Latest / The Tailgate Cam Podcast / Nate Smith joins to discuss which NBA Teams are Contenders, Pretenders, and who we just need on League Pass + WNBA Finals and MLB Playoff Updates

Transcript

Nate Smith joins to discuss which NBA Teams are Contenders, Pretenders, and who we just need on League Pass + WNBA Finals and MLB Playoff Updates · The Tailgate Cam Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: On this episode of the Tailgate podcast, we are proud to announce our new sponsor, Def Charts, the most innovative site to track player movements, ratings, where those NFL players stack up on their own teams.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: And they also have some pretty awesome custom team merch.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: I like to think of it as PFF meeting our lads, but with a little bit more depth.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: Check them out at def dash charts dot com or def underscore charts on Twitter and Instagram.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: Games are happening.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: We have a full slate of games today on Wednesday, October 21st.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: We have games last night on October 19th and the 20th.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and it is time to discuss how me and Nate feel about all of the NBA games uh that will be coming our way this season, all of the teams, how they stack up against each other.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: But first, I'm gonna do a quick MLB update as the World Series stage has finally been set, and then I will do a brief WNBA update before we get to our segment with Nate talking all things NBA.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: Let's get to it.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: So in the Major League Baseball playoff race, the Brewers held a three to nothing series lead last Thursday.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: Shohei Otani was focused on a historic comeback.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: In the bottom of the second inning, Otani launched a towering three-run blast to put the Dodgers up four to nothing with their backs up against the wall in an elimination game at home.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: The Brewers would score two runs in the fourth inning, two runs also in the fifth inning, tying the game at four to four before Garrett Mitchell blasted a go-ahead solo shot in the sixth inning, capped off by David Hamilton's solo insurance home run to settle the final score six to four and complete a four-game sweep of the LA Dodgers.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: And the Brewers head to the World Series for the first time since 1982.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: 44 years in the making, 44 years of waiting, and Milwaukee fans finally see a World Series appearance.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: Over in the American League, after losing two of the first three games in the ALCS, the Rays leaned into their strength, and that is their starting pitching.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: They got great starts from Nick Martinez in game four, Drew Rasmussen in game five, and a fabulous closing effort from Freddie Peralta in game six at home in Tampa Bay.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: The Guardians scored 18 runs in the six-game series, while the Rays, in their home league best record, rattled off 25 runs in the six-game series.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: Jake Bowers was named the NLCS MVP, going four for 14, but he had a home run in six RBIs in four games, including the game-winning RBI on Game 3 and the Game tying RBI in Game Four.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: Over in the Rays ALCS series, Freddie Peralta of the Rays was named the MVP due to his one-earned run and 12 innings pitched, including a brief bullpen appearance in game four, which really helped stem the tide of that series and shift things back in the Rays' favor.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: The World Series is officially said to begin on Friday, October the 23rd, game one between the Brewers and the Rays, scheduled to start at 8 p.m.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: Eastern time.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: Currently the Brewers are minus 160 favorites to win the World Series.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: They have two the top two and four of the five best odds on favorites to win the World Series MVP as well, starting with Jackson Churio and William Contreras.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: If it's up to me, I I probably have to lean to towards the Milwaukee Brewers.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: They have been exceptional the entire playoffs.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: They just downed um the Goliath that everybody has reckoned with all season.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: That is the LA Dodgers.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: They eliminated them in swift fashion.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: They also didn't have to expend a lot of energy, much like the Rays did, who played six very stressful games that were very back and forth where the Guardians were taking leads, the Rays were clawing their way back in the series.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: And I think the Brewers have a lineup advantage.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: I think they have a um kind of how are you playing right now advantage, who is in better form at the current moment.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm gonna roll with the Milwaukee Brewers to take the World Series in five games over the Tampa Bay Rays.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: While the Rays are fantastic when they play at the drop in Tampa Bay, they are not as great on the road.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: And I think the fact that the Brewers have home field advantage in this World Series will lend an important role to deciding who lifts the World Series trophy.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: Like I said, World Series Game One will be Friday night, October the 23rd at 8 p.m.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: Eastern.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: So let's put that on our calendars.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: Make sure we come back Friday night for Brewers Rays Game One.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: Over in the WNBA, the finals are well underway.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: We talked about it last week.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: The setup of the finals between the Valkyrie and the Atlanta Dream.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: Having knocked off the Aces and the Liberty in the semifinals, respectively, now it is time to see who can take the crown in the W.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: In game one of the finals Saturday, Gabby Williams led all scorers with 26 points.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: But the story as it has been all season was how great the Valkyrie's defense has been, holding the Dream to just 64 points and eight points in the entire fourth quarter while Golden State took the lead and game one 68 to 64.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: In game two on Monday, the Atlanta Dream sought a bounce back, and Angel Reese made sure it happened with quite an amazing performance.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: Atlanta outscored Golden State by 17 in the second and third quarters combined, and Reese finished the game with 30 points, 16 rebounds, three assists, and two blocks for the Valkyrie to take, or excuse me, for the dream to take game two and even this series up one game apiece.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_00: Game three is tonight, Wednesday, October 21st at 8 p.m.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_00: Eastern time.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: Coming up next, Nate will join the tailgate.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: We will get to all things NBA.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: We will break down who our favorite contenders are, who our most hated pretenders are in some teams that we just want to watch on League Pass this year.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_00: Stick around.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_00: The NBA season is upon us.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: The association is back, and that means Nate Smith is also back in the tailgate.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: Nate, what's up, player?
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_01: What's up, Cam?
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_01: Anytime it's NBA season, you know I'm ready to talk ball.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: We got to talk about the spaulding and the association that the spaulding lives in.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_00: And that means we got to talk about some of these trades, these free agent deals that happened, talk about what these teams look like, and then most importantly, what we think about how these teams are going to shake out.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_00: So obviously, we're not going to go through every team on this episode today.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but where I thought would be a good place to start is just kind of categorizing the NBA teams by how we feel about them heading into the season.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: So naturally, the easiest place to start is five teams that we think have a realistic chance to win the NBA championship this year.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um I'll just let you start.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: You're the guests on the show.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_00: Where would you like to start?
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: Who's the team that you feel pretty confident about in their in their ability to contend whether it's for a conference title or to get to the finals or win the finals?
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'll start off with the Spurs.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_01: Last year coming off a Western Conference Finals NBA Finals appearance, but we saw they ultimately did not have enough to get it done.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_01: They bring back really everybody.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um, really, when you look at Victor Wembinyama as the head of the snakes, so to speak.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, we could talk about him for days, so I'll just say like this it's Victor Wembinyama.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_01: When you have him returning, you have the death the guard and on the wings that they do, as well as the young team that's go with, you know, has really good chemistry.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_01: Adding Tobias Harris, sprinkling that in.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_01: I really like where the Spurs are at.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_01: I expect him to be a very solid contender this year.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_00: With the Spurs, do you have any reservations about their head coach Mitch Johnson?
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: Just given how the finals went, I'm just curious.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_00: You obviously watch a lot of NBA and you you probably have a better feel for like how players feel about their coaches and how teams feel about their coaches.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_00: Do you have any reservations after the finals and after the playoffs about Mitch Johnson?
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_01: I do.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_01: I thought that that was arguably the weakest spot for the Spurs.
• 9:54
  unknown: Yeah.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_01: I think in the finals, too, it was something where we just saw time and time again.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_01: Mike Brown was just running circles and circles around him.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_01: Really, I think you can kind of simplify it down to just being, you know, outclassed from a from an experience perspective.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_01: I think Mitch Johnson will be fine in this league.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_01: He's still got room to grow.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_01: Um, let's hope he grew this all season.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_00: And kind of the other key to that, I mean, a lot of the scrutiny about Mitch Mitch Johnson was related to how De'Aaron Fox played in the playoffs, when they were putting him back in the game, when they took him out of the game.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_00: It felt like every time they subbed De'Aaron Fox in or out, it was like a news story.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: Do you so obviously De'Aaron Fox is back?
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: They still have Dylan Harper and they still have Stefan Castle.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_00: Uh what makes the most sense from like a backcourt rotation for the Spurs?
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_00: Is it is it having De'Aaron Fox be like a six-man, or is it having him kind of kind of be hidden next to you know a castle next to a next to a uh Harper?
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_00: Like, what do you feel like makes the most sense for them?
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_01: I think the perspective has been that Dylan Harper was very much, you know, in that Manu Genobili role.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_01: You know, same, same franchise, six-man coming along, budding star.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um, whether you want to say Ginobili or even how we saw James Hart in his Oklahoma City days.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_01: I think that Dylan Harper is at a more elevated place in his career, still only 20, I think.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_01: And a lot of players in that role.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_01: I think this is something where Dylan Harper has to be a starter.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_01: I don't necessarily think he'll do that.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe that's something we look at they look at midseason.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_01: And typically I really am on the side of you know, tiebreaker goes to the veteran, that's usually the locker room.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_01: I I really do lean that way typically, but I just am as high as possible on Dylan Harper.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_01: You know, whatever you've heard about him, I think that much more.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_01: I I love Dylan Harper.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_01: I think that he would have been a home run number one overall draft pick.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_01: It just so happened that um you know he's in the same class as Cooper Flagg.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_01: I think Dylan Harper's gotta eventually get in the starting lineup.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_01: I know that he's clamoring for it, his camp's clamoring for it.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_01: It's an embarrassment of Richards for San Antonio, and fortunately for them, I think they've got the structure and the chemistry in place to manage and mitigate any potential locker room or chemistry issue that comes from it.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, you mentioned already that they brought back most of their team from the finals run that they had.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: What what, if any, are other than like a major injury to one of their stars, like just play-wise, what do you feel like the actual risks are for the Spurs?
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_00: Or is or is the injury the only risk because of depth?
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_01: As as far as like the biggest risk being Weminyama injury?
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_00: Or or like just to their team success, like whether you know, like if we were to have a conversation about the Spurs in like five months, and let's say maybe they didn't make the playoffs, or maybe they lost in the first round, like what do you think like the biggest contributing factor to them not achieving their goals?
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: Like, what do you think like the biggest risk that the Spurs face this year would be?
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I think it would be length, and and that's not even just about Wimbinyama.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_01: I I just would like to see them with a little bit more length.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_01: That being said, they do have a collection of guards that are that are definitely long, um athletic personal long guards for sure, 100%.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but when you get to you know more of that forward spot, um, especially at at the four spot, I I think they might need a little bit more length.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_01: I'm curious if they're gonna try to maybe make maybe make a trade in season.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I I mean the the story here obviously is Wimby, you know, I think he is right now, I believe he's the favorite for the DPOY and the MVP before the season, which is incredible.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_00: I I can't think of a guy other than maybe like a random Giannis year that recently we've had anybody that was a favorite for both of those awards.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um, obviously they were second in the West last year behind the Thunder.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_00: Um, 62 wins.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_00: They had a great season last year.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: Anything else you want to add about the Spurs before we go to the next team?
