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Which NBA Teams Are Under The Most Pressure? · Small Ball with Kenny Beecham

• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome back to another episode of Small Ball with Kenny Beatsum.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: Today we're doing pressure meter for not all, but majority of the NBA playoff teams.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: Because honestly speaking, if I went through all of them, a lot of these teams have close to no pressure.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: Either the Raptors have pressure going into the postseason.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: No, this is fools go.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: Not fools go.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: This is all green for them, whether they're first round eggs or conference finalists.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: There's not a lot of pressure for a team that went from one of the worst teams in the league to the playoffs.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: So I just picked a specific few that I definitely wanted to talk about.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: I'm really excited for this episode.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: I'm having a weird time as an NBA fan, I will say.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: We're on a nightly basis, it's hard for me to contextualize some of the stuff that I'm seeing.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's partially because a lot of the teams that we see right now, we kind of understand who they are.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: It's just a matter of the matchups once we get to the postseason and so on.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: But also, there are so many teams that are just not good and not trying.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: So a 10-game slate for me turns into a two games live, and then the rest being highlights of synergy, which is just different.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: At the beginning of the season, bro, I was locked, locked into every single team all season long.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: And now there's a few times where it feels like every week where I'm like, oh my God, that two-way player, I forgot his name when he checked it to the game.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: So I will say for the rest of this, I don't know, regular season, we might go heavy towards the playoff teams.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: But that's what we're gearing up to.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: We're gearing up to see who's gonna win the Larry O'Brien trophy.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: So in preparation for this episode, I know I mentioned there are some teams that I'm not gonna get to because they don't have a ton of pressure, but even some of the great teams across the league where I'm like, man, this team is definitely not pressureless, but they're lower on the totem pole when it comes to pressure rankings, right?
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um and I want to start off with a team like the OKC Thunder, who are still one of the best teams in the league, if not the best team in the league.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm putting this on a one through ten scale.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: Let's just make it very simple around here.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: I have the OKC Thunder pressure level at a four.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: Because it's hard for me to look at a team that just came off a championship that just proved to the world, you know, less than a year ago that they can do this, even if it's a two-game sevens, whatever, they can do this and say this is a year that they still have a ton of pressure.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: Now, they're not pressure-less because there is some team orchestration things that we kind of gotta think about for the next version of the OKC Thunder.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: One thing we've learned over the last almost decade is that repeating in the NBA is really, really hard.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: And in the parody era, it might be virtually impossible.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: So it's not a ton of pressure for them to repeat, but I think it's some pressure in order for them to maximize the roster that they currently have.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: You know, could we go into the postseason and be completely disappointed for them?
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: But still, I'm looking at, you know, some of the things that they've built, right?
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: Knowing that Isaiah Hartenstein, Lou Dore, Kenny Hussle are all expiring contracts, I think you want to maximize the time that you have together.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: Knowing that Chet Holmgren's extension of$41.5 million next season hits in, or J Dub's extension of$41.5 million kicks in next season.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: What will put them, not even retaining, you know, iHeart or Dorde or Kenny Hussle, put them$21 million over the second apron.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: You know, this is basically their last year of having this core and it being cheap, if you will.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I mentioned on the podcast right after the trade deadline that I read an article about, you know, how the OKC Thunder are moving.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: And it showcased that there is a world where the OKC Thunder are a team that's going to be willing to go into the second apron.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: If you missed that episode, I'll quickly remind you that at the trade deadline, one of the smaller deals that happened, maybe the smallest deal that happened that had some real implications, is that the OKC Thunder acquired a guy that plays overseas, a guy that probably will never come over, but they have his rights in case that he ever came to the NBA.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: And the question is, why would they do that?
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: And the only reason to do that, unless you truly believe that player will eventually come over to the team, is saying that because of his contract, we can trade him next season when we're a second apron team and not get all of the penalties that you would normally get when you trade as a second apron team.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: So I don't know what the what the caveat is for the OKC Thunder.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: We don't mind being a second apron team if we go back to back.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe they would want it run it back completely, but I'm looking at some of these other teams that have some money and I look at Isaiah Hardenstein and say, hey man, there's gonna be teams that, you know, there's gonna be some interesting things.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: But whether it be from the Spurs or again, the parody era, we've learned that you can still have a dynasty, that you can still be one of the best teams in a decade long if you don't win back to back.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: And as long as Shay is on the team, and as long as Shay is defending the way he is, and as long as Dub is on the roster, get well soon.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: Dub, I feel like I swear I feel like we ain't watched more than 200 minutes of J Dub this season.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: But as long as those three are together, I think they're always going to be in contention.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: It's about all the exterior things.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: What happens with Kasin Wallace, what happens with again, the Dortz, the IHearts, and so on and so forth.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: They just got a really big win the other night against the Denver Nuggets in a game where tempers were flaring, but it also showcased how good and how deep this team could potentially be, where they go into the overtime period, and because it's the first game back for Shea Giuseppe Alexander, he doesn't play in overtime, and they were still able to beat a really good Denver Nuggets team with Lou Dork getting his ass kicked out for the pettiness and Shea Giurs Alexander not playing in overtime.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: So they're they're still, in my mind, the cream of the crop.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: And though they are low on this pressure rating, they're not without pressure.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: Next thing we'll talk about is another one of the teams that is low on a pressure rating.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: It is a San Antonio Spurs, and I had a really tough time going from like two or from three when it comes to the one through ten thing.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: And I ultimately landed on three.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um, while we love them, we we've seen this type of season before, where a team jumps up, a super young team jumps up to towards the top of the standings, and they don't perform as well in the postseason.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: It would be completely understanding if the Spurs are a second-round exit or conference finals exit, or I don't think a first-round exit feels like a true disappointment.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: But because they are young in the core, and because this is the first time this team has made the postseason, this is just all green for them.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: Wimby, Dear Fox has one playoff series, if not mistaken.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_00: So Wimby, no playoffs to find Castle, Dylan Harper.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: The list goes on and on on these dudes with no experience.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: And even though they have been the second best team since January 1st by all metrics, I still don't look at them with having a ton of pressure because there's so much that they need to still learn about the current team.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm so fascinated with the approach that the OKC Thunder took a few years ago.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: This is, you know, when they were the one seed and they lose in the second round to Luka and the Denver Nuggets, where at that deadline, everybody was calling for them to acquire more shooting.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: They need more shooting, they need more shooting.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: And Sam Pressian company said, Oh, hold on, we have a bottom three young team in basketball.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: We want to see what we have as a team before we make any dramatic changes.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: And what they found out is like, yeah, Josh Kitty just doesn't really pair well with these other dudes.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_00: And as long as he's a non-factor as a shooter and also not as much of a defensive playmaker, then there really is no role for him on this team.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: And what did they do?
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: They looked at that offseason, they saw their holes, and then they they plugged those holes with acquiring an Alice Caruso, with signing Isaiah Hartenstein, and boom, they immediately won a championship.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: So I look at the Spurs in a very similar thing.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_00: They have the one Chico that I mentioned here before.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: Women Yama is still on a rookie scale contract, right?
