First Impressions of the New-Look Mavs, Knicks, Sixers After the Trade Deadline | The Dunker Spot
Hi hello and welcome to another episode of the dunker spot we are part of 3 42 Productions I am your host nikaias Duncan and joining me as always is my co-host Steve Jones Jr Steve happy Monday how you doing sir oh yo what up hi yo what up you
Wrecking dunker Nation let’s ride uh like subscribe comment let’s talk hoop let’s talk hoop we ain’t even hooping it up this week that’s crazy that is crazy what’s happened to the brand the dunker spot needs to All-Star break that is wild anyway we are here to
Talk some hoop fun slate of games over the weekend on our last episode Thursday episode for the audio only listeners we talked through virtually every trade that happened on trade deadline day gave our early thoughts about what the fits were going to look like and you know I
Guess Thursday ended up being fly to your new city get the physicals Etc so over the weekend we got some of the debuts so we want to talk through a lot of those if not all of those and get early thoughts on what the fit actually looks like obviously it’s day one or
Game two in the case like buddy hill we got a couple in over the weekend so things will evolve players will get more comfortable usage will expand etc etc but wanted to get some early thoughts on some of those takeaways we got some notable free agency news in the NBA side
We’ll talk through some of that as well cap things off with some W news we’re going to have some fun let’s talk about some of these debuts let’s start with the Dallas Mavericks who quiet as kept winers a four their last five four game winner streak a massive win over the Oklahoma
City Thunder on Saturday a 146 111 win Daniel Gafford and PJ Washington both making their debuts pretty productive for both of them I would say 19 points nine rebounds a block in 17 minutes for Daniel Gafford and PJ Washington with 14 points five rebounds in a steal of his
Own um Steve what were some of your early takeaways from The Gafford in Washington debuts in Dallas I mean I had a few I think the biggest thing for me was just when the trades happened Daniel Gafford stood out right away because of his ability to roll rebound defend uh
Adding another lob threat for Luca having someone who can do what Lively also does so there just Continuous Flow for the Mavericks was huge PJ Washington’s versatility stood out to me when the trade happened and how they would use him was big I think overall just taking even a
Bigger picture look at it just how important fit opportunity and context is and what a team needs from you and how that can be impactful in a different setting I know for a lot of folks the trade deadline may not have had some of that signature Sizzle but sometimes you go to a
Restaurant you order fajitas and you got to go to the bathroom and you missed the sizzle but guess what you still got fajitas and I think Dallas ended up doing the loudest thing which you got in the of two things one wow are we getting the Steve hungry pod two to the trade
Deadline complaints about not getting the the Big Splash this is a season in which we have seen James Harden switch teams it’s not like we haven’t had action this year and like on the on the MI side like why didn’t Miami do anything at the deadline like you just
Got Terry roier like two weeks ago it’s not like we haven’t had big moves and we’ll talk about some others throughout the Pod but that complaint like it’s it’s there and I look at it and it’s just like what are we expecting exactly especially once you factor in
How the new CBA will play into things second apron teams Etc not being able to aggregate things the way you might want to keeping the books in order and all that good stuff I don’t know what the expectation was like Donovan Mitchell wasn’t being moved CER goar wasn’t being
Moved Trey wasn’t going to be moved the dejonte Murray noise quieted as the deadline approached like I don’t why were people up an Norms about that but I’m sorry that that was just a quick one that we’re good I’m feeling good so I don’t know if we have any
Gamers out there I’m old and washed but like every time I unlock and AAS rain about something it feels like the Xbox achievement just flashes right there and I did it progress I think going back to Dallas with Gafford you saw the fit right away
In his debut you saw what he could do right away I think what really opened my eyes before the game was hearing that PJ Washington was so excited when he heard he got traded to Dallas that he ran out of a restaurant like is that why he missed
The fajitas do you know how excited you have to be to leave food like maybe it’s just me but I’m picturing this man trying to like go into his car to attempt his longest yeah boy ever I don’t know what to tell you that matters you can see the excitement they
Had on the court and just how important it is when you switch to a more competitive environment that can enhance some of the little things some of the rotations are stronger some of the Closeouts are stronger how many times you seen Daniel Gafford run someone off a three-point line this
Year uh a handful of times but not in the way that you would want him to how many times you seen PJ Washington defend uh another team’s best player I I don’t want to talk about it we saw we saw both of those in this one you could see the excitement from
Washington bounc around our defense closing out the shooters they warn to be there I think seeing Daniel Gafford in a drop and calling out a late switch and switching on multiple drives that’s a fit for Dallas that enhances their team you look at Dallas you go to the middle
Of the first quarter they’ve got Kyrie out there with Luca with Tim Hardaway Jr with PJ Washington with Daniel Gafford not a bad unit to flow into and the biggest part for me is those two guys can enhance what Dallas has already done and try and help
Elevate them with what they do back to Gafford Luca gets a post up first possession for Gafford offensively OKC is trying to show help from the Baseline Gafford sees Williams go and he immediately just goes and finds Isaiah Joe Luca throws a lob right away out of
A timeout they run a lob play for PJ Washington use him as a screener Tim Hardway back screens for him Luca throws another lob it very funny to watch the camera pan to Luca after both those lobs that man seemed very happy and excited uh for those debuts I was just gonna say
It’s like the Lively thing all over again throws the ball high up in the air and it’s like oh wait y’all can go get these this is neat it it it plays a role plays a factor in the debut game my eyes were just on the little things with PJ
Washington and how would they fit with what Dallas needs I think that’s a very specific thing that people have to understand playing next to Luca you have to be able to space the floor you’re also going to have to hit certain notes for it to work in Dallas
Luca is going to force help in pick the roll no matter what the scheme is you want to do drop you want to do two on the ball you want to be at the level he’s going to make the defense shift and rotate if you’re spaced hey can you
Knock down enough shots to make the defense pay can you mix in driving close outs to keep the advantage for Dallas I thought PJ Washington passed that part of the test especially if you go to the sequence in the third quarter Lucas coming off a screen from Daniel Gafford
The defense helps on that role it’s a skip pass to Washington for a three next time down it’s Tim Hardway Jr pushing in transition another Gafford screen another roll this time p DJ gets it catches drives and finishes that’s key for me and now you can kind of widen
Everything out but if he can do that the rest of what he’s done or what he can do would would pop what what did you think about PJ’s debut I I enjoy both PJ and Daniel Gafford in this one and like as we talked about on the Pod like these are
Skill sets that could pop in Dallas and honestly my first thought watching it live and like we had it up in the watch party you want to join us for those but one of my early thoughts was like very basic thing but man Luca makes their life so much easier cuz I was
Thinking about like just the way that PJ was used or the way that Daniel Gafford was used it’s like it’s not like Dallas is running elaborate stuff that we didn’t see at least sances of in Washington in Charlotte it’s a little bit different when Luca is the one
Running action versus even lamelo when he was healthy or you trickle on down when some of the Guard injuries hit in Charlotte it’s a little bit different when Luca’s running to helm versus Attias Jones or Jordan p with all due respect and like even to the back screen
Play for PJ Washington to get their early love how quickly Luca threw that pass he didn’t think about it like oh no that’s good contact from Tim Hardway JR this is PJ Washington against a smaller OKC guard I am just tossing this up I trust you already go get that and even with
Some of the lobster Daniel gaffer is just like oh oh Luca is an incredible passer again we’ve talked about the dere Lively Fit already this some of the best screens I’ve seen from Daniel Gafford this year Well big fellow was rewarded he sure was yeah I’m going make
Sure your your guy has to go over I’m Gonna Roll hard because I know hey either I’m getting it or the defense gonna help it’s G open something else up yeah so it was just fun just watching like again very dull analysis to this portion like oh Luca just helps like
There are just going to be windows that are open that those two may not be used to having or having the ability to exploit in that way and so I think even that should add another layer of energy better screens harder cuts the lifts are going to be a little bit quicker when
They’re spaced or PJ WatchON in particular like oh no I might actually get this and I can go and quickly to the PJ thing something that stood out to me was how decisive he was like you mentioned the drives and how important there are going to be when PJ has it
Going a guy that can knock down shots guy that can pump and go and a guy that can even is olate against mismatches the fact that there wasn’t much hesitation for him in this game on Saturday is encouraging to me he’s going to have to keep that up and to the shot making
Portion like he he wasn’t the most efficient from three that’s going to have to perk up actually uh he was spaced in the corner quite a bit in this game like hey wait what is PJ shooting from the corners this year CU like in my mind I know he’s generally been a solid
One uh about 37% on Corner threes for his career uh career low on Corner threes so far this year so like obviously that’s going to have to perk up but those opportunities are going to be there again he was baced quite a bit I had a lot of fun watching Dallas just going
