The Athletic NBA Daily
Sengun & Rockets stun Cavs | Is Jimmy Butler worth it for the Suns?
Thu, 23 Jan 2025
The Houston Rockets handed the Cleveland Cavaliers their 7th loss of the season thanks to two late by Alperen Sengun. Dave DuFour and Es Baraheni react to the chaotic finish in Houston, the Pistons climb up the standings, and Jimmy Butler’s suspension. Then, the Athletic’s Fred Katz joins the show to talk about his interview with OG Anunoby, the Pistons (again), and whether Jimmy Butler moves the needle for the Suns.Host: Dave DuFourWith: Es Baraheni & Fred KatzExecutive Producer: Andrew SchlechtAudio Producer: Grayson MoodySubmit your questions to The Athletic NBA Daily mailbag: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5939460/2024/11/25/nba-podcast-mailbag-athletic-daily/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Chapter 1: What happened in the Rockets vs. Cavs game?
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.
Chapter 2: How did the referees influence the game outcome?
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 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.
Yeah, so obviously the Rockets went cold in that fourth quarter. That's what allowed the Cavs to storm back. I think they went like five minutes without scoring the ball. And so a couple of big Fred VanVleet threes got them into it. They kept the Cavs at bay. And it was like a minute six left. Shangoon finishes over Jared Allen, then pushes Jared Allen over. They challenged that call.
The refs determined nothing happened there. They're like, all right, no play, whatever. On the next possession down, Allen fouls Shangoon on a loose ball. Two free throws for the lead. Shangoon goes to knock down both free throws, makes them both cold-blooded, right? Up two. And then on the other end, the Rockets foul Darius Garland on a three. Tari Eason steps in his landing space.
They actually upgrade the foul to a flagrant foul. So three free throws plus the ball. But it should have been at that point. It's like Darius Garland. Great free throw shooter. This is the end of the game. But no, Garland misses two of his three free throws. Cavs try to win it, lose it. And the Rockets survive. Insane.
Tari Eason. Tari Eason running off the court. Like he stole something. Yeah.
Like the Eric Fisher game winner. Right.
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.
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.
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Chapter 3: What is the current status of Jimmy Butler's suspension?
I think, you know, it's fair to be nervous given the fact that Luca is dealing with a calf issue and then Kyrie has this bulging disc and now lively with the foot. It's like these are serious injuries that they're dealing with that could probably linger. That being said, the injuries are happening at a better time than it being the playoffs.
If this was April, if this was May, yes, absolutely it's an issue. But you kind of deal with the fact that it's happening in the lull of the season and you hope that they can actually be healthy in April and May when it matters. And to your point about the standings, if they're sixth or seventh and they end up facing the Rockets or Grizzlies, who are you favoring in that series?
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.
Luka is so important to this team, and that's a given, right? Heliocentric offense, all that type of stuff. They're 4-11 so far without him. He got hurt in Christmas. I don't think that's necessarily as terrible as it seems. Yes, they've played a pretty tough schedule here with some scheduled losses. But ultimately, they have a pretty good infrastructure around him. Daniel Gafford playing well.
He's going to step up a lot with Lively out. P.J. Washington, guys like that. Klay Thompson obviously getting involved more. So I think they'll be okay. That's my main consensus with the Mavs. I think they'll be okay. By the way, too much stuff happened last night.
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.
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.
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?
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Chapter 4: How are the Pistons performing this season?
What's been going on with you?
Oh, you know, same old getting paid to watch basketball. What's better than that, right?
What's been your favorite thing this season?
Apparently getting paid to watch basketball with OGN and OB.
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?
My favorite thing so far in the NBA season? I'm going to say, you know, I'm going to go a little off the beaten path. And I could say watching the Cleveland Cavaliers who play beautiful basketball together. Yeah. I could say watching the Oklahoma City Thunder who play beautiful basketball together. But I think I'm going to say watching the Detroit Pistons. Yes. Another believer.
Another believer.
I don't know if they're good or average or what, but they have been like one of my go-to league pass teams. And I didn't expect them to be. It's not even that they're decent, independent of their quality. They're fun. They are what a basketball team is supposed to be. They play well together. They play super hard. JB Bickerstaff is doing a great job there. They're well coached.
Cade Cunningham is turning into a superstar. Like he is a star now. Cade Cunningham is a star. He is a shoe-in all-star, in my opinion. He should be there. I don't think he'll make it as a starter, but he should absolutely be there easily as one of the reserves. He runs an offense beautifully. He's shooting better than ever. Pistons play really pretty basketball. They play so hard.
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Chapter 5: What makes Cade Cunningham a potential All-Star?
the same way how you kind of slow down when you see an accident on car crash, just to check it out and change, man.
It's the biggest, biggest upgrade in the league.
Yeah. Yeah, dude. They, I mean, look between the defense improving and the way you mentioned the fun of Isaiah Stewart, like how about him calling out miles Turner about the Legos? That's so over the top, you know, too much on the internet, man.
How about the fact that miles Turner is, Sorry, not Miles Turner. Isaiah Stewart is allowing like 47% shooting on dunks and layups when he's the closest defender, which is literally the best number in the league. Like he's about a percentage point, a percentage point and a half ahead of Victor Wimbanyama. He's a little ahead of Rudy Gobert.
Isaiah Stewart, the dude who they were playing as a stretch for the last few years because they had so many centers and they finally put it in his natural position, even though he's an undersized five, is now the league's leader in the sports prevailing advanced tracking analytic that's public. That is wild. He has. You think the Pistons saw this coming?
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.
I wouldn't quite compare him to Ben Wallace.
go that far i don't even know if he's going to be on all defense but he's a good defender and he can switch and he's got good footwork and no one is ever going to accuse him of not playing hard i promise you that i don't think anyone's ever watched isaiah stewart and said wish that guy doesn't yeah exactly i just wish you would care a little bit more i don't think anybody's ever said that about that guy
Man, speaking of all defense, you wrote that piece about OG and the defense and breaking down specific plays, showing him specific plays that he had, different kind of plays that he made, whether it's like stunt and recovering or he's getting out into a passing lane and all that kind of stuff. And
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Chapter 6: Why is Isaiah Stewart's performance noteworthy?
Chapter 7: What challenges do the Mavs face with injuries?
Chapter 8: What are the implications of the upcoming trade deadline?
I think, you know, it's fair to be nervous given the fact that Luca is dealing with a calf issue and then Kyrie has this bulging disc and now lively with the foot. It's like these are serious injuries that they're dealing with that could probably linger. That being said, the injuries are happening at a better time than it being the playoffs.
If this was April, if this was May, yes, absolutely it's an issue. But you kind of deal with the fact that it's happening in the lull of the season and you hope that they can actually be healthy in April and May when it matters. And to your point about the standings, if they're sixth or seventh and they end up facing the Rockets or Grizzlies, who are you favoring in that series?
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.
Luka is so important to this team, and that's a given, right? Heliocentric offense, all that type of stuff. They're 4-11 so far without him. He got hurt in Christmas. I don't think that's necessarily as terrible as it seems. Yes, they've played a pretty tough schedule here with some scheduled losses. But ultimately, they have a pretty good infrastructure around him. Daniel Gafford playing well.
He's going to step up a lot with Lively out. P.J. Washington, guys like that. Klay Thompson obviously getting involved more. So I think they'll be okay. That's my main consensus with the Mavs. I think they'll be okay. By the way, too much stuff happened last night.
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.
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.
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?
What's been going on with you?
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