5 Big NBA Questions: Warriors surging, Celtics vs. field, Trae Young to Lakers? | Hoops Tonight

5 Big NBA Questions: Warriors surging, Celtics vs. field, Trae Young to Lakers? | Hoops Tonight

All right welcome to Hoops tonight here at the volume happy Friday everybody hope all of you guys had an incredible week here’s a a quick breakdown of how the All-Star break is going to go today we have the nerd sesh guys going coming on we’re going to do some big picture

NBA questions I got five of them we’re going to hit some contenders we’re going to talk about Duos we’re going to rank the Duos around the NBA we’re going to talk about the top three picks in last year’s draft a little bit of a rookie check-in something we haven’t done yet

This year it’s going to be a lot of fun and then next week early in the week I plan on having s Vini on the show we’re going to go Contender by Contender and do a deep dive on every single one of them basically like a two-thirds of the

Way through the season type of check-in and then we’ll do one more power rankings video and one more mailbag before we go live on Thursday night after Warriors Lakers so make sure in this video and in the uh um any of the breakout clips and stuff that we

Released drop as many mailbag questions as you can because we’ll get one more in before the end of the week next week so with the nerd SES guys Logan and Carson we’re going to start with a PCT a big picture question about the Eastern Conference so we’re going to start with you

Carson so the Bucks are three and seven since stock Rivers took over the Sixers are three and seven in their last 10 games obviously injuries have played a huge role there the Miami Heat are basically all of their top tier athletes except for bam atab bio are currently

Hurt the New York entire front line is currently hurt literally their starting three four and five are all out and so they’ve been looking pretty rough as of late the Pacers and Cavs have like some exciting Talent obviously the Pacers haven’t been able to really play that

Well under SE with seaka in the lineup yet uh I think a big part of that is tyes halberton is still struggling to come back from his injury hasn’t looked that good uh but the Cavs are winning a ton of games but they don’t really check

A lot of boxes that you’d expect to see among a traditional NBA Contender so here’s my question for you guys at this point is it a safe for bet to take the Celtics over the field in the Eastern Conference I definitely think so because this is a really overwhelmingly talented

Basketball team and I legitimately believe that there is at least five like sub All-Star caliber talents Derek white there was certainly a push for him to make it at a stretch early in the year when you consider his incredible defensive value his secondary playmaking his pull-up shooting his catch shooting

Like that’s a top 50 guy in terms of winning impact and then everybody else I would just say stamped is an All-Star caliber Talent like Drew hasn’t had the offensive production this year but he is doing so many unbelievable things defensively and KP I legitimately thought should have been there he’s the

Most efficient 20o per game score in the league he has been the second most effective rim protector in basketball in terms of the field goal percentage that he’s holding opposing players to at the rims so it’s ridiculous like this is a regular season Juggernaut and they are

Very much working their way into those conversations when we talk about the best regular season teams of the 21st century at the very least we’ve seen so much more parity in the league in recent years in terms of teams not having those like utterly dominant regular seasons

And they could be the first 65 win team since the 2018 Rockets they’re 11th alltime in point differential per game so I just don’t want to undersell how great of a basketball team this is and how I do think the Dynamics are at least a bit different from years past on top

Of them just having even more overwhelming talent because of a guy like Chris dos porzingis because of now how truly overwhelming the offensive skill is the fact that everybody on the floor at all times is a highlevel shooter so any drive and kick situation when you’re forced to help somebody is

Going to be getting a good shot from Deep he is also the ultimate mismatch attacker like in the NBA right now porzingis is averaging 1.4 points per postup it’s obscene he can shoot over anybody at will he’s the most physical we’ve ever seen him getting great position and he’s drawing fouls at an

Obscene rate because he’s just got overwhelming physical advantages in a vast majority of those matchups and that’s the problem that teams are going to face defensively against Boston it’s really your weakest defender on the floor can be hunted by anyone at any time they just have so many dudes who

Are so skilled offensively and also high-end athletes physically imposing and then you consider the addition of a holiday who brings a little bit more offensive punch certainly compared to like a Marcus smt and is defending at an even higher level especially when you consider what he can do as a r what he

Can do guarding post players like the guy’s just a freak Derek white is significantly better than he’s ever been Jason Tatum is stronger he’s more willing to post up and I know Jason that you and really we on your show have discussed often how he at times it still

Feels like let’s defense is off the hook and should impose himself more physically and does rely too much on those pull-up threes at a high volume and that’s killed him in the past but he is at least a better version of himself and introducing a guy like KP I think is

Somebody who can allow them to break some of those stretches where they are relying too much on pullup threes one pass catch and shoot threes because he really can find a mismatch at almost any time on the floor and he is that interior scoring presence and it’s a

Small sample size but in clutch situations this year he has been their number one scorer and he’s done it with crazy efficiency so I think this team is great I still slightly prefer Denver because I think they have the best player on the floor by a lot and I think

That that offensive formula is just going to be effectively Unstoppable for them but if Jason Tatum played like a consistent Superstar maybe top five player kind of guy it would be tough for anybody to beat Boston and out east there are some teams that have upside

But they just have a lot more questions I love the Knicks but for them to beat Boston you would need Julius Randle to play at a sustained level that I just don’t buy from him he is like one of the great playoff droppers of the 21st century he has fallen apart in every

Individual playoff series that we’ve seen him in and the the Dynamics are different there because they have so much more spot up shooting their defensive Personnel is so much better but at the end of the day with Randall in a volume role like you’re going to

Need him to deliver and I just don’t trust him and then the bucks you always have the upside because Dame and Giannis can go nuclear but they would need to somehow figure out a way to guard this Boston team who has all of these skilled yet big and strong and Athletic ball

Handlers and I just don’t see that like Pat Bev is your point of attack defensive move at the deadline you can’t play a Damon Pat Bev lineup against the Boston Celtics like you’re just going to get bullied so ultimately everybody else’s flaws to me are just more significant and this Boston team is

Crazy talented they are crazy talented they’re big they’re physical they’re athletic all throughout the lineup and like you mentioned Carson too they’re all super skilled I I I won’t say that I haven’t seen a starting five this talented in a long time because I think they would be

Selling Denver’s starting five last year really short but this is a dominant group and I think that the rest of the East is very flawed I would take Boston out of the East but Carson I think you point to the Fatal flaw and I’m G to be

That guy again the one thing that does scare me about the playoffs is the fact that Boston is attempting nearly 44% of all their shots uh from Deep that’s the most in the league and they attempt just uh just below 29% of their shots at The

Rim that’s 27th in the league right so when we’re talking about offensive dynamism in the clutch it’s Boston does tend to settle a little bit I think this year they are more well equipped to uh get rid of that fatal flaw because they have krists because they have a guy like

Drew holiday Derek white Jaylen Brown Jason Tatum these are all guys that like you said Carson in hypothetical matchups against teams they can kind of get in theory the Celtics are so dominant physically and athletically and have these advantages that they should be able to get whatever they want but it’s

Their tendency to go to those outside shots but I do think this is a different year and if we’re going to predict Boston to finally break through and get through that ceiling it’s going to be this year because of christops because I think he breaks uh he can break up those

Laws you said it perfectly that’s going to be the biggest challenge for Boston to overcome it has been the past two seasons and I do think the East is just really far away man the Knicks are my favorite Contender outside of them but I just don’t believe in Julius Randall

Enough for them to get it done I still think that I want to see Boston’s offense be a little more Dynamic but they’re just too talented for me to bet against them so I so you’re taking Boston over the field as well Logan yes

I would okay so I do as well and you know it’s interesting I I’m more or less exactly where I was with Boston at the beginning of the Season like I I predicted before the season that they would be a much better regular season team than Milwaukee I kind of saw some

Of these issues coming with Milwaukee the issues have been bigger than I’ve expected uh particularly as it pertains to Dame like Dame is shot below 40% from the field in 10 of his last 15 games how crazy is that yeah like like it’s become a safer bet than not that he’s going to

Have a putrid shooting night on On Any Given night that he goes out there it’s like it’s like anytime you look at the box scores or you’re looking through the nightly slate on the ESPN app and you click on a Bucks game it’s like you

Could bet it’s going to be like five for 17 for Dame like it’s just like it’s become the the the the trend here over the course of this especially as of late like it’s it’s not one of those things where he’s gaining Rhythm and figuring it out with continuity it’s actually

Getting worse over time but with the Celtics I mean obviously there are still some things there that are big question marks as it pertains to like just look at their most recent losses like all of their recent losses have involved going up against the upper level upper echelon

Teams in the league and then their offense in particular falling apart that said any sort of question mark that has risen from the Celtics this year pales in comparison to the question marks we’ve seen elsewhere the Bucks have defended a little bit better since doc took over but their offense has

Completely falling apart obviously I agree with you like Patrick Beverly I think as as far as the discounted options that were available at the deadline I thought he was a good pickup yeah and I think I think he gives them a certain look that they can go to I I

Think in particular matchups it’ll be super valuable like going against pretty pretty much anybody that’s guard Centric so like a team like New York like I’d love to have him to throw at a Jaylen Brunson for extended stretches of a series and stuff like that but I just

Think the the the question marks that have kind of materialized over the course of the season for Milwaukee greatly exceed that that we’ve seen from Boston the Sixers even if embiid was healthy I didn’t really view them as a legitimate Contender I didn’t think they had enough shot creation uh Beyond Joel

Embiid not to mention obviously all the question marks surrounding Joel em beid like basically his success this year in large part has fallen on the jump shot which is pretty much what the success was in his MVP season last year and so that kind of raised some question marks

