Hoops Tonight - NBA Power Rankings: Jayson Tatum & Celtics DYNASTY loading? Boston's top challengers
October 19, 2024 • 42 mins
Jason Timpf concludes his NBA power rankings with Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and the defending champion Boston Celtics. Jason discusses what Boston must accomplish to enter the "all-time great team" conversation, breaks down the Celtics' biggest strengths and weaknesses, and shares whether he expects Boston to end the season as back-to-back champions.
Timeline:
4:00 - Introduction
06:30 - #1: Boston Celtics
24:45 - NBA Mailbag
(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements.)
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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slash ft ball. All right, welcome to hoo todaight you're
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at the volume. Happy Friday, everybody, hope a if you
guys have had a great week. Got a jpack show
for you today we are hitting number one on our
preseason power ranking. Season previews. The Boston Celtics obviously very
little changing year over year for them, but we'll talk
a little bit about their outlook and then one of
the things we're gonna do to kind of try to
find more talk about with the Celtics is kind of
focus on some specific matchups with them playoff series style
(02:14):
against some of the teams at the top of the league,
which teams I think have a realistic path to try
to upset Boston versus teams that I don't. And then
at the tail end of the show this morning, I
tweeted out asking for some mailbag questions to just kind
of hit on a bunch of preseason topics. We're going
to be bouncing all around the league. You guys know
the Joe. Before we get started, subscribe to the Hoops
and Out YouTube channel so you don't miss any more
of our videos. Follow me on Twitter at underscore JSNLTS.
(02:36):
You guys, don't miss you announcements. Don't forget about our
podcast feed where you get your podcast and our Hoops Tonight.
Don't forget it's helpful if you leave a rating and
a review on that front. And the last but not least,
keep dropping mail bag questions in those YouTube comments so
we can keep hitting them throughout the remainder of the season. Also,
before we get started, I want to talk to you
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What time is it? Game time? All right, let's talk
(04:23):
some basketball. So number one in this year's power ranking
season preview style is the Boston Celtics. Not really much
to say in terms of an offseason recap, only changes
to the back end of the roster. Baylor Shireman, their
draft pick at shot the ball poorly in preseason, but
I don't think he'll be in the rotation much. You know,
we might see a guy like Lonnie Walker, who had
(04:44):
some impressive driving kick possessions. We might see him make
the roster and see some opportunities but none of it
really matters. The core eight for the Boston Celtics is
the core eight. Derek White, Drew Holliday, Jaylen Brown, Jason Tatum, Chrisopsporzingis,
Al Horford, Peyton Pritchard, and Sam Houser. That's their player rotation.
I think it's the best top eight in the NBA.
My friend Sam Vessini was saying on the show yesterday
(05:05):
that he thinks Minnesota's top eight is the best in
the NBA. I think I disagree with him, Like, Yeah,
Dante DiVincenzo, Nikhil, Alexander Walker and nasried are a better
trio than Al Horford, Peyton, Pritchard and the same Hauser.
But the top five are just so much better for Boston.
As a matter of fact, I think I'd take Oklahoma
City's top eight before I would take Minnesota's top eight.
But I think boston That top eight rotation is rock solid.
(05:28):
Pritchard and Howser both really flashed defensive upside in the postseason.
Upsides the wrong word. They held up well off in
the postseason. They got hunted consistently as you would expect,
and they held up well. Porzingis brought everything that we
in the brief stints where he was actually available. He
brought everything that we knew that we were that Boston
needed from him in terms of rim protection and matchup
(05:50):
attacking on switches and ball screens. It all just came
together perfectly in a dominant playoff run. They've looked completely
locked in and ready to go in the preseason. They're
four and one. They have the best offense in the
league one twenty one offensive rating that's five point seven
points better than the second best offense in preseason insane.
They're averaging fifty three three point attempts per game. They
(06:11):
have a sixty one percent for shooting. As a team.
Boston's offensive system is just the best that we have
in the league right now, most talented that we have
in the league right now. It's like a well oiled machine.
The defense has been fined in preseason. They have a
plus sixteen point three net rating in preseason that's the
best in the league by five point three points. So
just continuing their dominance. Jason Tatum looks great, as Jumper looks.
(06:34):
I just kind of reconfigured and just it's almost like
he just took a moment to reset and just kind
of find his foundation, find his base again as a
jump shooter one point one to three points per jump
shot in preseason, one point two points per catch and
shoot jump shot, one point zero eight off the dribble,
all really good. I think the Celtics will face some
(06:54):
substantially tougher playoff competition this year, and I'm going to
get into that concept a little bit more here in
a second. But I also think that they'll have a
substantially better version of Jason Tatum at their disposal in
the playoffs than they did last year, and I think
that that is going to put them in a position
to handle a tougher playoff run. Think like the twenty
sixteen Golden State Warriors team. You know, I've seen a
(07:15):
lot of There's been a lot of like kind of
like argument among basketball fans between Celtics fans and the
rest about like how to regard last year's team, And
part of the disconnect is like a lot of Boston
fans want that team to be regarded as all time great,
and my point of view on that is there's no
such thing as an all time great team until you've
won multiple championships. That to me is like the baseline, right.
(07:39):
And one of the things that happens is when you
on the course of a run to a championship, you
need some luck, right, And there are lots of teams
in NBA history that have benefited from luck on their
way to an NBA championship. But that is why the
all time great teams we typically look at multiple championships
because it's as circumstances change, as things go different, you
(08:02):
have to legitimize your championship when things don't go the
way that you want them to, right. Like just take
most recently the twenty seventeen and twenty eighteen Warriors. Now
they had a massive talent advantage, even to a greater
extent than the Celtics, but they went in twenty seventeen
beat the shit out of everybody. They went fifteen straight
playoff games. Right. But the next year it's like, all
of a sudden, there's this Houston Rockets team. It's really interesting.
They take a three to two lead in the series. Now,
(08:24):
obviously they benefit from more luck in the form of
Chris Paul getting injured, but inevitably what happens is you
see some different circumstances and it's about overcoming adversity. You
look back at the Warriors dynasty and like there are
some easy ones in there, right, Like there's the two
in twenty seventeen, in twenty eighteen where they just kicked
everybody's ass with talent. But it's like then we have
twenty fifteen where they came back from two separate tow
(08:45):
to one deficits. Right, we go back to the twenty
twenty two series against the Celtics where they're down to
one on the road, they need a big win. You
look at the totality of their success, it looks different
going back previously to the previous Heat champion, the Miami Heat,
right twenty twelve, they kind of handle everybody. Even in
(09:06):
the finals, they end up getting out of there in
five games. There's like a little bit of a brief
kind of thing with the Boston Celtics in the conference
was that in the finals. I think it was in
the conference finals, but there was a little bit of
adversity there, but they kind of kick butt. Then you
get into the twenty thirteen season, it's like this grueling
seven game series against the Pacers, this grueling seven game
series against the San Antonio Spurs, and by the time
(09:28):
they win the title, it's just like it just kind
of adds like a different layer to it. Right, So
think like the twenty sixteen Golden State team, Right, they
get super lucky in a bunch of different ways in
that playoff run. Every single team they play as guys hurt.
Now of the lineup, they end up going into that
gold that Cleveland Cavaliers series, and Kyrie Irving gets hurt
in the first game, Kevin Love had his shoulder dislocated
in the first round, and it's like Golden State wins,
(09:50):
and then outside of the Golden State fan base, there's
just a lot of like people talking like like, yeah,
they got lucky this, Yeah they you know, let's see
him do it ag next year. They come out next
year and they just start beating everybody's ass. And then yeah,
we obviously had that weird kind of NBA Finals series
where they end up losing. But as we zoom out
(10:11):
from the Warriors dynasty, it's clearly legitimate. There's four championships,
Steph Curry as all these big moments. It just has
this like kind of aura in retrospect that legitimizes everything
that they do. And so that's the thing like, was
there some luck for the Celtics last year. Yeah, Like
there was the five best teams in the league, they
didn't have to play any of them, right, And that's
(10:32):
just kind of part of how basketball goes. This year
will be tougher, go kick everyone's ass and shut them
all up. I've seen a lot of people say things like, well,
we're all time great because of the advanced metrics. No
one cares about the advanced metrics in an Eastern Conference
where you're beating the shit out of really bad teams
a lot of the nights. Multiple trophies is where you
get that respect. That is the opportunity that lies before Boston.
(10:53):
As we look back to previous champions, look at how
all of them are regarded. Denver one, but then they
didn't get an and so now a lot of people
are already right in Denver off and no one's going
to regard Denver as an all time great team unless
they win another one here in the next year or two. Right.
Going back to that Warriors team into twenty twenty two
is really cool, but they kind of fell off again
(11:14):
the next year, so no one views that twenty twenty
two team as some sort of all time great team. Right,
going back to twenty twenty one with the Milwaukee Bucks,
like impressive team, there hasn't been anything after that to
legitimize it. I thought that Lakers team in twenty twenty
was really good, but then they got started to run
into some injury stuff, and then they fucked up their
(11:34):
roster doing some stupid stuff in the front office. Right,
the Raptors end up losing Kawhi Like. There is the
only way that a championship team can truly resonate on
a level that lasts is to get multiple That's the
way it goes. When we look back at the great
teams in NBA history, who are they. It's the Warriors
they won four. It's the heat they won two. It's
the Lakers in the twenty tens they won two, The
(11:57):
Spurs they won five, the Kobe, the shack Lakers they
win three, the Bulls they win six, the Rockets they
win two, the Pistons they win two, the Lakers and
Celtics in the eighties. Like, you've got to put together
multiple iconic playoff runs in order to truly resonate on
that level. But that said, this team has that potential.
