NBA’s Top 25 Under 25: Coby White's Rise & Pacers Pre-Camp Insights

[00:00:12] [SPEAKER_01]: It's Friday. You know what time it is Front Runner Podcast Collective is back on the air. I

[00:00:19] [SPEAKER_01]: Am your humble host

[00:00:22] [SPEAKER_01]: Vince and thank you for joining us today

[00:00:25] [SPEAKER_01]: We are going to be talking about

[00:00:28] [SPEAKER_01]: We're gonna continue our series with the top 25 25 and under so we're gonna give you three names

[00:00:35] [SPEAKER_01]: 25 24 and 23 and then we're also going to continue our series about our pre camp

[00:00:44] [SPEAKER_01]: Observations and we're going to the homeland of

[00:00:49] [SPEAKER_01]: America

[00:00:51] [SPEAKER_01]: To check in on one of the NBA squads there

[00:00:54] [SPEAKER_01]: So I'm glad that you guys are with us on a feel-good Friday

[00:00:58] [SPEAKER_01]: Also, keep in mind. We have your connect when it comes to

[00:01:05] [SPEAKER_01]: Hey, I've exhausted my friend group. What am I going to do?

[00:01:10] [SPEAKER_01]: Who am I going to tell about front runner podcast collective we will have that at the end of the show as well

[00:01:16] [SPEAKER_01]: So now what we need to get do is get into the socials, correct?

[00:01:21] [SPEAKER_01]: Let's do it. All right. So the first thing is X

[00:01:24] [SPEAKER_01]: At front runner PC also at Raya underscore funch

[00:01:31] [SPEAKER_01]: FRPC please follow both

[00:01:34] [SPEAKER_01]: The the producers and myself some cool stuff is on the horizon

[00:01:39] [SPEAKER_01]: That we're going to start kind of rolling out

[00:01:43] [SPEAKER_01]: I can't wait to kind of get you guys in on it. And then the other thing is

[00:01:50] [SPEAKER_01]: I want to shout out

[00:01:52] [SPEAKER_01]: Greg Usher who is usher at usher NBA on X

[00:02:00] [SPEAKER_01]: We actually got some quotes from from

[00:02:03] [SPEAKER_01]: him today in the podcast so shots out to him in two ways, but

[00:02:08] [SPEAKER_01]: He proposed an interest interesting question on on X the other day in regards to Mark Hale folks

[00:02:15] [SPEAKER_01]: And I had made a comment

[00:02:18] [SPEAKER_01]: Just like everybody else would on X and I said well

[00:02:22] [SPEAKER_01]: Probably has a lot to do with the twenty two point three percent from three point land

[00:02:27] [SPEAKER_01]: and there was such a

[00:02:30] [SPEAKER_01]: Ton of response which was crazy and I just want to shout out like

[00:02:35] [SPEAKER_01]: The guys that has some you know, they came back with some rebuttals and stuff like that

[00:02:40] [SPEAKER_01]: I really like that kind of thing. And I just wanted to let everybody know that

[00:02:44] [SPEAKER_01]: This is the type of stuff that we want to get into

[00:02:48] [SPEAKER_01]: so

[00:02:49] [SPEAKER_01]: When you are thinking about engagement and what it looks like or whatever those type of conversations. I have no problem when

[00:02:59] [SPEAKER_01]: Excuse me, I have no problem when somebody is on the other side of argument as far as this concern because at the end of the day is hoops

[00:03:08] [SPEAKER_01]: and we're both passionate about what we're talking about and

[00:03:13] [SPEAKER_01]: Understand so I got it. So I want to kind of let you guys know that we're mixing it up on Twitter a little bit more

[00:03:20] [SPEAKER_01]: Or on X however you like to call it

[00:03:23] [SPEAKER_01]: The other thing that we want to talk about is the YouTube channel now

[00:03:26] [SPEAKER_01]: There's a couple things up there right now

[00:03:29] [SPEAKER_01]: Atlanta Detroit their pre camp observations are up there. We did a whole thing on Reed Shepherd

[00:03:36] [SPEAKER_01]: We did something on the Lakers and there are some more coming

[00:03:41] [SPEAKER_01]: From our previous pause this week yesterday. I got really busy with

[00:03:48] [SPEAKER_01]: Answering emails

[00:03:51] [SPEAKER_01]: Like I said stuff is coming down line for you guys

[00:03:55] [SPEAKER_01]: And also just people wanted to see if we could do some like Twitter spaces and some other stuff

[00:04:01] [SPEAKER_01]: So I was kind of busy. So we will take this weekend to also kind of pepper you with clips

[00:04:08] [SPEAKER_01]: So keep a lookout on YouTube at front runner podcast collective on YouTube. All right

[00:04:15] [SPEAKER_01]: Let's get the numbers up. We've grown a little bit, which is exciting

[00:04:19] [SPEAKER_01]: So we've seen some growth in the subscribers and again all of this I know sounds

[00:04:28] [SPEAKER_01]: Big but we're doing it organically and we're doing it together and I can't think

[00:04:36] [SPEAKER_01]: All of you anymore

[00:04:39] [SPEAKER_01]: You guys are really like rally around our little podcast and our YouTube channel

[00:04:44] [SPEAKER_01]: The numbers have grown and we've seen it and we are forever thankful

[00:04:50] [SPEAKER_01]: So thank you to the people who are listening every day every pot

[00:04:54] [SPEAKER_01]: To the new people who are just joining us and maybe caught on in last three or four pots welcome

[00:05:01] [SPEAKER_01]: We we need you. We're glad to have your board and we're gonna talk a lot of hoops then

[00:05:09] [SPEAKER_01]: The other thing again is the downloads and I just want to give a another heartfelt

[00:05:17] [SPEAKER_01]: Thank you for

[00:05:19] [SPEAKER_01]: Exceeding our goal today is the 23rd

[00:05:23] [SPEAKER_01]: We have more than like 1600 downloads close to 17 something like that

[00:05:28] [SPEAKER_01]: It's been a steady stream

[00:05:30] [SPEAKER_01]: You guys are awesome. You guys rock. I can't be more thrilled and

[00:05:35] [SPEAKER_01]: Again I say this we have not spent one dollar on

[00:05:43] [SPEAKER_01]: Advertising whatsoever so there that is so we have talked about the pot

[00:05:51] [SPEAKER_01]: Talked about YouTube. We talked about Twitter. So what do we need to talk about?

[00:05:58] [SPEAKER_01]: Shots out to Cody Cody Rhodes as well

[00:06:01] [SPEAKER_01]: You know

[00:06:02] [SPEAKER_01]: podcast audience

[00:06:03] [SPEAKER_01]: What do you want to talk about? Well, let's get into the show

[00:06:07] [SPEAKER_01]: So we're gonna kick things off with the top 25 players

[00:06:11] [SPEAKER_01]: under 25 and

[00:06:13] [SPEAKER_01]: under

[00:06:16] [SPEAKER_01]: Just remember we started last

[00:06:19] [SPEAKER_01]: Podcast which was Wednesday. So go get that we had the honorable mentions on that podcast

[00:06:26] [SPEAKER_01]: So if there are a couple guys that you're looking for they might be on that podcast

[00:06:30] [SPEAKER_01]: And again, I'm going to say this for people who are going to

[00:06:37] [SPEAKER_01]: Get at me and whatever

[00:06:39] [SPEAKER_01]: Here's the thing

[00:06:42] [SPEAKER_01]: We understand that the list is not maybe what you think it would be or whatever we're talking about

[00:06:49] [SPEAKER_01]: Potential which we're talking about

[00:06:52] [SPEAKER_01]: their role variants we're talking about

[00:06:56] [SPEAKER_01]: What the actual true up so what we think the true upside is

[00:07:02] [SPEAKER_01]: How close are they to their

[00:07:05] [SPEAKER_01]: Development path when we were pre on the pre draft situation

[00:07:09] [SPEAKER_01]: So there's a lot of these things that go into it. So I understand that you might not agree

[00:07:16] [SPEAKER_01]: But it's gonna spark debate. It's gonna spark discussion and that's kind of what we

[00:07:23] [SPEAKER_01]: intend to do here, so

[00:07:24] [SPEAKER_01]: Let's go ahead and start ranking things right? This is what podcasts do

[00:07:30] [SPEAKER_01]: This is what men do we've just seen to love to rank things. I don't know ladies

[00:07:36] [SPEAKER_01]: I have no idea why we like to do things like this. Do you guys like to rank things?

