The Five BIGGEST QUESTIONS remaining 👀 | The Lowe Post

The Five BIGGEST QUESTIONS remaining 👀 | The Lowe Post

And now the low post welcome to the low post podcast it’s Tuesday it’s snowing I already laid the track for sledding in my backyard so I’ve done my dading for the day Allstar break is coming up trade deadline is over and now it’s time to really sink

Into the basketball we got about 30 games left seatings and playoff matchups will come into formation soon get a little Clarity big questions are to be answered the teams are now essentially fully formed it’s time to focus on the Hoops if you want to learn about

Basketball this is one of the guys to go to one half of the dunker spot podcast a regular guest on JJ reic old man in the three Steve Jones Jr how are you sir uh I’m feeling good I’m feeling great I will not disclose that it’s a sunny day

In Texas but salute on the sledding sledding is a good time I’m not a ski guy I’m a sled guy uh so I said I want I want to go like let’s Zoom way out trade deadline’s over the minutia we’ve dug through it already now it’s time to look

Forward see how the new pieces fit see what story lines develop and I said I want you to prepare your four or five biggest questions for the rest of the NBA season going into the playoffs and I did mine too I am going to be a selfish

Host and start off because I want to get your take on my number one biggest question for the rest of the season are you ready I’m ready I think this is the biggest question in the entire NBA for the next 30 Games how good exactly are the Milwaukee

Bucks what is this team which is ninth in net rating ninth in net rating after shellacking the Denver Nuggets at home last night we’re taping this Tuesday afternoon they play again tonight against the Heat uh the Nuggets by the way down to 10th in that rating we’ll

Talk a little bit about them and if you’re a little worried about them at all um but the Bucks are 35 and 19 third in the East with Joel embiid’s injury and all the health issues in New York there’s a window for them to get up to two Cleveland’s making it an uphill

Battle we’re going to talk about the Cavs with Chris Fedor soon um I think you can agree Steve it’s been a little raggedy for the Milwaukee Bucks in the Damen Lillard deis senta Kumo era we’ve had some cranky press conferences a coach fired a new coach that got off to

A one and4 start after being an ESPN announcer for a hot second uh the Dame Yannis chemistry hasn’t come along as quickly as we thought the defense has been somewhere between a disaster and a tire fire depending on where you rank those two uh natural or whatever

Occurrences um but here we are they are 35 and 19 they are something like plus 15 per 100 possessions with their four best players on the floor Dame Giannis Middleton Lopez that’s the skeleton of something amid all the chaos and all the whatever that stuff is over now it’s

Time to co us into a team into a team that can can we think we think they can win the title what are you watching for from the Bucks that just acquired Pat Beverly um where are you on this team with me on the Bucks I have firmly been

In I they’re good Giannis is very good Dame is very good can they start to find the little things defensively can we clean up the transition defense in the half court can we keep the ball in front can we show early help that’s where I think the Patrick Beverly signing helps

That’s why I think adding Doc Rivers helps cuz the one thing I’ve noticed with more decisive defensively during the stretch even if the results have been uneven you’ve seen more of we’re going to double against Dallas and we’re going to rotate behind that we’re going to switch and we’re going to show help

We’re going to be able to keep things in front even in that Denver game they ended up winning their mindset at first was we’re switching its yic which sounded and looked great until you realized oh that’s Malik Beasley by himself guarding ni yic we can’t do that

Anymore let’s stop doing that and so I think having that mindset defensively ultimately will help them and the offense has not really been the issue I think the big key for me has been Giannis has looked very locked in during this stretch post uh coaching move I

Think you’ve seen him return to form with his weak side rotations and his help defense I think that’s so important for Milwaukee and being able to craft these lineups where Giannis is actually allowed to roam a little bit more as opposed to being in the action is key

For me it’s just does I think Milwaukee and cleaning up do they have enough to go go through the playoffs with this version of their team do they have enough defense to give their offense wiggle room I think that’s the the landing spot they have to get

To you you know when they traded Dame for Drew which despite all the things that have happened since is still a trade I think I would make if I were them even even though you had no control over where Drew holiday ended up and he ended up going to the worst possible

Place for the Milwaukee Bucks I still think the prior version of this team had run its course and needed something to bring in some oxygen on offense and some clarity on offense and Dame has brought oxygen not as much clarity as I had thought would happen just in terms of

Like okay here’s a ready-made best two-man game in the league it hasn’t quite been that you see glimpses of it but it’s 10 11 12 pick and rolls a game not 30 and there’s a million reasons for that that we can get into if you want

But um I I I was a little I thought just Giannis and Brook would be enough for this team to be 12th in defense 14th in defense that the having two guys who have been an annual first team second Team all defense conversation kind of guys would be enough and it hasn’t been

The perimeter defense hasn’t been good enough the transition defense has been horrible doc has already gotten that in in order I think you see the transition defense has gotten a lot better and you know I don’t know man as long as they have those two dudes and as long as they

Have Giannis and a good Supporting Cast and you know Chris Middleton his minutes have been ramping up he didn’t play last night against Denver Crowder starting to look a little cowdery um I like the pev addition I you know we haven’t seen a lot of him next

To Lillard really if at all maybe a couple minutes and that’s it so far I’m interested to see if he can kind of butt his way into the closing lineup in some scenarios you know conathan hasn’t really been great he’s just been okay ortis has been pretty good AJ Green

Dairy bird as as Marcus Johnson calls him has been giving him good minutes off the bench the other young guys don’t play I don’t know I I don’t I it’s just been so such a strange season and yet I still think this team can win the title

I I I’m not going to pick them but I think they can but I think in these next 20 20 games let’s say they’ve got to give me three weeks where they just look consistently really good where there isn’t a horrible loss where there isn’t

Like we just let go of the Rope on defense where there isn’t a cranky press conference just give me like three weeks of hey we’re just a really good team trending the right way that’s what I want to see I see can I ask one question

On Dame and Giannis and pick and roll absolutely where are you at with that because are we at the they need to run it more stage or the hey what’s going on when these two are in action together stage because it feels like the timing is off sometimes where yanis is looking

To screen Dame’s looking to snake now Giannis rolls into Dame and those kind of things happen collisions that the pick and roll Collision mhm uh I still am on the I think they should run it more um I think they should run the inverted version of it more which is to say more

Than never they just don’t ever run it um and I I get all the reasons why they’re not running them more number one I don’t think Giannis wants to set 30 and 35 ball screens a game maybe that changes in the Conference Finals or the finals if they get there and it’s just

Like we got to all do whatever it takes to win and I have Middleton over here and I’ll set 15 for him because I really trust him as a pick and roll ball handler we got a ton of chemistry he throws me lobs I dunk him it’s great um

And I think they realized right away when we do run this two-man game they’re gonna Blitz Dame and four Dudes are going to be waiting for Giannis in the paint before he even catches the ball and you’re just GNA have to kick it out a lot of the time to Brook and Crowder

And Beasley and Middleton and those are all good options like I’m I think those are mostly good shots if I can get a contested Jay Crowder above the break three as a defense that’s good for me a contested Brook Lopez above the break three I can live with that of all the

Options the other ones are pretty dangerous shots I just think there’s I just wonder like those are two Superstar players two guys who have been first second Team all NBA level players they want to finish possessions and start possessions and so I wonder if that becomes an irritant for them like I man

I got to kick it out again and I don’t know but I do think it needs to be run more what do you think answer your own question I think I’m at the point where I like the fact that Milwaukee has a base and they don’t have to rely on that

To open things up for them offensively I think there’s value in that and being able to generate quality shots for Beasley for Brook Lopez I think that’s a plus I do wonder if they can now tap into it come playoff time or in the buildup to of the playoffs to where now

It’s not just we’re in the fourth quarters you also have to deal with this and we can guarantee ourselves a good shot like is that the magic behind it I just kind of want to see more of the chemistry come between it and i’ honestly I’d like more off ball screens

Between them get back to the Elbow action have Dame screen foris that way put pressure on teams that way I just think it’s such an an easy way to open things up honestly they did that in the preseason a few times and I remember highlighting it on video like oh my God

A Dame back screen for Giannis at the at the elbow got an alleyoop or got a Dame of three because everybody went with with Yannis they just haven’t done that and I it’s one of those things is someone who’s never played or coached in the league I’m sure there are reasons

For that it’s not like the coaches are dumb and don’t realize those things are good they all know those things are good and they don’t happen so there must be a reason for it but man I think it’s not that we’ve all missed the forest for the

Trees because the the the trees have been a mess and they’ve been falling all over the place and making loud noises and they’ve been worth paying attention to I just think there is a really great team in here somewhere and it’s time to see it now like the drama’s over the

Roster is what it is you got one semi- helpful player which is really all you could get with what you had and it’s time to put some good wins together and last night against Denver I know no kcp Jamal Murray left after 18 minutes they were already rolling Denver when those

Guys were in the game that was a good win and they rolled Boston a few weeks ago by 30 something at home you know Missoula pulled the starters after halftime give me give me some more of that because I’m this this team could get scary if if it starts to

Click give me your give me give me your first big question Who on Earth wins the Western Conference well that’s a good timely question expound upon the question for me the reason why I put that down so I looked and as of right now all of the

Top 10 in the west have either won six of their last 10 games or seven of their last 10 games and you have this pack up front of the top four where a game and a half separates Denver from Minnesota and then you have a game that separates New

Orleans at five from eight Dallas at 8 and my mind goes to homec court advantage and how important that is but the all top four of the West seeds have won 75% or better of their home games and I’m trying to balance what do I do

With a Minnesota team that has Rudy goar playing at this level defensively looking better in space Anthony Edwards developing the playmaking cat hitting threes cutting on the perimeter punishing teams when they want to switch but also being concerned about them facing switches and then there’s OKC with their style of play and their

Drives their guard to guard screens and Shay driving all over the place but is their defense and shooting going to hold up and then there’s Denver who’s Denver and Nicole yic and the defensive versatily they found that I don’t think gets highlighted enough and the fact that when it’s winning time hey Nicole

