Playoff Scars and Draft Stars: Thunder's Game 7 Moment

it's friday, you know what time it is. Frontrunner podcast collective is back on the air and I am your humble host, vince, and on today's podcast we got wall-to-wall playoff action for you also. We have a game seven preview that we need to get into. We also have a lot of draft news that we need to break down. But before, before we get into all of that, the first thing that I want to do is I want to thank the audience. I want to thank you very much because of the fact that not only are we on every continent known to mankind so let's pause for our audience to clap for that, clap for yourself, clap for you but the amount of people that are in germany, that are in um, um, what was it? There was, uh, oh, norway. That was the one that was so wild to me, norway the amount of people that are in Norway, in Germany, who are getting a pod, I mean, obviously America is killing it. You know, we do it, we do it big here in America, but To note it, to note that the Germans and the Norwegians Are on our side, man can't get better than that. So congratulate yourselves, the audience and we are on a feel-good Friday. So what does that mean? I feel good. Hopefully you feel good.

You got a weekend to go into, we got a lot of basketball to cover, we got a lot of basketball to watch. And also, we are still the the reverberations of the kook, the kooker flag, number one overall pick in the dallas mavericks with the worst odds to get him. People are still talking about it today. We will not talk about it today, not as much, but that is still going on. We also have, again we talked about, there are some game sevens that are about to happen. We're going to have some of that. We are going to get into the yokage of it all. We're going to get into the SGA of it all and we will start there. We will start in what we saw in the mile high city just a night ago.

So let's start there. Imagine you win 68 games out of 82, your star Out of 82, your star first team all NBA most likely going to win an MVP. You got the youngest, most exciting roster in the league, a top three net rating of all time and an arena that sounds like a college gym pre-workout. And yet here we are Headed to game 7. Against the Denver team that Fired his coach, fired his player, his president of player personnel and was basically Dead to rights when entering the playoffs. So we thought the one thing that we did know about the Denver Nuggets is that they had the baddest man on the face of the planet today, nikola Jokic. Having Nikola Jokic is a cheat code, gets you into really great offense and what have you? So here's the question.

We asked it all year. It wasn't about talent, it wasn't even about coaching. It was about trauma. It was about scars. It was about bone memory and have the thunder suffered enough to survive the playoff wars and scars that they will receive?

People mocked us. People said oh, vince, you have no idea what you're talking about. They are on a historic pace. We said it all year. They are on a historic pace. They weren't in a lot of clutch games because they blew everybody out. Their net rating literally is up there with, like the 2016 golden state warriors and the in the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls.

This is, we are talking about greatness, okay, greatness across the board, and yet and still, we are now sitting here at the remnants of the second round and we are now at the most. Two exciting words in NBA basketball game seven. We are here and you will say, well, why are we here? It's not about experience in the lazy way that we talk about age. This is about the stuff you can't prepare for until you're inside of it bad whistles, blown coverages. In the moment, your second best player goes three for 16 and you're still gotta win anyway. That's what denver understands, and that's what Denver understands and that's what OKC is learning in this series. What happens when the script doesn't go right? What happens when you don't get the call? What happens when you are?

And here's the thing that I know OKC fans don't want to hear, that I know OKC fans don't want to hear you will always be the team that nobody wants to make it to the finals, not because you're not talented enough, not because you're not entertaining enough. It's because you're actually just OKC and you can sit here and say well, vince, what difference does that make? It shouldn't make any difference whatsoever. But unfortunately we live in a society that loves New York, that loves Boston, that loves all of the coastal elite cities and just doesn't want to give the heartland of America the do that is deserved. You guys play high level basketball. High level basketball and to see the amount of televisedally televised game when the OKC Thunder Is criminal, but it is the reality that we live in. So I'm not telling anything that the OKC Thunder faithful Does not know, but we needed to get there and the fans, especially the loud ones on Twitter From Oklahoma and Texas you thought we were hating.

You thought we didn't believe in you. Was I the first person to talk about your big three? Did I talk about, say, gilgis Alexander being an MVP candidate last year? Did I talk about your team getting to that level quicker than we thought it would? Yes, I said all of these things, but I also said it is never, is never hate. It is respect of what this stage demands. You don't skip steps and the thunder are for real and they should show it in game seven and we will see. We'll see if they learned the lessons that they needed to learn.