With their double drag double pick and roll Concepts Tim Hardway Jr is your first screener Gafford rolling Josh Green as your first screener Daniel Gafford rolling PJ Washington should just be able to eat off of that everyone involved should be able to eat off of that the lobster Gafford are going to be
There the skips to PJ are G to be there like it’s just fun watching them slide in again not super fancy the first time we’ve ever seen this ran or anything like that but it popped OKC did not have a lot of fun dealing with that what you what you got a quick
Turnar around from your immediate questions after the jealous trade no cuz like they’re good like most of my questions boil down to like with PJ offensively he like okay how quickly will he make decisions if he does so if he was able to maintain that level of decisive that
We saw Saturday I don’t have problems about the offensive fit and I didn’t really have questions major questions about the offensive fit we either those guys anyway most of my questions for them came defensively how will PJ hold up against switches which him immediately getting the Shay assignment
I was like wait a minute what is happening here this is we’ll see you mentioned Daniel Gafford in the drop calling out late switches Dallas also sprinkled in some Zone when those guys were in I was like okay they’re trying stuff already this feels like a very
Early how much scheme versatility do we have with these guys in so I’m going to continue to monitor that portion of it but overall the offensive fit really popped on Saturday and even to like we talked about the lobs and some of the hit aads because there were a lot of
Like 60 yard bombs thrown in this game Dallas very quiet like a 15% transition frequency in that game on Saturday which is really which would be League average before a team that’s in the bottom 10 in transition frequency and as a Dallas team that generally plays slower than
Most the fact that those guys run the floor hard PJ can fill a wing catch the ball and shoot catch the ball and drive Dan Gafford you could toss it to him from half court just because of how the catch radius is wild there like even that should help jump start some stuff
For Dallas and as we get into some of the second units they generally play faster with Kyrie no Luca stuff like that Dallas can have a lot of fun with lineups and maybe get some easier baskets that way again I’m going to continue to monitor where the defense
Lands but positive debuts for both for me uh a word you mentioned uh versatility and once PJ Washington was able to drive and knocked down some shots his versatility started to Intrigue me the ways they tried to use him as a screener intrigued me in that second quarter he’s out there with maxi
Cleer it gave Dallas two screeners there for a little bit I think be able to play him with the second unit is where you can tap into a little bit more of the self-creation the scoring flashes that we sha on Charlotte so how does that
Open things up uh are they going to post him if teams switch does he slip and finish uh can he impact it that way so can he now add on to what you know Dallas would need him to do I think defensively it’s interesting you mentioned hey I wasn’t expecting to see
Him on Shay Dallas needs that hey we need you to guard we need to be able to guard multiple positions so how much can he switch I thought he was active off ball I thought he worked hard I mean Shay got his points but that’s that’s
Something you want to have in the back pocket now a couple things I’m keeping an eye on Daniel Gafford on the short roll is going to be a little bit new for him to a degree if teams are going to put two on the ball against Luca or against
Kyrie how does he balance finishing against making those early catches in the pocket making the reads and skipping the ball back out obviously having the L threat is not bad but just something in the back of my mind and then with Gafford it’s mainly just consistent consistency with his
Activity in his drop I thought he had a lot of really solid possessions as far as being in the right position keeping the ball in front communicating he was talking it felt like the whole game but there are those moments where you you kind of saw the Deep drop and he got
Beat and so the wiggle room isn’t as heavy I think it helps considering Lively will come back so now hey he can just have energetic impactful minutes but if he can clean that up with his ability on the weak side to show help to rotate to block shots to protect the rim
I think that’s big again Daniel Gafford one of three players averaging two blocks and one steel seems pretty good seems pretty good him Victor and Anthony Davis that is quite the group of people to be around a quick question for you again this is just game one so rotation
Stuff is not settled Derek lik will be coming back do you foresee a path for either of them entering the starting lineup if we zoom out like a month from now or do you think they’re both going to be really impactful bench players that could close if they’re playing well
I probably lean towards closing more than starting because I I don’t know my thing is I don’t know if you want to lessen their impact by putting them with the starting unit because you know what the starting unit is it’s we’re establishing Luca or Kyrie
Is also going to cook so do we need that with them right away can we more so just build a unit that works with that and just break it up as we go and now they can close if need be so I think Washington would probably be more of a closer
Gafford Lively is just so important so that that part’s going to be a little bit tougher outside of foul trouble but I’d probably say there’s a pathway for Washington but midseason if you don’t have to you don’t have to now if he cooks to to a certain level I would
Understand but I think being able to have the strength in those lineups is more important for Dallas yeah that makes sense like I was more so asking through the lens of PJ anyway because to your point once Lively’s back and even with maxi caver playing the way that he is looking healthier
Looks to be past the toe issue that was bothering him earlier in the year like I think those five minutes are going to get pretty interesting like even if Dallas wants the size of a say Max at the four plus big that that probably Trends towards Lively versus Gafford uh
Saying it’s injury or foul trouble like you stated with PJ is interesting just because in theory he can oscillate between the three and the four and I guess that’s where I kind of look at what exactly are you getting offensively from Derek Jones Jr Josh
Green like as we zoom out if it gets to a point where like Derek isn’t back to knocking down shots at the high clip or some of the passivity comes back for Josh Green does Jason get does Jason kid get to a point where it’s like hey how
About we start one of these two then let’s start Josh or Derek let’s get PJ in for more offense and maybe you can find some balance there again it’s day one I don’t think they make the move now but that’s just just trying to think through what
It might might look like in terms of lineups moving forward so just wanted to get your thoughts there um any closing thoughts before we get it before we move to the next game no all right fair enough let’s go to New York Buon bonovich and Alan Burks both making
Their Nick debuts in a 125 111 loss to the Indiana Pacers um 11 points three boards and an assist Off the Bench for Buon didn’t shoot particularly well Alec Burks with 22 points Off the Bench any early thoughts on how that went for them and what their usage looked in that game
No ah of course I have thoughts uh it felt very Skeleton Crew for the Knicks for me obviously because they made that trade uh the one that had me in the headlock was Alec Burks was doing Alec Burks things and it felt like that had more of a pop for the Knicks because
They needed it to a degree I think the fact that he subbed in for Jaylen Brunson stood out for me as far as okay I think I see the vision as far as what tibs wants or needs from Alec Burks with this team right now I think being able to have Burks and
Bonovich with that second unit start the second quarter stood out to me as well it’s a way to balance out your lineups again when we talked about the trade when it happened it’s a plus for the Knicks no doubt how they balance the short term of no Julius Randall no ogan
Anobi teams locking on Jaylen Brunson is going to be key I think it’s going to take some time to truly see how Boon’s going to be used but I think he has the type of Versatility that will fit for tibs I think both of them do as far as
Being able to create on ball off ball I think there’s a lot more usage for bonovich in particular than we saw in that game against the Pacers it felt like bogy was just being used to space a lot in the corner and the idea was just
To try and punish or put pressure on defenses for how they were helping on jayen Brunson and so it was a lot of matchup hunting for the Knicks it felt like to try and get Jaylen Brunson a matchup and not purely go with a big in
Pick and roll and so you could see the moments where bogy was stashed in the corner and now once the help came against Brunson the Knicks had them scrambling we can move the ball we can get an extra pass you know now we have Dante and bogie on the same side so
That’s two guys you’re going to want to close out to and I think Bogey’s ability to drive close out shouldn’t be lost in that I thought that was the concept like okay we have a counter for some of this help you want to throw at us uh had a
Nice set for bogy to start the second quarter if I remember I think it was precious rolling bogey rises from the corner to the wing hits a three so I had expect some more of that because more shooting is not a bad thing for the
Knicks uh but yeah that’s that’s a to be determined type deal as the Knicks try and a get healthy b figure out their rotations yeah I think that’s fair like I was chuckling thinking about it earlier if you remember the OG debut and OG made comments something to the effect
Though I don’t know what I’m doing yet so I’m just gonna cut and just trying to find his way there and I feel like with Buon it’s like well I don’t really know what I’m doing yet so let me space and also screen and then Alan Burks is just
Like well you know I’m here I will just take all the I I will attack and transition I Boogie off pick and roll Indy switched a bunch against him well fine I know what my role is here I need to compete defensively and I will provide the buckets um but to your point
Seeing how the Buon usage expands as he you know in theory gets practices in and stuff once the AAR break gets in like what that’s going to look like is going to be fun didn’t shoot particularly well but to your point the usage of the
Spacing was a sound one had in the weak side corner to force rotations for Indiana if they did try to double jayen Brunson had in the strong side corner sometimes too to clear space for drives for Alec Burks for jayen Brunson Buon as a screener was interesting to me this is something that
