The Memphis Meltdown and Detroit's Fighting Spirit: NBA Controversy Unpacked

it's tuesday, you know what time it is. Front runner podcast collective is back on the air. I am your humble host, vince, and we have a really big show today. We are going to discuss the situation in Memphis I know a lot of people have already talked about it. We're going to give you our perspective on it and actually we are going to come at it from a completely different angle. Then we're going to head and talk about the brawl, detroit and Minnesota, the fallout, the suspensions, things of that nature. Then we're going to follow it up Because, by popular demand, we heard you, we heard you in the emails, we heard you in the emails, we heard you in the comments around. The arc is back and is back and is basically full vigor, and what I mean by that is that you're saying well, vince, you used to do three pods a week, now you do two. You are right around. The arc is going to feature the eastern conference today. So we're going to do the eastern conference and then we're going to give you some stats that you need to know, and that's in the off the bounce segment. But you know how we start today. We always start with the front running theory and and before we get there, I want to address two things.

One real quick on the Stephen A thing. I think every NBA podcast person has talked about it and I guess I'll throw my two cents in on it too. Why not, right? I mean, if it gets clicks, clicks, I guess it gets clicks, but coming from it from this perspective, okay, lebron is what at this, this generations if you want to call it this millennia best player, right, this is of the 2000. He is the michael jordan of the 2000s. Call it whatever you want. Go, not go. I don't you know if you want to call me, oh, whatever, I get it. But at the end of the, you can talk about his inauthenticity. You can talk about his inauthenticity. You can talk about LeBron being a mercenary. You can talk about, you know, you can talk about LeBron being in a situation where he has done what's best for LeBron in his career.

Now, for a lot of fans, that could rub people the wrong way. You have an affinity for a team or whatever case may be. Now, the newer generation doesn't look at teams, they look at players. So if they vibe with a John Morant or a Jaron Jackson Jr, so they, if they vibe with john moran or jaron jackson jr. That's who they vibe with. Now, if john morant or jaron jackson jr were to be traded, pump the brakes, memphis. I'm just using it as an analogy. But if? If Jaron Jackson Jr was to be traded, there are young people who are not really worried about the Memphis Grizzlies. They're just worried about where Jaron Jackson Jr is going. Is he going to get the proper amount of touches, is he going to be used correctly? Is his career going to be ultimately successful? And they tie their uh fandom or their emotions of fandom to that.

Now, I am from the old school. I'm a laker fan. I've been a laker fan forever. Um, I will tell you this luc Lucas situation is the most jovial I've been in quite some time as a Laker fan Been a hard watch for like the last decade. So I understand people having real skin in the game.

As far as comments towards LeBron or against LeBron, I will always go back to this. I think there's been a couple people made this point, but I want to drive this home. Lebron James jrny James was the 55th overall pick. So when I say that the chances of that guy making it in the NBA are what? Not that great. So the Lakers took LeBron James' son with the 55th overall pick. You can say, well, they did him a favor. You can say it's good pr. You can say, hey, this is a good working relationship that lebron and the laker organization has created and it has, excuse me, is born fruit with a championship. Whether people want to categorize it as a non-real championship or not, it is a ring, and now, with Luka being here, lebron a sense has helped usher in the new landscape of what Laker basketball is going to be.

I will just say this about Ronnie James and the criticism that Stephen A Smith bestowed upon him. I understand where you're coming from as soon as you say anything about his fatherhood. That's where he had every right to say anything he needed to say about you at that present time. Because, um, lebron has done a excellent job in two or three things. One, this is a superstar who has stayed out of trouble.

We're about to, in the front running theory, we're about to talk about a superstar who couldn't stay out of trouble. You know making choices and what have you? Here's a guy who has really kind of like, sacrificed for the league. You say, well, vince, how's that? How has he sacrificed for the league. Okay, I mean, he even said it on the Pat McAfee show and I'll get to that in one second.

But he said on the Pat McAfee show, he, he was like okay, I'm from Akron, lo and behold, the Cleveland Cavaliers get the number one overall draft pick. I understood the assignment In his words. This is his words. He said I just didn't want to fuck it up. This man spent 22 years, a lot of excellence in that. 22 years. Some things to quibble with, no doubt, but he's put up 22 years of stellar performances.

Has there been a little bit of controversy? Yeah, a little bit, but who amongst us hasn't had his share of controversy? Yeah, a little bit. But who amongst us haven't hasn't had its share of controversy? So his son gets drafted into the league.

Steven a says some comment comments about the situation. Legron attacks him. Whether people want to say that's right or not, that's up to you. What I'll say about this is that there's a lot of noise around the 55th overall pick. I want to say this barney is playing more than reed shepherd.

We've seen um positive strides from brownie james and uh to john saloon can't get off the bench in charlotte. Now I'm not saying that brownie james is the next coming or whatever. But here's the thing we've seen it in football, we've seen it in basketball, we've seen it in baseball you take a flyer on the dna and then when you find out what the kid is like because here's the thing about gronnie james and I'm going to tell you that maybe you don't know here's the thing that you might sit there and find very, very hard to believe. That kid is working very hard on his craft. Every single day he takes copious amounts of input video input and coaching input and then tries to apply it to his game. Where he was the day of training camp in the, today he's a completely different dude.