Let's rewind to October, when we asked, clearly, publicly have the Thunder been through enough wars to survive the playoffs? The replies were quick we're haters, you just don't like small markets to win. Analytics said we are elite and look, the numbers were beautiful. There are beautiful historic net rating 68 wins, top 10 in offense and in defense. But our question wasn't about numbers. Our question was about have you seen enough, have you gone through enough? Have you persevered enough? And you sit there and say well, vince, none of this means anything. We're just so talented, we're so good because once the regular season ends, the game changes. Once the whistle blow, whistle get tighter, rotation shrink and the crowd sound like a jet engine in your eardrum. It's not about the stats anymore, it's about survival. It's not about style points. It's not about how good you look when you go to the hoop and did the cameraman catch it and were you able to go ahead and put that on your ig live or whatever it's. Can I make a bucket? Can I get to the foul line? And these things in game six were the test. Now, okc passed the eye test.

In the second quarter they had the lead. Shea was hooking like one of the best guards alive, which he is, but once Denver punched back back, they had no answer. Denver won the free throw battle 32 to 16. They owned the odd, they own the glass 52 to 40 and Denver's bench, which we have been. They've been much maligned the whole season, and for good reason, because they didn't have one and Michael Malone didn't want to play any of them.

Julian Strother showed up. We knew Christian Brown was one of those dudes, but Julian Strother showed up. So this is where playoff reps matter. Brown has been in the finals. Gordon has guarded LeBron KCP, who is gone. You know who Brown replaced. As far as I'm concerned, he learned some of the tricks of the trade from kcp and okay, see, they play like they be fine.

Either way, we got a game. We have a game back at home in game seven, so we'll we'll go ahead and make our stance there and we'll. That's what makes this theory feel so real. Now, this isn't disrespect. This isn't saying the Thunder aren't real. This is saying the Thunder might be real next year Because this year, this is their pain year. You can say last year was their pain year. No, that was the first year. That was the first year. That's the first year of pain. This is year two when oh okay, we've gone through the playoffs before. We know how intense it is. Now we get back and we dominate and we do the things we're supposed to do. Or is this their 2012 Spurs moment? Or is this their 2015 Warriors moment? The gut check before the breakout.

Let's talk about process. The Thunder weren't sloppy, they didn't collapse, but their half court offense was flat 92 points per 100. Possession in the half court is just 33rd percentile in the postseason, if you got no pace, you got no pop, just a lot of shea. Please save us, and I'm going to tell you right now that's not a good situation to be in. It's not a good situation Not because Shea can't deliver, because he's done it. He's done it a lot, but he can't do it alone.

This team is built beautifully on paper, but in the playoffs, paper doesn't rebound. But in the playoffs, paper doesn't rebound. Paper doesn't shoot when he's down six with two minutes left to go. Paper doesn't throw the body into Aaron Gordon and box him out for an offensive board. Let's be real. Jalen Williams hasn't looked like the Jalen Williams we saw in the regular season and Chet, who is impressive as he is, is still only 209 pounds at seven foot two. At seven foot two, denver's physicality wore them down. That's not a diss, that's just a fact, and facts aren't biased.

So the Thunder fans who say we're just hating, do you feel still feel that way today? Do you still feel like when I said the the playoffs started? I don't know. Do they have enough playoff scars to get through this crucible that is the playoffs. Kept saying that. People were like, okay, you're one of those, you're just going to hate on us and you're going to neglect the historical net rating and all these. I don't know how many times at a podcast we threw that out there.

But this is a price of leveling up. This is what real contenders go through. Nobody and I mean no one skips steps, not even the Oklahoma City Thunder, with a historical net rating and 68 victories. Even them, they have to go through it too. If OKC wins game 7. It'll be because they found desperation. If they lose, it won't be a failure. It'll be a lesson learned that the playoffs greatness isn't built with numbers. It's built with bruises, sweat and it's built off precise, precise plays, precise production, precise playmaking. You cannot skip steps. Now shift our lens. Because while the thunder fans are spiraling from game six, because while the Thunder fans are spiraling from game six, they're not alone in this.

This postseason has shown us one truth across the board you need more than stars. You need a system that holds when your stars are wobbling and only a handful of teams have that, take the Nuggets. You sit there and be like there and be like. Well, the nuggets don't have a lot, but what they do have is they have nicola yokich, who is a offense ecosystem onto himself. That's one. They have aaron who, mind you, is a flawed player but in the Denver Nuggets system is one of the best and he's able to bring out the ball, he's able to shoot, he's able to get into his shot wherever that is in the mid-range or in the corner for the three or just put backs. In general, the nuggets still gotta battle with okay, see, they still gotta continue to battle with hartstein and chet. Home grant and yokage is doing everything in his power. They beat them trusting guys like braun and strather in massive playoff minutes.

Their zone coverages worked. Their defensive rotations were crisp. Why? Because denver system has a playoff scar tissue. These guys know, these guys have been through it. They understand rotations, they understand where they need to be and when they need to be there. And what happens when you have that is that you can sit there and you can rely on just your organic.

