March 6, 2024 • 34 mins
Chris Mannix and Rohan Nadkarni discuss where LeBron James 40,000 career points stand in the all time sports record book before breaking down why the Oklahoma City Thunder might not breeze through to the second round of the playoffs with the western conference play in containing some talented teams with playoff experience. We also discuss the Bucks extending their winning streak and the Celtics dominating the Warriors in one of the most lopsided victories this season
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Is the Crossover Sports Illustratings NBAB show, bringing down the
latest news's, rummers and everything. Here's your host, Chris. This
is the Crossover NBA podcast. I'm Chris Mannix. He is Rohan,
not Grene and Rowan. We are coming off a historic
(00:25):
weekend in the NBA. Lebron James already the NBA's all
time leading scorer, passing the forty thousand point threshold. That
got me thinking about the most unbreakable records in sports,
and there are a whole bunch of them. You've got
Wayne Gretzky's nineteen hundred plus career assists, uh Cal Ripken
(00:50):
junior twenty six hundred plus games played, Ricky Henderson fourteen
hundred plus career stolen bases. I personally think the most
unbreakable record is Joe Dematt Joe's fifty six game hitting streak.
I don't think anyone is ever going to touch that.
But do you think that we could see a player
eclipse forty thousand points catch Lebron James on the all
(01:13):
time scoring Listen, I say that with the caveat that
Lebron's not close to being done. He's probably gonna average
twenty plus points per game over sixty plus games for
the next two or three years. I mean, this mark
is only going to get bigger and bigger. But do
you think even in today's NBA that record is going
to be breakable?
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Man, it's a great question. I echo you on DiMaggio's
fifty six game hitting streak, by the way, I do
think that one is going to be tough to top,
and cal Rick can two some really good baseball plays
from you, I'm impressed. But in terms of Lebron, I'm
leaning no. I'm leaning it not happening in my lifetime,
at least even with the three point line, even with
(01:56):
kind of the extended careers we see players have now.
I mean, you think about someone like Luca for example,
Luca's what close to thirty five points a game this year,
He's still gonna have to play so much longer to
catch Lebron, And like Lebron from the moment he entered
(02:16):
the league, was playing under this can he be the
next Michael Jordan conversation that hung over Lebron from day
one to an extent that it's pushed him to extend
his career in a way that is just wouldn't maybe
necessarily be quite as worth it, frankly for other players.
The legacy that he's kind of been required to build
(02:39):
by so many people, he's leaned into that he's chased
Michael Jordan, and I think that's extended his career, extended
what we've seen kind of his prime in a way
that it just wouldn't for other guys. And the thing is,
you can be a great scorer like Luca, but what
is going to happen to Luca and say, like if
he's thirty eight years old and chasing Lebron's record and
(03:01):
he's like a shell of what he currently is. Defensively,
like the fact that Lebron can stay on the floor
and be effective that he is at his age. I know,
it's like kind of a meme. People are like, you
have to appreciate this, but it's just beyond remarkable. The consistency,
the durability that I think combining all those factors again
from the motivation, the amount of money he spends out
(03:23):
his body, the consistency, the ability, et cetera, I don't
think we're gonna see it for a long time.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
If ever, Yeah, look, let's use Luca as an example
he's got about eleven hundred career points. He's played six
NBA seasons. By those thousands, eleven thousand, sorry, eleven thousand
career points, Yes, eleven hundred would be a small number. By
those calculations, he would have to play roughly eighteen more
seasons to be able to be in the ballpark of
(03:53):
passing Lebron James. Now Lucas twenty five years old, but
he have to play into his early forties to get
within shouting distance of Lebron James. I think you're gonna
have to have someone committ to the league just like
Lebron did eighteen years old, with a three point line,
with a more polished three point shot averaging. You know,
I'm looking at Luca's numbers. The number of total points
(04:15):
Luca had in the season he maxed out last season,
twenty two or twenty one hundred points. You've got to
do that and more every single season for twenty plus
years to put yourself in that conversation. I don't see it.
You never say never, but I think that record is
going to be, you know, forty four hundred, maybe forty
five hundred by the time forty five thousand got stop
(04:37):
saying that forty five thousand before it's all said and done.
So I think that record is is going to hold
the test of time for a very long time, that's
for sure, all right. I want to talk about a
couple of teams, specific teams on this episode. I was
in Los Angeles last night and I popped into the
(05:01):
Lakers Thunder game, kind of hoping that we get some
kind of virtuosa performance from the Thunder. The Thunder entered
that game with the best record in the Western Conference,
a half game up on the Denver Nuggets. They're coming
off a back to back that a good win over
Phoenix on Sunday, so you know, it's not all that surprise.
(05:22):
And they didn't play well, and they didn't Their offense
didn't show up, the defense didn't show up. The Lakers
kind of tried to give the game away for stretches
there with the amount of turnovers they committed, but the
Thunder just couldn't take advantage. Still, as we speak, the
Thunder have the third most wins of any team in
the NBA, behind Boston and behind Minnesota. They have a
(05:46):
top five offense, they have a top five defense, they
have a top five net rating. They have the number
one three point shooting offense in the NBA. Look, Oklahoma
City is one of the youngest teams in the NBA,
say one of because they got older at the trade
deadline with Gordon Hayward add to the mix, Bismack Byambo
add to the mix. But you know, at some point
(06:09):
we have to start looking at number one or number
two seeds as a real contender. So I guess the
question is how seriously should we take Oklahoma City going
into this postseason. Are they right for a first round
upset or are they a team that can get to
a conference finals.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
I definitely lean toward the ladder. You mentioned basically everything
on paper that would indicate this is a bona fide,
legitimate title contender. They've been in the mix for that
number one seed all year long alongside Minnesota and now
Denver is kind of making us a push as well.
They've been incredibly good. Shake Gojess. Alexander, who's been in
MIAMVP rankings every week. I think he's number two right
(06:50):
now and has a great chance to be number one
of the thunder I think pull off the one seed.
We talked about his consistency last week he is just
remarkable what he does on a nightly basis. You add
that to I think chet Holmgren right out of the
blocks has been fantastic. That the defender everyone thought he
could be, thought he could be, uh, and then beyond
(07:12):
that his offensive game, ability to shoot, stretching forwar et cetera.
Jalen Williams, I think they have a ton of depth,
I should say, I really like the pieces around their
star players and how they've been able to make it work.
I'm personally though, of the opinion, and this is where
it becomes nebulous and people say, oh, you're just doing
a take. Like I agree on paper, the Thunder consider
(07:33):
contender legitimate. I do think most teams kind of need
that playoff character building loss before they can be true contenders.
I mean very rarely does it happen overnight. Even the Warriors,
you know, had a couple runs with Clay Dre and
Steph before they won a title. The Nuggets lost in
the playoffs for years with the O Kitchen Murray. You know,
(07:55):
go up and down the list of recent champions. Those
teams have to experience some playoff heart first. The Thunder
of kind of there's been no middle ground. They've kind
of shot into this number one seed territory with with
Chech being finally healthy this year, you know, no SGA
extended injury absences. So do they have kind of the
playoff equity to be a champion? Do they know what
(08:18):
it's like to be down three to two and have
to be fighting for your life. I think they need
those experiences. But I'd be shocked if the team lost
to the first round, and I'd much I'd come much
closer to believing them making the finals and losing in
the first round.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
Well, they're gonna play a play in team in the
first round, most likely either as the number one seed
or the number two seed. And the play in field
right now is loaded with teams that have a lot
of playoff experience. The Lakers, Golden State, Phoenix. I mean,
those teams are in the play and mix right now,
and I think we're gonna learn very quickly if experience
(08:56):
is as valuable as it has been in the past.
