at how the Warriors rebounded last night, I actually think there's a lot of hope that they can stay in this series because of that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
I mean, Jimmy Butler's probably not going to have seven offensive rebounds again, but I don't know. Buddy Heald could probably get four again. Yeah. Like just with the way he can crash. And I mean, he's big, you know, big body.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
Talked about this on the show today. Secretly, right? You hate to lose a player as a coach. And Steve Kerr definitely hates when Steph Curry's not out there.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
Secretly, there's a little bit of like, You know, that coach enjoyment, right? Where you're like, I bet Pat Spencer, he's got a hook shot. Let's put him in there. I bet he, you know, there's the Pat Spencer stuff is just hilarious though. I mean, it just, if Pat Spencer is playing big minutes, that is a serious problem.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
But if he has to play big minutes, it's a serious problem for the Warriors, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
Yeah. Two games in a row of really like someone put a lid on the basket physically.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
It's important. He's got fouls to give. Go in there and muck things up. Those players are useful. When I coached high school, I recruited soccer players to be Pat Spencer. Go run hard. Go set screens. Go rebound. Don't shoot.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
You know, let me ask you guys, if we go back, the Halliburton Sabonis trade, man, that's an awful trade. I mean, it was an awful trade at the moment. It was a bad one.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
baseline worried i would say baseline worried okay that's just like normal normal worries they're you know they're worried oh did i pay the electric bill this i pay the electric bill my phone at home yeah right right i gotta answer these emails yeah that i stopped checking yeah
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
yeah it's just out of character by the way uh this comment from mike weisberg i'm glad this came up uh bj armstrong is is now the assistant gm the the the prevalence of of agents getting into front offices okay it has happened a lot I don't think this is a good one to do. I'll let everyone do their own research on this, not scientific research. But just go and look. This is not a great move.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
Oh, man, I almost called them Minnesota Kings for some reason, but the Sacramento Kings. are going backwards they're going backwards monty mcnair west wilcox i mean those guys were they're basketball people they know their stuff west wilcox especially um who made a great move um i this is it it's it's another story of like ownership matters yes
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
That's it. Basketball friends.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
Look at what the Knicks have done. It's all CAA, right? Like Leon Rose, you know, I mean, and all their players, right? I don't think that that's a good way to operate. And it has sort of worked out for the Knicks, but they're not going to win a title. You know, not that way, for sure. But the thing is, Andrew, you nailed it. The basketball friends, man.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
These guys, you know, they want to also keep their buddies around. This is why when you see a front office go through changes, they clean house and everyone brings in their own guys. It's it's poor leadership, honestly. Like if you look in a real world, no, no organization will run that way. You would never.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
dump all your organizational like infrastructure and knowledge but yeah nba operates in in different corporate it's more like a corporate takeover when these gms come in and you know it's i would say that if the sacramento kings and you know this is actually like mike weisberg is is dropping some stuff in the chat that's pretty good um the teams that do well at recruiting players win
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
They don't hire the guy who's the head of whatever agency to run their team. They win. And then they become a destination. Right. Or they draft well. You have good basketball people in there who understand, hey, look at Oklahoma City. Sam Presti has basically operated that team with his hands tied behind his back financially. Right. They're in Oklahoma City.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
It's not a market that people want to be in. So you look at the way that he's built that team. Sacramento could have easily operated like that. They are not a free agent destination. They have more money, though. They could have been. They could be a marquee franchise in the NBA.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
as far as the small markets go you can be successful in a small market and by the way sacramento's not even that small of a market like it's still a pretty large market they got a brand new beautiful arena it's amazing golden one is great fans great fans right great fan base right yeah miami heat if the miami heat had that fan base right like we would talk about how wow they're a powerhouse but you know yeah this is the thing but
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
ownership just can't get out of its own way and a lot of this you know i don't want to get into how so much of basketball business is a grift but a lot of it is um you know so much of it is people just trying to make money off of it and when you have a guy like vivek ranadive that Apparently we'll listen to, you know, a couple of people.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
I just feel like you're just basically you're on the treadmill of mediocrity, Zena. Oh, right. Like you're never. And by the way, you just got on that treadmill because they were on the bad one before. Right. Like they were. Oh, right. Right. And so you get a couple of years where you taste mediocrity. where you're, hey, you know what?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
Well, okay, so one of the big things, I mean, people bring up the challenge, right? Yeah. That's a tough one. I think it's hard to really pin that on him, right? Like, yeah, Shea tries to stop him when he realizes that they're not going to win it. But, I mean, he's already called it at that point. It's someone else's job. It's not Mark Dagnon's job.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
Look at what they did by bringing in DeMar DeRozan, right? It didn't raise their ceiling, really.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
It made them fun. Yeah. It made their floor a little bit more stable, I would say. Right? Like you had a guy that could get shots, but they didn't. It's equally low. Sure.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
Fair. Fair, fair, fair.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
Yeah, they're sitting pretty. Andrew, did you see anything in that game to make you think that Jokic can't just do 40 and 20 every game of the series?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
Now when he goes into foul baiting mode like he did, like six-minute mark of the fourth quarter, he's only looking for contact.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
Obviously, the buck stops with him, so the mistake, he has to eat it. The fouling thing was odd to me, especially when Jokic was out of the game, right? That is your job. You have to be aware that Jokic is not on the court, and you need to try to keep him off the court. But also, instructing your players to foul, I mean, it seems to me like it would be obvious that they need to burn clock.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
I thought they were late. The rotations on the double, I thought they were late, and Jokic is always going to take advantage of that. They're not supposed to be calling this rip-through, but I don't know if you noticed, but Jokic, when the double comes, he starts this rip-through into the double. It's actually kind of genius because he's not doing it in space, but he...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
I feel like OKC's just got to be faster to the spot. They almost got to meet the ball there.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
There have been seven other games with a 20-point comeback.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
Yeah. 21 offensive rebounds.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
I think the biggest question marks for game two is how do Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
right and they didn't play well absolutely alice caruso has this crazy game off the bench that you can't expect to replicate okay like you got the caruso game in game one that's a game that you want to win energy defense all of that he'll replicate yeah yeah but the scoring like you didn't expect them to have 20 you know um you don't need him to you don't need him to do it you don't need him to
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
This is something that you do practice. So, I mean, it could be, I mean, his instructions, he's doing the right thing, right? By the book, you're up three, you foul. Now, I hate it, personally.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
We had this whole thing. We were working up like, all right, let's talk Caruso. We started seeing the picture of him and Mark Dagnall from back in the day. But yeah, I think that it's all about Jalen Williams and it's all about Chet Holmgren. And look, they put up 28 combined. I think they need to be at 40, right? They need to be at 40, if not 50. It's the playoffs.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
These guys are supposed to step up, and they just have to be better.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
Yeah. Um, but yeah, I think that's it. And I mean, look for the nuggets, man, Michael Porter jr. Is done. I don't know. I mean, you know, like he just, he looks awful out there. Um, I think that their depth that they don't have is disappearing in front of our eyes.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
So, you know, to Zena's point, you look at these minutes and it's going to be – and I do think game two that the Nuggets are probably going into it, lower energy would be my guess. Just knowing this team the way I know them, expect the Thunder to win game two. Period.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
Look, at this point, if you're down 0-2 – I mean, the Cavs are maybe even a worse case just because they've lost so many guys. But if you go down 0-2 and you were the home team, you should just expect that you're about to go home.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
Well, okay, so I hate it just from a perspective of somebody who wants to watch awesome plays, right? Like, it takes away an opportunity to have, you know, like Tyrese Halliburton hitting a game winner, right? You know, now they were only down one. But it takes that away when you foul up three. We don't get exciting finishes.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
It's actually, I'll be honest, it's a good place when you have to do this every single night. Yeah. to see stuff. Twitter used to be great for it because people would drop clips and you would get some discussion here and there and you could really get your finger on the pulse of what was happening. And now it's watch all the games that you can and occasionally see what's popping on Reddit.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
They kind of dropped a huge weight off their back, didn't they? By beating the Celtics. They were 0-10 in the regular season. By beating a good team?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
With the Knicks? I think that they're probably happy, but you've got to be concerned with the way
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
Yeah, Mikael Bridges playing 50 minutes. I will say, I think the Knicks learned some stuff in game one. and i expect we'll see more mitchell robinson and carl anthony towns together yeah that was nice we'll we'll see because i they need to stretch the floor Boston, on the other hand, I don't know about Boston. Is Kristaps healthy? That's what I was about to say.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
So Kristaps misses, what, two and a half quarters of that game? Drew Holliday is banged up. Their shot selection was just absolutely gross. Like they weren't even willing to go through the motions on some of this stuff. They went away from, and this is a Celtics habit that they've had for a few seasons now. they go away from what's working, which is their game plan and their offense.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
So, to me, there's the basketball, like, watching brain that wants to enjoy what I'm watching. And then there's the coach brain that, yeah, absolutely, you foul – When you are up three, you foul, but you need to burn clock. So you should be trying to do it. I don't know. They fouled with, was it 13 seconds left?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
And they just start running up and down the court, chucking. It happens in the third quarter of games that they're winning. They just go away from it. And then if they have a lead later, they let teams come back because they go into a prevent offense. They just, we're going to dribble down. It's going to be an isolation. We maybe make one pass to Derek white.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
Like we're going to give him a grenade in the corner and he's going to launch. And when those shots drop, I mean, they look amazing, but when they don't look purposeful, but when they don't, you know, it looks like this. And I think that they have this, this tendency to fall into that habit. I think game two, there'll be okay. Right. Yeah. But and this is a great point from Walsh.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
The Celtics like to fall asleep. Literally, they go into cruise control and they get a little bit, you know, I don't want to call it lazy because like they're on defense. They're absolutely still at the same level. It's the offensive end where they kind of just. All right, your turn. My turn. Jack up this shot.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
I just that sort of stuff like I would love for them to get rid of it because it would make them a more consistent, great team. But, you know, they go 15 for 60 from three. They could just as easily have gone 30 for 60 from three. And that's why they do it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
Or, I mean, it depends, right? Yeah, or OG. You can do OG, but he likes to post up on the smaller guys, right? I think that maybe there's a world in which Tibbs guards him with OG. I don't know. I think that you need OG for Jalen Brown and Jason Tatum.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
Mizzou is going to hit the shoot better adjustment, right? He's going to play that card. Mike Weisberg here in the chat, by the way, mentioned something that I think is worth bringing up. Whatever's going on with Porzingis. Didn't he have mono at some point in his career? Is that right, Andrew? Am I making that up? I'm just, look, he has, he has been off for like the last couple of months. Right.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
You want to burn that down. You know, at least let them cross half court, right? So that's going to burn three or four seconds. I mean, defending the whole time too, right? You are the most disruptive defense to ever play in the NBA. Yeah. Nothing wrong with guarding. And it's just you can just guard. So, you know, guard the guy down the court. Try to foul at seven seconds. Right.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
So he hasn't been great. Uh, he's not been great, especially rim protection. Um, So that is actually a real thing for them. They, as lucky as they were... It was not mono. Okay, it wasn't mono before. Okay, I don't know. Someone in the league had mono. I don't know why it was Brazilian.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
He's been sick before. Okay, I'm not saying that he's immunocompromised or anything, but... I don't know. But yeah, he has been weird for the last couple months. Drew Holiday's been banged up. Jalen Brown's been banged up. Obviously Tatum banged up with the wrist. As lucky as the Celtics were last year to have avoided all of the injury, you know, the negative injury luck.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
This year, it feels like they're getting just like they're being nibbled. It's a little thing here. It's a little thing there. And the whole thing needs to work together. I think Peyton Pritchard all of a sudden becomes one of the most important Celtics.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
I mean, if Porzingis is not available, I think Pritchard is the guy who has to step up and give them a big game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
But the other guys are not 100%. I do think that that's a real thing.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
Don't let them drop this game, Andrew.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
I don't know if they're going to make it. But I do think they match up.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
Maybe you're overrating the Celtics.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
It does feel weird that the Pacers might make the final.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
Imagine the pageantry. of the indiana pacers hosting an nba finals game uh rick smith will be there uh i don't know reggie miller davis's reggie miller yeah i mark jackson i just i just have a hard time left shrimp panda's friend run our test i i Look, I think the Pacers match up with Celtics really well. And I think that's the most likely outcome of the entire thing. Oh, my gosh.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
Like you just want as little time as possible to play the free throw game because things like Chet missing two free throws can happen. Right. The idea is you want to take that away. And honestly, like you get to a point where you miss the first one and you've got to start thinking about how to burn clock.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
And missing the second one, you almost want to do it on purpose in a way that allows you to get a chance at the rebound. I don't know that there's too much you can do when you've left all the time on the clock. You're giving them possessions. by doing that, and so that's the major mistake. As far as criticism goes, look, experienced teams have messed this up for a long time.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
Yeah, he did. We're forgetting that Jimmy Butler is hurt, too. You know? Like, he's playing through that pelvic injury, right? But they can slow everything to a halt. This is the thing about the Warriors' defense, right? They can make every single possession very difficult. for the Timberwolves.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
And then their ability to grind offensive possessions with Jimmy Butler I think is another feather in their cap. Again, I'm not willing to write the Warriors off, even without Steph. I think that they can pick up a win. If he's out for three games, they can win one of them.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
Coach, look, Greg Popovich, right, who just is announcing his retirement. Go back and look at the teams that he coached in the playoffs, the last few playoff runs they had, and go look at their end-of-game fouling mistakes. I mean, this was a constant theme for the San Antonio Spurs.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
It's a throwback stream, Andrew.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
I don't know. I will say this. I mean, I like the Pacers against the Cavs. I like the matchup for them, and I felt like they could win the series. I thought it would be a six- or seven-game series, but I felt like the Pacers could beat them. And the Pacers have matched up against the Celtics team really well the last two seasons. I mean, the Celtics are a much better team.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
I just think that there are enough things going on with the Celtics that there's some weaknesses that can be exploited. And with the Pacers, everything's kind of going right for them right now. A lot of people, look, there are injuries every single year during the regular season and every single year during the playoffs.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
If I have to qualify every good thing about a team by saying, okay, they've had injury luck, then we would be here all day. But the Pacers are also experiencing some great injury luck as well. They're going to have an easier path. I think the Knicks are going to put up a little bit more of a fight than the Cavs just because the Cavs are going to be down a few guys.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
It feels like the Pacers should be able to get this done in Five games if it's going to go like this. If Mobley's not going to play?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
Whereas the Knicks picking up that game one win, I mean, we're going to go six, it feels like.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
I mean, I like Boston, so I'm down. I love a good walkable city. It's going to be great weather there in June. I'm like a one-issue voter right now as far as the teams making the finals. I haven't been to Minneapolis. I think that would be a lot of fun. I've got a lot of friends there. Great early summer. Yeah, I'd love to go there. I do like Denver quite a bit. Obviously, Oklahoma City.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
teams mess it up all the time. So, you know, it's one of those, it's highlighted by it happening in the playoffs and they were the best team. And, you know, obviously we've all been singing Mark Dagnall's phrases now for a couple of seasons. And this is the first time that we've seen him make a high profile mistake like this, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
I've got a lot of buddies over there. Yeah, so that's what I'm thinking. On the list of places, I think probably the Knicks. I would hate it if they made the finals just because I'm not a big New York guy. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
Insane. Look, which one's crazier? The Knicks making the finals or the Pacers making the finals?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
Because they have to beat Boston first.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
Every single shot for the Knicks feels like, I don't know, it's the Odyssey. It is just, you have to do these 12 tasks in order to get a shot off Jalen Brunson. I don't know how they've been doing it for the last two seasons, much less to do it and beat the Celtics out of seven.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
It's been a great playoffs, though.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
Unpredictability has been great.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
Like, and I think that, you know, the criticism is warranted, right? You're the coach and you made the decision, but, I don't know. I want to put it on the players, but as a coach, you just can't do it. I just can't imagine a scenario where they haven't practiced this properly.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
But the Spurs did. They struggled with this. And Greg Poppins is the best to ever do it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
I guess I see I kind of go this way. I say that your defense is so good. The other thing is, though, referees in the NBA being whistle happy, right? OK, so let's say you hit the three and the guy falls down like you know he's going to do.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
You know, like Jalen Brunson, he's going to hit the floor on every single three point attempt because if he misses, he wants those free throws and the referee wants to reward him with those free throws. So now you got a scenario where you're risking losing the game
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
on a on a three and one right like so i i don't know i i think that there's got to be number one i mean the the free throw rules probably could could use an overhaul just because of the television product right like yeah the three-point foul is is way too turbocharged like it's too powerful
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
yeah to get the three-shot foul so if they did something around that maybe you'd get more teams like if a three-shot or a foul on a three-pointer was only for two shots but then teams would they would find a way to game that because yeah there's too many finance guys and lawyers in the nba not enough basketball people that actually care about the spirit of the game uh-huh that's my rant i mean you know
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
Hey, we got Zena Kada here. Look, I'm going to the gym after this. This is like my pre-workout.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
No, I wake up, I have pre-workout in my blood.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
Three-point shot defense is kind of like – It's like the force, right? Like you don't really see it. It's not like a real thing. Usually it's about teams. It's about teams making or missing, which is funny, right? Because we say all the time it's a make or miss league. That's what I'm saying. They had open shots. They were open shots.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
And I think the expectation that the lights are too bright, like are going to stay too bright, because I do think that that's what happened with Minnesota game one. Right. Like the way they looked in the first half. Yes.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
I think they maybe work themselves up too much. Right. And then they come out flat. Right. Like you're too high before. Right. You've got all this time to anticipate. Oh, it's Steph Curry. You know what I mean? I think that they just it was almost like they they revved the engine too hard. in pregame, you know, and they just came out lifeless. It was different than the Pacers, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
The Pacers came out and they looked lackadaisical. The Timberwolves did not – the Timberwolves just looked like they were, like, tired. It was an odd way to start the game. Pacers were just throwing the ball away and, you know, just didn't have good process, I thought, in the first quarter especially. But with the Wolves, like, everything was fine.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
It just was like – there just wasn't a lot of verve behind it, you know.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
You talked about execution that night after the game. And this is the thing. I wonder if these teams that had time off, I wonder how hard they practiced. What was the intensity like in practice? You can't replicate the games. So the Nuggets just had how many clutch possessions over the course of seven games against the Clippers? A ton. A ton. So for them, they're just in it every day now.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
Good. You know, I thought we were going to have like, I don't know, weird. game two for Pacers Cavs and then I mean obviously the injury thing really threw a wrench in the night because you know you go into it thinking okay well the Pacers should just blow them out right the talent advantage was so clearly on the Pacers side and then they come out so flat and it allows us to get just an absurd
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
They're practicing every single night. And with the Thunder, like you just mentioned, they haven't played a real game since February.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
Well, Mark Dagnold is maybe too chill, right? I mean, maybe the thing about Mark where he's so steady... Maybe it worked again?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs and Thunder should be worried | Morning Shoot Around
From an edge standpoint in practice, NBA teams don't practice anymore. They're not practicing. And right now... There's a fine line, like how much do you want to work versus rest? And can you risk injury and all these? But you are right, like those guys. And it's because you can't really practice for what the Nuggets just did.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers down Cavs again + are the Warriors done without Steph?
Buddy Heald had four offensive rebounds.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers down Cavs again + are the Warriors done without Steph?
Yeah, exactly. I mean, listen, you're up 2-0 and you won two games in Cleveland. You do whatever celebration you want. Also, hey, look, shout out Aaron Neesmith. That guy, once again, down the stretch of a game, his energy shifted everything. I mean, he had a crazy foul guarding Donovan Mitchell where he throws his hurdles, Donovan Mitchell. That's how aggressive he was playing down the stretch.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers down Cavs again + are the Warriors done without Steph?
I think going from that Lakers team that's, you know, Luca's going to dribble a lot of the air out of the ball to this Warriors team where the ball is popping a little bit more, a lot more defensive pressure. I mean, you know, it's a different thing. And they are coming in, like you mentioned, coming off that game seven where they were just in a super physical series.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers down Cavs again + are the Warriors done without Steph?
So they are probably on the edge. But, all right, I want to – you got to put your Anthony Slater hat on here because – I think it's pretty clear what the what the Wolves need to do. Right. They got to shoot better, defend better. But the Warriors lost Steph Curry for at least game two. And we don't know what beyond that. But it does look like he's going to miss game two.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers down Cavs again + are the Warriors done without Steph?
How the heck do the Warriors stay competitive without Steph Curry against this Wolves team?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers down Cavs again + are the Warriors done without Steph?
We'll have to give Steve Kerr the Coach of the Year award retroactively. But Draymond and Jimmy Butler combining for six threes is unlikely.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers down Cavs again + are the Warriors done without Steph?
Steve Kerr coached his butt off last night.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers down Cavs again + are the Warriors done without Steph?
He had those guys popping, and he knew the guys. He was pushing the right buttons. I feel like Steve Kerr, he's one of those basketball coach sickos that he doesn't love losing guys, obviously, but secretly likes tweaking his roster a little bit too much. All right. That's going to do it for the show. John, thanks for hanging out. Stay, stay up late.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers down Cavs again + are the Warriors done without Steph?
Go and read John Krasinski over at the athletic. Again, he's one of the best covering any team in the league. And he happens to cover a team that's fascinating. So go and check that out over at the athletic. I'm sure he's gonna have a big game story there for John Krasinski and Espera Henney. I'm Dave DeFore. And this has been the NBA daily. Thanks for waking up with us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers down Cavs again + are the Warriors done without Steph?
But also, he gets that big putback. And, you know, to be honest with you, the little bit of the replay review there gives Indy a little bit of a chance to kind of catch their breath, you know, and set their defense. So they kind of lucked into a little bit of a break there, right? Like Neesmith then draws that offensive foul.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers down Cavs again + are the Warriors done without Steph?
It was a little bit of a weird game for the Pacers, especially in the first half. We're thinking, okay, hey, they got a real shot to go up 2-0, and they came out flat. They were talking about it on the halftime show, even. It was that obvious that they came out flat. And then when you go in, if you just look at the box score, look, I think the Cavs did a good job.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers down Cavs again + are the Warriors done without Steph?
Obviously, their game plan, don't let Siakam beat us. Don't let Halliburton beat us. Now, of course... down the stretch of the game. I mean, he takes four shots in the last, I think, two, two and a half minutes. So they had eight shots for Siakam, only 11 for Halliburton. Those guys don't have big games, but the other guys did. Miles Turner had a good game scoring the ball. Neesmith puts up 23.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers down Cavs again + are the Warriors done without Steph?
And then the other thing was coming out of the halftime break, it just felt like the Pacers had more of that Pacers energy. They started running on makes. Again, right? They weren't doing that in the first half. And it was almost a little bit – and I'm not going to give them credit for this because I don't think that they planned it this way. But there was almost a little bit of rope-a-dope.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers down Cavs again + are the Warriors done without Steph?
You know, did the Cavs run out of gas a little bit? I mean, I think you could argue certainly they looked tired. I mean, Jared Allen basically, you know, the only big man for them. So they had to win. You saw like –
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers down Cavs again + are the Warriors done without Steph?
Right. His shot chart, you know, so he puts up 30 shots. And nowadays, when a guard does that, you're thinking, oh, he must have shot 15 threes. He took seven. Right. But he attacked the he attacked the basket. How many paint? He had 19 shots in the paint.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers down Cavs again + are the Warriors done without Steph?
Well, he got free throws that you're actually – this is what we point to when we say a guy has a lot of free throws, right? Like when we're making the argument that a guy does deserve free throws, it's this sort of rim pressure. And, I mean, again, this was the path to success for them all night. You know, Max Struess benefited from that quite a bit. Hits five threes.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers down Cavs again + are the Warriors done without Steph?
I still can't believe it. A former Donald Mitchell fan, maybe in Utah. Yeah, yeah. Unbelievable game. The Cleveland Cavaliers just, they had no business being in the position they were in. They were down, you know, Evan Mobley, Darius Garland, DeAndre Hunter in the game, ran up a 20-point lead, and then to just have it ripped away from you like that when you think you stole one.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers down Cavs again + are the Warriors done without Steph?
But the other thing is, I think defensively, the way that the Cavs came out, I think they did a pretty good job. They just –
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers down Cavs again + are the Warriors done without Steph?
Yeah, and Halliburton picked up a wrist injury somewhere along the way. It did not matter, apparently. It didn't matter at the end, but I wonder if that might have been part of that. Nembhard, we talked about how he's a playoff riser. The shots didn't fall, but you mentioned he makes a big play, gets big rebounds. He had two offensive rebounds. He comes up with that steal. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers down Cavs again + are the Warriors done without Steph?
At the end of the game to get the possession back again, just everywhere you look for this Pacers team, they look they look more and more like a team that belongs in the title picture. Right.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers down Cavs again + are the Warriors done without Steph?
They never felt desperate, actually. A lot of teams do. You and I were talking in our group chat during the game, and I was saying my concern with the Cavs is can they keep up the scoring? They can defend, but we know that the Pacers, their offense is going to win most of those battles. But can the Cavs continue to score?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers down Cavs again + are the Warriors done without Steph?
Everything was a bit of a chore. Donovan Mitchell puts up 48 points, and they were hard 48. It reminded me of LeBron in the finals in 2015, where it's just him. Basically, I'm going to put everyone on my back. And hopefully I can make this happen. But, you know, it just wasn't enough.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers down Cavs again + are the Warriors done without Steph?
I don't know about that. I mean, I don't know about that. I will say Struess had some defensive possessions that were impressive, especially like Miles Turner down the stretch of the game. I thought the guards, when they were switched on to Miles Turner, gave him a really hard time around the basket.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers down Cavs again + are the Warriors done without Steph?
And, you know, like, I was thinking we were coming into this 1-1, and I was going to talk about some of the things that, look, the Cavs are missing these guys in Game 3. They found some things that's working for them. But, man, now they're down 2-0, and you just started thinking, ooh, buddy. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers down Cavs again + are the Warriors done without Steph?
I don't know if the Cavs can do this.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers down Cavs again + are the Warriors done without Steph?
Is this it? I don't know, man. The Pacers are pretty good. And I think for them to lose four of the next six. I mean, it's tough. That's tough to see. Yeah, yeah. For the next whatever. Yeah. Yeah. For the next five, not six. Excuse me. That would be pretty tough. The matchup is is just too even. even though the records weren't in the regular season. Obviously, the Cavs had a great year.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers down Cavs again + are the Warriors done without Steph?
But as the Cavs lose people, if Garland's not back, which we talked about this the other night, they said that this would be a multiple-week injury if it was a regular season. Evan Mobley, they were talking on the broadcast, he's limping. He can't put full weight on his foot. So they've got to be at least doubtful for Game 3. And I would say, you know, I don't expect those guys to be able to play.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers down Cavs again + are the Warriors done without Steph?
So, you know, you're looking at a potential, you know, this was a home run game from Donovan Mitchell. Can you repeat that and expect, you know, 20 and 22 and 12 from Jared Allen? You get 23 from Max Drew. It's a little bit like, OK, see, you know, it really does feel like a game where you lose the game, where you get the huge Caruso night. Yeah. You know, and you lose it in heartbreaking fashion.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers down Cavs again + are the Warriors done without Steph?
It's got to feel awful. Tyrese Halliburton hits a game winner and the Pacers are up 2-0 on the number one seed in the East.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers down Cavs again + are the Warriors done without Steph?
Yeah, it's very similar. So but to go down to with home court, I don't know.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers down Cavs again + are the Warriors done without Steph?
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily. Coming up, the Pacers win a wild comeback win in Game 2 over the Cavs. And we got John Krasinski to talk about the Timberwolves' loss, even though Steph Curry was out for the Warriors. Good morning, everybody. Good morning-ass horrible night. Good morning. Oh, my God. If you were in Cleveland or a Cavaliers fan or... I can't believe it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers down Cavs again + are the Warriors done without Steph?
Do they not look – the best right now.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers down Cavs again + are the Warriors done without Steph?
I don't eat steak anymore, but I, you know, we, there's good places to eat. They got a good spot. Yeah. Yeah. Guys stick around after the break, we got John Krasinski to talk about the wolves and warriors.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers down Cavs again + are the Warriors done without Steph?
After the Warriors pick up a game one win in their second round series against the Wolves, road teams in the playoff second round are now 5-0. Here to talk about it, John Krasinski, who covers Minnesota Timberwolves for us. John, I want to start with what you had to say on Blue Sky about this game because I feel like he kind of nailed it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers down Cavs again + are the Warriors done without Steph?
The Wolves lose game one amid a rash of missed threes and blown defensive coverages. Even a B-minus game would have won this. With Steph out, they're probably okay. This was a massively disappointing game. John, why was this game so disappointing outside of the loss?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers down Cavs again + are the Warriors done without Steph?
In the last round, right? Like Jimmy Bowler misses a game, the Rockets blow that one, and then they lose in seven. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers down Cavs again + are the Warriors done without Steph?
They follow up the seven of 47 game the other night with a five of 29 from three 17%. This at least look 29 threes. That's a, that's a moderate amount.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers down Cavs again + are the Warriors done without Steph?
You can't say that they were just out there chucking, but you know, is there a point where they have to question the approach? You know, I mean, or do you feel like they're getting good looks? I mean, for me, it's like, these are not shots that they should be missing at this rate.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
Yeah. I mean, and also, I mean, if there's, if they can fall into the lottery, they still have their pick, right? Yeah. I mean, this is a team that's drafted well. I mean, Derek Lively obviously was a later pick. I don't think that that's outside the realm of possibility.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
How would the fans, you know, who've had already, I mean, so many things dumped on them between the Luka rug pull and now an 80s injury and now Kyrie's injury and the rise in the season ticket prices. How would they handle just tanking the rest of the season?
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
Yeah. Look, this team went to the finals last year. I think that they had a great shot to make the finals again. And this now, obviously, we're on a whole different trajectory. So what do they do this summer? You know, they're going to be looking at a season without Kyrie Irving next year. AD potentially maybe having surgery, but you assume he'd be healthy to start next season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
They got Daniel Gafford. They've got Derek Lively. It feels like maybe one of those guys is going to have to be included in a trade if this team wants to be competitive next season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
Do you think they would offer him a five-year deal with the ACL at his age? I mean, if they were hesitant with Kyra, with Luca, right. And they're saying, you know, the, the, all of the stuff that we've heard, right. All of the spin coming out of, of Dallas. We didn't think his long-term outlook was great. We didn't believe in his health.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
We didn't believe he was going to take his fitness seriously. And now you've got Anthony Davis who is 31 years old and obviously injury prone, and you're going to have 33 going into 34 year old Kyrie Irving coming off an ACL. Um, That just doesn't seem like a great investment.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
I mean, if they're actually telling the truth that they didn't feel like they could pay Luka Doncic, seems like that same thing would pop up for Kyrie now.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
Well, let's talk about, in my opinion, the Hall of Famer in the room, Kevin Durant. I mean, we heard right after the deadline that they would love to get him there. Him and Kyrie would like to play together again. He checks some of those boxes. I personally think it's a weird fit if you don't have Kyrie. But is there a possibility that this drives Dallas to push harder to get KD this summer?
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
Yeah, Clay is the guy that a lot of people point to as, you know, that big contract that they would be able to move. But I mean, you got to be you got to find a team that's once Clay Thompson at that money. And where does Clay Thompson fit? I mean, I don't know. Maybe they can send him to the Lakers for next to nothing.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
I mean, imagine, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
Now he's watching Don't Connect Do It. Austin, Luka's out there. Austin Reed looks like Jerry West. It's insane. The Luka bump for the Lakers has just been, it's got to be infuriating for you to watch, Christian.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
The Mavericks, I really thought the Luka trade didn't end their season. It just, I think, stunted their future. Kyrie's injury, that's a wrap. Not a wrap. LeBron James. His career, I think it has no end in sight.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
The weather's amazing. I don't blame him. Christian Clark, thanks a lot, man. I appreciate you. Go and read Christian for all the fallout for this cursed season for the Mavericks. And, of course, as they, you know, start watching the lottery. Man, Christian, get ready for some draft prospect work, buddy. You're going to have a great time.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
For Zena Kata, for Christian Clark, I'm Dave Dufour, and this has been the NBA Daily. Appreciate you guys listening. Thanks for waking up with us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
He was named Western Conference Player of the Month yesterday, and he also, in the game and the win against the Pelicans, became the first NBA player to score 50,000 points combined regular season and postseason. I mean, that's a number that's likely never going to be touched again, just when you consider the longevity of his career, 22 years. He also poured in.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
So he, I guess he has now 50,000 and 33 points because he had 34 points in the game, eight rebounds, six assists. So, you know, he's already on the way to 51,000 Zena.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
Yeah. So in February, he averaged 29 points a game, shot 55% from the field, 44% from three, 10 and a half rebounds, seven assists, a steal. He had two 40 point games, which is now the most for any player over the age of 40. Cause Michael Jordan only did it once and the Lakers were nine and two.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
And so a lot of this was also before Luca even got there, by the way, Luca had 30 and 15 in the game last night for, you know, casual since we're talking about the game. Yeah. But yeah, You know, LeBron's legitimately made a strong case for all NBA, in my opinion, all NBA first team. Not just all NBA. I think all NBA first team. And, you know, they're the two seed. They keep winning. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
I think he's going to be on the MVP ballot for a lot of people, and rightfully so. I mean, he has kept this team above water when Anthony Davis was hurt. Obviously, this whole transition moving over to the Luka Doncic era, this has just been a masterclass of a season, and he's 40.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
Good morning, Dave. Another show. We had a couple good games last night. But, unfortunately, got a little bit of news and update on Kyrie Irving. He's going to miss the rest of the season and likely a large portion of next year. Got a torn ACL. You know, he injured the leg on Monday night. Going up for a layup. You know, just something that, again, he's probably done 10 million times in his life.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
I mean, the Lakers, all of a sudden they became such, and not that they weren't even good, but now they're so compelling. That's what I'm saying.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
But they're so compelling. They're so fun to watch. I mean, Luca blocks it. A three pointer gets the, gets his own, gets the own rebound, falling out of balance, bounces off the guy's head and then points the other direction. And the crowd is going wild. And you could just see like LeBron is loving this too. It's awesome. Lakers games are just an extravaganza. Again, it's the Lakers are back.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
Yeah, the Lakers are back. Speaking of back, I got to admit something to you guys. Sometimes we have to change the show up based on, you know, what happens. We thought our game of the night was going to be Warriors-Knicks. You know, it's this new Warriors team. It's their first real test against a real good team. And then Carl Anthony Towns is out. Okay, well, you know what?
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
The Knicks are still really good. Okay, well, the Warriors won that game. They're 9-1 with Jimmy Butler, but way less compelling than what became our game of the night. Phoenix Suns, they were absolutely pathetic, to quote Stan Van Gundy. Their defense was pathetic to start this game. They were down, what was it, 18 at the halftime?
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
They were down as much as 23, and they came back, Zena, because they're not as pathetic as we thought. They showed a lot of grit. 119-117, they picked up the win, and I think we're going to start
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
in the oddest place we could possibly start because when you've got look remember they started the year this is the second or excuse me this is the yes the second biggest payroll in sports right it was 409 million dollars to start the year so who do you think the hero of this game is Of course, it's the two-way player.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
You would think it's one of those people pushing up that payroll. Yeah. You know what's nice, man? Look, when you're a two-way player, it's March. You're not on the opposing team scouting report. Colin Gillespie came in, scored 10 points in the fourth. You know, help, help. build that comeback. But, but Zena, look, they've got an opportunity. They are three games back at the Mavericks.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
The Mavericks season looks like it's done. They have to play better than they played in the first half of this game. But I think the signs of life that we saw in the second half, it's worth being a little bit optimistic about that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
That's a great question, Zena. Well, you know, I don't want to be the guy who goes to the leadership thing because we've already done that this year with Kevin Durant. I mean, we did a whole podcast about it because other people talked about the leadership. It's not a leadership issue. It is an identity issue, though.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
Look, you know, they fire their coach, you know, and they bring they fire Frank Vogel. They bring in Mike Budenhoser. And I'm not sure what they really expected him to be able to do. Like it was there's a roster construction issue, of course, like Yusuf Nurkic didn't work out for them. Right. Bradley Beal hasn't been, you know, that addition hasn't worked out for them as well.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
Freak occurrence. So yeah, Zena, he's going to be out for the year. The Mavs just completely snakebitten.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
But just the lack of like just compete, just not working hard defensively has been odd. Like who is who is their leader on the court? I think KD does lead this team and he leads them by example. But like they're they need someone. And not to say every team needs a Draymond Green or a Dylan Brooks, but don't they need a guy like with a little bit of edge or something?
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
Their identity is they're the team that that doesn't play that hard and sometimes gets blown out a little bit. And then they will just flip the switch and hit 10 straight shots. Right. They can hit 10 jump shots in a row.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
That's their calling card. But that's the thing that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
that we held them up to a high like we basically said this team when it gets to the playoffs is going to be tough to beat because booker and beal and obviously kevin durant they can all hit the mid-range they can all hit the three they can all get to the basket and but they don't have the pieces around them to even get you there so man that's a great point cena i love that a team with no identity but they got a big win and by the way look crazier things that have have happened
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
Good morning. Welcome to the NBA Daily. Coming up, bad news for the Mavs and Kyrie Irving. So we got Christian Clark on at the end of the show to talk about it. The Lakers get another win and LeBron is the Western Conference Player of the Month. So we're going to dig into that a little bit. And then the Suns were pathetic until they weren't. Good morning, everybody. Good morning, Zena.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
than a team that has guys like Kevin Durant and Devin Booker making a playoff run out of the play-in. We've seen teams make it from the play-in to the finals. What if they did it? It'd be a great story. Anyway, guys, stick around. After the break, I sat down with Christian Clark, and we just, I don't know, we were sad.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
With the news of Kyrie Irving's ACL tear, we had to bring Christian Clark back out. To commiserate, Christian, the snakebitten season just won't stop for the Mavericks. Obviously, we all saw, you know, Kyrie going up for a layup, hyperextended the knee. And, you know, then he goes and shoots the free throws. It was extremely emotional. I'm sure, you know, it was for you there watching it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
What's the immediate fallout around the team with Kyrie's injury? And I guess like, you know, when's he going to have surgery?
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
Yeah. And that's just to get back on the court. You know, we know from experience with these guys, it usually is an 18 month process for a guy to be back to his normal self. And you're talking about Kyrie Irving, who by that point is going to be like 35 years old coming back from an ACL. So, you know, in my opinion, when we made this trade, it was a two year window.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
And I think actually that two year window kind of just went out the window. How do they pivot now? I guess this season, you know, I mean, they still are the 10 seed in the West. They're fighting, I'm assuming, to stay in the play-in. We're waiting on an update from all of the injured centers that they've got. So, I mean, what is the immediate future for the Dallas Mavericks?
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
Yeah, I mean, look, and it's a freak play, right? Like Kyrie Irving has shot, I don't know, millions of layups and just things happen. What's the latest on Anthony Davis? I mean, he's still out with that adductor issue. I mean, is he doing three on three or is he doing any basketball stuff? I know that they're going to update us on Thursday.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
Yeah, look, I mean, one option is, you know, the Warriors dealing directly with the Suns. And, you know, we reported today, I mean, there's at least some level of interest in Draymond Green from the Suns' perspective. You know, Matt Eshbia is a Michigan State guy. We'll see. The Warriors don't want to put Draymond Green in a deal. But as far as money goes, it has to be him or Wiggins.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
You know, most of the talks have been with Wiggins, particularly if it's more – Three, four team type deal. And because of all the second aprons, all that, you know, it's almost all these deals have to expand and include a Detroit type team, a Toronto type team that has space.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
But I would think if it's if if Jimmy Butler is being rerouted, if Miami or if the Warriors are going to get Jimmy Butler to give Jimmy Butler to Phoenix. Then it would probably be Wiggins going to Miami. Again, these are all things that are being decided and may fall apart. And Jimmy Butler may be completely somewhere else. He may still be in Miami.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
I don't know where this is going the next day for sure. But these are the things being discussed. Jonathan Kaminga is a name for obvious reasons that intrigues the Suns. He does have a contract situation looming this summer, but he's shown a lot. The Warriors have been protective of Kaminga and a lot of
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
know trade talks over the last several years but kevin durant's name rises to another level who might nudge your willingness to to you know let go of jonathan kaminga a bit more we'll see i mean these are like there's a lot of high level people bartering over some of this stuff as we speak so those are some of the and then you know we can name some of the uh you know uh expiring salaries within it but that's a little bit more on the fringe of this deal yeah do you feel like the luca trade
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
puts pressure on the Warriors to do something. I mean, it came out of left field, right? Like, it's such a surprise to everybody. But it is a – like, it's a massive – shift in power in the NBA. And I wonder if you're the Warriors, you're saying, look, this is kind of it for the Steph Draymond years. Let's just do something and see what happens. I don't know.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
I think the pressure was already building. I also think it generated more angst in the fan base and just coverage and podcasts and certainly local radio station, whatever. Name your content and consumer.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
I would say two things. Internally, like, they never had a shot at Luka, right? Nobody else besides the Lakers did. They didn't employ Anthony Davis. That seemed like it was your only shot at Luka Doncic is if you employ Anthony Davis. So that's number one. It's not like they feel like, man, we missed out on that opportunity. Number one. Number two, like I said, I feel like this has been building.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
Like, they've been trying to sniff their way into these conversations in the last few weeks, and obviously it has built up. And, you know, they may have...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
you know, strike earlier, they may have got, they were interested in Zach Levine, but they let that one pass because again, they're kind of trying to see this Butler Durant situation out before they move on to what they feel is secondary type deals, which Levine to them would have been in that category.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
Other guys we can get to Brandon Ingram, Nikola Vucevic, Cam Johnson, like those to them are secondary deals, but they just, feel like it's much more worth it to wait this one out just in case. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
Yeah, I saw Joe Lacob a little bit pregame yesterday before the Magic game. And, you know, he hears some of this stuff. And he was talking about this desperate idea. And it was like, do you not want me to call people? Do you not want me to call around the league? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, they're like Steph Curry turns 37 next month.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
even if they get one of these guys, I don't think either, you know, we're not picking them to, to win the title this year. I don't know. Are you picking them to go back past the second round? I mean, they're just, they're trying to be a more entertaining product.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
They're trying to be a better product and they're trying to position themselves better for next season where, you know, maybe they can strike something even bigger this summer, rebuild their roster, even better to get into more legitimate contention. Or as Steve curse put it to me, Just give fans more of a thrill in the final years of Steph Curry.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
Not drown out these final Steph Curry years with such anxious 500-type seasons that people don't seem to be that happy about locally. They do not need to win another title to solidify anybody's legacy in the Bay Area, but they want to be better. And They're trying to find a way right now, for sure. And if that sniffs his desperation, I think they're okay with that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
Yeah, they're kind of desperate to get better right now because they're 25 and 24. They should be desperate. I was going to say, they should be.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
Yeah, be desperate. Just trade for all the Brooklyn Nets. Get those guys in here. They give you a thrilling product. All right. Well, look, if it's not Kevin Durant, then who? What are the other names that they're kicking around that they would like to bring in?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
Yeah, I mentioned him. I think Brandon Ingram is like kind of a fringe possibility, but not somebody in the past they've been that interested in. But, you know, it's an expiring deal. I don't think it would cost that much. Right. It seems like the Pelicans got to get off him regardless. I'm just considering his situation.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
Vucevic is one of those names that it's almost like they're like, we'll get to you when we get to you. If we're standing there, you know, Zena mentioned it, but like that's really 159 a.m. at the end of the door. He also has an appealing contract as far as 20 million next season declining into 20. But you can reflip it this summer. Right.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
And especially if you could get him for second round, maybe a protective first. Like, well, it's Chicago. You're not going to have to give him much. No, clearly not. You got one of their picks, maybe. Yeah, so those are the type of names. I do think they do something.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
Now, again, that's something maybe, you know, an earthquake in the league, like literally two minutes from us speaking right now or 10 hours. Or it might be something smaller, but I think they want to add to this team. I know they want to add to this team.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
He's so diplomatic. And it's like you mentioned the little scrums we have. It's like, you know, typically it's me being like, all right, Steph, I'm going to ask you what you think about the trade deadline. And I'm going to ask you what you think about still being 500.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
And like, you know, I remember in Minnesota, like, you know, remember he has the Toronto quotes that really, where he was like, patience is okay. Which he didn't, he was a little stunned about how big of a national story that became. Like he was just basically saying like, Remember the wave and the white flag? That's what really offended him, that he wasn't competitive anymore.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
And I chatted with him a little in the locker room the next game, Minnesota, and he was just like... Y'all the ones that asked the questions. Y'all the ones that drummed up that storyline. Yes, in a sense, I don't think he loves that first takes can have a segment. Everybody's just debating his existential future.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
He is not only diplomatic, but he's a very... Part of his good soldier approach, which has been different from other stars, is like... say what you want. He really likes to be a good teammate. He doesn't want to openly be shopping the guys that he's next to the locker room in.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
He really is delicate about that type of stuff and wants to live in the moment and clearly wants to have a number two scorer next to him. He would certainly love some of his offensive pressure to be relieved. Some of these defenders and these schemes to get off of him. But I actually... It's weird. You might think I'd go one way with it, but I would actually go the other.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
I think he's almost tired of the existential debate about him where he's like, look, I'm trying to win a game. I'll try to win a game tomorrow. Yes, I want some help, but I don't sit here every single day and...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
you know just think about what is what can't be what was any of that it's just sure i want some help but i also i want to win more games but i just kind of want to focus on the nightly game not like the overarching you know thoughts well we have this tendency to dissect these guys in real time uh now and when you're one of the greatest to ever do it it feels like it's probably just every day
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
we're kind of ripping his career apart or, you know, taking some sort of a retrospective. How can you waste the final prime years of Steph Curry's career as like a constant theme? So, yeah, I get that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
The other thing that I think I've seen through this process is like, and he hints at it, but it's like, he knows so much more than we know. Like he knows why the Paul George, you know, situation didn't happen this summer.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
What, what, what they should have or could have given for Lori marketing when, why they chose not to do it and what other options they've either passed up or weren't ever realistic or right now, you know, right now he, he's very much in, not that he's the one pulling the levers, Mike Dunleavy, Joe Lake of Kirk Lake of, and that front office is, but like Steph knows like the options here.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
He's going to know everything that they could have done prior to the deadline and decided to do or not do. And up to this point, he has said he's been okay with what they, you know, decided to do. Yeah. And did the whole good soldier.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
We got to think about the future of the franchise. They did the entire song and dance.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, he helped leverage wise, you would think a little maybe. I don't know. It's but I guess my general point is like he's he is more privy to much more sensitive information than we are. Right.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
I think he's one of the more secondary options here. Now I'd been kind of, it had been told to me that Philly had been telling people that Paul George was going to be there at least into the summer, like that they were committed to kind of riding out the season. And, you know, they did get a nice triple double from Joe. He denied no win. They haven't played better lately.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
So my understanding was like Paul George wouldn't be revisited in this cycle. And also the contract looks a lot more questionable than it did when the Warriors almost gave it to him. But I'm not saying no, because Daryl Morey can surprise and clearly the league can surprise us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
You know, I actually think that the human part of this is why it was so shocking, because we're just not used to these guys being true. You know, I've tried to think about, you know, if LeBron James had been traded to Miami in 2010 instead of leaving in free agency, like how would we have felt? And maybe similar to this, you know, Michael Jordan gets traded in 1990 before he wins a championship.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
And they were in a room pitching Paul George who wanted to go there like whatever, five, six, seven months ago, whatever that was. So I will tell you, though, their attention is much more on their former, you know, small forward right now, Paul George.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
Before we get out of here, what's your hottest Luka trade take? I've been canvassing as many people as I can.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
They are better this season, potentially. The Mavericks. Yeah, the Mavericks. I'm certainly not going to argue it was a good long-term trade, a good business move, or they extracted as much value as they should have out of an asset like Luka Doncic, but... You know, if Kyrie's really at his best offensive self and, you know, he's patrolling the paint, I could hear the argument.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
I'm not even sure that is my take. But yeah, Anthony Davis is really, really good. He's really like that's that that probably has been lost in all this because it is absurd that they traded. But Anthony Davis is awesome.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
Yeah. And him and him and Lively, I think, can fit a little bit better, you know, next year, maybe that people think. Anyway, busy week. Thank you, Anthony, for coming on and clearing some stuff up, which, you know, I guess we're going to find out where Katie's going to be and hopefully not after we recorded this.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
So we'll see what the shelf life on this one.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
I know, yeah. We'll add an addendum if it happens overnight. So thank you, Anthony Slater, for hanging out. For Zena Kata, I'm Dave DuFour, and this has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
You know, do we feel differently? Probably, you know, I think. Yeah. And obviously there's some circumstances behind the scenes here that are coming out. Sure. The human part of this, though, is lost, I think, for the fans. I want to point out, you know, a friend of mine, Kirk Henderson, he runs a blog, a Mavericks fan blog called Mavs Moneyball. And he wrote an open letter to Nico Harrison.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
I think it laid it out pretty perfectly. I encourage everybody to go check that out. I think most people listening or watching this is because you're a fan of a team. You know, that's how you get into sports usually. And I think he laid it out there. Like Luka Doncic is more than just a player on a basketball team or a number on a spreadsheet.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
You know, they drafted this guy and, you know, they had an affinity and they watched him kind of grow up. They watched him hit playoff game winners. And, you know, he took them to a finals less than a year ago. And there's a bit of a... I don't... It sounds malicious when you say it this way, but I do feel like fans feel like there's a little bit of a rug pull that has happened to them.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
If Kevin Durant gets traded to the Warriors after Luka Doncic got traded to the Lakers... I don't know. My brain is not even... I was just going to say, I don't think we have the capacity.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
He's going to be outside. He's going to have a tan. I mean, he's going to be fine, I think. There you go. We should mention there was also a trade today. The Dallas Mavericks had a little bit more work to do. They send out Quentin Grimes and a 2025 second round pick.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
to the 76ers for Caleb Martin so they add a little bit to that defense also Quentin Grimes probably superfluous with the addition of Max Christie so not a lot of minutes for him and you know maybe that helps Philly I don't know um Zena there's still basketball games that count this week which somehow doesn't feel right but we got the Cavs and Celtics again the two best teams in the east and this was a huge win for the Celtics I thought they looked really good and we've
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
We've talked about how maybe they look bored. They've been slipping a little bit. Maybe teams have caught up to that shooting variance game that they tend to play. They held the lead in this game last night for the last 42 minutes of the game. It got kind of close, like a little bit of a fake comeback. But the Celtics looked really good against Cavs.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
From the Luka trade, Zeta. Let's talk about the press conference. The Lakers, Rob Palenka had Luka Doncic out there for his introductory press conference. He got to answer questions. Rob Palenka described the trade as a gift. He said, it's a gift. Yes, we know it's a gift. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
Yeah. And again, the Cavs just having to figure out how they're going to deal with that size once they get to the playoffs and then figure out what they're going to do about their offense when the shots don't fall at the historic rate that they were shooting them to start the year. It's similar problem to what to what Boston's got when the shots don't fall. What are you going to go to?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
Cavs offense, they struggled to start the game. It was a rough first six minutes for both teams, by the way. It was a bit of an ugly watch. Joel Embiid came back. First time in a month he played. He got a 29-point triple-double against the Mavericks. Obviously, no Anthony Davis for the Mavericks, although Max Christie did play.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
And, you know, I had a little decent game for a guy who was just joining the team. But Embiid's really the story from that. You know, Maxie put up 33 with Embiid out there. Again, those two guys look good. But I thought Embiid looked good. He was moving around well.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
um we also gotta we gotta talk about our rockets xena um we we kind of adopted this young team because they're fun and you know they got a little bit of bad boy in them uh they keep blowing leads they've now lost four games in a row by the way really good teams don't lose four games in a row so let's adjust our expectations on the rockets when we get to playoff time um but this one
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
was crazy number one we gotta like set some context email doka was talking about the brooklyn nets in a disrespectful way when it comes to like competitive athletes like you can't call the like you can't you can't come in as an opposing coach and say that uh the team is like a lower tier that's just not fair to your guys and the nets heard it and look
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
Say what you will about tanking teams, but the players don't tank. So here's what happens, Zeta. So the Nets are down. I mean, number one, the Rockets, we know their late game execution is awful. They don't have someone to take over the offense. They don't really have an offense that they fall back on. So they just jack up shots for no good reason.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
They have a three-point lead, and for some reason, they just let it fly. So, okay, the Nets come down. They hit a three to pull themselves within one. Then they stole the inbound. And hit a three with about five seconds left. And that was the game. The Rockets just heartbreaking. And again, Alfred Shingun's out there. So, you know, it's with him. It's without him. You can't put it all on one guy.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
The Rockets really do just have a crazy late game issue.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily. Coming up, Luka Doncic, he's a Laker and they introduced him. So we're going to talk about that press conference a little bit. The Celtics, who they handled the Cavs pretty easily, Zena. And we got Anthony Slater to break down a potential Kevin Durant trade to the Warriors. Good morning, everybody. Good morning, Zena.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
yeah i the rockets are a first round out as presently constructed and i don't think anybody should have any expectation that they're not and and by the way that doesn't even mean that the season's a failure they're so young as you mentioned yeah they're young um but as currently constructed no of course no one should have any any expectations they've been outperforming what they are on paper which is why they've been so fun so uh hopefully they figure out some of these late games because i it's better when they're winning i actually i don't like them as much when
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
they lose you know it's a little bit more fun athleticism is always there but yeah you want you want the dubs you know yeah uh guys stick around after the break because anthony slater is going to explain to us how the warriors could get kevin durant why they would get kevin durant and if they're going to get kevin durant actually he doesn't tell us that
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
Zena, a couple of days ago, the craziest rumor popped up. And now that rumor has turned into something of, I don't know, is it a roiling fire? I don't know what's happening, but there's a lot of smoke behind this rumor. So we had to get Anthony Slater on here to point us in the right direction. Anthony, are the Warriors actually trying to make a Kevin Durant trade?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
Yeah, they've been doing it for a little bit now. Amazing. Dating back to what, even last week when they were in town, and it was interesting to note who was sitting next to Joe Lacob during that Suns-Warriors game. It was Rich Kleiman. And in the Bridge Club at halftime, and in the Bridge Club postgame, and somewhat coincidentally, Bob Myers, because he was doing the game on ESPN, was also there.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
around those conversations. And again, I'm not saying that is when an idea sprouted or, you know, this sparked. But, you know, the Warriors, as we all know, kind of been, you know, trying to go big game hunting in some ways. I mean, they've been in the Butler mix a little bit more the last couple weeks, partly because...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
I think they've sat back, looked at the chessboard, realized that Jimmy's been trying to muscle himself to Phoenix for a while now, but there's a reason that hasn't happened. That's because of the Bradley Beal domino, which remains unsolved.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
And when you talk to people across the league, there's just a belief that Bradley Beal won't accept to, you know, anywhere, you know, he won't waive his no trade clause for anywhere that is willing to trade for him. And the reality is nobody might even be willing to trade for him anyways.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
And if that can't get done, then Phoenix can't get Jimmy Butler or at least Jimmy Butler in a plan that includes Devin Booker and Kevin Durant still on the roster. And then that turns the attention to Kevin Durant, his future with the Suns. He only has one year left, just like De'Aaron Fox only had one year left after this, just like Luka Doncic only did.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
And that seems to now in the NBA be the time that futures get solved. And if you're unsure about your future, like De'Aaron Fox certainly was, Sometimes you get traded, and that's why Kevin Durant's future right now in Phoenix seems to be being decided.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kevin Durant to the Warriors? | Luka is a Laker
I think the Warriors kind of read that chessboard, and I'm not necessarily saying they're sitting there saying checkmate right now, but I think they were hoping and still remain hoping that the pieces line up to where maybe they can move in and get Durant.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jokić and Curry make history + Ja Morant on the move?
Kommt vorbei und feiert mit.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs on cruise control | Mike Brown’s final days with Kings
They're big... Prize free agent acquisition was DeMarco Rosa and very good player. But was that what this team needed? You know, I just don't think so. You're not paid to pick sides, but I don't mind. And I think that the coach was not the problem in that situation outside of.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs on cruise control | Mike Brown’s final days with Kings
His reaction in the postgame stuff, which, you know, like you just said, you can only do that for so long before things are going to go left. I mean, we're hearing today that maybe there was this idea that DeMar DeRozan come off the bench and maybe that, you know, just it was just the straw that broke the camel's back. I don't know. Maybe there's no way to find that answer out.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs on cruise control | Mike Brown’s final days with Kings
But for the Kings, like, where do they go next? I mean, they want to keep Fox. I'm assuming, you know, this is their core. How do they improve?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs on cruise control | Mike Brown’s final days with Kings
I feel like and shout out to Zena because she has trusted the Cavs longer than I have. I feel like every single game, I just trust them a little bit more. This one, they hold the warriors to 11 points in the second quarter. And then they exploded offensively in the third. And look, they've just got every single gear you need to be a championship contender.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs on cruise control | Mike Brown’s final days with Kings
I think it's time to just, we're penciling them in. This is a conference finalist. I think the road to the finals in the East, I think it's Boston and it's Cleveland and no one else is close.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs on cruise control | Mike Brown’s final days with Kings
He's the best player available. No, hands down. I mean, if you were a team like Brooklyn and you were thinking, hey, you know what? If we wanted to start this rebuild tomorrow, oh, let's throw a bunch of stuff and get there. I mean, I don't know. They're definitely not going to do that. But San Antonio is just very good. San Antonio. He is the start of someone else's. run of success.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs on cruise control | Mike Brown’s final days with Kings
And it would just be a shame if the Kings didn't get to sniff any of that with, with De'Aaron Fox, follow Sam on the athletic. I think you can do it on the app and you get the alerts, you know, pretty convenient. So go, you'll miss all the, or you'll miss all the news on the Sacramento Kings.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs on cruise control | Mike Brown’s final days with Kings
Sam, thank you for joining us guys. Stick around after the break. We're going to celebrate LeBron's 40th with some stats.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs on cruise control | Mike Brown’s final days with Kings
So LeBron James turned 40 yesterday. And that's an insane number for a guy who's still doing. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Who's still doing what he's doing on the basketball court over the bounce. If you guys don't subscribe, go ahead and do it. It's a great newsletter. It hits the hits your email inbox every morning. Zach Harper actually broke down just the stats that he's put up since he turned 37.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs on cruise control | Mike Brown’s final days with Kings
And they're they're ridiculous. This is like he's an all star. He's an all NBA player. And it's only the numbers since he turned 37. So go and check out the bounce. But as you put together some stats, Sean LeBron, because you like to see my reaction to some of the ridiculous numbers that you're able to find. So as you know, you're basically our stat guy. Yeah. Give us LeBron at 40 stats.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs on cruise control | Mike Brown’s final days with Kings
But two Hall of Famers, that's pretty impressive.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs on cruise control | Mike Brown’s final days with Kings
At Crumpled Jumper on X or Twitter or whatever.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs on cruise control | Mike Brown’s final days with Kings
That is absurd. And we're you know, we're about to cross the eight point one billion person mark on the planet. And so, you know, those numbers are just going to keep going up for a little while. And yeah. How long do you think LeBron has left? He said yesterday in an interview, he's got five to seven years of elite play left. That's incredible.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs on cruise control | Mike Brown’s final days with Kings
Look, there's been a drop off and there's been a drop off just in the last year that we can all point to. And we already did our old man LeBron bit. But since then, he has looked fantastic. I don't know. I think if if he can continue to avoid injury.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs on cruise control | Mike Brown’s final days with Kings
With as smart as he is and, you know, with the right pieces around him, I think another two or three years at this or something close to this is super realistic.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs on cruise control | Mike Brown’s final days with Kings
probably another two years it would be crazy if he ends up playing with his other son bryce james you know it's just like why not let's let's just do let's just pump the brakes uh we'll see if this kid even makes the nba uh i think that's a great place to stop um that's gonna do it for today's show folks that's gonna do it for the year thank you guys again so much uh we appreciate all the reviews and happy new year everything happy new year to you guys happy new year s happy new year to xena and andrew and alex and our whole gang that
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs on cruise control | Mike Brown’s final days with Kings
works on the show um you know happy to work with these guys every single day and happy that you guys are listening so for s barry henney i'm dave dufour and this has been the nba daily thanks for waking up with us
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs on cruise control | Mike Brown’s final days with Kings
There, to me, look, we're always going to treat them like they need to prove it because we do this until you win a title.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs on cruise control | Mike Brown’s final days with Kings
So, yeah, but they're going to prove it to me in May, June. But we're going to see them in May or June. This team is just, it's very good.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs on cruise control | Mike Brown’s final days with Kings
Yeah, Evan Mobley's breakout has just been pretty fantastic to watch. Although Draymond did block his shot early. Oh, excuse me, that was Jared Allen. Draymond got a nice block shot on Jared Allen early in the game. And I thought we were about to get sick. Oh, Draymond. But instead, man, like look like sick Draymond. The Warriors just what is going on with them?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs on cruise control | Mike Brown’s final days with Kings
They make this Dennis Schroeder trade and it has not been great so far. OK, you're integrating new pieces. Yeah, but they just aren't are unable to put the ball in the basket.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs on cruise control | Mike Brown’s final days with Kings
Yeah. They haven't, they haven't won two games in a row since November 20th and November 22nd. That was the last time. So it's been 16 games since they put together back-to-back wins. And again, this is a team that, you know, we keep saying can't, Cam Johnson is on everyone's list. They need Cam Johnson and maybe another guy.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs on cruise control | Mike Brown’s final days with Kings
It's weird because they had so much depth, but the D Anthony Melton injury has triggered this sort of cascade of events and it doesn't help him that pods hasn't really panned out this year to be the player that they expected him to be. But my prediction for this conference finals room for them is not looking great. It looked great a month into the season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs on cruise control | Mike Brown’s final days with Kings
On paper, On paper, I think everyone agrees with me that this is a top five defense, but they're killing me right now. Wait, let me ask you this.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs on cruise control | Mike Brown’s final days with Kings
Can they trade for LeBron? That would solve a lot of problems for them. They really just need a Drake-ster. Yeah, they need a Drake-ster. I mean, it's not LeBron, but if they could get Paul George or a Paul George type, it would be fantastic. He's not out there. Maybe Jimmy Butler. I don't know. We'll see what Sam Amick has to say after the break. Let's catch up a little bit on Joel Embiid.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs on cruise control | Mike Brown’s final days with Kings
The Sixers got a nice, you know, we're going to say an easy one against the Blazers and blew them out. But story of the game, this was probably Joel Embiid's best game of the season. I think that as we can say, he started to round into shape a little bit. Like he looks healthier moving around, doesn't look as stiff. It was painful to watch him the first few games back, but he was great last night.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs on cruise control | Mike Brown’s final days with Kings
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily for December 31st, 2024. Coming up, the Cleveland Cavaliers keep on rolling and the Warriors are struggling. We get Sam Amick on the show to talk about Mike Brown and the Sacramento Kangs. And then S has some wild stats about LeBron to celebrate his birthday. Good morning, everybody. Good morning, S. We had ourselves a Monday night in the NBA last night.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs on cruise control | Mike Brown’s final days with Kings
I have his stats sitting right in front of me because he's having a weird start to the season. I mean, he had the injury to start out. Obviously, the entire Sixers roster. Yeah, the roster has been in flux and the Embiid situation has not been easy. You know, Tyrese Maxey was out. You had Jerry McCain out there for a little while. And I think that he is the guy here.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs on cruise control | Mike Brown’s final days with Kings
who is getting a little lost in the shuffle, but he's struggling to integrate. Right now, he's averaging 13.9 field goal attempts coming into tonight's game. I think he only shot nine last night. Again, this is down for Paul George in his career. Now, you would expect that. You're playing with Joel Embiid. You're definitely number two in the pecking order.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs on cruise control | Mike Brown’s final days with Kings
But the truth is, here, he might be third to Maxie because of – maximizing Joel Embiid. And so I'm not sure. I mean, where does Paul George fit? And I know the fit in the playoffs because he can lead second units. He's another guy you can put the ball in his hands. But right now, it's a little bit of an odd fit. And you wonder, had they...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs on cruise control | Mike Brown’s final days with Kings
Did they maybe make a mistake and not getting a couple of guys or three guys instead of just Paul George?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs on cruise control | Mike Brown’s final days with Kings
Yeah, again, he's the guy. He's the new guy, and he's still just the new guy.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs on cruise control | Mike Brown’s final days with Kings
No, he needs to fit in. Paul George needs to fit in.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs on cruise control | Mike Brown’s final days with Kings
He's an MVP. And we got to mention before we go to break, Doug Christie. new coach in Sacramento Kings. That's right. Got his first win. The Mavericks didn't have Luca or Kyrie. Okay. And, and they kept it interesting, but Doug Christie gets his first win. Congratulations coach guys stick around after the break.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs on cruise control | Mike Brown’s final days with Kings
We got Sam Amick to break down the behind the scenes stuff from the Mike Brown firing and to talk a little bit about if Pat Riley's serious about not trading Jimmy Butler. The Sacramento Kings had what can only be described as an interesting weekend. They fired their coach right before they were about to leave for a road trip.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs on cruise control | Mike Brown’s final days with Kings
And our guys, Sam Amick and Anthony Slater, had this whole scoop over at The Athletic. So we got Sam on to talk to us about it today. Sam, I hope you're doing well. I know you're staying busy. You know, this is normally the doldrums, but we got a little bit of action happening. Can you break down the timeline on the firing of Mike Brown and just kind of give the general sense of why it happened?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs on cruise control | Mike Brown’s final days with Kings
Oh, there's some real solidarity.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs on cruise control | Mike Brown’s final days with Kings
We had blowouts. We had some marquee matchups that just didn't pan out. You know, typical Monday. Case of the Mondays. All good. Yeah, we're back. This is our last show of the year, S. Congratulations on both of us not getting fired before the calendar switches to January. So I'll take that as a win. No show tomorrow, folks. Just get that over with. Let you guys know no show tomorrow.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs on cruise control | Mike Brown’s final days with Kings
I mean, he was just coach of the year, Sam. It's like a curse.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs on cruise control | Mike Brown’s final days with Kings
We're going to have the night off, hopefully spending dinner with our families and not a bunch of people. Let's talk a little bit of hoops because the Cleveland Cavaliers are on a historic start to the season. They're now 28 and four after just destroying the Warriors last night. And it's become kind of old hat watching them.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs more dominant than Thunder? + Playoff Jimmy saves Warriors
Yeah, I mean, I like obviously like Shea Gildas Alexander is the most important player, right? Like we all know this. Yeah, but we know. For me, for the Thunder, I think it's Chet Holmgren. And for the Cavs, I think it's Evan Mobley. I think those are the guys that are going to have to have. big time offensive series in going forward because it's going to be harder for Donovan Mitchell.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs more dominant than Thunder? + Playoff Jimmy saves Warriors
You know, let's see how Darius Garland looks. I mean, I'm assuming he's going to be fine for the next round. It's going to be harder for Mitchell. It's going to be harder for Shea. I mean, we know what they're going to do, right? We saw this last year and last year I thought it was going to be Jalen Williams, you know, that would step up for OKC.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs more dominant than Thunder? + Playoff Jimmy saves Warriors
But so far, just what I've seen here the last few weeks, I really think it's Chet. I think Chet is the guy that's going to be the X factor or whatever moniker we want to give that player, but the guy who's going to have to perform. What about for you? Did I just steal both you guys?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs more dominant than Thunder? + Playoff Jimmy saves Warriors
I mean, again, none of these teams are perfect, but I, I do think Oklahoma city, I mean, especially the energy that they've, they've come out with in pretty much every game. Looking ahead to tomorrow, we've got some series that are three, one, obviously bucks Pacers, you know, with the, The Damian Lillard injury has kind of lost the juice. The Pacers are up 3-1.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs more dominant than Thunder? + Playoff Jimmy saves Warriors
The Knicks going back to the Garden with a 3-1 lead on the Pistons. The Celtics up 3-1 going back to the Garden. Wait a second. Over Orlando. And then we've got Clippers and Nuggets, which is 2-2. And it's probably, I think, the series of the first round so far when you consider how... Absolutely. I mean... Yeah, it doesn't get any closer than the buzzer beater from Aaron Gordon the other night.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs more dominant than Thunder? + Playoff Jimmy saves Warriors
Let's talk about the three ones. I mean, which one of these three ones do you think is over? I mean, do you think they're all done?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs more dominant than Thunder? + Playoff Jimmy saves Warriors
Actually, I think that of the three, Boston probably needs it the worst just because of the injuries. Drew Holliday's probably not going to play in this game. Jason Tatum's banged up. We've been talking about Jalen Brown's knee for the last few weeks, although it hasn't really slowed him down all that much in the playoffs.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs more dominant than Thunder? + Playoff Jimmy saves Warriors
But I think Boston, last year they had an amazing run, and I think health was such a key component of that run. It always is. It always is in every playoff. Yeah. And it feels like they're starting this out, you know, a little bit stuck in the mud because of some injury stuff. So I think they need to close it out.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs more dominant than Thunder? + Playoff Jimmy saves Warriors
Let's talk Clippers and Nuggets before we get out of here, because, again, this is the most compelling series. I mean, it's this or maybe Rockets Warriors before before last night's game. But Clippers Nuggets. I don't know what to think about the Nuggets because I, I thought we were all going to be talking about how they were done and what happens this summer, what happens next.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs more dominant than Thunder? + Playoff Jimmy saves Warriors
And they managed to win this game. And now they're going back to Denver where that's a tough place to play, you know? And, and you're going from, from the beach straight there. I don't know. How do you feel about the Clippers? I was going to throw it back at you. I was going to ask you, I'll tell you the way I think this is going to play out.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs more dominant than Thunder? + Playoff Jimmy saves Warriors
I think the Clippers are going to lose to the Nuggets in Denver. I just think when you lose a game like that, it's deflating, especially after the comeback, right? Like the emotional roller coaster that you've got to go through. And, you know, you're watching that film and you're saying, oh, well, we didn't lose it necessarily on this last second play. You know, we lost it here. We lost it here.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs more dominant than Thunder? + Playoff Jimmy saves Warriors
And I just think it's tough to come back from. But I do think I think this is going to go seven.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs more dominant than Thunder? + Playoff Jimmy saves Warriors
And I think the Clippers just have, you know, more legs. I mean, like you look at the game the other night and they the Nuggets are forced to play everybody for the, you know, majority of the second half of the game. They just don't have the guys, you know, Michael Porter Jr. took an amazing game from him to one of the best games I've seen from Christian Brown, two way games.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs more dominant than Thunder? + Playoff Jimmy saves Warriors
And they win it on, you know, on the closest buzzer beater I've ever seen in my life. So, yeah, I just think that when push comes to shove, like Jokic is going to, he is human. I just think that the Clippers have more.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs more dominant than Thunder? + Playoff Jimmy saves Warriors
I will say this, though. The Clippers have the guy in Ivica Zubac who guards him the best. Who can guard him. And we're saying this on the heels of a, well, what did Jokic have? 36-20-8 the other night. So, I mean, take that with a grain of salt. But, I mean, this is – I think the Clippers are very well-suited to be able to – to take Jokic out of it a little bit.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs more dominant than Thunder? + Playoff Jimmy saves Warriors
Um, I don't know why I can raise to that level too, which is just another, I mean, James Harden, I like, he had a bad game for, and I just, I don't know if, if he's going to be that bad again. Um, you know, if he, if he's just has an average game, um, the, you know, the Clippers are, are more in it when they start to come back.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs more dominant than Thunder? + Playoff Jimmy saves Warriors
The hardest part. All right. That's going to do it for the show, folks. Enjoy the games tonight. Thanks to Anthony Slater for joining us and staying up late after the Warriors game. For S. Baraheni, I'm Dave DuFour, and this has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs more dominant than Thunder? + Playoff Jimmy saves Warriors
Jimmy Butler got it off the rim. I mean, your video, actually, if you guys look on social media, on Anthony's social media, you posted a great angle of it. And Jimmy Butler reads the play. As soon as the shot goes up, he breaks to the rim, and he literally grabs the rebound at the basket. I mean, if he's a half second late, Stephen Adams gets that back, probably with the putback.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs more dominant than Thunder? + Playoff Jimmy saves Warriors
Well, Houston might win if Dylan Brooks isn't on the court at all that last night. Because, I mean, it seems like not only did he get Draymond going, he got Jimmy Butler going by talking to him at the free throw line. I mean, the hard foul that Jimmy Butler delivered, by the way, a textbook playoff foul, no windup whatsoever. And Jimmy Butler is super nice to the ref.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs more dominant than Thunder? + Playoff Jimmy saves Warriors
So they're not even going to review that. But Dylan Brooks gets Jimmy Butler fired up. that big foul on Jimmy Butler Jimmy Butler is really nice to the refs it's funny it's one of the things I've noticed go look at how few technical fouls he's had over the course of his career it's purposeful it is it is
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs more dominant than Thunder? + Playoff Jimmy saves Warriors
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily. Coming up, big game last night. Jimmy Butler showed up, big time playoff. Jimmy wins the game. Anthony Slater's here to talk about it. S&I break down the Cav and Thunder sweeps to see who was more dominant in the first round. Good morning, everybody. Good morning, fellas.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs more dominant than Thunder? + Playoff Jimmy saves Warriors
Well, this is the last ride, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs more dominant than Thunder? + Playoff Jimmy saves Warriors
Not in Houston. Don't do it in Houston. I mean, you know, respectfully, it's not that far from the ocean. It's funny to be talking about a big Warriors playoff win and to spend 10 minutes without talking about Steph Curry. The Rockets did a really good job. of just limiting his shots and making him work to get open. I mean, it wasn't even like he necessarily had like a bad game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs more dominant than Thunder? + Playoff Jimmy saves Warriors
The Rockets game plan really just took him out of it. You know, you worried at all, like, did they figure something out? Now the Warriors have to sweat this in game five, or is this one of those ones that's going to happen every now and then?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs more dominant than Thunder? + Playoff Jimmy saves Warriors
Anthony Slater hanging out late after the Warriors pick up a big win in game four to go up 3-1. Anthony, I think we saw a playoff, Jimmy, between the clutch free throws and the clutch rebound. They were probably glad to have him out there last night.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs more dominant than Thunder? + Playoff Jimmy saves Warriors
That's a good trivia bit. I forgot completely. I just memory-holed that whole championship run to a certain degree. Anthony, go and read Anthony over at The Athletic. Thanks for hanging out, staying up late for us. Guys, stick around. After the break, S and I are going to debate who's been more dominant so far, the Thunder or the Cavs.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs more dominant than Thunder? + Playoff Jimmy saves Warriors
In the other game last night. Can you call it a game? The Cavs played a game. The Miami Heat just decided not to show up. The Cavs were completely locked in from the jump. They won the game 138 to 83. Oh, man. They won the series in a sweep by one hundred and twenty two points. And that is the most lopsided playoff series in NBA history. It's very impressive.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs more dominant than Thunder? + Playoff Jimmy saves Warriors
Obviously, the Thunder also swept the Grizzlies, although the last couple of games, you know, I think not great. Yeah, a little closer for the Thunder. I beg the question. Yes. I mean, these were the two best teams all year. Man, I think, you know, they coasted through through their playoff series to a certain degree.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs more dominant than Thunder? + Playoff Jimmy saves Warriors
I mean, again, the Thunder did did have some adversity, but the Cavs definitely didn't. Thunder had to play a tougher opponent like the Grizzlies are not as bad as the Miami. They are not the Miami Heat. No, right. Yeah, that is true. Yeah. Who had the most impressive sweep to you?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs more dominant than Thunder? + Playoff Jimmy saves Warriors
which is a very old reference, but wow.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Timberwolves comeback from down 24 to shock Thunder
For sure. And you look at Terrence. So it's really interesting to juxtapose the two of them because you have Rob Dillingham, this 20 year old wiry, just, you know, electricity, but also in good ways and bad that that that goes out there and just kind of runs around with his head cut off sometimes. And sometimes it's great and sometimes it's crazy.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Timberwolves comeback from down 24 to shock Thunder
Whereas Shannon is a he's older than Anthony Edwards, right? He's 24 years old. He is a big grown man. Like when you talk about trying to mix it up with physicality with that Oklahoma City team, he enforced his will physically on them down the stretch, getting rebounds, getting to the paint, you know, forcing them to collapse and good things happen.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Timberwolves comeback from down 24 to shock Thunder
And then, guys, let's also throw Jalen Clark in there. He has been a bit of a revelation. Yes. you know, for them over the last five or six games. And he bothers Shea Gilgis Alexander. He is a great defender at the end of regulation. One of the better defensive possessions you're ever going to see on Shea Gilgis to, to force a, a tough shot that, that missed and allowed them to get to overtime.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Timberwolves comeback from down 24 to shock Thunder
you look at those three guys and you you forecast it not only into the playoffs but it's so important for the future of this team that is still short on draft picks because of the rudy gobert trade well but if you have you know 24 year old shannon if you have 20 year old dillingham if you have 21 or 22 year old jalen clark maybe now that's not as catastrophic for your team building going forward as well and they look like they're ready to play and um i also think guys
The Athletic NBA Daily
Timberwolves comeback from down 24 to shock Thunder
Human nature of the Thunder, you're up big. Anthony Edwards is on the bench. You're relaxing. You're chilling out a little bit. And all of a sudden, that momentum gets rolling, and these young guys believe in themselves. And now you're like, oh, bleep. We let the cat out of the bag, and there's no putting them back in.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Timberwolves comeback from down 24 to shock Thunder
Yeah, I mean, I mean, part of it, you look at, you know, largest comeback, fourth quarter comeback in franchise history. I think they were still down 16 with 345 to go and only one team since 2002 and 03 has come back from that big of a deficit in that short of a time. So there is some element of, you know, outlier here that you wonder about.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Timberwolves comeback from down 24 to shock Thunder
Like, did it just go crazy and everything go right for them? But I do think that the Oklahoma City Thunder have to look in the mirror a little bit on this. Because I can guarantee you other teams are going to throw more zone at them. They are going to blitz Shea Gilgis a lot more. And they are going to say, hey, if we are going to lose to you by Aaron Wiggins and Alex Caruso and –
The Athletic NBA Daily
Timberwolves comeback from down 24 to shock Thunder
Jay Lynn Williams, you know, hitting threes, we're going to shake your hand and go with it. And so I do think that those other supporting role players for the Thunder who have been great all year, they're going to be tested more and more, especially in a playoff series and say, all right, like,
The Athletic NBA Daily
Timberwolves comeback from down 24 to shock Thunder
it's cool in the regular season but are you really ready to do this at this high of a level for this many games in a row and i think that there's still an element of uh the thunder that have to prove and have to show that and games like this give people just a little bit more belief and maybe inject just a little bit of doubt in the thunder's minds about what to do in those situations
The Athletic NBA Daily
Timberwolves comeback from down 24 to shock Thunder
Yeah, I think that, you know, that's what has everyone in that locker room believing in him to the nth degree. Anthony Edwards has struggled in clutch time this year. Like one of the reasons that the Timberwolves have not won more games tight down the stretch is because Ant has either missed shots or or made the wrong decision in, in those moments.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Timberwolves comeback from down 24 to shock Thunder
That's a 23 year old trying to figure this out and trying to try to do it, trying to do it all. And sometimes it comes back to bite him, but he also has the ability to make hero plays. And he is, he does that because he's a hero. Like that's what he is. And, and so you look at a guy who was out of the game, he was using like a,
The Athletic NBA Daily
Timberwolves comeback from down 24 to shock Thunder
massage gun on his calf to trying to get it loosened up so that he could go back in the game. And Chris Finch said he wasn't exactly sure about putting him in with, you know, late in overtime, but Ant said he was good to go. And there is...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Timberwolves comeback from down 24 to shock Thunder
a superman element to him like that is what he does he has this bravado and he has this all-world athletic ability to affect things on both ends of the court not just offensively but defensively and so for him to come over in that moment and and get the block on shea it was remarkable he also was in shea's hip pocket on the last three-point shot to make it difficult for him
The Athletic NBA Daily
Timberwolves comeback from down 24 to shock Thunder
When he sets his jaw and says, mano y mano, I'm going to guard you, there's no better two-way player in the league at doing that. He's not always engaged that way all the way through. He has some slip-ups here and there.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Timberwolves comeback from down 24 to shock Thunder
But there is supreme belief in Anthony Edwards in that locker room and on that coaching staff, no matter how the game is going, that in the moment of truth, he's going to come through for them. And he did it again tonight. It was just an enormous moment. kind of show of toughness and athleticism to get done what he did.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Timberwolves comeback from down 24 to shock Thunder
Yeah, it's a great point, Zena. I mean, you know, there are plenty of star players who get their stuff done and get their things, and it's kind of more individual. But the reason that all of these guys want to run through a wall for Anthony Edwards is because of how much he believes in them. And every chance that he gets publicly in interviews and things to deflect is
The Athletic NBA Daily
Timberwolves comeback from down 24 to shock Thunder
just to deflect the attention away from himself onto Jaden McDaniels, Nas Reed, Terrence Shannon, any of those guys. He loves doing that. There was no bigger cheerleader on the sideline in the fourth quarter when they were coming back than Anthony Edwards.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Timberwolves comeback from down 24 to shock Thunder
And I can guarantee you that he did not have any doubts or any misgivings about Chris Finch staying with that group down the stretch and not putting him in sooner because of how they were playing. Yeah. He wants it for them more than they want it for themselves. And they all know that it is so genuine. It is so authentic.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Timberwolves comeback from down 24 to shock Thunder
And that does separate Ant from a lot of the guys, especially a lot of the young guys in this league.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Timberwolves comeback from down 24 to shock Thunder
Yeah, I mean, one of the wilder games that I've ever seen, Dave, at least in the regular season. And I, too, I thought it was over. I was packing up, just getting ready to just sort of have a ho-hum summary of this back-to-back with OKC and trying to figure out where this team is going. And then all of a sudden, this sort of ragtag group of...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Timberwolves comeback from down 24 to shock Thunder
Jaden McDaniels, Rob Dillingham, Nikhil Alexander-Walker, Terrence Shannon Jr. They just decided that, no, we're not going to give up. Anthony Edwards was on the bench. Nas Reed was really struggling. What Nikhil Alexander-Walker told me was, I was just trying to get us to feel good about ourselves coming out of the game, going to LA next. I didn't think we were going to get back into it. Instead,
The Athletic NBA Daily
Timberwolves comeback from down 24 to shock Thunder
They just kept coming at the Thunder. And I think that sort of youthful energy really propelled them. And all of a sudden, it went from one of, you know, a very demoralizing defeat to a potentially like a catapulting victory. You know, they were...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Timberwolves comeback from down 24 to shock Thunder
thrilled in the locker room after the game and um it did show just kind of what they are capable of doing um when everyone is kind of giving up on them so uh a lot of smiling faces and shocked faces uh after that one i mean including us including us you should have seen xena in the group chat
The Athletic NBA Daily
Timberwolves comeback from down 24 to shock Thunder
Yeah, I do think it just says that what they are is a team that has to be reckoned with or concerned or worried about in the right matchups. I think they're sort of in the mix with a lot of these Western Conference teams, you know.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Timberwolves comeback from down 24 to shock Thunder
Whether it's Houston or the Clippers or the Warriors or whoever, all of these teams have faults, but all of these teams have times where they can strike fear into your hearts. And I think one thing about these Wolves is...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Timberwolves comeback from down 24 to shock Thunder
while everyone or many people around seem to want to just move on from them and just kick them to the curb after two straight losses coming out of the break to the Rockets and the Thunder, after having 21 losses this season in clutch time, a lot of these things that have happened, the Julius Randle fit, there's all of these reasons to say, No need to worry about these guys.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Timberwolves comeback from down 24 to shock Thunder
But every time they're just right on the brink of really seems like derailing, then they put something together like this. And then it's a team that just has bands together, and there's a little bit of defiance in them right now. They know that people are down on them. They know that people are doubting them.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Timberwolves comeback from down 24 to shock Thunder
And so when they kind of put together the collective will that they had, and let's also, guys, get to Chris Finch, who has taken plenty of criticism recently. This season, he switches to just straight up blitzing Shea Gilgis-Alexander to get the ball out of his hands. And that turned the entire game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Timberwolves comeback from down 24 to shock Thunder
All of a sudden, the rest of these Thunder players got real tight taking these shots in the fourth quarter. And you could just see it. As the game went on, Kaysan Wallace, Alex Caruso, Jalen Williams, all these guys just were not used to having the ball in big-time situations. And I think that really swung the game in the favor of the Wolves.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Timberwolves comeback from down 24 to shock Thunder
And that's a credit to Chris Finch, just changing it up there right at the last minute to do something.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did Kawhi and the Clippers solve Jokić and the Nuggets?