Okay, I have been through this crucible. I know what I'm going through. I see what it's about to happen. So guess what, if I've been here and I've done it so many times. That means that I have a repetition Towards this and I'm not as scared and I don't have as much anxiety and I'm not as tense.

So what about Boston? Boston doesn't have Tatum, but they had Derek White, they had Drew Holiday, they had Al Horford, they had Jalen Brown. Right the Knicks? They have Jalen Brunson, they have Josh Hart, og Ananobi and Mikael Bridges and Carl Anthony Towns. Obviously right, so we bring you back to OKC. So when we look at OKC in that context, it's not slander to say, hey, they, they're just not there yet and it's not obvious.

We didn't know what Jalen Williams is going to look like. We didn't know if this was the season that the playoff light would turn on for him. He's still learning. He's still learning how to be a primary facilitator when Shea, gilchrist, alexander is not on the court and when the when the lights are the most blinding and the moment feels bigger than the supporting cast. Jalen Williams has to understand that these possessions mean more in the playoffs and you can't give them away and you can't be cavalier with them. You have to be locked in 100% of the time or you go home early. Every single one of them has been through playoff pain cycles Boston, denver, new York, minnesota. They all had their heart ripped out on national TV. They've all felt game six like when they were going to lose their legs and the crowd smells blood.

Denver's on-off with Jokic. This series is a positive 13.8 net rating when he's on the court, when he's off the court. When he's off the court, there are 14 points in the negative. He's only off the court for like eight minutes in a game. If that that's playoff basketball. That's what we're going through, that's what we're seeing. So we just early if you got the star, if you got the culture. But until the system can win ugly, you're just visiting the playoffs. You gotta have counters to the counter. If you don't have counters to the counter, what ends up happening is there is a record scratch moment and you it only takes a second, and if they see it in your eyes for a split second, it's like okay, we know where he is and that's the one that we can press at any point in time. So stars sell tickets, role players win, win game sixes and in this playoff the margins are louder than ever.

Denver didn't just beat okc with yokich and murray. They beat them because christian brown and julian strother hit like surprise punches. It wasn't elegant, it wasn't scripted, but it mattered a whole hell of a lot. Christian Brown scored 13 points, had six rebounds and two steals and he had a momentum snatching plays that didn't show up in the box score, just taking charges, getting defensive rebound, uh, starting to break. And julian strother hit threes on the wing man it was. It was ridiculous. And he was slapping five with the with the faithful. In denver it was. Michael malone did not trust the bench, he did not trust Julian Strother, he did not trust Jalen Pickett, but David Adelman had to.

Role player roulette is brutal. One night you're the reason, your team advances. The next night you are stapled to the bench and street clothes. But these are the playoffs have rewarded the fearless. In boston. Sam hauser is shooting 42 percent from deep in the playoffs and he's injured, so get well soon. Sam nikhil. Nikhil alexanderalker has become essential to the spacing in Minnesota and Mitchell Robertson well, you know what Mitchell Robertson has done for the Knicks. We don't need to even go there. These aren't luxury pieces, these are necessity guys. And these teams that know how to weaponize their 7th to 9th men are surviving in the playoffs. Okay.

See, on the other hand, they didn't get through from their role guys. Isaiah joe had one big shooting game early, but he's been bottled up since. Case and wallace has had moments, but you can look and see that. The second year guy, you feel the tension of the playoffs. And aaron wiggins definitely. I love that kid. He played well all throughout the regular season. He looks hesitant, like he was, wasn't sure if he was allowed to take over possession. It wasn't the same confident, confident Aaron Wiggins that we saw in the regular season, who looked like he was just playing in the flow state of the game. This is why the playoff rotations shrink, not out of ego, out of truth. You find out fast who can play through the noise and the pressure. And right now Denver's guys look more comfortable in the chaos. Brown grabbing two offensive boards in a single possession, flexing, yelling that's culture on display.

Who is your role player, hero Of the playoffs so far, don't say a star. I want a guy who's making like 2.3 million and he's flipping a series. We will read your replies On the podcast On Tuesday. So I'm looking for the best role guy that you've seen in the playoffs. So you hit me up on Twitter or on Blue Sky, it's the same damn thing. At Frontrunner PC, I'll say it again At Frontrunner PC. Now, if it's on Blue Sky, add the bskysocial On Twitter. You don't have to do that Now. For my producer it is at Raya underscore Funch. Frpc. For Twitter and for Blue Sky it is FRPC hyphen Raya dot, bsky dot social. Make sure you're hitting us up and the best replies will be read on our airwaves come tuesday. So bring the heat, don't just tell me the guy. Tell me why that's how we do it now.