To your point, I mean the eighteen nineteen Nuggets. I
think that was their first one of their first playoff runs.
They got beat in the second round. It took the
Bucks and Giannis three years of first round exits to
get to their first conference finals. So you know, history
does suggest that experience matters. But for the most part,
(09:20):
the teams I just mentioned were in the middle or
the bottom of the playoff bracket. Oklabmas City's gonna go
into the postseason with home court advantage in at least
the first round and probably the first two rounds. Their
biggest weakness right now is rebounding, and that's a big weakness.
I mean, you know, Bismack Biambo's not the answer. He's
not You're not gonna play be able to play Bismack
(09:41):
Biyombo extended minutes in the postseeds, so they're gonna have
to address that. But their firepower is legit. I mean,
Jalen Williams, he could probably be, I don't call it
a franchise player, but a certainly a cornerstone player on
another team. Like he is number one on most teams.
He's a twenty point per game score. It could easily
be a twenty five point per game score. He's shooting
(10:03):
forty four percent from three. I mean, he is legit. Shae.
Not many teams you're gonna play in the postseason where
Shae is not the best player on the floor. And
Shae is not a young guy, right. He's been around
since twenty eighteen, like he is. He doesn't have a
lot of playoff experiences thirteen games, but he is not,
you know, just some wide eye rookie or second year player.
(10:25):
Definitely got to be concerned about Chet and what he's
gonna be able to contribute in the postseason when the
physicality wraps up or ratchets up. But lou Dort is
another guy that has been around for a while. It
is among the best defensive players in the NBA. So
to me, it would be a I don't wanna call
it a catastrophe, but it would be a huge disappoint
(10:47):
if they lost in the first round. It would probably
even be a little disappointing. I don't want to say
that because they probably can play Denver in the second round,
and Denver's gonna clean their clock. I don't think they
match up well with Denver at all. But I at
this team, and I was watching them on TV last
few last week or so, and I watched them play
live on Monday Night. I think they can beat everybody
(11:08):
in the West, but Denver. I think they've got the
personnel for I just think Denver is a big problem
for them. So I think they are a team that
should win a first round series, and depending on the matchup,
i'd give them a shot to win a second round
series two right.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
Yeah, I definitely think they can win in the second round.
I'd love to see a Thunder Timberwolve series which is
in play if they finish in the two three and
Denver finishes one. And I know some people are listening
to this, like why are they talking about the Thunder
like this? They've been great all season. Of course they'll
win in the first round. I mean, that's just kind
of how crazy the West is. I mean, you mentioned
some of the teams in the play in mix. There's
(11:45):
a chance they say Luca in round one, Kevin Durant
and Devin Booker in round one, like those won't be
easy matchups. And beyond that, again, we just really haven't
seen this group. It's rare to see an ascension from
a team this rapidly, with with this much kind of
just internal growth, which makes them such an i think,
an outlier from previous contenders that we're used to. But
(12:07):
I'm excited, and yeah, I definitely think. I mean, if
Denver finishes in second or third, that they have a
fantastic chance to make the conference an echo. I think
they can beat anyone in a series. I do think
Denver they already have an issue with size. Then you
add in you know, Jokic, which no one really has
an answer for to begin with. I think that puts
(12:28):
them in a bit of a bind.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
You know, I have to check the roster spot availability.
It is surprising that they seemingly haven't done much more
to address their center rotation. You mentioned Bismic Bamble, who
I like, but it is not really a long term
or even short term definitive answer there. So that I
think is going to be an issue. Well, how many
rebounds in nurkicchav the other night, Like thirty rebounds in
(12:51):
that game against.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
His look and look, you know, Davis beat him up
on the glass a little bit in that Laker game.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
I mean, the Lakers have Matt sup well with them,
and the Lakers have that size and physicality in their
front court. I think they're up three to one on
the Thunder in their season series.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
So yeah, yeah, that's a that's a tough matchup. I
just think in the playoffs and look last night, the
Lakers arrested, the Thunder were not that has to be
taken and Lakers were at home. Thunder gonna have home
court in a series like that. I just think it
would be disappointed if they lost a first rout series.
Got the hard cell too from Thunder officials Monday night
(13:29):
for Shay from MVP. You know, my take on Shay's
MVP is if Oklahoma City finishes with the top seed
in the Western Conference. I don't know how you don't
vote for him, because, yeah, he's he's got talent around him,
but it's really young talent. He is the unquestioned star
(13:50):
of that team who has pushed them, not single handedly,
but he has pushed them from a play in team
last year to potential with the number one seed in
the Western Conference. A long way to go with this
this MVP stuff, but I can wrap my head around
the idea that if Shae, if the Thunder finished first
in the West, pretty good chance Shay gets my vote.
(14:14):
Pretty good Yes, I have.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
A hard time disagreeing with you about Shae winning MVP
if they finished number one. And I say that to someone,
I think Jokic is the best player in the league.
He's the kind of person that you could kind of
give the award to over and over again. But to
your point, it's like Jokic also plays for a fantastic team.
I mean, Denver built the perfect starting five around him,
and I don't think, you know, as great as chet
(14:36):
and Jalen Williams have been. I don't think people expected
everything that they're doing right away. And it starts with Shae,
it starts with his consistency, it starts with how difficult
he is to defend. So I think he's also going
to have a fantastic case. And I'm with you, And
if they finish one and there's even a little bit
of separation there, like he's going to have an incredible
(14:57):
and incredible case for the award.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
Look, and you could probably make the same argument for Jokics.
I mean, Denver right now is the exact same record
as Oklahoma City. So if if the Nuggets, who have
been hot lately, who decided, you know, second half's here
time to play. Yeah, yeah, If if they turn it
on and finish with number one in the West and
they're only a half game back of Minnesota, for that
(15:19):
top spot. You know, it's probably Jokich's MVP Award to
ultimately lose. So it's gonna be it's gonna come down
to the last game of the regular season. Perhaps as
we wrap up the the MVP race, let's talk about
Milwaukee again for a minute. Bucks beat the Clippers on
Monday night. No Giannis in that game, No Chris Middleton
in that game, and Damian Lillan goes for forty one,
(15:41):
Bobby Portis goes for twenty eight. This Bucks team has
now won what six straight games, and over the last
six games, they have the number one defense in the NBA.
I don't know if that's sustainable, if they can maintain
a number one defense, But they don't have to be
(16:04):
the number one defensive team in the NBA. All they
have to be is like a top ten, top twelve
defensive team in the NBA. And they are going to
be tough to beat because you watch Lillard just hey, look,
g honest is up you take over? Did it against
a good Clippers team. Middleton hasn't played in weeks, not
(16:25):
since Dock Rivers really took over. He's gonna add something
that mix offensively. They you know, there is life in Milwaukee,
Like you know what, a team that was once on
life support is now showing signs that they can get
back to being the team that we thought they were
going to be in the preseason. So when you look
(16:46):
at the Bucks the way they played under Doc Rivers,
do you see this as sustainable?
Speaker 2 (16:53):
It's great you should ask that Chriscs. I actually wrote
about the Bucks today and look, I don't think number
one defense is sustainable that Charlotte twice they played Chicago
during kind of the six game win streak. At the
same time they have wins against the Wolves. This Clippers
win was impressive, especially impressive. I think the Clippers had
won nine straight against Dames specifically, so really big game
(17:14):
for him. Here's the thing they, like you mentioned, they
don't need to be the number one defense. I looked
this up. Since twenty ten, only two teams with a
defensive rating outside the top ten have won a championship.
One was the Warriors, who you know, they had Steffed.