Yic Jamal Murray Aaron Gord you guys three run action we’re going to put pressure on teams and then the Clippers that have been incredible is this just Denver’s conference are they just lying in weight right now so this is a very timely question because Denver um has just kind of been in for

The last three to ever since that Boston win which was a landmark win and they did beat the Bucks in in Denver and Doc Rivers debut they’ve been a little up and down they’re 10th in net rating is in the NBA 10th like that’s like oo that’s seems low now their starters have

About the same net rating as they did last year plus 12 Murray joic same net rating as last year plus 12 joic jokic’s net rating is down it’s only plus nine that’s a little you know their bench we know has been a little shaky um and also

Last night one of the statement wins of the Season Minnesota who hasn’t been up and down but it seems like every loss is kind of like a oh got a crunchtime meltdown again like red flag kind of loss went into LA with the number one

Seed in the West on the line and just romped the Clippers in the second half and romped them in a way that felt like proof of concept for this team in particular it felt like an exorcism of all the demons for Rudy gobear because the Timberwolves are gigantic and the

Clippers went small five out no Center and we’ve seen the Clippers go small five out no Center against Rudy goar and we’ve seen that essentially end a team in Utah and end Rudy goar’s reputation for a prolonged period of time and the Wolves were like hey that’s cool um

We’re just going to be big and get every offensive rebound and Rudy goar is going to dunk in kawh Leonard’s face in the second half of the game and we’re going to bully your asses out of the gym one of the most impressive wins of the

Season for any team in the whole NBA and the are now first the nuggets are fourth and you tiered it the right way we got the top four and one of my big questions is are we at all worried about Denver slash how important is home court

Advantage because I think this is one of the biggest story lines in the west the rest of the way that number one seed was very important for the Nuggets last year they are the best home team in the NBA I don’t think they’re taking it for granted but I also don’t think they’ve

Been in fifth gear for most of the season I think they’ve been in like second or third year then you have four teams for the last two spots in the guaranteed playoff bracket New Orleans which is like good luck figuring out whatever the hell they are Phoenix okay can you show us now

Sacramento did nothing at the trade deadline I was actually fine with that I’m actually relieved that Sacramento did nothing at the trade deadline I know their fans are Furious I would love them to name me the move that they wanted to make uh Dallas who totally remade their

Roster and is on a five game winning streak those two of those teams are going to be in the playin and two of them are likely going to be in the playoffs unless the next tier of teams the Warriors and the Lakers have found something in the last couple particularly the Warriors have

Won five in a row the Lakers are starting to play better they’re creeping creeping up creeping up and then Utah and Houston below them at both falling off pretty likely I think we have our top 10 in the west but let’s start at the top and the who’s going to win the

West question and the homec court advantage question I’m going to start with the nuggets are you would all worried about the Nuggets who have fallen to fourth in the standings 10th in net rating and I was just having a conversation about this with an executive on another team yesterday who

Said you know I just think they just lost too much from last year’s team they lost too much from last I was like what did they lose they lost Bruce Brown like I know they lost Jeff Green but like functionally they lost Bruce Brown who

Who by the way kind of hasn’t done much this year away from the joic Nirvana um and and I understand like he was a huge for them last year huge but I always just felt like like Payton Watson’s starting to play better and make shots and I like I have faith in Christian

Brown Reggie Jackson’s been good Off the Bench like I I just felt like they had enough and yet absent a couple of big sort of statement wins like in Boston that was a big win I don’t are you worried at all I’m not worried about them in the

Playoffs one because I don’t know which team out west truly has an answer for Nicole yic I think that changes the math I think Jamal Murray and being able to be so good and so many different ways also helps I also think when they get to

The point of the playoffs and we’ve seen it mix in against some of these contenders a couple of the Highlight wins you mentioned Aaron Gordon just becomes the backup five and now we’re just mixing and matching in ble to kind of hurt you that way and either keep it

Even or win those minutes and now yic comes back so I’m not traditionally worried and I honestly feel better about their defense this year than I did last year as far as being able to mix in hey Nicole yic you can mix in your drop you

Don’t have to be at the level every time you might switch every now and then we’ll show help but you might switch you guard a non-shooter and you roam being able to just throw what was the biggest thing they did in the regular season last year was tell was somehow convince yok

Hey this whole like you’re up at the level of the screen every single time I know you like it and sometimes it works and your hands are unbelievable and you get Steals and deflections like we got to do some other stuff because we can’t win four straight playoff series like

This and they convinced him and you look look back at that first round Series against Minnesota he dropped a lot in that series and I like when they put him on non I to to the diversity is like it’s been an underplayed storyline of the Nuggets because it’s boring and

Wonky and X’s know it’s a big big deal that they that they did what you explained and that’s where I kind of think that they still have a path towards that someone has to beat them you have to go beat Denver so I’m not as concerned in a playoff context I guess

For me it’s how bad do they need the one seed to make this work is more where I’m at well well look I mean it also depends like where you end up if you’re not the one seed are you two are you four if you’re four are you going to have to

Face the fully souped up Phoenix Suns in the first round CU that seems crappy like I know the I know Denver beat them last year but if I can just not play Durant and Booker in a playoff series like I I would love to just avoid that

Um and and the Suns sign thus young today I don’t know if that does anything for do you like the Royce O’Neal acquisition for the Suns I assume you do I do a lot defensive versatility they always trying to find that fifth man I think his ability to guard multiple

Positions help them on ball off ball I think that’s a major plus as they try and figure out okay who can we put alongside these three to make this work can we mix in some KD at the five lineup so I like Ros O’Neal’s fit I just think

He’s it’s a really good value for them as far as like we can trust him to do things on both ends of the floor let’s just do the Suns now because that’s one of my other big questions they’re sort of like they’re not at all similar in terms of their history

Together or their Collective accomplishments together whatever but they’re kind of my bucks equivalent in the west where it’s like it’s kind of put up or shut up time now and like how good actually are you like the noise is over trade deadline’s over Beal’s healthy you’re starting to get a sample

Size of the whole team together the numbers with the three best guys on the floor are Dynamite you know nurkic has been healthy and yet they’re sitting here 31 and 22 um good you haven’t quite got the sense that this is like a dynamite Championship level team yet stretches

Here stretches there is there is there that kind of team in here like what do you what do you just what’s Your Gut on the Suns and what are they missing in terms of like when you watch them what what what feels short to you I wish that

They would lean into more of their movement with their best players and keep their Tempo up and lean into the versatility and be able to let Bradley beel pass and cut let Kevin Durant come off option screens use Devon Booker off handoffs and lean into that my problem

With Phoenix is those games where they like shot making is part of the program for them it just has to be they’re going to take and make those kind of shots when they lean into too much ISO and pick and roll I think you let the

Defense off the hook to a degree and their defense hasn’t hit the right note for me to really believe in in a playoff context like I would like them for them to just be a little bit better like I’m a I’ve been nicer to nerk than most people defensively it hasn’t felt like

It’s hit on that end so that’s why I feel like it’s missing because oh good I think I think nur’s been good but I I I like good like I was I was totally wrong on the eighton nkit de facto swap I thought it was pretty risky for the Suns even knowing

All the toxicity that was in Phoenix with Aon and just how everybody needed to was their their hands of the whole thing I just didn’t trust nurkic’s Health uh I don’t like trading younger for older if I if the talent is roughly equivalent Aon can’t get out of his own

Way in Portland like every time they put a microphone in front of him he says something regrettable and nerkach has been pretty reliable and yet I I I just I don’t use this word in the way most people use it cuz they’re not they’re not soft like they’re soft will

Or weak or anything like that it just doesn’t feel they’re they come off as soft to me in the sense that it just doesn’t feel like opposing offenses are all that worried about oh God we got to face the Phoenix Sun’s defense like this is going to be a battle we’re going to

Get some sharp elbows you know they’re really going to make us feel them it just doesn’t they just feel a little bit soft isn’t the right word just a little bit small and a little bit non-threatening on defense in a way that makes me nervous

No I’m with that I I am with that but is the trade-off there offensively having to deal those those three in a playoff series doesn’t seem ideal well book is books you know to your point about the motion and the handoffs and like this is what all the exes and those nerds want

Is like can you run this and more of this and less of that ISO stuff you watch that Warriors game uh from over the weekend that epic Warriors game um like and book is cooking down the stretch of that game one-on-one shot after one-on-one shot you were watch

Durant on those possessions Durant is doing nothing like he’s standing in the right corner not moving doing nothing which is like if book is cooking like that that’s cool um but I I don’t know it’s just something I’m watching because I don’t know that Kevin Durant Kevin

Durant wants to win and when Devin Booker’s shots go in you’ll see a fist pump and all that but I I don’t I don’t know how psyched Kevin Durant is to just be chilling over there watching the Devin Booker show um but boy to your

Point like I If you told me this team was in the finals I wouldn’t be surprised I I I guess I’d be at this point I’d be mildly surprised if they won three playoff series in the west but I would never count any team with KD in book I would never count

Out no it’s just when when they start to dip into we get a mismatch you have to double and oh yeah that’s Devin Booker and Bradley Beal over there next to each other against a rotating defense they have like the high notes they can hit offensively are where I can’t let them

Go especially in a playoff context that’s just a lot to deal with I mean I thought they were going to take Denver to to the hilt last year in the playoffs and I was surpris I mean they folded again that’s what they’ve they’ve had two straight seasons of just totally

Embarrassing full jobs in game six of the same round and um we’ll see what they do this year but I wouldn’t a lot of it is Beal like how good is Beal is Beal is and I think Bill’s pretty pretty damn good I like the Royce O’Neal

Signing just it’s the same with the Bucks was I just kind of want to see it now like it’s time show me it for 2025 games that you can be in the conversation with these four teams above you in the standings all of whom are good enough to make the finals uh give

Me another what you know what before we leave the West you just brought up who wins the West let’s talk about the Lakers and the Warriors ah are you starting to believe in either or both as like legitimate threats to win one or two playoff rounds if they if they get there because