Okay, see, fans, it's not all doom and gloom. We do have a game seven, and that damn bad boy is in paycom center, which is in oklahoma city. So what does this mean for you? What does this mean for the thunder? Because, as much as we love the Thunder and we do this game, six loss exposed a deeper issue and basically, what is what it has shown us is like are you ready for the playoffs or not? Shea Gilchrist Alexander is still MVP candidate and he's gonna be a perennial all-nba type player.

J Williams I still have high hopes. He's a do-it-all forward, do-it-all wing, takes care of his business. He's struggling in the playoffs. Chad Holmgren same deal. Big unicorn, 7'2" dude Can shoot it outside, bang inside block shots. It's the playoff, folks. It's the playoffs Don't know what else to say about that one. It's just hard. The playoffs are harder.

So regular season for our guy Jalen Williams, is 19.1 points per game, 54% from the field. This series he's cracked 20 points once in six games and again game six, three of 16 shooting. Now we love J. We love JW. No doubt his passing reads are real. His motor is always on, but the Thunder need him to be a scorer. They need to go ahead and get him involved more. He has to knock down some shots and take some pressure off of Shea, gildas, alexander, and right now he's caught in a weird no man's land. He's too passive to take over but he's too important to sit.

Dagnall said the processes were fine, but when J-Dub, your third year creator, looks hesitant in the clutch, that's not process, that is playoff paralysis. And it trickles down. And here's the thing if your boys aren't confident up top, like your main man is not confident, then you need your vets to step up. I'm looking at alex caruso. You know I'm saying I'm looking at isaiah hardenstein, looking at guys like that. Can they step up? Because here's the thing your ball handler that you had last year, josh giddy. He is in chicago and, yeah, he might have not shot the ball very well in the postseason last year, but having that on ball facilitator to get you into good offense and stuff like that, it is very imperative in the playoffs.

Because what do we not want in the playoffs? We don't want bad, unproductive possessions. And then the other thing that we don't want in the killers of all things Turnovers are like the cockroaches of the NBA. We don't like seeing them. We think they're dirty. It makes you feel embarrassed and make you feel all squeamish. Turnovers are terrible.

So can you ask Shea Gilders, alexander to wear every hat? So the scorer hat, the creator hat, the defensive engine hat, the spiritual leader hat what else can my man? Is he gonna shoot the uh the t-shirts out of the uh t-shirt? Cannon too? What else does he have to do? The uncomfortable answer is that the Thunder's brilliance in built on control, pace, shot, profile, system, flow. But the playoffs it's about chaos. They reward reaction, improvisation, toughness, and right now, okc's identity is too clean for the mess. It's not enough to be smart, you have to be scrappy, you have to want it, you have to see blood on the jersey and say I want to see bad fouls that come from desperation.

Denver played game six like it was their last and OKC played it like it was game 43 of the regular season. Shouts out to Soraya for that scud missile that she just dropped in the chat. That was from her Analytic note. The Thunder are shooting 24.4% from three. In game six they only had 16 free throws to Denver's 32. We talked about that earlier and had a lead in the second quarter, then got outscored 62-35 in the second half.

So what's your thunder truth? If they lose game seven, do they run it back with the same squad, or is it time to find another, more reliable co-star for Shea? Because the hardest part of building a contender isn't getting good, it's knowing when your internal growth has stopped being enough. Presti knows it, dagnock can feel it and this group flames out in game 7. The front office is going to have to make a choice Double down on the youth or cash in some of the assets, like the 14 or 15 first round draft choices that you have, that you're not going to be able to pick and get yourself a real dude.

Now what do we know about OKC. They don't panic. This is an assessment, this is franchise therapy. This is what we talk about. What hurts before it breaks. And right now, okc model is beautiful, but beautiful doesn't win in may, it just doesn't.

And when you see a zone like okc has seen this zone, you don't expect a zone to win you a playoff game. You use it to buy a few possessions, slow tempo down, change the rhythm. But Denver's zone in game six, it didn't just slow the Thunder down, it dissembled them. We charted 19 possessions where Denver sat in their zone. Coverage okay, see, scored on five of the 19 possessions. That's a success rate of 26.3%. And they weren't even clean buckets either. What you saw wasn't just hesitation, it was mechanical panic. It was almost like they had never experienced a zone before at all.

The thunder of offense has always been built on fluidity shea attacking single coverages, jaylen williams slashing off ball, second side initiation drive and kick action into open corner threes. But the the zone forced decisions that they weren't able to make quickly. It shrinks the paint, it dares the shooters to shoot before they're ready, and that's what happened to Dort, wallace and Joe. They all passed up open looks or rushed contested ones. They were seeing ghosts out there and it wasn't pretty. They generated only 0.79 points per possession in the half court. I want to say that again.