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, just one quick note.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_01: It's not a main storyline, but I'm excited about the potential of Jaden Quintus, who they added.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um former Arizona State, former Kentucky guy that almost went to Mizzou, 6'10, over 250, very athletic guy.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_01: Uh we'll see if he can reach his potential.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you mentioned length.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_00: That guy can can feel the need for some length.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_00: He's he's a very long.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: I think like his NBA position will be a four just because of his shooting.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but he definitely satisfies the length need if they if they need extra length on that bench.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um, did not even realize he was on the team.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_00: So that's that's a great call out.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um, the next team that um you want to highlight, you want to go stay in the Western Conference, go to the Eastern Conference.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um, who who is another team that after the Spurs kind of sticks out to you?
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_01: It feels kind of natural to pair them with the Thunder if you want to go there.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um, obviously, Jalen Williams is now fully healthy um and now set up to hopefully repeat for the Thunder.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um, they were the one seed in the West last year.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_00: They edged out the Spurs by two games, um, but obviously fell short of getting back to the finals as they did uh win in 2024-2025.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_00: Basically um overhauled their bench from from top to bottom.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_00: Aaron Wiggins is gone, Isaiah Joe is gone, um, a few other like more minor pieces left this team.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_00: Do you my first question about the Thunder when I was like typing up my list of the contenders that I wanted to discuss?
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_00: Do you feel like you have any long-term worries about Chet or the the playoff struggles last year were circumstance or maybe just an aberration?
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_01: For me, it's for me, it's mostly circumstance.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_01: I I could nitpick here and there the same way I could for any player.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_01: I think that Chet was simply just a victim victim of circumstance going against women yama.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_00: No, that's fair.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and with Jalen Williams healthy, I guess the big question is do you think the Thunder or the Spurs are set up better to get back to the to the Western Conference Finals?
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_00: Not to the finals, just to get back to the Western Conference Finals.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_01: I I guess I can say the Thunder.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_01: It's sort of 50-50 for me, uh, with the Thunder having the sour taste in their mouth and maybe possibly being a little hungry, or you could you could argue that either way.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_01: I'll say the Thunder though.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_01: I like the way they've kind of rounded out the roster a little bit better than the Spurs.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_01: It's not to say I dislike the Spurs roster, but I do want to highlight something with the Thunder.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um for me, I was clamoring for this for them to have the exact offseason they did.
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_01: This is no disrespect to Lou Dort, Isaiah Joe, or Aaron Wiggins.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_01: Those are good players.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_01: With the level of debt, versatility and skill that the Thunder have, those are not the type of players that they need.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_01: They were just a luxury.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um it became something where they were getting into the second apron significant financial penalties if they kept those guys.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_01: But they've got capable guys behind them.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_01: Casen Wallace, Jeremy Kane, A.J.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_01: Missell, AJ Mitchell, Alex Caruso, on and on.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_01: Those are all good guys, but it's pretty much an event role.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_01: Why not just elevate those guys, trim some of the fat, so to speak, um, and find good NBA homes and get assets in return for guys like Doris Joe and Wiggins.
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_01: That is exactly what the Thunder did.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_01: They found good trade partners with uh the Hawks and uh let's see the Pistons.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_01: Jason Wallace is for me one of the most underrated players in the NBA.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_01: I think he's gonna be the finish runner-up and most improved player.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_01: Jeremy McCain, AJ Mitchell, those were guys, I mean they were sort of household names by now, but they would be prominent household names if they were featured in like prime roles on the Kings or something like that, for example.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_01: These are guys that are you know just an absolute, an absolute luxury, not not just depth-wise like the other guys, but an absolute luxury to fill in your roster around stars like the Thunder have with J Dub, like you mentioned, fully healthy, SGA, Chet, Hardenstein.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, this is just an ideal roster build.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you gotta give all the kudos in the world to Sam Preste.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and he's really set them up to make another Western Conference Finals and NBA Finals run.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_00: Do you if you were to this is kind of putting you on the spot, but if if you had to pick between the starting five, just between the Spurs and the Thunder, who do you think starting five is is better equipped to win a best of seven series against the other one?
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_00: It's tough because they're both so good.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_01: So Thunder was on the tip of my tongue because I thought you were gonna say, you know, a contender from the east.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_01: But then I pause.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_01: I think I still have to go with spurves.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_01: Siri is a shifter.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_01: But otherwise, I I might answer that thunder in other in another scenario.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, that's fair.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um anything else about the thunder you you you want to mention or that that you uh want to highlight about them?
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I talked about a young guy in the Spurs, so I might as well do the same with the Thunder.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_01: Um hit kind of a trio um real quick.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_01: Um, or actually four players Nikola Topic, Thomas Sorber, um Ade Mara, and uh I'm probably gonna botch his name and I shouldn't because I love him, but um Otego Owa Oway.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, he's gonna be more of a developmental guy.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um possibly the same with Mara, but those are the types where you're gonna look back in two years and be like, wait, how did the Thunder get these guys?
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um, guys that would eventually will grow into those prominent roles that guys like Casey Wallace, Jared McCain, AJ Mitchell play now.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm excited to see what the Thunder do, and those guys get that elevated opportunity because of guys like Dorrit Joe and Wiggins going elsewhere.
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_00: I actually was uh listening to the Ringer NBA show the other day, and they were hyping up a day Mara, and I was unfamiliar with this man.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_00: I did a quick Google at the at the next red light and saw this man playing for the Spanish national team, and I was like, okay, they might have another one.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_00: Like, how did that guy end up on the thunder?
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_00: And as opposed to any other team where he could start or have like a bigger bench roll, but of course he's on the thunder, just a skilled big man that can dribble and move around real well.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_01: Of course, the thunderhead exactly that what you just said, the closest thing to a hypothetical women Yama stopper falls to them at pick 13 or whatever.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_01: I think you know the 29 fan base is just collectively roll their eyes.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_00: Like it's insane.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um, the the next team that I kind of want to pivot to, we'll just stay in the west before we go over to the east is the Denver Nuggets.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_00: Um, the two the two main things that I I feel like I wanted to put them into this conversation.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_00: One, it does just the NBA is kind of like this, and really sports in general are are more and more like this.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_00: Society as a whole is like this.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_00: Really, what have you done for me lately?
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_00: And I just feel like people have already forgotten how amazing Nikola Jokic is.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_00: I was driving the train of hating on Nikola Jokic, especially when he beat my heat in the finals.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but I've come I've fully come around to appreciating what he does.
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I my my first question for the for you is really.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: Where where does Jokic sit in in the history books of the NBA?
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_00: Like his skill, like his size, the way he can pass the ball at his position and size.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_00: Like it like when you think of Nikola Jokic in in today's landscape when you have so many like athletic specimens, guys that have been playing AAU forever, and then you have this chubby Serbian that rides horses all day.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I'm just I'm just like blown away by this guy.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_00: Like the more that I've removed myself from hating him.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_00: I'm just curious, like, how do you feel like Jokic will be remembered when it's all said and done?
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_00: I know he's not like about to retire, but it just it's kind of an interesting, like, singular case of of a character in the NBA.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I like that you said character.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_01: He he certainly is.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_01: I think for me, he's probably already approaching top 15 ever.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_01: Honestly.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_01: When I think about my guys that are, you know, 10, 11, 12 for me, um, I don't have to list in front of me, but people such as your Duncan-ish and Shaq-ish, you know, I think he's approaching that tier.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_01: I think I think he's really close to there, and really the only thing missing is not something he has to add to his game, but it's just a few more seasons of keeping this pace up.
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_01: So for me, he's right there.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_01: I think he'll end up as a top 10 all-time player.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_00: Um, the the move that I I think really caught my eye, just kind of looking at some of these, you know, better teams in the West and in the East was the fact that they brought in not only Marvin Bagley, but DeMar DeRozan.
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_00: And DeMar De the Nuggets' big issue for the last two years has been an inability to spell Jokic when he's off the court.
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_00: They're their plus-minus when he's off the court.
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, when you take any great player off the court, your plus-minus is always going to go down, um, unless you're the Thunder uh from last year.
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but when you take Jokic off the court, their plus-minus significantly drops off on offense and defense from an efficiency standpoint as well.
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I think DeMar DeRozan does fix a lot of that.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_00: I think he is a guy that can create his own shots, he can create shots for other people on their bench, and not to like shame Peyton Watson.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_00: I think Peyton Watson is a you know a very better than bad NBA player.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but I think DeMar DeRozan offers much more upside for one year than Peyton Watson does um on their bench.
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_00: So I I just really like that fit.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_00: Um and any thoughts that you have about the Nuggets heading into the season?
• 24:39
  SPEAKER_00: Do you feel like they could be uh a contender?
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um where where do you kind of have them layered out in in the Western Conference?
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, this is interesting.
• 24:50
  SPEAKER_01: So I feel like one team, there's one team per season that you and I usually disagree on, but we're pretty locked in for the most part.
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_01: I think this might be that team this year.
• 24:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um I I second everything you said about Joke Jokic, no questions there.
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um in a vacuum I like DeRozan.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_01: But to your point about the non-Jokic minutes, I'm just trying to visualize how DeRozan creates if he is gonna be one of the primary ball handlers and how smooth of a fit that's gonna be.
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_01: The thing I like that they did last year is kind of stagger Jamal Murray and still let him do that a lot.
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_01: I I'm open, I'm open to uh moving in your direction, with my opinion, but I'm a little bit more skeptical.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_01: I think I questioned some of the defensive ability too.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_01: The uh playoff series versus the timber wolves really woke me up to that.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, you look at guys like Aaron Gordon, Cameron Johnson, I mean above average defenders, but I think collectively uh they're missing something.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_01: They they've never really had that run protection that is the weakness of Jokic's game.
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_01: He'll be in the right place, but he's not physically imposing.
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_01: I do worry about health just from the standpoint of they're that that type of team that if just one starter goes down, all of a sudden the the depth doesn't really slide in the right way and things things can get kind of shaky.
• 26:07
  SPEAKER_01: But they could really uh benefit from a a boost from Julian Strawberry, Spencer Jones, some end-of-the-bench guys like that.
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_01: If they can get growth from them, um and even Travon Brazil, that could really help them.
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_01: I have no question about them in the regular season.
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_01: These are more geared towards their overall ceiling in the playoffs.
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_00: Completely forgot that they had Travon Brazil too.
• 26:26
  SPEAKER_00: What a weird college career.
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_01: These rookie references I'm dropping.