Yeah, I think he did a great job of just letting the game come to him. One thing about Cade is he will adjust. If you look at kind of different points in his career, his first game in his rookie season didn't come to multiple games in because he had an injury and he went 0 for 20 from three to start his career, right? And then he figured it out.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did Kawhi and the Clippers solve Jokić and the Nuggets?
Comes off other injuries, takes him a little bit to get going. He didn't come off an injury going into the playoffs, but this is a whole new setting to him, something to get adjusted to. And I think he's one of those guys, once you get to taste something, he's able to figure it out. And the Knicks did soft switch a little bit more than I remember them doing in game one.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did Kawhi and the Clippers solve Jokić and the Nuggets?
They didn't really force him left like they did in game one. He did a good job of getting to his spots.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did Kawhi and the Clippers solve Jokić and the Nuggets?
Right. Exactly. Yep. And I also thought he did a good job, like when Mitchell Robinson was on the floor. going to his mid-range jumper. There were a couple instances early in his career where he, obviously Cade's a tremendous player, not the most athletic player, right? He would challenge big guys at the rim.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did Kawhi and the Clippers solve Jokić and the Nuggets?
Then he slowly started to, not slowly, but he really started to put that mid-range jumper into his arsenal. And I thought he pulled that out well today. And then attacking in transition when he saw smaller guys in front of him. So I thought he was really good.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did Kawhi and the Clippers solve Jokić and the Nuggets?
really patient, couple turnovers, still a little, they need him to be a little bit more aggressive with the ball, especially in crunch time situations, but this is his first playoffs, and I think that's about, I think he outkicked his coverage in game two, given all the circumstances, and given everything that happened in game one, I thought he was tremendous.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did Kawhi and the Clippers solve Jokić and the Nuggets?
I think, I mean, first and foremost, you've got to give credit to Detroit. They are a really good defensive team. But I thought this was maybe one of the worst offensive games the Knicks have played all year. It was super messy. It was stagnant. I think they only had 15 assists. It felt like they were trying to chase contact instead of trying to get to their spots.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did Kawhi and the Clippers solve Jokić and the Nuggets?
They didn't shoot the three ball well. Their spacing is still at times just weird. You see Cat diving when Josh Hart's the one that's supposed to be diving. Um, they don't cat didn't shoot a shot in the fourth quarter. They need to do a better job of getting the ball moving. Um, I, I did, I thought New York did a lot of favors for Detroit in terms of how they played offense.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did Kawhi and the Clippers solve Jokić and the Nuggets?
And again, I think it would be remiss not to mention like, listen, the piston shot 14 free throws to the Knicks is two in the first half. Right. It's a huge discrepancy. The Knicks, the Pistons follow a lot. They ranked 20th, the third most following team in basketball. Now I'm not saying the Knicks didn't follow a lot in that first half. They did. Uh,
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did Kawhi and the Clippers solve Jokić and the Nuggets?
But certainly, I think, if you ask a lot of people in the Knicks locker room, they thought they got fouled as well. So, obviously, that discrepancy is something that's going to be talked about. But certainly, I don't think the Knicks did themselves any favors. I thought they were very stagnant, sloppy, and just undisciplined on offense. And they're not a good three-point shooting team.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did Kawhi and the Clippers solve Jokić and the Nuggets?
If you look since January 1st, they ranked 21st in the NBA. You look across the board, they have guys on paper that can shoot threes. But... One, they don't shoot them a ton. I think bottom three in attempts. And then since January 1st, as I mentioned, when they are shooting them, they're not making them. It's a very unique team when you look at all they've accomplished offensively this year.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did Kawhi and the Clippers solve Jokić and the Nuggets?
But still, it always kind of leaves you a little bit more to be desired. It's a very weird situation with their offense.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did Kawhi and the Clippers solve Jokić and the Nuggets?
Yeah, I think there's a couple things. Obviously, I think Jalen has to take that upon himself to get him involved. I think Jalen has had so much success in the clutch, and call him Captain Clutch, that you could see he was pressing to get his team this win. And he almost did it. Credit to him. Whether people think he does it in an ethical way or not, that's up to them.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did Kawhi and the Clippers solve Jokić and the Nuggets?
But he always finds a way to have his team right there with a chance to win. But also, like, Cat has to... cat has to like be disciplined in his spacing more too. Like you see him creep into the three point line too much when, when, uh, he doesn't have to. And also for being honest, he doesn't do his work early on post-ups. Um, he catches the ball deep away from the paint. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did Kawhi and the Clippers solve Jokić and the Nuggets?
Then he has to take two dribbles, three dribbles, four dribbles. This team just at times just plays. I mean, at times all the time they play slow. And a lot of it is because it's sometimes iso ball. And when cat has the ball in the post or downhill, he doesn't always kick it out. Um,
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did Kawhi and the Clippers solve Jokić and the Nuggets?
But he has to do his work early in the post instead of catching it 10 feet from the basket and trying to walk his man down. He's got to do his work early. So it's a little bit everybody like I don't I don't think it's on one person. You can point you can point a lot of fingers offensively from game two.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did Kawhi and the Clippers solve Jokić and the Nuggets?
But this is something that pops up more often than it should for a team that has this much talent and offense.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did Kawhi and the Clippers solve Jokić and the Nuggets?
more movement, more discipline in their spacing. Just don't press the issue so much. I think them getting behind, I think they could feel the urgency a little bit, right? But just play your game. You're the team that's been there. You're the team with a lot of talent. Just do... Get other guys involved. Move the ball.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did Kawhi and the Clippers solve Jokić and the Nuggets?
I think it was impressive for them to come out and really not miss a beat. They started the first three quarters. Similarly, they started the first three quarters in game one. They were the better team for much of that game. And I think they felt the pressure in the fourth to close this one out. I think the building was waiting for them to let it go.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did Kawhi and the Clippers solve Jokić and the Nuggets?
Swing, swing, swing, swing, shot like they have the ability of two of the best corner three point shooters in the league. Jalen can get downhill. Cat can pop. It just feels like sometimes they get frantic when things get tough. And it works out for most most of the time because Jalen Brunson's so damn good.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did Kawhi and the Clippers solve Jokić and the Nuggets?
But I do think they just need to be a little bit more disciplined in making sure that they aren't either one taking the first shot they get. Two, wasting 10 seconds isolating. Or three, just making sure their spacing is good. I asked JB Bickerstaff the other day, yesterday before game two,
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did Kawhi and the Clippers solve Jokić and the Nuggets?
how do you prepare for a Knicks team that you look on paper, they have four good shooters in their starting lineup, but they don't shoot a lot of threes. He's like, well, you have to respect them because they can't hit it, but it's very clear that there is a certain type of shot that they want to take.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did Kawhi and the Clippers solve Jokić and the Nuggets?
So you have to be disciplined in your closeouts, but you also know that, yeah, if they're wide open, they can take them, but it's... You can bait them into the shots that they want, that the defenses also want them to want. They just have a few guys in Jalen and Mikkel who shoot those mid-range shots at a high clip. So the math just doesn't work in New York's favor a lot.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did Kawhi and the Clippers solve Jokić and the Nuggets?
They don't shoot a lot of threes. They haven't made a lot of threes. And Detroit, again... Did not shoot the three-ball well tonight. This very easily could have been a 20-point Pistons win. If Malik Beasley hits some of the looks that he's used to hitting, and Tim Hardaway I know has been a bit of a streaky shooter in his career, but he had some really good looks when they were up 15. So...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did Kawhi and the Clippers solve Jokić and the Nuggets?
Both teams try to piss this one away, but Dennis Schroeder came through in the clutch, and it was much needed for a Pistons team. That's right.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did Kawhi and the Clippers solve Jokić and the Nuggets?
2008, I was a sophomore or junior in high school. Wow. In Flint, Michigan. Yeah. And I covered the 19 playoffs. It was funny because they clinched here in New York. They had to win the final game of the regular season to get in. And Blake Griffin, I don't think, played in that game. And he was tremendous that whole season. But his leg was gone. And we knew this series was going to be a sweep.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did Kawhi and the Clippers solve Jokić and the Nuggets?
And I just remember all the beat writers, we were looking at each other like... why did they win this game? Like we're all trying to go on vacation. Like we know it's going to be a sweep and it was because Blake couldn't move. But, um, yeah, I mean, listen, anybody who knows this league knows how insane of a fan base Detroit is.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did Kawhi and the Clippers solve Jokić and the Nuggets?
And to their credit, they couldn't hit shots from players other than Cade Cunningham for the first three quarters. But then Dennis Schroeder came up huge. So, yeah. That's why you get veterans, and that's why you get guys who have played in big moments before. So they were able to get that done. First playoff win for the franchise since 2008.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did Kawhi and the Clippers solve Jokić and the Nuggets?
If you look from 2002 to 2009, they sold, they led the league in attendance. Um, this is a, a tremendous basketball city. Uh, the last few months that that arena has been rocking. It is a loud arena. Um, I'm expecting LCA to be insane in game three. And the city deserves that. And they've been through a lot, just like the Knicks fans here. They deserve this type of team.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did Kawhi and the Clippers solve Jokić and the Nuggets?
They've been through a lot. These fan bases are more similar than they care to say to one another right now.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did Kawhi and the Clippers solve Jokić and the Nuggets?
Obviously a big moment, but I don't think it was super celebratory in that locker room. I think a lot of people exhaled and were happy that they got out of New York with that win.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Grizzlies maul Wolves in comeback win | Celtics bounce back
But this game in particular, it showed that they did not have Dante DiVincenzo. He's going to be out. We got that news right before the game. He's going to be out. Definitely with the left.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Grizzlies maul Wolves in comeback win | Celtics bounce back
big toe injury and um he's going around looking for outside options and opinions I guess which does not sound great I'm assuming he's gonna miss a bunch of time and that stinks because they you know they just made the big lineup change and you know his shooting was such a needed addition to the starting lineup I don't know what the plan is going forward without DiVincenzo
The Athletic NBA Daily
Grizzlies maul Wolves in comeback win | Celtics bounce back
Fully on board with the Missoula propaganda. It's just, I mean, yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Grizzlies maul Wolves in comeback win | Celtics bounce back
Now that they have that championship, it's been tough because Derek white and drew holiday just been banged up. I think like consistency has been tough for them to find, but I, you know, on the offensive end, they've not shot the ball well. And some of this is, you know, they get the shots up. Right. And it's a lot of average. Okay. Looks not even good looks. And I wonder if, you know,
The Athletic NBA Daily
Grizzlies maul Wolves in comeback win | Celtics bounce back
They're a fastball team. They want to only throw fastballs at you. They're going to get 55 to 63s, and they're going to try to play high-level defense. Well, if the shot's not falling, at some point, don't they need to have a curveball that's not just, hey, the shooting is going to regress back, and we're going to win these games.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Grizzlies maul Wolves in comeback win | Celtics bounce back
This isn't even a thing where they shoot too many threes, because I don't think that's true. But when they're not making shots consistently, Jay, like, Don't they need a curveball?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Grizzlies maul Wolves in comeback win | Celtics bounce back
Have you seen enough from Cleveland that you feel like Cleveland is better than Boston or you still hold Boston in that pole position in the East?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Grizzlies maul Wolves in comeback win | Celtics bounce back
Well, that's going to do it for today's show, folks. Thank you guys for tuning in. Go and read Jay's coverage over at The Athletic. For Jay King and S. Baraheni, I'm Dave DuFour, and this has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Grizzlies maul Wolves in comeback win | Celtics bounce back
Find out how close he is to being an actual Mike Conley replacement, which is really what they're hoping for with him. I'll tell you the other person that needs more minutes and needs more opportunities. And it's funny to say this because we say his name all the time. Nas Reed had 29 off the bench. I mean, this is another game where, you know, you just see these guys playing with Nas.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Grizzlies maul Wolves in comeback win | Celtics bounce back
He's five of 10 from three, right? He's getting up 10. Gets up 10 threes in the game. This is what they need. They need another volume three-point shooter. And every single time I see him out there with the starters in place of Julius Randle, not only is he doing stuff, he's more active on defense, but he just fits much better.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Grizzlies maul Wolves in comeback win | Celtics bounce back
When the argument that a guy remain a starter is that he wouldn't be happy coming off the bench, I feel like, you know, again, it messes with my basketball sensibilities to just think, You've got a better player who's a better fit who you can't start because of a personality conflict. I think I'm with you. I think that clearly is the way this was going to go.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Grizzlies maul Wolves in comeback win | Celtics bounce back
I wonder if one of these tanking teams, you know, like the Wizards or take him on, you know, the Nets or somebody might be willing to take him. And, you know, you have to play the guy. But if everyone around us is so bad, it's not like Julius Randall is going to be some sort of a rising tide for the Washington Wizards. Right. Like, you know, winning many games.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Grizzlies maul Wolves in comeback win | Celtics bounce back
I'm feeling refreshed. Had all this extra time off. We had a lot of really good basketball over the weekend, and that doesn't even include the unrivaled stuff from Friday and Saturday.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Grizzlies maul Wolves in comeback win | Celtics bounce back
I mean, this is the thing. He's out there in, you know, these these crunch time situations and they just look better when Nas Reed is on the court. So find a way to get him out there for an extra five minutes a night. But in particular with with the starters, well, we got to talk about the Pistons.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Grizzlies maul Wolves in comeback win | Celtics bounce back
The Pistons are having a great 2025, which somehow, by the way, we're already three weeks into 2025, which I don't even understand. But the Pistons pick up another big win. They've been beating some decent teams. They beat the Rockets, who, you know, they've been having an interesting couple weeks. But 107-96, they pick up the win. They do it pretty handily.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Grizzlies maul Wolves in comeback win | Celtics bounce back
I'm going to start with Cade because, you know, we have to start there. He had a... An amazing third quarter put up 19 points. But overall, I mean, 32 points in the game. He had nine rebounds, seven assists. Now he had 10 turnovers, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Grizzlies maul Wolves in comeback win | Celtics bounce back
He's throwing the ball all over the place, but he's still effective. Effective, you know, when you consider how much he's scoring, how much he's creating for other people. I mean, we've been making the statement that he's an all star and we've now pretty much said, all right, this guy's going to be all NBA. He might be climbing up the list for a lot of people in other awards also.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Grizzlies maul Wolves in comeback win | Celtics bounce back
I mean, I think his defense is starting to get noticed a lot more now that, you know, he's got a team around and plays good defense. So what have you been seeing out of the Pistons here lately that you like, especially Kate?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Grizzlies maul Wolves in comeback win | Celtics bounce back
Yeah, I mean, look, we keep bringing up Bradley Beal as an option for this team, potentially. If any of these guys wind up being moved from Chicago, I mean, if Zach Levine was there playing next to Cade or Alonzo really would be a great fit there. You think about him as a connector. So either way, I mean, they are very good.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Grizzlies maul Wolves in comeback win | Celtics bounce back
Eight and three so far in twenty twenty five top five defense, which is again, this is one of the best stories in the NBA this season. Also, great story. We we got a star versus a man. We got the Thompson twins against each other. And I mean, it's like, again, these two guys I called I called one of them a Leatherman. Not a Swiss Army knife.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Grizzlies maul Wolves in comeback win | Celtics bounce back
You know, I mean, it's just what they're able to do on the court. I mean, Amin Thompson just is able to fill the stat sheet in so many interesting ways. I mean, six rebounds, five assists, three steals. And, you know, Assar does it in a different way with the Pistons. What did you think about about those two guys in this matchup?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Grizzlies maul Wolves in comeback win | Celtics bounce back
I mean, it's not like what we're used to when we think about basketball, but it is interesting. It's fast-paced. We'll see if three-on-three full court is something that's going to stick around. They'll probably tweak this a little bit, but the first weekend, I thought, You know, it was cool. And again, it was something new and different with basketball. So, yeah, not new and different.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Grizzlies maul Wolves in comeback win | Celtics bounce back
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily for January 21st, 2025. Coming up, the Wolves lose another close game to the Grizzlies, and I think they need to make a change. We've got Jay King live after the Boston Celtics play the Warriors on the road, and we take a look at the Pistons, who are looking great in 2025. Good morning, everybody. Good morning, S. Morning. Nice little holiday weekend.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Grizzlies maul Wolves in comeback win | Celtics bounce back
You know, it's not something we think about with non shooters all that often. But I would say that these guys both have really good feel of the game. Yeah, totally. If that makes – and we normally think about that with a guy who kind of does everything and really like shooters. You put the ball in the basket a lot. You say you have a good feel for a game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Grizzlies maul Wolves in comeback win | Celtics bounce back
But these guys, they just pick their spots as cutters. I mean, Amin Thompson is putting on a master class as far as a wing working the baseline and the corner as a non-shooter. Yeah. If this guy ever sticks shots.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Grizzlies maul Wolves in comeback win | Celtics bounce back
Yeah. A little bit of news came out over the weekend. We got our first entrant into this year's dunk contest. Stephen Castle from the San Antonio Spurs, which, by the way, he's he's caught a few. bodies this year oh yeah yeah you know that guy can get up but my question for you s Does anybody care about the dunk contest?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Grizzlies maul Wolves in comeback win | Celtics bounce back
I mean, you know, we've had this argument for years where people are like, oh, they should just get professional dunkers, which I'm against. But if the stars don't want to do it, I mean, and I've now been doing this for long enough that I've had this conversation with, I don't know, 12 or 15 people. Yeah. If the stars don't want to do it, is it a thing that people are going to care about?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Grizzlies maul Wolves in comeback win | Celtics bounce back
The Wolves lost again in a pretty similar way to the Grizzlies for the second time in a week. 108-106, just another close game. And look, as right now, I don't think there's any question that the Wolves are not winning. the team that we expected them to be at this stage of the season. The Grizzlies are just a better basketball team right now.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Grizzlies maul Wolves in comeback win | Celtics bounce back
both of them yeah because they would be incredible uh and that get the thompson twins to play music yeah all the thompson twins are in the dunk contest very nice yeah i'm with you well and the thing is i like that stefan castle's in it i mean look yeah young players especially this is a good opportunity but man i just i don't understand why like Why couldn't we get Ja versus Zion at any point?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Grizzlies maul Wolves in comeback win | Celtics bounce back
Or Ant, right? Yeah. I mean, LeBron. Hey, LeBron. Why not be in this year's dunk contest? As 40-year-old LeBron, that would be incredible. Yeah. I mean, you're telling me he doesn't have a couple 50s in his bag? Oh, he definitely does. Yeah. So I just would like to see, you know, maybe some of the guys who are higher stakeholders in the NBA maybe take part in some of the fun stuff for fans.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Grizzlies maul Wolves in comeback win | Celtics bounce back
Yeah. Guys, stick around. After the break, we've got Jay King. We're going to catch up on the Celtics. We're going to figure out if he still feels like they're the favorites to come out of the East. We had a day full of games yesterday for MLK Day. It's always fun to, you know, wake up and the first game is like 9 a.m. on the West Coast. We got Jay King also on West Coast time finally.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Grizzlies maul Wolves in comeback win | Celtics bounce back
So I was able to catch up with Jay. What's up, buddy? You saw the Warriors up close and personal and Boston laid the smackdown on them. I want to start with the Warriors. I know you, you know, you cover the Celtics, but you're one of the guys that watches every single team. Are the Warriors awful right now, or is this just a blip, man? Because they cannot put two wins together in a row.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Conference Finals preview
I have a take here. I think the series is going to be about who's the best player, but not necessarily for the reasons that we expect. It's almost going to be which of these guys is going to be the weakest link for his team. Like Jalen Brunson, for instance, Carl Anthony Towns, those guys we watched the Celtics when they attacked them and really went at them, put them in foul trouble.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Conference Finals preview
Jalen Brunson had one of the worst quarters I've ever seen anyone have. And I do think that the Pacers have that ability in the half court, especially with Halliburton. I mean, his first step is... really fast, and I think he gets a lot of hands in the cookie jar that way.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Conference Finals preview
And then also, the way that they can attack in transition, I do think that that's going to put pressure on the Knicks defense, and especially Jalen Brunson. And when you look at the other side, can Jalen Brunson isolate on Tyrese Halliburton? That's a win for the Knicks every single time. You know, I think a loss would be Carl Anthony Towns post-ups on Miles Turner.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Conference Finals preview
You know, I think they can stay away from those. That's great. But I do think it's going to be quite a bit about which of those four guys winds up being the weakest link. So maybe Pascal Siakam is set up to be of the group, the most consistent. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Conference Finals preview
Felt like the Timberwolves found their footing, you know, after after struggling with an identity crisis for most of the season, they found their footing late. But they've been excellent in the playoffs. And I mean, they were sitting at home waiting for the Thunder, which probably feels a little bit different for the Thunder after they swept in the first round. So where do you want to start there?
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Conference Finals preview
Yeah, this is the thing about this. The reality of it is that the Knicks have had an arduous road to get to where they're at. I mean, they basically got six guys, maybe seven, and they really only play the five. And that starting lineup has not been good. You know, it's been very close for them all year.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Conference Finals preview
Right. And so, you know, I think that this is a series where for the Knicks, you know, you look at how easy the Pacers come by points and you start to worry about the Knicks. And this brings me to the next key to the series, I think, is going to be pace. Indiana. They want to get out. They want to run. They even want to attack in that semi-transition, early half-court offense.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Conference Finals preview
So, like, they're just trying to score. They want to get shots up. They believe in their offense. And for the Knicks, like we talked about ad nauseum all year long, you know, it seems like a lot of Jalen Brunson dribbling, a lot of, you know, Carl Anthony Towns on these post-ups where he's probably four feet too far out. And, you know, it just eats up time on the clock.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Conference Finals preview
And that's great because their defense can lock down. But, man, with the Pacers, they just run so much.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Conference Finals preview
I'll tell you why they shouldn't do it. It will take away their most potent skill, and that's that transition attack. They pull the ball out of the rim on makes. So if you're putting Mitchell Robinson at the line, Knicks defense gets to set up.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Conference Finals preview
This is where that actually works against you, and I didn't like that the Celtics did it so much because they're another team that should be wanting to attack in transition, especially a Knicks team that lacks the next key to the series, depth. Yeah, the Knicks have none. You know, I mean, we know going in McHale Bridges, OG Ananobi, both those guys got to play at least 40 a night. We know it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Conference Finals preview
Jalen Brunson, 45, buddy. Get ready. I hope you got new shoes. And so I just look at this from the other side. The Pacers, I mean, they'll have games in this series that they win where their best players play 32 minutes a night because they've got eight guys.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Conference Finals preview
Yeah. And we haven't even talked about all the bodies that they can throw at Jalen Brunson. I mean, Andrew Nembhardt, Aaron Neesmith, you know, Halliburton, even when he when he wants to, like with his size and his length. I mean, you know, we see him bother players.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Conference Finals preview
Like that guy plays every single possession. Like he's mad at the guy who's guarding him and it's awesome. Right. I mean, he does play like, it's a little bit of like a basketball Napoleon complex when you watch the way he plays in the half court. Like I really, I can at least tip the cap to it because every bucket is hard and he's the smallest guy on the court normally.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Conference Finals preview
I mean, that's like mighty mouse territory. So I just think that at a certain point, you know, that that's not great for your basketball team though.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Conference Finals preview
You still feeling Pacers? I think a lot of people have come around to our way of thinking on this. Again, if the Knicks had the sort of depth that the Pacers had, I would feel much better about the Knicks because I do think Jalen Brunson has that iron will that you really need. I mean, I do think he's a small guard that could win a championship.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Conference Finals preview
Well, it's going to be fun. Yeah, you guys, I'm out for the rest of the week. I got a little thing up in New York, so I'm going for that. But S and Zena will take care of you guys. Yeah, I'm going to try to make it to MSG for game one. We'll see if it works out. But that's going to do it for today's show, folks. For S Baraheni, I'm Dave Dufour, and this has been the NBA Daily.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Conference Finals preview
I mean, look, we have pointed to this 12 assist game that he had against the Warriors in that series. It's kind of like that's something to hang your hat on. I mean, 12 assists in a playoff game. And he still I think he put up 23 in that game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Conference Finals preview
If he is aggressive at attacking the basket and not looking for the foul call, which is I actually think has affected his finishing around the basket where he's looking for the contact and thinking he's going to get bailed out and he's not finishing through the contact. I think he needs to change that. Right.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Conference Finals preview
If you look at the way OKC was able to guard against Denver, part of it is that old Miami Heat thing. They're fouling the entire time. So you're not going to get called on every foul. Exactly. Yeah. The level of the foul is higher, and so you just have to adjust to that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Conference Finals preview
I'd like to see him come out pre-adjusted to that because his finishing around the basket has been poor in the playoffs, and it's because of the extra contact. You can hear him yelling, hey, on just about every single layup. It's actually incredible that he has the concentration to find the referee and yell at him while also attempting the layup.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Conference Finals preview
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily. Coming up, Espera Henne and I look at both of the conference finals and come up with our keys to the series.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Conference Finals preview
I'd like to see him finish a little bit better, but you mentioned the turnovers. The Thunder have been the most disruptive defense that we've ever seen. We got to see that on full display in that game seven against Denver.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Conference Finals preview
If they can come out like that, I mean, you get into an issue where, wow, Mike Conley's size is a problem because they have all this length on the perimeter and they can pressure him. You do not want the ball to find Rudy Gobert unless he's finishing the play. Oh, my God. Yeah. He needs to catch it and go right up with it. Right. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Conference Finals preview
So I think that this is a series where, you know, Julius Randall as that secondary guy is the playmaker. That's the guy I've got circled and which I think the next key. not to jump ahead, but who's going to be the secondary guy for the Thunder? I think it's pretty clear that it's Randall.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Conference Finals preview
It's been Randall for a while now, especially on the playmaking front, what he was able to do the first couple rounds of the playoffs. But outside of that game seven, we didn't see much out of Jalen Williams so far in the playoffs.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Conference Finals preview
oh we've made it to the conference finals esperanto dave yeah dave dufour we are here nba daily style uh actually doing this a little bit different um travel day for just about everybody that we would want to talk to today so we decided you know what let's put on our thinking caps and do our own little preview with the keys to the series now look we have watched
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Conference Finals preview
Well, I mean, think about the way that Denver was able to be so disruptive with the zone. And I would say right now, the way we saw the Thunder solve that zone in game seven, not going to work against Minnesota. Rudy Gobert is excellent, especially in the zone. I mean, he's zone and drop. I mean, this is where he's the king at. And they also have Jaden McDaniels on the wing.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Conference Finals preview
They have Anthony Edwards, who is, by the way, no slouch guarding. I just think that they've got a better system to be able to throw the same exact problem at Denver, but to be able to hold them off longer. So I do think the shooting in this series, I mean, it's funny to say in a make or miss league.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Conference Finals preview
And, you know, we're talking about basketball playoff series, but the shooting is going to be important.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Conference Finals preview
And so they can go... Nikhil Alexander-Walker can come off the bench and apply pressure to his cousin, right? I mean, this is like, this is something that the other teams didn't have. I mean, imagine the trash talk that he's going to be able to throw out. Oh my God, yeah. And it's just...
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Conference Finals preview
Let me ask you, who has to make the first adjustment in this series? Like if you're and we're taking a blind guess here, but who do you think is going to have to blink first?
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Conference Finals preview
I mean, we watch Alex Caruso guard Jokic and give him so much trouble. I think it gives you an option for Randall. It gives you an option for for Nas Reed. I mean, yeah. you don't really have to guard Rudy like that, but it does give you the option for Rudy. If you, if you want to go small and you say, Hey, look, man, just go in there and bang with him.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Conference Finals preview
All of the remaining teams, as much as just about anybody, I would say the guys covering these teams are probably about the only ones that have us beat on it. I feel like I've got a pretty good sense of who and what they are. Let's start in the West, since that's going to be the first series. Obviously, that game is going to be tonight. I cannot believe we're already here. Game one of the West.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Conference Finals preview
And Rudy is, he is physical, but you can, you can out physical Rudy. And I think Alex Caruso is kind of built for that. This is the most interesting thing in the playoffs for me. Alex Caruso. I think it, it opens up a whole nother world for them defensively and makes them even more switchable. You know, I just, I,
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Conference Finals preview
Yeah. Yeah. I think that Rudy's size is super important. His offensive rebounding keeps him on the court on the offensive end. I mean, you think about the Lakers game that he actually won through offensive rebounding. You could see a world in which he could have one of those games because Isaiah Hardenstein, he can't play every minute, and Chet is a little bit small.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Conference Finals preview
I do think that the Thunder have done okay against Gobert traditionally, but he is a big, huge body that – Pretty good at pulling down rebounds. That's the key.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Conference Finals preview
And it gets tricky because now you go down the list and it's like, OK, who's Chet guarding?
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Conference Finals preview
Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Are you are you still feeling wolves in six? I still feel wolves. Yeah. I don't know why. Something about them just feels like they've got they've got a little bit of extra juice right now.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Conference Finals preview
We're going to. Luckily, we're going to find out. By the way, I'm super ready to be extremely wrong for going against an amazing Thunder team.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Conference Finals preview
After the break, we're going to swing to the Eastern Conference.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Conference Finals preview
We've gone back to 1995 in the Eastern Conference. Some of the scores were actually 1985, to be honest with you, in the playoffs so far. But Nick's Pacers, super exciting, number one, for me, because I actually think like aesthetically, it feels like the end. It's the NBA I grew up with. Also, it's kind of cool that Madison Square Garden getting a conference finals, especially game one.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Conference Finals preview
I think it's going to be pretty hot. And then the Pacers have just been so much fun to watch. I'm actually looking forward to them continuing their run. I think we got to start with kind of what we just did on the other side, where we know the best players in the series. It's got, you know, Shea or it's Anthony Edwards, one of those two guys likely to be the best player.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Conference Finals preview
I think you've got more options in the East for who you're ultimately could be the best player in this series. I mean, obviously, Jalen Brunson is Mr. Clutch. You've got Carl Anthony Towns, who has the ability. I mean, he could put up 30 in seven games. That would not be a problem for him.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Conference Finals preview
And then on the Pacers side, you've got Pascal Siakam, who I think has been their best player the last couple seasons, but also Tyrese Halliburton, who seems to have this incredibly high ceiling when they need it. Also clutch in his own way, right? Incredibly clutch. So I think I want to just start there. I mean, who do you think is going to wind up being the best player in this series?
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Conference Finals preview
Any recovery from game seven. Right. Like it's just gone. Yeah. But at least they're at home. Right. They didn't have to travel. I'm sure Minnesota had the, you know, had the plane all fueled up, ready to go. Where do you want to start with this series? Because, I mean, obviously it's an interesting matchup. The Thunder dominated all year long.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets shock Warriors without Jokić + Knicks surviving without Brunson
Yeah. It's a rough season. I'm powerful law. Murray go read the power rankings over at the athletic guys. Stick around after the break, Fred cats goes deep on the Knicks and also the disorganization of the Phoenix suns.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets shock Warriors without Jokić + Knicks surviving without Brunson
And this is the sort of stuff that you have come to expect from Russell Westbrook especially, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets shock Warriors without Jokić + Knicks surviving without Brunson
The New York Knicks are somehow surviving without Jalen Brunson. So we had to get Fred Katz on here to lay it all out. He just wrote a big piece over at The Athletic, which you can read about how the Knicks are stealing points, essentially, on offense. Fred, Jalen Brunson went down. I thought it was downhill. I was very nervous they were going to be able to hold on to the three seed.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets shock Warriors without Jokić + Knicks surviving without Brunson
How are they going to score all these clutch minutes? But they've been doing okay.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets shock Warriors without Jokić + Knicks surviving without Brunson
Yes. That's a huge difference between him and Mikkel Bridges, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets shock Warriors without Jokić + Knicks surviving without Brunson
Well, they can switch a little bit better now, right? Like they're just more flexibility. What about Mitchell Robinson? Like you feel like just having him out there has made a big difference for them yet?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets shock Warriors without Jokić + Knicks surviving without Brunson
That's when he's been his most successful in his career was playing with Rudy Gobert and the run that they just had, you know, last season. And, you know, when I thought about him on the Knicks, it was one of the things I assumed they wanted to replicate was the double big lineup. You get him out there and Carl Anthony Towns can defend.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets shock Warriors without Jokić + Knicks surviving without Brunson
He just can't be your primary rim protector, and that's one of the limitations for him. But let's talk about the thing with Cat that he has no limit, and that's the offensive side. Because you bring a guy like Cat in to make Jalen Brunson's life easier and to cover when he's not there. So how do you feel like Cat has performed since Jalen Brunson's been out?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets shock Warriors without Jokić + Knicks surviving without Brunson
I mean, he is the number one offensive option now.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets shock Warriors without Jokić + Knicks surviving without Brunson
Yeah, that running hook that he gets himself into is because he he doesn't get a deep enough seal like he has. He's forced into, you know, he's able to be pushed off the block and he's forced into that running hook that he's just he hits at a high rate. But it's not the kind of shot. I mean, I agree with you.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets shock Warriors without Jokić + Knicks surviving without Brunson
What about getting back to some of that high post offense that they used to run, you know, with Hartenstein? And I mean, you know, that was something I expected with Kat. You know, this is this guy can score at three levels like he can shoot that that elbow jumper like that's in his game. But it seems like with Kat on the Knicks, it's his his offense either starts on the wing.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets shock Warriors without Jokić + Knicks surviving without Brunson
or down in that mid post. And they're leaving this space in the middle, just wide open. I understand Jalen Brunson operates there quite a bit, but this would be such a way to give Jalen a little bit of a break by having cat as this hub. I mean, he's such a great passer. You know, he's one of the better passers on this team.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets shock Warriors without Jokić + Knicks surviving without Brunson
All right.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets shock Warriors without Jokić + Knicks surviving without Brunson
I wouldn't be surprised when Mitchell Robinson's out there, that little 54 screen down in the post, I think is going to be bread and butter for them, just like it was for Gobert and Cat to get into some of those post-ups. I mean, I do think that Mitchell Robinson-Cat pairing is the thing that I'm watching for the next month as we're heading into the playoffs.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets shock Warriors without Jokić + Knicks surviving without Brunson
That's amazing. Okay. All right.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets shock Warriors without Jokić + Knicks surviving without Brunson
I love it. OK, before we get out of here, I did. I promised you that we would talk about the Phoenix Suns. They they are so oddly bad for a collection of, I mean, great to decent players like they don't have a lot of bad players. What is your opinion on what has happened with the Suns? I mean, it feels like an implosion rather than something that where they didn't have talent.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets shock Warriors without Jokić + Knicks surviving without Brunson
as much as any other team certainly in the western conference i mean it's them in philly as like the two teams yeah in in the league at least with philly you can say they they were snake bitten everyone was hurt all year okay we i mean not that that's a good thing but at least if you're an optimist you can say okay well it can't be this bad again whereas with phoenix we're looking at it's a teardown essentially um
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets shock Warriors without Jokić + Knicks surviving without Brunson
They've already tried to shop KD. It seems like he's going to be moved this summer. But what do they do? How long is Booker dealing with this? Is Mike Budenholzer even going to be back next year? I mean, there are so many questions that I just didn't expect to have about Phoenix at this point in the season. I figured maybe if they lost in the playoffs, we might have some of these conversations.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets shock Warriors without Jokić + Knicks surviving without Brunson
But now it doesn't even look like they're going to. They may not catch the Mavericks for the play-in. They have one of the hardest schedules left. They've got a game and a half to make up, and somehow they just can't win a game. So they may not even make the play-in.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets shock Warriors without Jokić + Knicks surviving without Brunson
And I mean, they have the ability to hit and play nine shots in a row. Right. Like their offense is predicated on. You know what? We've got great shooters. We're going to hit some shots. And but they have no offensive flow either. You know, it's funny. They have no defensive cohesion and no offensive flow whatsoever. The guys at this point in the season, they don't look like they have plays to run.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets shock Warriors without Jokić + Knicks surviving without Brunson
But I will.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets shock Warriors without Jokić + Knicks surviving without Brunson
I mean, it starts with Russ, right? But even MPJ was active on the glass, active defensively, and obviously Aaron Gordon scoring 38 points. You tip your cap if you're the Warriors to that, but I think they flat out got outplayed. The Warriors were sloppy. The Warriors' offense, they couldn't make shots outside of Steph, and even Steph struggled to get going for a bit. Look...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets shock Warriors without Jokić + Knicks surviving without Brunson
I think we'll probably find out this summer. Fred Katz, go and read him at The Athletic. Thank you, Fred, for hanging out and going deep on the Knicks and the Suns. Thanks to Law Murray for filling in for us tonight. You know, we had a good time recapping the games. For Fred Katz and Law Murray, I'm Dave DeFore, and this has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets shock Warriors without Jokić + Knicks surviving without Brunson
Again, the Warriors have yet to play anyone with this new addition and still haven't played anyone yet. I will give them the benefit of the doubt and say they came out flat. It was a veteran team that maybe was saying, oh, we got an easy night. We'll pull this out. But I think that there's some glaring issues there with them. Law, what did you see, especially in the struggles down the stretch?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets shock Warriors without Jokić + Knicks surviving without Brunson
Good morning, Law. Appreciate you staying up with me and filling in for us here on this Tuesday morning. Weird night last night, Law. Weird night. You go into the night and you say, oh, OK, the Nuggets don't have Jokic. They don't have Jamal Murray. They're playing the Warriors. The Warriors are hot right now. Surely, Warriors going to pick up another win with Jimmy Butler.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets shock Warriors without Jokić + Knicks surviving without Brunson
And also, I will say this, you know, stuff that stood out to me for the Warriors, Kuminga, Draymond, Jimmy Butler, that's some spacing problem. I mean, that is a huge spacing issue.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets shock Warriors without Jokić + Knicks surviving without Brunson
No, and Kuminga is going to be the guy that has to figure it out. He's the guy that's going to have to figure out how to play around those guys or he's not going to be able to close games for sure. And that probably isn't an issue. Let's swing it to the Wolves losing to the Pacers. Look, this is a great win for the Pacers. Great win.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets shock Warriors without Jokić + Knicks surviving without Brunson
Obi Toppin was amazing, including hitting just an incredible bank three in overtime to keep him in it. And then for the second week in a row, we have a Pacers win on a fading out of bounds in that left corner three-pointer because Obi Toppin hits that shot and, you know, just with – Very little time left on the clock for the Wolves.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets shock Warriors without Jokić + Knicks surviving without Brunson
This is a big win for the Pacers because, like we mentioned, they were down four starters. No Halliburton, no Neesmith, no Miles Turner. I mean, just no pass to Siakam. And, by the way, yeah, Andrew Nembhard got into it with Rudy Gobert and got ejected. So, like, they're down five key players. And, basically, they pull this out of nowhere and, you know, Just a gutty win.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets shock Warriors without Jokić + Knicks surviving without Brunson
They're now tied for the four seed with the Bucs because of this win, one that they probably didn't think they were going to get. The Pacers, man, they just play tough. They've got this high ceiling because of that style of play.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets shock Warriors without Jokić + Knicks surviving without Brunson
We've got all these things we can say about how, wow, they haven't been tested yet because no one was out there. Out the window because the Warriors lose that game. The Wolves, they're at home. They've got the Pacers. Pacers missing four starters. Talk about how the Wolves, you know, they've been on this hot streak. They're getting business done. They come out flat, Law.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets shock Warriors without Jokić + Knicks surviving without Brunson
Rick Carlisle has done this his entire coaching career. I mean, if you think about those Dallas Mavericks teams where it was always just he would pick up, you know, scrap heap, small guard, and they would have, you know, great runs and obviously have to play a lot of minutes. So I think that there's a there's a culture there in that organization, like the next man up thing is like.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets shock Warriors without Jokić + Knicks surviving without Brunson
It's like a real thing that they do there. And those guys all get run all year long, partially because, you know, so many of these guys are in and out of the lineup for them. Let's swing it to the Wolves, because this is a bad loss for the Wolves, just like it was a bad loss for the Warriors, even though they've been hot. This is one you have to get.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets shock Warriors without Jokić + Knicks surviving without Brunson
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily. Coming up, we got Law Murray here filling in for us. We're going to talk a little bit about the games last night. Warriors blow it, even though Nikola Jokic wasn't out there. So did the Wolves, even though the Pacers were missing four starters. And we got Fred Katz to talk about how the Knicks are surviving without Jalen Brunson. Good morning, everybody.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets shock Warriors without Jokić + Knicks surviving without Brunson
Yeah, we did a big update on the seating and to update that the Clippers are now only one game back of Minnesota and the Warriors because neither one of them, you know, could make up any ground quickly before we go to the break. The Rockets managed to come back. They were down. I had no idea that they had come back until it was a couple of minutes into overtime.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets shock Warriors without Jokić + Knicks surviving without Brunson
I'd flipped over because it was less than a minute left and they're down eight. I'm like, there's no way they go on a 10 to run force overtime. They somehow fought off a 46 point Quentin Grimes game, which is just an incredible performance from him because the Sixers have nobody out there. except for Quentin Grimes.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets shock Warriors without Jokić + Knicks surviving without Brunson
But this was, I thought, a scrappy win for the Rockets, not just because Fred VanVleet got ejected for a flagrant two, but this is the sort of stuff, again, like, it's March. You are going to run into flat nights, and how you respond matters.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets shock Warriors without Jokić + Knicks surviving without Brunson
They blow the game to the Pacers. Let's dig in a little bit because I think this is – they're bad losses for both teams, but both teams were hot coming in. And I want to start with the Warriors side of this. I think that you can say – For the Nuggets, they got incredible performances from Russell Westbrook and Aaron Gordon. Aaron Gordon puts up 38 points. Russ gets a triple-double.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors, Grizzlies deep dive + Play-in Preview
It is an interesting clash of styles as far as teams go, right? You have this Trey Young-led offense versus the Orlando Magic defense. I think it will be a fun game and have a playoff atmosphere, but I just don't know. These teams kind of back their way in, you know?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors, Grizzlies deep dive + Play-in Preview
We got a chance to see a little bit of, we can call it playoff Jimmy. That was a playoff game that they played against the Clippers. You know, he puts up 30. He was a little bit more aggressive. What took so long?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors, Grizzlies deep dive + Play-in Preview
If you go back to his Houston days, two big shots in overtime. And I've never seen him do that against Golden State.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors, Grizzlies deep dive + Play-in Preview
I mean, I think it's probably going to defend, especially against Memphis, right? Like, what is the foul situation for Jaron Jackson look like when you get down the stretch of this game? I mean, you know, the last game with these guys, it fell apart when they got Jaron Jackson into foul trouble. And so you have to think that that's probably the game plan.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors, Grizzlies deep dive + Play-in Preview
I'm assuming this more aggressive Jimmy Butler. But, you know, coming, this could be a spot where, like you said. First quarter coming a minute just to see if he's going to bring anything. I mean, to get to be able to be aggressive, get to attack the basket. He's another guy who draws fouls. I mean, maybe that that could play in.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors, Grizzlies deep dive + Play-in Preview
That's for sometime in the summer when they're thinking about trading him.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors, Grizzlies deep dive + Play-in Preview
Yeah, the bottom fell out for them. I don't think they've got much of a chance. Anthony Slater, go and read him at The Athletic. That's going to do it for today's show. We're in the play-in, guys. Play-in, playoffs, I think it all feels the same, but we've made it. For Zena Keita, I'm Dave Dufour, and this has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors, Grizzlies deep dive + Play-in Preview
But we'll see what happens. The 9-10 matchups in the West, we've got the Kings and Mavericks. And in the East, we have the Bulls and Heat. And the Heat being the 10 seed, you know, this is just not what we expected from them this season. Obviously, things fell off for post-Jimmy Butler trade.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors, Grizzlies deep dive + Play-in Preview
But of these two games, you know, which one do you think is going to be the best, I guess, like the most entertaining?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors, Grizzlies deep dive + Play-in Preview
Well, Kobe White, Kobe White is a great story. I just think the way that he's developed and kind of led that team. If I was Miami, I'd be very concerned because the Bulls just somehow like they play hard. Right. And that gives them a chance in every single game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors, Grizzlies deep dive + Play-in Preview
And so the heat, while they may be a better coach team or whatever you want to say, you still got to play with the guys that are on the court. I just I like what Chicago does in some of these games with the Mavericks. Look. We have a scenario where the Mavericks could beat the Kings and the Warriors could lose to the Grizzlies.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors, Grizzlies deep dive + Play-in Preview
And we have Klay Thompson going in to Chase Center to potentially knock the Warriors out. Or we could wind up with the Kings going in there with a chance to knock the Warriors out. So we've got a lot of drama in the play and even I. I do want to talk a little bit. I do want to talk a little bit about the actual playoff bracket.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors, Grizzlies deep dive + Play-in Preview
Obviously, we know the Thunder and the Cavs, two best teams this season by record. We don't know who they're going to face yet. They're going to face one of the play-in teams, same with the Celtics and the Rockets. But once you get into the bracket, the part of the bracket that's already set, I think you have four compelling matchups. You've got the Nuggets and Clippers. Yes, we do.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors, Grizzlies deep dive + Play-in Preview
You've got the Lakers and Wolves. You've got the Pacers and Bucks. And you've got the Knicks and Pistons. And, Zena, I would have a hard time to choose, if I had to choose between one of those four, to be the most compelling or interesting. So I'm going to make you do it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors, Grizzlies deep dive + Play-in Preview
They've got the size that they can match up with the Lakers. Exactly.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors, Grizzlies deep dive + Play-in Preview
Every one of these series has something like that. I look Pacers and Bucks. We know that this rivalry started with the NBA Cup, which is kind of fun. And just funny. You've got Giannis, maybe with Dame, maybe not. But Giannis, you know who I think can win a series by himself.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors, Grizzlies deep dive + Play-in Preview
But the Pacers have been so good that I think that if I'm you know, if I'm in their side of the bracket, if I'm Cleveland, I'm I'm kind of worried. If I have to face the Pacers and then there's the Pistons with the Knicks, you know, Jalen Brunson, he's not totally back to health yet. The Pistons have looked really good all year.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors, Grizzlies deep dive + Play-in Preview
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily. Coming up, Anthony Slater's here to talk about the Warriors having to face the Grizzlies in the play-in, and Zena and I break down the rest of the playoffs, talk about some of our favorite series, and the play-in. Good morning, everybody. Good morning, Zena.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors, Grizzlies deep dive + Play-in Preview
And I'm not saying that they're a better team than the Knicks, but it does feel like the Pistons could be a team that would punch them in the mouth and to be able to follow through. But for me, the most, the most compelling, I look, you said it Clippers nuggets. You've got Kawhi Leonard versus Nicola Jokic as far as the just best players on their teams.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors, Grizzlies deep dive + Play-in Preview
James Harden playing some of his best basketball right now. I mean, in the game against the Warriors, he was electric down the stretch and really took over. And Kawhi has never really had a guy like that. And then Evita Zubac versus Nikola Jokic in and of itself is going to be such a battle that I actually don't know who's going to win this series. Normally, you know, you...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors, Grizzlies deep dive + Play-in Preview
With NBA coverage, when you talk about a playoff series, I handicap this team has the best player. So they get a plus one automatically when I'm thinking about a matchup. In this one, normally I would lean towards saying they have Nikola Jokic. He's the best player in the world. They can just win this series. It shouldn't be a problem. Yes, it'll be close.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors, Grizzlies deep dive + Play-in Preview
It'll be six or seven games, but Jokic will win. With the way Kawhi's playing, I can't do it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors, Grizzlies deep dive + Play-in Preview
Which of the top seeds, so this is Thunder, Cavs, Rockets, Celtics, which of those do you think is the most vulnerable? And I don't mean in the first round, because that's pretty rare. I mean, the 2-7 matchups could be, especially the Rockets, if they get the Warriors, I think that that's an interesting series for them.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors, Grizzlies deep dive + Play-in Preview
But which of them do you see as the most vulnerable in the first couple rounds of the playoffs?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors, Grizzlies deep dive + Play-in Preview
Welcome to the play in. We're here. Hey, listen, I just like to leave space in there. Maybe you got something to say. We we've made it through the regular season. We are at the play in the play in games are tonight. We've got the Warriors and Grizzlies and we've got the Hawks and the Magic. We went deep.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors, Grizzlies deep dive + Play-in Preview
I do love that they played everyone on the final day to, you know, like, hey, we are trying to win this game. But also I love the nuggets just blasted those guys like it didn't matter. So that also is funny to me. You know, I think that it's pretty, you know, it's kind of an obvious one there that, yeah, the Rockets would be Most vulnerable. I mean, S even said it with the Celtics.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors, Grizzlies deep dive + Play-in Preview
Jalen Brown probably could take the first round off and they should win. And, you know, you could make that argument. Maybe like Cleveland might be in a similar situation. OKC potentially, too. Right. Like where if if someone had to sit a few games, it's probably not going to hurt them. But the Rockets, they we already question who's their guy. Right. Exactly.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors, Grizzlies deep dive + Play-in Preview
We do have a little bit of housekeeping because it was National Firing Day in the NBA. The New Orleans Pelicans moved on. We're just naming it that. Right. Yeah. From GM David Griffin and the Suns moved on from Mike Budenholzer. Either one of those is a surprise to you, Zena?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors, Grizzlies deep dive + Play-in Preview
I would say. Look, I think David Griffin has done a really good job of assembling talent, and that talent has just not had health at all. And so this is how the business works, right? Like it is a results business, not the theoretical stuff.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors, Grizzlies deep dive + Play-in Preview
But if I was a team looking for a GM that was good at finding guys who were maybe diamonds in the rough, you know, I would give that guy a call because he has found – I mean, Trey Murphy III, to me, is going to be a star. And David Griffin saw it coming. Yeah, he's missing. He's done a pretty good job down there.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors, Grizzlies deep dive + Play-in Preview
So, you know, the results don't match the quality, I think, of what they've done as a front office. So anyway. Yeah. So now we got that out of the way. We're going to take a break. And when we come back, Anthony Slater to talk about why the Warriors are going to beat the Grizzlies.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors, Grizzlies deep dive + Play-in Preview
with Anthony Slater and that comes up after the break on the Warriors and Chris so Xena I just figured we could just talk a little bit about the rest of the play in um Atlanta Orlando Atlanta basically just lives in this play in Orlando you know they had a huge drop off the season dealt with a lot of injuries um I don't know that anyone necessarily is looking forward to this matchup but
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors, Grizzlies deep dive + Play-in Preview
If you guys were keeping score at home, you might remember that my bold prediction to start the season was that the Golden State Warriors would have a top-five defense and that they would make the Western Conference Finals. If they're going to make the Conference Finals, they're going to have to win a play-in game in Memphis first. And here to talk about it, the Athletics' Anthony Slater. Slater?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors, Grizzlies deep dive + Play-in Preview
They're going to win this game. It's in San Francisco, which helps. Oh, that's right. It's not in Memphis. Oh, yes. Thank you for that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jalen Green blasts Grizzlies for 42 | Cade Cunningham in the Garden
What's the secret to their success, man? I mean, they've been a fun story.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jalen Green blasts Grizzlies for 42 | Cade Cunningham in the Garden
But either way, another great game for the Rockets where they just show how tough they are, man. They just do not stop coming.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jalen Green blasts Grizzlies for 42 | Cade Cunningham in the Garden
Well, I mean, look, he's also coaching them on defense because in this game against the Knicks, one of the ways that they threw the Knicks off was they switched into a zone. And I was digging through my memory banks from last season, and I'll be the first to admit, you don't have to watch a lot of Pistons games when you do this job.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jalen Green blasts Grizzlies for 42 | Cade Cunningham in the Garden
You wind up seeing the Pistons occasionally when they play good teams, but you don't have to watch them very much. But I couldn't remember them slipping into a zone like that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jalen Green blasts Grizzlies for 42 | Cade Cunningham in the Garden
very often and you see this team aggressively trapping and switch i mean i just think that they're just more active in general and you know as you said 18th is nothing to you know to to really like tout but they've been better here the last few weeks even i think the you could say like maybe since december 1st maybe hunter like there's been a mark turnaround in the way that they're defending i don't know if you can point your finger at any one thing outside eighth in the
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jalen Green blasts Grizzlies for 42 | Cade Cunningham in the Garden
last 10 games. I just looked it up. There you go. Yeah. So outside of just, I think, like you mentioned, back to your point, Hunter, these guys, they're bought in collectively. And I got to say, I got to tip my cap to the guy that I think is honestly the He's showing to be a pretty good leader on the team.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jalen Green blasts Grizzlies for 42 | Cade Cunningham in the Garden
I think Cade Cunningham, not only has he grown as a player and playmaker, but he's got these guys following him, I think, following his lead. And it's on the defensive end where he's been as disruptive as a playmaker as he has been on the offensive end.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jalen Green blasts Grizzlies for 42 | Cade Cunningham in the Garden
At some point, fans are going to realize that these NBA guys are actual sickos and that you are only playing into their hands if you just make them mad. Even Malik Beasley, who is not somebody you would think of having the ability to flip the switch, but I don't know, man. That guy's kind of automatic right now. You know, we got to just swing it looking forward a little bit.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jalen Green blasts Grizzlies for 42 | Cade Cunningham in the Garden
Okay, this is a team that's battling for the playoffs, and I think they've got a shot at that sixth seed. I think that sixth seed is not set yet. You know, look, the Pacers have looked good, and I think they're moving up, but the Bucs have not looked good. The Sixers can't get healthy. Embiid has got this foot issue now. I mean, this is a team that should be pushing to make the top six, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jalen Green blasts Grizzlies for 42 | Cade Cunningham in the Garden
What do they have to do between now and, I mean, I could say the trade deadline. The trade deadline.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jalen Green blasts Grizzlies for 42 | Cade Cunningham in the Garden
I was going to say now at the end of the season. But let's just say, what do they need to do between now and the trade deadline to improve to try to actually be in that top six?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jalen Green blasts Grizzlies for 42 | Cade Cunningham in the Garden
Hold on. Let me ask you, man, should they get in on Bradley Beal?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jalen Green blasts Grizzlies for 42 | Cade Cunningham in the Garden
Yeah. Well, I look, man, this team, they're fun to watch. I think that's a win in and of itself. You know, you don't know the outcome before you turn on a pistol.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jalen Green blasts Grizzlies for 42 | Cade Cunningham in the Garden
Again, I was wrong. I was wrong. He's shown me wrong all season long. Hunter Patterson showing us right. Appreciate you. Welcome to the Athletic again. Welcome to the NBA Daily. Go and read them over the Athletic. That's going to do it for today's show, folks. Thank you guys for tuning in. For Hunter and Espera Henney, I'm Dave DuFour, and this is the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jalen Green blasts Grizzlies for 42 | Cade Cunningham in the Garden
And his defense gets overlooked. The guy makes plays defensively, whether it's, you know, getting a steal, getting a deflection, blocking shots, which actually is one of the things that he's sneakily good at. But speaking of a men Thompson, 19 points, 13 rebounds, four offensive rebounds, four assists, two steals, five blocks.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jalen Green blasts Grizzlies for 42 | Cade Cunningham in the Garden
That guy is a Swiss army knife, you know, and we were watching, we were also watching Knicks and Pistons. We were talking about his brother, Asar. And I mentioned Asar might be able to be like a superpower, Josh Hart, right? More athletic, bigger, longer, faster, you know, maybe more skilled. I don't, I don't know. But just could he do that? And then I look at him in and it's like,
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jalen Green blasts Grizzlies for 42 | Cade Cunningham in the Garden
Well, I don't know. Is he Andre Kirilenko without a jump shot? He just opens up so much stuff for them. And you mentioned that little lob that Shingun likes to throw out of the short roll when a man is in the dunker spot. They do that in crunch time. Yeah, and Shingun almost lost it. That turnover, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jalen Green blasts Grizzlies for 42 | Cade Cunningham in the Garden
So, I mean, they really – that has become like a nice go-to little bread and butter thing for them. If he ever – He doesn't he's not a guy that has to shoot the above the break three. Right. No. But if he ever becomes like if he could be Lou Dort from the corners. Right. And just let him fly. Hit him at thirty five to thirty six percent.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jalen Green blasts Grizzlies for 42 | Cade Cunningham in the Garden
And I mean, this guy all of a sudden becomes even more dangerous. I mean, the numbers he's putting up with no jumper. When they're packing the paint every time he has the ball, it's super impressive to me. For a young guy, especially, to not, you know, he gets knocked down, he gets right back up. I don't know, man. That team is just full of dogs. And then, you know, Fred Van Vliet.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jalen Green blasts Grizzlies for 42 | Cade Cunningham in the Garden
late in this game, I keep saying that the Houston Rockets offense and crunch shot, it seems to be, Hey, somebody throw the ball to Van Vliet with about two seconds left on the clock. And he's going to throw up a moonshot and he hits it in this game, but he's, he's taken the third most shots this season with less than four seconds left on the shot clock.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jalen Green blasts Grizzlies for 42 | Cade Cunningham in the Garden
And he's not their number one option, which is usually what you expect. Jason Tatum leads the league in that, but The thing about this team, we talk about the youth, and we talked with Kelly Yuko last week about Shingun being their best player. And I think Jalen Green is second. But, man, Fred VanVleet's their most important player.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jalen Green blasts Grizzlies for 42 | Cade Cunningham in the Garden
Yeah. He's only shooting like 28% on those shots. I mean, it's tough. It's, it's literally, yeah. I mean, he's always having to take a step back. Or just shoot, like I said, a moonshot over some guy that's 6'7". The Warriors somehow last night, S, they lost to your Raptors. I'm thinking, let's do a deep dive on what the Raptors... Hey, look, Chris Boucher.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jalen Green blasts Grizzlies for 42 | Cade Cunningham in the Garden
Later on in the show with our guy Hunter Patterson. Yeah, I mean, you know, it's funny that you really got me thinking about the Pistons in our big preview before the season. And you've been on them this entire time. This is like a victory lap show for you. And it's amazing. They just went two games over 500. It's not like they're like first place.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jalen Green blasts Grizzlies for 42 | Cade Cunningham in the Garden
My main Raptors take away from this. They're doing a little bit of a pump and dump with Chris Boucher's trade value, I think. First round pick to the highest bidder. The Warriors made it easy, right? So no Draymond for the Warriors last night. No Jonathan Kaminga either, obviously. But still, the Raptors are so sad. They're not even trying to win games.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jalen Green blasts Grizzlies for 42 | Cade Cunningham in the Garden
And so for the Warriors to lose this, and they've been struggling for a while now. Yeah. I just, I don't know. I'm picking up on some... I'm not going to say loser vibes, but there's some, I would say, non-winning vibes around the team. Draymond Green came out in an interview the other day, and he talked about, you know, the need to think about the future and this team being flexible. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jalen Green blasts Grizzlies for 42 | Cade Cunningham in the Garden
And then post-game... After the Raptors, Steph kind of says the same thing, man. And this is just, these aren't the champions I'm used to listening to.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jalen Green blasts Grizzlies for 42 | Cade Cunningham in the Garden
Does he own part of the team? And I don't know.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jalen Green blasts Grizzlies for 42 | Cade Cunningham in the Garden
They're not mailing it in. It's a weird vibe to hear from them because these guys are killers. I mean, Steph Curry literally put the world to sleep over the summer. And, you know, we came into the season. I had these very high expectations that you did clearly were way off base.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jalen Green blasts Grizzlies for 42 | Cade Cunningham in the Garden
But, you know, I really I thought with the start that they had, this was a team that was going to be maybe maybe they're looking to improve at the deadline. And I'm guessing that they are. But these comments kind of give me a little bit of pause, man. I'm just not used to hearing that. Steph Curry, you know, like think about the two timeline stuff.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jalen Green blasts Grizzlies for 42 | Cade Cunningham in the Garden
I mean, he just said a few days ago, it seems, on a podcast with Andre Iguodala that the two timelines thing was garbage. So I don't know. Maybe this is them kind of back – You know, backpedaling a little bit from those.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jalen Green blasts Grizzlies for 42 | Cade Cunningham in the Garden
They're using the media to negotiate a little bit here where they're just saying, you know what? Yeah, that's fine. We'll worry about the future. Yeah. Yeah, exactly.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jalen Green blasts Grizzlies for 42 | Cade Cunningham in the Garden
They are just out of the playoffs. They are just out of the top six, which I think is very compelling. They're a fun team. They had a great game tonight, which we'll get to later on. But we got to start. I mean, I think the Houston Rockets right now probably feel like they own the Memphis Grizzlies. They pick up their third win of the season against the Grizzlies. They're now 3-0 in the season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jalen Green blasts Grizzlies for 42 | Cade Cunningham in the Garden
The wild thing is that they're offense craters too, without Draymond, especially when Steph's not out there, they, they lack organization. Right. And, but they're not just one guy away in a trade. This isn't like trade for Jimmy Butler. And all of a sudden they're, Yeah, or trade for Levine and you're good, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jalen Green blasts Grizzlies for 42 | Cade Cunningham in the Garden
Yeah, because every time you try to do a trade with them, you start to realize that Andrew Wiggins might have to go out. Right. And that guy, I mean, look, has he been the Wiggins of the title season from a couple years ago? Definitely not.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jalen Green blasts Grizzlies for 42 | Cade Cunningham in the Garden
no but he's been really important to them yeah that's right on some nights he's the second best player on the court so you know they're a team to watch but i think that the the question they've got to answer is are we good enough to bother making a trade that's for this season and maybe they need to be exploring things that are for next year let me ask you a quick question okay how long do you think steph curry is going to play how much longer
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jalen Green blasts Grizzlies for 42 | Cade Cunningham in the Garden
Hello and welcome to the NBA Daily for January 14th, 2025. Coming up, the Grizzlies and Rockets gave us another banger. The Warriors are really bad and I don't even know if they should make a trade. And the Knicks lost to our Pistons. How about that? Good morning, everybody. Good morning, S. We're going to dig into the Pistons being two games over 500.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jalen Green blasts Grizzlies for 42 | Cade Cunningham in the Garden
You know, this is a tough one for me to answer because there is so much money involved. And Steph Curry will get a fat paycheck from an NBA team as long as he wants one because he's Steph Curry, right? So I would say, I mean, I'm surprised LeBron is still playing. Because this is unprecedented. But he's still playing at such a high level.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jalen Green blasts Grizzlies for 42 | Cade Cunningham in the Garden
LeBron seems to think he's got three or four more years at this level. I don't have any reason to doubt him. And Steph, when he's healthy... is still playing at extremely high levels. So I don't know. I tend to think Steph is probably going to play till he's 40 just because why not? You know, like we always talk about sports science.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jalen Green blasts Grizzlies for 42 | Cade Cunningham in the Garden
Yeah. Just saying. Great job. You know. Yeah, the Lakers also looked bad last night. Yeah. And Wimby didn't even have that great of a game. He did have a pretty good game. Another old guy, Chris Paul, was carving him up. He did look good. Yeah. Maybe the Lakers could trade for Chris Paul. Would that solve their problems? I don't know.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jalen Green blasts Grizzlies for 42 | Cade Cunningham in the Garden
Before we go to talk to Hunter after the break, I want to talk a little bit about the Knicks losing to the Pistons on the second night of a back-to-back. They got this big win Sunday against the Bucs. I mean, big, like, 34 points, which is a nice bounce back after losing to the Thunder. But they have to be extremely disappointed to have dropped this game against the Pistons.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jalen Green blasts Grizzlies for 42 | Cade Cunningham in the Garden
Now, look, this is not the Pistons of the last five or six years. They are not a sad team anymore. They're a tough team, especially here lately. But this is a team that the Knicks are supposed to beat. And even on a back-to-back, they had all their guys. I mean, I was a little bit lost that they were struggling so much tonight.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jalen Green blasts Grizzlies for 42 | Cade Cunningham in the Garden
121-18 is a close game. The Rockets had to mount a comeback late. Jalen Green had a ridiculous game, putting up 42 points, and he almost had, if he had finished this dunk on Zach Giddey, it would have been the dunk of the year. And instead, he gets called for a foul on something that, I don't know, in my opinion, you just don't call those or it's an offensive foul.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jalen Green blasts Grizzlies for 42 | Cade Cunningham in the Garden
Yeah, they're struggling a little bit against non-conventional defense. So, you know, something that feels like they can figure it out. I don't know. They've got the players for it. Guys, stick around after the break. We have Hunter Patterson on to talk about the Pistons. They're, you know, the turnaround they've gone through and Cade Cunningham's leap that he's making this season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jalen Green blasts Grizzlies for 42 | Cade Cunningham in the Garden
The Detroit Pistons are now two games over .500. That's right. 21-19 after a 124-119 win. That's right. Over the Knicks at MSGS. You've been on this since the preseason. You've been singing Cade's praises. And we've got our guy, Hunter Patterson, our new beat writer that covers the Detroit Pistons on the show. He's live at MSG. Looks great on camera. Welcome to the show. Welcome to The Athletic.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jalen Green blasts Grizzlies for 42 | Cade Cunningham in the Garden
Really good to have you. Big fan of your work. I got to start with just the Pistons overall. Again, 21 and 19, two games over 500. The first time they won 21 games in six seasons. This is the latest in the season that they've been above 500. And how long, S? Oh, man, 2017, 2018. Wow. Been a while, Hunter. I'm going to give you all the credit. You've rubbed off just good luck.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
I don't know what the expectations would be even if he comes back. Let's say best case scenario, he's back in January. We know that with ACL, it takes about a whole season really for a guy to feel like himself usually. So it's not like they expect to contend or anything next season. Anthony Davis isn't going to get any younger in the meantime?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
I mean, so if they did make the pick, like what do you think happens as the fallout from that?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
Should we talk about the Giannis in the room, S?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
So looking at this team, okay. They were in the finals less than a year ago this time last year. They trade a generational star, surprisingly. Now they've gotten the number one pick in draft. What's next? I mean, it just feels like they have it's either going to be a blockbuster or they're going to make some kind of crazy run next year. I guess, how do they fill this team out?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
You know, like, no Kyrie until January. Let's say they make the pick with Cooper Flagg. I really want a wish cast here. I mean, how do they feel? Do they have to move someone?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
You were hopeful, but certainly this is at least the more entertaining outcome.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
Yeah, it's good. And also, you know, people, if you study religion, you know that the basketball gods, probably like the other gods, are not exactly, like, they don't make sense all the time.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
Sometimes it's mischievous, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
Yeah, so this is certainly one of the more interesting ways that this could have worked out. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
Yeah. And well, and think about if you're a Utah jazz fan this year, you just did. You just suffered through that. for nothing. I mean, this team, where, where's their path to getting better?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
You know, you, you've got a lot of draft picks, but you know, if you, if you trade them for a good player, those picks aren't worth as much, you know, and what good player necessarily like, like Giannis, for, for instance, Giannis can say no to go into Utah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
So it's not like those can, you know, they can get you a Lowry market and I, they can't bring you in one of the big fish that we know is required to, to win a title. So I just don't know, you know, Maybe the path is to stay in the middle and then hope you hit a double here and there, you know? Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
And maybe this is something that gets the league to look at lottery reform again and to disincentivize losing even more and create a more competitive environment. I just don't know how you do it and maintain a balance of talent, which there already isn't a balance of talent when you think about East versus West. Yeah, the East lost tonight. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
time and may lose more talent because Giannis, when you look at some of the places, you know, if a Giannis trade happens, a lot of the places that have the assets and have, you know, the market and the fit that makes sense or, or out West, you know, I mean, I'm looking at the San Antonio Spurs who landed the second pick today.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
Well, Christian, I look forward to your reporting over the coming weeks. You're going to have an exciting, what? Six weeks, five weeks between now and the draft. Get thrust back into the NBA draft. Get to know Cooper Flagg quite a bit. And I guess, you know, do some reading on Giannis while you're at it. Guys, stick around. After the break, we got Anthony Slater to talk Warriors-Wolves.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
The Timberwolves pick up a win in game four, and the Warriors are now down 3-1. Anthony Slater's calling us from an Uber on his way to the airport. And if you're watching on YouTube, I apologize for the rollercoaster ride there with Anthony Slater.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
No, it's okay. I think it's funny. I got to say, look, obviously the Warriors, no Steph Curry. I think game three, you know, that was their chance to stick in it. And, man, the Wolves came out in game four and just really just showed quite a bit of poise, I thought, especially in the second half. Anthony Edwards goes off, takes the game over.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
What was it like, you know, watching the Warriors just not really be able to do anything against the Wolves?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
man um there is no right or wrong in the universe um you know you can make the worst trade ever and you can land you know maybe a generational prospect um the number two pick goes to san antonio um again the rich get richer here uh when it comes to a team that has a ton of prospects um You know, Stephen Castle wins Rookie of the Year. Obviously, Victor Wimbonyama is there. They have De'Aaron Fox.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
Yeah. I think at his age, I mean, he's going to have a market and definitely like, again, He showed a lot of poise, I thought, in the game. I thought that especially in the first half, his offense was exactly what they needed and what you would want to see out of Kuminga in that situation.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
Put his head down a lot and maybe not as good on the defensive end in Game 4 as he was in Game 3, but it shows flashes. So I definitely would be interested. I want to swing it to the Wolves side of this because I actually think we've kind of seen them – You know, they got hit in the mouth in this series, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
Like even without Steph out there again, the big loss in game one, you know, they almost gave it up in game three. First half of this game, even, you know, the Warriors were in there making it a dogfight. What have you thought about how Minnesota has handled this series, even with Steph being up?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
You got to think, man, that number two pick, now that Giannis is saying, maybe I want to go play elsewhere. You've got Brian Winhurst on TV saying, watch San Antonio. I don't know. It's a little bit more fuel to that fire.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
Wait, wait a second. We're not doing this. We're not writing off Nikola Jokic yet. I'm just asking. That series is two, two. Are you telling me you think that you think the Thunder just have this?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
Yeah, I mean, they checked all the boxes in the regular season, but they still got to get through Jokic. Look, we're going to let you get to the airport, get there safely, have a safe flight. That's going to do it for the show, folks. Thanks to Anthony Slater. Thanks to Christian Clark, S. Baraheni. I'm Dave DuFour, and this has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
The Sixers sort of, I mean, this doesn't make it all worth it, but it certainly helps to ease the pain a little bit. Jared McCain was good luck for them. He goes there. They get the number three pick after the just snakebitten season that they had. So now, you know, when you look at the Sixers, like, what do you think they're going to do?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
I mean, obviously, I think the first thing on the agenda is figure out Do we stick with Paul George or do we think about moving him? But other than that, I don't know. Like, is this a pick that you see them taking?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
See, that's the thing that happens when you say there's two players in the draft. Nobody wants the third pick. That's true. That's true.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
And we got to say, again, you mentioned the teams that had poor luck. I mean, Utah, Washington, Brooklyn.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
brutal awful awful seasons utah jazz just wasted a year uh essentially and they probably will waste another one next year they have to right like where's the talent on their on their squad where's the path to finding more talent or or bringing it in um you know you they're not even going to be in the mix for like yannis right yeah it's just the the realities of the nba
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
Just has to be a disappointment. I mean, this is why I do think that the flattened lottery odds have now made it so that tanking, outright tanking, just tearing it down, really makes no sense. So just field a competitive, fun team. I mean, I will give Brooklyn credit. In spite of trying to tank, that team never quit, never stopped.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
Played hard. But yeah, the tanking, tanking's dead, right? Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
And I also, I hope more teams than just the couple that we've, that we, that we've mentioned and that we keep hearing mentioned get in the mix for Giannis, but it does seem like, I mean, he wants to go somewhere and play with some good players, which you could, you could make the argument for all 29 teams, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
I feel like we jinxed Monday by saying that the second round had been a little bit of a letdown because of injuries. Oh, man. Continued, actually, last night. But before we get to that, we've got to talk about the draft lottery. Obviously, the shocking news. First of all, I wanted to thank everybody who hung out on the Slammin' Jam lottery live jam session, I think. I'm just going to call it that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
team to make it's just about what yannis wants also which is another thing that's going to play a factor here um all right uh the celtics had a rough night um they they lose to the knicks 121 113 um but the worst news and i want to start here is jason tatum um he goes down with an injury that we have just seen uh too often but none of us are willing to go out and say what it is
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
Until we get some confirmation. The Celtics called it a lower leg injury. He's going to get an MRI. But it does look like from the way that he left, we're not going to see him for the rest of the series, certainly, and definitely the rest of the playoffs. We're not going to speculate because we're not doctors. But it was rough.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
Yeah, and look, I mean, we'll get it. We got plenty of time to talk about this stuff this summer, but the fallout from this, if he is going to be out, is massive for a team that was probably looking to make some changes this summer anyway. But to the game, look, the Knicks won this game, and they had this game locked up before Tatum went down.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
Tatum was the only guy for Boston that was able to get going. You mentioned 42 points. Jalen Brown winds up with 20, but... It was a bad Jalen Brown game. It was, you know, Porzingis has been nonexistent. I want to give the Knicks a ton of credit.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
I think the Knicks have just, you know, I mentioned to you early on, I thought their defense looked slow when the shots were dropping for the Celtics in the first half. But they came out in the second half. I thought they had a little bit more energy. They were guarding just better. And it helped that the Celtics just poor decisions down the stretch. But the Knicks capitalized on them.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
It's one of the reasons why I love basketball, right? Like you have this guy in Jason Tatum. The momentum.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
Looks like he's built in a lab to play basketball. And you have Jalen Brunson on the other end, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
Looks like just a guy who plays up at 24-hour fitness and just giving him – Like, give him business. And it's amazing to watch, right? Like, you just get sucked into it. But here we are in the playoffs. Jalen Brunson, small guards. You can't win with them. But somehow the Knicks keep winning. And he puts up 39 points. But they got, again, they got offensive contributions from everybody.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily. Coming up, oof, draft lottery was chaotic. Jason Tatum went down, the Knicks went up 3-1, and the Warriors lose to drop to 3-1 against the Wolves. So we got Anthony Slater here to talk about that. Good morning, everybody. Good morning, S. Good morning. Chaotic. Oh, my God. Chaotic night.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
I just made that up on the spot.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
This is what they've been missing, right? They get 23 from McHale, 20 from OG, 23 from Carl Anthony Towns. You know, look.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
uh over on our youtube um andrew select and alex spears who host slam and jam you know they cover the draft for us so they did a really good job it was a lot of fun i hung out in the chat so uh thank you guys if you were there for that uh don't forget wednesday morning we're gonna do another one of those shoot arounds that's at noon eastern nine pacific so we're gonna have a live stream and and we dropped that in the feed last week so if you enjoyed that
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
Yeah. They got a 3-1 lead. Yeah. Looking like no Tatum. Knicks Pacers. How do you feel? How do you feel about Knicks Pacers? I was going to say, if I had told you we would be sitting with two series and it was 3-1, would you have guessed that it would be the Knicks and the Pacers? I would not have, no.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
And this is why, if you're the Spurs and you can make the trade and get Giannis, you make the trade and get Giannis. Really, there are no perfect teams right now.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
He's back, right? I'm excited about that. Although I think we're going to get some pretty high scoring games. It seems like the Western Conference has the 90 scores now and the East. It's like they flip flop for the era. Guys, stick around after the break. We got Christian Clark, who covers the Dallas Mavericks for us at the Athletic with his initial reaction.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
The Dallas Mavericks have had a rollercoaster season. Christian Clark covers them for us. Christian, you have had a rollercoaster season. First of all, congratulations on the baby. That's great news. And congratulations on the Dallas Mavericks winning the lottery in spite of only a 1.8% chance. How do you feel?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
It's going to be higher Nico now.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
It's going to be good luck charm here.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
Bit of a 35,000-foot view. Come hang out with us. Yeah, come hang out or catch it in the feed. But give us some feedback. Let us know if you like that. But anyway, lots of stuff to get to. Massive. Back to the actual lottery, the winners of the lottery. And, I mean, this is just a shocking development. The Dallas Mavericks, as you probably know by now, win the lottery. I know that your Raptors –
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
A legit gym rat, not just a joke.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
I was going to ask you, I was like, there's the new balance thing going to be an issue. I mean, what about this? Can, can he, is he going to play the five, you know, next to Anthony Davis, right? Like, If you make this pick, what does it mean for Anthony Davis? What does it mean for the entire team? It's not like Kyrie is going to be there to start the season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jokić playing his best basketball + The Kings are broken
Was ist das Böse? Warum können sie nicht Spiele gewinnen? Just not good enough?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jokić playing his best basketball + The Kings are broken
I think that's what they're banking on. Yeah, what they're banking on is, you know, you give yourself a chance to win, especially play in game, right? First round of the playoffs. If you've got three shot makers like they do, I see, I understand it. It's just that it's DeMar DeRozan, Zach Levine and Malik Monk, right? It's not Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jokić playing his best basketball + The Kings are broken
You know, it's just, it's that next level down and it's not enough, especially when the defense is, you know, has the chance to fall off a cliff like it did last night.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jokić playing his best basketball + The Kings are broken
Yeah, we should talk about Jokic, because as you kind of glossed over a little bit, it's a big development. This is two games in a row where the Denver bench has held up pretty well when he was on the bench against the Thunder. Obviously, they fell apart in Game 1 when he was on the bench, but Game 2, they did much better, but Jokic, you know, pedestrian, 35, 18 rebounds, 8 assists.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jokić playing his best basketball + The Kings are broken
They got way older in the last three years. This was a young and up-and-coming team.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jokić playing his best basketball + The Kings are broken
Are they going to make the play-in? Yes, I think they'll make the play-in. Listen, this is a brutal stretch they've got coming up. It is a tough schedule, yeah. And the Mavericks are not laying down. No. You know, they won last night. The Suns, it does appear, I mean, they don't have anything else to play for but the play-in.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jokić playing his best basketball + The Kings are broken
And we don't even mention that at the top. This guy is insane. It's regular, regular, regular. Did he win the MVP tonight? No.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jokić playing his best basketball + The Kings are broken
So it's not guaranteed that Sacramento is just going to coast to the play-in even. I personally think they've got enough talent and that Dallas doesn't. So they will be able to hold off, but...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jokić playing his best basketball + The Kings are broken
um, aber er hat es wirklich getan, ich meine, das ist das, worüber wir in dieser mvp-Runde sprechen, richtig zwischen diesen beiden Jungs, äh, Denver hat alles gemacht und schau, jeder Team macht das Jokic jeden einzelnen Abend, aber Denver besonders, dachte ich, ging über den Topf, weißt du, wie nur die Doppelung von Shea jedes Mal, jeder, außer Shea, wird ihn gewinnen und dann, als Jada raus war,
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jokić playing his best basketball + The Kings are broken
You know how at the end of Scooby-Doo, every episode, the bad guy pulls off the mask. It's like, oh, it was old man Withers or whatever. It's Vivek Ranadive every single time. Matt George, check him out on Lockdown Kings. I think it's going to be must listen during this stretch of doom. Thanks for hanging out with us. That's going to do it for the show, folks.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jokić playing his best basketball + The Kings are broken
For Matt and Esmeralda Henney, I'm Dave Dufour. The Kangs are back. This was the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jokić playing his best basketball + The Kings are broken
There was this thing where it's just like, oh, they didn't have another creator out there, so they essentially just had to take the look. Yeah. But nothing was falling. The thing is, they still hit 40% of their threes. But down the stretch, nothing would fall. Now, the solution is, I'm sure that they have a counter. I think you get Shea moving off the ball. Get him going downhill.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jokić playing his best basketball + The Kings are broken
I hope we get this match up in the playoffs. I really hope so too.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jokić playing his best basketball + The Kings are broken
Also, I gotta say this. Chet guarding Jokic one-on-one, he did an okay job. He's given up a lot of weight there. I thought he did an okay job. The thing that he's gotta be better at is He needs to anticipate what Jokic is going to do after he attempts the shot. And that's tough to do, because Jokic is always looking to maneuver, sometimes to get his own rebound.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jokić playing his best basketball + The Kings are broken
Sometimes he's just making a pass to himself, I'm convinced, by missing a shot. And so Jokic being able to beat him to a couple spots surprised me a little bit, because you'd think, well, Chet and his activity, he would be able to keep up.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jokić playing his best basketball + The Kings are broken
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily. Coming up, we got Denver and Oklahoma City Part 2. We got the Suns and the Grizzlies going down to the wire. And we check in on the Sacramento Kings with our friend Matt George from Locked on Kings. Good morning, everybody. Good morning, S. Morning, morning.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jokić playing his best basketball + The Kings are broken
Yeah, just to see the adjustments. The Grizzlies held off the Suns. This was a much needed win for the Grizzlies. I don't want to act like it isn't. Jaron Jackson's out. They lost four straight games or three straight games on a game-winner. The Suns were coming back in this one. Kevin Durant had a look at a game winner from dead on straight ahead three and he just missed it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jokić playing his best basketball + The Kings are broken
But you know who wasn't awful for them is Ja Morant. Ja Morant put up 29. His ability to get two feet into the paint. Das war das, was dieses Spiel entfernt hat. Ab und zu war er einfach, ich werde dich in einen Blender legen, ich gehe in die Höhle, jedes Mal. Und jetzt muss deine Defense uns stoppen. Welche Defense?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jokić playing his best basketball + The Kings are broken
Ich meine, das war auch einer der besten Spiele, die Jaws schon lange hatte. Ich meine, es hat einen Moment gedauert. Er hat gezwungen, und vielleicht ist das das System. Ich weiß nicht. Ich denke, dass die großen Spieler wissen, wie sie spielen. Ich denke, er geht durch einen schweren Schritt. But this was probably what he needed to see from this game. Also, we gotta talk about this.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jokić playing his best basketball + The Kings are broken
There's a certain level of player, in my opinion, that you need to be to trash talk an all-time great like Kevin Durant. So you took issue with Cam Spencer? I'm not taking issue, but I'm just saying, Cam Spencer felt like last night, he was on that level. And I've just never really seen a guy give it to Kevin Durant as... As intensely as Cam Spencer.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jokić playing his best basketball + The Kings are broken
I mean, he was just every single time he was barking with him.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jokić playing his best basketball + The Kings are broken
We got another good basketball game in Oklahoma City last night between the Nuggets and the Thunder. The sequel. The sequel. Godfather 2? Terminator 2? It's not Electric Boogaloo, I know that. Although it was a shocking result if you were the Oklahoma City Thunder and their fans, because the Nuggets just shot the lights out. Basically, the Thunder just couldn't keep up.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jokić playing his best basketball + The Kings are broken
But he had the 52nd pick. Did they not take him with the 52nd pick? Maybe. There you go. Conspiracy theory, Dave. Let's do it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jokić playing his best basketball + The Kings are broken
I had a question for the Suns. Okay, number one, look. The Suns, I guess, are still trying to make the play in. How come Nick Richards is only playing 20 minutes in this game? I mean, he was incredibly productive in the 20 minutes. 10 points, had 12 rebounds, had a couple assists. I mean, he makes their defense better just by being on the court. His presence... I can't figure it out.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jokić playing his best basketball + The Kings are broken
What's the deal? What's going on?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jokić playing his best basketball + The Kings are broken
Ryan Dunn can't get off the bench.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jokić playing his best basketball + The Kings are broken
Oso Iguodoro can't get off the bench. And these guys were key contributors. Exactly. Ja, ich weiß nicht. Ja. Right. Yeah, I'm just I'm very confused.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jokić playing his best basketball + The Kings are broken
Yeah, and before we go to break, we've got to talk about the Lakers, because I think that's in my contract. The Lakers lost a tough game against the Brooklyn Nets, but in their defense, nobody's healthy. No LeBron, no Jackson Hayes, no Rui Hachimura, who they're saying may miss another week.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jokić playing his best basketball + The Kings are broken
Luca hat 22 Rebounds und 12 Assists. Sein zweites Triple-Double ist ein Laker. Aber es ist schwer ohne LeBron. Du siehst, was dieser Extra-Playmaker für dieses Team macht.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jokić playing his best basketball + The Kings are broken
Yeah, I mean, and they almost wanted, should mention that loss in the shuffle in all the Luka trade and thinking about LeBron being rejuvenated. Gabe Vincent looks great. And he has been, you know, if you follow enough Lakers people and Lakers fans, I mean, he has been drawing their attention since he got there.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jokić playing his best basketball + The Kings are broken
And finally, I think he's showing exactly what they envisioned when they brought him out there. Six of nine from three. It's another defender, another ball handler, another guy who can shoot.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jokić playing his best basketball + The Kings are broken
Ja, ich meine, es ist 56 Prozent von drei.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jokić playing his best basketball + The Kings are broken
They basically assembled the JJ Reddick All-Stars, is what it seems like. I saw a clip of JJ, I guess he played with Jackson Hayes in New Orleans. And Doreen Finney-Smith. Right, it's like all these guys that JJ loves. It's funny how that worked out. Guys, before we go to break, if you're watching us on YouTube, hey, subscribe if you don't already.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jokić playing his best basketball + The Kings are broken
And if you're listening to this podcast, Spotify, iTunes, however you're getting the pod, go and leave us a five-star review. If it's not a five-star review, guess what? Don't bother. Anyway, guys, stick around after the break. Matt George is here. We're going to talk about the Kings getting blown out by the Knicks.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jokić playing his best basketball + The Kings are broken
And I want to know, what does a successful rest of the season look like for Sacramento?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jokić playing his best basketball + The Kings are broken
Die Sacramento Kings haben etwas, was wir nur als eine hoch und runter, aber interessante Saison beschreiben können. Hier, um darüber zu sprechen, und vor allem, nachdem sie von den Knicks gestorben sind letzte Nacht, ist Matt George von ABC10 in Sacramento, auch der Host von Locked on Kings. Matt, willkommen zum Show.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jokić playing his best basketball + The Kings are broken
Wahrscheinlich nicht ein guter Start für diese Strecke von Doom, um einen Kawhi-Winner zu verlieren und so zu verlieren wie das mit den Knicks.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka makes Lakers debut | Mavericks give fans the boot
I mean, I think LeBron is trying to make things work. I also think he's incredibly media savvy. He sees all. He knows all.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka makes Lakers debut | Mavericks give fans the boot
He knows that that narrative has been out there, that he's unhappy that, you know, there is a story that came out today on ESPN that he, you know, it didn't go unnoticed that Luka got what he wanted as soon as he got here when LeBron's been asking them to move those picks for years. But I think at the end of the day, A, he is a really good leader and he does want Luka to feel comfortable.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka makes Lakers debut | Mavericks give fans the boot
And B, there's nothing LeBron James wants more than to win another championship. And this is the best chance he's had in ages. So at the end of the day, first in the starting lineup, last in the starting lineup, the initiator of the offense playing off ball, I don't think he really cares. I think he just wants to win because he knows what a fifth ring would do for his legacy more than anyone.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka makes Lakers debut | Mavericks give fans the boot
I think I think that's the priority. That's the most important thing to him. Obviously, I'm sure it feels weird to like have your successor come before you're done. And also when you're still playing, he's playing at a top 10 level right now. He's playing out of his mind on both ends of the ball for the last few weeks.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka makes Lakers debut | Mavericks give fans the boot
So to be still very close to your peak and be already training in and sort of like grooming your successor, I think must be bizarre and kind of hard to stomach in some ways. But if they want to chip, it's all water under the bridge. Like LeBron just wants to win.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka makes Lakers debut | Mavericks give fans the boot
I mean, I think like the ceiling lowered slightly maybe with the Mark Williams trade not happening. I will say their small ball lineups have been incredible. And they do have like Jared Vanderbilt and Dorian Finney-Smith to kind of like buoy that small ball lineup. And those guys are dogs and they're big. So they do have that. I think Luca raises Jackson's ceiling.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka makes Lakers debut | Mavericks give fans the boot
So as much as like their ceiling is lowered by the Mark Williams trade, not happening. Jackson Hayes automatically becomes a better offensive player with someone like Luca to throw him lobs. Um, and, and I think they are going to get some sort of center either on the buyout market or a free agent or whatever it is. Um, But I think for me, they still have a championship ceiling.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka makes Lakers debut | Mavericks give fans the boot
I feel less confident about that ceiling than I did a few days ago when I thought they had a starting center, but I think they've been playing incredible basketball without a starting center. And, um, I think this is a playoff. This team is built for the playoffs besides that one position. I think they have really good three and D wings who can defend out of their minds.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka makes Lakers debut | Mavericks give fans the boot
They have three of the best ball handler facilitator in, you know, shot makers in the league in Austin, Luca and LeBron. And if LeBron can have someone taking some of that load off of him offensively, where he can put that effort in on the defensive end, he is six, eight. He's a big guy. So they have big bodies. They just don't have centers.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka makes Lakers debut | Mavericks give fans the boot
So I think that that ceiling is still there, but it definitely is impacted.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka makes Lakers debut | Mavericks give fans the boot
It was incredible. He couldn't have received a warmer reception. Obviously, I feel like this was a great first game. It was a blowout essentially from the first quarter on. So I think the nerves were gone pretty quickly. And the crowd was just every time he checked in, every time he touched the ball, it was just like the loudest cheers. It was definitely a playoff atmosphere in here.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka makes Lakers debut | Mavericks give fans the boot
The crowd was hype and it was beautiful. It was a really beautiful moment.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka makes Lakers debut | Mavericks give fans the boot
Yeah, for sure. I was watching Luka warm up and they were actually playing. I think it was Serbian music during his warm up. So I think they were definitely trying to make him feel at home. I mean, everything about tonight seemed like it was just the crowd and the team and everyone trying to welcome him with open arms.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka makes Lakers debut | Mavericks give fans the boot
And from his reaction at the presser, it seemed like he really felt that love and he seemed really touched. Honestly, he was very like he was just beaming from ear to ear throughout the whole presser. Sorry, I'm in the middle of an arena being taken down at the moment. So apologies for any extra noises.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka makes Lakers debut | Mavericks give fans the boot
I mean, for me, I'm just like chomping at the bit. As someone who's been watching this team, first of all, I think something that's been kind of underreported in all of this is they've been awesome for basically since Christmas. They've been incredible with AD, without AD, with LeBron, without LeBron. So they've just been really clicking. And the team has incredible chemistry right now.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka makes Lakers debut | Mavericks give fans the boot
And Luka got to come be a part of that. So that's worth mentioning. But I don't really know. Obviously, the defensive issues are what they are, but... I don't know how you guard Austin Reeves, Luka Doncic, and LeBron James. And you have to have the most incredibly versatile, you know, fast moving perimeter defenders.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka makes Lakers debut | Mavericks give fans the boot
You know, in the league, like I can only think of a handful of teams that even really have a chance. You double one of them. You've got two others out there that could absolutely cook and like all of them can pass. All of them can handle the ball. So I think it's going to be incredible. And obviously the LeBron Luca two man game is already amazing. So.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka makes Lakers debut | Mavericks give fans the boot
I think they were mostly just talking about sort of like the offense in general and how it's looking. I think JJ's been really careful to sort of give everybody some shine in this time where Luka's getting all this attention and credit. Yeah. But I think that just the offense in general is looking really good. The ball is moving.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka makes Lakers debut | Mavericks give fans the boot
And like I said, you've got three elite playmakers out there, some of the highest basketball IQs that have ever touched a basketball court. Mm-hmm. I think the offense is destined for success. The defense is where they might run into some issues.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka makes Lakers debut | Mavericks give fans the boot
But I will say that having someone to take more of that offensive load off of LeBron, off of Boston Reeves, kind of opens the door for them to have a higher ceiling on their defense. And I think you've already started to see that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka makes Lakers debut | Mavericks give fans the boot
Yeah, I mean, he said he was rusty, for sure. He said it's the longest that he's ever gone without playing basketball since he's been a pro, which I thought was interesting. But yeah, but he said that, you know, once it tipped off, once he was back in the game, that it was like New Jersey, new situation, it's still basketball.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka makes Lakers debut | Mavericks give fans the boot
And basketball is what he does, and it's what he's always done since he was a kid. So I think... The weight of the new team and the debut was definitely present and there were nerves there in the beginning. But as soon as there's actual basketball being played, I think that's his comfort zone and that's where he thrives.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka makes Lakers debut | Mavericks give fans the boot
So I think he was able to sort of get back to himself in a way, which is really cool.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Cup Preview | Who are the real Warriors?