So let's get into it a little bit more and
(12:18):
talk about what a repeat would look like for this
particular team. First of all, I want to address one weakness,
the one specific weakness that this team has. They're a
little bit thin at the center position and a little
bit old and frail in their best player group, right
with Horford and Porzingis. How Horford turns thirty nine before
the NBA Finals this year. Porzingis gets hurt every year,
and he's hurt all ready to start this year from
(12:39):
an injury suffered last year in the postseason. But Brad
Stevens has done a really nice job at building out
like a deep rotation of backup centers. They have five
centers that are going to be on their season opening
roster right like Luke Cornett, nimas Queda, and Javier Tillman
are all going to get the like the majority of
the center minutes to start the year. I think they're
going to manage Al Horford very carefully to start the year.
(12:59):
I don't think they're going to compensate for Porzingis being
out by just riding Al Horford into the ground. They're
gonna run off of these backup centers and playing center
for the Celtics is an easy job. They're always flanked
by excellent perimeter defenders and athletes who could shoot, and
they just make life easier for them. Right. Will they
drop a few regular season games here and there because
they're running a week drop coverage with a week center. Sure,
(13:20):
they're going to drop some games, But the most important
thing for this team is to manage their health so
that Porzingis and Horford are ready to go in April.
Because when Porzingis is healthy, they look like far and
away the best team in basketball. So here's my prediction
for the season. I think they'll run away with the
best record in the league. Again, they're built for regular
season basketball, just with the depth and the way that
their system kind of generates shots in the way that
(13:42):
they defend. I think they're gonna end up with a
large margin over the number two seed in the East. Again,
I think they'll end up several games ahead of Oklahoma City.
Like I think Oklahoma City is at least relatively close
to Boston and Talent now after the acquisitions of Hartenstein
and Caruso. But the East has seven bad teams. Like
I looked at the Celtic schedule this year, they have
four games against the Hawks, four games against the Nets,
(14:05):
four games against the Bowls, four games against the Hornets,
three games against the Pistons, four games against the Raptors,
three games against the Wizards. Like they might drop a
game or two there, but they're going to go like
twenty five and one against that set, or twenty four
and two. Like last year in that same set of teams,
they dropped three really close games to Charlotte Atlanta, two
of them went to overtime. You could argue they should
(14:27):
have gone undefeated against that group. So like that I
think will keep a good, healthy gap between them in
Oklahoma City because o the Oklahoma City has to play
that Western Conference schedule, they're not playing any of those
Eastern Conference teams more than twice, and the West has
thirteen teams that legitimately think they can make the playoffs
and be good. So like I would imagine that Boston
is going to end around sixty five wins with a
(14:49):
healthy advantage in the East and a little bit of
an advantage over the West. My guess is that they'll
be the runaway number one overall seed. As for the playoffs,
I think there are teams that are capable of taking
them out, But I would pick Boston in each matchup.
Like the Knicks, I'm having a really hard time getting there.
I've looked at it a lot in light of the
Karl Anthony Towns edition. I just think the Celtics are
(15:11):
a better version of the Knicks. I don't think there
are enough matchup advantages there for the Knicks to potentially
swing that series. Obviously, with the Sixers, it's like what
if embiid is just healthy in April and finally has
this breakout playoff run. But that feels like a long shot.
We've been talking about that for years. Right the Bucks,
I think they're too slow on the perimeter. I also
think that they have the personnel to switch the Damiannis
pick and roll when things really slow down, which most
(15:33):
teams don't have. Like I think you put Jalen Brown
on Dame and you put Tatum on Giannis and you
just switch that action, and I think that puts them
in an advantageous position and slow down half court environments.
I have a really hard time seeing Boston lose out East. Like,
I think that it's far more likely than not that
Boston wins the Eastern Conference. Now there are two teams
(15:54):
out west that I think have more straightforward paths to
beating Boston because Boston just can't guard Jokic. Like put
it very simply, the only team that Boston couldn't beat
last year was Denver, and it was the same thing.
It's just they can consistently generate great shots off the
back of Jokic because Boston just doesn't have anybody on
(16:15):
the roster that can remotely make him feel uncomfortable. But
even then, I think Boston's a little better now than
they were last year. I think Tatum will be better
than he was last year, and I think Denver's a
little bit worse. So in a way that I would
have picked Denver by a smidge over Boston last year,
I think I'd picked Boston over Denver this year. But
at least if you're a Denver fan, there's a straightforward
(16:35):
path there, right like Jokic picks him apart, they go
cold from three, you can kind of like see the vision,
so to speak. But I would pick Boston and then
Oklahoma City. They have true five out spacing. All five
of those players that are in their small ball group
are excellent defenders in space. Shay Gills as Alexander would
be the best player in the series. But even then,
I think I'd picked Boston because Jalen Williams is Oklahoma
(16:56):
City's second best player and the guy who's going to
be determining so many important possessions, and he's twenty three
years old, so like Boston just has a substantial experience
advantage there. So my prediction, I think this is the
year that Boston finally breaks the trend of teams not repeating.
I think they cement themselves in the ranks of the
all time great teams. I think they'll have some more
(17:18):
memorable playoff moments because I think they're going to face
some tougher teams and they're going to have to overcome
a little bit of adversity on their way there. And
I think that when we come to this point next year,
Boston will finally have the respect that they're seeking, being
viewed as one of the all time great teams in
NBA history. All right, let's get to our mailbag. First question,
(17:50):
a lot of good ones from you guys today, thank
you for participating. Is always, did the Knicks sacrifice their
identity gritty offensive rebounds TIBs guys to appear better on paper.
This is a really interesting question. There's no doubt that
their identity will look a little bit different this year.
I think that goes without saying I still think a
good chunk of last year's identity is there though, right
(18:12):
with Josh Hart Ognnobi Duce McBride is a guy that
just kind of brings that same mentality. Jalen Brunson is
a tough minded guy. Mitchell Robinson when he's healthy, I
think McHale Bridges kind of fits that mold and will
add to that this season. But the reality is is
they had a certain ceiling last year. Too much was
on Brunson's play offensively to actually win four playoff rounds.
(18:32):
I didn't think that they had enough aggregate talent to
really capitalize on the advantages that Jalen Brunson was creating
as well, like they capitalize on attention devoted to Brunson
on the offensive glass as guys would break free and
crash as they were in rotation. But I actually think
they have enough talent this year to have a little
bit more of a driving kick look, a little bit
more of an advantage extending look, meaning like when Jalen
(18:54):
Brunson draws a heavier preponderance of the defense in his direction.
Guys that can drive closeouts and turn good shots into
great shots. I think that was something that was missing
last year. And then obviously just the true five out
spacing that they can accomplish with Karl Anthony Towns at center.
It's a look that they just didn't have in the past. So, yeah,
(19:15):
look at it this way. Anytime you make substantial roster changes,
there's a certain amount of risk. And yes there's a
version of this where this team just isn't as tough
as they are last year and they underachieve and it
doesn't go well, right, But last year's team had no
championship ceiling. This team actually does, And so it's about
the risk. Anytime you want a real reward in life,
you've got to put yourself out there and take some risk.
(19:36):
That's what the Knicks are doing. Yes, it could go south,
but there's also a version of this that works out.
Do you think Dalton connect will eventually play his way
into the starting lineup for the Lakers? A lot of
folks thought he could eventually take Rui's spot, although I disagree.
I would like to hear what you have to say
about it. Definitely not this year. With the way that
this Laker starting lineup is constructed, they really need Rui's size,
(19:58):
especially on the defensive glass. Lebron in just some of
his inconsistent defensive engagement at this phase in his career.
It's also part of them just kind of leaning into offense.
But maybe a future version of the Lakers, you could
see that. And this is where it gets interesting because
let's say we think about life post Lebron. So you
have your foundational pieces, right, you have I think we
can I think we see like the Lakers would see
(20:20):
their like three four years from now backcourt as Austin
Reeves and Max Christy. Think that goes about saying and
I think that's a nice natural fit, right, skill guard
athlete guard primarily defense and attax closeouts. Right. Then you
have Anthony Davis. But then there's this two or the
three to four spot that you're looking at, right, and
the obvious choice is like, oh well, Ruy slots down
(20:41):
to the four when Lebron is gone, and then you
put in Dalton connect at the three. This is where
it gets tricky though. That has one good defensive athlete
at the two. In Max Christie right, I don't think
Dalton could start at the three for an NBA team
unless the four man and the two man and the
five man were all excellent defensive players. Do I think
Dalton Connects will eventually become somebody that is functional on defense.
(21:04):
We'll see it's definitely he has the athleticism too. It's
just a question of whether or not he puts in
the work and picks up the instincts and commitment to
attention to detail to actually make that happen. But just
in terms of who he in terms of his natural
abilities as a basketball player, I don't think you could
start him alongside another week defensive forward like Ruey Hotcha Mura.
(21:24):
So in terms of the long term goals for the Lakers,
if you're looking at as Austin Max Dalton, that four
man next to ad is going to have to be
another big, strong athlete who is an excellent defensive rebounder,
an excellent defensive player, and so more likely than not,
I almost see Dalton connect at this kind of point
in his correct because this is the other part of it. Two,
(21:44):
you better be damn good on offense. If you are
starting for an NBA team and you're a mediocre to
below average defender. So like, so much of this is like,
maybe Dalton Connect never really has starting potential. He's more
of like a sixth man type of guy, right than
maybe Ruy is the or and they look for a
long term option at the three. But in terms of
future version of the Lakers, do I think Dalton Connect
(22:06):
could eventually become a starter. Sure, but I see almost
I see it basically a zero percent chance of that
happening this year. He might get a spot start here
or there because of injuries, but I don't see that
being part of the vision for this particular season. If
the Thunder get a lottery pick from the Clippers this year,
what should the Thunder do with the pick? Easy decision.