As to whether or not that would translate to the next level the Miami Heat you know like in a weird way uh like they have even before Terry roier heard his leg it they weren’t really getting much offensive production out of Terry roier to begin with they’re a team

That relies pretty heavily on guys like Duncan Robinson and Tyler Harrow to generate offense that to me is kind of makes them a long shot although I’ll never write off the Miami Heat obviously yeah but but I the question marks there on the Knicks front you know you know

Carson you were talking about Julius Randall one of the big things that I look at with him is he’s such a rhythm player and like I almost feel terrible for him with this shoulder injury because once again he’s going to come back and have like 15 games to get his

Legs underneath him before he gets into the postseason and that specifically is the issue Julius randle’s that guy that like if he can play two consecutive months without getting hurt he kind of like just gets in a Groove where his touch is dialed in and he becomes really gifted but like again if

You just zoom out from the Knicks it’s like you need oan noobi to come back and not have any more issues with his elbow he literally didn’t they literally have to remove a foreign body from it you know you’ve got Julius Randall and his rhythm and inconsistencies and then

Mitchell Robinson will he come back or not there just a lot of question marks on that front and so when you just simply break it down to odds it just feels a hell of a lot more likely that Boston will win than any of these other stories even combined and you know

I did a deep dive on the Celtics earlier this week talking about some of their spacing principles and you know I think there’s a pretty clear line to some of their offensive issues being solved like for instance when they look to attack from the wings in particular with an

Occupied corner it seems to kind of bait specifically Tatum and brown into really difficult pull-up jump shots because they they don’t see driving lanes because guys are digging down into the lanes and all the Celtics Shooters are good Shooters but none of them are like like unbelievable Dead Eye like you

Cannot leave this guy open even for a second type of Shooters they all can be a little streaky you know like like Derek white very good shooter but he’s not a he’s not a professional shooter you know Drew holiday very good catch and shoot shooter not a professional

Shooter you know like that’s that’s where it gets these guys you can kind of sit into driving lanes and close out and and and kind of just play the numbers in a lot of ways but you know you put it simply Carson like if he plays at a top

Five level they’re just going to win that’s the way I see it like because the one case is that a team like Denver or a team like the Clippers can just bring significantly more star power to bear in in these sorts of situations and as much

As Tatum can close that Gap they just have so much more margin for error than than the rest of these teams and so I mean really I guess this would be my last question for you guys before we move on do you think with some of the implications of the second apron with

The new CBA and with the rise of some of these other teams around the league do you view this particular playoff run as a as an urgent one for Boston does it feel like this is the one they have to win that’s an interesting question I think that there are other teams that

Are in position to be good for the foreseeable future I mean Denver stands out as a team that pretty much has their fundamental core in place at least through this next season but the Celtics at least basically have all their key guys under control through next year so

I would say it doesn’t have to be this year but the pressure continues to mount like you can only be the most talented team in the league and not win the title so many times Boston was the most talented team in the league last year I

Would say they didn’t win the title and then they got like significantly more talented so in terms of is there win going to close no I don’t think so but now they have implemented right a more veteran guy in Drew holiday He’s 33 years old and so he is not necessarily

Going to retain his value for years upon years KP is playing the best he ever has and it’s not that he’s old he’s only 28 but the injuries remain a concern and hopefully it doesn’t bite them this year and hopefully it doesn’t become like a truly inhibitive thing later down the

Line but it could so I wouldn’t say that they have to do it this year but I would say this year or next there’s a lot of pressure on them to get it done one of those years another guy a key rotation guy that’s getting older

Too is Al Horford you know I mean and I think that I think that every year is a must- win you know what I mean but I think this year specifically with what you guys laid out about how specifically weak the Eastern Conference is I think

It has to be this year right I mean this would be the biggest indictment and embarrassment that this team has ever suffered and they’ve had bad playoff uh shortcomings against Miami and the ECF against the Warriors in the final right uh there is a huge monkey on Boston’s

Back and I feel like it’s going to continue to grow unless they get it done this year they do feel like the overwhelmingly most talented team and yeah I I don’t think the rest of the East is up to muster man like I said I like the Knicks a lot but there’s too

Many moving Parts there I completely count out the Bucks I I think they have to not that they have to get it done like you said they’re going to have these guys next year but I think this would be the most embarrassing like if they don’t get to the finals you know

What I mean I think this would be the worst uh season for this Boston team in the past five years I I don’t think it’s a must-win type of postseason opportunity but I would just put it like that it’s an opportunity in the sense that like Milwaukee kind of reminds me of Phoenix

Last year where they’re they’re kind of dealing with some of the Fallout of making a superstar trade in some of the holes that that can open up on your roster the Knicks like they just feel like they’re coming in a in a big way in the sense that like they they’re they’re

They’re really well-run they’ve got just a lot of really good basketball players on their roster and they have the means with which to make a superstar trade should something like that come available over the off season like there’s just a lot of really encouraging stuff coming out of New York obviously

Like the the the young talented teams around the Eastern Conference whether it’s Indiana or it’s Cleveland Orlando is another team I’d keep an eye on in the future as a team that could be a particularly could particularly be a pain in the ass in the playoffs just with some of the physical advantages

They bring to the to the table so and then and then obviously out west like it’s just going to be a blood bath out there especially with some of the older teams on the table and like whoever comes out of the western conference is just going to be in worse shape in terms

Of how much they’ve had to endure than whoever comes out of the East and so I just I just view it as an opportunity this feels like the year Tatum’s 26 or going to be 26 I think I think he his birthday is very near either it just

Happened or it’s going to happen soon so like to me it just is it’s the best opportunity that they’re going to have to go get this thing and and so I I hope that you know for for Tatum’s sake that they can capitalize on it get in on the

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We know what the front line looks like it’s Wiggins kaminga and Draymond although Steve Kerr inexplicably at the end of the Jazz game last night played a three guard lineup as they got absolutely murdered on the offensive glass and nearly blew that game uh but for the most part it’s been Wiggins

Kaminga and Draymond in the front line you know obviously the back court it seems to be obviously p pami is going to start but they can kind of go with clay or or pmy based on you know the matchup or whether or not klay’s got to go in

The way that he did uh last night so we kind of have a general feel of what the the team looks like we know Chris Paul’s going to come back and add some more stability to the bench units basically hopping into the Lester konas minutes is what I’m expecting um but there’s been

Some good and bad they’ve won eight eight out of 10 their starting lineup has been very very good but they’ve just had an absolute nightmare of the of a Time particularly in the fourth quarter particularly when games are close and so I guess let’s just now that we’ve seen

This is it’s weird with the Warriors because all these other teams we kind of knew more about be way earlier in the season and like we’re almost evaluating the Warriors from the perspective of like where we would normally evaluate a team at the end of November because

We’re just like okay we got like a good 15 game sample size of like this group of guys playing a certain brand of basketball and so I guess let’s zoom out for a second what how do we feel about the Warriors do you view them as like a

Traditional contender just a really good playoff team or something less than that where are you at with the Warriors Logan right outside of real Contender status I I can’t imagine a world where the Golden State Warriors win the NBA Finals it’s it’s really hard for me to

Imagine this last stretch has been very very encouraging for the Warriors like they are undersized but this is they’re they’re super switchable versatile lineup this the most athletic they’ve been in a minute uh I’ve really liked the dubs and trans position just the way they get up and down the floor with ease

Like you know Draymond starting the break Draymond is so great at just getting the ball out immediately and they’ve got other athletes like if it’s Wiggins connecting it to kaminga who’s finishing uh you know the fast break whoever it is like they move really well up and down the floor they’re fast

They’re athletic and on offense I mean they really spread defenses out you know I think that’s been a big key for me is without Looney out there you know you don’t have a I mean draymond’s also been hitting threes an insane rate to which I

Don’t know if we can expect to keep up you know that’s a big part of it too he’s been doing it all season true I’m I’m crossing my fingers Dre has been insane and so that’s a big component is they are really spreading and stretching defenses out it’s it’s really an

Optimized offense for virtually every lineup without Looney at the five you know if it’s Dre at the five if it’s sarich if it’s tjd all of those guys are high IQ good decision makers who can stretch the floor and I mean you see it with a lot

Of the double screens at the top of the key and and the Warriors run so many different actions out of that I love it where you know if it’s Kingo on a back door cut if it’s Clay relocating they just run so many actions out of that

That it’s really hard uh you know it keeps a defense on its heels because of how many different things they can do out of those sets the one thing that scares me about the dubs and it’s really similar to Boston actually three-point shooting is still going to be the biggest variance and the

Biggest swing factor for the dubs you know this is still a very perimeter oriented team and that’s the thing that scares me the most about Golden State is the volatility of the three-point shot 40% of their shots are coming from three this season that’s the fifth highest

Percentage in the league and just 27% of their shots come at The Rim that’s the lowest percentage in the league uh they just don’t exert a ton of pressure on the rim so what does that mean that means that Dre is gonna have to have a great shooting run Wiggins is gonna have

To have a great shooting run Clay is gonna have to swing series like and on top of that kaminga is going to have to play like a legit number two when those guys aren’t at their best offensively like I really like what Golden State’s done um but but just considering those

Factors the fact that I think all of those guys are going to have to reach a different level offensively and are going to have to shoot the lights out the fact that in a lot of these matchups I think they’re at a huge massive athletic and physical disadvantage Jason

You talk about the game the other night where they’re getting outrebounded down the stretch that scares me in any series against any team out west you know are the dubs going to be able to hang on the glass uh it just it seems like for me that a

Lot more need to go right than to go wrong and it scares me that in a rock fight in one of these grimy games you know Golden State just goes cold from the three-point line and their offense completely disappears you know what I mean they don’t have these like