The other was the Nuggets last year they had Jokich.
The Nuggets had the lowest defensive efficiency of any title
winner since twenty ten, and that was fifteenth. But we
(17:35):
saw what they were able to do in the playoffs,
they went up to another level and they kind of
slow played the end of last regular season. Milwaukee as
it stands today, after their sixth straight win, fifteenth in
defensive rating, they kind of met that threshold of the
lowest possible I'd say defensive rating we could accept out
of a champion the number one over the last six games,
(17:56):
top ten now since Doc took over in January, and
they've been really good. And I think that we touched
on this a little bit last week, but I think
Adrian Griffin expected the team to defend a certain way
with certain personnel. The Lily trade happens, things change, But
I think Doc has him playing more to their identity.
I think has shrunk the floor a little bit instead
(18:16):
of having players cover more ground, and I think Griffin
wanted to do players playing a little bit closer to
the rim. They've also just kind of, I think, really
changed their approach to transition defense less crashing the offensive glass,
which has made a huge difference. I mean, all year long,
they've been in the bottom of transition defense standings. I
think that started to look a little bit better. You know,
I don't think this current top number one defense is sustainable.
(18:40):
You know, it's like weird because they win this game
without Giannis and it's very impressive, and I don't want
to take anything away from it. At the same time,
you're like, how much can I take away from this
game that they win without Giannison Middleton? But overall, they're
absolutely headed in the right direction, and I think now
is like the first time all season that I felt
comfortable saying that they can win a title with their defense.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
Yeah, I'm with you that it's not going to be
the number one defense or number two defense, or maybe
not even top five defense by the time the season's over.
But you know, this is why they went out and
got Damian Lillard because they were missing a dynamic number
two option opposite of Giannis, and you'll get Lillard's numbers
(19:23):
of late. They're starting to pick up a little bit.
The shooting percentages in some games are getting a little
bit better. The pick and roll game with Yannis is
getting more consistent. Like Doc, Look, Doc took a pretty
good beating early on, and a lot of it was
some of the stuff he said, like he put he
put it on himself by you know, saying things like
(19:44):
it's you know, I would wish this job on anybody
when he's collecting like forty billion dollars and he's taking
over a great team and just some of the overall
criticisms that he had for for that group, but he's
been the right fit for them. He's simplified things on
the ends of the floor. I think he's brought a
level of gravitas to that locker room they didn't have before.
(20:06):
He has been a good fit with that Milwaukee team. Look,
they've got a game against Boston coming up, I think
on the twentieth that to me is that's a playoff game,
Like that's Perrometer right there. I mean, because by then
they probably should have Chris Middleton back. The Celtics right
now operating at close to full strength. That's a game
(20:26):
that I think we'll learn a lot more about Milwaukee.
But right now they're the only team I think is
a real threat to Boston in the Eastern Conference. Like
I look around, like, you know, even without the injuries,
the Knicks to me, are still a player away from
being able to compete against the Celtics. The Cavaliers are
what they are. I still can't trust them when they
get to the playoffs. Philadelphia. Look, they're good, but you know,
(20:50):
tell me Joel Andbi is gonna be healthy? And I
don't know the answer to that just yet. Besides, even
when he is healthy, Celtics owned the seventy six ers.
Just it's a fact like they've they're beating them up
pretty good last four or five years. So I think
Milwaukee's the only team that can threaten Boston. And we'll see,
we'll see if they have it in if they've come
as far as they look like they've come in this
(21:11):
game coming up in just a couple of weeks against
the Celtics. One other thing I wanted to touch on
hold I mentioned.
Speaker 2 (21:17):
Real quick, real quick, you're you're just ready to incur
the wrath of heat Twitter not even an obligatory mention.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
Yes, my thought. Do you want to know you're right?
I do want to make the case for the Miami
Heat to be a threat to win the Eastern Conference
this year.
Speaker 2 (21:35):
I do not, in fact do not, And I will
just say.
Speaker 1 (21:38):
Just to your point, a huge difference maker now, right,
he will hit.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
Like six threes in a game against some poor team
that's just gonna be furious.
Speaker 1 (21:50):
Hey about it all right now, eight and two in
their last ten games, So Miami's playing playing well, and
as we saw last year, it really doesn't matter what
seed they get. That's look. Look, if the playoffs starts
today and I know they've got to go through the
play in in the East, but Miami right now sitting
at seventh, Milwaukee at two, running it back from last year,
that's probably not the matchup Milwaukee wants in that first
(22:11):
I think they probably prefer like Indiana, Chicago, Atlanta, maybe
even Orlando in the first round because Orlando can't score. Yeah,
that's I can see some teams not wanting any interest
in playing Miami in the first round.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
I will just say to your point about the Bucks
and about as it relates to the rest of Eastern Conference,
they are the only team with the star level talent
that can compete with the star level talent. Yes, the
Celtics has that can they can confidently say we have
the best two guys on the floor, even and that
goes a long way in a playoff series.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
I agree. I agree. Last thing, I want to look
at the bottom half of the playoff bracket in the
Western Conference. Like I said, you've got four teams there
that have either been championship teams in recent years or
high level playoff contender. Sacramento, which was the three seed
in the Western Conference last year. They're sitting there at
number seven, Dallas, which has some serious star power and
(23:04):
it's backhourd made some good trades before the deadline. There
are at eight, the Lakers at nine in Golden State,
who was tattooed by fifty plus against Boston. But there's
still the Warriors. They've still got some star power. Of
those four teams, if you had to pick one to
make a deep playoff run, which you know, I guess
(23:25):
in the context of this is win a first round series,
because that first round series is going to be a
matchup against Minnesota, Oklahoma City, Denver, maybe the Clippers. Which
of those teams do you have the most faith in
to flip a switch and become a second round playoff.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
Team, understanding that there are really no good bets here.
If I had to go, you know, twenty twenty two
Mannix mode and just kind of really hitch my wagon
to one of these teams, I think I'm to pick
the Warriors. You know, you mentioned the Celtics blowout. They're
missing pods, they're missing Wiggans right now, who's dealing with
(24:07):
a personal matter once again? Uh significant, can't you.
Speaker 1 (24:11):
Say one thing about that Celtic game, Like there's an
incredible amount of brain power on that Golden State bench
Steve Kerr, Kenny Atkinson, among others. Their strategy against the
Celtics with all that brain power was to leave an
all NBA guard who's shooting thirty six and a half
percent from three for his career wide open, like that
(24:34):
was the strategy to beat the Boston Celtics, Like, if
you needed to, if you needed more evidence to believe
in Boston, the Golden State Warriors decided the best game
plan was to leave Jalen Brown open, Like that's all
you got. You're not gonna have much success.
Speaker 2 (24:51):
To your point, I think a lot of people are
like laughing, this is a terrible strategy. What are they thinking,
you know, Jalen Brown tweeting about it after the game.
To your point, those are the kinds of problems with
Celtics present to people.
Speaker 1 (25:01):
And they didn't even have Porzingis in that game. They
will playing without a twenty point per game scoring three
point threat.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
Right who happens to be seven feet tall, so you
can't even switch your clothes out on them. But to
your point, I kind of like respect the Warriors from
being like, f it, we got to try something. We
know how how many threes these teams are gonna shoot.
Maybe it ended up being not the best strategy, but
those are the problems.
Speaker 1 (25:22):
Maybe hitting the iceberg wasn't grateful the Titanic, Like.
Speaker 2 (25:28):
I just respect that they were willing to, you know,
give it a shot, knowing that they were a little
bit undermanned, and how the difficult the Celtics are to
slow down In the first way, he said a lot
about how difficult Boston is for these teams to prepare for.