Step one for them to be clear is like get out of the 910 bracket in the Western Conference playing where they would eliminate one would eliminate the other right now in the first playin game which uh by the way it’d be very interesting if we did end up with the

World’s greatest playin of Phoenix Dallas LA and Golden State but that’s for a different day I would probably right think about that oh my God I wouldn’t doubt them in that setting I I wouldn’t doubt them in that setting the question for me would be is do they have enough which seems wild

Considering one team has LeBron and AD the other one has Steph Curry and is the Warriors it’s a tough series it’s a tough series it’s it’s going six or seven no I’m talking about like could could they oh you I’m talking about do you believe in them could they if they

Get in could they win one or two actual playoff rounds could we see them in the conference semifinals or the Conference Finals yes wow yep I could I could I could see him star power playoff game plan I in experience at the top of the

West in a in a couple of cases it’s it seems wild it’s no disrespect to Minnesota OKC but hey if you you have a lineup where you can switch against Minnesota do you bog them down uh are you able to mess around against OKC and show help off certain players and and

And try and contain the drives hope you get the whistle in the playoffs I could see it I could see them winning around round is fine when we start talking about two rounds you you got to be consistently really good against Elite competition for quite a number of games and like

Maybe they can do it I mean the Lakers I’m looking now have won four out of five um including kind of landmark for them Road winds at Boston at New York at Boston obviously was without ad and LeBron kind of an alarming loss for the Celtics old news at this point um what

Do what do the Lakers have going for them what’s change what’s changed recently what why are they why do they look like a more cohesive team right now I I think the pathways are easier for them lineup wise I think that when you look at them they have

Size and length and they’re able to when they are able to just put their lineups together and let guys play and Danel Russell is out there making plays and Austin Reeves feels more comfortable Anthony Davis has been incredible on both ends of the floor and you have

LeBron I think you can build the boat around that a little bit easier and I think even the moments where they played Denver and lost they were competitive being able to show that activity defensively I think helps them so that’s where I kind of buy into that a little bit for Golden

State they they’ve been Draymond at the five has been really fun to watch as well as clay figuring it out which is a very odd Dynamic of clay being extremely vulnerable and also still figuring this part out to where yeah I’ll find a different role I’ll make some shots we’ll be fine I

Just do you believe in either one of them look I don’t think either one can win the championship okay I would be surprised if either one were in the Conference Finals mildly surprised just because like the level of consistency you need to get there is so high and

These teams have not demonstrated it yet but I will not count them out as for the Lakers I have been begging all year for them to play haimura more and saying on this podcast over and over again like an idiot that their best fourman combination of players is the two stars

Reeves and haimura I just like the defensive versatility I know it doesn’t it’s it’s not as quick on the perimeter maybe as you’d like they are starting those four now and after a slow start to the season they’re plus four per 100 possessions with those four together on the floor I

Just think they need to lean all the way into that by the way kind of slid under the radar in the aftermath meod I guess it didn’t slide under the radar cuz Spencer didn’t wey like went on a whole like I’m going to just start attending games everywhere and hanging out with

People whose teams I want to be on I maybe I’m you know we all do this with like one waiver signing post waiver signing every year we blow it up out of proportion I think Den witty could really help the Lakers and like I I just think look the Brooklyn thing something

Was going wrong in Brooklyn and he just wasn’t engaged in the way that he needs to be engaged and they weren’t engaging him in the way that maybe he wanted to be engag whatever something was wrong but you look at the numbers like I looked at the tracking data two three

Weeks ago he’s still one of the most efficient pick and roll players in the league like it’s I I was blown away by the numbers because of how disengaged he looks when he runs pick and roll the results are consistently really really good and they just need someone who can

Get north south on this team someone who can just get into the teeth of the defense who isn’t LeBron and compromise the defense and kick out or like got like maybe finish at The Rim like D’Angelo Russell has been on a heater for a month he does not do that Austin

Reeves kind of doesn’t really do that either he kind of meanders and half spins and fakes and draws fouls and takes Fade Away 12 foot jumpers and he’s quite good at all those things and he’s a very good playmaker just give me someone who’s like let me dispense with

All this and go Z and get to the rim and throw some lobs and din witty for all the noise can like it would you be surprised if Den witty were were closing occasional games at least for the Lakers like as part of the closing Five I I

Would not be I would not be surprised by that at all I think that’s part of the vision uh I think they’ve wanted to find ways to have guys make more plays around LeBron and AD so if you tell me potentially it’s a three guard lineup plus LeBron and AD I wouldn’t be

Surprised by that uh I think it’s just it’s a big bonus his ability to self-create his ability to score get in the paint give me forget three guard lineup give me Den witty Reeves LeBron haimura Davis like you signed haimura you paid him all his money play the

Guy it’s not like he’s not Michael Jordan or anything I just think he’s pretty good are you are you are you completely anti-3 guard lineup for the Lakers no no I just like Ry I don’t want I don’t want ruy to get shoved over to the side again because I think look his

His playoff shooting last year was like one one in a 100 years like he’ll never shoot like that again for a six week span but every championship team has a run like a guy who goes on a run like that and makes shots I just think he’s good

Um any what else on the Lakers uh do you think their defense is could be better in the playoffs because they do have size they do have length I I trust their defense because um they’re big LeBron’s old but he’s maybe the smartest player in the whole league he

Always knows where to be and people are scared of him like people are scared to drive on him and AD is AD and they’re going to get a good whistle every game and and I I trust I trust their defense um I think this almost sounds strange and I

Might be being caught up in the moment if you ask me which of these teams has a higher upside like who’s who’s ceiling not maybe for not a single game because we’ve seen what the Lakers can do for a single game for a single two week period is higher

The Warriors have something going right now like you mentioned starting Draymond at the five has kind of unlocked the kaminga Wiggins Duo along with Draymond clay we will get into um soon Wiggins has has shown a pulse psky is just flat out good like that guy’s a good player and kaminga is

Really good and they with that group have found a their identity they they look alternatively like the Warriors of of peak step in terms of how the ball moves and how bodies move and boy that shot against Phoenix over the weekend is just an altimer and then they have this other

Identity that they’ve been kind of flirting with and we’ve all been hoping they get to which is like okay all that stuff doesn’t work can we just give the ball to like the 68 tank who can jump to the top of the backboard and dunk on people and kaminga and have that little

Dose of sort of side offense It’s Working Man and Draymond I said this on NBA today when the nerkish thing happened it was it made me sad that all we were talking about was the suspensions and the violent stuff and from pool till now because this dude is

Still one of the five or 10 best defensive players in the NBA like there’s just you can’t even get to one hand worth of fingers listing the the listing the number of guys with his versatility he he’s really ties them all together on defense I don’t know man I

Would I would be scared of this team in the first round of the playoffs if I was one of the top seeds they they just look way more comfortable you mentioned kaminga it’s not just that he’s been aggressive and sometimes he overdoes it but he’s aggressive within their context

With movement the seals I like that I think defensively he seals people and they fall out of bounds like he’s so strong they are dudes just like in the in the cameraman like what happened oh John dingo sealed him and he adds a dose for them in transition I think that’s a

Plus I think defensively Wiggins clay and kuminga have felt better during this stretch as far as we’re navigating screens draymond’s got our back we know our job we know our task and I just think everything’s kind of falling back in line to where okay they sounded like

A team for most of the year that was like we can get to a place now we’re kind of seeing where that might be and now it’s kind of it feels like a Race Against Time almost I’ll tell you they look really good and pmy and kaminga are ready like

They’re ready on what is left of Steph’s timeline whatever that is however long that lasts and this dude he’s taking he’s taking 13 threes per 36 minutes it would be the second highest number of his career in any season he’s taken 16 in the last three games and he has two

Games of 20 plus three point attempts in the last like 10 games it’s crazy how many shots he’s getting up how many threes he’s getting up and he’s still the same degree of difficulty same highlight he’s still the best show in the NBA is still Steph Curry on a hot

Streak um he had one with I think they were in Indiana last week where he made seven threes in a row in the first quarter and the whole Pacers crowd was just going crazy it was like it sounded like a Warriors home game um you mentioned

Clay why did you mention clay you said clay figuring it out what did you mean by that that I think it’s more just understanding when the shots are going to come where they’re going to come and what this team needs from him I think that part has been key for me and hierarchy

Wise understanding how it shifted to a degree to where they still need him but he doesn’t have to force it sometimes if that makes sense you’ve kind of felt that kind of shift sometimes like obviously I think he had the what four for 19 game against Atlanta but he’s had

A couple nights where okay I don’t have this going let me contribute that I think figuring out that portion helps the Warriors out overall you know um clay gave that very raw interview after the Nets game where the Warriors won in Brooklyn and he was benched in crunch time uh where he said

Yeah this is hard for me to go from one of the best guys in the league to not playing of course it’s hard and after that Marcus Thompson who covers the Warriors for the athletic wrote what I thought was a really great piece and a

Really fair piece of about how this is a player coming to terms with the death of the player that he used to be um and trying to understand the good player that is still in there that he still can be for this team and I thought

It was a really fair piece I I don’t know that I I wonder how it was received in Clay World and I don’t use that factiously I mean like the people around clay um and one of the points that marus made in the piece was just what you just

Said and I I I’ve said before his passing to me particularly this season his passing his ball movement is kind of a bellweather for how he’s playing and how the Warriors are playing and I don’t mean that Clay is going to suddenly average like eight assists a game and

And Marcus made this point I mean quite simply as long as Klay Thompson plays in the NBA he is going to be treated like one of the most dangerous Shooters who has ever lived people are going to be in his jersey at all times when he comes

Around a pin down screen which the Warriors do a million times a game two guys are going to jump out at him because he’s Klay Thompson and if he’s open you’re going to be very worried about it and I think Marcus’s point was basically like four times a game in that