I don't feel like there's any hope the rest of the team can contribute enough to score with the Bucs. And the Bucs have been so good. So, you know, it's a bummer than back to like it's.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Cup Preview | Who are the real Warriors?
And this is like I think it's going to be a good tune up game for the Bucs. Sadly, the more interesting matchup for the Eastern Conference is obviously Atlanta and New York. You got Trey Young. He's going to be going to MSG. Oh, yeah. Where, you know, yeah. He's a heel, right? Like, it's not a villain. He's a wrestling heel.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Cup Preview | Who are the real Warriors?
And I actually think the Knicks fans, they probably hate him a little bit, but they also like to root against him. No, there's an appreciation there. And so, you know, I think the vibe around this game is going to feel like a bigger matchup than it maybe is.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Cup Preview | Who are the real Warriors?
Well, this Knicks defense is not the Knicks defense of years past. And I think the bigger thing to think about here is that Atlanta – Atlanta can score, I think, with the Knicks because that Knicks defense isn't as good.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Cup Preview | Who are the real Warriors?
have struggled against switching defenses you know there's no way that that the hawks don't know that i i don't know man look i think the hawks are built to win a game like this they're they're oddly built to win one game not uh you know 50 in a regular season or four in a seven game series but yeah one game i think trey young is pretty high up on my list of guys i would say yeah
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Cup Preview | Who are the real Warriors?
I'm looking forward to it. Guys, stick around after the break. SNR going to answer a few questions.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Cup Preview | Who are the real Warriors?
All right, it's question time. We took to Blue Sky today to ask some questions. And well, all the NBA folks made the migration over, so I figured, hey, I'll check it out. It's supposed to be a more calm place. Yes. It certainly works better. It certainly works better right now. So we put out the call for some questions and got some good ones, so... Let's jump right in.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Cup Preview | Who are the real Warriors?
Matthew Kahn asks us, why are so many players injured? The laws of physics such that force equals mass times acceleration or too much weightlifting. Bring back the 1970s, quote, NBA training. He means a beer at halftime, which, listen, a beer is a recovery drink. Yes, I don't know about at halftime. I'd be worried about the bloat.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Cup Preview | Who are the real Warriors?
But the truth of the matter is these guys just they play a lot more and they're moving a lot more.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Cup Preview | Who are the real Warriors?
Well, basketball is just so plyometric. I mean, it is explosive. You're running, you're sprinting, you're jumping, you know, a lot of change of direction is different than like if you played football or ran track. Sure. You know, they would be like accessories as far as your training goes. If you're a basketball player, it doesn't happen anymore.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Cup Preview | Who are the real Warriors?
And the schedule, man, these kids grow up playing basketball year round.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Cup Preview | Who are the real Warriors?
Yep, and also travel schedule, 82 games, and we could go on and on and on. But really, it's just the game is so different. Friend of the show, Medicine Clam, he finds us no matter what platform we use. I'm just going to throw that out there, guys. Brooklyn was marked as one of the worst, if not the worst teams going into the season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Cup Preview | Who are the real Warriors?
But a quarter of the way through the season, they sit closer to a home playoff series than a top three pick. Several of the Nets players will be attractive trade targets for contenders. Will they or do they pull the trigger? I think they do, man.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Cup Preview | Who are the real Warriors?
They're too invested. They have to do it. I really wish they would just go get themselves some help. Man, add somebody to this team.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Cup Preview | Who are the real Warriors?
Let me ask you this. How's everybody going to feel when the Brooklyn Nets swing the title?
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Cup Preview | Who are the real Warriors?
If they trade a guy to a team, right? And it's a part of this dismantling in order to tank. Right. I mean, is that like in a fantasy league where you have a guy who's just not paid attention all year and he trades his good players to a team? You know what I mean?
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Cup Preview | Who are the real Warriors?
Cause I feel like he would know, but I just, I don't know. And by the way, this is, I'm purely just pulling stuff out of thin air there, but I do think that they've got the players. I mean, cam, like you mentioned cam Johnson, cam Thomas, even, I mean, there's so many teams that could use him coming off the bench and they have to do it. So it's only a matter of, of,
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Cup Preview | Who are the real Warriors?
Maybe the Nuggets can get into this with Zeke Nagy.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Cup Preview | Who are the real Warriors?
He is available. I will say, you know, it's December 10th. Five days from now, a lot of guys become trade eligible. And then obviously, you know, in January, we've got even more guys. So keep an eye out on that. Also, friend of mine, friend of the program. I'll give him a shout out. Ben Alomar, one of the biggest names in sports analytics.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Cup Preview | Who are the real Warriors?
Asked a question that he probably knows the answer to, which I love. First 10 games, the Warriors' effective field goal percentage was 56.7%, and defensive effective field goal percentage was 50.7%, a difference of plus 6%. Last 13 games, they're 51.2% shooting, and defense is 52.5% for minus 1.3%. Which version is the real one?
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Cup Preview | Who are the real Warriors?
That's a great answer. I agree with you. I think it is. I think they are a better team than they have been. And you see it in spurts. I mean, you know, we saw it Sunday night in that game against the Wolves when they were able to lock in. And that's without Andrew Wiggins. I mean, this team is kind of it's funny to say it because it's early December, but they really are in this.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Cup Preview | Who are the real Warriors?
they're just trying to figure things out, right? Like they're just shortening the rotation. Who even knows? I mean, Kuminga is getting in the starting lineup now, right? Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Cup Preview | Who are the real Warriors?
Well, the easiest way to get these questions to us, either hit the post that's in the show notes or send us an email at NBA daily at the athletic dot com. That's going to do it for today. We got NBA Cup games tonight and I guess just Wednesday night, too. So excited for these games. Yeah, unreasonably so. For S. Barahany, I'm Dave DeFore and this has been the NBA Daily.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Cup Preview | Who are the real Warriors?
So, well, then who is the target if you're OKC Slater? I mean, are they going after Luca? Is that the matchup they're going to try to get out on the perimeter?
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Cup Preview | Who are the real Warriors?
I think that that's sort of what you start to think about. I mean, if you think about it, this like a playoff game, right? Like that's often what it comes down to. And when into the game shot to make, I mean, I think Dallas just has two guys you can trust. And right now, would you say, okay, see has to.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Cup Preview | Who are the real Warriors?
So we had to get Anthony in here to help us preview because Anthony, how many teams you cover for us now? I mean, the entire Western Conference.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Cup Preview | Who are the real Warriors?
Yeah, that series had a lot of people thinking Lively should have just been the starter from that moment on. I wasn't all the way there. I think Mavericks people still think about that. Yeah, I mean, it opened a lot of eyes. Let's swing to the Wednesday night matchup. We've got Warriors-Rockets. We've already gotten a fun game between these teams, Slater. Two. Two. Yeah, that's true.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Cup Preview | Who are the real Warriors?
Two fun games between these teams. They know each other well, I would argue. Who gets more technicals in this game? Draymond Green or Dylan Brooks? That's what I want to know.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Cup Preview | Who are the real Warriors?
Also, this is the stuff that, this is how you can build a young team into learning how to win, how to care about every single game, especially getting a little bit of playoff experience. I know it sounds goofy to say, but this is an elimination tournament. As coming is in the starting lineup. How's that going to look against the Rockets? Who like is he going to garden?
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Cup Preview | Who are the real Warriors?
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily for December 10th, 2024. Coming up, we're going to preview the East and the West NBA Cup knockout round matchups with Anthony Slater and S and I are going to answer a few questions. Good morning, everybody. Good morning, S. Good morning, Anthony. We don't do this a lot, but you know, NBA Cup, it just means more, guys.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Cup Preview | Who are the real Warriors?
So Thunder and Mavs, that's the game that we've got tonight, Tuesday night. And then Wednesday, we're going to have Warriors and Rockets. So let's start with Thunder Mavs. Look, we've seen them already this season. Luka's just coming back from injury. He looks really, really good. Obviously, the Thunder have been the best team in the West all year.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Cup Preview | Who are the real Warriors?
Yeah, if he can be under control like he was Sunday night and just be locked in defensively the way he was, especially when he was guarding. I mean, he did a good job on Randall, but I was most impressed with the way he was picking up Anthony Edwards sometimes down the stretch of that game. If he can be that guy for them, For 28 minutes, 30 minutes, that's like a game changer.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Cup Preview | Who are the real Warriors?
This is that number two option who also can go out and give you some defensive energy that they've been looking for.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Cup Preview | Who are the real Warriors?
What are you going to be looking for early on in this NBA Cup game, thinking about the single elimination aspect of it?
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Cup Preview | Who are the real Warriors?
It's a little bit of rope-a-dope. I'm calling it right now. Steph Curry's going to go nuts this weekend. It's going to happen. Stick around, guys. After the break, S and I are going to go and look at the Eastern Conference, which is a little bit more boring now that Orlando is all banged up. Thanks, Anthony. for hanging out. Appreciate you. Go and read them over at The Athletic.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Cup Preview | Who are the real Warriors?
We all care about the cup. It's kind of fitting that the Eastern Conference is not as interesting in the NBA Cup as the Western Conference.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Cup Preview | Who are the real Warriors?
Right, yeah. Sadly, the Orlando Magic are going to be without Franz Wagner in addition to no Paulo Banqueiro. We talked about that. They both have the same freak oblique injury. And with the way the Bucs are playing right now, S, I just – I don't see any way they lose this game, especially because they were so embarrassed last year.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Cup Preview | Who are the real Warriors?
Yeah, Halliburton did the Dame time thing.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Cup Preview | Who are the real Warriors?
So I just think these guys are going to be so locked in. You know, I don't see how the Bucs lose this, but if they did, what happens for the Magic to get them to win?
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Cup Preview | Who are the real Warriors?
My brother, Goga Batase, put up one of the best games of his career the other day at 21-16. And Jalen Suggs had 26 in that game. Let's say, best case scenario, they hit those same numbers.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Western Conference playoff race + Most Improved Player award
And to me, that... Kind of breaks the spirit of what most improved should be about. I think that when you're that highly touted as a prospect, man, isn't this sort of the expectation? It is.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Western Conference playoff race + Most Improved Player award
So where's the bar set for you? I mean, you don't necessarily have to make a choice here, but like, what's your field? You know, like when you're saying, here's my, you know, such and such is in the conversation. Who are your guys? Like you got a handful.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Western Conference playoff race + Most Improved Player award
I mean, I just like that it's, you know, he's in year six. This is the thing to me is I would rather look at guys in that five to seven, eight year range when we're talking about most improved. Guys that, you know, have been in, had a chance to be maybe multiple types of players in their career, like Tyler Hero, who now has had this evolution. I actually think that, man, that's a great call.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Western Conference playoff race + Most Improved Player award
And it's a little... it's similar to the Austin Reeves thing where it's like, well, clearly there's been a leap except Tyler hero went to being the guy, not the best third option in the league, which, you know, Austin Reeves, I think has become Tyler heroes become the guy for a team. And I, that is a degree of difficulty is much higher. Yeah. I like that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Western Conference playoff race + Most Improved Player award
So who would your, who would your runner up be?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Western Conference playoff race + Most Improved Player award
He's also high up there on the unexpected voice. list, too. It's like, oh, that's what you sound like. Very funny. Wes Goldberg, that's what he sounds like. You guys can hear him over on Real GM Radio, Locked on Heat. He's very good at this. Hopefully he comes back during the playoffs. Appreciate you hanging out with me. That's going to do it for the show, folks. Thank you guys for listening.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Western Conference playoff race + Most Improved Player award
For Wes, I'm Dave DuFleur, and this has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Western Conference playoff race + Most Improved Player award
Right. And so the right now, the Rockets look like they're the worst they can do is the three seed. You know, they had a big win over the Warriors, and that's going to actually keep the Warriors from having a chance to make all the way to the two seed, which they still had a chance for had they beaten the Rockets in the game on on Sunday. But after that, I mean, it's kind of chaotic.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Western Conference playoff race + Most Improved Player award
You've got the Lakers who had the huge win over Oklahoma City. They're, of course, going to play Oklahoma City again tonight, which could could be big for them because they're still, you know, trying to fight for that three seed and to keep the Nuggets back. The Nuggets have lost four straight games. As we're recording, the Clippers right behind them have won four straight.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Western Conference playoff race + Most Improved Player award
And obviously the Warriors have just been a different team since they got Jimmy Butler. Now 21-3 with him on the team. Minnesota has played around with this play-in range pretty much all season. It seems like they'll win three or four games, then they'll struggle for three or four games. And then the Grizzlies have just fallen off a cliff, obviously, most recently changing head coaches.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Western Conference playoff race + Most Improved Player award
in that group you know wes like what team just pops out to you first as a team that definitely just they need to avoid the play-in whether it's a rest that they need or or just you worry about them in a single elimination situation
The Athletic NBA Daily
Western Conference playoff race + Most Improved Player award
Wes Goldberg, if you guys don't know, he is the host of Real GM Radio and also Locked on Heat. So he's one of my Miami Heat guys when I when I need some info. But we're talking big picture NBA stuff. National Championship game was last night. What a game. What a game. That's right. Yeah. Excited to see how it turns out. Yeah, we're recording this before the game, full disclosure.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Western Conference playoff race + Most Improved Player award
Yeah, I mean, it is good, though, that they're playing some of their best basketball right now. I think they're likely to avoid it. You know, we had Kawhi Leonard. He was the Western Conference Player of the Month last month. I mean, they're kind of peaking at the right time. It seems like the chemistry is great for them. So I expect them to avoid it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Western Conference playoff race + Most Improved Player award
Um, what about like, how do you feel about the Grizzlies winning a game? I see to me, I look at them, I've seen them as a first round out all year. I thought that they were kind of a paper, a paper regular season team. And I think that the team probably agreed with me. Um, I don't know, man, one game, it feels like, yeah, they could win.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Western Conference playoff race + Most Improved Player award
Like jock could go off, but with the way that defense is just falling off a cliff, I just, I don't know. I think that if they're not, you know, the six-seater above, it's just they're going on vacation.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Western Conference playoff race + Most Improved Player award
What about Denver? I mentioned they're on the losing streak right now. Michael Malone. I mean, the entire team seems pretty dejected. Obviously they're dealing with some health issues, Jamal Murray. Yeah. Do you trust them to get themselves out of the play-in if they're in that 7-8 game?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Western Conference playoff race + Most Improved Player award
yeah and i mean i think when you've got a guy like mpj that they need to have if in one game he has to have a good game and he has been incredibly inconsistent the last couple months I would be very concerned. You know, again, the Jamal Murray injury. We've highlighted just them trying to close games with Russell Westbrook can sometimes be a disaster. So you get into a situation like that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Western Conference playoff race + Most Improved Player award
But Wes, you know, looking at the playoff race out West and it is objectively a mess right now. Basically, the way the play in is set up. With the seven and eight seeds right now, we have a possibility of the Lakers, the Nuggets, the Clippers, the Warriors, the Wolves, or the Grizzlies being the seven or eight seed right now as of this recording.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Western Conference playoff race + Most Improved Player award
You just don't have any wiggle room. Where would you. So are you saying Clippers? That's it. Clippers have to avoid the play. And that's that's your your your bet right there.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Western Conference playoff race + Most Improved Player award
Yeah, the seeding may affect them more than than any other team. I actually I like that take quite a bit. I think that they can win one game because they have Kawhi. But I do think if they can get to that four or five seed or four seed, that it is a hugely beneficial for them to get through to the finals. Stick around, guys.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Western Conference playoff race + Most Improved Player award
After the break, we're going to talk about defensive player of the year and most improved. And I believe we're going to talk about another Clipper because Avicii Zubac has been pretty good. As it is probably been very apparent, it is award season in the NBA ecosphere.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Western Conference playoff race + Most Improved Player award
Draymond Green has gone on a single man self campaign for defense player of the year, and he has somehow swung the betting odds way in his favor. Wes, has he swung you over into his camp? Are you are you pro Draymond for defense player of the year this year?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Western Conference playoff race + Most Improved Player award
So who's it been for you then? I mean, look, Victor Wiminyama had the award locked up. Like, we know that. Just the way that he has completely changed the geometry of the court for opposing teams. We know that. Jaron Jackson, I thought, was the frontrunner to take a spot. Obviously, the big injury took him out.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Western Conference playoff race + Most Improved Player award
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily. Coming up, Wes Goldberg from Real GM Radio is here. We're going to talk about the teams that need to avoid the play-in the most out West and his opinion on Defensive Player of the Year and Most Improved. Good morning, everybody. Good morning, Wes. Welcome to the show.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Western Conference playoff race + Most Improved Player award
Evan Mobley sort of petered out as far as being the guy who was right behind Jaron Jackson. It seems like his case kind of has gone up in smoke. Who's your guy?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Western Conference playoff race + Most Improved Player award
Yeah, let's do it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Western Conference playoff race + Most Improved Player award
Well, oh, no, absolutely. I think that's actually the case that Draymond is so able to make. I mean, when you see Draymond, I mean, he's out there doing the interviews and then he goes and makes a game-winning play, you know, that's on national television. I do think that stuff matters. And the men's ability to guard the best guy on the other team, Draymond doesn't even have to do that now, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Western Conference playoff race + Most Improved Player award
This is one of the more chaotic playoff races since the introduction of the play-in. How do you feel about the play-in and its effect on the playoffs? Do you have an opinion on that?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Western Conference playoff race + Most Improved Player award
Like, there's someone else that goes and does that. He's in that helper role and he's, you know, playing free safety and he's quarterbacking the defense and all these other things. But there is something to... You know, it's hard to reward, it seems, in the NBA, that sort of defender. You know, S and I have talked about this quite a bit.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Western Conference playoff race + Most Improved Player award
S, Barahany, obviously, for the people listening, has this idea that maybe we needed, you know, the defensive – player of the year award needs to be like a wing award and a big award or some kind of a role-based award or something like that, because it is too hard to quantify what a man Thompson does every night.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Western Conference playoff race + Most Improved Player award
But as you said, yeah, I just don't think he's done quite enough to be, you know, at that level, but certainly should be on the odds somewhere.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Western Conference playoff race + Most Improved Player award
Nobody wants to play this guy. The numbers back it up. Yeah. Yeah, 100 percent. I mean, when you look at what the opposing stars, you know, the numbers they put up against the Thunder, there is a Dort depression in those numbers. You know, definitely the numbers are in the red, let's say, for opposing star players. Most improved. Now, this is somewhat controversial award because it winds up.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Western Conference playoff race + Most Improved Player award
that it's going to go to somebody like Cade Cunningham. But this isn't to say that Cade Cunningham isn't a much better player right now than he was this time a year ago, because I happen to think that he has just taken a massive leap this season in a lot of ways, not just winning games, but also the way that he's winning games and finishing games. But he is like the frontrunner for this award.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards carries Minnesota | Beal benched; Suns win
it is a bit of a greater long-term concern would you put any of that on having use of nurkic it kind of in the paint working the dunker you know it's similar to what anthony edwards is dealing with in minnesota man you know one of these days these teams are going to figure out that you know fit around your stars just matter so much so they're asking him to be kevin durant you're
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards carries Minnesota | Beal benched; Suns win
Yeah, that's right. So that kind of explains a little bit getting Mason Plumlee in there. I think, you know, a guy that you can have operate at the elbow a little bit more often than you can with Nurk. I mean, do you think that that's going to solve the problem? And if if it does solve the offensive issues, how do they defend with with that lineup?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards carries Minnesota | Beal benched; Suns win
That's not a good story for a team that's got a $408 million payroll. I'm sorry. This is not the sort of thing that the Phoenix Suns should be discovering. In the first week of January, Sam, I think I'm picking up on what you're putting down here is that as nice as it is that they've got this rookie and at Ryan Dunn, Hey, he's really a player. That's not what this team was put together to do.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards carries Minnesota | Beal benched; Suns win
Remind me again, before we get out of here, when is their next first round draft pick that they own?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards carries Minnesota | Beal benched; Suns win
I assume that they would, if they could Sam Cooper, thanks for joining us guys. Go and check out the timeline podcast. I feel like this, this is going to be must listen for the next few weeks leading up to the deadline. We'll do the vibe check maybe in a month or so after the deadline, see how things go stick around. S and I will be back after a short break.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards carries Minnesota | Beal benched; Suns win
In case you missed this marquee matchup last night, the Pistons picked up their 18th win of the season with a 22-point comeback against the Trailblazers. They moved to 18-18 on the season. That's right. And S, this is the latest that they have been above 500 since the last day of the 2018-2019 season. So the latest in the season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards carries Minnesota | Beal benched; Suns win
that they have been above 500 or at 500 or above since the final day of 2018, 2019. That's pretty incredible when you think about how sad it is. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards carries Minnesota | Beal benched; Suns win
Let's just do it. That feels like a million years ago, to be honest.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards carries Minnesota | Beal benched; Suns win
So that's pretty incredible. Yeah. What's been the secret to their success? I mean, yeah, this team, look, they've got some veterans and that was something that we expected. You know, this is going to raise their floor a bit. They upgraded that coach because they actually got a coach that wants to be there. And it seems like these guys are playing hard for them. But is it all Cade, basically?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards carries Minnesota | Beal benched; Suns win
As we sit right now, they're a half game back of the Miami Heat for that sixth seed, and we know the Heat are on their way down. So, I mean, I'm going to make you make a prediction. Do they make top six, or is this going to be a play-in team?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards carries Minnesota | Beal benched; Suns win
Because they're fighting with the Pacers, too.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards carries Minnesota | Beal benched; Suns win
Let's do it. They're going to petition the league to go back to the old format for the playoffs so the Pistons can make it. That's going to do it for today's show, folks. Thank you guys for listening. For S. Baraheni and Sam Cooper, thanks for stopping by. I'm Dave DuFour, and this has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards carries Minnesota | Beal benched; Suns win
So the wolves did get the win one Oh eight, one Oh six. And there was exactly one reason. Anthony Edwards puts up 37.7 rebounds, eight assists. I mean, he's, you know, again, he's been more of a playmaker this year anyway, but especially without Conley out there. I mean, he has to have the ball in his hands now early on. I didn't love how the spacing looked, you know, I've
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards carries Minnesota | Beal benched; Suns win
Obviously, with Gobert and Randall, you're going to have trouble out there. And, I mean, Anthony Edwards has already talked about how hard it's been with all the double teams, not being able to dunk. And in this game, he kind of did everything. He had six threes. He had a great dunk, which should have been an and one. He got teed up for it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards carries Minnesota | Beal benched; Suns win
But this was like a little bit more of what we wanted to see from Ant. And, you know, I think when he has the ball in his hands and he gets to dictate what's happening, he just looks better.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards carries Minnesota | Beal benched; Suns win
And I think DiVincenzo does make sense because of the three-point volume, you know, and it should take some of that load off of Anthony Edwards. But, you know, I still think you have to look at the Randall piece of this and Randall in this game. Again, the ball is in Ant's hands more. Randall, five points, two assists.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards carries Minnesota | Beal benched; Suns win
It's, you know, he has a hard time being able to fit in when the ball, you know, isn't able to be in his hands, allow him to facilitate more. Yeah. You can't do my turn, your turn, my turn, when it's Anthony Edwards sharing with Julius Randle.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards carries Minnesota | Beal benched; Suns win
Activity on defense. We could go on and on and on. But let's talk about the Clippers' side of this. I mean, look, they're on the road, but... Game two for Kawhi, I think the bigger deal, the biggest deal for the Clippers is that he was able to play in this game after just playing Saturday. That's great. Physically, he looked really good. I thought he looked strong.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards carries Minnesota | Beal benched; Suns win
He looks really lean compared to kind of being a little heavier last year. The one thing that's missing, I think, is rhythm. He just clearly looks like a guy that hasn't played much.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards carries Minnesota | Beal benched; Suns win
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily for January 7th, 2025. Coming up, the Wolves got their groove back against the Clippers. Sam Cooper from the Timeline podcast is here to talk about the Suns and their bad vibes. And the Pistons are 500. So we're going to have a party. Good morning, everybody. Good morning. Another busy Monday night in the NBA.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards carries Minnesota | Beal benched; Suns win
Kyrie Irving has a bulging disc in his back and he's going to miss one to two weeks. Jeff Stotts in street clothes. If you're on X or blue sky, he's an injury analyst. He said the average amount of time missed for this sort of injury is about 28 days. I think with a back, you know, you're going to take your time, but when you're the Mavericks and you've got these title hopes and
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards carries Minnesota | Beal benched; Suns win
Now your two best players are going to be out because Luke is still out with, you know, that leg injury. Things are going to get weird. And they got weird last night as the starting lineup. for the Mavericks against the Memphis Grizzlies who are, you know, they've been doing pretty well this season. It was weird. Najee Marshall, Clay Thompson, PJ Washington, Maxi Kleba, and Derek Lively II.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards carries Minnesota | Beal benched; Suns win
No point guard. Not really much ball handling out there. It was not great. Look, Memphis picks up the win. Mavericks down bad. How did Memphis do it? I mean, because they have talent.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards carries Minnesota | Beal benched; Suns win
That would be a desperation trade to do it right now. I mean, I think that if this team is healthy, they they're going to be fine. I think making, making the playoffs. Yeah. As long as they're healthy come, you know, April, I think that they're going to be able to make some noise. They look like contenders to start this year. Yeah. When they've been healthy. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards carries Minnesota | Beal benched; Suns win
And you know, before we go to break, I got to ask you because this is becoming like a nightly occurrence. What did Wemby do last night? He does something. He breaks a record or something every night.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards carries Minnesota | Beal benched; Suns win
One of the middle pedestrian, you know, nothing blocks. Yeah. Yeah. How do you feel about a blocks? Yeah. I mean, eight blocks is pretty impressive, but even more impressive, the bulls who are too good to tank, they're going to have to tear down the bulls. They came back from 19 down to win this game. Zach Levine with another ridiculous game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards carries Minnesota | Beal benched; Suns win
I can't figure out, they can't give away Zach Levine for some reason in a league that just needs shooting. What are the bulls going to do as we approach the deadline?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards carries Minnesota | Beal benched; Suns win
I hate tanking so much.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards carries Minnesota | Beal benched; Suns win
Hey, look, it's the Chicago Bulls. I think they have a tradition that they need to uphold. Fair. Go ahead and stay in the play-in, guys. Just one more year. Let's just do it. Guys, stick around after the break. We've got Sam Cooper talking about the Suns and their bad vibes. Well, we've been hearing that the Phoenix Suns vibes are kind of in the gutter.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards carries Minnesota | Beal benched; Suns win
And they got a win over the Sixers last night without Joel Embiid. So we reached out to our guy, Sam Cooper, the host of the Timeline Pod, a podcast about the Phoenix Suns, to just give us a little bit of a vibe check. Sam, how's it going? They get a big win. Does this mean the vibes are fixed?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards carries Minnesota | Beal benched; Suns win
The Suns, you know, the trade rumors, they got to line up changes. So we got Sam Cooper to talk about that after the break. But let's start with the game of the night. We had the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Los Angeles Clippers in Minnesota. Kawhi Leonard.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards carries Minnesota | Beal benched; Suns win
Yeah, I mean, look, nothing wrong with having Bradley Beal being a good citizen. You know what I mean? And a good teammate, especially if he is being involved in trade rumors. You know, other teams are going to be more likely to take a guy who doesn't seem like he's got a chip on his shoulder when it comes to, you know, coming off the bench or something like that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards carries Minnesota | Beal benched; Suns win
I got to I got to ask you about Devin Booker. You know, he had a great summer with Team USA. We had high expectations for him. I mean, especially on this on this show. I mean, we were talking like this guy is going to be all NBA. He's the perfect piece to make Beal and Kevin Durant fit. I think that's still true, but not this Devin Booker. What is wrong with Devin Booker?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards carries Minnesota | Beal benched; Suns win
I mean, he had another rough game shooting the ball. I mean, just doesn't really have anything. the burst and athleticism that you're used to seeing from this guy? I mean, is it just dead legs? Is it the groin injury is a combination, you know, you, you watch him every single day. What's wrong with him?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards carries Minnesota | Beal benched; Suns win
game two but right before the game as we found out there was going to be a lineup change and not the magic bullet lineup change we all thought with Julius Randall maybe going to the bench instead it's Mike Conley going to the bench Dante DiVincenzo moving into the starting lineup I gotta ask you was it the magic bullet for them
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards carries Minnesota | Beal benched; Suns win
Sam, you had a good stat. I don't have it in front of me. But his rate getting his shot blocked has essentially risen by about what? He's up, what is it, 150%?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Should the Thunder be worried?
Ja, wir dachten, das wäre das, was wir das Alex Caruso-Spiel nennen würden. Er war verrückt auf dem Bench. Und jetzt, im Hintergrund, wenn er nicht gewesen wäre, So incredible off the bench. Then the Nuggets probably have a much easier night. You know, he comes off the bench, gives you 20 points.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Should the Thunder be worried?
And coming into this series, Andrew, you know, we talked about who was going to be the second best player for both of these teams. I didn't expect it to be Alex Russo in night one. I thought, you know, Jalen Williams or Chet Holmgren. I mean, what do you need to see out of them like going forward if Oklahoma City is going to beat the Nuggets?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Should the Thunder be worried?
Die Lichter sind zu hell für Mark Dagnall. Das war eine Herausforderung.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Should the Thunder be worried?
one of the questions we're gonna get answered about this team is how do they respond to getting punched in the mouth i mean this is a bad loss for them right so we're gonna get to see in game two we're gonna get some answers there um and then the nuggets you know they're coming off this series they're they're really playing with house money remember like they cleaned house no no gm no coach they were you know it looked like
The Athletic NBA Daily
Should the Thunder be worried?
When they were down 2-1 to the Clippers, you know, I'm talking to some of my friends in Denver media and they're like readying the obituary. And now all of a sudden it feels like they just have all this momentum. I don't know, Andrew, you know, you know how this basketball stuff works. It feels, I don't know, are we about to get an avalanche? Should the thunder be worried?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Should the Thunder be worried?
Yeah, I don't know if we've ever had a second round where, you know, you have three teams, three road teams win game one. And we've got a really good chance with the Warriors going to Minnesota for all four. You know, that's going to be a close series too. I don't know. It's been a fun playoff so far.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Should the Thunder be worried?
I don't need to tell people who are listening because, you know, I think we're all watching along. Yeah, what a game. Alright, we're going to get out of here. Andrew, thanks for hanging out. That's going to do it for the show, folks. For Andrew Schlecht and Zena Keita, I'm Dave Dufour and this has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Should the Thunder be worried?
You know, you gotta, I'll point to this. First half of this game, I thought Boston came out, you can see their game plan. We're gonna attack Jalen Brunson, we're gonna attack Carl Anthony Towns, put both of those guys in foul trouble. Smart, right? It limits their offensive options at the other end. But then Boston just... did this thing in the second half where they just started chucking threes.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Should the Thunder be worried?
And they were already shooting a lot of threes, but this felt like rushed. It was one pass, get a shot up. You know, even like off an offensive rebound, you know, usually you'd get a reset. It was sometimes guys just dribbling straight to the three-point line and firing up a shot instead of attacking the basket.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Should the Thunder be worried?
Look, when Carl Anthony Towns is the center, that's the time to go to the basket, like get to the rim. You know, Mitchell Robinson did a much better job protecting the rim, but he didn't play all that much. See, I just can't understand why the Celtics, you know, they won't just put their head down and drive.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Should the Thunder be worried?
But we should swing this and give some credit to the Knicks, because they did mount the comeback. And fourth quarter, Jalen Brunson steps up big. Und er hat fast das Spiel gewonnen, du weißt, mit dem Floater am Ende der Regulierung. Aber er fordert die Überzeit, aber nur durch, du weißt, was er tut. Er hat schwere Schüsse, ist auf die Freethrow-Line gekommen.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Should the Thunder be worried?
Und du weißt, mit den Celtics, sie haben einfach nicht stoppt, Drei zu schießen. Und einfach, du weißt, ich höre nicht, als wäre hier ein gebrochenes Rekord, aber es scheint, als ob sie diesen einen wegschieben lassen. Kind of by being stubborn. It's a little bit like Tin Cup. You know, he makes the bad shot and they're just like, well, keep giving him the ball.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Should the Thunder be worried?
So, you know, between that and so Jalen Brunson, though, down the stretch was awesome in this game. But Mikael Bridges in overtime, what he did defensively, he was just involved in every single play. He steals the inbound pass. You know, Fred Katz wrote about him adding physicality back in for his defense. I think we saw that a lot.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Should the Thunder be worried?
Er hat den Ton gesetzt. He's their best center sometimes. He had 11 rebounds in the game. Again, Karl-Anthony Towns, he picks up his fifth foul pretty late in the game. But having that early foul trouble, Tom Thibodeau kind of fouls him out in the second quarter and just takes him off the court. I think that that's a mistake.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Should the Thunder be worried?
The Knicks probably don't have the deficit that they face going into the second half. If Karl-Anthony Townsend is out there. But, you know, again, the Boston game plan seemed pretty clear. Go after Brunson, go after Cat. And then they just abandoned it. And frankly, the Knicks took advantage, just continued to pressure on defense. Boston started throwing the ball away a little bit.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Should the Thunder be worried?
Knicks got out, ran, scored some points. But, you know, a 20-point deficit to be able to come back from that and force overtime, they just had all the momentum. And even the TD Garden crowd, you know, Es sah so aus, als ob es viele Nix-Fans gab. Aber es gab viele Nix-Fans da.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Should the Thunder be worried?
Guten Morgen und willkommen zu den NBA Daily. Kommt eine verrückte Nacht des Playoff-Basketballs. Die Knicks verletzen die Celtics. Wir haben Andrew Schlecht hier, um über das Wunderblöken von Game 1 zu den Nuggets zu sprechen. Guten Morgen, alle. Guten Morgen, Zena. Good morning, Dave. Man, what a night. Yeah, second round is coming out throwing haymakers.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Should the Thunder be worried?
We should note, 17 of 31 from the free throw line for the Knicks, 3 of 10 for Mitchell Robinson. It was a big point of contention, because Joe Mazzulla goes to the hack of Mitch to get Mitchell Robinson on the free throw line. I think that... I don't like this theme.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Should the Thunder be worried?
It's just interesting that it's becoming such a basketball play, Zina. You know, it feels unethical, right? It's sort of like fouling up three, which, you know, we also saw that bite the Oklahoma City Thunder in the rear end in their game, right? So maybe the ethical hoops just kind of winning out a little bit. Let's talk. Let's move on to OKC Denver, because that was a crazy game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Should the Thunder be worried?
And I want to talk about it a little bit from the Denver side before we get to Andrew after the break. The Nuggets pick up a big win that felt like they weren't going to get it. We were actually talking a little bit in our group chat about how this was like a noble loss almost for the Nuggets. In the closing quarter, we were like, hey, you know what? You probably feel pretty good about that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Should the Thunder be worried?
You've maybe picked up a few things. And then they come and they steal something. der Sieg von den Füßen. Und in der Strecke, der eine Mann, der spielt, es fühlt sich an, als ob der Ball ihn immer noch findet. Russell Westbrook macht den gewonnenen Absatz zu Aaron Gordon. Und es fühlte sich einfach wie ein bisschen wie
The Athletic NBA Daily
Should the Thunder be worried?
Poetische, äh, ich weiß nicht, was wir sagen wollen, Storytelling da, dass Russ den Pass macht, anstatt ihn in den Basket zu nehmen. Erinnere dich, er, du weißt, wir haben ihn in Klatschpositionen vorher in Klatschpositionen geblieben. Aaron Gordon bekommt einen zweiten Wettbewerber in den Playoffs.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Should the Thunder be worried?
Es fühlt sich einfach an, als ob die Nuggets, ähm, du weißt, wiederum, Jokic macht so viel, um sie in diesen Spielen zu halten. Und dann, jeden Tag und dann steigt einer dieser Rollplayer-Jungs auf.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Should the Thunder be worried?
I wish he would have just said, well, you know, I had a little bit of a brain fart there. I mean, the truth is like, you know, I mean, he catches the ball in transition with three seconds left and he's wide open and it's in stride. I mean, it's a great shot if this is like any other point of the game. And he does nail it. But man, my man, my coach brain flips on there.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Should the Thunder be worried?
So far, all of the home teams have dropped game one. We're going to have obviously the Warriors going to play the Timberwolves tonight for game one of that series. We'll see if that holds. But, you know, the Celtics had a 20 point lead. Last night, Zena, and I thought that was it. I thought the game was over. And then all of a sudden, one of those epic Celtics droughts just kicked in.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Should the Thunder be worried?
I mean, the second one at least, out of character for Aaron Gordon, so pretty dope. All right, it's one game. It's only one game. The Nuggets had to come back and win it. If you're OKC, are you worried?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Should the Thunder be worried?
We'll see what happens. I don't know. I don't know. We're going to talk to Andrew Schlecht about it after the break and see if he's worried. I don't know. I bet he's not either. Thunder drop game one and lose home court advantage. And you were in the building to talk about it. Andrew Schlecht here hanging out with us. What the hell happened in OKC? We were shocked. What happened?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Should the Thunder be worried?
Offensive Rebounds. I mean, Jokic and Aaron Gordon had 12 combined offensive rebounds. This is a team. I mean, you can't give Jokic a second chance. And honestly, that really is what cost him the game. I mean, you mentioned the free throws down the stretch. Jokic just being able to put his head down and bully. His way into the lane where someone basically had to foul him to keep him from scoring.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Should the Thunder be worried?
They finished the game 15 out of 60 from three. And that's the first number I'm going to point to. Aside from the final score, which was 108-105, the Knicks get a big win in overtime. But it's hard to win basketball games if you're going to miss 45 threes, Zena.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Should the Thunder be worried?
I mean, you know, he's the best in the world. And this is why this sort of game is why he elevates all these other guys. Puts up just an absurd stat line. 42 points, 22 rebounds, 6 assists. Game 2, like how do they answer for Jokic?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie injures knee | Thunder & Shai get 50
It's almost an ethical rebuild. I'm not doing the thing where, you know, like the AI salesmen right now that are going around telling you about how AI is going to make all your dreams come true and be your girlfriend and all these things, right? So... You know, what we see with a lot of teams, you know, I mean, for instance, the Washington Wizards, they haven't even started the teardown yet.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie injures knee | Thunder & Shai get 50
It feels bad, you know, when you see a guy like Kyrie Irving standing there with, again, with tears in his eyes while he's shooting free throws. So, obviously, you know, our heart goes out to Kyrie. But this Mavs team feels a little bit snakebitten.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie injures knee | Thunder & Shai get 50
I don't like it. I don't like it, Sean. I like what Portland's doing. Dude, you and I are kind of in the same –
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie injures knee | Thunder & Shai get 50
Having good players is actually a good thing. You know, you teach winning culture that way. They don't roll out there with a bunch of losers. And I do want to start talking about them not being losers. Like Chauncey Billups said, they might be if they had gone back out on the court. This has now been a couple of months. But S brought this to my attention, actually.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie injures knee | Thunder & Shai get 50
Chauncey Billups called these guys losers because they rolled over. And since that time, this is when we've watched them go on this run. And, you know, I've been critical in the years past about the job that Chauncey Billups has done coaching the team. I got to tip the cap. He has been doing he's pushing all the right buttons. The rotations have been very good.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie injures knee | Thunder & Shai get 50
I like some of the experimental things that he's doing. So, I mean, talk to me about Chauncey Billups, who is now like a really good coach. Also extension eligible, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie injures knee | Thunder & Shai get 50
Also, it's Portland, man. You feel the competitive team. People show up. You don't have to have championship or bus.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie injures knee | Thunder & Shai get 50
Yeah, exactly. You can read him over at the Rose Garden Report. Sean Hyken, my buddy, thanks for hanging out with us. Appreciate you. That's going to do it for today's show, folks. For Sean Hyken and S. Baraheni, I'm Dave Dufour, and this has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie injures knee | Thunder & Shai get 50
Yep. And still no update on the injured guys, Anthony Davis, Daniel Gafford, Derek Lively. So hopefully that coming this week. So we'll keep an eye on Dallas and hopefully, you know, hopefully Kyrie avoided anything bad. But as of right now, we don't know. It just looked bad. There was some basketball last night that was good. Even though Houston, everyone was out for Houston.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie injures knee | Thunder & Shai get 50
No Shane Goon, no Fred VanVleet. I mean, they started Reed Shepard in his first NBA start last night against the Oklahoma City Thunder. And look, the Thunder took advantage. Shea Gildress Alexander took advantage. Shea scored 51 points. Oklahoma City gets to 50 wins. No other team in the West even has 40 wins right now, S. Yeah. That's kind of sick.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie injures knee | Thunder & Shai get 50
I mean, listen, I feel like this is just a different era. It is.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie injures knee | Thunder & Shai get 50
They've got to have some scheduling luck come playoff time. I still think Denver is an issue. And they've got to be healthy, right? And they've got to be healthy too, right? And knock on wood, so far, since they got healthy, everyone looks to be doing okay. Okay. Before we move on from this game, let's talk about Reed Shepard, because this was a guy coming into the season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie injures knee | Thunder & Shai get 50
And then we got so many injuries. God, that was awful.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie injures knee | Thunder & Shai get 50
I had people telling me, you know, this is like Mark Price mixed with, you know, Allen Iverson or, you know, just giving me just a lot of hyperbole about him. I watched some of his stuff. I've seen his tape. I mean, obviously, the guy is good. I watched that the clips from the forty nine point G League game. I mean, he can play. Yeah, I saw a guy who looks like he belonged on an NBA court.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie injures knee | Thunder & Shai get 50
Yeah, you know, everyone's just trying to get to the playoffs healthy. That's what you hear, right? But we've got this tight playoff race, so it's not like guys can sit out. Every game really matters right now. And last night, here's everyone who left the game with an injury. Jaron Jackson Jr., Tyrese Maxey, Kyrie Irving, Gary Payton II, Justin Edwards, Keyshawn George, and Jaden Hardy.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie injures knee | Thunder & Shai get 50
Yeah, I mean, again, they've got a bunch of guys that are good enough to be in the rotation or starters in a lot of places, similar to Portland and their situation, which we're going to talk about with Sean Hyken here in a few minutes. Let's talk about Memphis. They lost their third – consecutive game on a game winner to the opponent. And in this game, they actually lost Jaron Jackson Jr.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie injures knee | Thunder & Shai get 50
to this ankle injury that we talked about at the top of the show. So we don't know how long he's going to be out, if he's going to miss some time. But they have just been scuffling lately. They're falling down the standings as the Lakers and the Nuggets have risen up. And Desmond Bain had... Maybe the worst two minutes of his career that I've seen in the NBA.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie injures knee | Thunder & Shai get 50
You know, he has an awful travel that gets called, so a big turnover there gives Atlanta a chance to tie the game. And then his pocket gets picked by Dyson Daniels, and they give up the game-winning layup at the other end for Karis LeVert. And again, this is just three straight losses on game winners for Memphis. They got to tighten up, man. It's getting...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie injures knee | Thunder & Shai get 50
the Rockets for that. So the Warriors, they pick up a win last night. They're eight and one with Jimmy Butler out there. This is a team that's, that's on its way up. I mean, look, there's, there's a scenario in which change really quickly. Yeah. The Warriors could maybe be the four seed by the time we get to the playoffs.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie injures knee | Thunder & Shai get 50
You know, we, we've only got 20 games left, but with the way things work, if Jaron misses any time, yeah, that's going to be really tough for, for the Grizzlies to cover up for. So, you know, we got to keep an eye on that guys. Stick around after the break, Sean, hiking. Here to talk about our trailblazers and how good of a job Chauncey Billups has been doing coaching them up.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie injures knee | Thunder & Shai get 50
Portland Trailblazers have become one of our favorite stories of the season, and we wanted to dig a little bit deeper into how things have turned around for them. So I got my good buddy Sean Hyken from the Rose Garden Report to stop in after the game last night. Sean, how's it going, man? Been a while. Doing all right, Dave. How about you? It's good to be with you. You know, great.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie injures knee | Thunder & Shai get 50
This show is a lot of fun, and so are the Trailblazers. This was an unexpected season, or this has been an unexpected season. If you would have told me before the season started that the Blazers would be a half game back of the Suns in the standings at the beginning of March, number one, I would say, wow, they're making a playoff push. That's impressive. I'm wrong there. The sun stinks.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie injures knee | Thunder & Shai get 50
But number two, I would say, wow, things have gone very right for the Trailblazers. And I didn't even know they were going to put a competent team on the court. They've been so much fun to watch. They've been so good. What's what's triggered this?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie injures knee | Thunder & Shai get 50
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily. Coming up, more bad news for the Mavericks. Shea and the Thunder both get to 50. And Sean Hyken from Rose Garden Report comes on to talk about the Trailblazers and their recent run. Good morning, everybody. Good morning, S. Morning, man. Kind of a bummer Monday night. The schedule was not great. A lot of guys missing. Not great games.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie injures knee | Thunder & Shai get 50
It's a lot of the internal growth.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie injures knee | Thunder & Shai get 50
But yeah, bad. And let's start with the Kyrie Irving injury. Kyrie was going up for a layup in the blowout loss to the Sacramento Kings last night. And it looked like he hyperextended his knee. He then stayed on the court. You know, laid down for a while, grabbing that knee for a while, got up, shot the free throws.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie injures knee | Thunder & Shai get 50
Right. What does that mean for for their team, like the roster, right? Like the construction of the team when you have these all of these young guys and you mentioned, I mean, the age ranges. I mean, you've got Scoot and then you've got Denny Advia and DeAndre Ayton who are in their mid 20s. I mean, it just seems like the window here.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie injures knee | Thunder & Shai get 50
I mean, maybe that's the goal is to create a team that that is a little bit more intergenerational and you've got. you know, varying contract types and sizes? I'm not sure. Like, do you have any insight there into what, you know, all of these young guys showing so much promise could really mean for them?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie injures knee | Thunder & Shai get 50
Obviously, first thing that comes to mind, you start thinking about Kobe when he tours Achilles, you know, and shot the two free throws. But man, I was watching the video of that and I noticed, man, he had tears in his eyes. And so. You know, as of right now, like, we don't know what the injury is.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Thunder the best regular season team ever?
Yeah, it'll be a disappointment to us. Like, we'll treat it that way, whether they do or not. So I'm not concerned really with how they feel about it. Another big reason for their success, Lou Dort. The stats have been coming out. You know, all the stars don't shine against Dort except for Steph Curry, of course.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Thunder the best regular season team ever?
And then you covered Draymond Green, who's also having kind of a ridiculous defensive season. Yeah. We don't have a clear-cut defensive player of the year. The Wembley injury obviously just kind of threw that back into the fray. Jaron Jackson Jr., I don't know if he's going to hit 65 games. I need to do the math.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Thunder the best regular season team ever?
And again, it's nice when you have the luxury of LeBron James and Luka Doncic to control pace. In this game, I think the biggest takeaway for me is – Luka Doncic continues to just look better each and every game, I think, coming back from this calf, even on the defensive end. I mean, he had a couple of plays on defense in this game that stood out to me.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Thunder the best regular season team ever?
Evan Mobley kind of falling off here in March with Cleveland having a rough few weeks. Make a choice for me. Lou Dort or Draymond Green. If you were going to choose one of those two, let's forget the bigs. Let's talk Draymond and Dort.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Thunder the best regular season team ever?
One in particular was, you know, he shoots a shot, it misses, gives up a rebound, and then he actually runs and cuts off the man in transition. This is the kind of stuff you normally don't see out of Luka until the playoffs.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Thunder the best regular season team ever?
Yeah, I think that everyone's got to try to stack the deck to miss the Thunder because it's not going to be fun. Let me ask you, just how do you think this is going to shake out for the Warriors come playoff time? Like, do you feel like they can make a run? Like, is this a team that, in your opinion, is built for this year? Or is this just like a test case for what they could be next year?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Thunder the best regular season team ever?
If the seating all shakes out for them, I feel pretty good about my Western Conference Finals predictions.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Thunder the best regular season team ever?
If they can get that, yeah. If they can stay out of the play. Anthony Slater, go and read him at The Athletic. He's got the big story today on the Thunder. Just kind of taking a look at the season and basically laying the case for the historic season that it is. So go and read that. Follow him on the app so you get notifications. But that's going to do it for today's show, folks.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Thunder the best regular season team ever?
Thank you guys for listening. If you're watching on YouTube, hit the Like button. Subscribe if you're listening to this podcast. Wherever you listen to podcasts, leave us a five-star review. For Anthony Slater and S. Faraheni, I'm Dave DeFore, and this has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Thunder the best regular season team ever?
Yeah. And then look, don't forget. Dorian Finney Smith is a guy that, that Luca trusts. He was six of 11 from three gave Vincent six of 13 from three. The role players are going to have to make shots for the Lakers. And so, yeah,
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Thunder the best regular season team ever?
If you look at this run that they've been on here the last few months, and this started before Luca got there, obviously, part of what happened for them was the role players hitting. You mentioned Gabe Vincent turning it around. I mean, Austin Reeves, we've kind of hit on the – The leap that he's taken this season, I mean, he had another pretty nice game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Thunder the best regular season team ever?
You know, the Lakers now, I think that they're in pole position for that four seed. They could put some pressure on both the Nuggets and the Rockets ahead of them. But it does look like with a two-game cushion over Memphis going into the last six games or so, they should be able to hold them off.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Thunder the best regular season team ever?
Yeah, and speaking of the Grizzlies, man, they've been having a rough one. They are bound for the play-in, it feels like. They lose to the Celtics 117-103 in Memphis. I think that – let's start with the Grizzlies. The biggest takeaway I think you've got to take is that John Morant looked pretty good. He put up 26 points. He just looked –
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Thunder the best regular season team ever?
healthy uh he's getting to the basket you know he's making things happen but i didn't see any wholesale changes from this team obviously this is only the second game with a new head coach not any time to have a team meeting probably much less a practice to implement anything new did you notice anything about the grizzlies
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Thunder the best regular season team ever?
I'm not sure exactly if you want to have Al Horford playing 37 minutes off the bench at this late in the season when you're the Celtics and you really don't have anything to prove. But he puts up 26 off the bench, 6 of 13, and it just shows the sort of flexibility they've got from a lineup perspective. And they really they just can put a lot of pressure on teams in different ways.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Thunder the best regular season team ever?
They are a bit of a juggernaut at this point in the season. They finish up March with the number one offense and the 30th pace, and I am going to hammer this stat as much as possible. Those are huge. That combination of statistics is huge.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Thunder the best regular season team ever?
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily. Coming up, the Lakers get a big win in their playoff push to move up the standings. The Celtics hand the Grizzlies another loss. And we have Anthony Slater after Josh Giddey's return that did not go well against the Thunder. Good morning, everybody. Good morning, S. Good morning. Man, the Bulls kind of got blown out by the Thunder.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Thunder the best regular season team ever?
And those guys will pass and cut and keep your defense in rotation. And I saw the, I mean, this happened to the Grizzlies over and over and over again. And, you know, Jason Tatum, I mean, excuse me, no Jalen Brown for the Celtics. And it really wasn't a big deal for them.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Thunder the best regular season team ever?
They just, they have so many guys that can shoot and they're just so willing to always get those shots up that the math becomes a huge problem.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Thunder the best regular season team ever?
It's nice to have a guy who can catch a lob out of the dunker and also stretch the floor a little bit, right? Yeah. Especially for a team like this. And before we go to break, we got to talk. The Pacers wrap up another good month of basketball for them with a win over the Kings. Kings is not going well for the Kings, but it is going great for the Pacers.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Thunder the best regular season team ever?
You dug into the numbers a little bit on the Pacers so far in 2025. Lay out the case for me that this team is actually a sneaky contender in the East.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Thunder the best regular season team ever?
I couldn't stand to watch them. Honestly, they upset my basketball sensibilities because it was an Ole El Matador defense to just go ahead and get the ball out of the basket and run on other teams with the hope that they would just burn teams out.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Thunder the best regular season team ever?
And they discovered something in that playoff run with their ball pressure from their guards, especially Andrew Nembhard, and it has carried over into the season. They have guys who can defend in the playoffs. Neesmith, Nembhard, they can guard anybody on the perimeter.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Thunder the best regular season team ever?
Should want to avoid the Indiana Pacers. That's all I'm going to say. Guys, stick around after the break. Anthony Slater's here to talk about the Thunder. And should Lou Dort or Drayvon Green win Defensive Player of the Year?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Thunder the best regular season team ever?
The Oklahoma City Thunder are basically a machine at this point. They ruined Josh Giddey's homecoming last night. Luckily, Anthony Slater was there to cover it. And Anthony, I got to ask you, man, at this point in the season, the superlatives about this team, I'd run out of time on the podcast if I mentioned all the records that they've broken and the things that they've done.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Thunder the best regular season team ever?
But they moved to 28-1 against the Eastern Conference. They still have one game left, but that's the best record For any team against the opposing conference, again, they just continue to do things that we haven't seen. Are we witnessing the greatest regular season team of all time? Not quite, I don't think.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Thunder the best regular season team ever?
We thought we might get a good game because of the way the Bulls have been playing. It was Bulls week last week, Dave.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Thunder the best regular season team ever?
He's having a good time, but not a good time when you get beat by 30. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Thunder the best regular season team ever?
It was not their night. But guys, stick around after the break. We've got Anthony Slater to talk about that game and really to set up just... How historic the Thunder season has been is pretty good talk. But hey, the Lakers played last night. How about that? Picked up a big win over the Rockets. Of course, the Rockets playing on the second night of a back to back.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Thunder the best regular season team ever?
They've already beaten Utah by double digits in the future. You know, actually, to that point, one of the stats I find fascinating, they've only had five games decided by three points or less. And four of those were losses, which means they when they've lost, it's mostly close games.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Thunder the best regular season team ever?
They've got a couple of, you know, big losses in there, but they they keep it close even when, you know, they aren't having their best night. And that to me is a sign of a team that's just I mean, again, this is a machine. So defense, too, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Thunder the best regular season team ever?
They had the short flight from Phoenix to L.A., which means they probably had an opportunity to go out. That would be impressive. I would be impressed if they did that. It's a little rainy out here, though. But they kind of got dead legs toward the end of the game, and it felt like the Lakers were able to just stay out in front of them.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pistons beat Celtics + "Court of Gold" behind the scenes
Well, they showed out in a big game, but let's just be honest here. This game should have probably been flexed to national TV, and it wasn't. Instead, it was Sixers-Knicks, which wound up being a good game, and we'll get to that in a minute. But, you know, the Pistons, this isn't a win that I think – I'm glad that you put it this way because they showed who they are
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pistons beat Celtics + "Court of Gold" behind the scenes
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The Athletic NBA Daily
Pistons beat Celtics + "Court of Gold" behind the scenes
The first quarter run that they went on to close the first quarter, it was keyed by Malik Beasley. I mean, he missed a shot that he probably took his time on a little bit too long, gets his own rebound, and sticks it. And this guy is having – what was the stat that you gave me the other day? The shooting stats that you put me up?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pistons beat Celtics + "Court of Gold" behind the scenes
Yeah, everybody's watching. Right. Because you just missed the one. So he had 26, six of 11 from three. And I had this thought and I'm not sure about it yet. Like I'm I'm workshopping this idea, but they are better when Malik Beasley is on the court. I wonder if this is in the situation by the time we get to the playoffs, if he doesn't maybe supplant Tim Hardaway Jr. in the starting lineup now.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pistons beat Celtics + "Court of Gold" behind the scenes
I understand, again, this team is good. They're on a streak. No one is changing anything anytime soon, and they maybe shouldn't. But that's something I think is like it's one of those adjustments when we get to playoff time because this is a playoff team. It's a really good team that they might be able to make.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pistons beat Celtics + "Court of Gold" behind the scenes
But with the shooting like that coming off the bench, I also understand having that option. Cade Cunningham with another good game. And I want to just swing this to the Boston side for a second. 17 turnovers, not really like them. Six in the first quarter as well. Right, and we've seen the season where they've been a little bit out of sorts.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pistons beat Celtics + "Court of Gold" behind the scenes
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily. Coming up, the Pistons are still streaking, the Knicks got a little bit scared, and Essendina had a chance to sit down with Jake Rogal, the director of the Court of Gold Olympics documentary. Good morning, everybody. Good morning, Zena. Another night, another big win for our Pistons.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pistons beat Celtics + "Court of Gold" behind the scenes
A lot of people have talked about how they find the Celtics boring when they watch them, and I kind of understand it. They shoot a lot of threes. They're really good, so you know that they're going to win most of their games, but it's kind of the same. But Are the Celtics bored themselves a little bit with this play style, right? Because they kind of become disengaged a little bit. Interesting.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pistons beat Celtics + "Court of Gold" behind the scenes
Right? Like, I'm feeling that. And it's also the dog days.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pistons beat Celtics + "Court of Gold" behind the scenes
Yeah, it's a luxury to have for sure that your floor is as high as theirs is. Yeah, let's talk about the Knicks because they had another game that was unnecessarily close. And, you know, I'm at the point I'm going to put my conspiracy hat on here for a second and say that this is a conspiracy by the New York Knicks.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pistons beat Celtics + "Court of Gold" behind the scenes
to boost Jalen Brunson's chances of an MVP or boost him up the MVP ladder, make sure he wins the Clutch Player of the Year award. Because this guy is ridiculous. Now, number one, he takes the toughest shots in the league, every single shot that he takes. But especially in crunch time, because you know he's getting the ball. And he was clearing out on these guys at the end of the game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pistons beat Celtics + "Court of Gold" behind the scenes
Zena puts up a personal 9-0 run to seal the deal. But Jalen Brunson, I mean, he's the most clutch player guard for sure in the league right now and respect to Kyrie Irving. I just think when you look at the way that the Knicks have been winning, the way they've been leaning on him, maybe he should be getting some MVP buzz.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pistons beat Celtics + "Court of Gold" behind the scenes
I mean, of course, he's not going to win it, but what he's doing down at the end of games is pretty incredible.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pistons beat Celtics + "Court of Gold" behind the scenes
He's willing to take those big onion shots.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pistons beat Celtics + "Court of Gold" behind the scenes
And, you know, we got to mention Paul George put up 25 points in his first post-podcast game. Paul George announces he's no longer going to podcast. And, Zena, look, I went and did the math, not because I'm petty, but because I'm curious. Sure. He posted 17 podcasts this season. Now, that's less than we do in a month. He's not prolific, but that's 17 podcasts.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pistons beat Celtics + "Court of Gold" behind the scenes
But that's significant for an NBA player. Absolutely. The 76ers, with Paul George in the lineup, have only won 14 games. I think that... is a pretty good sign. Yeah. Let's the podcast.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pistons beat Celtics + "Court of Gold" behind the scenes
Yeah, and they had to show up, especially after Paul George in the game the other night said that this team isn't prepared, isn't ready, isn't a real playoff team, or all of the other things that he kind of said, which was correct.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pistons beat Celtics + "Court of Gold" behind the scenes
Yeah, they're not ready.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pistons beat Celtics + "Court of Gold" behind the scenes
Before we go to break and come back for the interview with Jake Rogal, we got to talk about Shadon Sharp. Number one, probably had the best game of his career last night in a Blazers win, but the bigger thing, if you haven't seen the dunk Go and find it. Shade on sharp. Absolutely. Just ends. Bub Carrington's. We're not going to say we're not going to get too serious.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pistons beat Celtics + "Court of Gold" behind the scenes
Didn't in his career, but he's certainly ruined his night and put him on a poster. My question to you, Zena, is that the dunk of the year?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pistons beat Celtics + "Court of Gold" behind the scenes
How about that? They are streaking. This is the hottest team in basketball right now. Their eighth straight win. They pick it up over the Boston Celtics. And it wasn't even close, Zena. They got this thing done pretty early. Joe Mazzullo was waving the white flag. early on, I actually thought he pulled it a little bit early.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pistons beat Celtics + "Court of Gold" behind the scenes
Everybody's going to call you a homer.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pistons beat Celtics + "Court of Gold" behind the scenes
yeah thank you great for that made a great place thank you just jumped the passing lane takes off and and bub you know what respect man way to get up there you play trying to block that that's right you try to block that that's how we do it guys stick around after the break s and xena this this interview honestly is fantastic and makes me want to go and watch the documentary all over again so you guys enjoy that thank you guys for listening
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pistons beat Celtics + "Court of Gold" behind the scenes
Like this game, this team can hit a lot of threes in a short amount of time. You think you'd give them a chance, but no, they got out of there. This is the longest winning streak for the Pistons since 2008. They snapped a 12 game losing streak to the Celtics. The Pistons are here, Zena.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the NBA playoffs too physical? + Rockets even series with Warriors
Right. We're going to go deep with Kelly Eco after the break on the rocket side of this. Jalen Green was awesome, especially as we called him out for the game one. We were saying, hey, this guy is like on some all NBA ballots. What's he going to do? And the way he bounced back, man, that's really impressive. Yeah, absolutely. Speaking of physicality.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the NBA playoffs too physical? + Rockets even series with Warriors
They've been doing that all year, right? Falling apart in fourth quarters as soon as teams throw the zone at them. How do you feel about how they handled Kuminga coming out? Because that was a curveball. You know, Jimmy Butler goes down and Kuminga, nobody really expected him to play. How did you feel about how they adjusted when Kuminga hit the floor?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the NBA playoffs too physical? + Rockets even series with Warriors
Look, he had a good season against the Rockets. He had some of his highest scoring output games against the Rockets. Physically, I think he matches up pretty well. We could go on and on and on. We've already hit this a dozen times. Kelly, thank you so much for hanging out. Look forward to seeing what you're writing ahead of Game 3. We'll see what happens. This series is so good. This is fun.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the NBA playoffs too physical? + Rockets even series with Warriors
The physicality, I'm into it. That's going to do it for the show, folks. For Kelly Eco and Espera Henney, I'm Dave DeFore, and this has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the NBA playoffs too physical? + Rockets even series with Warriors
The Cavs and Celtics, all right, they're facing a couple of teams that like to get physical. And part of that is because they're calling card is defense. They can't really score, especially compared to the Cavaliers and Celtics, two of the best offenses in basketball. What do you think about how the Miami Heat came out against the Cavs? They jump out to that lead.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the NBA playoffs too physical? + Rockets even series with Warriors
They were trying to just, you know, hit them in the mouth and hope that they that they staggered. But I mean, the Cavs like kind of a machine.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the NBA playoffs too physical? + Rockets even series with Warriors
For Miami, I mean, Cleveland, they just attacked Kyler Herro. He's a target, and it's hard to cover up. It's hard to cover that up. Let's move into the Celtics. In case you guys didn't know, Jason Tatum got injured in Game 1. He missed Game 2 with the bone contusion in his wrist. He was a game-time decision. It was actually kind of shocking, I assumed.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the NBA playoffs too physical? + Rockets even series with Warriors
When we heard it was a pain-tolerance thing, I really thought he would play, especially given that Joe Mazzulla was yelling at him to get up. They kind of have this...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the NBA playoffs too physical? + Rockets even series with Warriors
know this this tough mindset he's also a guy that doesn't miss games like if you look through he is he stays healthy he's a very tough and resilient player so i was a little bit surprised so you know he's actually hurting makes me think totally you know ahead to game three but s when we were coming into the series you actually mentioned because we were talking about jalen brown's knee you said yeah you know the celtics could probably win this without jalen brown
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the NBA playoffs too physical? + Rockets even series with Warriors
Jalen Brown was awesome. And it looks like they could win this without Jason Tatum. So we might see the other guy get a break. But this was this was probably Orlando's best chance to steal one. And outside of, you know, knocking the snot and blood out of Kristaps Porzingis, you know, they. they failed. I mean, this is they're down. Oh, two. And, and look, I didn't expect them to win the game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the NBA playoffs too physical? + Rockets even series with Warriors
Right. Um, but when Tatum was out, I thought they had a chance, you know, uh,
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the NBA playoffs too physical? + Rockets even series with Warriors
The Rockets get to win, which is, you know, it's not a bummer. The series is tied up one game apiece, you know, going back to the Bay. But late in the first quarter, Jimmy Butler took a hard spill. They diagnosed him in the back with a pelvic contusion, and he missed the rest of the game. S, is there any update on Jimmy Butler?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the NBA playoffs too physical? + Rockets even series with Warriors
You know, yeah. You come back against the Pistons, there's another physical team. Totally, yeah. Okay, let me ask you this. because we know that the playoffs, you get to turn it up a notch. You get to be more, more handsy, you know, have, have we gotten to the point where the playoffs have gotten too physical? I mean, we have, you know, look, the Jimmy Butler injury, it, it came from physicality.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the NBA playoffs too physical? + Rockets even series with Warriors
It wasn't a dirty play. You know, obviously the, the entire warriors rockets game was physical. It's, it's a, Stan Van Gundy's on the broadcast essentially saying if he had been allowed to guard Steph Curry like that, they would have beaten the Warriors every single time. And he's right. I mean, he's grabbed around the waist.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the NBA playoffs too physical? + Rockets even series with Warriors
I mean, Jalen Green had a nice steal on Steph, but he grabs him around the waist. Tari Eason, obviously super physical as a defender. Jason Tatum, you know, the play he gets injured on.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the NBA playoffs too physical? + Rockets even series with Warriors
Right. Yeah. Is it too physical?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the NBA playoffs too physical? + Rockets even series with Warriors
I mean, exactly the way you think, right? It's snowballs, right? Frustrations. You get frustration fouls. I mean, I've fouled people like in basketball games, like in high school. When I didn't think I got a foul call, you know, Nikola Jokic was kind of famous for that. Right. He would have the frustration. We forgot the Norm Powell, Jamal Murray thing. Right. I mean, there is a real thing.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the NBA playoffs too physical? + Rockets even series with Warriors
But honestly, like I think that it's not I don't think it's too physical at all. Right. I do think that there is a lot of stuff that the refs let go. It becomes a different sport. when you get to the playoffs, right? So I would just like to get it balanced out. You know, don't make it so that, you know, a foul is a foul.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the NBA playoffs too physical? + Rockets even series with Warriors
Let's just call it a foul instead of saying, you know, if all right, we don't feel like it had that big of an effect and we don't want to stop the flow of the game. I also don't want to stop the flow of the game, but it gets to the point where, like you said, it just it does spiral kind of out of control.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the NBA playoffs too physical? + Rockets even series with Warriors
We've begged for times like this, though. You're right. We've begged for times like this where these guys cared, where they weren't all buddy-buddy. You know, like, we've... The rivalries... Actually, that works well. The rivalries are back. These guys, there's on the court bad blood, which is great, I think, for the NBA.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the NBA playoffs too physical? + Rockets even series with Warriors
Now, there is a finite amount of that that you can have before it does spill over. And you got to be careful. And we've seen that with the Rockets this year. We've seen that with the Pistons a couple of times. But we really did beg for this. And now that we've got it. I'm glad it's here. I do wish the officiating would just, you know, let's get it tighter.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the NBA playoffs too physical? + Rockets even series with Warriors
I don't want these guys getting technicals down the stretch of games. Totally. I just think that it, you know, like.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the NBA playoffs too physical? + Rockets even series with Warriors
No, no, no, no. They just gave Tari Eason tech. Tari Eason got a tech for throwing the towel, which, hey, you know what? Don't throw the towel. The Warriors were about to do that anyway. Like, you know, save yourself the technical and let them throw in the towel when they pull. Draymond out.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the NBA playoffs too physical? + Rockets even series with Warriors
Every series except for Thunder-Grizzlies because the Grizzlies have just rolled over. They're done. They're done. It's tough. We're done with this segment. We'll be back after the break with Kelly Eco to talk about Jalen Green's Ridiculous Night. Well, the Warriors lost Jimmy Butler in the first quarter and then lost the game to the Rockets. Now the series is even one to one.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the NBA playoffs too physical? + Rockets even series with Warriors
Here to talk about it, Kelly Eco. He covers the Rockets for us over at The Athletic. Kelly, this series, I think if I was going to pick one word to describe it so far, besides entertaining, it would be physical. extremely physical. We saw, you know, Jimmy Butler, obviously it was a hard fall, but nothing dirty, but it was from physical play.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the NBA playoffs too physical? + Rockets even series with Warriors
Draymond Green, obviously getting in the mix with Fred Van Vliet and Dylan Brooks and the way they're guarding Steph Curry, physical enough that Stan Van Gundy is calling it out on the broadcast. You were talking to Emeo Doka about this after the game. What did he have to say about it? And what do you think about the physicality?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the NBA playoffs too physical? + Rockets even series with Warriors
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily. Coming up, the Warriors lost a game and may have lost Jimmy Butler for game three. The Cavs and the Celtics have made it look easy so far. And S and I talk about all the physicality in the playoffs. Good morning, everybody. Good morning, S. Good morning. Kind of a bit of a bummer last night. Warriors Rockets.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the NBA playoffs too physical? + Rockets even series with Warriors
I would call that that's an effort injury though. You know what I mean? Like this is, you know, he was going hard. I mean, uh, that kind of stuff happens. It was a nasty fall. Um, yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the NBA playoffs too physical? + Rockets even series with Warriors
I'm glad you brought up his defense because he actually had a complete game. And this gets lost sometimes with Jalen Green because they don't run things like other teams, so he's not a prototypical number one option. He doesn't stand out as a number one option unless you watch somewhere north of 60 Rockets games a year like we have. And then you see, okay, he is the number one option.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the NBA playoffs too physical? + Rockets even series with Warriors
The problem is it falls apart when it doesn't work. But look at his game. I mean, he has six assists, four rebounds, three steals, the two forced jump balls, and also was involved in so many of the traps and switches. I mean, this is the sort of thing that, you know, when you're thinking about a guy – Does he develop into the number one guy, like the guy?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the NBA playoffs too physical? + Rockets even series with Warriors
I mean, how do you see what Jalen Green, you know, over the course of the season, not just tonight, because this guy had a really great year on a team that was a two seed in the West. What do you think about the way that like this season went for him? And how do you see his career? You know, what's the difference between like now and when we started the year?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sengun & Rockets stun Cavs | Is Jimmy Butler worth it for the Suns?
You didn't send him your offensive rebounding piece from, from last season where he's like, well, this guy knows what he's talking about. Yeah. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sengun & Rockets stun Cavs | Is Jimmy Butler worth it for the Suns?
You know, like he's doing like a caricature to a certain degree with how he. Right.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sengun & Rockets stun Cavs | Is Jimmy Butler worth it for the Suns?
This is, I don't think, Oh, gee, I don't know. He doesn't look, but he can play defense though.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sengun & Rockets stun Cavs | Is Jimmy Butler worth it for the Suns?
Wing defense is hard to describe, I think, to people, and you did a really good job in that. And I think even OG kind of translating the what and the why that he does the things that he does out there. Where does he stack up to you as far as wing defenders go in the NBA? I mean, obviously, he's able to play up and guard fives, and we see him guard ones all the time.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sengun & Rockets stun Cavs | Is Jimmy Butler worth it for the Suns?
So we know he's versatile, but as far as the level, where do you put him?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sengun & Rockets stun Cavs | Is Jimmy Butler worth it for the Suns?
You want to do that?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sengun & Rockets stun Cavs | Is Jimmy Butler worth it for the Suns?
It's a specialist. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sengun & Rockets stun Cavs | Is Jimmy Butler worth it for the Suns?
Right. And centers are kind of a specialist on defense.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sengun & Rockets stun Cavs | Is Jimmy Butler worth it for the Suns?
that would be good you could have real debate about that stuff although we're gonna get we would get some terrible votes in there and so like if we do that i think we got to take away the names like we don't want those names to be public because you know you get some bad ones uh look before we get you out of here you have bad ones for everything you got bad ones for clutch player of the year you know why no one knows bad ones no one knows that they're bad because you eat
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sengun & Rockets stun Cavs | Is Jimmy Butler worth it for the Suns?
Tari Eason. Tari Eason running off the court. Like he stole something. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sengun & Rockets stun Cavs | Is Jimmy Butler worth it for the Suns?
Fred says he has 12 minutes and he has to get out of here. But Fred, you're hot right now. No, you're hot right now. I need to get this take before we get out of here. Give me your best Jimmy Butler on the Suns take, since it seems like this is going to be a done deal. Might even be a done deal before this podcast comes out.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sengun & Rockets stun Cavs | Is Jimmy Butler worth it for the Suns?
It was amazing. Like, honestly, like this was one of these games where, and we've, we've talked about the rockets a lot. I mean, we've been really high on them. They're a lot of fun to watch. I mean, Thompson, by the way, makes a clutch steal at the end of this game and, and, and creates this win this team.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sengun & Rockets stun Cavs | Is Jimmy Butler worth it for the Suns?
They're more than Jimmy Butler away, Fred. They're more than Jimmy Butler and stuff.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sengun & Rockets stun Cavs | Is Jimmy Butler worth it for the Suns?
Like they have this, this vibe, you know, Sam Amick has compared them to the bad boy Pistons a little bit, but in games like this, like they, There's something about the competitiveness that they have. The chip isn't just negative. There's a fire that they play with, and especially defensively down the stretch. And that's part of why Tari Eason makes this mistake.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sengun & Rockets stun Cavs | Is Jimmy Butler worth it for the Suns?
It's not enough. It happens this summer.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sengun & Rockets stun Cavs | Is Jimmy Butler worth it for the Suns?
Yep. New owner syndrome, I think, has struck Phoenix hard since he got there. I mean, that KD making the splashy trade for KD just sent him right down the cliff. Perfect way to wrap up, right? Going off a cliff. Fred Katz, thanks for hanging out. Appreciate you. For Fred and S. Baraheni, I'm Dave DuFour, and this has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us, guys. Thank you.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sengun & Rockets stun Cavs | Is Jimmy Butler worth it for the Suns?
I mean, this is an excellent closeout on a small guard, and this is what he's taught to do. I think Ime Odoka talked about this a little bit after the game. Yeah, you don't want to foul there, but they did everything kind of right on the play where he makes the foul.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sengun & Rockets stun Cavs | Is Jimmy Butler worth it for the Suns?
Well, there's not much offense to speak of. I mean, this is actually one of the issues. And we've talked a lot about just who's the guy down the stretching games for them. And I think that's actually part of their problem is that too often it's just like, hey, a guy. And then it winds up. They can't get the advantage one-on-one, so Van Vliet winds up with a shot.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sengun & Rockets stun Cavs | Is Jimmy Butler worth it for the Suns?
Or it's Shingun, like in this game, going one-on-one against Jared Allen. Well, that's not a great proposition, even though Alper and Shingun is really great. Jared Allen is a...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sengun & Rockets stun Cavs | Is Jimmy Butler worth it for the Suns?
But the zone is going to be a problem for them until they figure out, you know, what their offense looks like. They need a zone offense at some point, because teams are going to throw this out there, especially when a men Thompson and Steven Adams are out there sharing a floor. I do think that there's something you can at least try out in the regular season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sengun & Rockets stun Cavs | Is Jimmy Butler worth it for the Suns?
You know, once the seating battle is going to be a real thing this year. So yeah, You know, your experimental time is kind of running low, but maybe a man Thompson on the ball with the ball in his hands. You know, you can still set screens against his own.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sengun & Rockets stun Cavs | Is Jimmy Butler worth it for the Suns?