But I just like the way the Worries of look
since Draymond came back and was starting its center full time.
I think the fact that they've shown a willingness now
(25:49):
to move Klay Thompson to the bench. He's had some
nice performances since being in that role. They've been willing
to experiment, They've been willing to kind of push their
chips in to the table a little bit. Listen, it's
gonna depend on is this is this is Wigan's gonna
miss twenty games. Is he gonna come back in two
We don't know, and that's that's looming all over this
(26:11):
But if they're healthy, I mean, we saw it last
year with that with that King series. You know, the
Warriors had a terrible season, and we saw it with
the Kings last year. They were kind of the darling
of the NBA. The Warriors had a season from hell
that started with the Jordan Poole incident, more like the
Draymond Green incident, and uh, they pushed him to seven
games and the game seven, Steph Curry puts on a
(26:32):
legendary performance and the Warriors win. So I just think
Steph is still at that level, still that guy. I
like the way they've looked with Draymond at center. If
I had to pick, like, you know, which team kind
of has that mistique that can get into someone's heads
in the first round, I think it's still Golden State.
Speaker 1 (26:47):
Look, we have to acknowledge that the teams that any
of those bottom four teams are likely to play in
the first round are not traditional dominant won two teams.
I mean, Minnesota right now has the best record in
the West, But if you ask around the league about
(27:09):
the vulnerabilities of Minnesota. You can have a fifteen minute
conversation about that, about whether or not in a postseason
series you can play Rudy Gobert and Karl Anthony Towns together,
whether or not Anthony Edwards can be a closer in
a playoff situation.
Speaker 2 (27:26):
Fourth quarter offensive issues, yes.
Speaker 1 (27:28):
They have, I know. I was reading John Krasinski wrote
about that over at the Athletic recently, just kind of
the way that malfunction as of late in the fourth quarter.
We talked about Oklahoma City really talented, not a high
level of experience. The team that I think has the
best chance of making a run, it's the team I
leaned into last year. That's the Lakers. I'm not gonna
(27:50):
sit here and predict a Lakers Conference Finals or a
Lakers Finals appearing this year. I'm not as confident in
this group. You know, they they've stagnated in certain ways.
The injuries have obviously been a problem. But in a
postseason series, if you've got a defense that in the
(28:11):
past has been good enough to keep games close, and
if you can keep these games within like three possessions
in the final five minutes, you've got the two best
players on the floor in those situations in Lebron and
Anthony Davis, like, you're still gonna have one of the
great closers in NBA history in Lebron. You've got one
of the great defensive players right now in Anthony Davis,
and a guy that can dominate in the paints. And look,
(28:33):
the Lakers have had some stumbles as of late. They
lost coming out of the All Star Break against the Warriors,
they lost to the Clippers, they lost the Nuggets. But
in between then, they've got some wins there. You know,
you've got to win over the Clippers. Sorry, they lost
the Suns. They gotta win over the Clippers. Beat Washington,
beat Oklahoma City last night. So they're also starting to
(28:55):
get healthy with some of these guys coming back. Cam
Reddish came back recently. You know, we saw reports on
Tuesday that Gabe Vincent could be back at some point
mid March, another rotation player they can add to the mix.
I just think they're they're the kind of team that
can be good enough defensively to keep games close and
the playoffs against inexperienced teams. If you've got Lebron and
(29:18):
a d you're gonna give yourself a better than Puncher's
chance to win. So I'm gonna lean into the Lakers
as being the most likely of those four teams at
the bottom right now to win a postseason series.
Speaker 2 (29:32):
You know, it's hard to argue with that logic. It's
kind of unscary as they've been for large stretches this season,
as average as they've felt. I'm with you, Like six
minutes to go in a playoff game, you have Lebron
and a d you know, even as like brash as
the Timberwolves have been in some of these matchups, as confident,
and I think Shane the thunder are, It's just gonna
(29:54):
be interesting to watch and maybe we'll, you know, be
stetactically wrong and this is a true changing of the guard,
and these teams don't matter at all anymore. But I'm
excited to see it. I'm excited to see it because
I do think that they that's kind of like the
mental challenge of the playoffs that these young teams are
gonna have to overcome is staring into a guy like
(30:15):
Lebron or Steph, knowing the experience that they've had the
amount of times they come through on a big stage.
Can you fight through whatever level of intimidation comes with that,
and win is going to be really interesting. When will
it be time, by the way, to unveil the official
man Ex prediction of twenty twenty four.
Speaker 1 (30:34):
I don't really have I don't really have a fire
one yet. Like last year, right around this time, I was,
you know, ready to do the flames. Yeah, with the Lakers.
I don't really have one yet, got it. I'd like
to You know, look, I love what I'm seeing from Milwaukee,
but I can't pick the Buckskins the Celtics, not now.
You know, the Celtics are as well oiled the machine
as they come. So look, we talk We've talked about
(30:55):
parody in the NBA, and there is parody. But right now,
the Celtics are prohibitive favors to the East. I would
make Denver a prohibitive favor right now to win the West.
So even though you've got a lot of teams with
close to identical records who should make for some fun
first and second round series, right now, smart money's on
Boston and Denver. And that's not exactly parody, Like that's
(31:17):
the two teams that I'm playing dominant basketball, at least
in case the Boston all season and Denver in the
last few weeks. Not the parody I think people have
been boasting about as of late.
Speaker 2 (31:29):
Can I get a quick temperature check on Boston, like
is there's just supreme confidence that there's no roadblocks here
because I think there's like I don't know how you
argue any other team to win the East right now,
like coherently. That's not just pure takery. But I'm curious
if that's the way people are feeling around Boston, Like
is there's a.
Speaker 1 (31:49):
Good vibe, there's a good vibe. I mean, there's perpetual
concern about Porzingis's ability to stay healthy in the playoffs.
That's always going to be a concerned but I think
the Celtics done a nice job shutting him down at
the first sign of potential trouble. So when you get
to the playoffs and you're playing at best every other day,
(32:12):
oftentimes with two days in between, that bodes well for
his ability to play in the postseason. And look, I've
said this recently, but like everybody on that Celtics roster
is a little bit better, right, Like Jason Tatum, even
though he's not scoring at the level he was last
year is a little bit better than what he was
last year, more complete player than what he was last year.
(32:35):
Jalen Brown can make the same argument. Numbers aren't exactly
the same as what they were in last year, a
year's past, but a more complete player. I think this
year Drew Holliday, he's a better player for this team
than Marcus Smart was. Like he fits better with this group.
So at that position, they're a little bit better. And
(32:56):
Chris and Porseningis is new to the mix. But Joe Miszoola,
we don't hear a lot about the Joe Mizula gaffs anymore.
We don't hear a lot about you know, why isn't
he calling this time out? You know? Why is he
doing this with his rotation? Yeah, every six weeks or so,
the team goes like ten to fifty from three point range,
and people are like, why are you shooting so many threes?
(33:17):
But they shoot so many threes because they're a top
five efficiency team and they're able to do to go
the state after just three drill them. Like their margin
of victory over the last five games is like thirty
five points. It's wild how they're not just beating teams,
they're bludgeting them right now. Their overall margin of victory
(33:39):
is like an NBA best like plus eleven plus twelve,
and that's like three or four points ahead of anybody
else in the NBA. So I just I don't think
there's any cause for concern right now. In Boston, they're
just cruising along. And yeah, if Milwaukee can show that
they can beat them, more power to them. But I
think we're a long way from, uh, ultimately believing that.
Speaker 2 (34:00):
So I agree, and I just hope if they do lose.
You're in the press conference asking Jason Tatum if the
season was a failure or not.