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: And that's gonna be the case for the next couple seasons.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_00: So their best player, top whatever player in the world, is making pennies compared to his production, so they could potentially look at this playoffs and say, oh my God, we lost because of this.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_00: We could go acquire this level of talent.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: And they have draft capital, even though they did acquire De'Aaron Fox.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm so fascinated with the idea of buying in while their best player is still on a rookie scale deal.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that I don't know if that really is the Spurs way, but the De'Aaron Fox trade at the deadline last season kind of shows that they're willing to turn it up a little bit as long as the price doesn't get too crazy.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: I don't look at the Spurs as a team that'll ever be like with throwing all the chips on the table to acquire this guy.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_00: But if you have a disgruntled star like a De'Aaron Fox or whoever might become available this offseason, and you could be the team to acquire him without really giving up any of your core pieces, that is the type of avenue I would love to see the Spurs go down.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: I'm so excited to see what Women Yama looks in spin in the postseason.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: Some teams have opted to put that smaller defender on him, and I think he's starting to adjust very well to those type of things.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_00: I'm really excited to see, you know, all the younger guys as well, because playing in the playoffs is really, really tough.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: Talk to anybody that has played two to three playoffs series, they say, hey man, the regular season is a grind, but the playoffs is a whole different beast.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: And I think the Spurs players are really about to recognize that.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: And I mentioned again that I think they are a true contender.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: If they weren't won the Larry O'Brien trophy, it would be surprising, but not surprising.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_00: It's like completely left field because they are this talented of a team, even with their youth.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: But with Women Yama being as good as he is on the defensive side of the ball, he just they just might be different than all of the other super youthful team that we've seen go into the postseason.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: This man is a one-man uh wrecking crew as on the defensive side of the ball.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_00: Teams don't want to challenge him, and when they do challenge him, guess what?
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: He goes a six-block game.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_00: He's one of the best communicators we have on that side of the ball.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: And the rest of the five or four that will be on the court with him, all of those guys have seen what Women Yama can do and made it like it's contagious.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: They're communicating, they're switching, they know exactly where they need to be.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: So they're low on the pressure rating, but that will start to turn up eventually.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_00: You get one season where you just successful, even if you are of second round exit, then the next season we come in and say, hey man, that's a true true contender.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: And that is when it really, really opens up.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_00: So when we come back, we'll get into two other teams I feel like have low ratings, and then some of the teams that I feel like have the highest pressure ratings.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: Next team on the list when it comes to low pressure is the Pistons.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_00: Do you see what's going on right now?
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: I just mentioned the three teams with some super low pressure.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_00: Actually, I'm gonna get to four because spoiler, my next team is the Boston Celtics.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: Those are the four best teams in ball right now.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: How often have we gone into a playoff series where the four best teams, record-wise, don't have a ton of pressure?
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_00: I just feel like that doesn't happen, right?
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you see these top teams, you're like, oh my God, this is their third year together, and finally they got to put the foot on the gas and go win something.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: All of these teams are so very fresh or so very new, or in the Celtics case, not a new team, but a different team than a team that won a championship, and they've been playing without their best player.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_00: So the Pistons are another one of these teams that they are elite.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_00: They are so very great.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: But I look at their off their deadline and say, hey, I mocked all season long.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_00: They should go get Trey Murphy, they should go get Michael Porter Jr.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_00: They should go get Larry Market, even though we knew Larry Market is probably unavailable because they needed some secondary creation and they needed some more jump shooting.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_00: They say, no, we're gonna acquire a little bit more jump shooting, but the Kevin Herter acquisition was not because they believed that Kevin Herter's about to be a rotational player for them in the playoffs.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_00: It was more Duncan Robinson insurance because you got to think about it like this: Duncan Robinson is their only high-volume three-point shooter on the entire roster, we really think about it.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: And if he went out with an ankle tweak, he goes out with something bigger than that.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_00: Like he is that important to that team.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: And it's like if he goes out, we don't really have anybody that can really replace him.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_00: Karen Verde is not gonna do that, this guy's not gonna do that, but Kevin Herter could potentially do that.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_00: So, yeah, we trade for a guy that may get DMPs for us, but he is on a break a case of an emergency type of basis.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: But this team is also one of the super young teams across basketball.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: They do have one playoff series under their belt that was a playoff series against the Knicks, and that was a crazy one, you know, that was two possessions away from being a seven-game series, and that's really impressive because that Knicks team last season and this season is a really good team.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_00: But I continuously look at them and say, super fun team.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_00: Playoffs, they gotta show me a little bit.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_00: But now I gotta show me in the sense that if they don't show me, then it is a failure of a season.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: You know?
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_00: Because they still do have all their assets, they still got some young and trigger players, they still got some contracts to potentially move in in this hypothetical world where it is a disappointing offseason or a disappointing uh postseason.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm loving it.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I did go back, and I did this also with the uh different nuggets, who we'll talk about later in the episode, where we know that the Pistons offense is their biggest hole.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: Not just offense in general, because let me let me quickly look this up because I didn't have what they're sitting at right now.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: Their offense as a whole right now is 11th, which you'll take.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_00: You know, usually say you're top 10 in offense, top 10 in defense as a contender.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_00: They're at 11th by the smallest margin imaginable.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: They have a really good offensive game tomorrow, they'll be in the top 10.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_00: That's how small that margin is.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: But it's not about just overall offense, I think that matters when it comes to the postseason.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: It is at half-court offense, right?
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: And when you look on that side, the Pistons aren't very good at half-court offense.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: And then that changes things because I was also listening to um to oh my God, what is the name of the show?
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_00: One second, one second, because I I gotta give love to my boys because I'm just drawing a blank right now.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um, our boys over at the Athletic, the slamming jam, shout out to them because it's one of my favorite podcasts.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_00: I just really, really did draw a blank.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_00: Where right now, this Detroit Piston team is 18th in half-court offense.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_00: That would be one of the worst half-court offense teams to ever make the NBA finals.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_00: And the only other teams that also are in this thing are the two other Piston teams that made the finals in 04 and 05.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_00: So they made the joke that it's like, hey, man, they just have it in their DNA to be a bad offensive half-court team and still be able to make the finals.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: But I just think as we get later into the NBA, right?
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_00: That that was two decades ago.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_00: I just don't know if you can really do that anymore, where you can be an average to below average half-court offense and make the complete run.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not counting them out.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: They're still a grade eight contender, but that is the thing that's in the back of my mind always.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_00: But because they're a young team, they're low on my on my scale.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_00: Last one, and we're talking about them a lot over the last couple weeks, so I don't want to spend too much time, is the Boston Celtics.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_00: I got them at like a straight up two, where like I look at them and say, next season, without really knowing what the center rotation looks like, because Vooch is out, and then well, he might be back, but his expiring contract, they should walk into next season is one of the heavy favorites in the Eastern Conference.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: And I feel like that's where we'll really start talking about the Boston Celtics and maybe pressure ramping up again.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_00: But this season, between Jalen Brown, and even though you know we get what feels like months at a time, where Derek White can't hit a shot, but he's still one of the four best players on the court when he's out there.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it just showcases how much talent is actually on his roster, how well coached they are.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_00: And next season they'll be back into the swing of things of being like, you know, one of the teams that you should really, really look out for.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_00: Cool.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_00: Let's go to these top pressure teams.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_00: This is what you're really here for.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_00: This is what you're here for.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: These are the teams that gotta make some noise.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_00: Now, when it comes to pressure, I don't mean that this is a championship or bus type of season, but they have to showcase something to make us feel good about their core.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_00: They have to showcase something about maybe next season being the year they could continue to get over the hump.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_00: So, starting off with the highest pressure team, in my personal opinion, the New York Knicks.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_00: The Knicks are one of the more confusing teams in basketball.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_00: They've experimented so much this season that it's hard for me, a guy that is really trying to figure out who they are as a team, to even keep up.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_00: Before the season started, they were my team to represent the Eastern Conference.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like that's where a lot of my pressure is coming from.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_00: Because I wasn't alone in that, right?