You know, I don't go off into my basketball coach brain for this show because, you know, it's kind of hard to do that when you cover the whole league like we do. But but the truth is you are allowed to screen against his own. It's not illegal offense. And I would like to see him try it. Also, we should talk about Shingun. He is his own buster over at the Athletic.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sengun & Rockets stun Cavs | Is Jimmy Butler worth it for the Suns?
Sam Avick did a great story on Alfred Shingoon. And when we get him in here again, we'll probably talk about this because it's a lot of the backstory of what has made him into the guy he is. And he's a hard-nosed player. I think you can kind of pick up where he got that. So go read that at The Athletic. He also became the third youngest player to reach 2,000 rebounds and 1,000 assists, which is...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sengun & Rockets stun Cavs | Is Jimmy Butler worth it for the Suns?
You know, going to be an all star this year, man. All right. So speaking of all stars, Cade Cunningham. I mean, that's locked up. We're now thinking all NBA for him. The Pistons in what we were calling the NBA Daily Bowl between the Pistons and the Hawks. The Pistons pick up a big win and S. They are now the sixth seed. I wish I had confetti. If I had confetti, we would set it off.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sengun & Rockets stun Cavs | Is Jimmy Butler worth it for the Suns?
It's early to celebrate. You know what? This is amazing progress for a team. We're rubbing them on top of the head right now. This is a big deal. We talked about them... We've been talking about them all year. This is a good story, and Cade Cunningham, again, pulls out some magic.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sengun & Rockets stun Cavs | Is Jimmy Butler worth it for the Suns?
I mean, listen, this is one of the times where, yes, the referees were involved in the finish. Yeah. But it made it very exciting, I think, like in a certain way, like it was chaotic. There was some theater to it. There was some theater. Yeah. Well, it was crazy. Break it down for us because there was a lot that happened. Sure. We had challenge calls. We had fouls that, I mean, I thought...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sengun & Rockets stun Cavs | Is Jimmy Butler worth it for the Suns?
Anyway, we're proud of them. And the Mavs lost a close game to the Wolves, which, you know, we can discuss all the reasons why it was close when it shouldn't have been really for the Wolves. But the Mavs lose the game. But but more importantly, we got news earlier in the day that they're losing Derek Lively for a while.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sengun & Rockets stun Cavs | Is Jimmy Butler worth it for the Suns?
don't know yet how long he has a small fracture in his foot he's out indefinitely i'm sure we'll get more reports you know as the the rest of the week kind of plays out but you know you add it to their injury list you know luke is still out although we did hear yesterday that he may be back by the time we get to the all-star break um but the maps to me seem like a team that probably is confident that they can make a push to get to the top six
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sengun & Rockets stun Cavs | Is Jimmy Butler worth it for the Suns?
and then make a run from there or even maybe repeat what they did a couple years ago and be you know the seventh seed and make a run from there they're built for the playoffs so you know are you nervous about them at all yet or i think mass fans are more nervous than i am yeah i
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sengun & Rockets stun Cavs | Is Jimmy Butler worth it for the Suns?
Fully healthy. I mean, I think the Mavs. The Mavs, to me, they're just built to win in the playoffs. And I even think, you know, you put them up against the Thunder and I still – Kind of like the Mavs. I'm not saying that I'd favor them over the Thunder, but I think I like that matchup quite a bit. I'll say this.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sengun & Rockets stun Cavs | Is Jimmy Butler worth it for the Suns?
Too much. You're right. Shane Gildress-Alexander scored a career-high 54 points. Yes. Last night. First time, first 50-ball. Yeah. Every night in the NBA. Also the most by a Canadian ever. Appreciate you guys always reminding us. Canadian pride, it's important. I'm just saying. Yeah, have to.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sengun & Rockets stun Cavs | Is Jimmy Butler worth it for the Suns?
Also, Jimmy Butler is going to be suspended, apparently, by the Miami Heat for another two games, taking the total amount of cash that he has lost to suspensions to $3.1 million. Is that correct, S? Yeah, $3.1 million. That is enough to get you Marcus Camby in 1999. That's amazing. For a full season. Wow. Wow. Former Defensive Player of the Year right there. There you go.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sengun & Rockets stun Cavs | Is Jimmy Butler worth it for the Suns?
Guys, stick around after the break. Fred Katz goes crazy. It's awesome. It's great. Stick around. There's a lot of stuff happening right now. We got the trade deadline coming up, all-star talk. Somehow Fred Katz got OG Ananobi to sit down and watch film with him, and S being the biggest OG Ananobi fan in sports media that I know. We had to get Fred on the show. Fred, how you been, buddy?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sengun & Rockets stun Cavs | Is Jimmy Butler worth it for the Suns?
The foul against Jared Allen, I thought that was going to get reversed. So give me the rundown. Just break down the last minute and I think six seconds, right? Because that's when the chaos started.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sengun & Rockets stun Cavs | Is Jimmy Butler worth it for the Suns?
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily for January 23rd, 2025. Coming up, Rockets Cavs had a crazy finish. We had Pistons making it into the top six. Hey, S, look at you. And we went long with Fred Katz on OG Ananobi and Jimmy Butler's fit in Phoenix. Good morning, everybody. Good morning, S. Morning. Fired up. Oh, my God. From Cavs Rockets. Yeah. What a finish. What a fun game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sengun & Rockets stun Cavs | Is Jimmy Butler worth it for the Suns?
What's been going on with you?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sengun & Rockets stun Cavs | Is Jimmy Butler worth it for the Suns?
What's been your favorite thing this season?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sengun & Rockets stun Cavs | Is Jimmy Butler worth it for the Suns?
That's true. What's been your favorite thing so far this season? You're in a new role with us. So, you know, you're covering more than just the Knicks. So what's been like top of mind for you?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sengun & Rockets stun Cavs | Is Jimmy Butler worth it for the Suns?
It's the biggest, biggest upgrade in the league.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Sengun & Rockets stun Cavs | Is Jimmy Butler worth it for the Suns?
Like you think about Ben Wallace, right? Like, I mean, is this like maybe they just have this, I don't know, internal what we call this corporate knowledge. They're like, oh, yeah, no, he'll totally it'll work.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavaliers lose 3rd straight + When will LeBron return?
At PwC, we build for what's next. So you can get there now. So you can protect what you built. So you can create new value. PwC. So you can. PwC refers to the PwC network and or one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity.
The Athletic NBA Daily
State of the League | LaMelo out-duels Luka; Lakers lose
They stopped the whole show, Sam. You know, we were watching at home and I feel like, you know, I, again, they had entertainment there. There were things happening. So my assumption was in the building. It didn't feel as bad. Oh, it felt pretty bad.
The Athletic NBA Daily
State of the League | LaMelo out-duels Luka; Lakers lose
Um, you know, especially because Luca now off that minutes restriction and you think, okay, he's going to maybe show out. He's had a little bit more time to do some rehab. LeBron looks extremely healthy to start the game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
State of the League | LaMelo out-duels Luka; Lakers lose
It felt secondary to everything else they were doing. The fluff. For sure. All the fluff.
The Athletic NBA Daily
State of the League | LaMelo out-duels Luka; Lakers lose
Well, I think one issue that you've got is so one-on-one is more approachable, right? We've all played one-on-one. We can relate to it. And I think an issue that the NBA has is that the game has become so complex and And the media doesn't do a great job on television of explaining the complexity like they do with football. And part of that is function of the sport.
The Athletic NBA Daily
State of the League | LaMelo out-duels Luka; Lakers lose
You can't stop in the middle of an NBA game to give a breakdown and nor should you. I think it's much more of a vibes and flow sport anyway. But I want to talk about the media a little bit. I have a question. I think part of this is perception becoming reality. How much of this is because you have the guys on TV and in the media, they kind of bash the sport. They bash the players.
The Athletic NBA Daily
State of the League | LaMelo out-duels Luka; Lakers lose
They bash them before the game. They're bashing them during the game. I mean, they had a comedian roasting players during the All-Star game, which is supposed to be a celebration of the sport. And, you know... Sam, you know me pretty well, man. I'm a guy. I find a lot of joy in basketball. I think that's the way to approach it. And I'm not going to knock anybody else's hustle.
The Athletic NBA Daily
State of the League | LaMelo out-duels Luka; Lakers lose
They're making more money than I do. And a lot of people tie that to meaning you're successful. So what do I know? But aren't they part of this problem?
The Athletic NBA Daily
State of the League | LaMelo out-duels Luka; Lakers lose
And then all of a sudden, the Lakers build a lead and the bottom falls out. And the Hornets go on, what was it, a 21-1 run?
The Athletic NBA Daily
State of the League | LaMelo out-duels Luka; Lakers lose
People complain about Reggie Miller, but that guy is having a great time every single game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
State of the League | LaMelo out-duels Luka; Lakers lose
Well, they want to give us celebrities. They have their own celebrities. Yeah, the athletes, right? This is it. I want more Kevin Durant on the court. I want, you know, I want them mic'd up. I want their personalities. Even more so, again, All-Star Weekend is supposed to be a celebration of basketball and the NBA.
The Athletic NBA Daily
State of the League | LaMelo out-duels Luka; Lakers lose
And for some reason it was, I don't know, we got this weird dystopian Mr. Beast shooting contest. Yeah. Beat Damian Lillard for money.
The Athletic NBA Daily
State of the League | LaMelo out-duels Luka; Lakers lose
Call me crazy, but I think LeBron James is more famous than Mr. Beast. You know, just...
The Athletic NBA Daily
State of the League | LaMelo out-duels Luka; Lakers lose
i don't know if that's true that would be an i don't know actually that's a good question before you get out of here uh you want to pick a champ now that you've seen the first you know what are we calling it 60 of the season 66.67 yes there you go picking a champ man i hate this game so much but i'm gonna do it i'm gonna i'm gonna go with okc um
The Athletic NBA Daily
State of the League | LaMelo out-duels Luka; Lakers lose
I mean, I think a lot of people will look at the score and think it's like 1995. You know, it's 197. This was a brutal game. You know, hey, what's going on with the Lakers offense? That's not the issue. They got looks. They just didn't make shots, which, you know, again, they're trying to figure things out. I understand the offensive problems.
The Athletic NBA Daily
State of the League | LaMelo out-duels Luka; Lakers lose
They'll bring in Mr. Beast. It'll be totally fine. Sam Amick, thank you very much for hanging out with us. That's going to do it for today's show, folks. For Espera Henney and Sam Amick, I'm Dave DeFore, and this has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
State of the League | LaMelo out-duels Luka; Lakers lose
The defensive problems, though, as there were too many times where LeBron and Luca were bad. Both the backline helper. That's that's a layup every single time. And I got to say, now that we're seeing this on the court, I have to go back to when we thought Mark Williams was going to be a Laker. And we started saying, oh, wait a second. Wait a second. Could the. No, no, no. No.
The Athletic NBA Daily
State of the League | LaMelo out-duels Luka; Lakers lose
And honestly, Anthony Davis maybe should be getting some defensive player of the year buzz.
The Athletic NBA Daily
State of the League | LaMelo out-duels Luka; Lakers lose
I mean, think about the clutch layup that basically sealed the deal for, for the Hornets, the lamello layup where he just carves right through the defense. Dorian Finney-Smith is the last guy at the basket and he's, he's a half second late because he's six, six. And this is why you want a guy who's seven feet tall. Exactly. And so, you know, when that rotation, you know, you can't teach height.
The Athletic NBA Daily
State of the League | LaMelo out-duels Luka; Lakers lose
And so by just having a taller guy, you know, now everything has got to be on a string. But Dorian Finney-Smith, you know, again, people forget this about that Mavs team that went to the Western Conference Finals. I mean, he essentially was doing a very similar job. Yeah. But it's a couple of years later.
The Athletic NBA Daily
State of the League | LaMelo out-duels Luka; Lakers lose
And I would argue, you know, having LeBron and Luke out there is a little bit that's a little bit more work.
The Athletic NBA Daily
State of the League | LaMelo out-duels Luka; Lakers lose
Ten minutes. Ten minutes, S. No points. You can't fault him. One rebound. One foul. Yeah. You're a center. One foul in 10 minutes just isn't enough, you know, to, to quote my good friend, Keith Parrish, perhaps try. Right. Perhaps.
The Athletic NBA Daily
State of the League | LaMelo out-duels Luka; Lakers lose
All right. Let's talk about the Luca and LeBron part of this. Again, LeBron just look great. Yeah. Yeah. He looks awesome. He had a couple of big dunks, hit some deep threes. He and Luca got to hook up a couple of times on some transition stuff. I mean, they are going to to make highlights. And I think offensively, this team is going to be humming once the shots start to fall.
The Athletic NBA Daily
State of the League | LaMelo out-duels Luka; Lakers lose
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily. Coming up, we had one game last night. Ooh, the Lakers. Bad loss for them. And Sam Amick stops by to talk to us about All-Star Game, the fallout, whether the media is too negative around the All-Star Game. I don't know, Les. I don't know. Good morning, everybody. Good morning, S. Morning, morning. We're back from All-Star Game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
State of the League | LaMelo out-duels Luka; Lakers lose
Yeah, and again, I don't know what the solution is. The buyout market, you and I kind of kicked the idea around. Who is out there? Nobody. There's no real solution. But that being said, I mean, LeBron and Luka, it's going to be a fun time. Guys, stick around after the break.
The Athletic NBA Daily
State of the League | LaMelo out-duels Luka; Lakers lose
Sam Amick just hangs out for a while, and he goes pretty deep behind the scenes at All-Star, behind the scenes with Draymond Green on his title predictions and everything. So stick around for that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
State of the League | LaMelo out-duels Luka; Lakers lose
well coming out of all-star break we're looking ahead to the rest of the season the push to the playoffs and we had to call in our national nba insider sam amick how's it going sam i hope you had a good all-star break gentlemen going great i just you know complained to you off air about all-star weekend fatigue
The Athletic NBA Daily
State of the League | LaMelo out-duels Luka; Lakers lose
Giving us all the inside talks. A lot of dogs on this show. I love it, man. We got a lot of dogs in here. All right, Sam. What are you paying attention to coming out of the all-star break? Like what's the most interesting thing you picked up? Tell me what's on the top of your mind right now.
The Athletic NBA Daily
State of the League | LaMelo out-duels Luka; Lakers lose
And you know, S, we say often on the show, there's a good game every night. Yes, but. Welp, folks. That might have been a lie. Last night, we got the Mark Williams bowl. Look, we're still coming back from vacation.
The Athletic NBA Daily
State of the League | LaMelo out-duels Luka; Lakers lose
You know, nobody liked that for the two months they did it. It was weird when him and Steph were saying, well, we can't mortgage the future. I understand. You know what I mean? I'd much rather have him swinging for the fences. There's been a lot of hand-wringing, including Draymond, talking about the format of the All-Star game, the state of the league. There's too many threes.
The Athletic NBA Daily
State of the League | LaMelo out-duels Luka; Lakers lose
Draymond called it boring, which is... I've got my own opinion there, but I want to know, Sam, how you feel about this. That was Oscar Robinson, by the way. But coming out of All-Star, right, and from talking to everyone around there and the executives, I mean, what would you say the biggest topic for the state of the league is? Where are they looking to improve?
The Athletic NBA Daily
State of the League | LaMelo out-duels Luka; Lakers lose
What are they looking to expand on? What's the next change for the NBA? Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
State of the League | LaMelo out-duels Luka; Lakers lose
We aren't the only ones. Charlotte Hornets were in L.A. to face the Lakers in a basketball game. Um, the, the Hornets one, um, the, the Lakers actually, they started the game off. I thought it looked pretty good. And you and I, we were thinking, Hey, we might have an easy night. The Lakers, they ought to blow out the Hornets.
The Athletic NBA Daily
State of the League | LaMelo out-duels Luka; Lakers lose
It does feel like, Sam, though, that part of those, they get wrapped in together. you know, and it's a little bit unfair, you know, style of play stuff that is about the evolution of the sport. And, and we split hairs over really four feet on a difference on a basketball court. I, I don't know. I think they, they get a little bit hung up in, in the three point line aspect of this entire thing.
The Athletic NBA Daily
State of the League | LaMelo out-duels Luka; Lakers lose
When they're thinking about what the problems with the game, instead of the flow of the game, I think that the 10 minute quarters at least would be a move in the right direction. So I, I think I'm on the right track there, like as far as they're thinking.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Better future: Kings or Bulls? + Mavs move on
Well, anyway, that's our addendum. Now to the rest of the show. Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily. Coming up, the Heat and Mavericks are moving on in the play-in. Christian Clark's here to talk about the Mavericks facing the Grizzlies. And we debate who has the worst future between the Bulls and the Kings. Good morning, everybody. Good morning, us. Good morning, Chicago. Both.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Better future: Kings or Bulls? + Mavs move on
Even just the contrasting styles to start the game. Like I thought the Kings look like they came out trying to throw haymakers the whole time. And the Mavericks just kind of stuck with what they do and wind up, you know, with the big win. I want to go ahead and think ahead. All right. We got they've got another must win game Friday night. It's it's win or you're done for the year.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Better future: Kings or Bulls? + Mavs move on
How do you feel like they match up with the Grizzlies as the Grizzlies have been playing here recently? Not the Grizzlies that were the two seed earlier this season, but this Grizzlies team. I mean, they just they're coming off a loss to the Warriors, you know, obviously fired their coach. How do you feel like the Mavericks match up?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Better future: Kings or Bulls? + Mavs move on
They need 17 points from Brandon Williams. Literally needed it to win the game. It's a stark contrast. What about defensively? Are you worried about Ja Morant's ability to get into the paint against this team? I mean, they're huge, but Ja creates chaos, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Better future: Kings or Bulls? + Mavs move on
Shooting a drop. All day long. If they run those screens with Zach Eady, I definitely think that you'll see some of that. Maybe they've got to contend with some Jaron Jackson jaw pick and pop, but they don't run that as much these days. Okay, before we get out of here, I have to ask you. Because it's not often that you have a GM who is as unpopular as Nico Harrison.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Better future: Kings or Bulls? + Mavs move on
And I can't remember in the eight years I've been doing this, any GM having a closed door press conference. Correct. OK, how like how does this team ever get over this if they continue to roll around in it?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Better future: Kings or Bulls? + Mavs move on
Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Play in last night. The Heat looked pretty good. Tyler Hero continuing his most improved player campaign. Try to say that just once and stumble over it. Had 38 points. I mean, the Heat just dominated this game. The Bulls really just they showed nothing. No fight at all. In Chicago, they got booed. Fans were leaving with about five minutes to go.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Better future: Kings or Bulls? + Mavs move on
Yeah, I look, I don't expect Nico Harrison be fired. I also I mean, I would never advocate for somebody to lose their job, but I don't expect to see that because, look, man, there is an old adage I'm going to, you know, bring back up. Double down. Don't apologize. If anything, he's going to get a contract extension.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Better future: Kings or Bulls? + Mavs move on
There's no way like you can't be this wrong this publicly for this long and just expect them to not like say, no, we're going to do the opposite thing. I just don't see it happening. Christian. So if they win, they get Oklahoma City, which is a team that they were sort of perfectly built to match up against, you know, be given much chance in a series like that. No. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Better future: Kings or Bulls? + Mavs move on
Again, it's no guard play. I mean, it's just all the things that have kind of stuck with them here at the end of the season. Anyway, Christian, thank you for hanging out with us. Appreciate you staying up late. That's going to do it for today's show, folks. For Christian Clark and S. Baraheni, I'm Dave Dufour, and this has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Better future: Kings or Bulls? + Mavs move on
Gerne, zum Rubbeln oder Aufreißen.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Better future: Kings or Bulls? + Mavs move on
Spielteilnahme ab 18, Glücksspiel kann süchtig machen. Infos unter bzga.de.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Better future: Kings or Bulls? + Mavs move on
About as bad as you can get for the Bulls.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Better future: Kings or Bulls? + Mavs move on
Yeah, for Miami, look, this is a team that they had a weird year, right? The Jimmy Butler saga. The, I don't know, up-and-down play of most of the team outside of Tyler Hero. And Bam Adebayo even had an up-and-down season. But this game, they got contribution from just about everybody. We got to talk about Davion Mitchell. I do believe it's in your contract that anytime he has – A nice game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Better future: Kings or Bulls? + Mavs move on
Anytime Davion Mitchell has an on night offensively, we have to talk about off night. He was five and five in the game. He really has provided a spark for them off the bench since he's gotten there. And it's something it's funny. It feels like Miami always has a guy like that. And he might be one of the best ones that they've had.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Better future: Kings or Bulls? + Mavs move on
Yeah. And the heat they've got the Hawks Friday in, in the play in matchup. You know, this we've never had a 10 seed make it out of the play in. Feels like we got a good shot here. I just like how the Heat looked in their win a lot more than I liked how the Hawks looked in their loss.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Better future: Kings or Bulls? + Mavs move on
I think that especially the end of the game for the Hawks, just, you know, you never like to see your best player getting ejected out of what was clearly frustration. A little bit with the referees, but I think, you know, Trey Young wasn't happy about the loss either.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Better future: Kings or Bulls? + Mavs move on
You know, they made four threes, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Better future: Kings or Bulls? + Mavs move on
Yeah, outside of the Bulls, by the way, it's like the play-in is sort of like SEC country or whatever. It's Atlanta and Miami and Orlando. The Mavericks kind of did almost the exact same thing as the Heat did to the Bulls. To the Kings, they win 120-106. We talked the Mavs side of this with Christian Clark. That's coming after the break.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Better future: Kings or Bulls? + Mavs move on
But for the Kings, I mean, this is just, again, we've been calling them Chicago Bulls West. And for them to lose in the play in as the home team, exact same scenario, DeMar DeRozan, Zach Levine, same situation, different uniform for the Kings.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Better future: Kings or Bulls? + Mavs move on
Well, they just had an interesting season, right? Like this is, they got, you know, there's no De'Aaron Fox. There's no Mike Brown now. Mike Brown gone. Right. Yeah. Basically your head coach and your, your point guard, your best player, both out the door. You go into the summer. You you've got DeMar DeRozan, Zach Levine. I mean, you got somehow older and worse and,
The Athletic NBA Daily
Better future: Kings or Bulls? + Mavs move on
During the course of the season, that's pretty rare to pull off.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Better future: Kings or Bulls? + Mavs move on
See, I would disagree. I would say that there would be more of a market for DeMar DeRozan and Zach Levine because they're two guys I can tell you what they do. They can get you a bucket. They can get their own shot. They can... Usually create for other people. Damanis Sabonis is a really good rebounder and he is efficient as an offensive player, but his the the the limitations game. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Better future: Kings or Bulls? + Mavs move on
Defensively, he he puts a the Sabonis ceiling on your defense because he's He is your five, and he just doesn't provide much rim protection. He does make up for some with rebounding and positioning, but it's just not that. He can just be abused. And then offensively, he doesn't bring enough because you can sag off. You can dare him to shoot. He just doesn't have a lot in his bag.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Better future: Kings or Bulls? + Mavs move on
And so I would actually disagree. Now, maybe they're in a position where they have to blow the whole thing up, and that's where I want to come to this. Not do they blow the whole thing up, but when you look at what the Bulls have going on, And you look at what the Kings have going on.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Better future: Kings or Bulls? + Mavs move on
I want to ask you, like, who has the the brighter future, which is probably going to be mediocre, just given the history of these two franchises. But which of these two teams you think feel like they could be the sixth seed? If everything breaks right for them over the course of the next few years, could be the sixth seed. Which one?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Better future: Kings or Bulls? + Mavs move on
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily. Before we get started, a little bit of an addendum to the show. As soon as we finish recording, as you know, because you were a part of this, the Sacramento Kings and former now GM Monty McNair mutually decided to part ways. We just got that news. Yeah. What's your initial reaction? I'm sure it's not shock.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Better future: Kings or Bulls? + Mavs move on
I mean, the thing about the Bulls is I will give them credit for stability. Yeah. Yeah. Billy Donovan's been there for a while. They don't just go and fire guys. But at a certain point, you've got to figure out who can be in there and get results. Who can be the guy? Yeah. Maybe that's not the right move for the Bulls. But, yeah, I think I'm with you.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Better future: Kings or Bulls? + Mavs move on
Also, you know, I'm pretty high on Kobe White. I think he's good. I think Vooch is a piece that if he wants to come back and play next year, he's pretty good. But if they want to move on, they probably can get something from him. You know, I know he had a lot of teams interested in him this year. So, yeah. Man, the Kings. They just can't seem to pull themselves out of that hole.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Better future: Kings or Bulls? + Mavs move on
Yeah. Spoiler alert. We mentioned patience and how that can be a benefit to you. And the Kings, you know, listen, I will say this. They gave it a shot, but you double down on fool's gold. You know, that three seed year, it was very clear that that team had some issues. I don't think anyone should be surprised that they've wound up where they are, except. Yeah. Didn't take that long.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Better future: Kings or Bulls? + Mavs move on
Grace also might be a little bit too much. They had one good season. It was great. Great story. We love to light the beam. It was a fun time. But man, the Kangs are back. Guys, stick around after the break. Christian Clark's here to talk about the Mavericks and how they match up with the Grizzlies.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Better future: Kings or Bulls? + Mavs move on
Gerne, zum Rubbeln oder Aufreißen.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Better future: Kings or Bulls? + Mavs move on
Spielteilnahme ab 18, Glücksspiel kann süchtig machen.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Better future: Kings or Bulls? + Mavs move on
The Dallas Mavericks are moving on in the play-in to face the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night. Here to talk about it, Christian Clark from The Athletic. He covers the Mavericks for us over there. Christian, the Mavs got the win in Sacramento, had some highlight moments. What was your favorite thing from the Mavericks' win?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Better future: Kings or Bulls? + Mavs move on
Yeah, well, they're going to need it Friday. I mean, they need scoring. You mentioned Klay Thompson. You know, he started the game out. He missed a few shots and then just caught fire. We could have called this a Klay-in game because he puts up 23, goes five or seven from three. Klay Thompson, just nightmares for the Sacramento Kings.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Celtics troubles | Jimmy Butler to Milwaukee?
Well, we got our first trade of really first trade of trade season today. And so we had to get the guy who has his ear to the ground in the NBA. He just put out his notebook yesterday with all the things that he's hearing. Sam Amick, my personal NBA insider and our insider at The Athletic. Sam, I got to ask you first, most importantly, how many days in the fridge is too many for leftover pizza?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Celtics troubles | Jimmy Butler to Milwaukee?
When the Suns are really, really bad in five years or six years, those are going to be great seconds. I'm just going to ask you, what do you think about the Suns side of this deal? Oh, by the way, not only do they make this athletic upgraded center, they also save themselves 20 million dollars.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Celtics troubles | Jimmy Butler to Milwaukee?
I trust the process. You trust the process. Wow. Five days. That's amazing. Now, are you reheating it at five days or is it just, okay, this is, I'm desperate. Cold pizza is going down.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Celtics troubles | Jimmy Butler to Milwaukee?
Oh, wow. So I'm a big cold pizza guy. I love some cold pizza. Yeah. Yeah. Anyway, if the pizza is good, it's not lasting that long. That's my take. There you go. Let's look. Let's get to the to the meat of what's happening in the NBA right now. And I think the most prominent guy on everyone's radar is Jimmy Butler.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Celtics troubles | Jimmy Butler to Milwaukee?
And in your piece that you put out, you mentioned a team that hasn't really been mentioned with Jimmy Butler. And that's the Milwaukee Bucks. I've said them a couple of times on the show to ask raising eyebrows. And he actually seems to like to fit. But can you give us any more information on Milwaukee and like how serious are they about a potential Jimmy Butler trade?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Celtics troubles | Jimmy Butler to Milwaukee?
Because, you know, this is kind of their window, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Celtics troubles | Jimmy Butler to Milwaukee?
Yeah. Listen, let's talk about the team that seems to be in the pole position to get Jimmy Butler, just because from what we know, that's his preferred destination. And it seems like they've got a contract waiting for him. That's the Suns. They made a trade. They got Nick Richard, Richard, excuse me. So they're improving their defense a little bit. You see like they're trying to improve this team.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Celtics troubles | Jimmy Butler to Milwaukee?
What's the latest on them getting Jimmy and like how realistic is it for that team?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Celtics troubles | Jimmy Butler to Milwaukee?
Again, they have too many good players to just bottom out. They're going to have to get rid of these guys, and it's a shame because they're a fun team to watch, and they're always in entertaining games. Sam, thanks for catching us up on all this stuff. Obviously, you're a must-read every single week, so go and do that over at The Athletic. That's going to do it for us today.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Celtics troubles | Jimmy Butler to Milwaukee?
For Espera Henney and Sam Amick, I'm Dave DeFore, and this has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Celtics troubles | Jimmy Butler to Milwaukee?
Yeah, I like him a lot. Obviously, a good athlete. He's going to run the floor hard. You can see him and Booker in transition probably working pretty well together, I think. For me, I look at the Hornets and I say, I don't know why you guys are sending out Nick Richards. It doesn't make any sense. He's a good young player and he's cheap. Goes well with Lumelo Ball.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Celtics troubles | Jimmy Butler to Milwaukee?
But to pick up the seconds, I think that is pretty good business for a team that clearly they're not trying to compete this year. They just don't have the talent for that. So you've got to start thinking about the future. But the Suns making their first move. Probably the first of many moves for Phoenix, I would imagine.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Celtics troubles | Jimmy Butler to Milwaukee?
They got to find someone to take Nurk and convince Bradley Beal that the real estate would be better anywhere but Phoenix. But the weather, definitely not going to be. Hey, speaking of weather, what's going on with Toronto, man? They've now won two games in a row. Against teams that are trying to win. This isn't like the battle of the tank off.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Celtics troubles | Jimmy Butler to Milwaukee?
And before we get to Boston just being bad lately and how my trust in them is starting to wane, I want to start with the Toronto side of this. This is two awful wins for the Raptors here back to back.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Celtics troubles | Jimmy Butler to Milwaukee?
Yeah, another couple weeks of this, and I'm going to basically put them down with everybody else that's in that top tier. It's weird because the defense has slipped markedly, I think. And also, it seems like opposing defenses have caught up and thrown some things at them that throw them off. Obviously, the ball pressure stuff, some of the switching that they've been seeing has thrown them off.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Celtics troubles | Jimmy Butler to Milwaukee?
Yeah. Right. And so I think if you're Boston, look, they play a high variance style, but they're so hell bent on settling for an OK shot. Not even a good one. Like there's so many times. And I think like they've got some big, tough shot makers. But some of these looks are just like one pass away from being a good look. Yeah. And maybe two, maybe a drive and a kick and a kick.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Celtics troubles | Jimmy Butler to Milwaukee?
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily for January 16th, 2025. Coming up, we've got a trade. The Suns got a new starting center. The Warriors beat the Wolves, even though they've waved the white flag. And we got Sam Amick in the house to get us up to date on all of the trade news that he's got in his notebook.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Celtics troubles | Jimmy Butler to Milwaukee?
The defense is a bigger problem to me. than the three-point luck because the three-point luck I expect to swing back around. But the defense, like these are the habits that you're supposed to build that carry you into the playoffs, and it hasn't looked good. I do want to note, though, Drew Holiday's been banged up. Derek White's been banged up. They look like it often in these games.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Celtics troubles | Jimmy Butler to Milwaukee?
And so maybe that's part of this, but I don't know. I'm starting to feel uncomfortable about the Celtics.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Celtics troubles | Jimmy Butler to Milwaukee?
They've been in so many games. I mean, they've been in a lot of games and it's the execution down the stretch that is executed to perfection to make them lose. That has cost them games. But this is a competitive team. They've got talent and they've got I mean, I think like youth with high motor gets you a long way in a regular season, too. So but man, they're messing up that draft pick.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Celtics troubles | Jimmy Butler to Milwaukee?
Let's talk about the Wolves loss to the Warriors. We've been talking the last few days about the weird vibes around the Warriors, just seemingly waving the white flag. Steph and Steve Kerr and Draymond talking about not mortgaging the future and be irresponsible. So here I am thinking, OK, well, they're going into Minnesota. they're going to get just blasted.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Celtics troubles | Jimmy Butler to Milwaukee?
Anthony Edwards is going to go for 50, and it wasn't that. I mean, the Warriors, they jump out to a big lead early. They wind up holding off a late comeback by the Timberwolves to win by one point, 116-115. Steph Curry hit seven threes. Kind of a reminder, hey, look, I'm still at this high level. Exactly. This game was weird because I just didn't expect the Warriors.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Celtics troubles | Jimmy Butler to Milwaukee?
And it's not like this is a team that's going to roll over. But there was no Draymond. The vibes have been so weird. And the Timberwolves seemingly have a little bit more to lose if they lose this game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Celtics troubles | Jimmy Butler to Milwaukee?
And Nas Reed, by the way, making plays on the defensive end. Huge play. Got a big block, got a big rebound and like stuff that just we hadn't seen out of Randall on that end. And again, we've talked all year about motor and and what Nas Reed has brought, including the three point spacing. I'm going to ask you a question. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Celtics troubles | Jimmy Butler to Milwaukee?
Should they make one more lineup change now that they, I mean, this is just their most successful lineup. It makes the most sense on paper. I mean, Dante DiVincenzo gets to go off because of Daz Reed adding that extra space. You think they need to make this lineup change to compete?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Celtics troubles | Jimmy Butler to Milwaukee?
good morning everybody good morning s morning busy night last night there's always too much stuff uh again another night where i feel like there's just too much stuff to cover in one podcast but uh to start the day i mean we got a trade in the afternoon s yeah and the phoenix suns have started to make their moves the phoenix suns
The Athletic NBA Daily
Celtics troubles | Jimmy Butler to Milwaukee?
Yeah, take a lot of guts to do that. We had Zach Eaddy versus Victor Wiminyama, the Grizzlies versus the Spurs. Grizzlies win this one. Look... Victor Wimbinyama has a target on his face when he's underneath the basket. Zach Eaddy got him just clean, just two big giant guys under the rim. But the John Morant dunk that didn't count is probably the one that everyone is seeing all day long today.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Celtics troubles | Jimmy Butler to Milwaukee?
I think that's like the greatest dunk to never count. You know what? We say this about a lot of dunks, but it's the best one I've seen in the last couple of weeks that didn't count. And he got him. I mean, Ja Morant, these guys on the Grizzlies, this is all they want to do.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Celtics troubles | Jimmy Butler to Milwaukee?
I mean, if you think back to that Rockets game the other night, these guys are just trying to catch a poster on whoever's in front of them.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Celtics troubles | Jimmy Butler to Milwaukee?
Right. That was a little bit of a I lost my smile moment. Right. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Celtics troubles | Jimmy Butler to Milwaukee?
Yeah. Also, hey, we got a question. I got hit up on Blue Sky by a longtime listener of the show, RMJ.BSky. I don't even know how to use the handles on Blue Sky. It's probably a good thing. And he asked a basketball question and a non-basketball question. So I figured, hey, let's do it on the show.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Celtics troubles | Jimmy Butler to Milwaukee?
And this is a pretty good one and leads into our conversation right after the break that we're having with Sam Amick. Here's the question. The Bucks and the Suns met in the 2021 finals. Since that time, which team has been the bigger disappointment? Oh, that's a tough one.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Celtics troubles | Jimmy Butler to Milwaukee?
Look, it's even more clear. It's definitely Phoenix because, number one, the Bucs won the title, and that matters quite a bit. And you could say, hey, they've also got Giannis, who's arguably the best player in the world, and maybe should have had two. It's very hard to win two in a row, as we know, no matter who you have. I mean, Jokic didn't do it either.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Celtics troubles | Jimmy Butler to Milwaukee?
entered into a trade with the charlotte hornets they acquired nick richards and a second round pick from the hornets for josh akogi and three second round picks the hornets are going to wind up with the picks that originated from denver that's going to be the 2026 denver second rounder the 2031 denver second rounder and a 2031 second rounder from the sun so
The Athletic NBA Daily
Celtics troubles | Jimmy Butler to Milwaukee?
So I would say, just straight up, that, for sure, it's the Suns who've been a bigger disappointment. But then... They also hired the coach that beat them in the finals when he was coaching for the Bucs. So I think that that's pretty clear right there.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Celtics troubles | Jimmy Butler to Milwaukee?
If you can't beat them, hire them when they get fired. That's what they've done. That's disappointment. The non-basketball question. Now, this one is going to be controversial. And guys, make sure if you're watching on YouTube, hit us in the comments. Let us know your answer because I want to see what the consensus is on this one. How many days in the fridge is too many days for leftover pizza?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Celtics troubles | Jimmy Butler to Milwaukee?
Yeah. I could go for the next day. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Celtics troubles | Jimmy Butler to Milwaukee?
I usually look if the pizza is good and I, it's gone pretty quickly. Yeah, it's got to be gone pretty quickly. And also good pizza just doesn't really last that long. I'm not a big reheating guy. Yeah. So if I don't eat it by the next day, I usually am going to just chuck it. Now, I would say the second day I might be with you there. Cold breakfast.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Celtics troubles | Jimmy Butler to Milwaukee?
I don't feel like doing anything like oatmeal wise. I'm going to take the dog out. OK, I'll have it on the second day. But no, guys, stick around after the break. You are not going to believe what Sam Amick said when I asked him this question.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves advance to Conference Finals + Can the Celtics come back?
The thing about Mitchell Robinson in the series, right? The thing about Mitchell Robinson in the series is that his size actually just mattered so much because Porzingis has essentially been non-existent. He's been able to destroy the glass. And obviously now without Tatum, like there's even more of an opportunity for him, in my opinion, to hit the glass. Cornette neutralized that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves advance to Conference Finals + Can the Celtics come back?
a little bit uh in the game right i actually think that now this is a cornet series right i i think that if you're the celtics you go away from porzingis who is what a weird series well i mean he's not healthy right like period i mean he looks bad and it's pretty obvious he's going through some stuff and cornet has had a great season as it is and so i'm not surprised that he was able to have a game like this for them to me this is the biggest surprise i think
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves advance to Conference Finals + Can the Celtics come back?
It is a little bit like Tibbs being a little bit gun-shy on mixing things up. You know, hey, look, this got us here. You don't want to mess with the vibes, and I understand that. And it would be very unique, Fred, for the team that's up in the series to make that sort of adjustment. But I think you have to be bold, right? It's the playoffs. Like, where do you go?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves advance to Conference Finals + Can the Celtics come back?
Is it moving Josh Hart out of the lineup and going with that double big Carl Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson? Or, you know, what do you think?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves advance to Conference Finals + Can the Celtics come back?
You stick with it. No, but here's why I say that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves advance to Conference Finals + Can the Celtics come back?
Joe Mazzulla is going to give us some, like, hey, Xavier Tillman, get that warm-up off. Go out there and get us. Yeah, he might. It's not a problem, maybe. Yeah. He might. I don't know. What would Ben Affleck do in this situation?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves advance to Conference Finals + Can the Celtics come back?
get good shots you would have thought by their effort that that the knicks had been blowing the celtics out in all these games i mean to be honest with you and instead of these being you know the the celtics like game one they have the worst shooting weirdest nba playoff history and you know it takes this great comeback to win i i think that the knicks were a little lackadaisical
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves advance to Conference Finals + Can the Celtics come back?
Plain and simple. S, did they leave the window open?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves advance to Conference Finals + Can the Celtics come back?
Of course it is. But they win without Tatum. They win without Tatum all the time. They win without Tatum. They win when Tatum has a bad game. They win. They win. Right? They're super deep.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves advance to Conference Finals + Can the Celtics come back?
I disagree with your tone.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves advance to Conference Finals + Can the Celtics come back?
They're the upstart Celtics.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves advance to Conference Finals + Can the Celtics come back?
Look, I mean, you watch game five and completely repeatable. I think, of course. Yeah, absolutely.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves advance to Conference Finals + Can the Celtics come back?
Another big Randall game. Another big Randall game. And Randall, obviously, like big source of contention this whole year. Totally. How's the fit? You know, obviously, he comes in for Towns. His playoff fit has been excellent. Absolutely. Number one, this guy has brought an intensity on the defensive end that I didn't really know he had.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves advance to Conference Finals + Can the Celtics come back?
If Jalen Brown gives him two more games like this. He was phenomenal. And a couple of other guys step up. No doubt. I don't know. I have to say, Fred, it feels like it's going seven now. I don't know why. I just, the Celtics feel like it's like they galvanized together, right? Like they're just, it was a different thing last night.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves advance to Conference Finals + Can the Celtics come back?
I mean, you think about him guarding Luka Doncic in that Lakers series at times, but his offensive aggressiveness and he's just been getting them like just getting into the paint. getting shots up, and then other things are coming out of that for them. I mean, they kind of got this nice, this two-headed attack with those two guys, which I think is what the vision was in New York, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves advance to Conference Finals + Can the Celtics come back?
Your best three-point shooter needs to take more than three. That's just my offensive coaching advice. Figure out a way for your best three-point shooter to get more than three attempts. And the thing with them all season. All season. Which is why the starting lineup has been so clunky all year.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves advance to Conference Finals + Can the Celtics come back?
You're going to run into a math problem with the Celtics. Again, 3-2, that series. We had penciled in the upstart Boston Celtics making a run. We'll see what happens.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves advance to Conference Finals + Can the Celtics come back?
All right. That's going to do it for the show, folks. Thanks to Fred Katz. For S. Baraheni, I'm Dave DeFord. This has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be right back.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves advance to Conference Finals + Can the Celtics come back?
Like if he could have been that with Brunson, you see how it works. And Anthony Edwards and Randall over the course of the season figured out a way to make this work, and it looks really good. I mean, Randall being able to play bully ball – Against the Warriors, right? Against Trayvon. Yeah, against Trayvon.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves advance to Conference Finals + Can the Celtics come back?
For all the talk about Randall being a spacing problem coming to Minnesota. I mean, he took six threes in the game and Carl Anthony Towns took three for the Knicks, right? So spacing is relative. It's how you use a guy and Randall showing a willingness to take five or six threes a game. I think shows, you know, That guy's out there willing to go along to get along.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves advance to Conference Finals + Can the Celtics come back?
I think I mean, you judge it by the first quarter of game one.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves advance to Conference Finals + Can the Celtics come back?
You see enough from the Jimmy Butler partnership that you're in for next year. And I'm not saying, like, it's unrealistic to think that they would trade him. But what about you? Like, what is your opinion? Like, we got to see it for half the season. It looked great in the regular season. I think the playoffs, you know, maybe a question mark.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves advance to Conference Finals + Can the Celtics come back?
And also they're saying he had like some kind of an illness the last couple games, which that tracks because he did not look like Jimmy Butler.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves advance to Conference Finals + Can the Celtics come back?
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily. Coming up, the Wolves have moved on to the Western Conference Finals after beating the Warriors. And we got Fred Katz to talk about the Celtics and their big win over the Knicks and whether or not they can come back from down 3-1. Fire up that boys to men. Good morning, everybody.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves advance to Conference Finals + Can the Celtics come back?
Yes. Go to Brooklyn, go to Utah, get your shots up. And that's a piece for the Warriors, though. See, this is the thing, right? Like, a signing trade for Kaminga, I actually... A lot of people have looked at this from the Kaminga side where, hey, Kaminga probably earned himself some money back that he may have lost in the last half of the season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves advance to Conference Finals + Can the Celtics come back?
But the truth is he reclaimed a lot of value for the Warriors also in this. That's a tool that they're going to be able to use to maybe pick up another piece or two, right? Like when you consider how young he is. And maybe it's a draft pick. I don't know how much they're going to get, right, player-wise. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, Kuminga had another pretty good game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves advance to Conference Finals + Can the Celtics come back?
I mean, it's not the same as what we saw. I think game three was his best game in the series because he was playing both ways at a high level. But I thought he was pretty good again, showed that he can go out and get a bucket, which is what the Warriors theoretically needed, you know, quite often this year.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves advance to Conference Finals + Can the Celtics come back?
Let me ask you a question before we go to Fred Katz. Let me ask you a question. Who does the Minnesota Timberwolves want to play? The Denver Nuggets or the Oklahoma City Thunder?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves advance to Conference Finals + Can the Celtics come back?
I think Denver is probably what they would say, just because you've got the blueprint, right? You've done it. You know what to do. Theoretically, this Denver team isn't as good as the one from last year. Theoretically, right? MPJ looks like a shell of himself with the shoulder issue. No KCP, obviously. Yeah, they've got six guys. I mean, really, you've got four. Maybe four and a half, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves advance to Conference Finals + Can the Celtics come back?
Good morning, S. The Golden State Warriors have reached the end of the road, S. It's over. They did not pick up the one win they needed to hopefully get Steph Curry back for the theoretical game six. They dropped game five, 121 to 108. Excuse me, 110, 110. The final score just updating in front of me. S, the Wolves, they did not play with their food. They got this done five games.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves advance to Conference Finals + Can the Celtics come back?
Like depending on how MPJ is rebounding. So, you know, I do think that you probably want Denver except Nikola Jokic. Jokic might have, you know, spent a lot of time watching that tape. Maybe he's got that defense all figured out. Who knows? I'm not sure.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves advance to Conference Finals + Can the Celtics come back?
Yeah. I don't know. I'm excited. Guys, stick around. We got Fred Katz and man, Fred, Fred really believes in the Celtics. Let's just say that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves advance to Conference Finals + Can the Celtics come back?
Just when we thought the Boston Celtics had run out of hope, hope returned. They win the game five that they were expected to lose after the loss of Jason Tatum. Here to talk about it, Fred Katz. He was in the building. Fred, that was a bit of a dud for the Knicks.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves advance to Conference Finals + Can the Celtics come back?
That's what we like to see, especially for a team that has confused us and confounded us all year until literally the playoffs.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike Celtics + Mikal Bridges game winner
Yeah, it's worth noting that tonight the Thunder actually won the minutes when Shea was off the floor. And a part of that was the Chet and Hartenstein duo, especially at the start of the second quarter, end of the third quarter. Those are the guys who kind of led the way for them. The offensive rebounding was a huge part, but just like the connection
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike Celtics + Mikal Bridges game winner
between the two you know there was a moment yeah yeah yeah uh so they like i i really believe to dave's point earlier that that's sort of the swing factor here for the thunder moving forward i to the celtics to the celtics point what's the swing factor for them for the rest of the season like what's that what's that thing you're looking for to kind of complete this team as they head into this playoff run i think it's continuing to be sharp i thought i
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike Celtics + Mikal Bridges game winner
Right. He was awesome. Awesome. I mean, most of his points were in the second half. And to your point about the decisiveness, he was so decisive at trying to score the ball in the fourth quarter. There were multiple possessions in the last two minutes. He hit that crazy bank shot three, then got downhill, finished in the lane, then got downhill, drew a foul.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike Celtics + Mikal Bridges game winner
One that the Grizzlies won, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike Celtics + Mikal Bridges game winner
i think last year it was pretty obvious who the celtics were closing with which five they were going to close with there was not really any decision for joe this year i do think there's a decision yeah repeating in the nba is really hard like winning back-to-back championships is really freaking hard and to your point about the margin of error and some of the kind of like differences between this year and last year's team uh it's it's apparent it's there you can see some of it
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike Celtics + Mikal Bridges game winner
But I think one of the main differences for me, Jay, and I'm curious to get your thoughts on this is Jason Tatum's evolution from last year to this year. Cause I think he's so much more, I mean, he's always been a well-rounded player, but he's so much more surgical in what he does. And tonight was a great example.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike Celtics + Mikal Bridges game winner
He was 33, eight, you know, had 33 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, but just the way that he dissects the game now feels like it's at a different level. Have you seen that from him also this season?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike Celtics + Mikal Bridges game winner
His decisiveness at what he wants to do, the way he's leveraging his explosiveness in the paint to get to the rim, All of that is really fun to watch. And I have this fun nugget for you. So last season, Scoot Henderson had 10 games where he scored 20 plus points. Since January 1st, he's already had eight games, including tonight.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike Celtics + Mikal Bridges game winner
So he's been such a decisive score over the last, I don't know, about 30 games for the Blazers. And they've been 500. And look, there are so many other guys we can talk about. And we have talked about with this Blazers team, Tamani Kamara, obviously Shaden Sharp. Donovan Klingin has been pretty good for them as well.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike Celtics + Mikal Bridges game winner
We could have been talking about the Denny Obdia game winner.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike Celtics + Mikal Bridges game winner
We talked to Sean Hyken and I asked him about like, is this the pre-leap? I'm starting to believe that this really is the pre-leap.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike Celtics + Mikal Bridges game winner
Yeah. So I guess this is this is a win for him on both fronts. Yeah. Look, he was awesome in this game. I thought he was like the Knicks went to him as their main guy down the stretch of this game, especially against the drop coverage that the Blazers were playing. And in that mid range area, he was taking advantage.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike Celtics + Mikal Bridges game winner
It's funny that the final shot, the game winner was over Donovan Klingin because most of his shots were. We're trying to time it over Klingin and that outstretched massive arm that he has. So it was just a good game from Bridges. Knicks humming along here without Brunson, just kind of staying afloat, which is important to know from a team that's missing their best player right now.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike Celtics + Mikal Bridges game winner
Oh, God. That was the tank-a-thon.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike Celtics + Mikal Bridges game winner
I don't know. What can we do to fix the tank? There's nothing that can be done because you know what? $100,000 doesn't even make a dent. They don't care. They do not care about a $100,000 fine. And you can say it's public shaming. You could say it's them highlighting it, but The tanking is shameless. No, there's no shame in this.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike Celtics + Mikal Bridges game winner
The Raptors just benched four of their starters in order to do that. You know, the Sixers have basically said, hey, we're not playing Paul George, Joel Embiid, and Tyrus Maxey at all. Sixers have an excuse, man. Right? It's a mass unit. Yeah. Yeah, I know. I know.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike Celtics + Mikal Bridges game winner
Make it so that the bottom eight teams all have the same odds or something. Yeah, something like that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike Celtics + Mikal Bridges game winner
I mean, look at the Hawks last year.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike Celtics + Mikal Bridges game winner
Do you think this wolves team can be the giant slayers in this playoff run? Can they, can they upset? Can they like pull off a, a first round upset against one of these top tier teams? I don't know.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike Celtics + Mikal Bridges game winner
It's between them and, yeah, it's between them and Golden State right now.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike Celtics + Mikal Bridges game winner
Yeah, they play incredibly physical with the Nuggets. And one of those aspects is Jamal Murray. Adam Mara is actually a DMVR sports. He tweeted this, but this was something that caught my attention too. Since the beginning of last season, including the playoffs, Jamal Murray has been held without a made field goal in a half five times.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike Celtics + Mikal Bridges game winner
Four of those five times have been against the Minnesota Timberwolves. So they do a really good job of pressuring him. Like they do a great job of making it tough on him. And I think that makes this a good matchup for the Wolves generally. How that looks in a postseason series, especially when it's now Julius Randle and Dante DiVincenzo instead of Cat, that's a question to be had.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike Celtics + Mikal Bridges game winner
But they're frisky. I do think they're pretty frisky. I think the right matchup, Dave – I mean, well, that's anyone.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike Celtics + Mikal Bridges game winner
And didn't even have Jalen Williams. That was what I was going to say. They didn't have Jalen Williams tonight, which is like their second scoring option, the secondary guy, release valve. Do you feel like there's maybe a second gear or maybe something that Joe Mazzullo was holding back?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike Celtics + Mikal Bridges game winner
When it comes to the matchup, just because I don't know, I didn't feel like we saw a lot of SGA double teams in this one. Felt like they did it on some possessions, but they didn't throw it out there to kind of put too much pressure on Shea, if that makes sense.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike Celtics + Mikal Bridges game winner
Yeah, it was basically that. And the difference in three-point shooting overall was ridiculous. I mean, we know the record. They set the record tonight for themselves. And I think overall, they ended up outscoring OKC by 21 points. in the three-point category. They took 27 more threes than OKC did, which is another level.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike Celtics + Mikal Bridges game winner
Obviously, there's been so much conversation about Boston and the three-point shooting and the kind of identity that they've had throughout with this. For what it's worth, I thought they got a lot of great paint touches that led to those threes. And they got so many good looks because of that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike Celtics + Mikal Bridges game winner
Do you think that that's just going to be the recipe moving forward or are they willing to adapt and try to actually score in the paint?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike Celtics + Mikal Bridges game winner
That's right. Above. That's right.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
So I think that they're still figuring out how to play with one another, but you see the potential, especially on the offensive end.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
I think that's the fully formed version of this group. I would suspect that their best closing lineup ends up being something like Jared Vanderbilt, Dorian Finney-Smith, LeBron, Luka and Austin. If Rui really has it going and it's not a matchup where he can be exploited defensively, maybe Rui's in there for one of Dorian or Vando.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
But I think this is a group that's just ultimately going to have to go small. And I think that's actually the way JJ wants to play. If you gave him truth serum, like it felt like before the Luca trade, they were forming this identity, but it wasn't quite the right pieces. And now having Luca, another forward sized guy who can fit within a switching scheme.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
And yes, of course, he's not like a stopper or anything, but he's still six foot seven tall.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
200 and however many pounds he's a good defensive rebounder and already we've seen like he's been able to deflect passes and like he can be a bit disruptive on the defensive end though obviously he can be targeted blown by etc so i think the fully formed version of this group is probably going to be like 25 to 30 minutes a night of small ball in the playoffs and then the rest of the time will be jackson hayes and i will give jackson hayes his props because he has been playing a much better lady
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
I don't blame him. And yes, you know what? We're not even going to talk about that game because we don't have time, but Minnesota lost anyway. I mean, he took a break and Milwaukee gets a win. Doc Rivers out there coaching his butt off. So let's jump into it a little bit because there was some crazy stuff happening last night. The Knicks somehow blew an 18 point lead.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
And the rim protection has been better. The rebounding has been better. He's been staying out of foul trouble. So like offensively, Jackson Hayes has always been this guy of like he's a vertical lob threat who makes a lot of sense with Luca, has been playing well with LeBron and Austin. So I think offensively, like he's a rim runner. He's going to set screens.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
He's going to get with energy, get out transition. Like I think he could be a placeholder center for like. 18 to 22 minutes in the playoffs, but the rest of the time, I don't think the answer is Alex line. Of course, two way guys cannot play in the playoffs.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
So my understanding of the situation is the Lakers have one more move they can make in terms of waving one more guy and signing another player. So I think that they're going to monitor the buyout market and see if, you know, Larry dance just got injured. I think he would have been a potential guy that could have helped them also fit into kind of like that small ball identity.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
But does a Kelly Olenek get bought out? Does a Chris Boucher or does some other rotation caliber big man get bought out? And from a talent perspective, like that player is just better than Alex Len. They go and try and sign that guy and give them basically Len's role. Or actually, Jordan Goodwin's been playing really well for them.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
He's someone that they've really enjoyed with South Bay. They just converted him to a two way contract, but he's come in and had a nice couple of games for them. So I think he's also someone on their radar as a potential guy that like comparing him to a shake Milton or a Cam Reddish. I think they'd rather have him on the roster ahead of those guys.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
think they're going to survey their options that they have some time to make these decisions but ultimately i think with as things stand uh jackson's going to be the starter he's going to be the placeholder and if he's playing well and staying out of foul trouble maybe there's some nights he plays 25 28 minutes but more often than not it is going to be this group just leaning into small ball and those lineups have been crushing it actually like vando and like vando played a lot of small ball center in brooklyn before the trade i mean excuse me dfs did
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
And then Vando, like honestly, with with the way that Vando operates offensively, he is kind of like a center because of the lack of gravity and spacing. So I think it's going to be weird. It's they're going to have to gang rebound and like the rotations are going to have to be on point. The margin for error is going to be slim.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
But I think they're betting that like we have Luca LeBron and Austin, we can outscore you. And then defensively, we can get just enough stops to beat you.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
I'm glad you mentioned Dorian Finney-Smith. That Western Conference Finals run that the Mavs made a couple years ago, he was playing four and five almost exclusively during the playoff run. I mean, their huge switching attack defensively was because he was able to do that. And, you know, if Steve Kerr would probably be saying, hey, what about LeBron playing some five?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
And I think we're going to see some of that. His rim protection is maybe even underrated, which is funny to say about LeBron. But they did have a guy on their radar. They made a trade for a guy, Jovan. We saw Dalton connect. He was back out there for the Lakers last night. So we got to talk about this thing, this Mark Williams trade that's been rescinded.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
We're hearing that the Hornets might be trying to force some sort of a mock trial. Trial by fire. To get to the bottom of this thing, I mean, are we going to do try-by combat at All-Star game? Add that to All-Star Saturday night. It's going to be, you know, we'll figure that out.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
I don't know if we're going to have to do like LaMelo versus LeBron with the joust on the scorer's table or what, but what is the latest on this weird situation with Mark Williams in the trade?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
and had to go to overtime to beat the hawks and uh the final score wound up being 149 148 the knicks get the win the highest scoring game of the season but as the end of this game was kind of hilarious first of all the knicks just looked tired down the stretch offense they just could not score down the stretch they couldn't get a stop down the stretch it was just not great
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
I think it should be Rob Polinka versus Jeff Peterson. I think those two should duke it out. But no, in all seriousness, I mean, this is a crazy situation. It is. Even now, like Dalton had to answer the question, you know, last night in Utah about what happens if this trade gets reversed again. Like you have to go back to Charlotte because the crazy thing.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
with with dalton compared to mark williams was dalton actually went to charlotte and was introduced and met the staff and and met everybody so like for like two days dalton connect like was a hornet whereas mark williams you know he went to la and he went through the physical and stuff but he was never like officially introduced he was never uh you know kind of went through a practice with them or anything uh so it's even weirder for dalton to be a rookie
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
get traded 40-something games into your season. It's a shock. He told us that he was shooting free throws at practice the day after their game against the Clippers. And he gets called into Rob Polinka's office and gets told, like, hey, we're trading you to Charlotte. And that, you know, it's just this whirlwind of like a week that he's been through.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
But in terms of the Mark Williams situation, my understanding is like the Lakers are not concerned about The situation and that basically as long as they can prove why they rescinded the trade and why they feel the way that they feel about his medicals, that like they basically have like a 99 percent chance of the trade staying rescinded and not being reversed.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
And, you know, could I mean, I was trying to there's a one percent chance, though, right? Could there be a penalty? Could there be something of like they get fined or maybe like lose a second round pick or something? Maybe, I don't know. But I think they're pretty confident about what they found being troubling and being enough to rescind the trade.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
And it is a weird situation because my understanding is like it's not necessarily a current injury that he's going through. But in putting him through imaging... And seeing certain things with his body, they were like, we do not have long-term confidence in how... you know, he's going to progress. So yeah, it's not really like a current.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
And I think that's where Charlotte's contending is, is that they're saying like, he's not currently injured or so you can't, right. It's not like even, you know, the Anthony Davis situation was kind of interesting and Luca, like just both guys being injured when they got traded. Right. You know, Luca comes back. He's been fine since being back, but 80 comes back.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
He plays one game and he gets re-injured with the same injury, even worse in the same game. So yeah, It's kind of a tricky situation here, but my understanding is like, you know, teams... This is like, it would be unprecedented to have a trade be reversed. And my understanding is if the Lakers can have an external doctor co-sign their assessment of the situation, they're going to be fine.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
And again, I think Charlotte, like... optically it was an unfortunate situation for them and like if they are trying to push for this trade to go through I think the optics of it end up looking better for them and worse for the Lakers but like ultimately I don't think it's going to be reversed
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
The Dalton Connect situation reminds me of a story from my own life. I had two first days of school in my first grade. I got on the wrong bus and went to the wrong elementary school my first day. Made a bunch of buddies, loved my teacher, and found out that I was absent when I got home. So yeah, two first days of school in first grade. Nothing wrong with that. Hey, I'm
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
And the game looked like it was about to be over for the Knicks. They just had a big enough lead and maybe it held off. They were up six with 10 seconds to go. Then the Hawks get a three from George Neang, which kind of just don't expect that to happen. Okay. All right. No big deal. You get the inbound. You're playing the free throw game. You're in the home stretch.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
Good at showing up in new places, making new friends. Guys, go and follow Jovan over at The Athletic. It's the easiest way to get all of his work. And also, check him out on YouTube. What's the YouTube channel?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
Just search Yovan Buha or Buha's Block and you'll find my YouTube and my podcast. There you go.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
He does all the postgame. So if he's not here, that's what he's doing. Thank you, Yovan, for hanging out and staying up late for us. For Yovan Buha and Espera Henney, I'm Dave DeFore. And this has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
Well, there's a poor inbounds pass to Carl Anthony Towns, who's being guarded by Dyson Daniels. You know his nickname? Oh yeah. The great barrier thief. Yeah. Very good at stealing the basketball. So he gets a steal on the inbound pass. This is the guy that you need to know where he's at at all times. So Daniels hits the first free throw. They're down three. I, He meant to make the second one.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
He did. He did mean to make the second one. And I was thinking this whole time, oh, Dyson Daniels, maybe, you know, not a great free throw shooter, but maybe he's been working on this. No, no, he just missed. Atlanta gets the rebound. The ball finds its way to Trey Young. Trey Young finds its way to the free throw line, as he's apt to do. And we got overtime.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
This game was pretty absurd as far as the shot making and scoring. Carl Anthony Towns, 44 points back to back 40s for him. Trey Young, 38, 19. But man, Trey and the Knicks, they just can't they can't have a normal basketball game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
I thought he had a game winner in him.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
Speaking of offense, Jamal Murray. We got a lot of it today. Yeah, a ton. A ton of offense. Jamal Murray found his offensive groove in the last few weeks, and I don't know if we've really had a chance to talk about it, S. He put up 55 last night.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
as the Nuggets beat the Blazers, which, by the way, two sicko games back-to-back this week, although no DeAndre Ayton for the Blazers, so they're obviously not as good as they have been. But Jamal Murray, I think we need to talk about him. 55 points in this game. He's been very consistent, I would say, since Christmas. He looks like he's just in better physical shape.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
Obviously, just the shot has fallen. What did you think about Jamal Murray last night?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
Yeah, pretty much. I think that those are the top two teams, especially now that the Mavericks made the Luka Dacic trade. And we don't know what their situation is going to look like in the middle. Don't know what the Lakers look like. Don't know what the. Yeah, totally. Yeah. Jokic, by the way, 26, 15 rebounds, 10 assists, just a ho-hum triple double for him.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
Good morning, everybody. Welcome to the NBA Daily. Coming up, we try to distill 15 games into 25 minutes and we're not going to succeed. The Knicks get an overtime win. Oklahoma City pulls off a crazy comeback. And Yovan Buha is going to join us to talk about Luka and the Lakers and their loss to the Utah Jazz. Good morning, everybody. Good morning, S. Good morning, Dave. My head is spinning.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
You had to score 55 points for us to basically just not really talk about Jokic in a Nuggets game. You mentioned we're going to talk about the Thunder. I thought we were going to talk about the Miami Heat. I know. I was excited to do it with you, too. We were watching this game and we were getting excited.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
We're going to talk about the Heat first because the Heat jumped out to a pretty big lead in the game and they were looking good. And I'm thinking, all right, finally, we can talk new look Heat. Yeah. Andrew Wiggins with Bam out of bio and Khalil Ware just makes so much sense. And when you add Davion Mitchell out there, I mean, that's a that's a monster defensive unit.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
And I like how fast they're playing as it really did. I think it caught OKC off guard to start the game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
The Thunder are really the most disruptive defense ever, ever. And Shea Gilchrist Alexander is a monster. Oklahoma City was down 93 to 83 at the end of the third. Yeah. Oklahoma City started the fourth quarter on a 24 to zero run. They held Miami to eight points in the fourth quarter as they just flipped a switch.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
And then the late game. New look Warriors. So we're tuning in. We got to see what does it look like with Jimmy Butler out there. And yeah, it was a fun game. Especially if you like to watch Kyrie Irving do ridiculous things. Which is what it would take... For the Mavericks to actually hold on and win the game, I mean, he went nuts in the third quarter. He wound up with 42 points for the game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
He actually had the game-sealing offensive foul that he drew on Jimmy Butler, who was driving with a chance to tie the game extremely late. This was a beautiful performance from Kyrie. They don't have a center. Right now. And they basically had to try to outscore the Warriors and out hustle. And man, they just did it. They were.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
It was desperate basketball from Kyrie Irving, which, you know, I don't normally see outside of the playoffs.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
Yeah, we should mention that they they did report on the broadcast. Nobody was ejected, although some signs were asked to be put away.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
I mean, I and I also I want to give the fans that were in the building kind of credit because it's not like they're just out there being bad fans like they were into the game. Yeah, yeah. I think the fan story of the Mavericks is probably what we're going to pay attention to, like co-equal to the team for the rest of the season. Just like, well, how do they recover the goodwill? For sure.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
Because there were 15 basketball games last night. Shout out to Trey Kirby from No Ducks, by the way, for pointing out only three of the games featured teams that were both teams were above 500. Rough night. We're limping into the all-star break.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
Yeah, exactly. And I'm sure that Christian Clark will be unfortunately having to write about that a lot. Yeah. A lot of the season guys stick around after the break, we got Yovan Buhon live from the arena and he's going to talk about what happened with the Lakers last night.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
It's never a good thing when you get beat pretty badly by the Utah Jazz, especially this Jazz team. But you know what? Johan was there, so we had to bring him in to talk about it. The Lakers now, two games under their belt with Luka Doncic. Obviously, the second one, not great for them to lose to a Utah team, especially since the Lakers have been so hot.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
What's your first impression of the first couple games, realizing it's early and a lot of moving parts? But what do you think so far about the Luka era?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
I think things are going to be fine. Despite this embarrassing loss to the Utah Jazz, they just blew out the Jazz. And I think there's a human element of you blow out a team, you play them again two days later. And tonight, I think they just took their foot off the pedal and also did not have... To get into how this team has been playing, they've won 12 of 15, but they've done it...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
By having pretty much everybody healthy, and AD missed a couple games. They obviously made the Luka trade. But for the most part, their core seven or eight guys have largely been there. And I think tonight they were missing Dorian, Finney, Smith, and Gabe Vincent.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
And I know it sounds kind of ridiculous, but them not having Dorian, Finney, Smith, and Gabe Vincent, those are two of their three best perimeter defenders. And this is not a group that has a lot of perimeter defense. So just missing... The combined like 45 to 50 minutes from those guys, I think really compromised them on the perimeter.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
And then you throw in Jackson Hayes gets injured in the first quarter. And all of a sudden they're throwing Alex Lennon, who played 22 minutes. And I don't think anyone expected Alex Lennon to play 22 minutes.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
What about as bad as expected in the competitive portion of the game? They're outscored by 19 points in his 14 minutes. He got blocked on a dunk attempt, you know, but by Walker Kessler and like he just did not look like a rotation level center, which is what I think he is, is not a rotation level center, but Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
Everybody needs that. You know, this night where they just cram 15 games, it feels like cramming for a test, right? They got to get everyone to All-Star. We still got like five games Thursday night. So still a few teams not quite at the All-Star break, although some of them tried to act like it. Oh, yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
As far as the Lucas stuff, like really, I think the first game was more emblematic of what this group is going to look like, which is Luca LeBron two man game. Guys have talked about having to adjust to, you know, being ready for a pass at any point. What when Luca has the ball and that's been like he's thrown some. I mean, and of course, he had also raised with that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
Yeah. That was insane. He's driving. It just throws this like behind the back bullet pass to Austin Reeves, you know, 15, 20 feet away, uh, at the top of the arc and Austin hits, uh, an open three. So like you've seen, but there's even been like, he had a one pass where he was like coming off of a pick and roll and looking to the corner, uh,
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
Like toward I forgot who was in the corner, but Rui was on the opposite wing and he just jumps and throws this bullet, you know, jump pass across the corner to Rui and like Rui's bobbling the ball because he wasn't expecting that. So already you've seen like Luca's imprints on the offense tonight. What was a little bit, you know. it was rough.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
He had five turnovers and I think he's still getting acclimated to the offense. And he talked about being off for six weeks and still feeling out his calf strain that he's been dealing with. So I think that there's a lot of things that went against them tonight, but, but in general, I think this team between Luca LeBron and Austin Reeves has an incredible amount of playmaking and shot creation.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
And I think it, When we look at this team's ceiling, it's really going to come from those three guys leading the charge. And basically, it's been a clinic when they've been out there. They are maximizing every possession outside of some of the growing pains with the turnovers.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Kyrie drops 42 | Thunder roar back to beat Heat
It's like they are finding the best shot possible and putting defenses, so far the Utah defense, in compromising positions where if you double, Luka's going to find the open man. If you double, LeBron's going to find the open man. And if one of those two is the open man, then you're in trouble.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s emotional return to Dallas
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The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s emotional return to Dallas
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The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs vs. Thunder; Game of the Year | Giannis vs. Wemby
thought in general damian lillard and gary trent jr and those guys were able to get to their opportunities more offensively because the box the bucks were to get were able to get stops so all of that coupled into this like really dominant performance for milwaukee and they were able to just roll through san antonio and you have guys like aj green and gary trent jr knocking down their shots that's like a perfect bookend for for a good game for the bucks
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs vs. Thunder; Game of the Year | Giannis vs. Wemby
Yeah, to me, it feels like in general, just injury management, you know, even when Chris Haynes reported it in his Haynes brief, like he mentioned that this is something of him coming back from injury and working through it and figuring out how he's able to kind of get back to the Chris Middleton of old. Will he ever get back to that? I don't know, but. Um, they'll need him like that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs vs. Thunder; Game of the Year | Giannis vs. Wemby
They need a version of him that can facilitate, that can create off the bounce, that can make tough shots because that's the Chris Middleton. This box team needs, uh, to me, it just seems like an injury thing more than them trying to find a solution here. Uh, but what, what do you think? Do you think it's just injury or, I mean, it, it,
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs vs. Thunder; Game of the Year | Giannis vs. Wemby
I mean, it's just incredible. And he's getting like these younger guys to buy in defensively. Like there's still an incredible defensive team and they're bringing in like Tristan De Silva, who's a rookie and Caleb Houston, who's working in the G League. And like they're just working with guys who weren't necessarily getting playing time or very, very young and inexperienced.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs vs. Thunder; Game of the Year | Giannis vs. Wemby
And it's just working well. If you go and listen to an Orlando Magic game, not watch, but listen to a Magic game. you will hear Jamal Mosley on the sideline yelling out instructions, yelling out defensive matchups because that is how locked in that man is as a coach. I agree with you.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs vs. Thunder; Game of the Year | Giannis vs. Wemby
Look, it's hard because Kenny Atkinson, Mark Dagnall, they're doing incredible things with their respective teams, both teams on pace to win 70 plus games, right? But at the same time, What Jamal Mosley is doing right now is you're right. Coach of the year.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs vs. Thunder; Game of the Year | Giannis vs. Wemby
But I will say the heart is Jamal Mosley. No, you're right. You're right. And look, I think on the Apollo front, they... This guy, over five games to start the year, was having a career season. Like, he was averaging nearly 30. He was doing it more efficiently. The team was plus nine in the minutes that he was playing. He was locked in defensively.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs vs. Thunder; Game of the Year | Giannis vs. Wemby
Again, they were playing really, really good basketball when he was playing. So... When you bring in a scorer like that, a guy who can be this hub for you offensively, he changes the equation offensively, gives you a guy you can rely on. And now it'll be interesting to see how well Orlando does with Paulo when it was Franz for those first two or three weeks carrying. He became an all-star.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs vs. Thunder; Game of the Year | Giannis vs. Wemby
If Franz comes back eventually, he'll probably end up being an all-star in this season. So I don't know. Very interesting Orlando season for the Magic.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs vs. Thunder; Game of the Year | Giannis vs. Wemby
They passed it with an A. I think it worked out great for them. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, the other thing about this, and by the way, I want to say I apologize to the Cleveland Cavaliers because I have been pushing the, hey, we'll see what happens. We'll see what the regular season looks like. We'll see how they're supposed to look against a really good team.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs vs. Thunder; Game of the Year | Giannis vs. Wemby
And to your point, this test really showed what they can look against a championship contender. I think they passed. And I think the way that they passed was really admirable because they were versatile. The way that they went at OKC with the two big lineups of Jared Allen and Evan Mobley, the way that Max Struce popped off in this game and was just incredible from three-point land.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs vs. Thunder; Game of the Year | Giannis vs. Wemby
You had Darius Garland punching in. Donovan Mitchell didn't have a great game, but they still ended up doing well I think all of that goes to show you that the Cavs are the real deal. So Cleveland Cavaliers fans, apologies. You guys are the real deal. You guys are contenders. Officially, officially, officially, officially contenders in my books.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs vs. Thunder; Game of the Year | Giannis vs. Wemby
Yeah, I would have thought OKC. Yeah, absolutely. They play together. Yeah, they do play together. They are connected. And I think, Andrew, you know, the thing you mentioned about Mobley, he's been the guy who has been able to raise the Cavs ceiling. Like it all relies on Mobley being the guy who can take that next step for them.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs vs. Thunder; Game of the Year | Giannis vs. Wemby
And we're seeing that this season, not only on the defensive end, but also his aggression offensively when OKC was putting two to the ball. against Garland and Mitchell, they were so comfortable dumping it in to Mobley, dumping it into Allen. And it was a three on four, four on three situation. And those guys are such good passers that they can just make tons of reads out of that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs vs. Thunder; Game of the Year | Giannis vs. Wemby
And that's why this Cavs offense is number one. Like they just, there's so much versatility to what they can do on the offensive end. And it's because those guys are taking leaps on that end too. I mean, the big-to-big passing.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs vs. Thunder; Game of the Year | Giannis vs. Wemby
Oh, my God. Game of the year. Game of the year.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs vs. Thunder; Game of the Year | Giannis vs. Wemby
So basically post all-star game, you know, you'll see.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs vs. Thunder; Game of the Year | Giannis vs. Wemby
Man, that is such a loaded question. It's so incredible to have to answer that truthfully. Okay, so if I'm going about this, I think the best competition for both of those teams is the Boston Celtics, right? And because the Boston Celtics are in the same conference as the Cleveland Cavaliers, my answer is the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs vs. Thunder; Game of the Year | Giannis vs. Wemby
Because I just think there isn't a team in the West that can really challenge OKC to the degree at which Boston can challenge Cleveland. And I'm very excited to see Cleveland and Boston match up again this season. Want to see how that looks once again. We saw their early season matchup. I think I lean OKC. Andrew, do you concur?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs vs. Thunder; Game of the Year | Giannis vs. Wemby
Yeah. I mean, Dallas can get healthy. Can, can Dallas, if Dallas can get, you know, Kyrie and Luca healthy, which is huge. I mean, obviously they're, they're dealing with serious injuries, but I think that's the other team that I have a question mark on, but yes, right now I would say the Knicks.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs vs. Thunder; Game of the Year | Giannis vs. Wemby
But we're talking about inner circle here, right? Like you have to reach a certain threshold to be involved in this conversation. And I think – It's OKC. It's Cleveland. It's Boston. That's the that's it. That's the conversation right there. Yes. New York is probably peeking through the door. But yeah, that's that's where I kind of land on that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs vs. Thunder; Game of the Year | Giannis vs. Wemby
Yes. I mean, what, 25 points, 16 rebounds, eight assists. He was like, I love when guys are physical with Wemby because it's like testing what he can do physically. And Giannis is like the best example of this, where he's just barreling to the rim. And so, yes, Giannis definitely won that matchup. It's also funny because like, He goes up against Jokic. Wemby goes up against Jokic.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs vs. Thunder; Game of the Year | Giannis vs. Wemby
He goes up against Giannis. And both of those guys are giving their A game. The best of the best is being reserved for Wemby. And you can tell they get up to face him. This means a lot to them.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs vs. Thunder; Game of the Year | Giannis vs. Wemby
Because he has the length to to like, hey, I'm going to go over you instead of everybody else is trying to go around you. Everybody else is trying to dodge you. No, Giannis. Giannis is very comfortable going through you.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs vs. Thunder; Game of the Year | Giannis vs. Wemby
I thought it was the combination of Giannis and Brooke, especially at the rim. Like, those guys really swallowed up everything. And I thought this was, you know, Milwaukee has been in a bit of a funk, right? They've struggled. I know we talked about, like, that NBA Cup malaise a couple days ago. I was buying stock, by the way, folks. I'm just saying. I was buying Buck's stock.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavs vs. Thunder; Game of the Year | Giannis vs. Wemby
Still keeping that stock, too. But I think this was their best defensive performance post-NBA Cup. They were locked in. I thought Andre Jackson Jr. played a really, really great game at the point of attack against Chris Paul.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Celtics come back and beat the Knicks?
Yeah, well, and the other thing is that the refusal to just put their head down and attack the basket over and over and over again to protect the lead. You know, again, Jared, well, we've had this conversation for years now about the Celtics. Last year, in spite of themselves, they win a title. But this is... indicative of kind of who they've been and now over multiple coaches.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Celtics come back and beat the Knicks?
When it gets down to the stretch of games, they don't run offense. They go into sort of prevent mode where they really are just limiting their own options when they can just score. I mean, it's not like the Knicks have this amazing defense. Just continue to score the basketball. Anyway, I know I'm kind of like pontificating here, but Jared, why does it keep happening?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Celtics come back and beat the Knicks?
Didn't beat them all year. And now they're up 2-0, have come back from two 20-point victories, and they've done it because of the defense. It isn't because they're outscoring Boston. They've done it because they have gotten key stops every single time they needed to in the clutch.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Celtics come back and beat the Knicks?
You know, they're getting crushed in the Mitchell Robinson minutes. Who would have thought? Honestly, if you had asked me before he got hurt last year, I thought that he would be a key part of this team. His defense and his rebounding. But this is really where the Porzingis Right. And and even just being subpar, right, is hurting him most.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Celtics come back and beat the Knicks?
Like, what do you think they need to counter with in game three? Like, do you expect I mean, is it going to be get Xavier Tillman out there? I mean, you know, I know he hasn't isn't really in the rotation this round, but what do you think they do to try to counter Mitchell Robinson and just like how aggressive the Knicks have been able to be? Well, here's the problem.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Celtics come back and beat the Knicks?
Already has been. It's been a fun playoff. We're having a blast. Jared Weiss, by the way, one of the most thoughtful NBA guys that there is out there. Thank you for joining us. And appreciate you getting the action shot in the background. Hopefully that is cool on the pod and not annoying. That's going to do it for the show, folks. Thanks to Jared. Thanks to Espera Henney. I'm Dave DeFord.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Celtics come back and beat the Knicks?
This has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Celtics come back and beat the Knicks?
two game winnings game winning steals it's incredible yeah yeah um timely right like i mean just just again every time they've needed a play made on the defensive end in the clutch they've made it and by the way if you guys didn't read uh fred katz wrote a piece um about bridges and how he's been more physical because one of the knocks on bridges and it's partially how he doesn't miss games
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Celtics come back and beat the Knicks?
is that he does not actually play physical defense. He doesn't make a lot of contact. He goes away from contact. He avoids screens. He won't fight through them necessarily. And so this is kind of he has ratcheted up his physicality and intensity. With OG, I mean, I think that this is just who OG is just about every single game defensively. The big thing to me that they figured out in game one
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Celtics come back and beat the Knicks?
was that Mitchell Robinson is super useful against the Celtics, especially with Porzingis being limited. You know, Horford's not really much of a matchup for Mitchell Robinson. And having Mitchell Robinson play with Kat some, I think, has worked out well.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Celtics come back and beat the Knicks?
It makes me think back to last year at Minnesota, the way Kat was able to guard a little bit better because he had, you know, Rudy Gobert on the side.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Celtics come back and beat the Knicks?
Hitting the offensive glass for them. You know, it can't just be Josh Hart. Mitchell Robinson solves a lot of that. Yeah, absolutely. Man, just how about the Knicks? Bing, bong, man. They're a resilient group. Jalen Brunson, by the way. Mr. Clutch, we didn't even talk about this. Jalen Brunson, Mr. Clutch hits the free throws. You know, again, he had eight points going into the fourth quarter.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Celtics come back and beat the Knicks?
And he just is able to to turn it up, you know, puts up puts up nine in the fourth.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Celtics come back and beat the Knicks?
mirror of game one exactly a mirror i mean right down to 10 day yeah 10 of 40 from three for the celtics too right so a lot of people are gonna be pointing to that um we get into it with jared and you know jared jared doesn't think this is over i'll just just to tease that jared thinks that the celtics could still do this potentially even in six hey look which i think is interesting
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Celtics come back and beat the Knicks?
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily. Coming up, the Thunder showed up for game two. The Denver Nuggets did not. And the Knicks with another huge comeback. We have Jared Weiss to talk about that from outside of TD Garden where there was an evacuation. Good morning, everybody.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Celtics come back and beat the Knicks?
Shea Gildress Alexander put up 34 on 13 shots, plus 51, which is the highest single game plus minus in NBA playoff history since that was tracked. Yeah. absurd game from OKC. This is what we expected in game one, right? Like the Nuggets would just be dead coming off a series, seven game series. Man, Thunder looked pretty good.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Celtics come back and beat the Knicks?
No, I think that this is kind of... Again, what you would expect if they had gotten blown out in game one and then the Nuggets win a tight game two, that feels about right for a 1-4 series anyway. But especially this one where you look at it and Jokic is the best player in the world, right? He puts up 42 and 20 in one of the games. You say, oh, wow.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Celtics come back and beat the Knicks?
crazy yokich game right now they've just got to figure out when does the jamal murray game come you know um i i you and i we talk pretty much every day i know this nugget scene really well right like like we all do we've we've watched them grow into what they are this game felt like one they were gonna lose you know just because they won game one um on the road and it just is historically it feels like the nuggets tend to drop these
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Celtics come back and beat the Knicks?
And I wasn't completely shocked to see them come out flat. You know, this isn't a team that that has done the whole like killer instinct thing where they'll double down on a win like that. It does seem like they're pretty comfortable heading back to Denver with a split, which I mean, to their credit, like game three in Denver, that's tough. It's a short turnaround.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Celtics come back and beat the Knicks?
I mean, you're the one who actually pointed out to me that this series is every other day.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Celtics come back and beat the Knicks?
They don't have any guys. And the Thunder, I mean, what do they have? Nine guys? Eight guys with double figures? I mean, they got Isaiah Joe going, who hadn't gotten going all year. the playoffs yet. So like, yeah, now they got another guy that they could throw out there and play. I don't know. I've been worried about the Nuggets running out of gas since like, I don't know.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Celtics come back and beat the Knicks?
We should have thought about this to look it up, but I mean, it is like, they are kind of like the team that, that seems like six or seven games is what you're going to get every time. Yeah. Every single time. Man, it's going to be a battle though. I think that, I think now we're, we're over the initial, you know, the thunder bounce back.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Celtics come back and beat the Knicks?
We saw how they responded to getting punched in the mouth, which we've been waiting for. Right. And so now we're, It's Denver's turn to respond, which they normally do. I don't know. It's going to be a great series.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Celtics come back and beat the Knicks?
I will say this. The Cleveland series, Cleveland and Indiana, has obviously gotten a little less compelling given the injury situation. Boston and New York is still compelling because the Celtics – Are good enough to be able to win. Speaking of compelling, the other series that we haven't had a chance to talk about, Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves. We've got some news.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Celtics come back and beat the Knicks?
What an insane, another insane night. What do you know? Insane. The second round has been incredibly unpredictable. The Knicks pull off another... 20-point comeback against the Celtics. I want to call it a comeback and not a Celtics-blown lead. It is both, right? But the Knicks have once again manufactured a huge comeback.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Celtics come back and beat the Knicks?
Unfortunately, Steph Curry is going to be out at least a week. They're going to reevaluate him. What's the math on that S that puts him back for which game?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Celtics come back and beat the Knicks?
Feels like, look, I know that everyone is ready to write them off without Steph, and I understand it because... Yeah, he's the heart and soul. He's everything. Well, he's also the only source of offense, and every bit of other offense comes off of him. I mean, Jimmy Butler has helped take on the playmaking burden, and he gets the free throw line and whatnot, but...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Celtics come back and beat the Knicks?