Speaker 1 (34:09):
Yes, I tried to ask those black and white questions.
Was it a failure? If do you deserve MVP? Now
that's my line of question. All right, go ahead, We
will be back here next week. Until then, enjoy the games,
Is the Crossover Sports Illustratings NBAB show, bringing down the
latest news's, rummers and everything. Here's your host, Chris. This
is the Crossover NBA podcast. I'm Chris Mannix. He is Rohan,
not Grene and Rowan. We are coming off a historic
(00:25):
weekend in the NBA. Lebron James already the NBA's all
time leading scorer, passing the forty thousand point threshold. That
got me thinking about the most unbreakable records in sports,
and there are a whole bunch of them. You've got
Wayne Gretzky's nineteen hundred plus career assists, uh Cal Ripken
(00:50):
junior twenty six hundred plus games played, Ricky Henderson fourteen
hundred plus career stolen bases. I personally think the most
unbreakable record is Joe Dematt Joe's fifty six game hitting streak.
I don't think anyone is ever going to touch that.
But do you think that we could see a player
eclipse forty thousand points catch Lebron James on the all
(01:13):
time scoring Listen, I say that with the caveat that
Lebron's not close to being done. He's probably gonna average
twenty plus points per game over sixty plus games for
the next two or three years. I mean, this mark
is only going to get bigger and bigger. But do
you think even in today's NBA that record is going
to be breakable?
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Man, it's a great question. I echo you on DiMaggio's
fifty six game hitting streak, by the way, I do
think that one is going to be tough to top,
and cal Rick can two some really good baseball plays
from you, I'm impressed. But in terms of Lebron, I'm
leaning no. I'm leaning it not happening in my lifetime,
at least even with the three point line, even with
(01:56):
kind of the extended careers we see players have now.
I mean, you think about someone like Luca for example,
Luca's what close to thirty five points a game this year,
He's still gonna have to play so much longer to
catch Lebron, And like Lebron from the moment he entered
(02:16):
the league, was playing under this can he be the
next Michael Jordan conversation that hung over Lebron from day
one to an extent that it's pushed him to extend
his career in a way that is just wouldn't maybe
necessarily be quite as worth it, frankly for other players.
The legacy that he's kind of been required to build
(02:39):
by so many people, he's leaned into that he's chased
Michael Jordan, and I think that's extended his career, extended
what we've seen kind of his prime in a way
that it just wouldn't for other guys. And the thing is,
you can be a great scorer like Luca, but what
is going to happen to Luca and say, like if
he's thirty eight years old and chasing Lebron's record and
(03:01):
he's like a shell of what he currently is. Defensively,
like the fact that Lebron can stay on the floor
and be effective that he is at his age. I know,
it's like kind of a meme. People are like, you
have to appreciate this, but it's just beyond remarkable. The consistency,
the durability that I think combining all those factors again
from the motivation, the amount of money he spends out
(03:23):
his body, the consistency, the ability, et cetera, I don't
think we're gonna see it for a long time.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
If ever, Yeah, look, let's use Luca as an example
he's got about eleven hundred career points. He's played six
NBA seasons. By those thousands, eleven thousand, sorry, eleven thousand
career points, Yes, eleven hundred would be a small number. By
those calculations, he would have to play roughly eighteen more
seasons to be able to be in the ballpark of
(03:53):
passing Lebron James. Now Lucas twenty five years old, but
he have to play into his early forties to get
within shouting distance of Lebron James. I think you're gonna
have to have someone committ to the league just like
Lebron did eighteen years old, with a three point line,
with a more polished three point shot averaging. You know,
I'm looking at Luca's numbers. The number of total points
(04:15):
Luca had in the season he maxed out last season,
twenty two or twenty one hundred points. You've got to
do that and more every single season for twenty plus
years to put yourself in that conversation. I don't see it.
You never say never, but I think that record is
going to be, you know, forty four hundred, maybe forty
five hundred by the time forty five thousand got stop
(04:37):
saying that forty five thousand before it's all said and done.
So I think that record is is going to hold
the test of time for a very long time, that's
for sure, all right. I want to talk about a
couple of teams, specific teams on this episode. I was
in Los Angeles last night and I popped into the
(05:01):
Lakers Thunder game, kind of hoping that we get some
kind of virtuosa performance from the Thunder. The Thunder entered
that game with the best record in the Western Conference,
a half game up on the Denver Nuggets. They're coming
off a back to back that a good win over
Phoenix on Sunday, so you know, it's not all that surprise.
(05:22):
And they didn't play well, and they didn't Their offense
didn't show up, the defense didn't show up. The Lakers
kind of tried to give the game away for stretches
there with the amount of turnovers they committed, but the
Thunder just couldn't take advantage. Still, as we speak, the
Thunder have the third most wins of any team in
the NBA, behind Boston and behind Minnesota. They have a
(05:46):
top five offense, they have a top five defense, they
have a top five net rating. They have the number
one three point shooting offense in the NBA. Look, Oklahoma
City is one of the youngest teams in the NBA,
say one of because they got older at the trade
deadline with Gordon Hayward add to the mix, Bismack Byambo
add to the mix. But you know, at some point
(06:09):
we have to start looking at number one or number
two seeds as a real contender. So I guess the
question is how seriously should we take Oklahoma City going
into this postseason. Are they right for a first round
upset or are they a team that can get to
a conference finals.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
I definitely lean toward the ladder. You mentioned basically everything
on paper that would indicate this is a bona fide,
legitimate title contender. They've been in the mix for that
number one seed all year long alongside Minnesota and now
Denver is kind of making us a push as well.
They've been incredibly good. Shake Gojess. Alexander, who's been in
MIAMVP rankings every week. I think he's number two right
(06:50):
now and has a great chance to be number one
of the thunder I think pull off the one seed.
We talked about his consistency last week he is just
remarkable what he does on a nightly basis. You add
that to I think chet Holmgren right out of the
blocks has been fantastic. That the defender everyone thought he
could be, thought he could be, uh, and then beyond
(07:12):
that his offensive game, ability to shoot, stretching forwar et cetera.
Jalen Williams, I think they have a ton of depth,
I should say, I really like the pieces around their
star players and how they've been able to make it work.
I'm personally though, of the opinion, and this is where
it becomes nebulous and people say, oh, you're just doing
a take. Like I agree on paper, the Thunder consider
(07:33):
contender legitimate. I do think most teams kind of need
that playoff character building loss before they can be true contenders.
I mean very rarely does it happen overnight. Even the Warriors,
you know, had a couple runs with Clay Dre and
Steph before they won a title. The Nuggets lost in
the playoffs for years with the O Kitchen Murray. You know,
(07:55):
go up and down the list of recent champions. Those
teams have to experience some playoff heart first. The Thunder
of kind of there's been no middle ground. They've kind
of shot into this number one seed territory with with
Chech being finally healthy this year, you know, no SGA
extended injury absences. So do they have kind of the
playoff equity to be a champion? Do they know what
(08:18):
it's like to be down three to two and have
to be fighting for your life. I think they need
those experiences. But I'd be shocked if the team lost
to the first round, and I'd much I'd come much
closer to believing them making the finals and losing in
the first round.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
Well, they're gonna play a play in team in the
first round, most likely either as the number one seed
or the number two seed. And the play in field
right now is loaded with teams that have a lot
of playoff experience. The Lakers, Golden State, Phoenix. I mean,
those teams are in the play and mix right now,
and I think we're gonna learn very quickly if experience
(08:56):
is as valuable as it has been in the past.
To your point, I mean the eighteen nineteen Nuggets. I
think that was their first one of their first playoff runs.