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like a lot of the media out there, the people that watch the game of basketball, look at that Knicks team that went to the conference finals, that lost to Indiana, Indiana being out, the Celtics being out.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_00: We say, hey, this is exactly for this is all laid out for the Knicks to be the team to represent the Eastern Conference.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_00: And this season has had, you know, so many ups and and and so many downs that it's hard for me to say.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_00: Here's what I would say: I know everything and nothing about this team.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_00: Five-game win streak, oh my God, they got the number one offense and the number three defense.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_00: Four-game loser streak, oh my god, everything fell apart.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_00: One of Mike Brown's superpowers is also his curse, where he is experimenting and his systems are really thorough.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_00: So thorough that after their game versus the the Cavs a couple nights ago, Carl Anthony Towns and Josh Hart went to the podium and said similar things.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_00: They said, I'm still trying to figure out the system.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_00: We got 20 games in the postseason.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_00: How much we still are trying to figure out the system?
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, that's some scary stuff.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_00: The one thing that made me really impressed with the Knicks is as far as them being my team to win the Eastern Conference going into this season, was Mitchell Robinson was hurt for what felt like 95% of the season last year.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_00: He came back right in time for the postseason.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_00: And in that postseason, one of the lineups that made me fall in love with that Knicks team as far as next year's contender was when they ran the double big.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_00: It was Carnoty Towns moving over to the four, like his most successful season in Minnesota team aspect wise, and Mitchell Robinson playing in F5.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_00: And that that lineup was running teams off the court.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_00: The combination of offensive rebound and the shooting for Car Anthony Towns just worked.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_00: So far this season, this that that duo, the front court duo, has only played 214 minutes.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_00: It is amazing, by the way, they have a net rating with plus 10.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_00: Like they really kicking people's ass when they're out there.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_00: But we just haven't seen it a lot.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_00: And it's not similar to last year where Mitchell Robinson has been injured for 90% of the season.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_00: If I'm not mistaken, they've played 40 games together and they've only played 200 minutes on the court together.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I don't know if that's like Mike Brown understanding that that line of construction is so nice.
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_00: We don't want to show our hand too much.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_00: And once we get to the postseason, boom, we're going to bring it out, and people are not going to be expecting it because we didn't really do that.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_00: But he's also doing things where, like, he's running five shooters.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_00: And it's in some of those shooters, you know, between Landry and Miles McBride when he before he got injured, and now Jose Alvarado being in the fray, he's still trying to figure out the construction that puts this Knicks team with their best foot forward.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_00: And when you have 20 plus game or just around 20-something games left for the season, it is scary to have this level of experimentation.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_00: Because will he ever find what he's looking for?
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_00: Are we going to be in the first round of the postseason and he's we're still seeing new-ish lineups, lineups that have only played 40 minutes together?
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_00: That's not the time to experiment unless you have no other choice because of injury.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_00: That's not the time when we're trying to figure some stuff out.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_00: You know?
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm I'm still trying to, I'm still trying to figure out where they are as a team.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_00: Definitely a team I can see representing the Eastern Conference as a champion, you know, as the Eastern Conference champion, but also a team that I can say, hmm, I can see a certain team beating their ass.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_00: And that team might be the Pistons who've beat them three times so far in the season.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_00: All of those times have been have been blowouts.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_00: Another part to this, when it comes to the pressure, is they fired their head coach Tom Thibodeau after he led their team to their first conference finals in 25 years.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_00: New guy comes in, and the new guy has to be better.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_00: He has to be better, right?
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_00: Or Tom Thibodeau was a martyr to not for nothing.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm having a weird time figuring out if Mike Brown has truly, truly improved the outlook of this team.
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_00: I brought this to Pierre, my cousinslash co-host of numbers on the board, who is a diehard Knicks fan.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_00: And he said, we gotta give Mike Brown the benefit of the playoffs before we start grading it.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_00: He's probably right there.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_00: But one thing I enjoyed about Tom Thibodeau, for better or for worse, as somebody that had to root for teams that he's coached, is that he was so good and he was so hell-bent on his ways that he didn't experiment.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_00: That's not a good thing, but he didn't experiment at all.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_00: But one thing he did is he rang that towel dry.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_00: He got every single win out of every single team he's ever really coached.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe that was a detriment, right?
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_00: You get players that get injured, or you get, you know, teams that when they do have that injury don't know how to adjust because they've only ran one way all the time.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_00: But I think there is some value in understanding who you are as a team and playing that way.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_00: And Mike Brown is still trying to figure that out, and that's what makes it scary.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_00: When we come back, we got more teams that have pressure going into the postseason.
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_00: Before we go any further, we want to say thank you to our sponsor over edge DraftKings.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_00: You may know all about DraftKings pick six by now.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_00: You pick more or less of different players' stats for the upcoming games, put two or more different players until you pick set.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_00: Look at some stats, decide more or less, sit back, relax, and see if you made the right decision.
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_00: Tonight, I feel like we these Mondays have begun short and short on the slate, man.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_00: Only a four-game slate tonight, which means that we don't have that many great pick-ins when it comes to the pick set.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_00: But as always, I do have a pick set for y'all today.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we have Rockets versus Wizards.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_00: You know, maybe, maybe a Shingon bounce back.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_00: We're gonna talk about Shingoon, I think, in our next segment here, but maybe a Shingoon bounce back against uh, you know, a Rocket uh Wizards team that's not trying to win games.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_00: We got Celtics versus Bucks, which there is no Giannis, but the Bucks have been playing decent.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_00: The only thing is they usually are beaten up on those really bad teams, so we'll see what that looks like.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_00: We got Nuggets versus Jazz, which you never know who's gonna suit up for the Jazz at the end of the day.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_00: Keontae George played his first game in a little bit of time a couple nights ago.
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_00: And then lastly, Clippers versus Warriors, which no Steph Curry.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_00: Not the greatest of slate, but we're gonna still make it work.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_00: So let's start off with my pick set, starting off with Ryan Rollins more on points versus the Celtics.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_00: Ryan Rollins is playing some really good basketball as of late, especially when that three-point shot is fall.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_00: He had a little stretch, you know, a few weeks ago with, you know, he was really, really struggling to hit his shot.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_00: But last game, two for five, you'll take that.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_00: Two for two for six, a little bit less, but you'll take that.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_00: He had a seven three point game, a four for seven three point game.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_00: So his three point shot is starting to turn around a little bit.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_00: And in the games they have won, he has been phenomenal.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_00: And I think in order for them to potentially win this game, they need him to be the phenomenal version of himself.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm going Ryan Rollins more on points to start.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_00: Same game, opposite side.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_00: I was thinking about this.
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_00: As long as we've had, you know, these types of integrations and stuff, I don't think I've ever picked Big Vooch into like a pick set, man.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_00: Today is the day.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_00: Vooch is one of those, and Celtics fans are figuring it out right now, and I've been here for the last five seasons.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_00: His good games are so good.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_00: He had a 28-point game in the win versus Brooklyn, but the game before that in Denver, he felt unplayable and he still played 24 minutes.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_00: That is the curse of being what a 35-year-old center who never was a great mover.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_00: Some games is going to look amazing, some games is going to look bad.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_00: It's like he's a roller coaster of a player.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_00: But today, in this matchup, I'm going to say more on points for Big Vooch.
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_00: I think there's an opportunity for him to get some more post touches.