[00:07:42] [SPEAKER_01]: My wife is not a big rancor. So

[00:07:44] [SPEAKER_01]: You know

[00:07:46] [SPEAKER_01]: We should we should ask her on that and see if she wants to do like a snake draft or whatever the case may be

[00:07:53] [SPEAKER_01]: so

[00:07:54] [SPEAKER_01]: Again, we kind of told you some of the parameters that we used

[00:07:58] [SPEAKER_01]: Let me give you a couple other things that we did

[00:08:01] [SPEAKER_01]: We pulled some insights from NBA scouts for an office personnel and some of the most respected media voices

[00:08:08] [SPEAKER_01]: in our industry to give you the lowdown on who to watch and

[00:08:13] [SPEAKER_01]: Also revisit their pre draft assessment to see how they come and whether they're living up to their potential

[00:08:21] [SPEAKER_01]: So this is what we're doing here today and I hope you guys really enjoyed it my staff have has worked

[00:08:29] [SPEAKER_01]: tremendously hard

[00:08:31] [SPEAKER_01]: Shots out to Sarea shots out to funch

[00:08:35] [SPEAKER_01]: both are silent assassins on this podcast and

[00:08:40] [SPEAKER_01]: Here's the thing I talked to them about like talking on the show and stuff like that

[00:08:44] [SPEAKER_01]: They just right now not ready to do it. Did they want to do it in?

[00:08:50] [SPEAKER_01]: Their contributions to the show

[00:08:53] [SPEAKER_01]: What I have been told is that down the road maybe

[00:08:58] [SPEAKER_01]: But we will be doing the blog on the website and we'll talk about more of that

[00:09:05] [SPEAKER_01]: In the upcoming next week. All right, so there that is

[00:09:10] [SPEAKER_01]: So let's get into our guys

[00:09:12] [SPEAKER_01]: now the first guy that we're going to

[00:09:15] [SPEAKER_01]: Put into the top 25 25 and under is

[00:09:20] [SPEAKER_01]: Kobe white of the Chicago Bulls

[00:09:23] [SPEAKER_01]: Kobe white is a combo guard six foot four

[00:09:29] [SPEAKER_01]: He's taking a significant strides with the Chicago Bulls in his recent performance

[00:09:35] [SPEAKER_01]: He's shown he's on this list averaging 19.1 points a game

[00:09:40] [SPEAKER_01]: 5.1 assists and four and a half rebounds last season

[00:09:45] [SPEAKER_01]: White has proven he can be a versatile and reliable scorer

[00:09:50] [SPEAKER_01]: But it's not just the offense this turn and heads

[00:09:54] [SPEAKER_01]: Let's give you the pre-jab assessment of Kobe white

[00:09:59] [SPEAKER_01]: When Kobe white was drafted seventh overall in 2019

[00:10:03] [SPEAKER_01]: Scout saw him as a high upside scorer with a lethal shooting touch and the potential to develop into a lead guard

[00:10:11] [SPEAKER_01]: His speed and his ability

[00:10:14] [SPEAKER_01]: To score in transition where where the his most talked about traits

[00:10:20] [SPEAKER_01]: What questions linger about his consistency and his decision-making at point guard?

[00:10:28] [SPEAKER_01]: now the pre-draft assessment

[00:10:31] [SPEAKER_01]: To me is pretty much spot on if you look at Kobe white start of his career now

[00:10:36] [SPEAKER_01]: You can talk about the blockade that was in front of Kobe white

[00:10:41] [SPEAKER_01]: With Zach Levine Damar DeRose and Lamar Lonzo ball and

[00:10:48] [SPEAKER_01]: also

[00:10:49] [SPEAKER_01]: Our guy who is now gone

[00:10:52] [SPEAKER_01]: Alice Caruso AC fresh is now okc

[00:10:55] [SPEAKER_01]: So then things start to change

[00:11:00] [SPEAKER_01]: We start to see some situation situations with

[00:11:05] [SPEAKER_01]: Zach Levine last year there were he was demonstratively upset about

[00:11:11] [SPEAKER_01]: kind of where things were going and how think the vibe in the

[00:11:15] [SPEAKER_01]: Whole deal was going in Chicago, and then he kind of left and then had surgery

[00:11:19] [SPEAKER_01]: And they just kind of took off from there and just the jolt of energy

[00:11:24] [SPEAKER_01]: That Kobe white was able to provide the Chicago Bulls and his just his spirit

[00:11:30] [SPEAKER_01]: And just his his want to was just infectious for that team last year and they played with just a renewed sense of energy and

[00:11:39] [SPEAKER_01]: it was great to see and I

[00:11:43] [SPEAKER_01]: Was personally happy to see the Kobe white

[00:11:46] [SPEAKER_01]: from last year because this is a guy that

[00:11:49] [SPEAKER_01]: The pre-draft assessment was talking about but what we also saw in the years of development is that

[00:11:58] [SPEAKER_01]: The decision making with the ball

[00:12:01] [SPEAKER_01]: Specifically passing into other people he seemed to got a lot better now Billy Donovan is a longtime coach

[00:12:09] [SPEAKER_01]: He also coach

[00:12:10] [SPEAKER_01]: collegiately at the University of Florida and Billy Donovan was a hard-nosed

[00:12:17] [SPEAKER_01]: point guard from Providence and this guy is a stickler for

[00:12:22] [SPEAKER_01]: Hey, we don't value the basketball and I think that might have held Kobe white back a little bit early on his career

[00:12:31] [SPEAKER_01]: But now he's starting to flourish

[00:12:32] [SPEAKER_01]: Let's talk

[00:12:34] [SPEAKER_01]: What one anonymous scout said Kobe wise development has been impressive

[00:12:40] [SPEAKER_01]: Particularly his ability to manage the game and step up in big moments his 42-point performance in the playing

[00:12:48] [SPEAKER_01]: tournament against the Hawks was a statement

[00:12:52] [SPEAKER_01]: Now these are the things that we're talking about remember what the pre-draft

[00:12:56] [SPEAKER_01]: Assessment was talking about it was talking about

[00:12:59] [SPEAKER_01]: Consistency as a decision maker as a point guard this scout is talking about seeing him now and talking about how he was under

[00:13:07] [SPEAKER_01]: Control how he played with poise how he stepped up in big moments

[00:13:10] [SPEAKER_01]: These are the type of growth leaps that you want to see with a guy who you drafted

[00:13:17] [SPEAKER_01]: You know and now yeah, he is on a second contract and

[00:13:21] [SPEAKER_01]: You know he has maybe another year on this list if he continues his development path that he really

[00:13:29] [SPEAKER_01]: Took to a whole new level last year, but the things that we saw

[00:13:34] [SPEAKER_01]: in the draft process are starting to manifest themselves now and

[00:13:40] [SPEAKER_01]: We have talked on this podcast about how not all development is linear

[00:13:46] [SPEAKER_01]: Sometimes it takes guys a little bit longer to develop there might be somebody in their pathway where they're not getting them the

[00:13:54] [SPEAKER_01]: Requisite minutes that they need to get that development that they are looking for

[00:13:59] [SPEAKER_01]: so there's a lot of reasons why things take time or don't happen at all and

[00:14:05] [SPEAKER_01]: It's good to see Kobe white really continue to

[00:14:09] [SPEAKER_01]: Press it continue to

[00:14:12] [SPEAKER_01]: Develop his game continue to stay ready so you don't have to get ready and

[00:14:18] [SPEAKER_01]: This is a key to the young fellas that are coming into the league

[00:14:21] [SPEAKER_01]: You might be coming into a situation where you're not playing as much and you have to show your coach

[00:14:30] [SPEAKER_01]: Like think about the kids that got drafted by the Knicks

[00:14:33] [SPEAKER_01]: That colleague kid is never gonna touch the court

[00:14:37] [SPEAKER_01]: Right if everything goes right this year for the Knicks

[00:14:42] [SPEAKER_01]: God-willing

[00:14:43] [SPEAKER_01]: Tyler Koley is never touching the court

[00:14:45] [SPEAKER_01]: So he has to stay ready

[00:14:47] [SPEAKER_01]: You know, what did he do good in college? What were some of the things that the NBA scouts were impressed with?