Carson like you were saying with Kristof and Boston they don’t have a guy that can really break up these uh it’s kuminga at this point and that’s just a lot of pressure to put on a a Young Guy’s shoulders like that to me where I think everybody’s going to have to play

Beyond their means you need kaminga to play like a star yeah they’re just at major physical disadvantages and I think they’re at a little overly reliant on the three-point shot I I love the Warriors it’s I’m gonna be honest guys I’ve loved watching the Warriors play they were one of my

Favorite teams to ever watch in basketball history and I enjoy watching them on a night toight basis it’s going to break my heart if they get knocked out in the playoffs man because it’s gonna kind of feel like the end of an era but I I there’s really no world in

Which I see Golden State hoisting the trophy at the at the end of this man there’s just too factors that I think need to they’re going to need to go right in the playoffs I agree but I do think that they are really good I think that they

Are a scary first round draw in the playoffs now in a way that they weren’t a month ago and I think that they are clearly now tapping into their ceiling as a basketball team I think that they are unlocking that athleticism on the perimeter I just don’t think that Looney

Was playing at a level this year where you could justify giving him 20 something minutes a game starting him like you did in last year’s playoff run when obviously was awesome especially on the glass but now the spacing is so much better as Logan mentioned and that offensive congestion having the sort of

Too big approach to just obvious non-shooters with how Draymond was shooting the ball last year really Shrunk the floor for them and I do still wonder in a playoff setting there’s no question that it’s a better situation now and really everybody on the floor can handle and everybody can knock down

An open jumper I still worry if Draymond sustains this level if kaminga sustains the necessary level as a three-point shooter Wiggins obviously has been super volatile this year like those are guys who in the regular season you respect as floor spacers in a playoff chess match I

Worry a little bit about having a few guys who yeah can knock down those shots but consistently aren’t necessarily great three-point Shooters but overall I just think it’s so much better basketball offensively Draymond does unlock so much with his playmaking Logan you mentioned pushing the tempo pods has

Been awesome there too what Draymond does facilitating those split actions like it’s just really pretty basketball they look like the Warriors right now they’re doing their stuff and when Draymond comes back he changes a whole bunch of those Dynamics not only does he allow them to play these sort of small

Ball looks because he’s such a freak defensively he really does do so much to unlock everything that this team can do in terms of the creativity away from the ball and they’ve just been way better when he’s on the floor when he plays they outscore opposing teams by six

Points for they’re legitimately a really good basketball team and we’re seeing that right now particularly with the small ball lineup that has pods in there with Clay Curry wigs uh kaminga and Dre they’ve still been good but when you put pods in there instead of clay that is a

Plus 26 net rating not a huge sample size but we’ve seen them legitimately run that lineup with good volume over this last 10 plus game stretch with Dre at the five and they’re just killing people so I think that if you are looking at a matchup against say the

Clippers as we saw a couple days ago they easily could have won that game or the Suns who they did beat like these teams who don’t have these overwhelming super physical big front lines then I think this team can run and Gun and I think that they can hold up defensively

In those matchups and I think that they give themselves the best shot at an upset where I get concerned about it the reason I can’t say that I could see them winning the title is that means you have to find a way to beat the Denver Nuggets

And the Denver Nuggets are going to be way way bigger than you stronger than you and still have this tremendous offensive skill still have this unbelievable perimeter shot making have all this continuity have the best player on the floor and that’s a really tough mountain to climb against the Clippers

Also I think like you should play small against them that gives you your best chance but also they just have more of those Star level shot creators and that’s what concerns me Logan you mentioned the Reliance on the three it’s the Golden State Warriors they’ve always been relling on the three they’re an

Outlier cuz they have the greatest shooter of all time and the second greatest shooter of all time like that’s not what concerns me what concerns me is the lack of a second guy who can really threaten defenses with the ball in his hands they don’t have obviously what

Kevin Durant did but they also don’t have Jordan p in 2022 who was awesome in that playoff run they don’t have a Klay Thompson who was more comfortable putting the ball on the floor like at least was a capable athlete right and that to me is the one thing that they

Had to find a way to acquire at the deadline kaminga of course brings you some of that on Ball scoring with his mismatch attacking but it’s different and I do worry a little bit about guys in playoff settings who are so specifically relying on athletic tools and don’t necessarily have that skilled

Shot making so they are playing so much better they have found the best version of themselves but against like the best teams in the west it’s kind of the same thing where it’s like all right can they hang physically and do they have that second star that all of these other

Teams are going to have and I’m still not convinced on those fronts so I put the Warriors based on everything I’ve seen in this last month or so basically right in the same tier with all of those teams that are below Denver and the Clippers which is I think

They’re really good playoff teams that have big red flags and you can say that about literally every team outside like whether it’s the Thunder just being kind of small and inexperience whether it’s the Timberwolves having issues with late game offense and execution whether it’s the Suns with their lack of physicality

You know we can go on and on down the list they all have their issues and so first there’s a lot of good they want eight of their last 10 the Steph Draymond Kingo Wiggins lineups regardless of who it is at the two are uh plus 16 net 120 offensive rating

That’s awesome 104 defensive rating that’s awesome but they have in my opinion three major issues and these three issues are specifically B gaing them at the end of games although there is some one of them in particular is kind of stretching into other elements

Of the game so first of all the on the offensive end of the floor they incredibly they are incredibly dependent specifically on Steph’s shot making at the end of games I went back this morning even though I watched the games live I just wanted to just look over the film a little bit

Closer at all the Warriors offensive possessions as they kind of blew things late against Utah and then as they blew things late against the Clippers and it’s just like it’s Steph running around in circles until he can get a shot that’s literally what it is and like

When it goes in it looks good and when it doesn’t they just don’t really have another option and like here’s the thing Steph throughout most of the season with the exception of like these last two games have been a little bit on the rougher side but like he’s he’s made a

Lot of those shots but the problem is is even with Steph making almost 50% % of his shots you know well over 40% of his threes in these clutch situations over the last 15 games the Warriors have gone to crunch time eight of those 15 games and they

Have a 105 offensive rating so regardless of Steph making a a good amount of these shots it’s not amounting to points on a per possession basis and like one of the things I talk about you had mentioned Rock fight I think it was Logan who had brought that up when you

Get into these Rock fights like a lot of times those jumpers do miss because guys are just tired and that that that’s not to say Steph won’t make some of them he’s the best shooter of all time but like this is why like you know early in

The season we were preaching like go get a SE yakum because like he’s a guy that can turn his back to the basket bully his way close to the rim and try to make something happen there and like honestly like this is where I have some more like

Both of you guys are really low on the Warriors as a championship Contender and don’t get me wrong I I I like I said I put them in that tier below the nuggets and the Clippers but I think they have as good of a chance as any of those

Other teams and the main reason why some of these problems are fixable for instance like throw some variety in there at the end of the games offensively don’t rely only on Steph if you can find a way to give some of those possessions to kaminga on post-ups or

Wiggins on isos or even just running more of your motion stuff and getting the ball in pmk’s hand who’s done a really nice job of kind of Towing that line of aggression and and keeping the ball Movement Like if you do something like that you buy some more time for rest for

Steph where he might be able to make more of those shots the second big piece of it is the defensive end of the floor they have in those eight clutch games over the last 15 they have a 136 defensive rating yes it has been a consistent issue this year and that even

Extends to Fourth Quarters at large now again I was like let’s go look at the tape so I was looking at the tape specifically of the Clippers game and I think a lot of it is fixable this is not a group that has bad defensive Personnel

Draymond Green is one of the very best backline anchors that you can have for a defense in the NBA Andrew Wiggins Jonathan kaminga Gary pton Brandon pmy that is a good core of perimeter Defenders they are capable of being a much better defense than they have been

And one of the big things that I’ve noticed and this is on Steve Kerr they have been a little bit like the old Raptors teams under Nick nurse where they’re just overly aggressive and unnecessarily overh helping the Norman Powells left Corner three the one that Brandon pmy ran over his head and then

He kind of pump faked and leaned in and shot it was a possession where they basically for no particular reason at all double teamed Paul George on a pick and roll and when they didn’t really need to and it left an easy skip pass because pmy had to tag the roller there

Was a play where Norman pow made a three in the right corner this is the one where Draymond Green went flying past him and and swiped over his head and missed and Norman pal made the three Jonathan kaminga was guarding Russell Westbrook in the dunker spot and was in

A great position to help on James Harden’s drive on Brandon psky and Draymond Green vacated the strong side corner to overh help and gave up an open three when he was not the right person to help there and in general should not help out of the strongside corner

Especially off of basically the best spot-up shooter in basketball right now that is execution based Steph Curry overh helped on a Russell Westbrook Drive out of the right side corner like it’s been a consistent issue and then so I look at it as some fixable stuff on defense that that’s just execution and

Then we talked about the Steph Curry focus on the offense late in the games which I think has kind of led to some diminishing returns and then last but not least they are a dog rebounding team like it is a big problem now they’ve been a good rebounding team for

Most of the season in large part like you mentioned Carson going with bigger lineups playing more of a of Kavon Looney but this is a crazy stat first of all let’s start big picture Steph Draymond Ino Wiggins that main lineup even with as dominant as they’ve been only a 69.8% defensive rebounding

Percentage that’s not good here’s another crazy stat for you in the Jazz and Clippers games in crunch time seven minutes of crunch time they gave up an offensive rebound on 87.5% of their opponent’s misses in those two games think about how crazy that is yeah if you were watching the get Jazz game

And it felt like every single time they missed they tapped it out and got an offensive rebound it’s cuz they did they finally got one stop at the end of the Clippers game it was a James Harden step back three at the top of the key nobody

