Knicks’ Playoff Panic & the Surprising Rise of the Pistons: FRPC’s Eastern Conference Breakdown

[00:00:01] It's Friday, you know what time it is. Front Runner Podcast Collective is back on the air. I am your humble host Vince and we have just a jam-packed show for you today. We are going to try to give you like a feel-good Friday, but before we get to all the feel-goods, we gotta update you on the Jalen Brunson news that we just got.

[00:00:29] We also have to talk about the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Oklahoma City Thunder. We need to address some of the goings-on with some of the other teams around the league. So what we're gonna do is we're gonna give you an Eastern Conference wraparound and then we're gonna finish it off with a little Golden State Lake.

[00:00:59] We're gonna take a look at the Shaker's observations. So there's a lot to get to and we're gonna get to it momentarily. The first and foremost thing, we're glad you're here. We love our audience and we hope to provide you with some great content today. So buckle up, get ready, and let's go. First and foremost, last night was everything I wanted it to be.

[00:01:29] The Lakers played the New York Knicks last night. Obviously, we can get into the game a little bit later, but the first news that we need to get to is this. The Jalen Brunson injury, it looked sick. It looked absolutely disgusting when it happened. He could barely put any pressure on that foot whatsoever when he stood at the free throw line to take the free throws.

[00:01:59] And, you know, he needed help to get to the back. Now, Luka tried to give him a Laker jersey, which he had signed. And Jalen had already left. So this is the latest update of what we have right now on Jalen Brunson.

[00:02:22] It looks like he's gonna be out for two weeks. It's a right ankle sprain. There seems to be some possibility there might be some foot sprain involved in it as well.

[00:02:38] The x-rays came back negative. Well, let's be real. Two weeks could turn into three. Could turn into four. Hopefully that won't happen again. So the ankle sprain could turn into two to three to four weeks because it looked like it was like a midfoot sprain as well.

[00:03:07] Now, here's the thing. The Knicks are 40-22. They're sitting in the number three seed in the East. But that lead is not a comfortable lead. They're only three and a half games ahead of the Milwaukee Bucks and four and a half over the Indiana Pacers. That could go south real quick in this eight game stretch without Jalen Brunson.

[00:03:35] Now, we took the liberty because we wanted to make sure you understood what was ahead of the Knicks. So here's their eight upcoming games. You got the Clippers tonight. So as we're recording right now, the Clippers and the Knicks are just about getting started right now.

[00:04:03] So as this podcast goes along, we can go ahead and keep you up to date with what is going on there. It's early. It's ugly. It's seven nothing Clippers. But again, it's early. Now, they play the Kings after. Now, the Kings are a little bit different. They don't have De'Aaron Fox anymore, but they do have Zach Levine. They do have DeMar DeRozan.

[00:04:32] And they do have a punishing big man, which is DeMontis Sabonis. So that's not going to be an easy game there. Then they play the Trail Blazers. Now, the Trail Blazers have played well. Those were against like bad teams. Now they're starting to play against good teams. We'll see how it all plays. Now, they are much improved.

[00:04:59] The Trail Blazers aren't just a patsy team that you can just run all over. However, it will be a battle, especially without Brunson. And we'll get into why and the how and what have you in a little bit. Now, it doesn't get any easier after you get done playing Portland. You go and play the Golden State Warriors. After the Warriors, it's the Miami Heat.

[00:05:27] And then it's the San Antonio Spurs. And then it flows into the Charlotte Hornets, which is a good thing. And the Washington Wizards. So I guesstimate that Jalen Brunson should be out until the 25th of March. These are the eight games that present themselves in the eight game absence of Jalen Brunson at this current time. Now, could he come back a little bit sooner?

[00:05:56] He could. Could he come back a little bit later? That's the nightmare scenario. So let's get into why this could be a real big issue. Number one, Carl Anthony Towns must step up and be your go-to scorer. Now, Carl Anthony Towns has played so well this season. But I will say this.

[00:06:24] He has really stepped away from the label that was on him in Minnesota. Because if you remember a lot of the antics that were going on with Carl Anthony Towns in Minnesota, there were a lot of fouls that were considered not smart fouls. There seemed to be some maturity issues or whatever.

[00:06:51] And there seemed to be just sometimes just not that spark. Now, he has played out of his mind in Gotham. So, he is a different cat in New York City. Hence, why they call him Bodega Cat. But here's the one thing with Carl Anthony Towns.

[00:07:19] He can't create his own shot. Not very well. So, he's going to need somebody to spoon feed him opportunities. Who's going to be that person? Now, Mikkel Bridges, in Brooklyn, he took on a bigger offensive role. And we saw signs of offensive creation. Things that we had not seen in Phoenix.

[00:07:48] He was more of a catch and shoot dude in Phoenix. He showed a little wiggle. He showed a little like, oh, I'm very competent with the basketball in my hands. I can hit an open man and what have you. So, if that part of the game is going to come back and reemerge itself in this present time without Jalen Brunson,

[00:08:15] that would be a really, really additive situation going into these next eight games. Now, excuse me. I got this cough. I can't get rid of it. Sex sucks. Sex sucks. Now, can this team survive a long enough situation without their guy? They're going to have to.

[00:08:44] Because it's going to be really important for them to hold on to their slot right now. They are the number three team. And as the number three team, what you're trying to do is you're trying to avoid the Cleveland Cavaliers at all costs. They are a bus saw and they did work tonight as well. They're 53 and 10. And we'll get to them momentarily. Back to this Brunson deal. Let's give you some numbers.

[00:09:14] This is what the Knicks will be missing over the next eight games. So 26.3 points a game, 7.4 assists a game. He's shooting 49% from the field, 38.4 from three. Those are career highs across the board. Now, here's the thing that you are going to definitely want to know. These are the numbers that we always try to give you.

[00:09:41] He leads all players with a minimal of 20 clutch games in clutch points per game, which is six per game. Okay. Only Nicole Jokic has a better clutch field goal percentage among players taking at least two shots per game in crunch time. The Knicks haven't been playing great even with Brunson since January 1st.

[00:10:09] So since Calder changed over to 2025, they are 17 and 12. But if not for Brunson's late game heroics, that could have easily been 12 and 17. Now, all that's conjecture. So, Knicks fans, don't get your... Don't trip. I know you're going through a bad situation right now. But personally, here's the thing.

[00:10:38] Brunson even showed last night in the Laker game how clutch he was. He hit just shot after shot. That was just acrobatic. Acrobatic. He was shooting over somebody usually six, seven inches taller than he was with a wingspan. But he's able to bump them off their spot enough and then lean back far enough. And he shoots it with such a high trajectory that it just goes in.

[00:11:08] Dude is super nail, super clutch, and the Knicks will miss him. Now, the Knicks are fifth overall in offensive rating. But since January 1st, they've dropped to 12th. They're one of the worst three-point shooting teams in both percentages and attempts. And Brunson is the only...

[00:11:33] Is one of only three Knicks shooting above 35% in that span from three. So, the offense has been slipping. Even with Brunson. So, without him, this is going to be a massive problem. So, where are the answers? Because I'm sure Knicks fans have come for answers. Because this is where you come for the answers. You come to the Front Runner Podcast Collective. This is where you get all of the good information. So, I'm going to do that for you.

[00:12:06] So, here's the thing. Let's kind of look at this as a broad situation. The Clipper game right now doesn't look great. That Kings game, that's going to be a tough situation with Levine and DeMar DeRozan and Sigwonas trying to get the Kings into the playoffs in the Western Conference.

[00:12:30] Because Portland is a young team that they should win and they should bully and win. But it won't be a pushover. The Warriors game is just going to be a dogfight. Because Jimmy Butler is absolutely astonishing the way he's playing right now. And we'll talk about him later in the podcast. Then they play the Heat. That's not a gimme.

[00:13:00] The Hornets, that should be a win. And the Wizards should be a win. So, without Grunson, 5-3 keeps them afloat. 4-4, depending on how the other teams behind them do. Which is Milwaukee and Indiana. 3-5 is like the worst case scenario. But, they do have a 3-1-2 game lead over the Milwaukee Bucks.