Credit to him and his work. The outside shot looks a lot cleaner. His ball handling which is still the weak point of his game looks better. He's starting to use and utilize screens in a better way and he's getting downhill screens in a better way and he's getting downhill. And these are all progressions that he has made, and it's the 55th overall pick.

So you can say, hey, you're caping up for gronny, you're, you know, you glazing up lebron james and his family, or whatever the case may be. You can say all those type of things. But at the end of the day, we are having a long foreign conversation about Ronnie James, the 55th overall pick, and I'll tell you this that kid is the nicest kid. To the support staff, to the training staff, he asked for, in a sense, extra work. He does extra work. He treats his teammates on the g league just as well as he treats his team, his teammates on the lakers. He is fitting in to his surroundings for who he is with all this scrutiny, and again I will continue to hammer home, he is the 55th overall pick.

I understand the name, I understand what's behind it, but at the end of the day, if lebron james jr becomes a eighth man in a rotation, we have a success. If this man becomes a six man in this league or whatever, and thrives and averages like 13 points a game, guess what? Rob palenka looks like an absolute freaking genius. And credit to the player development people, credit to jj reddick for having an actual plan for bronnie james this whole entire time thanks to the analytical department, thanks to the video department for the lakers that are supporting this young man to chase his dream. And again this young man to chase his dream. And again, if I'll be very candid.

Due to alcoholism and you know I talked about being eight years sober I I was not the best father, uh to see this man be a good father is, uh. Do you understand where he came from? Do you understand some of the heartaches he had to face and his mom had to face? I know, yeah, y'all see the what he is now. He's a billionaire and all this other stuff but he lived in section 8 housing. Do you understand the statistics of what that ends up being?

And for him to never have had a marriage scandal, never have had a marriage scandal. For him to have kids that seem very well adjusted and polite people, and for all his friends, his homies, however you want to put it, his confidants, things of that nature. All of them are very, very successful and that's a credit to their hard work. That's a credit to the trust that lebron and the communication skills that lebron put forth with inside his group. And I find that he has that same kind of communication skills with his son, who seemed to have that same type of um, effervescent personality that basically uplifts his teammates. And again, I tell you, there are 26 year olds on southway lakers right now that are telling me that this man is just a good kid. He does his work and you know he's. He's a good dude to be around.

So, again, I think steven a was wrong going after the fatherhood thing and I think we are having a long foreign conversation again about a 55th pick. And if this was any other team and his name was any other name and he didn't have the DNA of the all time leading scorer in NBA history, this, this wouldn't be a story we're going to probably have better. We're gonna have more expectations about bryce james bryce maximus james, okay, who is 6'6 already, seems to have the playmaking skills and also his his outside shot seems to be more well formed than his brother. We're gonna have more expectations on that kid than this one, and I wonder what the narrative will be around him. I wonder what the noise will be around him when we get there.

I love the passion that people talk about the game. I don't want to shit on that. I want people to be able to talk about it, but I also want to go like this man. There's a lot of importance on the 55th overall pick in the 2024 NBA draft. Are we going to have the same energy for the 55th pick this year. Oh man, sacramento, damn. For the, the 55th pick this year. Oh man, sacramento, damn. I don't know about this development of this. Like you know, you're a league player who's 19 and you know body is a little bit underdeveloped. I mean, geez, you know this good. This dude could be like our seventh dude, like three years down the road. We I hope we have that same energy.

All right, let's get to the pot. Got so much to get to, got so many things to get to. We're gonna start off in memphis because there's a lot going on there. So I wanted to go about this a different way and I want to kind of mix in some analogies of this debacle that has gone on in Memphis. So you kind of have to allow our creativity to flow here. So if you're lost with this, I believe we will have a blog that goes with this, so enjoy the second screen experience as well. So, again, we're starting off in memphis and I want to go with this. Have you ever lived with someone that keeps saying they'll change, but somehow they're still the one taking out the trick, taking out the trash? You're taking out the trash and picking up their socks. Welcome to the 2025 Memphis Grizzlies.

This season of John Moran, desmond Bain and Jaron Jackson jr the core, your supposed build around pieces have played a combined 32 of 74 games together. 32 games and now, with nine games left, the grizzlies, zach kleinman, buyer taylor jenkins their most successful coach in franchise history. This isn't about one game, or this isn't even about one season. This is about identity availability and a front office saying we're done. We're done cuz. Here's my spill on this whole deal. Let's call it what it is. Zach Kleinman didn't just make a coaching change, he pulled the plug on the version of this season for the grizzlies.

Okay, the nba is a routine based organization and it's from franchise to franchise. Lebron is a creature of habit. He has a routine all the way down the line. Luca has a routine, austin has a routine. Your favorite teams, you know. Jalen brunson has a process. They all have processes, processes.

Now, whether the coach and the star player allegedly has some sort of disagreement, which I do not believe to be true, you fire the coach with nine games left in the season. Basically, you're telling the team hey, I'm sick of your, I'm sick of your pouting, I'm sick of you. Know, we have this analytics department here. We have this player development department here and we feel like that we are wasted resources and if you're not going to adhere to some of these things that we're giving you, that we are wasted resources. And if you're not going to adhere to some of these things that we're giving you, that we are like employing these people to give you this information to make us the best we can possibly be, and you don't want to adhere to the game plan, well, hell, check this out. We'll fire the coach right now. This will just basically obliterate the season because let's be, let's keep it a buck.