They got beat in the second round. It took the
Bucks and Giannis three years of first round exits to
get to their first conference finals. So you know, history
does suggest that experience matters. But for the most part,
(09:20):
the teams I just mentioned were in the middle or
the bottom of the playoff bracket. Oklabmas City's gonna go
into the postseason with home court advantage in at least
the first round and probably the first two rounds. Their
biggest weakness right now is rebounding, and that's a big weakness.
I mean, you know, Bismack Biambo's not the answer. He's
not You're not gonna play be able to play Bismack
(09:41):
Biyombo extended minutes in the postseeds, so they're gonna have
to address that. But their firepower is legit. I mean,
Jalen Williams, he could probably be, I don't call it
a franchise player, but a certainly a cornerstone player on
another team. Like he is number one on most teams.
He's a twenty point per game score. It could easily
be a twenty five point per game score. He's shooting
(10:03):
forty four percent from three. I mean, he is legit. Shae.
Not many teams you're gonna play in the postseason where
Shae is not the best player on the floor. And
Shae is not a young guy, right. He's been around
since twenty eighteen, like he is. He doesn't have a
lot of playoff experiences thirteen games, but he is not,
you know, just some wide eye rookie or second year player.
(10:25):
Definitely got to be concerned about Chet and what he's
gonna be able to contribute in the postseason when the
physicality wraps up or ratchets up. But lou Dort is
another guy that has been around for a while. It
is among the best defensive players in the NBA. So
to me, it would be a I don't wanna call
it a catastrophe, but it would be a huge disappoint
(10:47):
if they lost in the first round. It would probably
even be a little disappointing. I don't want to say
that because they probably can play Denver in the second round,
and Denver's gonna clean their clock. I don't think they
match up well with Denver at all. But I at
this team, and I was watching them on TV last
few last week or so, and I watched them play
live on Monday Night. I think they can beat everybody
(11:08):
in the West, but Denver. I think they've got the
personnel for I just think Denver is a big problem
for them. So I think they are a team that
should win a first round series, and depending on the matchup,
i'd give them a shot to win a second round
series two right.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
Yeah, I definitely think they can win in the second round.
I'd love to see a Thunder Timberwolve series which is
in play if they finish in the two three and
Denver finishes one. And I know some people are listening
to this, like why are they talking about the Thunder
like this? They've been great all season. Of course they'll
win in the first round. I mean, that's just kind
of how crazy the West is. I mean, you mentioned
some of the teams in the play in mix. There's
(11:45):
a chance they say Luca in round one, Kevin Durant
and Devin Booker in round one, like those won't be
easy matchups. And beyond that, again, we just really haven't
seen this group. It's rare to see an ascension from
a team this rapidly, with with this much kind of
just internal growth, which makes them such an i think,
an outlier from previous contenders that we're used to. But
(12:07):
I'm excited, and yeah, I definitely think. I mean, if
Denver finishes in second or third, that they have a
fantastic chance to make the conference an echo. I think
they can beat anyone in a series. I do think
Denver they already have an issue with size. Then you
add in you know, Jokic, which no one really has
an answer for to begin with. I think that puts
(12:28):
them in a bit of a bind.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
You know, I have to check the roster spot availability.
It is surprising that they seemingly haven't done much more
to address their center rotation. You mentioned Bismic Bamble, who
I like, but it is not really a long term
or even short term definitive answer there. So that I
think is going to be an issue. Well, how many
rebounds in nurkicchav the other night, Like thirty rebounds in
(12:51):
that game against.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
His look and look, you know, Davis beat him up
on the glass a little bit in that Laker game.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
I mean, the Lakers have Matt sup well with them,
and the Lakers have that size and physicality in their
front court. I think they're up three to one on
the Thunder in their season series.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
So yeah, yeah, that's a that's a tough matchup. I
just think in the playoffs and look last night, the
Lakers arrested, the Thunder were not that has to be
taken and Lakers were at home. Thunder gonna have home
court in a series like that. I just think it
would be disappointed if they lost a first rout series.
Got the hard cell too from Thunder officials Monday night
(13:29):
for Shay from MVP. You know, my take on Shay's
MVP is if Oklahoma City finishes with the top seed
in the Western Conference. I don't know how you don't
vote for him, because, yeah, he's he's got talent around him,
but it's really young talent. He is the unquestioned star
(13:50):
of that team who has pushed them, not single handedly,
but he has pushed them from a play in team
last year to potential with the number one seed in
the Western Conference. A long way to go with this
this MVP stuff, but I can wrap my head around
the idea that if Shae, if the Thunder finished first
in the West, pretty good chance Shay gets my vote.
(14:14):
Pretty good Yes, I have.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
A hard time disagreeing with you about Shae winning MVP
if they finished number one. And I say that to someone,
I think Jokic is the best player in the league.
He's the kind of person that you could kind of
give the award to over and over again. But to
your point, it's like Jokic also plays for a fantastic team.
I mean, Denver built the perfect starting five around him,
and I don't think, you know, as great as chet
(14:36):
and Jalen Williams have been. I don't think people expected
everything that they're doing right away. And it starts with Shae,
it starts with his consistency, it starts with how difficult
he is to defend. So I think he's also going
to have a fantastic case. And I'm with you, And
if they finish one and there's even a little bit
of separation there, like he's going to have an incredible
(14:57):
and incredible case for the award.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
Look, and you could probably make the same argument for Jokics.
I mean, Denver right now is the exact same record
as Oklahoma City. So if if the Nuggets, who have
been hot lately, who decided, you know, second half's here
time to play. Yeah, yeah, If if they turn it
on and finish with number one in the West and
they're only a half game back of Minnesota, for that
(15:19):
top spot. You know, it's probably Jokich's MVP Award to
ultimately lose. So it's gonna be it's gonna come down
to the last game of the regular season. Perhaps as
we wrap up the the MVP race, let's talk about
Milwaukee again for a minute. Bucks beat the Clippers on
Monday night. No Giannis in that game, No Chris Middleton
in that game, and Damian Lillan goes for forty one,
(15:41):
Bobby Portis goes for twenty eight. This Bucks team has
now won what six straight games, and over the last
six games, they have the number one defense in the NBA.
I don't know if that's sustainable, if they can maintain
a number one defense, But they don't have to be
(16:04):
the number one defensive team in the NBA. All they
have to be is like a top ten, top twelve
defensive team in the NBA. And they are going to
be tough to beat because you watch Lillard just hey, look,
g honest is up you take over? Did it against
a good Clippers team. Middleton hasn't played in weeks, not
(16:25):
since Dock Rivers really took over. He's gonna add something
that mix offensively. They you know, there is life in Milwaukee,
Like you know what, a team that was once on
life support is now showing signs that they can get
back to being the team that we thought they were
going to be in the preseason. So when you look
(16:46):
at the Bucks the way they played under Doc Rivers,
do you see this as sustainable?
Speaker 2 (16:53):
It's great you should ask that Chriscs. I actually wrote
about the Bucks today and look, I don't think number
one defense is sustainable that Charlotte twice they played Chicago
during kind of the six game win streak. At the
same time they have wins against the Wolves. This Clippers
win was impressive, especially impressive. I think the Clippers had
won nine straight against Dames specifically, so really big game
(17:14):
for him. Here's the thing they, like you mentioned, they
don't need to be the number one defense. I looked
this up. Since twenty ten, only two teams with a
defensive rating outside the top ten have won a championship.
One was the Warriors, who you know, they had Steffed.
The other was the Nuggets last year they had Jokich.