[00:13:28] And they also have a 4-1-2 game lead over the Indiana Pitchers. So, they do have a buffer. The one thing that you don't want to see is you don't want to see Dame and Giannis get hot. And overtake you. You want to stay out of that 4-4 seed. Even though it's still home court advantage.

[00:13:55] You would like to hope that you can get into that 3-1 seed. And take your chances with a very, very young Detroit Pistons if that's how it ends up. But, we still got 20 games left in this season. Who knows how it's going to end up. Now, a couple other things before we get out of here and start talking about something else.

[00:14:27] With the Knicks, it's basically surviving. This is a team that actually should be able to function without grunting. If they get the right offensive creation. Now, the offensive creation is going to have to come from different people. Deuce McGrind is going to have to step up. But, we're going to have to see the very best version of Campaign. Because, Campaign has some D'Angelo Russell in him.

[00:14:56] He seems to get a bit out in front of his skis a little bit. With his ability and what he thinks his production should be. But, obviously, with Tibbs there, you know. He'll pull the trigger when he needs to. And, then again. Will McHale Bridges go back to some of the offensive creation that he was showing in Brooklyn. And, utilize that right now.

[00:15:26] And, get into some pick and pop situations with Cat. That might be one thing. That would be the saving grace of the New York Knicks. Now, here are some real off the wall things. Now, I do not believe any of this will happen. So, take this with a grain of salt. Tyler Kolek. Tyler Kolek, the rookie from Marquette.

[00:15:56] He's a floor general of the highest level. Now, it's asking a lot for a guy who hasn't really played all season. To step in as a rookie. And, go up against some of the greatest athletic people on the face of the planet. That he would be going up against every single night. In the NBA. You know what I say about young guards. In the NBA.

[00:16:22] They just get baptized every single night. Because, every single team has a really good one. And, if you don't come with the right mindset. You'll get cooked. So, I mean. Tyler Kolek. Also, rookie. We know how Tibbs feels while playing young players. He doesn't trust them. Hence, why we are in this issue in the first place.

[00:16:51] Now, a couple other things that we need to address here. That I'm not telling any New York Knicks fans that they don't already know. The Knicks must stay in the top four. They cannot drop to a situation where they do not hold down some sort of home court advantage. At least throughout the first round. That is an absolute must. You must keep that.

[00:17:17] You can't have Milwaukee or Indiana gaining some sort of home court advantage on top of you. Now, the other thing is this. The defining moment for Townsend and Bridges. Towns has put up 30 plus games on a regular in New York City. He's been electrifying as a scorer. He will have to continue to keep that production up.

[00:17:46] But again, we will reiterate this until the cows come home. It's not all on cat. You got to get him the ball. So, it will be on, you know, it'll be on the driving kick game of Mikel Bridges, OG Anna Novy, Josh Hart. To a lesser extent, Deuce McBride. You know, and we got to hope that also.

[00:18:14] Tibbs will adapt and play a two big lineup. Use Mitchell Robinson as a defensive anchor. And maybe you can kind of, in this 20 game period. If for some reason you're going to be in this situation for at least eight games without Jalen Brunson. Get Mitchell Robinson up to a point where he's a very impactful defensive player.

[00:18:44] Because right now, the Lakers, and we'll get to them later. In that fourth quarter, they got what they wanted against the Knicks. And it was kind of scary. So, here's the last thing that I'm going to say about this. And then we can get on. And when you're a top seed, you don't get gimme games in the playoffs. Everything is earned.

[00:19:14] These next eight games are about to be a proving ground for this team. And this team is more than Jalen Brunson. They went out and gave up five picks for Mikel Bridges. And Mikel Bridges has been a disappointment all year. Where, you know, it's the thing that people have not really been saying out loud. You've been saying it, like, with your friends, like, in the corner or whatever.

[00:19:43] But at the end of the day, he needs to step up. He needs to show out. And he needs to earn his nickname. You know, he needs to get that. So, OG, he really showed me something in the Laker game. If he's going to be this guy. If he's going to be this type of force multiplier on the offensive end.

[00:20:13] This will be helpful in this absence of Jalen Brunson. Knicks, Knick fans, let me know. Do you think you survived March? March. Hit us up on X at Frontrunner PC. Or hit our producer up. So, Rhea at Rhea underscore Funch FRPC. Now, we told you we were going to have some happy times in this podcast.

[00:20:41] Now, a team that I want to get to. And I want to loop in a couple other teams. First and foremost. OKC and Cleveland are having excellent seasons. They're having historic seasons. If you're looking at the net ratings. If you're looking at the records of these two teams. Cleveland won tonight. They are now 53-10. OKC also handled business tonight.

[00:21:10] And they are 52-11. Now, the great thing about those two teams is that we saw OKC coming. Right? We saw this last year. We thought they would be improved. They were. Did we see this? I don't know. We thought that the moves that they made in the offseason. Isaiah Hartenstein. Also Alex Caruso. We thought, excellent.

[00:21:39] Just what these. Just what OKC needed. And they were able to do it without giving up. Really any. Draft compensation whatsoever. So, with that being said. They're loaded for bear. And they're ready to go. So, we're not. They're nice. We don't have to worry about them. Cleveland, on the other hand. They bring in a new coach. They replaced J.B.

[00:22:09] Bickerstaff. Now, J.B. Bickerstaff. Was the Cleveland coach. He gets Donovan Mitchell. Changes the whole situation in Cleveland. And it moves the timetable up. He had Darius Garland beforehand. And Darius Garland was looking like a perennial all-star.

[00:22:36] He was looking like a guy who's definitely going to be able to run the team for a very, very long time. Now, the Evan Mobley explosion happened this year. So, under J.B. Bickerstaff, he was not able to garner whatever the optimal atmosphere to allow Evan Mobley to blossom. Right? So, they move on.

[00:23:05] And they get Kenny Atkinson. And this Kenny Atkinson season has been absolutely excellent. But the guy that I want to talk about now is J.B. Bickerstaff. Because the Pistons who hired J.B. Bickerstaff in the offseason, Trajan Langdon came in, changed the whole situation up. Let Monty Williams go.

[00:23:35] Say, hey, you enjoy your 13 plus million. Go ahead and enjoy that. Have you some margaritas? What? Have you some mojitos? What? Have you some pina coladas? What? Or just a beer. Right? And we're going to go ahead and move on without you.

[00:24:04] And we're going to go ahead and bring in J.B. Bickerstaff. Because we think that he will be able to reach the young players. And create a culture that will be more suitable to development. Now, did we think it was going to work? We just saw J.B. Bickerstaff get blown out of Cleveland. There were a lot of hard feelings. There weren't a lot of harsh words. Because J.B. Bickerstaff was a really good coach.

[00:24:34] And they said they basically, they thought that the team kind of outgrew J.B. Bickerstaff. So, we were expecting some improvement with the Detroit Pistons this year. I expected maybe, hey, they got a couple vets. These vets will help Cade become a pro. So, hopefully, J.Nivy also becomes a pro.

[00:25:03] Then the unfortunate injury to J.Nivy. You know the whole deal. Now, we get into all of this because the Detroit Pistons are not only a play-in team. They're a playoff team at this point. But, J.B. Bickerstaff has Cade Cunningham. He was an all-star this year.

[00:25:29] Asour Thompson, who has recovered from the blood clots that stymied him early in the season. He has become an absolutely assassin on defense. Just kind of reminiscent to his brother, his twin brother, Amin Thompson in Houston.

[00:25:53] Isaiah Stewart, B. Stu, is over here coming off the bench playing his role. Kind of stopped shooting the three, which he was shooting last year. They kind of taken that out of his shot diet and just let him be like a role player. Like a rim-running role player, what have you. Little pick-and-pop guy. Okay? So, everybody seems to be able to fit into their role.