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_00: What a crazy college career that that guy had.
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um, yeah, no, that's that's fair.
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_00: I could I could I could definitely see the the the scenario where one their depth gets questioned or depth gets tested, especially given the injury history that Jamal Murray has.
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_00: It seems like every year he's gonna miss 15 games.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_00: It just doesn't matter of what month that those games fall in.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um but on on the scenario that he surpasses that somewhat, maybe he misses 10 games this year.
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_00: I do think that they have an ability to be an elite, elite offensive team from a floor spacing perspective, from a pace perspective.
• 27:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and now that they don't have Mike Malone there, and I I think that that just started to kind of weigh down on what the Nuggets were doing.
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and the relationship between him and Jokic got a bit strained.
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_00: So that's that's really kind of where I'll leave that.
• 27:26
  SPEAKER_00: Anything else you want to add about the Nuggets before we go to the Eastern Conference?
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_01: DeMont Murray with a career high 25.4 points per game last year.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, that was a four four-point increase from his previous career high.
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_00: That's pretty good.
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_00: That's pretty good.
• 27:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um, let's transition over to the Eastern Conference.
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_00: We might as well start with the Eastern Conference team that everybody wants to talk about.
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_00: No, I'm just kidding.
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_00: We're not starting with the Sixers.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_00: Let's start with the Knicks, the team that won the NBA title last year.
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_00: They deserve to go first in the East.
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_00: Uh last year, obviously, Jalen Brunson put the entire city of New York on his back.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_00: What do you think the follow-up to that looks like from a physical perspective and also just what Mike Brown is going to ask of Jalen Brunson during the regular season?
• 28:21
  SPEAKER_01: I think regular season-wise, we definitely see somewhat of an NBA finals hangover.
• 28:25
  SPEAKER_01: But really, I think that just looks like maybe a few more games, um, you know, missed.
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I know there's the no anti there's the anti-tanking rules now, but a little rest.
• 28:34
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, maybe ease off a little bit on the gas pedal with the minutes.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_01: Something Tom Thibodeau wouldn't have done, but Mike Brown probably probably will do.
• 28:43
  SPEAKER_01: You know, more a little bit more um mindful of that type of thing.
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_01: So I think that's really the main thing.
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_01: But the Knicks, they've still got a great roster, they've got great chemistry.
• 28:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um, the only personnel thing that I'm really worried about is I think the loss of Mitchell Robinson was a lot bigger than a lot of people want to give it credit for on paper, and Andre Drummond replaces him.
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_01: But on paper, I I'm not sure if that's gonna end up working quite as well, but that's gonna be what I'm excited to look for.
• 29:10
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, that that's a great that's a great call out.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um other than Mitchell Robinson, essentially they bring back their entire roster.
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_00: OG and Anobi's back, uh as well as um I'm blanking on our guy's name from Villanova, the one of the Villanova guys, the guy Josh Hart.
• 29:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, sorry.
• 29:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um Josh Hart is back.
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_00: Um pretty much their whole bench is back, other than, like you said, Mitchell Robinson.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_00: Do you think it's realistic for Knicks fans to expect to be in the finals again?
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_00: Or is that is that unrealistic given really like the perfect storm that kind of happened last year and the run that Jalen went on?
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_00: Or would you say that it's realistic given the depth of the team that they and the experience that they could make it back to the finals again?
• 30:07
  SPEAKER_01: I I think it's realistic.
• 30:09
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think it's guaranteed.
• 30:11
  SPEAKER_01: And I don't think uh Knicks fans would would probably um give two cents to what you or I said because they would say they would say Nixon 4, maybe.
• 30:18
  SPEAKER_01: But um hey, I think they've got a great chance to get back there again.
• 30:22
  SPEAKER_01: You know, like like I said, the only personnel thing I'm really keeping an eye on is that back of center spot.
• 30:27
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's more about you know some of these other teams that will get you here and how much of a threat they are this year.
• 30:33
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 30:34
  SPEAKER_00: No, that that that's perfectly fair.
• 30:36
  SPEAKER_00: Um I'm just kind of looking over their roster right now.
• 30:40
  SPEAKER_00: I the other little note that I was gonna point out uh when I was putting the list of these teams together today is I saw a very familiar name at the very bottom of the Knicks 15-man roster.
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_00: A former top pick out of the University of Memphis, James Wiseman.
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_00: Can you believe that?
• 31:02
  SPEAKER_01: I wasn't I hesitated, wasn't sure if I should bring him up in the in the center spot.
• 31:07
  SPEAKER_01: I wasn't sure how how uh how sticky that is, but I I like it, I guess.
• 31:12
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't realize he even got he played in four games last year.
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_00: It must have been at the end of the season for the Pacers.
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_00: Did not realize he even played in the NBA last year.
• 31:20
  SPEAKER_00: He played in one game for five minutes the year before.
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_00: So essentially that guy has not played in the NBA since 2023.
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_00: And then I see him on the reigning champs roster.
• 31:32
  SPEAKER_00: Now, if there was a way, I'm just I'm just throwing this out there for all the crazy Knicks fans.
• 31:38
  SPEAKER_00: If there was a way for Mike Brown to replace Mitchell Robinson, wouldn't it be crazy if he found a way to turn James Wiseman into that replacement?
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_00: Just listen, young man, all we need you to do is run, get rebounds, get blocks, and be good energy for 15 minutes off the bench.
• 31:59
  SPEAKER_00: Can you do that?
• 32:00
  SPEAKER_00: If the answer is yes, that guy looks like an awesome addition to the bottom of that that roster.
• 32:06
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, I just I just felt like that was worth mentioning given his physical skills um and the fact that he was the second pick of the draft six years ago.
• 32:15
  SPEAKER_00: So pretty pretty crazy there.
• 32:18
  SPEAKER_00: Anything else about the Knicks?
• 32:19
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 32:20
  SPEAKER_00: Anything else about the Knicks before we go uh to our other East contender that we want to talk about?
• 32:26
  SPEAKER_01: Shout out to Mizoo legend Jordan Clarkson, dude.
• 32:30
  SPEAKER_00: Jordan Clarkson, not enough love, I don't feel like uh during that finals run, specifically in game six.
• 32:39
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like he made a lot of big shots.
• 32:42
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, always a shout out to our guy, Jordan Clarkson.
• 32:45
  SPEAKER_00: That guy's been a walking bucket ever since he got into the NBA.
• 32:49
  SPEAKER_00: Um shout out shout out to Jordan Clarkson um and Frank Haith while we're at it.
• 32:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um let's let's go to the to the actual team that hogged all of the storylines in the offseason.
• 33:02
  SPEAKER_00: That is the Philadelphia 76ers.
• 33:05
  SPEAKER_00: So they really captivated the the news cycle with two major moves.
• 33:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um, the first one being that they traded Paul George to the Boston Celtics in exchange for former finals MVP, former all um NBA player Jalen Brown.
• 33:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um they also return um VJ Edgecombe, Tyrese Maxie, um, obviously Joel Embiid, and then they really sort of uh stole the thunder of the offseason when LeBron decided to take his talents to the the town that Benjamin Franklin built, and now LeBron James is in the Philadelphia 76ers starting lineup.
• 33:50
  SPEAKER_00: What do you make of what what this team could be?
• 33:54
  SPEAKER_00: Like is it like super high ceiling, super low floor if things go bad?
• 34:01
  SPEAKER_00: Is it just they're gonna win 50 games and lose in the first round?
• 34:05
  SPEAKER_00: Like, what what do you make of all of these guys being on one team?
• 34:11
  SPEAKER_01: It's definitely got the wow factor.
• 34:13
  SPEAKER_01: I think that was my reaction, A, for the Jalen Brown trade, and then B for the LeBron James signing to follow.
• 34:20
  SPEAKER_01: I do think it'll take a little bit of time for them to gel and really become you know a cohesive unit.
• 34:24
  SPEAKER_01: But I think that's to be expected when you have a team with this many stars, specifically the ones that have as high usage rates as they do.
• 34:32
  SPEAKER_01: But one thing that always remains consistent with LeBron teams, they do eventually gel, even if it's a completely new cast, they do eventually gel.
• 34:39
  SPEAKER_01: I expect that to be the same thing that happens in this case.
• 34:43
  SPEAKER_01: I did not like Joel and B's quote uh last week about being anti-sacrifice.
• 34:47
  SPEAKER_01: I thought that was just the opposite of what you want to say.
• 34:51
  SPEAKER_01: But that's that aside, I I think it's one of those things where they have enough talent.
• 34:56
  SPEAKER_01: In basketball, typically, if you get all the talent in the room, that's gonna eventually win out or at least be right there.
• 35:02
  SPEAKER_01: I think the Sixers will start maybe a little maybe a little shaky here and there in a couple ways.
• 35:10
  SPEAKER_01: But quick sooner than later, I think they'll they'll really get to that high level and start playing like an elite team and be a be a true and be a final threat.
• 35:18
  SPEAKER_00: It is it is pretty remarkable too because typically when you see this many stars on a team, you would expect the bench to be pretty, pretty, pretty spare, but they have some actual players on this bench.
• 35:31
  SPEAKER_00: First off, Dean Wade and Anthony Simons, really good bench players.
• 35:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um, they also have Justin Edwards, Dean Boma, um, Caleb Love, who is a guard that I really liked.
• 35:43
  SPEAKER_00: He played at North Carolina, then transferred to Arizona.
• 35:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then they also have Jabari Walker.
• 35:49
  SPEAKER_00: Like they they just have a lot of different guys on their bench.
• 35:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and the other thing that I and KCP, sorry, I didn't mention KCP.
• 35:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um, the other thing that I I like about this roster, when I was thinking about who I would pick to be in the finals, so much of me was like, ah, they they it can't be the Sixers.
• 36:08
  SPEAKER_00: Like it feels too obvious.
• 36:10
  SPEAKER_00: But when I when you look at this roster, like let's let's say Embiid gets hurt and he misses two weeks in the middle of the season, which he will.
• 36:19
  SPEAKER_00: There's plenty of guys that can pick up the pick up the pace, whether it's Jalen Brown, whether it's expanding Edgecombe's role, whether it's asking more of Tyrese Maxie, all of these are guys that have been the guy for a night or a week or a month already in their career.
• 36:36
  SPEAKER_00: My biggest concern, and I'm curious what you think about this.
• 36:40
  SPEAKER_00: My biggest concern about this team is how much Jalen Brown buys into this.
• 36:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 36:47
  SPEAKER_00: I get what you're saying, I get what you're saying about Embiid.
• 36:50
  SPEAKER_00: I I get I get the hesitation there.
• 36:53
  SPEAKER_00: And my concern with him really just is on his injury front.