You you you mentioned uh as being a part of the package for him once he joined New York 13 on ball pick set for royon in this game that is a season High form very heavy on the less mismatch hunt but against non Indie teams like I’m excited
To see what that’s going to look like when he can just punish smaller dudes or he can just pop out set some of those goost screens see what kind of Havoc that can create and depending on how New York SPAC is beyond that what kind of advantages can be created
There and in general Jaylen Brunson this point that you’ve made earlier in the year as well he seems very comfortable attacking length now one-on-one at the very least so Buon does screen form and just gets a switch okay I have a bigger SL slower wing on me now I can just Boogie
An ISO you’re not sending help from Buon and if Al Burks is also will pass away like you don’t really want to send help either so like I’m going to be keeping an eye on exactly how they space overall with those two on the floor together with Buon and Ali Brooks on the
Floor together minus four and 22 minutes and with those two on the floor without Jay Le Brunson it was a minus 7 and 11 minutes but like it felt a lot better than those numbers indicate like I do think they were able to generate some
Solid looks uh they went uh the team as a whole went two of nine from three while those two were on the floor without Brunson I would imagine with just better shooting again boy I think went what two of six from three you get more efficiency there like that’s
Obviously going to balance out I was more impressed with just the way they were generating space what kind of space they were opening up with some of like the Burks um precious a Chua pick and rolls being able to get the ball in Josh Howard’s hands a little bit more and now
You got more space for him to operate with like what is that going to do for his drives and just the presence of having Buon and Ali Burks there how much pressure is that going to take off of De McBride and what can you unlock with him
Are you running more things with him you used as a screener now like I think there’s going to be a world of possibilities there with those second units and if you can figure that stuff out the minutes without Jayla Bron on the floor even when Rand the OG come
Back that that should all feel better well I mean that’s the that’s uh you don’t want to call injuries a positive but that’s the the flip side for the Knicks you do have some more of that wiggle room to figure out how can we use these guys what lineups work so now you
Can kind of build a base on top of what you already have with Brunson with Randle with OG so how they kind of navigate it will be fun going forward got you um quick question for you before we move to the next one again this day one no red button to be pressed
How did you feel about Burks and Buon defensively in that one I felt fine you uh mostly okay like I think once they were in rotation some of those Closeouts got a little wonky but like neither one of them were brought into to be defensive Stoppers so not necessarily a surprise there
But I guess I just want I guess in the back of my mind it’s just like okay this doesn’t look great what is the appetite for tibs gonna be for like some of the Buon at the four lineups and seeing like what how much comfort he has defensively there but
Again it’s day one so like we’ll we’ll just see what that looks like moving forward but nothing surprising but could have been better it’s kind of where I land there uh let’s go to Philly very quickly two games over the weekend for the Sixers or two games post trade
Rather uh buddy Hill with 20 points four rebounds and six assists campaign with 20 points and six assists and a 127 121 loss to Atlanta and then against Washington 2356 and four for Buddy Hill six points and six assists Off the Bench for campaign uh what were some of your
Biggest takeaways from the early buddy and cam experience in Philly I think for me with Buddy heel it showed how he can help the Sixers both now and later I think his ability to shoot and space and score is key it jumps off the page everyone can see it what Philadelphia
Converts that into is where my eyes go and starting to see how they wanted to add things and those first two games was key a lot of things obviously we can point to Once Joel and B does come back I think the real value is just buddy
Heel being able to help the Sixers and open up the Playbook offensively and add to what they can try and run as they try and find ways to generate offense without Joel embiid using him on ball with dribble handoffs or in pick and roll or in pistol action I thought that
Was a plus I don’t think Buddy heel is going to get an automatic two on the ball or at the level or trap but those moments where he can engage the defense can that open up a roll for someone can that open up a kick how much can they
Tap into that the off ball movement I think is going to be huge for Philadelphia especially so they can mix and match things especially with teams locking on Tyrese Maxi I mean even if you’re just running floppy with Buddy and Maxi both flying off screens basic
Set but you have to worry about Buddy heel flying off one side you’re going to engage someone’s going to chase the Big’s going to make sure I’m ready that’s going to allow Maxi to fly off the other side and even just in the little little things but him having that
Room to operate without a defense fully engaged on him is so important anytime you can get Tyrese Maxi going downhill just feels like a plus for Philly right now uh as they’re trying to navigate now the one thing that intrigued me especially against the Wizards with
Buddy heeld using buddy heeld as an on ball screener for Tyrese maxi and I think that’s something we’ve seen from Buddy heeld a lot in the past had a lot of success with it in Indiana I do think those two have value together so being able to clear both Wings being able to
Let Buddy heel come up with some pace and slip now you combine that with the speed of a Tyrese Maxi and his ability to turn the corner obviously teams can probably get a beat on it can work the switch but when you’re able to work and
Get just that hint of indecision as far as do I need to stay with Buddy oh Tyrese Maxi’s coming a million miles an hour that helps I think especially to have Tyrese Maxi not have to use a big all the time is a plus right now especially with the way the teams are
Looking to defend him right now anything you can do to free him up and get him downhill should be a plus for Philadelphia so I think that’s where I think Buddy heill can really add a lot of value to their team and you’re seeing it right from the start like you see the
Sixers acquire buddy heill and the first thing you go to is the shooting and the spacing that he provides you kind of bank that in and then you watch the Hawks game and you watch the Wizards game it’s just like oh this is going to be entirely different for Tyrese Maxi
And even Tobias Harris like you mentioned them running floppy I think to their very basic like Tyrese Maxi brings up the floor pitch to Tobias Harris pitch back I can go doing that with Buddy Hill is an entirely different thing just because buddy Hill can ghost all over the
Place and if you aren’t tight there like that’s a catch and shoot opportunity for Buddy Hill if you rotate too hard to that that’s an extra swing or he can attack get downhill a little bit not an elite finisher but someone that can puncture your defense and get you in
Scramble mode and I think the broader context of Philly right now with Noto andb is how exactly can we get defens is moving aside from defens is dictating terms we’re putting two on Tyrese Maxi and we dare you to do stuff how much can we bring to them with some of the stuff
That we run and I think Buddy Hill popped in a major way there like I I personally enjoy the hwks game yes you talked about him as a screener they’re just spamming Spain pick and roll to see what they can get against Atlanta it’s like huh that looks familiar this is
Cool and then even with the Wizards game again just simple High pick and roll buddy go screen double drag buddy Hill is your first screener you mentioned floppy him coming off the ball and it’s just like teams are not going to have fun dealing with not only buddy shooting
Ability and the gravity he has there the off ball movement as well and like that was something that really popped early in the Hawks game and somewhat in the Wizards game where I think there’s going to be a real learning period for both buddy and the Sixers for like what he
Likes to do off the ball because there is a Randomness to the way that he moves off the ball very unconventional I’m in the right corner now I’m going to go up Zig back down to the free throw line and then Jet up to the left wing not even
Like a go screen like I would just rot I would just move a while the action’s going on and as they get used to those paths from Buddy defenses aren’t going to have fun I think you’ll see more fluidity there from Philadelphia offensively so that if
Things break down it doesn’t have to be Kelly UB save us Tyrese Maxi save us we now get moving from Buddy if you make a mistake oh we can play out of that we can open up drive and kick once again and have some fun flowing out of
That um and to your buddy Hill on ballpoint uh 20 on ball screen set against Washington season high for him almost a career high second time in his NBA career that he set at least 20 on ball screens in a game he had a 24 game
Uh last year so atypical usage for buddy in terms of the volume but certainly not new in what he brings to the offensive package and then again outside of his actual movement him being on the floor makes defenses account for him in a way that I don’t think Philly is used to and
Will get used to and will have fun exploiting um as I was watching some of the Tyrese Maxi drives against Washington in particular it’s sprung a thought like okay let’s be nerdy let’s look up some Drive stuff let’s look at some Drive stats um 85 drives for the Philadelphia
76ers through two games with Buddy held on the floor over 1.1 points per possession on those trips which would be one of the best marks in the NBA um in terms of health Defenders being present that’s something else that second Spectrum tracks on the year Health Defenders are present around 75%
Of Philadelphia drives that’s a middle of the pack number with Buddy Hill on the floor that drops down to 62.4% which would easily be the lowest Mark in the NBA with Boston and OKC your top two that’s around 69% so it’s a two game sample that’s 85
Total Team drives with Buddy on the floor so like obvious caveat there but like that’s a very quick reference point to oh buddy being on the floor really changes some stuff for Philadelphia and as they get more comfortable as they F be able to blend in those actions more