[00:26:23] Tobias Harris has played well. Now, we might have clowned Tobias Harris last year. It seems like Paul George has taken that moniker. Oh, it must be something in the water. Jimmy Butler must have put some kind of curse on that team. Because every small forward they've gotten after Jimmy Butler has not worked out. Tobias Harris didn't work out. Paul George, you see the issues.

[00:26:53] My man shut down his podcast. I mean, it's a lot going on in Philadelphia. But I want to bring you some good news. Because here's the thing. Let me give you some things that are going on in Detroit. Over the last month, the Detroit Pistons have allowed fewer points per possession than any team in the NBA.

[00:27:18] They forced turnovers at a 16% defensive possession, fourth in the NBA. They're holding teams to 62% in the restricted area. That's fourth in the NBA. Opponents are shooting 46% on dunks and layups when Isaiah Stewart is at the rim. That's the best in five years.

[00:27:45] Jalen Doran, 30.4% defensive rebounding rate in this stretch. Over this time, he's swallowing up one-third of the opponent's misses. And then we get to Kay Cunningham. Now, Kay Cunningham is one of the type of players that I really, really like. I am a... I've always... You know, I tell you, I'm old. I tell you, I'm old all the time. I'm 52 years old.

[00:28:14] I fell in love with basketball because Magic Johnson was the guy who kind of just introduced me to basketball. So, I've always been attracted to that type of player. Pause. I know what you... I see some of y'all on it. Don't trip. Now, Kay Cunningham is basically the prototype of basketball player I like. And let me tell you why that is.

[00:28:44] Kay is not just a scorer. He's a gravitational force. When he's running the offense, he creates defensive scrambles. And the Detroit physicality wears on teams and wears them down. The Pistons half-court offense is still developing. But Kay's presence elevates everyone, especially their shooters.

[00:29:07] Now, Malik Beasley is having the best shooting year that he's ever had in his entire career. We also talked to you about Tobias Harris and what he's providing for that team. Who is it? Tim Hardaway Jr. as well. Also playing a very impactful role for the Detroit Pistons.

[00:29:36] So, why is all this working? Well, first of all, these dudes are shooting at a high level beyond the three-point arc. That's the first and foremost thing. Right? And then the second thing is the switchability of the Detroit defense. Isaiah Stewart can switch on to perimeter players and hold his ground against bigs. Our Seward Thompson is just a terror in the passing lane.

[00:30:04] On ball or off ball. And his IQ and the way he processes offenses and the way he disrupts cutters getting through the lane and things of that nature is something that is very, very just underutilized. It's one of those things we don't talk about because it's not one of those things that is real glamorous. He does a lot of the dirty work things that you really need to have a really successful defense.

[00:30:34] And then he can just be an unballed pest. He can pick you up 94 feet. He's long. He never gets tired. And he has a tenacity. And just like he has like a sparkle in his eye when he can press up against somebody. So, Asura Thompson has added, been really additive to what Detroit has done this year. And then Jalen Doran, he started off the year.

[00:31:04] And at first we were kind of going, okay, what's happening here? Is it going to regress? Because, you know, we had talked about last year. We didn't understand the Wiseman situation because it's only going to hurt Jalen Doran's development. And the way this year started off, I was worried that this was going to be a situation where, okay. See, that Wiseman experiment really messed up Jalen Doran.

[00:31:34] But he has picked it up. So, he's not only just their best ring protector, but he's making smart rotations on closing possessions. This dude is getting out to the corners on shooters. He's actually being able to shade to their shooting hand without fouling. So, he's not losing control when he's going into the shooter.

[00:32:02] And he's providing a very impactful, super long wingspan at a corner shooter. So, he's really turning around. I've been really impressed with Jalen Doran. And credit to J.B. Bakerstaff for not losing this kid. Because he's super important to what Detroit's future is.

[00:32:29] Especially if you're talking about somebody who can impact just rim protection. Rim protection is monumentally important. Now, they're not just playing aggressive defense. But they're playing smart connected defense. They're switching everything, rotating hard, and making teams uncomfortable every single game. Boy, if the Knicks get them in the first round.

[00:33:01] I don't know if you want to see Detroit in the first round. So, the Detroit guards, they're out here playing like they got something to prove. It's like their entire team has been watching those YouTube small conflations and took it personally. They played like a bar fight waiting to happen. Aggressive, relentless, and always looking for contact.

[00:33:31] And let's talk about Asar Thompson. Because he, this man is everywhere. He's in Houston. No joke. I'm joking. That's his brother, Amen. He's not in Houston. Ugh. He's already looking like an all-defensive guy. Asar is doing the same thing in Detroit. He's scrambling offenses like a chef omelet.

[00:34:00] And he's also throwing off everything in the chaos. What he's doing is he's pressuring the ball before it gets beyond half court. So, by the time you get to the point where you're about to set up your offense, there's like 12, 10 to 12 seconds left on the shot clock. So, you're not getting into that. Okay, let's go ahead and run some sort of really sophisticated play.

[00:34:29] It's usually, let's get into a quick and roll action. And let's see if we can get a real good shot off of that situation. They're just not allowing you to do that. He's not allowing you to do that. He's dictating tempo to you. He's dictating what your offense is going to be able to get itself into. Just with his ball pressure. It's just a little added bonus to have.

[00:34:56] And then you have just length around him. Because when Asar is out there, Jalen Doran's out there. If it's not Jalen Doran out there, it's Isaiah Stewart out there. And then you got Tobias Harris, who's a vet, who knows where to be. And then Ron Holland II comes in, and he's a beast. So, they got a lot of guys.

[00:35:26] And they seem to really enjoy playing defense a lot. So, again, I'm going to go ahead and say this. This is a J.B. Bickerstaff masterpiece. Look, we all clowned the Pistons last year, rightfully so. But this team is legit this year. If you watch them, you know that they're not some cute young team. They're a problem.

[00:35:56] They got a bunch of size. They got defenders. And they got Cade. And if you got Cade, he just makes everything work. And then if you need some nasty, if you just need somebody who has just got a little bit of crazy in them, I present to you Isaiah Stewart. Now, remember, this man two years ago wanted to fight LeBron James.

[00:36:26] Like, literally, like some on-site type stuff. So, you always love the crazy. Always love the crazy. It's a good time. I enjoy it very much. The Pistons are going to be theater down the stretch. Because they're playing hard. They're playing together. They're having fun.

[00:36:55] And they don't know they're not supposed to be here. And that's the best kind. That's the best kind of fun you can have. You don't know you're not supposed to be here. And they're looking at Milwaukee. And they're looking at Indiana. And they're like, man, we can probably catch you guys. And could you imagine if Detroit had home court advantage in the first round? What that would look like?

[00:37:25] And either Milwaukee or Indiana had to play the Pistons in Detroit. Scary times in the Eastern Conference. Scary times. So, we are going to move along to. We came up with something. And I hope you guys enjoy it. So, what we're going to do is we're going to take the entire Eastern Conference.

[00:37:53] We're going to tell you within the last 20 games what these teams should be looking for. Looking to do. What they should be kind of prioritizing. And so on. Some of this is going to be funny. Some of this is going to be very informative. When it comes to your playoff teams. So, bear with us. We thought a lot about these. So, we are going to start. Again, like I said.

[00:38:22] We got about 20 games left. A lot of the teams have like 21. Maybe 22. But about 20 games left in the season. And with that. You got some teams looking at a championship run. You got teams that are getting their best player back from injury. You got some teams just trying to, you know, lock up a playoff spot. And just kind of get themselves arrested and ready. Because they're battle tested.

[00:38:50] And, you know, they've been playoff hardened before. So, we are going to take a look at all these teams. So, we're going to start with the first team. The team who won the championship last year. The Boston Celtics. And the thing that I look at the Boston Celtics. And I think of health and habits. And what I mean by that is this. Is that they need to focus on resting key players.

[00:39:18] And reinforcing championship habits. Boston has nothing left to prove in the regular season. This is true. They've got the best net rating. They're winning on both ends. Christoph Porzingis is their biggest X factor. The real goal is to keep KP upright. Put him in bubble wrap. He's the one dude that can make or break what their championship aspirations.