Steph Curry's out there really making that stuff happen. So I understand, but I do think that their ability to defend I mean, I think that gives them a chance against a team like Minnesota that has sometimes struggled to score. Like this is not the gangbusters offense that that it really ought to be.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Celtics come back and beat the Knicks?
And it sometimes it has these games like game one or like the game that they that they actually beat the Lakers where they couldn't hit a shot. So, yeah, I'm not ready to say that Jimmy Butler can't be the number one guy and win a game. You know what I mean?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Celtics come back and beat the Knicks?
I don't think it will be an issue for game two. I do think the Wolves are going to come out tonight for game two, and I do think we're going to get their best effort right off the bat.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Celtics come back and beat the Knicks?
They have to because they came out. It was so flat in game one. Apparently they had a brutal film session, which good. You know what I mean? They clearly needed that. But, yeah, I don't think it will be game two. But that first game back in the Bay, I do think, you know, If you equate for the role player stepping up, Jimmy Butler have a big game. There's a chance. Yeah, there's a chance.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Celtics come back and beat the Knicks?
I'm not ready to write them off. But, man, I will say this. Don't rush back because Warriors fans 100% know rushing back from a hamstring is not a great idea. So there's always next season. But anyway, guys, stick around after the break. We got Jared Weiss from outside TD Garden. Don't mind the fire trucks.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Celtics come back and beat the Knicks?
Well, the Boston Celtics set fire to another 20-point lead, and then the TD Garden was evacuated. Joining us from outside TD Garden after the game, Jared Weiss, who was in the building to watch the Celtics blow another 20-point lead, and the Knicks are now up 2-0.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Celtics come back and beat the Knicks?
We hit the Celtics side of this after the break with Jared Weiss, but before we get to the Thunder just dominating the Nuggets, I wanted to talk about the Knicks side of this because, look, they're now up two games to none in a series that I don't think Most people pick them to win. I mean, they didn't beat anyone all year. And by anyone, I mean OKC, Cleveland, and Boston.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Celtics come back and beat the Knicks?
I got to ask you, why didn't Joe Mazzulla take a timeout before that final possession? Did he answer that question? Did anyone ask that question?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavaliers clinch playoffs | Giannis gets 20k points
Did you petition for the records just to find out?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavaliers clinch playoffs | Giannis gets 20k points
Like he can come set screens for the guards up there.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavaliers clinch playoffs | Giannis gets 20k points
Well, now there's a little bit of physics in there. I mean, changing speeds, acceleration, deceleration. Yeah. I mean, when you think about.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavaliers clinch playoffs | Giannis gets 20k points
Yeah. But but if you think about a point guard like a pitcher, it makes a lot of sense. You want to have off speed stuff that complements your your fastball and you want to have a curveball. I mean, I would argue Shea added a curveball this year with the step back. Right. Being able to get into that step back from both directions and to hit it at the rate that he has.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavaliers clinch playoffs | Giannis gets 20k points
I mean, the best players in the league have have been able to do all these things. I mean, you know, you didn't mention him, but Luka Doncic is another guy that that does the same thing. And I would argue to an even higher level when you consider how much how slow he goes sometimes to speed guys up. So with Shea, like.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavaliers clinch playoffs | Giannis gets 20k points
I think he's the piece that they've been missing in the perfect position because they've needed a guy. You know, they had Karis LeVert, who, in my opinion, more of a two that slid up to play three a lot. Sure. Yeah. You know, they were constantly like undersized at the three. And now they've got the guy who can give them that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavaliers clinch playoffs | Giannis gets 20k points
The way that he scores, okay, three level, especially now, the step back, what can he add? Like you mentioned how he got to where he's at. How can he improve? Because I feel like he's still got stuff he can tap into.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavaliers clinch playoffs | Giannis gets 20k points
I would say Shea is a little bit like late career Roger Clemens when he had that really nice curveball. Greg Maddux, maybe more Steph Curry to me, right? Like. Guys are getting way too baseball-y here now. Listen. Well, Fred is loving it. I mean, you know, you turn a basketball podcast into a baseball podcast and he's all in. That's all I want. So how does he get better?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavaliers clinch playoffs | Giannis gets 20k points
What's the next thing he's got to add to his game?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavaliers clinch playoffs | Giannis gets 20k points
That versatility that they need because it'll allow them to split the bigs up. And now, like, honestly, they're big man rotation. could just be Hunter, Mobley, and Allen when you get to the playoffs, you know, because you only really need to spell those guys for a few minutes here and there and to mix things up.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavaliers clinch playoffs | Giannis gets 20k points
But, yeah, I did think some of the stuff they were doing, using him as a screener, you know.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavaliers clinch playoffs | Giannis gets 20k points
I mean, look, they've done what they've done so far. You know, they're obviously an elite team. They've checked every single regular season box that you can check for a team that has not only made the finals, but won the finals. I think at this point, it's just they got to do it. That's it. We just got to watch them go through it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavaliers clinch playoffs | Giannis gets 20k points
It'll shrink, yeah. Ask Chris Finch, though, to check those numbers because Chris Finch feels so different.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavaliers clinch playoffs | Giannis gets 20k points
Shay's reputation for being a free throw merchant has permeated the NBA.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavaliers clinch playoffs | Giannis gets 20k points
Yeah, let's talk about the Celtics because Peyton Pritchard scored 43 points off the bench. He hit 10 threes, and also Derek White hit nine threes and had 41 points as the Celtics beat the Blazers. Jason Tatum didn't play, and look, we're going to put a pin in that for later on when we have some anti-Jason Tatum agenda that we need to work out. But... Ridiculous game from Peyton Pritchard.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavaliers clinch playoffs | Giannis gets 20k points
Someone has to do it. Fred, before we get out of here, are they going to win the title? Sure. Why not? There you go. That's a tough prediction to make because the field obviously has a better chance.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavaliers clinch playoffs | Giannis gets 20k points
Go read Fred's piece on Shea over at The Athletic. Go read Fred all the time. Fred, you know, I tell you this all the time. You're the best. You need a weekly column. so that we can get these Fred opinions out in the long form. I'm waiting on that, hopefully. By the time next season comes around, we'll get that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavaliers clinch playoffs | Giannis gets 20k points
I need the opinions of Fred Katz. Thank you, Fred Katz, for hanging out with us. Thank you, Espera Henney, for hanging out with me every day. Guys, that's going to do it for today's show. Thank you for listening. Appreciate you so much. Thanks for waking up with us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavaliers clinch playoffs | Giannis gets 20k points
This guy, he's good enough to start for so many teams. And if you put him on a bad team, they instantly would become more watchable and more fun. But he had a crazy game. There was just no answer whatsoever. to be found for the Blazers for the three-point shooting yesterday.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavaliers clinch playoffs | Giannis gets 20k points
I mean, well, Tatum and Brown, like you would think that maybe there would be a chance, but yeah, none whatsoever. Not even Bird and McHale. Well, no, that makes a little bit more sense. 40 is hard to get. You're having two guys get it. I mean, there was a little bit of a need there, too, for the Celtics because they were a little shorthanded. Also, should shout out Jalen Brown.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavaliers clinch playoffs | Giannis gets 20k points
He had 18, 8, and 8. I thought it was one of the better playmaking games that I've seen out of him. He's not exactly the most – ready passer when it comes to, you know, when he's on the drive. But I thought he did a pretty good job of actually stirring the drink for them. Look, the Celtics, we've called them bored. We've called them boring. This wasn't boring. This wasn't boring at all.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavaliers clinch playoffs | Giannis gets 20k points
Peyton Pritchard, man, that was a pretty good time. Also not boring last night. We got to talk about the Nuggets because they picked up a pretty big win. The Kings have been playing really well here recently. They lost a bonus. We got a chance to see this new starting lineup. So I do want to start with that with the Kings before we get to the Nuggets. But new starting lineup for the Kings.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavaliers clinch playoffs | Giannis gets 20k points
They had Keon Ellis. Zach Levine, DeMar DeRozan, Keegan Murray, and Jonas Valanciunas. And their early returns were pretty great. I thought the 42 points in the first quarter, they really caught the Nuggets off guard. Jonas Valanciunas for a large portion of the game, two and a half quarters, was outplaying Jokic. Until Jokic got pissed off, and then that was it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavaliers clinch playoffs | Giannis gets 20k points
We're going to find out there's a show in Denver that these guys had tickets to, that the referees had tickets to, or they all had early lift tickets to get out to Vail. They had some skiing to do because they just weren't calling fouls. Jokic getting hacked. But it was both ways. Neither team was really getting any foul calls.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavaliers clinch playoffs | Giannis gets 20k points
They won their 12th straight game. That's their third winning streak of the season of at least 12 games, which is pretty insane. They now have 52 wins and... On March 5th, they clinched a playoff berth.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavaliers clinch playoffs | Giannis gets 20k points
I will tell you there there is some referee analytics available. And interesting enough, Scott Foster is last place. in number of reviews that become overturned. Wow. That's a side note, a little anecdote. Put a pin in that. Maybe we'll get to that at some point this season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavaliers clinch playoffs | Giannis gets 20k points
Yeah, let's swing it to Denver because, you know, they've just been a little bit up and down here recently. That Lakers loss, it felt like shook them up a little bit. And teams are guarding Jokic differently. They're kind of guarding them like the Lakers did. Yeah, since the Lakers showed them. Hey, if you just front and throw a ton of bodies at him, you can bother him.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavaliers clinch playoffs | Giannis gets 20k points
And in this game, I mean, again, Jokic getting hacked, getting pulled on, and finally just got annoyed and took over the game, largely just because I think he was –
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavaliers clinch playoffs | Giannis gets 20k points
pissed yeah and uh you know he so he takes over the game but they don't have aaron gordon out there um you mentioned russ uh they weren't really guarding russ for for large portions of the game um but it was a big bench game for the nuggets they actually stormed back from from a deficit thanks to the bench yokich was sitting on the bench when these guys came back and
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavaliers clinch playoffs | Giannis gets 20k points
Zeke Najee has kind of been a little bit of a revelation to them.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavaliers clinch playoffs | Giannis gets 20k points
I just love that they've got a couple of guys who can defend, you know, to be honest with you. It really helps. And finally, hey, last night, shout out to Giannis. The Bucs get a win, and Giannis passes the 20,000-point mark. He is, what is this? He's the sixth fastest to 20,000 points. He is now 52nd on the all-time scoring list. Who's in the group around him, just for, you know, context?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavaliers clinch playoffs | Giannis gets 20k points
Just turn 30, 20,000 points. Feels like 30,000 is a safe bet, which KD just passed here recently. 30,000, probably a safe bet as long as he stays healthy. Yeah. We're talking literally like... One of the greatest players of all time. Absolutely. And we are living in a golden age of that, actually. There are so many of the all-time greats of the sport that are playing right now.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavaliers clinch playoffs | Giannis gets 20k points
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily. Coming up, the Cavs become the first team to clinch a playoff spot. Peyton Pritchard did what? And we got Fred Katz on to talk about his big feature on Shea Gildas Alexander and the Thunder's chance at a title. Good morning, everybody. Good morning, S. The Cleveland Cavaliers, man. We are running out of ways to call them good.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavaliers clinch playoffs | Giannis gets 20k points
And, you know, 10 years from now, I think we're going to look back on now as the best time. Beautiful time to like basketball, Dave. Absolutely. Yeah. And there's something good every single night. Guys, stick around. Speaking of something good, Fred Katz after the break.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavaliers clinch playoffs | Giannis gets 20k points
As we're rounding the corner and heading into the playoffs, it feels pretty apparent that Shea Gildas Alexander has the MVP locked up. Here to talk about how he forged his own path into that conversation and really to the award, Fred Katz. Got a big feature on Shea Gildas Alexander over at The Athletic. How's it going, buddy?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavaliers clinch playoffs | Giannis gets 20k points
Also beautiful. Also, let's talk about Shea and his beautiful game. Fred, the first time I saw Shea Gildas Alexander, he was sharing a backcourt with Nikhil Alexander Walker in the 2017 Hoop Summit. And that guy looked like a star to me. I mean, a flat out star. When did you know he was going to be a star?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Cavaliers clinch playoffs | Giannis gets 20k points
You think it's up in the air with him and Jokic or you think LeBron has like an outside shot like I do?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler, Kevin Durant, De'Andre Hunter and the Trade Deadline
At PwC, we build for what's next. So you can get there now. So you can protect what you built. So you can create new value. PwC. So you can. PwC refers to the PwC network and or one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler Traded to the Warriors EMERGENCY POD
I mean, it's better than what they had. I mean, if we just really just pull back – And look at this. They were relying heavily on Dennis Schroeder and Buddy Heald. Like, that's what we were talking about. You know what I'm saying? And then they started 12-3, and it looked juicy, right? It looked good. But then at some point, it's Dennis Schroeder and Buddy Heald. Like, that's the reality.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler Traded to the Warriors EMERGENCY POD
So, obviously, Jimmy's not a three-point shooter. But to me, where he fits is – They just don't have dudes who could take two dribbles, get to a spot, and take a shot. They don't have that. They have it in Steph, but the other team is like, Steph, you're not shooting tonight, right? So Jimmy, if he just lives in the mid-range, he gives them another layer of offense that they just desperately need.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler Traded to the Warriors EMERGENCY POD
And plus, like... There's just something to be said about a star, man. If you guard Steph like they guard Steph, where they basically treat the rest of the team like a 24-hour fitness rec squad, Jimmy will torture you. That's what they needed. They needed somebody to say, how dare you guard me like this? I will embarrass your family. Jimmy might say that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler Traded to the Warriors EMERGENCY POD
Jimmy's the guy who's like, you better not do this to me, and they just haven't had that. There are some issues, but there's just some fundamental things they lacked, and The best version of Jimmy definitely provides them. Marcus, I'm wondering about the – sorry, Zena.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler Traded to the Warriors EMERGENCY POD
Nah, I mean, first off, the money doesn't work. They had to get to, I think Jimmy was at $49 million. And any deal like that, it's got to be either Draymond or Wiggins. Those are the only two salaries. I mean, I haven't seen a six-for-one deal ever in the NBA. You know what I'm saying? But the Warriors are in a tough spot because they can't do within 20%. They're so close. They're hard capped.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler Traded to the Warriors EMERGENCY POD
I guess if I could put it into one word, it would be desperation. Desperation. Actually, let's go with thirst. I like thirst. Thirst is a very all-encompassing word. Two thirsty parties. Jimmy hunting for a contract extension. He ends up getting $110 million guaranteed after this year. Which is not what he wanted, but, you know, better than nothing.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler Traded to the Warriors EMERGENCY POD
They got about maybe $500,000 left, you know what I'm saying, which for regular people like me, if I only had $500,000, I'd be good. For them, they got to get really close to $49 million. So it's just hard to do it without those salaries. So that's how you know they're desperate because they did not want to trade Wiggins. And if you took a straw poll, which I did –
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler Traded to the Warriors EMERGENCY POD
about who would you rather have, Wiggins or Butler, it wasn't a landslide, right? A lot of people were like, man, let's just let me keep Wiggins. But they are desperate. And if you just watch the Warriors and just watch Steph, just watch Steph slowly deteriorating as he's exhausted trying to carry a whole team. They just got desperate and had to do something.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler Traded to the Warriors EMERGENCY POD
You know, I mean, it really all depends on Jimmy, you know, like that's really what it is. As I was told, Jimmy can be absolutely incredible teammate. Like he could just be the best guy you've ever met, but he can also be the Jimmy we see, you know, you know, strutting, right, like doing his thing, causing problems, trying to force his way. So it really just depends on Jimmy.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler Traded to the Warriors EMERGENCY POD
If he comes in and he does his thing, you know, and he plays like the Jimmy who we saw drag Gabe Vincent and them to the finals, like he'll be great. Draymond don't really have beef with those type of guys. Like when those guys come in, I think Draymond is one of the people who like – recognize his softness and that's where he kind of has the issues.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler Traded to the Warriors EMERGENCY POD
But if you like tough and you go back at him, Draymond will go with you. You go back at him and he don't tend to have problems. He actually ends up being close with those guys. Like we thought DeMarcus Cousins is going to be a problem. They ended up best friends, right? Like that's just, that's how it is. So they like, you know, they're kind of birds of a feather.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler Traded to the Warriors EMERGENCY POD
I mean, Steph is always amenable to just about everybody. Um, You know, it really just comes down to Jimmy. Like, what Jimmy are you getting? I mean, that's the bottom line. He's got the guaranteed money now and extending. Yeah, he's got.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler Traded to the Warriors EMERGENCY POD
will work itself out i i don't worry about that too much at all um i don't know jimmy i tend to think so i just don't know him you know what i'm saying yeah yeah it takes knowing somebody to be like but i from what i know jimmy it makes a lot of sense like i could see it actually working
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler Traded to the Warriors EMERGENCY POD
So, you know, the part that's really interesting, and I love wigs, man, like Andrew Wiggins. Andrew Wiggins is a dude, man. He is the best guy. It's been a long time since I've seen or heard a team just be kind of heartbroken by having a traded dude. You know what I'm saying? I'm not at the game. Slater's in Utah. They play Utah and then the Lakers.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler Traded to the Warriors EMERGENCY POD
But there's reports of possible tears and heartfelt divide. When Wiggins came in 2019, he came to the Warriors as kind of like – A disappointment, right? Was never able to carry the Timberwolves where they thought he would. And he completely reinvented himself. He's a great dude. He's a champion. So either I'm old and feel sentimental about this stuff just because I'm old. No, you should be.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler Traded to the Warriors EMERGENCY POD
And the Warriors have been just absolutely desperate for somebody to put next to Steph. So much so, like, they didn't always want Jimmy. Like, Jimmy was not the apple of their eye. But sometimes... As Zena would never know, as you know, and I know you know, Dave, sometimes you just take whatever's left over in the club. You feel me?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler Traded to the Warriors EMERGENCY POD
I don't think they're done. They still have about $17 million in expiring contracts. Although, if Wiggins hurt, those two expiring contracts are going to be – man, it's going to be lugubrious in the Warriors organization. It will be very – It would be sad because Kavon Looney and Gary Payton II are just two absolutely beloved figures. But that's $17 million of expiring contracts.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler Traded to the Warriors EMERGENCY POD
So they still have needs, even if they've handled the one, right? It was like, all right, you got a number two star. They still need a stretch big. They still need another ball handler. Like, they still have some needs. And if you're doing this, if you just basically added a 35-year-old to your senior, you know, your senior citizen squad, you might as well go all in, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler Traded to the Warriors EMERGENCY POD
You got Steph about to be 37 in a couple weeks, right? You got Draymond at 35. You got Jimmy 35. You might as well be, you know what I'm saying? You might as well be the old man. This is like New Edition getting together and doing a concert, right? This is like... But if you're going to do it, you might as well lean in and get a squad, right? So it's going to be tough.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler Traded to the Warriors EMERGENCY POD
I don't know if they can emotionally handle losing Wiggins, Loong, and GP too, but I don't think they're done. I think there's still some other things to do. I don't expect it to be Jonathan Kaminga, but I do think that they probably got another one left in them.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler Traded to the Warriors EMERGENCY POD
Should be great. Big face coffee. I can't wait.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can OKC get to 70 wins? + Anthony Davis’ big night
And that's being the enemy of good. It seems like it has shot them in the foot, you know, especially without Jalen Brunson out there to kind of stir the drink. I want to get to an update on him in a minute. But, you know, we talked about the big piece that you just wrote about. Oh, gee, you know, he had another nice game. I mean, it was incredible. Actually, last night.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can OKC get to 70 wins? + Anthony Davis’ big night
He has shown a scoring spark that we haven't really quite seen out of him, and it's in the absence of Jalen Brunson. I told S, I promised him airtime here. I was like, I'm going to let you, because he loves A.O.G. so much. I was like, I'm going to let you tell James how much you love the piece. I thought it was fantastic.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can OKC get to 70 wins? + Anthony Davis’ big night
By the way, listeners, I will link that in the show description so it's an easy click.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can OKC get to 70 wins? + Anthony Davis’ big night
He had that sequence, you know, where he, where he hit the little Euro drive out of the corner. And then he has the sidestep three, like back to back. And I think that that kind of stuff is exactly where he can plug himself in when Brunson comes back, especially around the Brunson cat pick and roll. I mean, this is kind of what he was supposed to do the entire time.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can OKC get to 70 wins? + Anthony Davis’ big night
Yeah, and I'm looking at their remaining schedule. They've got Houston. They've got two games against the Lakers. They've got Phoenix. They've got Utah. They've got New Orleans. So I think they're going to set the record for most double-digit wins.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can OKC get to 70 wins? + Anthony Davis’ big night
So maybe that's, that's been unlocked a little bit. Um, But, you know, before we get you out of here, can you give us an update on Jalen Brunson? Like, I know that the idea is they want to get him a few games before the playoffs. I'm assuming get him a few games and then that little bit of rest for the play in four games for all NBA.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can OKC get to 70 wins? + Anthony Davis’ big night
Right? It just feels like it's going to happen. I mean, everybody beats Utah by 30 points. Might count for two wins at that point. Right. So, you know, you're thinking about this. I'm thinking about the schedule, and I'm saying, okay, this team, they've got six games left. They're six games from 70. Now, it's not the easiest schedule, right? It's Houston, two games against the Lakers.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can OKC get to 70 wins? + Anthony Davis’ big night
You've got to think about it like boxing, right? You want to get a soup can out there. The Phoenix Suns, they're already thinking about vacation. I don't know if you watch the play. The Bucs were 27 of 28 at the rim last night, and the Suns had zero block shots. They're out. And we're out. That's it for today's show. Thank you to James Edwards. They really needed Nick Richards.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can OKC get to 70 wins? + Anthony Davis’ big night
Thank you to James Edwards for hanging out with us. To Espera Henning, as always. I'm Dave DeFore. This has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can OKC get to 70 wins? + Anthony Davis’ big night
We think Phoenix is probably done. Utah has been done since, I don't know, last June. New Orleans, you know, obviously they shut down CJ and Zion. There's a path to 70 wins here. They've already kind of – they've set franchise records. I believe – S, what was it?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can OKC get to 70 wins? + Anthony Davis’ big night
So they've kind of done everything that you can do as a franchise. They're going to break that record.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can OKC get to 70 wins? + Anthony Davis’ big night
No, I don't think so. I think what matters, I mean, they've checked all these other boxes. I think the thing that matters for them is to keep doing what they're doing and not upset the apple cart. I don't want to see this team necessarily take a bunch of games off. Right. I think that would be bad. The worst thing would be like losing to the Jazz and the Pelicans going into the playoffs.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can OKC get to 70 wins? + Anthony Davis’ big night
Even if you're playing your bench guys, I just think it's kind of a bad vibes thing. I don't like to see good teams going into playoffs losing, especially historically great ones.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can OKC get to 70 wins? + Anthony Davis’ big night
They're young and they're going to have that a little bit of a break because of the play in. I mean, I'm not saying they should be peddled to the metal, but it would be cool. It would be cool if they did it. All right. All right. Bold prediction time. Six games. It's not an easy schedule. Give me the number.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can OKC get to 70 wins? + Anthony Davis’ big night
I like it. Look, I want to say that they're going to win all six. Because if this was two months ago, they would win all six. That's the sort of team that we're dealing with. I'm going to say 68. I just think that they're going to rest guys, and I think they're going to be extremely strategic as they go into the playoffs.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can OKC get to 70 wins? + Anthony Davis’ big night
They really could. I mean, Isaiah Joe might just drop like 60 or something. Okay. Okay. Bunch of teams had some weird losses. So in honor of Davion Mitchell, who him and his heat beat the Celtics somehow, we're going to call this little segment off night. There's a little question mark. It's like, you know, if there was a graphic for this, it would be so good. We can't patent it, but I can't.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can OKC get to 70 wins? + Anthony Davis’ big night
Yeah, it's a sick nickname. So, yeah. OK, so the Celtics, they lost to the Heat. We've been kind of pumping up the Celtics. We you know, we talked about how great they were in March. You know, this is an aberration. They just really didn't shoot the ball. Well, they turn the ball over 13 times and the Heat only turn the ball over four times.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can OKC get to 70 wins? + Anthony Davis’ big night
So, you know, you shoot 46 percent from three and you protect the ball. You're going to win a lot of games.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can OKC get to 70 wins? + Anthony Davis’ big night
The Thunder handled the Pistons. Pistons shorthanded, of course. Cade Cunningham still out. Bunch of guys serving suspensions from the big melee the other night. But OKC, once again. Just takes care of business. They get their 64th win. They're 64-12. I don't know. We cover this team every single day, almost on this show. There's something to talk about with them.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can OKC get to 70 wins? + Anthony Davis’ big night
I do. I love that. If you play for the Raptors, every Raptors fan is going to follow you for the rest of your career. It's part of the degree that you could not believe. I love it so much. OK, so hot on the heels of an awful loss.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can OKC get to 70 wins? + Anthony Davis’ big night
previous night the Spurs beat the Nuggets so so the Nuggets lose again and look there's no Jokic there's no Murray I mean we could go down the reasons they were basically missing their entire starting lineup here yeah yeah okay and but still it's the Spurs right Bismack Biambo start started at center yeah for the Spurs last night uh you you know it's not like it's a must win for them because at this point you know they're they're in that three four five mix yeah
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can OKC get to 70 wins? + Anthony Davis’ big night
it just has bad vibes written all over it. You know, they lost to the Spurs on a Devante Graham game winner at the end of the 2024 season. And I thought it killed their playoff momentum. They had been playing pretty good basketball for a while, a little bit up and down. I'm a little bit nervous about, that the Minnesota loss... And we need to see... Look, there's time. Yeah. But I'm nervous.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can OKC get to 70 wins? + Anthony Davis’ big night
When you lose a game like that, that you really probably wanted to win. I mean, there's a lot of bad blood there. I don't know.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can OKC get to 70 wins? + Anthony Davis’ big night
And then they played nobody. Right. Yeah. Look, it's a schedule loss. Right. You can blame it on the schedule. I just wish they would have won it. That's it. Sure. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can OKC get to 70 wins? + Anthony Davis’ big night
Yeah. Yeah. Nobody should want that. Also, it feels as if nobody really wants to be the 10 seed in Out West, either that or the Sacramento Kings, they all really want to go to Dallas because they just will not win. They lost to the Wizards last night. And I think, look, if you lose to the Wizards who have 17 wins, that's one of your worst losses of the season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can OKC get to 70 wins? + Anthony Davis’ big night
But you couple it with the fact that they need to win to stay in the play-in. They fired their coach not that long ago. Like this team, this isn't a team that... should be thinking, Oh, well, it's fine. We, we, we don't need to make the plan this year. It's not like the sons who are going to blow it up this summer. The Kings theoretically, like this is kind of going to be their team next year.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can OKC get to 70 wins? + Anthony Davis’ big night
Shea Gildas Alexander, of course, just continues to rack up the accolades. How many games now has he scored 30 points? 69 games tying Michael Jordan.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can OKC get to 70 wins? + Anthony Davis’ big night
Yeah, I like that quite a bit. Before we go to James, we got to talk about Anthony Davis completely. Cause Anthony Davis has been back. He had probably, I think it's his best game since he returned and he finished the game somehow with like one eye. Yeah. He hits a game winner. He caught an elbow at some point in the game and had to leave. And,
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can OKC get to 70 wins? + Anthony Davis’ big night
I don't know how he, how he was able to see with, with an eye patch, but Anthony Davis hits a game winner, has a really ridiculous line and him and Derek Lively out there. I see, look, I see the vision. It's been awesome. Yeah. I see. I understand it completely.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can OKC get to 70 wins? + Anthony Davis’ big night
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily. Coming up, the Thunder win again, a bunch of teams had some weird losses, and James Edwards is here to tell us why the Knicks can't beat the best teams. Good morning, everybody. Good morning, S. Morning, morning. Another, hmm, a bit of an off night for the NBA. Not the greatest night of basketball. But the best team in the sport did play last night.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can OKC get to 70 wins? + Anthony Davis’ big night
Very nice. Having a nice season. And I mean, when you look at what they've done, I mean, this is again, this is a dominant basketball team. They continue to dominate. Last night was their 50th win by double digits this season. Tied for the most in NBA history. The track record of teams that have done that, S, pretty good.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can OKC get to 70 wins? + Anthony Davis’ big night
Last night, the Knicks played another game against a top team and another loss for the New York Knicks. They just can't seem to beat these teams at the top of the East or the Oklahoma City Thunder. Here to talk about it, James Edwards. He covers the Knicks for The Athletic and one of our favorite guys to talk to. James, how's it going, man?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can OKC get to 70 wins? + Anthony Davis’ big night
These Knicks, they can't seem to get over the hump against the real contenders.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can OKC get to 70 wins? + Anthony Davis’ big night
It was like a momentum shift for them in the game last night. You know, Aston and I, we were talking about it. The offense came out so hot, and we were thinking, oh, it's a great time to plug this big piece that James just wrote about OG Ananobi. He's having a great start. But then the Cavs started switching. Now, we've done this all year with them. Yes.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can OKC get to 70 wins? + Anthony Davis’ big night
What's the issue that you've seen so far as with the Knicks and the switch?
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
And Rudy Gobert had nine offensive rebounds by himself. Yeah. This was absurd performance by Rudy Gobert.
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
Yeah, look, everybody has tweeted it, but this was the worst three point shooting game in NBA history, in NBA playoff history, especially at this magnitude. Right. Taking 47 threes and missing 40 of them. That's disgusting to watch. It was disgusting to watch, but it was just also like. These were good quality looks. The Wolves weren't forcing these shots.
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
They got often... They got really, really good looks because the Lakers were trapping and blitzing Anthony Edwards because they didn't want Luka Doncic guarding. And we'll get to that in a little bit. But... That's what opened up the wolves to so many opportunities and they missed all of them.
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
They just bricked constantly their best offense all night. When they set the trap to when the Lakers would trap Anthony Edwards, Rudy Gobert did an excellent job. Number one of screening off the ball, setting pin down screens, but also then slipping to the basket. And it was just wide open for him. I mean, he was slipping on the initial double. He was slipping, again, off pin downs.
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
And then the offensive rebounding effort from Rudy. I mean, Rudy won them this game. Like, hands down, they don't win this game without Rudy Gobert.
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
I will say, I want to shout out Julius Randle a little bit, too, because he was awesome in the fourth quarter. Oh, okay, great. Go ahead. Julius Randle is the other guy, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
Like, he stepped up when they couldn't hit shots. Julius Randle stepped up and he started getting into the paint. I mean, it's like there's a real thing that we're going to have a conversation about with the Wolves. And we've we've talked about this during the regular season. They settle too often for jumpers. And it almost ended there.
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
I mean, ended their night a little bit on the negative note instead of a win because the jumper wasn't there. But the paint was wide open for them. The Lakers had no interior defense. And the only reason this game was anywhere as close as it was was because they were just settling for jump shots.
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
Yeah, and I actually think that's the change-up that Julius Randle can provide them. Now, Randle is like a good three-point shooter. He can knock down shots. He was one of six tonight, which is just kind of a symptom of everybody missing their threes. But generally, he's a guy who's a bit of a change-up to their offense. So everybody wants to shoot threes on the Timberwolves.
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
Randle wants to muck things up. He wants to be abusing mismatches in the post. He wants to hunt out guys. The Lakers are notorious for getting – unnecessary switches. There was one time in the fourth quarter where Randall just basically got Austin Reeves and he was like, okay, I'm taking this one-on-one and I'm going every single time.
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
And so he's that type of player who can take advantage of those opportunities in isolation. And that's what that that's the kind of change up that he can provide for the Timberwolves offensively. And to your point about Edwards and the playmaking, what they were trying to do with the three point shot, I thought their shot quality overall is good. Like they, they got what they wanted tonight.
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
If, if hockey assists were tracked, it is, I agree. Yeah. If hockey assists were tracked, I think Anthony Edwards would have like 10 hockey assists in this game. He had eight overall. So like they were getting, it was the right process. It's just, they weren't hitting their shots. And it was, it was historically bad.
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
Yeah. You need to see the ball go in the basket sometimes. And like, again, they, they went 18 consecutive threes without a make. And I just think that, you know, we, we probably know enough at this point, like about the three, like you just, you got to find other ways to score. And again, Rudy Gobert, just he was every rebound, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
He was unreal. Yeah. And by the way, to put it into perspective, everybody remembers the Houston Rockets missing 27 straight threes, right? They shot a better three-point percentage than the Timberwolves did tonight on that night. That's how bad tonight's game was.
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
It's one of the coldest shooting nights I've ever seen. And then on the other side for the Lakers, you know, after all the criticism about playing five guys the whole second half in the previous game, I mean, they broke out Maxi Kleba. for five minutes, and it's the first time he's played, I don't know, since, I mean, definitely since the trade, but it was like January was the last time he played.
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
But somehow Jackson Hayes doesn't even get off the bench, even in the non-Rudy Gobert minutes, which I think he could have been useful, but When when Luca tweaked his back, you know, he was driving to the basket. There was a hard foul by Dante DiVincenzo. It seemed like things were just going to go downhill there for the Lakers.
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
But somehow, like the second half felt like Luca was pretty effective despite being limited. I mean, you know, I'm not going to. I'm not going to say that he was at his best, but I mean, he still was able to make things happen.
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
Yeah. You could see he was doing things at half speed, but he still ended up with 28 points and nine assists. Like that's the type of player Luka Doncic is offensively. And I think that goes to show you like what he can do on his own for this Lakers team. Now I will say, I think there's still so much left on the bone for them to do with him and LeBron and especially getting Reeves involved. That,
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
That's like a bad series for Reeves, right? It was a really bad series for Reeves. And I think that's, that's like on JJ Redick and the coaching staff to look and be like, Hey, in the off season, we got to get an offensive package to make these guys work together more seamlessly offensively.
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
Cause there is, there's oftentimes when you're looking at this Lakers team and LeBron is kind of sitting in the corner on possessions or Reeves is sitting in the corner on possessions. And there's just way more that you can do with them. Right. I would dip into some of that Cleveland Tyloo stuff.
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
I'd have LeBron operating at the elbow. I mean, I think that they've got some roster construction issues that they need to contend with. I mean, the biggest thing that comes to mind for me, if we're going to go ahead and do the Lakers sort of the unpack their loss here, right? Like do the eulogy. Obviously, they're too small.
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
And I don't think if the Mark Williams trade works out, I don't think he's playing either, by the way. You know, the Timberwolves bigs were just too dominant. And the zig to that zag would be what they did, go smaller. To go smaller. And Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent both gave great minutes off the bench, you know, positive minutes off the bench.
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
So, you know, again, if we're going to relitigate the last game, we would say, maybe those guys could have given them enough of a boost to hang on, and maybe they're not in this position where they're now out in five games. But, you know, looking ahead to their summer, obviously they've got to get a big. I think they've got to get a rim runner for sure, and maybe two, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
Like if you think of the success that Luka had, last season with the Mavericks, it wasn't just because he had Lively. It was Lively and Gafford. It was full 48 minutes of, I have a rim-running big option, but also on the defensive end, having a guy behind Luka.
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
He got ejected. Hey, listen, look, there's a strong argument to make that that bench unit did their job by bringing getting the starters back in the game. Right. I mean, it's not so much about game five. It's about game six. So if you're thinking ahead. Right. Which I bet Steve Kerr has this in mind. He's out there saying, hey, we want to push the pace. We want to get these get under their skin.
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
A guy who can protect me behind me. Yeah, man. I will say, I think the last two games we saw from Luka, and yeah, injuries are a part of it and whatnot, but he was getting blown by very consistently.
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
As they say, defense wins championships. But like you need to insulate that. Right. If you are the Lakers, you need to get him rim protection. You need to get him length around the perimeter. Now, I think they actually are pretty good in that department with LeBron, Rui, DFS, Vando. Like that's that's a lot of length on the wings. But you just need that length.
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
rim protector in the middle to be able to clean things up and that's that's exactly what the lakers need to do this offseason it's like what's the what's the worst center that they could get this summer that would make them a much better team like oh my gosh capella honestly you know i'm just saying but um hey i want to mention this about the timberwolves who are now headed into the second round we'll see if they end up playing the warriors of rockets
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
We've talked about Anthony Edwards' playmaking leap. That's a huge part of it. Randall, Gobert, the massive nights that they had. Both of these guys exercising playoff demons tonight against guys who they've had competition against. You think about Rudy. He can't handle the switches. Beats Luka in a playoff series, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
Julius Randall beats the team that he played against or the team that he got drafted by, right? That's a huge thing. And then the whole idea of the Wolves. the most confounding, most confusing team, at least that I've watched in the regular season, now heading into the second round of the playoffs after a five-game win. Five games. That's just impressive to me. I think like...
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
I did not see that coming. I just I did not see that coming. I had the Lakers winning this series. Oh, you did.
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
Oh, it seemed to me like this was like, yeah, like it would be more of a struggle because it's what we've seen from the Timberwolves. Right. Like, yeah, it does feel like they've let a lot of things go. You know, this season they let a lot of leads go. This one felt like one they were going to let go. but somehow Rudy Gobert just became prime Shaq, you know, and it was, it was no problem for them.
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
They do a great job of like getting up to the moment though.
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
If this was, if they played, I think that's Anthony Edwards.
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
And look, we can, we can look at his shooting splits and we can say, wow, he did not shoot the ball well, but if you go and watch this game, like you said, the shots that went up, he wasn't forcing anything. They were open looks. The plays that he made were the right place just about every single time. And I think that that's, That's the next level for him, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
It's to always make the right play. And what I've seen out of him, I would say this most of the season and definitely during this playoff series. Yeah, I was making the right pass. He's making the right read. He's giving the ball up. I mean, playing about as unselfish as you can play in the modern NBA as a number one guy because you need to take X number of shots.
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
Look, that's the evolution that a lot of the players in his position have made. You think about Jason Tatum on the Boston Celtics. For the last few years, it's been, hey, can he make that step to being a playmaker who can manipulate multiple levels of the defense? And now he's doing it at a championship level, right? Giannis, that was a huge conversation for him.
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
I mean, imagine a world in which it's not Pat Spencer throwing the head, but but it's Alper and Shingun.
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
Devin Booker, the list goes on and on. It's just like a natural progression Ant had to make. He's doing it now, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
Yeah, and also if you start looking at the names that – Anthony Edwards has beaten in a playoff series. Pretty impressive. You had Luka Doncic and LeBron James to that. And now in the next round, he may have a chance to get Steph Curry or, you know, Jalen Green. I don't know. Who's the worst matchup for the Wolves?
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
Is it Warriors or is it the Rockets? Man, I think it's the Rockets because I if I'm Anthony Edwards, I have like this Lakers perimeter defense is a walk in the park compared to the Rockets perimeter defense. And so Ant is going to have a lot more trouble against Houston than a man. Thompson guarding Anthony Edwards. Mm hmm. Although Golden State's going to throw some stuff at them, too.
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
I know that's going to be a big, big match. I'm excited for that. It's going to be a good series.
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
We'll see who it's going to be this weekend. That's going to do it for the show, guys. Thanks to Anthony Slater for hanging out. Thanks to Espera Henney, as always. I'm Dave Dufour. This has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
I mean, who would have thought Pat Spencer was playing in game five of a playoff series, but not me. What do you think, aside from just shooting better, which the Rockets absolutely did, they shot the lights out. Aside from that, what do you think they did so well against the Warriors to really end this game in the middle of the third?
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
I mean, the pressure is on them now because they got to finish it out or they got to, you know, head back to Houston for game seven. Slater, you hit us with some trivia last time. I'm going to hit you with some trivia.
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
You ready? All right. So last time that Steph Curry has had back-to-back playoff games with less than 20 points, when was it? I would...
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
I should have let you guess more. No, 2018 versus the Rockets, actually. Game one and game two, he ended up dropping 14 and 15. I mean, you asked him about his thumb post-game. I know there's that picture going around of his thumb looking a little mangled or whatnot. But how much of that is sort of the concern here with what he's dealing with?
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
good morning and welcome to the nba daily coming up the warriors got stomped in game five so we're gonna get game six in the bay we got anthony slater here to talk about that and the lakers they're going on vacation good morning everybody good morning guys a heck of a game that you had to travel to houston for anthony not the best
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
My God, Steph takes 12 shots, right? I mean, now look, he only plays two and a half quarters, but it's only 23 minutes.
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
Yeah, right. I guess, look, we'll throw this game out. a little bit, right? We'll say shooting outlier for the Rockets. Warriors weren't into it, but looking ahead to game six, like, is there any, and I want to think about it from the Rockets perspective, right? Like they won the game. Like what carries over for them? Like, what do you see that works that, that they can repeat in game six?
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
How do you feel about a mat? I mean, obviously count your chickens before they hatch type of thing, but how do you feel about a warriors wolves series? If that's how it goes down?
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
exploited go bear but you know again that's regular season basketball is different times tough to compare yeah yeah i mean i mean i don't know if you're aware rudy gobert had was like 27 points and 24 rebounds i mean he absolutely looked like prime shack against the lakers so yeah in a series huh
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
I mean, that is something like, look, I don't want to get ahead, but man, that I've got that pinned on the board because that's going to be something. I mean, the defensive battle, honestly, between those two guys, like two of the guys that are the best of this era. I really do want to look forward to that outside of, you know, what is Draymond going to potentially do to Rudy?
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
And they didn't really like Anthony Edwards.
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
Yeah, that's right. Yeah, you're right. You want to make a prediction? Is it over in six or are we going seven?
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
We're going to have you and Law Murray do predictions all next year because you guys, like, you've nailed the playoffs so far. Yeah. I don't normally predict. I know you don't. That's why I put you on the spot. Go and read Anthony over at The Athletic. I mean, obviously, he's the best at covering the Warriors. He does it for us. Guys, stick around after the break.
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
S and I are going to talk about Rudy Gobert dominating the Lakers.
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
The late game, the Wolves sent the Lakers packing. I'm just going to start this out, S, by reading you a little stat. This is courtesy of Aaron Gleeman on Blue Sky. Rudy Gobert is the first player with 25 plus points, 20 plus rebounds while shooting 75 plus percent in the playoffs. So Shaquille O'Neal in game four of the 2004 finals. S, how close to prime Shaq is Rudy Gobert?
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
Well, I mean, this game, if we replicate that through an entire career, he's right there. He is right there in comparison. You know, if Rudy Gobert just had like, I don't know, average hands like Clint Capella level instead of frying pants. Yeah, he would be an all time. I mean, he already is an all time great defender, but, you know, like pantheon levels of great player.
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
I mean, if he had any touch whatsoever, it would just be game over. And I love how we're having this conversation after the incredible game that he really did have an amazing game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
How did the Wolves beat the Lakers?
The Wolves win the game last night. One oh three ninety six. Yeah. If they had made any shots whatsoever, S, this game is not close. But instead, they were 36 of 89 overall from the field, 7 of 47. And for good measure, by the way, they missed nine free throws. Just to throw in how poor of a shooting night they had, Anthony Edwards was 0 of 11 from three, 5 of 19 from the field.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
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The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
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The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
Powered by DLT Finance, a brand of DLT Securities GmbH and DLT Custody GmbH. Both companies act with the permission of BaFin.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
PwC refers to the PwC network and or one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
At PwC, we bring the power of a global network grounded in local know-how. From shifting regulations to fast-moving tech, we deliver tailored solutions that work everywhere you do. So you can stay ahead. So you can protect what you built. So you can create new value. We build for what's next. So you can get there now. PwC. So you can.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
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The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
PwC refers to the PwC network and or one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
Whether you're guided by analysis or instinct, Kraken Pro was developed for you, according to your requirements. That means individually adjustable layouts, lots of trading widgets and user-defined watchlists, exactly where you need them. Visit pro.kraken.com. Trading crypto, without compromises. Powered by DLT Finance, a brand of DLT Securities GmbH and DLT Custody GmbH.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
Both companies act with the permission of BaFin.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Contender Draft | Slam N Jam
Powered by DLT Finance, a brand of DLT Securities GmbH and DLT Custody GmbH. Both companies act with the permission of the BaFin.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Playoff Pressure Meter + Weekend Update
Just sit here for 30 minutes catching up right before the podcast. You know, a little podcast magic there. Thank you guys for filling in for me last week. The shows were awesome. It was a lot of fun. I spent the week in the woods. very good for me. Shout out to our national parks. Yosemite National Park was a lot of fun. Beautiful park.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Playoff Pressure Meter + Weekend Update
As we enter the last two weeks of the regular season, fights aside, a lot of teams have a lot of pressure to make it into that top six. You don't want to be a play in team, especially in the east, because the last thing you want to do is run into the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round. So we have a seeding battle out west. And guys, I thought we could play a little playoff pressure meter.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Playoff Pressure Meter + Weekend Update
game uh you guys give me a scale of one to five on how much pressure this team has to make the top six and we'll we'll consider we'll go in the order of the standings we're going to start with the lakers who are currently the four seed uh they got lebron back they've looked really good with luca and lebron out there um xena what sort of pressure are they under scale one to five here on the pressure meter to to stay in the top six
The Athletic NBA Daily
Playoff Pressure Meter + Weekend Update
Yeah. I tend to agree with that. Again, you don't want to throw extra games at LeBron. You don't want to go go into the play in cycle. You know, you want to hopefully keep that four seed, have home games, you know, and be in L.A. Next up, the Grizzlies. And guys, I think this one might be easy because they just fired their coach. So the pressure's off.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Playoff Pressure Meter + Weekend Update
Yeah, exactly. Listen, if we look at what the Grizzlies have happening next, they play the Celtics and they play the Warriors back-to-back. So there is a chance they are in the play in the seventh seed by Wednesday of this week. And again, firing your coach, I do think takes the pressure off. So I'm going to put it at a one for the Grizzlies.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Playoff Pressure Meter + Weekend Update
They look like a first round out, even if they make it in that top six. All right, let's move on. The Warriors, the current sixth seed. Zena, I'm going to let you start. You know, you're our Warriors expert. You're our Warriors insider. They made the Jimmy Butler trade.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Playoff Pressure Meter + Weekend Update
The idea is you get them in-house, you see how it goes this year, but you've got Jimmy Butler and you've got your core for next season. So where would you put the pressure for the Warriors this year?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Playoff Pressure Meter + Weekend Update
When I got out of the woods, guys, I was bombarded once I got cell phone service by just a bevy of news. First, sad news, I learned about Juju Watkins tearing her ACL and it really just put a damper on my trip because I was looking forward to catching some of her games over the weekend. And then I found out that the Grizzlies Fired Taylor Jenkins with nine games left in the season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Playoff Pressure Meter + Weekend Update
How many years can Steph Curry do this?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Playoff Pressure Meter + Weekend Update
You're right. You know what? I took a week off from podcasting. My knees have not felt this good all season long, guys. All right, the Timberwolves, they beat the Pistons, okay? So they've held sort of pace with the Warriors. They're a half game back. They are currently the seventh seed. You know, this year has been interesting for them, obviously because of the big trade that they made.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Playoff Pressure Meter + Weekend Update
They made a structural change to their team, and it took them a while to find their footing. S, where do you put the pressure level for the Wolves, you know, getting into the top six and missing the play-in, like actually avoiding the play-in?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Playoff Pressure Meter + Weekend Update
Every other game they take care of business. Yeah. I mean, that's a good job, though. You know, if you only have to go hard every other day, that's pretty good. Finally, we got the Clippers. who had a really great March, you know, getting beat by the Cleveland Cavaliers on a Sunday. It was a 12-30 Eastern start, and they didn't have Kawhi Leonard. I'm going to throw that game out.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Playoff Pressure Meter + Weekend Update
The Clippers have been really good. I think with the way Kawhi's been playing, you know, puncher's chance in any series you're in, I do think they need to miss – They need to avoid the play-in. I would personally put their pressure at a five because this is, again, Kawhi is healthy. Joey Cardin's had a great season. They need that time off.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Playoff Pressure Meter + Weekend Update
They have to figure out, like, they've got some warts on their roster. They're going to have to figure out how do we make up for Chris Dunn's defense because we can't have him out there on offense. So I actually think I would put that as a five. Who knows what Kawhi's going to be like next year?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Playoff Pressure Meter + Weekend Update
Yeah. Okay. And finally, guys, before we get out of here, our BetMGM Game of the Week brought to you by our friends at BetMGM. And I'm going to go. Look, guys, it's Warriors-Grizzlies on Tuesday. Huge playoff ramifications. I fully expect the Grizzlies to lose to the Celtics. in the front end of their back-to-back.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Playoff Pressure Meter + Weekend Update
And if they drop that game to the Warriors, I mean, they are going to be in the play-in. The Warriors looking like they're in pole position to be that four or five seed, even if they could pull this off. It's a massive game for playoff implications, but also it's Steph Curry versus Anthony Edwards.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Playoff Pressure Meter + Weekend Update
And guys, this obviously is a huge surprise to everyone. Keith Parrish, good buddy of mine, did Saturday Slammin' Jam. And he kind of, you know, went through the entire thing. And this is our first chance to sit and talk about it. Kind of unprecedented for a team in this position, you know, top six in the playoffs. I mean, they were a four seed when this happens.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Playoff Pressure Meter + Weekend Update
I won't go there. Wouldn't the NBA want to delay this?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Playoff Pressure Meter + Weekend Update
You know what? I would say this. If you get Steph Curry versus LeBron James in the playoffs, you take it any way you can get it. I would love to see it. That play-in game was awesome. It was extraordinary. All right, that's going to do it for the show, folks. It's good to be back. Good to be back with Zena and S. Thank you guys for listening. If you're watching on YouTube, hit the like button.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Playoff Pressure Meter + Weekend Update
Go ahead and subscribe. If you're listening to the podcast, wherever you listen to the podcast, leave us a five-star review. We work pretty hard out here. We're trying to have a good time. For Zena Keita and S. Baraheni, I'm Dave DuFour, and this has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Playoff Pressure Meter + Weekend Update
I just kind of felt like it was out of nowhere. So at this point, some of the reporting starting to come out. I don't know. What do you guys think?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Playoff Pressure Meter + Weekend Update
Yeah. And I will say Grizzlies GM Zach Kleiman came out and said this was his decision to make. And it it was and it is. Yeah. It was pretty obvious to me they were going to wind up doing it this summer. If you look at some of the changes they made to the staff last year, it signals a sign that things needed to change.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Playoff Pressure Meter + Weekend Update
This whole offensive system change, this has been a slow-boiling sort of development. And I have knocked teams in the past when they wait too long. And so... I think it's better to just do it now with nine games left when you are clear, hey, this is the direction we're going, than to wait until the summer.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Playoff Pressure Meter + Weekend Update
And now you at least get a look at a guy in Tuomas Isala who is moving up the coaching ranks very fast. He's a former player in Europe. He's got a really good resume. And if he's half as good a coach in the NBA as he's been everywhere else, he's probably going to be the new head coach of the Grizzlies. So I think you get him in there, you get him –
The Athletic NBA Daily
Playoff Pressure Meter + Weekend Update
in a leadership capacity with these players that just set you up for success later on. Probably not this year. I mean, they look like a first round out to me all season long because they kind of got some warts, but especially now.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Playoff Pressure Meter + Weekend Update
Yep. Cleveland and Oklahoma City, both now over 60 wins. OKC is 62. Cleveland got its 60th win on Sunday against the Clippers. The Cavs have been struggling lately. They did not have a great March. They've not had a great last 10 games or so, you know, 12 games. Zena, are you at all concerned about the way that the Cavs are finishing the season? I mean, they've had...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Playoff Pressure Meter + Weekend Update
Crazy win streaks all year long. It just seems like things are sort of catching up with them right now, whether it's scouting report, whether it's the injury thing. I mean, how are you feeling about how the Cavs are heading into the playoffs?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Playoff Pressure Meter + Weekend Update
If I'm Cleveland, I'm really concerned about the fact that Boston has been so good. Number one offense in March, and they were last in pace. And that means those guys are doing the stuff they want in the title. We had a fun basketball game in Minnesota between the Pistons and the Wolves. They had they came into this game. Fun is an interesting word. Well, it's physical, which is fun. Right.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Playoff Pressure Meter + Weekend Update
A little bit of a throwback. And it kind of got it got ruined by an actual altercation in the game. Ron Holland and Nas Reed got into it after a hard foul. And Dante DiVincenzo comes in to sort of he tries to break it up at first. And then it gets physical. And the next thing you know, Ryan Holland is on top of Dante DiVincenzo in the front row. There's fans trying to rescue Dante and save him.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Playoff Pressure Meter + Weekend Update
I mean, there was so much action going on that we were watching three angle replays. The TikTok videos haven't even come out of this yet. And luckily, look, this is not a malice in the palace situation. It was all coach on coach, player on player. You know, nobody got injured that we know of. Isaiah Stewart was showing teeth. He was showing teeth.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Playoff Pressure Meter + Weekend Update
But five players and two coaches were ejected, including head coach JB Bickerstaff. Also, Pablo Prigioni was ejected. I mean, this was just an absurd experience. Way for this to wind up. And after the game, Chris Finch talked about it. He said that the game was too physical. And this is what Detroit is known for. I mean, they they have, I think, embodied the bad boys as much as any Pistons team.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Playoff Pressure Meter + Weekend Update
And it kind of feels like a mindset for them. But they lost the game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Playoff Pressure Meter + Weekend Update
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily. Coming up, I'm back. I missed a lot, apparently. The Grizzlies fired their coach. Cleveland and Oklahoma City both hit 60 wins. And we had a big brawl in Minnesota. And would you believe it? The Detroit Pistons were involved. Good morning, everybody. Good morning, guys. Good to see your faces. Welcome back.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Playoff Pressure Meter + Weekend Update
He has a bag of Doritos on his shoulder. Mm-hmm.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Playoff Pressure Meter + Weekend Update
spark going more so but now you're seeing okay yeah it's the end of the season things are getting a little testy we're gonna get some suspensions on this one um and we'll talk about that later on the week um also we we should announce the suns are cooked they've been cooked multiple times this season but i do think it is now official a 39 point loss to the rockets at home they lose kd to an injury in the game which we don't have an update on yet um
The Athletic NBA Daily
Playoff Pressure Meter + Weekend Update
Seven games to go as they have the hardest strength of schedule remaining. Can they even go two and five, much less make this this up, make up this game that they're behind the Sacramento Kings for the last spot in the play. And I just don't I don't think they can even go two and five.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Playoff Pressure Meter + Weekend Update
Do you think we see KD again in a Suns uniform?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did the Pistons get robbed? + Crazy NBA Playoff Weekend
for the Clippers Nuggets game four. And as I had a perfect angle, you know, the media seats, they like to put you on the corners. Oh, yeah. And it's good for scouting because you don't have to turn your head when you're watching the game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did the Pistons get robbed? + Crazy NBA Playoff Weekend
spot minutes at the very least I'm I'm lost by the by the the idea of playing five guys 24 straight minutes I've just yeah I've obviously never seen it before um never happened before in the playoff it's a it's a must win so I get it from that perspective you're riding your best group they've been one of the best five-man lineups in the NBA since they added Luka Doncic
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did the Pistons get robbed? + Crazy NBA Playoff Weekend
Yeah, guys, stick around after the break. I'm going to ask us if some of these 3-1 series are over or if we've got some comeback potential.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did the Pistons get robbed? + Crazy NBA Playoff Weekend
Right. I don't have to move. I can see everything. I can see both, you know, all four corners. It's very easy to see the action. And I was across from the spot where Jokic not only made the Sambor shuffle, you know, with like whatever it was, 30 seconds left to tie the game up, but also,
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did the Pistons get robbed? + Crazy NBA Playoff Weekend
Okay, guys, time for the game that's sweeping the nation. Is it over or not? S, let's start with the series we just talked about. Pistons, Knicks, now 3-1, going back to New York. Is it over?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did the Pistons get robbed? + Crazy NBA Playoff Weekend
They smell blood because this series has been bloody. Yes, exactly. Wolves-Lakers, we talked about the heartbreaking loss there for the Lakers. 3-1 going back to... Crypto, what do you think?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did the Pistons get robbed? + Crazy NBA Playoff Weekend
Minnesota gets it done in game six. I see.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did the Pistons get robbed? + Crazy NBA Playoff Weekend
where you're leaning there. The Bucs are now down 3-1 against the Pacers after losing last night. They also lost Damian Lillard. It's unconfirmed at the time that we're recording this, but it seems pretty apparent from the initial reporting that it's an Achilles injury for Dame, so no expectation that he's going to come back. Look, this is a series that, in my opinion, was already –
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did the Pistons get robbed? + Crazy NBA Playoff Weekend
There was a little bit of a talent mismatch there. And obviously Dame wasn't even in game one because of the DVT diagnosis from earlier in the season. So the Bucs have kind of been up between a rock and a hard place as it is. They're now down 3-1. The Pacers look like they're just gaining momentum somehow. Their role players look like they're playing even better. This one feels done to me.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did the Pistons get robbed? + Crazy NBA Playoff Weekend
Yeah. They don't own any of their picks. They all swaps until like 2030. And frankly, like, The window is shut. I mean, it's not just it's not just that that they're not good and they're going to be out of the playoffs this year. They have no path to a rebuild. I mean, they just don't have the assets.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did the Pistons get robbed? + Crazy NBA Playoff Weekend
And you got to start thinking and we're not going to do that today, but because we'll have plenty of time this summer. But. You've got to start thinking, when's that Giannis trade coming? I mean, it's just staring us right in the face, unfortunately.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did the Pistons get robbed? + Crazy NBA Playoff Weekend
had the perfect angle across from Jokic to see him miss the last shot perfectly and to see Aaron Gordon grab it. The initial reaction in the building was shock. Number one, into a dome is extremely loud. I don't know how that comes across on TV. No, it did sound loud. Yes. Two nights. The two playoff games that I've attended there were just I mean, it was amazing how loud the crowd was.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did the Pistons get robbed? + Crazy NBA Playoff Weekend
Depending on what happens with the Nuggets over the course of the next week, I'm going to start. The Giannis to Denver campaign, if we start hearing the rumors of Giannis being on the move.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did the Pistons get robbed? + Crazy NBA Playoff Weekend
It depends. Can Austin Reeves play a little bit better than he has the last couple games? We'll see. The Celtics are now up 3-1 on the Orlando Magic. The Celtics looking more human. in this playoff run so far than they did last year, partially just because of injuries. Jason Tatum's got the wrist. Jalen Brown had the knee. Now Drew Holliday's missed the last two games.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did the Pistons get robbed? + Crazy NBA Playoff Weekend
They probably feel pretty lucky to leave Orlando up 3-1. They lost game three. Orlando has been mucking it up quite a bit, being very physical, and they're big, which is one of the things that you can use to your advantage against the Celtics. Uh, but you know, three, one lead, it feels likely that, I mean, they're going to win the series. Do you think they close it out here in game five?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did the Pistons get robbed? + Crazy NBA Playoff Weekend
It's similar but different to what Houston deals with. But they really need a point guard who can stir the drink and get these guys going. Somebody that they can play off of a little bit.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did the Pistons get robbed? + Crazy NBA Playoff Weekend
And they've got some guys that they could move, like some young guys that they could maybe put together with some of their picks and bring some stuff in. Before we get out of here, our bet MGM pick of the day. Warriors Rockets game for the Warriors win game three without Jimmy Butler. Much to our shock. I was just completely floored by the fact that Houston did not did not pick up this win.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did the Pistons get robbed? + Crazy NBA Playoff Weekend
Jimmy Butler is still questionable. We don't know if he's going to play or not. But, man, I kind of feel like he's going to because Jimmy Butler just wants it more. Yeah. How do you feel about Warriors Rockets game for.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did the Pistons get robbed? + Crazy NBA Playoff Weekend
Take away Jalen Jalen Green. Right. You take away his open looks and what he did against him in game two. And all of a sudden now it's a men Thompson and Fred Van Vliet that you're depending on to make shots. They need more from those guys. That's not been good for Houston this year. Right. Like especially here in the playoffs, like those guys.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did the Pistons get robbed? + Crazy NBA Playoff Weekend
And then it went dead silent when when Aaron Gordon caught that ball and put it through. And we're all, you know, on press row. We were running to the to the replay review, basically, you know, right there on press row. And we're all watching and we don't know the rule. And I mean, look, I coach the sport. I don't know the rule. I'm thinking to myself, well, it's through the cylinder.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did the Pistons get robbed? + Crazy NBA Playoff Weekend
I think Steve Kerr is basically bet on the right thing. I don't think Fred Van Vliet can beat the Warriors. I don't think a Ben Thompson can beat the Warriors. Definitely not with a jump shot. And so if you just turn the water off for those other guys, it's a win. I think the Warriors pick up game four. I think they go back to chase up 3-1 and –
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did the Pistons get robbed? + Crazy NBA Playoff Weekend
Man, I mean, it's looking like we're going to get Wolves Warriors in the next round.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did the Pistons get robbed? + Crazy NBA Playoff Weekend
There you go. Well, that's going to do it for the show, folks. Again, playoffs, man. So much fun. The best. Yeah, having a great time. For S. Baraheni, I'm Dave DuFour, and this has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did the Pistons get robbed? + Crazy NBA Playoff Weekend
Maybe it's good. Turns out that his hand was also off the ball. So it was good. What an incredible turn of events, because that fourth quarter, the story there was the Clippers. You know, the Nuggets were running out of gas. The Clippers fought back. You know, everyone looked incredible and it felt like they had all the momentum. And then Aaron Gordon makes the play of a lifetime.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did the Pistons get robbed? + Crazy NBA Playoff Weekend
Well, it's one of the best games I've ever seen from Christian Brown. Both sides of the ball.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did the Pistons get robbed? + Crazy NBA Playoff Weekend
right like i mean he he was making shots but also defensively there was a reason harden was angry when he fouled him i mean it wasn't just that foul which was hard but you know i think harden only had six points in the first half and a lot of that was because christian brown was in his ribs i mean he was all over him um also mpj uh michael porter jr fantastic game and especially when you consider he's gritty pretty much playing with one arm i mean you know my god
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did the Pistons get robbed? + Crazy NBA Playoff Weekend
We talk a lot about this guy's inconsistency, but, you know, one of the things that David Adelman talked about pregame was just how tough Michael Porter Jr. is. I mean, I've never had any surgery, much less a back surgery, but it does seem like that guy has to go through a lot to play. And, you know, it has a pretty serious shoulder issue, but a huge gain from him.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did the Pistons get robbed? + Crazy NBA Playoff Weekend
Potentially like a sweep instead of, I think this is going 7-7.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did the Pistons get robbed? + Crazy NBA Playoff Weekend
Oklahoma city thunder, by the way, had a great weekend, you know, they close out Memphis and we're, you know, they close them out pretty, pretty easily and basically get a week off waiting for the winner of the series. Let's talk Pistons Knicks before we get to the Lakers and Wolves.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did the Pistons get robbed? + Crazy NBA Playoff Weekend
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily. Coming up, we had some crazy finishes in the playoffs over the weekend and a bunch of teams are down 3-1. Some playoff hopes are dead. Good morning, everybody. Good morning, S. Good morning. Good weekend of basketball. No Xena today. She took the day off. We'll just say congratulations, and that's it. We'll just leave it very vague for you guys.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did the Pistons get robbed? + Crazy NBA Playoff Weekend
Again, another game that it's going to, we're going to talk about the last play and the missed call, but really like the Knicks, They mounted a comeback in the fourth, and I would put the blame for the Pistons' loss on Coach J.B. Bickerstaff.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did the Pistons get robbed? + Crazy NBA Playoff Weekend
I know we've given him a lot of credit for getting this team turned around, but the truth is, you know, Tobias Harris picks up his fifth foul, and they make the decision to take him off of Carl Anthony Towns, and Carl Anthony Towns just abused Jalen Duren that final stretch. Cat had a huge close to this game, and so did Jalen Brunson after he came back from injury, but...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did the Pistons get robbed? + Crazy NBA Playoff Weekend
The final play, S, it's not a great look when the referees, you know, in their two-minute report. I mean, before Jalen Brunson.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did the Pistons get robbed? + Crazy NBA Playoff Weekend
That's the, yeah. Before Jalen Brunson and Carl Anthony Towns even get to the podium. We know that the refs are admitting to missing a call, which, frankly, in my opinion, I'm glad. But that's not a foul call we want to see in the playoffs. That's the foul call that was supposed to have gone away when they said unnatural shooting motions matter in this whole thing.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did the Pistons get robbed? + Crazy NBA Playoff Weekend
But the refs admit to missing a call. The Knicks get a win. They're up 3-1. I don't know, man. What do you think about it?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did the Pistons get robbed? + Crazy NBA Playoff Weekend
play underneath the basket.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did the Pistons get robbed? + Crazy NBA Playoff Weekend
Like there was a lot of contact. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did the Pistons get robbed? + Crazy NBA Playoff Weekend
actually right what you're doing and and i understand they they there's this idea that being transparent transparency better but the truth is i mean personally i didn't even feel like you missed the call and if they would have just given the old marginal contact line that they've done dozens and dozens of times when they've actually missed a call it wouldn't it wouldn't blow up in their face like this um that being said the game was was excellent um you know
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did the Pistons get robbed? + Crazy NBA Playoff Weekend
It's going to get lost because of this last play. But, you know, I think that the Knicks themselves showed a lot of grit. You know, Jalen Brunson, again, playing hurt. That ankle clearly is going to bother him, I think, going into the next game. And then Carl Anthony Towns, just some of the shots, the shot making from Carl Anthony Towns really won the game for the Knicks.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did the Pistons get robbed? + Crazy NBA Playoff Weekend
Maybe eventually they'll figure out a way to use each other to get open.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did the Pistons get robbed? + Crazy NBA Playoff Weekend
Let's talk Wolves-Lakers. The Wolves pick up a huge win. Mm-hmm. Anthony Edwards, before we get to the finish of this, I want to talk about Anthony Edwards because it's not a breakout for him because we already knew that he was a big game player. But, I mean, he's been the best player in this series. He puts up 43 points, has nine rebounds, six assists. He plays both ways, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did the Pistons get robbed? + Crazy NBA Playoff Weekend
I mean, he makes defensive plays. To see him actually take over this game down the stretch for the Wolves and beat LeBron and Luka, I think that this is one of these things where – When it's all said and done, like we'll probably talk about this playoff series as him sort of taking the torch. You know what I mean? Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did the Pistons get robbed? + Crazy NBA Playoff Weekend
S, we had another great weekend of basketball. This playoff run for us has been awesome. Absolutely. With all of the hours and hours of basketball that we watched over the weekend, it's funny that we're going to spend all this time talking about about 15 seconds from three games because we had controversial slash exciting finishes in multiple games. I happen to be in the building.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did the Pistons get robbed? + Crazy NBA Playoff Weekend
Right. It's what LeBron does. It's what Luca does. It's what Shea does. It's what Jokic does. Doesn't get sped up. And then the other thing is he has excellent footwork. You watch how he gets into some of these jump stop and then a sidestep for the little mid range. That's I mean, that's something that he's added this year and is it's really hard to guard.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did the Pistons get robbed? + Crazy NBA Playoff Weekend
I mean, he's one of the most unguardable guys one on one. The play of this game that you've likely seen over and over and over again required the Hawkeye view camera. They had to literally break out the NBA equivalent of a spy satellite to figure out that LeBron fouled Anthony Edwards on a drive late in the game. I mean, to me, look, hands part of the ball, wrist part of the hand.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did the Pistons get robbed? + Crazy NBA Playoff Weekend
And that's how, you know, we grew up playing it. It's a foul by this spy satellite footage. And Ant goes to the free throw line, hits two free throws. And, you know, basically the Wolves get to hang on from there. I mean... Again, I hate to see a game swung on this level of pedantism. You know what I mean?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did the Pistons get robbed? + Crazy NBA Playoff Weekend
The craziest thing is LeBron, we get blocked by James from Mike Brain, right? He makes a great block on D'Vincenzo. Incredible play. He makes two great strips on defense.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Did the Pistons get robbed? + Crazy NBA Playoff Weekend
So he was still able to muster up the defensive energy. But look, Jared Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent, I thought, played pretty well in the first half, right? It didn't seem like they should have just not been out there.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder, Cavs continue dominance | Sixers & Suns in turmoil
Hier ist das Ding, Leute. es ist nicht die sonnen sind gar nicht dramatisch das ist die Sache, wie der Handelsablauf-Drama, der da rausgekommen ist, ich meine, ich glaube nicht, dass man die Fragen über die möglichkeit des Handelssatzes besser beantworten könnte als das, was Kevin Durant gemacht hat, also ich meine, das war extrem diplomatisch, aber es sah ziemlich ehrlich aus und so
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder, Cavs continue dominance | Sixers & Suns in turmoil
It is kind of odd that we have been treating the Sixers like their arena is on fire every single night, when literally they're fighting through injury after injury after injury. And I would say also the other guy who's getting away with the $600,000, or not the $600,000 heist, the $223,000 heist.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder, Cavs continue dominance | Sixers & Suns in turmoil
Paul George, der eine viel schlechte Saison erreicht hat als Tobias Harris, der derjenige war, der eine große Verbesserung gemacht hat. Ja, und so, weißt du, es ist ein guter Punkt. Viele Leute sind ein bisschen in der Schatten von Embiid versteckt, wo Joel Embiid, aus allen möglichen Kritikern,
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder, Cavs continue dominance | Sixers & Suns in turmoil
know the last six weeks it's kind of absurd um we were saying and i in particular have been saying that the nuggets are back i think the nuggets have a really good shot at winning a title even though you know we doubted christian brown being able to step into the starting lineup and make an impact but they've looked so good i have to tip my hat to the lakers i mean you blow out the nuggets and uh that's a pretty big deal so guys is this lakers win over the nuggets something
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder, Cavs continue dominance | Sixers & Suns in turmoil
a 56 like yeah that's not you can't even assess that properly uh hopefully we'll we'll get some more news on the status of joel and bead and his knee but i mean he he's playing in the games um i guess until they decide to shut it down but at this point i mean you're not even playing for the play-in they're playing for their pick at this point the six are trying to get their pick back Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder, Cavs continue dominance | Sixers & Suns in turmoil
We gotta get to our picks, guys. Our BetMGM Picks of the Week. And there's only one game of the week. It's Luka Doncic against the Dallas Mavericks. The Mavs visit the Lakers in L.A. on Tuesday. And number one.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder, Cavs continue dominance | Sixers & Suns in turmoil
Yeah, well, that one's in April, which is also going to be, I think, kind of explosive. But it'll be the first time that Luka faces his old team. Obviously, you know, since the trade just happened a few weeks ago. What do you guys expect to see out of Luka Luka? Was ist das? Silber und Blau? Weiß und Blau? Ich weiß es nicht.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder, Cavs continue dominance | Sixers & Suns in turmoil
I will say, if you guys want to have a great time, go re-watch the Mavs-Warriors game from Sunday and just... Pay attention to how the camera always seems to find Jason Kidd's face after Jimmy Butler makes a good play, after Steph does something awesome, or after one of the Mavericks doesn't do something great. That man has been through a lot. It was theater.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder, Cavs continue dominance | Sixers & Suns in turmoil
Was, wenn KD in den Bay gegangen wäre? Ich weiß es nicht. Ein weiteres Was-Wenn für ein weiteres Mal. Das wird es für die Jays Show machen, Leute. Danke, dass ihr gehört habt. Wir freuen uns auf euch. Vergesst nicht, den Discord zu abonnieren. Wir haben den Link in der Beschreibung. Kommt rein. Wir sprechen über Hoops im Discord. Es war ziemlich lustig.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder, Cavs continue dominance | Sixers & Suns in turmoil
Für Zena Keita und S. Baraheni, ich bin Dave Dufour und das war die NBA Daily. Danke, dass ihr mit uns aufwacht.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder, Cavs continue dominance | Sixers & Suns in turmoil
Ist es nichts oder ist es alles?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder, Cavs continue dominance | Sixers & Suns in turmoil
so far pretty cool yeah the defense is going to be the big concern i think though if you go back and look jackson hayes has had a pretty good defensive season i mean it's not defensive player of the year level stuff but he's not been too bad and i think that that has shown a little bit especially in this game against the nuggets um the other side of the coin again i thought the nuggets were back and you get blown out by the lakers at home i mean especially this is a big game you know this is luca these guys didn't get up for this game and so zina you know
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder, Cavs continue dominance | Sixers & Suns in turmoil
What does this blowout mean if you're the Nuggets?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder, Cavs continue dominance | Sixers & Suns in turmoil
I mean, the Lakers did a good job of throwing a bunch of different bodies at Jokic. I've never seen anybody pull that off for seven games.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder, Cavs continue dominance | Sixers & Suns in turmoil
I mean, again, it was a great it was a great game for the Lakers. Yeah, not a great weekend for the Knicks. They got stomped.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder, Cavs continue dominance | Sixers & Suns in turmoil
Insane. 37 Punkte Verlust am Freitag. Sie waren unter 27 in ihrem Verlust gegen die Celtics am Sonntag. Sie kämpften zurück und machten ein Spiel aus dem Verlust. So give them credit. But they are now 0-7 against Boston, Cleveland and OKC. And there's a few blowouts in there. I think, guys, that this is more, it's more of something that we've already seen from them this year.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder, Cavs continue dominance | Sixers & Suns in turmoil
If I can kind of just set the floor. I do think that this team is very clearly not Boston, Cleveland and OKC. But I think that they're right below that. But guys, I'm going to ask you something, nothing or everything.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder, Cavs continue dominance | Sixers & Suns in turmoil
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily. Coming up, we look back at a weekend full of blowouts and try to figure out which of them mean something, which of them mean nothing and which of them mean everything, which I don't know if any of them really mean everything, but we'll see. And we're going to take a look at the Suns and Sixers weird years so far.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder, Cavs continue dominance | Sixers & Suns in turmoil
Yeah, and they're just about to get back to full health. Let's point that out. Mitchell Robinson, it does seem like he's going to be back soon. And I think, you know, Zena especially, big on bigs. We've talked about this quite a bit, having the optionality of going with two bigs. I think it's going to be important for them.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder, Cavs continue dominance | Sixers & Suns in turmoil
So on the nights where their offense isn't setting the world on fire, maybe they've got a little bit more defense that they can lean back on. Zena, you've seen this up close, but the Warriors... They've been pretty good since they got Jimmy Butler. They blew out the Kings the other night. They had an easy win against the Mavs on Sunday.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder, Cavs continue dominance | Sixers & Suns in turmoil
I mean, is this something all Jimmy Butler or is there more to this?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder, Cavs continue dominance | Sixers & Suns in turmoil
Jimmy Butler's edition really slotted guys back into the roles that they should have been in. And I will tell you one of the things, the little wrinkles that they broke out against the Mavs on Sunday, using Gary Payton to face guard Kyrie Irving. Like we've seen that, but I really liked the way they use Brandon Pajemski. So essentially, they now have two guys that can hound you.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder, Cavs continue dominance | Sixers & Suns in turmoil
good morning everybody good morning guys uh another morning weekend in the books in the nba man we had so many games this weekend and you know i know we just had the all-star break but uh it feels like they just crammed like 700 games in the last three days yeah all like nationally televised we got our sunday slate the sunday slate is back by the way it's back Ja, es ist komplett zurück.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder, Cavs continue dominance | Sixers & Suns in turmoil
That's 48 minutes of being able to shut down. And that live to hound you. And I just think that, you know, having Jimmy Butler and, you know, sort of like him and Draymond with their basketball IQ as helpers allows you to have, you know, one person out on an island.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder, Cavs continue dominance | Sixers & Suns in turmoil
Exactly. Exactly, yeah. And they really, they took Kyrie out of the game and was the key to the easy victory for him. So yeah, I mean, I... I don't know if it's everything, Zena, but we're gonna see. Also, hey, look, the Thunder beat the Timberwolves on Sunday, joining the Celtics, the Thunder and the Cavs, now all three in the 40-20 Club.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder, Cavs continue dominance | Sixers & Suns in turmoil
S, that's, let me get this straight, that's 40 wins before you get to 20 losses, is that correct?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder, Cavs continue dominance | Sixers & Suns in turmoil
Why is that significant?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder, Cavs continue dominance | Sixers & Suns in turmoil
After years of essentially being told the regular season doesn't matter, I think, Zena, this is a pretty clear indication it does. I think this is actually everything. I think that these three teams, and especially OKC and Cleveland, just running away with the one seeds in each conference, I think that's everything.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder, Cavs continue dominance | Sixers & Suns in turmoil
Okay, Leute, bleibt dran nach dem Break. Wir sprechen über ein paar Teams, die einfach, ich weiß nicht, in den Dumpfen sind. Es fühlt sich ein bisschen, ich weiß nicht, vielleicht nicht weit genug an.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder, Cavs continue dominance | Sixers & Suns in turmoil
A couple of contenders in the Philadelphia 76ers and the Phoenix Suns did not expect to be where they are at this point in the season. Obviously, the Sixers have just had a snake-bitten, literally snake-bitten season. Maybe the only injury that they haven't suffered on the roster this year is a snake bite. And they've just been unhealthy and bad. And then the Phoenix Suns.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder, Cavs continue dominance | Sixers & Suns in turmoil
Kein Fußball, um wegzukommen, Leute. Ja, ja. And one or two of them might mean everything. So let's start with that Lakers-Nuggets-Game the other night. The Lakers won the game by 23. Luka's out there running the offense. Luka and LeBron. I mean, LeBron is legitimately playing like a top-five player right now. And he has been for...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder, Cavs continue dominance | Sixers & Suns in turmoil
An embarrassing loss to the Toronto Raptors on Sunday, which is why they're in this segment. Let's just be straight up. They are three games under 500. They don't even they don't look like a play in team, much less a playoff team and lifeless. I just look at this and I think, how did we get to this point? With the Sixers, it makes so much sense.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder, Cavs continue dominance | Sixers & Suns in turmoil
The injuries have just eaten them up from the inside. The one bright spot they had, Jared McCain. I feel like we do this about once a month now with the Sixers. We point out all these bad things, all these good things.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder, Cavs continue dominance | Sixers & Suns in turmoil
Und jetzt haben wir neue Nachrichten, dass es eine Debatte darüber gibt, was mit Joel Embiid zu tun hat, ob er Arzt werden muss, ob es besser ist, um ihn zu bleiben, zu spielen, was ich meine, wiederum, all das ist einfach, es ist eine Saison, die essentiell verloren ist. Und das ist der Gesprächspunkt. Was macht ihr von diesen beiden Teams? Ich meine, ich möchte fast fragen, wer hat es schlimmer?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder, Cavs continue dominance | Sixers & Suns in turmoil
Nein, leider nicht.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
Late in the game, one guy we haven't mentioned yet, Russell Westbrook, was massive.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
in this game tons of deflections tons of offensive rebounds just making tons of hustle plays we think back to that denver minnesota game a couple weeks back in early in april where he basically botched the game for them this was a redemption game where he won the game for them just because of the the highlight plays he was making so offensive rebounds turnovers limit those and the clippers will probably be able to get back into the series
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
Before we go to break and talk about the East, anything from the Western Conference Game Ones that you guys saw that has changed your opinion on a series?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
Not really. The only thing I would say is that, to your point, Dave, about Minnesota and the Lakers, I might have underestimated just how much Anthony Edwards loves the limelight. He's going to take advantage of that and that might be the series. That might be the determiner right there.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
For me, it was seeing what the Thunder did to the Grizzlies. I thought the Thunder would win in four and now they're going to win in three. I mean, it just... Sie werden drei Spiele verlieren, Mann!