• 22:44
  SPEAKER_00: I love to see that he is still firing off from three, three from three from three his last game, the game before that, 0 for 4, 0 for 3.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_00: So maybe he's just on this hot streak now that he's with the Brooklyn or against that he started against the Brooklyn Nets.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_00: I'm going to go more on points for Big Vooch.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_00: Moving on to the next game of the day versus the Jazz.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_00: No intel, obviously.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_00: But I be thinking about when Jokic and the Nuggets or any great team are going against like these teams that are not actively trying to win basketball games and how they try to like put the foot on the throw early so they could get ready for the next game.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_00: Not looking past the Utah Jazz necessarily, but like starting off the game, the first quarter ends 42 to 12.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_00: You know, like that's the type of stuff that this team be trying to do.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I think in order for them to blow this Jazz team out very early on, you're going to see Big Yoke get more on his points.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_00: Um, he has not looked like the best version of himself since coming back from that injury.
• 23:36
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe this is a get back game since the Jazz don't really play anybody that can stop Jokic or even come close to stopping Jokic.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_00: And lastly, and definitely not least, because this boy right here, man, he was a guy that we mentioned last week as a um Mickey Mouse March candidate.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_00: And of course, it is Benedict Mathrin.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_00: Benedict Mathrin versus the Warriors.
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_00: I'm going more on his points as well.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_00: This Clippers team has lost their last three games.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that the Warriors, even though they have been looking better in some cases with Pods and Santos and so on, they got blown out by the Lakers.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_00: But before that, they had a few couple games where they look like a competent team.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_00: I think the Clippers should come out here and try to win and put foot on throat.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_00: And one thing about Benedict Mathrin, that brother's gonna shoot that ball.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_00: And it's a matter of will it go where.
• 24:21
  SPEAKER_00: I'm actually fascinated with Benedict Mathrin as a player.
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_00: What type of money will he get and from who?
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_00: Um, because his start so far, his six games that he's played with the Clippers, he's averaging uh nine free throw attempts per.
• 24:36
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna say it again.
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_00: He's averaging nine, he's always been a guy that can get to the bastion and draw files.
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_00: You saw that in the finals last uh last year.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_00: But it's at nine with this new team.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_00: And it's small sample size, six game sample size.
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm so very fascinated with his downhill ability and whether or not he'll ever learn how to hit the A button and pass a little bit.
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_00: But we're not asking for assists in this pick set.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_00: We're asking to get downhill and pass that ball so, or and score that ball.
• 24:59
  SPEAKER_00: So when we come back, we'll get back into the pressure meter for a lot of different teams.
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_00: For those who haven't checked out DraftKings Pick Six yet, there's an exclusive offer waiting for you.
• 25:07
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• 25:13
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• 25:17
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• 25:23
  SPEAKER_00: We're at the upside of Pick Six.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna go to the Houston Rockets.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_00: This is a weird ranking for me because they have also, like we mentioned with Big Vooch, they have also been a team that has been a roller coaster ride to follow.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_00: Before the season started, they acquired Kevin Durant, they were just a two-seed.
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_00: I say, hey, that go, another contender, just add it to the pop.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_00: A few weeks before the season starts, Fred Van Vliet tears his AC.
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_00: I say, God damn it, they're no longer a contender.
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_00: Then we get into a month into the season, and I'm like, oh my God, this team looks like a contender.
• 26:03
  SPEAKER_00: And now we're a little bit past the All-Star Break, and I said, there's no way this team is a contender.
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_00: So it's hard for me to say where the pressure is at because before the season started, I didn't think they could do it.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_00: Ultimately, I landed at like a smooth seven.
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_00: And the reason why it is a seven is because you did acquire a 37, 38-year-old superstar.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_00: And in my mind, when you do that, even though he's Kevin Arrant and he feels like he's not aging too much, you know, there's obviously signs of overall regression when you think about Hip's foul drawing ability to get into the basket.
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_00: But overall, he's still one of the best players that we have in the game.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_00: When you acquire a guy that old, as you all know, it just shifts the timeline a little bit.
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_00: Even though I'm in a Sard, Tari, Bari, uh, Reed, all of these dudes are under the age of 25, which is kind of nuts.
• 26:47
  SPEAKER_00: It does push the timeline at least a little bit.
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_00: And even if you're not successful in the, you know, the Kevin Durant era, whether it be just this year, the next three years, whatever, because I think he got one more year on his contract, you have to figure out how you pivot away from that eventually.
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_00: And do we look at that core and say, like, hey, that team is gonna win a chance?
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_00: So the pressure that I have for them is to just stay competent and become a contender during the Kevin Durant time.
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm not expecting it to be um this season, but I watched their game the other night.
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, I didn't watch it live.
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_00: I watched it, it was a day game, I watched it later tonight.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_00: It was their game versus the Miami Heat.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_00: And though the Miami Heat are an average offensive team, one thing I admire so much about what they do is that when they have a game plan, damn it, from the first possession to the last possession, they're gonna try to execute that game plan.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_00: You saw that the perfect example on the National TV scale is when we got to the play-in last season, a place where the Heat have been for the last 100 years, and they played against the Bulls.
• 27:44
  SPEAKER_00: And from the first possession, they hunted Josh Giddy with Wiggins and they hunted Josh Getty with everybody.
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_00: It was like, oh snap.
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_00: They want to showcase that Josh Getty is unplayable.
• 27:51
  SPEAKER_00: And guess what they did?
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_00: They showcased that Josh Getty was unplayable.
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_00: From the very first possession in this game, they went an Albrecht Shingun time and time again.
• 27:58
  SPEAKER_00: It was uh at the beginning of the game, where it was uh our boy Larson being guarded by him.
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_00: They put Larson in every single action as a ball handler, as a screener, and says, Shingon, you gotta make a decision.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_00: And it was bad, man.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_00: This was like a film session for anybody that is an Albert Shingoon skeptic about what his overall ceiling can be or how good he can be on a really good team.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_00: This is a game that the skeptics are gonna look at and say, see, I told you.
• 28:23
  SPEAKER_00: And I've never appreciated Jabari Smith Jr.'s game more than watching this one game at the end of February.
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_00: Because he covers up so much of this where Alperin Shangoon doesn't have to work as much.
• 28:34
  SPEAKER_00: You know, he's always gonna get put into the actions, but as much we have a Jabari Smith Jr.
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_00: in the court, and there's a game that he wasn't there.
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_00: So all of those skeptics have to feel validated because Pele Larsen, again, in every single action, it felt like.
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_00: And then sometimes he just strictly got downhill, put his shoulder into the chest at Alprin Shengun, and Shenko couldn't do anything.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_00: And then there was times where Larson's on the bench, and now he's got the BAM assignment, and BAM is just like a gazelle in comparison to Alprin Shengun on that perimeter.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_00: He just walked past Al P multiple times in here.
• 29:05
  SPEAKER_00: And you get to the post-game interview, and Ime Yudoka gives his normal spiel about, you know, the things that they've lacked.
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_00: And one thing that stood out in that post-game interview was that he mentioned individual defense.
• 29:19
  SPEAKER_00: And I, as somebody that watched that game, I can't help but to think that that was almost, almost specifically about Alper Shagun.
• 29:27
  SPEAKER_00: And it wasn't the first time that he said something very similar in a game where maybe Al P didn't have his best performance.
• 29:34
  SPEAKER_00: So it's just in the back of my mind.
• 29:36
  SPEAKER_00: I was so happy for this game.
• 29:37
  SPEAKER_00: The reason I watched this game, not because I care about the Miami Heat or Rockets in a random regular season game, but it was more like I want to see what Reese Shepard looks like now that we got some injuries over here in Houston, and that Ime Udoka has to kind of, he's kind of forced to play Reed the amount of minutes, in my opinion, that I think he deserves.
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_00: And it was a lot of ups and downs, as you can imagine, for a guy like Reese Shepper.