[00:39:51] Are overhauled. If he's playing or not playing. Now, I know. That last year. He didn't play a lot in the playoffs. And really just kind of saved himself for the finals. But I think this year is a little bit different. Because a lot of teams have gone to that double big situation. And they're going to need Christoph Porzingis to be who he was.

[00:40:20] When he did show himself in that NBA finals. Like what was it? Game one. He just went crazy. It was super sick. That first quarter was amazing that he had. Let's give you a couple other numbers. This is a positive 9.8 net rating. Best in the NBA. This is the Celtics. They are first in offensive rating. Second in defensive rating.

[00:40:45] The Boston Celtics are 32-5 when Porzingis plays. So, here's the thing. Boston right now is just in a position. They are number two. Are they going all out for the number one position? No. They're just trying to hold on to the position that they have. They're trying not to fumble the bag right now. Basically. They've already shown you in.

[00:41:14] You can call it brief spurts or moments. Or whatever it is that you want to call it. But that team when it needs to show you. It's championship medal. It has done it this year. So, do I have any provocations? Or do I have any thoughts? Or interpretations going into the playoffs about the Boston Celtics? No.

[00:41:45] Christoph Porzingis is healthy. Whatever Drew Holiday is going on with his finger. Get that as healthy as possible. Get that as healthy as possible. Get that as healthy as possible. Get that as healthy as possible. And go out here and get yourself. In a position where you can battle whoever is left. When you get to the Eastern Conference Finals. So, whether it be Cleveland or whoever. Let us, you know. Boston will be there. Don't worry.

[00:42:18] The other thing too is to try to taper down the Al Horst for minutes. This dude is older than some coaches in the league. Drew Holiday definitely has some miles on him. So, a little respite here and there does not hurt a Boston Celtics team. Keep in mind. They played basically 100 games last year.

[00:42:44] And then Derek White, Drew Holiday, and Jason Tatum also played in the Olympics. So, pardon them for them not being super enthusiastic. And not trying to chase down Cleveland for the best record in the NBA. Here's another key takeaway about what's going on with this team.

[00:43:12] Joe Mazzula has a style. We have been in awe of it. We've also questioned it. For the, most of the time it works. They won an NBA championship off of it. And it's really pretty a meritocker type of offense that he runs.

[00:43:41] It's basically have your two guys who run the offense, Jalen Brown and Jason Tatum. Get them going downhill. Kick it out to your three-point shooters. Start putting people in a blender. And repeat until you get the best shot. If you can do this, if you have the energy and you have the guys who can do this and create this type of

[00:44:11] half-court frenzy for you, it's a nice weapon to have. Really nice weapon to have. So, let's move along to Brooklyn. Brooklyn. Basically, you're just evaluating your roster at this point. They need to assess the young players worth keeping. The Nets are in a weird in-between stage position.

[00:44:38] They have Cam Thomas, Zire Williams, and a bunch of maybe dudes. They got to decide if they want to pay Cam Thomas or flip some of these young guys for another piece. Or even just draft capital. Cam Thomas is averaging 21.3 points a game this year. But only 3.1 assists.

[00:45:04] Actually, the 3.1 assists per game is higher than I thought it would be. I have to admit. I thought this dude would actually go and try to get a scoring title in Brooklyn. Good on him that he didn't. Okay. Brooklyn's net rating since the trade deadline has been a negative 7.2, which is 28th in the NBA. Okay. Zion Williams.

[00:45:31] Zion Williams is shooting 39% from 3. But it's still low volume. So, we still don't know. This has been the problem then when he was in Memphis. Is that he was not able. Well, he didn't even shoot the ball at a good percentage. Now, the volume isn't there. So, he's going to need to increase that. So, hopefully, he can, with these last 20 games, he can start to stress that out a little bit.

[00:46:02] Let me take a little water break. Brooklyn Nets, to me, are, I hope you can get this analogy. It's like when you break up with your girl and now you're figuring yourself out. New haircut, new clothes.

[00:46:28] But eventually, you got to actually decide what you want. And Brooklyn has that flexibility this year. If they wanted to, they could go and chase big names. But I think right now, they're just in the rebuilding phase. And I don't think there's anything that should take them out of that. I think they should stay on this course. Get some high-end talent, if you can, in this draft.

[00:46:56] Maybe get some high-end talent in the next draft. Because there's some dudes. There's some dudes in that next draft. So, they're kind of just, hey, we're in a self-discovery phase. Now, on to the Knicks. And the Knicks, their situation right now is everybody in New York City is praying for the health of Jalen Brunson.

[00:47:25] You know, so we wrote this before we got the two-week situation on Jalen. So, pardon us. But they still need to do this as well. We talked about this. Integrating Mitchell Robinson. I think Mitchell Robinson raises the defensive ceiling of the New York Knicks. There's no doubt about it. But here's the thing. You need to also remember what Cat looked like next to Rudy Gobert last year.

[00:47:54] That's the most important thing about this whole deal. I don't care what goes on with the guard situation. Josh Hart can run your point. Deuce McBride can back him up. You can get some playmaking, some offensive creativity from Mikkel Gridges. You can piecemeal that together.

[00:48:15] The most important thing that I would love to see Coach Tibbs do is to allow Mitchell Robinson and also Carl Anthony Towns to play minutes together. He's been reluctant to do so. He did it for 2 minutes and 15 seconds in the Laker game. And they outscored the Lakers 9-4. Small sample size, I know.

[00:48:45] But it's a start. And it's something that we're going to want to see. Because here's the thing. Right now, their defensive rating is 18th. 18th. It's not good enough. They're going to have to be better.

[00:49:13] Right now, it's basically see how quickly you can get Jalen Brunson back. But don't rush him back, obviously. Can you survive without him? And can you put your bigs together and see what that looks like?

[00:49:36] And see if there's any kind of plausible lineup that you can utilize these two 7-footers together. Now, we're going to move on to the Philadelphia 76ers. Alright. They're tanking. There's no John B. I would shut down Maxie every once in a while.

[00:50:06] Paul George can go back to the podcast. I know he said he was going to try to create championship habits and all this other stuff. But here's the deal. Philadelphia's record is terrible without Joel Allenby. Their pick is only theirs if it's in the top 6.

[00:50:34] If it's not in the top 6, that pick goes to the Oklahoma City Thunder. And the rich get richer. They're projected to finish 7th worth with meaning. Which means basically they could. It's the worst case scenario right now. All of this Joel Embiid nonsense.

[00:51:06] Philly fans, it's not you. It is not you. But with the injury situation, is he going to play? Is he not going to play? Mystery time. You know. These, hey, we'll give you an update in this amount of time. And then, you know, we're going to push this back a week. And all this other stuff. I'm glad he shut down. I'm just glad it's shut down. It's over.

[00:51:37] Again, if they end the season right now. And everything fell the way it's supposed to fall. The Oklahoma City Thunder will be drafted 7th. With Philadelphia's pick. So, with all costs. You must tank. You must keep this pick. You must be able to utilize this pick. Either A. To trade it. For a veteran.

[00:52:07] Or B. And this is my thought. Now, you didn't listen to me last year. When I said, hey. Probably shut Joel Embiid down. Let's not even bring him back for the playoffs. Surprise, surprise. Five games before the playoffs. Joel Embiid is back. He gets hurt. With two games left. Before the playoffs. Plays through the playoffs. Which I said, don't do that.

[00:52:37] What are you gaining? You are a first round exit. What did you do? Play a serious drag out seven game series against the New York Knicks. One of the most physical teams in basketball. So, Joel played through that. Then, he played in the Olympics. And now we're here.

[00:53:08] So, I will say this. And I will say this. One time. I don't think they should be rewarded. For their bad behavior. But, I want Philly fans. To get. A high pick. Because. They deserve it. They deserve. Something. For this atrocious season. That.

[00:53:38] Philadelphia 76 management. Has a lot to do with. Because they didn't have to give that guy. His extension. Because they gave it to him. After the Olympics. So, you saw the Olympics. And you said. You know what? You know what sounds like a good idea? Let's give this dude. $190 million. $3 year extension. Let's do that. Yay. We're awesome.