Memphis, are you really thinking you're doing anything in the playoffs this year now? I mean, you had a puncher's chance when taylor jenkins was still there, because we're going to get into who and what taylor jenkins was to the memphis grizzlies in one second. But now that we're here, now that the coach has been pulled, and we'll talk about um two months, iosalo in a second. But now that we're here, memphis Grizzly fans, grind City where is your enthusiasm level for this team and their chances in the playoffs? Going in now and it's a free fall Because we're going to talk about the last two games in a second as well. Y'all hit me up on x at front runner pc. Also, you can hit the producer of at rea underscore punch fr pc.

Now getting back to zach climbing, pulling the plug on the season, here's some surface level stats for you that don't look like a crisis. There are 15 games. Well, at the time of this taping there, 14 games on over 500. They're still in playoff contention, but then if you zoom in last 10, they are 2 and 8 teams that are above 500. They have lost 12 in a row. They are 21st in defensive ratings since january and again, only 32 games with their big three. That's not stability, that's dysfunction, with makeup on it. And then the, the key up on it. And then the, the key.

Jenkins didn't get fired for failing. He got fired because the front office felt he lost the room. They brought in new assistants this year, so they they fired his whole entire staff of. Uh, oh, my god, I can't. Oh, this is so crazy that I'm doing this right now, drawing a blank. Of course we do this on the podcast, right? Chris vernon chris vernon of the mismatch talked about this on his pot and he gave a detailed situation that, yeah, so the entire staff of taylor jenkins last offseason gets axed. They replaced it because they wanted to bring in a different type of offense, which we'll get to in one second. So they started testing alternate philosophies and when that didn't spark buy-in, they yanked the court.

Enter tumas isalo. So this is the new coach. He has a european flow offense known for creativity, spacing off ball movement but not running a lot of pick and roll. The offense that you saw earlier in the year, the one where it looked like jaw wasn't really effective in. And then, if you notice, in the last two games, they run more pick and roll in the last couple games because ja, is still this the, the straw that stirs the drink? And here's the thing. The reason why they went to this offense is because jaw's availability is an issue.

Okay, so you call it whatever it is. You can call it bag breaks, you can call it, you can call it soft tissue injuries. And what does that mean? Is his lifestyle changed so abruptly that this shouldn't shouldn't be going on anymore? Or is this just like the unluckiest guy on the face of the planet? I think some of it is. What true probably lies in the middle right. That's kind of where I stand on it. But I think you you send a huge message to your star when you bring in a guy who doesn't run ball screens for john morant, one of the best downhill pick and roll guards in the entire league. That's like giving superman a new cape and then it doesn't let them fly. It makes zero sense unless this isn't the system fit. But but about seeing how players react to without jenkins.

Now here's the thing that I saw in the laker game. Josh scored 22 points, eight rebounds, 10 assists. He looked effective. This was his six highest usage rate this season minimum 30 minutes. Bane, jaw, triple. J all scored 20 points. It's the only, it's only the fourth time in the season that they have done that. They showed up. But the defense absolute chaos. The Lakers hit 12 of their first 21 threes. Memphis gave up 134 points and Austin Reeves in a big three stat line next to gron and luca. I mean, he was, he was crazy 31 points. He was just, he was out there balling. He looked like the best player on the court. Honestly, now vibes already fractured in memphis.

Before the tip-off against the Lakers the court guys called a players-only meeting. Desmond Bain said in that. He said I just wanted them to get out their raw emotions. Don't hold anything back. That's leadership, but also desperation. John followed with this. Everything I've done in a Grizzly Jersey has been under coach Taylor. It was a lot to process. That's vulnerability, but it also tells you how fast the floor dropped out and when the big three finally shines together for the first time in forever and you still lose.

It's no longer about talent. It's about trust, cohesion and what direction are the grizzlies going in which Memphis hasn't had a direction in two years. Let's be honest. It started with what? The jaw suspension, and then you had injuries everywhere. So this is not just about jaw. Bane was out, jaron Jackson Jr is missing some time. We had the whole Steven Adams thing and then they had to fix that. So there's been a lot of stuff that has gone on in Memphis that have derailed seasons. This is not an attack on jaw. This is just things have happened. These are the things that happen, in chronological order. This year, josh missed 25 games, bane has missed time and Jaron Jackson's been in and out of the lineup, so they've had a 43% availability.

How do you build a system when the foundation keeps shifting? How do you evaluate a coach or core, when they never seem to be on the floor together consistently? The answer to those questions is that you don't, and that's why this move wasn't about this season. This was about future proofing the team. Tumas isn't the guy yet he's on a test drive. The front office needs to know does job want to play a different system? Can this trio defend at a high level? Is there future here? Or Does Ja want to play a different system? Can this trio defend at a high level? Is there a future here? Or does everything change in July? Because here come the Celtics and let's talk about that game. Because this, ladies and gentlemen, this was a master class. I have notes, so let me get started.