[00:14:54] [SPEAKER_01]: What were some of the things that they wish they saw more him more of him do and that's the thing that he will

[00:15:00] [SPEAKER_01]: probably spend most of

[00:15:03] [SPEAKER_01]: the year working on

[00:15:04] [SPEAKER_01]: So I look for Kobe white

[00:15:08] [SPEAKER_01]: Who was in a situation where development was tough he was in a situation where his minutes had

[00:15:16] [SPEAKER_01]: impediments in front of him and

[00:15:18] [SPEAKER_01]: He continued to work and he continued to get better current assessment of Kobe white at this point. This is ours

[00:15:24] [SPEAKER_01]: So Kobe white has met those expectations while shooting

[00:15:29] [SPEAKER_01]: Ability has flourished his evolution as a playmaker has been gradual

[00:15:34] [SPEAKER_01]: He's exceeded expectations in some areas particularly

[00:15:38] [SPEAKER_01]: Particularly in the clutch performance performances, but there's still room for growth in his decision-making and leadership

[00:15:46] [SPEAKER_01]: well, that's gonna come down to playing time and

[00:15:49] [SPEAKER_01]: This is where we'll get into some of the rumors. So not only are you getting the top?

[00:15:56] [SPEAKER_01]: 25 and under you're also getting kind of a little state of the union of whether team is other particular player

[00:16:03] [SPEAKER_01]: And we're still in a kind of a quagmire with

[00:16:08] [SPEAKER_01]: Zach Levine now they've been promising reports on Lonzo ball now

[00:16:13] [SPEAKER_01]: You could say that if for some reason

[00:16:18] [SPEAKER_01]: now I'm not seeing this as

[00:16:21] [SPEAKER_01]: reporting

[00:16:22] [SPEAKER_01]: If that Levine does not come back with the right mindset. I can see the Chicago Bull saying hey, man

[00:16:28] [SPEAKER_01]: Why don't you just kind of stick away from the team?

[00:16:31] [SPEAKER_01]: You know keep on rehabbing the ankle whatever case may be and

[00:16:37] [SPEAKER_01]: We'll go ahead and go on and if Lonzo ball is healthy and can give them any kind of additive minutes

[00:16:45] [SPEAKER_01]: What he can open up for Kobe white will be

[00:16:50] [SPEAKER_01]: Extraordinary because now you got another ball handler another it's a stoop

[00:16:55] [SPEAKER_01]: decision maker and

[00:16:58] [SPEAKER_01]: Putting him on the court with Kobe white would only benefit Kobe white

[00:17:04] [SPEAKER_01]: So I look forward to seeing what could be going on with Chicago in that area

[00:17:11] [SPEAKER_01]: Here's a couple of little advanced stats his win shares last year were at four point seven indicating tangible contributions

[00:17:18] [SPEAKER_01]: To the bull success. Here's the burning question

[00:17:22] [SPEAKER_01]: Can white continue his trajectory and become the bulls undisputed leader now?

[00:17:27] [SPEAKER_01]: That might be a heavy thing. I don't know if he's gonna become the undisputed leader, especially you know with ongoing

[00:17:34] [SPEAKER_01]: uncertainty surrounding the other key players like Zach Levine and really that's the elephant in the room

[00:17:42] [SPEAKER_01]: Yes, do we want Kobe white to continue to develop?

[00:17:46] [SPEAKER_01]: The problem is is that you have to get rid yourself of Zach Levine and the bulls have been

[00:17:54] [SPEAKER_01]: To trade him and I understand why because Zach Levine when healthy is a 25 plus point per game

[00:18:02] [SPEAKER_01]: Scorer you don't just give those guys away for free now

[00:18:06] [SPEAKER_01]: Understandably it was a tough road last year the vibes were terrible and everything like that

[00:18:13] [SPEAKER_01]: But at the end of the day, it's really hard

[00:18:17] [SPEAKER_01]: For an executive to watch 25 points of production to walk out the door

[00:18:23] [SPEAKER_01]: Oh and by the way, if you listen to some of the rumors out there, which I've had on good authority

[00:18:30] [SPEAKER_01]: Sourced very well that Chicago has never offered a first round pick plus

[00:18:37] [SPEAKER_01]: Zach Levine to any franchise in the NBA if that's the landscape

[00:18:42] [SPEAKER_01]: We're kind of in between situation with our guy Kobe white, but we hope that it all gets rectified and

[00:18:50] [SPEAKER_01]: He can continue his

[00:18:53] [SPEAKER_01]: Stellar play from last year and see what other things kind of pop up in his development

[00:18:58] [SPEAKER_01]: So let's move on to our next guy here and our next guy was a summerly darling

[00:19:05] [SPEAKER_01]: not last year, but to

[00:19:08] [SPEAKER_01]: Gear prior and that's Jalen Doran Jalen Doran of the Detroit Pistons

[00:19:13] [SPEAKER_01]: He's still just 20 years old

[00:19:16] [SPEAKER_01]: He's already a force in the paint for the Detroit Pistons his rebounding and shot blocking

[00:19:22] [SPEAKER_01]: Have been vital to Detroit his numbers back it up

[00:19:27] [SPEAKER_01]: 13.8 points again 11.6

[00:19:31] [SPEAKER_01]: rebounds and 2.4 sis again

[00:19:35] [SPEAKER_01]: Jalen Doran to me

[00:19:38] [SPEAKER_01]: We made a snafu on a previous podcast and then we fixed it in the YouTube video we talked about

[00:19:45] [SPEAKER_01]: Detroit and their some observations that we talked about all the bigs and

[00:19:50] [SPEAKER_01]: One of the names that put in there and we'll talk about him later is James Wiseman

[00:19:55] [SPEAKER_01]: James Wiseman is no no longer with the Detroit Pistons now

[00:20:01] [SPEAKER_01]: They still have Isaiah Stewart

[00:20:03] [SPEAKER_01]: They still have shooting issues now. They've kind of rectified that a little bit

[00:20:10] [SPEAKER_01]: With some of the veterans that they brought in Tim Hardaway jr. A wing

[00:20:17] [SPEAKER_01]: And has a career percentage of like about 38%

[00:20:21] [SPEAKER_01]: So that's pretty good and then you also have Tobias Harris now no matter what we think of him

[00:20:27] [SPEAKER_01]: As far as a player is concerned. The one thing that we can say is that on the particular contract that he's on now

[00:20:35] [SPEAKER_01]: it's a little bit more feasible and

[00:20:38] [SPEAKER_01]: Also, he is going to basically be asked to just kind of

[00:20:44] [SPEAKER_01]: Reign in the kids, you know, you are babysitting and trying to answer questions for these youngsters

[00:20:50] [SPEAKER_01]: To make them better. You are getting paid to babysit

[00:20:55] [SPEAKER_01]: now

[00:20:56] [SPEAKER_01]: Here's the pre-draft assessment of Jalen Doran

[00:21:01] [SPEAKER_01]: Doran was selected 13th overall in the

[00:21:03] [SPEAKER_01]: 2022 NBA Draft Scouts were enamored with his physical tools at

[00:21:09] [SPEAKER_01]: 6 foot 10 with a 7 foot 5 wingspan

[00:21:12] [SPEAKER_01]: That has been critical to his defensive development

[00:21:18] [SPEAKER_01]: now he has been

[00:21:20] [SPEAKER_01]: Seen as an elite rim protector with raw offensive potential his strength our athleticism rebounding instincts

[00:21:28] [SPEAKER_01]: Made him a coveted prospect through

[00:21:32] [SPEAKER_01]: There were questions about his offensive polish in his free throw shooting

[00:21:37] [SPEAKER_01]: Now obviously, you know, we talked about it last last year last

[00:21:44] [SPEAKER_01]: summer league so not this summer lead that just passed 2024 2023 and

[00:21:49] [SPEAKER_01]: the problem then was that Wiseman was on the team in the summer league with Doran and we we were

[00:21:58] [SPEAKER_01]: Just

[00:21:59] [SPEAKER_01]: Astonished we were just completely

[00:22:02] [SPEAKER_01]: Astonished we were like why is James Wiseman?

[00:22:07] [SPEAKER_01]: Messing with this kids development then we also saw what happened last year

[00:22:11] [SPEAKER_01]: We saw the Monty Williams debacle. We saw just the mismanagement of the roster now all that's gone

[00:22:18] [SPEAKER_01]: Okay, we have Trajan Langdon in the building

[00:22:22] [SPEAKER_01]: Think there's some quotes in here from him

[00:22:24] [SPEAKER_01]: And we also have JB Bickerstaff in the building as well so development will be happening

[00:22:32] [SPEAKER_01]: JB Bickerstaff is a

[00:22:35] [SPEAKER_01]: Perfect coach for that type of situation and I think Trajan Langdon has a course

[00:22:41] [SPEAKER_01]: That he has the piston set on now

[00:22:43] [SPEAKER_01]: I think there's still ton of upheaval to go but Jaylin Dorn looks to be a

[00:22:50] [SPEAKER_01]: solid foundational piece for this team to go forward now

[00:22:54] [SPEAKER_01]: Couple other things that we want to get to advance stat

[00:22:59] [SPEAKER_01]: defensive rebounding percentage

[00:23:01] [SPEAKER_01]: Did you know that Jaylin Dorn had a 33%?