You hang onto it and you see if you can
get Cooper Flag. This is a team like if you're
(22:27):
looking at the build, the one guy they're missing is
a legitimate four man two flank Chet. They went with
a different direction this summer, opting for a look with
Chet at the four next to a center, which maybe
that ends up being what this looks like in the
long run anyway, But if you have an opportunity to
get Cooper flag. You wait to see if you can
get Cooper flag. Now, if you can't get Cooper flag
(22:48):
and you can't get any of these guys at the
top end of the draft that everyone's kind of keyed
in on, then I would start looking at potentially trading
that pick and looking for that forward more through the
trade market, because there's a timeline things starting to take
shape here as you look at the age of these guys,
they're actually starting to enter into legitimate championship contention and
(23:08):
continuing to develop prospects for the future may not be
the best path. The other thing they can do. This
is something that I wouldn't be surprised if we see
more teams do as we enter into this next phase
of the CBA with some of the limitations surrounding the aprons.
But we might actually see a team like Oklahoma City
let guys go when they need to get paid, because, like,
(23:30):
if you think about it from the same point of
the payroll, if you got to pay three max guys
and let's say that's chet, JDub and Shay, then you
can't afford to have expensive role players around them. And
so maybe It's one of those things where you use
a higher draft pick that typically would be used on
a player that has upside long term on more of
(23:52):
a guy that is not as heavy on the upside
but is ready to go right away and actually try
to target discount rotation pieces through the draft. I think
that's something that you might see a team like Oklahoma
City look to do as well. Not related to preseason,
but you recently said Lebron's argument for being the goat
is his longevity and that MJ has a better peak
for sure. How are you so sure about MJ's peaking
(24:14):
higher if your argument is only six to eight years,
that is more of a team stat. That's kind of
the point, like MJ's peak is clearly more dominant in
terms of the actual accomplishments of him and his basketball team.
The best individual basketball player that I have ever personally
watched was twenty eighteen Lebron. He was basically like Luka
(24:35):
Doncic as a surgical half court shot creator who could
pass every single read, who could make every single shot
from every single spot on the floor. But he was
also one of the best athletes in the league who
brought a ton of downhill rim pressure, which is something
that Luca doesn't bring, and at that phase end of
his career, Lebron was still able to leverage himself as
a defensive player at a level near the top guys
in the league when he needed to. That was the
(24:57):
best basketball player that I've ever seen personally, But that
team lost in the finals in large part because the
team had a lot of limitations and there's a lot
of subjectivity there. It's hard to argue with six championships
in eight years with respect to what was going on
in the world of basketball at that point in time,
You're not going to be able to argue Lebron's peak
beyond the realm of subjectivity. So like that's the thing, Yeah,
(25:17):
do I. I'm also a big believer the basketball players
are always getting better. Like twenty eighteen, Lebron's the best
basketball player I've ever seen. I have a feeling I'm
going to see a player that I think is better
at some point in the next ten years. But it's
not going to be because Lebron wasn't the best player
in the league at the time. It's going to be
because basketball players keep getting better. Just look at how
much better the shooting is now compared to where it was.
Guys are better at shooting further away from the basket,
(25:40):
Guys are better at shooting off of more complicated dribble combinations.
As a league, we're getting so much better at advanced passing, reads,
advanced pick and roll shot creation. We're getting better defensively
as well, Like the league is just getting better. Basketball
players are getting better. And so yeah, I tend to
think that the six ' nine super versatile point forward
who could dribble and shoot better than most players in
(26:01):
the league was better than the six to sixth scoring
guard who was also one of the best perimeter defenders
in the league, like MJ in his era, was far
and away the best, and all players have gotten better,
and Lebron is the best of a better group of players,
and Wemby will probably be the best of an even
better group of players, right, And that's just kind of
how I see. It's not perfectly linear, but generally the
(26:23):
league is advancing and players are getting better. What percentage
of the league matches up well enough with Boston to
make us believe anybody but Boston can win? And do
you think it makes the season less enjoyable? If you
know that there's no team that can keep up the
good work. Really enjoy your content. Thank you for supporting
the show. I you know, I did feel that way
about the KD. Staph Warriors. I legitimately didn't think anybody
(26:45):
could beat them, even when they would lose. I thought
it was mostly about like just kind of like playing
down to their competition. This is something I've said many
times on the show. But even if Chris Paul didn't
get hurt in the twenty eighteen Conference final series against
the Rockets, I still think the Warriors win that series. Yes,
they won up three to two, and obviously Chris Paul
(27:07):
getting hurt helped things. But let's just put it on
a real basic level. Does Golden State go home and
get Game six at home? I think they do, even
if Chris Paul plays. Then there's a Game seven, and
yes it's in Houston. But who are you taking? Are
you taking KD, Steph Draymond Clay and Andre Gudala? Are
you taking those Rockets dudes? I'm taking those I'm taking
the Golden State Warriors, dudes. So like, I didn't think
(27:29):
anybody could beat that team. It was basically like this
Boston Celtics team, except for instead of Tatum and Brown,
it was Katie and Steph, the second and third best
players in the league. That to me is the greatest
basketball team ever assembled, and it's not particularly close. Boston
to me, is a special basketball team with regard to
recent NBA history, but they just don't quite have that
(27:50):
like otherworldly top end talent that like nobody can mess with,
and that to me makes them at least beatable even
though they're the best team in the league. That I
think keeps this season very interesting. As I mentioned, I
have a hard time discussing I talked about this in
the actual Celtics segment. I have a hard time really
conceptualizing an Eastern Conference team to beat them, just from
(28:10):
a basketball perspective. But Oklahoma City and Denver are two
teams out west that I think could present Boston with
some real issues. Particularly Boston can't guard Jokich. We've seen
that just too many times over the last few years.
And then Oklahoma City has five I can put together
five man lineups with real two way athletes on at
all five positions, which is something that Boston can do
(28:31):
and part of what makes Boston so difficult to play right,
I would still pick Boston in both of those matchups
now because Denver's declined a little bit, I think Boston's better,
and then I think Boston is more experienced than Oklahoma City. However,
those there are teams that have punchers chances to beat Boston,
I do think they are a risk for an upset,
and that is something that I think makes them a
more legitimate, like kind of like parody concept favorite compared
(28:56):
to teams like Golden State, you know. And an interesting
way to look at it would be like, would I
take Boston or the Field? If I had to pick
the KD STEPH Warriors of the Field, I would take
the KD STEPH Warriors every single time. I just there's
no version of that where I think one of those
other teams are going to win. If I had to
choose between Boston and the Field this year, it'd be
more of a toss up for me. And even though
(29:19):
I do think Boston is demonstrably the favorite, it's more
of a toss up for me in terms of them
or the Field, And I think that's kind of the
big difference in terms of I think that's the big
difference in terms of the parody and just how much
people can kind of look forward to Boston potentially getting
upset on a real basic level. I'm pulling up the
stat right now when I remember when the KD Staph
(29:40):
Warriors were assembled after they won in twenty seventeen. I
can't remember the exact I can't remember the exact odds,
but they were negative odds to They were negative odds
to win the title before the season in that twenty
eighteen year for good reason. They had won fift teen
straight playoff games in the previous year. So like for
(30:03):
good reason, I want to say they were like minus
one seventy to win the title, meaning you'd have to
bet one hundred and seventy dollars before the season started
to win one hundred if Golden State won the title.
I can't remember exactly what the number was, but they
had negative odds to win the title. This year, Boston's
plus three to ten. So if you bet one hundred
dollars on the Celtics to win the title right now,
you'd win three hundred and ten bucks. For the record,
I think that's a great bet because I think that
(30:25):
it's probably a little closer to fifty to fifty than
they're letting on. So I think that's that's a bet
that would be worth looking at. But I do think
that there's a lot more parody in the league right
now than there was at that point in time. Julian
Strawther has had an amazing summer in preseason. How does
him excelling affect Denver's outlook? So so far, on twenty
(30:47):
six jumphot attempts this preseason, he's getting one point five
points per jump shot. The only real difference though, is
like he's hitting all of his catch and shoot attempts,
but he's struggling off the dribble, and he's struggling creating
shots off the dribble. And I think that is ultimately
the thing that is going to be what makes him
a legitimate secondary shot creator or a guy that they
could potentially slot in for Christian Brown to increase the
(31:07):
productivity of the starting lineup and so and then obviously
we got to see how he develops defensively as he
picks up more high leverage assignments and bigger minute loads. Right,
But obviously that potential's there. But everything with these young
guys with Denver is up in the air. At this point,
and I really need to see some regular season basketball
before we start making those those stances. Thoughts on the
(31:28):
Warriors and how they will do this season. Is the
dynasty officially over? I would never say it's over over.
I do think that there's some similarities to the twenty
twenty one offseason where they kind of brought in some
more functional role players that will will immediately make them better.
I do think the Warriors will be better than last year.
I think Kyle Anderson, Buddy Heald, and d Anthony Melton
are all shoe and fits. Young players get a little
(31:49):
bit better. I think Steph's going to have a bounce
back season from where he was at the tail end
of last year. Right The big difference between this right
now and what the twenty two Warriors became off the
back of that twenty twenty one offseason was you could
make the case that Steph was the best basketball player
alive at that point in time in twenty twenty one,
(32:11):
before they made those offseason additions, he was barbecuing the
entire league. He's coming off a pretty substantial slump to
end last season. I do think he'll be better. I
still think he's a top ten ish player in the NBA,
but Steph is not on the true top tier superstar
tier anymore. That's the main reason that I can't see
them going over the top into real championship contention this year.
(32:34):
To put it simply, it's Stephan a bunch of role players.
And if it's Stephan a bunch of role players and
he's not the very best player in the league, he's
not going to beat other teams around the league that
have more star talent and better role players. And so, yeah,
I think the Warriors are good. I think they're fisty.