• 36:57
  SPEAKER_00: My concern about this working, though, is all about Jalen Brown.
• 37:02
  SPEAKER_00: He he didn't like playing with one other star next to him.
• 37:06
  SPEAKER_00: I I don't I don't know that he's gonna like playing with really two, three other stars if we're gonna lump Vijay Edgecombe into that.
• 37:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and that's exactly why I have such an issue with Embiid's quote.
• 37:19
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, there just obviously has to be sacrifice, you know, from Jalen Brown, from Embiid, from all of them.
• 37:24
  SPEAKER_01: I think Jalen Brown, you know, benefits from the fresh start here.
• 37:28
  SPEAKER_01: Things got a little bit sour in Boston.
• 37:30
  SPEAKER_01: You know, they they may have been sour for a while and they were just managing it, so the fresh start is really gonna go a long way for him.
• 37:36
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, after that fresh start really wears off, you know, how is he feeling about the usage rate?
• 37:40
  SPEAKER_01: I I have that same type of concern as you.
• 37:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um Jalen Brown, he's a cerebral player, he's a really, really, really smart guy.
• 37:47
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it's not like a selfish thing.
• 37:50
  SPEAKER_01: I think he's that confident and has that much belief in his own ability.
• 37:55
  SPEAKER_01: Um it is definitely something where he's gonna need to sacrifice, though.
• 37:59
  SPEAKER_01: DJ Edgecombe probably needs to sacrifice the most, which will probably harm his development.
• 38:05
  SPEAKER_01: So he's back to the point about overall sacrificing.
• 38:08
  SPEAKER_01: That's why it's such a really lack of self-awareness, what indeed said about being anti-sacrifice, because that's the only way this team is gonna win is doable.
• 38:19
  SPEAKER_01: But that's a must if they want to win.
• 38:21
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, for sure.
• 38:23
  SPEAKER_00: Um anything else you want to add about the Sixers before we move on?
• 38:31
  SPEAKER_00: Or any other contenders you want to highlight.
• 38:39
  SPEAKER_01: Since I'm a Lakers fan, I gotta interview it very quickly.
• 38:43
  SPEAKER_01: Now, a lot of people didn't like the Lakers offseason.
• 38:46
  SPEAKER_01: Losing the Braun, obviously, that's you know, that's not good, but I think the way they kind of crafted this team with their additions um are gonna fit around Luca and Austin and really finally move into morph into that Lucas team identity that JJ Reddick um has been chasing for the last year or two.
• 39:03
  SPEAKER_01: So losing the Braun, yes, that's that's gonna be a step back.
• 39:07
  SPEAKER_01: But the Lakers hope is that it's one step back to take two steps forward.
• 39:12
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm really big, I think we talked about this before, the Walker Walker Kessler edition.
• 39:17
  SPEAKER_01: They gave up a lot.
• 39:18
  SPEAKER_01: So let's throw that out there because if you think about that, you're gonna worry as a fan.
• 39:22
  SPEAKER_01: But I think it's a perfect fit for what the Lakers want to do.
• 39:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um I'm just ready to see Snowtime.
• 39:33
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, between Luca, Walker Kessler, I mean, even like obviously Austin Reeves, but like you start going down the list, Jake LaRavia, Sandro, I mean, there's some white guys that know how to put the ball in the bucket on the Los Angeles Lakers roster.
• 39:54
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, if it doesn't work out and they like don't they don't make a run, they're gonna they're gonna get some slack for that.
• 40:01
  SPEAKER_00: But if it does work out, we've seen it happen with the Celtics, where they basically ran a season with one non-white guy in their permanent lineup, and it was Jalen Brown.
• 40:13
  SPEAKER_00: Worked out pretty well.
• 40:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um I'm just I'm I'm I like the Walker Kessler fit with Luca.
• 40:21
  SPEAKER_00: I think it makes so much sense, such a vast improvement over having him run pick and rolls with DeAndre Ayton.
• 40:30
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it's not even not even close to the the level of um you know actual true finish and true creativity at the rim that you'll get with Walker Kessler and just the physicality.
• 40:45
  SPEAKER_00: Like Aiden might weigh more than Walker Kessler.
• 40:48
  SPEAKER_00: I don't have their weights in front of me, but they don't play like they're weighed the same.
• 40:53
  SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
• 40:54
  SPEAKER_00: Like Walker Kessler is a fit for a guy that can shoot.
• 40:57
  SPEAKER_00: When he was at Auburn, he was a very physical player.
• 41:00
  SPEAKER_00: I like that fit of them two next to each other.
• 41:04
  SPEAKER_00: I'm just curious about how everything else fits next to them.
• 41:08
  SPEAKER_00: You know, obviously Austin Reeves will get his.
• 41:11
  SPEAKER_00: I I'm really curious like how the other guys step up and fill some of the void uh that LeBron left, um, especially like from a leadership perspective.
• 41:22
  SPEAKER_00: You know, like does JJ take more of that on himself as the head coach?
• 41:27
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, or does Luca take that on uh himself?
• 41:30
  SPEAKER_00: You know, that's really where a lot of my questions about the Lakers uh from a long game come in.
• 41:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but I I like the creativity that they have here.
• 41:40
  SPEAKER_00: I like it feels like they have a better uh attack approach to be able to kind of outlast defenses night in and night out with this team, much more so than they had last year.
• 41:53
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, Luca was hurt for a large stretch, but even given that fact, you know, the fact that you know Jared Vanderbilt should be healthy.
• 42:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um I like the possibility that you get like a buy buy low high reward in Matisse Thaible.
• 42:09
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, like there's just there's just some interesting pieces here that if it works, it could really, really work.
• 42:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but I think again, on offense, I think that they could be really good on offense.
• 42:21
  SPEAKER_00: It's just a matter of to me, like if they're good enough on defense and they have enough buy-in on that side of the floor for them to be like a really good team.
• 42:30
  SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
• 42:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, definitely.
• 42:33
  SPEAKER_01: And and I think uh you mentioned it, the Sandro um acquisition.
• 42:37
  SPEAKER_01: Um I mean that that's gonna go a long way.
• 42:39
  SPEAKER_01: I think he's one of the more underrated players in the NBA.
• 42:42
  SPEAKER_01: Also, as the ball handler, a lot of people don't realize he can uh kind of be that secondary ball handler in a lot of lineups.
• 42:47
  SPEAKER_01: One thing I want to watch for as the year goes on, we may not see as big an impact at first, but the development of and the playing time of rookie Cameron Carr.
• 42:55
  SPEAKER_01: Um, shout out to guys named Cameron C.
• 42:58
  SPEAKER_01: And then as as well, um Adun Thierry Drafted last year in the second round, thousand injuries.
• 43:06
  SPEAKER_01: Really, really hyper athletic win.
• 43:08
  SPEAKER_01: I'm really anxious to see what he and Carr can contribute, and the higher their ceiling goes, the higher the Lakers' ceiling goes.
• 43:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, I like it, like I said, I I am pretty firmly of the belief that their offense will be good.
• 43:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um, obviously in our fantasy basketball league, I I drafted Walker Kessler myself.
• 43:30
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I think that the Lakers offense can be can be very formidable.
• 43:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it it just and it's really like starts with Luca.
• 43:38
  SPEAKER_00: Like I need to see consistent defensive effort from him.
• 43:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but I think the potential is obviously there.
• 43:44
  SPEAKER_00: Let's talk about some teams where we may not love their potential, though.
• 43:50
  SPEAKER_00: So let's we talked about some contenders that we liked.
• 43:53
  SPEAKER_00: We went through six teams there.
• 43:55
  SPEAKER_00: Let's go through some teams that we think are more on the pretender side of this.
• 43:59
  SPEAKER_00: So again, I'll let you go first.
• 44:01
  SPEAKER_00: Who is a team that you think may have a good record, but you do not believe that they are legitimate contenders this year.
• 44:11
  SPEAKER_01: I'll start off with the Rockets.
• 44:14
  SPEAKER_01: And when you look at their record at the end of the year, it's gonna be good.
• 44:18
  SPEAKER_01: You know, they'll be the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, somewhere in that range.
• 44:22
  SPEAKER_01: That's where I expect them to slot in as a Western Conference seed.
• 44:26
  SPEAKER_01: I think the individual pieces for them are greater than the collective sum, meaning that I'm I'm really questioning kind of the fit overall.
• 44:34
  SPEAKER_01: We saw a lot of times last year, um, and I'm not even referencing the hilarious KD Twitter thing.
• 44:40
  SPEAKER_01: Specifically on court, we saw a couple of cracks in chemistry.
• 44:45
  SPEAKER_01: KD and um Alper and Shangoon, I think, are both at their best when the other one is off the court.
• 44:54
  SPEAKER_01: And one of the easiest crop bats last year was when one sat the other one was gonna hit their PRA for sure.
• 45:00
  SPEAKER_01: It happened time and time again.
• 45:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um and then in the playoffs too.
• 45:06
  SPEAKER_01: I just I just have questions.
• 45:07
  SPEAKER_01: Shen Goon did have some playoffs some good playoff games, but I I just have questions there.
• 45:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um I will say I do think they get a big boost uh with a veteran presence and all and also just you know the actual skill set uh Fred Van Fleet returning um and the big Kiwi, Steven Adams.
• 45:23
  SPEAKER_01: Those are guys that can be you know very effective sixth and seventh, and they really do need those type of um at this stage in their career, you know, they're I don't want to say glue guys, but they can sort of play that role.
• 45:34
  SPEAKER_01: That'll help this team a lot.
• 45:36
  SPEAKER_01: I love a guy like an Amin Thompson too.
• 45:39
  SPEAKER_01: But again, Amon Thompson, Alper and Shangun, how does that really fit together?
• 45:44
  SPEAKER_01: Does that fit that well with KD?
• 45:46
  SPEAKER_01: That's enough talent to be a great regular season team.
• 45:49
  SPEAKER_01: I just have questions when it comes to the playoffs.
• 45:51
  SPEAKER_01: We saw last year, first round they got swept by Ron in the backups or five games, but I I think they have questions on that roster still.
• 46:00
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, you you said something earlier when we were talking about the Sixers that typically when you put enough talent together, things work out.
• 46:08
  SPEAKER_00: And typically the NBA is not a young man's league.
• 46:13
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's much more like you need the stars, the the known assets, the known veterans, and then you get the contributions, you know, especially in the playoff times, you have shorter benches, shorter rotations.
• 46:27
  SPEAKER_00: Some teams play seven, maybe eight guys in in the finals or in the Western or the conference finals um when when they're that competitive of a series.
• 46:37
  SPEAKER_00: My question about the Rockets, I have two questions.