[00:23:06] [SPEAKER_01]: Defensive route defensive rebound percentage last year

[00:23:10] [SPEAKER_01]: Leading the league and highlighting his dominance on the glass. What was I gonna say now?

[00:23:16] [SPEAKER_01]: The other thing is this is that you know now with Wiseman gone

[00:23:21] [SPEAKER_01]: Isaiah Stewart is there still and then they got a bunch of like, you know, younger wing younger wings

[00:23:27] [SPEAKER_01]: And also they got the established vets

[00:23:30] [SPEAKER_01]: My thing is now that you've taken James Wiseman out of it

[00:23:34] [SPEAKER_01]: Here's the burning question for our guy Jaylin Dorn as the Pistons continue to rebuild can Jaylin Dorn

[00:23:42] [SPEAKER_01]: Develop a more rounded offensive game to compliment his defensive prowess. Now, here's the thing that I want to kind of bring up

[00:23:51] [SPEAKER_01]: In the summer league of 2023 we saw this do out on the perimeter

[00:23:57] [SPEAKER_01]: Handling the ball putting it between his legs

[00:24:01] [SPEAKER_01]: Doing like hezzie pull-ups

[00:24:03] [SPEAKER_01]: Okay, step backs. Is there any way that we can see this during the regular season?

[00:24:10] [SPEAKER_01]: I just want to know if this is a possibility

[00:24:13] [SPEAKER_01]: That JB Baker staff will allow Jaylin Dorn to get in his bag a little bit

[00:24:18] [SPEAKER_01]: Now I'm not saying to the detriment of the team, but we all know the game right now with Detroit

[00:24:25] [SPEAKER_01]: Let's get as much talent much talent as we can

[00:24:30] [SPEAKER_01]: To rectify what has gone on the last couple years. So I

[00:24:36] [SPEAKER_01]: Think that this is all a good situation for Jaylin Dorn at this point. I think you kind of

[00:24:43] [SPEAKER_01]: Uncluttered a little bit of the situation and

[00:24:46] [SPEAKER_01]: Then hopefully with the increase of minutes and also maybe a shorter leash a little bit

[00:24:53] [SPEAKER_01]: We can see some of these

[00:24:55] [SPEAKER_01]: offensive like flashes

[00:24:58] [SPEAKER_01]: Because I wouldn't sit necessary call them traits. I would call them more flashes

[00:25:04] [SPEAKER_01]: Maybe we'll see more of these flashes and they can turn in the traits

[00:25:07] [SPEAKER_01]: Maybe they're building blocks on top of one another and again, I can't stress enough

[00:25:14] [SPEAKER_01]: Jaylin Dorn is only 20 years old

[00:25:20] [SPEAKER_01]: So keep that in mind, okay

[00:25:22] [SPEAKER_01]: The next player that we're gonna get into is a teammate of Jaylin Dorn's it is Jayden Ivy now

[00:25:30] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm gonna tell you right now

[00:25:32] [SPEAKER_01]: It was hard for me to put Jayden Ivy on this list

[00:25:38] [SPEAKER_01]: but I kept talking to people kept talking to people and

[00:25:42] [SPEAKER_01]: At the end of all of what we talked about with Jayden Ivy

[00:25:45] [SPEAKER_01]: I will tell you why I still consider him one of the top 25

[00:25:51] [SPEAKER_01]: players

[00:25:51] [SPEAKER_01]: 25 and under but let's get into them and then we'll go through Jayden Ivy's

[00:25:57] [SPEAKER_01]: Explosive athleticism and his scoring ability has been crucial for the Pistons

[00:26:03] [SPEAKER_01]: Losing a lot of games. That's what it's been crucial to his averages are 15.4 points a game

[00:26:09] [SPEAKER_01]: 3.8 assists a game 3.4 rebounds a game last season

[00:26:16] [SPEAKER_01]: Ivy has flashed

[00:26:19] [SPEAKER_01]: Some of that dynamic offensive skill set

[00:26:23] [SPEAKER_01]: Let's go to his pre-draft assessment. Ivy was the fifth overall pick in the 2022

[00:26:30] [SPEAKER_01]: NBA draft he was in the same draft as Jaylin Dorn so when they got these picks we were

[00:26:36] [SPEAKER_01]: excited about both these guys and

[00:26:40] [SPEAKER_01]: Let's get into it a little bit with his assessment

[00:26:42] [SPEAKER_01]: So you've drafted in 2022 along with Jaylin Dorn and he came with the reputation as one of the most

[00:26:50] [SPEAKER_01]: Explosive athletes in his class

[00:26:53] [SPEAKER_01]: Scouts loved his ability to get downhill and finish at the rim comparing his style to that of John Moran

[00:27:01] [SPEAKER_01]: however

[00:27:02] [SPEAKER_01]: There were concerns about his jump shot consistency and his decision-making in the half court

[00:27:11] [SPEAKER_01]: Let's get to what the scout

[00:27:14] [SPEAKER_01]: Anonymous scout said Jayden Ivy's speed and his ability to get to the rim make him a nightmare for defenders

[00:27:21] [SPEAKER_01]: His shooting consistency has improved and if he continues on this path

[00:27:27] [SPEAKER_01]: He's going to be a star

[00:27:31] [SPEAKER_01]: This is the current assessment

[00:27:33] [SPEAKER_01]: Jayden Ivy has largely met expectations. I would say

[00:27:39] [SPEAKER_01]: No, he has shown that he can be an explosive scorer though

[00:27:45] [SPEAKER_01]: His shooting still need is a work in progress. He's shown flashes that he

[00:27:49] [SPEAKER_01]: Can be a lead guard that's still up for debate

[00:27:54] [SPEAKER_01]: His decision-making particularly in crunch time remains an area of growth that needs to be refined

[00:28:01] [SPEAKER_01]: His shot selection needs to improve his playmaking

[00:28:05] [SPEAKER_01]: If he gets the space his playmaking

[00:28:09] [SPEAKER_01]: has lofty comparisons of

[00:28:12] [SPEAKER_01]: certain people in this draft like Russell Westbrook

[00:28:15] [SPEAKER_01]: now

[00:28:16] [SPEAKER_01]: I'll say this

[00:28:18] [SPEAKER_01]: Let me give you a couple stats

[00:28:20] [SPEAKER_01]: His usage rate last year was 24.9

[00:28:24] [SPEAKER_01]: Indicating that he was central role in the Pistons his true to shooting percentage

[00:28:30] [SPEAKER_01]: Was 53.6 showing his efficiency as a scorer, so it was a little lower and

[00:28:37] [SPEAKER_01]: then the burning question is can Ivy elevate his game further and

[00:28:42] [SPEAKER_01]: Become a go-to scorer for Detroit

[00:28:45] [SPEAKER_01]: Especially as a team looks to climb out of the Eastern Conference cellar

[00:28:50] [SPEAKER_01]: Pre-camp observations that we talked about and that was last week

[00:28:54] [SPEAKER_01]: Think so go back and listen to I think it's last Friday spot

[00:28:58] [SPEAKER_01]: We talked about

[00:29:00] [SPEAKER_01]: Ivy and you know how he got jerked around in and out of the lineup last year and that was

[00:29:06] [SPEAKER_01]: Monty Williams

[00:29:07] [SPEAKER_01]: You won't have that issue this year now

[00:29:10] [SPEAKER_01]: Here's the thing though that I have been kind of talking about and then you guys can discuss

[00:29:17] [SPEAKER_01]: Please hit me up on X at front runner PC or

[00:29:21] [SPEAKER_01]: Hit up the producers

[00:29:24] [SPEAKER_01]: At Rhea

[00:29:25] [SPEAKER_01]: underscore

[00:29:27] [SPEAKER_01]: funch FRPC so getting back to

[00:29:31] [SPEAKER_01]: Some of the things that I was thinking about with Ivy

[00:29:35] [SPEAKER_01]: And others on that team

[00:29:38] [SPEAKER_01]: now

[00:29:39] [SPEAKER_01]: Ivy

[00:29:40] [SPEAKER_01]: As far as J JB bicker staff is concerned as far as Trajan Langdon is concerned as far as all

[00:29:47] [SPEAKER_01]: Of the new people that are in that front office and player development will have you they have no ties to J

[00:29:53] [SPEAKER_01]: Nive now we can paint a pretty picture about oh well

[00:29:58] [SPEAKER_01]: You know he's a young talent can't give up on young talent blah blah blah. That's all finally fine and dandy