Situation Clay is taking leaning crazy off the dribble three-pointers trying to find the clay that used to be there that used to be able to make those shots and can’t make those shots anymore at least enough to justify them if you turn those four shots into four simple bounce

Passes to whoever just set the pin down screen for him and so is rolling into open space kaminga sarich Looney Jackson Davis whoever and keep the machine moving that’s really all it is a clay who does that four times is still a really good player because he can guard

Up on defense he can he guarded Markin in last night they blew out the Jazz I think that’s really all it is and I think that guy can still be a good player and I think that that’s the transformation and I understand why well I guess I can’t understand because I’ve

Never achieved anything at his level but like that must be a hard thing to kind of internalize like I used to make those crazy leaning shots and they used to take your soul from you if you were the other team I would make two in a row

You’d call a timeout the crowd would be going crazy and I’d have you and I can’t do that anymore no I agree I I think that is a tough portion of it but I think you got to trust he’ll I think I trust he’d figure it out

I think he’s headed in that direction I think the team the team playing well the team playing better will help that and honestly you add to that point where you made hey if it’s four bounce passes if you keep the machine moving it might come back to

You and if it comes back to you now you see that success okay now that revs us up even more so that’s why I’m like okay maybe the Warriors have something there and they were pretty active at the trade deadline from what I heard um in terms

Of like buying they they they are operating like a team who’s like if we have Steph we’re trying to win every every they like they looked hard at oin I’m not quite sure what was going out in that deal I actually heard it wasn’t Moses Moody you think it was I’m not

Sure that it was obviously it wasn’t kaminga or psky kaminga was a hard a hard no like from the start um kuso they would have loved to get Caruso from the Bulls I just don’t think there was any Common Ground there those are the two

Names that that I heard a lot of um a dangerous team it’s just the consistency right is like teams that are 28 and 26 or 28 26 and 25 in the Warriors case have that record because they just can’t put it together it’s it’s hard to you

You’ve been in the league it’s hard to be great four times out of five nights four games out of five games it’s hard to do that and that’s the only way you advance in the playoffs and like the teams above them have proven whatever our ceiling is

We can approach it damn near every night and and I just need to see these two teams do it but their ceilings are are scary give me another big question unless you have parting thoughts on this uh I have another question for you go can the Knicks and the Sixers hold

On it’s a big question we we have seen the good from the Knicks especially once they got OG on anobi that defense turned to a different machine uh they added more depth I love bogy and Al Burks for them I I would like them more if Julius

Randle and OG were also there but I understand injuries are injuries Jaylen brunson’s been incredible you’re adding more shooting around it you now have the scenario where teams are saying you know what Jaylen Brunson not you a lot earlier than you would expect throwing two on the ball which should be a plus

In theory because hey we can get a team in rotation but also now are we matchup hunting if we’re New York and looking to get switches for Jaylen Brunson and teams are doubling and helping are we doing a little bit too much of that so can they hold on to what they found

Until they get healthy again Philadelphia adding buddy healed I thought was really good he too I think obviously what he does shooting wise scoring wise will help once Joel embiid or if Joel embiid is able to return I also think it helps in the short term

Because Tyrese Maxi got a little dose of coaches sitting down and meeting and saying we’re taking you away we’re we’re going to trap you and the playmaking growth is one thing it’s a little different when it’s two on the ball or teams looking to help or the space isn’t

The same so having buddy hee who you can use him and Maxi together off ball in actions and let Maxi get downhill that way or have buddy healed screen for Tyrese Maxi I think is a plus but now can they find enough to hold on to the

Status they had or are they just going to end up playing against each other in the first round well it would be interesting if you I think if you went to Philadelphia today and said hey we can the basketball Gods come to the Sixers and say hey we we’ll just

Work some magic and you can just be the five seed we’ll just stick you in the five seed I wonder if they would sign up for that given I mean like their whole team is hurt batum’s hurt Melton’s hurt Harris is hurt embiid’s hurt like every

Like I can’t even keep track of who’s hurt um look both these teams are so happy that the All-Star break is here and so happy that the All-Star break is now a week long because that that’s you know a third to a quarter of how much Anon Obi

Is going to miss reportedly Randall hopefully a lot of that he’ll get much closer to being back after that but you know a lot of this is just like the race to get out of Boston’s half of the bracket I don’t know if if either team

Is is sort of holds Boston in that regard like we really want to get on the other side of the bracket from them I think they just need to get healthy o of these teams in terms of holding on if holding on is staying in the four five

Area are staying out of play in danger I think I have more faith in the Knicks just because they’re a little deeper when they get healthy they’re a little deeper when they’re injured than Philly and they just have that tibs like we’ll just manufacture some wins by beating the

Hell out of you and getting 25 offensive rebounds can I ask a follow-up question have have the have the Knicks done enough to knock on the Boston Celtics door and say you’re not going to have fun so this is going to sound a little nuts considering I picked Boston to win

The championship Boston is 41 and 12 started 26 and six 15- six since then not quite as dominant just regular very good and in a way it’s comforting that when you slip from dominance you’re still like one of the four to five best teams in the league statistically I

Think they’re fourth in net rating since they were in that 15- six stretch I think think they’re going through a little bit of like a can we just get to the playoffs malaise um can we just get to All-Star malaise I’m still picking Boston to win

The title I’m not coming off that I’m sticking with it come hell high water just like I stuck with my Milwaukee Clippers finals pick last year did not work out for me um I do think the Knicks can scare the Celtics I think the Knicks can give the

Celtics a real series if they get there that’s the problem right right like if you’re if depending on who you face and what brackets you’re in you may not get the chance but I think the Knicks I think the Knicks could could beat any team in the Eastern Conference

In a seven game series I would not give them a good chance to beat Boston like I think that’s a 7525 series for the Celtics maybe maybe even better than that but I the others are you know Philly is just such a wild card we don’t know what

We’re going to get out of Philly and embiid when when it’s go time I think the Knicks could beat Milwaukee in a playoff series I don’t know who I would pick in that series as of today I would probably default to just like Milwaukee’s got the best guy um but I

Think that’s a real series we’ve seen them beat Cleveland they have played Boston pretty tough less so this season after the season opener which was a very close game last year they had Boston’s number I just think something about their style of play is very bothersome for teams they’re just physical and they

Pound you and they one-on-one and they don’t turn the ball over they win The Possession game every single game like I said I think it’s probably like 75 25 802 Boston but if we woke up and like that was a playoff series in the second round it’s like all right let’s look

Ahead to game seven in Boston Celtics Knicks I wouldn’t be shocked would you no answer your own question I wouldn’t even I wouldn’t be shocked if if the Knicks won game won in Boston that feels like a very tibs has a game playing we have depth type beat I think that Boston

Is very good I have Boston going to the conference I mean to the finals my question is now can we get Boston in a scenario where they get in their own way can we get them in those moments where they play too slow late in games

Can we get them in those scenarios where we’re focused in on attacking a certain matchup and we’re not making you feel the weight of our entire lineup because they their their top five is very good their top six is very good we’ve seen them make teams pay with porzingis rolling spacing attacking

Switches Tatum’s been very good Brown’s been good white and holiday tough to deal with but will they bog down in a way that where okay we might be able to steal this one and does that change the momentum that’s pretty much my only question with Boston can they get out of their own

Way you know I was listening to I didn’t see the quotes but during one of Boston’s recent games I think it might have been on ESPN the announcers were talking about how Joe moua said something to the effect of like one of the things that concerns me is our guys

Getting weighed down by the pressure and the moment and the stakes in the playoffs and I just kind of want us to go back to hey win lose whatever let’s enjoy the journey and just be able to say we played our way the whole time and him verbalizing that I didn’t know

Whether it should make me nervous like can you not just say the p word pressure like can not say it because I do think you’re going to face it and everyone knows how close you’ve gotten to the top of the mountain in what is now a very

Long era of top tier contention but not gotten to the top and the pressure that that brings or should I be relieved that you’re facing it head on and telling your team just play and if we just play We’re the best team I didn’t I don’t

Know the answer to that but him saying it was very interesting to me if I’m paraphrasing it correctly as I’m going off the top of my head here um but getting in their own way is an interesting way to put it there’s been a little bit of slippage in their play in

The last month but not anything that is really alarming to me if anything everyone focuses on their crunchtime offense and they’ve earned that their crunch time offense has been scattershot let’s say I think they have another gear to hit defensively when the games really matter and that is when when they get

Really really tough is when they scheme you in all sorts of funky ways and switch it up every possession and everyone is totally dialed in defensively I think that’s their trump card I think that’s like yeah we might have a bad night on offense we might get

A little stagnant we never get to the goddamn Rim can you please get to the rim more but we have this impenetrable defense where like Jaylen Brown’s the fifth best defensive player on the floor like that’s how good we can get um I don’t know how we started talking about

Boston I guess the Knicks yeah the the the East is both conferences are just kind of wild right now how how every every week brings like oh this team’s back oh this team’s in the slump it’s been it’s been kind of a fun season uh I’ve always liked the Orlando

Indiana Miami win streak that that pushes one of them to six and it’s like oh here they come and then oh there they go uh speaking of the of a couple of those teams can I ask you one of my big questions yes for the rest of the season

We’re going to go down the standings a little bit now Steve where the stakes are not quite as high um and the lens is a little longer one of my big questions for the rest of the season now that the trade deadline is in the books is okay

Um so what’s the plan with Trey young like like what what do we actually think of Trey young as a player on this Hawks team is it time to start envisioning what Trey young would look in different contexts and if so what are those contexts um Can the Hawks put together

10 days of like looking like they have their house in order now DeAndre Hunter’s back capella will be back at some point AO was playing really well um djon didn’t get traded everyone’s here I I don’t know I you’ve talked about it I listen to your podcast regularly but

Like I give give me just like the Steve Jones junr like where are you on the Trey young scale from in on one hand uh uh NBA know-it-all calling him a loser and on the other hand enraged Hawks fan who’s like how dare he not make the