In game six, the oklahoma city thunder one of the best offenses we've ever seen in the history of basketball. They generated 0.79 points per possession in the half court. They had zero fast break points in the fourth quarter. That's systemic failure of an offense. But there was Denver Genius show Murray at the nail, gordon flashing Into passing lanes, jokic soft drop off To drop off, Darren Chet To pick and pop consistently Check this out 23 second chance points For Denver. Okc's offensive board rate rate was just 18.2 percent.

Denver's zone possessions in game four was nine. In game six they had 19. So they basically doubled up on the zones that they utilized and it cost OKC. So now what? What do we see from OKC? What do we see from game seven? What do you expect? As a Thunder fan, what do you expect to see? Do you think that this team will be able to figure out in a couple days and be able to go into again? They went from nine zones to 19 zones in two games. So they doubled up that production and the amount of frustration and unproductive possessions that it caused the Oklahoma City Thunder. You can just imagine that if it worked in game six, they definitely are going to see it in game seven. So let's be real. We've told you all year the Thunder are playing with house money. But the moment you win 68 games, the moment your MVP candidate is torching everybody, the moment that you are no longer a look ahead on the schedule, you're on the clock and this team loses game seven at home, by the way, at home because you are the number one seed after having a better record, healthier bodies, younger team, deeper bench in a series in their hands multiple times.

This is absolutely a missed opportunity by the Oklahoma City Thunder and I don't want to hear anything else about it. You ask Philly. Ask Philly about the importance of taking it, taking um, taking advantage of opportunities. Ask the Memphis Grizzlies mmm, yeah, they had a star. His name is John Moran. Oh, everything was hunky-dory three years ago in the land of Memphis. Ask the Memphis Grizzlies how they feel now. Three or four years ago, mb was winning an MVP and it was just a matter of time for the 76ers to win a championship. Where are they now?

So our take is this the Thunder got exposed, not because they're bad, but because they're not ready. They're not ready to win at this level and that's okay. But let's stop pretending that this was a free trial year. It was not. The expectations were real, the talent is real, and so this is a disappointment. So for my Oklahoma City Thunder faithful fans out there, thunder Up family, was this just a growth year or was this supposed to be your year?

Sound off Hit us up on Twitter At FrontrunnerPC. Hit us up at rea underscore fudge frpc. And then on blue sky at frontrunnerpcbskysocial. And then for rea, it is frpc hyphen, reabskysocial. I hope you guys can win game 7. I don't think you will.

It is not again. It is not because I don't believe in the OKC Thunder. I believe that it's wasted on young and you don't know what you don't know. Until you know it and you can sit there and go. What the hell are you talking about, vince? And really it's basically the same thing. Until you go through shit, until you go through something, you don't realize how strong you are, you don't realize how resilient you are, you don't realize, oh, I could, oh. Okay, this is not a great situation, but I can figure out how to navigate this. Those are things that you have to learn when you play playoff basketball.

It is not just going to be given to you. They're not just going to say here, here's the. You won 68 games. Right, here are here's the victories, here you go, we will let you move on to the next round. That is not how it go. That team wants to win Just as badly as you do. So If you want to win, you got to take it. If you want to win, you got to Snatch it from them, because they are trying to snatch it from you. Trust and believe.

Now let's get on to another subject. That is very, very hot button. Very, very, you know, almost too hot for tv. You know I'm saying and that is what the hell is going to happen this summer. We got a lot to talk about. It is this summer will be the summer of 2025, and every gm is lined up like it's a rose ceremony in the bachelor, yannis.

Yannis antetokounmpo is our lovely, lovely bachelor at this point in time and at this moment, and yet no one's quite sure if he's ready to commit. And meanwhile, kevin Durant still at baggage claim right now, waiting. We got suitors, we've got picks, we got desperation. Welcome to the decision trade season edition. All right, so we gotta get to it. See, is over from milwaukee. We snatched a band-aid off that situation last week.

Milwaukee, your boy is probably going to get traded. Sorry to tell you, giannis Antetokounmpo if he's not looking at the front door, he's giving it a little side eye. Hey, I wonder, I wonder what the prices are if I lived in Houston. I wonder what the prices are if I lived in Atlanta. I wonder if I could save some money. Oh man, if I move from Milwaukee to like Atlanta probably won't be as cold man. I gotta get rid of some of my leather jackets that I have, or some of my my overcoats that I have, because I won't need them in atlanta or houston or wherever I'm going. I wonder what my man's thinking right now. Well, let's help him out, let's help him out.