And again hopefully moving forward you get MB back that’s going to be another layer that’s going to be another wave that they can throw into the half court and I really enjoyed it also multiple uh multi- assist games for Buddy Hill so far and then very quickly before we move on to
The next couple of players since they were more of the lower minute variety how have you felt about the uh the Buddy defense so far because that was one of the question marks that I had about the move I think it’s a fair question mark
To have I do wonder what it’s going to look like in a playoff context when teams are going to let to attack him uh won’t be anything new for him so far in Philly I’ve really liked you know he’s competing on defense the weak side and off ball defense has felt stronger than
Anticipated I think he’s shown good early help shown an ability to stunt and recover back to his I think that’s a big plus so it ties into the foundation that Philly’s had defensively so far this year where hey’re we’re going to compete we’re going to get after it team defense
Help rotate so I thumbs up for me so far now we’re going to see a game where someone looks to attack him at some point but it it doesn’t feel like a liability Zone type scenario got you like that’s one of those things where I yeah I won’t say
That I was like super enthused watching the Hawks in the Wizards game but that’s something that I want to see if they are able to get in beat back because in theory he should be better insulated versus those Les’s just clear out and attack buddy type situations when you have embiid on the
Backline and just some collect length between Tobias Harris Kelly bra he’s on the floor so like they should be better equipped to kind of hide him in that matter um if they aren’t able to nail that just Tyrese Maxi because of the size and Buddy Hill together like I
Don’t think that’s going to be super dissimilar to what Ty re and buddy had to deal with in Indiana just in terms of we will just put y’all to an action we’ll go guard guard let’s just have some fun we’re goingon to force y’all to send help from somewhere um again Philly
Should be better equipped to deal with that but the problem itself may not be completely eliminated so again we’ll see whenn it beats back what that’s going to look like but something worth keeping eyes on uh moving forward oh quickly why WR Philly I mentioned campaign and just
Didn’t say anything else outside of his bot score some fun pick and roles for him like I think he provides a little bit more off the dribble juice than Pat Bev did though I do still feel like some of the drives and just the connective ability that Pat bill has in the half
Court goes a little under the radar because you think about the defense and some of the Antics that come along with that and we’ll talk about Pat Bev shortly but I do think campaign can puncture defenses in a way that like Pat Bev couldn’t consistently anyway and
That popped off in particular in the Atlanta game so I think that’s going to be fun and then him shifting to the bench role in the second game again it’s it’s also a little bit hard to judge some of the openings that he saw because Washington doesn’t have the best defense so like
There’s at least a spec of salt to throw in with some of the looks and some of the openings he was able to create uh all due respect but that should be some much needed bench juice and as the team gets healthier like he should be able to
Pack a powerful Punch coming off the bench for Philly well I know we’re gonna talk about Pat B later but it feels like I understand why they made the swap because some of what campaign does offensively Philly may need more right now now obviously they’ve also made
Another move so we’ll see how that truly lines up but you could just feel okay they might need some more of his pick and Roll pop some more of his driving I think that stands out to me and I just wonder how much usage does he get how much pop
Does he get because I got Kyle Lowry in the back of my brain now so now I’m trying to figure out okay what does this mean so to speak um let’s move to Phoenix very quickly with Royce O’Neal making his debut Off the Bench uh modest spot score three points four boards an
Assist a steal and a block in a 113 112 loss to Golden State um Steve what pop for you in the Royce oh uh debut uh a lot honestly at first when he came in obviously limited minutes but it felt very much like let me get in where I fit
In type of vibe type of beat spaced trying to set a screen for somebody crashing the offensive glass Bradley Beal’s pushing it hey let me screen you oh wait let me get out the way connector type activity but I think that’s going to be valuable for Phoenix and it will
Be fun to see how they use him and how that develops the one thing that caught my eye offensively and it goes back to his time in Brooklyn this year it was like Hey Ros O’Neil’s kind of doing a lot of stuff with the ball right now it’s it feels like a
Little bit more on ball usage for Royce O’Neal and I it won’t be the same in Phoenix just because of their personnel but it was interesting to see okay if you want to try and stash someone on Royce O’Neal we can use that against you have a Kevin Durant screen have a Devon
Booker screen and see if we can get a switch trust you can get the ball in the right place or if you mess it up little turn the corner try and get a driving kick try and start things that way I don’t expect much there but there something to
Keep an eye on going F forward the big value for me was just the weak side defense and I know you your big question mark with rose O’Neal was what would it look like if he’s overtasked I think his I think his defensive versatility really fits in with what Phoenix wants to do
It’s going to help them overall because if you think about it it was interesting at the start in that Warriors game he’s guarding G gp2 he’s able to show help on the weak side showing early nail help that’s a plus that helps the sun’s defense which they need some of that
Base type beat let me show help let me recover I got your back that’s going to be big for them then he ends up guarding Klay Thompson now he’s navigating off ball screens then he ends up guarding Jonathan kaminga they had some fun battles in the post but working to
Contain penetration looking to navigate screens on ball throw some switching in the fact that he can defend multiple positions he can do it on and off ball has the size and length to be switchable I just think that’s good value for Phoenix to have someone who can do a
Little bit of everything defensively and the biggest thing is it just popped off okay I think he can help their lineup versatility especially as he plays more minutes as Phoenix gets more comfortable he gets more ingrained with the system I just look at some of the lineups he was
Out there with Eric Gordon Devin Booker Grayson Allen Royce O’Neal Eubank Banks then it was be Gordon Booker O’Neal Eubanks then it was be Gordon O’Neal B Eubanks you know I mean shout out to B real quick get your iPads out folks but that that that kind of helps
In the playoff context to where okay we have at least a couple of these that we feel comfortable with and that’s where I want to see how it grows and what kind of minutes he gets but I think that’s a that’s a plus they’re going to be able
To trust him like I know we’ve all said hey can Phoenix find the fifth if one option is Grayson Allen if one option is Eric Gordon and one option is Royce O’Neal you can probably navigate playoff series if you’re healthy right yeah like in theory that it’s nice
To have those options and as you were going through the lineups there it’s something else that that’s something that I had in my notes as well one thing we didn’t see with Roy yet is Big Three out there Roy out there another spacer KD at the five
I do wonder when they press that particular button with him if that’s just going to be a matchup deal or a let’s get a practice in type beat because to your point he did a lot in that gold to State Games just in terms of who he was defending and the play
Types he was defending the post-ups and the drives versus John the kaminga you mentioned the Klay Thompson off ball stuff and so like it’s valuable that he can be trusted to do all of those things again I will continue to monitor the volume and if we do get the KD at five
With Bill with Booker with Royce and let’s say it’s Grayson all if you really want to just maximize the spacing Royce will have to take on some pretty tough assignments there and if his assignments dealing with off ball stuff and now you got him switching and teams are able to
Play with the matchups there like Phoenix still has some things to figure out on that front but we won’t see that until we get the minutes uh but to your point like very encouraging that as he was actively trying to find his way with Phoenix offensively it never really felt like he
Was stepping on toes it was a very quick realiz okay you don’t need me here let me just space over here then that’s cool let me try to time this cut right here let me see if I can crash doens of glass see if I can generate something extra
And then I’ll just defend my tail off plus four and 11 minutes which plus minus is and everything but just him walking in with maybe not the most optimized lineup there we again we haven’t seen the KD to five with him yet one to minutes already and this is
Without him having like the 12 points six assist game that we might see in Brooklyn I’m excited to see what the drive is going to look like I’m excited to see what the screening usage will look like for bill for Booker even for KD and just him being able to be stashed
On the weak side both as a shooter but as someone that can punch your Gap as a driver I think is going to be very important especially once you consider the volume of double teams that Phoenix normally faces with KD or Deon Booker on the Block in
Particular if he’s now the second or even third pass off of that double team he’s going to see more roomed than he’s seen in what a year and a half two years if that so I’m excited to see what the fit going to look like but just a
Small sample so far in game one we’ll be keeping tabs on it moving forward and then Milwaukee talked a little bit about Patrick Beverly six points four assists plus eight Off the Bench and a 120- 84 win over to Charlotte Hornets who you know continue not to have the uh the
Best season but anything in particular pop with Patrick bever and his debut a lot popped including the crowd I mean is is there anything more Pat Bev than just getting there and grabbing the clipboard and talking to Brook Lopez who was a top Defender last
Year I know Brooke hit him with the all right I got you and literally as I typed my notes I wrote at some point Patrick Beverly and Bobby Porters are going to have the fizer form going crazy right and then literally I clicked play here comes a stop Pat Bev hits a