All-Star d is the best player in the NBA in that Continuum where are you uh per the brand I’m in the middle uh I think Trey young is very talented I think the issue is what does the talent do as far as impacting winning and what can you do around him

To build up a winner and I think my biggest thing with Atlanta is the defense has never moved to a point where I feel good about it and like I I saw the Division I I was like early I was like hey Deandre Hunter usage is up Jaylen Johnson doing fun things here

Comes J Johnson there’s a lot of positives but then I’m like I look at the other end of the floor and I’m like okay you guys are trying to be more active defensively put two on the ball didn’t really work rotations aren’t great now you’re in drop that also isn’t

Working transition isn’t great so this beautiful offense that you have doesn’t have the same impact or value because you give it right back immediately like I mean you give up 136 points to a Bulls team that people every other like every time literally Last Night A friend of mine will just call

Him Tim his name is Tim is a bulls fan I would describe him as like a casual NBA fan but AIT but a bulls fan texts me I’m watching games I’m not painted texts me like when is just the Classic like guy that’s not in the NBA but is in your

Life NBA question hey when is the NBA going to do something about this scoring problem like J I wonder I wonder why Tim Bulls fan has this on on his mind oh they’re playing the Hawks every time this question is raised it’s because of a Hawks game like it’s it’s unbelievable

To your point about like 136 to the Bulls Luca has 73 they should put in the Hall of Fame they should put a a running video of the Atlanta’s double teams of Luca donic in that game and say this is the worst any team has ever looked

Rotating behind a double team this this should it should be in the wing of like bad basketball that I should have that I think they should have in the Hall of Fame anyway Hawks please go I I I just it’s if you could get somewhere defensively to where I could believe

There’s some fight like you mentioned the point about Phoenix and teams don’t feel you I just don’t feel like anyone looks at Atlanta and they’re unafraid of what they can run offensively and that’s a dangerous place to be in in today’s NBA where a whole bunch of teams can

Make those same reads and get to ball mov movement even the ones you don’t think are very good they can still get you rotating and scrambling I just I’m in a tough spot with them because there’s talent and potential but it never feels like it’s maximized

And I don’t even know if it’s Trey’s fault at this point I don’t even know if I point to him I’m just like what is the overall goal of what you’re accomplishing so how long can they sustain defense is it longer than 10 seconds uh it’s I I thought you were

Going to say 10 minutes and I was going to say it’s less than that 10 seconds if jayen Johnson is on the floor we can get to 10 seconds if absent that I’m not sure we can do it um Trey young gets no credit anymore for the 2021 Conference Finals run none people

Dismiss it as like a no no I’m I’m saying this is wrong I think this is unfair people dismiss it as a fluke um the Knicks were bad and they were in the playoffs uh the Sixers were falling apart Ben Simmons threw the pass um

All the focus on the other teams I think it’s like you don’t you don’t get to the Conference Finals completely by accident like remember Portland had the runs of the Conference Finals in 2019 when they were on the right side of the bracket they got injury luck and then they got

Rolled by The Warriors in the Conference Finals even though Durant was hurt and in two three four years out you started to hear like oh yeah Dame got to the Conference Finals once but that was a fluke like it getting to the Conference Finals is hard ask the Clippers as I

Always say about the Conference Finals as the Clippers who could never ever get there until to this particular season we’re talking about 2021 um and I look back you watched that Boston Atlanta series from last year which was the first round series it opens with Boston just destroying the Hawks in the first

Two games Hawks didn’t even look like they belonged on the same court as Boston Trey young deserves some blame for that defensively the Hawks got dangerously close to bringing that series back to game seven in Boston and the only reason they got that close was Trey young started going crazy and completely

Picking apart the Celtics defense one of the best defenses in the NBA Celtics defense wasn’t A+ level in that series are close but by the end of game six which Boston squeaked out in Atlanta the Celtics were like can we just be done with this dude because we we don’t have

An answer for this little dude offensively and to your point about if we can just take that and put it on a roster that can cover for him defensively provided he’s giving enough effort and I think he’s giving more effort this year that the offensive Talent is extraordinary like he is a oneman

Offense he’s a oneman top 10 NBA offense there are not a lot of guys like that I just look around and like the Hawks clearly don’t have that team as of now and they didn’t trade de jonay Murray and look I’m just telling telling you I have no idea what the Hawks are

Going to want to do in the offseason I have no idea how the next this is part of the reason why I’m so fascinated by the next 20 games if this team shows me something shows themselves something in the next 25 games in the playin in the

Playoffs if they get there that hey this architecture is worth keeping that’s interesting too if they don’t I think at the very least there are going to be a couple teams around the league who call and say hey what is Trey can we get Trey like

Can we get can we at least start a conversation about Trey and that makes me start to have the internal conversation of like who makes sense for Trey young so I ask you just as a thought exercise Steve Jones Jr is there a team that you imagine in a realistic trade scenario

Where like oh treade would actually look pretty good there H the realistic part hurt me but Brooklyn it’s a good name that kind of roster would intrigue me now um can I think about another one though well so Mark Stein mentioned two in his newsletter yesterday one is the

Lakers which is much rumored around the league that when the Lakers get three first round picks get access to three first round picks in the summer Trey is one of the stars that they would potentially maybe possibly go hunting for it’s interesting the other team markstein mentioned is the Spurs and you

Know that’s when Bama and defense and all that stuff and I’ve long been intrigued be the by the idea of like hair tray with like a super duper version of capella like the like a top five defender in the entire NBA what does that look like and who also

Compliments him on offense what does that look like I don’t think either team has even arrived close to the point where they’re even thinking about this to be clear that’s one Chicago is an obvious one I don’t really see anything there well maybe I don’t know let me ask you this

Is there anything that makes sense about Trey young with B Caro and fron vogner in Orlando yes it makes sense o that makes a lot by the way I’m not asking that in a leading way I don’t know if I I don’t know if my brain can

Even handle any of that right now it makes sense my thing is I Like the Way Orlando has built it to where we know poo can do things play wise I think he’s grown uh we know frons can do things playmaking wise and we have our guards

Just do their job occasionally mix in a drive occasionally run a pick and roll but y’all don’t have to handle the the bulk of it I think Trey would help them shooting wise spacing Wise playmaking Wise how much would that affect the hierarchy I guess would you stunt growth

That way do you need to make a move right now is where my head goes so my head goes to the magic obviously needed guard like any guard a guard who can shoot and Suggs is getting there I love Suggs keep Suggs everyone loves Suggs um Trey young can can shoot and

Run offense and all that it’s just it’s confusing the vision in that Vagner and banero have the ball a lot and are operate with the ball which is what Trey young does and neither settles super easily into like a distant second or co-star off ball role and that a that’s

A CA change to your team um on the other hand this team does have the size and versatility at least the outlines of the kind of team that can cover for Trey young defensively particularly and this is where the vision really gets confusing if like Jonathan Isaac is ever

Going to be a weaken count on this guy to play 25 minutes every single game player he’s kind of approaching that it’s more like n 18 to 22 minutes a game recently but oh my God this guy I I’m not I he’s insane on I mean he’s always been

Insane on defense but now we’re seeing it over extended time and it’s like you can’t get away from him you can’t see around him you can’t it’s unbelievable how good he is so I’m not untried that’s all no that makes sense uh but but being able to watch Isaac and Suggs play

Defense is very fun especially for an Orlando team that is based on that defense being their identity like if you want to have fun if you watch the league watch an Orlando game when they play a sparsely attended crowd and listen for their coaching staff yelling out defensive

Instructions it’s one of my favorite subplots what what what should I listen for what should the people listen for what do they yell L man you’re going to hear that about 15 times or they or if you catch a free throw they’ll they’ll call out what the

Action is it’s it it’s very fun don’t make me do my uh my tibs impression of him saying low man um I don’t I don’t want to do it um what were we talking about Isaac oh this is all just Pie in the Sky stuff the only

Reason I asked the question is because if I’m Landry fields or who’s ever running the Hawks right now I want I I’ve kept the team together I didn’t do anything of substance at the trade deadline now this becomes a laboratory now I want to see like can we

Get any continuity can we get somewhere with this team even if we lose or lose in the first round or whatever do I see something that’s like okay Trey and deante this actually works if not I gotta I gotta open up I gotta open up some options that the other problem is

They’re facing is they traded their picks to San Antonio so if I trade Trey young to another team that’s probably going to be good because they have Trey young are at least decent well their picks which are kind of com back to me are not going to

Be great my picks which is the whole point of a rebuild are in the hands of San Antonio that doesn’t seem great I think that’s why people start speculating about the Spurs as a trade partner and the two did talk about Dante Murray but you know anyway any you got

One last big question for me that I can answer in one sentence or have we covered all your big questions uh who won Earth wi’s Coach of the Year oh I can do that in one sentence okay let me go through it right now I don’t have a

Ballot this year but let’s see it’s how this goes right so 25 games in it was like oh Jamal Mosley Nob brainer it’s gonna be Jamal Mosley 50 like 40 games in it was Mark dagnal It’s gotta be Mark dagnal uh then there was like a little

Chris Finch like oh maybe it’s Chris Finch uh then it was like is it maybe tyo like tyo figured this one out with the Clippers uh then it was like wait is it tibs is it is it maybe tibs for for imposing his identity as a team is it

Maybe Doc Rivers for coaching the All-Star Game and world record time is it made him uh then it’s like wait JB bicker staff can we really give it to him after the playoffs last year um if I had the guess right now projecting what the voting pool would

Do I think probably dagnal would win if the Thunder are first or second in the west I think it’ll be dagal I don’t know who I would vote for right now I probably someone who I just mentioned I would vote for who what’s your take who’s your opinion uh I’m glad

You mentioned the journey because I’ve been on that the entire time I I probably would lean dagal right now uh thinking about bicker staff I do love that uh in no point was it Joe Missoula and I’m trying to figure out what to do with

That I’ve been on I’ve been on the Joe Missoula I I’ve been a Joe Missoula Defender he became I think an unfair object of ridicule last year um and I’ve had enough conversations with Joe moula at games and stuff to like he’s one of those guys you start talking to about