The Nuggets had the lowest defensive efficiency of any title
winner since twenty ten, and that was fifteenth. But we
(17:35):
saw what they were able to do in the playoffs,
they went up to another level and they kind of
slow played the end of last regular season. Milwaukee as
it stands today, after their sixth straight win, fifteenth in
defensive rating, they kind of met that threshold of the
lowest possible I'd say defensive rating we could accept out
of a champion the number one over the last six games,
(17:56):
top ten now since Doc took over in January, and
they've been really good. And I think that we touched
on this a little bit last week, but I think
Adrian Griffin expected the team to defend a certain way
with certain personnel. The Lily trade happens, things change, But
I think Doc has him playing more to their identity.
I think has shrunk the floor a little bit instead
(18:16):
of having players cover more ground, and I think Griffin
wanted to do players playing a little bit closer to
the rim. They've also just kind of, I think, really
changed their approach to transition defense less crashing the offensive glass,
which has made a huge difference. I mean, all year long,
they've been in the bottom of transition defense standings. I
think that started to look a little bit better. You know,
I don't think this current top number one defense is sustainable.
(18:40):
You know, it's like weird because they win this game
without Giannis and it's very impressive, and I don't want
to take anything away from it. At the same time,
you're like, how much can I take away from this
game that they win without Giannison Middleton? But overall, they're
absolutely headed in the right direction, and I think now
is like the first time all season that I felt
comfortable saying that they can win a title with their defense.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
Yeah, I'm with you that it's not going to be
the number one defense or number two defense, or maybe
not even top five defense by the time the season's over.
But you know, this is why they went out and
got Damian Lillard because they were missing a dynamic number
two option opposite of Giannis, and you'll get Lillard's numbers
(19:23):
of late. They're starting to pick up a little bit.
The shooting percentages in some games are getting a little
bit better. The pick and roll game with Yannis is
getting more consistent. Like Doc, Look, Doc took a pretty
good beating early on, and a lot of it was
some of the stuff he said, like he put he
put it on himself by you know, saying things like
(19:44):
it's you know, I would wish this job on anybody
when he's collecting like forty billion dollars and he's taking
over a great team and just some of the overall
criticisms that he had for for that group, but he's
been the right fit for them. He's simplified things on
the ends of the floor. I think he's brought a
level of gravitas to that locker room they didn't have before.
(20:06):
He has been a good fit with that Milwaukee team. Look,
they've got a game against Boston coming up, I think
on the twentieth that to me is that's a playoff game,
Like that's Perrometer right there. I mean, because by then
they probably should have Chris Middleton back. The Celtics right
now operating at close to full strength. That's a game
(20:26):
that I think we'll learn a lot more about Milwaukee.
But right now they're the only team I think is
a real threat to Boston in the Eastern Conference. Like
I look around, like, you know, even without the injuries,
the Knicks to me, are still a player away from
being able to compete against the Celtics. The Cavaliers are
what they are. I still can't trust them when they
get to the playoffs. Philadelphia. Look, they're good, but you know,
(20:50):
tell me Joel Andbi is gonna be healthy? And I
don't know the answer to that just yet. Besides, even
when he is healthy, Celtics owned the seventy six ers.
Just it's a fact like they've they're beating them up
pretty good last four or five years. So I think
Milwaukee's the only team that can threaten Boston. And we'll see,
we'll see if they have it in if they've come
as far as they look like they've come in this
(21:11):
game coming up in just a couple of weeks against
the Celtics. One other thing I wanted to touch on
hold I mentioned.
Speaker 2 (21:17):
Real quick, real quick, you're you're just ready to incur
the wrath of heat Twitter not even an obligatory mention.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
Yes, my thought. Do you want to know you're right?
I do want to make the case for the Miami
Heat to be a threat to win the Eastern Conference
this year.
Speaker 2 (21:35):
I do not, in fact do not, And I will
just say.
Speaker 1 (21:38):
Just to your point, a huge difference maker now, right,
he will hit.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
Like six threes in a game against some poor team
that's just gonna be furious.
Speaker 1 (21:50):
Hey about it all right now, eight and two in
their last ten games, So Miami's playing playing well, and
as we saw last year, it really doesn't matter what
seed they get. That's look. Look, if the playoffs starts
today and I know they've got to go through the
play in in the East, but Miami right now sitting
at seventh, Milwaukee at two, running it back from last year,
that's probably not the matchup Milwaukee wants in that first
(22:11):
I think they probably prefer like Indiana, Chicago, Atlanta, maybe
even Orlando in the first round because Orlando can't score. Yeah,
that's I can see some teams not wanting any interest
in playing Miami in the first round.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
I will just say to your point about the Bucks
and about as it relates to the rest of Eastern Conference,
they are the only team with the star level talent
that can compete with the star level talent. Yes, the
Celtics has that can they can confidently say we have
the best two guys on the floor, even and that
goes a long way in a playoff series.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
I agree. I agree. Last thing, I want to look
at the bottom half of the playoff bracket in the
Western Conference. Like I said, you've got four teams there
that have either been championship teams in recent years or
high level playoff contender. Sacramento, which was the three seed
in the Western Conference last year. They're sitting there at
number seven, Dallas, which has some serious star power and
(23:04):
it's backhourd made some good trades before the deadline. There
are at eight, the Lakers at nine in Golden State,
who was tattooed by fifty plus against Boston. But there's
still the Warriors. They've still got some star power. Of
those four teams, if you had to pick one to
make a deep playoff run, which you know, I guess
(23:25):
in the context of this is win a first round series,
because that first round series is going to be a
matchup against Minnesota, Oklahoma City, Denver, maybe the Clippers. Which
of those teams do you have the most faith in
to flip a switch and become a second round playoff.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
Team, understanding that there are really no good bets here.
If I had to go, you know, twenty twenty two
Mannix mode and just kind of really hitch my wagon
to one of these teams, I think I'm to pick
the Warriors. You know, you mentioned the Celtics blowout. They're
missing pods, they're missing Wiggans right now, who's dealing with
(24:07):
a personal matter once again? Uh significant, can't you.
Speaker 1 (24:11):
Say one thing about that Celtic game, Like there's an
incredible amount of brain power on that Golden State bench
Steve Kerr, Kenny Atkinson, among others. Their strategy against the
Celtics with all that brain power was to leave an
all NBA guard who's shooting thirty six and a half
percent from three for his career wide open, like that
(24:34):
was the strategy to beat the Boston Celtics, Like, if
you needed to, if you needed more evidence to believe
in Boston, the Golden State Warriors decided the best game
plan was to leave Jalen Brown open, Like that's all
you got. You're not gonna have much success.
Speaker 2 (24:51):
To your point, I think a lot of people are
like laughing, this is a terrible strategy. What are they thinking,
you know, Jalen Brown tweeting about it after the game.
To your point, those are the kinds of problems with
Celtics present to people.
Speaker 1 (25:01):
And they didn't even have Porzingis in that game. They
will playing without a twenty point per game scoring three
point threat.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
Right who happens to be seven feet tall, so you
can't even switch your clothes out on them. But to
your point, I kind of like respect the Warriors from
being like, f it, we got to try something. We
know how how many threes these teams are gonna shoot.
Maybe it ended up being not the best strategy, but
those are the problems.
Speaker 1 (25:22):
Maybe hitting the iceberg wasn't grateful the Titanic, Like.
Speaker 2 (25:28):
I just respect that they were willing to, you know,
give it a shot, knowing that they were a little
bit undermanned, and how the difficult the Celtics are to
slow down In the first way, he said a lot
about how difficult Boston is for these teams to prepare for.
But I just like the way the Worries of look
since Draymond came back and was starting its center full time.