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_00: But, you know, Shingo's defensively, it's the defensive impact, it's stuck out like a sore though.
• 30:03
  SPEAKER_00: And you think about them playing in a few more series versus some of these teams that know their identity, these coaches that are very smart.
• 30:10
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, damn, what can really be of it?
• 30:13
  SPEAKER_00: Tari Eason is somebody we got to mention too.
• 30:15
  SPEAKER_00: Shout out to our boy Tari.
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_00: He's having a phenomenal season.
• 30:18
  SPEAKER_00: But as of late, as of late, that great three-point shooting that we mentioned at one point he was like 46%.
• 30:23
  SPEAKER_00: It slowly continued to tick down.
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_00: And his last game was two of seven from three, uh, uh of three, one of five, one of four.
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_00: And I think in his last 10 games shooting, 29% from three.
• 30:33
  SPEAKER_00: And this is a team that already lacks a bunch of outside perimeter jump shooting.
• 30:37
  SPEAKER_00: And I was hoping, you know, that Tari Easton was going to be one of those people that alleviates a lot of that pressure.
• 30:43
  SPEAKER_00: Because one thing we will see in the postseason, I will bet all of my money on it, teams are going to leave Tari Easton open and say, even though we recognize you as a good shooter, at least a league average shooter in your previous seasons, you're going to have to show me.
• 30:55
  SPEAKER_00: Same thing happened to RJ Barrett all those years ago when he played for the Knicks, where he had a year where he shot like 41% from three, and then he got to the postseason.
• 31:02
  SPEAKER_00: Let me let me figure out which year that was.
• 31:04
  SPEAKER_00: He got to the postseason.
• 31:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um, let me see.
• 31:06
  SPEAKER_00: This is his second year in the NBA.
• 31:11
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my God, it was his second year?
• 31:12
  SPEAKER_00: It was that long ago?
• 31:13
  SPEAKER_00: My goodness.
• 31:14
  SPEAKER_00: And then he got into that series versus the Atlanta Hawks, and the Hawks left him open for the entire series.
• 31:19
  SPEAKER_00: And as I could quick, quickly look into it, I don't remember what he shot from three.
• 31:23
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, in the postseason, he shot 28% from three.
• 31:25
  SPEAKER_00: He had an 82-game sample size to say, I'm a 40% three-front shooter, but the opposing coach said, no, you're not.
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that that's what opposing teams are gonna do and pack the paint a little bit and throw doubles at Kevin Durant, who at times can really struggle with making that pass out of a double team and say, if if Atari beats us on three-point shooting, so be it.
• 31:45
  SPEAKER_00: So there's some pressure there.
• 31:46
  SPEAKER_00: Next thing on our pressure meter, we gotta go with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
• 31:49
  SPEAKER_00: It is so unfortunate that James Harden is trying to play through this broken hand.
• 31:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I went from, oh my God, the season is over, to the next report saying he's gonna play through it.
• 31:58
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, okay, oh my god, the season is saved.
• 32:00
  SPEAKER_00: And then in their game versus the Pistons, a game that he didn't suit up for, Kenny Atkinson said that he's struggling with even dribbling the ball.
• 32:07
  SPEAKER_00: So even though it is his offhand and he is a left-handed shooter, he's got a right-hand injury.
• 32:11
  SPEAKER_00: If he's struggling to dribble the ball, we got 20 games left.
• 32:14
  SPEAKER_00: So hopefully by the time the playoff starts, it's not something we think about.
• 32:18
  SPEAKER_00: But struggling to dribble for Mr.
• 32:21
  SPEAKER_00: Pound to Rock himself, James Harden.
• 32:23
  SPEAKER_00: I don't like that.
• 32:25
  SPEAKER_00: Overall, I think their pressure is at about an eight.
• 32:29
  SPEAKER_00: And the reason it's at an eight, um, obviously they make the trade for James, but the core that we've seen of Donovan and Evan and Jared, this is their fourth year, right?
• 32:37
  SPEAKER_00: If I'm not mistaken, it's their fourth year altogether, maybe even fifth.
• 32:40
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sure I'm tripping.
• 32:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um, fourth year altogether.
• 32:43
  SPEAKER_00: And they made the decision at the deadline.
• 32:45
  SPEAKER_00: The Darius Garland does not help them reach that ceiling.
• 32:50
  SPEAKER_00: You know?
• 32:51
  SPEAKER_00: And the one thing you can say about James that he's gonna play, and now he's trying to play through a broken hand.
• 32:56
  SPEAKER_00: And when you trade a guy who's 26 for a guy that's 36, like we mentioned with Kevin Durant and the elevated timeline, it shifts the timeline at least a little bit.
• 33:05
  SPEAKER_00: James Harden has been really good to great this season, you know, an all-star caliber player this year.
• 33:11
  SPEAKER_00: But eventually, the time thing will catch up to all of our GOATs.
• 33:16
  SPEAKER_00: It just caught up to my GOAT a few weeks ago over All-Star Weekend.
• 33:20
  SPEAKER_00: We had to officially retire.
• 33:21
  SPEAKER_00: It's going to catch up to a guy like James.
• 33:23
  SPEAKER_00: You have to pray that it doesn't catch up next season because you want to bring him back next season.
• 33:27
  SPEAKER_00: You got to hope that it don't catch up this season coming off this hand injury.
• 33:30
  SPEAKER_00: So there is pressure because, like we said with the Knicks before the season started, it was Knicks and Cavs.
• 33:36
  SPEAKER_00: There's the two teams.
• 33:36
  SPEAKER_00: One of these teams are going to represent.
• 33:38
  SPEAKER_00: I went Knicks, a lot of people went Cavs.
• 33:39
  SPEAKER_00: I couldn't even say they were crazy because the Cavs won 60 plus games last season.
• 33:42
  SPEAKER_00: And though they they flamed out, they won 60 plus games last season.
• 33:47
  SPEAKER_00: There's pressure to now act.
• 33:51
  SPEAKER_00: We can't be year four and losing in the second round again.
• 33:54
  SPEAKER_00: There's a team that at bare minimum needs a conference finals appearance.
• 33:58
  SPEAKER_00: And we talked about it on numbers on the board where the the secret key is still Evan Mobley to unlock this team.
• 34:06
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't I don't know if we're putting unrealistic expectations on Emo, because overall, this season for Emo has not been bad.
• 34:13
  SPEAKER_00: It just may have been disappointing because the team has been disappointing, right?
• 34:16
  SPEAKER_00: He's overall 17 and a half points per game, nine rebounds, four assists.
• 34:20
  SPEAKER_00: It's not a bad season.
• 34:21
  SPEAKER_00: His three-point shot has fallen off in comparison to his last two seasons, where he's 37% to now 31%.
• 34:28
  SPEAKER_00: But in order for them to, you know, do the big things, Evan Mobley has to play like the all-NBA player that he was last season.
• 34:35
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and more and more.
• 34:37
  SPEAKER_00: So they're they're high on that list.
• 34:39
  SPEAKER_00: We also got the Nuggets here.
• 34:41
  SPEAKER_00: The Nuggets right now have the 21st ranked defense, right?
• 34:44
  SPEAKER_00: They're pressure me, I'll put it like a seven, by the way.
• 34:46
  SPEAKER_00: They have the 21st ranked defense.
• 34:49
  SPEAKER_00: And as you go through previous NBA champions, we went all the way back to 2000 because the 90s are a long time ago.
• 34:56
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know, bro.
• 34:56
  SPEAKER_00: That was like 30 years ago.
• 34:58
  SPEAKER_00: So from 2000.