So where do we think yannis is going? I have no idea. I know he's going to hold up the whole entire summer until he is ready to deem whatever team worthy to where he's going. Could it be Brooklyn? We talked about that on the last podcast. Brooklyn is always horny for the star, always horny for the star. They never look at it holistically though, to find out like, hey, okay, we got this guy. What else do we need to pair with this guy To make it a robust situation when we can win and have a lot of success? They still haven't gotten that part down.

Now Could Giannis go to Toronto? People have asked me this question in the last couple days and at first I didn't give a lot of credence to it. Then I talked to a couple people and I said, hey, explain to me what toronto is doing with all these like contracts and whatever. Like, oh well, yannis is on the trade deadline, on the trade block, we can trade a couple of our guys. Well, yannis is on the trade. That is on the trade block. We can trade a couple of our guys. Get yannis boom. And we still got oh, we still got overlapping talent that will be able to help hook, help us with when we have yannis right, we still have talent. Once we trade some of the talent away, like, okay, I get it, you know, I'm alright.

Does Giannis really change the the future? Does he change the trajectory of the Toronto Raptors? I don't know, but they feel confident. Houston, will their Houston? Will their refusal To trade Amin Thompson Be the sticking point For them not getting Giannis Antetokounmpo, we will dive in. It is almost. It's almost like it's written in the stars. It's almost like this was predestined to happen. The San Antonio Spurs Well, you can sit there and say, well, they got the number two overall pick.

They could jettison that off. Well, not so fast, because Milwaukee doesn't control their picks either. So they might want veteran talent back. Hmm, plus picks, right? So if Dylan Harper is the second overall pick and San Antonio has that, does it necessarily mean that Milwaukee will want that? Or would they want deer and fox in milwaukee? Or does milwaukee then trade deer and fox to whomever and then get a bushel of stuff as well and then have, almost like, you get two bushels of stuff, get one from houston and then whatever uh landslide package that you get from deer and fox.

These are all things that are out in the ether. I'm just throwing them out there. For some reason, laker fans think that we're getting them. I have no idea how we're getting them when you got one draft pick and you got really like one player to really trade. I don't know how lakers are getting them, but my, my laker fans are hopeful boy. They, they just think since they got luca, they get anybody. They feel like they could get winby with, like ruri hachimura tomorrow. No shit, for real. I've heard craziness. This is what happens when you are dealing with leger fans. It is just what happens.

This isn't just about who has picks. It's about who yannis can build a life with. Don't hand him a rebuild dress dressed as a contender. He sees right through that. Sire is right. Sire is right. It will be a. It will be a contender, not just a contender for one year. It will be a sustained contender. You will have to have either Young talent that can help Giannis as he goes forward, or B, you will have to have more picks, or more something to be able to augment the system for down the road. If you need something else on top of the Giannis Antetokounmpo acquisition From Sean Serrania, this is a brand new. This is just new.

The Diver Nuggets forward. Aaron Gordon has been diagnosed with a left hamstring hamstring strain. I'm trying to see what hold on. It just came up on Twitter. Give me a second. Seeing this like last. You know you get this stuff like last minute. You sitting there, you trying to get this stuff out. All right, let's see what sham said Okay, different nuggets forward. Aaron Gordon has been diagnosed with the left hamstring strain and his status is in doubt for game seven against the oklahoma city. Thunder sources tell espn major development heading into sunday's game. So we hope, uh, our guy aaron gordon can play, because he was. He was stout in game six, but I just wanted to bring that to y'all's attention while we on the pod we don't let news slide by. You get the full situation with front runner podcast collective now.

We talked about Houston, we talked about San Antonio, we talked about these teams. He will hold up everything, every single thing, in the summer of 2025. We'll go into freeze frame, not because of a lockout, but because of Giannis and Kevin Durant. Have every team on the tarmac on hold, every team on the tarmac on hold. But before those dominoes fall, the nba's next era quietly unfolded on draft night and this wasn't a class about obvious stars. It's about system schemes and who's building a real foundation.

We all know that d Mavericks got the number one overall pick. Cooper flag should be that do defensive anchor can run some of your offense through the elbow. Situation can switch one through five. He can win you playoff games right now, honestly, and every board has him as the considerable number one overall pick. The number two pick is spicy because Dylan Harper is there. Now I will say to you that if I'm saying and telling you I'm keeping that pick, let's just keep it a buck, I'm keeping that picture what's show.