• 46:40
  SPEAKER_00: The first one is is the young core, meaning like Amin Thompson, Sangoon, Jabari Smith, you know, Reed Shepard, are are those guys are they capable of not being young players?
• 46:54
  SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
• 46:55
  SPEAKER_00: Like those guys are all guys that I would say that I like a lot of qualities about their game, but are they guys that if if they were to go on a run, let's say they win a playoff series, are is that group of guys ready to carry that, or is that just oh KD went off?
• 47:16
  SPEAKER_01: I think that with Amon Thompson, there could be levels to his game that we're not even anticipating yet.
• 47:22
  SPEAKER_01: And I say that as a guy who's very high in Amon Thompson on both wins, really.
• 47:26
  SPEAKER_01: I think that, you know, I mean his ceiling could be limitless, really.
• 47:30
  SPEAKER_01: So as that develops, you know, I may have to eventually walk this take back.
• 47:34
  SPEAKER_01: And I I hope I do.
• 47:36
  SPEAKER_01: I'm I'm a huge Amin Thompson fan.
• 47:38
  SPEAKER_01: I would love to see him really hit that next level.
• 47:40
  SPEAKER_01: For me, that would involve you know becoming a more efficient shooter and and more of a more of a guy the defenses perceive as a shooting threat, not just the stat itself, but you've got to have that gravity where if they kick it to you for three, you can't have the defenses just waving them off and say, let's go for the rebound.
• 47:56
  SPEAKER_01: You you want someone actually closing out.
• 47:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um that's how you're gonna make your your offense you know really run, run smoothly.
• 48:02
  SPEAKER_01: So I'd like to see that from Amin, but he's already far ahead of schedule.
• 48:08
  SPEAKER_01: He's already an awesome player.
• 48:10
  SPEAKER_01: For Shangun, I think just stylistically, um, despite his his great ability, I think stylistically I have some questions.
• 48:18
  SPEAKER_01: I certainly don't trust him to guard the rim, and he's not a guy that's gonna play the four.
• 48:23
  SPEAKER_01: So that that really just you know the the Nuggets have that problem with Jokic, but they get over it by Jokic being Jokic by being a you know a future top ten all-time player.
• 48:35
  SPEAKER_01: They call Shingoon Baby Jokic, but it's again, it's baby yokic for a reason.
• 48:40
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think he's quite to that level.
• 48:42
  SPEAKER_00: My my last question about the Rockets is you you already kind of touched on this too, with some of the locker room concerns last year.
• 48:51
  SPEAKER_00: Do you think that having a guy like KD at this stage of his career, um, as he likes to be known as Easy Money Sniper, do you think that Easy Money Sniper is a good locker room cohabitant with that many young star, you know, star role players, developmental people, like whatever you want to call them?
• 49:16
  SPEAKER_00: Is he is he a positive or a negative to those guys?
• 49:20
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm not like slandering KD.
• 49:22
  SPEAKER_00: I'm just like that's a basketball question, like how much he has the ball on his hand, but also like is it good for them that he's on their team again?
• 49:34
  SPEAKER_01: That's a that's a great question.
• 49:36
  SPEAKER_01: I I don't want to say he's negative, but I think that for that level of star at this stage in his career, you would ideally want more leadership out of him.
• 49:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um but that's we kind of knew that about Katie going in.
• 49:48
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, he's that's that's never really been his bag.
• 49:51
  SPEAKER_01: He is just you know, by definition, a pure hooper.
• 49:54
  SPEAKER_01: And there's really nothing wrong with that.
• 49:56
  SPEAKER_01: He's gonna end up being one of the best players of all time.
• 49:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um I think that that's an area where where he falls a little bit short, and then that's really just who he is.
• 50:06
  SPEAKER_01: They do have some good leadership though in place as far as that guy's coming back with Fred Ban Fleet, um, NBA champion for a band fleet, Steven Adams.
• 50:13
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, I I don't think KD is quite making the same impact on some younger guys the same way you know a LeBron would, but it's different for each star, I guess.
• 50:23
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 50:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um, another team in the West that I I they're kind of in a different category, but I feel like they still kind of qualify for this this grouping that we have right here for pretenders, and that's the Golden State Warriors.
• 50:38
  SPEAKER_00: And I promise I do not mean this to be slanderous at all, but father time comes for every one of us eventually.
• 50:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um I I am curious.
• 50:49
  SPEAKER_00: My my real question about this is this the last time we see Steph Curry on a competitive roster barring a trade.
• 51:02
  SPEAKER_00: Because I don't think they're ever gonna trade him.
• 51:04
  SPEAKER_00: That's just my I think that that man plays for that team his whole career and that's it.
• 51:10
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, maybe that changes this year or next year, but do you think this is the last time that he is on a competitive roster?
• 51:20
  SPEAKER_01: I think we might have already seen the last time.
• 51:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 51:23
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 51:24
  SPEAKER_01: I I don't trust this team at all.
• 51:26
  SPEAKER_01: Um I mean, on paper, and and that paper specifically is gonna be um a disc insert for NBA 2K18.
• 51:36
  SPEAKER_01: On paper, this is great.
• 51:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um they've got the name value, the star value, but yeah, you can you just can't count on guys like Corzingis, Horford.
• 51:44
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, Jimmy Butler's already hurt.
• 51:45
  SPEAKER_01: We love Jimmy, but already hurt um from dating back to last year and he'll be back mid-year, but Draymond's not the same Draymond as he used to be.
• 51:55
  SPEAKER_01: And something that really plagues this team is that they're not gonna be able to get over.
• 51:59
  SPEAKER_01: When they had when they were still near their peak and they had those draft picks, James Wiseman, Moses Moody, Jonathan Kaminga.
• 52:07
  SPEAKER_01: Uh Moses Moody's turned out good, but I believe he's hurt too, and overall they have largely nothing to show for it.
• 52:13
  SPEAKER_01: So that prohibited them from really extending their championship window and and the shelf life of these Curry teams.
• 52:18
  SPEAKER_01: So I think that's gonna come crashing down sooner than later.
• 52:22
  SPEAKER_01: Uh want to see Curry go out with dignity.
• 52:24
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe they build something next year where they're okay.
• 52:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 52:28
  unknown: Right.
• 52:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that this the ship has sailed with this team.
• 52:31
  SPEAKER_00: See, Nate, I I knew if I brought up James Wiseman, we'd bring it back full circle somehow.
• 52:38
  SPEAKER_00: You'd get me back to the landing page, you would find me a way back home.
• 52:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um, let's let's move over to the Eastern Conference and talk about some teams that we think, again, could have good records, but maybe will disappoint or be below a little bit of what their expectations are.
• 52:56
  SPEAKER_00: So, who's the next team you kind of want to highlight in that in that category?
• 53:04
  SPEAKER_01: Let's start with the Cavs.
• 53:07
  SPEAKER_00: So the Cavs, they have a lot of roster continuity.
• 53:11
  SPEAKER_00: Kind of the theme of some of these contenders that we've already talked about, besides the 76ers, um, Harden, Mitchell, uh, Allen, Mobley, all back.
• 53:23
  SPEAKER_00: Um what like given that?
• 53:26
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, this is like one of the most expensive Cavalier teams ever.
• 53:31
  SPEAKER_00: Um one of the most invested in their roster given the trades that they pursued to get Mitchell, the trades that they pursued to get James Harden, and they went away from Darius Garland.
• 53:45
  SPEAKER_00: What are what what what what do I what am I missing?
• 53:52
  SPEAKER_00: Why do I not like this team more?
• 53:55
  SPEAKER_00: Is it just James Harden?
• 53:56
  SPEAKER_00: Is that what the issue like what what are what am I what am I not seeing when you're looking at those four players and some good players that they have on their bench, why I don't think this team is better than they are?
• 54:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, they're a weird team to describe.
• 54:12
  SPEAKER_01: I think the biggest thing missing for them has been blue.
• 54:17
  SPEAKER_01: Losing a guy like speaking of bringing bringing it back from role players, losing a guy like Dean Wade, I think that's you know, actually a lot bigger impact than than most people would.
• 54:28
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, most people would just not even pause, not even give that two seconds of thought, but yeah, losing a guy like Dean Wade.
• 54:34
  SPEAKER_01: Also last year, I was not at all a fan of trading Garland for Harden.
• 54:38
  SPEAKER_01: I I get it, but I don't agree with it.
• 54:42
  SPEAKER_01: You bring in a guy this year, Peyton Watson.
• 54:45
  SPEAKER_01: You mentioned him earlier.
• 54:46
  SPEAKER_01: I'm higher on Peyton Watson than you are.
• 54:48
  SPEAKER_01: But I think this team is just kind of is what it is.
• 54:52
  SPEAKER_01: It might might be too late unless Peyton Watson really levels up and James Harden turns into J Gil just out of anger.
• 55:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um that's for me, that's really the only way I can see them really going past their ceiling, which is I I put them at a second round team, possibly even first round team.
• 55:12
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 55:12
  SPEAKER_01: I just do not trust James Harden.
• 55:15
  SPEAKER_01: Donovan Mitchell is great.
• 55:17
  SPEAKER_01: We've seen you know 50-point playoff performances, things like that from him.
• 55:21
  SPEAKER_01: Um he's not really bringing it to that level on the defensive end.
• 55:26
  SPEAKER_01: Alan and Mobley are both good.
• 55:28
  SPEAKER_01: They've at times been inconsistent in the playoffs.
• 55:30
  SPEAKER_01: At times you can question the fit a little bit.
• 55:32
  SPEAKER_01: And again, they've always been really missing that consistent three.
• 55:35
  SPEAKER_01: They've gone through guys like um, you know, like DeAndre Hunter, uh, Wade, Okoro, um Tyson.
• 55:43
  SPEAKER_01: I mean Struce on and on, Struce.
• 55:46
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and that's another guy too, with no longer having um, you know, your Struces, your weights, guys like that, which they were already lacking glue.
• 55:53
  SPEAKER_01: So to lose the only glue they had, I just I don't really see them getting better, and they're they're kind of stuck where they are.
• 55:59
  SPEAKER_01: I think they've maximized all their assets.
• 56:01
  SPEAKER_01: So I think the ceiling's kind of tapped out for them.
• 56:04
  SPEAKER_01: And we're talking about a conference where you know every other team in that tier seemingly got better.
• 56:08
  SPEAKER_01: So I don't think I don't think the bus is gonna weigh behind for the Cavs.
• 56:13
  SPEAKER_00: It's crazy because they are in the east the the team of the fourth best odds to win the finals.
• 56:21
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so like they get the respect from the betting market like they should be a contender.
• 56:26
  SPEAKER_00: Let me just ask you this before we move on from the Cavs.
• 56:29
  SPEAKER_00: If hypothetically, if I were to knock you out and you woke up a year from now and I said, Nate, the Cavs made it to the NBA Finals.
