December 5, 2025 • 37 mins
This episode dives into one of the most dramatic stretches the NBA has seen in years, where historic milestones, simmering grudges, and uncertain futures all collide on and off the court. At the center of the conversation is the end of LeBron James’s legendary streak of 1,297 consecutive games scoring at least ten points. We walk through the exact circumstances of the night the streak fell, the on-court dynamics that led to it, and what this moment means for LeBron’s legacy in the broader story of NBA history. From there, the focus shifts to Milwaukee, where the league is buzzing with escalating trade speculation surrounding Giannis Antetokounmpo. The episode breaks down the most talked-about mock trades, potential suitors, and the long-term implications for both the Bucks and the balance of power across the NBA if their franchise cornerstone were ever to move. Listeners get a clear picture of the cap considerations, roster fits, and future scenarios that front offices and fans are obsessing over. We also revisit the emotional fallout from Chris Paul’s shocking departure from the Los Angeles Clippers, a move that still casts a shadow over the franchise years later. Through perspectives from coaches, former teammates, and league insiders, the show explores why that breakup still stings, how it changed the trajectory of the Clippers, and what it reveals about loyalty, leadership, and business realities in today’s NBA. Rounding out the episode are crucial updates from around the league: the latest injury news affecting contenders and dark horses alike, current team rankings, and sharp analysis of recent matchups that are reshaping the playoff picture. Whether you follow every box score or just tune in for the big storylines, this episode gives you a complete, high-energy snapshot of a league in flux.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Basketball Home, the show that looks beyond the
box score and really gets into what's driving the biggest
stories in this sport.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
And we are definitely settling into the heart of the
season now, I mean the entire landscape. It feels like
it's shifting almost daily.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
Oh. Absolutely, We've got historic streaks ending. We have massive,
massive trade rumors swirling around some of the biggest names, and.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Some teams that frankly nobody expected to be good or
just dominating the conversation.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
That's right, And if we're going to talk about unexpected dominance,
we have to start in one place, a place nobody
and I mean nobody saw this coming. Detroit. Yeah, we've
been watching a team that was, let's be honest, a
punchline for years and now they've transformed themselves into the
top seed in the Eastern Conference. It's the story of
(00:46):
the year so far.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
It is, and it's so much more than just a
good start. This is a total upheaval. You just have
to look at the numbers to get it.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Waghit on us.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Okay, So, over the last four seasons, the Detroit Pistons
record was seventy four wins and two hundred and forty
four line.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Wow, that's catastrophic.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
It's catastrophic basketball. And now they're sitting at seventeen to five.
They're leading the East. The leap is just monumental. It
points to a complete cultural and strategic renovation, not just
you know, getting lucky for a few weeks.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
Okay, so let's really unpack this. This turnaround seems to
be credited to two big things. First, coach JB. Bickerstaff
steps in and immediately gives them a new identity, right.
And second, this rapid, almost simultaneous development of their entire
young core. You've got Cunningham, Stewart during Ivy Thompson, all
five of their cornerstone guys are under twenty five. Yeah,
(01:37):
so what do you see as the single most critical
factor in that shift?
Speaker 2 (01:41):
For me, it has to be the philosophical change. It's
about maximizing their raw athleticism and critically instilling a genuine
belief that they can and should close out games. Bigger stuff.
Didn't just inherit talent. He gave that talent.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
Focus, and that focus shows up in their clutch time dominance.
I mean, this is where games are won and lost,
and they are just thriving.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
The numbers are staggering, Yeah, they really are.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
They're twelve to four in clutch situations this season. To
put that into perspective for you, the teams that they
used to consistently lose to in the final minutes, those
are the teams that are now putting away exactly.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
And the defensive number is even more telling. In the
clutch game within five points, final five minutes, they are
holding opponents to a league best thirty three point seven
percent shooting.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
Thirty three percent. That's lockdown.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
That's not just about making your own shots. That's about
defensive execution, It's about trust. When the pressure is at
its absolute highest, it signals a complete shift from being
the team that always melted down to being the team
that locks in.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
And we could put a face to that closing ability,
can't we cape Cunningham. When the game slows down in
the fourth, he just elevates. He is now second in
the entire league in fourth quarter scoring. He's putting up
nine and a half points per game in that final frame.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
And do you know who he's trailing.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
Only Gianni's Antitudekumbo.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Only Giannis. That is a true emergence. For years the
question was, does Cunningham have that decisiveness, the elite gear
to be the guy who finishes games.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
He's answered it.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
He has answered that question definitively. Bigger Staff even said
it after Cad hit those back to back shots to
beat the Hawks the other night. He said, Caid has
fully embraced being the alpha dog when it matters most.
It's a leap from being a potential star to a
reliable closer.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
But here's where the deeper tactical change really shows itself.
And this is what I find absolutely fascinating, the big
man pairing of Isaiah Stewart and Jalen Durin. Yes, for
the longest time, the conventional wisdom was that they could
not play together. He didn't space the floor. They clogged
up the lanes for KD and IVY.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
And the numbers backed it up. Two seasons ago, any
lineup with both of them on the floor was a
minus three point five per one hundred possessions. It was
a structural week, a huge one. And now that weakness
is just gone. When they're on the court together, they
are a plus eleven point five per one hundred.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
Possessions, an incredible swing.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
How solved the spacing problem. Not by splitting them up,
which is what everyone assumed you had to do. He
did it by completely redefining Isaiah Stewart's role.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
He turned him into a shooter, a.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
High volume, high efficiency, corner three shooter. He's forcing the
opposing team's big man to leave the paint and respect
the perimeter, which opens up everything for Durn's roles and
cuts to the basket.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
And it's not a gimmick. Stewart is a legitimate forty
point nine percent three point shooter this season. That completely
erases the spacing concern that plagued their previous coaches.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
And defensively, they are just an absolute nightmare for other teams.
They anchor what is now the NBA's third ranked defense,
especially when you pair them with Osar Thompson on the perimeter,
who's already an elite stopper.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
And what about Duran I heard he put in some
specific work over the summer.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
He did. He spent two weeks with Bickerstaff one on one,
working specifically on his on ball skills, improving his ability to,
you know, initiate a secondary offense if a play breaks down.
That kind of individual investment from a coach it builds
incredible trust.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
And Stuart's individual defense is just off the charts. He's
coming off the bench, but he's holding opponents to just
forty four percent shooting at the rim on five attempts
per game. That is tied for the stingiest rate in
the entire league.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
He's in the DPOY conversation.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
He is firmly in the defensive Player of the Year conversation,
which is just incredible for a guy with his profile.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
And that consistent two way improvement is exactly why the
Pistons organization now under GM Trajan Langdon resisted all the
trade offers for him during those terrible years. Langdon inherited
this core and he made the crucial call to prioritize
internal development over just flipping assets for a marginal game.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
So what does that philosophy tell us about the current
Detroit franchise. I mean, when Stewart says, and this is
a fantastic quote, I know I can't be replaced. He's
not being arrogant, there is.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
He not at all. He's articulating the commitment a franchise
made to him, to the culture they were trying to
build in the trenches when they were losing all those games.
It signals a profound trust and frankly, a patience that
is so rare in the modern MBA. They were committed
to the idea that Stuart's energy, his work ethic, his
his tenacity that was foundational to their identity. Regardless of
(06:12):
that seventy four to forty four record.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
Langdon didn't rush it.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
He didn't He resisted rushing to judgment. He said they
had to let it breathe a little bit, get their
own assessment, and that patients, combined with hiring bickerstaff, has
resulted in this incredible momentum. It suggests they have a
long term plan that has just you know, dramatically accelerated.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
So if Detroit's success is a steady in patience and
internal development, our next story is, well, it's the pinnacle
of durability and commitment. We're talking about the end of
a chapter for Lebron James and the end of a
record we all genuinely believed might never ever end.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Yeah, we're talking about maybe the most durable, consistent scoring
achievement in modern sports history. Lebron James's unprecedented run of
consecutive games scoring ten or more points has finally come
to an end.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
The final number on that streak two hundred ninety seven games.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
It's just it's mind boggling.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
I's span six nine hundred and five days. That's over
eighteen years and ten months. It finally came to a
close in the Lakers nail biting one twenty three one
twenty win over the Raptors. James finished the night with
only eight.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
Points, a tough shooting night for him four to seventeen,
missed all five of his threes.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
But the sheer length of that streak is what provides
the context. Michael Jordan had the previous record. It was
eight hundred and sixty six games.
Speaker 2 (07:27):
So Lebron broke it by four hundred and thirty one games.
Just think about that. To wrap your mind around twelve,
two hundred and ninety seven games, consider this. Only twenty
four players in the entire history of the NBA have
played that many total regular season games in their whole career.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
That is an unbelievable stat The longevity required to maintain
that scoring floor for almost two decades is just unparallel,
it really is. And what makes the end of this
streak so compelling isn't that he failed to score. It's
that the team succeeded in winning.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
Exactly The games tied at one hundred and twenty five seconds,
Lebron has the ball. He could have easily easily forced
a contested shot to try and keep the streak alive,
maybe get to overtime, but he didn't. He didn't. Instead,
he makes the game winning play, draws the defense, kicks
it out to Ruyhachimura for a buzzer beating three pointer.
It was the ultimate display of his late career evolution.
(08:18):
He prioritized the win over the individual historically defining statistic,
and he.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
Summed it up perfectly after the game. He said, if
it had to end, that's the perfect way for me,
making the right play.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
And he's still finished with eleven assists and six rebounds.