You think they're gonna better than last year. I think
they'll be in that you know, somewhere in that six
to six to eight range, probably maybe six to ten,
(32:56):
depending on how their health goes. But yeah, I don't
see championship intention from this team unless they hit on
a trade during the season. Even though the MAVs made
the finals last year, do you see them as contenders
next year? With the players they've picked up in Kyrie
turning thirty three, I have them as the best of
the teams in that second tier. So I'm at top
four teams right, I have Boston, Denver, Oklahoma, city in
New York. Those are my true top tier championship contenders
(33:18):
that I think all should feel really good about their chances.
Then there was a small gap, and then from five
to eleven, I've got seven teams that I classify as
if things go right, contenders. Dallas is for me, in
the top of that tier. That's where I had them
last year going into the playoffs. If you remember last year,
going into the playoffs, I had Boston and Denver and
then a gap, and then I had Dallas at number
(33:38):
three as the best of the second tier championship contenders
going even going into the finals, I never saw them
as a true top tier contender. Those are you. Guys
who watched my NBA Finals preview will remember me saying
I didn't just pick Boston. I specifically said I expected
Boston to kick their ass. I said they'd win multiple
games in blowout fashion. They ended up winning. I think
(33:59):
they led by twenty plus and three of their four
wins they led by like twenty one twenty six, and
like it was crazy. They kick their ass. So like
I like Dallas, I think they're a really good team.
I think they're the best of the second tier contenders.
But to me, there's a firepower difference between them and
the teams that are in that top tier. Do you
think Moses Moody will have a breakout season this year
(34:19):
or be subjected to his typical limitations imposed by Steve Kerr.
The thing is Steve Kerr is always like playing guards
that he trusts to run his system, and so guys
liked Anthony Melton and Buddy hild are just going to
get a lot of minutes. And I think that just
directly interferes with Moses Moody and his opportunities. He'll get
his opportunities, but inevitably this is going to end in
a consolidation trade. They have thirteen guys that could realistically
(34:40):
play in the rotation and that's just not good for anybody.
It's not good for their goals for the season because
it's a waste of talent. It's an inefficient way to
use talent. It's not good for the talent development because
guys aren't getting the reps that they need. So inevitably
there will be a consolidation trade. Maybe it includes Moody,
but if it doesn't, then that'll be where he gets
his opportunity. Thoughts on a Brandon Ingram from Michael Porter
(35:01):
junior trade mid season. Denver gets a consistent playmaker who
doesn't fit perfectly but supports Jamal Murray staying healthy with
less responsibility. New Orleans gets a confident three point shooter
for Zion with very questionable consistency, but a great fit.
This is an interesting idea because the idea would be okay,
if Jamal Murray struggles, then you would need somebody that
can help run perimeter action and be a shot maker
(35:23):
for Denver. Brandon fits that role pretty well right. For
the Pelicans, so much of their driving kick offense is
going to be initiated by Zion and Dejantey Murray, So
having a guy that's more of a catch and shoot
off ball player maybe it's a more seamless fit. Although
Brandon Ingram has looked sharp to start the year, so like,
here's my thing. It's interesting, but it's high risk, So
(35:44):
I'd want to see how Jamal Murray looks first. If
Jamal Murray comes out and he looks like Jamal Murray
after you know, thirty games or so, then don't fuck
with it. Jamal Jokic, Aaron Gordon, Michael Porter junr. They
won a title and got close to winning a title,
close than people think last year, so don't mess with it.
But if you get out into the season in thirty
(36:06):
forty games in Jamal Murray looks like you did last
year in the playoffs, then it's one of those things
where you have to start looking at trying to capitalize
on Nikolea Jokic's title window here, and in that case
you have to take on a little bit more risk.
But don't take on risk if you don't have to.
Let's wait and see how Jamal Murray looks. Why are
you so strong fisted on Jokic and the Nuggets title odds?
Why is it always they were up twenty in Game
(36:28):
seven and not they blew the lead to the better
performing team. It wouldn't be the first time the best
in the world wouldn't have a big chance to win
the chip. We've seen Braun and Steph in thirty four.
Here's why I'm still bullish on the Nuggets. They won
the title the year before last, and then last year
they were a couple of minutes away from making the
conference finals. You'd be foolish to write those guys off.
(36:49):
I just don't. I don't know how else to put it.
Do the Suns have a legit chance to come out
the West where they have to upgrade over Nurkic. It's
hard to say. I mean, Ryan Dunn developing, as Sam
Vssini was saying yesterday, into a legit three and D
weapon for them would be huge because he's just one
of the most dynamic athletes that was in that draft class.
My thing with the Suns is it goes beyond just
(37:10):
Nurkic as a roster. They're not very physically imposing, and
just in the playoffs, especially with the way the rules
have changed, everything is just so physical and it's so
much about grabbing and holding and winning these rock fights,
and I don't think Phoenix has set up well to
win rock fights. That said, everybody in that tier has issues.
From Dallas, Minnesota, Philly, Lakers, Bucks, Sons, all those teams
(37:32):
have issues, and so all it takes is a couple
favorable matchups here and there, a young guy popping like
Ryan Dunn hitting on a key trade one of the
top tier teams gets upset something like that could open
up that door and then they could shoot through that gap.
All right, Well, last question, then we're done for the day.
Is there anywhere that screams Zach Levine trade doesn't feel
(37:54):
it to me? And when they traded for Giddy, do
you think they knew Lonzo was coming back? Seems very
redundant to have so many ball dominant guys, incredibly poor
team building in my opinion. The thing with the Lavigne pieces,
He's just hard to trade because of how big his
salary is. Like, on a very basic level, there are
a lot of teams out there that I think are
looking at the situation going like, man, if we could
(38:14):
bring Zack in here, this would actually be really good
for us. But on the flip side, it's like, yeah,
but we would have to send out fifty million dollars
worth of salary as soon as we set out that
could be three really high level role players. And there
are just too many examples in NBA history, most recently
the Russell Westbrook trade, where it's like, Okay, you bring
in this guy, but it's the Russell Westbrook trade was
(38:36):
not what killed Russell Westbrook is not what killed the Lakers.
The Russell Westbrook trade killed the Lakers because they gave
up KCP Kyle Kuzma and in the ensuing salary crunch
lost Alex Caruso. So like that's the real issue is
it's just hard for them to get rid of zach Lavine.
But the best thing he can do to start this
season is just you got to feed him and help
him bump up his numbers and see if he can't
(38:58):
drive up his value so that you can make a deal.
As far as Giddy goes to me a Lonzo, Lonzo's
more of like a connective point guard throwing kickhead passes
and being a connective passer. He's not a guy that
I like to run a ton of action, So I
don't think that that necessarily clashes with Giddy. And you
got to give good Giddy a good hard look because
you just traded Alex Crusoe for him instead of for
draft compensation, and so you damn will better have a
(39:19):
plan to see if Josh Gitty can do anything. One
last thing before we get out of here. Actually, I
wanted to quickly hit I just had a quick thought
on the I just had a quick thought on the Clippers.
This Kawhi Leonard things. Khi Leonard is going to miss
the start of the season. A lot of people are
talking about the Clippers, And here's the thing. It's really
easy to make those types of opinions known in retrospect. So,
(39:43):
for instance, yeah, the Clippers basically set Oklahoma City up
for success. All this draft compensation, Shay Gils, Alexander fourth
best player in the league, you know, obviously getting off
of Paul George. All of this just just spoon fed
Oklahoma City a contender. Right, But let's we can't operate
(40:04):
in twenty twenty four with what we know now and
pretend like we would have made a different decision back then.
In twenty twenty, remember where you were when the Kawhi
news came down. I remember I was in Mexico with
some friends. I remember getting the it was late at night,
getting the tweets coming through from Wojanowski, and I'm like,
oh my god, they got Paul George and Kawhi Leonard
(40:26):
on this team that already has all of these good
role players. Overnight, they became the championship favorite. At various
points over the last four years. They looked like the
best team in the league in twenty twenty at various
points in the regular season. In twenty twenty one, before
Kawhi Leonard got hurt in that playoff run. Right last year,
(40:48):
in the middle of the regular season, they were playing
better basketball than Boston. Over the middle third of the season,
they looked like the best team in the league. So, like,
as I talked about earlier, you've got to take risks
to win the championship. And there was a big risk
there taken by the Clippers. It was the right risk.
They had legitimate chances to win. It didn't work out,
(41:10):
and like, yeah, on the tail, every time you give
up young players, it's like it's like with the Pelicans
and the Lakers. Yeah, like they happen to win a title,
So it it all gets talked about differently if the
Lakers did not win the championship in twenty twenty, can
you imagine how different that deal would be talked about
with everything the Pelicans got out of it. Like, if
you have to give up young talented players in draft compensation,
(41:33):
there's a good chance that those guys are going to
turn into good basketball players and it's going to affect
the outlook of your of the of that deal. But
you've got to be aggressive to give yourself a chance
to win the championship. It's really unfortunate what happened to
KWHI Leonard. It's really unfortunate what happened to the Clippers,
But every one of us would have done the exact
same thing. Put yourself in those shoes summer of twenty nineteen. Hey,
all you got to do is give up Shame's good
(41:54):
young player has potential to be really great but not yet.
And a bunch of draft compensation you get Paul George
Kwi Leonard and really good role players, your overnight championship
favorite yes or no every day and one of us
is saying yes every day, and one of us stop
pretending you wouldn't so like that. That's where it gets
silly in retrospect to talk about it that way. All right, guys,
that's all I have for today is always a sincerely
appreciate you guys for supporting the show. I hope you
(42:15):
all have a great weekend, and we'll be back next week.