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
In the Eastern Conference, you know, we had some interesting matchups. Not as hotly contested as the West, let's just be honest. Start with the Knicks and Pistons. And guys, this was a fantastic Tobias Harris game. And I do not know how the Pistons wound up giving up a 21-0 run to lose the game. I'm kind of disappointed in your Pistons, S.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
Hey, it's okay. What you will remember is that I'm also a big campaign fan and he was incredible in this game. So I'm good. I went either way, really.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
Not a problem. Zena, what adjustments do you think that the Pistons need to make going into game two? Is it just maybe put on the sunshades because the light is a little bit too bright in the playoffs? Is that what you saw in the fourth quarter?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
They do have the talent of adjunct. Right. But like, I think the Pistons should be confident heading into game two because they led for the majority of this game. And yes, there was this massive run caused by turnovers and caused by tons of defensive lapses. But if you play how you played for the first three quarters. You're still in Game 1 in MSG.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
So like build and understand that your game plan worked and there was this lapse, this moment where things didn't go your way and sort of be confident in what you can do in Game 2. I think the Pistons are headed in the right direction with what they're trying to build in this playoff series. It's just you got to do it consistently.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
Well, what's it going to take for the Bucks, Zena? Because the Pacers just, I mean, obliterated them. Made them look, hopefully, right? Like, can they get Dame? Put them in a time machine, get them back to game one. It was a blowout, right? In Indiana.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
indiana just looks so much more athletic uh so much more um they have more juice to them um you know janice puts up 36 12 rebounds and and they lose by you know 19 points um zena any big takeaway for the bucks in the game they need a point guard um and they're a little bit seasoned so yeah that's that was real and more than anything kyle kuzma
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
I will just say that I think the small ball lineup for the Bucks really worked well in that second half with Bobby Portis and Giannis and AJ Green and Gary Trent Jr. More athletic. Absolutely. More shooting, more athletic. And that's how you match Indiana style. And I think that if Doc Rivers knows what he's doing, which I believe that he does, they will lean into that more.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
And Game 2 will be a little bit more athletic from the Bucks side of things, for sure.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
That's the thing, right? If they have you in Athleticism, you have to beat them in toughness. And that sounds like just basketball speak, but it's a real thing. You know, it's sort of like when you watch Jimmy Butler play basketball and you're like, that's a guy that, it's cliche to say, but he just wants it more. That's a real thing that you have to qualify for.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
Heat and Cavaliers, guys, the Cavs, I mean, just... Perfect performance from them. Ty Jerome comes off the bench and he looks like a sick starter for them. Donovan Mitchell, superstar game for Donovan Mitchell. Four steals. This guy turns the defense up for the playoffs too, but he was getting a hand on everything.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
The Cavaliers, this, look, the Heat are not talented enough to be able to hang with the Cavs. They don't have the offense. But what the Cavs were able to do to the Heat's defense opened my eyes. I really, after the way that they sort of, I'm not going to say they stumbled into the playoffs because they were resting and whatnot, but I did not like how they closed the season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
This was a hell of a game one.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
Ja, ich liebe den Fakt, dass sie durch diesen Sieg gewonnen haben. Du wirst in der Post-Saison gewinnen müssen. Die Teams werden ihr Bestes geben. Miami ist nicht ein Team, das sich aufhören wird. Und defensiv waren sie bereit. Ich dachte, sie haben einen tollen Job gemacht. Bam hat einen tollen Job gemacht auf Evan Mobley und Jared Allen in diesem Spiel.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
Es war der Guard-Play von den Cavs, für den sie keine Antworten hatten. Und du hast Ty Jerome erwähnt. Es ist eine Schande, dass der Finalist für den 6-Mann-Jahr bereits verabschiedet ist, weil er seinen besten Fall für heute mit der Art und Weise, wie er gespielt hat, vorgelegt hat. Aber ja, schau, das wird eine der Serien sein, in der es einen kompetitiven Sweep wird.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
Where Miami probably doesn't end up winning any of these games, but they're all within 10, 15 points to to kind of keep things close. But Cleveland is just outmatched while they outmatch Miami offensively.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
The Celtics handled the magic. It was 103-86. It was a closer game maybe than the score would let on. I love how physical Orlando is able to be, but no guard play for them. Nobody who can get and create a bucket for other guys. Paolo just isn't the right guy stirring the drink. Cole Anthony was basically unplayable because the Celtics just hunted him. Can the magic win a game?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
I think they might be able to.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
Yeah, I do. Just because I think Franz and Paolo, if they're playing the way that they play today, they combine for like 55 points, more than that in this one. And if the rest of their teammates just start hitting shots, just start creating a little bit more, they'll probably be able to steal a game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
I thought the first half was really indicative of how massive and physical Orlando can be with Boston. Yes, Boston is going to find solutions because they are the best problem solving team in the NBA. But generally, I think there's going to be a game where Orlando will have answers to those solutions and steal one. But look, Boston is going to win this series. There's no question about that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
But it's just about how competitive it'll be from from the magic side of things. And what will other teams glean from that? You know? Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
Zeno, was müssen die Celtics nach der 2.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
I mean, I think that they're about ready to go on vacation. The Grizzlies, they're a mess. And they've kind of been a mess for a little while. Jaron Jackson, just ineffective, doesn't really put his mark on the games here recently. Desmond Bain, minus 51. The worst single game plus minus in NBA playoffs history. Well, since they've been keeping track of those sorts of stats. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
Yeah, before we get out of here, anything in the East surprise you guys or catch you off guard? No, not at all.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
Pretty boring over there.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
It is fun. I'm joking, I'm joking. No surprise.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
It does sometimes feel like it's a different league. Yes, it's true. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
Alright, that's going to do it for the show, folks. Thank you guys for listening. Make sure you like and subscribe. Leave us a five-star review and all of that. For Zena Keita and S. Baraheni, I'm Dave DuFour and this has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
Yeah, he also owns the best plus minus, apparently, according to our producer, Andrew Schlecht, who told us that earlier today, which is a surprise, the best and the worst of it all. But no, look, I think this was more about OKC's defense than anything. The way that they were just shrinking the floor against Memphis, taking away any opportunities in the paint, like... E.D.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
war heute anstrengend, was wahrscheinlich für einen Mann seiner Größe ist, aber das Hartenstein-Chet-Duo hat einfach alles verbrannt, was Memphis inside tun wollte. Also, um eine Million Turnover zu verursachen, rauszuholen, du siehst das verrückte Lob, das J-Dub hatte, das ist der Typ von Basketball, den OKC spielen möchte und sie werden das in der ersten Runde sehr einfach machen.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
The Thunder Crowd is fantastic. It felt, you know, that college atmosphere.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
Yes. Wear your shirts, folks.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
Yeah, it makes a huge difference, doesn't it? Xena, what can the Grizzlies do in Game 2? Anything?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
Right. Let's move on. Xena, you were just at the arena for Warriors, or excuse me, in studio for Warriors Rockets.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
Yeah, in studio, not in the arena, because they were in Houston. Hence all the makeup. Yeah, yeah, that's it. When this game started, I spent the first five minutes thinking, ooh,
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
warriors looking old rockets are looking big and this might go the opposite way and then of course uh no i was totally wrong in my first initial uh sort of feelings there and the warriors did they they just have this this ability now with jimmy butler to turn it up defensively in a way that they haven't been able to do since the last title run that they had um what do you think about the warriors uh in their win over the rockets
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
It was... This entire game encapsulated basically everything you'd expect in this series. The Rockets jumping out with their defense, swarming off ball, the way that they were just taking away space from the Warriors, especially being really physical with Steph Curry. And then...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
Jimmy Butler, turning it up, being playoff Jimmy, being a guy who can really just elevate this Warriors offense and get them through these muddy sequences that Houston was trying to get them into. Houston bounces back with their ginormous lineup.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
die Schengen-Jabari-Smith-Junior-Adams-Line-Up, die einfach ein Millionen offensivere Rebounds kaufst. Wegen dessen steigen sie zurück in dieses Spiel. Und dann sind es die Closers für die Warriors. In Steph Curry, in Jimmy Butler, in Draymond Green. Und Shoutout zu Brandon Pajimski und Moses Moody, die massive Spiele gemacht haben. Zina, ich weiß, dass du darüber sprechen möchtest.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
Sie haben in der vierten Quartale massive Spiele gemacht. Das war einfach toll. This was basically everything you wanted from the series and what you expected from this Rockets Warriors game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
I mean, when you look at the offensive rebounding advantage that Houston had, and you look at how they had 11 more shots than the Warriors, they just could not buy a bucket. And S, I think that the big adjustment in Game 2 for the Rockets, they have to generate better looks.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
Jalen Green, I'm assuming he's going to play and start, but if he's out there, he's got to drive and attack the basket and get those driving kick actions going and get the Warriors moving.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
Yeah, look, this has been an issue for Houston all season, especially when the going gets tough, especially against the Warriors defense, like credit to Draymond Green, who took away Alper and Shang-Goon pretty much all night. The physicality that he played with, you're not getting those type of calls. Shang-Goon was really grasping at straws for some of the officiating throughout the game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
But I thought generally like the Warriors did a great job of shrinking. And look, Fred Van Vliet and Jalen Green shot seven of basically 34. in this game you're not gonna win any basketball games when your backcourt shoots like that it's just it's not gonna happen so yeah they gotta just shoot better
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
Guten Morgen und willkommen bei NBA Daily. Die Playoffs sind hier. Wir brechen jeden Match-Up und geben unsere Take-Aways und Änderungen für Game 2. Guten Morgen, Leute. Guten Morgen, Leute. Guten Morgen. Guten Morgen.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
That was the Grizzlies bread and butter. They used to get so many extra possessions. They led the league in shot attempts because of their offensive rebounding and Steven Adams. Maybe one of the best offensive rebounders in NBA history ever.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
Yeah. Guys, the Lakers and the Timberwolves. Now, this game really surprised me, because you start out high emotion. It's a Lakers game. It's a home game. Luka Doncic starts this game on fire, finishes with 37. If I just left it right there, you'd probably think, oh, wow. Lakers must have blown them out. Guys, the Wolves are not scared at all.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
It reminds me, Zena, of last year when they went in against the Nuggets and it just seemed like they had an extra edge to them. The Timberwolves, maybe we have ignored them over the last six weeks because they've been better.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
dann wir wir geben ihm kredit für early on and and this is one of those sorts of games that i think we're gonna put a pin in this and if if the wolves win this series i think just winning this game one in the way that they did is is exactly why
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
Speaking of struggling, they didn't play Jackson Hayes much. They went to Jared Barrow at the 5, played small. It's not something that we really thought was going to be a huge concern, but it's more of a concern in this matchup because of Rudy Gobert, because of Randall, because of Nas Reed, Jaden McDaniels even. There is so much size inside for the two moves.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
Guten Morgen. you know eight game ones and uh there's lots to talk about so let's just jump right in and get to it and i want to start thunder grizzlies um this game wasn't much of a game a 51 point win for the thunder and zina look we've been saying this all year this team is a machine they looked fresh and rested and ready for the grizzlies
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
Yeah, they're real big. Sie sind massiv. Und ich denke, eine der Dinge, die wir hier erwähnt haben, ist die Lakers-Smallball-Line-Up, die groß ist. Aber sie waren einfach aus dem Weg. Und McDaniels hat die Verteidigung genommen. Du hast Zena, Anthony Edwards und diese neun Assists erwähnt. Ich dachte, der Weg, den er für seine Teamleute in Isolation geschaffen hat, war super.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
so important to putting pressure on the Lakers' defense from behind the arc. Oh my God, I'm fumbling over my words here. But yeah, no, they shot 50% from three. They generated so many open looks from three because the Lakers' shell defense was just too spread out. They weren't able to really attack them in any significant way.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
The improvement there from the Lakers' side is just be more physical, be more quick on your rotations, and maybe that'll help you change the series.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
And they need more out of LeBron. And it's funny to say this. Because LeBron is one of the greats.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
They need more than they got in Game 1 from him. Zena, probably the craziest...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
opening playoff game nuggets and clippers and we were saying last week that this was going to be a battle and it was i mean what a game uh yokich puts up 29 9 rebounds 12 assists uh james harden was incredible had 32 points um this i think we're gonna get a seven game series out of this it feels like yeah absolutely and because each
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
Yeah, Denver is a tough place to go and play, right? And, you know, the Clippers, I don't know if they got there early, you know, how many days they got there early. But those Game 1s, I mean, the Nuggets, they try to get you running. How did the Clippers come back in Game 2? You know, I mean, it feels like Game 1, you know, you lose an overtime game. There's not much you can do.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
They lost in overtime by 2. So it's pretty close.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Warriors Thrive and Lakers Panic Time? + Game 2 Adjustments
I would say, This is the one the Clippers might have let go away. They needed this one just because it went to overtime. James Harden played 43 minutes. Kawhi played 42 minutes. I think the way the Clippers adjust is, one, the turnovers. They had 20 turnovers. It led to tons of points off those turnovers in transition for Denver. And then the other thing is offensive rebounds.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
Yeah, it's hard to read. Well, there's the injury factor, obviously, is makes it hard to read. But also, you know, I think what you mentioned about Denver is crazy. A very good point. Their offense doesn't put enough pressure on you. They don't shoot enough threes, right? The Warriors sometimes run into this problem too, right? When the threes aren't getting up.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
And then you look at a team like Minnesota and the streak that they've kind of gone on. And I would say like Anthony Edwards – this is not like some kind of a great leap into MVP category, but I do think we're seeing a little bit of a mini leap for him playmaking wise over the last couple of months.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
I think that what Minnesota does where you have this guy with the ball in his hands, that's going to get, be a high volume three point shooter. He's going to attack the basket. I think that's a little bit harder to continue with. So Zena, I think that's a great point. And also I think history has proven that you cannot flip the switch because
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
There are not many teams that could just go into the playoffs.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
The Cleveland Cavaliers, when LeBron James was there, the second stint, that was the one team I've ever seen that was able to do it. And that doesn't mean they can't lock in for a quarter or something like that. Certainly teams can raise their level. But when we go into the playoffs, you know, the teams I'm circling, It's going to be Oklahoma city. It's going to be Cleveland.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
So maybe that's the kind of question moving forward with Cleveland, but at the same time, when it's 16 wins in a row...
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
It's going to be Boston. You know, they also, they all have that ability to throw an avalanche on you offensively. And that's what Denver hasn't shown this year. So it's a good point.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
If anything, I think the teams that end the season, the best have the best momentum moving into the post season. Right. You think of Boston a couple of years ago when they faced the Warriors in the finals, that second half surge last year, the Mavericks, they really galvanized, created a great defense. They went into the playoffs and they knew what they were doing.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
I think you got to look at who is dominating at this at this moment right now. And to your point, like Cleveland is dominating. Boston is doing his thing. OKC is doing his thing. And the same team has been doing it all year.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
All right. Let's let's make some predictions. We're a month out. Who's going to be the two seed?
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
I'm going to say it's the Rockets. I think actually the Rockets end up with the two. They have a pretty easy schedule. The Lakers schedule is tough. It's real hard. Nuggets are going to be out another week. Yeah. Yeah. I think it'll be the Rockets.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
you can't be complaining that much you know what i mean so can't wait forever yeah well team's team's gonna get one on you it's not that big of a deal you know uh but it's a look it's a big win for orlando um they are in the the play-in race with the atlanta hawks right now and xena look they're a half game back of the hawks the hawks are the kings of the play-in and orlando you know this is supposed to be a team that was going to be home court advantage team obviously the the
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
You know, it's, I have, I do think the wolves and warriors have a chance. Yeah. Cause look, the wolves have the easiest schedule in the West moving forward. They have the second or third easiest schedule in the entire NBA. They are not facing a lot. The warriors. It's the, the easiest schedule for the rest of the year. They have, like, the fourth easiest schedule in the West. The Warriors do.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
Yeah, but the Timberwolves are easiest in the West right now, so they're just facing a lot of, like, rebuilding teams. And I think there's a chance. There is a chance they could climb into that five or six. I don't know. Yeah, we'll see. Look, to your point, the Wolves top 10 offense and top 10 defense over the last month and a half. They are balling. They've been playing really well.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
And again, Anthony Edwards. I mean, the double team thing was so funny when he was sitting in the locker room and then he just went and grinded tape and he really has figured it out. I mean, it is a night and day difference in the way that the patience that he's showing in the double team. And I think that guy is going to be very scary in the playoffs. Guys, it's.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
Time for our BetMGM picks this week. We're doing a little college picks. You know, we thought we'd have a little fun with this. Selection Sunday was yesterday. Figured we would show how casual, well, not Zena. Well, on one side.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
But how casual S and I are. are as a college basketball fan so um the selection show was number one quite a bit of uh fun i always love the reactions from the schools um guys i'll go first and i'll just say this i'll start with the men's side i know less about the men's side than the women's side um so i'll just start there and then you guys give me your picks but i'm gonna say this
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
I've seen enough Cooper Flagg to know that he is far and away the best player in the country. And if he's healthy, I think Duke has a chance to win this thing. So I will pick Duke. But my Cinderella school would be my own Rams, the Virginia Commonwealth University Rams. I think they're going to beat BYU in that 6-11 matchup. We always get an upset in one of those 6-11 games.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
I think it's going to be VCU this year. Okay, I like it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
What about you guys? I'm going to go with Duke as well just because, again, casual fan here. If Cooper Flagg is playing, it's very obvious he's the best player in this. Why not? My Cinderella, though. OK. School name Wofford. All right. Wofford. And the reason is because Wofford.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
My bad. You know what? We will know their name soon because they will be a Cinderella story. OK. And it's because their mascot is a terrier. OK.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
It's an awesome dog to have as their mascot. Why not? Let's go with it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
The injuries have sunk their season. Yeah. What do you what do you make of their chances as a play in team? You know, if they get that seven seed, they wind up playing Boston. If they get the eight seed, they wind up playing this Cleveland team. I mean, we just they kind of match up if they can score. They match up OK with Cleveland. I think Boston is just that's a nightmare.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
On the women's side, you know, Zena, I would love for you to set this up for us. And you guys new episode of no offseason just out there after Selection Sunday, your instant reaction show. So I know that you've already given your thoughts on that. But my understanding is South Carolina not being the overall number one seed is a massive problem. sign of disrespect to Dawn Staley and USC.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
Oh, yeah. I mean, you know, women's college basketball is probably my favorite league on the planet. I just don't have time to watch it. This year, the little bit of time I had, I tried to see South Carolina as much as possible, and I tried to watch as much Juju Watkins as possible. Sabrina Merchant, she sends me an email or a text message. Anytime Juju's doing something, she sends me a text.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
So I'm picking USC. And Juju to win because I think when you've got the best player on the court at any time, you've got a chance to win. And then my Cinderella is going to be Norfolk State. I think when you've got a team that can score like that and they're from Virginia. There you go. Ride for them. Yeah, I'm picking Norfolk State as my Cinderella.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
Just footwork is amazing. Again, women's college basketball. I think if you were, if you were a fan of the NBA in the eighties and nineties, it is the style of basketball that I kind of grew up on. And I mean, the post play is crazy.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
I can't believe none of you guys pick South Carolina. This is crazy. We don't believe in them. Well, I'm not saying that. I'm not saying that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
Yeah, I'm going to go ahead and just lean with Don Staley being very motivated and picking South Carolina. And then for the wild card, Ball State. Literally just named Ball State. Like, it's in the name. You know what I mean? Again, very casual. So who could be better at it if you're named Ball State?
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
Anyway, hey, guys, if you're watching this on YouTube, please subscribe. If you're listening to this podcast on Apple, Spotify, wherever, leave us a five-star review. This show's fun, and it's good. We deserve it. Thanks. And also, let us know your picks for the tournament. We're looking at this as fans instead of analysts on the college side, except for Zena. Again, no off-season for Zena.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
Guys, that's going to do it for the show. Thank you guys for tuning in. For S. Baraheni and Zena Keita, I'm Dave Dufour, and this has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
If Jalen Suggs comes back and can contribute, I think this team has a chance. We saw how good they were with him to start the year, and we still haven't really seen him healthy since Paolo got hurt early on in the season. The four to six seeds in the East are fascinating right now. You've got the Bucs, who lost on Sunday to the Thunder, but they did pick up a huge win over the Pacers.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
They had a half-game lead over the Pacers for the four seed, and they got that big win. So, The Bucs right now in the four seed Pacers in five, a half game back. And then the Pistons, the surprise Pistons are only a game and a half back on the Bucs.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
Not a surprise to me, Dave. I mean, what do you think about the Pistons?
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
OK, so we got a chance to see the Pistons against the Thunder and we got to see a chance to see the Bucs against the Thunder. What do you guys think about where those two teams are at this stage of the season?
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
I thought it was really fun to watch. Well, first of all, that wasn't probably the best Pistons showing just because it seemed like they got frustrated a lot with the foul and the officiating. I mean, J.B. Bickerstaff kind of represented the entire team with the way they felt through the officiating situation against OKC.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
Did some skiing. Selection Sunday kind of took over television for a few hours. Yes, it did. Look, I was out there trying to watch the Raptors and the Blazers, and I kept getting distracted.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
Probably not the game to point to, but generally when you're looking into the postseason, I think their defense is something that can kind of translate over, especially the way they're versatile, can guard one through five through, you know, Asar Thompson, Tobias Harris can be a good team defender. I think Cade is a pretty underrated defender for his position as well.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
So generally, I think their defense can translate in the postseason, whereas Milwaukee, Indiana, I feel like they have a little bit more of a hole, especially at the point of attack. Defensively, you know, Indiana has like you could throw Andrew Nembhard on anybody and he'll be able to guard up. But, OK, teams are going to start to hunt Tyrese Halliburton.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
You know, if there's a situation where T.J. McConnell is really frisky, but there's still going to be a guy bigger than him, you know, stronger than him that can attack him. So to me, Milwaukee and Indiana, there are some holes on the defensive end that I have questions about postseason wise. This sounds like Pistons propaganda here. I don't know.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
clear happy march no no yeah no uh guys let's let's uh talk about the weekend a little bit and we're gonna use this as an opportunity to catch up ahead of the playoffs we're actually a month out we're we're 28 days away from the the play-in on april 15th so it's good time to take a look at the playoff races um We all kind of know the East, the top three, is just locked right now.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
Their offense doesn't let up. For what it's worth, between these three teams, if there was one of them that I think could either beat Boston or Cleveland in a series, and I don't think any of them really can, but if there was one that could, it would be Indiana because of how they can breeze themselves offensively. Totally. They've got a lot of factors at play.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
Here's my question. So, Zena, I like that point about the bench. And you mentioned – you brought this up about Bobby Portis, them missing Bobby Portis. You talked about this last week when we talked to Eric Name. And, you know, they have struggled offensively. A lot of people bring up, you know, yeah, the transition defense is awful. The point of attack defense with Damian Lillard is bad.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
But the truth is – and, Zena, this is what we talked about. That offense should be so high-powered that the defense isn't even that big of a concern.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
I'll tell you, my biggest frustration is there's too many times where I'm looking at the clock and it's 12 seconds left on the shot clock and they've done nothing. It takes them so long to get into action. No one has moved. No one has made a cut. No one set a screen.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
They haven't even got past half court sometimes.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
And this is the sort of stuff that when it comes to playoff time, and I'm with you, this is why I do trust Indiana a little bit more. And Frankly, I like the Pistons. I do like the Pistons. I think the Pistons with that defense, that's a scary team if you're the Knicks.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
Well, speaking of, hold that thought. After the break, we're going to talk about the Western Conference and those Thunder who had a really nice weekend. The Oklahoma City Thunder had another productive weekend. They're now 56-12 on the season after beating the Pistons and the Bucs back-to-back days. We have talked about the Thunder a lot. I don't know if there's anything else we can say.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
The Chet and Hartenstein lineups are working.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
Oh, yeah. They're actually – they're like – They're making them so much better when Shea is off the floor. Because they throw those two on and it's an offense to itself. It's Hartenstein making plays. It's Chet dominating offensively in his own way. That is going to be a key to them in the postseason. Those two guys thriving together. But yes, we've talked about them a lot.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
It's like 60-plus games, something like that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
With 20 or more points. And, Zena, I turned a corner here in the last couple weeks where I now feel as if Oklahoma City can just beat anyone, and I think it's because of Shea. Dave.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
It's going to be the Cavs, the Celtics, and the Knicks in that order. That's the order for the East at the top. And the Cavs, they did just have their 16-game winning streak snapped by the Orlando Magic. We've been talking about them a lot. Orlando's struggling quite a bit since they lost Jalen Suggs. This is a pretty big win for them. But for the Cavs, it's a little bit –
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily. Coming up, the Cavs' win streak is over, the West's playoffs is just a mess right now, and we're going to make some March Madness picks. Good morning, everybody. Good morning, guys. Hope you had a good weekend. Morning.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
You know, we just, it's not like it's Kate.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
It's not Kate Cunningham. Eventually. No, I'm happy.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
Yeah. Okay, let's update the playoffs. Obviously, the Thunder are running away with the West. And right behind them, it's a gaggle of teams fighting for that two seed. The Rockets, the Nuggets, and the Grizzlies are all same record, 43-25. The Lakers are one game behind those three. The Lakers pick up a big win on Sunday over the Suns. The Suns have their own battle.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
They're a game and a half behind the Mavericks. Oof. I only have like seven guys available, and the Suns just cannot win a basketball game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
And they have a ridiculous schedule ahead of them. They have the hardest schedule in the West remaining, and if they were to – like they play Cleveland once, they play OKC once, they play Boston two more times, the Knicks, the Warriors. It's going to be tough for Phoenix, man. That's – yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
It's incredible to say that – I mean – Zena, you watch, you watch the Suns. Kevin Durant, this looks like he's not really having that much fun.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
Some of the softest closeouts imaginable. They've just given up. It's done. They know that there's only 15 games left in the season. It's just they're walking towards it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
Kevin Durant's on Zillow. you know, trying to figure out where he wants to move to Minnesota. The lakes are really nice up in Minnesota. I think, you know, probably what it's going to be. Okay. So the, the two through five race right now, everyone's trying to get that to see, cause you want to avoid Oklahoma city.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
You know, the, the Grizzlies and rockets have kind of been hanging out in that two, three spot. Obviously the, the Lakers, they, they went on that huge surge. They've, they really didn't fall off as much without LeBron as, as I expected. What do you guys think of making that race? And where do you see it going here in the next few weeks? We only got four weeks left.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
This is a loss that's similar to some of their other losses. Orlando was very physical, kind of got them out of their game a little bit.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
Yeah, the Rockets playing well as of late is interesting just because they've gotten healthy again with Fred coming back. And they're just playing better defense because of it. So they look better. They're in a good position. The Lakers have such a tough schedule moving forward, too. And that's something that's going to work against them as they try to ramp LeBron back into the situation.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
I'm looking at Denver, though, because it's been kind of weird. How are they 0-2 against the Wizards this year?
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
Jordan Poole has Jokic's number. Is that what I'm supposed to believe here?
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
Yeah, Alex Saar out here dominating the matchup. That's an interesting one. And then, you know, the night before that, it's the Lakers without LeBron and Luka basically almost pulling the thing off and winning. Jamal Murray ends up with the dagger. So I think it's just interesting. You know, Jokic had a quote earlier saying, you know, you can't flip a switch.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
He said, I think you are who you are in the regular season. As you are in the playoffs, you can't flip a switch. And I think that's indicative of how this Nuggets team is kind of, going through the motions of things towards the end of the regular season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
I'm curious to see what you guys think about that, though, because I feel like the Nuggets have the talent, but it hasn't looked the greatest over the last couple weeks as they try to get things together.
The Athletic NBA Daily
NBA Playoff Brackets + March Madness
Yeah, when a team can just throw a ton of bodies at them physically, especially against their guards, they have a tougher time creating. Darius Garland tried his best in that fourth quarter with a bit of a run himself, but their secondary guys couldn't create shots and couldn't hit shots.
The Athletic NBA Daily
All Star Weekend Decode | Stephen Curry named All Star MVP
It felt like 21 years.
The Athletic NBA Daily
All Star Weekend Decode | Stephen Curry named All Star MVP
It was a lot of Kevin Hart. I don't want to sit and just talk about the broadcast because the game was fun. It was. I want to give the guys who I thought played really hard a lot of credit. I thought Kyrie Irving brought really good energy. Victor Wiminyama was great and tried to put on a show and then was visibly upset when his team gave up the win on a relatively easy basket.
The Athletic NBA Daily
All Star Weekend Decode | Stephen Curry named All Star MVP
Let's just start there with the format change. They're trying to get more competition to make the game matter more, make the guys care about it more.
The Athletic NBA Daily
All Star Weekend Decode | Stephen Curry named All Star MVP
Thank you, Zena. Of course. That's going to do it for today's show, folks. Thank you guys for listening. For Zena Kata, for Law Murray, for S. Baraheni, I'm Dave Dufour, and this has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
All Star Weekend Decode | Stephen Curry named All Star MVP
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily. Coming up, All-Star Weekend. And man, there was not a lot of basketball in that broadcast. We got Zena caught up with Law Murray there at the arena. And S and I try to make sense of the whole weekend. Good morning, everybody. Good morning, S. Good morning, Kevin Hart. Yeah, a lot of Kevin Hart last night. We had Zena Kata on assignment after the break.
The Athletic NBA Daily
All Star Weekend Decode | Stephen Curry named All Star MVP
is basketball it's all along and that's all we want and man they gave us a lot of other stuff anyway i don't want to just sit and critique the broadcast the basketball was fun it was good and i will say this my favorite part steph curry really opened it up after they had a long break it was 11 to 1 in the championship game they took this 20 minute long break to do a tribute a self-tribute to the inside cast who they're not going anywhere folks they're going to be around next year i don't understand this they sent them fishing i i mean i don't know yeah see we keep coming
The Athletic NBA Daily
All Star Weekend Decode | Stephen Curry named All Star MVP
back to that because it was so off-putting but steph curry is a showman steph curry hits a half court shot yeah all of a sudden we're all right back in and what do you know like s an all-star game broke out these guys started throwing behind the back passes we had steph obviously just launching um and then the funniest moment of the entire night happened Steph Curry is a 39-point game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
All Star Weekend Decode | Stephen Curry named All Star MVP
Steph Curry's dribbling up. He's so obviously about to launch from behind half court for a game winner, and he got whistled for an eight-second violation. That's comedy.
The Athletic NBA Daily
All Star Weekend Decode | Stephen Curry named All Star MVP
I mean, it's on our it's on our rundown. Look, yeah. Mac McClung, three time champion. I see a lot of people saying he's the greatest dunker ever. He's a professional dunker, though. Yes.
The Athletic NBA Daily
All Star Weekend Decode | Stephen Curry named All Star MVP
Yeah. But he's not an NBA player. So this is just we're doing a different thing.
The Athletic NBA Daily
All Star Weekend Decode | Stephen Curry named All Star MVP
And the thing is, the guy is a G League level player and he's a good basketball player. That's a good league. Yeah, but he's not an NBA guy.
The Athletic NBA Daily
All Star Weekend Decode | Stephen Curry named All Star MVP
They're not signing. I don't know if Kia can pay enough to sign off on that. I mean, the other thing is, I think one of the bigger problems we have, and like there are pro dunkers. Let's just keep that in mind, right? There are people who do dunking at a higher level than NBA players. Yeah, I think dunking is too mainstream. Like, we just don't care about it as much.
The Athletic NBA Daily
All Star Weekend Decode | Stephen Curry named All Star MVP
And so when you look at the way Mac McClung won the dunk contest, it's a lot of props. He's jumping over people. He very impressively actually jumped over the roof of a car. Yes. That was awesome to watch a human being do that reverse, which is crazy. It was sick. But you are looking at a professional dunker, not an NBA player.
The Athletic NBA Daily
All Star Weekend Decode | Stephen Curry named All Star MVP
So to me, I just think that we're maybe in a post dunk contest sort of situation here rather than trying to fix the dunk contest. I just I don't think that there's a fix. I don't even know.
The Athletic NBA Daily
All Star Weekend Decode | Stephen Curry named All Star MVP
I mean, I think the other thing is it allows them a chance to show off their personalities a little bit. I'm going to make a couple of wrestling pro wrestling references here. Number one, like when you look at the way that the dunk contest has become very gimmick heavy, like I said, props and stuff like that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
All Star Weekend Decode | Stephen Curry named All Star MVP
It's kind of like using like these big spots in wrestling, like a guy, you know, going through chairs. But I just don't like with the one on one tournament, you give a chance for these guys to kind of cut promos. They can talk. on camera, maybe, you know, a little bit of trash talk. Unrivaled did a really good job.
The Athletic NBA Daily
All Star Weekend Decode | Stephen Curry named All Star MVP
I mean, Nefesia Collier won, but she came across like a wrestling heel by saying that she's the best player in the world. And I think the NBA guys would embrace that quite a bit. It'd be a fun chance for us to get them, you know, talking a little bit of trash, playing hard against each other, showing off some of the pride, which is the thing that we really care about when we're watching them hoop.
The Athletic NBA Daily
All Star Weekend Decode | Stephen Curry named All Star MVP
She's going to talk to Law Murray. They were both in the building talking about, you know, just the game and the atmosphere there. But S, I think that we've got to start with Sunday night with the game. New all-star format, you know. Yeah. Seemed like the broadcast wasn't very happy about the changes to the format, but I don't care whether they liked it or not.
The Athletic NBA Daily
All Star Weekend Decode | Stephen Curry named All Star MVP
Okay, so the Cavs won. Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley won. Nobody really cares. Doesn't even matter.
The Athletic NBA Daily
All Star Weekend Decode | Stephen Curry named All Star MVP
They're going to hang this banner next to the championship banner if they win this year.
The Athletic NBA Daily
All Star Weekend Decode | Stephen Curry named All Star MVP
But we got to talk. The Spurs got disqualified because Victor Wimbinyama asked the referees about a particular rule. And if they just made attempts...
The Athletic NBA Daily
All Star Weekend Decode | Stephen Curry named All Star MVP
without making yeah just throwing the ball at the wall exactly and so you know by now obviously like if you guys followed all-star weekend you probably saw this look uh number one i don't know why you're trying to cheat at at this sort of thing it's not really clever as a matter of fact no and like i will say trying to cheat is bad but we could laugh at this this is actually kind of funny
The Athletic NBA Daily
All Star Weekend Decode | Stephen Curry named All Star MVP
And the worst part about the entire thing, as to me, is that Chris Paul and Victor Wiminyama, after finding out they're disqualified, Ali LaForse tries to interview them and the NBA shut it down. And it's like, look, man, like this is supposed to be. It's supposed to be fun. That was funny, even though I don't I didn't love it. It's still I can laugh at it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
All Star Weekend Decode | Stephen Curry named All Star MVP
That was one of my favorite moments from the whole weekend. I mean, again, the dunk contest was good. I enjoyed it. I think Stephen Castle, the dunk off the bank shot, the catch off the bank shot, very impressive.
The Athletic NBA Daily
All Star Weekend Decode | Stephen Curry named All Star MVP
The little behind the back dunk, too, from Steph Castle was really nice. Yeah. But Mac McClung, good, actually. Yeah. And fun. He jumped over a freaking car. It was awesome.
The Athletic NBA Daily
All Star Weekend Decode | Stephen Curry named All Star MVP
So I guess, S, score the weekend. I don't know. Give it a scale of 1 to 10. What do you give the weekend? Because fun is all that matters here. That's all I care about when I'm watching anything All-Star related. It maybe wasn't as fun as that Team USA, Team Canada, Four Nations match, which was awesome. Right, yeah. I would give this a seven and a half. I think it was fun. It was fine.
The Athletic NBA Daily
All Star Weekend Decode | Stephen Curry named All Star MVP
I thought it was, number one, I thought that the games were pretty good.
The Athletic NBA Daily
All Star Weekend Decode | Stephen Curry named All Star MVP
The parts of it that were bad were... I would blame the broadcast and the NBA. The players were great.
The Athletic NBA Daily
All Star Weekend Decode | Stephen Curry named All Star MVP
Zena. caught up with law Murray and they had a lot to say about the all-star game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
All Star Weekend Decode | Stephen Curry named All Star MVP
So shrinkflation has come to the NBA All-Star game. Instead of our 48 minutes of basketball, we got... And S did the math as sat and went through the file and did the math.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Clippers clinch playoffs; Warriors to play-in + NBA Regular Season Finale
Yeah, you're going to pop in this week and we'll talk Clippers Nuggets, Law Murray. That's my guy. That series is going to be just a battle.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Clippers clinch playoffs; Warriors to play-in + NBA Regular Season Finale
It's a great thing. It's what we do. We got to talk Chauncey Billups. Hey, a great season in Portland rewarded with a contract extension. You know, he got off to a rough start there. And I don't know if if anyone thought he was going to make it this long, much less get an extension. But, you know, they they have good players and he did a pretty good job, I think, of coaching him up.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Clippers clinch playoffs; Warriors to play-in + NBA Regular Season Finale
They almost made a run at the play in. You know, they had a great season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Clippers clinch playoffs; Warriors to play-in + NBA Regular Season Finale
Zia, what's the next level for them? Like, what's the next step? Like, you think next year they could be, you know, is this a Piston-style team that's, you know, threatening to be a sixth seed? Or, you know, they're fighting for the play-in? You think about the West getting older?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Clippers clinch playoffs; Warriors to play-in + NBA Regular Season Finale
Yeah. And no NBA regular season would be complete without heading into the playoffs with an injury concern lingering over the entire thing. Jalen Brown for the Boston Celtics is undergoing painkilling injections in his knee. I mean, we watched him. Was it was the last weekend or we watched him like really, really struggling to get around the court for like 20 minutes? Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Clippers clinch playoffs; Warriors to play-in + NBA Regular Season Finale
If they're doing painkilling injections now and you have a week of rest, I guess the hope is that, you know, there's healing and he doesn't have to suffer in the meantime. Maybe he can get some practice in. I'm not sure, but that's a big deal. Give him the first round off.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Clippers clinch playoffs; Warriors to play-in + NBA Regular Season Finale
Yeah. You guys got any big takeaways from the season? You know, a favorite memory, anything? Just what do you want to remember about this season?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Clippers clinch playoffs; Warriors to play-in + NBA Regular Season Finale
I mean, this is crazy.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Clippers clinch playoffs; Warriors to play-in + NBA Regular Season Finale
To me, I think like this is the year that we all fully embrace the age of parody. And we got to see what can happen when you have a league that can be remade in a year or in a single trade like the Lakers did with the Luca trade. And I think that's a lot of fun. There's chaos to that. It's not like hockey where it's randomness.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Clippers clinch playoffs; Warriors to play-in + NBA Regular Season Finale
The great players are still great and they still affect the game to an outsized degree. But you can shift your team's future in a weekend. Or if one guy will pick up the phone for you, you can make a move that will change your franchise for the next decade, good or bad. I think that that's a good place to be. The new CBA has made it tough to maintain your status at the top. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Clippers clinch playoffs; Warriors to play-in + NBA Regular Season Finale
And maybe that's not going to be a bad thing. I don't know. That's my takeaway from this year.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Clippers clinch playoffs; Warriors to play-in + NBA Regular Season Finale
Yeah. Seventh team to ever win that minigame. So it could all be moot. That's going to do it for the show. That's it for the regular season. Of course, we're going to be here for the play and the playoffs. We've got a stacked schedule coming up. Thank you guys for tuning in and watching us on YouTube. Like and subscribe to this video. Leave us a five-star review.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Clippers clinch playoffs; Warriors to play-in + NBA Regular Season Finale
You know, do all those things that we ask you to do all the time. For Zena Kata and Espera Henney, I'm Dave Dufour, and this has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us all season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Clippers clinch playoffs; Warriors to play-in + NBA Regular Season Finale
Thing that stood out to me was how big the Clippers seemed compared to the Warriors. And I think down the stretch, you know, you think about the lobs to Zubat, the rebounds. I mean, it just the Warriors didn't have the size to be able to withstand. I mean, Ben Simmons actually was making an impact just by being big around there.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Clippers clinch playoffs; Warriors to play-in + NBA Regular Season Finale
You know, this is something we talked about for the Warriors for years now. You know, are you feeling comfortable as they go into I mean, they're going to have to win a play in game, you know, against Memphis Grizzlies. Obviously, the Grizzlies have some size. You know, how are you feeling about about the Warriors and their lack of size heading into the play in and the playoffs?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Clippers clinch playoffs; Warriors to play-in + NBA Regular Season Finale
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily. Coming up, the regular season is over, folks. Warriors Clippers gave us a thriller. Zena was there, so we're going to talk to her and we're going to catch up on the crazy last day of the season. Good morning, everybody. Good morning, guys. We have somehow made it. 82 games in the books for every single team. Congratulations, guys.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Clippers clinch playoffs; Warriors to play-in + NBA Regular Season Finale
yeah someone else didn't have any stats in the game uh yesterday jonathan comingo did not play okay and and xena you really brought this up uh last week where you were concerned about some of the fit issues on the court steve kerr has said it you know he said it in an interview and now we have comingo just i mean it looks like as we're heading into the playoffs just going to be out of the rotation and i mean is that your read on it too
The Athletic NBA Daily
Clippers clinch playoffs; Warriors to play-in + NBA Regular Season Finale
I actually would have gone and asked – back me up if you agree or push back if you disagree. Moses Moody should have been the guy because – and you said, Zena, that Gary Payton spaces, but he's a hesitant shooter. And so they were leaving him open, and it was actually – it was kind of clogging up their space down the stretch.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Clippers clinch playoffs; Warriors to play-in + NBA Regular Season Finale
And I just thought also having a little bit more length and size because they were struggling to rebound. I think Moses Moody would have been – you know, if you could do this one over, right. As like you say, Oh, I'm going to close with Moses Moody.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Clippers clinch playoffs; Warriors to play-in + NBA Regular Season Finale
I agree with that. And, you know, there are highlights from with the Kuminga, Draymond, Jimmy Butler trio being on the court. And you just say, OK, well, the Kuminga does not fit, period. Like he doesn't know where to fit. Steve Kerr is right that it doesn't work.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Clippers clinch playoffs; Warriors to play-in + NBA Regular Season Finale
I don't think anyone said we couldn't do it. I understand it now. Yes, you do. Guys, we got to start with the last game of the day. It went to overtime. So we got free basketball from three separate games on the last day of the season. It was the biggest game of the day. Warriors Clippers. And it was for the playoffs. Xena, the Clippers looked much better, I thought, than the Warriors.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Clippers clinch playoffs; Warriors to play-in + NBA Regular Season Finale
He got stuck with that one grenade and wound up traveling, which in the NBA, I didn't even think he could get that call. We've been talking a lot the last few weeks about peaking at the right time. And the Warriors, and Zena, you've been hammering this. They haven't played anybody since they got Jimmy Butler, really. It's a little bit of a paper tiger. The Clippers have, though.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Clippers clinch playoffs; Warriors to play-in + NBA Regular Season Finale
And yes, this is another example of them. They're peaking at the right time. Kawhi puts up 33. It's 15 games to close the season with 20 or more points for him. I mean, you know, it's one of these things where we are once again finding ourselves rolling into playoffs. Kawhi Leonard looking like a top
The Athletic NBA Daily
Clippers clinch playoffs; Warriors to play-in + NBA Regular Season Finale
kawaii is peaking at just the right time it's like they found out okay play the second half of the season then we're good the perfect amount of games somehow you know i even went back through the basketball reference i was like looking at his game logs and just the way that they warmed him up um they they maybe nailed it we'll see i'm gonna knock on wood for kawaii guys stick around after the break we're gonna talk about how crazy sunday was and throw some stats at you
The Athletic NBA Daily
Clippers clinch playoffs; Warriors to play-in + NBA Regular Season Finale
Sunday was awesome. If you're an NBA fan, the game started really early and then they were all on at the same time. And we lucked out. We got some weird overtime games and we got the awesome Warriors Clippers game. A lot of crazy numbers out there, guys. What's the craziest stat that you saw from Sunday?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Clippers clinch playoffs; Warriors to play-in + NBA Regular Season Finale
That's just what Kuzma was going to be the 40 point guy in that game. He had 22 in the first quarter for 62 points. I'm just thinking, oh, this is going to be a great Kuz game. But then Kuz doesn't play the second half and he comes out after halftime in street clothes. Yeah, I love that. It's still wacky.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Clippers clinch playoffs; Warriors to play-in + NBA Regular Season Finale
What about what about you?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Clippers clinch playoffs; Warriors to play-in + NBA Regular Season Finale
That defense looks like it's ready for the playoffs. Would you think you were in the building?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Clippers clinch playoffs; Warriors to play-in + NBA Regular Season Finale
That's Dennis Rodman numbers. You know, that's pretty impressive. Do what you got to do to stay on the floor. You know what I didn't realize, guys, is Chris Paul played all 82 games. Yes, exactly. That's kind of amazing. He's only done it one other time in his career. He did it 10 years ago, the 14, 15 season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Clippers clinch playoffs; Warriors to play-in + NBA Regular Season Finale
And, you know, it was all over social media, you know, obviously making a big deal out of it. But at his age to play all 82 games and for a guy that we know to be injury prone. That's something. That was actually very surprising to see, even.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Clippers clinch playoffs; Warriors to play-in + NBA Regular Season Finale
He's going to stay in San Antonio. I think he should.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Clippers clinch playoffs; Warriors to play-in + NBA Regular Season Finale
He got a lot of people to coach still. Do you guys catch Bub Carrington's shot? Bub Carrington hits the game winner for the Wizards, and it moves them to 18 wins on the season. Utah finishes with 17 wins, and that means Bub Carrington, not only did he hit a game winner, but he tanked their tank season on the end of the regular season final day. I love that so much. A buzzer beater, buzzer beater.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Clippers clinch playoffs; Warriors to play-in + NBA Regular Season Finale
That's awesome. To take them out of the top spot in the lottery.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Clippers clinch playoffs; Warriors to play-in + NBA Regular Season Finale
There's a little bit of built-in job protection, though, if you're Bob Carrington. This means it's a lesser player coming in.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Clippers clinch playoffs; Warriors to play-in + NBA Regular Season Finale
Dave, you love her in the house. This is why we like the podcast being live. Well, would you think since we're just going to interrupt the show, final day of the season, would you think?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers stop Cavs streak | Kings win 7th straight
Obviously, got to talk about the Cavs first because this is the end of a 12-game win streak. They had already won 15 games to start the season, Zena. This is the number one offense in the NBA. They fall to 33 and five. We've been impressed with them all season. It was always going to end at some point. I'm just a little bit surprised it was the Pacers.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers stop Cavs streak | Kings win 7th straight
russell westbrook and yokich are triple double machines on the same team now like that's scary stuff that's scary stuff they start to play and they also and this is funny their first duo to record a 25 point triple double together which just feels crazy because yokich almost averages a 25 point triple double every game you think I think one guy in his career would eventually do that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers stop Cavs streak | Kings win 7th straight
Look, this team is now the four seed in the West and they're getting healthier. They're getting better. And I think all expectations are that they will make some sort of an improvement coming into the deadline. Are we ready to say that the Nuggets are back?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers stop Cavs streak | Kings win 7th straight
I'm just excited. I'm just excited. What do you want me to do? I get it. I get it. All right. Stick around. We'll be a little more liberal after the break.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers stop Cavs streak | Kings win 7th straight
Okay, this is the part of our Monday show where we try to preview the week. We're going to make some picks brought to you by our friends at BetMGM and our pick for game of the week. I mean, there was really no other option. Thunder, Cavs, part two. We got it Thursday night. It's going to be in Oklahoma City. Guys, make your pick. We saw part one. It was the game of the year.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers stop Cavs streak | Kings win 7th straight
I think we're going to get a follow-up performance that's going to be just as good. Make your pick.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers stop Cavs streak | Kings win 7th straight
Get it ready for this game. No pre-made.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers stop Cavs streak | Kings win 7th straight
Yeah, but you can't call yourself a bunch of dogs if you're not going to try to eat when the big dogs roll through. I think we're all with the thunder on this. Again, the home and home split just kind of spiritually feels right for these two teams. I mean, if they wind up in the finals and it goes to a game seven. I mean, like, you know what I mean?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers stop Cavs streak | Kings win 7th straight
That's what this this has the vibes of a heavyweight fight. So, yeah, we're going to go all thunder. Andrew Schleck's going to hate it. Because we're putting jinx on them. But that's where we're at. We're going all thunder. We also made some other picks this week. Our sicko picks of the week where we're picking the sicko games.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers stop Cavs streak | Kings win 7th straight
And I'm going to start this one off because I'm very excited about this. Number one, the Pelicans are getting healthier. They played the Celtics on Sunday. It was one of the healthiest team games that they've had all year. And they didn't have Herb Jones and they didn't have Brandon Ingram. And they were right there with the Celtics. Zion looks so good since he's come back.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers stop Cavs streak | Kings win 7th straight
What he and DeJounte are doing together offensively is just something that we haven't seen for the Pels. And it makes a lot of sense, especially when Trey Murphy is playing as well as he is. But also the Bulls just seem to always have these games that are on drugs. You know, like, yeah, it's their knockdown drag out. They're almost going to overtime. There's a game winner.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers stop Cavs streak | Kings win 7th straight
There's something crazy happening in every Bulls game. Zach Levine scored 30 and six straight and has looked like an all-star all season long. I just think that this is kind of a big game if you really love basketball. So that's my pick guys. Thicko game of the week. Pelicans Bulls Tuesday night. You got to watch it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers stop Cavs streak | Kings win 7th straight
It's funny to call Nick's game sicko games, though. I mean, that's like that's. Most of these are on national TV. No, it's a good, that's a good, that's a good game because Dante DiVincenzo against the Villanova guys is a battle in and of itself. So, oh yeah, that's definitely worth watching. And the Knicks are so fun.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers stop Cavs streak | Kings win 7th straight
I mean, look and know how Halliburton had to leave this game. I mean, he was injured. He only had two points and S look, he has struggled with the hamstring since last year. Yeah. So it was, it was a bummer to see him go out, especially because he had such a nice run here lately, but Andrew Nembhard, Is kind of like PG one for them now.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers stop Cavs streak | Kings win 7th straight
I don't know. Did they kick him out of the group chat? They must have.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers stop Cavs streak | Kings win 7th straight
All right. Well, that's going to do it for today's show, folks. Thank you guys for tuning in. For Zena Kata and S. Baraheni, I'm Dave Dufour, and this has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers stop Cavs streak | Kings win 7th straight
I feel like he has taken over not only the playmaking duties, but also point of attack defense. And Xena just said, picking up guys full court. That's the ball pressure that they had that playoff success with. And now we're seeing in the regular season, they've been great.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers stop Cavs streak | Kings win 7th straight
I was going to say, Jared Weiss and Sam Amick just wrote a big piece at The Athletic. Nice. Kind of chronicling the entire turnaround for them. But go ahead, Zena.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers stop Cavs streak | Kings win 7th straight
Yeah. And look, if you think back to what the Thunder were able to do to him last week and how they bothered Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland a little bit, you look at what the Pacers do. I don't know. I think teams are probably we're going to be seeing more ball pressure.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers stop Cavs streak | Kings win 7th straight
The Cavs going forward and probably again when these teams meet in a couple of days because they're doing the home and home with the Pacers. So big week for the Cavs. They got to figure this stuff out because the league catches up pretty quick. Speaking of catching up quick, guys, the Kings are back. I've got an issue with me a couple of years. No more. The Kings won their seventh straight win.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers stop Cavs streak | Kings win 7th straight
I said after they dropped that first game under Doug Christie, I said. I don't know if Mike Brown was the problem. I looked at the roster and I say, hey, look, maybe it's a roster issue. Well, now that they've won seven straight and during this win streak, they've had the seventh best offense and the third best defense. Guys, Mike Brown might have been the problem. I don't know.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers stop Cavs streak | Kings win 7th straight
This team looks night and day different.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers stop Cavs streak | Kings win 7th straight
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily for January 13th, 2025. Coming up, the Cavs streak is over, but the Pacers and the Kings are still streaking. Palo and Aaron Gordon are back, and we look ahead and make some picks. Good morning, everybody. Good morning, guys.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers stop Cavs streak | Kings win 7th straight
Who knew? They built a team that has a lot of hoopers on it. I mean, it's guys that are probably just better served improvising. I mean, DeMar DeRozan obviously has been doing that his whole career. De'Aaron Fox, Malik Monk. And when you see the sort of performances they've got, I mean, they made Herter look like a star in one of these guys by just saying, go cook.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers stop Cavs streak | Kings win 7th straight
by the way, this did not take, it did not take five games. I think he was probably in the same boat as us. Like, why isn't this guy playing? I don't know. Guys, the Knicks bounced back on Sunday after getting smacked by the Thunder at MSG, which, you know, look, the Thunder, that's, that's the real deal. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers stop Cavs streak | Kings win 7th straight
That's a tough, that's a tough matchup, but the Bucks are supposed to be tougher than this. They got beat by 34 on Sunday and they, It's another game where the Bucs' defense, especially point of attack, is just getting destroyed. Jalen Brunson had 44 points. Carl Anthony Towns had 30 and 18 rebounds. So you're getting beat inside and outside to a certain degree. And I don't know, guys.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers stop Cavs streak | Kings win 7th straight
I think the Knicks, I want to put them in the next level. I want to elevate them because of games like this. They dropped 140 on the Bucs.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers stop Cavs streak | Kings win 7th straight
Another big and busy weekend in the NBA where I forgot that Thunder and Knicks even played Friday night because we had so much stuff. I think the Knicks did too.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers stop Cavs streak | Kings win 7th straight
I believe that what the Knicks really need is just a bigger rotation. And I think if they could get eight or nine guys out there instead of six or seven.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers stop Cavs streak | Kings win 7th straight
So they're definitely in the prove-it zone for sure. I mean, this is a team that needs to prove it in the regular season as well as once we get to the playoffs. Guys, stick around after the break. We're going to talk about Paolo's comeback. 34 games missed, and I don't think he missed a beat.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers stop Cavs streak | Kings win 7th straight
Well, we got a big return for the fourth place Orlando Magic on Friday night as Paolo Bencaro came back from a 34-game absence to score 34 points in a loss to the Bucs. They did pick up a win on Sunday, and he had 28-6 in that. So, guys, I think it's safe to say Paolo not only back on the court, but back. He just looks like he didn't miss a beat.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers stop Cavs streak | Kings win 7th straight
Yeah, rightfully. You know, but they did bounce back a little bit. We'll get to that in a minute. Guys, the biggest news on Monday morning, the Cleveland Cavaliers will not have a 15-game win streak when they go up against the Thunder later on this week because they ran into the Indiana Pacers, who held them to only 93 points in a 108-93 win. The Pacers, six straight win.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers stop Cavs streak | Kings win 7th straight
Yeah, they were down to eight players on Sunday. So definitely good to have Paolo back. Now we got to get Franz back. We got to get Jalen Suggs. And shout out to my guy, Goga. I hope that he's just back for the next game. Like, this is not going to be some long-term injury. Let's hope. We had another return, guys. The Nuggets, who have bounced back, got Aaron Gordon back. And then they came back.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers stop Cavs streak | Kings win 7th straight
on Sunday in their game against the Mavericks, who are missing a bunch of guys. They were losing this game, and I was very nervous. I was actually texting with Adam Mares, who covers the Nuggets for DNVR, and he said, if they lose this game to a beat-up Mavericks, I'm calling in sick tomorrow. He just said, there's no way. We got Aaron Gordon back, all these guys back.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers stop Cavs streak | Kings win 7th straight
But the truth of the matter is, look, Aaron Gordon looked pretty good. But Jokic has found a running mate in Russell Westbrook that has just surprised kind of everyone. And by the way, he snuck up on us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Pacers stop Cavs streak | Kings win 7th straight
Michael Malone, after every single game, has gotten to the point where he sounds like a broken record when he talks about Russell Westbrook and he talks about the professionalism, the intensity that he brings every day. We love Russ. And I mean, to be fair, Russ has set a tone there that when we first started watching him this year, first five, ten games, it was really rough.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder save their season + Cavs in big trouble
I think Boston's back in form. I think those two games at the start were feeling weird. I feel like they're going to tie it on up.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder save their season + Cavs in big trouble
Right. That's what I'm saying. Right. Exactly. And Jason Tatum's Superman commercial came out. So we got to, you know...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder save their season + Cavs in big trouble
I was going to say, with the way that the DC cinematic universe is gone, I'm just not sure if we want to lean on... My point is, if anything, Jason Tatum has got to make up for the fact that that commercial came out at the time that it did.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder save their season + Cavs in big trouble
Yeah. Yeah, you can't, you cannot.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder save their season + Cavs in big trouble
I think it definitely will require a miracle. But first, tangibly, Jimmy, JK have to repeat their performances. The miracle is going to have to be one more person. Pods, Buddy, Moses, those are the miracles that are going to have to happen. They need a Buddy Heald game. They need a Buddy Heald game. And we saw the 33-point game at the end of Houston. We know what he's capable of.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder save their season + Cavs in big trouble
But what they really need is a point guard. And say what you want. People have thoughts about this. But I think they could benefit from having Pat Spencer out there and knowing Steve Kerr and how these lineups have changed literally every game. Why not? Why not? Why not? You have to lose at this point. Give yourself a point guard and organize yourself out there.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder save their season + Cavs in big trouble
But that's what I – To your point, as I feel as if I almost expected it because of how hard the first round went. Right. And how hard everyone went. You think about that Denver Clipper series was crazy. And now you're seeing them look so tired against OKC. And it's a direct result of that first series. Right. So I agree. Injuries have been tough, but yeah, second round has been a little bit meh.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder save their season + Cavs in big trouble
The offense was rolling a little bit. when he was not out on the floor. So I'm not saying it's like, of course you are better with Draymond Green. Don't get me wrong. But when things get a little bit ISO, you need a little bit more spacing. And so sometimes the breaks from Draymond can be a positive. But that being said, I'm going to go with And I know you guys are going to be like, really?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder save their season + Cavs in big trouble
I'm going to go with the Warriors. Really?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder save their season + Cavs in big trouble
They're not going to let a game away from at home go away. Like, come on.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder save their season + Cavs in big trouble
You know, I gather that that's what he plans to do, so now I'm literally cheering for this.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder save their season + Cavs in big trouble
And that you go ahead. Ask. Cause you're really, you're laying out my theory and it's because I feel like they're the closest. I really I'm not going to say I hate, but it is kind of lackluster and anticlimactic when these big time lottery picks go to teams. Yeah. And they kind of have to sit and wait for their team to really pick up. Right.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder save their season + Cavs in big trouble
Let's think about what happened with Cade Cunningham going to Detroit. Sure. You had to wait. Washington's right on the cusp. of figuring something out in terms of just getting some momentum. They got Jordan Poole. They got Saar. They got Bilal. They got things going. I just feel like they need another thing to have us start thinking about them.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder save their season + Cavs in big trouble
Exactly. Look at Orlando. Look at Orlando. So I just feel like that's why I think Washington.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder save their season + Cavs in big trouble
On the point of zones, we saw that in both games, in both teams in both games, trying to find a way to utilize zone. And I was talking about this last night with Chris Mullen and Bonte and Festus on the Warriors show, like how much zone we've seen this season than any other before.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder save their season + Cavs in big trouble
But one of the reasons that some of these teams are really struggling against the zone, it's like, one, you're expecting a man, so you're not really prepping for it as much. But two... This level, this basketball today is more oriented to the pick and roll, to the man defense. And in a zone, it requires good execution. You need good passing. You need ball movement. You need ball fakes.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder save their season + Cavs in big trouble
You need fundamentals. And this era of basketball isn't as attuned to that sort of ball. So you're seeing teams when they first see the zone, they don't know what to do. Like Indiana looked dazed last game. when they saw Cavs zone. But what happens is they're now told, hey, screen in the zone. Hey, these are the angles. Here's the geometry you got to start to take advantage of.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder save their season + Cavs in big trouble
And so literally, I feel like the coaches from the older era are like, hey, we barely, rarely saw zone, but that's because we could pass well. And here's what you got to do to be able to beat it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder save their season + Cavs in big trouble
Let's give us credit for being on the Andrew Demhar train early, though. Very true. We've been talking about him since the beginning of the season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder save their season + Cavs in big trouble
Yes, it is. You talked about that high octane offense. At least in this game, don't look at just the scores that were after the final box score, folks. Like, yes, the bench looks like 58 to 53, but that was not the case for the majority of the game. The difference in this game to me was,
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder save their season + Cavs in big trouble
OB Toppin, TJ McConnell coming off the bench and, I mean, literally lighting it up, playing defense, running in transition. And you compare their performances with just the two of them to Ty Jerome, DeAndre Hunter, Sam Merrill, Wade, like Okoro. Those two outdid those five. And that bench play completely changed the pace of everything that was going on for Indiana. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder save their season + Cavs in big trouble
Yeah, this game is awful for both teams, shooting less than 40%. I would almost say 35% from the floor for both teams. But... More credit to be given to Thunder for winning the game. I mean, this is probably the number one question that's been on OKC Thunder. We talked about the number one thing that's been talked about, their depth.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder save their season + Cavs in big trouble
The number one question has been, are you able to pull that depth and all that talent that you've got into the postseason and actually win and close out tough games? We know Denver's capable of it, and they've got the veteranship, the maturity, and the talent to be able to pull it off. But in this game, the youth showed up. Both teams are dead tired. Let's just put that out there.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder save their season + Cavs in big trouble
And that was probably weird for all of us to see OKC, the young legs, the young bucks, be tired against this team. But they pulled this out, and they should have confidence that they can pull a game like that out on Denver's court, especially the way that Denver has been closing out some of these games. Shout out, Aaron Gordon. But if I'm looking at the Nuggets...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder save their season + Cavs in big trouble
I'm now concerned because throughout this season, the two lowest offensive rating games that they've had have come at the hands of OKC. One was earlier this season. The other one was last night. The three of the worst games that Jokic has had this season have come at the hands of OKC. So they're going back.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder save their season + Cavs in big trouble
They're going back into their locker room and they're going back into their bus and they're like, we can do this. Yes, Joker walks in with his suit every day, looking fresh, you know, a little bit of intimidation with the colors and such. Of course, we know what he's referencing, but we can do this. We have held this team and we have stopped this team and we have stopped their best player.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder save their season + Cavs in big trouble
And they really should pull from this game and get even more confident that they can do it again.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder save their season + Cavs in big trouble
I don't think that the Nuggets go anywhere else. They tried it. They know what they had. They've been trying Watson. If anything, I'm more focused on getting sleep. Go get your neurotech, right? Get the melatonin, get the little legs on where you can get some recovery to your legs like that is more important for anything or to anything that Denver wants to do.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder save their season + Cavs in big trouble
They have to believe in Russell Westbrook not ending up. I mean, what was he one of? 10 or something from the floor? Two of 12, which is just as bad. You got to believe that he won't go two of 12. You got to believe that Michael Porter Jr., even with the activity and the effort that he showed last night, that he'll go more than one for seven. That's all I think Denver has.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder save their season + Cavs in big trouble
They got to believe in the personnel that they have, which we've seen be capable of showing up.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Shai goes for 40 as Thunder drop Nuggets
and the way that he knows how to space whether he's at the nail he's at the three-point line if he's close to the hoop he just knows how to defend Jokic maybe better than I've seen anybody well let's talk about his front court partner because Chad Holmgren was amazing in this game he was a game high plus 32 he had four blocks I actually think he did an okay job in the few times that he had to to guard Jokic obviously it's Jokic and the size advantage is in his favor but
The Athletic NBA Daily
Shai goes for 40 as Thunder drop Nuggets
What sort of a difference do you see in this team comparing the earlier matchups to now when they're at full health, everyone's out there? Does this just feel like a better team or is it just more complete? How do you feel about it compared to earlier in the year?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Shai goes for 40 as Thunder drop Nuggets
Had that one in transition in the lane with the two handed dunk. And I was thinking of shades of your favorite player, Shaq. on that dunk, Andrew. That's right.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Shai goes for 40 as Thunder drop Nuggets
Especially because so often it felt like Denver was looking for a foul call that wasn't coming. I thought OKC did a really good job. of being physical. And Denver is physical, which is why we're so excited to see Chet and Hartenstein against Jokic. But they were waiting for these foul calls that wouldn't come, and OKC was just running the other way. I thought that that was a huge key to the game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Shai goes for 40 as Thunder drop Nuggets
Yeah, Denver doesn't have the ability to withstand a rough Jamal Murray game, which they got. And for the Thunder, hey, if somebody's having a rough game, Somebody else is going to pick him up. I mean, Jalen Williams had a rough first half, I think, just didn't do as much as he needed to do, but then stepped up in second half, and that's how they blew them out.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Shai goes for 40 as Thunder drop Nuggets
So I guess the Thunder now own the fourth quarter. This has become the signature of this team, in my opinion, for this season, is that they have the switch that they flip. We know about the Warriors. They used to do the third quarter run. For the Thunders, the fourth, where is that coming from? Is it just they've got more endurance? Is there extra intensity there?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Shai goes for 40 as Thunder drop Nuggets
I mean, what is the secret to the Thunder in the fourth quarter?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Shai goes for 40 as Thunder drop Nuggets
Yeah, listen, Denver threw out a zone at them in the third quarter, and I thought, ooh, here's a huge curveball. We got to see how they handle it. They handled it no problem. I don't know, man. I think this probably is going to be the Western Conference Finals. I think we're just picking the two teams that look like they're most poised to do it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Shai goes for 40 as Thunder drop Nuggets
The Lakers, obviously, are a little bit of a dark horse. Depends on how LeBron comes back. But I don't know. It's a fun game. Let's do it again tomorrow. Do it again tomorrow. I love the back-to-back. This is so great. That's going to do it for the show. That's a really good show for a Monday. Thanks to Andrew Schleck for hanging out, staying in the arena, hanging out. Thanks to S. Barahany.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Shai goes for 40 as Thunder drop Nuggets
He's not here right now. Thanks to Zena Keita. I'm Dave DuFour. This has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Shai goes for 40 as Thunder drop Nuggets
Yeah. I mean, the Lakers overall, just not much defensive playmaking. They block one shot in the game. You know, this is again, they didn't have any bigs available. And then LeBron losing him for for the end of the game. I mean, he had what he had, 22, nine assists, 14 rebounds up to that point. So he had been hugely productive in the game. Let's let's look ahead, though.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Shai goes for 40 as Thunder drop Nuggets
As you mentioned it, they have a brutal schedule coming up. LeBron's going to be out, they're saying, a week or two. It's LeBron. I'll say he's 40. We're going to err on the two-week side, right? So what's the next two weeks look like for these guys? I mean, can they hold, you know, they're in the two or three spot, depending on the day, them and Denver kind of going back and forth right now.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Shai goes for 40 as Thunder drop Nuggets
Can they hold on to one of those top four seeds, you know, or do they need to worry about Memphis or Houston or, you know, I mean, if the Warriors just stay hot, maybe the Warriors.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Shai goes for 40 as Thunder drop Nuggets
I love that you can't do that with a straight face when you're saying that to me, but I appreciate it. Zena, what do they need? Who needs to step up to make up for LeBron's absence? They got to get some production from somewhere. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Shai goes for 40 as Thunder drop Nuggets
How's it going? Good weekend. Morning.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Shai goes for 40 as Thunder drop Nuggets
Event weekend. Yes. Really busy weekend. Zena, you're watching 85 basketball games every day. How about that Lakers Celtics game? Saturday night.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Shai goes for 40 as Thunder drop Nuggets
I'm glad you mentioned Austin Reeves. He had a really bad game on Saturdays. One of the worst games I've seen from him this season. But coming back off injury, you could see he was just rusty. He couldn't hit a shot. And I don't think he's going to be that bad going forward. So good point on that. Speaking of, let's talk about the team that they're kind of paired up with, the Nuggets.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Shai goes for 40 as Thunder drop Nuggets
They got a big win on Friday against the Suns in overtime. Obviously, they lost on Sunday to the Thunder.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Shai goes for 40 as Thunder drop Nuggets
We'll talk to Andrew about that. But the crazy game on Friday against the Suns, they win in overtime. Nikola Jokic puts up Potentially the greatest statistical single game performance ever. 31 points, 21 rebounds, 22 assists. It sparked a conversation, S, about the MVP that we've kind of been having.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Shai goes for 40 as Thunder drop Nuggets
Look, as far as I'm concerned, Shea Gildas Alexander has done just as much statistically as Jokic.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Shai goes for 40 as Thunder drop Nuggets
on a much better team and thus he's the front runner right he's leading the league in scoring like he checks all the boxes but Jokic once again putting up the greatest statistic season statistical season ever for like the fifth straight season he seems like he's gonna be robbed of an MVP that he would have won any year and the discourse around is just getting weird and
The Athletic NBA Daily
Shai goes for 40 as Thunder drop Nuggets
Yeah. So we'll go through the game a little bit. I thought the Celtics, they came out. Obviously, they were ready for this. I mean, it's a marquee matchup. Their defense looked excellent.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Shai goes for 40 as Thunder drop Nuggets
Still a lot of time left, but Shay's the MVP. We know that. And he showed us on Sunday.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Shai goes for 40 as Thunder drop Nuggets
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily. Coming up, the Thunder slapped the Nuggets. So we talked to Andrew Schlecht after that. The Celtics handled the Lakers and LeBron's going to miss a little bit of time. So we're going to go through that a little bit. And Jokic put up a stat line that we have never seen before. Is he the MVP or is it still Shea? Good morning, everybody. Good morning, guys.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Shai goes for 40 as Thunder drop Nuggets
I do think he showed us on Sunday. And guys, now it's time for our game of the week brought to you by BetMGM. There's only one game I've got circled on the calendar this week. I think it is the biggest game of the week. Thunder at Celtics on Wednesday. We've already talked about how Oklahoma City is getting up for these big games. Obviously, the Celtics getting up for big games.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Shai goes for 40 as Thunder drop Nuggets
I think we're going to have another big week of basketball. Who are you guys taking in that game? Thunder at the Celtics.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Shai goes for 40 as Thunder drop Nuggets
they broke out a big lead and then the Lakers started making a comeback and you might've missed it because LeBron injured what we found out injured his groin and he went to the bench and then disappeared, went to the locker room and I'm sitting there and I'm hearing the report. OK, LeBron's in the locker room, but I'm thinking it's LeBron James. He's coming back.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Shai goes for 40 as Thunder drop Nuggets
We're going to get a chance to see Thunder go against the Nuggets again Monday night. I'm not going to change my mind between now and then.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Shai goes for 40 as Thunder drop Nuggets
crazy by the way it's insane but i love it for us um i i'm gonna take the thunder i think the thunder going to boston with the they're trying to prove a point here that they belong in that championship conversation guys stick around after the break xena and i sat down with andrew schlecht right after the thunder's big win over the nuggets we kind of get to the bottom of this shea and yokich debate
The Athletic NBA Daily
Shai goes for 40 as Thunder drop Nuggets
Now, it doesn't really feel fair to have an 11 a.m. Central Time start after you spring forward. But that's what the NBA decided for our marquee game on Sunday between the Thunder and the Nuggets. And man, that game really lived up. Andrew Schlecht, our guy, was in the arena. He's still in the building for this interview with me and Zena. Andrew, congratulations on the win.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Shai goes for 40 as Thunder drop Nuggets
40-point game from Shea Gildas-Alexander. Statement game from the Thunder overall. Talk a little bit about the win and what it actually means for the team.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Shai goes for 40 as Thunder drop Nuggets
This is the thing that they needed. I felt to for the Lakers to complete the comeback. It was all set up perfectly for LeBron to come in and be that final push in the last five minutes. He wasn't there. They ran out of gas. And I mean, Jason Tatum had 40. Jalen Brown had 31. Just that was a Celtics just.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Davis’ roller coaster debut | Jimmy Butler cooks with Curry
No, he makes a lot of sense next to LaMelo ball and Brandon Miller. And the only thing is like, you hope he can just stay healthy in his career. He's had, he's played less than a hundred games through three seasons of his career. So I don't think I'm necessarily surprised that this trade got rescinded and that the physical was to a point where the Lakers were like, we want backseas. Like we, we,
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Davis’ roller coaster debut | Jimmy Butler cooks with Curry
We want to take back this whole situation. Also, like from the Lakers perspective, I know there's a lot of Lakers fans who are sad that this trade hasn't gone through, but you might have caught a break here because ultimately you might have had, you know, for a lack of better words, damaged goods here in the sense that it
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Davis’ roller coaster debut | Jimmy Butler cooks with Curry
It's also a home game for Jimmy, right? He's coming back to Houston. Tomball guy. That's a part of it. Everybody was talking about how the Rockets should trade for Jimmy, too. Going to be a good game. Yeah, I agree. That's definitely the game of the week. I think the Warriors, they're going to win that game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Davis’ roller coaster debut | Jimmy Butler cooks with Curry
If he was going to come and you would have had an injured starting center, you would have wasted all that draft capital. Think about the 2031 unprotected pick Dalton connect. They had a swap in there as well. So now you can actually do more in the summer to build around Luca.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Davis’ roller coaster debut | Jimmy Butler cooks with Curry
No, I like it. Look, anytime you get to watch the Blazers late night here on the East Coast, they're like my late night team. You know, you get to just grab a cup of coffee and it's very fun. Very, very fun. I actually am going to go with the team with the game that they're facing off against, which is Lakers versus Jazz. People wouldn't typically think of Lakers versus Jazz.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Davis’ roller coaster debut | Jimmy Butler cooks with Curry
Look, it is Luca's debut. I know that's not necessarily a sicko game, but you also might be able to catch some Utah Jazz basketball. When have you been able to watch some Utah Jazz basketball this season? We're all clamoring for more Utah Jazz. Isaiah Collier hooping. Why not? Let's do it, man. Get some jazz against the Lakers. And also, maybe Zena gets her wish. Luca going off.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Davis’ roller coaster debut | Jimmy Butler cooks with Curry
So it might be like, you know, the medicine that you have to take, so to speak, to make this team actually make sense moving forward.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Davis’ roller coaster debut | Jimmy Butler cooks with Curry
And like the spiritual experience it is to watch Steph the way he was against the Bulls in that third quarter. He was just awesome. And so he feels rejuvenated now, right? It's like he had a little extra pep in his step knowing he has that secondary scoring option.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Davis’ roller coaster debut | Jimmy Butler cooks with Curry
I'm really excited to see this team once Kuminga comes back, too, because you have two guys who can barrel to the basket, get to the free throw line, do their thing next to Steph, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Davis’ roller coaster debut | Jimmy Butler cooks with Curry
They got Quentin Post at home. No Vucevic needed.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Davis’ roller coaster debut | Jimmy Butler cooks with Curry
Yeah, it was the full Anthony Davis experience. And I say that as a really big Anthony Davis fan. Like, I love watching him play when he's at his best. And that emotion that he had in that first half where he's yelling to the crowd that he's here, like you could feel that that was tangible in how he felt emotionally towards the entire situation, getting traded for Luca, coming to Dallas.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Davis’ roller coaster debut | Jimmy Butler cooks with Curry
But that is also the AD experience of him getting hurt and how he deals with that moving forward, how the Mavericks deal with that moving forward. Because like you said, Dave, the vision is there for this team to be incredible defensively, how they manage the bulging disc of Kyrie Irving. That's going to be a huge question. I know Christian Clark goes into that as well.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Davis’ roller coaster debut | Jimmy Butler cooks with Curry
That's the question I have moving forward with this Mavs team. They're good, but can they stay healthy enough to remain good? Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Grizzlies contenders? | Nikola Jokić’s MVP weekend
Okay, that's an interesting one. The Atlanta Hawks got just completely just boat raced by the Nuggets on Sunday. But they did beat the Lakers on Friday in an overtime game. It was kind of wild. And Trey Young was absurd. He had 31 points, but he also had 20 assists. A 31-20 game, Zena. Again, we don't worry about what he did on Sunday, because 31-20, that makes the all-weekend team.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Grizzlies contenders? | Nikola Jokić’s MVP weekend
Sie waren 8-2 in ihren letzten 10. Chris Middleton ist zurück. Giannis spielt auf einem MVP-Level. Was sagst du? Ja oder nein, Zena?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Grizzlies contenders? | Nikola Jokić’s MVP weekend
The Hawks are frisky, not scrappy. Oh my God, I hear you guys go with this word.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Grizzlies contenders? | Nikola Jokić’s MVP weekend
Ja, es ist schön, dass er zurückkommt zu ein bisschen seinen Wurzeln. Er ist ein verrückter Passer. Er schießt einige der schönsten Passen, die du je gesehen hast. Und jetzt ist er der Point Guard. Keine Frage. In that game, guys, LeBron James, he made our all-weekend team just from that game. He didn't play on Sunday.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Grizzlies contenders? | Nikola Jokić’s MVP weekend
The Lakers did snap their losing streak by picking up a win on Sunday over the Trailblazers. But LeBron James recorded his 119th career triple-double. He had 39 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists. Look, S, you called him old on this show last week. Would you like to recant?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Grizzlies contenders? | Nikola Jokić’s MVP weekend
display he's like i'm sorry who what so it's not just you were not the only one that also thought he may have been a step slower and and hell that game against the hawks was just like nope listen he's in his mr miyagi phase right where he's just got to move and you know he he's got to get out of the way and you know he's got to use the wax on wax off exactly
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Grizzlies contenders? | Nikola Jokić’s MVP weekend
Yeah, just old man LeBron is honestly, it's a joy to watch when it's working well, but when he has the moments like he had last week, where it just looked like he had no legs, I'm kind of glad that he got the Sunday off, because I like seeing him closer to his peak. Guys, stick around. After the break, we're going to give you all of our Cup picks for the quarterfinal round.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Grizzlies contenders? | Nikola Jokić’s MVP weekend
I can't believe it's already here. All right, it's time for our NBA Cup picks, presented by BetMGM, our sponsor. The NBA Cup Knockout Stage is here. Tuesday and Wednesday night, we're going to have the single elimination games. And, you know, we're going to just lay these out. Our picks... I've been crushing in the NBA Cup. Just gonna toot my own horn there, guys. I've been crushing.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Grizzlies contenders? | Nikola Jokić’s MVP weekend
Let's see if I can keep it up. We got Bucks and Magic and we laid it out. We've kind of laid out the case that the Magic are having a tough time right now. The Bucks are rolling. I'm gonna take the Bucks in this game. Zenon, what you got?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Grizzlies contenders? | Nikola Jokić’s MVP weekend
That's the way it's going to go. We got Thunder Mavs, which, I mean, this might be the biggest matchup of the four games. And, you know, I think the Mavs have just been fantastic. Nine and one in their last ten. Luka's looking really good since he's come back. I'm going to go with the Mavs. S, you agree with me?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Grizzlies contenders? | Nikola Jokić’s MVP weekend
The way this has worked out for the NBA is perfect. The matchups are great. Madison Square Garden, guys. I'm taking the Hawks over the Knicks. I am flying high with my Hawks. I just think that the Hawks are built for this. They are built to win the NBA Cup and to make the play-in. That's what they're here for. I just think this team, it means more to them, actually, S.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Grizzlies contenders? | Nikola Jokić’s MVP weekend
Now, S, you've been really high on the Rockets. Yeah. All season long. Do you think they have the kind of experience it takes to win a single elimination NBA Cup game against Steph Curry and Draymond Green? Because I don't. I think the Warriors are going to take out the Houston Rockets.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Grizzlies contenders? | Nikola Jokić’s MVP weekend
I think the interesting thing to watch here, Zena, is going to be the Kuminga-Dramon dynamic, right? With Dramon coming off the bench. Kuminga, it's an interesting matchup against the Rockets, right? Like, who's going to guard Kuminga?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Grizzlies contenders? | Nikola Jokić’s MVP weekend
Yeah, I'm trying to figure out who the biggest Kevon Looney fan on the podcast is, because I really would have thought it was me. No.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Grizzlies contenders? | Nikola Jokić’s MVP weekend
I don't know if we should be announcing that this loudly on the podcast. That's going to do it for today's show, folks. Thank you guys for tuning in. Don't forget, shoot us your emails over at NBADaily at TheAthletic.com or submit your questions by hitting the link in the show description. For Zena Keita and Espera Henne, I'm Dave Dufour and this has been the NBA Daily.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Grizzlies contenders? | Nikola Jokić’s MVP weekend
It is now. There you go.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Grizzlies contenders? | Nikola Jokić’s MVP weekend
Thanks for waking up with us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Grizzlies contenders? | Nikola Jokić’s MVP weekend
Right. Well, they're back to I mean, they're still old ass, but at least now like I mean, look, they had that game Friday, which we can call a measuring stick game. They lost the Celtics, but they were in it. And then they got a win over the Nets, who have not been pushovers on Sunday. And, you know, again, they just look a little bit more cohesive. And it's the offensive end that looks better.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Grizzlies contenders? | Nikola Jokić’s MVP weekend
I mean, they're still struggling transition, but. Come on, man. Are they back?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Grizzlies contenders? | Nikola Jokić’s MVP weekend
And so far in the two games that he's been back. Let's swing it to the West, guys. The Grizzlies have been hot, also 8-2 in their last 10. They beat the Celtics on Saturday. Now the Celtics were on a back-to-back, but still, it's a big win for the Grizzlies. They're now second in the West in Zena, do they have enough to contend in the West? John Morant, Jaron Jackson, is that enough?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Grizzlies contenders? | Nikola Jokić’s MVP weekend
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily for December 9th, 2024. Coming up, we had another big weekend in the NBA and I've got a bunch of questions like, are the Bucks back? We're going to take a look at the NBA Cup games coming up and make our picks. And we've got another edition of our all weekend team. Good morning everybody, good morning Zena, good morning S. Another big weekend in the NBA.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Grizzlies contenders? | Nikola Jokić’s MVP weekend
I'm just glad that Ja didn't actually quit dunking. Because that dunk he had was kind of absurd. Did you guys see the photo where he's peeking up through the rim? Someone got the angle through the rim and he's sort of staring at the camera.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Grizzlies contenders? | Nikola Jokić’s MVP weekend
It's getting a little overdone, but they always look very cool.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Grizzlies contenders? | Nikola Jokić’s MVP weekend
Okay. Jonathan Kuminga. He's a starter now. Steve Kerr came out. They started him on Friday. Now Andrew Wiggins had to leave that game with an injury. So Draymond Green only had to come off the bench for one game. And then on Sunday, Draymond Green had this huge dunk over, well, not really over Rudy Gobert, but past Rudy Gobert. Put the Timberwolves night-night.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Grizzlies contenders? | Nikola Jokić’s MVP weekend
So they split the Timberwolves double home game there. But Jonathan Kuminga is a starter. He had 33 points on Thursday, had a rough game Friday night, but bounced back on Sunday. 20 points, but S, I want to throw to you first, because I actually think you and I are of the same mind here. You know, Xena, she was in the arena watching this game. We were at home and we were talking to each other.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Grizzlies contenders? | Nikola Jokić’s MVP weekend
This might have been his best two-way performance of his career.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Grizzlies contenders? | Nikola Jokić’s MVP weekend
That's the thing that got me excited. I mean, Zena, you were there. He was guarding Anthony Edwards at times, 94 feet in a stance. He jumped what may have been the highest I've ever seen from him on a defensive rebound. And it's just, you see that sort of athleticism. And it's what we've all expected to see from him. But now he seems to have a little bit more confidence behind it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Grizzlies contenders? | Nikola Jokić’s MVP weekend
And I think in the game on Sunday, you saw a lot of that, especially down the stretch. They were running plays for him, you know, down the stretch of that game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Grizzlies contenders? | Nikola Jokić’s MVP weekend
Well, Markus Thompson told us they needed a second option and I'm getting ready to, you know, I think they might have had them in-house. Last question, guys, about the weekend. Franz Wagner gets hurt Friday in a tough loss for the Orlando Magic to the Sixers. Take my oblique. A second... Weird oblique injury for an old Orlando magic star so far this season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Grizzlies contenders? | Nikola Jokić’s MVP weekend
So now they're down Paolo, they're down Franz Wagner. And who comes to the rescue on Sunday? Jalen Suggs, 26 points. My boy, Goga Batase with a fantastic game. 21 points, 9 offensive rebounds, 16 rebounds total. Guys, can Orlando keep winning in spite of these injuries?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Grizzlies contenders? | Nikola Jokić’s MVP weekend
I honestly, I do not know how a normal fan would keep up with the NBA without listening to like three or four podcasts.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Grizzlies contenders? | Nikola Jokić’s MVP weekend
Look, I think it's going to be tough. Anytime you lose two guys that are as important to your team as Paolo Bancaro and Franz Wagner. Yeah. Shout out Jamal Mosley, man. Sometimes he's just like a magician down there in Orlando. See what I did there? Guys, stick around after the break. We got our all weekend team. Alright, it's time for the segment that is sweeping the nation.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Grizzlies contenders? | Nikola Jokić’s MVP weekend
It's the only way that we can figure out how to wrap our head around the weekend. It's the all weekend team. And there's no way we're starting this Monday without talking about Nikola Jokic. Nikola Jokic is insane. And I don't care that the Nuggets lost to the Wizards on Friday when we're talking about Jokic. I mean, yes, we care about that. The Nuggets, that's an inexcusable loss.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Grizzlies contenders? | Nikola Jokić’s MVP weekend
But Nikola Jokic had 56 points in that game. um he is not the problem for the denver nuggets at all and by the way followed up the 56 points with 16 rebounds eight assists right then on sunday 48, 14 und 8. Also in den letzten zwei Spielen 104 Punkte, 30 Rebounds und 16 Assistenzen.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Grizzlies contenders? | Nikola Jokić’s MVP weekend
Shout out to the guys that are doing the podcast postgame. Pod, Maverick, all those guys doing crazy late nights so that I can stay informed on what's happening. Guys, another big weekend and I'm left with questions here on Monday morning about what's happening in the league. I'm going to start with the Milwaukee Bucks. Und ich frage euch einfach, sind die Bucks zurück?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Grizzlies contenders? | Nikola Jokić’s MVP weekend
One big thing that would help him out is let's get. A little bit more three-point volume. By the way, while you're doing that, make some of them. That would be some guys that aren't Jokic. Dead last in three-point attempts. Crazy. Not great. Not great. Evan Mobley scored a career-high 41 points on Friday as the Cavs won that game. But then... Kind of a double loss for the Cavs on Sunday.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Grizzlies contenders? | Nikola Jokić’s MVP weekend
Evan Mobley only scores four points because he didn't play that long. He had to lead the game with a sprained ankle and the Cavs lost to the Heat. Let's start with Mobley. Look, 41 points. This is kind of, if you had said before the season, Zena, that Evan Mobley was going to have a 40-point game, I would have been shocked.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Grizzlies contenders? | Nikola Jokić’s MVP weekend
This is not what we expect from Evan Mobley, but this is a continuation of the way he sort of started the season, being more aggressive, hunting his own shot. And on Friday, I mean, It was falling.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Grizzlies contenders? | Nikola Jokić’s MVP weekend
I'm pretty shocked, for me at least. Cade Cunningham, fifth triple-double of the season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Are the Grizzlies contenders? | Nikola Jokić’s MVP weekend
I know that this is your guy, your big business guy. They knocked off the Knicks. That's a big win. The Knicks have been rolling. We've been talking about that offense and all that. But I mean, this is... One of the best wins of the season for the Pistons, who, you know, they're scrappy, they're not frisky.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Lakers are a nightmare for the Thunder + MVPs in purgatory
Again, he didn't really play Watson very much against the Timberwolves last year when they badly needed his athleticism, right? You know who's been very good lately, finally, Jalen Pickett. Yeah, Pickett needs to play in the playoffs. And really, Russ just shouldn't close games is how I feel about it. There's just such a long track record of exploding in these high pressure moments.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Lakers are a nightmare for the Thunder + MVPs in purgatory
And the ideal scenario with Westbrook and the Nuggets kind of has mostly happened, actually. He's really helped them through guys sitting out and helping them pick up their intensity level as a team that's been there, done that. And he has really helped them a lot all season long. But now that we're getting closer to the playoffs, you're starting to see the other side of the coin.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Lakers are a nightmare for the Thunder + MVPs in purgatory
And yeah, Mike Malone does need to be prepared to maybe pull the plug.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Lakers are a nightmare for the Thunder + MVPs in purgatory
He 12 for 23, but he didn't get to the free throw line at all. So and then nobody else on the on the team clicked offensively. They created an OK amount of turnovers to like they usually do. But the Lakers just sort of meeting and actually surpassing their intensity level is maybe something that you kind of worried about all season long with the Thunder.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Lakers are a nightmare for the Thunder + MVPs in purgatory
Yeah, I mean, the smoke has been there forever, right? Recently, he actually opened a fitness brand store with his brothers called Antetokounbros. And the store, the flagship store, is across the street from the stadium. And this is the kind of thing that Bucs fans are like reading the tea leaves with, right? They're like, oh, he won't leave now because he just did that, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Lakers are a nightmare for the Thunder + MVPs in purgatory
The fact that you have to even think that way and have had to for years, right, means that, you know, something really could happen. At the same time, we haven't seen healthy playoff Giannis in three years. It's crazy that that's true. It's not like he's some sort of perpetually injured player either. He's just gotten hurt at the wrong time. Three years in a row. Right.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Lakers are a nightmare for the Thunder + MVPs in purgatory
And he's looking pretty incredible and pretty healthy right now. So despite everything that is going wrong with the Bucs and everything that they haven't really done right, he's a guy who could win a series on his own.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Lakers are a nightmare for the Thunder + MVPs in purgatory
um so i'm just excited to see him in the playoffs again but yeah if it doesn't go well and they don't look good um i mean i don't see how you can just run it back that just doesn't well the paths to improving that team i mean they don't have an mpj contract
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Lakers are a nightmare for the Thunder + MVPs in purgatory
Yeah, I mean, it's it's almost impossible to fathom because if you go to a game in Milwaukee, it's a relatively new stadium and there's a whole business district around it, including his new apparel store. And you have to realize like this would not exist if it was not for him.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Lakers are a nightmare for the Thunder + MVPs in purgatory
Like there was not enough interest in the box for them to get public funding for all this stuff and to build a whole stadium.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Lakers are a nightmare for the Thunder + MVPs in purgatory
business district around this new stadium like this simply wouldn't happen without yannis right so for him to ever not be there is pretty difficult to fathom um but i mean again if it if it doesn't go well like i don't yeah i don't i don't see the path forward either i don't think that you're going to get a lot for a dame lillard trade at this point right um so if you really really want the team to be good again anytime soon you do have to consider that of course
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Lakers are a nightmare for the Thunder + MVPs in purgatory
I don't have a surprise championship winner, but like I said about Giannis, I think he could win a series on his own if they, you know. No, Dan Lillard. Bucks, Knicks, Bucks win. That's my bold prediction.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Lakers are a nightmare for the Thunder + MVPs in purgatory
Yeah, the mouth... The mouth punchers got mouth punched, right? Yeah. We knew it was going to happen at some point, right? I'm not going to worry too much. They're still going to win probably 68 or 67 games. They're an incredible team. But it is a questionable time to have kind of your difficult moment, right? The playoffs are about to start.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Lakers are a nightmare for the Thunder + MVPs in purgatory
And the fear coming into the season with the Thunder was that they were going to be too shade dependent offensively still. That was their problem in the playoffs last year. They never really showed themselves not to be very Shea-dependent offensively.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Lakers are a nightmare for the Thunder + MVPs in purgatory
Their defense has just been so overwhelming that having Shea score a lot and then killing teams with their defense has been enough to win that many games. But who's going to step up and be also a really good scorer against playoff defenses? We still don't really... see an answer to that question.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Lakers are a nightmare for the Thunder + MVPs in purgatory
Yeah, I actually thought that maybe Holmgren could have been that second guy at the very beginning of the season. He was just cooking offensively. But then, of course, he got hurt and was out for a couple of months, two, three months. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Lakers are a nightmare for the Thunder + MVPs in purgatory
And came back and, you know, he's been great, but he he didn't really pick up where he left off in terms of that chef stuff from the beginning of the season where it looked like he really had some extra juice going on. So that could be that could still happen. He still could become a more. you know, number two type score.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Lakers are a nightmare for the Thunder + MVPs in purgatory
But with Williams, yeah, I mean, we just, we just still haven't seen it in big games. So I, I'm just waiting for it, I guess.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Lakers are a nightmare for the Thunder + MVPs in purgatory
Bold take. Oh, they're too young. They can't do it is my bold take. Right. But my real thought is that, you know, they over the course of a seven game series and they just they just keep on coming. Right. I'm sure you watch that final four game between Duke and Houston last night. Right. And Houston. I turned it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Lakers are a nightmare for the Thunder + MVPs in purgatory
It was not done. Yeah. But what Houston did over the course of that one game is something that I still kind of see the Thunder doing over the course of most series that they're in. I do think it looks like here's my maybe bold and correct take. It's going to be a lot more of a fight for them than it has looked like all season. I still kind of think that they're going to most likely win the
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Lakers are a nightmare for the Thunder + MVPs in purgatory
They're going to be most likely to win every fight they get in, including in the finals, in my opinion. But yeah, it does look like it's going to be a lot more of a struggle.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Lakers are a nightmare for the Thunder + MVPs in purgatory
I don't know how you feel about it. Yeah, I just don't think that in the Western Conference, there might not be any teams that can guard both Luka and LeBron straight up. I mean, how many teams have two guys? Right. Right. One can guard LeBron, one can guard Luka, maybe the Celtics. That's kind of it, though, right? Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Lakers are a nightmare for the Thunder + MVPs in purgatory
So, I mean, Austin Reeves is going to continue to get really, really good opportunities. He obviously knows what to do with them.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Lakers are a nightmare for the Thunder + MVPs in purgatory
right um the luca thing was it looked great today it didn't look so great against the warriors uh on friday um and you know you see lakers fans start to realize that this is more of a roller coaster with luca um than maybe they thought at first but um you know when it works it works it's it's unbelievable nobody i mean when was the last time we saw two guys together um with this level of creativity and size it's just
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Lakers are a nightmare for the Thunder + MVPs in purgatory
Maybe never.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Lakers are a nightmare for the Thunder + MVPs in purgatory
He's got them doing homework, right? They have to do homework, right? They don't have anybody in the middle. And that is a weakness that they can often cover up. They do have big wings. They've got like four big wings, right? With Luka and LeBron and...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Lakers are a nightmare for the Thunder + MVPs in purgatory
ruey and finney smith right and you can rebound pretty well with that um but ultimately you want something in the middle and uh there's only so much homework you can do to to cover over that but like they're gonna do every bit of homework that they have to do right yeah um i don't think there was enough homework for them to deal with steph curry just getting isolated on luca and going right to the rack
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Lakers are a nightmare for the Thunder + MVPs in purgatory
And having no center to deal with on Friday night. I don't think there was enough homework you could do to to solve that problem. Yeah, definitely. Against a less experienced team like the Thunder, maybe they'll face the Rockets. Right. Even the Wolves are significantly less experienced than the Lakers. They could just homework their way through it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Lakers are a nightmare for the Thunder + MVPs in purgatory
I think that they follow his lead and they play in a very specific way.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Lakers are a nightmare for the Thunder + MVPs in purgatory
Yeah, I'm not sure. I think with their loss to the Timberwolves last year, it ultimately looked relatively valiant. It was a seven-game series. They were uniquely equipped to deal with Jokic with three bigs they could throw at him, right? And You just kind of had to throw your hands up to a certain extent. There were things maybe they could have done differently.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Lakers are a nightmare for the Thunder + MVPs in purgatory
I know we talked about them not playing Peyton Watson enough in that series where you really needed athleticism. And I expect him to play a lot in whatever matchups they have in the playoffs this year. But if they go outside, if they don't look very competitive against anyone, that could be time for... maybe Coach Malone to be on the hot seat, maybe a big trade to happen. I know Michael Porter Jr.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Lakers are a nightmare for the Thunder + MVPs in purgatory
it's a tiny vision of of like the thunder's worst nightmare right where you've been kind of wondering all season long if their sort of playoff level intensity would cease to be an advantage once we get closer to and then into the playoffs right and obviously your mvp likely mvp uh shea gilgis alexander had a productive day yeah uh let me pull up the numbers on that but i i believe he was very productive from the field he had
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Lakers are a nightmare for the Thunder + MVPs in purgatory
has always been that big contract that you could potentially move for some kind of different look. I don't really know. I don't see Jokic as a guy who's going to agitate just because – we've literally never even gotten a hint of that. Right. Who knows what he really thinks. He's a pretty private guy, but we've just, we just have no hint of that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Lakers are a nightmare for the Thunder + MVPs in purgatory
So I don't see him going anywhere necessarily, but do you have to adjust the team around him? If it doesn't go well, these playoffs, then like, yeah, probably. I will say that their record is a lot better when Aaron Gordon plays and he's missed like 30 or 40 games or something this season. So yeah, Um, it, it might just be kind of an illusion.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Why the Lakers are a nightmare for the Thunder + MVPs in purgatory
Um, they, if, if Gordon is healthy for the playoffs, he's shooting threes better than he ever has. Um, they might just be awesome and, and maybe they won't win, they won't win the championship, but they're not going to go out sad.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
Yeah, I just don't see it for them. They don't have the defense. They they seemingly can't figure out how to get the offense consistently against bad opponents. The losing the bad teams thing is a bad habit to set when you're a team that has expectations.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
A new best team in the league just dropped. Like, this is it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
And in the East, man, like these are the games that you're supposed to just these are the easy ones that you rack up as a top four, you know, in the in the East. You're supposed to beat these guys. They beat the Wizards. Congratulations. You kind of beat the Nets and the Bulls and the Blazers. I just, yeah, I'm out on them.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
I'm getting out of the lucky bucks business.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
Wisconsin? Oh, okay. Guys, I might be out on the Wolves. the wolves have lost three in a row, including they, they lost to the Pistons, but Pistons have been looking pretty good in a game where Anthony Edwards score 50 points. Everybody for weeks, we've been talking about lineup change. I mean, I was talking about Nas Reed starting once they made the Randall trade.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
You know, they're asking coast coach, Chris Finch about a potential lineup change. He said, if he felt like it was a magic bullet, he would have done it already. Yeah. You guys buy or sell a lineup change solving the problems in Minnesota?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
It's a shame that this isn't a bit about the Pacers because I would love to use Pascal Siakam's wager, but it just I'm just nice. It's just reaching there. They got to make a lot of. I mean, yeah, I think. Yeah, I think they have to at least try it. Yeah. Is it like you really onto something there? There is a real thing there when you're a coach. It's just like, what else are we going to do?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
What do you have to lose at this point?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
Yeah, and let's not forget that the defense has been better. We've got Nas Reed with Gobert than it has been with Randall. Gobert looks better, and it's because, you know, got a more active guy out there with him. Finally, guys, the Suns, ooh, down bad. Three and seven in their last ten. They've lost four in a row.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
They have a $408 million payroll, which is the second highest in all American sports.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
Only the New York Yankees have a higher payroll than the Phoenix Suns.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
who are currently in 12th place. They are so far down in the standings that they don't have a number next to their name. And shout out to our guy, Chris Haynes. He was on a Haynes brief tonight, and he let us know that they are making a lineup change. Bradley Beal and Yusuf Nurkic coming off the bench. Rookie Ryan Dunn and Mason Plumlee are going to be starting. What do you got to lose, Zena?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
Zena, should they be buyers or sellers at the deadline? They don't have their pick until like, I don't know, sometime. Who knows if we'll even be here when they have their next draft pick.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
Like that could be a fallacy, you know, like it's a sunk cost, but the money's been spent, but you're not going to be any good. I mean, what else can they do?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
Maybe. Maybe not. I don't know.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
Guys, stick around after the break. We are going to give our favorite destinations for Jimmy Butler. The latest Jimmy Butler saga continues. And guys, we got a suspension. Jimmy Butler is quiet quit in the last couple of games, just really not shooting to basketball and seemingly unengaged. He lost his joy. Exactly. Lost his joy.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
And so the Miami heat have responded by suspending him for seven games, contract detrimental to the team. And then they proceeded to get blown out in their next game by the Utah jazz, which is a, that's an awful look. There are a lot of trade rumors out there. You know, we all know that Jimmy Butler allegedly had this list of teams. Well, that list now apparently includes anyone.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
He says he will play anywhere except for Miami. So again, I thought it would be fun for us to just let's put our little trade hats on and come up with our favorite destinations. We got to say this, though. Jonathan Kuminga suffering an ankle sprain has thrown a real wrench into finding Jimmy Butler a new home. He's going to be out for three weeks and he's been on a nice run, Zena.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
But what's the latest on Kuminga? And I mean, how long is he actually going to be out?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
The nice thing about a guy having an injury and feeling good is that's a good thing. It means he's probably going to bounce back, but also he can't get any more hurt before you can trade him. So that's true. He'll be out for three weeks. Yeah. Before that's almost trade down time. Yeah. OK, let's do this. Let's pick our favorite Jimmy Butler destinations.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
I mean, outside of, you know, Cancun or Paris or one of the other places that he would like to be. S, where would you like to see Jimmy Butler play basketball for the rest of the season?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
Yeah. Ask. Look, I'm assuming you agree here that they're the best team in the league right now. I mean, 15 straight wins. They they actually matched the way that the Cavs started the season. You know, the 15 to start that they've got. What's the margin for you right now between them? And I'm assuming Boston is still your second best team in the league. I mean, what's the margin?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
I mean, you don't necessarily have to pay Jimmy. I mean, he can opt out. Yeah. Yeah. That's a good point. I mean, maybe it's a two year, but Xena, what about you? Where would you like to see Jimmy for the rest of the year?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
Is it state income taxes?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
Whoever is willing to pay.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
Who makes that adjusted gross income look the best? For me, look, guys, I think it solves problems for two different teams, and that's my favorite thing. It's like me giving S an assist. We're both happy, right? Yeah. How about the Philadelphia 76ers? We reunite Joel Embiid and Jimmy Butler. We take Paul George and we put him in Miami where he's a better fit.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
Zena, you said this so early this year. And man, doesn't it just feel right? Paul George would fit really nicely in Miami. He's on a pretty good deal. He's a year younger than Jimmy Butler. So if you're a team like Miami looking to build around a guy, maybe that's a better fit for you. They're still trying to be competitive too. Yeah, that makes sense.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
And we've talked a lot about how PG is a little bit of a tough fit in Philly. I think Jimmy Butler, for all the reasons that S, you laid out with his fit in Memphis, I think he fits there. And also, Philly could use a dog. They could use Jimmy Butler in the locker room. They could use Jimmy Butler on the bench. They're climbing up those standings, too.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
I would honestly love to see Jimmy Butler back in Philadelphia, if for nothing else. I mean, we're going to get some content out of it. It's going to be great. All right, guys, that's going to do it for us. Thank you guys for listening. Appreciate the emails. We got some emails over the weekend. Somebody sent in an email, by the way, to explain why LaMelo Ball might have gotten so many votes.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
Apparently he's first on the list. Oh, no, I know why. In the app. So guys, that's very interesting.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
There you go. Anyway, we appreciate you guys reaching out, especially when you can give us info like that. So for S. Baraheni and Zena Keita, I'm Dave DuFour, and this has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
Yeah, I mean, they've been beating everybody in front of them. And, you know, as you mentioned, to your point, they do have this collective defense and everyone is so good together, but the truth is they also have a lot of guys that you can throw on a guy, you know, like guys with some length guys with some size.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
And speaking of which Lou Dort held Jalen Brown to zero points, zero rebounds, zero assists in the second half. I mean, look, Mark Dagnall, just being able to say, Hey, We're going to put Lou Dort on this guy and he's done. That's it. His night is over. Just go ahead and hit the showers. That's a powerful tool. I'm glad you brought up the finals preview.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
We went and looked over, you know, our partner, BetMGM, brought to you by BetMGM. Here are the updated title odds. The Celtics are still the favorites. They've been the favorites all year, and they're the team that doesn't really have to prove it in the regular season. It's all about May and June for them. But we got to say the Thunder are neck and neck with them right now.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
The Celtics are plus 225 and the Thunder are plus 325. So really like climbing up the ladder. And that's really good. They're now. 30-5 on the season. The Cavs also won on Sunday. They beat the Hornets. LaMelo Ball came back. So, you know, not a total soup can that they beat there. But they moved to 31-4. They also beat the Mavericks on Friday night.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
And we're going to get a matchup this week, guys, between the two best teams in the league when they play Wednesday night. And I just can't help but start thinking, this is actually the finals preview, Zena. Wow. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
Good morning, S. Another amazing, action-packed weekend in the NBA. It seems like this season, we have had more marquee weekend games on Sunday competing with football. Yes. The Thunder and Celtics is a game that I mean, a lot of people thought this is the finals preview. Yep. And they're going head to head in the afternoon with the NFL, you know, on NBA TV.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
You know, Cleveland and Boston, I do think that we've seen that gap get a little bit shorter. And as I wonder, do you think that this is. Have people figured out the Celtics a little bit? Have teams figured out the Celtics? If you look at the way that the Thunder guarded them, I mean, they really just switched things up.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
You know, they started actually switching more in the second half and they were able to throw, you know, they have the kitchen sink at their disposal, but they were making adjustments that were making life harder for the Celtics in a way that I don't know that we saw last year. And maybe that's part of how Cleveland has closed the gap is that people have caught up to Boston.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
You know, it's a good point that you make because they are really one of the teams that is like, here's our five best guys when it matters. Yeah, yeah. With OKC, you do have options. I mean, we just mentioned they've been doing this whole thing without Chet. Alex Caruso just hasn't been out there. And even when he's been out there, his offense hasn't even been all that great.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
You know what I mean? OKC right now has a seven game lead on the Rockets in the West. So one to two, there's a seven game gap. Last season, they won the West. There was only eight games separating them from the Pelicans who were in the play. So they are really running away from this thing. Guys, stick around after the break. Going to play a little game of buy and sell. Kawhi is back.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
Do we think that that moves the Clippers to the top four in the West? Stick around. All right, it's time for everyone's favorite podcast game. You know, we talked about doing Stock Watch, but we're going to save that one. It's too early in the year. I don't want to think about stocks yet. So we're going to buy or sell right after the Christmas holiday, guys.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
Put you right back into the retail mood. Little buy or sell. Kawhi Leonard came back Saturday. Finally, he made his season debut. Thought he looked pretty good physically, and he fit right into what the Clippers were trying to do. The Clippers blew out the Hawks. They were plus 22 in Kawhi's 19 minutes. He had 12 points and was 3 of 5 from 3.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
S, I'm going to start with you, and then we'll swing it to Zena. Buy or sell the Clippers as top four in the West with Kawhi back. By the way, he's available for Monday night, so that means he's pretty good. Yeah, there you go.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
And we were texting a little bit in our in our chat, just wondering, why isn't this a national TV game? Like, why isn't this on primetime? I can't figure it out. But the Thunder guys are. Man, they gave a primetime performance. In the second half of the game, they held the Celtics to only 27 points. I think everyone is probably saying the same thing this morning.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
I'm in. I love this Clippers team. I think they're so much fun. And it's it was good to see Kawhi playing basketball. We got a back to back treat, which was not a treat for the Nuggets and the Spurs.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily for January 6th, 2025. Coming up, the Thunder and Cavaliers seem like they're on a mission to meet in the finals. Victor Wiminyama might be the best player in the league by the end of this year, which is shocking. And Jimmy Butler is definitely getting traded. Good morning, everybody. Good morning, Xena.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
OK, so Friday night and Saturday night, the Nuggets and Spurs played a home and home back to back, meaning they finished a game in Denver and then had to drive to the Denver airport, which is a couple of hours from Denver. It's not actually in Denver. And then they flew to San Antonio and they played another game. And Jokic and Wemby gave us two games for the ages.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
If I read all the stats that happened in these games, we would be here all day. This would not be the NBA Daily. But let's just say this. Jokic and Wemby, they were the sixth pair of opposing players since the NBA merger to record at least 35 points and 15 rebounds in the same game. It's only the second time it's happened. It was Giannis and Joel Embiid the last time it happened. Wow.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
Jokic, first player to attempt at least 35 field goals in back-to-back games since Kobe Bryant. These guys are walking record book breakers. Yeah. Amazing. We have the best player in the world against the guy who I think we all expect to take that crown from him. Yeah. So I want to ask you guys, look, we may be early to this. We may be late.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
Is Victor Wimbonyama, do you guys buy Victor Wimbonyama as a top five player?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
You know, Monday morning, we all kind of had the same idea, right? We've had a chance to sleep on the entire weekend. And I think when you watch what the Thunder have done in the 15 straight wins that they've got, what they did against the Knicks the other night, and then what they did against the Celtics last night, Zena, you can't help but start thinking,
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
Second season in a row. And it's only his second year, by the way. And we've watched him, Zena, and it feels like every night he's better than the night before his machine. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
I think he's, He might be the best player in the league already. I don't know, guys. I don't know. My brain is broken. My brain is broken when it comes to Victor Wiminyama. Guys, the Bucs, man, the Bucs, we can't quit the Bucs because they can't quit sucking for long stretches of time. The Bucs have lost four of their last five. They lost to the Nets twice. Look, the Nets are giant killers, okay?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
They had a great coach, but they lost to the Bulls. And then Sunday, I mean, they lost to the Blazers. What are we doing? This was supposed to be their easy stretch as they were supposed to be able to walk through this. This was when they were finding their footing. Is it time to sell the Bucks as contenders to come out of the East?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
I'm still buying. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
I don't believe this is the NBA Cup malaise. It's like they didn't drink, but they have a hangover.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder; Cavs first to 30 wins | Kawhi Leonard is back!