Basketball he’s going to make your ass feel stupid real fast like if you went to Joe mouu and we like how come you don’t call timeout he would be like all right name the game and he would tell you oh this was happening this was happening this was happening he’d be

Like oh this dude’s on another level I’m gonna just shrink back into my turtle shell right now I think Joe moua deserves a little bit more respect one he’s also very candid or getting more candid I just like they had a lot of pieces they had to move together

Offensively and defensively and he deserves a little bit more praise for the job he’s done to get to this level I hope he’s not watching the movie The Town as often as he said he was last year which was I think twice weekly or some crazy number um I’ll tell you this

Though uh if if the Wolves end up number one in the west Chris Finch is going to get a lot of votes because that was a roster that people were worried like does this actually work does it fit these two bigs together and it’s it’s working right now um okay Steve Jones Jr

What where can we look for you this week what do we got uh the dunker spot uh listen to it available on all podcasts available on YouTube on JJ Rex YouTube channel and that’s it I’m really good at plugging stuff you are very elite at plugging stuff and uh your Twitter

Handle is Steve Jones Jr right your ex handle whatever we’re saying it oh Steve Jones 20 20 Steve Jones 20 see I don’t I just you just I just typed Steve and it comes up that’s all right get it 2.0 Junior if you want if you want to know

What’s going on in an NBA game whatever handle he just said go to that and you’ll learn what’s going on Steve Jones 2.0 thank you for your time I’ll see you around the block we’ll see you and all right it’s time to bring in a man who covers the most under the

Radar scorching hot team in the NBA I’ve already done one segment on these guys in the last couple weeks with Tim bontemps I got complaints that he was too bonty it was too negative he was too down on the team so we want to bring someone in closer to the team and of

Course fresh off a dispiriting home loss to the Philadelphia 76ers who didn’t have like anybody except Tyrese Maxi and Buddy heeld going crazy Chris Fedor of cleveland.com you cover the Cleveland Cavaliers how are you sir Z I’m doing great how are you man I’m good I’m good

So here’s where we are despite that loss weird loss no Dean Wade the jingle is coming back in this episode by the way it’s happening you see what happens when you take Dean Wade away from the team you can have Garland you can have Mo you have no Dean

Wade hey man with him on the court 102 defensive rating with him off the court 112 defensive rating the numbers speak for themselves not yet um the Cavs are 22 and five in their last 27 games 17- two in their last 19 games you can tell me

Schedule this that you don’t go 17- two in essentially a 20 25% of the NBA season without being a serious goddamn team and they are up to fourth in net rating for The League they are 15th in offense but they’ve been just about number one over the last six weeks of

The season and second in defense so that fearsome defense that carried them to the playoffs where it didn’t quite work out for them although the defense was okay um has sustained and what’s interesting about the Cavs is this is the magic of the 82 Game season you

Never know when a team is going to land upon an ident and sort of just organically discover the best version of itself and amid the crisis of Darius Garland breaking his jaw and Evan Moy getting injured two of their foundational four players the Cavs found an identity that they had talked about

Wanting to find before the season Pace passing threes threes threes threes threes and then they’ve sort of managed to carry over the best elements of it the foundational elements of it with back and mble back and they’ve kept on rolling and Chris it’s almost like they’re very interesting they have three

Different teams within a team and they’re all working they have the starters who are actually the statistically the worst version of the Cavaliers but still that group is now the the four best players the the two guards and the two bigs is plus five or six per 100 possessions that’s very good

Then you have Donovan Mitchell and Jared Allen are tethered together with shooting around them and sometimes a quarrel around them who’s making threes that group that version of the team those two on Moy and Garland off plus 13 per 100 possessions then you flip it around Garland and Moy play while

Mitchell and Allen sit that version of the team plus 16 for 100 possessions and the eye test is just they are flying on offense and by flying I don’t mean running Helter Skelter fast break basketball and they’ve mixed in more fast breaks I mean you and I sat down

Before the season at talked about how this team cannot win regardless of who plays with whom if it’s just okay hand me the ball okay pick and roll that everyone sees coming 20 seconds in advance we can load up on it particularly when the two bigs are on

The floor it’s got to be more unpredictable than that it’s got to be faster than that they are running their half court offense at a furious frenetic Pace we’ll get into that a little bit more and at the center of it all coming a very quiet seventh I believe in Tim

Bonm straw poll today of the MVP Donovan Mitchell 28 points six and a half assists that’s a career high five and a half rebounds that’s a career high and I think playing the best defense of his career the Cavs are plus 11 per 100 possessions with Donovan Mitchell on the

Floor and minus two and a half without him he carried the team during the absences of Garland and Mobley look we can sit here and have a semantic debate about what the MV VP conversation is he does not belong above Giannis Shay and joic in the MVP conversation in whatever

Order you want to put those guys and then you have Luca another guy kawhai blah blah we could talk all about that what he does belong in though is he deserves to get his jayen Brunson moment where everybody on national TV spends a segment of their NBA show talking about

Why’s jayen Brunson in the MVP conversation where is he Donovan Mitchell has been I think per minute equally good if not a hair better than Jaylen Brunson but Jaylen Brunson has a big minutes advantage over him just an unbelievable season and this is the magic of basketball man 82 games is too

Many games is too long but the twists and the turns this team is interesting how are they feeling about um the the reintegration of Garland and mble and their ability to sort of stick with what worked without them and how are mble and Garland specifically what are they

Saying about that I think you hit on it Zack I think the most important thing for the Cavs is being able to diversify their attack especially on the offensive end of the floor because they were too predictable last year in the playoffs against the Knicks and part of that had

To do with the Personnel that they had and now because they went through this long stretch without Evan and Darius and they were forced to play a different style and use different groupings and lineups and combinations they have found different things that work with different groups that they put out there

So if they want to play two bigs they can do it right if they want to play four Shooters and stagger Jared Allen and Evan mopley they can do that if they want more movement based stuff on the offenseive end of the floor they compare Max stru and Sam Merill together at the

Same time that creates a lot of Havoc for an opposing defense um if they want to go pick and roll stuff they can do that too because Darius Garland Donovan Mitchell both Elite pick and roll players Jared Allen and Elite pick and roll big so they can play a bunch of

Different styles while at the same time leaning on their defense which has been great during this last stretch so they’re feeling really good about the things that they have found the ways that they can attack teams on the offensive end the style that they’re playing defensively the competitiveness

That they’re playing with on a nightly basis and you see glimmers of Darius Garland finding himself again and Evan Mo finding himself again look Zach over the last month or so um since Evan Moy came back he has been the fifth most efficient offensive player in the entire

NBA right there in the category with Jimmy Butler Steph Curry Shay gilis Alexander and some of the elite players Evan is finding a way to blend into the fabric of this team not force it too much he’s extending his game more out to the perimeter he’s shooting the ball

With more confidence there’s more arc on his shots and then even in the loss against Philadelphia Darius Garland had a really really important moment it was it was in the third quarter the Cavs went on a 12-2 run and Darius was responsible for all 12 of those points

And he came back to the bench and he was really really excited he was amped and you could tell like that wasn’t the moment where he felt like hey I’m back because he’s not there yet I think it’s going to take through the All-Star break for him to feel like he’s quote unquote

Back in the Rhythm that he was um before he fractured his jaw but there were signs of him starting to see the game quicker and not being a halfstep slow and reading what the defense was doing and seeing how he could fit within this new Dynamic offensively yeah they look I

Mean look they lost last night you’re going to lose games it’s going to happen they were bound to lose another game they’ve looked like outstanding obviously the record speaks are itself but they’ve had games where they just flat out outclassed teams some good some bad just out like you’re up 20 in the

Second quarter outclass um a couple of things you mentioned Moy is seven of 12 on threes in his last six games it’s not throw a party it’s not it’s not CS for celebration just just interesting something I’m looking at number two Jared Allen has never played with this kind of

Confidence on offense before if he is having these takes to the basket three or four times a game where he will catch it at the foul line and he needs a dribble and he can do it Lefty dribble Lefty finish righty righty dribble Lefty what and he’s like gliding it looks

Smooth he had a little Lefty hook last night that I would not describe as smooth but it was effective He’s just never been he’s more than just a dunker right now and that and that’s important for them and Sam Merill look he’s he’s gonna fall to the fringes of the

Rotation it’s already happening just a game Ops idea for the Cavs when he comes in the game start a countdown on the jump the is so big that they call it the humron like they actually say that word on the broadcast and they just showed the replay on that humron the humron which

Sounds like a transformer robot should have a countdown of the of how long it takes before Sam Marill gets up a three and if it’s less than 30 seconds of game time everyone should have to take a drink every everyone of age who has a drink should have to chug a beer like

Taylor Swift at the Super Bowl um and by the way just so zooming out Here’s Where We Are um one of the interesting subplots obviously for the rest of the season is the race for seeds two and three in the Eastern Conference the Knicks are now four games behind in the Lost column

From Cleveland after getting robbed of a chance at overtime last night in Houston on an absolutely ridiculous call that the referees immediately admitted was ridiculous does nothing for the Knicks but I appreciate your cander um and uh and they’re now two games up on the

Bucks in the Lost column in the 2 three four and uh four up on Philly too um basketball reference gives them a 77% shot at finishing with the second seed playoffstatus.com which is a site I like is a little less optimistic still 60% like if they stay healthy their schedule

Is just okay we’re probably looking at the number two seed in the Eastern Conference at least at math says we are that’s that’s a big big deal for Cleveland it’s a massive deal it could be the difference between them getting out of the first round of the playoffs

And making a deep playoff run Zack and losing in the first round look how different would the conversation have been about the Cavs and whether last year was a successful season for them if they got Brooklyn in round one as opposed to the Knicks who are a terrible matchup for them completely different

But maybe they don’t learn as much right maybe they don’t evolve the way that they have so maybe that was a benefit to them but if we’re looking at it big picture Zach coming into this year I think a lot of people felt like okay it’s locked in top three seeds in the