Three almost knocks Steve Clifford over they get another stop Pat Bev knows the assignment gets it right to honest and goes to a body poris 3 Crowd Goes Crazy I’m like ah there it is I think for me this is one of those things where you have to understand that what you may
Think of a player may not be the whole story and what they do may have value somewhere else and so yes you want to point to the Patrick Beverly Antics I fully understand but if you you’re looking at a Milwaukee team defense probably isn’t their strength you’ve been talking about point of attack
Defense let’s widen that out though little things defensively I’ve been firmly on the little things defensively for Milwaukee train for a long time now and what Patrick Bev is going to bring his defense energy experience he comes in late in that first quarter for Dame you look out there it’s Pat
Bev Pat comington Jay Crowder Giannis Bobby poris some dogs out out there right mhm so his ball pressure you know it’s not just quote unquote point of attack he can help the switch ability to that unit that screen navigation can help Bobby poris Be Active but more importantly that lineup or his defense
It’s going to allow Giannis to roam and help on the weak side and that’s where Giannis is the most effective as a Defender little things being able to switch in front and the post knowing when to show help knowing when to get back out knowing when to St and recover
With which is a lost art those are things that Milwaukee hasn’t had we can talk about the scheme all we want every scheme is going to have a weakness your personnel is your personnel can you clean those things up can you give yourself a better chance offensively we saw this last year in
Chicago say what you want about Pat Bev he knows the assignment I think there’s value there for Milwaukee which seems odd because in theory you would say campaign’s a better offensive player right better offensive player is gonna do what yes little bit of everything okay so Pat
B I know when to take three he has some bad misses in that one no one to look to drive no one to swing it real quick end of the first half Damen Lillard splits driving kick to Patrick Beverly yes I said that he goes right to a pass to
Malik Beasley like not even I think he did it midair like a double pump and he and they hit a three they get a three out of it there’s value in being able to stop Andre Jackson Jr during a dead ball and show him the defensive rotation he may have had to
Make that’s the kind of stuff you get that’s where it’s like okay I understand we’ve got the buzzwords we’ve got the reputation we’ve got the thoughts and the feelings this is beyond just Pat Bev it goes we could point to it with every trade context matters folks and that’s
Where I think his boost is going to come and you don’t have to play him heavy minutes we might not see his true impact if you get the pat B package in 14 15 minutes a game you get the defense you get the offall uh communication you
Get the rotations you get the timely drives you get the timely shot making and if you can annoy a person or two without flipping the game I think you take that if you are Milwaukee it’s very quickly to the defense portion as you nailed all the the offall stuff just
Very early on checks in hey Nick Smith junior nice seeing you dribble be ashamed if I just pressure You full court oh you’re going You’re Going screening action now oh bet you’re trying to do this Flare from Miles Bridges like you always do let me pressure you navigate this screen from
Nathan benser duck under get attached to Miles Bridges and now we funneling like it’s just like that’s not going to be a steal for Patrick Beverly on the bot score it’s not going to be a stop for him directly but it’s like oh you can just put out a lot of fires that
Milwaukee hasn’t done a good job of putting out this year just by doing your job navigating playing with energy like that little stuff is going to pop and as you were talking about his drives and knowing when to puncture defense there like one of my favorite drives from him
In that game was a missed layup that ended with Giannis offensive rebound I believe and he ends up getting fouled but it’s all right cool Bobby and Giannis at the elbow pick from Bobby flares off of Giannis we got Giannis a touch against M Bridges funny thing because literally all five Hornet
Defenders converge in the paint like not you bud kick out the pat Bev good rotation in the corner beside him all right bet I’m catching I’m going I got a layup missed the shot but it’s like okay he sees the opportunity there like okay
This is my one if I’m going to take a shot at The Rim Where I’m not looking off Giannis or looking off Dan for the floorida together or whatever the case may be that sit waste no awareness and again his ability to make quick decisions as a driver I think it should
Pop as the mines expand if they expand or just as he gets more comfortable in Milwaukee so like this this should be a pretty positive one like I I enjoyed the pat Bev Antics the crowd pop but ultimately I feel like he gave Milwaukee good stuff on both ends of the floor
Um any closing Pat Bell thoughts before we get into some of these other ones we’ll go more rapid fire with these but no all right fair enough well let’s go to Brooklyn while we’re talking about point guards Dennis shoter with 15 points and 12 assists and also was a
Plus 10 Off the Bench and a 123 103 win over to San Antonio Spurs uh I’ll go quickly we talked about the drives on Thursday or I guess technically the Friday drop we talked about how important drives would be how important the paint pressure would be it’s not like his speed is underrated
Because if you’ve watched Dennis shuder for literally 5 Seconds you know how fast he is but like watching how impactful his speed was as a driver with these Brooklyn bigs in particular was something that stood out to me as I was watching and I was like you know there’s
The General Switch question against Brooklyn and what they can create against that but even when they see Drop Like can their guards Engage The Big in a way that makes them a threat and also open things up for their rollers I would say that’s been pretty inconsistent for
Them this year Dennis shuder just being being able to put his foot on the gas and frankly outrun his Defender and just force the big man to convert uh step up to him like well my guy’s beat I kind of have to at least shift my body open up
This way it’s opening up pocket passes for for Nick Clon it’s opening up these dump BS for Dron sharp who again not the most explosive athlete if you can create an extra six or seven inches of space for him to catch cleanly gather without the ball bobbling or someone swiping
Down he has a better chance of finishing some of these shots like it’s very small thing but it’s just like he’s creating an extra Pocket that wasn’t there even in drop it’s not Dennis shoter Speed Demon three Defenders converge and as open three for someone like a star
Creator would but even just that little bit of help within drop should make life easier for The Bigs and so like I really enjoyed that portion the freaking I thought he went between the legs with the pass but zooming in he didn’t but like that feed
The nick uh the Nick Claxton on the pick rooll to got him a dunk there got Fancy with it I was like oh Dennis is very happy to be here and or excited to just not be in Toronto coming off the bench and so we we’ll keep tabs on if he will
Continue to come off the bench in Brooklyn but very fun stuff from Dennis shuder in his debut uh what pop for you in that one well I mean just to bounce off your offens point when you talk about Brooklyn I thought Dennis shuter’s drives and his paint touches would be
Important I think the Nets have talent I think the issue has been how do they get a team in rotation for majority of the time I think him being able to come off the bench open some things up those being able to use cam Thomas off ball
And off screens maau Bridges off ball and off screens has a little bit more juice and impact I think dinner Shooter’s ability to both start a play and finish a play is key because I think sometimes if Brooklyn runs a set okay how do we end it or hey we’re starting
Here we might just get a shot out of it a little bit more organization that way which I think falls under the radar I think his ability to attack against drop was huge engaging the defense and I just like the fact that hey we have someone who’s going to get
In the paint we have someone who’s GNA Force help and we can play out of that that that’s something Brooklyn’s needed hence every time we see Ben Simmons his play pops dinner Shooters play popped when Brooklyn can kind of get downhill like that offensively that helps now you
See Nick Clon rolling you see doony Smith rolling you just see more of okay we’re running offense with a purpose as opposed to let’s hope this works I thought it was interesting that they went with uh Dennis shuder and Dennis Smith Jr and cam Thomas little three
Guard lineup that was fun I think the defense of shuder and Smith Jr kind of insulates I think the defense of shooter intrigued me probably more than I thought I wasn’t anticipating it but he comes out full-court pressure I’m like oh this is fun and now he’s pressuring
The ball you got Den Smith Jr denying you got Nick claxon denying oh this is fun you got your activity up and now cam Thomas is over there on the weak side that’s a plus for Brooklyn so it’s more just like I understand why they made
That move and sometimes you just need an injection of energy and something different to kind of Pop yeah I got you that that should be with Dennis with the other Dennis and also Nick like that is a fun defensive Foundation like I think just general spacing concerns I think
It’s going to limit some of the fun combination they can go with defensively I I am kind of here for like 16 seconds left Brooklyn up to Brooklyn up three we got to protect the lead can you get to both Dennis’s Nick Clon and Ben Simmons
On the floor together to get a sto be something that you could at least think about playing with now free throw shooting with Nick CLX and then Ben probably say will probably lead the JV be like okay maybe not but like for me like that’s fun for me to Envision and
The fact they have that option is something I’m glad you mentioned the full court pressure from Dennis just being able to bleed some of the time off the clock and limit some of the off ball decision that some of the younger guys have to make I think could
Be valuable for them even if that doesn’t show up in the traditional stat sheet that should be fun but uh fruitful stuff for Dennis um on the other end of that trade again Spencer deny was waved as part of this deal and we will talk about his uh
Landing spot shortly but Kelly o lenck with 11 points six boards three assists three Steals and a block off the bench OSI abaji with eight points and two boards Off the Bench and a 119 to 995 loss in their debut I think for me like you saw some