I mean that is the definition of maturity and a
commitment to team success over everything else.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
And the Lakers desperately needed that win. They were playing
without Lukadancic, who was out for personal reasons right he was.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Back in Slovenia for the birth of his second child.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
And James himself was clearly playing through pain. He was
listed as doubtful for their very next game against the Celtics,
dealing with sciatica and a foot injury. The physical toll
is clearly made even for.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
Him, yeah, even for the Iron Man.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
And with Luca out, they needed a heroic performance from
someone else, and Austin Reeves delivered spectacular.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
Oh he was incredible. Reeves stepped up in a massive way,
scored forty four points, ditched out ten asists to get
that win over Toronto. You absolutely need that kind of
depth when your stars are out or just having an
off night.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
Speaking of heroes and dramatic finishes, let's talk about Philadelphia's
ninety nine to ninety eight win over the Warriors. This
one was decided by a star making a huge defensive
play to back up a hustling rookie.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
Yeah, and Tyrese Maxi, who is just playing at an
MVP level right now. He immediately credited the rookie VJ.
Edgecombe for saving the game.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
The former duke kid.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
Yep Edgecomb scores the game winning tip in, but he
gets it by chasing down a loose ball. That sequence,
I mean, it requires an incredible motor and awareness from
a first year player in a huge moment.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
And Maxi made sure that hustle wasn't wasted. After Edgecomb
puts the Sixers up by one, the Warriors get one
last chance to win it and Maxi delivers a game
ceiling chase down block on his former teammate d' Anthony
Melton right at the buzzer. That block seals the win
and just highlights Maxie's two way commitment.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
His quote after the game was perfect. He said, VJ
saved us. I just made sure it counted.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
I love that. And edgecumb the third pick in the draft,
he's showing his value. He finished with ten point six rebounds,
five assists, and three steals. That's a stat line that
shows an impact way beyond just scoring.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
He's earning Nick Nurse's trust for sure. And Maxie, I
mean he's joining some genuinely elite company. This was his
third Stray game with thirty five or more points. The
only other seventy six ers to do that are Wilt,
Doctor J. Barkley, Iverson, and Embiid.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
That's the Mount Rushmore of Philly basketball, it is, And.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
On top of that, he tied Iverson for the second
longest streak of twenty plus point games to start a
season twenty one games This isn't just a hot start.
This is sustained, elite performance.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
And it was a notable night for the Warriors too,
because d Anthony Melton, who they brought back this summer
his season debut.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
Yeah, and he looked good, recovering from the ACL surgery
a year ago, and he comes out and drops fourteen points,
adds two steals in a block. He showed he's ready
to go, and he was a big reason Golden State
even had a chance at the end.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
Okay, let's move down the West standings to the Houston Rockets,
who just keep defying expectations. Their dominant one twenty one
to ninety five win over the Kings cement to them
as a truly balanced threat.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Balanced is the perfect word. The trio of Alpha and Sengen,
Kevin Durant and Erman Thompson all topped twenty points. That's
the third time they've done that this.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
Season, and Sangen was the star of the show, stuffed
the stat sheet twenty eight points, ten rebounds, four steals.
Durant added twenty four and eight assists. Thompson chipped in
twenty twelve and seven.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
But what's really fascinating about Houston is their identity. It's
built on defense. They currently ranked second in the entire
league in defensive rating.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
That's the key it is.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
And when you combine that with their offense, they are
the only team in the NBA right now to rank
in the top three on both offense and defense. OKC
is close top defense, fifth offense, but Houston is doing
it on both ends.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
That balance is so crucial. It's tough to win a
championship just by outscoring everyone. It feels like Durant's veteran
leadership has instantly instilled some defensive accountability there.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
It absolutely has. His presence provides a defensive anchor and
maybe more importantly, a voice that commands respect. But Sengun's emergence,
that's what's fueling their offensive ceiling.
Speaker 1 (12:25):
His numbers have been crazy since November first.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
He's averaging almost twenty three points, nine and a half rebounds,
and over seven assists. He's showing this incredible poise as
a playmaker from the high post, and it just makes
them so unpredictable.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
And their physicality against the Kings was just overwhelming. They
crushed Sacramento on the glass a sixty two to thirty
two rebounding advantage.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
And that kind of dominance on the boards, it translates
directly into fast break points and it limits what the
other team can do in transition. It's a winning formula,
all right.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
Finally, let's check in on the Minnesota Timberwolves. They managed
to escape New Orleans again, beating the Pelicans one twenty five,
one sixteen for their fourth straight win.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
What stands out here to me is the leadership maturity
from Anthony Edwards.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
That was interesting.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
He had been averaging what thirty eight points a game
over his last six but in this game he purposefully
took a back seat. He only took six shots, finished
with eleven points and just let his teammates carry the
scoring load and they still won. He still won. That
ability to adapt his approach to win in different ways,
that's a huge step forward for a young superstar.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
And the win was sealed by a crucial fifteen to
oh run in the fourth quarter after they were actually trailing.
That just highlights their ability to flip a switch when
the game demands it.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
Meanwhile, the Pelicans, you know, they're focused on development under
their interim coach James Barrego. Their rookie Jeremiah Fears had
his third straight twenty point game.
Speaker 1 (13:46):
So they're getting good signs from the young.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
Guys they are and Barrego's really pushing them to shoot
more threes. They went seven of twenty five in this game,
which is a big contrast in Minnesota's fifteen makes. But look,
this is the dynamic of a contender versus a developing team.
The Wolves won because they're superstar deferred and the team
executed in the clutch. That's exactly what you see from
championship level teams.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
Okay, Leff, pivot dramatically here and get into the newsroom
because there is one story that is dominating every conversation
and it has massive implications across the entire league. We're
talking about the health and the potential future of Giannis Antitokumbo.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
This is a huge, huge concern for Milwaukee and it
is the absolute epicenter of trade speculation right now. Giannas
suffered a non contact calf injury against the Pistons. The
early reports are saying he's expected to be sidelined for
two to four weeks.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
Now. The good news, if there is any, is that
coach Doc Rivers has ruled out the worst case scenario.
It's not an achilles injury, thank goodness for that, but
even a few weeks without him is devastating, especially considering
how much the Bucks have been struggling lately. They've only
won two of their last ten games, and they.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
Went zero and four when he was out with a
groin injury last month. They just can't function without him,
and that's precisely why the trade rumor are swirling so intensely.
No matter what the organization says, this is the contract, true,
it's the contract. Giannis has a crucial decision to make
about his long term future, and this recent skid just
intensifies all the questions about whether Milwaukee can really provide
(15:15):
the winning environment he needs.
Speaker 1 (15:17):
And this has led to some truly fascinating, maybe even crazy,
hypothetical trades being floated. The most spectacular one involves the
San Antonio Spurs. We have to break this down because
the consequences for both teams would be enormous.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
It's the ultimate accelerate the timeline trade. The idea of
pairing Giannis with Victor Wambonyama is a generational opportunity, but
the cost for the Spurs it is astronomical and it
would be.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
Painful Okay, so what's the proposed package.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
So the Spurs would have to send the raining rookie
of the year stuff On.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
Castle Oof right off the bat right.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
Plus Harrison Barnes, Kelly Olinik, Jordan McLaughlin and three future
first round picks, the twenty twenty seven pick from the Hawks,
their own twenty twenty nine pick, and their twenty thirty
two pick.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
That is a staggering price. You're giving up your last
huge draft success, a bunch of veteran salary in three firsts.
But let's talk about the pairing. What would Giannis and
Wemby look like on the court.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
It would create an immediate, physically overwhelming title contender. I mean,
just imagine the defensive length and switchability. You could play
one Banyama at the five, protecting the rim, while Giannis
roams at the four, terrorizing passing lanes and initiating the offense.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
And they still have Fox and Visas exactly.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
You add Giannis to a corps that already has to
Aaron Fox and Devin Vassal, and assuming Lemby is healthy,
they are instantly the league's biggest threat for the next
five years.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
But I have to challenge this a little bit. Doesn't
trading away your future core a guy like Castle you
just drafted and committed to. Doesn't that undermine the very
culture the Spurs are trying to rebuild? Aren't you sacrificing
the patient process that defined the Popovich era for so long?
Speaker 2 (16:58):
That is the central tension of this whole rumor. But
you know it connects directly to the Spurs history. They
have often made massive, aggressive moves in direct response to
their rival like what well they added Bruce Bowen after
losing to the Kobe and Shaq Lakers because they needed
an elite perimeter defender. Years later, they traded for Kawie
Leonard in response to that dynamic Young thundercres of Durant
(17:21):
Westwith and Harden.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
So this is the same idea.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
It's an arms race. Trading for Giannis would be a
direct response to the league's current landscape, the young Thunder,
the balanced Rockets, the healthy Celtics and Bucks. It's the
ultimate nuclear option.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
Speaking of things costing too much, the Cleveland Cavaliers just
got hit with another massive fine this week.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
Yeah, this is about the player participation policy, the resting policy.
The Calves were fined two hundred and fifty thousand dollars
by the league, a quarter of a million dollars for
what for a resting star player Darius Garland during a
nationally televised game against the Raptors back in November.
Speaker 1 (17:57):
And this is their second fine like this this season,
isn't it it is?
Speaker 2 (18:00):
They already got hit with one hundred thousand dollars penalty
for resting both Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley against the Heat.
The league's investigation basically found that at Garland was fit
to play in one of the back to back games,
and the team chose to sit him during the national broadcast,
which is a huge no no in the policy. The
league is very serious about having stars available for those
(18:21):
big games.
Speaker 1 (18:22):
Absolutely. Okay, moving over to the Knicks, who are having
a great season, but there's trade buzz around a core player,
and again it's all about the league's financial structure. Let's
talk about Miles McBride.
Speaker 2 (18:32):
Miles McBride is such a huge success story for them.
He's a fan favorite. He's having a career year, averaging
over eleven points a game, shooting a crazy forty four percent.