[00:30:05] [SPEAKER_01]: If you believe some of the reports that are coming out of Detroit that they've decided that Kate is their guy and

[00:30:14] [SPEAKER_01]: They're looking to go ahead and try to build around him and you know

[00:30:19] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, we're still we're still high on a sore Thompson and was that you know

[00:30:23] [SPEAKER_01]: Obviously, we just drafted Ron Holland so they definitely have a connection to Ron. Hi, Will Holland

[00:30:31] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm

[00:30:31] [SPEAKER_01]: Jalen Doran has

[00:30:33] [SPEAKER_01]: basically been given somewhat of a

[00:30:36] [SPEAKER_01]: Cosign that you know he's part of the future and will have you the one guy that you have not heard that about is

[00:30:43] [SPEAKER_01]: J. Nive you've heard about like oh we want to see what he's all about

[00:30:47] [SPEAKER_01]: We'll see what the development path has been we'll see what he's been working on this summer

[00:30:52] [SPEAKER_01]: And how it translates well you have not seen like oh yeah, he's a fixture

[00:30:56] [SPEAKER_01]: He's gonna be around

[00:30:58] [SPEAKER_01]: My whole thing is this

[00:31:00] [SPEAKER_01]: Anytime you get a new regime in your front office the guys that were drafted ahead of them

[00:31:08] [SPEAKER_01]: The guys that were there on the roster drafted by the previous regime

[00:31:14] [SPEAKER_01]: There's no loyalty to those dudes whatsoever

[00:31:19] [SPEAKER_01]: So this is a very important year for J. Nive

[00:31:24] [SPEAKER_01]: He must show some

[00:31:28] [SPEAKER_01]: Improvement in the half court as far as decision-making is concerned

[00:31:32] [SPEAKER_01]: Can you be a effective pick and roll guy?

[00:31:36] [SPEAKER_01]: Can you be a effective pick and roll guy with Isaiah Stewart who sets really good picks?

[00:31:42] [SPEAKER_01]: Or are you just a second-side?

[00:31:44] [SPEAKER_01]: creator

[00:31:45] [SPEAKER_01]: Because there's nothing wrong with that maybe that unlocks his game

[00:31:49] [SPEAKER_01]: Maybe JB Vickerstaff decides that that's what he wants to do with Ivy

[00:31:54] [SPEAKER_01]: We have no idea until we see it in the preseason and we see it in the early season this is why this is a

[00:32:02] [SPEAKER_01]: Just an assessment on it on a situation so

[00:32:06] [SPEAKER_01]: These are all questions that we have for

[00:32:10] [SPEAKER_01]: J. Nive II but

[00:32:13] [SPEAKER_01]: the

[00:32:14] [SPEAKER_01]: explosivity of him the athlete of him is

[00:32:19] [SPEAKER_01]: Too hard for scouts to just quit

[00:32:22] [SPEAKER_01]: Because if it does click and he becomes just a decent three-point shooter with with pretty good volume

[00:32:30] [SPEAKER_01]: He comes like a 36%

[00:32:32] [SPEAKER_01]: three-point shooter and

[00:32:35] [SPEAKER_01]: He's shooting like six seven again

[00:32:38] [SPEAKER_01]: With all that downhill action

[00:32:40] [SPEAKER_01]: With all that speed with all that body control change of direction

[00:32:45] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm gonna die and get to another place on the floor

[00:32:49] [SPEAKER_01]: That'll play and this is why people are excited about

[00:32:54] [SPEAKER_01]: J. Nive II

[00:32:56] [SPEAKER_01]: so

[00:32:57] [SPEAKER_01]: Those are the first three so we talked about 24

[00:33:01] [SPEAKER_01]: 20 I'm sorry 25 24 and 23 and

[00:33:06] [SPEAKER_01]: We're gonna continue

[00:33:08] [SPEAKER_01]: this

[00:33:09] [SPEAKER_01]: Next week so obviously every

[00:33:12] [SPEAKER_01]: Episode from here on out you will be getting

[00:33:16] [SPEAKER_01]: two or three of these and then other things that might pop up now if it's a real real

[00:33:26] [SPEAKER_01]: Dull day in the NBA you might get more but we pretty much settled on three

[00:33:32] [SPEAKER_01]: We want to give them a lot of space so you know you feel like you got enough

[00:33:37] [SPEAKER_01]: and you kind of have a clear picture of what's going on and

[00:33:40] [SPEAKER_01]: We thank everybody for

[00:33:43] [SPEAKER_01]: Participating and lending their voice to this podcast and and sharing some of their insights so we thank our sources

[00:33:51] [SPEAKER_01]: Thank you so much now. We're gonna transition to

[00:33:55] [SPEAKER_01]: our other segment, which is the pre-credits observations and

[00:34:02] [SPEAKER_01]: I

[00:34:03] [SPEAKER_01]: love this because

[00:34:04] [SPEAKER_01]: We get to talk about

[00:34:08] [SPEAKER_01]: Individual brilliance and also team dynamics

[00:34:11] [SPEAKER_01]: We're gonna so we're gonna shift our focus to the Indiana Pacers

[00:34:15] [SPEAKER_01]: I told you it was middle America and their rise and

[00:34:21] [SPEAKER_01]: how impressive their rise has been is been

[00:34:25] [SPEAKER_01]: Super impressive and then the other thing we're gonna get into is the players and and all of this

[00:34:31] [SPEAKER_01]: So let's let's crack into what the Pacers

[00:34:33] [SPEAKER_01]: Were and what we're looking forward to in this upcoming year

[00:34:39] [SPEAKER_01]: So the Indiana Pacers have always been well managed team. This is true this year

[00:34:44] [SPEAKER_01]: They look to take a massive step forward after finishing the season with a 47 and 35

[00:34:51] [SPEAKER_01]: Record and making it to the Eastern Conference finals the Pacers are on everyone's radar

[00:34:59] [SPEAKER_01]: To understand how they got here we need to look at the moves they made

[00:35:05] [SPEAKER_01]: By their front office led by Kevin Critchard

[00:35:11] [SPEAKER_01]: now

[00:35:12] [SPEAKER_01]: Kevin Critchard, this is on Pascal Siakam

[00:35:15] [SPEAKER_01]: We knew getting Pascal was a game-changer for us retaining him long term was just as crucial

[00:35:23] [SPEAKER_01]: His versatility on both ends of the floor and his leadership again instrumental in our success

[00:35:32] [SPEAKER_01]: Pritchard's decision to retain Pascal Siakam with a four-year

[00:35:38] [SPEAKER_01]: 188 million one hundred eighty eight point nine million dollar deal

[00:35:42] [SPEAKER_01]: I don't know. I think this was pretty much what we knew was gonna happen as soon as it got traded

[00:35:50] [SPEAKER_01]: One of the things that we have reported when the trade went down was there was kind of a known agreement between the

[00:35:57] [SPEAKER_01]: agents and

[00:35:59] [SPEAKER_01]: Kevin Critchard in the front office with the Indiana Pacers that the they were

[00:36:05] [SPEAKER_01]: not just interested but very

[00:36:10] Amable to

[00:36:12] [SPEAKER_01]: Extending Pascal Siakam so they went ahead and did that and it would have been terrible for them to lose him

[00:36:17] [SPEAKER_01]: But this is what they're getting in Pascal Siakam

[00:36:20] [SPEAKER_01]: He has 24.2 points a game 7.8 rebounds a game and then 5.3 assists per game

[00:36:28] [SPEAKER_01]: What you're doing is you're getting an overall player you're gonna

[00:36:33] [SPEAKER_01]: All around, you know just steady guy and

[00:36:37] [SPEAKER_01]: he brings some leadership and brings some offensive creation and it takes a little pressure off of

[00:36:44] [SPEAKER_01]: Jerry Salliburton so these are you this is kind of what you want when you are investing that type of money into a player

[00:36:54] [SPEAKER_01]: His presence not only boosts the Pacers offense, but also adds a layer of defensive versatility

[00:37:01] [SPEAKER_01]: obviously with

[00:37:02] [SPEAKER_01]: Pascal against six foot nine long arm

[00:37:06] [SPEAKER_01]: He can guard on the perimeter to a certain extent

[00:37:11] [SPEAKER_01]: He doesn't get lost and he's pretty

[00:37:15] [SPEAKER_01]: Instinctive and aggressive when it comes to his intentionality on defense

[00:37:20] [SPEAKER_01]: Let's start. Let's do some stat focusing right true shooting percentage for a guy Pascal Siakam