• 56:39
  SPEAKER_00: I'm just curious, just in your mind, there's no right or wrong answer to this.
• 56:44
  SPEAKER_00: Who carried them to the finals?
• 56:46
  SPEAKER_00: Was it James Harden or was it Donovan Mitchell?
• 56:49
  SPEAKER_01: Uh they traded James Harden in three first-round picks for Steph Curry.
• 56:56
  SPEAKER_00: Now that would be crazy.
• 56:58
  SPEAKER_00: That would be actually crazy.
• 57:00
  SPEAKER_00: That would answer my last question, too, about uh Steph Curry being on a good team ever again.
• 57:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um I guess that that will round out my last question for Cleveland.
• 57:12
  SPEAKER_00: Is it's the are the Cavaliers the last team we ever see James Harden play for?
• 57:18
  SPEAKER_00: Just kind of given like his career trajectory, like the antics, like he also just maybe maybe maybe I'm just a hater and I don't like James Harden.
• 57:28
  SPEAKER_00: He just seems incredibly disinterested.
• 57:31
  SPEAKER_00: I just don't know if I personally see a reality where anybody will want to trade for him again.
• 57:37
  SPEAKER_01: I feel like he's got one last good Sacramento run-in on sure.
• 57:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I can see that.
• 57:46
  SPEAKER_00: Like the last two years kind of deal.
• 57:48
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, maybe Russell Westbrook comes back, they do a bunch of you know, a bunch of BS together.
• 57:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's great.
• 57:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um, anything else on the Cavs before we move on?
• 58:01
  SPEAKER_00: Nice.
• 58:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um, another team that we uh both put on this list was the Orlando Magic.
• 58:08
  SPEAKER_00: They were 45 and 37 last year.
• 58:10
  SPEAKER_00: They were the eighth team in the East.
• 58:13
  SPEAKER_00: My question about the Magic is they have Franz, who I am a big fan of Franz.
• 58:19
  SPEAKER_00: He he can be a little weak at times physically, especially near the rim.
• 58:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um, times when you want him to attack more, he doesn't.
• 58:27
  SPEAKER_00: Paolo, who kind of does the opposite, where he you know settles a little bit too much.
• 58:33
  SPEAKER_00: And then Desmond Bain.
• 58:35
  SPEAKER_00: Does this work together, or does one of those guys need to be removed and replaced with one or you know two players at some level?
• 58:48
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think it's a great fit.
• 58:50
  SPEAKER_01: I well, I don't think the ceiling's that high.
• 58:52
  SPEAKER_01: I thought when they traded for Bain last year, I thought that adding him is a great fit alongside Franz and Paulo.
• 58:58
  SPEAKER_01: The problem for me is I don't think you should be building out alongside Franz and Paulo.
• 59:03
  SPEAKER_01: If you asked me this a year ago, even two years ago, I was much, much higher on them.
• 59:07
  SPEAKER_01: After watching more, I I'm just not sure that you can have a team build where you've got two, you know, two wings like that that are are not really great shooters.
• 59:18
  SPEAKER_01: I think if you do have that type of team build, it needs to be a Miami Heat type of build where you've got your you know your Giannis and your van, your you know, your your freak athletes that are versatile and both both superstars.
• 59:28
  SPEAKER_01: I I don't really see that same level on the offensive or defensive end for Franz and Paulo.
• 59:33
  SPEAKER_01: And I hate to say it, they're two guys I I root for.
• 59:36
  SPEAKER_01: I like watching them.
• 59:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um anytime you have you know six, ten wings that can handle the ball and do a little bit of a little bit of everything, those are always you know, as a basketball fan, those those are exactly the type of players you want to watch.
• 59:47
  SPEAKER_01: But I I think this team needs a bit of a reshuffling.
• 59:50
  SPEAKER_01: And again, with other teams ascending in the east, I don't think the magic are really gonna be able to keep up.
• 59:56
  SPEAKER_01: And we we could be looking at some some reshuffling and maybe a rebuild on the fly or something of that sort sooner than later.
• 1:00:03
  SPEAKER_00: It is kind of interesting because we have a we have me and Nate are gonna have another segment after our pretenders, which I could also maybe put put the magic into that group too.
• 1:00:13
  SPEAKER_00: I I do like watching this team, um, and I like a lot of the guys on this roster Jalen Suggs, Anthony Black.
• 1:00:20
  SPEAKER_00: Like there's there's a lot of things that you can enjoy watching.
• 1:00:23
  SPEAKER_00: Like you said, if you like basketball.
• 1:00:25
  SPEAKER_00: My last question about the magic, though if you had to gun to your head, pick one of those three guys, Desmond Bain, Franz Wagner, or Paolo Bonquero, to build their entire team around.
• 1:00:38
  SPEAKER_00: You can keep one or two of the other guys, but one guy is your focus.
• 1:00:44
  SPEAKER_00: Like, we are going to identify through this player.
• 1:00:47
  SPEAKER_00: We will run things primarily through Paolo or through Bain or through Franz.
• 1:00:53
  SPEAKER_00: What do you think their best path of success would be?
• 1:00:57
  SPEAKER_00: Like, if they were just gonna determine what their identity was, and it would be this player, what would that path to success look like?
• 1:01:07
  SPEAKER_01: I would still go with Paulo.
• 1:01:09
  SPEAKER_01: I think you know, at times you can see why people have compared him in maybe not upside, but just stylistically to LeBron in some ways.
• 1:01:18
  SPEAKER_01: You can see still though those elements of him being a potential offensive engine that can work.
• 1:01:23
  SPEAKER_01: I still think, honestly, at this stage in his career, maybe a reshuffling could get him to unlock his potential.
• 1:01:28
  SPEAKER_01: I just don't think the environment with the current pieces around him.
• 1:01:31
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's more about that it not working together.
• 1:01:33
  SPEAKER_01: I still am a believer, honestly, in all three players, especially Apollo.
• 1:01:38
  SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna have to go with him.
• 1:01:39
  SPEAKER_00: Nice.
• 1:01:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um, let's move on to our last pretender that we have identified together, and that's the Atlanta Hawks.
• 1:01:47
  SPEAKER_00: They were 46 and 36 last year.
• 1:01:49
  SPEAKER_00: They finished in sixth place in the East.
• 1:01:52
  SPEAKER_00: Unlike most of the other teams we talked about, they completely rebuilt their roster from the start of last season.
• 1:01:59
  SPEAKER_00: Virtually nothing held over from the beginning of 2025 to the beginning of 2026.
• 1:02:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um, no Trey Young is obviously like the biggest difference from the start of last season.
• 1:02:09
  SPEAKER_00: Um, Corey Kispert, um, Lou Dort, who you mentioned, Aaron Wiggins, who you mentioned, CJ McCollum is probably the biggest name that joined this team.
• 1:02:18
  SPEAKER_00: And then uh another guy that I want to give a shout-out to, my Florida gator, Dorian Finney Smith.
• 1:02:24
  SPEAKER_00: What works about this current group of Atlanta Hawks?
• 1:02:29
  SPEAKER_01: So this is a team I view in two parts.
• 1:02:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um I'll get to what I think might not work, but what I do think works great about this group is they they know who they are.
• 1:02:38
  SPEAKER_01: They have a very solid team identity.
• 1:02:40
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and we can see that on their roster with the defensive length and athleticism on the wing.
• 1:02:45
  SPEAKER_01: They already had a pretty good setup there.
• 1:02:48
  SPEAKER_01: You look at you know, your Dyson Daniels guarding guards wings, uh, Nikhil Alexander Walker, same type of thing, guarding one through three.
• 1:02:55
  SPEAKER_01: But then, you know, one man's trash is another man's riches, so to speak.
• 1:02:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um, not that Dort and Wiggins were trash, they were just expendable, that's all.
• 1:03:02
  SPEAKER_01: Still very, you know, capable NBA players.
• 1:03:05
  SPEAKER_01: The Hawks identified, hey, we can continue to build out this team identity and have these, you know, this plethora of versatile wings and just keep throwing fresh bodies to teams.
• 1:03:14
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe we have this guy out, this guy out, no problem.
• 1:03:16
  SPEAKER_01: We still got four more.
• 1:03:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 1:03:18
  SPEAKER_01: So when you look at the Dort Wiggins, uh Dorian Finney Smith, Mikhail Alexander Walker, Dyson Daniels, I mean, it just goes on and on when it comes to that.
• 1:03:26
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so I think that for me, that's the biggest thing that I I like what they did.
• 1:03:30
  SPEAKER_01: Um, they're gonna be a team that, you know, especially when teams are traveling to Atlanta on a back-to-back, we all know the Atlanta nightlife and what NBA guys do, and then you gotta get up the next day and you gotta go against that defense.
• 1:03:43
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 1:03:43
  SPEAKER_01: I think we'll see the, you know, I actually think we can see this translate to the Hawks having a pretty good um record as an underdog at home.
• 1:03:50
  SPEAKER_00: What do you think?
• 1:03:52
  SPEAKER_00: I'm I feel like I know what you're gonna say, but what do you think doesn't work about this this roster the way that they have it constructed right now?
• 1:04:01
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and I think it can work, but that's that same reasoning why I love um that embarrassment of Rich is on the wings.
• 1:04:12
  SPEAKER_01: That that stylistic type of player, I need to see consistent shooting on the offensive end if that group's gonna work together.
• 1:04:20
  SPEAKER_01: They're they're capable.
• 1:04:21
  SPEAKER_01: It's just not necessarily their strength.
• 1:04:24
  SPEAKER_01: I think when you look at guys like DFS spot of shooting, you know, he can get you there.
• 1:04:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um Nikhil Alexander Walker is a guy that improves every year.
• 1:04:32
  SPEAKER_01: Um but when you look at Dort and Daniels, those are typically guys that teams want to leave open.
• 1:04:38
  SPEAKER_01: So if I'm Atlanta and I have a lineup with Dyson Daniels, uh Lou Dort Umwell at the same time, how much spacing is there really?
• 1:04:48
  SPEAKER_01: And now that's something where CJ McCollum definitely helps with.
• 1:04:52
  SPEAKER_01: But that that's really my my list there is you know your CJ McCollum.
• 1:04:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um I guess they still have what uh Kispert and or no, they don't have Kispern anymore.
• 1:05:00
  SPEAKER_01: Do they?
• 1:05:01
  SPEAKER_00: No, they have Kispert, they have uh just some of the like a lot of like Jock Landell.
• 1:05:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um they still have Okongu.
• 1:05:12
  SPEAKER_00: I think Okongu is their longest tenured player, which is insane.
• 1:05:17
  SPEAKER_00: Uh my my biggest concern about my biggest concern about the Hawks, like I I echo a lot of the things that you said.