Speaker 1 (18:41):
From three, and his impact numbers are great.
Speaker 2 (18:43):
His overall net rating of eleven point five is the
second best on the entire team. It just highlights his
tangible positive impact whenever he's on the floor.
Speaker 1 (18:53):
So why on earth would the Knicks even consider trading
a guy who is this effective, this popular, and this young.
Speaker 2 (18:59):
In a word, taxes, It is purely about the second
apron tax penalties, and this is such a critical concept
for you to understand if you want to follow the
modern NBA's financial rules.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
So break it down. Why is that second apron so prohibitive?
Speaker 2 (19:13):
Well, the Knicks are already over the second apron this year,
and once you're in that territory, the NBA essentially handcuffs
your ability to build your team. It restricts trade flexibility.
You can't take back more salary in a trade than
you send out. It limits your buyout options.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
And McBride does due for a big ray soon.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
Exactly. He's under contract through twenty twenty seven, but he's
playing so well that his next contract is going to
be lucrative. We're talking maybe over fifty million dollars based
on what guys like Dyson Daniels and Christian bron just got.
That salary would push the Knicks even deeper into the
penalty zone and cripple their ability to build around their stars.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
So trading him now while his value is high is
really a preemptive move to avoid future financial headaches and
maintain roster flexibility.
Speaker 2 (19:58):
That's it. It's the cruel reality of the modern salary cap.
Success sometimes makes your most beloved effective role players financially
unsustainable if you want to operate with any flexibility under
the new CBA.
Speaker 1 (20:10):
A quick positive note for the Knicks, though, og and
Ooby was upgraded to questionable for their game against Utah.
He's missed nine games with a hamstring strain, so getting
him back, even on a minute's restriction will be a
huge defensive boost.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
And finally, in the news roundup, we have to touch
on some injury worries down in Miami. Tyler Herro's return
has been great for them, but now he's dealing with
a new issue.
Speaker 1 (20:31):
Yeah, here is doubtful for their next game with right
big toe irritation and the fact that he's scheduled for
an MRI is immediately a red flag.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
It is especially given his recent history. He missed the
start of the season recovering from surgery on his left ankle.
He said that was a long process. Now this new
injury on the opposite side, it suggests he might be compensating,
you know, placing unusual strain on his right foot.
Speaker 1 (20:54):
The Heat just can't afford long term health issues for
their key secondary playmaker.
Speaker 2 (20:59):
No, they can't. It's challenge of physical recovery in this league.
One injury so often leads to another.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
Right, let's shift gears and talk about some of the
most dramatic organizational changes happening, starting with a bitter, just
stunning conclusion to a legends time in Los Angeles.
Speaker 2 (21:15):
Yeah, the Chris Paul and Clipper saga is it's just
stunningly messy. Paul was released during what was supposed to
be the sentimental farewell tour. It marks an absolutely bitter
end to his brief return to the franchise where he
spent six of his best seasons.
Speaker 1 (21:30):
And his former teammate Lou Williams gave some crucial insight.
He said Paul's departure wasn't about his play, it was
due to growing severe tension between Paul and the head coach,
Tyron Lou.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
The tension was apparently so bad that reports say Paul
and Lu didn't even speak in the three weeks leading
up to his release, Lou basically confirmed it was an
organizational decision, saying Paul just didn't work out and wasn't
a good fit for the system or the locker room dynamic.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
And Paul wasn't exactly welcomed back with open arms by
everyone in the first place, was he We heard some
rumors about the team's other stars.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
Absolutely, reports indicated that James Harden was opposed to Paul
joining the Clippers in the off season, which suggests a
foundational crack in the team's structure before Paul even got there.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
So what's next for CP three.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
Well, he expected to retire at the end of the season,
but he might still find a role in a contender,
maybe the Hawks or even the Pistons playing limited minutes.
But the Clippers organization, they had a massive image problem
now after this very public, very messy divorce.
Speaker 1 (22:31):
And it's not just that. The trade market for their
remaining stars is also looking complicated.
Speaker 2 (22:37):
According to scouts, that's right, and the valuation is what's
truly shocking. One Eastern Conference scout said that James Harden
has neutral value on the trade market.
Speaker 1 (22:47):
Meaning he's useful, but You're not giving up a.
Speaker 2 (22:49):
Lot for him, right, But Kaween Leonard surprisingly has negative value.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
Negative value for Kaween Leonard. How is that even possible
for one of the league's most dominant two way players.
Speaker 2 (23:01):
It's all tied to that cap circumvention investigation, the one
about is apparent no show endorsement deal. The negative value
is tied to the uncertainty of future fines or penalties
from the league, which could seriously impact a team's long
term salary cap. Teams are extremely hesitant to trade valuable
assets for a player whose financial situation could blow up
(23:21):
in their face.
Speaker 1 (23:22):
That is a huge indictment of where that franchise is
right now, despite their present insisting they'll remain a destination franchise.
Speaker 2 (23:29):
Yeah, rival execs are suggesting the Clippers might be shopping
for a blue light special at the deadline, maybe dumping
expiring contracts to get a guy like Zach Levine from
the Kings just to shake things up. It points to
a serious, necessary roster overhaul.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
Okay, let's jump over to the other side of the country.
Golden State just gave us one of the best feel
good family stories of the entire year.
Speaker 2 (23:51):
The Curry brothers are finally uniting. Seth Curry was signed
for the rest of the season. It's the first time
he'll be teammates with his older brother Staff in their
entire pro career. Seth is gonna wear number thirty one,
and the excitement around this is just palpable.
Speaker 1 (24:05):
It's a great story, but it's also a really shrewd
basketball move. Seth is an elite three point specialist, especially
in catch and shoot situations. He provides much needed perimeter
depth for that high volume Warriors offense.
Speaker 2 (24:18):
And Seth's arrival, combined with the successful return of d
Anthony Melton, is already shaking up their backcourt rotation. Melton
had a fantastic debut after his ACL surgery fourteen points,
two steals, and a block.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
And his performance has led to a media speculation that
the young guard Brandon Podzimski could become extendable in a trade. Oh.
Speaker 2 (24:39):
Absolutely, Podziemski already lost his starting job. If Melton moves
into the starting lineup, which seems likely, and Podziemski is
relegated to being the seventh or eighth guy in the rotation,
the Warriors will definitely explore using him to upgrade the
roster before the deadline. His role is shinking fast.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
Shifting to the East coast. The Celtics are holding strong
despite some early injuries, and they're getting their own success
stories from their youth movement.
Speaker 2 (25:04):
The Celtics are thirteen to nine. They've gone eight too
in their last ten games, showing great stability even with
Jason Tatum still rehabbing his achilles. This period of adversity
has been essential for developing their young depth.
Speaker 1 (25:15):
And the recent blowout win over the Wizards really highlighted
two young wings were stepping up big time. Jordan Walsh,
in his third year, had a breakout night.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
Walsh set a new career high with twenty two points
and get this, he didn't miss a single shot. He
looks like a completely different player out there, moving with
so much confidence, and it's not a fluke since he
entered the starting lineup. Boston is eight and.
Speaker 1 (25:38):
Two and his focus is all on defense. He said
he low key forgets what happened on offense because he's
so focused on getting back on d That's become his identity.
Speaker 2 (25:47):
And we also saw great defensive work from the rookie
Hugo Gonzalez. He put up fourteen points in five rebounds,
but his most important minutes were spent guarding Jalen Brunson
of the Knicks. Gonzalez was key to their comeback against
New York earlier this season, just getting under Brunson and
being physical with him.
Speaker 1 (26:03):
The Celtics are going to need that youth and energy
as they get ready to renew their rivalry against the Lakers.
Jalen Brown is expected back, but the Lakers will be
seriously shorthanded. We know Luca is out and Lebron is
deubtful with his injuries.
Speaker 2 (26:16):
It's a huge test for Boston's depth. For them, it's
always about navigating the luxury tax, so finding cheap, reliable
production from young guys like Walsh and Gonzalez is absolutely
essential for their next title run.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
Let's turn our attention now to the immediate future of
the league, starting with the historic Ricky class we are
seeing this year, and then we'll look ahead to the
twenty twenty six draft.
Speaker 2 (26:39):
This current Ricky class is just phenomenal. The biggest story
at the top is the duke duo Connople and Cooper
flag Right. They became the first pair of college teammates
to win Eastern and Western Conference Rookie of the Month, respectively,
since the awards started twenty four years ago. That level
of translation from college to the pros happening at the
(26:59):
same time is just unprecedented.
Speaker 1 (27:01):
Connable, the fourth pick for Charlotte, is putting up great
all around numbers eighteen points, almost six rebounds, three assists.
But Flag, the second pick for Dallas, is showing signs
of immediate superstardom that puts him in some legendary company.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
Flag is on a truly historic pace. During Dallas's current
win streak, He's averaging twenty seven points a game on
almost sixty percent shooting, and he joins Lebron James as
the only players in NBA history to have three straight
twenty plus point games at eighteen years old or younger.
Speaker 1 (27:30):
That's an immediate comparison to the King. Dallas has found
a future cornerstone they have.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
But it's not just the lottery picks making noise for
the Mavericks. We have to talk about the undrafted guy,
Ryan Nemhard. His efficiency is just incredible curtain for them. Yeah,
he stepped in as the starting point guard and is
averaging almost eighteen points and six assists in his starts.
He recently had a dominant game in Denver twenty eight points,
ten assists, and zero turnovers in thirty five minutes.
Speaker 1 (27:56):
Zero turnovers. That's amazing for a rookie.
Speaker 2 (27:59):
And get this context, he joined Stefan Marbury as the
only rookie ever to record at least twenty five points
in ten assists in a game without a single turnover.