• 34:59
  SPEAKER_00: That 21st ranked defense will be tied for the worst defensive team to win a championship, tied with the 2002 Lakers, the second championship in their three-pee.
• 35:10
  SPEAKER_00: And you could say, Kenny, they've had a lot of injuries, which they absolutely have.
• 35:13
  SPEAKER_00: Aaron Gordon, um, um Christian Brown has missed time, obviously, Cam Johnson missed time.
• 35:18
  SPEAKER_00: They have not been a good defensive team, and part of that might be because of the injuries and stuff.
• 35:23
  SPEAKER_00: But I just I don't obviously I think they're, in my mind, the second highest contender.
• 35:28
  SPEAKER_00: So I don't want to act like that defensive thing that I mentioned is that big of a deal, but it is a big deal.
• 35:34
  SPEAKER_00: And I'll talk about it a little bit more on the other end.
• 35:42
  SPEAKER_00: The one thing the Nuggets have done in their tenure in the Jokic, let's say Jokic MVP caliber player era, is get the timely ones, right?
• 35:50
  SPEAKER_00: They get the timely stops.
• 35:51
  SPEAKER_00: And let me quickly look at the year that they won a championship.
• 35:54
  SPEAKER_00: I want to say, I know that their defense wasn't elite, but I'm trying to remember it wasn't 21st, I'll tell you that.
• 36:01
  SPEAKER_00: You know, definitely wasn't 21st.
• 36:03
  SPEAKER_00: That was the 2023 NBA season.
• 36:05
  SPEAKER_00: And in that 2023 NBA season, they ended up with the 15th ranked defense and the fifth rank offense going into the postseason.
• 36:14
  SPEAKER_00: Then the postseason they turned it up.
• 36:15
  SPEAKER_00: This is a team that I've I've said on numbers that's like they're by reputation, right?
• 36:22
  SPEAKER_00: Everything we love about the Denver Nuggets is obviously they they do perform, but it's reputation-based.
• 36:26
  SPEAKER_00: Best player in the world, great number two in Jamal Murray, just having his best season, and we've seen them win a championship before with this core.
• 36:32
  SPEAKER_00: So boom, even if they're having a poor season by their own standards defensively, we've seen them do it.
• 36:36
  SPEAKER_00: Last year, in the postseason, Aaron Gordon, show uh uh quad or lower extremity, Michael Porter Jr.
• 36:42
  SPEAKER_00: Shoulder still took the event to NBA champion at seven.
• 36:45
  SPEAKER_00: They are a team that has showed us, and it it's it's I had the same problem with last year's Celtics team, where you give those teams the benefit of the doubt because they literally did it.
• 36:57
  SPEAKER_00: But then you watch on a nightly base and you say, damn, do they really look like it?
• 37:01
  SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
• 37:02
  SPEAKER_00: That's where I'm at with it.
• 37:04
  SPEAKER_00: Undoubtedly, they are a top contender.
• 37:06
  SPEAKER_00: Again, I got a number two, I'm only behind the OKC Thunder for a contender.
• 37:11
  SPEAKER_00: But sometimes I watch this team play, and again, no Aaron Gordon, and that matters a lot because when it's Aaron Gordon and Jokic on the court together, the defensive rating is like 109, which is god tier, but it's small sample size.
• 37:20
  SPEAKER_00: I be watching, like, eh, team, missing something.
• 37:24
  SPEAKER_00: And especially since Jokic has come back and not looked like the best version of himself now was missing something.
• 37:29
  SPEAKER_00: It's like one thing that Jokic has always been great at is covering up the holes on the on whatever, and to just to win basketball games.
• 37:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm just not getting that feel for him as of recent, even if the counting stats are still the same.
• 37:41
  SPEAKER_00: He's not moving as great.
• 37:42
  SPEAKER_00: Some of these games he's like flailing around more than normal before the season started.
• 37:46
  SPEAKER_00: He said that one of his things this year, he's not gonna talk to the refs.
• 37:49
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like over the last little stretch, he's starting to, you know what I'm saying, just a little, just dip his toe back in.
• 37:54
  SPEAKER_00: Not like his homie Luca, but he's getting the toe back into that referee bag.
• 37:57
  SPEAKER_00: Just a little bit.
• 37:58
  SPEAKER_00: And the last thing I'll mention on the Nuggets about their pressure is that the second apron is on that tail.
• 38:08
  SPEAKER_00: Because next season there'll be$12 million under the second apron before a Peyton Watson extension.
• 38:15
  SPEAKER_00: So now they I don't know what the president is for the Denver Nuggets and their ownership, and will they pay, will they not pay?
• 38:21
  SPEAKER_00: I don't I don't know.
• 38:22
  SPEAKER_00: But if they're going to retain Peyton Watson, almost positively, they're going to be a second apron team.
• 38:29
  SPEAKER_00: And what we've seen is that a lot of teams are just not willing to go into that bag.
• 38:33
  SPEAKER_00: So does that mean they like Peyton Watson walk?
• 38:35
  SPEAKER_00: Does that mean that they try to dump off Jonas Valentunis's$10 million next season?
• 38:39
  SPEAKER_00: They have to have a team that's willing to do that.
• 38:40
  SPEAKER_00: So that means you got to give up some future assets.
• 38:42
  SPEAKER_00: So the core that we know today between the Watson and the Gordon and the Johnson, you know, all of these guys, this might be the last potential hurrah with this orchestration team.
• 38:54
  SPEAKER_00: So that's just a little bit pressure.
• 38:56
  SPEAKER_00: Last team you're gonna mention is the Minnesota Timbulls.
• 38:59
  SPEAKER_00: We're like, I have no idea.
• 39:01
  SPEAKER_00: I literally have a blank in my notes right now.
• 39:03
  SPEAKER_00: I have no idea where to put them on the pressure rating because they have been to the conference finals two years in a row.
• 39:08
  SPEAKER_00: They have games where they look like a true championship attender, and then they have some games where it's like, am I am I wishfully thinking?
• 39:16
  SPEAKER_00: Am I just looking at their past two seasons of being successful in the postseason and saying, hey, they can do it again?
• 39:21
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 39:22
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 39:24
  SPEAKER_00: You know, this this team has so many ups and downs as well.
• 39:28
  SPEAKER_00: So, Wolves fans, I'm sorry, I don't have enough.
• 39:31
  SPEAKER_00: You tell me, how about that?
• 39:32
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna open the door for you to tell me where you have the Minnesota Timbows as far as pressure goes into the postseason.
• 39:40
  SPEAKER_00: So those are all the teams I got for that.
• 39:42
  SPEAKER_00: I do want to quickly talk about the other side of things.
• 39:45
  SPEAKER_00: We talk about contenders and pressure.
• 39:47
  SPEAKER_00: Let's talk about the bottom.
• 39:48
  SPEAKER_00: And no, this is not a tanking conversation.
• 39:50
  SPEAKER_00: We've we wore that out.
• 39:51
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not gonna beat a dead horse about tanking and so on and so forth.
• 39:54
  SPEAKER_00: But I do want to look at some of the odds and how they have been shifting over the last week or so.
• 39:59
  SPEAKER_00: The biggest shift is that the New Orleans Pelicans have won four games in a row, going from a team that for the majority of this season.
• 40:08
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, snap.
• 40:09
  SPEAKER_00: Was Joe Dumas right?
• 40:10
  SPEAKER_00: No, let me let me cheer.
• 40:11
  SPEAKER_00: Majority of the season we looked at that trade that they did on draft night as one of the worst trades.
• 40:15
  SPEAKER_00: I did a video on my Kenny Freel channel where Bleach Report put together the 50 worst trades in the history of this sport.