Of the early usage for Kelly Steve is laugh because I typed the the the team down wrong in the doc like oh no not like this but I think some of the early uses for Kelly not necessarily surprising but it’s like okay I see what this may look like just getting into
Some of the handoff stuff some of the split stuff I keep an eye on some of the lineups that we saw with both Kelly and OSHA out there but you also have Bruce Brown you also have Scotty Barnes you also have Grady in there that feels like
A lot of in theory a lot of spacing a lot of utility to go side to side if necessary in theory you should be able to post Scotty and if he draws any layer of attention you have three or four guys that should be able to puncture that
Either as a shooter or as a driver so like that portion should be fun until the driving portion I want to keep an eye on OSHA and what he’s able to do against tilted defenses I think the shooting is the thing that probably pops the most with him and he hasn’t shot
Particularly well throughout his NBA career so far but like will he be able to leverage that into more fruitful drives will he be more aggressive as a driver that’s going to be something for me to track moving forward with Toronto but it it was fun to see some of the
Flashes of what that could look like what that lineup in particular could look like but uh obviously you don’t want that big of a loss things that kind of hazy that was against Cleveland but H how did you feel about the defense well mostly eh to be completely honest
With you like it wasn’t stopper St from OSHA and Kelly’s gonna work but that still very much feels like we need to insulate Kelly as much as we can if he does switch what kind of help are we going to be able to show behind that
If you play him higher what’s that going to look like against the drop can he contest without fouling because guards can generally chew up that space against him when he is in a drop so it’s mostly a but again it’s I guess it’s similar to like the Buddy Hill thing where it’s
Like okay I’m kind of coming into this with this might be an issue so I’m not going to like Hammer at home too much right now in Dame one but uh nothing super surprising on that front uh I’m I’m gonna give them a little Grace and and wiggle room they
Face the Cavs I was intrigued that uh the belief in Kelly oin versatility led to him and yaka purle being on the floor at the same time and then I also looked at agbaji and uh Grady playing at the same time I was like ah I see I see what
We’re trying to do here we’re trying to build up our wings trying to use versatility so I’m I’m going to pause cuz you could see how Kelly can help but I’d like to see him more integrated as far as handoffs go spacing goes I forur i’ pick your brain on that because may
Maybe I could unlock another Raptor’s rant if there’s one thing I could oh oh he took it never mind no I was gonna say just one thing I would say on Toronto’s a whole can we not make literally every game like the the fining game of Scotty
Barnes’s career can we just not do that like I I don’t need Scotty triple double to mean he’s like unironically the face of the league shout out Darko and I also don’t need like the 147 and4 game from Scotty where he doesn’t shoot well to be his effort sucks why did we trade
Pascal and OG what are we doing not a number one but can we can we not do that in a very obvious like during a very obvious organizational shift can we can we just relax let’s take the good let’s keep note of the bad versus it just being any
Game is confirmation of Scotty’s going to be top five or Scotty can’t do this can we just not do that like that’s just a general young Player thing but because I follow so many Raptor folks I just see it on my timeline a bunch so it’s really
Just a me issue to be clear like this is this is my fault but let’s relax he’s young it’s literally year one of Scotty being this and injury replacement but like he’s an All-Star this year let’s let’s take a deep breath with some of the Scotty conversations
That’s that’s all I got unlocked all right and now folks we get talk and Nas give us some Charlotte Hornet’s thoughts well this is what I point out on a broader uh Charlotte note 30 assists in the 115 106 win against Memphis uh five of their last six games
With 30 plus assists feel like Steve you would enjoy that stat in particular but 15 and Off the Bench for Grant Williams Mitri with 18 points and nine assist Off the Bench Trey man started nine points and nine assists with a pair of steals Seth Curry and de Davis bton combining for four
Threes Off the Bench in that one it was a very obvious oh we have room to do stuff type game and with Mees in particular and Steve made the point on the last pod like solid an OKC but maybe it wasn’t the cleanest stylistic fit for what he wants to do
How about a season high of nearly 30 pick and rolls ran for meic in the Charlotte debut it’s almost like and this is with Charlotte as Steve Mitch pre-show this is with Charlotte being a high volume pick roll team to begin with he should just have more room to do
Stuff it’s facting when you zoom out and look at the rest of the Guard room with no La Melo it’s like okay it’s meic it’s Nick Smith Jr right now like ish miff was waved he’s going to have all the room in the world to be able to create and I’m
Excited to see like the passing pop in a bigger way in Charlotte but the movement was a lot of fun I also must say as I watched this game earlier this morning why did Memphis look like they had never seen an empty side pick and roll before in that game I was very
Disappointed in jiren in particular I’m just like brother what are what are we what’s happening right now like this is still very much just Pro Charlotte because I like a lot of good stuff like they mixed up the users for Grant we saw the shots go in so that
Was a positive I’m sure that might have annoyed Mavs fans but beyond that used as a screener got to run a straight pick and roll we saw some of the drives against Closeouts so Grant got to do a little bit of everything sth flying golf ball Trey Manon getting the Run empty
Side stuff but I had to throw the Memphis nugget in there I’m just like dog all due respect to Nick Richards he shouldn’t be running as free as he was on some of these roles no I I enjoyed the ball movement there real emphasis to push pace and they were
Able to blend in the pick and rolls in just the General off ball movement to really put memphis’s defense in a bond they created a lot of good looks again 30 assists in that game but it could have been a lot more if shots feel at a
Higher degree so I I enjoyed the Charlotte debut for a lot of those FS uh can I ask you a quick follow-up question sure did Trey man just watched all the Terry roier film that he could hope so which I think I made like the flare point during the Pod and like
It wasn’t a lot of that in game one but him setting bat screens and then flying off and flowing into stuff from there like that was a lot of fun like I think this is going to be a very this is going to be a stretch where I look at hey Trey
How willing are you to do this like you’re coming from OKC which the they are not shy about using their guards and screeners on and off the ball you’re getting a whole bunch of playing time now are you able to do all that stuff plus showcase the
On ball usage get to the step back that we know that he can knock down whenever he wants to or at the very least create a whole bunch of space when he goes to it nine assist they weren’t all of like the no look weak side skip to the corner
Stuff like that there were a lot of like handoff stuff just pass to a guy coming off a screen so like not the purest of nine assist but him having his head up and looking to move the ball I think is encouraging and I hope that is a broader
Growth area for him versus I just got here let’s move it and make a good impression so I’m going to continue to monitor that portion just the scoring passing balance for Trey man but this is a really this is a solid opportunity for him like he’s going to get the minutes
If three-point shot bounces back and he’s able to find that balance as a Creator no reason in the world he can’t just be a solid rotation piece for Charlotte moving forward uh I think opportunity is a key word there and and like when when I saw
The amount of pick and roll ball haor possessions of charlot had compared to OKC I was like okay me might fit a little bit better here yeah yeah it’s it’s it’s and it’s less because of what a player can’t do and more what a team is asking them to
Do what a team needs for them to do I think OKC had progressed in a way where they didn’t need purely a big two screen and roll to unlock things they got a lot of guard guard screens they got a lot of cutting a lot of driving Charlotte needs more of
That and then when you talk about Grant Williams it’s interesting to kind of see what does Grant Williams do in this context a lot of talks understand he got his shot to a certain level the issue with the context he was in in Boston in Dallas regarding you this way
You have to make x amount of shots to beat us we may still guard you this way and so with more wiggle room what does he look like do we see more of the drives do we see more of the impact that way so I think that’s interesting there
So it thumbs up for me it’s just nice to kind of see guys in different context have fun uh can I ask another question sure did the Pistons trade for Simone fonio or did they trade to allow Jaden Ivy and Marcus Sasser to do more things the answer is yes the answer is
Very firmly yes what a stretch for I we probably just need to dedicate like an actual segment of Jaden Ivy at some point that man has been playing out of his mind uh as of late so it’s smart of them to clear that room and clear that
Opportunity for JT and to cook Marcus Sasser continues to be like under the radar because the pisses overall have just been bad like Marcus Sasser has quietly been one of the better pick and roll players in the league this year if you want to get into some numbers on that
Portion of it but it’s nice to clear that room and then ask for Simone who had I believe 20 points9 boards Off the Bench for Detroit against the Clippers one that was just an incredibly funny basketball game as we were hosting the watch party we were bouncing back and
Forth between that one and the Dallas game we turned into that game and the Clippers are up 12 to two and by the time goes the commercial break it’s like 14 all it’s like oh no and the Pistons very well could have won that game if the Clippers didn’t take that back over
In the fourth quarter but the usual stuff if you’ve been watching Utah at all or if you watched our video on Utah Jazz earlier in the year um all that stuff popped he saw small Defenders and shot right over the top that ran them off of stuff off the
Ball to get three-point uh to get three-point shots when def is tilted you got to see some nice passing flashes nothing super Advanced there but kept things moving and his ability to kind of fit in that off ball role playing off of the boogieing of Marcus Sasser off of