That level of control from an undrafted player is phenomenal.
It just speaks to his high basketball IQ.
Speaker 1 (28:14):
Now on the other side of that rookie conversation, the
Pacers are dealing with the growing pains of jerraise Walker.
He hasn't quite lived up to the pre draft type, has.
Speaker 2 (28:22):
He No, He's looked a bit hesitant, turns the ball
over when he tries to create too much. But he
is starting to show flashes of being a really valuable
role player, even if he's not the star some people expected.
Pascal Siakam recently praised him after he put up twenty
one points against Detroit. He said Walker kept the game simple,
limited his dribbles. It suggests he can excel in a
smaller defined role, A good defensive forward who can hit
(28:46):
open shots.
Speaker 1 (28:47):
Okay, let's look head to the class of twenty twenty six.
Scouts are already dissecting the next crop of talent. What
are the names we need to know?
Speaker 2 (28:54):
All right? The early mock draft highlights a f you guys,
and what's critical is how their skills translate to the
modern positionless game.
Speaker 1 (29:02):
Starting with Cameron Boozer, he seems to have a pro
ready skill set. What makes him stand.
Speaker 2 (29:08):
Out Boozer's praise for his mix of power and footwork
Inside he just dropped thirty five points on a fifth
year senior who looked helpless against him. But what really
pops for a two hundred and fifty pounds big is
his handle and his ability to drive. He attacks closeouts,
has effective spin moves. He's a scoring threat from everywhere.
Speaker 1 (29:25):
So what's the question mark?
Speaker 2 (29:27):
The only questions are about shot selection and decision making.
Does he make his teammates better or is he purely
focused on his own scoring?
Speaker 1 (29:34):
Then we have CoA Pete, a power forward projected to
Dallas Pete.
Speaker 2 (29:37):
Pete at six foot eight, two hundred and thirty five pounds,
is drawing comparisons to Wendell Carter Junior. His scouting report
is described as cut and dried, which means effective but limited.
He relies on post ups, rolls to the basket, and
offensive rebounds.
Speaker 1 (29:53):
The concern is shooting range exactly.
Speaker 2 (29:56):
The question for a team like Dallas is whether his
lack of perimeter shooting is too big a cost when
you already have a guy like Cooper Flagg demanding the ball.
A six foot eight power forward who relies on contested
two point jumpers. That's a tough fit in today's NBA.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
In the guard category, Mickel Brown Junior from Louville is
getting a lot of praise.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
Yeah, Brown is projected to the Thunder compared to Anthony Simons.
His twenty nine point five assist game against Kentucky really
validated him. He plays with speed confidence, He's in control
of his defender, his shot making his potent, even if
it's a little inconsistent right now, the Thunder would be
betting on his high ceiling as a primary creator.
Speaker 1 (30:31):
And another high IQ guard who seems really polished is
Bennett Steartz.
Speaker 2 (30:35):
Starts is older, he's twenty two, projecting as a Malcolm
Brogden type. He can easily navigate defenses, he hits his threes,
he makes high IQ plays. He's a very appealing option
for a team that's looking for maturity and polished someone
who can contribute right away off the bench.
Speaker 1 (30:50):
Okay, it's a deep pool of talent for twenty twenty six.
Let's wrap up now with a look at some broader
ongoing stories across the basketball world, starting with the very
strange case of the San Antonio Spurs and their offense.
Speaker 2 (31:03):
This is truly one of the more bizarre developments of
the season. The Spurs, even without Victor wen Manyama, who's
out with that calf strain, and without stuff on Castle,
have somehow secured the NBA's eighth best offensive rating.
Speaker 1 (31:16):
How is that even possible. This was a team that
was dead last in offense for most of the year
and is built around a future star known for his
back to the basket game.
Speaker 2 (31:24):
It is all due to the masterful leadership of Deer
and Fox. The offense has just gelled under his pace,
his deceleration ability, the way he hits the brakes in
the lane is crucial. It sucks in help defenders and
he creates wide open threes for his teammates. It's an
infectious pace that simplifies the offense for everyone.
Speaker 1 (31:41):
So when BA Yama's more static post up game was
actually slowing things down and allowing defenses to recover.
Speaker 2 (31:48):
That seems to be the hard truth. His half court
style made defensive rotations easier to manage. Now, with Fox
running quick pick and rolls with a guy like Luke Cornett,
the offense is playing with better tempo and better alignment.
They're running a completely different and more successful scheme.
Speaker 1 (32:03):
So the big challenge for them now is integrating when
Ba Yama style back into this new open flow without
killing the momentum they've built.
Speaker 2 (32:12):
That's exactly it. They have to use Wemby's incredible skill set,
but this recent run has proven the Spurs can be
more than just Wemby's team. They now have two completely viable,
high level offensive identities.
Speaker 1 (32:24):
Moving to the global game, China is making some massive,
ambitious moves to try and boost its standing in international basketball.
Speaker 2 (32:30):
Yeah, the General Administration of Sport of China recently announced
sweeping reforms with some very aggressive national team targets. The
main goals are to make sure the men's team qualifies
for the twenty twenty eight Olympics and to achieve world
class status for the women's team by twenty thirty five.
Speaker 1 (32:45):
Those are some high stakes goals. What's the strategy behind
that push?
Speaker 2 (32:49):
It's all about systemic improvements, drastically improving their youth programs,
encouraging open competition, and crucially calling for high quality foreign
investment in overseas leads to operate in China. They want
to inject world class training and competition into their domestic system.
Speaker 1 (33:06):
But they've had some brutal reality checks recently that highlight
the gap between that ambition and where they are right
now they have.
Speaker 2 (33:14):
The men's team just suffered back to back losses to
South Korea in feba Asia Cup qualifiers. The coach said
the losses have made it much harder to reach the
World Cup finals, and one of the players called the
defeats a brutal reality saying the team has lost its
internal fighting spirit.
Speaker 1 (33:29):
It sounds like a difficult long road ahead for them.
Despite the huge popularity of the NBA.
Speaker 2 (33:34):
In China, it is ambition doesn't always translate to immediate success.
Those losses just highlight that the talent gap requires more
than just policy reform. It requires a fundamental change in
training and mindset.
Speaker 1 (33:45):
On a more somber note, we have to pause to
remember a member of the Pistons two thousand and four
championship team, Elden Campbell, who passed away suddenly at the
age of fifty seven.
Speaker 2 (33:56):
It's a very sad loss for the basketball community. Campbell,
a fifteen year NBA veteran, died of an accidental drowning
after suffering a medical emergency while he was out fishing
in Florida.
Speaker 1 (34:06):
And he was such a critical piece of that legendary
two thousand and four Pistons title team. Even if his
role was very specific in Detroit, his.
Speaker 2 (34:14):
Role was indispensable and highly specialized. He was the primary
defensive anchor against Shaquille O'Neil during the two thousand and
four finals. His job wasn't a score. It was to
use his size and strength to absorb Shack's post moves
and keep him off the glass, allowing the rest of
that famous Pistons defense to work. Magic Johnson described him
as a gentle soul and extremely athletic. His legacy is
(34:36):
really defined by his willingness to take on the hardest
defensive assignment.
Speaker 1 (34:39):
In the league. Finally, let's talk about the conclusion of
a long and impressive international career. Danilo Gallinari's retirement.
Speaker 2 (34:45):
Gallinari officially retired at age thirty seven, but his final
chapter was really unique and incredibly satisfying for him. It
provided a beautiful symmetry to his whole career.
Speaker 1 (34:55):
He didn't finish in the NBA. He finished his career
in Puerto Rico.
Speaker 2 (34:58):
That's right. He spent his final season playing for Vaccaros
de BAOMON in Puerto Rico. He was motivated by pure
love for basketball and the need to be playing professionally
so he could make the Italian national team for EuroBasket,
and that.
Speaker 1 (35:13):
Final journey turned out to be his greatest professional achievement,
even after making over two hundred million dollars in the NBA.
That says so much about what motivates a player.
Speaker 2 (35:23):
It speaks volumes about the psychological need to be the leader.
In Puerto Rico, he did two things that escaped him
in the NBA. He won a championship and he was
named Finals MVP. He found the feeling he'd lost as
an NBA backup, the feeling of being the most important
player of the team again. He said he needed that
feeling back to truly end his journey.
Speaker 1 (35:42):
That's a wonderful way to end a career, finding that
ultimate success in his final professional stop.
Speaker 2 (35:47):
Yeah Gallinari, who was the sixth pick in two thousand
and eight and battled so many major knee injuries, he
reflected that without the injuries, they'd be talking about a
legendary career. That Puerto Rican championship clearly gave him the
piece and the joy he needed to move on.
Speaker 1 (36:02):
We have covered a tremendous amount of ground today. We
analyze the unstoppable rise of the Detroit Pistons a study
in internal commitment. We witnessed the dramatic selfless end of
Lebron's historic scoring streak, and we outlined the burgeoning Giannis
trade storm and the immense cost of acquiring him.
Speaker 2 (36:21):
We also detailed the rise of a truly historic rookie
class with Flag and Nupel, and we saw the strange
case of the San Antonio Spurs unlocking an elite offense
without their centerpiece Victor wan Banyama thanks to Dearon Fox's
blistering pace.
Speaker 1 (36:34):
And most critically, we broke down the financial reality that
the Nicks are grappling with, where the success of a
fan favor like Miles McBride actually creates a conflict, forcing
them to consider trading him just to navigate those new
tax penalties.
Speaker 2 (36:46):
We've seen teams succeed by prioritizing long term development like Detroit,
and teams potentially sacrificing that for immediate glory, like the
Spurs might do with a Giannis trade.