• 1:05:26
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I think they're gonna catch a lot of teams, like, especially like a sleepy, you know, back-to-back, like they're gonna catch a lot of teams with the amount of hustle and energy they're gonna put forward with the amount of wings and bodies that are athletic and can run up and down the floor.
• 1:05:44
  SPEAKER_00: The the issue with the Hawks roster, and if you scan up and down this team, when they're in a close game, I don't know who the go to scorer is on this team.
• 1:05:55
  SPEAKER_00: And that usually doesn't work very well in the NBA, like for
• 1:06:00
  SPEAKER_01: especially in the playoffs like I just I mean who is their go-to guy is it Jalen Johnson prop probably right like yeah I would or CJ obviously like but Jalen's like their most skilled not older player and yeah that that's not good that that's what that's where I put them into this category like I think they could win a lot of games but I don't think that they're gonna be very good you know what I mean uh yeah absolutely like do I do I um you know looking at fantasy I I took Jalen Johnson as a first round pick love that um but yeah if you're talking about playoff moments crunch time he's I don't think he's ready to generate that kind of offense he's only 35% three-point shooter that dropped down to 29% in the playoffs last year that's not enough especially when you have these other guys on the wing that you know need spacing out there you can't only rely on CJ McCollum as your go-to as far as you know middies and three point that that's not gonna work um you know the more I talk about it I think this is a prime trade candidate team I'd be interested to see what piece they would be looking to part with and acquire.
• 1:07:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah but um someone I'll a team I'll definitely keep an eye on um as the season goes on.
• 1:07:15
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah those those sleepy teams you know New York Knicks team coming in on the back to back we're good we just won the title last year let's go up go out for some Atlanta nightlife we just play the Hawks tomorrow that type of game the Hawks are gonna win those type of games that's exactly right um I mean I I wasn't intending on us to continue trade machining Steph Curry but how cool would that fit be if they can trade a couple of those wings for Steph like that would be an awesome fit um that would that would be great let's let's yeah yeah right um let's shift gears a little bit and our for our last segment get into something a little bit more fun and talk about some teams that we so you and I are both subscribers to NBA League Pass.
• 1:08:04
  SPEAKER_00: That's how we can watch all of the games out of market and we want to highlight a few teams that we think will dominate our league pass this year.
• 1:08:14
  SPEAKER_00: So um I'll start um I'm gonna put the wizards in this conversation um really from a couple different perspectives one is AJ deBonta I thought he was about as musty TV as a guy at BYU could be um for BYU basketball um I thought AJ was phenomenal last year I thought he was very very skilled and then once you move back from that they have Alex Star who they took with their top pick two years ago um they have plenty of stars like Trey Young Anthony Davis um Trey Mann Trey Johnson like the Bele Kulabali like there's there's some real interesting names here even your guy DeAndre Aiden is on the Wizards and I'll give you one more Chris Middleton so I don't know how healthy this team will be this that I wanted to mention them first because the Wizards may only cra qualify for this category for us for about a month before half this team is hurt but while they're healthy I think that this team could actually be really fun to watch um the Wizards are my first team that I'm gonna list on our excited to watch on League Pass.
• 1:09:38
  SPEAKER_01: Any anything you like about the Wizards or that they not make your cut yeah I like everything about them besides DeAndre Aiden I like the record show that is not my guy.
• 1:09:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah right yeah I yeah I'm excited to watch them I I think they'll um they'll probably have the largest jump in wins this year uh just comparing records from last year.
• 1:09:58
  SPEAKER_01: That's a that's a good call yeah looking at the at the guys that surround the stars with too um you know like you talked about they sort of fell into Anthony Davis and Trey Young credit to them for for realizing hey we're not a free agent destination we've got to be creative in how we get our players here.
• 1:10:14
  SPEAKER_01: They did exactly that and then they were bad enough were hey let's you know we got AJ advanced out of it.
• 1:10:20
  SPEAKER_01: So now you've got a big three um I mean Alex Saar is nothing to be you know he's no slouch he's you could say big four.
• 1:10:27
  SPEAKER_01: However you want to do that looking beyond that they've got all the type of like guard wing type pieces that I want to see fit in.
• 1:10:35
  SPEAKER_01: They've got Trey Johnson an underrated player who can shoot for I mean he's you want to talk about logo distance for fans out there that check things like three point ratings throughout the season pull it up mid season this year you know you'll see your Curries you know your Lucas as far as like 40 feet and beyond or whatever and you're gonna say Trey Johnson he he's gonna be right there on that list.
• 1:10:55
  SPEAKER_01: He's got unlimited range in the gym range as they say and you got Kulabale you mentioned like Middleton as a veteran presence too your boy Bug Carrington yeah yeah Justin Champagne Carrington um Gordy Gator Will Riley I believe you said too um I really like what they what they have there.
• 1:11:14
  SPEAKER_01: I'm also much higher on Anthony Davis than most so I expect a bounce back from him kind of a you know kind of an FU season.
• 1:11:23
  SPEAKER_01: He's heard all the all the jokes all the memes I think he wants to show like hey let me let me remind y'all who I am we all know with AD the biggest thing is staying healthy.
• 1:11:34
  SPEAKER_01: This team is not a team I'm looking to make noise as a contender this year but I'm just excited to watch them in general on League Pass and see how they grow and evolve into you know what their final form would ultimately be in the next you know year or two?
• 1:11:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah I mean like if that if I mean this is asking a tremendous amount a a a very large if but if Anthony Davis and Trey Young stay healthy I mean they they could be okay um but that's that's my first team that I wanted to give a shout out to who is a team that you are very excited to put on league pass time and time again this season I cannot wait to watch the Minnesota Timberwolves Lamilla Ball and Anthony Edwards those are already two of my favorite players not only are we going to get a show on the court but I mean don't change the channel when they cut to the you know the the quarter, the halftime the postgame interviews these are two guys that are just completely unhinged.
• 1:12:36
  SPEAKER_01: They like to tell it like it is and if you're a fan watching these guys you get like the the true full NBA experience in in all ways when we watch these players.
• 1:12:57
  SPEAKER_01: And the confidence was just off the charts.
• 1:12:59
  SPEAKER_01: I I asked a question along the lines of what caused a comeback in a game, crowd impact, anything along those lines and he he just laughed right at it and just openly called out the crowd this is this is a guy that's just been confident from day one.
• 1:13:15
  SPEAKER_01: It was so clear watching him live in person when he was 18 that this guy was going to be just a superstar and he's given fans everything they've expected and then some in the league.
• 1:13:25
  SPEAKER_01: It's a great fit with Omelo some people say it isn't I disagree I think that ball handlers ball handlers what they needed alongside Ant.
• 1:13:32
  SPEAKER_00: And then you still got you know your guys like Jay McDaniels uh Rudy Gobert as well to really round at a great starting five yeah no I'm I'm right there with you on the Timberwolves they they were a team that made this list for me as well um just just Anthony Edwards by himself is kind of in this category.
• 1:13:53
  SPEAKER_00: Now when you factor in adding in Lomelo next to that and what I like you said an a very likely ascension from Jaden McDaniels I think this team could be very very fun to watch um and the good thing about them being in the Western conference pretty much every night they're gonna play a good team um so that makes them even more watchable if their opponent is also good.
• 1:14:19
  SPEAKER_00: Another team that I'm just gonna sneak under the radar in this conversation I know you put them on the list um it's the Sacramento Kings I think that they deserve some love here I'm gonna give some love to one of Mizzou's rivals right now and that's the University of Arkansas and that's because they had what I thought was the most entertaining player in college basketball last year Darius Acuff and him Malik Monk I I think Sabonis and Levine create a really incredible offensive you know mix of of skills you factor in a guy that I also really liked Alex Caravan out of Yukon DeAndre Hunter who they got in a trade from Atlanta um I I I another quick note that I just now remembered is the fact that Ben Simmons tours Achilles yesterday um he was actually supposed to like get legitimate playing time and he is now out for the season so that does kind of weigh this down for me a little bit because I was excited to see like what may like a few years away like maybe the mental clarity was was there um but still even with that being the case I am very optimistic Keegan Murray is a guy that I've liked since he was in college at Iowa um I I really like how fun this team could be I do not think that they will be good I do not think that they will play any defense but I think that they will be very very fun to watch and I think they will um be in very close competitive games I would imagine if I tallied it up I bet at the end of the season they will be one of the teams that I bet on the most given like what their spreads will be and the fact that they are you know kind of squirrely and and feisty enough to be able to upset some teams too the Kings have to be on this list for me.
• 1:16:26
  SPEAKER_00: Did they make your list as well?
• 1:16:30
  SPEAKER_01: They didn't make mine but your selling this would be pretty well um I do think we'll still have some great league pass games because we're gonna see some of those 148 to 139 games.
• 1:16:40
  SPEAKER_01: You see Kings on the schedule bet over that's my takeaway looking at this roster I see Swiss cheese up and down the lineup I see traffic cones and I see excitement this is going to be a you know if you like that up and down high scoring basketball we don't care that we just gave up threes just kick it ahead to A Cup and see what he can do.
• 1:16:57
  SPEAKER_01: If you like that which I do I know you do uh that that will be exciting for sure.
• 1:17:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um Zach Levine's a name that hey you know he's not as prime but we know that's a guy that can get hot and get buckets with anybody in the league.
• 1:17:09
  SPEAKER_01: Malik Monk is also a really fun like league pass type of player.
• 1:17:14
  SPEAKER_01: Sabonis is you know not as flashy but he's the type of guy that can be a facilitator and play into those other guys' strengths too.
• 1:17:20
  SPEAKER_01: So if he's I think that's the best way to function.
• 1:17:23
  SPEAKER_01: If they're having those games where they can keep the scoring down a little bit and Sabonis is going into double digit assist that's the best recipe for the Kings um the problem is they lost the recipe book so we'll see what they can do this year but at the very at the very least we're gonna be excited to watch him on League Pass.
• 1:17:41
  SPEAKER_00: Well finish us up give us another team that you are excited about to follow along on League Pass this year.
• 1:17:50
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah I'm excited to watch the Utah Jazz they've really got a I think one of the better blends of size and skill when you look at the front court with Ace Bailey Lori Markinen Darren Jackson um Mark and Jackson's kind of weird to say they're I guess young veterans now but Ace Bailey um top five pick last year and then Keontae George now pairing up with Aaron Peterson top five pick this year in the backcourt that in and of itself I probably should have led with that that's worthy of tuning in.