The pure speed drives from jayen Ivy playing off of K for that matter like that’s such a strong fit which is why I was not super upset with Detroit trading form him as again as he hits for stri free agency like I don’t think that’s going to be he’s not
Getting 20 mil a year from someone in 28 ain’t 38 so like he should be able to age well alongside his court like he’s not 30 yet even if he gets a three four year deal like going to be early 30s by the time it’s over with but
Like just his headiness off the ball his shooting ability his ability to read what he needs to do against the Tilted defens that should all fit alongside all those young ball handlers it’s not going to be 20 and N every night the rebounding in particular surprised me a
Bit but I think the scoring and just general off ball value for him I think is really going to pop in Detroit and they’ve needed it it’s not a coincidence as we bemon what Detroit’s offense looks like for most of the year they get Mike muscala in the room it’s like huh this
Is more room this looks a whole lot better get Simone in the room huh there’s more spacing and shooting this looks better they should be able to build off of that and even if it doesn’t end in a whole bunch of wins for Detroit post All-Star break the offense the offense
Should look cleaner it should feel better I’m with you that’s all I have okay fair enough do you have any news yeah let’s get into some news to close this thing out uh as mentioned earlier Spencer Den wiy was traded to Toronto but then wav so not going to
Play there the Los Angeles Lakers signing Spencer Den witty to a one-year deal I think it’s 1.5 mil so a little bit of the mle not just the minimum form him but then wty on the year averaging 12.6 points per game 48% on twos 32% from three 78% from the line but not
Getting to the line all day often this year six assists um Steve what kind of impact do you foresee Den witty having in Los Angeles uh I think for me the biggest thing didn’t cost anything to add Den witty so it feels like a plus for La the self- creation the playmaking the
Size I think will help the Lakers the lineup versatility is what I’m keeping an eye on we’ve seen di Woody be able to play next to Russell so what are those two guard lineup three guard lineups look for does this help them get closer to the vision of hey we have Playmakers
We don’t have to lean on LeBron to a certain degree how does that kind of work if the shot returns to form I think that’s a big win for the Lakers but I I don’t necessarily see it as a negative I know some folks may look at defense and
Think that might be hey the need I don’t necessarily know if defense is going to I don’t know a if you could find that Defender right away and B if you can clean up the offense and you have lineups with this amount of size does that have value for you
Come playoff season and can you have some more fun with some of the smaller lineups you could run in theory in the postseason so I just I think it’s plus he’s gonna be highly motivated yeah that that was going to be the first thing I say he should be
Highly motivated which net fans kind of bemoan like the uh the decrease in drives for Spencer J over this recent stretch I would imagine he finds the turbo button a little bit more now that he’s going to be in LA and if he’s coming off the bench and playing against
Second units it should be a little bit easier for him to get get downhill anyway with some of the matchups he may see that portion should help the Lakers quietly playing faster this year I feel like it’s just been an underd discussed portion of the program for their season
Him being able to just play in the open floor a little bit more should make life easier for him should be able to get downhill more maybe that add leads to more comfort as he get into some of the pull-ups and some of the uh step backs there you mentioned the potential
Lineups they can get too that should be a lot of fun I am keeping eyes on the defense but at the very least the Lakers can really size up in a way that most teams can’t so even if you are worried about him if you have LeBron on the backline and
Anthony Davis also on the backline and if the help is keyed in with some of the guys they can have in if he’s playing with tooran Prince if he’s still at the three or ruy even he gets beat off the drive like those openings won’t be the same as they
Were in like Brooklyn which is just generally a smaller team than the Lakers that should help I think beyond that though guess actually I I’ll ask you this how often do you think we see like Den Woody plus bench period units versus him and DLo together or him kind of
Stagger with LeBron and playing off of him do you see any scenario which is him plus bench and kind of lead it that way and the Lakers can rest all their guys at once or do you think that’d be too much responsibility on them I mean I probably lean if that’s
The question more towards it’s a possibility I mean I was just watching Skyler Skyler m Jackson Hayes and Christian Wood doing work the other day I was about to say hey not too much on on fan favorit Skyler maze I think there’s opportunity uh for them to go ahead and
Do that I don’t think it’d be too much responsibility he has the experience okay just figure out ass just figure it out ass um other signings if you go back to the east we talked about campaign and uh them needing some of the pick and roll usage some of the score and in
Particular Kyle Lowry he’s going home he’s going home tell the world Etc the six are signing Kyle Lowry to a rest of season deal on the year in Miami 8.2 points per game 51% on twos but super low volume there 39% from three 83% from the line also not getting there all that
Often three and a half boards four assists and over a steal in 28 minutes per game which is his lowest sense becoming a full-time starter a long time ago Steve how do you foresee the fit for Lowry in Philadelphia uh I mean he’s going home return with
Nick nurse I think that’s going to be a plus as far as being able to make sure the second unit is running properly and try and make sure they get quality shots the context is going to be interesting I feel like he did a lot of positive things for Miami but it reached
The point of hey you need to make shots what does that look like if and when Joel embi comes back like I have more questions in the back of my head now because I think he can help this team how much does he help this team right now
That’s where I’m kind of stuck how do you feel about it well first and foremost aside from the homecoming assuming embiid is back later this year easily the best entry passer he’s played with that alone should be helpful for for Jo lb should be helpful from Kyle
Lowry uh but beyond that though like I think the aggression point is a strong is a sound one it doesn’t help you knock down shots if you are turning them down and so he’s going to have to have the right level of aggression but honestly
One of the questions I had was like when he’s playing alongside Tyrese Maxi because I’m sure they’ll get they’ll be some minutes there even before embi gets back we’ll see those two on the floor together like what kind of value will he provide playing off of
Maxi there’s going to be like the early initiation he can run stuff and then kick it the Maxi second side but if it is Maxi bringing it up again what kind of aggression will he showcase because you don’t want Lowry to get to the point in
Philly to where yeah we know you can shoot we don’t know if you will we’re going to provide this extra layer of help to make sure Tyrese ma can’t get all the way downhill and if Lowry isn’t able to punish that wh shots or get all
The way downhill when he does drive and drives were down to Miami this year then there is the possibility of that impact being a bit muted for him offensively defensively he’s still going to work hard he’s still going to draw charg he’s still going to be pesky off the
Ball there are some guys that he just cannot guard at this stage anymore and again if we’re talking about potential Lowry plus Maxi lineups that is a small back court um so I do honestly I wonder with him being back with Nick nurse like are they more willing to switch
With him in Philly and what does that look like like do we see any kind of crossover there between like how he’s used defensively in Miami to how he’s being used in Philly even if he just has his own rules like we’ll switch off all stuff with Kyle Tyrese we need you to
Navigate and stuff like that like I want to see what kind of nuance is going to be there for Lowry but overall like very smart player on both ends of the floor when he has it going he can knock down pull-ups and spot UPS really good reader of space like it
Should be a positive impact overall I don’t know how much this will swing like the true Championship odds again the biggest swinger of that will be in beating his health but he should help uh we’ll see what the lineups going to look like from there uh going back out west the Thunder
Sigic bism bomo which you know they don’t trade for a center and then they just sign one so that that’s pretty cool I guess they they help with that portion anyway bismack in Memphis 5.6 boards a career high 1.7 assist if you care about that portion uh 1.1 blocks per game 56%
On twos there how we liking the bismack fit in OKC there’s your big who can rebound right you did it that’s what everyone’s asking for you did dumps like very obvious depth piece there someone that can crash the offensive glass a really really good screener which should Aid those guards
Whenever he’s out there quality Defender schem versatile by all accounts a really good locker room guy and I think honestly if you’re G to add a big in the free agent Market if you’re OKC like this is the type you want someone that can give you something
Different can give you a little bit of size he’s still what 69ine so still not a massive hunking like stepen Adams type Center but a little bit more size battle tested veteran also someone that knows okay I I may not play tonight and that’s okay I can still help these guys so
You’re adding a different Center option that can give you something that you may be lacking as he’s still a good rebounder without you are guaranteed to play over Jaylen you are now there are no more Kendricks at five lineups honestly do you think we see whenever he is in the rotation do
You think we see him and Chad together at all I wouldn’t put it past him I me technically they played Chad and Jaylen Williams together at points yeah so I don’t know how much they would do it I do believe he’s like an extra body to help in case they need
That so I don’t have too high I don’t have too many expectations on it gotcha gotta and then very quickly uh per the Patrick Beverly pod the pat Bell pod um Marcus Morris leaning towards signing with the Minnesota tber wolves uh averaging 6.7 points for this year shade