[00:54:08] Or you're stupid. One in a two. All right. Let's move on to another dreadful team. Which is the Toronto Raptors. Hey, Toronto. How you doing? Okay. Let's get to it. Scotty Barnes. Emmanuel Quickly. Brandon Ingram. And RJ Barrett. Are making a shit ton of money. Many.

[00:54:38] Yet. They suck. And they will be in the lottery. Congratulations. To having one of the most expensive lottery teams we've ever seen. But you're not the most expensive. Don't worry. We got a team. We'll talk about it later. The Raptors. Have the easiest remaining schedule in the East. Here's what Scotty Barnes is doing.

[00:55:08] He is scoring 20.5 points a game. 8.1 rebounds a game. And 5.2 assists a game. So this is the Scotty Barnes that we wanted to see. The shooting still not come around. He's not a good three-point shooter. And then. The most. Fourplexing thing. That the Toronto Raptors. And Messiah Jiri. Has done. If you look at the roster construction. Last year.

[00:55:38] They traded OG Ananogi. For. Canadian's own. RJ Barrett. I understand that. And then Emmanuel quickly. Now. What do these players. Do a lot of. They handle the ball. Now. When Scotty Barnes was drafted by the Toronto Raptors. It was told to. The media. That.

[00:56:08] He was going to be an on-ball facilitator. And basically be a connected piece. That was going to. Basically. Bring this offense together. We see him. Just attacking the rim. Or spraying it out to shooters. So. If. Brandon Ingram. Is more. More effective with the ball. If Emmanuel quickly. Is more effective with the ball. And RJ Barrett. Who has gotten off ball.

[00:56:38] More this year. Than any other time. In his career. Career. But usually he's more effective. When he's on ball. Does that diminish. What. Scotty Barnes is to you. And what. Is he actually doing. And how effective. Can he be. And what. Kind of impact. What kind of impact. Can Scotty Barnes be. If he's not. Able to use. The superpower.

[00:57:07] That you drafted him. For. Masai Jerry. Has a lot of questions. To answer. But. You know. Canada. Has got his own thing. Going on. With America. I'm sorry. Canada. I'm sorry. Anyways. Toronto. Has a group project. But they can't. Overachieve. Too much. Because they're ruining. The curve.

[00:57:38] For themselves. Listen. They can't keep winning games. They gotta. They gotta lose games. So. All this talent. That is playing. I expect some injuries. Or something. Something's gonna have to happen. Now. We keep on going. Down down. I hope we get to some good stuff. So. Okay. Let's talk about the Chicago Bulls. Real quick. We gonna move on. To the Central Division. And in the Central Division. There are the Chicago Bulls. And what. Should they be worried about.

[00:58:07] The last 20 games. Of the season. I'll tell you one thing. They should be worried about. Mattis. Buzelas. Mattis. Buzelas. Is there. Only. Only. Piece. Right now. That is. In a sense. Worth anything. On the team. Okay. Okay. All right.

[00:58:39] You trade. For Josh Giddey. You give up. Alex Caruso. You don't get a first round pick. For that. Okay. You say. Well. Vince. There's a reason for that. Because. You see. Josh Giddey. He is. 23 years old. And he has a long future ahead of him. And we're going to resign him. Okay. So. Okay. See. Sam Presti.

[00:59:09] Who is a great. Talent. Evaluator. Let's. Josh. Giddey. Go. For somebody. Six. Six. To seven years. His senior. And. Four. Inches shorter. Than. Josh Giddey is. Hmm. Why would. Sam Presti do that. Oh. Because. Alex Caruso. Is definitely. A way better player. Than Josh Giddey. That's why he did that.

[00:59:40] That's exactly. Why he did that. Now. With that being said. Back to Boozelis. Because he is. Basically. About six foot ten. With. Legit. Ball skills. He's not some stiff. They've been baiting him. All season long. But it's now time. To let him rock. He's got all the tools. To be a problem. But they just. Need to let him play. And I'm going to tell you.

[01:00:10] Why. They should. Let this dude. Play. Chicago Bulls fans. Say it with me. Why. Did you give money. To Patrick Williams. What has Patrick Williams shown. He still can't shoot. Patrick Williams. Today. Is shooting. Thirty.

[01:00:41] Nine. Percent. That's not from three. That's overall. That means. Whether it's. Point blank range. Short. Mid range. Mid range. Or three corners. Niners. He's shooting. He's shooting. Thirty nine. Percent. And I believe. He's shooting. Under 50 percent. At.

[01:01:11] Basically. What they call. The restricted area. I think it's 48 percent. From the restricted area. So that's basically. Point blank range. That's like layups. Two footers. Dunks. Things of that nature. Tell me. How that's even possible. Being six foot eight. Six foot nine. Two hundred and thirty five pounds. A physical freak. And you can't put the ball in the basket. But they gave him a contract. So I don't really care about the contract anymore. I just want to see. Madis Boozellas play.

[01:01:41] So. I'm done. With the experiment. In Chicago. I know you're trying to get to the plan. And you're going to get there again. Congratulations. You're going to get your. You're going to be able to squeeze out. One more little playoff game. Great. Fantastic. Your fan base. Would like to see you tank. Your fan base. Would like to see. Like real high level. High tier.

[01:02:11] Talent. To be infused. Into the Chicago Bulls. There have been bright spots. On this team. I don't want to disrespect Kobe White. Kobe White is my dude. You know I love you Kobe White. You come from North Carolina. I got a special place. For people from North Carolina. So therefore. You my man's a hundred grand. And the 44 points. You put out the other night. Congratulations my guy. You know I'm saying. I love that. That was great for you.

[01:02:41] I hope you make a lot of money. This offseason. But if I don't see. Mattis Bozellis play like 28 minutes a game. For the next 20 games. I am going to really. Try to. Have a great summer. Of basically just. Pulling back the layers. Of the Reinsdorf. Family. And all the mistakes they've made.

[01:03:10] Over the last 20 years. So. If you don't want to hear. About your team. And some of your failures. Over the last 20. Last two decades. Play this man. Okay. Pre all-star. Bozellis is out during 15 minutes a game. Post all-star.

[01:03:40] 28 minutes a game. When Bozellis plays 20 plus minutes. The Bulls are 15 and 24. But they need to see how he fits long-term. The three-point shooting. His been shaky. This was the one thing. In his scouting. Evaluation that we. Thought could be a long-term problem. So far. He's shooting at 31%. But he's shown.

[01:04:10] A lot of flashes. Of shot creation. Not just for himself. But for others. And that's been the thing. That I'm most excited to see. But finally. I think they should let him off the loose. Off the leash. You know. I think they should just go ahead. And allow this kid to play. Make the mistakes. And see. See what goes on from there. Now. We can get to a team. That is actually playing for something.

[01:04:39] I'm sorry Chicago fans. But the Cleveland Cavaliers. Are playing for something. And they are playing for sweet glory. Cavaliers. In the next 20 games. Your assignment is to go for 70. Big dogs. You are 53 and 10. Okay. You've been killing everybody. Like.

[01:05:08] Your net rating is. Is stupid. Right now. It's just. Historically. You don't even seem real. You guys seem like a. A video game team. That I created. And put all the good. Players on it. Basically. They are on fire. 70 games is not out of the. They are just. It's a. They are within reason.

[01:05:37] To go ahead and go for it. Because it's not like. Here's the thing. They are playing 10 to 12 guys. Every single night. It's not like Donovan Mitchell. Is playing like 36 minutes a game. It's not like Darius Garland. Is playing like 36 minutes a game. Or Evan Mowgli. Or anybody like that. Like they're around 30. So. Not having minutes. If you can keep it on. You know. This cruise control.

[01:06:07] And just keep winning. In the. In the flow. Hey. You should be able to get 70 wins. If not. You still going to have a historic season anyway. Like I said. They're 53 and 10. After tonight. So 17 more games to go. And. Here's the thing. Cleveland. Should worry about the playoff.