Now I want to get to a couple things about this draft that are important, and the reason why I want to get to that is because of the fact that you're going to hear a lot about the cooper flagsags, the Dylan Harpers of the world. You're probably going to hear a lot about the Trey Johnsons of the world. I want to introduce you to a couple guys by the name of Thomas Sorber, cedric Cowart and Noah Penda. Now, thomas Silver should have gone, probably top 18. You know, in the mocks he's going like late first round Clean roll man, switchable post defender. Cedric Howard is looking like he's going at the back end of the first round or maybe the start of the second round. He's a 3 and D archetype, massive motor. He's a culture fit guy, real, long, real. You know, got a lot of physical attributes that you love, love, love, love, love. Don't overreact, don't sit there and like traits, traits, traits, traits, traits, traits by IQ guys, because once you get past I want to say once you get past two, this is very much an eye of the beholder draft.

Now, I'm not saying there's not super duper talented dudes in this class. What I am saying is that there are dudes that are gonna need work. Carter Bryant high motor, real defensive pop still haven't seen the shot. You know. Kick in more. Murray Boyles IQ and defense, but we gotta see what happens. How much offensive pop he's got. Will Clayton Jr be able to do anything other than score? Asa Newell Is he more than an athlete? These are questions, all questions that I have.

Now I will tell you one guy that I'm very excited about and he seems to be falling, which is weird. Um, you heard about him on this podcast before. It's rashir fleming, and I want to give you his numbers again. He's six foot nine, he's mobile, he's locked in defensively. He can switch with intent, Not just effort. He's not just a project, he's a plug and play wing with upside.

Do not be the person that talent evaluates and takes a single way over Fleming, because I don't think that's going to work out for you. I really don't, and I see the singway is higher on boards than Fleming. And I will say this if you take a singway over Fleming and when Fleming hits the court and he's flourishing, don't be on the wrong side of history. Don't be on the wrong side of the highlight montage. You know what I'm saying. Don't do it, don't do it. You're going to see a lot of Noah Asengue hype in the next couple weeks. I'm just letting you know.

I'm not saying that I don't like the young man. I'm just saying there's certain things about his game that I'm just going where's the translation? At least with fleming, I see like five things that he can do on the on the nba level right now to help your team like kooker flag is the most complete prospect we've seen in a decade. He checks every box. Con knipple might not jump out on film but he's smart as hell and he's going to make multiple all-star teams. You can book that, con knipple. I know he, he, uh, he measured out at six foot five. I understand that. You know he has like a six, six wingspan and all these type of things. This dude can absolutely shoot it. He can absolutely pass it. He has a feel for the game that people are going to absolutely love. And I'm telling you right now, the teams that pass on him, you will rue the day that you passed on con canipple.

I'm telling you now ace bailey, early buzz said he could overtake flack. Remember those days, remember that early, early, early in the process, we had people out here, we had talent evaluators out here saying Ace Bailey might got more shit to his game than Cooper Flagg that did not age well, living off length and junkers. Right now Still a top five bet, but maybe, maybe. But in a draft where translatable skills run deep in the top ten, bailey might be skating on branding more than polish. To quote my guy, denzel Washington from Remember the Titans, we don't need 40 plays, just give me four that work. Some of these GMs, they're still drawing plays in the dirt.

We watch the tape over here, okay, we ain't watching mixtapes. We watched the tape over here, okay, we ain't watching mixtapes. We watch the table over here. Couple other little draft things that you kind of need to stay on top of. We talked about thomas sorber and we're going to talk about him a little bit more right now.

Uh, here's a kid that will probably go in the late first round who probably should get drafted anywhere between 16-18. He's high IQ, drop anchor with legitimate rim protection, short roll, passing touch and a professional approach to defense. Falls it far. I don't know why. Why it's kind of a mistake against teams. They regret it down the road.

But the one thing that we continue to hear about thomas out of georgetown is that he doesn't have um lineup flexibility, meaning that he's a drop coverage big. Only he can't do the the full array of defensive things. But what happens when you do something really well? Do you get credit for that? Because I think my man does deserve credit for that.

Because here's the thing he's a classic big with real modern applications, rim protection. He's not just a pogo stick, he's a shot blocker. His timing is instinctive, he rotates on time, stays vertical, eats a space without fouling. That's a big key for me. He's a lob target with strong base fundamentals, no wasted motion. He keeps the ball above his head, which is great. I love seeing that in his tape. His short roll reads, arguably his most underrated skill if you trap him high server, catches the ball 16 feet and can find a corner or cutter in one motion. That's rare for his build and drop defense. Yes, this is where he'll live.

He's not a one through five switchable guy, but he is solid communicator. On the back line he anchors the defense. He understands screen navigations with guards. So again, can he play? Absolutely, is he the most flexible as far as your defense is concerned? No, but does he communicate to make it up? Yes, sorber's on-court skill is impressive, but what might matter more is his mental readiness. He plays with poise. He doesn't hunt stats, he communicates like a veteran and watch him rotate and call out coverages in the mid possession. That's leadership. His demeanor is businesslike but passive. He knows who he is. He knows what his superpower for young bigs are and here's the best part he will be coachable. Coaches trust guys like sorber. Teammates respect them. He's not flashy but he does everything to win.