• 40:21
  SPEAKER_00: The 50 worst trades in the history of this sport.
• 40:24
  SPEAKER_00: And a trade that happened on draft night last year was in that 50.
• 40:28
  SPEAKER_00: That is them trading that pick, the Pelicans pick for Derrick Queen.
• 40:32
  SPEAKER_00: We had already deemed it to be one of the worst trades ever.
• 40:36
  SPEAKER_00: But now the Pelicans, and now, you know, uh Trey Murphy is injured and uh Zion Williamson tweaked his ankle the other night.
• 40:43
  SPEAKER_00: So I don't know what that what how long he might be off of that.
• 40:46
  SPEAKER_00: So maybe I'm just talking and they're gonna lose 30 in a row to end the season.
• 40:49
  SPEAKER_00: But if they continue to win these games, then like trading for Derrick Queen, if you gave up the eighth pick or the ninth pick, not that bad of a trade.
• 41:01
  SPEAKER_00: It was just at that time, because that Pelicans team was the worst team in the league, that they almost were guaranteed to give up a top five pick.
• 41:09
  SPEAKER_00: Now the Jante's back, he's talking about going on a little playing run.
• 41:13
  SPEAKER_00: They're very far, they're very far from doing that.
• 41:15
  SPEAKER_00: But if they win, I think there's a let me go, let me quickly go to NBA strength and schedule.
• 41:20
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe they got the one of the toughest schedules left, and I'm just talking for no reason.
• 41:24
  SPEAKER_00: But um, oh, ooh, they they they have a middle of the pack.
• 41:30
  SPEAKER_00: They still got to play against the Kings twice, which should be easy dubs.
• 41:33
  SPEAKER_00: They got three games versus the Clippers.
• 41:34
  SPEAKER_00: That's a play in team, but like who knows what version of the Clippers you're gonna get.
• 41:37
  SPEAKER_00: They still got to play the Wizards, the Jazz.
• 41:40
  SPEAKER_00: So some of the teams that they're fighting for seeding-wise, they still have to play at least one more time.
• 41:46
  SPEAKER_00: I could see a world based just based on the way they performed for the past week and some change, where right now they're six and odds.
• 41:54
  SPEAKER_00: They're three games, how do we even say it's above or below the Dallas Mavericks?
• 41:58
  SPEAKER_00: I think they could outwin the Dallas Mavericks in the last 20 games of the season.
• 42:02
  SPEAKER_00: I think they can outwin the Minnesota Timberwolves for the last 20 games of the season.
• 42:07
  SPEAKER_00: It's hard for me to feel like they're gonna outwin the Bulls.
• 42:10
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm not even just saying it because the Bulls are gonna win games, but the Bulls are five and a half games above or below them, depending on how you say it.
• 42:16
  SPEAKER_00: And though the Bulls made only win four games the rest of the season, there's there's so much of a gap between them.
• 42:21
  SPEAKER_00: But there is a legitimate world where the Pelicans are giving up the ninth best odds.
• 42:27
  SPEAKER_00: And that's not that bad.
• 42:28
  SPEAKER_00: That's just not that bad of a trade if you really do believe in Derrick Queen.
• 42:33
  SPEAKER_00: Only time will tell, 21 games left.
• 42:35
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe this is just a hot stretch, and just like that, it's gonna snap again and they're gonna be an ass team.
• 42:40
  SPEAKER_00: But it's something to think about.
• 42:42
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's also something to think about.
• 42:45
  SPEAKER_00: Dude, the Pacers have phoned it in, which I can't even be mad at them.
• 42:48
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, considering the protections on their pick.
• 42:50
  SPEAKER_00: Remember, they traded for a big zoo, and then the last, like the couple games after that, they had the fifth best odds.
• 42:55
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, oh my god, they just gave up the pick.
• 42:57
  SPEAKER_00: They just gave up the pick.
• 42:58
  SPEAKER_00: They ain't won a game since then.
• 42:59
  SPEAKER_00: The Brooklyn Nets ain't won a game in forever.
• 43:02
  SPEAKER_00: The Wizards ain't won a game.
• 43:04
  SPEAKER_00: The Jazz ain't won a game.
• 43:06
  SPEAKER_00: You can't outlose the losing teams, dog.
• 43:08
  SPEAKER_00: You just can't.
• 43:09
  SPEAKER_00: So, like, that's why it's been like I mentioned at the top of the show, it's been kind of tough for me to contextualize and watch some of these games because you go against the Kings, the Pacers, the Nets, the Wizards, the Jazz, or the Bulls right now.
• 43:21
  SPEAKER_00: Guaranteed win for you.
• 43:22
  SPEAKER_00: The only time it gets interesting is when those teams are fighting against each other.
• 43:26
  SPEAKER_00: And then we get to see, oh, snap, that team really in it for that pick.
• 43:30
  SPEAKER_00: You know, Bill Simmons and um whoever his co-host was that day, it might have been house, were doing like an ethical.
• 43:37
  SPEAKER_00: They were trying to figure out what teams have been ethically tanking and they should get increased odds when it comes to tanking.
• 43:43
  SPEAKER_00: How can we not talk about the Bulls?
• 43:46
  SPEAKER_00: Ethically?
• 43:47
  SPEAKER_00: Ethically.
• 43:49
  SPEAKER_00: Adam Silver has been trying to get teams that care about the playing.
• 43:52
  SPEAKER_00: You know who's cared about the play in the most out of anybody?
• 43:55
  SPEAKER_00: Us.
• 43:56
  SPEAKER_00: And you can't even say we're doing it unethically.
• 43:58
  SPEAKER_00: We're legit, we're playing on.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_00: Like the the old players on the team over the young players.
• 44:03
  SPEAKER_00: Billy Donovan is trying to win basketball games.
• 44:06
  SPEAKER_00: That is ethical tanking at its finest.
• 44:09
  SPEAKER_00: So I personally believe Adam Silver should throw us a bone.
• 44:15
  SPEAKER_00: Because you know it's the moment the Bulls get somewhat competent, just a little bit better than the average team, they're gonna go all in.
• 44:23
  SPEAKER_00: You want a team to be in the play-in?
• 44:25
  SPEAKER_00: It'll be us.
• 44:28
  SPEAKER_00: The Pacers were ethically tanking, I think, at this point in time.
• 44:30
  SPEAKER_00: You know, they kind of realize what's going on.
• 44:32
  SPEAKER_00: They ain't doing that no more.
• 44:33
  SPEAKER_00: Brooklyn, Washington, Utah, these teams ain't ethically tanking no more.
• 44:37
  SPEAKER_00: Dallas, I guess.
• 44:40
  SPEAKER_00: Memphis, I guess, like some of these teams, like Dallas's doesn't have a competent roster anymore.
• 44:43
  SPEAKER_00: Memphis doesn't have a competent roster anymore.
• 44:45
  SPEAKER_00: The Bulls don't.
• 44:46
  SPEAKER_00: So all of those teams, I can't even say they're unethically tanking.
• 44:49
  SPEAKER_00: I have not tuned into one of their games where whoever might have been the high hand sat like Najee Marshall just had a 35, 10, and 7 game.
• 44:58
  SPEAKER_00: They didn't get, because it was a close game.
• 45:00
  SPEAKER_00: They didn't get to the last two minutes and said, Najee, you gotta sit for the rest of this.
• 45:03
  SPEAKER_00: No.
• 45:05
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm gonna run one take-a-thon.
• 45:07
  SPEAKER_00: And the Bulls dropped, actually.