So the celtics roll into fedex forum and they put on one a 117 103 beating on the memphis grizzlies. Uh, the team is tinkering in public, and I mean in the best possible way. The Boston Celtics last night took 62 three point shots. The percentage of three point shots last night For the Boston Celtics, out of all the shots they took, was 64.6 percent of their shots came from deep. That is 2022. Raucous level of math ball, but with better defense.

Porzingis was ridiculous 19 points. He had a plus 29. Uh box plus minus love that he had, the spacing the gravity rim could test, and also no ego. I mean it is. It looks beautiful when it's all on the court for the celtics and this game was just geometry. He and horford combined for seven threes and they opened up the lane for tatum to operate like an absolute surgeon. Call whoever doctor you want to see. You know, chicago, hope, whatever, all that, whoever drew, and derek white man, I mean you love the connective tissue, the guards, it was a master class. They had 17 combined assists. This is how you win playoff series without needing Tatum to play superhero every single night. On the other end, memphis was out there praying for secondary creation. Josh switch, heavy matchups just swallowed up the offense. Scotty pippen junior minutes in april. I mean this is not the vision dude. This is not what they had on the bingo card for what the grizzlies expected this to look like. I also want to credit um the ringers, uh group chat, nba group chat and wasney lambry.

He made a um a point on the podcast about veterans and they don't. They don't have veterans on this team. You got to have veterans on this squad to kind of help Taylor Jenkins' message get through right and I understand what people are saying. Well, they had veterans and they weren't able to play because they were hurt. Marcus Smart, I understand the whole deal. I understand the whole deal, but it didn't. It didn't disprove that you didn't need a veteran. What it meant was, unfortunately, you picked a veteran that had a ton of miles on him and he wasn't going to be able to give you the 22 to 26 minutes that you probably needed from him 22 to 26 minutes that you probably needed from him. That means you go out and get another veteran. You, well, you go out and get somebody who can convey messages from the coach, the coaching staff to ja and to jaron jackson jr why we don't need to jump over somebody. Six, 6'10 for a highlight dunk in the second quarter, because we need to save some of this energy for the fourth quarter on the defensive end and what have you? They didn't have that. Taylor Jenkins could only convey that message so many times.

And we continue to rinse and repeat with the Memphis Grizzlies. And does this sound familiar to the Memphis Grizzlies fans? Another lost season, whether it's jaw getting suspended, jaw having injuries, jaw having more injuries, the whole team having injuries last year and now you have a coaching change at the end of the season. Zach climbing was just probably pissed off at this team and just said enough, I'm done, I can't deal with this anymore. And again, the whys are right here.

32 games together as a core, jaw's availability has been a constant question mark. The defense is trending down and the chemistry is deteriorating. No system fit, no clear path forward, because if jaw doesn't shoot better than 31 from three, this is a wrap. Zach climate saw it. He didn't panic. He made a calculated bet. If we can't trust this group to be available, we can't build around it. So he ripped the band-aid off early, said you know what? You guys don't get a chance to go into the playoffs and even try to represent this. You know this fine city. You don't even get this chance. We giving you a whole season to figure this shit out and you still haven't figured it out.

So for the interim coach isolo, for the core and for the entire grizzlies identity. Here's the thing memphis is done with what ifs? They're moving into a show us now or reset mode. And ja, he might still be the centerpiece, but only if he shows he can be available and lead in a system that is not designed for him. So I'm just telling you right now memphis grizzlies fans, get ready for a long summer.

A conjecture get ready for a long summer of of maybe jogging on a couple podcasts and wondering, hey, is memphis the right city for me? I wouldn't. I would not be surprised if we heard some quotes like that. I wouldn't be surprised if we heard some other frustrations come out of the Grizzlies locker room. I am not saying that is going to definitely happen, but this is the type of season and I think I talked about it at the start of the year I said there's going to be a team that has high expectations and they're going to be terribly disappointed, and it's going to change the trajectory of the nba. Kevin durant is already out on the market. Is john morant right behind him?

It's a question we gotta ask, though. Now we gotta shift gears. We gotta really shift gears because something happened the other night we need to talk about and I'm not laughing because it's super funny, but I'm laughing because it's always this team, it's always the detroit pistons, and we really need to talk about what happened in minnesota the other night. And I need to get these. I need to get these thoughts off, because I've been holding back for a couple days now. So it was chaos, it was tension, it was absolutely necessary. I'm telling you right now, guys, I am excited to talk about this. It went down in minnesota of all places, the home of brock lesnar, the home of rick flair. You know I'm saying I know rick flair is held from charlotte, but we all know he came from minnesota. Uh, so we need to ask this question.

Like seven ejections, a court-sized scuffle and two franchises trying to prove they're done, being stepped on. And this was the brawl for it all. Boy, you had all the egos, you had all the chirpy chirps, everything was ready to go. So let's talk about this. This is not all about the brawl. Let's talk about the pistons too, a little bit. This is went from 14 wins last year to 14 elbows this year. The pistons are choosing violence. We remember last year 14 games won.