Boxed out Russell Westbrook he got an offensive rebound and again if you look down the roster if you look at Draymond Green you look at Jonathan kaminga you look at Andrew Wiggins that’s a lot of athleticism and long arms they just have to do a better job and so like some of

It is like like you mentioned Carson like there are going to be certain matchups like Denver is just bigger and more athletic than them on the front line even with those guys and so there’s going to be some limitations in the bigger picture but I do think some of

This is fixable there is some better offensive process can they beat can they match some of the Firepower that other teams can bring to the table no but I think I don’t think they’re a 105 offensive rating clutch team either I think there’s some room for improvement there defensively again not overh

Helping and then as a team doing a better job rebounding so again they’re just like any of these other teams their fate depends on their ability to address their weaknesses and reach their individual ceiling and so I I I put them in that tier I just think there are a

Lot of things that have to go right are you guys uh let’s go back to uh go back to you guys really quickly Logan what are you guys noticing in your uh uh time watching the late game offense stuff with the Warriors is it something that

You think is fixable or you are you more concerned about it no I definitely think it’s it’s fixable and I think you make a great point of what the Warriors could be doing differently Steph Curry has the weight of the world on his shoulders man

He’s Atlas he is holding up this team in any scenario you talk about him running around Jason I thought about that game uh I I think it was double OT versus the Lakers he scores uh that one bucket or two games actually the one against the Lakers and then one against Phoenix he

Literally drives on Anthony Davis runs all the way to the hoop dribbles back out to the right elbow gives him a hesitation and lucky luckily Anthony Davis opens up the gate so Steph Curry can go in and get that layup to tie the game up sends it to

OT late in the game against the Suns Bradley Beal bites on uh an inbounds pass and leaves Steph wide open for that deep game-winning three he is the late game offense I think they could do a much better job of like you said alleviating the pressure

Giving him a breather I I I mean if anybody and I think they have guys that they can turn to it’s like you guys said it’s Wiggins is not at the level he was during the Run they don’t have a guy like Jordan P but they have guys that

They can rely on like if it’s kuminga being physical and just like you said get touching the ball in the paint it’s not even about getting the shot down there it’s about creating the advantage drawing the attention to the paint and that’ll open up everything else for the

Team and I think they should lean on pods more too like they have Personnel I think it is about execution but Steph’s Steph’s a goat but I don’t think he can carry them single-handedly through the playoffs in these big moments it’s just too much pressure on

His shoulders uh but I do think it’s fixable I think they have the Personnel in place uh to make it happen it’s tough I’m honestly not super confident about this team’s clutch offense specifically and this year they have had like a comedy of errors and of mindblowing losses obviously they’re 27th and fourth

Quarter net rating like it’s them and the Pistons that’s who they’re hanging around with it’s crazy some of the games they’ve lost late this year so it’s not that things are disastrous to that extent forever but I do think this was a bad clutch offense last year they were

24th in clutch offensive rating and then out of 16 playoff teams they were 13th in clutch offensive rating and the reality is when you have one highlevel shot Creator on your team and that guy is particularly reliant on pullup jump shots it’s tough to manufacture good clutch offense like there are ways to

Make the most out of the attention that Steph demands but generally it’s more like structured atto kind of stuff you think about that clay gamewinner where Steph is a super effective diversion at the end of the day though you’re probably not going to run a lot of

Actions where it’s like all right can Steph get open away from the ball in these last 90 seconds or maybe he draws a second Defender that opens up something for somebody else it’s like you’re going to probably mostly put the ball in Steph’s hands and the defense is

Going to know that and he might have to take a tough pull-up jumper so I’m not super optimistic about that because I really think when you don’t have another guy who can threaten defenses with their shot creation and I’m just not sure in clutch spots kaming is that guy there’s

Kind of a ceiling to what you can do yeah and again when it it comes to the kaminga wig and stuff the idea there would be you’re not scoring right now anyway running everything through Steph like it’s yeah and and it’s not and it’s not a Steph issue it’s just a simple

Matter of like like like Logan put it you’re you’re Atlas you’re doing everything and it’s just specifically when you’re relying on pullup jump shooting your legs come into the equation a lot more again if we could just cut his usage down a little bit that could go a long way towards him

Being more efficient and and then again just part of the issue too is like because they lean so much into Steph when another guy gets an opportunity to even like look at The Rim they they won’t they’ll turn and look for Steph because it’s like it’s almost

It’s almost become like the it’s like you better not like you better get that ball back to Steph he’s our one he’s our one hope here and it’s like I think in general even though the Wiggins possessions might lead to some frustration and the kaminga possessions might lead to some frustration his

Jumper by the way has gone right off of the Edge after it was red hot there for a little while like that’s one of those things where you are more unpredictable offensively if we come out of the timeout and it’s like well are they gonna post up kaminga are they gonna use

Steph as a screener to try to get one of these guys downhill or are they going to run this action for Steph whereas if it’s like it’s gonna be Steph you know and it’s like okay we’re going to switch the ball screen we’ll put Anthony Davis

On and we we’ll live with the results like that’s it just becomes it just becomes really predictable all right let’s move on go ahead I I think that is absolutely correct and I think that that leads to Marginal Improvement I’m just not sure that it solves the fundamental issue of Steph is

The scariest guy on the floor by so far in all those situations for sure no I 100% agree um Logan or no we’re gonna start with you Carson who do you believe in more the Thunder or the Timberwolves as a championship Contender this is a tough one and we’ve

Had this conversation before I think that OKC has a lot of advantages I think that in this series they pretty clearly have the best player on the floor sgaa is playing at an unbelievable consistent Superstar level I think that they clearly have the higher level of overall offensive perimeter skill when you just

Consider that they’re going to play five out a whole lot of time and so many dudes can handle so many dudes are quick good athletes the spacing is just clearly better whereas Minnesota although cat is obviously a super skilled big they still are running these two big looks with a very conventional offensive

Five and they are really just like a quick athletic team I’m looking forward seeing them with Gordon Hayward when he debuts after the All-Star break because to me the biggest red flag about this team in the playoffs arguably at the very least there’s a couple other ones experience as we talked about strength

Physicality in the front court but particularly playing Josh kiddy 25 minutes a game just doesn’t do it for me I think that when you have a guy who is not not a plus athlete not a plus touch shot maker certainly not a plus Defender and then really struggles to knock down

Open Catch and shoot jumpers like that guy’s just going to get played off the floor in a playoff series it doesn’t matter how snazzy how sick of a passer he is there’s too many exploitable weaknesses there particularly against Minnesota we saw the Minnesota Timberwolves do what any Rudy gobear

Anchor defense loves to do more than anything in the world which is Park Rudy in the paint have him as a full-time helper say let’s put him on the weakest shooter on the team who can just sit in the corner and Rudy doesn’t have to guard that guy and that’s what they did

Against Josh giddy if it’s Gordon Hayward who brings all the same good traits the playmaking the ability to create in those drive and kick situations to handle out of pick and roll he does all of that but he’s better in terms of the scoring on Ball and then

He also will actually knock down 40% of his catch and shoot jumpers so maybe seeing that realized changes my opinion on this because I have concerns about Minnesota Jason last time we were on with you or maybe the time before that you harped on Minnesota’s clutch offense

And that has become more and more of a concern to me as of late it really matters that you’re a damn good half court offense if you want to make a deep playoff run and they just aren’t and in the clutch in particular they haven’t been but ultimately I still think they

Are a much more mature basketball team in terms of playoff experience they are much more physically mature I mean they are just so much stronger and More Physical I like the depth for both of these teams so that’s not necessarily a huge difference maker for me and really

Do believe that this defense is going to be elite regardless of the matchup I wonder a little bit if like the Thunder could attack cat in space because they have so many quick guys who can handle the ball and they can run really those four perimeter players at all time

Lineups and then Chad at your five who’s super skilled from the perimeter too but you mentioned The Rock fight and it does feel like in those hyper physical environments Minnesota still just fares a little bit better and they’ve been there before but I don’t know it’s

Really close for me here because OKC is pretty clearly the better offensive team and I don’t necessarily see that changing but I do think Minnesota can kind of grind people down with Elite defense and then just enough of that halfcourt shot making from from Matt and Cat it’s very close between these teams

And Minnesota does scare me in some hypothetical matchups like five out against the Clippers five out against the Warriors five out against the Thunder of Gordon Hayward uh you know is really effective in those lineups like I think that’s the kind of way to to beat

Minnesota is to draw them out but I do just have more confidence in Minnesota and they’ve been really impressive and their last 10 they’re number one in net rating they’re number five in offensive rating number one in defensive rating and they do just have physical advantages where like you know in those

Scenarios offensively and in certain possessions like the Warriors do scare me but they’re going to crush him on the glass like goar 7-1 79 wingspan Town 7 Foot at 74 wingspan McDaniels is somewhere between 69 and 611 with a near 7 foot Wing they’re huge Anthony Edwards

Is a tank you know what I mean they’re just they’re big and physical and I think their track record’s kind of proven this regular season uh they’re 20 and 11 on the road they have the best record in the league versus teams that are above 500 like yeah I do worry about

This offense stalling out in a half court setting uh spacing issues because of Rudy goar Carl Anthony towns disappearing on a big stage now they’re 20th in clutch offensive rating 107.9 that’s the fifth lowest of any current uh eight uh top eight seed any current playoff team that’s in there and OKC

That’s not a problem they have the number one half court offense in basketball they have the number three clutch offensive rating this year like OKC just doesn’t have those offensive uh weaknesses Minnesota does but I like their track record I like their defense more I like their continuity and I don’t