[01:06:36] They. Are not. Banner chasing. In March. If you want to be. A 71 team. Here's the deal. You can. You can chase it. I think. I think you have the team to try to chase it. Because. Like I said. It's not like you have an eight man rotation. And you're playing heavy minutes for your. For your starters. If that was the case. Then I would be like. Nope. Let's arrest. Everybody. But.

[01:07:06] That's not the case. We talked about Detroit earlier. We talked about what they're doing. And how they're doing it. And they're just. They're just kicking ass. And we love Detroit. Detroit. Basically. Really. Develop. Half court offense. See what. Works. See. If Malik Beasley. Can stay on the floor. And he's not going to get played. Played off the floor. Because his defense is kind of shaky. See if. If.

[01:07:36] Tobias Harris. Is going to be. A guy who will disappear. On a team. Can they get him to stand up. Can Cade. Keep him accountable. And what have you. These. Are what the last 20 games are. For the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons should. Be trying to get. Home court advantage. For the first round. They should try to get to four. And it's not even.

[01:08:06] To better their chances. Of going anywhere. It's not about that. All it is. You're here now. You're a young team. You're trying to learn something. Through this process. And. Sometimes. Your goals. Change. Right. You probably started off. To see. Okay. We were in the plan. Man. We've had a good first year. Well. Hell. Because. The East is down.

[01:08:38] You have a chance. To might. End up. With the home court advantage. In the first round. So. Go ahead. And try to get it. If you don't get it. No skin off your nose. You're going to be in the playoff. Anyway. You go in there. You have fun. You try to kick ass. You can see. If you can get to the second round. And then. You're probably going to get your head. Headbed in. But. This is. What. Young teams. Go through. This is what you should be trying to do.

[01:09:08] So. Good luck. And may the odds. Forever be in your favor. Speaking of odds and favors. The Milwaukee Bucks. Now. Okay. Giannis is still playing. At a MVP. Type level. Damian Lillard. Has had a.

[01:09:37] Really good season. Not going. Not going to kill it. Not going to kill it. They did. Trade Chris Middleton. They did get Kyle Kuzma. He has brought. A little more juice. I'm still. Waiting on the shot. To return. That has not returned yet. We will see. Bobby Portis. Is still suspended. Because. He's taken. I don't. I still don't understand that story. Somebody.

[01:10:07] Going to have to explain that to me. One day. And Doc Rivers. Is still Doc Rivers. So. Here's the thing. That. I'm going to say. To the Milwaukee Bucks. Right now. If you guys. Don't get your shit together. You are going to be on the outside. Looking in. And. One of these teams. Like Indiana. Or.

[01:10:38] Detroit. Are going to come up from behind. And take. The final. Home court. Advantage. For the first round. Dame. Needs to be. More tight. As far as that's concerned. It needs to be. More Dame time. Giannis. Needs to just. Be unbridled. And continue. To attack the paint. With reckless abandon.

[01:11:08] And. For the love of God. Kyle Kuzma. Can you. Somehow. Summon. Some. Sort of. Care factor. In playing. Some sort of. Productive. Offense. Just give me. Something. Just something. Now. Here's the thing.

[01:11:40] I will say this. They do look more athletic. Without Chris Middleton. Kyle Kuzma. Does. Provide. Length. On the wing. That you did not have. And he also. Can provide. Some rebounding. That. If he's motivated. He can give it to you. The shooting. Has to come around. You gotta have. Him. As a spacer. He. He. It is. Omni. Important.

[01:12:09] For Kyle Kuzma. To find. Where he was shooting. Like. 38. 39. Percent. From three. He needs to find that shit again. Because. If Milwaukee doesn't have it. Now. Giannis could win you a series. With. By himself. In the first round. But in the second round. They're going up against probably Cleveland or Boston.

[01:12:39] And. That. Does not sound like a recipe for success. At all. I'm just saying. Now. Good news. 10 and three. Post trade deadline. Currently. Fourth. Trying to fight off. Indian Detroit. New additions. Trying to adjust to the system. So you got.

[01:13:09] Kyle Kuzma out here. And. And wow. You got the young players out here. Getting some burn that. You know. Doc had to lean on. Because he needed athleticism. But here's the thing. What they're going to have to do. They're going to have to rely on Giannis and Dame. And Giannis and Dame. Are going to have to be the superstars. That their. Reputation says that. They are. And. If those guys play.

[01:13:37] Up to the level of what. Their name recognition. Says it is. They're going to be held to deal with. In the second round. If those guys. Guys. Play. Periodically. If it's a little. A little more infrequent. They're going to get bounced. And they're probably going to get bounced. Early in the second round.

[01:14:06] Now we can go to the South Division. Southeast. What's up? Atlanta Hawks. Atlanta Hawks. Here's the deal. I understand. Jalen Johnson out. We got a bunch of injuries. You don't have. You don't have. Have a lot of depth. Whatever. So you went. And. Allow. Trey. To be. Old Trey. And I'm going to tell you right now. Man.

[01:14:36] You making a real deal. With the devil. Boy. I'm telling you right now. Because. You know what. Dyson Daniels. And other people. Are going to start feeling. This is not fun. Not getting the ball. Not touching it. But. Look at Trey's usage. In the last two weeks. And look at his usage. Before the trade deadline. Mine. It's a completely different. Trey Young. I don't know.

[01:15:06] If this is what they need to do. To go ahead. And you know. Be productive. And pile up wins. I don't know. If this is. Quinn Snyder. Saying hey. This is our best opportunity. To win. But. Man. Letting Trey Young. Taste. Heliocentric. Basketball. Again. Is a scary proposition. And I don't like it. It's like. Mama.

[01:15:35] Please make the Batman. Go away. So Atlanta. Is still. In play. In purgatory. Again. And here's the thing. They're going to get stuck here. Because. They're not. Bad enough. To. Get into. To the lower. End of the. Lottery. And. They're not good enough. To get out of it. Because Trey Young. Is your best player. So. Here's the best part. Trey Young.

[01:16:04] Is 24 point. Per game. He's 12. Assists per game. So this. The counting stats. Look great. But it's the worst. Shooting. Efficiency. Of his career. He is the league. Leader. In assists. Yes. But he is shooting. 40 percent. Overall. From the field. He's shooting. 34 percent. From three. And the Hawks. Here's the best part. The Hawks.

[01:16:34] Are 17 and seven. When they shoot. 35 percent. Plus. From three. And they're. 8 and 19. When they shoot. Below. 35 percent. Who's taking most of the three point shots. Trey Young. And there. And there goes. The reason why. The Atlanta Hawks. Are. The forever. Playing team.

[01:17:05] Listen. The Hawks. Are like. Just showing up for your job. And you just doing enough. Not. Not to get fired. You know. Saying. Just keeps skating by. You know. They got Trey Young. Who looks like. Um. He is the offspring. Of. I'll be sure. And. You know. I guess it's good enough. I guess it's good enough. Because we're going to talk about another team here. That might have another guy. That. Seems like that too. Um.

[01:17:37] Let's talk about them right now. The Charlotte Hornets. The Charlotte Hornets. Are our next up on our. On our. Bingo board. And. Here's the thing about Charlotte. I understand they're bad. I understand that. You know. Brandon Miller went down. And they had a ton of injuries. And all of these type of things. But I'm going to ask this one question. Charlotte. Charlotte fans. To my guy. Tony. Coach T out there.

[01:18:06] I love you my guy. We need to get you on the pod soon. But here's my question. To Charlotte fans. And also to the Charlotte Brass. How? On God's green earth. With you. The Charlotte Hornets. Who has. Love mellow ball. On your team. How do you lose. Four times. Four times.

[01:18:35] To the Washington Wizards. They won 15 games this year. It's embarrassing. You lost four times to the Wizards. I don't need to say anything else about your team. 28th in defensive rating. 30th in offensive rating. By the way. You know that.

[01:19:04] They're the only team. That Washington has a winning record against. Right? The only team. I don't really need to say anything else. So. We're just going to move on to Miami. Miami. Can Pat Riley. Can Eric Spolstra. This is what you need to do in the next 20 games. I'm going to let you know right now. Can Eric Spolstra.