Okay, it was a dark day in motown. Barry gordy, if he was live, he would have been super sad. Smokey robinson would have been singing real sad songs. You know, saying the supremes diana ross would have been out there with the fake eyelashes and the glittery gowns and stuff like that, probably singing some, some church hymns and things of that nature. It was a bad day to be a detroit piston fan last year, but one year changes everything. We triple the win total okay, we end the playoffs in detroit. Okay, we in. Okay, detroit stand up.

Detroit basketball is back. K cunningham is a stud and a certified g and they went into minnesota and they was like yo, we're not getting pushed around, okay, we're just not having it. Ron holland the second, is 19 years of age and he's already bargaining at vets and catching injections. It's like a rite of passage. I mean, isaiah stewart must be so proud of his young buck. You already know what kind of energy b stu brings is in his name. And jb bickerstaff he just crashed out, you know. But he said like this he says we're gonna defend each other and I believe in him.

This version of the Pistons Think the Wire, season 4 the kids are wild, emotional, still learning, but they're in it and they're dangerous because they haven't figured it out. And they haven't figured it out and they haven't figured out fear yet because they not taking no else on the court, none. Malik beasley was out there talking mad trash. He was out there talking whoever wanted the smoke. Malik Beasley was giving it to him early. He was giving it to him. He was like this dude can't guard me and this dude over here can't guard me either. This was all the setup before this brawl. Now this is where it flips.

Minnesota got punched in the mouth and they just didn't respond. Anthony Edwards had five points at halftime. I want to throw that in. He came out in the second half and dropped 20. And when he says anytime your brothers get into it, it should boost you up. That's a leadership bar right there. That's a 23-year-old alpha, alpha dog and he sounds just like it.

Also shouts out to julius randall 26 points, eight rebounds, five assists, physical is all get out and focused. It looks like he is over his breakup with the kn. He's not singing sad songs anymore. Shout out to Mike Conley Jr, clock manager, no flash, all function. And shout out to Dante DiVincenzo, who set the tone, was out there In the middle of the fracas bringing the ruckus to the Detroit Pistons and he was ultimately ejected for fighting.

So, uh, let's run it back. Noz read gets fouled. Trash talk ensues. Di vincenzo steps in holland. Stewart, reed and sasser all get into it. Pablo, uh, prigioni and bickerstaff get into it as well. Uh, shout out to pablo for almost squaring up in his loafers. I mean, it's just the most italian thing you've ever seen in your whole entire life.

And then a little kid at courtside he got a live look at nba playoff basketball in march, man, because he was in the middle of it. There was like seven dudes and everybody was on top of them. Now a rod gave him. Uh, the who gave dante divincenzo jersey, I think. Oh, no, nazri jersey, that's what it was. Now, no punches were really actually thrown, everybody was just kind of hemmed up, but the tension was real. There were a lot of important. There were a lot of pointing fingers, finger wagging, mouths, jawing, all the stuff that you want. People pushing each other. It was a scrum. That's what I'll call it A scrum.

Now the league has set the suspensions. A couple dudes got a couple games. Let me break out my phone real quick so we can get these suspensions. Couple dudes got a couple games. Let me break out my phone real quick so we can get these suspensions updated. Shams, hit us up with the information. Let's get shams up here. Shout out to shams doing a good job taking over for woes at espn. We love that dude doing. Keep doing your thing, shams. And we will keep on watching hoops. That's what we gonna do. So here is the suspensions. Okay, isaiah Stewart two games. Dante DiVincenzo one game. Ron Holland the second one game. Nas Reed one game suspension and game naz reed one game suspension. And marcus sasser a one game suspension. Now their pocket was lighter.

Obviously you know I'm saying not great. Not great bob, about that. You losing money never good. Now playoff energy hits early. This was a playoff game in March. We said that, no doubt everything you know. Here's the thing. Net rating post brawl wolves plus 29 this Pistons bench minutes post ejection. They their efficiency created because they didn't have anything. Remember, cade Cunningham set out this game and shout out to Rudy Gobert for being in the fracas but not getting ejected and then having 25 rebounds in the game. Those are grown man stats. We loved it. We loved the brawl. We love anthony edwards talking trash and then dunking on people. It was great. It was a great night. So we're not gonna glamorize fights, but this really wasn't one of those.

But sometimes identity has to be earned in moments where pride is on the line. Detroit is done being a punchline in Minnesota, after a early season swoon and a lack of identity, have come out and said oh no, we steal the bully on the block and they're telling the rest of the league yo, when you come to us, bring the playoff energy show up in march, because if you don't you might get clowned. All right, so now we need to turn to a segment that, like I said earlier in the podcast, I have gotten many an email, which is at frpc vince, gmailcom. You drop emails there all the time. We got. We're gonna have a actual show email coming up soon. We're getting that all set up now, but for right now, frpcvince at gmailcom. I've gotten tons of emails saying hey, vince, we like the podcast, but you know what we really like. We really like the around the arc segment, when you were talking about the teams and you were getting into the divisions and stuff like that, and I said you know what y'all right, so we bring it back. Folks, what's good around the arc is back and it's a little bit different, because how it's going to work is that we're going to take a whole conference and we're going to condense it a little bit. We're going to give you a little little stat here, a little update there and we're going to hit these teams. All right. So we got a lot of teams to hit 15 and we got a short period of time to do it. So we're going to start at the top.