Know man I I kind of like The Vibes of this team I don’t know man I I like I like The Vibes in Minnesota right now to say the least you guys uh did you guys see the uh the shirt that Mike connley was wearing the other night the the

Finchy shirt um I don’t know man I like the I like the energy of Minnesota a lot um is a bit of a copout Minnesota’s huge and that ultimately is the distinction to me I believe in the defense I believe in their physical and athletic advantages in in a grimy nasty playoff

Environment where it’s tough to get a bucket I think Minnesota is is equipped to deal with those environments so this is going to come off as like OKC slander which I don’t intend it to because here’s the thing I I’m super super high on Oklahoma City in the big

Picture um I even love the Gordon Hayward pickup I mean to put it simply he’s just a way better basketball player than the Josh kiddy and so and so you basically turned what was a weak fifth guy in your best five into essentially a guy who was arguably perfect maybe not

Positionally but at least in terms of like veteran guy who could do all the little things well uh in terms of like a connectivity type of piece like I I think it just makes a ton of sense I also like I I I was literally uh uh

Thinking about this last night this this thought hit me randomly because our next question we’re gonna be talking about Kendrick Perkins and his mythological Superstar trade that he says it’s GNA happen this summer but uh I was think I was thinking about this last night I was

Like man like what if the Bucks just go up in flames in like a real ugly way and then next year they try it again and it’s just as bad and then all of a sudden the Bucks look around and they have no assets and a bunch of old role players

And then Giannis goes like I want out of here you know who’s getting him right Oklahoma City is like they’re they’re throwing seven or eight first round picks at him and and like that’s literally the position they need so bad is that that power forward position and

Like that that’s where it could get really really scary and obviously who knows maybe Giannis would prefer a bigger Market but like I just look at it like man I was thinking about that last time I was like oh God that could be completely terrifying um but to put it

Simply within the lens of this season I think the Timberwolves are a significantly better playoff threat um and I’m before I even go any further I’m just going to spit it back to you guys let’s quit looking at this as Minnesota versus Oklahoma City uh Carson which

Team has a better chance to beat Denver yeah Minnesota like it it’s they they match up so much better physically like again like I Oklahoma City has had some advantages in the regular season against Denver but Denver’s been kind of a mediocre regular like they’re going through another one

Of those like kind of patches right now where they could give a on any given night and like guys are hurt and like I think I think Denver would eat Oklahoma City alive in a playoff series personally Logan would you take Minnesota or Oklahoma City against Denver oh easily Minnesota yeah so like

That like let let’s just stop beating around the bush here for a second like like Carson you actually said earlier when we were talking about uh the Warriors like you’re everything has to be looked through the lens of how do we beat Denver and and I just don’t I I I I just

Don’t think Oklahoma City has anywhere near the physical presence they need to hang in that series for seven games and I mean we literally just saw Minnesota like as as much as the issues that they can have offensively at the end of games they also have the ability to just

Completely lock up the other team late in games we literally just saw this against the Clippers the other night and even with some of their half court offense stuff there’s a physical imposition to where it’s like oh you finally get a stop but Rudy goar just Taps the ball out they have another

Offensive rebound they can have another go at it there’s a look at like there’s a pretty consistent theme I’ll be it in only two series but like Anthony Edwards his athleticism just translates to a really really good NBA playoff player I I it just and then and then then there’s

Always just the NBA history part like it like it would you rather have the young inexperienced small team that has a ton of talent or the big strong veteran team that has a ton of talent like like let’s just let’s just let’s just get down to the to the nitty-gritty here

So like I I I think I think I would take Minnesota over them and and to be clear I’m not I am so high on Oklahoma City long term I just think I think a really really good team that is that is lacking some specific things that I think are

Necessary to succeed in the NBA Playoffs uh did you guys have any follow-ups there or can we move on just real quick I mean literally nobody guards the Nuggets better than the Minnesota Timberwolves because they have the perfect formula of cat can hold up physically as a post Defender with jic

That’s not to say that he’s going to make him like actively uncomfortable but he holds up better than like most teams number one post- defense option which then allows goar to disrupt things has helped to disrupt all of those lobs and bounce passes to Aaron Gordon they have

The athletes on the perimeter so I do think that that’s ultimately what it comes down to like yic would take OKC’s lunch every single possession he literally said like Chad you need to get fatter and that’s very real for that specific matchup so I agree definitely on that everything’s going to go through

Denver and Minnesota it would still be a long shot but they just have a better formula Logan any follow-ups I completely agree I mean I just think that they the physical in position Minnesota is one of the most physical and athletic teams in the league it’s just it’s going to if

There’s one thing that’s been proven too I mean that’s going to directly translate to to good on playoff basketball and I think they match up well physically against and any team they’re going to run into and uh yeah I wouldn’t pick it but I can definitely see Minnesota giving them giving them

Trouble all right so I saw something on Twitter the other day from Kendrick Perkins talking about how he is not supposed to tell anybody but there is a there is a star that’s going to be a Los Angeles Laker after next year I I am almost certain that he’s referencing Trey

Young um I had been hearing some stuff behind the scenes kind of hinting in this direction for a while I had heard that Trey young and clutch are really really have no interest in uh Trey being in Atlanta for a rebuild or reboot or anything along those lines um obviously

Him being a clutch client it’s a name that we’ve seen mentioned in reports in terms of guys that the Lakers would potentially be targeting we even had a report that I saw and I can’t even remember who uh put this out there but that the Hawks are considering

Rebuilding around dejonte Murray and I was like okay yeah like this this is the clearly Direction this is going so um I have my thoughts as it pertains to the Lakers making a Trey Young trade this summer and it’s it’s really this simple to me if I’m Atlanta I’m going okay cool

I want all three of your first round draft picks I want Austin Reeves I want Max Christy and I want Jared Vanderbilt basically every positive asset that the Lakers have and I also think that you could see a team like a potentially a uh like a Utah getting involved although

Like uh kante George had a really nice game last night so maybe they’re they’re higher on him in the long term but like San Antonio is a team that I could see getting involved and there are just a lot team a lot of teams that have more

Offer but you know how clutch can be and the way that they can kind of flex their muscles to try to get Trey in a certain spot and so I I I think that if you went to LA that’s what the deal would look like and

Maybe if you’re lucky Rob could fight to keep Vanderbilt in a deal like that but it’s hard to say and so then I think about Trey young D’Angelo Russell LeBron James at age 40 and Anthony Davis and I don’t see that team as being really that

Much of a threat for the same reason this Year’s team has some issues the lack complete and total lack of two-way perimeter Talent so from there I look at it more as like a future move for the Lakers like hey we need a post LeBron Allstar to partner with Anthony Davis to

Make sure that he’s willing to stay and basically Venture into this next era of NBA basketball and even then I don’t necessarily like this idea for the Lakers based on the simple fact that I’m not sure that an Anthony Davis Trey young Duo is all that highly placed in

The NBA which puts us in a a perfect situation to rank NBA Duos so here’s what we’re gonna do Logan you’re gonna go first I want you to give me your rundown ranked one through whatever of every NBA Duo ending with where you would put an Anthony Davis and Trey young

Duo I kind of like the the thought of a Trey young ad pairing I would go yic and Murray 1 I would go KD dbook 2 I’d go kawaiian pg3 I think I’d go Stephen Draymond four Jimmy and Bam five Luca and Kyrie six and then Trey and AD probably seven

Do you guys think I’m too high on him I’m sorry did you say jannis and Dame in there somewhere screw jannis and Dame guy bro bucks are cooked bro I don’t know what you want me to say dude that is the most absurd thing I’ve ever

Heard I was I was like is this a mistake like what’s going on I’m confused dude Logan literally thinks that the Bucks are going to be the first team in NBA history to get demoted they’re going to Institute the Premier League system and send them down to the G that is insane

To not have Giannis and d i I’m high I’m I’m a huge Steph fan too but Stephen Draymond is not as good as Anthony DAV also agreed also agreed outside of that Jimmy and Bam in a playoff setting it’s like they’re capable of of really good things but I certainly think that ad

Trey has higher upside if you get like ad who decides he wants to be aggressive offensively and then we know that Bam’s offense can wax and Wayne Jimmy has consistently elevated his level but I don’t know how I don’t want to bet against it ever but it’s like we know

What Trey can do carrying an offense with just every single possession I can get us a good shot out of pick and roll so for my list I agree with joic Murray I agree with KD book Janis Dame I think is a no-brainer I think you start to get into

The territory where you can kind of argue a theoretical tray and AD over anyone I think that Luca and Kyrie are playing unbelievably well this year and I think that of course Luca is having a historic season and is the best he’s ever been but Kyrie is also doing an

Awesome job of floating that offense in non Luca minutes of complimenting Luca like just hyper efficient crazy shot making good play making all the things that he does I also think embiid Maxi is at least on the fringes of these conversations because we kind of got to

See Maxi do it as that number two option as the number one perimeter guy in a playoff environment but I do think that he’s pretty awesome I think he’s a pretty legit efficient 25 Point per game score improved playmaker who at least has more tools to defend at the point of

Attack than like a Trey young but those two are both pretty close and then to me you have to have Trey and ad because I think that they do complement each other’s games pretty well I think that you would probably get the best version of AD playing with Trey just because

He’s never played with a guy who spoon feeds him looks like that out of pick and roll like LeBron has never run pick and roll at that sort of volume with the Lakers like because they just switch it yeah because they switch it whereas now you’re going to be looking at teams in

Drop and Trey’s just going to toast them and he’s going to hit those lobs to ad all game and it’s going to be really easy for him offensively and then defensively ad is the best defender on the planet still to me and so he can hide Trey’s issues better than a whole