• 1:18:23
  SPEAKER_00: You know you got a boring Tuesday night in the winter flip on the league pass see what's going on with the jazz also you know playing on that Western conference they're gonna be tested so I'm really excited to watch them um this is something they've been building towards for a couple years with a lot of ugly tanking now they finally got the talent in place as long as they can really stay healthy which they haven't had hasn't really been health issues it's been more tanking issues um but if they can stay healthy I'm I think they got a really exciting team and they can make some noise I think they sneak in the play in there's a lot if you like college basketball it is it is kind of crazy how many guys are on this Utah Jazz roster that have been like notable college basketball players in their time Mo Bamba is on this team Bryce Sensiball from Ohio State is on this Utah Jazz team you mentioned Darren Peterson um you also Isaiah Collier another another guy um Kyle Philipowski too from Duke like there's a lot of guys that have their own you know kind of unique storylines I think the Utah Jazz are the perfect fit for this um they they and if you watch the NBA last year before they shut him down Laurie Markinen was playing some of the best basketball in the whole NBA for I don't know 30 40 games last year um he he was awesome last year and honestly the year before too um I I love that pick for the Utah Jazz they will have to be on my list now too um anything anything else you want to add for league pass or either of the previous two segments we did pretenders or contenders maybe that we might have glanced over oh a couple honor honorable mentions I think the Pacers will be fun to watch once again on League Pass.
• 1:20:21
  SPEAKER_01: I know it's a team you and I have enjoyed um you really got me on the Tyrese Halliburton bandwagon a couple years back and I've stayed on that since I know a lot of people have mentioned the Grizzlies I'm not quite as high on them but I am very excited to watch uh Cameron Boozer this rookie class I think will be better than I mean really probably the best since the 2003 uh LeBron draft class at least in my opinion um I'm really excited to watch some guys like Cameron Boozer also Caleb Wilson in Chicago yeah so I'll find myself tuning in on the past to some teams like that um where they have those stars but also going to get plenty of runway and usage there.
• 1:20:55
  SPEAKER_00: I'm really excited to see Wilson uh Devansa and guys like that we uh talked a few episodes ago this is one of one of the earlier tailgate pod episodes you and I broke down some of the biggest moves from the NBA offseason I think we did like our three or four favorites from the offseason I actually want to boil that down for our last little segment here and do the teams that we think improved the most so I have a team and you have a team that we think improved the most I'll let you go first.
• 1:21:26
  SPEAKER_00: Who is a team that you really believe improved the most whether it's from like a win-loss perspective the style of play like you can kind of take it however you want but who is a team that you feel like really improved the most from the end of last season to the start of the 2026 NBA season I could go Wizards or Pacers I think I said earlier Wizards would have the the biggest jump in wins so I'll stick with that I just really like you know the collective sum of everything coming together AD didn't really get to do anything for them Trey Young didn't really get to do anything for them it was more about acquiring and then sitting stage for this year in which they happen to add the number one pick as well so I'm really excited about what what they have um it's not really about the the result for them this year I mean really about the journey I just want to see the ups and downs of their season and how they can improve.
• 1:22:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah um the team that I'm gonna highlight here you can call me a homer Nate that's fine I'll be I'll be a homer for the last segment I do think that from where the Heat were really the last three years honestly if we want to zoom this lens out a little bit the last like five or six years even during the finals runs that the Heat had other than the bubble year when we have been perpetually the eighth seventh ninth tenth seed heading into the playoffs the Heat going out and acquiring a guy like Giannis I I I just think it changes so much about this this team we have the best coach in the NBA in Eric Spolstra and I think when you pair just one on a defensive front Giannis and Bam who are two of the six best defensive players in the NBA you put them next to each other with that coach and Pat Riley's leadership I really think that we will be one of the maybe two or three best defenses in the NBA when the season is over.
• 1:23:30
  SPEAKER_00: But then when you factor in like some of the more under the radar things like they brought in Klay Thompson I'm not a big Klay Thompson fan but I'm a Klay Thompson fan when he's next to Giannis in bam um I'm also not really a Tim Hardaway fan but echo what I said about Clay about Tim and then a guy like Bobby Portis who's always going to bring energy always going to get rebounds can stretch the floor a little bit and a kind of an under the radar guy that got hurt and missed most of last season a former Mizzou point guard Drew Smith uh I'm not by any means exaggerating this Eric Spolster was pretty devastated last year when we lost Drew Smith for the season when he tore his ACL the fact that he is back and they did not immediately go out and sign another backup point guard behind Davion Mitchell I think just kind of shows what they believe in Drew Smith.
• 1:24:25
  SPEAKER_00: I my ultimate takeaway is the fact that this team will no longer be sitting in that play in barely in the last you know official playoff seeding group and finally break into that top six seed again um led by Giannis Giannis has never had a season where he scored less than 26 points per game that it is a staple fact if he plays 70 games this year he will score 26 points per game he will be one of the best 10 defensive players in the NBA and then we have a top 20 player right next to him called Bam out of bio and we have the best coach I I just think that finally pulling the trigger this was a move that had been rumored for 18 months maybe longer than that getting Giannis to South Beach and the fact that it finally happened I had to use this opportunity to give my boys some love um Nate we talked a lot a lot of NBA um any any any things that we left off any things you want to highlight any takes you gotta get off your recorded audio chest I think that shouting out Drew Smith and his importance was it was a perfect perfect way to end.
• 1:25:44
  SPEAKER_01: I like that we've hit you know Jordan Carson hit a few uh Mizou references throughout I think that one was great especially because Drew Smith's so underrated and you know as an NBA fan you gotta love those type of storylines a guy that's coming back from an injury um you know ridden off under the radar now he's gonna get to be on the big stage along two of the best superstars in the league so that's what being an NBA fan is all about is getting to really appreciate and experience those those moments.
• 1:26:07
  SPEAKER_00: It really is crazy too because he was not a guy in college that I thought was all that special um he really worked his way up from the G League into and the T take their G League very seriously obviously by the way they build their roster they have several G League graduates um Myron Gardner um Keyshaw Johnson is another one like they have they have several guys that they pull out of their G League team and bring up um and Drew Smith is one of those and now he's on like a fully guaranteed contract making two and a half million dollars I I just I like the way that this team sets up defensively and I think when you have BAM and Giannis in all those shooters the offense will find its way there and at the very worst there'll be a middling offensive team that can then go out and acquire another score at the deadline because it's a lot easier to acquire offense than it is to acquire defense.
• 1:27:03
  SPEAKER_00: So that's a position that I'm okay with them being in for 35 games where the offense is not that great and the defense is so remains to be seen we got to play the games the the the heat tip off by the time this episode comes out um today because this episode will come out on Wednesday the 21st um so by the time that the NBA season starts last night and today we got to see how the games go Nate that's right that's right it it only matters on it only goes so far on paper.
• 1:27:38
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly the first ball tip that's when it gets serious well by the time that this episode is out we will have final scores already for the NBA season the season is starting tomorrow um actually during the day for those um that are I guess by the time you get this it'll be too late but for Nate just so you know the season starts during the day tomorrow.
• 1:28:00
  SPEAKER_00: 3 p.m.
• 1:28:00
  SPEAKER_00: Eastern tip off for the Pistons game.
• 1:28:03
  SPEAKER_00: So keep that on your radar.
• 1:28:06
  SPEAKER_00: Nate, anything else you want to add before you hop out of the tailgate?
• 1:28:11
  SPEAKER_01: I'm just excited for a great season of basketball.
• 1:28:13
  SPEAKER_01: Glad to be back on again.
• 1:28:15
  SPEAKER_01: I'm always happy to talk NBA anytime.
• 1:28:17
  SPEAKER_00: Well, sir, you will be back much uh very often this year to discuss the NBA season with me, especially once we get close to the trade deadline.
• 1:28:27
  SPEAKER_00: We will have to react to some of those.
• 1:28:29
  SPEAKER_00: So appreciate you jump jumping in the tailgate with me.
• 1:28:32
  SPEAKER_00: And uh I'll talk to you soon, man.
• 1:28:35
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, sir.
• 1:28:45
  SPEAKER_00: That was an awesome rundown, and I hope everybody's now excited and geared up for a full slate of NBA headed our way tonight and for the rest of the week and the coming months now that we are fully underway in the NBA season.
• 1:29:00
  SPEAKER_00: So it's time to wrap up today's episode with our gold star of the weekend.
• 1:29:05
  SPEAKER_00: And I gotta go back to the Houston Cougars.
• 1:29:08
  SPEAKER_00: I cannot leave this college football team alone, led by head coach Willie Fritz.
• 1:29:12
  SPEAKER_00: My gold star of the weekend has to go to Houston Cougars quarterback Connor Wegman.
• 1:29:18
  SPEAKER_00: He had a day against Oklahoma State and Drew Mestermaker, who everybody wants in the NFL draft.
• 1:29:25
  SPEAKER_00: Connor Wegman said, Hold my beer.
• 1:29:27
  SPEAKER_00: I'm the real Cougar here.
• 1:29:29
  SPEAKER_00: And he went 24 for 33 for 343 yards and five passing touchdowns.
• 1:29:36
  SPEAKER_00: He also had 11 carries on top of that for another 52 rushing yards, totaling him out on the day at 395 total yards and all five touchdowns that Houston scored in a massive home win against a ranked Oklahoma State team.
• 1:29:52
  SPEAKER_00: A very key win as well for Houston, keeping pace with Utah, BYU, and others in that Big 12 title race.
• 1:30:00
  SPEAKER_00: They set up a massive game this weekend with the Utah Utes in Salt Lake City.
• 1:30:07
  SPEAKER_00: What to watch the rest of this week?
• 1:30:09
  SPEAKER_00: As we've said already on this podcast, the NBA season is underway.
• 1:30:14
  SPEAKER_00: We have a full slate of games tonight.
• 1:30:17
  SPEAKER_00: We have a full slate of games tomorrow.
• 1:30:19
  SPEAKER_00: And then tomorrow, we also have Bears versus Patriots Thursday night football.
• 1:30:25
  SPEAKER_00: A very intriguing matchup.
• 1:30:27
  SPEAKER_00: Caleb Williams at home for the first time since his injury.
• 1:30:31
  SPEAKER_00: Drake May, after having two pretty good games back to back, can he continue that momentum on the road against a good Dennis Allen Bears defense?
• 1:30:41
  SPEAKER_00: Remains to be seen.
• 1:30:42
  SPEAKER_00: Should be a fun watch on Thursday night football.
• 1:30:45
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for everybody for listening to the Tailgate Cam podcast.
• 1:30:49
  SPEAKER_00: As always, I am your host, Cameron Clark.
• 1:30:52
  SPEAKER_00: Please like, comment, share, and subscribe wherever you get the Tailgate Cam podcast.
• 1:30:57
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for listening.
• 1:30:59
  SPEAKER_00: Peace.