[01:19:33] Udonis Houselum. Pat Riley. Can they find. The 2022. Rendition of Andrew Wiggins. Andrew Wiggins was supposed to be this major piece. After the Butler trade. But he struggled. If Miami can find the 2022 finals Wiggins. Back. If they can find that dude.

[01:20:02] They will have something. But we. Have not seen that guy. Since he got paid. Because remember. He put up this season. He went into the NBA finals. And. There was a point. Where. Andrew Wiggins. Might have been the. Third best player. In that series. So think about what I just said.

[01:20:31] Steph Curry was in that series. Jason Tatum was in that series. That series. Jalen Brown was in that series. Draymond Green was in that series. And I said that Andrew Wiggins. Might have been the third best player. In that series. And then what happened. He got paid. He got his extension. He got his money. And we ain't seen. That version. Of Andrew Wiggins. Since the NBA finals. Since the NBA finals. Of 2022.

[01:21:02] By the way. We have had a presidential change. And we still haven't seen that dude. We don't put people. On the milk cartons anymore. We get those. Annoying. Like alerts. We get silver alerts. We get amber alerts. We. What do we get. For struggling. NBA players. Who used to have. Incredible. Ungodly. Athletic games. That. Would. Show. Improve. In the NBA finals.

[01:21:32] And then. Inexplicably. Just disappear. All over. The face of the planet. There should be an alert. On my phone. For that. Can we call this. The mint green. Alert. It's like. So. When a player. Gets paid. And then his. Whether it's. His care factor. Or. It's his. Training regimen. I'm not saying that. About Andrew Wiggins.

[01:22:02] Because he's always in shape. But there seems to be. A lack of desire. To put forth. The. Special effort. That we saw. In the NBA finals. That. Gave us. Tremendous joy. And pleasure. Watching. Because we were like. Oh my god. This is Andrew Wiggins. Look at this. He getting like. 13 rebounds a game. Look at Andrew Wiggins. Out here. Just. Just. D'ing up. Jason Tatum. Just.

[01:22:32] D'ing up. Jalen Brown. I didn't know that. That Andrew Wiggins had this. We didn't know. This. Was in his bag. We were not familiar. With this game. And guess what. We need. We didn't even need to get familiar with that. Because we ain't never seen it again. Man. So. For. The next 20 games. I want to. I want all. Of the scientists.

[01:23:02] I want. All. Of. The. The. Whatever. The AI bots. And whatever. That we using. To like. Create these. Like. Miracle drugs. That's. Doing all this crazy stuff. Whatever. I want them. To take their combined power. And figure out. Did. 2022. Andrew Wiggins. Did he get zapped. Like. In the.

[01:23:32] In the Marvel movie. Like in Endgame. And he just never came back. And the dude. That's here now. Is really not. Andrew Wiggins. Is like. Loki. Playing. Andrew Wiggins. Because. If that's. If that. You know. That's probably what it is. Loki. Can. Shapeshift. And he. Somehow. World domination. Has something to do. With destroying. The Miami heat. I don't know.

[01:24:02] Where this is. On the. On the galactic timeline. Or the. You know. You know. The different parallels. Of the universes. Or whatever. But I bet you. That's what it is. But I hope. Pat Riley. Can find out. That Loki. Is behind this. That's my thought. Okay. So. We talked about. A lot. Of teams. We talked a lot about. Easter conference teams. We talked a lot about. A lot of things. But you know. What we need to get to.

[01:24:32] We're going to. We're going to end. This podcast. On a happy note. Because we're going to talk about. Two teams. That are absolutely. Streaking right now. They are streaking. Like Frank the Tank. In old school. We're going to go streaking. Through the quad. Frank the Tank. My guy. Shouts out to Will Ferrell. All right. So. We gave you a bunch of. Eastern conference stuff.

[01:25:01] Let's talk about. The wild wild west. Let's talk about. Steph Curry. He has found. His playoff. Co-star. In Jimmy Butler. And LeBron. Has found. His generational. Running mate. In Luka Doncic. And both teams. Are looking downright. Terrifying right now. This might be the closest. Thing. We have had. To Warriors. Versus. Lakers. In a postseason battle.

[01:25:31] And you know. You know. With. Everything. In your being. That Adam Silver. And the crew. In Manhattan. Is going. Please God. If you love us. If you really show. The NBA favor. The Lakers. Will finish. Three. Instead of two. Somehow. Some way.

[01:25:59] And the Golden State Warriors. Will finish six. And we will get. A first round matchup. Of. Jimmy Butler. And Steph Curry. Versus. LeBron James. And Luka Doncic. So sayeth the Lord. I'm sure. That is what's going on. In the NBA offices. Literally. At this moment. I'm. Almost certain. Of that. But.

[01:26:30] Before. We can even get to that showdown. Let's talk about what's going on right now. Okay. We're going to talk about Steph a little bit. They were dead in the water. They were 13 and 23. In their last 36. Games. Before the trade. They were bottom 10 in offense. They were bottom five in defense. Curry was playing. Like he was. Old. Curry was playing. Like his age.

[01:27:01] And we were starting to have little whispers. Like is it. Is it going to only show up like once a week. And we're going to see like that. That. That curry game. And then. It'll disappear for a week. And then we'll see it again. We were starting to think that. But then Jimmy Butler. Walks into the door. And guess what. Jimmy Butler. Rediscovered his joy.

[01:27:32] How exciting. For us all. In NBA basketball. That. Remember. He said in the Miami press conference. He was like. I lost my joy. And then. The reporter. With a great follow up question. Asked him. Jimmy. Can your joy. Be restored. Here in Miami. And he said. Probably not. Well I am here to tell you. That Jimmy.

[01:28:03] Butler's joy. Has been found. And it's in San Francisco. With Steph Curry. Because they're. 10 and 1. Playing elite. And winning defense. And winning every close game. It's a true miracle. Okay. Before Butler. 27th. In defensive rating.

[01:28:33] 5th. Worst. In offense. They were somehow. Worse than the Wizards. In offense. Could you imagine that? Think about what I just said. The Golden State Warriors. Were worse in offense. Than the Wizards. Now. With Butler being. With them. They are number 2. In defensive rating. Number 2. 107 points. 107.2. They have a. Positive.

[01:29:03] 11.8. Net rating. Second best in the league. Since Jimmy Butler. Got there. 8 straight wins. With Jimmy. In the lineup. And. I want you to listen. To the Steph Curry numbers. Just listen to these. Since Jimmy's. Arrival. 34.8. Points. Per. Game. He is shooting.

[01:29:38] 55%. From the field. 44. Percent. From three. Oh. And five. Five plus assists. So. You know. He still get those in too. He's the first player. In NBA history. To make 50 plus threes. In an eight game span. At a 50% rate. Or better.

[01:30:09] So. Here's. Here's the thing. I just want to. I just want to kind of. Reenact this a little bit. It. So. Jimmy. Shows up in the locker room. With a smile. With probably. What. What is it? The big face coffee. It's called. Right. Big face. Shows up with a cup of coffee. In his hand. Says. Cost about $20. He's sipping on it. Hey Steph. How's it going? What's up? So. Steph says. Hey man. Let me talk to you real quick. And. The thing about Steph. That a lot of people say.

[01:30:39] And. If you listen to the. Quotes from Jimmy Butler. After any game. That he's played. With Golden State. Every quote. Has been. On the money. We're. We're just trying to get better. We're trying to. Create continuity. I just want to fit in. I'm here to do. Whatever it takes. I want to make sure that. I leave my defensive. Impact on the game. All the quotes. Are like.

[01:31:10] 100%. The quotes you want to hear. Steph Curry. Steph Curry has a little like. Prince in him. People talk about Prince. When you get around. When. You know. R.P. To our guy Prince. Okay. But. People talk about. When you got around Prince. That like. All. Sense of. Reality. Just washed away. And it was just like. You and him.