On Monday, I'll do like a probably some kind of
like predictions pod or something along those lines, and then
we'll get into it with the instant reaction on Tuesday
night after the first light of games is always I
appreciate you guys, and I will see you then. The
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slash ft ball. All right, welcome to hoo todaight you're
(01:52):
at the volume. Happy Friday, everybody, hope a if you
guys have had a great week. Got a jpack show
for you today we are hitting number one on our
preseason power ranking. Season previews. The Boston Celtics obviously very
little changing year over year for them, but we'll talk
a little bit about their outlook and then one of
the things we're gonna do to kind of try to
find more talk about with the Celtics is kind of
focus on some specific matchups with them playoff series style
(02:14):
against some of the teams at the top of the league,
which teams I think have a realistic path to try
to upset Boston versus teams that I don't. And then
at the tail end of the show this morning, I
tweeted out asking for some mailbag questions to just kind
of hit on a bunch of preseason topics. We're going
to be bouncing all around the league. You guys know
the Joe. Before we get started, subscribe to the Hoops
and Out YouTube channel so you don't miss any more
of our videos. Follow me on Twitter at underscore JSNLTS.
(02:36):
You guys, don't miss you announcements. Don't forget about our
podcast feed where you get your podcast and our Hoops Tonight.
Don't forget it's helpful if you leave a rating and
a review on that front. And the last but not least,
keep dropping mail bag questions in those YouTube comments so
we can keep hitting them throughout the remainder of the season. Also,
before we get started, I want to talk to you
guys about game time today. Now is a great time
to get out and actually see some of these events
(02:57):
in person. Obviously, we have the NBA season starting up,
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right we have the Major League Baseball playoffs. We also
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are countless events that you guys can go to, and
there is no better experience out there right now than
game Time to buy tickets. They've started this new programme
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What time is it? Game time? All right, let's talk
(04:23):
some basketball. So number one in this year's power ranking
season preview style is the Boston Celtics. Not really much
to say in terms of an offseason recap, only changes
to the back end of the roster. Baylor Shireman, their
draft pick at shot the ball poorly in preseason, but
I don't think he'll be in the rotation much. You know,
we might see a guy like Lonnie Walker, who had
(04:44):
some impressive driving kick possessions. We might see him make
the roster and see some opportunities but none of it
really matters. The core eight for the Boston Celtics is
the core eight. Derek White, Drew Holliday, Jaylen Brown, Jason Tatum, Chrisopsporzingis,
Al Horford, Peyton Pritchard, and Sam Houser. That's their player rotation.
I think it's the best top eight in the NBA.
My friend Sam Vessini was saying on the show yesterday
(05:05):
that he thinks Minnesota's top eight is the best in
the NBA. I think I disagree with him, Like, Yeah,
Dante DiVincenzo, Nikhil, Alexander Walker and nasried are a better
trio than Al Horford, Peyton, Pritchard and the same Hauser.
But the top five are just so much better for Boston.
As a matter of fact, I think I'd take Oklahoma
City's top eight before I would take Minnesota's top eight.
But I think boston That top eight rotation is rock solid.
(05:28):
Pritchard and Howser both really flashed defensive upside in the postseason.
Upsides the wrong word. They held up well off in
the postseason. They got hunted consistently as you would expect,
and they held up well. Porzingis brought everything that we
in the brief stints where he was actually available. He
brought everything that we knew that we were that Boston
needed from him in terms of rim protection and matchup
(05:50):
attacking on switches and ball screens. It all just came
together perfectly in a dominant playoff run. They've looked completely
locked in and ready to go in the preseason. They're
four and one. They have the best offense in the
league one twenty one offensive rating that's five point seven
points better than the second best offense in preseason insane.
They're averaging fifty three three point attempts per game. They
(06:11):
have a sixty one percent for shooting. As a team.
Boston's offensive system is just the best that we have
in the league right now, most talented that we have
in the league right now. It's like a well oiled machine.
The defense has been fined in preseason. They have a
plus sixteen point three net rating in preseason that's the
best in the league by five point three points. So
just continuing their dominance. Jason Tatum looks great, as Jumper looks.
(06:34):
I just kind of reconfigured and just it's almost like
he just took a moment to reset and just kind
of find his foundation, find his base again as a
jump shooter one point one to three points per jump
shot in preseason, one point two points per catch and
shoot jump shot, one point zero eight off the dribble,
all really good. I think the Celtics will face some
(06:54):
substantially tougher playoff competition this year, and I'm going to
get into that concept a little bit more here in
a second. But I also think that they'll have a
substantially better version of Jason Tatum at their disposal in
the playoffs than they did last year, and I think
that that is going to put them in a position
to handle a tougher playoff run. Think like the twenty
sixteen Golden State Warriors team. You know, I've seen a
(07:15):
lot of There's been a lot of like kind of
like argument among basketball fans between Celtics fans and the
rest about like how to regard last year's team, And
part of the disconnect is like a lot of Boston
fans want that team to be regarded as all time great,
and my point of view on that is there's no
such thing as an all time great team until you've
won multiple championships. That to me is like the baseline, right.
(07:39):
And one of the things that happens is when you
on the course of a run to a championship, you
need some luck, right, And there are lots of teams
in NBA history that have benefited from luck on their
way to an NBA championship. But that is why the
all time great teams we typically look at multiple championships
because it's as circumstances change, as things go different, you
(08:02):
have to legitimize your championship when things don't go the
way that you want them to, right. Like just take
most recently the twenty seventeen and twenty eighteen Warriors. Now
they had a massive talent advantage, even to a greater
extent than the Celtics, but they went in twenty seventeen
beat the shit out of everybody. They went fifteen straight
playoff games. Right. But the next year it's like, all
of a sudden, there's this Houston Rockets team. It's really interesting.
They take a three to two lead in the series. Now,
(08:24):
obviously they benefit from more luck in the form of
Chris Paul getting injured, but inevitably what happens is you
see some different circumstances and it's about overcoming adversity. You
look back at the Warriors dynasty and like there are
some easy ones in there, right, Like there's the two
in twenty seventeen, in twenty eighteen where they just kicked
everybody's ass with talent. But it's like then we have
twenty fifteen where they came back from two separate tow
(08:45):
to one deficits. Right, we go back to the twenty
twenty two series against the Celtics where they're down to
one on the road, they need a big win. You
look at the totality of their success, it looks different
going back previously to the previous Heat champion, the Miami Heat,
right twenty twelve, they kind of handle everybody. Even in
(09:06):
the finals, they end up getting out of there in
five games. There's like a little bit of a brief
kind of thing with the Boston Celtics in the conference
was that in the finals. I think it was in
the conference finals, but there was a little bit of
adversity there, but they kind of kick butt. Then you
get into the twenty thirteen season, it's like this grueling
seven game series against the Pacers, this grueling seven game
series against the San Antonio Spurs, and by the time
(09:28):
they win the title, it's just like it just kind
of adds like a different layer to it. Right, So
think like the twenty sixteen Golden State team, Right, they
get super lucky in a bunch of different ways in
that playoff run. Every single team they play as guys hurt.
Now of the lineup, they end up going into that
gold that Cleveland Cavaliers series, and Kyrie Irving gets hurt
in the first game, Kevin Love had his shoulder dislocated
in the first round, and it's like Golden State wins,
(09:50):
and then outside of the Golden State fan base, there's
just a lot of like people talking like like, yeah,
they got lucky this, Yeah they you know, let's see
him do it ag next year. They come out next
year and they just start beating everybody's ass. And then yeah,
we obviously had that weird kind of NBA Finals series
where they end up losing. But as we zoom out
(10:11):
from the Warriors dynasty, it's clearly legitimate. There's four championships,
Steph Curry as all these big moments. It just has
this like kind of aura in retrospect that legitimizes everything
that they do. And so that's the thing like, was
there some luck for the Celtics last year. Yeah, Like
there was the five best teams in the league, they
didn't have to play any of them, right, And that's
(10:32):
just kind of part of how basketball goes. This year
will be tougher, go kick everyone's ass and shut them
all up. I've seen a lot of people say things like, well,
we're all time great because of the advanced metrics. No
one cares about the advanced metrics in an Eastern Conference
where you're beating the shit out of really bad teams
a lot of the nights. Multiple trophies is where you
get that respect. That is the opportunity that lies before Boston.
(10:53):
As we look back to previous champions, look at how
all of them are regarded. Denver one, but then they
didn't get an and so now a lot of people
are already right in Denver off and no one's going
to regard Denver as an all time great team unless
they win another one here in the next year or two. Right.
Going back to that Warriors team into twenty twenty two
is really cool, but they kind of fell off again
(11:14):
the next year, so no one views that twenty twenty
two team as some sort of all time great team. Right,
going back to twenty twenty one with the Milwaukee Bucks,
like impressive team, there hasn't been anything after that to
legitimize it. I thought that Lakers team in twenty twenty
was really good, but then they got started to run
into some injury stuff, and then they fucked up their
(11:34):
roster doing some stupid stuff in the front office. Right,
the Raptors end up losing Kawhi Like. There is the
only way that a championship team can truly resonate on
a level that lasts is to get multiple That's the
way it goes. When we look back at the great
teams in NBA history, who are they. It's the Warriors
they won four. It's the heat they won two. It's
the Lakers in the twenty tens they won two, The
(11:57):
Spurs they won five, the Kobe, the shack Lakers they
win three, the Bulls they win six, the Rockets they
win two, the Pistons they win two, the Lakers and
Celtics in the eighties. Like, you've got to put together
multiple iconic playoff runs in order to truly resonate on
that level. But that said, this team has that potential.