[00:37:27] [SPEAKER_01]: He posted a true shooting percentage of 58.5%

[00:37:33] [SPEAKER_01]: Illustrating his efficiency despite his high usage rate

[00:37:36] [SPEAKER_01]: His defensive wind shares he contributed 3.4%

[00:37:41] [SPEAKER_01]: Defensive wind shares so

[00:37:44] [SPEAKER_01]: Here is a dude that definitely can impact on both levels or both areas on the court offensively and defensively

[00:37:54] [SPEAKER_01]: And really here's the thing that you have to think about when you talk about Pascal Siakam

[00:38:00] [SPEAKER_01]: You got Tyrese Hyde-Lawson and then he who's entering his like

[00:38:05] [SPEAKER_01]: You know mid 20s, you know at this point Ben Mather and Jean

[00:38:10] [SPEAKER_01]: Miles Turner still like 26 still young

[00:38:15] [SPEAKER_01]: Not saying it's bad to have a bet but if you're asking him to be your number two

[00:38:21] [SPEAKER_01]: Here's my burning question. Can Pascal Siakam maintain his elite level of play throughout the full season, especially now

[00:38:29] [SPEAKER_01]: He's locked into a long-term deal

[00:38:31] [SPEAKER_01]: The Pacers will need him to be at his best if they want to compete at the top spot in the East

[00:38:40] Now

[00:38:41] [SPEAKER_01]: Pascal's what 31?

[00:38:44] [SPEAKER_01]: So signed until four-year deal age through age 34 basically

[00:38:49] [SPEAKER_01]: Not really a huge risk

[00:38:51] [SPEAKER_01]: You hope that you get dividends off at least three of those four years, right?

[00:38:57] [SPEAKER_01]: That you're kind of getting to the back end of the prime. You're hoping that 31 and 32 are the back end

[00:39:03] [SPEAKER_01]: 33 we start to see maybe some

[00:39:05] [SPEAKER_01]: Instruments, you know or whatever maybe less efficient and then by the fourth year, you know

[00:39:12] [SPEAKER_01]: He's a six-man or whatever. I don't know but

[00:39:16] [SPEAKER_01]: Pascal is a consummate professional. He's always working on his craft

[00:39:22] [SPEAKER_01]: He's a tireless worker so he could extend his prime

[00:39:26] [SPEAKER_01]: Well, these are all other things to kind of look out for

[00:39:30] [SPEAKER_01]: Here's a clip from an anonymous executive on the Indiana situation

[00:39:36] [SPEAKER_01]: In the end is off season was one of the most underrated they didn't just maintain their core

[00:39:43] [SPEAKER_01]: But they picked up a viable piece in the second round in Tristan Newton

[00:39:50] [SPEAKER_01]: Pritchett played a long game and it's paying off. So he's talking about the kind of

[00:39:59] [SPEAKER_01]: Drafting players and making true trades and getting Tyrese Halliburton in here and

[00:40:05] [SPEAKER_01]: continue to keep miles

[00:40:07] [SPEAKER_01]: Turner and we'll get to him in a second and then

[00:40:12] [SPEAKER_01]: You know drafting well Matheran

[00:40:15] [SPEAKER_01]: Jaris Walker who we haven't talked about

[00:40:17] [SPEAKER_01]: They've done well

[00:40:19] [SPEAKER_01]: Now let's talk about

[00:40:21] [SPEAKER_01]: Some of the additions and really there was only one it was James Wiseman

[00:40:26] [SPEAKER_01]: He signed a two-year deal for 4.8 million

[00:40:29] [SPEAKER_01]: Not anything to really write home about what you're looking for with James Wiseman

[00:40:35] [SPEAKER_01]: Is to add some some length, you know, what was behind miles Turner last year?

[00:40:44] [SPEAKER_01]: Do we expect Jaris Walker to play any center minutes whatsoever or is he a four alone?

[00:40:51] [SPEAKER_01]: Independently is that what he is?

[00:40:54] [SPEAKER_01]: These are things that James Wiseman listen if we can get 14 minutes out of you

[00:40:59] [SPEAKER_01]: You can play aggressive you can block some shots be intimidating at the rim

[00:41:05] [SPEAKER_01]: Rim run when we ask you to set screens. This is all you need from a big

[00:41:11] [SPEAKER_01]: Just effort. Okay

[00:41:14] [SPEAKER_01]: Second burden question that we have is can Jaris Walker who was their first round pick in 2023?

[00:41:22] [SPEAKER_01]: Can Jaris Walker have a real opportunity to make a significant

[00:41:25] [SPEAKER_01]: contributions this season

[00:41:27] [SPEAKER_01]: Walker which we just talked about being the first overall first or first pick of the Pacers last year

[00:41:35] [SPEAKER_01]: He is a

[00:41:37] [SPEAKER_01]: He's the potential to be a defensive stopper and an energy player

[00:41:42] [SPEAKER_01]: His versatility could earn him significant minutes in Rick Carlisle rotation, especially given

[00:41:49] [SPEAKER_01]: The Pacers need depth in the front court. Here is what one in we ask NBA scout said about Jaris Walker

[00:41:58] [SPEAKER_01]: Walker's motor and

[00:42:00] [SPEAKER_01]: Defensive instincts are already NBA caliber his he is the type of player

[00:42:05] [SPEAKER_01]: Who can swing a game with his hustle plays and as he?

[00:42:10] [SPEAKER_01]: Refines his offensive game. He'll only become more valuable now if you didn't check him out

[00:42:17] [SPEAKER_01]: last year I

[00:42:20] [SPEAKER_01]: Don't blame you because he didn't play a lot for the actual Pacers, but the G League affiliate he tore it up

[00:42:26] [SPEAKER_01]: He shot the ball well from three he shot it with volume. He was a playmaker

[00:42:32] [SPEAKER_01]: He was in passing lanes. He was doing pretty much all the things that he was doing in college and

[00:42:39] [SPEAKER_01]: I think it bodes well that he was able to go down there and get a lot of time and

[00:42:47] [SPEAKER_01]: I wonder if he has played himself into a role where he is kind of for lack of a better term

[00:42:55] [SPEAKER_01]: The swing wing this year is he a guy that you can give 18 to 22 minutes and be comfortable with

[00:43:04] [SPEAKER_01]: These are all things we're gonna find out

[00:43:06] [SPEAKER_01]: Let's get to the core, right?

[00:43:09] [SPEAKER_01]: So the core Halliburton Turner and these three guys is what makes the team a serious contender

[00:43:16] [SPEAKER_01]: They all bring something to

[00:43:20] [SPEAKER_01]: The game in different facets, so let's get into a little bit our guy

[00:43:25] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm so happy great usher on Tyrese Halliburton's impact

[00:43:30] [SPEAKER_01]: Halliburton is the engine of this team his core vision and ability to run the offense at a high pace have

[00:43:37] [SPEAKER_01]: Have transformed the Pacers into one of the most dynamic offenses in the league

[00:43:44] [SPEAKER_01]: Advanced out of advanced at focus

[00:43:48] [SPEAKER_01]: How the Burton's assist percentage boasts impressive

[00:43:51] [SPEAKER_01]: 39.8 percent assist percentage ranking him among the league elite playmakers

[00:43:59] [SPEAKER_01]: Offensive rating with Halliburton on the court

[00:44:02] [SPEAKER_01]: Indiana's offensive rating jumps to

[00:44:06] [SPEAKER_01]: 125 point four which if you remember last year that was historic

[00:44:15] [SPEAKER_01]: Historic

[00:44:17] [SPEAKER_01]: when he was on the court and healthy when you had the

[00:44:22] [SPEAKER_01]: Hamstring last year and the groin or whatever it slowed him down. We saw it. He's still thin

[00:44:29] [SPEAKER_01]: Still things that we have to worry about things we have to work on and pray for and hope he gets better on

[00:44:35] [SPEAKER_01]: but

[00:44:36] [SPEAKER_01]: There's no doubt there's no denying Halliburton's talent and what a absolute force of nature

[00:44:43] [SPEAKER_01]: When he is on that team and when he's physically right and I cannot wait to see this offense this year

[00:44:53] [SPEAKER_01]: Next guy I want to talk about is miles Turner miles Turner

[00:44:57] [SPEAKER_01]: Continues to be the anchor of the defense

[00:45:00] [SPEAKER_01]: But this season his offense

[00:45:03] [SPEAKER_01]: offensive game took a leap forward now remember

[00:45:08] [SPEAKER_01]: for like

[00:45:09] [SPEAKER_01]: Two and two plus years it was miles Turner's trades everywhere everywhere Lakers

[00:45:17] [SPEAKER_01]: Brooklyn

[00:45:19] [SPEAKER_01]: Other teams everybody wanted miles Turner and nobody wanted to trade for him