Eastern Conference in some order are going to be Boston Milwaukee and Philadelphia so that meant and it it never works out that way we always lock these teams in and it looks like the right thing to do and then there’s like ,000 weird things happen it’s like oh

It’s not GNA be that way oh shoot we should have used an erasable pencil instead of a pen for that one but then you had the Cavs and you had the Knicks and you had the Hawks and you had Indiana and some of these other teams that were battling for the final locked

In three playoff spots in the east but we’re also battling to like avoid different teams in the playoffs in a sense but coming into the year you felt like okay well Cleveland and New York probably on a collision course to face each other in the first round again at

45 again not a great matchup for the Cavs maybe 5050 maybe 6040 depending on how you look at that series and then if the Cavs were going to advance past New York or whoever it would be in that four five matchup and you’re facing Boston in the second round of the playoffs like

What now they’re looking at a situation where if they stay in the two seed you know the first round matchup could be emphasis on could be because you never know about Miami they’ve got tiger blood and you never know about Philadelphia if they bring back embiid in the playoffs

And some team has to play them in the first round that’s that’s asking a lot but they could be faced with a better more favorable first round matchup that allows them to get out of the first round which is their primary goal and then the possibility of avoiding Boston

Until the Conference Finals so like teams aren’t looking and saying hey like we’ve got to find the easiest road to get to the NBA finals or something along those lines but the easier path that you have the better chance you’re going to have and maybe that could be the

Difference between a long playoff run and a first round exit so the Cavs being in the second seed in the Eastern Conference Z I think it’s critical for them now assuming the Knicks get healthy soonish and the All-Star break is very well timed for them for Anon obi’s

Injury and for randle’s injury the seventh seed if Cleveland stays two the seventh seed is going to be one of four teams Philadelphia you outlined why that could potentially be scary yeah Orlando I I think with apologies to the young and frisky orando magic they would be the preferred opponent of this group

Yeah Indiana who’s currently seventh this is I’m going in standings order that’s no picnic man like that offense is legit and and although they they missed buddy heel and you felt it last night on the other end of that trade um and seak has just added every Dimension

They could have hoped seak would add to that team and you mentioned Miami which like you know condolences to Jimmy Butler who’s taking a leave of absence to deal with the death in the family but like you just don’t want to run into that team in the playoffs anytime any

Round wherever um it’s not going to be any kind of picnic for them um but look here’s I think they’ve been so good that everyone wants to answer the question of is this a championship Contender or not is this a contender right now yeah and I guess by their record and their seed

You’d have to say I guess sure I just what happened in the playoffs last year was problematic and disturbing and discard me as a Cleveland Cavaliers evaluator but I do think it’s important to remember like this team is still quite young they have not won a playoff

Series together yet not even close I mean in the only game they won I mean it’s wild to say this now the only game they won against the Knicks Jetty osman’s defense on Jaylen Brunson was like a thing that changed the game jedy Osman now plays for the San Antonio

Spurs um if you you don’t remember where he is um and I still think those Mobly Allen minutes although they have minimized them by staggering them so that they sometimes don’t ever come back and play at the end of each half together like sometimes they play

That first in and that’s it and then sometimes they come in and finish the half actually was frustrated last night they took Moy out late in the game which was that a minute’s restriction thing he’s GNA be on a minute restriction until after the All-Star break yeah that’s what I had heard from

Some of their people so they brought M they brought their starting five back in the game to close it against Philly and they have not had a crunch time tester with those guys back almost since they came back and I was like I’m excited to watch this and they pulled Moy for

Carris Levert and by the way Carris Levert has never defended like this in his entire career he’s even better than he was last year he’s blocking shots he’s just fighting over screens he’s been awesome for them as I guess their six-man whatever you want to call him um

And I was interested to see like how all right now let’s see how this lineup closes the game and then the Min restriction blah blah blah I still think it looks a little clunky at times with those two guys on the floor together offensively their offensive rating with

Those two on the floor is 110 points per 100 possessions that’s bad it’s getting better just like everything else about the team is training better some some and and because both of them have advanced by 10 15% as Playmakers Shooters whatever you want to classify them the big guys uh and because they

Have more shooting around them with streu flying around um and streu hasn’t hit enough threes this year but I that doesn’t bother me I think he’s been playing exactly as they want him to play um it it’s trending the right way but when it get it’s can still get a little

Clunky and whether it’s in the playoffs or in a big nationally televised regular season game eventually JB bicker staff is going to have to make a really hard choice of like who’s not closing tonight and how that is received by the players is going to be very telling and when and

How it happens and what leads up to it is going to be very telling because there’s going to be a fourth quarter where those two bigs are on the floor and the offense stalls out cuz the spacing is clunky and Moy misses a floater the interior pass

It gets deflected or whatever I I I’m not sure I believe in the offense with those two bigs on the floor quite enough for me to say this team is a ready-made Contender now and here’s the thing about that conundrum Zack if you even want to

Call it a conundra because I think there are enough flashes of Evan and Jarrett together being great especially on the defensive end on the floor where the defense the defense is I’d like them to be a little better on the defensive glass when they’re playing big but they’re fine defense ly they’re crazy

And and all the stuff I’m talking about with their offense their pace and their unpredictability makes it more viable for them to play together but still it gets a little clunky but please go ahead and this is why there’s an actual decision for JB bicker staff because the

Roster has improved to the point where there’s something else that they could go to where they feel like they gain offensively you know what I’m saying if you go back to last year JB didn’t want to split up Evan and Jarrett all that much because what was he going to go to

Was he going to go to Dean Wade in in the situation where he was in where he didn’t have any confidence he couldn’t lift his shoulder above his head because he was dealing with an injury did he want to take Evan off the floor and split him from Jared Allen to go to

Lamar Stevens in a small ball lineup did he want to do that to get jedy Osman on the court more so like the options that he had they weren’t appealing enough where he felt like hey I’m going to gain something offensively if I split those

Two guys up so he still felt like hey I’m losing a little bit offensively the spacing is a little bit wonky the Court’s a little bit more congested I probably don’t have enough shooting but I’m gaining so much defensively that I’m just gonna stick with it this year the

Personnel is different right they could go to George Nang in a for shooter lineup and he hasn’t hit shots the way that he would like to at this point in time but you know what he’s capable of you know the kind of threat that he brings to an opposing defense it’s funny

How that works with Shooters like stru and yang haven’t done enough of the thing they’re supposedly here to do and yet they’re playing both of them exactly how they should play and like I don’t worry at all about the shot because there’s such threats that they could be

Shooting 32 33% and defenses still treat them like a five alarm fire of course the Cavs did a study this past off season I don’t know that they had to do a study on this but they were curious on it like what creates more gravity for an

Offense is it shooting percentage or is it shooting volume and what they determined is that it was shooting volume so as long as Nang is going to continue to shoot the the opportunities that he gets and the same thing with Max stru and the same thing with Dean Wade

And Sam Merrill and some of these other guys like they have enough of a reputation that a team is not going to sit there and say well you know what dude like you’re shooting 34% so we’re going to Sag off of you like it’s different when those guys shoot 34% compared to

Isaac aoro when he shoots 38% because of the sheer volume and the level of attention and the level of reputation that those guys have built but the point is like they have different options that they can go to to expand offensively if they split up Jarrett and Evan and that’s different

From last year so that really does make it an actual decision for JB to have to make um and it will be interesting to see how Jared Allen and Evan Moy handle that if it comes down to that and it may come down to that in a specific matchup

In a seven game series yeah because we’re talking about one of those two guys it’s gonna be one of them and one of them is a former All-Star Center who has played I think even better in the last five weeks than he did when he made the All-Star team justifiably probably

Feels like hey I I I held down the interior by myself for six weeks and the other guy is kind of the guy who was classified as the most important player in the franchise and and maybe was yeah was um was and maybe still is by the way I never sold any of

My Evan MO stock after last year’s playoffs you can go back and listen to the podcast all I still haven’t I give me all you’re you’re down on EV Mo anyone down on EV Moy call me call my people I don’t have any people um what

Was I talking about oh uh it’s not going to be Garland or Mitchell despite the fact that their existence on offense is just fine like I I I I don’t think it’ll ever be like Warriors Lev level beautiful game between the two of them but both of them are even you watch

Donovan he when he doesn’t have the ball he’s kind of like sliding around off the ball skullking around just little five foot 10 foot relocations to try to if the defense isn’t looking at him if Darius is doing his little Steve Nash thing under the rim Donovan will try to

Find in little pockets of open space Levert is doing that more um it’s it’s not going to be one of them it be one of the bigs can I give you an example from last night of what I mean by pace and like for fans if they die hards if they

Want to if they want to look into what I’m talking about yeah second quarter middle middle of the second quarter um the both The Bigs are in the game the Cavs call a set a set play out of a flex action uh out of I think it was out of

Timeout and it starts with Donovan Mitchell setting a cross screen under the rim for Evan Mobley and you watch Donovan Mitchell set this screen he Sprints into it and hits Evan Mo’s guy it’s not like a fake uh just like let me jog into this thing and kind of like Pat

You on the back he Nails KJ Martin with a pick so hard in fact that KJ Martin is dislodged and the Sixers have to switch and tyres Maxi has to take Evan Moy on the Block there’s option one right away for the Cavs Evan Mobley whose postup game is getting better and certainly

Against mismatches has little Tyrese Maxi on him then part two of the play is Donovan Mitchell zooms off a Jared Allen pin down at the foul line that’s the second part of the play and he flies off the screen flies off of it so much so

That Jared Allen guy has to zoom off of Jared Allen and like double Donovan Mitchell on the catch Donovan Mitchell makes the easy bounce pass to Jared Allen for a layup they are just it’s just like the pace makes that eight out of 10 times teams are going to run that

At three quarter speed and it’s not going to accomplish very much the Cavs are running it at 110% speed and just like even even their pick and rolls are not just pick and rolls like Moby will have the ball and Donovan Mitchell will come for a handoff and decide you know