The cleveland cavaliers, the land. Mitchell's numbers, post all-star gray, show more than a scoring punch. He's grabbing 12 rebounds. He's adding four steals in some games that dude is buying in defensively and he's going to need to. Defensive field goal percentage at the rim league best. Mobley and allen are just paint surgeons. Okay, you're not getting in. Those are two seven footers. Wingspan out the building. It's gonna be a rough ride if you think you're going to the hole and nobody's gonna be there.

Now. The Cavs best record in the East. Boston want a straight. These are the young Kings until further notice, but only one of them is playing like they want the throne every single night.

Now here's the other thing with Cleveland and this is a Saraya note, she left this for me. Cleveland doesn't just defend, they deny your dignity. And mitchell, he's doing all the things while doubling as a defensive swing man. He's not making an mvp push. What he's making for is he's making his manifesto for what the playoffs are about to be. That's right. That's a good quote. Love that. You know what? I'm glad that's on the pod now. The Celtics they just keep winning. They keep on winning. The math problem Number one in net rating since the All-Star break, by the way, and Boston leads the league post-All-Star break with that net rating.

Okay, now here's the other thing. Derek White 244 made threes. Tatum is the headliner, no doubt, but white is the lead line of the code in the system. The celtics are a machine right now. They just like, like I said, 62 three-point shots. I don't care who you are, teams are trying to dissuade you from shooting these things and they got 62 of these bad boys off. I told you earlier in the season. Mazzulla has cracked the code. He has turned theeltics into a machine. It is absolutely ridiculous. They're 35 and 11 in conference, just so you know.

All right, let's get to the knicks. The knicks are still waiting. Brunson we're getting updates that he's coming back very soon. Josh hart is still the glue of this team. He's also the cement. He might also be the foundation. He keeps on doing triple doubles, getting eight plus assist games, and the knicks are 6-1 when he has 8 plus assists. So, when his ability to offensive create for everybody else, which is important because he's getting the ball to one, carl Anthony Towns, who is on an absolute scoring spree, he is doing it real, real big. The Bodega Cat is doing it in in gotham and we thought he would. We thought the weird. We thought the weird would manifest itself. I'm not gonna lie to you, but this has been the best version of carl anthony towns, so he should get credit for that. On Anthony Towns so he should get credit for that. I'm still waiting for the defense to show up, though. We'll see how it all goes.

Now let's talk some Pacers basketball, shall we? 43-31. The Pacers now feel like a playoff headache. Indiana's last in half court efficiency among playoff teams. Halliburton's field goal percentage is down.

Listen, here's the thing. It's starting to happen. Have you seen the numbers in the last month or so, or actually it's been longer than a month it's been post all-star. Yeah, he's back. Plus 20 points again, plus 10 assists, plus 10 assists Per game, and we got the splits back. My man is shooting like 44% from three. He's like a 50-40-90 guy.

Again, tyrese Halliburton is back. I'm so excited. Are they still a Ferrari with no seatbelts, with an insane pace. Yes, can they keep this up in the playoffs? No, indiana wants to run, but if you cut the music off mid-play, they freeze. They're a rhythm offense. There is no fallback for there's no fallback. There's no other plan. This is what they do. Okay, they get the ball out the net, they get it up the court and they are trying to run action and they are trying to find good shots for their snipers that are on the court. Okay, siakam, with Neymar turner for defensive structure and playoffs, otherwise they'll get, they'll get punked in the seven game series.

And here's the thing miles turner as a center, as a rim protector, has fallen off this year. Um is, the productivity is not as as robust as has been in the last couple years and I wonder if we have hit a stage where you know you start to grow into your body, you're a little thicker, maybe you don't have the lift that you once did. Those type of things. That's what I'm kind of seeing on when I'm watching games. Now, a team that has no problems with lift whatsoever the detroit pistons 42 and 33 yes, you heard that right. Uh, this team right now is is really battling for that four or five spot with the indiana pacers and the milwaukee bucks, who we will get to in one second. Detroit, kate cunningham has his really not just turned a corner, but he's. He's where he is supposed to be. This is where we always thought he was going to be and now, because of the fact that they put a competent team around him, we see it. So, get well, get the calf together, okay, we can't wait to see you in the playoffs, my man, hope you. Hopefully you come back, like with like four or five games left, so we're getting close, right, getting close to coming back, so you can knock off some of the rust and then enter the playoffs and lead the detroit pistons and maybe have home court advantage throughout the first round. The milwaukee bucks are 40 and 30 and it's just, it's hard now.

Um, dame, deep vein thrombosis. Yes, that's the same thing that Victor went by, yamaha had. Uh, it's the same thing that a sore Thompson of the Detroit Pistons had earlier in the last season going into this season, where he had to take a little while to come back. And now you're counting on Kyle Kuzma as the second and I don't see any place where that is a viable situation, place where that is a viable situation. By the way, brooke lopez career low in defensive rebound percentage. So the age is starting to show. There are bottom five in the half court. Points per possession system isn't working. And now you don't have dame, and dame is your cheat code, because dame is the type of person that individual offense is something that he can do. I don't care if he's 6'1, I don't care if he's 32, 33 years of age. Dame is a problem if you can get him, get the dudes off of him, if you can set a hard screen for Dame, and now he is free and clear, it is a problem for your defense. Still, to this day, there are thoughts that he could return. I don't know, we will have to see, but they are still talking that he might be able to return.