Okay. I think Xena, are you selling?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Warriors beat the Wolves?
Now, a little bit of this, the Cavaliers didn't have Darius Garland, and it showed, especially early on.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Warriors beat the Wolves?
Yeah, there was no reason. The Warriors could have run the zone the entire time. The entire series, honestly. Especially in Game 7, the Rockets didn't want to shoot. There was exactly one player for the Rockets that just showed no fear, and it was Amin Thompson. And he kind of just would start these runs on his own. I do want to talk about the way that they guarded Steph.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Warriors beat the Wolves?
I mean, in the series overall, I think that they did a pretty good job of just making him work. But in Game 7, you want to talk about a master class. It was a Steph Curry master class. You know, and he only scored, what, eight points or something through like the first three quarters. And then he goes off and, you know, he's being face guarded by every single player, you know, for the Rockets.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Warriors beat the Wolves?
It felt like and he was hitting some ridiculous stuff. He got this layup that just felt like he was forcing. He's like, I just need to see the ball go through the basket. Yeah. On nights like that, right? And then you couple that with Jimmy Butler coming up. I mean, it's 6-0 run, personal 6-0 run in the fourth quarter to really seal the deal. Thinking ahead, okay? We're moving on past the Rockets.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Warriors beat the Wolves?
Good night. Sayonara. We're looking at the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Warriors now. I mean, what do you think that the Timberwolves are going to throw out against Steph in the playoffs?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Warriors beat the Wolves?
Let me ask you, S. You worry that the Warriors are too small. Again, like we saw in moments, right? Steven Adams had a dominant series. Albert Shingun had a pretty good game seven. I mean, if you don't look at the shot selection. Or the defense. Or the defense, yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Warriors beat the Wolves?
But, you know, Gobert had had a massive, obviously, closing game against against the Lakers and a better series than than maybe the numbers let on, because defensively, I do think he was super important. Are you worried the Warriors are too small?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Warriors beat the Wolves?
I think Jimmy Butler is the key. Jimmy Butler and Draymond green are the key to guarding Julius Randall and Nas Reed. And it isn't that, that like dream. I don't think Draymond is going to even get the assignment on those guys. Most of the time.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Warriors beat the Wolves?
I think Draymond will be just mostly on Rudy and kind of helping, but Jimmy Butler's ability to hold up against, you know, if Randall wants to go bully ball, I think, I think, you know, Jimmy Butler can hold up enough that he's not just going to get knocked over. And I think he can just straight up guard Nas Reed.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Warriors beat the Wolves?
They got to play him off the court, though. I think on the other end, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Warriors beat the Wolves?
I think the Warriors can score enough. And this is, look, it could be another big buddy healed series, right? Yeah. If the Warriors can score enough that the Timberwolves have to go small, they have to say, hey, we need more shooting because we're just not scoring enough. And we know sometimes that offense can stall out, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Warriors beat the Wolves?
Like if they're not making shots, things get tight for the Timberwolves. Okay, look, before we get out of here, guys, let's make a prediction. Zena, we'll put you on the spot. We're going to just pick Warriors-Wolves. We won't pick anything else. How many games? Who's going to win?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Warriors beat the Wolves?
Yeah. Sam Merrill in the starting lineup for Darius Garland, in my opinion, I think that was a little bit of a mistake. I think you want to go playmaker. I would have maybe just gone Ty Jerome. I know it messes up the rest of your rotations, but you're adding shooting, but it's not someone that they're worried about making a play. And I think for Cleveland, it was missing for them.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Warriors beat the Wolves?
It's a lot of people that get under Draymond's skin in the series. You know, to me, I think that we may see a redux of what we just saw with Minnesota and the Lakers, right? A little too big, a little too athletic, a little deeper, you know, just have guys that can do stuff. So you're going Wolves in five? No, it's impossible for me to bet against Steph Curry and the Warriors.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Warriors beat the Wolves?
know if you're watching on YouTube. Let us know in the comments who's going to win the series. If you're listening to this podcast, wherever you listen to it, go leave us a five-star review. We're working hard and it's fun. That's going to do it for the show, folks. For Zena Kena, thanks for hanging out late. Espera Henny, I'm Dave DeFore, and this has been the NBA Daily.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Warriors beat the Wolves?
And on the other end for the Pacers, they just had a lot of guys out there making plays, whether it was Halliburton. Nembhard hitting big shot after big shot the entire game. And Pascal Siakam, like they just right off the bat had more guys who could stir the drink.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Warriors beat the Wolves?
Yeah, and when you glance at the box score after you watch the game, because sometimes I'll watch a game with a box score, sometimes I'll wait. The one that jumps out to me is Aaron Neesmith only played 25 minutes, but I swear every second he was in the game, but I felt him every second, whether he was grabbing a rebound, making a defensive play.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Warriors beat the Wolves?
He had one series where he shot an awful brick from the corner, and then he stays with the play, chases down Donovan Mitchell at the other end, and winds up with a rebound. That sort of effort and the size that the Pacers are able to throw at Donovan Mitchell, and I would say Darius Garland, but we haven't seen it yet.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Warriors beat the Wolves?
But to throw at the smaller guards for Cleveland, I think it bothered them a little bit, and it made them a little bit slow going. They couldn't really get fired.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Warriors beat the Wolves?
He just does it. I know, man. I know. And he's big, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Warriors beat the Wolves?
He can do that. He saves it for the other end. And the thing is like when you watch a game like this and you look at him on the offensive end, you say, oh, well, by all means, save it. I mean 22 points, had 13 assists. You know, on the broadcast, they were talking about how he reminded him of John Stockton because he understands rhythm to the game. It is true, though.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Warriors beat the Wolves?
Like, he does get guys in rhythm, and you can almost see where he's like, hey, you haven't had a touch in a while. Again, Neesmith makes a good defensive play. Halliburton probably has a bucket if he continues to drive. He finds Neesmith for the wing three. And even that kind of stuff, like, this is – the sort of next level thing for point guards is, okay, I need to keep these guys engaged.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Warriors beat the Wolves?
Yeah, we managed to get a couple of game sevens. I would say the two most compelling series. Hey, wound up going seven. Nuggets get the big win over the Clippers. James Harden, man. Just perfect Harden performance or lack thereof.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Warriors beat the Wolves?
And part of that is when they make a big defensive play, you try to find them on the other end. Now, usually the basketball gods take care of that, right? Like the ball will find a guy, but Halliburton, I mean, I thought he was excellent in the game as just the guy who kept everyone involved at all times.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Warriors beat the Wolves?
Yeah. By the way, more of a Mark Price guy than a John. OK, fair. You know, but more into splitting the pick and roll than passing it off. Let's talk a little bit. You know, look, Nuggets Clippers. There's not a lot to say about that game, to be honest with you, because the Clippers just came out and it was a dud for them. The Nuggets get a big win.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Warriors beat the Wolves?
But also, you know, a couple of games ago, we were all preparing our obituaries for the Nuggets. And now they've just bounced back in a way like they looked like the better team by the end of the series with the Clippers. Let's look ahead. Our bet MGM pick of the day. We're going to look ahead to tomorrow's game. One Oklahoma City against the Denver Nuggets is in Oklahoma.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Warriors beat the Wolves?
We're going to have Andrew Select on the show tomorrow, of course, after the game to talk about it. So look, how do you feel about this? Look, seven games for the for the Nuggets. They looked tired at times in the series, you know, like late third, early fourth. They're not a deep team. Yeah. And Oklahoma City's been sitting at home. I mean, I don't know what these guys did.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Warriors beat the Wolves?
They have a Madden tournament all week. Like, how are they staying engaged?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Warriors beat the Wolves?
I was going to say, we're on the Russ prevention.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Warriors beat the Wolves?
tour i mean what if this just goes all the way you know and we get maybe warriors and nuggets in the next series i just the rush revenge tour but they're not going to guard russ i mean it's going to be very similar to the way the clippers approached it um you know and but the thing about russ and russ being a little bit more self-aware version of himself in the interviews i think is very funny like he is going to make plays and i think like he he won games for the nuggets already in the play absolutely
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Warriors beat the Wolves?
It's not going to shock me if he wins a game against the Thunder. I mean, again, this is a veteran guy who also just somehow like is involved in every key play.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Warriors beat the Wolves?
Let me ask you a couple of questions. Who's going to be the best player in the series?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Warriors beat the Wolves?
Well, we're going to have Zena after the break because, you know, she was in studio for Warriors Rockets. So we're going to go deep on that with her. But man, before we go there. Early game on Sunday was game one of round two between the Cavs and the Pacers. And look, if you've been listening to this show all year, you know we were high on the Cavs.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Warriors beat the Wolves?
I mean, I just think Oklahoma City's defense, even if they don't stop Jokic, right? If he averages 40 points, how is he going to get 12 assists? Right. That's the thing. Where is he going to get the 12 assists from? You know, we know the guys that they aren't going to guard and they're going to make them prove it. Can Christian Brown have another series like he just had?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Warriors beat the Wolves?
I mean, we're watching him kind of if we're like most improved for the playoffs, like he's probably high up the list for me as far as like my expectations and where he's been.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Warriors beat the Wolves?
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily. Coming up, welcome to the second round, but also we had some game sevens over the weekend. Warriors get a big win. We look ahead to OKC and the Nuggets and take a look at how the Pacers beat the Cavs. Good morning, everybody. Good morning, S. We are in the second round. I am excited, man. What a great time for playoff basketball. My goodness.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Warriors beat the Wolves?
Just like in the last one. Right. The last series, Clippers and Nuggets, that was Jamal Murray versus James Harden. We know what we're getting from Jokic and Kawhi. The question marks are, you know, what is Jamal? What's James Harden? I think in this series, it's a little bit Jamal Murray and a little bit Jalen Williams. You know, what does Jalen Williams look like when they send two to Shea?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Warriors beat the Wolves?
What does it look like when Jalen Williams is the guy that has to score down the stretch? I mean, this has been the question mark since last season. But I think Jamal Murray is, I mean, that's the biggest question mark in the entire series. Which Jamal are you going to get?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Warriors beat the Wolves?
Also keeps your guys out of foul trouble. You don't foul as much in the zone, and if you've only got five guys, I mean, it's going to be a big deal. They cannot afford a scenario where Aaron Gordon has three fouls in the second quarter. It's not a thing for them. Guys, stick around after the break. Zena's here to talk about the Warriors' big Game 7 win over the Rockets.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Warriors beat the Wolves?
I mean, they had multiple double-digit win streaks. I mean, this was the best team in the East. But they had a few flaws. And I... Like you, S, I felt like the Pacers kind of matched up very well. They're big, they're athletic, they can score. And in game one, look, they pick up the win, 121-112, and it was kind of all the things that we talked about.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Can the Warriors beat the Wolves?
The Warriors pick up a win over the Houston Rockets in game seven. Zena Kata, you were in studio for the game, totally locked in. Let me tell you, Buddy Heald was an experience at home on TV. How was it in studio watching him cook?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers get 2 seed, Cavs Win 50th | NBA Awards
He's a race on season this year for him too, by the way. He really has. For me, guys. Yeah, for me. You got me. For me, it's Tumani Kamara. This guy is Scottie Pippen 2.0. And he guards point guards. He guards Nikola Jokic. And again, perimeter defender, but he can switch one through five. He's he can be a point of attack.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers get 2 seed, Cavs Win 50th | NBA Awards
playmaker, you know, and if he's able to play free safety, he's just he can cover an entire zone. He's kind of like Deion Sanders when he's in the corner where you just can't throw a pass like there is no skip pass when Jumaane Kamara is out there. So that for me, you know, we're splitting hairs again.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers get 2 seed, Cavs Win 50th | NBA Awards
But man, I just think that guy is on a whole different planet from anybody else playing playing defense in the NBA. Next up, guys, and this one is actually not controversial. We could only really come up with one, I think. Yeah. That suits this. And it's the best game of the year. And... Mm-hmm. It has to be the Cavaliers versus the Thunder. We had so much buildup to this game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers get 2 seed, Cavs Win 50th | NBA Awards
Well, let's talk about the Cavs, guys. They had a couple big wins over the weekend. The biggest one was obviously that Friday night, the comeback win over the Boston Celtics. They were 1-2 in the East. And this Cavs team continues to clear hurdles and bars for progress, and they become the first team to win 50 games. They're 50-10. So, Esk, you told us about the 40-20 club.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers get 2 seed, Cavs Win 50th | NBA Awards
It was the two best teams in the league. And the game actually delivered, which is super nice. Everyone played. It wasn't a blowout. We got to see what really felt like a playoff atmosphere. If that had been a championship-level game, the tension in the air I thought was palpable. That's the game of the year.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers get 2 seed, Cavs Win 50th | NBA Awards
Yeah, the game was good. The game was good. We got the narrative payoff. It was it was excellent. It was it was a great game. OK, and now this is going to be controversial. Best player in a supporting role. And here are our nominees. It's Malik Beasley, who we have been talking about quite a bit here and what he's doing for the Pistons, shooting the lights out.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers get 2 seed, Cavs Win 50th | NBA Awards
Ty Jerome, who in my opinion should be the front runner for most improved player if we're doing the award the right way. Love it. And maybe he's too good to be considered supporting because of all the roles that he can fill at the high level. But Josh Hart. So there, what do you guys say?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers get 2 seed, Cavs Win 50th | NBA Awards
The 50-10 club, they all make the finals. And I think the only team that didn't win Was the Golden State Warriors that won 73 games. So, you know, they are just, they are looking like a juggernaut. We love the Portland Trailblazers. They gave them a run for their money on Sunday, pushing them to overtime. But guys, the Cavs, look, I think they're coming out of the East.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers get 2 seed, Cavs Win 50th | NBA Awards
I love it. And again, Josh Hart, that's going to be my pick. It's because Josh Hart is six foot four and can lead your team in rebounding. And he's going to maybe lead your team in steals. And he's going to definitely lead your team in, you know, transition buckets and steals. Yes, and he also can guard the other team's point of attack like their best player.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers get 2 seed, Cavs Win 50th | NBA Awards
I just think when you've got this super Swiss Army knife, that is the key to every successful team. He's the brutalist. Josh Hart – Josh Hart, there was in my opinion, I thought he had a really good case for being an all star. And when you think about like he's an all star at being a jack of all trades.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers get 2 seed, Cavs Win 50th | NBA Awards
See, let's see how that works. All right, guys. And finally, our last category here. And this one is very, very close to our hearts.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers get 2 seed, Cavs Win 50th | NBA Awards
best player in a podcasting role and you know there there's three guys that come to mind um first and foremost uh we gotta tip the cap you had a hell of a career paul george now retired podcaster again put up more podcasts this season than he appeared in wins for the 76ers uh i mean that is just legendary hanging up in the rafters i i think these other guys are
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers get 2 seed, Cavs Win 50th | NBA Awards
Obviously runner up, but we got Trey Murphy and we got Cam Johnson, who I was made aware of now hosts the Young Man and the Three podcast. Yes.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers get 2 seed, Cavs Win 50th | NBA Awards
I give him a lot of credit for it because it doesn't seem like Draymond Green has let his podcasting affect his play, which is hard to do. You know, I mean, I had to give up basketball. OK, well, George had to give up podcasting to play basketball.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers get 2 seed, Cavs Win 50th | NBA Awards
Respectfully, if you're podcasting in the woods. I mean, neither here nor there. Now, here's my, the funniest thing about Draymond Green as a podcaster is that now Baron Davis hosts the Draymond Green Show. Right. I love it. What a world. All right. Thank you guys for going through that with me. That was a lot of fun.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers get 2 seed, Cavs Win 50th | NBA Awards
um before we get out of here our bet mgm picks of the week our game of the week guys it's i think the thunder have like games of the week they've got the rockets and the grizzlies this week and then we're gonna get warriors knicks and i believe we're getting lakers celtics too yeah i mean this is kind of a week so what's your game of the week i think it's warriors knicks oh
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers get 2 seed, Cavs Win 50th | NBA Awards
I think post is going to be a hard matchup.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers get 2 seed, Cavs Win 50th | NBA Awards
And our sicko game of the week this week, Blazers Thunder. This game is going to, I mean, Denny Advia is having an amazing season. Just put up a 30-point triple-double in the loss to the Cavs. We've been talking about the Blazers for a few weeks now. I think Chauncey Billups deserves a lot of credit for the way he's got these guys playing. And obviously the Thunder are the Thunder.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers get 2 seed, Cavs Win 50th | NBA Awards
Good podcast team. Good podcast team.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers get 2 seed, Cavs Win 50th | NBA Awards
Thank you, guys, for dealing with us and our goofiness today. We appreciate you guys listening. Don't forget, join the Discord. Come and hang out with us. We're talking hoops all the time. Subscribe, like, leave us a positive review. Shoot us an email. All those things. For Zena Kada and Espera Henney, I'm Dave Dufour, and this has been the NBA Daily, the Daily's edition.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers get 2 seed, Cavs Win 50th | NBA Awards
Yeah. Conan O'Brien, by the way, crushed hosting the Oscars for, you know, I mean, you know, since we talk sports here and that is apparently a sport. That was a lot of fun. Before we get to the big games for the weekend, guys, let's a little bit of news from Friday night. We had a late Friday night news dump. Joel Embiid, done for the year. So the Sixers have... made the decision to shut it down.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers get 2 seed, Cavs Win 50th | NBA Awards
yeah i but i like your point boston lacks a little bit of the killer instinct and you know some of this is like schematically they're able to survive it through talent um but it's a different beast this year i think cleveland's really really good they just beat the nuggets also boston like credit to them they they took care of business against the the nuggets and everybody was saying how that was a different matchup for them they're missing a couple guys they handle business so like
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers get 2 seed, Cavs Win 50th | NBA Awards
Yeah, we're East heavy this morning, guys. Jalen Brunson is Mr. Clutch. That's all there is to it. Jalen Brunson is must-watch in the fourth quarters. I mean, Knicks games have gotten to be kind of hairy, like the Rockets, and they're throwing away some leads. They're trying to claw back. And Sunday was one of those days where they clawed back. They were down as much as 19.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers get 2 seed, Cavs Win 50th | NBA Awards
Jalen Brunson puts up 15 in the fourth quarter. get to overtime. They next win the game. He S the numbers that this guy is putting up in the clutch. It's ridiculous, man. It's insane. He carries this team.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers get 2 seed, Cavs Win 50th | NBA Awards
Yeah, guys, the NBA is really going to love this show because we're only talking about their favorite teams in the biggest markets. It's time for the Lakers. The Lakers are the two seed somehow. They have had a crazy couple of months. LeBron James turned 40 years old. And look, I've got a birthday coming up soon.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers get 2 seed, Cavs Win 50th | NBA Awards
And I'll just tell you guys, you know, when you get to be a certain age, you start to want to prove things to yourself at all these birthdays. And I think LeBron turned 40. He said, you know what? I'm still top five and he's played like it. He's playing like it on both ends.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers get 2 seed, Cavs Win 50th | NBA Awards
I mean, the Lakers survived a comeback from the Clippers and it got a little sketchy for him, but they pick up two wins over the rival Clippers that are across the street. These teams are going in opposite directions, but the Lakers are like to the moon right now. They just, they are the two seed.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers get 2 seed, Cavs Win 50th | NBA Awards
And, and guys, I think the biggest thing that we, you know, we expected this, we kind of thought it was trending this way. And now we all focus on whether or not they're going to keep that pick.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers get 2 seed, Cavs Win 50th | NBA Awards
Yeah, LeBron has been able to be a play finisher so much with Luka out there. He's leaking out all the time. I mean, you know, it reminds me as of the Miami years where he had some of those crazy efficient seasons because he was cutting to the basket. He was shooting a lot of layups. And here's the thing, and this is the craziest part, is that LeBron added that last piece to his game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers get 2 seed, Cavs Win 50th | NBA Awards
He became a knockdown three-point shooter. He's shooting like 43% on the season. Yeah. Statistically, his last two months are better than that MVP season in Miami. That's incredible.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers get 2 seed, Cavs Win 50th | NBA Awards
He's scoring about the same amount of points. He's shooting the ball better. And, I mean, the defense, look, it's not the same level as that. Of course. Man, it's ridiculous.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers get 2 seed, Cavs Win 50th | NBA Awards
I think we're going to find out over the course of the next few weeks. Also perfect segue talking about guys getting all NBA or all defense. Cause coming up after the break guys, it's the dailies. Oh yeah. Okay, so we've arrived at the three-quarter mark of the season. And with the Oscars, we thought it'd be pretty fun to hand out some awards to this point.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers get 2 seed, Cavs Win 50th | NBA Awards
Good morning, everybody. Welcome to the NBA Daily. Coming up, the Cavs are the first team to 50 wins. The Lakers are the two seeds. And since it's award season, we're giving out the dailies. Good morning, everybody. Good morning, guys. Obviously, we're all dressed up around here. Oh, yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers get 2 seed, Cavs Win 50th | NBA Awards
And, you know, we decided to call them the dailies because that's what you do. You know, naming conventions being what they are. Yeah. You know, it's an excuse to talk about some guys is really what it is. We can mention some names and have some conversations. And we got to start with the best offensive player. And there's really only two names here. And I'm just going to make you guys choose one.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers get 2 seed, Cavs Win 50th | NBA Awards
Is it Shea, Gilgis Alexander, or is it Nikola Jokic? It's...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers get 2 seed, Cavs Win 50th | NBA Awards
Because Jokic gets a lot of steals. Jokic obviously rebounding. Jokic is constantly looking ahead. We're splitting hairs that are like, you know. It's like incremental.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers get 2 seed, Cavs Win 50th | NBA Awards
I think Jokic, he's the best offensive player By the way, this is not MVP. Almost maybe ever. Like, I mean, it's debatable.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers get 2 seed, Cavs Win 50th | NBA Awards
I like that. Yeah, see, here at the Daily Sweet, we're – Adding context to these conversations. It's not a complete unknown. Speaking of, something we've talked about is the Defensive Player of the Year Award and how it's a little bit biased towards, and Zena, apologies. It's biased towards bigs.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Lakers get 2 seed, Cavs Win 50th | NBA Awards
So guys, through three quarters of the season, here are nominees for Best Perimeter Defensive Player. This is where we would get the musical number. Dyson Daniels, Tumani Kamara. The Thompson twins, a man and a czar, they're just constantly grouped together. Chris Dunn, which is a great call, and Alex Caruso. So, guys, tell me, who's your best perimeter defensive player of the year?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Fox Traded to the Spurs EMERGENCY POD + Luka with the Lakers
We just got this news. What is your just initial reaction to this trade?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Fox Traded to the Spurs EMERGENCY POD + Luka with the Lakers
Three of whom need the ball in their hands.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Fox Traded to the Spurs EMERGENCY POD + Luka with the Lakers
Maybe even four. Yes.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Fox Traded to the Spurs EMERGENCY POD + Luka with the Lakers
Zach Collins went to the Bulls, and he could have maybe helped the Kings, to be honest with you. Look, the Kings side of this is very confusing to me, and it does make me wonder, okay, they can't be done. I don't know if it's moving DeMar. I don't know if it's maybe you flip Levine and you've got Monk or Malik Monk. There's more assets coming.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Fox Traded to the Spurs EMERGENCY POD + Luka with the Lakers
So, you know, this is a trade that I firmly believe on the King side. We probably need to wait until the end of the week before we give. But this one trade, I mean, you lost De'Aaron Fox, who I think we all agree, you know, maybe he's a top 40 player. He's a really good player and he's going to pair perfectly. on his new team, but you just don't get much back. Zach Levine approaching 30.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Fox Traded to the Spurs EMERGENCY POD + Luka with the Lakers
He's going to be due a contract, uh, that you might not want to pay.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Fox Traded to the Spurs EMERGENCY POD + Luka with the Lakers
So I'm, I'm going to hold my judgment for the King side of this until I see what happens there.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Fox Traded to the Spurs EMERGENCY POD + Luka with the Lakers
We'll see what happens. Let's not forget, this team could have had Luka Dacic, and they had, you know.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Fox Traded to the Spurs EMERGENCY POD + Luka with the Lakers
Well, look, the trade market may be broken. I'll get to that in a minute. But I want to finish up. Let's get back to this Fox trade. The Spurs side of this, we hit this pretty heavily as soon as we heard, hey, not only does De'Aaron Fox want out, but he wants to go to the Spurs. And we were able to talk to a bunch of people about this last week. His fit with the Spurs, I think, is very clear.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Fox Traded to the Spurs EMERGENCY POD + Luka with the Lakers
You consider his age, his status, the things that he does that he brings to late game situations, I think is going to be crucial for Wemby. As we watch Wemby just every single night. I mean, guys, I just text Wemby. To people in my basketball circles, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Fox Traded to the Spurs EMERGENCY POD + Luka with the Lakers
He, the other night he does this walking one foot, you know, he walks into a one footed three and I just text Wemby and everyone's like, yeah, no joke. And now they have De'Aaron Fox. So, you know, I think that this core going forward for the Spurs. And as you look at like, just look in Texas basketball, what's happened here over the weekend, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Fox Traded to the Spurs EMERGENCY POD + Luka with the Lakers
You've got the Rockets who have had this great season. Now, all of a sudden the Mavericks, it's an old team. now. And the Spurs are young, but they've just brought themselves, in my opinion, into contention to a certain degree. They're maybe not title contenders, but they're going to be more middle of the pack now that they have a player of De'Aaron Fox's caliber.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Fox Traded to the Spurs EMERGENCY POD + Luka with the Lakers
So, you know, this is a huge move for them going forward. I think that this is the first step of building a championship level contender around Victor Wiminyama.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Fox Traded to the Spurs EMERGENCY POD + Luka with the Lakers
And while we were setting up to talk about the Luka Doncic trade, De'Aaron Fox got moved, guys. Emergency pod. I don't know. Get the sirens going. Get the alarm bells going. Here's the deal. The Spurs get De'Aaron Fox and Jordan McLaughlin. The Kings get Zach Levine.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Fox Traded to the Spurs EMERGENCY POD + Luka with the Lakers
Okay, so I had my brain ripped out Saturday night, guys. We all did.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Fox Traded to the Spurs EMERGENCY POD + Luka with the Lakers
Let me give you guys some props because, you know, hey, I'm here every day, and it's a lot of fun, and we have a great time. These guys, the Emergency Podcast, excellent job on the Emergency Pod. It's worth checking out. Alex Spears jumped in with Zena and S to break down the Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis trade. I want to tell you guys a story of how I found out about this.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Fox Traded to the Spurs EMERGENCY POD + Luka with the Lakers
You know, I was out as a Saturday night. I'm out visiting, seeing friends. And one of my buddies who kind of like, you know, he loves sports, but he also loves to troll me a little bit. He walks in and he says, Hey, what'd you think about that big trade? Knowing it's like, Hey, I'm having like, you know, a night out with friends relaxing. And I, I'm like, there was no trade.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Fox Traded to the Spurs EMERGENCY POD + Luka with the Lakers
He said, yeah, Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis. And I said, this guy, this is the most ridiculous trade that anyone could have come up with. He was like, he's like, I think Shams got hacked. And I'm like, wait a second. What? What? And so, you know, you go through this process. And first I was in denial because it didn't make as everybody was. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Fox Traded to the Spurs EMERGENCY POD + Luka with the Lakers
And, you know, again, we're going to get and we've already gotten and even here we've gotten the knee jerk. We've gotten reporting. You know, we're going to get reporting all week. The Mavericks, Nico Harrison and Jason Kidd had one of the most awkward and disgusting I dare say insane press conferences that I've seen in sports. Bizarre. It may be the worst trade in any sport ever. I don't know.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Fox Traded to the Spurs EMERGENCY POD + Luka with the Lakers
It's that weird. But it was so out of left field to me that I thought it must have been fake. And, well, as we all know – Not fake at all. And so my – I have takes on the trade, obviously. Yeah, what's your perspective on it? We want to know. I just want to say this. The trade itself is weird, and the basketball part of it is so separate from why it's weird.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Fox Traded to the Spurs EMERGENCY POD + Luka with the Lakers
Three first-round picks, 20-25 from Charlotte, which is actually protected heavily and is going to wind up being a 20-26 second and a 20-27 second. The 20-27 first from San Antonio and the 20-31 first from Minnesota. They also got three second-round picks thrown in. The Bulls jumped in on this trade, as you heard.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Fox Traded to the Spurs EMERGENCY POD + Luka with the Lakers
Year seven, Luka Doncic, when he's eligible for a five-year Supermax extension that he wants to sign, it is – a break from the norms of the establishment basketball operations of the NBA to trade that guy when he hasn't demanded a trade or done something that has caused him to like disparage the team or something negative outwardly.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Fox Traded to the Spurs EMERGENCY POD + Luka with the Lakers
So unless there's something we don't know, which of course I can't know, this is completely out of left field.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Fox Traded to the Spurs EMERGENCY POD + Luka with the Lakers
So Carl Anthony Towns gets moved, and we all say, well, that second apron, the new CBA. Teams are trying to duck the tax. And we've watched the way that the Jimmy Butler and Miami Heat saga has played out since the denial of the contract extension and over the course of the season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Fox Traded to the Spurs EMERGENCY POD + Luka with the Lakers
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily. Coming up, we had a crazy weekend. Maybe the worst trade in sports history. We've got Trevor Lane to talk about the Lakers side of that, the good part. And Darren Fox got moved. Good morning, everybody. Good evening. Actually, it's a second emergency podcast. I'm Dave Dufour here with Espera Henney and Zena Keita.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Fox Traded to the Spurs EMERGENCY POD + Luka with the Lakers
And I would say if the Carl Anthony Towns trade and the Jimmy Butler part was like cracks in the foundation of the player empowerment era, the Luka Doncic trade might have been a bulldozer. This was a team saying no to an MVP-level generational talent, which is different than just generational talent. This is not De'Aaron Fox we're talking about. This is Luka Doncic.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Fox Traded to the Spurs EMERGENCY POD + Luka with the Lakers
He's probably going to go down as one of the best to ever play in the NBA. We know the numbers. We know the five-time All-NBA. We know the five-time All-Star. We know everything about this guy. He just went to the finals last year. This is a sea change in NBA management where apparently the Mavericks have just said, No, we're not going to tolerate the way you do business anymore.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Fox Traded to the Spurs EMERGENCY POD + Luka with the Lakers
And I think that the player empowerment era, I do think that we're going to look back in a couple years and say, wow, they told Luka no, and now teams have learned they can tell guys no.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Fox Traded to the Spurs EMERGENCY POD + Luka with the Lakers
Zach Levine going to the Kings, and they pick up Zach Collins, Trey Young, Kevin Herter. Trey Young? Excuse me. Trey Young. I mean, that would have been a great return. I got Luke on the brain. Trey Jones, Kevin Herter and their own 2025 pick. So they control their own destiny this year, even though it may be too late to tank for them. Zena, I'm going to start with you here again.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Fox Traded to the Spurs EMERGENCY POD + Luka with the Lakers
Yeah. What are you going to do? Could be if you're not happy with the way things are going, you make some noise. Again, the Jimmy Butler stuff I do think is going to cause ripple effects. I mean you have Kevin Garnett calling Jimmy Butler out for his lack of professionalism. I don't think that it starts with just – Kevin Garnett seeing this stuff happening. I think there's more to it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Fox Traded to the Spurs EMERGENCY POD + Luka with the Lakers
This is the thing. This is where the Luka thing – I do feel the Luka thing is so unique. Shatters it all. He didn't ask out that we know of. There were no rumblings. He was unhappy there. Yeah. He's an MVP level player. They were all in.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Fox Traded to the Spurs EMERGENCY POD + Luka with the Lakers
Anyway, I've been in shock. I don't have a take necessarily on the trade because it's irrational.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Fox Traded to the Spurs EMERGENCY POD + Luka with the Lakers
illogical and just doesn't make sense if it was a video game and i showed it to you you'd say man you're just cheating it doesn't even work in 2k yeah anyway hey shout out to rob palinka he answered the right phone call right yeah and and this is how this stuff happens if you're the lakers uh speaking of which s sat down with trevor lane to talk about how great it is to be the lakers right now
The Athletic NBA Daily
Biggest All Star Snubs | Should the Sixers tank?
I would definitely call about Herb Jones. I mean, just personally, I would make a call about Herb Jones.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Biggest All Star Snubs | Should the Sixers tank?
We can't get enough of the Rockets, man. That's right.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Biggest All Star Snubs | Should the Sixers tank?
Good morning. Hey, chemistry right there.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
Do you want to pontificate a little bit about Steph?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
I believe they just blacked out the image of Luca and put the logo.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
Anyway, don't worry. Exactly. Okay.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
We just call it Top Shot Arena.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
Yeah, but I don't even know if they do monster trucks in there. So, like, is Gravedigger ever going to, you know, that's what I need.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
Well, I want to talk to you about something else, not just Clippers. Because the thing is, Law, you're one of my favorite people to talk basketball with. Like, you watch everybody. And if you guys follow Law on social media, you'll see that he is watching every single game that he's not covering directly. I mean, the guy is clipping stuff. And, you know, you're doing power rankings.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
But I really, I loved the piece that you wrote. about what separates NBA teams' offensive identities. Because there's been a huge topic of conversation. I actually brought it up on the show yesterday about people being bored watching the Celtics. There's been all this hand-wringing over All-Star weekend, enough that Adam Silver had to address
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
whether they need to make changes to the actual game itself. Are people bored? Are there too many threes? And I happen to disagree with the negative discourse about the game, but I can certainly understand with the increase in three-point proliferation where people feel like everyone is just same-same.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
But the truth is when you dig into the tape like I do and like you do and like S does and like Zena does, I mean, we know that there is a difference from night to night, game to game, team to team. The schemes change. So you wrote, and what I want to say is an exhaustive,
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
I think when he gets on those moments to the ratings.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
piece with a ton of research i want to give you a ton of credit for that because i know what it takes to go in and see this stuff um we're essentially if you guys haven't haven't read it i will link it in the show description so that you can get there because i do think it's worth taking a look at and even at a glance so just for instance Here is just how plays start for each team.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
Who touches the ball the most? What their preferred go-to play style is? So like the Boston Celtics, of course, Jason Tatum is the touch leader. His preferred non-pick-and-roll play style, isolation. Does he take more threes? Does he shoot in the mid-range? Does he get to the paint? And here you say he prefers threes. And this is for every single team.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
And then you go in and you break down what's their pick-and-roll possession rank. Where do they rank in drives? Where do they rank in passes? So, number one, I want to just give you a lot of credit because I understand the work involved. But number two, I want to thank you for providing a lot of context to back up what the real ball knowers know every night when we're watching.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
And it's just that the game is so complicated that when you're trying to dumb it down, it can be hard.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
That's it. Well, thank you. Now, how did you get here? What surprised you when you were looking at all this stuff?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
Maybe we go coaching the Drew League. But continue. The story behind it, I think, is important.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
Well, it's inherent in the sport. It's inherent in the sport law. There's only so many ways to put the ball in the basket. You don't stop between plays. So play calling is on the fly. Literally. That's right. So you have bread and butter, literally bread and butter plays. That's what we call them. They're usually in my back pocket. And you go to those when you need a bucket.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
And so often things do look the same, but it's more rhyming than it is repetition. And you know what it is? It's different spaces and whatnot.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
Right. I mean, Boston is a prime example of this, right? Like they they slow it down because they want to attack a particular matchup. And they're one of the few teams that have stuck to this. Like, no matter what, we are going to pick on a guy every single possession. I actually think part of this too long with like just the the discourse, it is a bit of a perception thing.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
And I think some of it is brought on by highlight culture. I mean, you talked about it. There's twelve hundred and thirty regular season NBA games. It's a lot. And I think that you see so many highlights. And as to your point, the play conclusion. Yeah, it's a great pass if the shot goes in, but you never see that clip if the shot doesn't go in.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
And and also lost in that context is like when you see this beautiful basketball and it's like five or six passes. Well, part of that is the defense has these guys having to move the ball and make it work. And that also gets lost in the discourse. But I think that the highlight issue and then when you sit down to watch a full game, you're like, I'll hang on a second. These guys are hitting what?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
35% of the shots they take. Cause so many of them are threes now. And I do think that that's a disconnect. I wonder if red zone watching may cause this down the line for football, where when you sit down to watch a full football game, you're like, wow, this is incredibly slow.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
Yeah. Paolo put up a 41 and we just, we're just not even going to talk about it. I mean, it was a really good game from him, but you know, Steph is more important. But I think the other thing is, you know, these are two teams that are kind of trending in different directions and
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
I, again, I'm just kind of guessing there, but like, do you think I'm onto something here long where it's just, we see so many highlights, the play finish, the ball goes through the net. And then when you actually turn on a game, well, it doesn't work that way.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
And that's why I love working at The Athletic because we're the only place that's doing that right now. LawMurray.com Go and check him out. Again, I try to remind everybody, if you read The Athletic on the app or on the website, you can follow the writers that you love. I love Law Murray. I read all of his stuff. Follow him.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
You get a notification every single time he posts a new story, which I believe there's one today on Luka versus the Clippers. So good timing on that. Thank you, Law Murray, for hanging out and talking to Ball. Thank you, Espera Henning, as always. I'm Dave DuFour. This has been the NBA Daily. Thank you guys for listening.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
And the magic, like we gave them a lot of credit because they did, you know, they were treading water without all their guys. And like we talked about the other day, they really, their offense is struggling without Jalen Suggs. But for the Warriors, they're now 7-1 since they got Jimmy Butler. this is a completely different team.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
They're a half game back as we record this going into Friday of the Clippers for the sixth seed. I think there's a great chance that by Monday or by Tuesday, this is a team that is the sixth seed, and we've been kind of penciling them into the play-in this entire time. I think that's a pretty big deal. But the biggest deal to come from this game that wasn't Steph Curry, Quentin Post.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
He came off the bench, put up 18 points, hit a couple of threes. He's big. And we're going to talk about the shots he made. But, man, I think his defense has come a really long way in such a short amount of time. And he might be a guy. I mean, he's going to be in the rotation in the playoffs. He may be one of the more important guys coming off the bench for them.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
yeah yeah it's crazy to hear marie spates in 2025 that's i just need to see look what i need to see over the next few weeks i need to see a handful of uh steph curry quentin post pick and pop i just want to see what it looks like like give me that a few times a game because if that's something that he can develop confidence in and and obviously he can run it with jimmy butler i mean jimmy butler is such an effective uh driver that i think that
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
Good morning, S. Good morning, Dave. Great night of hoops. What a Steph Curry, man. Look, the Warriors went to Orlando and look with the way Orlando has been playing. They got crushed by 40 the other night. I was thinking, all right, we're probably not going to hit this game. The Warriors would just wipe them out.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
know with with posts popping out the three-point line you're just going to create lanes for jimmy butler so i i just want to see him involved in so much um especially in the second units when he's out there and it's jimmy kind of reminds me of like what they wanted dario sarge to be of course a little bit yes you know this is something that they've i think they've been searching for for a while so yeah that's a guy to watch but man steph
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
The goat. Let's talk Lakers and Wolves. The Wolves lost. OK, that's the long story short. The Lakers pick up the win. But it was kind of an odd victory, I would say, for the Lakers. They got out to this huge lead early. They look great. Just world beaters. The defense, which we've been trying to highlight here the last few games for them is it looked great. It was incredible. Yeah. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
Then Anthony Edwards gets ejected. uh, over what I thought was a pretty soft technical. I don't know what he said, but I just don't, I don't really understand what, what benefit there is to toss, you know, one of the brightest stars of the game out, uh, for something that isn't egregious. So he gets ejected. And then once again, the wolves go on a run without Anthony Edwards.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
And I start texting you to ask, and I'm saying, okay, so Terrence Shannon, uh, And Jaden McDaniels and Nikhil Alexander-Walker, that's a three-man core that kind of brings some energy for them. They're a lot of fun. Yeah, before we get to the Lakers, let's talk about the Wolves. In particular, that little unit that they figured out. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
Like he's ready to be six to 15.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
Let's talk about the Lakers and their offensive symmetry and balance. In this game, they attempted 41 two-pointers. Yes. 41 three-pointers and 46 free throws, S.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
didn't work out that way um the warriors did win the game and we're gonna get to that but the way this game started out the the magic actually had a really nice run to start the game got themselves a big lead uh but steph curry just did the thing that he does s and had a 22 point third quarter he had 12 threes in the game had 56 points and
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
I mean, listen, it's the Lakers tax that you pay when you go and play them in L.A. And I know that that's going to be the big thing. But I wonder if Chris Finch complaining about the officiating, which we've been seeing a lot of. And by the way, wrongly, because a lot of fans have already dug this up, that Shea Gildas Alexander's free throw rate on drives is actually lower than Anthony Edwards.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
Of course, Chris Finch was complaining about all the foul calls for Shea. But this was an egregious amount of free throws, and it did feel a little ticky-tack. I'm not going to – I don't know. I don't know.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
Luka Doncic was extra aggressive to start the game. He had like eight or nine drives in the first half. So they were actually getting the Wolves to kind of commit a lot of fouls, but there were a lot of free throws, especially down the stretch. But... That's neither here nor there because we want to talk about the game. Luca kind of had a rough game. He did not shoot the ball well.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
I think he missed 10 straight shots, and a lot of those were just right at the basket. I'm not sure if this is, again, the calf issue is going to be a night in, night out thing until he's 100% healthy. So we're going to see stuff like this. But LeBron continues this run that he's on. Incredible, man. I said he's top 10. He's playing like a top five player right now. Two-way player.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
Excuse me, 33 points, 17 rebounds, five offensive rebounds, six assists, a steal, a block. And when you're watching the ground that he covers defensively, During this stretch, it is undeniable to me that this guy is he's been top five for this little like month.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily. Coming up, Steph Curry. He's ridiculous. He's the GOAT. We're going to talk about him a little bit. The Lakers got another win, but Anthony Edwards, oddly, got ejected and may miss a few games. And Law Murray stops by for a wide-ranging conversation about why every team doesn't actually play this game. Good morning, everybody.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
I just got to tell you, let's just relax. It's just crazy. But I'm just saying it's just suppose this. Right. Think about this. OK, so we just watched Steph 56 points at his age. uh, LeBron. And I think Steph, like the shooting is going to stick around.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
He's probably not going to be as dynamic, you know, as he continues, but LeBron 40, he looks like he's got at least another three years left in him. And now he does. Yeah. KD, who is going to likely be on a new team because the sons are cooked. Yeah. Um, you know, he still is playing at an elite level. Yeah. Still does this.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
The Warriors needed all of those to win the game and including all the points they got from Quentin Post, who we'll talk about. But this game was, number one, a game that I did not expect us to be talking about. So it was a nice surprise. But number two, Steph Curry, 56 freaking points. He is, what is it? He's got the most 50-point games after turning 30 with nine now. Yeah. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
I, you know, this is, um, I think we're entering into a unique era where the limits just don't exist yet. We haven't found them for, for these elite guys, but what LeBron's doing is to me, unparalleled. I see people comparing Tom Brady. I think the demands of a pocket passing quarterback, uh,
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
especially like with the skill and and all of the the mental acuity that Tom Brady had I think you can scheme your way into that guy being maybe looking better than he is but what LeBron is doing night in night out he is absolutely crushing souls of guys that are half his age he's playing honestly like if LeBron was playing like this all year he would be in the MVP conversation which is
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
Yeah, maybe. We don't know. It's absurd. These guys are going to be the face of the league until somebody else takes it from them. We should mention, before we go to break, Zion Williamson recorded his first career triple-double against the Suns. Again, the Suns are cooked. The postgame stuff was really bad for him. Yeah, it's over. But how is this Zion's first career triple-double?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
Because Steph Curry exists and they double him every, Every single time. Off ball, maybe. That's right. Yeah, that's right. All right, guys, stick around after the break. We have one of the best conversations that we've had on the pod since we launched it with Law and Murray, just talking about how different each team actually plays.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph drops 56 | LeBron and Lakers keep rolling
We've got a big game tonight. We've got Luka and the Lakers going up against the Clippers for the first time, so we've got to get our guy Law Murray in here. Law, are you excited for this? I mean, it's Luka... Versus the Clippers. That feels a little bit bigger than just the Lakers.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder Make History + Knicks and Clippers Go Up
I think this is a fantastic gimmick, and I actually hope more teams will do things for their fans like this. You know, I've been to a lot of EuroLeague games and games around Europe, and people constantly want to compare NBA atmosphere to that because it looks crazy, right? You've got, like, people rioting, there's flares, there's fireworks.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder Make History + Knicks and Clippers Go Up
You know, they had fireworks during the National Anthem inside, which I was surprised by. But the wall itself as a character is such a great part of the arena. It's almost like the big green monster, you know, at Fenway Park, right? It's a thing. And the people there were so bought in. You know, it was like we talked about the Oklahoma City Thunder fans, how they all wear the shirts.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder Make History + Knicks and Clippers Go Up
Well, it's mandatory there, but also you wouldn't want to be in that group and not go along. I mean, you guys saw the decapitated horse heads they were wearing. It was a little bit of, were they trying to make Nikola Jokic an offer that he could refuse? I don't know, but it did work. They got him to miss a free throw. I mean, honestly, look,
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder Make History + Knicks and Clippers Go Up
It's easy to be like a cynic when teams are trying things, but I think the Clippers have done a really great job of embracing the fan part of this. We've been giving the Thunder a lot of credit. Shout out to the Clippers. This was a fun time, even though it was a blowout. And I can't help but think the Clippers got energized by the crowd a little bit.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder Make History + Knicks and Clippers Go Up
I mean, they came out and just blew these guys out.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder Make History + Knicks and Clippers Go Up
Well, it was obviously, I mean, a three point line, right? Like Denver, just their, their communication outside on the perimeter was non-existent. I mean, there were multiple times where they left Kawhi Leonard wide open.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder Make History + Knicks and Clippers Go Up
I mean, and you would see like just the body language drooping and you know, the narrative from this will be that the Clippers hit a lot of shots, but you know, I'm sitting here watching and I'm tracking to my, you know, I've got my notebook, right? I didn't, I didn't bring a laptop. I like to do this on paper. I can't find it right now, but I,
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder Make History + Knicks and Clippers Go Up
I'm telling you, these guys were taking, they were taking warm-up threes. Like, these were wide-open shots they were taking. So, you know, look, we saw the Nuggets look tired in game two. We saw them look exhausted in this game. I don't know how the Nuggets bounced back. You know, it's a day and a half because this is a 3 o'clock Pacific start, and it is, you know, 1030 Pacific right now.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder Make History + Knicks and Clippers Go Up
So they don't even have two full days to kind of recoup. And they looked like they had no legs. But the Clippers, you know, give them credit, right? Not only did they not look tired, but they never stopped. I mean, they were pushing the ball in transition. You mentioned James Harden. 20 points in the first half. And then he just kind of slowed down, you know.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder Make History + Knicks and Clippers Go Up
But that first half, it was like lightning quick. Early Houston Rockets, James Harden, he was attacking the basket. And then he hit so many threes that I lost count. Just a great overall game from the Clippers.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder Make History + Knicks and Clippers Go Up
Well, I actually think one of the big problems for Denver is there's not enough production from Nikola Jokic. And in ways that aren't necessarily points or assists or rebounds, he needs to be productive in getting Zubac off the court. This is the key to them winning any more games in this series. They've got to get Evisa Zubac in foul trouble and get him off the court.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder Make History + Knicks and Clippers Go Up
When they started the second quarter, Denver started a little small. Zubac dominated. They finally bring in DeAndre Jordan to try to stop the bleeding, but it's DeAndre Jordan. That's not enough. Part of this is maybe Denver doesn't have the personnel for this, but I think you've got to say, look,
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder Make History + Knicks and Clippers Go Up
Jokic, you already do everything, and it sounds crazy to ask this guy to do more, but I do think they have to go at Zubac, especially in the next game. If they lose the next one, this series, it feels like it's over. As you mentioned, this could easily be 3-0 in favor of the Clippers, and we're looking at a team with the Nuggets. I mean... Disarray is the first word that comes to mind for me.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder Make History + Knicks and Clippers Go Up
When you watch him, the body language. I mean, Aaron Gordon's still dealing with his calf thing. In the first quarter, first six minutes of the game, he had 11 points, and he has two the rest of the game. The shot just disappeared for him. And I do think that Denver started out okay. I mean, you look at the paint points. They were pushing the ball, and they were getting early post-ups.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder Make History + Knicks and Clippers Go Up
A lot of backdoor cuts. I feel like it was like eight points off cuts from the corner on dunks. And I mean, these guys, they, they have a system, but they just don't have the, they don't have as many horses to roll out there, you know, with Nicola Yoke.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder Make History + Knicks and Clippers Go Up
Hi, it's Alexa Y. Bell from New York Times Cooking. We've got tons of easy weeknight recipes, and I'm gonna make two of my favorites for you today. For my five-ingredient creamy miso pasta, you just take your starchy pasta water, whisk it together with a little bit of miso and butter until it's creamy. Add your noodles and a little bit of cheese. Mm. It's like a grown-up box of mac and cheese.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder Make History + Knicks and Clippers Go Up
An easy weeknight recipe that feels like a restaurant-quality dish. Next up, I'm making my vegetarian mushroom shawarma pitas. This recipe is just built for efficiency. You toss your mushrooms and red onion in your spices, throw them in the oven. By the time they're done, your sauce is ready, you've chopped your cabbage, and you're ready to assemble.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder Make History + Knicks and Clippers Go Up
It feels crazy that something that tastes this complex and looks this colorful and beautiful is actually really easy to make and takes just 20 minutes of active time. It's just delicious. New York Times Cooking has you covered with easy dishes for busy weeknights. Find these recipes and more at nytcooking.com. Smells so good.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Curry injured in Warriors win + New owners for the Boston Celtics
At PwC we don't just deliver ideas, we make them work. With the expertise and tech you need to outthink and outperform. And we work with you, alongside you, from start to finish. So you can stay ahead, so you can protect what you built, so you can create new value. We build for what's next, so you can get there now. PwC, so you can.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Curry injured in Warriors win + New owners for the Boston Celtics
PwC refers to the PwC network and all one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Curry injured in Warriors win + New owners for the Boston Celtics
At PwC we build for what's next. So you can get there now. So you can protect what you built. So you can create new value. PwC. So you can. PwC refers to the PwC network and all one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Curry injured in Warriors win + New owners for the Boston Celtics
Also mehr über das Spiel später. Ja, in einem Minuten. Ja.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Curry injured in Warriors win + New owners for the Boston Celtics
At PwC, we bring the power of a global network grounded in local know-how. From shifting regulations to fast-moving tech, we deliver tailored solutions that work everywhere you do. So you can stay ahead. So you can protect what you've built. So you can create new value. We build for what's next. So you can get there now. PwC, so you can.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Curry injured in Warriors win + New owners for the Boston Celtics
PwC refers to the PwC network and all one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wemby out for the season | Nuggets take 2 seed in the West
You know, this is going to sound odd, but I had noticed that the Pacers had this huge drop-off after the Paris game. And, you know, I was trying to tie it to travel. But I had also looked at Wemby's numbers that same stretch and had noticed his numbers dropped, too.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wemby out for the season | Nuggets take 2 seed in the West
And I had chalked it up to these guys shouldn't necessarily be traveling to Paris in the middle of a season and be expected to not have time off. And maybe this is something they look into down the line as far as changing that. But...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wemby out for the season | Nuggets take 2 seed in the West
When you have guys this height and they're traveling so much, I mean, Zena, you kind of laid it out for me in our pre-show because you had spoken to someone about this. This is sort of one of the dangers that comes along with having so much travel. Is that something, Sam, that maybe the Spurs are going to look into addressing?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wemby out for the season | Nuggets take 2 seed in the West
I don't even know how you can address it for one player, whether it's the shorter trips by bus or limo. I don't know how they do it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wemby out for the season | Nuggets take 2 seed in the West
Yeah, again, we hope that he's healthy and he's back next season. It's a bummer for him. It's a bummer for us. Every single night, he does something amazing. So, you know, get well soon, Wemby. Thank you, Sam Amick, the guy we keep too busy on the podcast because the league keeps him too busy. That's going to do it for today's show, folks.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wemby out for the season | Nuggets take 2 seed in the West
Thanks to Sam Amick for stopping in and giving us all that inside info. For Zena Kata, I'm Dave Dufour, and this has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wemby out for the season | Nuggets take 2 seed in the West
yeah again stick around guys after the break Sam Amick he wrote a whole piece on it and he joins the show and breaks down the entire timeline including like this has been going on for a few weeks now with Wemby so definitely stick around for that Zena it feels weird because we did have a basketball game Wednesday night but we're now officially back from the all-star break although there's an argument to be made that in some of these games the guys are still on vacation they're a little sluggish
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wemby out for the season | Nuggets take 2 seed in the West
The Knicks and Bulls had a game in which I don't know if we could say they really played defense. It was an entertaining game, but not a great one. The Knicks did did do the thing that they do when they pulled out a tough win. Jalen Brunson hits a clutch shot that that sets up an opportunity for the Bulls to get a game winning shot. And
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wemby out for the season | Nuggets take 2 seed in the West
Zena, Mikael Bridges has a clutch block essentially at the buzzer to force overtime. Is this the best block this season?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wemby out for the season | Nuggets take 2 seed in the West
Yeah, and again, Jalen Brunson, just what he does, end of games, the ability to always get a shot. That continued over into overtime where the defense just, in my opinion, they sell out for Jalen Brunson, and he winds up creating these easy looks. He hit Carl Anthony Towns for a really nice little pocket pass that I thought caught Towns off guard.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wemby out for the season | Nuggets take 2 seed in the West
Towns hits a little floater, and essentially the game was over after that. But Carl Anthony Towns puts up 32 points and 18 rebounds. Thank you, Dave.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wemby out for the season | Nuggets take 2 seed in the West
Carlinson Towns was insane. That's right. You're big on big. So look, I mean, what he's been doing rebounding. I think what he's been doing offensively, he's a lock for all NBA. But this rebounding is is pretty intense. And when we think about the Knicks, we know that there's such, you know, rebounding is so important for them. It has been historically.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wemby out for the season | Nuggets take 2 seed in the West
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily. Coming up, Victor Wiminyama is out for the year. We're going to talk about that a little bit. We got Sam Amick coming in to give us the behind the scenes on that. The Knicks win in overtime and the Bucs, they got Giannis back. And let's see how that Kyle Kuzma fits working out. Good morning, everybody. Good morning, Zena. Good morning, Dave.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wemby out for the season | Nuggets take 2 seed in the West
What about what about what he's doing on the glass?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wemby out for the season | Nuggets take 2 seed in the West
Honestly, that happens with the Knicks sometimes. I feel like you'll see Cat first three quarters. He'll have 27, 28, and then it's Brunson time down the stretch. And it's working. It's a little bit of like thunder and lightning situation for them. I don't know. The Knicks are fun and they can score. Look, we got to talk about the Bucs. Giannis is back. He was on a minute's limit.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wemby out for the season | Nuggets take 2 seed in the West
And so the Clippers really made this quite a hard game, I think, for the Bucs. I thought the Clippers were going to win it. Once Giannis kind of ran out of minutes, but then the Bucs pulled it out there at the end. But I think the biggest story is Kyle Kuzma taking over all of these minutes that are now available because Bobby Portis got suspended for 25 games for taking a banned substance, Zena.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wemby out for the season | Nuggets take 2 seed in the West
So they better hope Kuzma continues to fit in as well as he did last night where he went three of seven from three for 13 points.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wemby out for the season | Nuggets take 2 seed in the West
What are we doing? Zena, you were a Division I athlete.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wemby out for the season | Nuggets take 2 seed in the West
There was a list. Right.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wemby out for the season | Nuggets take 2 seed in the West
I mean, you knew all the list of things. These were the approved things I can take. And it is a situation where you have Tramadol and Toradol. It's close.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wemby out for the season | Nuggets take 2 seed in the West
Bobby Portis, not a pharmacist. But let's not take pills from just some guy. I don't know. I feel bad because it does seem like it's a little bit of a human error situation. And clearly, Bobby Portis has not come across to me as the type of guy that's trying to cheat or do anything like that. That's why we were all so shocked.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wemby out for the season | Nuggets take 2 seed in the West
Yeah, he had a great first quarter and it did not go great for Kuzma the rest of the game. So, I mean, look, the looks that he's going to get in Milwaukee are guaranteed to be better than the ones he had with the Wizards. So I think he should be pretty close to what he did tonight. Three of seven from three. As long as he gets those shots up, I think it's going to look pretty good.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wemby out for the season | Nuggets take 2 seed in the West
The Bucs should be better when Giannis is back to full strength. And before we go to break, we do have to mention because the playoff race is super hot right now. Memphis lost to the Pacers yesterday, Zena, and the Nuggets pick up a win over the Hornets. So that means we have a new two seed in the West. And I think that, look, I maybe was early in saying that the Nuggets were back.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wemby out for the season | Nuggets take 2 seed in the West
A little bit of bad news to start the day. As you guys probably know, if you're listening, Victor Wiminyama has been diagnosed with a deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder. He's going to be out for the season. This is awful news for people like us, Zena, that watch and love basketball every single night. The good news is he's going to be back at the start of next season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wemby out for the season | Nuggets take 2 seed in the West
They're now officially back. This team is 20 and eight since Christmas. That's the second best record in the NBA in that time. We've been talking about Jamal Murray looking good. We've been talking about Jokic getting triple doubles in three quarters. The Nuggets are back.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wemby out for the season | Nuggets take 2 seed in the West
They do look good. DeAndre Jordan, by the way, got another dunk. This guy is going to dunk till he's 50. Correct.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wemby out for the season | Nuggets take 2 seed in the West
And he will be on a basketball team until then. Guys, stick around after the break. Sam Amick goes inside on what's going on with the Spurs and Victor Wimidyama and even lets us know that the Spurs may be searching for a new coach this summer.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wemby out for the season | Nuggets take 2 seed in the West
Obviously, the biggest news of the day, Spurs center and generational big man Victor Wimonyama has been diagnosed with a clot, a blood clot in his shoulder. He's going to miss the rest of the season. So we had to bring Sam Amick back in here because he's got all the inside info on that. Sam, where did this come from? What happened?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wemby out for the season | Nuggets take 2 seed in the West
The Spurs expect him to be completely healthy. This is just a bump in the road. So that's the great news. But in the short term, Zena, we have to adjust to life without Victor Wiminyama for the rest of the season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wemby out for the season | Nuggets take 2 seed in the West
Yeah, I mean, and you mentioned, again, just scary news. I think the first thing that popped in my head when I heard deep vein thrombosis blood clot was Chris Bosh, who, you know, had to retire because of it. But it seems like this one is going to be more like what Brandon Ingram dealt with in his shoulder. The timeline of, I guess, rehab and return seems like he's going to be ready for next year.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wemby out for the season | Nuggets take 2 seed in the West
What does this mean for the Spurs, like in the short term?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves over Lakers? + The Jokic Bump
I don't know what what Denver is going to be able to throw out. Sounds like we're all kind of on the Clippers bandwagon there. Yeah. I just don't know if the Nuggets have enough talent. What about the other Big West series?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves over Lakers? + The Jokic Bump
Throw it out the window. I will say this, though. Kawhi Leonard –
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves over Lakers? + The Jokic Bump
Maybe good enough right now that he is the best player in this year. And I'm not saying he's a better player than Jokic, but in this series, he could be. Especially because the Nuggets just struggle defensively. What about Lakers-Wolves? Zena, I feel like this is a big time matchup, obviously. But the Wolves just didn't want to see Luka after what he did to him last year.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves over Lakers? + The Jokic Bump
And it's kind of perfect that they've lined up this way. How are you looking at the Lakers and Wolves?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves over Lakers? + The Jokic Bump
It's hard to bet against LeBron. I mean, Fred, we just talked about all this decision-making and whatnot from Jokic. I mean, when you've got two high-level decision-makers, obviously the decisions become easier to make because now the defense has to account for more. What are you paying attention to in the Lakers-Wolves?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves over Lakers? + The Jokic Bump
Yeah, it's a huge Rudy Gobert series. And I don't know if I love that if I'm Minnesota. That can go left really fast. Quickly, before we have to get out of here, Pacers-Bucks, we found out Damian Lillard's going to play. I think the Pacers match up really, really well with them. They've Had a nice season. Nembhardt and Neesmith are built for the playoffs.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves over Lakers? + The Jokic Bump
I think, you know, just the way that they play both ways. Fred, look, it feels like they played 40 times in the last 18 months. This is a rivalry like which we don't really get in the NBA anymore. Why does it feel like the Bucs don't have much of a chance? Am I discounting Giannis?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves over Lakers? + The Jokic Bump
And, and they can score. You know, that's the other thing. Like once you get to the playoffs, you can have a good defense and you can be an okay team during the regular season. But if you can't score come playoff time and we know they can, I, I don't know. I like this, this Pacers team more than I like last year's team. And it's because of the defense.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves over Lakers? + The Jokic Bump
They just, they've gotten to the playoffs last year. I felt like they figured something out with their defensive identity in that Nick series. When they turned up the ball pressure, I expect to see that against, especially Damian Lillard after missing a few weeks.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves over Lakers? + The Jokic Bump
Dame is going to get destroyed. He's going to get eaten alive.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves over Lakers? + The Jokic Bump
Okay. So we, we cannot not talk Knicks, Knicks Pistons. Fred, give me 30 seconds on, on how the Knicks win and how the Pistons lose.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves over Lakers? + The Jokic Bump
Pistons is going to come out trying to punch him in the face. And, you know, like we've we've watched it all year. The Pistons ready to fight everybody. I don't know. We we've been on the Pistons basically the beat since the start of the season. And S is like they're going to make the playoffs. And I was they are a great story. But, yes, you know, they just don't have the talent.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves over Lakers? + The Jokic Bump
Yeah, I think the Knicks. Sorry, Pistons. We love you. The Knicks also have been playing all season with their playoff rotation, so they're ready. That's going to do it for today's show, folks.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves over Lakers? + The Jokic Bump
Bickerstaff. Very good coach. Unbelievable job. That's going to do it for the show. Unbelievable job by Fred Katz and Zena Keita. Thank you guys for hanging out. We made it to the playoffs, guys. Enjoy the weekend. The games are going to be awesome, and they actually matter. That's going to do it for us. Thank you guys for listening. Make sure you hit the Like button. Subscribe on YouTube.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves over Lakers? + The Jokic Bump
Leave us a five-star review wherever you listen to podcasts. You guys know the drill by now. I'm Dave DeFore, and this has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves over Lakers? + The Jokic Bump
Spielteilnahme ab 18, Glücksspiel kann süchtig machen.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves over Lakers? + The Jokic Bump
Fred Katz is here right off the jump. Fred, this is about as light of a schedule as you've had all year, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves over Lakers? + The Jokic Bump
Fred is in it's you've you've been added to the list of guys that you just don't want to have writing about your team right as the season ends. I mean, you know, if Fred is writing about your team right now, except for the Knicks, it's probably not great. Although you did write about Nikola Jokic and the Jokic bump, the Jokic effect. And the way that this guy elevates his teammates.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves over Lakers? + The Jokic Bump
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily. Coming up, it's the playoffs. Fred Katz is here to talk about the Jokic bump, and we're going to break down some of the pivotal series as we march toward the finals. Good morning, everybody. Good morning, guys. How's it going?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves over Lakers? + The Jokic Bump
Hardenstein. I mean, the Jokic bump is something that has carried guys to better careers. I mean, we're not long off from the Jokic big man camp, in my opinion. You know, if you're like, if you're a, struggling rotation level big, and you're a free agent, why not go play with Jokic for a season and see what you can pick up? Guys, go and read that story. It's over at The Athletic.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves over Lakers? + The Jokic Bump
We'll link it in the show description. And hang on. After the break, Fred's going to hang out, and we're going to talk about some of these big playoff series, starting with whether the Nuggets can beat the Clippers.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves over Lakers? + The Jokic Bump
Spielteilnahme ab 18, Glücksspiel kann süchtig machen. Infos unter bzga.de.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves over Lakers? + The Jokic Bump
The playoffs are kicking off this weekend. I thought we could kick around the more competitive series. I want to get your thoughts. Fred, I want to start with you. We might as well start with the Nuggets and Clippers. Just talked about Jokic and how good he is. The Clippers have been awesome. The last six weeks of the season, best offense, best defense.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves over Lakers? + The Jokic Bump
Avicii Zubac, Defense Player of the Year candidate, most improved candidate. Kawhi Leonard looking like Kawhi Leonard. How do you see this series shaking out?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves over Lakers? + The Jokic Bump
Now, look, you also covered John Wall, who was a guy that elevated his teammates quite a bit. Totally different styles, right? John Wall would attack the basket and he'd find these shooters in the corner. Man, how do you wrap your head around a guy like Jokic that finds shooters in places where they normally don't stand and where usually guys can't make passes to?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves over Lakers? + The Jokic Bump
Adjustment-wise, I put him at the top of the list.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves over Lakers? + The Jokic Bump
kind of guarding away from yokich and you have gobert shading over into the lane so when yokich spins into the lane you have gobert there to disrupt i think they can do stuff like that with zoo bots you could try kawaii i think we're gonna get kawaii on yokich i think we're gonna see harden on yokich i mean xena like they've got all these long wings i'm just gonna say my biggest thing xena though i don't know how the nuggets are going to guard kawaii and guard james hart
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike back | Cavs on the trade market?