So that is my scouting report on thomas sorber of georgetown university. So that is my scouting report on Thomas Sorber of Georgetown University. Yeah. So I'm telling all my guys go get him. If you have two first round picks, you're not wasting the second one on him. You're not wasting it. I'm letting you know right now. Now, why has he fallen? Teams get seduced by measurables. This draft has wings. They have hybrid forwards with toolsy upsides, with a few of them flashed in the workouts, we'll see Some of them barely have film out there quietly stacks up tape as a reliable two-way piece, but he wasn't headlining mixtapes, I think. If you sleep on Sorber and or Rashear Fleming, I think it might cost you some jobs.

Just saying, on that note, and with that being said, this has been a feel good, effing friday. Do you feel good? Have we not talked enough draft for you? Have we not talked enough playoffs for you? Have we not talked enough? Okc, can they come and win game seven? And are the Celtics going to win us a basketball game in what this is, game 6? Right, they're going to the garden. That's what I'll be watching. Once I'm done, once I'm done recording, I'll be watching Celtics, knicks, just lace them up and do it real big.

But before we do that, uh, two things. One, y'all know that we have a blog that goes along with the podcast. If you don't know about the blog that goes along with the podcast, let me educate you on what we have available to you. So what I want you to do is I want you to go to frpcpodcastpageio. Oh then, once you get there, it'll be beautiful. You will see the logo. You will see front runner podcast. Collective logo. Everything is going to be sweet. On the top right hand corner there's like a three little bar system. If you click on that bar system, it will bring down a cascading menu down to you. In that cascading menu is a section that says block. I want you to hit that section. It's gonna take you to the blocks and you're gonna go. Well, vince. Why do I want to be here? Because the second screen experience is right there.

The podcast comes with a blog, so all the numbers that we can't cram into the podcast are going to be in the blog. There might be some things that we have said on the podcast. There might be some things about Rashear Fleming that didn't make the podcast that are on the blog. That's why the blog goes with the podcast. Right, they go hand in hand. That's what we try to do for you. We try to get you one thing and then get you a second thing, because we are like Avis over here we just try harder, damn it. We just try hard, damn it. We just try hard All the damn time.

And now, with that being said, now that you know that there's a podcast and there is a website that has a blog that goes with it. What is there more to do? I tell you what there is to do. Be a friend and tell a friend about the podcast. That's how we grow, that's how we get bigger. It's through the fine, fine folks that listen to us. So tell your mailman, tell your Amazon delivery dude, tell your grow hub dude or girl to listen to front runner podcast collective tuesday and friday for your listening pleasure.

So for myself, I want to thank serea, I want to thank vance, I want to thank the whole crew for giving us this incredible podcast. I can't do it without them. There's so many voiceless people behind this podcast and I just want to give them a shout out right now. Thank you for all of your assistance. We can't get this done without you. So, with that being said, I want us and like we always end, the best part of you is you, okay. I want you to understand that the best part of you is you. Make sure you have people who, for you, that are encouraging you, that are feeding you in the sense of building up your self-esteem, that is showing you love. Now, if you got people like that in your life that are holding it down for you on the return to those people is that you acknowledge them, you show them appreciation by sending them a text, a FaceTime, if they're within your vicinity, maybe even a hug, if we got some people that are saying, hey, I don't like the, you know the public displays of affection or whatever. Like I said, nice little text, nice little, you know FaceTime, or even one of these, hey, check this out. I just want to let you know that I appreciate you, I see you, I see what you do for me and I just want to let you know that I appreciate everything that you do for me. So if you're doing all those things, you got people who support you. You got You're supporting them back, and if you're looking for Like minded people, then you know what you found the right place.

Frontrunner Podcast Collective Is that type of outfit we want. We have a seat here for you Whenever you need it. So If you have questions About basketball Life, whatever the If you have questions About basketball Life, whatever the case may be, hit us up At Front Runner or or At. You can hit us up At FRPCVince At Gmailcom, or you can hit us up At Front Runner PC At Gmailcom. I will answer those questions. You know what I'm saying, or Sorrel One or two and we will get to you. Alright, we want your responses. This is an interactive podcast. Start interacting with us. I've gotten some. I've gotten some Twitter love. I've gotten some DM love. Y'all can come correct, come email, however you need. We are here for you and we are here for you twice a week, tuesday and friday, so we are out of here. You guys, enjoy your weekend, thank you.