Under three rebounds in 17 minutes he is shooting 40% from three this year 11 points and four boards while shooting 42% from three in seven starts this season you know what time it is it is a can I just say you was complaining about the offense this is Peak that’s not what I
Meant or hashtag not like that though so like on one hand Marcus Morris will single-handedly limit your turnover rate on the other hand is that really the like jokes aside this is a fit that strikes me as odd still a talented offensive player but I just think about the broader
Context of Rudy’s playing a lot of minutes cat’s playing a lot of minutes Nas re is gonna play a good bit of minutes like is this just the okay Kyle Anderson you you have not turned this around offensively as a at all let’s get a let’s get a spaer option out here like
Is that what this would be if the signing actually happens because again it’s leaning towards it hasn’t been made official yet at least as of recording it hasn’t been like is this more like Cy Anderson Insurance or do you see a bigger role for Marcus if he goes to
Minnesota uh it feels like can we not play these guys so many minutes slash can we boost some of our bench scoring slash can we not need Kyle Anderson to do both of those things and especially if you consider that they added Monte Morris so technically some of the playmaking if
You go quote unquote pure bench should slide from Kyle to Monte well we’re probably going to need some spacing around that so hey Marcus Morris you know what time it is it will indeed be Marcus Morris time as it tends to be all right rapid fire
To close this out as we getting uh short on time the Pistons waving Den neilo galinari after all their deadline stuff they had to get the the roster in order in terms of the spots there so nilo galinari hitting waivers averaging 7.3 points and three boards in 15 minutes
Shooting 55% on twos 36% from three quiet as kept uh is there a potential landing spot you like for D though no is this just Miami no you I was about to say Miami was the first thought and like I would get it but like also I feel like it especially
In light of all the Miami injuries which I guess I can just blend that in now uh Jimmy Butler dealing with some personal issues he’s going to be out through All-Star break Josh Richardson dislocated his right shoulder against Boston he’s going to be reevaluated in a few weeks Terry roier also suffered a
Knee injury during that Boston game uh the MRI again as we record on the Monday afternoon the MRI is supposed to happen today and so I guess hopefully by the time the Pod drops on Tuesday uh Tuesdays for the dunkers we should have more information there so that’ll just
Be an update on the next pod of so Miami is going to need some semblance of depth in the front court so I guess Gallow would technically count but I would imagine they would still want some more Wing help in particular so I don’t know but like
Gallow seems like a very natural hey we we got the Kevin Love Resurgence you can pick and pop you can punish mismatches on the Block we can just Zone it up if all us fails let’s find some minutes for you help the shooting and stuff Beyond I
Don’t I don’t know but Phoenix I don’t know could you could be another uh I guess even that is is that just like Drew EU banks aaser at that point we appreciate you big doll but also we just want space at the five now what about Boston again that’d be a good de
And then to close it out on the NBA side quick shout outs to GG Jackson getting a four-year deal and what a rookie season has been for him um shout out to Keon Ellis for getting a standard deal a three-year deal in Sacramento on the W side Kennedy Carter
And Kaiser gondik both getting training cap contracts uh the is signed Bria Harley to a training C contract and was announced per release earlier today the Dallas Wings signing Emma Canon Canon excuse me who was with the Indiana Fever last year I’m not sure as of right now
If that’s a training camp deal or a standard deal for her in which case boy do the wings have some roster decisions to make before the season starts because that feels very full and also very front court heavy so we will see what happens on that front um any of those
Announcements as signings pop for you before we close it I’m waiting for you to jump on the uh Chicago Sky Train June June 13th comes soon I see also before you hit the outro I have to hit the segment also if you’re watching on YouTube like subscribe
Comment your uh favorite trade debut two thumbs up uh things that nikayas missed uh Shams says New Orleans Pelicans guard Dyson Daniels has suffered a miniscus tear and his left knee is sidelined indefinitely the NBA has said the Dallas Mavericks guard Luca donic and Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchel have
Been named the NBA Western and Eastern Conference players of the week oh okay okay well shout out to Luca shout out to Donovan Mitchell that really stinks for Dyson who’s been really fun defensively uh offensively we don’t want to talk about it we ain’t got time I hope Dyson
Is okay though should open up some room for Jose Alvarado maybe more Jordan Hawkins they they have other guards and perimeter players to play while Dyson’s out dang that sucks though that really sucks I hope Dyson’s all right to very quickly to your Sky Point again I the
Players may be cool the organizational decisions over the last year and a half I don’t know if I’m GNA have less smoke for them but uh you know if Kennedy is able to uh be consistent both on and off the floor that that’s a signing that could pop for Chicago ridiculous driver very
Good score we’ll see where the three ball lands but she can get a bucket um so I’m curious to see what happens there and then the shout out to Kaiser hope she is doing well and we will see if both or either of them make the final roster so we’ll keep tabs on
That beyond that thank you for listening to and or watching this episode of the dunker spot if you haven’t already please subscribe to us we are on Apple Spotify Google Stitch or pod Bean wherever you get your podcast you can find us and if you’re watching this on
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Breaks we’re going over plays that might have stood out at the end of game Steve is breaking down why a late fourth quarter overtime play did or didn’t work and in general it’s a very fun place to be you can hop on stage with us ask us
Basketball questions or if you want to vent about your job life Etc and you just want to let your hair down a bit you can do that as well we sprinkle in like Tik Tok Fridays sometimes random um random week so if you want to just laugh
For like an hour and a half two hours we also just sprinkle that stuff in it’s a good place to be link is in the description come rock with us if you there and with that we will catch y’all later in the week uh great show sorry
That I’m congested but did you know that he meant boots and a fur coat not like just boots with Fur
Nekias Duncan and Steve Jones Jr. are back with another episode of The Dunker Spot! After a wild week of trades, we got to see plenty of debuts over the weekend. In this episode, Nekias and Steve give their early impressions.
0:00 Intro
1:30 How Daniel Gafford and PJ Washington can thrive alongside Luka Doncic
18:10 Bojan Bogdanovic & Alec Burks in New York
25:15 Buddy Hield and Cam Payne in Philly
36:10 Royce O’Neale in Phoenix
42:10 Patrick Beverley in Milwaukee
48:05 Dennis Schröder in Brooklyn
53:05 Kelly Olynyk, Ochai Agbaji in Toronto
57:35 Grant Williams, Vasilije Micic, Tre Mann and others in Charlotte
1:02:55 Simone Fontecchio in Detroit
1:06:00 Spencer Dinwiddie’s fit with the Lakers
1:09:55 Kyle Lowry’s fit in Philadelphia
1:13:15 Bismack Biyombo’s fit with the Thunder
1:15:15 Marcus Morris’s potential fit in Minnesota
1:17:25 Where Danilo Gallinari could land, and other updates
Subscribe to The Old Man and The Three podcast w/ JJ Redick (ESPN / First Take) and Tommy Alter YouTube channel today for more NBA analysis, player interviews and highlights.
30 Comments
If you could learn anything without limits, what would it be?😘
What makes you happy?🍒
Shout out JJ for creating a network within YouTube
Who tf are those guys ?
jj got the best pod on the platform
I love the last 2 Steve intros haha. Next pod just say embrace your bounce and that's it. Keep mixing it up.
MAVS ARE LEGIT!! They got better nobody saying enough about it
Something is different today … JJ not wearing a suit maybe?
I’m not hating but recommending more energy from the hosts I like the hoops breakdown but at least try do do a lil more from the host they had no positive energy
Hoping my Grizzlies get a top 5 pick. 🔥
Mavs can win now even if they have an ugly night shooting the 3.
Once PJ gets acclimated, he'll put us over the top. Gafford is a revelation
Awesome Mavs analysis.
Underrated part that not many talk bout is Mavs slowly become "young" team.
Bout 8 players in their main rotation are 26 and younger.
Let’s talk hoop
Most underrated pod ever
Nice pod Baron Davis!
JJ is the goat man
Man i dont want to overeact to the mavs but i definitely think this is our most complete team since 2011 top to bottom imo. Luka FINALLY has a squad… Pj remins me of a former mav. Josh howard. Games are very similar. Same long wing span. Same length. Yet pj is stronger and a better defender n rebounder. So i can see pjs impact being more on the drives to lane off the close out. Yes he can hit a 3 but he will bring something luka has never had. A forward who can take off the dribble n finish in the mid range. As a mavs fan really excited for gaff n pj
This isn't jj
I love this pod could listen everyday
Great job guys!! 😢
After watching last nights game I’m about 98% certain that the Mavs trade PJ Washington this offseason to the Wizards for Kuzma 🤷🏽♂️. I like PJ’s fit for the Mavs but I just think the Mavs really wanted Kuzma but didn’t have the pieces/picks the Wizards wanted for him at the time.
nekias and steve have really earned my respect this season – it's honestly hard to find two guys more insightful/objective about basketball
honestly have gained so much perspective listening to them week after week – thanks for everything you guys do
Tre literally had a triple double going last night, yet they went with Micic, like wtf, Mann the more better player……he was playing better than Micic last night, yet they gave him the closing minutes of the game….Micic isn't good, Mann will and has already clearly shown he's better than Micic, put Micic in the backup spot, Mann in the starting guard spot the rest of the year.
I was crying at that game. It's been 84 years… 😭😭😭
Excellent analysis
Shout out to GG Jackson getting contract……the rightfully getting suspended by the team for conduct detrimental to the team LOL jk I dunno if that was the designation but he was suspended a game LMAO
Luka was like a kid on a christmas morning opening a toy… 😀
Don't let the analytics distract you from the fact that Luka Doncic is the real MVP