So let's get into it a little bit more and
(12:18):
talk about what a repeat would look like for this
particular team. First of all, I want to address one weakness,
the one specific weakness that this team has. They're a
little bit thin at the center position and a little
bit old and frail in their best player group, right
with Horford and Porzingis. How Horford turns thirty nine before
the NBA Finals this year. Porzingis gets hurt every year,
and he's hurt all ready to start this year from
(12:39):
an injury suffered last year in the postseason. But Brad
Stevens has done a really nice job at building out
like a deep rotation of backup centers. They have five
centers that are going to be on their season opening
roster right like Luke Cornett, nimas Queda, and Javier Tillman
are all going to get the like the majority of
the center minutes to start the year. I think they're
going to manage Al Horford very carefully to start the year.
(12:59):
I don't think they're going to compensate for Porzingis being
out by just riding Al Horford into the ground. They're
gonna run off of these backup centers and playing center
for the Celtics is an easy job. They're always flanked
by excellent perimeter defenders and athletes who could shoot, and
they just make life easier for them. Right. Will they
drop a few regular season games here and there because
they're running a week drop coverage with a week center. Sure,
(13:20):
they're going to drop some games, But the most important
thing for this team is to manage their health so
that Porzingis and Horford are ready to go in April.
Because when Porzingis is healthy, they look like far and
away the best team in basketball. So here's my prediction
for the season. I think they'll run away with the
best record in the league. Again, they're built for regular
season basketball, just with the depth and the way that
their system kind of generates shots in the way that
(13:42):
they defend. I think they're gonna end up with a
large margin over the number two seed in the East. Again,
I think they'll end up several games ahead of Oklahoma City.
Like I think Oklahoma City is at least relatively close
to Boston and Talent now after the acquisitions of Hartenstein
and Caruso. But the East has seven bad teams. Like
I looked at the Celtic schedule this year, they have
four games against the Hawks, four games against the Nets,
(14:05):
four games against the Bowls, four games against the Hornets,
three games against the Pistons, four games against the Raptors,
three games against the Wizards. Like they might drop a
game or two there, but they're going to go like
twenty five and one against that set, or twenty four
and two. Like last year in that same set of teams,
they dropped three really close games to Charlotte Atlanta, two
of them went to overtime. You could argue they should
(14:27):
have gone undefeated against that group. So like that I
think will keep a good, healthy gap between them in
Oklahoma City because o the Oklahoma City has to play
that Western Conference schedule, they're not playing any of those
Eastern Conference teams more than twice, and the West has
thirteen teams that legitimately think they can make the playoffs
and be good. So like I would imagine that Boston
is going to end around sixty five wins with a
(14:49):
healthy advantage in the East and a little bit of
an advantage over the West. My guess is that they'll
be the runaway number one overall seed. As for the playoffs,
I think there are teams that are capable of taking
them out, But I would pick Boston in each matchup.
Like the Knicks, I'm having a really hard time getting there.
I've looked at it a lot in light of the
Karl Anthony Towns edition. I just think the Celtics are
(15:11):
a better version of the Knicks. I don't think there
are enough matchup advantages there for the Knicks to potentially
swing that series. Obviously, with the Sixers, it's like what
if embiid is just healthy in April and finally has
this breakout playoff run. But that feels like a long shot.
We've been talking about that for years. Right the Bucks,
I think they're too slow on the perimeter. I also
think that they have the personnel to switch the Damiannis
pick and roll when things really slow down, which most
(15:33):
teams don't have. Like I think you put Jalen Brown
on Dame and you put Tatum on Giannis and you
just switch that action, and I think that puts them
in an advantageous position and slow down half court environments.
I have a really hard time seeing Boston lose out East. Like,
I think that it's far more likely than not that
Boston wins the Eastern Conference. Now there are two teams
(15:54):
out west that I think have more straightforward paths to
beating Boston because Boston just can't guard Jokic. Like put
it very simply, the only team that Boston couldn't beat
last year was Denver, and it was the same thing.
It's just they can consistently generate great shots off the
back of Jokic because Boston just doesn't have anybody on
(16:15):
the roster that can remotely make him feel uncomfortable. But
even then, I think Boston's a little better now than
they were last year. I think Tatum will be better
than he was last year, and I think Denver's a
little bit worse. So in a way that I would
have picked Denver by a smidge over Boston last year,
I think I'd picked Boston over Denver this year. But
at least if you're a Denver fan, there's a straightforward
(16:35):
path there, right like Jokic picks him apart, they go
cold from three, you can kind of like see the vision,
so to speak. But I would pick Boston and then
Oklahoma City. They have true five out spacing. All five
of those players that are in their small ball group
are excellent defenders in space. Shay Gills as Alexander would
be the best player in the series. But even then,
I think I'd picked Boston because Jalen Williams is Oklahoma
(16:56):
City's second best player and the guy who's going to
be determining so many important possessions, and he's twenty three
years old, so like Boston just has a substantial experience
advantage there. So my prediction, I think this is the
year that Boston finally breaks the trend of teams not repeating.
I think they cement themselves in the ranks of the
all time great teams. I think they'll have some more
(17:18):
memorable playoff moments because I think they're going to face
some tougher teams and they're going to have to overcome
a little bit of adversity on their way there. And
I think that when we come to this point next year,
Boston will finally have the respect that they're seeking, being
viewed as one of the all time great teams in
NBA history. All right, let's get to our mailbag. First question,
(17:50):
a lot of good ones from you guys today, thank
you for participating. Is always, did the Knicks sacrifice their
identity gritty offensive rebounds TIBs guys to appear better on paper.
This is a really interesting question. There's no doubt that
their identity will look a little bit different this year.
I think that goes without saying I still think a
good chunk of last year's identity is there though, right
(18:12):
with Josh Hart Ognnobi Duce McBride is a guy that
just kind of brings that same mentality. Jalen Brunson is
a tough minded guy. Mitchell Robinson when he's healthy, I
think McHale Bridges kind of fits that mold and will
add to that this season. But the reality is is
they had a certain ceiling last year. Too much was
on Brunson's play offensively to actually win four playoff rounds.
(18:32):
I didn't think that they had enough aggregate talent to
really capitalize on the advantages that Jalen Brunson was creating
as well, like they capitalize on attention devoted to Brunson
on the offensive glass as guys would break free and
crash as they were in rotation. But I actually think
they have enough talent this year to have a little
bit more of a driving kick look, a little bit
more of an advantage extending look, meaning like when Jalen
(18:54):
Brunson draws a heavier preponderance of the defense in his direction.
Guys that can drive closeouts and turn good shots into
great shots. I think that was something that was missing
last year. And then obviously just the true five out
spacing that they can accomplish with Karl Anthony Towns at center.
It's a look that they just didn't have in the past. So, yeah,
(19:15):
look at it this way. Anytime you make substantial roster changes,
there's a certain amount of risk. And yes there's a
version of this where this team just isn't as tough
as they are last year and they underachieve and it
doesn't go well, right, But last year's team had no
championship ceiling. This team actually does, And so it's about
the risk. Anytime you want a real reward in life,
you've got to put yourself out there and take some risk.
(19:36):
That's what the Knicks are doing. Yes, it could go south,
but there's also a version of this that works out.
Do you think Dalton connect will eventually play his way
into the starting lineup for the Lakers? A lot of
folks thought he could eventually take Rui's spot, although I disagree.
I would like to hear what you have to say
about it. Definitely not this year. With the way that
this Laker starting lineup is constructed, they really need Rui's size,
(19:58):
especially on the defensive glass. Lebron in just some of
his inconsistent defensive engagement at this phase in his career.
It's also part of them just kind of leaning into offense.
But maybe a future version of the Lakers, you could
see that. And this is where it gets interesting because
let's say we think about life post Lebron. So you
have your foundational pieces, right, you have I think we
can I think we see like the Lakers would see
(20:20):
their like three four years from now backcourt as Austin
Reeves and Max Christy. Think that goes about saying and
I think that's a nice natural fit, right, skill guard
athlete guard primarily defense and attax closeouts. Right. Then you
have Anthony Davis. But then there's this two or the
three to four spot that you're looking at, right, and
the obvious choice is like, oh well, Ruy slots down
(20:41):
to the four when Lebron is gone, and then you
put in Dalton connect at the three. This is where
it gets tricky though. That has one good defensive athlete
at the two. In Max Christie right, I don't think
Dalton could start at the three for an NBA team
unless the four man and the two man and the
five man were all excellent defensive players. Do I think
Dalton Connects will eventually become somebody that is functional on defense.
(21:04):
We'll see it's definitely he has the athleticism too. It's
just a question of whether or not he puts in
the work and picks up the instincts and commitment to
attention to detail to actually make that happen. But just
in terms of who he in terms of his natural
abilities as a basketball player, I don't think you could
start him alongside another week defensive forward like Ruey Hotcha Mura.
(21:24):
So in terms of the long term goals for the Lakers,
if you're looking at as Austin Max Dalton, that four
man next to ad is going to have to be
another big, strong athlete who is an excellent defensive rebounder,
an excellent defensive player, and so more likely than not,
I almost see Dalton connect at this kind of point
in his correct because this is the other part of it. Two,
(21:44):
you better be damn good on offense. If you are
starting for an NBA team and you're a mediocre to
below average defender. So like, so much of this is like,
maybe Dalton Connect never really has starting potential. He's more
of like a sixth man type of guy, right than
maybe Ruy is the or and they look for a
long term option at the three. But in terms of
future version of the Lakers, do I think Dalton Connect
(22:06):
could eventually become a starter. Sure, but I see almost
I see it basically a zero percent chance of that
happening this year. He might get a spot start here
or there because of injuries, but I don't see that
being part of the vision for this particular season. If
the Thunder get a lottery pick from the Clippers this year,
what should the Thunder do with the pick? Easy decision.