• 45:11
  SPEAKER_00: And in second thon, the Wizards won.
• 45:13
  SPEAKER_00: The Pacers retained number two.
• 45:15
  SPEAKER_00: The Atlanta Hawks got the third pick.
• 45:18
  SPEAKER_00: So they did jump up.
• 45:20
  SPEAKER_00: I just did all of that talking about the trade not being bad.
• 45:22
  SPEAKER_00: And in this hypothetical, it trade ended up being bad again because they gave up that pick.
• 45:26
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then the Utah Jazz were at number four.
• 45:29
  SPEAKER_00: How many times I had to hit this button until the Bulls jump up?
• 45:31
  SPEAKER_00: I'm at five already.
• 45:32
  SPEAKER_00: Make that six, make that seven, make that eight.
• 45:35
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my God.
• 45:36
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, number nine.
• 45:37
  SPEAKER_00: Number nine, we had the fourth pick, which is like, I don't want to pick four.
• 45:40
  SPEAKER_00: I won't pick one, two, or three.
• 45:50
  SPEAKER_00: How can I not talk about DeAndre Aiden?
• 45:55
  SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
• 45:56
  SPEAKER_00: How can I not talk about the piece that was written about him?
• 46:00
  SPEAKER_00: How can I not talk about the Klinkapella words?
• 46:04
  SPEAKER_00: I damn near put um our boy DeAndre Aiden on this list by himself as far as the pressure meter goes.
• 46:10
  SPEAKER_00: Not the teams and Lakers, because guess what?
• 46:12
  SPEAKER_00: In my opinion, this has always been a gap year for the Los Angeles Lakers.
• 46:15
  SPEAKER_00: It always has been.
• 46:16
  SPEAKER_00: They told us that they was really out there trying to save the money for 2027.
• 46:20
  SPEAKER_00: And I firmly believe them.
• 46:22
  SPEAKER_00: Especially when you got sciatica with Braun, then Austin Reeves goes out for 20 plus games.
• 46:28
  SPEAKER_00: This was always going to be a gap year.
• 46:31
  SPEAKER_00: It's not a gap year for DeAndre Aiden.
• 46:33
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't know if there's nobody in his camp that would tell him that.
• 46:38
  SPEAKER_00: That piece that was written about him read so bad, man.
• 46:42
  SPEAKER_00: And to call out a guy like Clink Capella, listen, Clink Capella's very far from being an NBA legend, right?
• 46:49
  SPEAKER_00: But one thing about Clink Capella is that he maximized the things that he was given.
• 46:55
  SPEAKER_00: You gotta think about Clink Capella's career.
• 46:57
  SPEAKER_00: He started his career in the 2014-2015 season.
• 47:01
  SPEAKER_00: And James Harden had just basically ended up with the Houston Rockets.
• 47:05
  SPEAKER_00: He didn't play much that first season.
• 47:08
  SPEAKER_00: But then he goes to being basically a starter by the end of his second season.
• 47:13
  SPEAKER_00: And not only that, he ends up being one of the best pick and roll duos with a legendary pick and roll player in James Harden.
• 47:20
  SPEAKER_00: So much so, matter of fact, can I look at the career earnings for Clink Capella?
• 47:24
  SPEAKER_00: Without him being a guy that was highly touted, without him being a guy that had the luxury of being a first overall pick like DeAndre Aiden, he's made$130 million in his NBA career.
• 47:34
  SPEAKER_00: And reminder, his rookie scale deal when he first got to the league,$1 million,$1 million,$1 million,$2 million.
• 47:41
  SPEAKER_00: So his first four years, the man was making no money in comparison to his peers.
• 47:45
  SPEAKER_00: And he still was walking away with a contract of$130 million made.
• 47:51
  SPEAKER_00: I will never understand calling out or trying to do something for a guy like Clink Capella who objectively works harder than you and always have.
• 48:03
  SPEAKER_00: No disrespect to Clinton.
• 48:04
  SPEAKER_00: He's got no distinguishing offensive game.
• 48:09
  SPEAKER_00: Roll to the basket, catch a goddamn lob, sometimes do a little bit of a right-hand hook, but for the most part, I'm a roll, I'm a defend, I'm gonna get paid.
• 48:19
  SPEAKER_00: DeAndre Aiden, he's a talented ball player.
• 48:23
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's why everybody's so disappointed with DeAndre Aiden's production as a former first of all pick.
• 48:28
  SPEAKER_00: Objectively talented.
• 48:29
  SPEAKER_00: He's one of the best finishers at the rim in all the basketball, even to this day.
• 48:32
  SPEAKER_00: He's top three in percentage-wise.
• 48:35
  SPEAKER_00: And still, you won't do the other stuff.
• 48:36
  SPEAKER_00: You won't hit on the roll, you won't hit on the screen and roll well, you won't catch a lob when it when it's thrown to you.
• 48:41
  SPEAKER_00: So to call out a guy like Click Capella, who just had a better career with low expectations, is nuts.
• 48:49
  SPEAKER_00: And I love that Click Capella fought back and said, brother, you got Luca and LeBron on your team.
• 48:56
  SPEAKER_00: Gang, I think that DeAndre Aiden's gonna get a contract next season.
• 48:59
  SPEAKER_00: It's like there's too many teams with money.
• 49:01
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think he's gonna get paid like it's something that he wants, but he's not gonna be out of the league.
• 49:05
  SPEAKER_00: And if he is, oh my God, it's way worse than I even thought.
• 49:07
  SPEAKER_00: He's somebody's gonna give him another contract.
• 49:10
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know how you could feel so entitled after your last team stretched and waived your contract.
• 49:16
  SPEAKER_00: They didn't want you that much.
• 49:17
  SPEAKER_00: They stretched and waived you.
• 49:18
  SPEAKER_00: And the Lakers picked you up and gave you a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity with one of the best ball players in the league, two of the best ball handlers in the league as far as pick and roll goes, and you still are losing minutes to Jackson Hayes, a replacement player who's the last two teams gave up on him.
• 49:34
  SPEAKER_00: Dog, this ain't good.
• 49:37
  SPEAKER_00: This ain't good.
• 49:39
  SPEAKER_00: So, I don't know.
• 49:41
  SPEAKER_00: You can't call out Clink Apella.
• 49:42
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 49:43
  SPEAKER_00: Clink Apella also has had a career where he went to um Houston to play with James, and after he went to Atlanta to play with Trey Young, he's always really maximized because he's had a really good ball handler.
• 49:52
  SPEAKER_00: And right now, you know, the day after he said that, Clink Capella had a very impactful four points, three block game, or something like that, eight points, four blocks, or something.
• 50:01
  SPEAKER_00: And then that same day, DeAndre Aiden had two points.
• 50:05
  SPEAKER_00: How about we, if you if you ended up turning into Clink Capella, what a great career for you.
• 50:11
  SPEAKER_00: What a great career for you.
• 50:13
  SPEAKER_00: And there's nobody in his camp that was like, hey, bro, let's relax.
• 50:19
  SPEAKER_00: I try my best to surround myself with some real people.
• 50:22
  SPEAKER_00: You know how many times the boys have got on my ass over some something stupid I didn't say?
• 50:27
  SPEAKER_00: Nobody in his camp was like, DA, come on, bro.
• 50:30
  SPEAKER_00: Either way, hopefully you enjoyed this episode of Smallball.
• 50:32
  SPEAKER_00: If you did and you're watching on YouTube, be sure to leave it a like.
• 50:35
  SPEAKER_00: If you're watching here on Peacock, tune into the games later tonight and tune in next week at the exact same time because I will be here talking all things hoops.