[01:31:39] In some sort of. Matrix room. And. By the time. He got done. Saying like. 13 seconds. Worth of words. To you. You know. You're. On an airplane. Going to. Brazil. To watch. I don't know. Yeah. Llamas. Give birth. Steph. And you don't know why. Because. Prince told you. And people say that. About Steph. It's like. Steph just has his way.

[01:32:08] About himself. And. Everybody just gets relaxed. And stuff like that. And whatever. Except for Draymond Green. Because. Draymond has some sort of. Like weird. Kryptonite. To that whole situation. But. Steph. Just provides. An oasis. For people. He's the greatest star. That we've had. The NBA. And what I mean by that. Is he's just so easy going. It's just like. Hey man. We're just trying to. You know. We're going to shoot some threes. Man. We're going to play a little defense.

[01:32:38] We're going to run some picks. You're going to do some stuff. I'm going to do some stuff. We're going to win some games. It's going to be great. You're going to love it. Try the sushi. And then Jimmy's like. This is great. And then. Draymond walks in. He's like. Hey. You ready to crack some skulls? And then Jimmy's like. I thought you'd never ask. Oh man. Jimmy Butler is in Golden State. Like when an agent action hero.

[01:33:08] Gets one last mission. You know. Jimmy Butler got that John Wick. Situation. Yeah. I'm thinking. Like I got back my energy. And play off Jimmy. Jimmy has been reborn. He's been reactivated folks. So basically. Miami. By not giving Jimmy Butler. His extension. That's kind of basically like. Killing Jimmy's dog. And John Wick.

[01:33:38] And now he's in Golden State. And Golden State is basically like. All the weapons that John Wick. Would ever need to kill all the people. He. That wronged him. And his dog. They are going to be so scary in the playoffs. Speaking of scary. Luka. And LeBron. And the Lakers. Are more dangerous. Than we can ever.

[01:34:08] Have imagined. All right. Dude. When he got to the team. I was like. All right. Cool. This is great. Next year. Is going to be awesome. I'm super excited for 2025. 2026. I ain't going to even lie to you. Okay. I'm not going to try to. I'm not going to try to fake the funk on the nasty dunk. I'm not going to try to blow smoke. I'm going to tell you right now. It's like. Luka's here.

[01:34:37] We don't have a center. The offense is going to look cool. We're going to see some cool stuff. And it's on. To next year. And that's how I thought about it. But wait one second. Wait one second. Before. Luka even arrived. So I want to take you back. 24 games. 24.

[01:35:07] In those 24 games. The Lakers are 20 and 4. They have climbed from 5th. To 2nd. In the West. And the crazy part. Is they haven't played their best basketball yet. You know why? Because Luka. Is just. His shot. Is just starting to round. Into shape. His touch. Is just starting to round. Into shape.

[01:35:38] Just starting to do it. LeBron is averaging. Basically like 30 points a game. Since Luka got there. Nine. Almost damn near 10 rebounds. And he's averaging less assists. And I'll tell you why in a second. The Lakers offense. With Luka. Is a 120. 5. 120. 5. Offensive rating. Since the trade. That would be number 1.

[01:36:08] In the NBA. You say. Well it's a small sample size. Okay. Cool. 11 games. I got you. Not. A big sample size. Their transition. Efficiency. Plus. 11%. Luka has been picking apart. Defenses. With like. Passes. To LeBron. And or whoever else is down there. And they got in like. Filthy dunks. The defense.

[01:36:38] Has been elite. Fourth. In the NBA. In defensive rating. 109.3. Over the past month. Holding teams to. 42.8%. Field goal. Percentage. In clutch time. Second. In the league. So I'm just going to ask this question. Luka gets out of Dallas. Lands in Hollywood. Gets to hoop. With LeBron James. Who is. His. Child. Hood.

[01:37:08] Hero. LeBron. Who couldn't play defense. To save his life. Suddenly. Has turned black. Back. He has turned back. The clock. 14 years. He looks. Spire than ever. And. We're supposed to think. That Luka. Is going to. Bring. Diminishing returns. To the Lakers. For what reason.

[01:37:39] Luka. In. L.A. Already. Is giving. First year. Shaq. Vibes. Hollywood. Loves. Luka. Like. Crazy. You see the 77's. Everywhere. Even. Dirk. Nowinski. Has showed up. For Laker games. Lakers. Mark Cuban. Has shown up. For Laker games. And we got all the stars. Back baby. All the stars. Is coming back. Crypto. Dot com. You know. I'm saying. Like.

[01:38:09] Everybody. Want to be there. It's the hottest ticket. In L.A. Right now. It's hotter. Than. You know. Shit. It's hotter than anything. You want to put out there. You want to put out. Whatever. Whatever. Grammy tickets. Grammy tickets. Wasn't as high. As what a Luka game. Is going for right now. Okay. Let's just get that straight. Now. Bottom line. The Lakers. As a team. LeBron and Luka.

[01:38:38] Are just doing crazy. Crazy shit. They still don't have a center. Okay. Jackson Hayes. Has. He is a big wing. That's what I would call. Jackson Hayes. He has to be a weak side. Rim protector. He can't be a. On ball rim protector. It is not in his game. He is not meant to do that. He is too slight.

[01:39:08] So you have to have him off ball. And coming. As a weak side helper. So they made that. Adjustment. And cracked that code. I still wonder. Even though. It's all been great. 40 and 21. Super awesome. I am. Still worried about. The. The interior defense. I'm sorry.

[01:39:38] I'm not trying to be a negative Nancy. I still got to just. You know. Keep the analyst hat on. A little bit. Like Bill. He'll just tell you. Boston's awesome. At least. With me telling you. The Lakers are awesome. I'm going to give you reasons why. And then I'm also going to give you that. I still have concerns. And the concerns. Are the interior defense. I don't know if you have enough bulk. I don't know if you have enough rim protection. When it comes to like.

[01:40:07] The more elite teams in the league. But. Here's the thing. The Lakers have been playing their ass off. They've been given. A lot of extra effort. They've been doing a lot of. In the scrangle drills. You're seeing. You're seeing second. You're seeing second and third efforts from Luka. And LeBron James. So. I don't know if this pace. Is sustainable. If you're telling me. That we look up.

[01:40:37] In late April. And they're still doing the same thing. I'm going to tell you right now. That the Lakers will have. A chance to go to the NBA finals. Because. Quiet is kept. Luka gets a lot of praise. And he should. LeBron has been spectacular. He looks like an MVP candidate. Not like to win it. But like a. I would say like a. A satellite.

[01:41:07] Contender for the MVP candidate. I know that Shea. And Jokic. Are your two. One two people. As far as that's concerned. But. The way he's been playing lately. He does look like a MVP candidate. But. Having Austin Reeves on this team. Is a third offensive facilitator. That. That. It's going to be real hard. For other teams.

[01:41:36] To be able to counteract. Now you might have the wings. To be able to cover up. Luka. Luka. Luka. And LeBron. Which. Not a lot of teams are going to have that. Right. Not a lot of teams are really going to have that. But. If you got those. Got those two guys covered. Here comes a six foot five. Another offensive creator.

[01:42:05] Who's pretty talented. And I wonder what happens. When you. Don't have an answer for the third one. You know. You might have an answer for one. You might have an answer for two. But for the third one. Only rare teams have that. Golden State has that right now. With Draymond. But he doesn't score. So it's a different element. Uh. Boston has that.

[01:42:35] Boston definitely has that. Cleveland has two. So we still don't know. The Lakers have three. So. Yeah. Of course. Lakers exceptionalism. To end the pod. It's a feel good Friday. I want to thank Soraya. For all her help. She's been awesome. Thank you Soraya so much. And. The best part of you. Is you. Make sure. You are surrounding yourself.

[01:43:05] With support. Supporter people. Supporter people. Who are. Additive. To your life. Make sure you are. Acknowledging those people. Appreciating those people. Who are giving you. Just positivity. And good stuff. Into your life. If you're doing all that. Go out and do some good in this world. And we'll see you back. Next week. On this feed. Deuces.