[00:45:25] [SPEAKER_01]: And then all of a sudden

[00:45:27] [SPEAKER_01]: miles Turner said F this I'm gonna start doing me and

[00:45:33] [SPEAKER_01]: This is what one NBA scout said

[00:45:36] [SPEAKER_01]: Turner shot blocking is

[00:45:38] [SPEAKER_01]: an elite skill

[00:45:41] [SPEAKER_01]: But what stands out this year is

[00:45:45] [SPEAKER_01]: His improved three-point shooting stretching the floor has opened up the driving lanes for the guards and made

[00:45:52] [SPEAKER_01]: Indiana's offense more potent and that's what we're talking about is the ability to shoot the three the ability to

[00:46:00] [SPEAKER_01]: And the willingness to shoot the three on multiple occasions like you know

[00:46:06] [SPEAKER_01]: We're talking about miles Turner shooting like four or five threes again

[00:46:10] [SPEAKER_01]: Now this is a far cry from like two three years ago when he wasn't doing that

[00:46:15] [SPEAKER_01]: but now there has been some sort of unlocking of his

[00:46:20] [SPEAKER_01]: Inhibitions to shoot the three and

[00:46:23] [SPEAKER_01]: Indiana Pacers

[00:46:24] [SPEAKER_01]: basketball the franchise and the collective success of what the team could be has opened up and

[00:46:31] [SPEAKER_01]: You now have a wider window and you have a wider variance of levels of success that

[00:46:38] [SPEAKER_01]: the

[00:46:38] [SPEAKER_01]: Indiana Pacers can get to just because your five can shoot the three

[00:46:44] [SPEAKER_01]: Anytime your five is a threat from three-point land. It's a great thing to have

[00:46:51] [SPEAKER_01]: I've been praying for this in

[00:46:54] [SPEAKER_01]: Los Angeles for a while now, and we still don't got it

[00:46:59] [SPEAKER_01]: All right

[00:47:03] [SPEAKER_01]: Advanced at focus

[00:47:05] [SPEAKER_01]: Turner's block percentage you led the league with six point eight percent block percentage

[00:47:10] [SPEAKER_01]: solidifying his reputation as a premier rim protector

[00:47:15] [SPEAKER_01]: three-point percentage Turner shot a career high thirty nine point two percent from three on four and a half

[00:47:24] [SPEAKER_01]: Attempts per game making him a true stretch five. This is what I'm talking about

[00:47:28] [SPEAKER_01]: This is why he's not on trade block anymore, this is why you can't get him

[00:47:34] [SPEAKER_01]: This is why Indiana is not dangling him. He changed his game slightly

[00:47:39] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, listen, we don't need you to be Carl Anthony Towns. You don't need to be out here taking like 12 threes

[00:47:46] [SPEAKER_01]: We just need to take four or five

[00:47:51] [SPEAKER_01]: Be intentional with your threes if you're wide-ass open to shoot that thing boy shoot it and then let's talk about Siaco

[00:47:58] [SPEAKER_01]: and his versatility and what his

[00:48:02] [SPEAKER_01]: You know level of expertise in playoffs and his level of

[00:48:08] [SPEAKER_01]: Just floor generalship in general what it will bring to this team on a full year level, right?

[00:48:18] [SPEAKER_01]: See outcomes role

[00:48:20] [SPEAKER_01]: He can score pass and defend multiple positions cannot be overstated

[00:48:25] [SPEAKER_01]: Kevin Critchert said about Pascal

[00:48:28] [SPEAKER_01]: Pascal is not just a scorer. He's a leader on

[00:48:32] [SPEAKER_01]: And off the court and his ability to play multiple roles has been crucial for us

[00:48:39] [SPEAKER_01]: His true shooting percentage last year, I think we talked about this basically the burning question is is how good what's the ceiling for the

[00:48:46] [SPEAKER_01]: For their big three now

[00:48:50] [SPEAKER_01]: Again, it's gonna come down to how the burns health now

[00:48:54] [SPEAKER_01]: if he's healthy

[00:48:58] [SPEAKER_01]: The

[00:48:59] [SPEAKER_01]: Marriage between Pascal Siaco and

[00:49:04] [SPEAKER_01]: Tyree Sallagwerton is gonna be interesting because you knew that

[00:49:10] [SPEAKER_01]: Tyree Sallagwerton was compromised last year

[00:49:13] [SPEAKER_01]: He just wasn't able to move around the court the way he did early on in the year

[00:49:17] [SPEAKER_01]: And I wonder though now that he's healthy now we're getting into a full

[00:49:22] [SPEAKER_01]: You know offseason whatever and he's been able to heal up

[00:49:27] [SPEAKER_01]: The game if you think about it when Pascal got there suited him more because it was a slower pace is more

[00:49:35] [SPEAKER_01]: Half court he can slow the game down make decisions get cutters open

[00:49:41] [SPEAKER_01]: Get it out to open three-point shooters by making cross-court passes and things of that nature

[00:49:47] [SPEAKER_01]: It was a half court game now

[00:49:51] [SPEAKER_01]: How the Burton's healthy does this the the breakneck speed part of the offense which made

[00:49:58] [SPEAKER_01]: Indiana so special early on in the year does that come back because we know ultimately

[00:50:04] [SPEAKER_01]: That's how they want to play but now do you have to make a serious adjustment with?

[00:50:10] [SPEAKER_01]: Pascal Siaco being there

[00:50:11] [SPEAKER_01]: So this is a question that we get to see and we get to see in real time

[00:50:16] [SPEAKER_01]: Early in the preseason and also early on in a regular season as well

[00:50:20] [SPEAKER_01]: I'll be looking forward to seeing how these two really compliment one another

[00:50:26] [SPEAKER_01]: When Tyrese Halliburton is fully fully healthy now, let's get into the young guys. We're gonna talk about

[00:50:36] [SPEAKER_01]: Bennington Matheran and Jerex Walker

[00:50:39] [SPEAKER_01]: Zack Lowe

[00:50:41] [SPEAKER_01]: Mather injuries set him back

[00:50:44] [SPEAKER_01]: But don't sleep on his potential

[00:50:46] [SPEAKER_01]: He's got the physical tools and the scoring ability to be a star in this league before the injury Matheran was averaging

[00:50:54] [SPEAKER_01]: 14.7 points

[00:50:56] [SPEAKER_01]: Per game he was showing flashes of brilliance and his ability to drive to the basket and draw fouls

[00:51:03] [SPEAKER_01]: Makes him a valuable asset moving forward now

[00:51:07] [SPEAKER_01]: This is what Rick Carlile had to say about Jerex Walker the draft pick in 2023

[00:51:12] [SPEAKER_01]: Walker is a workhorse. He's an energy defense and rebounding

[00:51:18] [SPEAKER_01]: Guy he gives us an edge, especially in the second unit minutes give you a couple stats here

[00:51:25] [SPEAKER_01]: Walker had a defensive box plus minus of 2.1. That's so that's a positive 2.1

[00:51:31] [SPEAKER_01]: You know how hard that is in the NBA early on in your career

[00:51:35] [SPEAKER_01]: To have like a real

[00:51:39] [SPEAKER_01]: Positive box defensive box plus minus it's so hard for young guys to get defensive concepts

[00:51:46] [SPEAKER_01]: Understand where they're supposed to be on the court or whatever especially when you are a guy

[00:51:51] [SPEAKER_01]: It's not like okay. This is this is my calling card

[00:51:54] [SPEAKER_01]: defenses it

[00:51:56] [SPEAKER_01]: Just Walker was

[00:51:59] [SPEAKER_01]: offensive hub in college

[00:52:01] [SPEAKER_01]: He shot the ball. They got he had a pretty robust shot diet. So

[00:52:07] [SPEAKER_01]: For him to be able to lock it on defense like this has been pretty incredible

[00:52:11] [SPEAKER_01]: Now offensive rebounding percentage. He also had 11.4 offensive rebounding percentage

[00:52:18] [SPEAKER_01]: Basically, it just shows his tenacity on the boards that he believes that the ball is his

[00:52:24] [SPEAKER_01]: You need guys like this, especially in the playoffs when you need to get those oh so important

[00:52:31] [SPEAKER_01]: Second possessions and then kick it out to your three your guy standing

[00:52:36] [SPEAKER_01]: Beyond the break beyond the arc beyond you know at the break and

[00:52:41] [SPEAKER_01]: You know dagger threes are so important. We saw them in the playoffs all year