Speaker 1 (36:56):
And that leaves us with one final provocative thought for
you to chew on. When we look at the Spurs
who found elite short term momentum by playing against their
long term vision for wembin Yama, and the Knicks who
might have to trade a core asset like McBride because
of a salary crunch. How often does a team's long
term need conflict with its short term momentum and with
(37:20):
one of those priorities truly dictate success in the modern
cap constrained NBA.
Speaker 2 (37:25):
That tension defines the entire league right now. You can't
win without talent, but you can't always afford all the talent.
If they all succeed, navigating that conflict between today's success
and tomorrow's flexibility is the single biggest challenge for every
front office.
Speaker 1 (37:39):
We'll leave you with that question. Thank you for joining
us for this analysis on basketball home. We'll catch you
next time.
Welcome to Basketball Home, the show that looks beyond the
box score and really gets into what's driving the biggest
stories in this sport.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
And we are definitely settling into the heart of the
season now, I mean the entire landscape. It feels like
it's shifting almost daily.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
Oh. Absolutely, We've got historic streaks ending. We have massive,
massive trade rumors swirling around some of the biggest names, and.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Some teams that frankly nobody expected to be good or
just dominating the conversation.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
That's right, And if we're going to talk about unexpected dominance,
we have to start in one place, a place nobody
and I mean nobody saw this coming. Detroit. Yeah, we've
been watching a team that was, let's be honest, a
punchline for years and now they've transformed themselves into the
top seed in the Eastern Conference. It's the story of
(00:46):
the year so far.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
It is, and it's so much more than just a
good start. This is a total upheaval. You just have
to look at the numbers to get it.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Waghit on us.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Okay, So, over the last four seasons, the Detroit Pistons
record was seventy four wins and two hundred and forty
four line.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Wow, that's catastrophic.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
It's catastrophic basketball. And now they're sitting at seventeen to five.
They're leading the East. The leap is just monumental. It
points to a complete cultural and strategic renovation, not just
you know, getting lucky for a few weeks.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
Okay, so let's really unpack this. This turnaround seems to
be credited to two big things. First, coach JB. Bickerstaff
steps in and immediately gives them a new identity, right.
And second, this rapid, almost simultaneous development of their entire
young core. You've got Cunningham, Stewart during Ivy Thompson, all
five of their cornerstone guys are under twenty five. Yeah,
(01:37):
so what do you see as the single most critical
factor in that shift?
Speaker 2 (01:41):
For me, it has to be the philosophical change. It's
about maximizing their raw athleticism and critically instilling a genuine
belief that they can and should close out games. Bigger stuff.
Didn't just inherit talent. He gave that talent.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
Focus, and that focus shows up in their clutch time dominance.
I mean, this is where games are won and lost,
and they are just thriving.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
The numbers are staggering, Yeah, they really are.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
They're twelve to four in clutch situations this season. To
put that into perspective for you, the teams that they
used to consistently lose to in the final minutes, those
are the teams that are now putting away exactly.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
And the defensive number is even more telling. In the
clutch game within five points, final five minutes, they are
holding opponents to a league best thirty three point seven
percent shooting.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
Thirty three percent. That's lockdown.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
That's not just about making your own shots. That's about
defensive execution, It's about trust. When the pressure is at
its absolute highest, it signals a complete shift from being
the team that always melted down to being the team
that locks in.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
And we could put a face to that closing ability,
can't we cape Cunningham. When the game slows down in
the fourth, he just elevates. He is now second in
the entire league in fourth quarter scoring. He's putting up
nine and a half points per game in that final frame.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
And do you know who he's trailing.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
Only Gianni's Antitudekumbo.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Only Giannis. That is a true emergence. For years the
question was, does Cunningham have that decisiveness, the elite gear
to be the guy who finishes games.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
He's answered it.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
He has answered that question definitively. Bigger Staff even said
it after Cad hit those back to back shots to
beat the Hawks the other night. He said, Caid has
fully embraced being the alpha dog when it matters most.
It's a leap from being a potential star to a
reliable closer.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
But here's where the deeper tactical change really shows itself.
And this is what I find absolutely fascinating, the big
man pairing of Isaiah Stewart and Jalen Durin. Yes, for
the longest time, the conventional wisdom was that they could
not play together. He didn't space the floor. They clogged
up the lanes for KD and IVY.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
And the numbers backed it up. Two seasons ago, any
lineup with both of them on the floor was a
minus three point five per one hundred possessions. It was
a structural week, a huge one. And now that weakness
is just gone. When they're on the court together, they
are a plus eleven point five per one hundred.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
Possessions, an incredible swing.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
How solved the spacing problem. Not by splitting them up,
which is what everyone assumed you had to do. He
did it by completely redefining Isaiah Stewart's role.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
He turned him into a shooter, a.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
High volume, high efficiency, corner three shooter. He's forcing the
opposing team's big man to leave the paint and respect
the perimeter, which opens up everything for Durn's roles and
cuts to the basket.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
And it's not a gimmick. Stewart is a legitimate forty
point nine percent three point shooter this season. That completely
erases the spacing concern that plagued their previous coaches.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
And defensively, they are just an absolute nightmare for other teams.
They anchor what is now the NBA's third ranked defense,
especially when you pair them with Osar Thompson on the perimeter,
who's already an elite stopper.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
And what about Duran I heard he put in some
specific work over the summer.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
He did. He spent two weeks with Bickerstaff one on one,
working specifically on his on ball skills, improving his ability to,
you know, initiate a secondary offense if a play breaks down.
That kind of individual investment from a coach it builds
incredible trust.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
And Stuart's individual defense is just off the charts. He's
coming off the bench, but he's holding opponents to just
forty four percent shooting at the rim on five attempts
per game. That is tied for the stingiest rate in
the entire league.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
He's in the DPOY conversation.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
He is firmly in the defensive Player of the Year conversation,
which is just incredible for a guy with his profile.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
And that consistent two way improvement is exactly why the
Pistons organization now under GM Trajan Langdon resisted all the
trade offers for him during those terrible years. Langdon inherited
this core and he made the crucial call to prioritize
internal development over just flipping assets for a marginal game.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
So what does that philosophy tell us about the current
Detroit franchise. I mean, when Stewart says, and this is
a fantastic quote, I know I can't be replaced. He's
not being arrogant, there is.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
He not at all. He's articulating the commitment a franchise
made to him, to the culture they were trying to
build in the trenches when they were losing all those games.
It signals a profound trust and frankly, a patience that
is so rare in the modern MBA. They were committed
to the idea that Stuart's energy, his work ethic, his
his tenacity that was foundational to their identity. Regardless of
(06:12):
that seventy four to forty four record.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
Langdon didn't rush it.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
He didn't He resisted rushing to judgment. He said they
had to let it breathe a little bit, get their
own assessment, and that patients, combined with hiring bickerstaff, has
resulted in this incredible momentum. It suggests they have a
long term plan that has just you know, dramatically accelerated.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
So if Detroit's success is a steady in patience and
internal development, our next story is, well, it's the pinnacle
of durability and commitment. We're talking about the end of
a chapter for Lebron James and the end of a
record we all genuinely believed might never ever end.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Yeah, we're talking about maybe the most durable, consistent scoring
achievement in modern sports history. Lebron James's unprecedented run of
consecutive games scoring ten or more points has finally come
to an end.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
The final number on that streak two hundred ninety seven games.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
It's just it's mind boggling.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
I's span six nine hundred and five days. That's over
eighteen years and ten months. It finally came to a
close in the Lakers nail biting one twenty three one
twenty win over the Raptors. James finished the night with
only eight.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
Points, a tough shooting night for him four to seventeen,
missed all five of his threes.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
But the sheer length of that streak is what provides
the context. Michael Jordan had the previous record. It was
eight hundred and sixty six games.
Speaker 2 (07:27):
So Lebron broke it by four hundred and thirty one games.
Just think about that. To wrap your mind around twelve,
two hundred and ninety seven games, consider this. Only twenty
four players in the entire history of the NBA have
played that many total regular season games in their whole career.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
That is an unbelievable stat The longevity required to maintain
that scoring floor for almost two decades is just unparallel,
it really is. And what makes the end of this
streak so compelling isn't that he failed to score. It's
that the team succeeded in winning.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
Exactly The games tied at one hundred and twenty five seconds,
Lebron has the ball. He could have easily easily forced
a contested shot to try and keep the streak alive,
maybe get to overtime, but he didn't. He didn't. Instead,
he makes the game winning play, draws the defense, kicks
it out to Ruyhachimura for a buzzer beating three pointer.
It was the ultimate display of his late career evolution.
(08:18):
He prioritized the win over the individual historically defining statistic,
and he.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
Summed it up perfectly after the game. He said, if
it had to end, that's the perfect way for me,
making the right play.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
And he's still finished with eleven assists and six rebounds.
I mean that is the definition of maturity and a
commitment to team success over everything else.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
And the Lakers desperately needed that win. They were playing
without Lukadancic, who was out for personal reasons right he was.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Back in Slovenia for the birth of his second child.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
And James himself was clearly playing through pain. He was
listed as doubtful for their very next game against the Celtics,
dealing with sciatica and a foot injury. The physical toll
is clearly made even for.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
Him, yeah, even for the Iron Man.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
And with Luca out, they needed a heroic performance from
someone else, and Austin Reeves delivered spectacular.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
Oh he was incredible. Reeves stepped up in a massive way,
scored forty four points, ditched out ten asists to get
that win over Toronto. You absolutely need that kind of
depth when your stars are out or just having an
off night.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
Speaking of heroes and dramatic finishes, let's talk about Philadelphia's
ninety nine to ninety eight win over the Warriors. This
one was decided by a star making a huge defensive
play to back up a hustling rookie.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
Yeah, and Tyrese Maxi, who is just playing at an
MVP level right now. He immediately credited the rookie VJ.