Yeah, ball pressure, physicality, it's really been bothering them. On the other end, though, the Thunder were able to just get to the paint pretty much at will. This is – look, this defense has been decent. With Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland, you're always going to have some point-of-attack issues, but this was –
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike back | Cavs on the trade market?
To me, eye-opening just how easy of a time the Thunder and especially Shea Gildress Alexander had getting into the paint and putting pressure on the rim. You know, what do they do about that going forward?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike back | Cavs on the trade market?
Yeah. One of the big storylines for the Cavs has just been the continuity and chemistry. You know, so many of the same faces have been around for a while. They're not a perfect basketball team because one does not exist in the NBA. Like, I don't think we have a clear cut favorite right now, in my opinion, with the way everyone's playing.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike back | Cavs on the trade market?
I think the Thunder would be, but even they're not perfect when you think about their health. Is there a move for the Cavs to make, or do you expect them to be in on some guys or maybe some names we keep hearing as we approach the deadline? Because this is a team that has a chance at a title.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike back | Cavs on the trade market?
I mean, I'm of the opinion they should be trying to strike right now and get a guy to take them over the top.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike back | Cavs on the trade market?
That's tight end, you know. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, look, as far as I'm concerned, everyone in the league should be in on Cam Johnson, so I'm not surprised. But, I mean, the Cavaliers, again, if they can add Cam, it does solve so many problems for them. Joe, appreciate you so much.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike back | Cavs on the trade market?
By the way, go and read the piece that he just wrote where he talks about Evan Mobley being compared to Kevin Garnett and some of the things that people had to say about that. I read that earlier today, and I was thinking about that when I was watching the game. I think we... We could have used a little bit more Garnett in Mobley.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike back | Cavs on the trade market?
Again, I mean, hey, a lot of Cavs had their worst game of the year. And this night, let's just hope that that was the worst game of the year. For Joe Varden and Zena Keita, I'm Dave DuFour. And this has been the NBA Daily. Appreciate you guys listening. Go and subscribe to YouTube. Leave some comments. I mean, the pizza thing was just hilarious yesterday. So thank you guys for that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike back | Cavs on the trade market?
Thanks for waking up with us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike back | Cavs on the trade market?
Yeah, OKC created 21 turnovers. And we keep saying, I stole this from Andrew Schleck, that this is the most disruptive defense in NBA history. And, I mean, they did that to the Cavs, who are pretty good at protecting the basketball. Shea Gildas Alexander, in my opinion, All he has to do is maintain pace here. I think he wrapped up the MVP with this performance. Again, it's on national TV.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike back | Cavs on the trade market?
This stuff matters quite a bit. And to put up 40 and three quarters, that's a dominance that we think about when Steph Curry was doing this in his unanimous season where he was unanimous MVP. This is the stuff that stands out when you're going to vote come May.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike back | Cavs on the trade market?
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily for January 17th, 2025. Coming up, we got Thunder Cavs 2. Not as good as the first one. Not at all. Oh, man. We got the unrivaled league for women's basketball and Zena is going to tell us all about that. And we have Joe Varden to tell us about the Cavs side of their embarrassing loss to the Thunder. Good morning, everybody. Good morning, Zena.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike back | Cavs on the trade market?
They didn't have Hartenstein for this game, right? So no Isaiah Hartenstein. This is a team that has not been healthy all year. They were down. They're starting big man. Of course, Chet Holmgren not out there. And they're playing a team that has two high-quality bigs in Evan Mobley and Jared Allen. And it didn't really matter for them.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike back | Cavs on the trade market?
And I think a big part of that is Jalen Williams because his ability to kind of play up. I mean, he had a foul very early in this game, and you start thinking, oh, could be a long night around the basket. But, I mean, they were excellent.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike back | Cavs on the trade market?
Jalen puts up 19, has six rebounds, five assists, three steals, two blocks, continues to kind of be this – it's not a Swiss Army knife because he's more like a Leatherman, right? It's like an adult Swiss Army knife that actually has real tools. I mean, he's putting up not only, I think, a strong case for all-star. This might be a guy when you start –
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike back | Cavs on the trade market?
When all this stuff starts shaking out in awards season and you start looking at the guys who qualify because of the 65 game rule, I mean, it's not out of the question that Jalen Williams might be an all-NBA guy, not just an all-star.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike back | Cavs on the trade market?
Those guys aren't hardcore enough for me.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike back | Cavs on the trade market?
Yeah. In addition to these guys making the Cavs look like a slice of five-day-old pizza, Lou Dort hit six threes in the game and passed Larry Bird. On the all-time made three-pointers list. That does not compute. Messes with my basketball heart a little bit. This is the juiced ball era of three-pointers, and so we should just all be used to this. But hey, Luke Dort, man, that is a success story.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike back | Cavs on the trade market?
Him passing Larry Bird on the all-time three-pointer list is actually a very cool story. And mostly on the kick-out threes. And I saw this guy when he was heading into college and his jump shot. And I'm telling you, this guy worked very hard to get there. In other news, Zena, listen, a lot of people may not know this.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike back | Cavs on the trade market?
If you guys aren't women's basketball fans, maybe you are and you didn't realize it. But Zena is the host of the Athletic Women's Basketball Show. Yes, I am. I mean, there's a lot of hats. I mean, I'm telling you guys, she's watching women's college basketball film, all this NBA stuff. And then pretty soon we got WNBA coming up.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike back | Cavs on the trade market?
But it seems like they are hell bent on adding more work to your schedule because. The ladies from the WNBA got together and started their own league, Unrivaled. They're going to start tonight. I'm very curious to see how it goes. First, can you tell me about the podcast because I'm plugging this pod. And then also tell me about Unrivaled and like, should I check this thing out?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike back | Cavs on the trade market?
Man, I really I hate to be so disappointed about a sequel, but Cavs Thunder 2 just did not live up to the billing. The first first game was game of the year. Second one was the worst game of the Cavs season by a long shot. So we're going to get to the Cavs side of that after our little break with Joe Varden, because he's in the arena and, you know, he's the voice of the Cavs for us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike back | Cavs on the trade market?
Like, should the WNBA be worried that they've got competition from inside the house? You know, I mean, what's this going to be like? Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike back | Cavs on the trade market?
Well, part of the reason why this is so relevant beyond the fact that it actually starts tonight is that we heard today or yesterday that Maverick Carter, whose business partners with LeBron James and LeBron are looking for a $5 billion investment in some
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike back | Cavs on the trade market?
international league that they would like to start with some sort of a barnstorming league which again looks like a little bit of a copy of unrivaled but seems like they want to tour the world in a model similar to like formula one now to me i don't think that this works the same for the guys because number one they have an overexposure problem as it is the nba plays 82 games we can't even get these guys i mean we had to set a rule
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike back | Cavs on the trade market?
Of 65 games, just to get these guys to participate a little bit more. And they have an effort issue in their sport, which the WNBA does not. Every regular season WNBA game feels like it matters when you're watching. They play hard the whole time. I did not... All summer long, I watched WNBA every Sunday, and I didn't see anyone taking plays off.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike back | Cavs on the trade market?
I mean, look, there's a real difference, I think, with NBA players doing something like this and the W. And it's not just...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike back | Cavs on the trade market?
you know does it does it make sense financially everyone of course is they would make money on it somehow but from for me i think that you would take away they would take away from the nba because part of what the nba has is these guys and if they're out doing their own thing the nba is not gonna be happy about it but we already see these guys all the time so i don't know that the nba guys can pull it off in the same way but i'm excited to see what what the ladies do and again
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike back | Cavs on the trade market?
Stay in the States and play basketball, and especially during basketball season, I think it'll help them out. What do you think the outcome of this is? Is this like a one-off, or is this going to be just a co-league that runs during the offseason from here on out?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike back | Cavs on the trade market?
So, Zena, I got to talk about the Thunder. They are something else. They just tied the Cleveland Cavaliers by winning the game last night. In convincing fashion. They tied them for the best record in the league. They're now 34-6. Shea Gildas Alexander puts up 40 in 30 minutes. They're the best team in basketball.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike back | Cavs on the trade market?
We have the best women's basketball coverage that you can find anywhere. Also, Mark Schindler's back doing bracketology. So go and check that out here soon, too. Guys, stick around after the break. We got Joe Varden to tell us why the Cavs are sad.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike back | Cavs on the trade market?
Again, with a poor sequel, Thunder Cavs 2 was not what we expected. Joe Varden was in the house for the game. Joe, that was kind of an embarrassing loss for the Cavaliers. It's definitely their worst game of the season. Is this just a one-off, or do we look at this game and the Pacers game a few days ago and say, maybe some teams are starting to catch up to what bothers the Cavs?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets survive to force Game 7
Because in all facets of the game, Boston is the superior team. But the good thing about playoff basketball is that going back to the mud thing, sometimes it can get... a little ugly. So yeah, New York, New York show that they can hang in the mud that they're Grammy.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets survive to force Game 7
But I think what you saw in game five, that balanced effort, not just Jalen Brown, Derek White, Luke Cornett, just being able to be physically imposing and match New York's physicality. I think they would love nothing more than to go into New York and game six and beat the brakes on them. So I think it's going seven as well.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets survive to force Game 7
He had one more trick in his back pocket, obviously playing Julian Strother and the big miss he had. But I just think overall... they were more physical than Oklahoma City. I think they got to the line twice as much, they dominated on the glass, and they really imposed their will at both ends of the floor. And I think for the Thunder,
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets survive to force Game 7
Yeah, you won 68 games during the regular season, but this series, you could argue that Denver has outplayed them. And on paper, they have more offensive firepower, so it's obviously going to come down to whether Coach Mark can be tactically astute and outclass David Alleman. But so far in these six games, you could argue that Denver should have already won this series by now.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets survive to force Game 7
And that's not a good sign heading into a game seven. Now, after the game, you know, talking to those guys in the locker room, there's a belief that, you know, the home crowd and the camaraderie that they've built is enough to see them through. But unless someone else steps up outside of Shea, it's kind of hard to see, you know, the Thunder winning a game seven, even at home.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets survive to force Game 7
So obviously, if you look at going back to what you said about their depth, those role players should play better at home. The problem is. And I think after postgame, Coach Mark talked about it in terms of he admitted that Denver had pretty much outplayed them. But in the fourth quarter, they were able to pull out two victories right out of the hat. The problem is how long does that last?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets survive to force Game 7
How long can you ride that look? And if you look at their offensive process, it was decent. That was a back-and-forth game. But it just felt like all of Denver's threes were just heavier, like the momentum was shifting in their favor. Even though MPJ shot, what, two for seven from the field, those two threes felt super heavy.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets survive to force Game 7
Aaron Gordon's physicality, you know, Christian Braun, you know, he's had a tremendous year just – On and off the ball, cutting, spacing, and just being that timely shooter. They have a lot of pieces that work. Now, going back to the thing about fatigue, yeah, the Thunder are younger, so you would assume that they have more energy in them.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets survive to force Game 7
But if you watch that game six, they just looked lethargic. They just looked tired. They looked out of it. They looked gassed. Looked a little defeated, honestly. Yeah, it was giving a lot of game seven, I want to play in front of my home crowd, game seven energy. Like, they just look like they're just throwing the towel early.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets survive to force Game 7
And I think that's kind of dangerous against a team that has that much experience in Denver and who understands what the game's on the line. You know what they say, Kelly.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets survive to force Game 7
Well, I think one big issue for the Thunder through these six games has been Denver's zone.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets survive to force Game 7
And during the regular season, the Thunder were probably – they were a top five, top six shooting team during the regular season. But the problem is now – Denver's doing so many different things with their zone. They're seeing one, three, one, two, three. They're pressing high to the line. They're dropping back. They're blitzing. They're throwing all sorts of coverages at Shea.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets survive to force Game 7
And what that does is, obviously, the Thunder want to counter by, A, having either Lou Dort or Jay Williams bring the ball up the floor and try to initiate action, which has worked sometimes because it allows Shea, in theory, to work against, you know, late shot clock, you know, a weaker matchup.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets survive to force Game 7
The problem is that Jalen Williams' offense has dried up over the last couple of games at the worst possible time. And had this been December or January and you were going through a scoring slump, cool. This is a 71 team, essentially. You'll get through it. Right now, that luxury is gone. And, you know, they're putting a lot of pressure on Jalen to be that second fiddle, that Robin.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets survive to force Game 7
they're clogging the middle he's taking a lot of tough shots and he's become almost the de facto point guard which is great because he had 10 assists tonight and he could have had more but if you go 3 for 16 in a playoff game chances are you're not going to win that game and if Shea who scored probably the quietest 30 that you'll ever see if he doesn't have that help from a J-Dub consistently you're working against yourself
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets survive to force Game 7
I think the two days between now and game seven will help both teams, obviously, but I think that Thunder will be able to get back in the film room, settle things down and figure out exactly what went wrong. I think Shay talked about that in terms of, the offensive force that the team had as a collective and he called it okay.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets survive to force Game 7
But, you know, when it comes down to, like you said, the Caruso minutes and just getting him early in the game, he's going to have to play at least 30, 33 minutes in game seven for them to have a chance. especially if their three-point shooting is going to dry up as it has. That's actually the craziest part of this series. Denver's almost daring them to shoot from three, and they just can't do it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets survive to force Game 7
So I think in front of your home crowd, that momentum should be there. So I think that...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets survive to force Game 7
as a 60 at one team you should be able to win at home in a game seven so i'm gonna go thunder but if you were to tell me on monday morning that the thunder lost by six i wouldn't be surprised yeah thanks you know this is one of those things where if i hadn't seen that cavalier series i'd be like absolutely not there's no way okay c's not coming out of the west
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets survive to force Game 7
I think overall, the Thunder probably didn't realize the level of desperation that Denver was going to play with. And obviously, as the more experienced team, this is a group that's been in championship games before. They have the know-how. They have the personnel. It was going to come down to whether or not David Adelman was going to pull out the stops.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets survive to force Game 7
I think so. I think it's going seven. It's such a New York thing to do. It's such a New York thing to be up 3-1 and look up, and they're going to game seven. But if you watch that game, what was it, five? And you just saw –
The Athletic NBA Daily
Nuggets survive to force Game 7
The level of attention to detail that the Celtics had, which is kind of what we saw all year long, even without Jason Tatum, you understand why realistically they should have never been down 3-1 to New York in the first place. I feel like there was a level of... Not apprehension, but it might have been a level of a lack of respect that they had for New York that put them in this predicament.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph Curry first to 4,000 3-pointers
They've been great to me. So I'll just say they've been great to me and we've been hyping them up all year. We need OKC in Cleveland. I mean, I'll go to Cleveland and I love Oklahoma City. I'm pumped to go to both of those places. But look, before we go. I gotta say, Kevin P. in the comments, he mentions 30 teams in the league and only two have an average above a B for the season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph Curry first to 4,000 3-pointers
Calls you a tough grader. Oh, yeah. What's your response?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph Curry first to 4,000 3-pointers
Shout out to that Quaker secondary education right there. Tough grader. All right, guys, stick around after the break. Zena's gonna join me after Warriors Kings to talk a little bit about Steph Curry and Jonathan Kuminga's return. You can't really say this is historic because, I mean, it is, but 4,003s doesn't necessarily mean anything. It's just an absurd number.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph Curry first to 4,000 3-pointers
Our own Zena Keita was in the building to watch Steph Curry hit his 4,003. Zena, was it electric or was it just, hey, look, Steph just does this. This is just, he's on his way to 5, maybe 6,000.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph Curry first to 4,000 3-pointers
Wait, they did a video in the arena? Oh, I didn't see that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph Curry first to 4,000 3-pointers
Du musst dich auf den Spiel konzentrieren. Yeah, let's talk about the game. Because the Warriors did one of these things that the Warriors can sometimes do. They were up 20. And then it's all about, okay, look, Draymond's hit a bunch of threes already. He doesn't need any more. Let's get Steph to 4,000 and then put this game away. And Xena, you know, it didn't work.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph Curry first to 4,000 3-pointers
The offense is uninspiring overall. Last night obviously looked pretty good. And then the transition defense is still an issue. You saw that at times against the Lakers last night. Law, what's your opinion on the Bucs? I know you've watched a lot of that team.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph Curry first to 4,000 3-pointers
They turned it on in the fourth. Let's talk about this team. Jonathan Kuminga came back last night. You start to see, okay, look, that's an extra guy that can come off the bench and score. He played a little bit out there where it was just him and Jimmy Butler. There was no Draymond in the middle. They were playing with Kevon Looney. Was denkst du an Kuminga?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph Curry first to 4,000 3-pointers
Ich meine, natürlich, das ist ein Spiel zurück. Er hat 31 Spiele verpasst. Wir erwarten keine Gangbusters. Aber was denkst du an einen Mann, der in ein Team kommt, das eine neue Identität hat, von dem, den er verlassen hat, und wirklich mit dieser neuen Identität rollt? Was denkst du an ihn, um sich zu befinden?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph Curry first to 4,000 3-pointers
Ja, er sah gut aus. Du hast ihn erwähnt, der den Basket attackiert hat. Er hat sechs freie Schüsse gespielt. Und wenn sie Jimmy Butler hinzufügen, war das etwas, über das wir gesprochen haben.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph Curry first to 4,000 3-pointers
kaminga and butler are able to just put pressure on the defense in a way that nobody else on this roster does and and really nobody that steph stephen curry has ever played with does i'll put kaminga maybe above any of the other guys like when it comes to putting pressure on the rim drawing those fouls which of course are going to make everything easier for steph so when when you think about this team moving forward right integrating jonathan kaminga and what they're doing i mean
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph Curry first to 4,000 3-pointers
How much time do you think it's going to be where it's just Jimmy Butler and Kuminga out there and Steph is able to get those minutes down to close to 30 like you did last night?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph Curry first to 4,000 3-pointers
Wenn er geschlossen ist und in einer Stance ist, und sein Athletismus ist immer auf dem Display. Ich meine, er kann disruptiv sein. Das ist einer der Gründe, warum ich denke, dass die Warriors so hoch auf ihn sind. Wir haben es heute Abend gesehen. Fokus!
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph Curry first to 4,000 3-pointers
Thanks to Law Murray for filling in the first half of the show. Thanks to Zena Keita, as always. I'm Dave DeFore. This has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph Curry first to 4,000 3-pointers
Yeah, I mean, he's gotten off to a pretty good start there. For the Lakers, you know, you mentioned their bench not giving them much. They just don't, they don't have, they're like short a playmaker or two. And obviously being short Jackson Hayes is huge for their defense. That's a crazy statement, but it's the truth. I know, but he's been, he's been fantastic.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph Curry first to 4,000 3-pointers
It's actually one of the things that I think gets lost in the shuffle for this team is how good Jackson Hayes has been defensively this year. He's been an above average defensive center. Whatever JJ Redick has done, whether it's schematic or whether it's just coaching him up, I don't know, but he's been good. They've missed him quite a bit. But the big hole is LeBron, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph Curry first to 4,000 3-pointers
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily. Coming up, Law Murray's here. We're going to talk a little bit about the Lakers losing to the Bucs. And we're going to hit the power rankings. I might even read some of the comments from the comments section. It's pretty hilarious. And then, Xena, she was live at Warriors Kings last night.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph Curry first to 4,000 3-pointers
They get LeBron back, you know, hopefully sometime next week. What's your prospects for this team? Let's just go ahead and roll into the power rankings. You have them in your top tier of the power rankings. By the way, guys, you can read the power rankings over at The Athletic. Follow Law on the app so you always get, you know, his stuff when it pops up. And this is...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph Curry first to 4,000 3-pointers
in the the most recent power rankings you actually you graded them based on the the previous quarter of the season so that's roughly you know beginning mid january up until now so um the the lakers obviously they're a completely different team in that in that time frame and you have them in the in that top tier which i'm assuming is like your championship contender tier ranked fifth.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph Curry first to 4,000 3-pointers
LeBron comes back. What do you need to see from them for the remainder of the season to bump up the power rankings before we get to the playoffs? Probably bubble wrap.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph Curry first to 4,000 3-pointers
So I'm going to talk to her about Steph Curry joining the 4,000, wait, creating the 4,000 made three-pointers. Good morning, everybody. Good morning. Appreciate you hanging out. Filling in tonight on the desk duty. How's it going, buddy?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph Curry first to 4,000 3-pointers
Okay, all right. Well, let's talk about two of my favorite teams to talk about. The Cavs and the Thunder. Okay, I'd like to say we probably talk about them as much as anybody. And mostly just because we talk as much as anybody. But the Thunder in the last quarter, they moved into the top five in offense. I think that's a huge deal for this team.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph Curry first to 4,000 3-pointers
I don't think you have to be top five offense, top five defense, but man, it's a good place to be. And now they're first in defense, fourth in offense. They seem to be getting better. Obviously, they're getting more healthy. Do you feel like their chemistry is improving, too? I see them night to night. These guys are picking up new reads, man.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph Curry first to 4,000 3-pointers
Live from Atlanta. Let's talk a little bit about the game last night. Lakers and Bucks. It was setting up to be a marquee matchup, but no LeBron James. And man, it shows. No LeBron, no Rui, no Jackson Hayes. I mean, the Lakers definitely, they were walking into, you know, you call it a loss now because of the injuries, but They didn't really stand a chance. I thought the Bucks looked great.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph Curry first to 4,000 3-pointers
They got something for everybody. They have something for everybody, including the small ball lineup with Jalen Williams at the five that they sort of discovered because they had to, right? When Chet and Isaiah Harkness was out. Right. So they they have this is, you know, lineup versatility is to me one of the one of my big keys when I'm thinking about who's going to be the champ.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph Curry first to 4,000 3-pointers
Remember when the Bucks went through this evolution and they were never experimenting and then they had that season that they ultimately won the title where they really did try a lot of things out. And with the Thunder, they've been trying things out now for seasons. Same coaching staff, as you mentioned, same players, these guys have all been together.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph Curry first to 4,000 3-pointers
And now they've added these extra pieces and they're just like, oh, okay, well, the blades on our Swiss Army knife are even sharper now. Well, let's see what we can do with them. I mean, there's a world in which we see them in a playoff series start Chet alone, start Hartenstein alone and start them together. They may realistically change lineups against one team three times in one series.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph Curry first to 4,000 3-pointers
And I just don't think we've never really seen a team that has that kind of flexibility.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Steph Curry first to 4,000 3-pointers
They had a very balanced attack. Lucas scores 45 points. Let's start with the Buck side of this, because I think the Lakers, you know, just higher up in your power rankings may come up. But for the Bucks, they've sort of righted the ship a little bit. Right. I think they've won. Was that nine out of their last 13 or 14? They're doing a little bit better. I still think.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves handle Thunder | Roundball Rock with John Tesh
Thank you so much. Again, a great pleasure to have John Tesh on the Athletic NBA Daily.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves handle Thunder | Roundball Rock with John Tesh
That's going to do it for today's show, folks. For John Tesh, Zena Keita, Esmeralda Henning, I'm Dave DeFore, and this has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves handle Thunder | Roundball Rock with John Tesh
I can see Greg Lamont right now.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Wolves handle Thunder | Roundball Rock with John Tesh
So I'm doing the Marv Albert voice in my head. I can hear the Marv Albert voice. Exactly.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
guarding the perimeter and or guarding as a perimeter player this season. And different guys have different styles, different strengths, different weaknesses. I did use the 65 game rule because I would like it to be a real award and I wanted it to be authentic. So I felt terrible about leaving Chris Dunn off. I would have loved to have put Chris Dunn on. Derek Jones Jr.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
is another clipper where I was like, he's on my short list. He's been excellent. Neither of them qualifies because of the 65 game rules. So guys like that were out. I'd love to have a Sar Thompson. Didn't play enough. So I ended up with the 10 guys I got.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
Was there a theme with the guys that you landed on? I mean, you know, I don't want to just spoil the list, but I think we all kind of know, you know, Lou Dort, Dyson Daniels, OG Ananobi on your list. Like, was there a theme with these guys that you notice aside from just, okay, they have some size on them? What about, like, style?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
Yeah, I mean, the guys who I have on the first team are just – There were four guys who I knew I was going to have on the first team, and I don't really have a problem. I can talk about it, right? Sure. You're going to kind of know. You know that Dyson Daniels is going to be on the first team. You know that Lou Dort's going to be on the first team.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
And I think you have to be a really good point of attack defender in order to do it, because you look at these guys and the thing that stands out so much about a guy like Dyson Daniels, about a guy like Lou Dort, and about a guy like Tumani Kamara, all of which I had on the first team,
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
So there's so much seeding work to be done this weekend. And it starts last night where we had a bunch of teams going into the night tied up out in the West. And a couple of them met up, Minnesota and Memphis. So we had a marquee matchup. And let's just be frank about it. The Memphis Grizzlies did not meet the moment in the way that the Minnesota Timberwolves did. Anthony Edwards had 44 points.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
Those guys, if you go to B-Ball Index and you look at their average matchup difficulty, they have a stat which shows basically just how often you're guarding the other team's best player and basically how often you're on fantastic players. Like those are the three guys with the most difficult jobs in the league in terms of just always being on the other team, the other team's best player.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
And sometimes when you get a player like that, the metrics, the impact metrics people tend to look at don't tend to be as reflective of the quality of their defense. You know, Lou Dort, for example, I think this is still the case.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
For pretty much all season, the Thunder defense, which is incredible, for pretty much all season, the Thunder defense has been better with Lou Dort on the bench than on the court. Right. And you could look at that and be like, what? The heck is up with that? And that was my first reaction when I noticed the stat. Because I'm like, this doesn't match up with the eye test.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
Luke Dort's freaking awesome. What the hell? And then you do a little deep dive and you see, okay, who's he play with? Who's he not play with? Well, they stagger Dort and they stagger Alex Caruso pretty much. Almost as if you would stagger two fantastic scorers on offense. Right. Because they're just too... Like legitimately, you could argue the two best point of attack defenders in the NBA.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
So they like to have one of those guys on the court. And when Caruso is out there guarding backups, other teams just can't score. So Dork gets the inverse effect of that. Yeah. He also gets the inverse effect of the fact that every time the other team's best player is on the court, the Thunder Sub will win.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
Like he is just matched up. That's the stats that have been coming out here recently. You know, you see the scoring averages of the best, you know, the, all the leading scorers and everybody except for Steph Curry gets shut down to a certain degree, right. To the way that you can buy Lou Dort. And I mean, he, he's the key to actually what they've done.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
I, in a lot of ways, their defense falls apart. If you don't have Lou Dort.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
Yes, absolutely. So on, on December 23rd, the, the, In a game against the Washington Wizards, Jordan Poole went for 30-some-odd points against the Thunder. Ludor, I don't think, was guarding him that night. But Jordan Poole goes for 30-some-odd points. You know the next time they give up a 30-point game? March 2nd. Wow. They went two and a half months. Lou Dort played pretty much.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
I mean, he missed like a couple of games at different points, but like Lou Dort played that whole time. Like to me, that is the Lou Dort stat. They went two and a half months. Everyone scores 30 these days. quentin grimes is dropping 40.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
30 is nothing 30 is the new seven back when like sean bradley would score seven now it's now it's guys are scored 30. they didn't give up a 30-point performance and look it's obviously not just lou dort their team defense is insane they are loaded with defenders their schemes are incredible they're aggressive they force more turnovers than everybody and i have three thunder players on this thing and yeah
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
if their whole team were eligible for awards you could legitimately justify putting like eight thunder players on the real all defense team which is insanity but you're right like a lot of the turnovers they get even if dort doesn't get a ton of steals by thunder standards himself a lot of the turnovers they get are just caused by dort taking away a team's first action
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
Then another team frantically having to go into another action late in the shot clock. And he's he's unbelievable at that. And it's kind of crazy. He's never made an all defense team before. He absolutely like he will 100 percent be on my first team all defense this year. He's he's been fabulous.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
Just looked like he came out ready to deliver a knockout blow at any point. And the Timberwolves did third quarter, 52 points. That's the most points in a quarter by any team this season. Anthony Edwards had 19 in that quarter. I mean, it was big game, big game player. And, you know, you know, like we've seen him do this all year long and just step up for these big games.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
It absolutely helps. I think that's just kind of inherent to the sport. And that's something that is always difficult to judge from the outside. You know, for example, like you mentioned the two Minnesota guys I have on there, I have Jaden McDaniels who, who I actually think has been not quite, quite the level where he was last year.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
Every once in a while, I watch like, you know, a random game against the Hornets. And I'm like, Jayden McDaniels isn't quite himself, but he also just soars to these such extraordinary highs against these elite players. And he's another guy kind of like Dort and Dyson Daniels and Kamara, who I mentioned to, it's like unbelievably difficult life.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
Like he is, he's contested the second most shots in the NBA this year of any perimeter player. He is just constantly on the ball. all the time and obviously is fabulous at it and has a great shot-blocking wing too. And Nikhil Alexander-Walker is the other guy I have there who is just... has the most incredible defensive stance I have ever seen in my entire life.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
That dude, I bet he has a good low back squat.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
Like I really, everything stays.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
That's how he plays every single second. And what happens is like when he gets around screens, he'll be like untouched. I just think he's such a fabulous player. such a fabulous pick and roll defender because he'll just be untouched by the screen because he's so low. He like springs himself to some other spot.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
He looks like a spider and something that I thought about a lot with those two because Alexander Walker, I kind of was teetering on the edge and I was like, do I want to put Drew Holiday here? And I was really considering Drew Holiday and then Drew Holiday lost eligibility and Because he's going to only play 64 games instead of 65. So the decision was kind of made for me.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
But the thing that I thought about a lot with Alexander and with Jaden McDaniels is they have the ability to be really, really, really aggressive at the point of attack. Because a lot of the time when Alexander, who I think is a fantastic pick and roll defender, when Alexander Walker is guarding at the top end of the pick and roll, the guy behind him is Rudy Gobert.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
you should be pressing up against your guy. You should be more aggressive at the point of attack because you want to cause more turnovers. You want to cause more havoc. And if you get beat, you've got maybe the best security blanket in the league behind you. And you look at somebody like a team that I used to cover, the Knicks,
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
Where, you know, Mikael Bridges has gotten a lot of flack for his at the point of attack defense this year. And he was somebody who I really didn't consider putting on because he's just been beat too much at the point of attack. But part of the reason why is because he is not defending as aggressively at the point of attack with Carl Anthony Towns on the back end of a lot of those pick and rolls.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
And Bridges tends to look a lot. better when he's got Mitchell Robinson behind him. It's a little bit of a trade-off, and basketball is such a context-based sport that it becomes difficult, but that's the whole thing. Rudy Gobert makes guys look good. We talked about the Clippers guys who aren't on the list, like Evita Zubats has been incredible defensively this year.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
I'm sure those guys feel really good being insanely aggressive at the point of attack with Zubats behind them. I'm sure Derek Jones Jr.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
Keon Ellis was on my list. My thing with, I think he's not going to be eligible because he played too little at the start of the season. But my thing with Keon Ellis is he still unsuccessfully gambles too much.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
great steals guy incredible potential plays hard as hell totally might get there at some point in his career he still gambles too much off the ball and there's still so many so many times where he'll jump a passing lane and all of a sudden someone's not there to help the helper and you give up open three or an open layup or something like that and and i i tried to stay away from the
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
gamblers who are like reckless gamblers. Like I didn't have any reckless gamble.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
Well, that defense isn't good enough. Frankly, that would have been one where that defense is just not good enough to, to get a guy on a, on a perimeter team, in my opinion.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
I mean, look, I happily put Dyson Daniels number one and our first team and and the Hawks defense is not exactly that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
That's a little bit of a different bit of a different story. But with the context and the nuance, I always go to Fred Katz, especially when it comes to defense, because I know you're watching more film than just about anybody else. That's going to do it for the show, folks. Go and check out. Fred's all-defensive team, again, coming out over the course of two days. Fred, thanks for hanging out.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
For Zena Keita, I'm Dave Dufour, and this has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
Yeah, the game changed in that third quarter. You had both Jaron Jackson and Zach Eady pick up their fourth fouls. And as soon as that happens, I mean, this is kind of the same old story with Jaron Jackson. As soon as he picks up that fourth foul, especially if it's early in the third quarter, you know you're going to get soft defense until the fourth because he wants to be out there to score.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
You know, he averages 29 minutes a game. And this is a big reason why. Zach Eady, look, he's big. He's going to pick up a bunch of fouls, and I think the expectation that he can maintain the pace that Memphis plays with for four quarters is probably unrealistic.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
I don't know how they figure that out here in the next week, week and a half, although they may now be in the play-in because they do not have an easy path to the playoffs at all. This loss really sets them back. They've got to fly from Memphis to Denver. for a back-to-back against Nikola Jokic. And by the way, it's a must-win for Denver, too. So every game now is just a playoff game, Zena.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
For the Timberwolves, you know, this was... This was one of these games where we're going to say, why are they like this? Like, what is wrong with the Timberwolves?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
They blew the big lead against the Bucs. They have a 52 point quarter. They've got this, you know, excellent defensive effort. And then they start kind of giving it up in the fourth. Had John Morant not picked up that tech. And it kind of killed their momentum, right? Like, I think that that technical really stole their momentum.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
Chris Finch actually drew up a really nice out of bounds off a timeout. And, you know, so that was that kind of steadied the ship. But the Timberwolves, like they're confusing.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily. Coming up, the Wolves got a huge win to keep them out of the play-in. And Fred Katz is here to talk about his all-NBA defensive perimeter team. Good morning, everybody. Good morning, Zena.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
Can you get Randall to play like he did last night where he is correct? Like point five decision making is the biggest difference for Julius Randall when he's just quick to it, you know, moving the ball, taking a shot or driving. It's a it's a game changer. But, you know, sometimes he gets a little dribbly. So, you know, look, there were other games that have playoff implications.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
The Pacers and Cavs. Had a fun game. Now, the Cavs, they weren't really playing anybody. They played some guys in the first half. Ty Jerome has just had a ridiculous stretch of games here heading into the playoffs.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
Yeah, and the Cavs and their bench, they just kind of stayed hot in the game, and it wound up being pretty fun. The Pacers wind up winning. I mean, talent in the NBA usually wins. The Pacers needed to get the win. They clinch home court for the playoffs. They do have a chance. They could pass the Knicks for the three seed, but the Knicks would have to lose to Brooklyn on Sunday, and that's...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
unlikely to happen but it could the the milwaukee bucks also uh you know they win their game but it didn't really matter so now the the bucks are in a bit of a pickle here xena okay they go into the weekend they play two games against the detroit pistons they currently have a two-game lead Over the Detroit Pistons. So if they win one game, they stay ahead of the Pistons. They are the five seed.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
They would go on to likely face the Pacers. But if they were to lose both games, they drop to the sixth seed. And all of a sudden, the Milwaukee Bucks are facing the New York Knicks. Now, that's a different world if you're the Bucks. Let me ask you, Zena. Just for the Bucs. I think if you're the – look, the Pistons, they're trying to win.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
They do not have any excuse to play around with any seeding. They should want to win both of the games against the Bucs regardless. They should want to be the five seed. So we won't even ask about that. But with the Bucs, you could make this argument. Look, it's a more veteran team. They have to pick their spots a little bit. They need to be smarter about it. No Damian Lillard maybe.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
There's a lot of question marks for them. So I think if they're playing the seeding game, the basketball gods might not punish them. So who would you rather face if you were the Bucs? Would you rather play the Knicks or the Pacers?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
I miss you guys. Yeah, welcome back. Although, you know, I wish you would have gotten an actual vacation, but Final Four was great.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
I agree with that. I think the Knicks also, they have a lot of bodies that they can throw at Giannis. You know, OG Ananobi, Michelle Bridges. I mean, everyone's going to get a shot at Giannis. And look, they're not going to stop him, but they're going to make life pretty difficult. Whereas with the Pacers, like you mentioned, I think the Bucs, that rivalry, it has kind of like...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
lasted uh through that nba cup run from from last year um and i think that those games they they do elevate to a different level uh the bucks do at least um yeah i just think that in that scenario yeah gotta gotta go against the pacers uh any any bold prediction for the weekend i mean with the chaos that we're that we're looking at um oh i mean anything could happen at this point
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
What are the Warriors going to do?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
15 spots still up for grabs. I mean, it can fluctuate. Oh, that's crazy.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
yeah um and by the way guys just a quick reminder that's no off season for xena and for the podcast go and check it out subscribe they're working hard and got wmba draft coming up so yeah literally no off season at all over there um you know we're almost in the post season xena and we have lucked into such a fun season that we're going into the final weekend with 15 playoff spots up for grabs.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
Playoffs are almost here, and that means it's award season. Here to talk about some awards he made up, Fred Katz. How are you, man? You made up the all perimeter defense team, which actually I love because it does feel like bigs are overrepresented on the regular, you know, defensive player of the year conversations, you know.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
A hundred percent. That's why I did it. Like J Jalen Williams from the thunder went on a podcast earlier this year and talked about how there should be two defensive players of the year, one for, for bigs and one for perimeter players. And my reaction to that was like, It's kind of a good idea.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
I would make it one overall defensive player of the year and then one perimeter defender of the year, kind of make it how baseball has MVP and Cy Young, where pitchers are eligible for MVP, but Cy Young is not looked down upon, even though pitchers are eligible for MVP and just make it two equivalents, especially now that all defense is positionless.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
And last year for the five first team players were bigs. Like it's just the perimeter defenders deserve their, they deserve their, their recognition and the league is becoming more perimeter oriented. So let's, let's make the awards that, and I thought it'd be fun to do an all defense, all perimeter defense team.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
So ultimately, defense like size still matters. So if you if you look at this team and I'll have stories out on Friday and Saturday morning doing the second team on Friday and the first team on Saturday. And if you look at them, you'll notice that. It's mostly wings. It's not a lot of guards. And the guards who I have are bigger guards because size still matters. Versatility still matters.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
Strength still matters. All that kind of stuff. And it's really hard to be on there if you're somebody who's five feet and you're six feet. It's really hard to be on if you're five. If you're six feet, you're just kind of flimsy. I did put a couple of guards on there who I thought were really special. And ultimately, I just kind of went down to who I thought had done the best job
The Athletic NBA Daily
Beal vs. LaVine | Who can beat the Thunder in the west?
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The Athletic NBA Daily
The Warriors need Playoff Jimmy Butler
Steph's the straw that's holding up the camel's back. He literally holds up, he's propping up the entire Did you just botch that? You like Biff from Back to the Future.
The Athletic NBA Daily
The Warriors need Playoff Jimmy Butler
No, he's the straw that's holding it up. He holds the whole thing up.
The Athletic NBA Daily
The Warriors need Playoff Jimmy Butler
To your point, two games, mostly without Steph Curry, 99 and 93 points for the Warriors. If they can keep – The Wolves under 95. This is why I still like the Warriors' chances in the series. If Steph is going to be back. Man, relax. I still think they got a shot.
The Athletic NBA Daily
The Warriors need Playoff Jimmy Butler
I would say, I mean, I think I feel the best probably about the Warriors just because they won the first one, right? Like, they got the one in the bank, and they only got to get one more to theoretically get Steph back. But it's all about Steph. If Steph's not coming back, then, you know, they don't. It's not happening.
The Athletic NBA Daily
The Warriors need Playoff Jimmy Butler
Right. Yeah. It's a good point. All right, Marcus, I know it's late. We're going to get you out of here. That's going to do it for the show folks. Thanks to Marcus Thompson. Go read his feature on Pat Spencer. They got that amazing to get a Pat Spencer feature in the second round of the playoffs, but that kind of tells you where the Warriors are sitting right now, but it was so good. Marcus.
The Athletic NBA Daily
The Warriors need Playoff Jimmy Butler
I really loved it for Zena Kata. I'm Dave DuFleur. This has been the NBA daily. Thanks for waking up with us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
The Warriors need Playoff Jimmy Butler
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily. Coming up, Marcus Thompson's here with me and Zena. We're going to talk about the Warriors' loss, what Jimmy Butler needs to do to hopefully win Game 3, and Jonathan Kaminga's potential impact on the rest of the series. All right, well, we've got Marcus Thompson, Zena Kata here, the Warriors crew, we're going to call it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
The Warriors need Playoff Jimmy Butler
I think Jimmy's got to come out willing to shoot 20 to 25 shots in game three period. Cause he's got to, like you said, he's got to draw the defense period. And it means he's going to have to take contested shots, which he hates. He's going to have to take some of those grenades that he throws to pods, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
The Warriors need Playoff Jimmy Butler
Like that Moses Moody, those moon balls where he's, you know, catching the ball with a half a second on the clock. Jimmy's going to have to pull those. And I mean, that's what the money's for, right? Like you're not Robin now. That's the thing about being Robin. You're now, you have to be Batman. You got to take the shots.
The Athletic NBA Daily
The Warriors need Playoff Jimmy Butler
Not much of a game for the Warriors. You know, no Steph Curry is kind of how we expected it to go. Timberwolves win 117-93. Marcus, did you learn anything from this game?
The Athletic NBA Daily
The Warriors need Playoff Jimmy Butler
Also, not enough spacing. You got Quentin Post out there, right? If you need all that spacing, you ain't that good at ISO.
The Athletic NBA Daily
The Warriors need Playoff Jimmy Butler
We're going to take a quick break. We'll be back with Marcus. Two seconds.
The Athletic NBA Daily
The Warriors need Playoff Jimmy Butler
Okay, speaking of needing some offense, Jonathan Kuminga got a chance to play. I thought he looked great. I love the aggressiveness. You mentioned that he dunked on Rudy Gobert. I mean, seems to me like some of this run that he didn't get, right, should have been given to him. I mean, he only gets 26 minutes, but I think without Steph, you need Kuminga to do 25 points, right? Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
The Warriors need Playoff Jimmy Butler
They need his size. They need his athleticism. They need the isolation scoring. They need just a guy who's willing to put his head down. I mean, again, this is the opposite of the Jimmy Butler thing. Kaminga's problem is that he doesn't know when he's allowed to be aggressive. And with Jimmy Butler, it feels like you're constantly begging him to be aggressive.
The Athletic NBA Daily
The Warriors need Playoff Jimmy Butler
And I mean, maybe Steve Kerr in game three needs to ask Kaminga, hey, go be who we think Jimmy Butler is. And I just want to see what that looks like. Right? Like, I mean, what happens there, Marcus?
The Athletic NBA Daily
The Warriors need Playoff Jimmy Butler
I trust him with Gobert. I don't know about that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka, Lakers keep rolling | Steph goes for 40
Yeah, you're basically hoping that the backline help falls asleep, essentially, because you're just not worried about a skip pass to a shot because the guy that's in the corner is Josh Hart, and you know he's going to penetrate and the defense is going to be able to rotate over. Let me ask you about Mitchell Robinson coming back. I do think...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka, Lakers keep rolling | Steph goes for 40
Every team needs to basically have two bigs, be able to play smaller, and now the Knicks are able to do that. How hard is that going to be to reintegrate, given Josh Hart's importance to rebounding and transition and all the other things? I mean, it does seem like Josh Hart is kind of the guy who's going to wind up losing minutes to Mitchell Robinson.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka, Lakers keep rolling | Steph goes for 40
Is there a world in which Mitchell Robinson winds up, you know, like the starter going into the playoffs? Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka, Lakers keep rolling | Steph goes for 40
Yeah. I mean, just having another guy who can get a shot off the dribble, as we know, when you get to playoff time, it's the single most important thing you can do for any lineup you have. Yeah. And he can shoot the three off the dribble, which, you know, they only have Brunson and Cat that can really do that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka, Lakers keep rolling | Steph goes for 40
And I think that, you know, he's a guy who essentially just the role that he fills and the number of boxes that he checks, he's going to have to play.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka, Lakers keep rolling | Steph goes for 40
When you get into the matchup hunting that you're going to run into with Brunson, I do think that being able to scram switch with him is going to be a huge thing and pre-switching everything and trying to hide Brunson. Let me just ask you, as we're looking ahead to the playoffs, this team still has a lot to prove, in my opinion, especially since it's just getting Mitchell Robinson back.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka, Lakers keep rolling | Steph goes for 40
What do you think this team should be focused on for the last 20 or so games to be ready to make a run to the finals?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka, Lakers keep rolling | Steph goes for 40
They've got good personnel if they wanted to next on pick and roll. Yeah. You know, if they wanted to. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka, Lakers keep rolling | Steph goes for 40
Look at what OKC does with this disruptive long wings.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka, Lakers keep rolling | Steph goes for 40
Well, at least they're, Hey, look, at least they're going to be almost guaranteed. Make the second round. Like they're good enough that this is a second round. This is much better than what it was like 10 years. I mean, how about five years ago?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka, Lakers keep rolling | Steph goes for 40
Uh, Benji Ritholtz. Thank you so much for hanging out with us. Staying up late guys. Check him out over at Nick's film school. They really do a good job, obviously breaking down like X's and O's, but you know, they're fun guys too. Uh, Thanks for hanging out. That's going to do it for the show. For Espera Henney and Benji Ritholtz, I'm Dave DuFour, and this has been the NBA Daily.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka, Lakers keep rolling | Steph goes for 40
Those were the only guys that hit shots by the way, it was Kate Vincent and Dalton connect. Cause that was part of the Lakers problem in the second quarter. Their offense just ran flat. You know, their defense in this game, I thought did a, did a pretty good job of, of containing Jalen Brunson is until late. Yeah. Jalen Brunson puts up 39 in the game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka, Lakers keep rolling | Steph goes for 40
And then he had to leave with, he sustained an ankle injury. So we're going to get tough with more on that over the weekend. You know, we'll have more on that Monday. Yeah. But for the Lakers, this is their eighth straight win. They're the two seed. This team is getting quality minutes in places that I didn't expect.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka, Lakers keep rolling | Steph goes for 40
I mean, Jackson Hayes, who started this little, we're not going to call it a leap, but this little step forward that he's taken this season. He started it early on in the year. He looks like an absolute player for them. And I think that's thanks to Luka Doncic and his pick and roll mastery.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka, Lakers keep rolling | Steph goes for 40
Yeah, and then they've got the Celtics Saturday, which... Very excited for that. When was the last time this felt like a huge game? Which it does. Yeah, it always does. But this feels much more... This feels even bigger than... I mean, it hasn't felt like this in a while. I mean, you've got the Celtics as the defending champs. You now have the Lakers not only on a win streak, but...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka, Lakers keep rolling | Steph goes for 40
reborn to a certain degree with Luka Doncic. Yeah, it's interesting. Lakers-Knicks, huge. Lakers-Celtics, big. I don't know. What is it, the 90s again? Are we back? Although the Celtics weren't that good in the 90s. Let's talk about the Warriors because the Warriors are good. They weren't good in the 90s, but they're good now. No, they weren't. Now 10-1 with Jimmy Butler.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka, Lakers keep rolling | Steph goes for 40
Steph Curry hit one of the more ridiculous shots I've ever seen in my life, S. It was a turnaround buzzer beater. From 43, 44 feet. Basically half court. A literal turnaround. Not just he, you know, he didn't make it look like a turnaround. He did a turnaround. Mm-hmm. Keeve nails it, scores 40 in the game. He got a little mad in this game because the Nets were being pretty physical.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka, Lakers keep rolling | Steph goes for 40
Another awesome night in the NBA. Actually, we had one really great game to end the night. That's all you need. That's all you really need. It's true.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka, Lakers keep rolling | Steph goes for 40
Shout out to Ian Eagle, by the way. Or Ian Eagle. Is that his name? Ian Eagle? Ian, yeah. Called it as Steph was doing it. He said night, night. I mean, he's just seen it too many times. But you're right. He was frustrated. And rightfully so. Steph gets hacked, man. Steph does not shoot enough free throws. He does not get a good whistle. It is insane to me.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka, Lakers keep rolling | Steph goes for 40
And I guess it's just because they feel like he doesn't need the help. Unlike James Harden, who gets, you know, some of the most insane calls. He got 50 bogus calls is what he got to get 50. But, you know, Steph, rightfully frustrated. I didn't think we'd walk into James Harden's slander tonight. Of course. I want to talk.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka, Lakers keep rolling | Steph goes for 40
Let's talk about the Jimmy Butler part of this, because Jimmy Butler is just kind of he has completed the puzzle in a few ways for the Warriors. And we'll see how it works out in the playoffs. But, you know, defensively gives him someone that is essentially another Draymond Green. As far as just being able to quarterback your defense, go out and defend against the best player on the other team.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka, Lakers keep rolling | Steph goes for 40
But offensively, they gave him another Draymond Green, too, because he doesn't care about getting his own shot. So you're saying you've got two guys who are completely unselfish, one of whom, you know, Jimmy Butler has offensive skill. Draymond doesn't. But Jimmy is still he's a threat to score. And so now you've got two unselfish guys looking to feed Steph.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka, Lakers keep rolling | Steph goes for 40
I mean, we're going to manufacture other things to talk about, but... Man, what a game at the end of the night. The Lakers won their eighth straight game by beating the Knicks in overtime. And we got to say, Luka and LeBron, what a duo, man. Their numbers in this game, pretty incredible. You get two guys with this level of playmaking. And this level of scoring.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka, Lakers keep rolling | Steph goes for 40
Steph has a 50 point game and a 40 point game since since Jimmy Butler got there. Yeah. That's not, that's not a surprise to me. And I think that's a big part of it is just Jimmy Butler came in and he knows the goal. Fine stuff.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka, Lakers keep rolling | Steph goes for 40
Oh, they ran split cuts. They had a post up for Quentin Post, and they ran a split cut with Jimmy Butler and Steph Curry. So they're able to mix in not only running the actions off of Jimmy Butler. And think about this. Jimmy Butler is a threat to keep on a DHO. Which Draymond is not because he doesn't want to take the free throw.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka, Lakers keep rolling | Steph goes for 40
So it just – there's this sort of Swiss Army knife that they've added in there.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka, Lakers keep rolling | Steph goes for 40
And model citizen everywhere he goes. I mean, you know, just I bet the locker room is great. It definitely is great. OK, and we got to talk about the magic because they Orlando has lost. The Magic, basically. They lost another one. They lost to the Bulls, which is really a bad loss for them. Kobe White, though. Great game from Kobe White. Great game from Kobe White, yeah. 8-20.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka, Lakers keep rolling | Steph goes for 40
The Magic are 8-20 since January 5th. That's when Jalen Suggs went down with an injury. He did play one game in there for 15 minutes. Remember, he left with the back issue. Right. In that time, the fifth worst record, this is since January 5th, the 27th ranked offense, their 28th overall in the season. So that's not really that big of an aberration.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka, Lakers keep rolling | Steph goes for 40
But they've been the 13th best defense since January 5th, and they're still the second best overall defense in the league. So the real difference in their game, they've never been an offensive team. But their defense has dropped off so much that the offensive stuff is now glaring. And it's a disaster right now.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka, Lakers keep rolling | Steph goes for 40
And then you've got Luka Doncic grabbing all these rebounds. And you've got LeBron with, what did he have, 10 assists or 12 assists? No, excuse me, 8 assists last night. Luka had 12 assists. LeBron grabs 12 rebounds. Luka had 7 rebounds. You basically have two guys... who are a threat for a triple double in every single game. And that just doesn't feel fair.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka, Lakers keep rolling | Steph goes for 40
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily. Coming up, the Lakers are hot, winning their eighth straight. And we're going to talk to Benji Ritholtz from Nick's Film School about the Knicks side of that game last night after the break. And the Warriors win another one with Jimmy Butler thanks to 40 from Steph Curry. Good morning, everybody. Good morning, S. Morning.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka, Lakers keep rolling | Steph goes for 40
Yeah. Yeah. It's a big difference between now and a couple of months ago. Yeah. Can you remember? It's just changed. I know.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka, Lakers keep rolling | Steph goes for 40
And now we're like, wow, awful job down there. The magic is gone. Yeah. All right, guys, stick around after the break. Benji Redholz from Nick's film school is here and we're going to break down Nick's Lakers and talk a little bit about some of the next issues as they're looking ahead to the playoffs. We talked about the Lakers side earlier in their big win over the Knicks.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka, Lakers keep rolling | Steph goes for 40
Now to talk with us about the Knicks side of this, Benji Ritholtz from Knicks Film School here to school us a little bit on the film from last night. There were some problems for the Knicks, and we've been watching them the last couple of weeks run into problems, especially against the better teams in the league.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka, Lakers keep rolling | Steph goes for 40
What's the biggest thing that jumped out from last night's game for you, aside from Jalen Brunson leaving limping?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka, Lakers keep rolling | Steph goes for 40
He's getting Robertson'd right now. Right. And come playoff time, that's going to be a big problem. I don't think teams will guard him much at all. They're going to they're going to make him prove he's willing to shoot. The thing is that he goes through these stretches where you feel like he gains confidence and it just it waxes and wanes. And I think it depends on touches.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka, Lakers keep rolling | Steph goes for 40
I wonder, though, you know, Mikael Bridges also he's been struggling to shoot the ball. And I wonder, maybe this is also part of it, right? Like they're playing off of McHale a little bit. Like he's not sticking shots and everything's getting a little bit tighter. And I want to talk about this because it's time to talk about Jalen Brunson.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka, Lakers keep rolling | Steph goes for 40
What the Lakers were able to do early on, I thought where they were zoning up on the side that Jalen Brunson was isolating, I think that that is an issue the Knicks are going to have to overcome. Landry Schammett made a really great back cut on one of those possessions where the Lakers fell asleep.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka, Lakers keep rolling | Steph goes for 40
But, you know, they've got to do stuff that isn't just, hey, Jalen, break down these three or four guys. I think that this is also – I mean, he's been doing it, though.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka, Lakers keep rolling | Steph goes for 40
Symptom of the same disease with the Josh Hart stuff. So is it just they need to find more flow in their offense, you think?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s worst game as a Laker + Draymond’s defensive mind
Yeah, I love the layout because, you know, in the article, we've got the clips and then exactly what Draymond was thinking during the play. He kind of laid that out. So, you know, this is like a roundabout way of talking about Draymond as a defender. He's 35 years old. He should not be able at his size to be able to still make the impact that he does every single game. I'm not sure.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s worst game as a Laker + Draymond’s defensive mind
Like, there's certainly an IQ aspect to this, but there's a physical aspect to this, too. And I think I probably put myself into camp that didn't expect Draymond to age as well. But he has incredibly and his brain is keeping him at the top of his game. Is this the smartest version of Draymond Green that you've ever seen? Or have you seen him even more locked in than this?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s worst game as a Laker + Draymond’s defensive mind
Well, so the concept of 0.5, like 0.5 seconds, decision-making in basketball at this point. I think everyone knows it. We don't think as much about it on the defensive end because you're reacting, right? So the offense has a natural advantage because they're the one doing the action. But with Draymond, it almost feels like he's already – kind of pre-chosen the path you're going to choose.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s worst game as a Laker + Draymond’s defensive mind
He knows where to be. He's one of the first guys, I mean, essentially invented the scram switch, which is the switch where you see the opposing team gets a mismatch on your small. It usually happens with Steph Curry. So as the inbound pass is happening, Draymond cuts across the lane and Essentially, hey, let me take that spot. And then Steph hustles out. I mean, he essentially started doing that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s worst game as a Laker + Draymond’s defensive mind
And I'm not sure if that was a coaching decision or if that's just Draymond being Draymond and knowing where to be all the time. But I don't know that there's a single player in the modern era that has gotten more out of his functional length. And Draymond, you know, you think about that, that wingspan, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s worst game as a Laker + Draymond’s defensive mind
Like he plays like you could call him a small forward, but he's got arms like a center and he uses his body in that way. And so he's just, he really is just this unique guy.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s worst game as a Laker + Draymond’s defensive mind
physical player uh as well as just having the brain is it's a little bit like kg you know like if i was saying kg was the greatest defender of his generation i think draymond took the mantle for for his i mean is that a pretty good comp or is there somebody historically uh that you would compare him to
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s worst game as a Laker + Draymond’s defensive mind
Well, we value stats so much, right? We're thinking about blocks, and we're thinking about rebounds, and we're thinking about steals. That's the thing that bothers Draymond. The new coach of the Grizzlies, Tuomas Isalo, he compared Draymond to Paolo Maldini, who was a longtime Italian national team defensive forward. That's old school. And he would blow things up before they happened.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s worst game as a Laker + Draymond’s defensive mind
I compared Victor Wiminyama to Deion Sanders, right? Deion, I mean, he could have had 20 interceptions, but they just didn't throw to him. And that's kind of like Victor Wiminyama. Whereas with Draymond, he's blowing up actions in ways that you don't even notice because it's just... Oh, it's positioning. He's in the right place every single time.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s worst game as a Laker + Draymond’s defensive mind
And if he's not, he's barked at someone else to get him there. I mean, I'll never forget the change that, that we saw like just from a leadership perspective, defensively that he's able to, to enact in other players. I mean, Andrew Wiggins as a point of attack defender got to a totally different level. And I would argue, and you, I want you to back me up here and tell me if I'm wrong, but
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s worst game as a Laker + Draymond’s defensive mind
The Andrew Wiggins for Jimmy Butler trade probably doesn't happen if they don't feel super comfortable with Moses Moody being out there with Draymond behind him, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s worst game as a Laker + Draymond’s defensive mind
Draymond going to be a basketball coach when he's done, you think? He's got, he checks so many of the boxes, including the way, okay, that's fair, but including the way that you talked about how he described the stuff, I just thought it was very approachable. I could see, I don't know, man, with the NIL stuff and the way boosters work, you don't think he'd take over at Michigan State?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s worst game as a Laker + Draymond’s defensive mind
You're right. It's not Dave before money, unfortunately, or, you know, unfortunately I'm not making the Charles Barkley money before we go. I want to ask you, all right. If, if, if not Draymond for defense player of the year, because I mean, I just read this pretty good piece that lays out all the reasons why Draymond could be, who would you choose as defense player of the year?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s worst game as a Laker + Draymond’s defensive mind
It's a tough award because as soon as Wendy went down, right, the clarity that we had on the award went away. I think Jaron Jackson, if Jaron hadn't gotten hurt, I think Jaron's probably the front runner right now. My guess is as good as yours, but I think Draymond, he probably should have won it a couple of years ago. It wouldn't surprise me if he winds up with another one this year.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s worst game as a Laker + Draymond’s defensive mind
No, no way. Not this year. For sure.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s worst game as a Laker + Draymond’s defensive mind
Like, come on. Maybe. Yeah. It's a lifetime achievement award for Drew Holiday.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s worst game as a Laker + Draymond’s defensive mind
All right, that's going to do it for the show, folks. Thanks to Marcus Thompson for staying up late in Tampa to do the show. Thanks for Jovan to stick around post-game to hang out. I'm Dave DeFore. This has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s worst game as a Laker + Draymond’s defensive mind
Yeah, I mean, I was going to say, the Lakers kind of looked flat, and they haven't done that a lot since Luka's been there, especially when Luka and LeBron are on the court. But more than that, Luka looked kind of flat. I'm not sure if you felt like it was the defensive game plan that threw him off. Do you feel like they got him worn out?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s worst game as a Laker + Draymond’s defensive mind
But even in that comeback stretch, starting around the five-minute mark of the fourth quarter, when things started rolling for the Lakers and Austin Reeves really was cooking, It seemed like every time Luka touched the ball, it just took the energy out of the possession a little bit. And that's a little weird to see with him in a Laker uniform.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s worst game as a Laker + Draymond’s defensive mind
And if you want an idea just from the box score, I mean, Steph Curry shot 14 free throws. That is just so far above what you normally see from him. And it was because he was just attacking. I mean, there was one time that I remember right off the top of my head. I mean, Luca didn't even make any contact on the drive at all. And Steph just sets him up and goes right by him for a layup. Um,
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s worst game as a Laker + Draymond’s defensive mind
they're going to need more effort than that out of Luka. But a guy that I thought was great, I mean, Austin Reeves down the stretch, he just seemed to hit every big shot that they needed. This continues the trend for him. I mean, he's, like we talked about previously, he might be the best third banana in the league, which seems like a crazy statement if you're talking six months ago.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s worst game as a Laker + Draymond’s defensive mind
But now with what we've seen, I mean, heading into the playoffs for this team, I mean, like... How do they, I guess, maximize this kind of, I would say, the two playmakers and then the play finisher with LeBron, where you've got Austin Reeves and Luka? I mean, is there any more they can do to kind of tap a little bit of extra offense out of it?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s worst game as a Laker + Draymond’s defensive mind
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily. Coming up, the Lakers lost to the Warriors in a big pivotal matchup for playoff seeding. So Yovan Buha is here to hang out and talk about it. And I sat down with Marcus Thompson to talk about Draymond Green's chances at winning Defense Player of the Year. Good morning, everybody. Good morning. Actually, good night, Yovan.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s worst game as a Laker + Draymond’s defensive mind
I look down the stretch of the game last night. Every single time the ball didn't go to Austin Reeves. I thought it was a mistake. He just gets into what they want to do so fast. I mean, you mentioned the pace. I think Austin Reeves kind of drives their half court pace where he he gets the ball and he's getting into creating a shot or, or getting a look or just moving the ball.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s worst game as a Laker + Draymond’s defensive mind
And I think that's, that's hugely important. I don't want to not talk about LeBron and Steph because it's kind of insane. So, so Steph Curry's 37, put up 37 points. LeBron is, you know, 40, as we've talked about ad nauseum puts up 33. We've been watching this forever at this point. Yeah. What happened in the game last night that maybe you haven't seen between these two before?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s worst game as a Laker + Draymond’s defensive mind
Appreciate you hanging out post-game. The Lakers, they lose to the visiting Warriors. It is not the game that the Lakers wanted to have. I'm sure they definitely wanted to win this one. They're 5-5 in their last 10, kind of scuffling a little bit. The Warriors are ascending and actually now have a chance to really pass them in the standings by the time it's all said and done.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s worst game as a Laker + Draymond’s defensive mind
Before we go to the break, I do want to mention Draymond Green. I talked to Marcus after the break extensively about it because he wrote a big piece on him. But, you know, this was kind of a quintessential Draymond Green game. And I think if he was making a case, well, which he actually publicly is making a case for defensive player of the year.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s worst game as a Laker + Draymond’s defensive mind
I mean, this is a great game for that. He makes what was essentially the game-sealing steal there on Luka toward the end, but he was blowing up plays all night. What's it like to watch a guy like that? You know this Lakers team as well as anybody, but I think Draymond Green knows the Lakers better than you do and maybe even better than they know themselves sometimes.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s worst game as a Laker + Draymond’s defensive mind
Yeah, it was perfect timing there with the crowd in the background laughing about the mid-range jumpers. I really appreciated that touch. Thank you, Jovan, for hanging out and doing the show. Guys, stick around after the break. I promise this show is not sponsored by Draymond Green's podcast or anything like that. But me and Marcus Thompson get a little bit nerdy.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s worst game as a Laker + Draymond’s defensive mind
We start talking about Kevin Garnett when we're talking about Draymond Green. So stick around for that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s worst game as a Laker + Draymond’s defensive mind
What's your big takeaway from the night for the Lakers? You know, a lot of Warriors talk is going to be out there, the defense that they played. But for the Lakers, you know, what do you think about them?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s worst game as a Laker + Draymond’s defensive mind
Draymond Green is making a case for Defense Player of the Year, whether that's on the court, off the court, in the studio, on a podcast, after the game. I mean, it feels like I'm hearing a lot about Draymond Green as Defense Player of the Year, including... A nice little breakdown on the way that Draymond thinks by our guy Marcus Thompson over at The Athletic.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s worst game as a Laker + Draymond’s defensive mind
Marcus, before we talk about Draymond, I just got to say, this was one of my favorite pieces that I've read all year. If you're listening to this, I'm going to link it in the show notes. I don't just think that this is like... a must-read. It is literally, you have to read it if you are a basketball fan.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s worst game as a Laker + Draymond’s defensive mind
I loved the insight that you were able to get from Draymond, who I consider to be the greatest defender of his generation. Man, I haven't seen anybody get that...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s worst game as a Laker + Draymond’s defensive mind
out of a player um ever um so first of all thank you for for doing that um i loved seeing someone highlighting and and almost talk about defense like they're in love with it um you know because that's my favorite thing about about coaching basketball so it was really nice to see um so thank you for that but how did you get the idea to go and sit down with draymond and break down tape because it doesn't seem like draymond would really want to do that unless he was on tv
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler has lost his joy | Steph Curry & Warriors roll Sixers
Happy New Year. We're not going to do this longer than this week, so only this one episode. Happy New Year. Zena, did you do anything fun for New Year's?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler has lost his joy | Steph Curry & Warriors roll Sixers
That, that to me is a pretty good sign when it comes to confidence with him. But again, I want to talk about Jonathan Kuminga because he's been maybe a little bit lost in the shuffle with the month that he just had. I know that that's a funny thing to say, but 20 off the bench. And I mean, just he's, he's stuck a couple of threes. He just like looks pretty solid out there.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler has lost his joy | Steph Curry & Warriors roll Sixers
Is he going to be able to grow more into the second scoring option that we keep talking about that this team needs? I know Schroeder is going to fill the void a little bit, but Kuminga has just been really good.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler has lost his joy | Steph Curry & Warriors roll Sixers
Also had five assists, by the way, in this game, which that's not something that you count on from him. So, you know, maybe the game's growing here, Marcus, as the responsibility is growing.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler has lost his joy | Steph Curry & Warriors roll Sixers
You clapped at the end with the creativity. It was like a flight in Europe for you. They landed the plane safely. And you're just like, happy to be here. Hey, you know what? You got to take some joy in, in those landings, especially after, you know, last few weeks. Anyway, um, Busy night last night in the NBA, as the Mondays have tended to be.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler has lost his joy | Steph Curry & Warriors roll Sixers
By the way, when he when he after he caught him, you notice I know you're in the arena and sometimes these things are a little bit subtle, you know, depending on where you're sitting, although you probably got the good seats and bead starts playing with the mask. Oh, no, I could I can't quite see. I got to put the mask on. I missed that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler has lost his joy | Steph Curry & Warriors roll Sixers
I think it got to him a little bit, but let's swing to the Sixers side of this because, Marcus, you know, you cover the whole league, man. How did Embiid look? I mean, we can look at the stats and say 28 points, 14 rebounds. Oh, okay, looks like he got to the free throw line 14 times, which, of course, is important for him. But how do you think he looked physically in the game?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler has lost his joy | Steph Curry & Warriors roll Sixers
And we got to start with the Heat and Pacers because this game, number one, a couple of things happened there. Tyrese Halliburton might just be back. The Pacers handled the Heat with no problem. And Tyrese Halliburton is a big reason why. This is now a few good games in a row for him. I mean, he seems like the Pacers, they find their footing when he plays well. Another good game for him.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler has lost his joy | Steph Curry & Warriors roll Sixers
Yeah, as long as he's Cookie Monster and not Burt. Playing basketball in somebody's bed or... You could just let it go right there. I know, I could have, I could have, I could have.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler has lost his joy | Steph Curry & Warriors roll Sixers
All right, so the Sixers have been a little bit better here recently since the awful start, right? And when you've seen them without, you know, with all their guys, which has been...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler has lost his joy | Steph Curry & Warriors roll Sixers
know few and far between the number of games they have all their guys there are parts of this that look okay and i just wonder marcus from your perspective if they don't make a trade like is this a team that anybody in the east and let's just say they go into the playoffs perfectly healthy they're in the top six or you know they're this isn't a playoff or a play-in team is this a team that that you think anyone in any of the contenders in the east are scared of at all
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler has lost his joy | Steph Curry & Warriors roll Sixers
Yeah, it's not a switch for them, though. They've got to figure out some consistency. Marcus, what are you working on? What's coming up next at The Athletic?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler has lost his joy | Steph Curry & Warriors roll Sixers
Well, okay. Everybody look out for that over at The Athletic. Guys, stick around after the break. Zena and I are going to talk about the all-star fan vote and some of the surprising names on that list.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler has lost his joy | Steph Curry & Warriors roll Sixers
When it comes time to choose the All-Stars, the fan vote counts for 50% of the total to get these guys to the All-Star game. So we get the updates from the NBA, and we just got our first fan vote update. Guess who's the leader in fan voting right now, Zena? Nikola Jokic is very close, but no, it's Giannis Antetokounmpo leading the NBA in fan vote, which I am surprised by.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler has lost his joy | Steph Curry & Warriors roll Sixers
Guys, LeBron James, what he's doing at 40 years old is kind of incredible. Lakers fans, you guys need to get those fake email accounts. I mean, your iPhone makes it so easy with the hide my email. Get in there. LeBron should be winning this vote right now. I'm so flustered. I can't even get the word out.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler has lost his joy | Steph Curry & Warriors roll Sixers
Laker Nation is bigger than Greece. That's all I got to say about it. You've got fans everywhere. What's your biggest surprise when you're looking at this list? I mean, you know, Nikola Jokic, like I said, second. Jason Tatum is third in voting. Kevin Durant, fourth. And then you've got LeBron in fifth. What stands out to you about this?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler has lost his joy | Steph Curry & Warriors roll Sixers
I think Cleveland is a team that should be looking at at least three all stars and maybe four. And so they'll they'll get coaches selections. But what about you? What's your surprise? What's your surprise to me? Look, I mean, I actually have a couple. Number one, Steph Curry is too low. It's oh, it's my guys are too low. The old guys too low.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler has lost his joy | Steph Curry & Warriors roll Sixers
Having having lamello ball second in fan voting amongst guards is eye opening and shocking. And to your point about winning, he plays with the Charlotte Hornets. Now, listen, he is fun. He's a lot of fun. And he's the perfect guy to get into an all star environment. I think he's had a great season. That is shocking to me. So, guys, shoot us your emails over at NBA Daily at the athletic dot com.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler has lost his joy | Steph Curry & Warriors roll Sixers
Send us your comments, your questions. Let us know who was left off the fan vote or if the fans are not really watching the games. I don't know what they're doing, how they're voting. Also, you know what? A little bit surprised that Grizzlies didn't get a Japan bump. Huh. Just great. You know, I don't know. We got to get this market.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler has lost his joy | Steph Curry & Warriors roll Sixers
That's right. That's going to do it for us this week. Very short week for us. Thank goodness. Don't forget, we got Slamma Jam coming up tomorrow. They're going to be talking about the Hornets. For Zena Kata, I'm Dave DeFore, and this has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us. Happy New Year.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler has lost his joy | Steph Curry & Warriors roll Sixers
This is more what we expected from the Pacers.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler has lost his joy | Steph Curry & Warriors roll Sixers
I don't know what anyone expected from the Miami Heat this year. I don't know what anyone has expected from Jimmy Butler this year. But this is playing out very similarly to the last few stops for Jimmy, whether that was Philadelphia or Minnesota or Chicago. This is a couple of really weird games in a row for Jimmy Butler. He only took five shots the other night in a loss.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler has lost his joy | Steph Curry & Warriors roll Sixers
And in this game, Zena, how many shots do you think Jimmy Butler took? Six. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Six shots in the game for nine points. He was minus 27 in 27 minutes. And, you know, when I tell you it looked like he was minus 50, that's the eye test. He he just wasn't Jimmy Butler. This is this is a little bit of quiet quitting, it feels like.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler has lost his joy | Steph Curry & Warriors roll Sixers
And again, his comments after the game, he said he has no joy. He was asked, is it possible for him to find it in Miami? He said, probably not. Yeah, this is this is coming to a head now.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler has lost his joy | Steph Curry & Warriors roll Sixers
You know, I hope so. I like Jimmy Butler when he's playing good basketball. Speaking of good basketball, we had a marquee matchup. Wolves and Celtics. Big game in Minnesota. The Celtics, we've been talking about them the last couple weeks. Like, what's going on? What's going on with them? Are they struggling? Have they have Missoula ball been figured out?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler has lost his joy | Steph Curry & Warriors roll Sixers
And you know what, you know, I would say we got mixed returns on Missoula ball. But when you look at what the Celtics did winning 118 115, only four turnovers, one of them was a team turnover. Yeah. And only six free throws. So I got to tell you, it's honorable basketball. It's clean basketball.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler has lost his joy | Steph Curry & Warriors roll Sixers
And these guys just, when they're able to just flip that switch where they protect the basketball, they're hard to stop. The best guy for them in this game is their MVP candidate, Jason Tatum. We had the big head-to-head matchup between him and Anthony Edwards. Who won that matchup?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler has lost his joy | Steph Curry & Warriors roll Sixers
You know what? I honestly lost count. But in the in the game, I mean, we had like twenty six three point attempts in the first nine minutes and it came hot on the heels of O'Neill and in the inside NBA crew, which I don't often catch complaining that Anthony Edwards had regressed because he was shooting more threes.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler has lost his joy | Steph Curry & Warriors roll Sixers
Now, look, if you if you only watch this one game, you might think Shaq was right because it did have a bad time. He Two of nine from three, five of 16 from overall. And like if the narrative is he's shooting more threes and twos and those are bad looks. Great. Look, he missed some threes. This guy is one of the better three point volume shooters in the NBA.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler has lost his joy | Steph Curry & Warriors roll Sixers
One of the reasons why he has to do it is because of the lack of spacing. But in this game. The Boston Celtics did a great job of frustrating and which he talked about after the game said the double teams just threw him out of whack. He doesn't know how to contribute. And that's not the way he wants to play.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler has lost his joy | Steph Curry & Warriors roll Sixers
Great. And it's got to figure out a way to let the game come to him. And this would have been a perfect time because the guys we've been talking about struggling showed up, you know, Randall. DiVincenzo, Jaden McDaniels all had great nights.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler has lost his joy | Steph Curry & Warriors roll Sixers
And should just get Devin Booker on the phone, see how he learned to deal with those double teams.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler has lost his joy | Steph Curry & Warriors roll Sixers
I mean, the ball stuff for him is good. Quickly, before we have to go to break, the Nets just seem to have the Bucs number moved to three and one on the season in the season series. Jordy Fernandez maybe knows something about the Bucs that the rest of us don't. The Bucs went on a 20 to zero run and came up one point.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler has lost his joy | Steph Curry & Warriors roll Sixers
Missed layup by Damian Lillard with a couple seconds left from taking a lead in this game. What's the secret for Brooklyn?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler has lost his joy | Steph Curry & Warriors roll Sixers
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily for January 3rd, 2025. Coming up, Jimmy Butler has lost his joy and the Pacers look much better. Marcus Thompson was at the Warriors-Sixers game, so we talked to him a little bit. And the fan vote for the All-Star game came out. Zena and I, I don't know, we've got some bones to pick with that list. Good morning, everybody. Good morning, Zena.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler has lost his joy | Steph Curry & Warriors roll Sixers
Cam Thomas also has the ultimate green light. There's no shot that he's scared of. He caught an offensive rebound at the free throw line and basically turned it into a catch and shoot free throw jumper. And it was amazing. I love watching this guy play also. And there's just a throwaway here at the end before we go to the break. The Thunder won their 13th straight game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler has lost his joy | Steph Curry & Warriors roll Sixers
And they are just absolutely crushing everyone. They were down as much as 16 to the Clippers, but they had a third quarter run, Zena, thanks to 17 points to the Clippers zero off of turnovers. Only the most destructive. We're not going to say disruptive, destructive. That's a great defense in the NBA right now is the Thunder.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler has lost his joy | Steph Curry & Warriors roll Sixers
Yeah. Guys, stick around. We got Marcus Thompson coming up next. The Warriors have been struggling for a little bit the last few weeks. They hadn't won two straight in like a month and a half or something. So, you know, they had the Sixers in town. We figured something's going to happen in the game. Let's get Marcus Thompson on. He's going to be in the building. Marcus, thanks for joining us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler has lost his joy | Steph Curry & Warriors roll Sixers
Happy New Year. We just went through the whole rigmarole on how long to say that. But happy New Year to you. Hope you're doing well.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler has lost his joy | Steph Curry & Warriors roll Sixers
Well, hey, look, the Warriors got off to a great start in this game. They jumped out to a huge lead, 35-19. Steph Curry just, I mean, hits that opening three and didn't miss for the whole game. Eight of eight from three. How long can Steph do this, man? Like, it's 30 points. It's plus 32 in 30 minutes. Just won this one going away, and Steph looked incredible.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Jimmy Butler has lost his joy | Steph Curry & Warriors roll Sixers
It opened up so much inside for them. I mean, even trace Jackson Davis had an easier time. I thought, you know, getting some lob opportunities, which, which weren't happening before when, when Schroeder was out there and intruder got blocked by Tyrese maxi on the, the rear view block and then gets his own rebound and sticks a mid Ranger.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Brunson sends Pistons packing
No, it's hard to describe. I'm tired of describing it. Not hard to describe. I'm tired of describing it. This guy's been doing it all year. Listen, there's been numerous game winners, numerous go-ahead buckets. If somebody tells you they remember them all this season, they're lying. There was like a five or six game stretch at the end of February and early March where he had...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Brunson sends Pistons packing
four or five game winning or go ahead buckets that really in the end were beneficial to the Knicks clenching home court advantage. This guy just has a poise about him.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Brunson sends Pistons packing
I asked him a few weeks ago if he remembers this first like clutch moment and he talked about in high school how he shot a shot in a high school game without confidence and his dad sent him videos of NBA players shooting clips or shooting shots make or miss with confidence in the clutch time and A week later, he hit his first game winner in a high school game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Brunson sends Pistons packing
This guy, there's something about him. The it factor is real. I believe in clutch genes. I do think that is a real gene, even though we can't define it. I mean, I'm going to write about this for my story that you guys can read on Friday morning, but... This bucket may have had big ramifications, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Brunson sends Pistons packing
If they lose to the Pistons in seven games, this franchise, there was going to be changes that came. I don't think that the owner would be okay with...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Brunson sends Pistons packing
investing all this their draft capital their money and they couldn't get out of the first round and right the pistons have won in new york twice so who's to say that if the pistons take a game seven to madison square garden that they wouldn't win like this shot had ramifications that could alter the franchise uh that's how big this was even though it's the first round and even though people might say that they shouldn't have struggled with the pistons uh this was a big shot this this was a very big shot now the reward is going to play boston
The Athletic NBA Daily
Brunson sends Pistons packing
Yeah, I mean, I think... The Knicks are going to have pockets in this series where they score because there's talent. There's talent there, and they are very talented. And while Detroit does play very physical, and I'm sure Knicks fans are happy to get away from the physicality of the Pistons, Boston has, at most times, five guys on the floor that can defend and that can switch across the board.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Brunson sends Pistons packing
And the Knicks really struggle against teams that can guard one-on-one, that can get into their man, that can guard. They've put Drew on cat and have seen success baiting him into post-ups and not taking threes. Boston's just a different animal. The playoffs are more about, it's less about the best team and the team with the fewest flaws. And Boston has the fewest flaws.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Brunson sends Pistons packing
And I think that's why New York squeezed out the series against the Pistons. They are the team with fewest flaws. And I think Boston just has too much switchability across the board. Then they can go score on you. I just think it's a bad matchup. And now they went to six games with the Pistons, all dogfights. Boston's rested. The Knicks will get a couple days.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Brunson sends Pistons packing
But I think this is going to be a really tough hill to climb for the Knicks.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Brunson sends Pistons packing
Yeah, I am very happy for a lot of the people over there, the people that I've covered from Cade. Obviously, Isaiah Stewart didn't get to play, and I thought he deserved that moment to show what he can do with the bright lights. And Tobias, I've known, and the peripheral people. So very happy for that team and that fan base. As you guys heard on TV, it's one of the most rabid in basketball.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Brunson sends Pistons packing
They love their team. And I think what's most important is they have an identity and when shots don't fall, they can still stay in games and defense travels, defense carries. And they did that without their one, a one B defender, Isaiah Stewart missed basically the whole series. And they were still able to defend at a very high level.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Brunson sends Pistons packing
So now you have Kate, he now has playoff experience under his belt. They have a lot of cap space coming up. They can now trade picks. Like, this is the worst the Pistons are going to be. This is the worst they're going to be. This is the worst their roster is going to look.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Brunson sends Pistons packing
I'm good. I'm good. Running on fumes, but that's playoff basketball. I think we all are.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Brunson sends Pistons packing
It's because they built a foundation on defense and hard-nosed play. And now you add the skill. You add the secondary creator, whether that's Ivy, whether that's somebody else next to Cade. Cat said it in the postgame. This Detroit team is built for the playoffs and a bright future. It's hard to say otherwise, just based on what they did with even limited resources in this series.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Brunson sends Pistons packing
Yeah, there's nothing that I can say that he doesn't know. There's a different level of physicality, right? He knows that now. He knows he needs to tighten up his handle. He was a little loosey-goosey with the ball in this series. But the fact that he was able to do some of the stuff he did in his first series without a true number two option just tells you how talented this guy is.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Brunson sends Pistons packing
And it's not like he was getting guarded by Joe Schmoes. It was OG Ananobi and Mikael Bridges the whole time. He's going to tighten his handle. He knows that's important. He knows what the physicality it takes, the attention to detail late in games. This is a great learning experience for him. And that dude... I guess people were surprised that he became this. It was there last year.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Brunson sends Pistons packing
Cade was really good last year, too. He's as talented as they come. And now just the experience like we always we go to college, right? We have to get this degree. to get jobs, but what really prepares us for the jobs is the experience, the internship you have, the opportunity somebody gave you, the on-hand, on-site opportunities. And you got it. And this young team got it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Brunson sends Pistons packing
They know what it tastes like. And the way that they lost, I'm sure they walk away from this thinking they lost this series, not that the Knicks won this. I could see them thinking that. And so now they're going to come back hungry. They're going to come back hungry. And it's not that's not bad for a team that plays like a pit bull with rabies anyway.