[00:52:46] [SPEAKER_01]: last year and how critical they were to

[00:52:51] [SPEAKER_01]: Putting teams away

[00:52:52] [SPEAKER_01]: So if Jerry's Walker can carve out a niche where he can play like 18 minutes a game

[00:52:59] [SPEAKER_01]: And be able to show some of his wares. I look forward to

[00:53:04] [SPEAKER_01]: Seeing that because we my man was like where's Waldo last year? We couldn't find him

[00:53:10] [SPEAKER_01]: He was in the G League a lot. All right now that we talked about the young guys talked about the core

[00:53:16] [SPEAKER_01]: We talked about the front office and give you kind of what I'm looking for out of the Pacers this year

[00:53:23] [SPEAKER_01]: Looking ahead to the Pacers

[00:53:24] [SPEAKER_01]: They're in prime positions to continue their assent on the Eastern Conference with a solid core right mix of veteran presence and young talent

[00:53:33] [SPEAKER_01]: At the front in and a front office it isn't afraid to make bold moves Indiana could very well secure a top

[00:53:41] [SPEAKER_01]: Four spot in the East here's my thing you got Boston

[00:53:48] [SPEAKER_01]: New York Philly Milwaukee

[00:53:52] [SPEAKER_01]: Venice like Cleveland, Indiana

[00:53:56] [SPEAKER_01]: Orlando

[00:53:57] [SPEAKER_01]: Don't sleep on Orlando

[00:53:59] [SPEAKER_01]: It's gonna be a tough climb

[00:54:01] [SPEAKER_01]: The one of the hardest things to do is go from being pretty good to being

[00:54:07] [SPEAKER_01]: Excellent, that's the secret sauce and it's gonna come down again

[00:54:13] [SPEAKER_01]: To how healthy is Halliburton because here's the other thing if Halliburton is healthy all year

[00:54:20] [SPEAKER_01]: He's going to be putting you in a situation where you got 53 wins 52 wins

[00:54:26] [SPEAKER_01]: Instead of 47

[00:54:27] [SPEAKER_01]: So what does that mean in the grand scheme of things when it when we talk about the Pacers and what they look like?

[00:54:36] [SPEAKER_01]: Going into this season. I think personally they're a playoff team then not a playing team will play off team

[00:54:41] [SPEAKER_01]: I think it will be a tough goal though. I think Cleveland's good. I think

[00:54:48] [SPEAKER_01]: Orlando is good. We got to see what the Milwaukee Bucks are

[00:54:52] [SPEAKER_01]: We see we've seen what Philly has done in all season

[00:54:56] [SPEAKER_01]: Milwaukee

[00:54:57] [SPEAKER_01]: New York loaded up again and Boston still Boston. So

[00:55:03] [SPEAKER_01]: There's a lot of competitors. There's a lot of juice at the top the top of the Eastern Conference

[00:55:10] [SPEAKER_01]: What will make this year successful for the Indiana Pacers is can you absolutely?

[00:55:16] [SPEAKER_01]: Annihilate the teams that you're supposed to be

[00:55:19] [SPEAKER_01]: If you can annihilate the teams that you're supposed to beat and do fairly well against the teams

[00:55:25] [SPEAKER_01]: That are on your level and then if you can squeak it out squeak out a couple

[00:55:32] [SPEAKER_01]: Against teams that are a little bit better to you, you know

[00:55:35] [SPEAKER_01]: Because every once in a while you'll catch a number one seed

[00:55:38] [SPEAKER_01]: Coming in on a Tuesday where the where the game is not televised and there's no juice in the building

[00:55:45] [SPEAKER_01]: So we'll see how it all goes. Well, I love Indiana

[00:55:49] [SPEAKER_01]: My main question is can Jarris Walker find his way onto the court this year and

[00:55:57] [SPEAKER_01]: Then what is a healthy?

[00:56:00] [SPEAKER_01]: Benedict Matheran in this group because remember

[00:56:04] [SPEAKER_01]: Ben Matheran got hurt before

[00:56:07] [SPEAKER_01]: Pascal Siakam and all this other stuff showed up. So now

[00:56:12] [SPEAKER_01]: How do we integrate?

[00:56:14] [SPEAKER_01]: Matheran back in is he a piece we saw Nim Hart last year. Nim Hart was incredible last year

[00:56:21] [SPEAKER_01]: The playoff performances just a steady influence where they played started or he came off the bench. He was great

[00:56:29] [SPEAKER_01]: Good to see that the Pacers are doing well

[00:56:33] [SPEAKER_01]: Here's what Zach Lowe said about their future if any Anika stay healthy and continue their developing their young players

[00:56:40] [SPEAKER_01]: They're going to be a problem in the East for years to come

[00:56:45] [SPEAKER_01]: So

[00:56:46] [SPEAKER_01]: again

[00:56:47] [SPEAKER_01]: We are happy that we can do our hashtag boom baby family

[00:56:53] [SPEAKER_01]: Indiana Pacers we happy that we could take care of them

[00:56:56] [SPEAKER_01]: And now we are at that point of the podcast that we bring you

[00:57:03] [SPEAKER_01]: Who you should now talk to if you have exhausted your friend group

[00:57:08] [SPEAKER_01]: There's a couple things you can do for us you can go on X you can share the

[00:57:16] [SPEAKER_01]: Podcasts you can share the clips on the YouTube channel

[00:57:20] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm saying you can build us through your digital community

[00:57:25] [SPEAKER_01]: You know saying and when they say well, why does that do got a crooked lip or whatever you say?

[00:57:31] [SPEAKER_01]: Hey, my man. He went through some tough times when he was younger his father was abusive, you know

[00:57:37] [SPEAKER_01]: What they gonna say to that

[00:57:40] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, they can have a real funny joke

[00:57:43] [SPEAKER_01]: Until somebody says oh, yeah, he was abused as a child. Oh, then it's not as funny, right?

[00:57:49] [SPEAKER_01]: I can laugh at it because it's all over

[00:57:53] [SPEAKER_01]: You know

[00:57:55] [SPEAKER_01]: But yeah, just you know tell your friends get on Twitter. Hey, have you heard this podcast?

[00:58:01] [SPEAKER_01]: It's Monday Wednesday and Friday. They doing good shit over there. They really humping up on the YouTube

[00:58:06] [SPEAKER_01]: you know, they want us to talk to them and

[00:58:10] [SPEAKER_01]: I think that this is something that we can do

[00:58:14] [SPEAKER_01]: every one of us call to action and let's go ahead and blow up this podcast and

[00:58:20] [SPEAKER_01]: Make it all it can be so we can get you the discords and whatever the case may be

[00:58:25] [SPEAKER_01]: So if you have exhausted your friend group

[00:58:28] [SPEAKER_01]: And you've gone to church and you praise

[00:58:33] [SPEAKER_01]: the

[00:58:34] [SPEAKER_01]: Kind of like the NBA gospel a front-runner podcast collective at your church group and

[00:58:41] [SPEAKER_01]: You've gone to your you know, your local grocery store your local bar your local

[00:58:48] [SPEAKER_01]: Nail salon your hairdresser or your barber depending on you know women or men, right?

[00:58:56] [SPEAKER_01]: If you done that

[00:58:57] [SPEAKER_01]: It's time to get X involved it's trying it's time to get IG involved it's time to get tick-tock involved

[00:59:04] [SPEAKER_01]: It's time to get it's time to get crack alack. So I just asked that if you could

[00:59:11] [SPEAKER_01]: You know put a link in one of one of your your your tweets, you know in one of your posts say hey

[00:59:18] [SPEAKER_01]: Really starting to enjoy this front-runner podcast collective. I hope y'all catch on

[00:59:22] [SPEAKER_01]: Real simple. I would appreciate it

[00:59:26] [SPEAKER_01]: The producers would appreciate it and then

[00:59:30] [SPEAKER_01]: Hopefully our our future will appreciate it where we can expand and do more

[00:59:35] [SPEAKER_01]: So that's what it what it comes down to

[00:59:38] [SPEAKER_01]: Okay with that being said the best part of you is you

[00:59:42] [SPEAKER_01]: Make sure that the people in your life

[00:59:45] [SPEAKER_01]: Aren't doing nothing but to illuminate it

[00:59:48] [SPEAKER_01]: And then if you have people in your life that are kind of bringing you down

[00:59:52] [SPEAKER_01]: Maybe it's time to have a conversation with them

[00:59:54] [SPEAKER_01]: Why don't you go ahead and enjoy the weekend try to do some good

[00:59:59] [SPEAKER_01]: And we'll see you back on this podcast on

[01:00:03] [SPEAKER_01]: Monday

[01:00:05] [SPEAKER_01]: Deuce