Edgecombe for saving the game.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
The former duke kid.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
Yep Edgecomb scores the game winning tip in, but he
gets it by chasing down a loose ball. That sequence,
I mean, it requires an incredible motor and awareness from
a first year player in a huge moment.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
And Maxi made sure that hustle wasn't wasted. After Edgecomb
puts the Sixers up by one, the Warriors get one
last chance to win it and Maxi delivers a game
ceiling chase down block on his former teammate d' Anthony
Melton right at the buzzer. That block seals the win
and just highlights Maxie's two way commitment.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
His quote after the game was perfect. He said, VJ
saved us. I just made sure it counted.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
I love that. And edgecumb the third pick in the draft,
he's showing his value. He finished with ten point six rebounds,
five assists, and three steals. That's a stat line that
shows an impact way beyond just scoring.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
He's earning Nick Nurse's trust for sure. And Maxie, I
mean he's joining some genuinely elite company. This was his
third Stray game with thirty five or more points. The
only other seventy six ers to do that are Wilt,
Doctor J. Barkley, Iverson, and Embiid.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
That's the Mount Rushmore of Philly basketball, it is, And.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
On top of that, he tied Iverson for the second
longest streak of twenty plus point games to start a
season twenty one games This isn't just a hot start.
This is sustained, elite performance.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
And it was a notable night for the Warriors too,
because d Anthony Melton, who they brought back this summer
his season debut.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
Yeah, and he looked good, recovering from the ACL surgery
a year ago, and he comes out and drops fourteen points,
adds two steals in a block. He showed he's ready
to go, and he was a big reason Golden State
even had a chance at the end.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
Okay, let's move down the West standings to the Houston Rockets,
who just keep defying expectations. Their dominant one twenty one
to ninety five win over the Kings cement to them
as a truly balanced threat.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Balanced is the perfect word. The trio of Alpha and Sengen,
Kevin Durant and Erman Thompson all topped twenty points. That's
the third time they've done that this.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
Season, and Sangen was the star of the show, stuffed
the stat sheet twenty eight points, ten rebounds, four steals.
Durant added twenty four and eight assists. Thompson chipped in
twenty twelve and seven.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
But what's really fascinating about Houston is their identity. It's
built on defense. They currently ranked second in the entire
league in defensive rating.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
That's the key it is.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
And when you combine that with their offense, they are
the only team in the NBA right now to rank
in the top three on both offense and defense. OKC
is close top defense, fifth offense, but Houston is doing
it on both ends.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
That balance is so crucial. It's tough to win a
championship just by outscoring everyone. It feels like Durant's veteran
leadership has instantly instilled some defensive accountability there.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
It absolutely has. His presence provides a defensive anchor and
maybe more importantly, a voice that commands respect. But Sengun's emergence,
that's what's fueling their offensive ceiling.
Speaker 1 (12:25):
His numbers have been crazy since November first.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
He's averaging almost twenty three points, nine and a half rebounds,
and over seven assists. He's showing this incredible poise as
a playmaker from the high post, and it just makes
them so unpredictable.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
And their physicality against the Kings was just overwhelming. They
crushed Sacramento on the glass a sixty two to thirty
two rebounding advantage.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
And that kind of dominance on the boards, it translates
directly into fast break points and it limits what the
other team can do in transition. It's a winning formula,
all right.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
Finally, let's check in on the Minnesota Timberwolves. They managed
to escape New Orleans again, beating the Pelicans one twenty five,
one sixteen for their fourth straight win.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
What stands out here to me is the leadership maturity
from Anthony Edwards.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
That was interesting.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
He had been averaging what thirty eight points a game
over his last six but in this game he purposefully
took a back seat. He only took six shots, finished
with eleven points and just let his teammates carry the
scoring load and they still won. He still won. That
ability to adapt his approach to win in different ways,
that's a huge step forward for a young superstar.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
And the win was sealed by a crucial fifteen to
oh run in the fourth quarter after they were actually trailing.
That just highlights their ability to flip a switch when
the game demands it.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
Meanwhile, the Pelicans, you know, they're focused on development under
their interim coach James Barrego. Their rookie Jeremiah Fears had
his third straight twenty point game.
Speaker 1 (13:46):
So they're getting good signs from the young.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
Guys they are and Barrego's really pushing them to shoot
more threes. They went seven of twenty five in this game,
which is a big contrast in Minnesota's fifteen makes. But look,
this is the dynamic of a contender versus a developing team.
The Wolves won because they're superstar deferred and the team
executed in the clutch. That's exactly what you see from
championship level teams.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
Okay, Leff, pivot dramatically here and get into the newsroom
because there is one story that is dominating every conversation
and it has massive implications across the entire league. We're
talking about the health and the potential future of Giannis Antitokumbo.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
This is a huge, huge concern for Milwaukee and it
is the absolute epicenter of trade speculation right now. Giannas
suffered a non contact calf injury against the Pistons. The
early reports are saying he's expected to be sidelined for
two to four weeks.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
Now. The good news, if there is any, is that
coach Doc Rivers has ruled out the worst case scenario.
It's not an achilles injury, thank goodness for that, but
even a few weeks without him is devastating, especially considering
how much the Bucks have been struggling lately. They've only
won two of their last ten games, and they.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
Went zero and four when he was out with a
groin injury last month. They just can't function without him,
and that's precisely why the trade rumor are swirling so intensely.
No matter what the organization says, this is the contract, true,
it's the contract. Giannis has a crucial decision to make
about his long term future, and this recent skid just
intensifies all the questions about whether Milwaukee can really provide
(15:15):
the winning environment he needs.
Speaker 1 (15:17):
And this has led to some truly fascinating, maybe even crazy,
hypothetical trades being floated. The most spectacular one involves the
San Antonio Spurs. We have to break this down because
the consequences for both teams would be enormous.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
It's the ultimate accelerate the timeline trade. The idea of
pairing Giannis with Victor Wambonyama is a generational opportunity, but
the cost for the Spurs it is astronomical and it
would be.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
Painful Okay, so what's the proposed package.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
So the Spurs would have to send the raining rookie
of the year stuff On.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
Castle Oof right off the bat right.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
Plus Harrison Barnes, Kelly Olinik, Jordan McLaughlin and three future
first round picks, the twenty twenty seven pick from the Hawks,
their own twenty twenty nine pick, and their twenty thirty
two pick.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
That is a staggering price. You're giving up your last
huge draft success, a bunch of veteran salary in three firsts.
But let's talk about the pairing. What would Giannis and
Wemby look like on the court.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
It would create an immediate, physically overwhelming title contender. I mean,
just imagine the defensive length and switchability. You could play
one Banyama at the five, protecting the rim, while Giannis
roams at the four, terrorizing passing lanes and initiating the offense.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
And they still have Fox and Visas exactly.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
You add Giannis to a corps that already has to
Aaron Fox and Devin Vassal, and assuming Lemby is healthy,
they are instantly the league's biggest threat for the next
five years.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
But I have to challenge this a little bit. Doesn't
trading away your future core a guy like Castle you
just drafted and committed to. Doesn't that undermine the very
culture the Spurs are trying to rebuild? Aren't you sacrificing
the patient process that defined the Popovich era for so long?
Speaker 2 (16:58):
That is the central tension of this whole rumor. But
you know it connects directly to the Spurs history. They
have often made massive, aggressive moves in direct response to
their rival like what well they added Bruce Bowen after
losing to the Kobe and Shaq Lakers because they needed
an elite perimeter defender. Years later, they traded for Kawie
Leonard in response to that dynamic Young thundercres of Durant
(17:21):
Westwith and Harden.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
So this is the same idea.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
It's an arms race. Trading for Giannis would be a
direct response to the league's current landscape, the young Thunder,
the balanced Rockets, the healthy Celtics and Bucks. It's the
ultimate nuclear option.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
Speaking of things costing too much, the Cleveland Cavaliers just
got hit with another massive fine this week.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
Yeah, this is about the player participation policy, the resting policy.
The Calves were fined two hundred and fifty thousand dollars
by the league, a quarter of a million dollars for
what for a resting star player Darius Garland during a
nationally televised game against the Raptors back in November.
Speaker 1 (17:57):
And this is their second fine like this this season,
isn't it it is?
Speaker 2 (18:00):
They already got hit with one hundred thousand dollars penalty
for resting both Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley against the Heat.
The league's investigation basically found that at Garland was fit
to play in one of the back to back games,
and the team chose to sit him during the national broadcast,
which is a huge no no in the policy. The
league is very serious about having stars available for those
(18:21):
big games.
Speaker 1 (18:22):
Absolutely. Okay, moving over to the Knicks, who are having
a great season, but there's trade buzz around a core player,
and again it's all about the league's financial structure. Let's
talk about Miles McBride.
Speaker 2 (18:32):
Miles McBride is such a huge success story for them.
He's a fan favorite. He's having a career year, averaging
over eleven points a game, shooting a crazy forty four percent.
Speaker 1 (18:41):
From three, and his impact numbers are great.
Speaker 2 (18:43):
His overall net rating of eleven point five is the
second best on the entire team. It just highlights his
tangible positive impact whenever he's on the floor.
Speaker 1 (18:53):
So why on earth would the Knicks even consider trading
a guy who is this effective, this popular, and this young.
Speaker 2 (18:59):
In a word, taxes, It is purely about the second
apron tax penalties, and this is such a critical concept
for you to understand if you want to follow the
modern NBA's financial rules.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
So break it down. Why is that second apron so prohibitive?
Speaker 2 (19:13):
Well, the Knicks are already over the second apron this year,
and once you're in that territory, the NBA essentially handcuffs
your ability to build your team. It restricts trade flexibility.