I think the fact that they've shown a willingness now
(25:49):
to move Klay Thompson to the bench. He's had some
nice performances since being in that role. They've been willing
to experiment, They've been willing to kind of push their
chips in to the table a little bit. Listen, it's
gonna depend on is this is this is Wigan's gonna
miss twenty games. Is he gonna come back in two
We don't know, and that's that's looming all over this
(26:11):
But if they're healthy, I mean, we saw it last
year with that with that King series. You know, the
Warriors had a terrible season, and we saw it with
the Kings last year. They were kind of the darling
of the NBA. The Warriors had a season from hell
that started with the Jordan Poole incident, more like the
Draymond Green incident, and uh, they pushed him to seven
games and the game seven, Steph Curry puts on a
(26:32):
legendary performance and the Warriors win. So I just think
Steph is still at that level, still that guy. I
like the way they've looked with Draymond at center. If
I had to pick, like, you know, which team kind
of has that mistique that can get into someone's heads
in the first round, I think it's still Golden State.
Speaker 1 (26:47):
Look, we have to acknowledge that the teams that any
of those bottom four teams are likely to play in
the first round are not traditional dominant won two teams.
I mean, Minnesota right now has the best record in
the West, But if you ask around the league about
(27:09):
the vulnerabilities of Minnesota. You can have a fifteen minute
conversation about that, about whether or not in a postseason
series you can play Rudy Gobert and Karl Anthony Towns together,
whether or not Anthony Edwards can be a closer in
a playoff situation.
Speaker 2 (27:26):
Fourth quarter offensive issues, yes.
Speaker 1 (27:28):
They have, I know. I was reading John Krasinski wrote
about that over at the Athletic recently, just kind of
the way that malfunction as of late in the fourth quarter.
We talked about Oklahoma City really talented, not a high
level of experience. The team that I think has the
best chance of making a run, it's the team I
leaned into last year. That's the Lakers. I'm not gonna
(27:50):
sit here and predict a Lakers Conference Finals or a
Lakers Finals appearing this year. I'm not as confident in
this group. You know, they they've stagnated in certain ways.
The injuries have obviously been a problem. But in a
postseason series, if you've got a defense that in the
(28:11):
past has been good enough to keep games close, and
if you can keep these games within like three possessions
in the final five minutes, you've got the two best
players on the floor in those situations in Lebron and
Anthony Davis, like, you're still gonna have one of the
great closers in NBA history in Lebron. You've got one
of the great defensive players right now in Anthony Davis,
and a guy that can dominate in the paints. And look,
(28:33):
the Lakers have had some stumbles as of late. They
lost coming out of the All Star Break against the Warriors,
they lost to the Clippers, they lost the Nuggets. But
in between then, they've got some wins there. You know,
you've got to win over the Clippers. Sorry, they lost
the Suns. They gotta win over the Clippers. Beat Washington,
beat Oklahoma City last night. So they're also starting to
(28:55):
get healthy with some of these guys coming back. Cam
Reddish came back recently. You know, we saw reports on
Tuesday that Gabe Vincent could be back at some point
mid March, another rotation player they can add to the mix.
I just think they're they're the kind of team that
can be good enough defensively to keep games close and
the playoffs against inexperienced teams. If you've got Lebron and
(29:18):
a d you're gonna give yourself a better than Puncher's
chance to win. So I'm gonna lean into the Lakers
as being the most likely of those four teams at
the bottom right now to win a postseason series.
Speaker 2 (29:32):
You know, it's hard to argue with that logic. It's
kind of unscary as they've been for large stretches this season,
as average as they've felt. I'm with you, Like six
minutes to go in a playoff game, you have Lebron
and a d you know, even as like brash as
the Timberwolves have been in some of these matchups, as confident,
and I think Shane the thunder are, It's just gonna
(29:54):
be interesting to watch and maybe we'll, you know, be
stetactically wrong and this is a true changing of the guard,
and these teams don't matter at all anymore. But I'm
excited to see it. I'm excited to see it because
I do think that they that's kind of like the
mental challenge of the playoffs that these young teams are
gonna have to overcome is staring into a guy like
(30:15):
Lebron or Steph, knowing the experience that they've had the
amount of times they come through on a big stage.
Can you fight through whatever level of intimidation comes with that,
and win is going to be really interesting. When will
it be time, by the way, to unveil the official
man Ex prediction of twenty twenty four.
Speaker 1 (30:34):
I don't really have I don't really have a fire
one yet. Like last year, right around this time, I was,
you know, ready to do the flames. Yeah, with the Lakers.
I don't really have one yet, got it. I'd like
to You know, look, I love what I'm seeing from Milwaukee,
but I can't pick the Buckskins the Celtics, not now.
You know, the Celtics are as well oiled the machine
as they come. So look, we talk We've talked about
(30:55):
parody in the NBA, and there is parody. But right now,
the Celtics are prohibitive favors to the East. I would
make Denver a prohibitive favor right now to win the West.
So even though you've got a lot of teams with
close to identical records who should make for some fun
first and second round series, right now, smart money's on
Boston and Denver. And that's not exactly parody, Like that's
(31:17):
the two teams that I'm playing dominant basketball, at least
in case the Boston all season and Denver in the
last few weeks. Not the parody I think people have
been boasting about as of late.
Speaker 2 (31:29):
Can I get a quick temperature check on Boston, like
is there's just supreme confidence that there's no roadblocks here
because I think there's like I don't know how you
argue any other team to win the East right now,
like coherently. That's not just pure takery. But I'm curious
if that's the way people are feeling around Boston, Like
is there's a.
Speaker 1 (31:49):
Good vibe, there's a good vibe. I mean, there's perpetual
concern about Porzingis's ability to stay healthy in the playoffs.
That's always going to be a concerned but I think
the Celtics done a nice job shutting him down at
the first sign of potential trouble. So when you get
to the playoffs and you're playing at best every other day,
(32:12):
oftentimes with two days in between, that bodes well for
his ability to play in the postseason. And look, I've
said this recently, but like everybody on that Celtics roster
is a little bit better, right, Like Jason Tatum, even
though he's not scoring at the level he was last
year is a little bit better than what he was
last year, more complete player than what he was last year.
(32:35):
Jalen Brown can make the same argument. Numbers aren't exactly
the same as what they were in last year, a
year's past, but a more complete player. I think this
year Drew Holliday, he's a better player for this team
than Marcus Smart was. Like he fits better with this group.
So at that position, they're a little bit better. And
(32:56):
Chris and Porseningis is new to the mix. But Joe Miszoola,
we don't hear a lot about the Joe Mizula gaffs anymore.
We don't hear a lot about you know, why isn't
he calling this time out? You know? Why is he
doing this with his rotation? Yeah, every six weeks or so,
the team goes like ten to fifty from three point range,
and people are like, why are you shooting so many threes?
(33:17):
But they shoot so many threes because they're a top
five efficiency team and they're able to do to go
the state after just three drill them. Like their margin
of victory over the last five games is like thirty
five points. It's wild how they're not just beating teams,
they're bludgeting them right now. Their overall margin of victory
(33:39):
is like an NBA best like plus eleven plus twelve,
and that's like three or four points ahead of anybody
else in the NBA. So I just I don't think
there's any cause for concern right now. In Boston, they're
just cruising along. And yeah, if Milwaukee can show that
they can beat them, more power to them. But I
think we're a long way from, uh, ultimately believing that.
Speaker 2 (34:00):
So I agree, and I just hope if they do lose.
You're in the press conference asking Jason Tatum if the
season was a failure or not.
Speaker 1 (34:09):
Yes, I tried to ask those black and white questions.
Was it a failure? If do you deserve MVP? Now
that's my line of question. All right, go ahead, We
will be back here next week. Until then, enjoy the games,
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