Now this gets us to the bottom of the east. Okay, now we're in the play-in range here. Okay, we've gone past the playoff teams and now there's a complete line between the playoff teams and the playing teams. You got the hawks and you got the magic um, and the best part about what's going on there is that atlanta is a mess. But it's a fun mess. Trey is doing 11 and a half d a game. Dyson Daniels is just pilfering people at an alarming rate, you know. Also he's throwing 19 dimes. You know, in his last couple Dyson Daniels is like a Roomba with a fight IQ, bumping into everything on purpose. Atlanta's ceiling is fun, but the floor is sticky.

Bottom 10 defense. So with all the dyson daniels, pill free and pillaging that goes on, you still got trey young and you don't have jalen johnson. So defense still swish cheese at the point of attack, a la trey young. There's the issue. Hello, hello, hello. Now we get to orlando. I still like franz, I still like paulo. Uh, they're starting to coexist. They're 10 and 3 in the division. The thing about it is they still can't shoot and they didn't. That's gonna be the thing. That's what every podcast talked about, that's what everybody talks about. But the problem is is that who knew, who really knew, that Jalen Suggs was maybe the straw that stirred the drink down in the magic kingdom, the happiest place on earth, orlando, florida?

Now we need to get to the Bulls, quietly, hot seven-3 in their last 10. Kobe White, out here putting up 29 points In the month of March. 29 points In the month of March. Kobe White Did his thing. Shout out to Kobe White.

Now also, it is March. I want to keep that in mind. It is March and you know what that in mind. It is March and you know what happens. In March, two things happen. One, the teams who are tanking, and obviously we have a very, very desirable Bible waiting for us in the 2025 NBA draft, cougar flag and a bunch of other goodies that are coming out. So you see the teams going, hey, I don't care what we gotta do, we gotta lose these games. So you got some of that. And then you got some of the teams that are like at the top of the food chain and they might be getting bored with the regular season. So chicago's caught this nice little range and listen, they play well, they have played well. But it's the Bulls and they're just like a Honda Civic with custom speak speakers. You know saying nothing flashy, but you're gonna to hear them. You know they're going to come out and shock a couple people here and there. Now I'm not talking about playoffs. So, chicago, I am not talking about playoffs, but I think a plucky upstart playing team is just what the Reinsdor ordered. Yet again, yet again.

Uh, and miami is just dead man walking, but they are like the. They're the last of us. You know I'm saying they are literally just there. You know there's nobody left on the planet, it is just them, because everybody underneath them they are just hey man, can we get cooper flag? Everybody below miami is just like hey man. Um, we just don't want to be here, dog. You know I'm saying you're gonna have to take this. Y'all trying to lose, but y'all not gonna lose like we gonna lose. Okay, it's not gonna happen.

Philadelphia out here putting delaware, um, blue hand teams together. It's crazy. Because they pivoted to tanking. Uh, it's been the maxi. And uh, a damn bonus show shouts out to a damn boner, ucla alum. You know I love it.

Boner plays like he's on a 10 day, every single night. He doesn't just block shots, he resets possessions. He's like yo, that's going out of bounds, I'm that's going into the 15th row. Brooklyn is in the lab. Charlotte is spinning its wheels. A mellow done for the season, don't have to worry about it anymore. We're not even trying to put together any sort of competitive team whatsoever.

And was Washington? Well, we know Washington gave up a long time ago. They are doing the ultimate tank. Okay, washington is doing tank. Right, the Wizards are playing 3D chess when it on a trampoline. When it comes to tanking, they are on fire. So at the top of the east you got a lot of competitive teams, uh, and everybody's kind of getting locked in. You have that little battle in the four, five and six range and that's going to be an interesting way to see how that plays out. Does milwaukee get damian lillard back to make a playoff push? Because Giannis is still that boogeyman that nobody wants to see. Nobody wants to see that dude.

Now we are going to end the podcast with the segment off the bounce, and what we tried to do with off the bounce is hit you with a couple like quick hitters and some things that kind of caught our attention. So let's go ahead and do that, shall we? Shall we all right stats that matter. Dyson daniels 3.1 steals per game okay, top five game. Okay, top five screen navigation wins. That's advanced analytics for you.

Beasley, malik, beasley for the detroit pistons nba leader in three points made and also doing shimmies after he shoots the three-point shot and makes it kobe white defense field goal percentage. Check this out. Plus lowest turnover percentage among high usage guards. So the month of march for kobe white has not only been Stock Stat Pleasing, just the basic stats, but he's been a low key Analytical, darling Defensive field goal percentage, holding people down and lowest turnover percentage Among high usage guards. You can't get no better than that.

And now here's the thing thing for all you people that are out there questioning my hate or love for the cleveland cavaliers donovan mitchell is a plus 6.1 on a defensive rating post all-star break. So he's still getting it done. He's still additive. So shooting slump be damned. They're bored. They won a ton of games. They can't wait for the playoffs to get here, and I think spider shows up in the playoffs. Spider shows up in the playoffs. So I'm just letting you know these things right here. These are the things that kind of caught my eye. Um, and there's one.