You can't take back more salary in a trade than
you send out. It limits your buyout options.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
And McBride does due for a big ray soon.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
Exactly. He's under contract through twenty twenty seven, but he's
playing so well that his next contract is going to
be lucrative. We're talking maybe over fifty million dollars based
on what guys like Dyson Daniels and Christian bron just got.
That salary would push the Knicks even deeper into the
penalty zone and cripple their ability to build around their stars.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
So trading him now while his value is high is
really a preemptive move to avoid future financial headaches and
maintain roster flexibility.
Speaker 2 (19:58):
That's it. It's the cruel reality of the modern salary cap.
Success sometimes makes your most beloved effective role players financially
unsustainable if you want to operate with any flexibility under
the new CBA.
Speaker 1 (20:10):
A quick positive note for the Knicks, though, og and
Ooby was upgraded to questionable for their game against Utah.
He's missed nine games with a hamstring strain, so getting
him back, even on a minute's restriction will be a
huge defensive boost.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
And finally, in the news roundup, we have to touch
on some injury worries down in Miami. Tyler Herro's return
has been great for them, but now he's dealing with
a new issue.
Speaker 1 (20:31):
Yeah, here is doubtful for their next game with right
big toe irritation and the fact that he's scheduled for
an MRI is immediately a red flag.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
It is especially given his recent history. He missed the
start of the season recovering from surgery on his left ankle.
He said that was a long process. Now this new
injury on the opposite side, it suggests he might be compensating,
you know, placing unusual strain on his right foot.
Speaker 1 (20:54):
The Heat just can't afford long term health issues for
their key secondary playmaker.
Speaker 2 (20:59):
No, they can't. It's challenge of physical recovery in this league.
One injury so often leads to another.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
Right, let's shift gears and talk about some of the
most dramatic organizational changes happening, starting with a bitter, just
stunning conclusion to a legends time in Los Angeles.
Speaker 2 (21:15):
Yeah, the Chris Paul and Clipper saga is it's just
stunningly messy. Paul was released during what was supposed to
be the sentimental farewell tour. It marks an absolutely bitter
end to his brief return to the franchise where he
spent six of his best seasons.
Speaker 1 (21:30):
And his former teammate Lou Williams gave some crucial insight.
He said Paul's departure wasn't about his play, it was
due to growing severe tension between Paul and the head coach,
Tyron Lou.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
The tension was apparently so bad that reports say Paul
and Lu didn't even speak in the three weeks leading
up to his release, Lou basically confirmed it was an
organizational decision, saying Paul just didn't work out and wasn't
a good fit for the system or the locker room dynamic.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
And Paul wasn't exactly welcomed back with open arms by
everyone in the first place, was he We heard some
rumors about the team's other stars.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
Absolutely, reports indicated that James Harden was opposed to Paul
joining the Clippers in the off season, which suggests a
foundational crack in the team's structure before Paul even got there.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
So what's next for CP three.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
Well, he expected to retire at the end of the season,
but he might still find a role in a contender,
maybe the Hawks or even the Pistons playing limited minutes.
But the Clippers organization, they had a massive image problem
now after this very public, very messy divorce.
Speaker 1 (22:31):
And it's not just that. The trade market for their
remaining stars is also looking complicated.
Speaker 2 (22:37):
According to scouts, that's right, and the valuation is what's
truly shocking. One Eastern Conference scout said that James Harden
has neutral value on the trade market.
Speaker 1 (22:47):
Meaning he's useful, but You're not giving up a.
Speaker 2 (22:49):
Lot for him, right, But Kaween Leonard surprisingly has negative value.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
Negative value for Kaween Leonard. How is that even possible
for one of the league's most dominant two way players.
Speaker 2 (23:01):
It's all tied to that cap circumvention investigation, the one
about is apparent no show endorsement deal. The negative value
is tied to the uncertainty of future fines or penalties
from the league, which could seriously impact a team's long
term salary cap. Teams are extremely hesitant to trade valuable
assets for a player whose financial situation could blow up
(23:21):
in their face.
Speaker 1 (23:22):
That is a huge indictment of where that franchise is
right now, despite their present insisting they'll remain a destination franchise.
Speaker 2 (23:29):
Yeah, rival execs are suggesting the Clippers might be shopping
for a blue light special at the deadline, maybe dumping
expiring contracts to get a guy like Zach Levine from
the Kings just to shake things up. It points to
a serious, necessary roster overhaul.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
Okay, let's jump over to the other side of the country.
Golden State just gave us one of the best feel
good family stories of the entire year.
Speaker 2 (23:51):
The Curry brothers are finally uniting. Seth Curry was signed
for the rest of the season. It's the first time
he'll be teammates with his older brother Staff in their
entire pro career. Seth is gonna wear number thirty one,
and the excitement around this is just palpable.
Speaker 1 (24:05):
It's a great story, but it's also a really shrewd
basketball move. Seth is an elite three point specialist, especially
in catch and shoot situations. He provides much needed perimeter
depth for that high volume Warriors offense.
Speaker 2 (24:18):
And Seth's arrival, combined with the successful return of d
Anthony Melton, is already shaking up their backcourt rotation. Melton
had a fantastic debut after his ACL surgery fourteen points,
two steals, and a block.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
And his performance has led to a media speculation that
the young guard Brandon Podzimski could become extendable in a trade. Oh.
Speaker 2 (24:39):
Absolutely, Podziemski already lost his starting job. If Melton moves
into the starting lineup, which seems likely, and Podziemski is
relegated to being the seventh or eighth guy in the rotation,
the Warriors will definitely explore using him to upgrade the
roster before the deadline. His role is shinking fast.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
Shifting to the East coast. The Celtics are holding strong
despite some early injuries, and they're getting their own success
stories from their youth movement.
Speaker 2 (25:04):
The Celtics are thirteen to nine. They've gone eight too
in their last ten games, showing great stability even with
Jason Tatum still rehabbing his achilles. This period of adversity
has been essential for developing their young depth.
Speaker 1 (25:15):
And the recent blowout win over the Wizards really highlighted
two young wings were stepping up big time. Jordan Walsh,
in his third year, had a breakout night.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
Walsh set a new career high with twenty two points
and get this, he didn't miss a single shot. He
looks like a completely different player out there, moving with
so much confidence, and it's not a fluke since he
entered the starting lineup. Boston is eight and.
Speaker 1 (25:38):
Two and his focus is all on defense. He said
he low key forgets what happened on offense because he's
so focused on getting back on d That's become his identity.
Speaker 2 (25:47):
And we also saw great defensive work from the rookie
Hugo Gonzalez. He put up fourteen points in five rebounds,
but his most important minutes were spent guarding Jalen Brunson
of the Knicks. Gonzalez was key to their comeback against
New York earlier this season, just getting under Brunson and
being physical with him.
Speaker 1 (26:03):
The Celtics are going to need that youth and energy
as they get ready to renew their rivalry against the Lakers.
Jalen Brown is expected back, but the Lakers will be
seriously shorthanded. We know Luca is out and Lebron is
deubtful with his injuries.
Speaker 2 (26:16):
It's a huge test for Boston's depth. For them, it's
always about navigating the luxury tax, so finding cheap, reliable
production from young guys like Walsh and Gonzalez is absolutely
essential for their next title run.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
Let's turn our attention now to the immediate future of
the league, starting with the historic Ricky class we are
seeing this year, and then we'll look ahead to the
twenty twenty six draft.
Speaker 2 (26:39):
This current Ricky class is just phenomenal. The biggest story
at the top is the duke duo Connople and Cooper
flag Right. They became the first pair of college teammates
to win Eastern and Western Conference Rookie of the Month, respectively,
since the awards started twenty four years ago. That level
of translation from college to the pros happening at the
(26:59):
same time is just unprecedented.
Speaker 1 (27:01):
Connable, the fourth pick for Charlotte, is putting up great
all around numbers eighteen points, almost six rebounds, three assists.
But Flag, the second pick for Dallas, is showing signs
of immediate superstardom that puts him in some legendary company.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
Flag is on a truly historic pace. During Dallas's current
win streak, He's averaging twenty seven points a game on
almost sixty percent shooting, and he joins Lebron James as
the only players in NBA history to have three straight
twenty plus point games at eighteen years old or younger.
Speaker 1 (27:30):
That's an immediate comparison to the King. Dallas has found
a future cornerstone they have.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
But it's not just the lottery picks making noise for
the Mavericks. We have to talk about the undrafted guy,
Ryan Nemhard. His efficiency is just incredible curtain for them. Yeah,
he stepped in as the starting point guard and is
averaging almost eighteen points and six assists in his starts.
He recently had a dominant game in Denver twenty eight points,
ten assists, and zero turnovers in thirty five minutes.
Speaker 1 (27:56):
Zero turnovers. That's amazing for a rookie.
Speaker 2 (27:59):
And get this context, he joined Stefan Marbury as the
only rookie ever to record at least twenty five points
in ten assists in a game without a single turnover.
That level of control from an undrafted player is phenomenal.
It just speaks to his high basketball IQ.
Speaker 1 (28:14):
Now on the other side of that rookie conversation, the
Pacers are dealing with the growing pains of jerraise Walker.
He hasn't quite lived up to the pre draft type, has.
Speaker 2 (28:22):
He No, He's looked a bit hesitant, turns the ball
over when he tries to create too much. But he
is starting to show flashes of being a really valuable
role player, even if he's not the star some people expected.
Pascal Siakam recently praised him after he put up twenty
one points against Detroit. He said Walker kept the game simple,
limited his dribbles. It suggests he can excel in a
smaller defined role, A good defensive forward who can hit
(28:46):
open shots.