You hang onto it and you see if you can
get Cooper Flag. This is a team like if you're
(22:27):
looking at the build, the one guy they're missing is
a legitimate four man two flank Chet. They went with
a different direction this summer, opting for a look with
Chet at the four next to a center, which maybe
that ends up being what this looks like in the
long run anyway, But if you have an opportunity to
get Cooper flag. You wait to see if you can
get Cooper flag. Now, if you can't get Cooper flag
(22:48):
and you can't get any of these guys at the
top end of the draft that everyone's kind of keyed
in on, then I would start looking at potentially trading
that pick and looking for that forward more through the
trade market, because there's a timeline things starting to take
shape here as you look at the age of these guys,
they're actually starting to enter into legitimate championship contention and
(23:08):
continuing to develop prospects for the future may not be
the best path. The other thing they can do. This
is something that I wouldn't be surprised if we see
more teams do as we enter into this next phase
of the CBA with some of the limitations surrounding the aprons.
But we might actually see a team like Oklahoma City
let guys go when they need to get paid, because, like,
(23:30):
if you think about it from the same point of
the payroll, if you got to pay three max guys
and let's say that's chet, JDub and Shay, then you
can't afford to have expensive role players around them. And
so maybe It's one of those things where you use
a higher draft pick that typically would be used on
a player that has upside long term on more of
(23:52):
a guy that is not as heavy on the upside
but is ready to go right away and actually try
to target discount rotation pieces through the draft. I think
that's something that you might see a team like Oklahoma
City look to do as well. Not related to preseason,
but you recently said Lebron's argument for being the goat
is his longevity and that MJ has a better peak
for sure. How are you so sure about MJ's peaking
(24:14):
higher if your argument is only six to eight years,
that is more of a team stat. That's kind of
the point, like MJ's peak is clearly more dominant in
terms of the actual accomplishments of him and his basketball team.
The best individual basketball player that I have ever personally
watched was twenty eighteen Lebron. He was basically like Luka
(24:35):
Doncic as a surgical half court shot creator who could
pass every single read, who could make every single shot
from every single spot on the floor. But he was
also one of the best athletes in the league who
brought a ton of downhill rim pressure, which is something
that Luca doesn't bring, and at that phase end of
his career, Lebron was still able to leverage himself as
a defensive player at a level near the top guys
in the league when he needed to. That was the
(24:57):
best basketball player that I've ever seen personally, But that
team lost in the finals in large part because the
team had a lot of limitations and there's a lot
of subjectivity there. It's hard to argue with six championships
in eight years with respect to what was going on
in the world of basketball at that point in time,
You're not going to be able to argue Lebron's peak
beyond the realm of subjectivity. So like that's the thing, Yeah,
(25:17):
do I. I'm also a big believer the basketball players
are always getting better. Like twenty eighteen, Lebron's the best
basketball player I've ever seen. I have a feeling I'm
going to see a player that I think is better
at some point in the next ten years. But it's
not going to be because Lebron wasn't the best player
in the league at the time. It's going to be
because basketball players keep getting better. Just look at how
much better the shooting is now compared to where it was.
Guys are better at shooting further away from the basket,
(25:40):
Guys are better at shooting off of more complicated dribble combinations.
As a league, we're getting so much better at advanced passing, reads,
advanced pick and roll shot creation. We're getting better defensively
as well, Like the league is just getting better. Basketball
players are getting better. And so yeah, I tend to
think that the six ' nine super versatile point forward
who could dribble and shoot better than most players in
(26:01):
the league was better than the six to sixth scoring
guard who was also one of the best perimeter defenders
in the league, like MJ in his era, was far
and away the best, and all players have gotten better,
and Lebron is the best of a better group of players,
and Wemby will probably be the best of an even
better group of players, right, And that's just kind of
how I see. It's not perfectly linear, but generally the
(26:23):
league is advancing and players are getting better. What percentage
of the league matches up well enough with Boston to
make us believe anybody but Boston can win? And do
you think it makes the season less enjoyable? If you
know that there's no team that can keep up the
good work. Really enjoy your content. Thank you for supporting
the show. I you know, I did feel that way
about the KD. Staph Warriors. I legitimately didn't think anybody
(26:45):
could beat them, even when they would lose. I thought
it was mostly about like just kind of like playing
down to their competition. This is something I've said many
times on the show. But even if Chris Paul didn't
get hurt in the twenty eighteen Conference final series against
the Rockets, I still think the Warriors win that series. Yes,
they won up three to two, and obviously Chris Paul
(27:07):
getting hurt helped things. But let's just put it on
a real basic level. Does Golden State go home and
get Game six at home? I think they do, even
if Chris Paul plays. Then there's a Game seven, and
yes it's in Houston. But who are you taking? Are
you taking KD, Steph Draymond Clay and Andre Gudala? Are
you taking those Rockets dudes? I'm taking those I'm taking
the Golden State Warriors, dudes. So like, I didn't think
(27:29):
anybody could beat that team. It was basically like this
Boston Celtics team, except for instead of Tatum and Brown,
it was Katie and Steph, the second and third best
players in the league. That to me is the greatest
basketball team ever assembled, and it's not particularly close. Boston
to me, is a special basketball team with regard to
recent NBA history, but they just don't quite have that
(27:50):
like otherworldly top end talent that like nobody can mess with,
and that to me makes them at least beatable even
though they're the best team in the league. That I
think keeps this season very interesting. As I mentioned, I
have a hard time discussing I talked about this in
the actual Celtics segment. I have a hard time really
conceptualizing an Eastern Conference team to beat them, just from
(28:10):
a basketball perspective. But Oklahoma City and Denver are two
teams out west that I think could present Boston with
some real issues. Particularly Boston can't guard Jokich. We've seen
that just too many times over the last few years.
And then Oklahoma City has five I can put together
five man lineups with real two way athletes on at
all five positions, which is something that Boston can do
(28:31):
and part of what makes Boston so difficult to play right,
I would still pick Boston in both of those matchups
now because Denver's declined a little bit, I think Boston's better,
and then I think Boston is more experienced than Oklahoma City. However,
those there are teams that have punchers chances to beat Boston,
I do think they are a risk for an upset,
and that is something that I think makes them a
more legitimate, like kind of like parody concept favorite compared
(28:56):
to teams like Golden State, you know. And an interesting
way to look at it would be like, would I
take Boston or the Field? If I had to pick
the KD STEPH Warriors of the Field, I would take
the KD STEPH Warriors every single time. I just there's
no version of that where I think one of those
other teams are going to win. If I had to
choose between Boston and the Field this year, it'd be
more of a toss up for me. And even though
(29:19):
I do think Boston is demonstrably the favorite, it's more
of a toss up for me in terms of them
or the Field, And I think that's kind of the
big difference in terms of I think that's the big
difference in terms of the parody and just how much
people can kind of look forward to Boston potentially getting
upset on a real basic level. I'm pulling up the
stat right now when I remember when the KD Staph
(29:40):
Warriors were assembled after they won in twenty seventeen. I
can't remember the exact I can't remember the exact odds,
but they were negative odds to They were negative odds
to win the title before the season in that twenty
eighteen year for good reason. They had won fift teen
straight playoff games in the previous year. So like for
(30:03):
good reason, I want to say they were like minus
one seventy to win the title, meaning you'd have to
bet one hundred and seventy dollars before the season started
to win one hundred if Golden State won the title.
I can't remember exactly what the number was, but they
had negative odds to win the title. This year, Boston's
plus three to ten. So if you bet one hundred
dollars on the Celtics to win the title right now,
you'd win three hundred and ten bucks. For the record,
I think that's a great bet because I think that
(30:25):
it's probably a little closer to fifty to fifty than
they're letting on. So I think that's that's a bet
that would be worth looking at. But I do think
that there's a lot more parody in the league right
now than there was at that point in time. Julian
Strawther has had an amazing summer in preseason. How does
him excelling affect Denver's outlook? So so far, on twenty
(30:47):
six jumphot attempts this preseason, he's getting one point five
points per jump shot. The only real difference though, is
like he's hitting all of his catch and shoot attempts,
but he's struggling off the dribble, and he's struggling creating
shots off the dribble. And I think that is ultimately
the thing that is going to be what makes him
a legitimate secondary shot creator or a guy that they
could potentially slot in for Christian Brown to increase the
(31:07):
productivity of the starting lineup and so and then obviously
we got to see how he develops defensively as he
picks up more high leverage assignments and bigger minute loads. Right,
But obviously that potential's there. But everything with these young
guys with Denver is up in the air. At this point,
and I really need to see some regular season basketball
before we start making those those stances. Thoughts on the
(31:28):
Warriors and how they will do this season. Is the
dynasty officially over? I would never say it's over over.
I do think that there's some similarities to the twenty
twenty one offseason where they kind of brought in some
more functional role players that will will immediately make them better.
I do think the Warriors will be better than last year.
I think Kyle Anderson, Buddy Heald, and d Anthony Melton
are all shoe and fits. Young players get a little
(31:49):
bit better. I think Steph's going to have a bounce
back season from where he was at the tail end
of last year. Right The big difference between this right
now and what the twenty two Warriors became off the
back of that twenty twenty one offseason was you could
make the case that Steph was the best basketball player
alive at that point in time in twenty twenty one,
(32:11):
before they made those offseason additions, he was barbecuing the
entire league. He's coming off a pretty substantial slump to
end last season. I do think he'll be better. I
still think he's a top ten ish player in the NBA,
but Steph is not on the true top tier superstar
tier anymore. That's the main reason that I can't see
them going over the top into real championship contention this year.
(32:34):
To put it simply, it's Stephan a bunch of role players.
And if it's Stephan a bunch of role players and
he's not the very best player in the league, he's
not going to beat other teams around the league that
have more star talent and better role players. And so, yeah,
I think the Warriors are good. I think they're fisty.