Lot of other teams and I want to be clear Trey does still have issues just because we’ve seen like the whole Trey young is a good Defender narrative Brewing I don’t know if you’ve seen that Jason but it’s a real Hot Topic these days and I think that we have a real

Struggle collectively between separating improved from good Trey young is an improved Defender who is playing with more effort who is making more plays with his hands all of that is fair he is still 6’1 160 pounds with a a negative wingspan a 62 wingspan like he’s one of

The most physically limited NBA athletes and so he he’s never going to be able to be a plus defender in his career but 80 as a backline guy would do a lot to cover that up so I like it I think it’s Fringe top five so I I there’s obvious basketball

Fit stuff the simple fact that ad and Trey you’re gonna have to guard in some sort of traditional pick and roll coverage if you switch that you’re going to get a lot of bad results on both ends um offensively I think it would be a match made in heaven defensively again

If you had to construct a defense around Trey it would require someone the likes of Anthony Davis on the backline I’m not I’m not sitting here and pretending like it wouldn’t be a a a a very successful duo in the league my thing is like basically what I’m pitching here is when

You start to look around at the other Duos around the league and then also the timeline stuff like Anthony Davis is you know the like he by the time this trade takes place he could be what 31 32 years old so like we’re get and there’s a guy

With some injury history um and so the the the question is whether or not because I have heard things like Donovan Mitchell has some interest in playing in a big Market one day you know like there’s some other guards around the league uh that that are in smaller markets playing really good basketball

That maybe in a few years would be more interested in playing in a bigger Market the the question is whether or not the Lakers should wait for a bigger fish and then when you really look look at it it’s like are you going to have issues

On offense with an Austin DLo back court probably not so at least not in the regular season and so I that’s where I kind of look at it as as an opportunity to wait now my list I have joic Murray number one I actually put Dame Yannis too I did

This bit on my show yesterday but I actually would pick Giannis to win MVP this year I think he’s been the best regular season player in League not by some large margin over yic but by some very small margin um Kawai Paul George I think is clearly better than Anthony Davis and Trey

Young uh T like you the way you put it is perfect Carson these are guys you could argue but yeah I but like like Tatum and brown like that’s Tatum is like probably right around the same level as Anthony Davis and you know Jaylen Brown for all

Of his flaws like the it like is a guy that’s relatively close to a Trey young he’s in that same conversation Jimmy and Bam is who I had at five Kevin Durant Devon Booker at six I think that’s a group that you could argue an ad Trey is

Better but I would personally rather have KD and Devon Booker I personally think Luca is better than Anthony Davis and in terms of the playoff context I’d rather have Kyrie as my number two than Trey personally just because especially in that like kind of supplement supplementary kind of playmaking role

Like uh the way he’s partnered with Luca again we got to look at it’s kind of like the yic Murray thing like it doesn’t really matter how good Murray is stacked up to the other guards it’s how valuable he is to the nuggets and the two of those guys are more valuable than

All of these other groups like Luca Kyrie duo in my opinion is a better basketball duo than a Trey young Anthony Davis Duo I even put embiid Maxi over that group I think Joel embiid has the potential to be a wrecking ball that destroys everyone in the NBA playoffs I

Don’t think Anthony Davis has that potential so like like that that to me is the swing factor I do think Trey young is better than Tyrese Maxi right now but who knows in a few years you know what I mean so like like as far as I’m concerned I would probably take

Those eight Duos over Anthony Davis and Trey young and so from that standpoint especially given the Lakers and the way that they’re consistently a group that is at the top of the list for stars when they’re just gruntled and want to get out I I I would lean I I would lean

Towards passing on Trey and waiting on a bigger fish so now that we’ve discussed the Duos and Logan gave us his ridiculous list that I don’t think we spent enough time we did not give we did not spend enough time slandering him we should have spent way more time slandering him

Um but but given those lists would you if you were the general manager of the Lakers would you target Trey as the next guy to partner with Anthony Davis or would you hang tight and waight for something better to develop I just want to say this when the

Bucs get bounced in the first round I’m going to come right back to I’m G to come right back to this all right man when the Indiana Pacers beat the Bucks as you’ve prophesized and Dame scored 15 on 10% from the field and Doc calls a timeout they don’t

Have in the last 30 seconds to lose possession and give the other team a free throw yeah and Janis come steps and forgets how to dribble yeah uh jannis starts taking logo threes yeah if it’s Indiana I definitely wouldn’t pick that I do think the Bucks are cooked I would

Do it actually and I I think that Trey and AD would have great chemistry as Carson mentioned like Tre is an exceptional passer out of pick and rolls I I just think about the in between game the floaters the pullup like I think these are two guys that really

Compliment each other and would work together and I think the crucial point of this is to just not waste whatever time you have left of LeBron James and I think this is probably their biggest need I I don’t think the roster is there and I wouldn’t take the Lakers to knock

Off the Nuggets or to make a finals run I think they need bigger more athletic two-way guys Point Blank period but I also think they need another secondary shot Creator another guy from the perimeter that can carry this offense they can open up things for them and

That’s the biggest thing to me is just whatever time we have left of LeBron James you have to maximize that and I’m not saying that it fully opens the championship window we don’t have a gust coming through here but there’s a breeze there’s a little bit of Breeze with that

Championship window that I buy into enough with Trey LeBron and AD and it’s la man you know there’s a reason that we always theorize these big Superstar trades to LA Los Angeles makes stuff happen they make trades they make crazy deals so it’s not impossible that one

Offseason we could see a dramatic crazy roster overhaul or turnaround that makes the Lakers legit I probably wouldn’t predict it because I think I put the cart before the horse this season by taking the Lakers as my Championship favorite early this year it’s not over yet there’s a breeze there too look

There’s a breeze it’s kind of Stuffy in here fellas I don’t know about y’all if they get Trey I kind of like the I like the championship window Breeze that I would get with that Trio uh I would pull the trigger man I mean what what bigger is Donovan Mitchell

Mitchell the bigger fish and I I understand going for Donovan Mitchell but I just here’s my thing if Trey young became available I would jump at the opportunity to go and get him yeah that’s really the question for me is would I rather have Trey or Donovan Mitchell in this particular situation

And it’s sort of tough because I almost feel like for the last year or two of LeBron I would rather have Donovan just for a couple reasons like I think that Trey is the better manufacturer of team offense singlehandedly but you know that Donovan Mitchell like can be your number

One option for long stretches we’ve seen the playmaking from him this year has been very legit and then he is more of a guy who’s willing to give you catches shoot attempts at like a higher volume and he doesn’t singularly dominate the ball in that same way in defense he’s

Also having the best defensive season of his career yeah and he’s I mean right a much better athlete who maybe isn’t like that much taller but he’s got a 69ine wingspan longer more athletic has played within like a really good team defense like he has some of that discipline and

Trey has never played on a good team defense in his life so for those reasons I like Mitchell more for that immediate window long term though if I’m thinking just specifically about how those guys complement ad I really do love the offensive fit between Trey and AD so I

Think it’s honestly going to depend on like if either of those two are available I would probably take the one who’s available if they’re both available then I think I lean Donovan Mitchell but to me either way you need to add that star guard Creator and it’s

Going to be imperfect either way but it’s going to make you a more serious Contender because you need that sort of offensive popping guy who can carry the load when LeBron just isn’t going to do that for a full 36 minutes at 40 years old yeah I I would in the context of

Like a bridge move that gives you a better chance to win next year with LeBron while also having a person to partner with Anthony Davis it’s Donovan Mitchell every single time for me I I would much rather have him I think you could build with Donovan Mitchell uh I

Think you could build a like a legitimate Championship defense him and and Anthony Davis with a you know if could maintain a Jared Vanderbilt in a deal like that like I think there’s enough athleticism on the perimeter between a guy like Donovan and a guy like Jared to kind of make that that

Functional in a big way uh but I do think the Lakers are starting to get to the point where like if you’re starting to make decisions this summer based on the LeBron version of the team that gets tricky because he’s going to be 40 next

Year I think I think it’s you know last summer it was very much like hey we need to give it one last shot with LeBron we got to try to do something and by the way they did nothing but like there there there is a there is a case to be

Made that we’re officially encroaching on that territory now where it’s like what are we going to do when this guy does you know either fall off significantly or experience an old guy injury that takes him out for a season or whatever it is like what are we going

To do and that is where I would not like a a Trey Young trade I if I was running the Lakers would be like keeping Austin keeping all of these young players ruy Jared Vanderbilt retain D’Angelo Russell and just be this really fun basically the team saw in Utah the other night

Like a really fun team with a bunch of offensive Talent around Anthony Davis and just wait and wait and wait until a legitimate top 10 player becomes available that you can jump on and within a couple more seasons you’ll have a couple more picks and and that would

Just be the direction that I would go if I was running the Lakers if Donovan Mitchell comes available this summer pounce on him if it’s Trey young I’d wait and see if if a bigger fish comes available all right before we get out of here we’re going to have to go somewhat

Quickly here uh I want to just do a quick little uh uh round the table on each of the top three picks in last year’s draft so we’ll start with you Carson vikor wanyama are you higher or lower on him than you were when he was drafted tough to believe but I think

That I’m a little bit higher and he was universally acknowledged the best prospect that we’ve seen in the last two decades I think that he is the best rookie that we have seen this Century like since the guys coming straight out of high school into one and done era

Where we weren’t getting finished products we weren’t getting 22-year-old grown men like Tim Duncan anymore I think that he’s the best that we’ve seen and on a per minute and per possession basis what he’s been doing offensively since moving to Center is ridiculous he’s scoring 27 a half points per 75

Possessions which is a pretty good estimate of like what a star player should be playing in a normal game he’s just only been giving you 27 minutes a night so he’s outscoring like every other rookie that we’ve seen this entury he’s doing it with legitimately good efficiency now over 59% true shooting