What no I’m just going to keep zooming to the other side and here comes Max stru crisscrossing with me for a handoff and like you just don’t know what’s coming as easily and everything is fast and that’s just how they’re going to have to play When the two big guys are

On the floor you probably have seen a 100 possessions like that I was just focusing on it last night because I knew you were coming on today and they were zooming last night I know they lost but they’re flying and to your point Zach the only player players in the NBA that

Have made more off ball Cuts per game than Max streu and Sam Merrill there’s only one player it’s Klay Thompson so like that element to the offense did not exist last year because they didn’t have players that did it to that level with that force with that thrust with that

Dynamic ability and it’s really changed the Cavs and the way that they can go offensively and even though Max stru is not shooting and he talked to me the other night like I am not making the amount of shots that that I think I’m capable of and early on in my career I

Probably would have struggled with confidence but but I’ve learned that I can make an impact a different kind of way even with streu having such low shooting percentages they function at a completely different level on the offensive end when he is off the court he is by numbers their second most

Important player in terms of onoff differential behind Jess Donovan Mitchell so even though he’s not making those shots it hasn’t changed the kind of impact that he has had and his ability to raise the game of everybody around him and his ability to make things easier on his teammates as well

Which is ultimately what he was brought here to do you mentioned I mentioned Mitchell and Garland before not that I ever think this was going to be an issue really in ter like ruining their team level issue because Darius Garland is a pretty selfless player by nature but

Sometimes injuries and and blips in the schedule whatever have a way of kind of clarifying things organically and in Darius Garland’s absence Donovan Mitchell ascended to such a level that I just don’t think there can be any argument that the offense really belongs to him and Darius Garland is going to

Have to fit in as the number two perimeter guy and he’ll get to run the offense with Donovan mro it reminds me like five seasons ago Tatum had just a month where he broke out where he like in the middle of the Season it was like the first third of the Season ratcheted

Up to like oh he’s a top 10 player now and that just settled the Jaylen Brown Jason Tatum thing forever like it was gonna be Jason Tatum’s team and Jaylen Brown’s gonna have to fit in I think that is settled in Cleveland too and I think Darius has the kind of game where

Even even if that could have been an issue it it can’t be it can’t be uh anymore um and aoro I just want to shout out a cororo that dude is guarding everybody and they’ll put him on point guards Wings you know in some of these

Series he’s going to have to be the answer to who guards the best wing on the other team sometimes it’s going to be Moy as we’ve talked about you invert the matchup so Moy guards like a Jason Tatum or a Jaylen brown but one thing we’ve learned from that playoff series

And going forward is you just can’t play a cororo together with the two big guys it’s a total non-starter despite the fact that he’s shooting it better um but I guess I guess to end what I would say is the Contender question is like good

For TV it’s like a fun question it’s a yes or no question and that’s what people love it’s hard to say this about his team that went 17 and two in its last 19 games I still think a totally successful outcome for this team is win a first

Round series and if you lose in the second round to Milwaukee a healthy Philadelphia New York whatever the seating ends up being Boston if you fall into the four five and it’s a good competitive series like that’s a step to where you want to get to and I think

Given where they started the season and given that I’m still I still need to see those two bigs together in a playoff setting offensively I think that would be a totally successful season they probably would disagree at this point I I bet internally they think yeah that’d

Be great it would at least like we wouldn’t have scrutiny if that was our season but we think we can do something more but I don’t know what do you think is if they advance past that is that is that too faint praise for them or whatever I do think there are some

Inside the the organization that came into this season Zach and saying all right if we get out of the first round that makes it a successful season but the way that this has all come together and the fact that as the season progresses they can get even better and

Better because their projected starting five has only played a grand total of 225 total minutes together and we’re past the 50 game Mark so there’s a belief that with more time together more reps more familiarity they can grow organ Al with that group right Evan MO

Is going to get more of an understanding of how he fits um now that he’s back and going to be off a minute restriction when they come back from the All-Star break Darius Garland’s not going to have a minute restriction either and for all the questions about Darius and Donovan

Together and how it looks from time to time like with them both on the court in 485 total minutes they’ve got a 9.5 net rating which as a pairing is better than than Fox and sabonis it’s better than Jaylen Brown and Jason Tatum it’s better than Devin Booker and Kevin Durant it’s

Right in the same realm as Damen Lillard and Giannis it’s in the same realm as Jamal Murray and joic so those guys have been successful together and I think they’re going to continue to get better and better as the season goes on so I guess like what I’m saying is based on

The way that they’ve played and based on the ceiling that they still believe that they have I think expectations have shifted and I think it’s okay that they have like a lot of the weaknesses that showed up in that first round playoff series against the Knicks were addressed they’ve got

More shooting they’re taking more threes um they learned a lot in terms of like how to navigate those certain situations of of playoff level physicality and playoff level intensity um they’ve handled those environments where they’re in tight games in the fourth quarter a little bit better they’re 33 and3 this

Year Zach when taking a lead into the fourth quarter so they’re finishing they’re closing they’re understanding those kinds of things um and their bench which was a huge weak point last year they had the 28th scoring bench in the entire NBA a year ago this year their

Top half of the league so a lot of the issues that popped up in that series against the Knicks they feel like they remedied based on their personnel and they based on the styles that they can play at both ends of the floor and I think there are reasons to believe that

Are they Boston no like Boston’s on a completely different level but with the situation with embiid and everything that’s gone on in Milwaukee this year and the questions about the Bucks like why can’t we make a Deep Run in the playoffs that’s the way that the Cavs

Are thinking I mean over the last 20 games and you can talk about the schedule but over the last 20 games they have trailed by less than 250 total minutes that’s an insane level of dominance for a long stretch of time everything about their resume points to them being a legitimate Contender they

They’re just outclassing a lot of teams and I don’t disagree I guess I guess here’s what I’m saying let’s say they get by the first round Y in a second round series I’m not picking them over Boston assuming everyone’s healthy um I still I I got to see how the Bucks over

The next 25 games but I still just would default to they have Giannis and Dame and some Championship pedigree I you know the Knicks again fully healthy based on what they did to the Cavs last year if they’re rolling in the last 20 games and anobi looks healthy Randall

Looks healthy I think I’d probably have the Cavs as slight underdogs in that series Billy’s a total wild card because I’m just not sure it’s realistic to expect we see like fully optimized Philadelphia with embiid uh if we do that’s a scary matchup for Cleveland too and that’s okay like that like you’ve

Got to be okay with 22 in the second round against the Bucks we lose a nailbiter at home in game five and they Clos it out in game six not a failure not a failure especially not when you have Dean Wade for all your accounting needs Dean Wade for all your accounting

Needs Dean Wade Dean Wade Chris Fedor any parting thoughts on the Cleveland Cavaliers I think the only thing that I would add Zack and and you mentioned Jared Allen like there was a big shift for him and you were talking about his level of Engagement his level of

Involvement you know early on in the season he came into this year saying I want to be more involved offensively I’ve worked on my mid-range game I’ve worked on my passing I feel like J he’s made some Jumpers in in Rec 50% 50% on mid-range jump shots that’s good enough

For somebody like him who finishes with the efficiency that he does around the rim and at the beginning of the year like it’s almost as if the Cavs didn’t put their confidence behind him and it was more Evan Mobley early on Jared Allen was sixth on the team in total

Touches per game sixth he was getting as many touches per night as George Nang since you know Evan Moy and Darius Garland went down during that stretch Jarrett became number third in the offensive hierarchy and he’s not somebody who’s going to complain about touches or complain about minutes or

Anything along those lines he doesn’t ruffle feathers he’s a low in Sky he’s a simple man but you see a different level of commitment from him you see a different level of Joy from him and like them giving him the confidence to expand his offensive game during that stretch

Without Darius and Evan I think it created this different guy that we’re seeing right now and it’s going to be really important I think for the Cavs to continue to tap into that because he is like Donovan’s their best player he’s probably their most important player for

The future Evan Moy is probably their most important player I could probably take the probably away from that one but like the most indispensable player that they have is Jared Allen so seeing him with this level of involvement on the offensive end and feeling like he’s more

Of a part of it I think that has um Unleashed a different a different guy who has been worthy of All-Star consideration well he was the one to to wrap up that he was the one that expressed most openly and most nakedly that the playoffs felt different to the

Cavs in a way that they did not expect last year the pressure the intensity and it will be interesting to see how they respond to it this year if they use that as fuel like all right we’ve been here we failed guess what we survived everything’s okay let’s go and get it

Let’s go and get it or if if they wobble a little bit I actually expect it’s going to be the ladder like we we we failed we were embarrassed and guess what we recovered and we’re back um it’s it’s going to be fun this is a really

Good team and a really fun team to watch too Chris Fedor cleveland.com thank you for joining us and uh enjoy enjoy Allstar you got it man you do the Same

On The Lowe Post, Zach Lowe and Steve Jones Jr. of The Dunker Spot pick their “5 Biggest Questions” for the rest of the NBA season: Bucks, Suns, home-court in the West, Knicks, Sixers, Lakers and Warriors figuring things out, Trae Young’s future, much more. Then Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com joins to discuss the red-hot Cleveland Cavaliers.

0:00 How good are the Milwaukee Bucks?
11:10 Who on Earth will win the Western Conference?
16:10 Are we worried about the Denver Nuggets?
20:47 What are the Phoenix Suns missing?
25:26 Will the Los Angeles Lakers or the Golden State Warriors win 1 or 2 playoff rounds?
42:14 Can the New York Knicks and Philadelphia Sixers hold on?
48:01 Can Boston avoid getting in its own way?
51:37 What’s the plan with Trae Young?
1:04:14 Who wins coach of the year?
1:07:37 How is the reintegration of Garland and Mobley going?
1:17:20 The race for the No. 2 and No. 3 seed in the East
1:20:59 Who takes the No. 7 seed in the East?
1:37:45 Can the Cleveland Cavaliers make a deep playoff run?

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