Speaker 1 (28:47):
Okay, let's look head to the class of twenty twenty six.
Scouts are already dissecting the next crop of talent. What
are the names we need to know?
Speaker 2 (28:54):
All right? The early mock draft highlights a f you guys,
and what's critical is how their skills translate to the
modern positionless game.
Speaker 1 (29:02):
Starting with Cameron Boozer, he seems to have a pro
ready skill set. What makes him stand.
Speaker 2 (29:08):
Out Boozer's praise for his mix of power and footwork
Inside he just dropped thirty five points on a fifth
year senior who looked helpless against him. But what really
pops for a two hundred and fifty pounds big is
his handle and his ability to drive. He attacks closeouts,
has effective spin moves. He's a scoring threat from everywhere.
Speaker 1 (29:25):
So what's the question mark?
Speaker 2 (29:27):
The only questions are about shot selection and decision making.
Does he make his teammates better or is he purely
focused on his own scoring?
Speaker 1 (29:34):
Then we have CoA Pete, a power forward projected to
Dallas Pete.
Speaker 2 (29:37):
Pete at six foot eight, two hundred and thirty five pounds,
is drawing comparisons to Wendell Carter Junior. His scouting report
is described as cut and dried, which means effective but limited.
He relies on post ups, rolls to the basket, and
offensive rebounds.
Speaker 1 (29:53):
The concern is shooting range exactly.
Speaker 2 (29:56):
The question for a team like Dallas is whether his
lack of perimeter shooting is too big a cost when
you already have a guy like Cooper Flagg demanding the ball.
A six foot eight power forward who relies on contested
two point jumpers. That's a tough fit in today's NBA.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
In the guard category, Mickel Brown Junior from Louville is
getting a lot of praise.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
Yeah, Brown is projected to the Thunder compared to Anthony Simons.
His twenty nine point five assist game against Kentucky really
validated him. He plays with speed confidence, He's in control
of his defender, his shot making his potent, even if
it's a little inconsistent right now, the Thunder would be
betting on his high ceiling as a primary creator.
Speaker 1 (30:31):
And another high IQ guard who seems really polished is
Bennett Steartz.
Speaker 2 (30:35):
Starts is older, he's twenty two, projecting as a Malcolm
Brogden type. He can easily navigate defenses, he hits his threes,
he makes high IQ plays. He's a very appealing option
for a team that's looking for maturity and polished someone
who can contribute right away off the bench.
Speaker 1 (30:50):
Okay, it's a deep pool of talent for twenty twenty six.
Let's wrap up now with a look at some broader
ongoing stories across the basketball world, starting with the very
strange case of the San Antonio Spurs and their offense.
Speaker 2 (31:03):
This is truly one of the more bizarre developments of
the season. The Spurs, even without Victor wen Manyama, who's
out with that calf strain, and without stuff on Castle,
have somehow secured the NBA's eighth best offensive rating.
Speaker 1 (31:16):
How is that even possible. This was a team that
was dead last in offense for most of the year
and is built around a future star known for his
back to the basket game.
Speaker 2 (31:24):
It is all due to the masterful leadership of Deer
and Fox. The offense has just gelled under his pace,
his deceleration ability, the way he hits the brakes in
the lane is crucial. It sucks in help defenders and
he creates wide open threes for his teammates. It's an
infectious pace that simplifies the offense for everyone.
Speaker 1 (31:41):
So when BA Yama's more static post up game was
actually slowing things down and allowing defenses to recover.
Speaker 2 (31:48):
That seems to be the hard truth. His half court
style made defensive rotations easier to manage. Now, with Fox
running quick pick and rolls with a guy like Luke Cornett,
the offense is playing with better tempo and better alignment.
They're running a completely different and more successful scheme.
Speaker 1 (32:03):
So the big challenge for them now is integrating when
Ba Yama style back into this new open flow without
killing the momentum they've built.
Speaker 2 (32:12):
That's exactly it. They have to use Wemby's incredible skill set,
but this recent run has proven the Spurs can be
more than just Wemby's team. They now have two completely viable,
high level offensive identities.
Speaker 1 (32:24):
Moving to the global game, China is making some massive,
ambitious moves to try and boost its standing in international basketball.
Speaker 2 (32:30):
Yeah, the General Administration of Sport of China recently announced
sweeping reforms with some very aggressive national team targets. The
main goals are to make sure the men's team qualifies
for the twenty twenty eight Olympics and to achieve world
class status for the women's team by twenty thirty five.
Speaker 1 (32:45):
Those are some high stakes goals. What's the strategy behind
that push?
Speaker 2 (32:49):
It's all about systemic improvements, drastically improving their youth programs,
encouraging open competition, and crucially calling for high quality foreign
investment in overseas leads to operate in China. They want
to inject world class training and competition into their domestic system.
Speaker 1 (33:06):
But they've had some brutal reality checks recently that highlight
the gap between that ambition and where they are right
now they have.
Speaker 2 (33:14):
The men's team just suffered back to back losses to
South Korea in feba Asia Cup qualifiers. The coach said
the losses have made it much harder to reach the
World Cup finals, and one of the players called the
defeats a brutal reality saying the team has lost its
internal fighting spirit.
Speaker 1 (33:29):
It sounds like a difficult long road ahead for them.
Despite the huge popularity of the NBA.
Speaker 2 (33:34):
In China, it is ambition doesn't always translate to immediate success.
Those losses just highlight that the talent gap requires more
than just policy reform. It requires a fundamental change in
training and mindset.
Speaker 1 (33:45):
On a more somber note, we have to pause to
remember a member of the Pistons two thousand and four
championship team, Elden Campbell, who passed away suddenly at the
age of fifty seven.
Speaker 2 (33:56):
It's a very sad loss for the basketball community. Campbell,
a fifteen year NBA veteran, died of an accidental drowning
after suffering a medical emergency while he was out fishing
in Florida.
Speaker 1 (34:06):
And he was such a critical piece of that legendary
two thousand and four Pistons title team. Even if his
role was very specific in Detroit, his.
Speaker 2 (34:14):
Role was indispensable and highly specialized. He was the primary
defensive anchor against Shaquille O'Neil during the two thousand and
four finals. His job wasn't a score. It was to
use his size and strength to absorb Shack's post moves
and keep him off the glass, allowing the rest of
that famous Pistons defense to work. Magic Johnson described him
as a gentle soul and extremely athletic. His legacy is
(34:36):
really defined by his willingness to take on the hardest
defensive assignment.
Speaker 1 (34:39):
In the league. Finally, let's talk about the conclusion of
a long and impressive international career. Danilo Gallinari's retirement.
Speaker 2 (34:45):
Gallinari officially retired at age thirty seven, but his final
chapter was really unique and incredibly satisfying for him. It
provided a beautiful symmetry to his whole career.
Speaker 1 (34:55):
He didn't finish in the NBA. He finished his career
in Puerto Rico.
Speaker 2 (34:58):
That's right. He spent his final season playing for Vaccaros
de BAOMON in Puerto Rico. He was motivated by pure
love for basketball and the need to be playing professionally
so he could make the Italian national team for EuroBasket,
and that.
Speaker 1 (35:13):
Final journey turned out to be his greatest professional achievement,
even after making over two hundred million dollars in the NBA.
That says so much about what motivates a player.
Speaker 2 (35:23):
It speaks volumes about the psychological need to be the leader.
In Puerto Rico, he did two things that escaped him
in the NBA. He won a championship and he was
named Finals MVP. He found the feeling he'd lost as
an NBA backup, the feeling of being the most important
player of the team again. He said he needed that
feeling back to truly end his journey.
Speaker 1 (35:42):
That's a wonderful way to end a career, finding that
ultimate success in his final professional stop.
Speaker 2 (35:47):
Yeah Gallinari, who was the sixth pick in two thousand
and eight and battled so many major knee injuries, he
reflected that without the injuries, they'd be talking about a
legendary career. That Puerto Rican championship clearly gave him the
piece and the joy he needed to move on.
Speaker 1 (36:02):
We have covered a tremendous amount of ground today. We
analyze the unstoppable rise of the Detroit Pistons a study
in internal commitment. We witnessed the dramatic selfless end of
Lebron's historic scoring streak, and we outlined the burgeoning Giannis
trade storm and the immense cost of acquiring him.
Speaker 2 (36:21):
We also detailed the rise of a truly historic rookie
class with Flag and Nupel, and we saw the strange
case of the San Antonio Spurs unlocking an elite offense
without their centerpiece Victor wan Banyama thanks to Dearon Fox's
blistering pace.
Speaker 1 (36:34):
And most critically, we broke down the financial reality that
the Nicks are grappling with, where the success of a
fan favor like Miles McBride actually creates a conflict, forcing
them to consider trading him just to navigate those new
tax penalties.
Speaker 2 (36:46):
We've seen teams succeed by prioritizing long term development like Detroit,
and teams potentially sacrificing that for immediate glory, like the
Spurs might do with a Giannis trade.
Speaker 1 (36:56):
And that leaves us with one final provocative thought for
you to chew on. When we look at the Spurs
who found elite short term momentum by playing against their
long term vision for wembin Yama, and the Knicks who
might have to trade a core asset like McBride because
of a salary crunch. How often does a team's long
term need conflict with its short term momentum and with
(37:20):
one of those priorities truly dictate success in the modern
cap constrained NBA.
Speaker 2 (37:25):
That tension defines the entire league right now. You can't
win without talent, but you can't always afford all the talent.
If they all succeed, navigating that conflict between today's success
and tomorrow's flexibility is the single biggest challenge for every
front office.
Speaker 1 (37:39):
We'll leave you with that question. Thank you for joining
us for this analysis on basketball home. We'll catch you
next time.
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