And he’s just transformed he like took a full-on leap mid-season to where now playing at the five is just better for him because the spacing is better in a situation that was really rough offensively still rough because of the Guard play but now he does also have

Trey Jones who is just more capable of setting him up so he’s getting some more of those manufactured looks around the rim where he is a physical outlier like we haven’t seen in 60 years it’s ridiculous put the ball up there and he’ll finish it he’s the best transition

Scoring big in basketball more outlier athleticism there he to me has been more decisive and assertive attacking the rim and a bit more comfortable with NBA physicality he’s shooting way better like he’s just playing like a Bonafide Star right now and he’s barely 20 years old and he’s the best defensive rookie

That we’ve seen this Century that to me is the separator between him and any other candidate that you could have in that conversation he’s averaging six stalks per 75 possessions like he is Far and Away leading league and Steals and blocks combined in 27 minutes per game

He just has physical tools we’ve never seen 74 with an 8ot wingspan and can also move this fluidly and has these sort of instincts and IQ at this age it’s unbelievable he wrecks games defensively in ways that like you almost can’t conceive of until you see it in

The NBA like you can’t really conceive that a physical outlier to the extent that wemi is can actually exist and blending that with basketball skill he’s been playmaking better he’s everything that expected and I think even a little bit more yeah the skill the physical ability the

IQ I couldn’t believe it like Carson said I mean he’s the high he’s the most highly touted guy we’ve seen since LeBron and I think he’s even better than we expected he’s I said this on the show uh our last show and Carson laughed at

Me like he’s a baller and what I meant by that is just he’s focused on the game he is all about some ball and that’s my favorite type of players the Joe Burrows of the world the guys that are getting to bed early they’re focused on their

Craft they’re focused on The Game and his it really is you can talk about the skill and you can talk about the physical imposition and the traits his IQ is off the freaking charts man the way he sees the floor is is insane and I think if we opened up the conversation

To other guys like I I do think Carson did a great video a great breakdown on Victor and why he’s the best rookie this Century on our YouTube channel I mean I think you could expand that coners ation we’re going to do an alltime rookie draft later and I’m really intrigued to

See where where wemi goes I mean I think you could make the case that Victor is you know one of the best rookies in in NBA history Point Blank period dude it is ridiculous and yeah he’s he’s exceeded my really lofty expectations too man he’s one of the best rookies ever I

Think yeah I’m higher on him as well and it’s really the simple to me like I didn’t expect him to like be this impactful at the NBA level this quickly like I like wemy I I think the ceiling is more or less exactly where it was

When we talked about him all summer long uh we knew he had this type of potential I just didn’t think it it would happen this quickly I mean like you had mentioned Carson he literally underwent a leap in the middle of the Season yeah and you know you had one of the things

That stands out to me because I i’ uh I’m trying to get some uh some more time with the Dallas Mavericks in the film sessions because I’m going to try to hit them early next week and I was watching the Maverick Spurs game from the other

Day and like he his first shift was outrageous for lack of a better term like it and you know there’s one guy that I can remember having this type of athletic impact as a rookie and it’s LeBron and even at a at a lower level but similar in the sense that

Like cuz Giannis had this too in like 2018 2019 but he didn’t have it early in his career but where like when you watch an NBA game that has 2018 Giannis in it or rookie LeBron or rookie Victor wanyama it looks different than other NBA games because there’s an athlete on

The floor that doesn’t even resemble any of the other athletes that are in the league and you actually see established NBA players be like fluster by some of the things that they run into you know with Giannis and LeBron it was like the transition like holy he

Caught it with three dudes in front of him and somehow just with a live dribble just raced past all of them and dunked it or oh I threw this pass to the wing and they jumped this passing Lane and they just shot like a Canon the other

Way and transition for a dunk or whatever it is like they they just had this like like crazy combination of straight line speed and and Power to do it but Victor just does it with the Absurd length and and that’s what it is for him is like every time I’m watching a game

With Victor wanyama it just you can tell there’s like an initial phase of every single one of these games because a lot of these Spurs games have looked like that Mavs game has where like in the first shift the other team is just completely Shell Shocked because they

Don’t know how to handle what Victor does and then finally they kind of settle down and they were like oh yeah we’re way better than this team and they kind of figured out and they go along the way but like yeah it’s just he he has a truly a truly unprecedented

Physical profile that other teams don’t know how to handle and it’s and to me that has impacted winning at the NBA level level much faster than I expected um Logan you’re first on Brandon Miller I was really high on Brandon Miller coming into the draft I wanted

The Hornets to take him second overall I’m I’m higher we all did right yeah I yeah Brandon has also exceeded my expectations like first of all he’s an alltime shooter I think the way he shoots off movement at these different speeds at the different distances and

One thing that scks out too is his foot placement like it doesn’t really matter where Brandon’s feet are again from any distance he can just put it up and he’s just got such a buttery smooth stroke man that’s that’s the term that I use for Brandon Miller man butter smooth he

Just has a a smoothness and a fluidity to his game it’s really elegant and beautiful and and Beyond his years something that you don’t really see with rookies he’s a great athlete he is a great defender uh he’s a good Defender now but I think he’s going to be great

As it goes along in terms of positioning on ball off ball as a helps side guy uh he’s got great length and physical tools too like Brandon’s everything to me and he’s he’s got an advanced handle and IQ I think Brandon is the building block

Carson I know put a poll out on our YouTube and on Twitter as well who would you rather build around if you’re the Hornets lamelo or Brandon Miller uh for me it’s wholeheartedly Brandon Miller and uh I think it’s kind of got lost in the shuffle you know I feel bad for guys

Like Brandon Miller for guys like Chad holgren because they’re in a rookie class of Victor W bamas and we’re also enamored with him that it can kind of get lost in the shuffle a little bit Brandon’s also one of the most advanced rookies that I’ve seen this Century in

Terms of winning and winning impact and in terms of Versatility I think Brandon’s a a future Superstar I love Brandon Miller and I would say that with him I’m probably a little bit higher too like he looks pretty darn similar to what I expected and it’s funny like the hilarious quote

From Brandon Miller was when he said over the offseason that Paul George was his goat but like my God he’s got so much Paul George in him like there’s a little bit of a different level of athleticism with PG but when you’re talking about 69ine dudes who just have

Like obscenely Smooth handles crazy comfortable pull-up Shooters the ability to excel both on and off the ball to defend multiple positions it’s like there’s a lot of the same stuff in there and I think that he’s just an archetype that really translates to winning anywhere and Jason I remember when you

Came on our draft show with Colin too and we were talking about the number two pick we were all in agreement that it should be Brandon one of the things that you pointed out is that the archetype of hyper athletic downhill guard like scoot Henderson is one that people often

Become enamored with but doesn’t always translate to like winning at the highest level whereas this versatile Wing like a Brandon Miller two-way shot Creator off ball shot maker with some playmaking chops like that guy is always going to have a spot as a star and I thought that

That was very true I also think that Miller was just a slightly better Prospect and a better fit alongside lamelo but he’s delivering his last 10 games he’s averaging 23.8 points per game on 48 4289 splits and I agreee that his pure shot making is unbelievable but

The other things that stand out to me he really does have a rare handle for a guy at this size at this age and his feel and Pace out of pick and roll is pretty exceptional like he will trap people on his back he’s got the hostage dribble

Down he can get to the floater range but he can also playmake out of those situations and it’s just very atypical especially from a guy who does have that sort of scoring skill Wing playmaking development generally is something that takes several years and guys come into the league much more Score first and

Then they realize okay to be the best offensive player I need to weaponize my defensive attention to create for others and I think that Brandon’s already on a very good trajectory there and defensively he’s in Charlotte so you can only be so good like I wouldn’t say he’s

Been a good Defender he’s a rookie in Charlotte but I think you see that he cares more than the other guys I think you see that he has all the tools he’s super mobile he guarded oftentimes the opposing team’s lead guard at Alabama but then he was also this impactful

Rebounder and secondary rim protector the guys just a stud I think he’s going to be an all-nba kind of guy I don’t know that he’ll be like Superstar top five player just because again like a PG does have that athletic advantage over him Brandon doesn’t have a great first

Step and he’s slight so getting to the rim for him was an issue in college and it remains an issue in the league I think he’s outside the top 150 in the league in terms of restricted area makes per game that’s the one thing but he is

Like a dream number two on a contending team to me for years yeah I don’t think him or scoot really have like top five player in the league potential which is you know that that would be the one thing that could have made that more complicated in terms of the two

Archetypes in whether or not you take one at two or or at three uh I’ve noticed the same thing in terms of like the first step and just his overall physical strength and like ability to get to his spots I think you see that in ISO in particular when he tries to beat

People straight up um but like it’s extreme I I’ll have to dig into it but like I can’t remember a player walking into the league and being this good of a pull-up shooter as a rookie like I I don’t I I can’t even think of a guy off

The top of my head that’s in the same conversation he’s already one of the best pull-up jump Shooters in the league there are 66 players that have attempted at least 150 he’s 19th on that list in efficiency in over a point per possession at 1.03 like it’s just there

Aren’t that many guys in the league regardless of age that are are like efficient pullup jump Shooters and he and he’s doing it as a rookie it’s extremely rare uh Carson you mentioned the pick and roll kind of like feel I that like and and Logan you mentioned

The footwork the handle and footwork stuff has been what’s most impressive to me in my opinion one of the most important parts of really Dynamic scoring in the NBA is the ability to get to a pull-up jumper out of many many different kinds of footwork and in dribble combinations and that’s the