There's a couple other things that kind of really need to talk about, and here they are the rockets last night played the lakers and this is more of a rocket situation. We'll talk about the Lakers a little bit, but this is more Rockets centric. Now let's talk about Amin Thompson, because I don't think there's another player on Houston's roster who's affecting the floor like he is right now. Not Jabari, not Fred VanVleet, not Shingun, my man, put up 20 points, nine rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks. That's Amon's line versus the Lakers. But beyond the box score, he had four stocks. He blew up three actions on film and Houston's net rating with him on the floor is a positive 5.3.

And he's not your heliocentric driver, he's a chaos agent and I am thinking of like young andre igodala, but with way more bounce and less bulk. Okay, he's a. He looks like he jumps off a trampoline. Now van vliet, since coming back, he's the one guy that can create offense, but he gets jammed up because he's small, so they trap him up against the uh half court line or in the corner. They're going to need to fix that as we get, as we get into the playoffs. I think they don't have a go-to scorer. It's really just prevalent. When you watch them, he was 2 of 14. Jaylen green had a terrible shooting night as well.

Okay, now on the laker side, yes, they won, but I gotta shout out austin reese back-to-back games where he's making plays that won't show up in the box score, but late switches, help, rotation, swing passes, um taking charges, getting rebound hockey assists. He's a winning player, even when he does when he has an off night. So shots out to our guy. So shots out to our guy. And the last thing that I want to say is that there's a guy for the Utah Jazz that I was down on when he came out in the draft last year, but I want to shout him out Bryce Sensabaugh. Now Utah loses again 110-106 to Charlotte.

Okay, but that's not a big deal, right since? Well, when he came out, I thought I was like what does he do? Does he? Does he do anything but shoot? Can he play defense? What is it? Well, he had 19 points. He shot five. He hit five threes. He had a 66.3 effective field goal percentage. That's not just a shooter, he's a movement weapon. He uses his frames and finds angles Think Boyan Bogdanovich with a stockier base, less finesse, more grounded footwork, and that's what I see in bryce sensual.

Now, defense is still a mess, offensive creation for anybody other outside himself not happening. Hence why, uh, our guy laurie marketing is having a down year. If so, if anybody is um selling stock of lori marketing, hit me up. Uh, it's uh frpcvince gmailcom. I will take all your lori marketing stock. So if you're down on him because you're saying all the numbers don't look as good. He is on a iso based team right now.

Uh, I don't know if you caught kiante george's act isaiah collier is the only one out here providing any sort of offensive creation. And the other night check this out 17 points, uh, he had seven elite rim pressures. Okay, but you can see how he still gets turnover drunk against switches, like he doesn't know. He doesn't know what to do now. Filipovsky 13 rebounds but no free throws, because all he doing shooting threes standing out there. And I'm telling you right now, uh, miles Bridges is probably gonna, um, somebody's gonna pick him up. I know he had the situation we've talked about it. I know he had the situation. We've talked about it. It's never good to be involved in any sort of domestic violence, but we've not heard anything wrong over the last year or so. And I wonder if a player like him on a good team, if a player like him on a good team, could he provide like real legitimate impact Offensively and defensively off the bench for a real good team. Just thoughts, just thoughts out there, all right.

So, with that being so said, I want to thank my producer, serea, who has provided so many, so many notes today. I also want to thank the audience. I want to thank you guys, because we are coming to you tuesday and friday, every single week and we are bringing nothing but heat as far as the basketball is concerned. So you know what around the arc is going to be on friday, right, western conference. So you know that's going to be set. And then now we got to watch these games, we got to see what's going to happen. We got a big one tonight, I think golden state and memphis are playing one another. That has playoff seeding ramifications. You know I can't wait to watch that. All right. Then also on Thursday there is a Laker Golden State game, another playoff seeding ramification game. And I will be keeping my eyes all over those type of situations for you to bring to you on friday, because we will be chilling in the western conference. So for serea, myself, vince and everyone behind the scenes, thank you for your help. And you know who you are.

Frpc wants to leave you with this. We are a nba podcast. We are a podcast that wants to grow. The only way we can do these things is for you to contact us. And how do you do that? On x at frontrunner, pc at reaya, underscore fudge frpc the blue sky accounts are. For me it stays the same. I am a creature of habit at frontrunnerpcbskysocial, but our producer she's very special, so her handle on blue sky is frpc-rayabskysocial.

Remember to hit up the youtube channel. We have an nba lounge there. We have poll, questions and things for you there. We also have the uh blog, the blog. The blog on the website is being updated this weekend, so take a look there. And, lastly, um, enjoy the rest of the week. You know, we got hump day coming up, we got friday coming up and that's when all the basketball talk will happen again. So the best part of you is you make sure that the people that surround you are supporting you, make sure that they are bringing um positive positivity in impacting your life in that way and make sure that you're acknowledging them and those who are exhibiting those behaviors. Go ahead and appreciate those people who are doing that for you. Now, if you're doing all that, go out and do some good in this world and we'll see you back on this podcast on friday for the western conference out deuce.