You think they're gonna better than last year. I think
they'll be in that you know, somewhere in that six
to six to eight range, probably maybe six to ten,
(32:56):
depending on how their health goes. But yeah, I don't
see championship intention from this team unless they hit on
a trade during the season. Even though the MAVs made
the finals last year, do you see them as contenders
next year? With the players they've picked up in Kyrie
turning thirty three, I have them as the best of
the teams in that second tier. So I'm at top
four teams right, I have Boston, Denver, Oklahoma, city in
New York. Those are my true top tier championship contenders
(33:18):
that I think all should feel really good about their chances.
Then there was a small gap, and then from five
to eleven, I've got seven teams that I classify as
if things go right, contenders. Dallas is for me, in
the top of that tier. That's where I had them
last year going into the playoffs. If you remember last year,
going into the playoffs, I had Boston and Denver and
then a gap, and then I had Dallas at number
(33:38):
three as the best of the second tier championship contenders
going even going into the finals, I never saw them
as a true top tier contender. Those are you. Guys
who watched my NBA Finals preview will remember me saying
I didn't just pick Boston. I specifically said I expected
Boston to kick their ass. I said they'd win multiple
games in blowout fashion. They ended up winning. I think
(33:59):
they led by twenty plus and three of their four
wins they led by like twenty one twenty six, and
like it was crazy. They kick their ass. So like
I like Dallas, I think they're a really good team.
I think they're the best of the second tier contenders.
But to me, there's a firepower difference between them and
the teams that are in that top tier. Do you
think Moses Moody will have a breakout season this year
(34:19):
or be subjected to his typical limitations imposed by Steve Kerr.
The thing is Steve Kerr is always like playing guards
that he trusts to run his system, and so guys
liked Anthony Melton and Buddy hild are just going to
get a lot of minutes. And I think that just
directly interferes with Moses Moody and his opportunities. He'll get
his opportunities, but inevitably this is going to end in
a consolidation trade. They have thirteen guys that could realistically
(34:40):
play in the rotation and that's just not good for anybody.
It's not good for their goals for the season because
it's a waste of talent. It's an inefficient way to
use talent. It's not good for the talent development because
guys aren't getting the reps that they need. So inevitably
there will be a consolidation trade. Maybe it includes Moody,
but if it doesn't, then that'll be where he gets
his opportunity. Thoughts on a Brandon Ingram from Michael Porter
(35:01):
junior trade mid season. Denver gets a consistent playmaker who
doesn't fit perfectly but supports Jamal Murray staying healthy with
less responsibility. New Orleans gets a confident three point shooter
for Zion with very questionable consistency, but a great fit.
This is an interesting idea because the idea would be okay,
if Jamal Murray struggles, then you would need somebody that
can help run perimeter action and be a shot maker
(35:23):
for Denver. Brandon fits that role pretty well right. For
the Pelicans, so much of their driving kick offense is
going to be initiated by Zion and Dejantey Murray, So
having a guy that's more of a catch and shoot
off ball player maybe it's a more seamless fit. Although
Brandon Ingram has looked sharp to start the year, so like,
here's my thing. It's interesting, but it's high risk, So
(35:44):
I'd want to see how Jamal Murray looks first. If
Jamal Murray comes out and he looks like Jamal Murray
after you know, thirty games or so, then don't fuck
with it. Jamal Jokic, Aaron Gordon, Michael Porter junr. They
won a title and got close to winning a title,
close than people think last year, so don't mess with it.
But if you get out into the season in thirty
(36:06):
forty games in Jamal Murray looks like you did last
year in the playoffs, then it's one of those things
where you have to start looking at trying to capitalize
on Nikolea Jokic's title window here, and in that case
you have to take on a little bit more risk.
But don't take on risk if you don't have to.
Let's wait and see how Jamal Murray looks. Why are
you so strong fisted on Jokic and the Nuggets title odds?
Why is it always they were up twenty in Game
(36:28):
seven and not they blew the lead to the better
performing team. It wouldn't be the first time the best
in the world wouldn't have a big chance to win
the chip. We've seen Braun and Steph in thirty four.
Here's why I'm still bullish on the Nuggets. They won
the title the year before last, and then last year
they were a couple of minutes away from making the
conference finals. You'd be foolish to write those guys off.
(36:49):
I just don't. I don't know how else to put it.
Do the Suns have a legit chance to come out
the West where they have to upgrade over Nurkic. It's
hard to say. I mean, Ryan Dunn developing, as Sam
Vssini was saying yesterday, into a legit three and D
weapon for them would be huge because he's just one
of the most dynamic athletes that was in that draft class.
My thing with the Suns is it goes beyond just
(37:10):
Nurkic as a roster. They're not very physically imposing, and
just in the playoffs, especially with the way the rules
have changed, everything is just so physical and it's so
much about grabbing and holding and winning these rock fights,
and I don't think Phoenix has set up well to
win rock fights. That said, everybody in that tier has issues.
From Dallas, Minnesota, Philly, Lakers, Bucks, Sons, all those teams
(37:32):
have issues, and so all it takes is a couple
favorable matchups here and there, a young guy popping like
Ryan Dunn hitting on a key trade one of the
top tier teams gets upset something like that could open
up that door and then they could shoot through that gap.
All right, Well, last question, then we're done for the day.
Is there anywhere that screams Zach Levine trade doesn't feel
(37:54):
it to me? And when they traded for Giddy, do
you think they knew Lonzo was coming back? Seems very
redundant to have so many ball dominant guys, incredibly poor
team building in my opinion. The thing with the Lavigne pieces,
He's just hard to trade because of how big his
salary is. Like, on a very basic level, there are
a lot of teams out there that I think are
looking at the situation going like, man, if we could
(38:14):
bring Zack in here, this would actually be really good
for us. But on the flip side, it's like, yeah,
but we would have to send out fifty million dollars
worth of salary as soon as we set out that
could be three really high level role players. And there
are just too many examples in NBA history, most recently
the Russell Westbrook trade, where it's like, Okay, you bring
in this guy, but it's the Russell Westbrook trade was
(38:36):
not what killed Russell Westbrook is not what killed the Lakers.
The Russell Westbrook trade killed the Lakers because they gave
up KCP Kyle Kuzma and in the ensuing salary crunch
lost Alex Caruso. So like that's the real issue is
it's just hard for them to get rid of zach Lavine.
But the best thing he can do to start this
season is just you got to feed him and help
him bump up his numbers and see if he can't
(38:58):
drive up his value so that you can make a deal.
As far as Giddy goes to me a Lonzo, Lonzo's
more of like a connective point guard throwing kickhead passes
and being a connective passer. He's not a guy that
I like to run a ton of action, So I
don't think that that necessarily clashes with Giddy. And you
got to give good Giddy a good hard look because
you just traded Alex Crusoe for him instead of for
draft compensation, and so you damn will better have a
(39:19):
plan to see if Josh Gitty can do anything. One
last thing before we get out of here. Actually, I
wanted to quickly hit I just had a quick thought
on the I just had a quick thought on the Clippers.
This Kawhi Leonard things. Khi Leonard is going to miss
the start of the season. A lot of people are
talking about the Clippers, And here's the thing. It's really
easy to make those types of opinions known in retrospect. So,
(39:43):
for instance, yeah, the Clippers basically set Oklahoma City up
for success. All this draft compensation, Shay Gils, Alexander fourth
best player in the league, you know, obviously getting off
of Paul George. All of this just just spoon fed
Oklahoma City a contender. Right, But let's we can't operate
(40:04):
in twenty twenty four with what we know now and
pretend like we would have made a different decision back then.
In twenty twenty, remember where you were when the Kawhi
news came down. I remember I was in Mexico with
some friends. I remember getting the it was late at night,
getting the tweets coming through from Wojanowski, and I'm like,
oh my god, they got Paul George and Kawhi Leonard
(40:26):
on this team that already has all of these good
role players. Overnight, they became the championship favorite. At various
points over the last four years. They looked like the
best team in the league in twenty twenty at various
points in the regular season. In twenty twenty one, before
Kawhi Leonard got hurt in that playoff run. Right last year,
(40:48):
in the middle of the regular season, they were playing
better basketball than Boston. Over the middle third of the season,
they looked like the best team in the league. So, like,
as I talked about earlier, you've got to take risks
to win the championship. And there was a big risk
there taken by the Clippers. It was the right risk.
They had legitimate chances to win. It didn't work out,
(41:10):
and like, yeah, on the tail, every time you give
up young players, it's like it's like with the Pelicans
and the Lakers. Yeah, like they happen to win a title,
So it it all gets talked about differently if the
Lakers did not win the championship in twenty twenty, can
you imagine how different that deal would be talked about
with everything the Pelicans got out of it. Like, if
you have to give up young talented players in draft compensation,
(41:33):
there's a good chance that those guys are going to
turn into good basketball players and it's going to affect
the outlook of your of the of that deal. But
you've got to be aggressive to give yourself a chance
to win the championship. It's really unfortunate what happened to
KWHI Leonard. It's really unfortunate what happened to the Clippers,
But every one of us would have done the exact
same thing. Put yourself in those shoes summer of twenty nineteen. Hey,
all you got to do is give up Shame's good
(41:54):
young player has potential to be really great but not yet.
And a bunch of draft compensation you get Paul George
Kwi Leonard and really good role players, your overnight championship
favorite yes or no every day and one of us
is saying yes every day, and one of us stop
pretending you wouldn't so like that. That's where it gets
silly in retrospect to talk about it that way. All right, guys,
that's all I have for today is always a sincerely
appreciate you guys for supporting the show. I hope you
(42:15):
all have a great weekend, and we'll be back next week.
On Monday, I'll do like a probably some kind of
like predictions pod or something along those lines, and then
we'll get into it with the instant reaction on Tuesday
night after the first light of games is always I
appreciate you guys, and I will see you then. The
volume
Hosts And Creators
Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
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