Thing is like none of these look alike he’s do it he can do it he can square up in midair he can do it off a step back he can do it off a side step he can he’s got that like one of the ones that he

Has that’s really nasty is he’s got that like really aggressive dribble in One Direction and then just rise up and then while the defender doing the defensive slide he’s already getting up into his shot he like there’s some really really high level stuff there there was a play

At the end of the Pacers game uh crunch time possession where he ran a ball screen and the Pacer switched it and he ended up with Miles turn in a straight ISO at the top of the key and he like dusted him with a dribble move to a pull-up jumper at the elbow

Where Miles Turner just wasn’t even in the frame anymore when he rose up and I was like that was disgusting and like again that you know it’s funny he’s been better as like a mid-range shooter than anything else in these pull-up situations which a lot of times people

Look at as a downside but like in my opinion those are often the best shots that you can get in rock fights and and so having a guy that can that feels comfortable rising and firing at a different combinations and footwork at 15 feet is just super super valuable

He’s also been one of their best uh plus minus guys they’re Five Points better per 100 possessions when he’s on versus when he’s off all right Carson really really quickly before we get out of here scoot Henderson higher or lower than you were after the draft I’m a little bit

Lower on Scoot and really that to me just boils down to I thought that his insane athleticism like the combination of first step and really being a strong guard and having this balance like I thought that he would just have a little bit more easy offense on the back of

That and he hasn’t really I think that he’s a guy who settled for a lot of tough jumpers and wasn’t a very good jump shooter for ignite like he has these stretches where he really gets in a rhythm from mid-range but he’s erratic even there and then from three he was a

Poor shooter uh for ignite and he’s like 31% this year and at The Rim I think you’ve seen that he can’t physically dominate against NBA guys immediately like he could those younger or just lower level athletes that he was facing so he’s shooting 51% inside of three

Feet so it’s just been like a sort of erratic Rocky start for him the efficiency numbers will look awful I think that to some extent like we have moved the goal post too far for guards where we’ve had some guards in recent years who are like really immediately

Ready to produce at least with good volume and like respectable efficiency like what Trey and Luca did in the same class what jaw did that’s not normal normally rookie guards are super inefficient they’re super turnover prone like and maybe they make some improvements midseason and I do think

That scoot has taken some strides as of late so I still see a really athletic guard who I think plays with some good Pace out of pick and roll himself who has playmaking chops who I think if he wants to be can be a plus Defender but he’s certainly further behind on the

Trajectory compared to a guy like Brandon who it’s like yep he’s delivered everything and even a little bit more than I expected scoot it’s like I still see all the tools but in terms of production he obviously hasn’t delivered this year I’m pretty aligned with Carson here I had slightly higher expectations

Out of the draft uh I I have been a little disappointed but I think scoot has legitimately gotten better during this season and I think it’s important to contextualize I know that Brandon’s not in a winning situation either this year for Portland kind of is hey scoot

Go out there and show us what you can do man you know what I mean this is really a year for him to just get reps and to get better that being said you know I think his jump shot was a question mark heading into the draft it doesn’t look

Busted it doesn’t look ugly I like the shots that he generates I think that uh scoot can tend to get off balance a little bit uh a little bit with his pull-up jumpers and I think he needs to work on that but you know like mechanically it doesn’t look busted it

Doesn’t look ugly and I did think like you said Carson I did think was going to be able to physically impose himself a little more with his athletic traits but the thing that I really like is his change of pace and his ability to hunt space when he gets a screen like scoot

Is really good at finding the open area and just navigating and getting into the Lane right and so for that to me that’s really encouraging it’s going to take time his more of these tough shots are going to fall he’s going to produce better looks he’s going to develop

Better feel for the game and that’s ultimately it for me I really like the way that scoot navigates uh the half court as a ball handler he’s really good at hunting space and while he hasn’t been crazy dominant athletically when he catches Defender flat-footed damn scoot can just blow by

Somebody and get into the lane so I’m a little lower on scoot but I really do think that he’s gonna be a I think scoot’s gonna be a really good player one day I just think it may take a little bit longer for him to to get

There I’m a lot higher on him than I was a couple months ago I’ll tell you that much um I was really really uh disappointed the start of the season I the one big you know kind of Silver Lining early on was it it was clear kind

Of similar to what we talked about with Anthony Edwards that he can get to his spots like in terms of his athleticism it is difficult for guys to really bump him off his line and and get him away from from where he wants to get on the

Floor but the shooting was just so bad early in the year but there have been some really encouraging Trends there like he’s made 25 pullup threes this year at 35% not bad that’s over a point per possession uh he’s an 82% free throw shooter that typically uh you know kind

Of bodess well in terms of a player’s um you know touch he’s actually been a pretty good pick and roll shot Creator this year 0.98 points per possession that’s really not bad for a for a young guard like him and he’s shown some higher level passing chops than I think

A lot of us were expecting and I think again one of the things that I I think is important to acknowledge here too is Portland’s kind of a weird team in the sense that he’s not really getting handed the keys and like hey go lead this bad team for 82 games like the

Blazers were like putting him out there with a bunch of guys who like to get Buckets yeah like like DeAndre Aon he loves to take his little face up jump shots and have his post touches Jeremy Grant like in his in his dream world

Would be a 20 point per game guy on a bad team you know Anthony Simon is like literally a more a more further along in his career version of like a high usage guard like Malcolm Brogden has been a guy that they’ve leaned on in crunch

Time a lot of situations like they they they have not just straight up given scoot the keys and been like hey go go get these reps and so I I do I think here’s the thing I my opinion of scoot scoots like ceiling hasn’t changed at all uh but yeah this season has

Definitely been a little bit disappointing just in the way that it’s gone down that said like I do think Brandon Miller at number two was the right choice and I think Charlotte is is satisfied with their decision there all right guys we’ve gone for about an hour

And a half so I I think it’s about time to to call it uh God bless Paul our producer is probably getting frustrated behind the scenes um thank you all for for um supporting the show before we get out of here actually Logan and Carson thank you guys for uh donating your time

Today it always means a lot to me can you guys shout out some of the work you’ve been doing lately yeah of course well first of all thank you for having I don’t know if I would call it a donation it’s it’s more fun that but yeah so you

Can find all of our stuff at the nerd s YouTube channel Logan mentioned actually I specifically have done video breakdowns on two of the guys that we just talked about going more in depth like 10 12 minute video film breakdowns on both wemi and Brandon Miller so we’re

Doing that we also have all of our full shows over there with video talking now all NBA but we do NFL stuff when that is in season and then we do some trivia content on our YouTube channel Channel and also across social media Tik Tok at nerd sesh Instagram is the same and

Twitter is at nerd SES I am a huge basketball fan and I could not possibly care less about the all-star weekend do you guys give a at all I agree I think Allstar Weekend is not in a good place but then I think about it and I compare it to where like

The Pro Bowl is at and I’m like you know things could be worse because I literally haven’t watched a second of the Pro Bowl in a decade cuz they’re playing flag football like they’re not even playing the sport uh yeah go ahead Logan there’s just been very few things it’s disheartening as a

Football fan to watch the Pro Bowl fall as far as it has man uh last Pro Bowl I enjoyed was when they played it on Madden so yeah at least yeah at least the All-Star Game hasn’t dipped that low man yeah I it’s crazy because like like

Paul texted me the other day and he’s like hey I need you to record a video like a 45 second video like with your picks for like who’s going to win the Three-Point Contest and like I did it but it’s like we have done no other all

Allar content and I have no intention of doing any other All-Star content like like I I thought the dead giveaway was when they did the Elum ending and they got like two really good games out of it um the LeBron won like fade away game and then the the one where Anthony Davis

Won on the free throws and Yannis was like you know the blocking LeBron and LeBron was ripping Giannis that stuff they got a couple of good games out of it and then they quit on the Elum ending too and they started play why did they I

I I well but to to the League’s defense the last couple ones were bad though like like I think I put it on the players yeah yeah I guess but like the two best All-Star games that we had gotten since that one I can’t remember exactly the year but there was that one

Really fourth quarter when Kobe was still in there maybe it was like 2012 or something but then outside of that it’s like we got two good All-Star games and they were both with the Elam ending so yeah it got bad but I just think they need to be decisive like they’re

Changing everything up now we’re back to East West which I’m good with but then why did we do drafts for a half decade why did we do the eel amending for a few years and then abandon it it’s just all it’s it’s weird it’s too inconsistent they don’t know what they’re doing but

Yeah it’s not great I’m not very excited how Carson Carson’s take how the league has managed the All-Star Game the way Darin ham has managed the Lakers all right guys that is all we have for today like I said we appreciate you guys supporting the show we’re gonna

Take the rest of the weekend off and we’ll be back next week with some Contender talk with s Vini some Power Rankings and a mailbag make sure you get those mail mailbag questions in A

Jason Timpf is joined by Carson Breber and Logan Camden from @Nerd_Sesh to discuss all things NBA as we head into NBA All-Star Weekend. The guys discuss Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors getting hot at the right time, and how they can still be a threat to Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference. The guys then dive into the East as Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics have been dominant to this point, and should walk straight through the Eastern Conference, and anything short of an NBA Finals appearance would be viewed as a failure. Last, can the Oklahoma City Thunder or the Minnesota Timberwolves make a run in the yet despite being two of the youngest teams in the league?

Timeline:
00:00 – Introduction
01:01 – Celtics or The Field in East?
19:54 – Don’t count out Warriors
42:37 – More faith in Timberwolves or Thunder?
53:43 – Trae Young to Lakers? + Ranking Trae/AD duo
01:10:47 – Higher or Lower on Rookies
01:30:51 – Check out Nerd Sesh!

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