NBA Today Full | Warriors could miss the playoffs, Bucks are a LEGIT title, Lakers beat Pacers

NBA Today Full | Warriors could miss the playoffs, Bucks are a LEGIT title, Lakers beat Pacers

Welcome to NBA Today presented by Levis alongside Brian windhorse Kendrick Perkins I’m Malika Andrews how’s htown doing Park I mean it’s a little rainy you know it’s rainy outside but it it’s all good it’s all good it’s 70 and sunny here in Los Angeles but that is not where we’re

Going to start our show we start our show in Minneapolis where the Golden State Warriors they went into the fourth quarter with a lead over the Minnesota Timberwolves remember though the dubs they came into last night only a game and a half ahead of the 11th Place

Rockets uhoh all right we’re going to pick this one up here in the third quarter with the Warriors leading 6057 Steph Curry uses the pick here Brian don’t go under that screen on Steph Curry holy Moses knocks down the contested three he’s heating up from the

Outside Warriors up six what did I say did it again they did it again that’s what happens when you drop you have big men but you drop on Curry troubling that’s when Britney Spears would say oops he did it again Curry 22 points through three quarters the Warriors lead

8178 after three Curry would sit shortly after after with 407 left to play in the third quarter here and here come the Timberwolves Nelle Alexander Walker hits that three ties the game and then watch here Chris Paul a little ball pressure a turnover here that the Timberwolves

Force and all of a sudden the Wolves pull ahead in this one Brian yep they went to the corner there m he’s a smart man and why is Steph on the bench Steph still on the bench watching as his team Falls farther and farther down remember when might call me again

Still on the bench what do you think he’s thinking right there why am I not in the game well now he is but perhaps it is too little too late Steph Curry pulls up for three here can’t quite get that one to go golden state gets another opportunity Steph Yes sir that one’s

Good tie game with 326 left here Timberwolves up by one Nelle Alexander Walker that was good defense what are you going to do not much check that Jaden McDaniels Timberwolves up by three at this point Steph Curry doing it all putting the team on his back here in the

Final seconds the Warriors down by three Klay Thompson elevates can’t quite get that one to go the Golden State Warriors fall to the Timberwolves 114 110 the Warriors remember they had a five-point lead when Steph went to the bench for his extended rest and we do mean

Extended Because by the time he came back the game it really felt Out Of Reach Curry played 32 minutes on Sunday which at first glance it might seem like that’s not that much but it is in line with his season average so here’s Ste Steve cerr on Curry’s minutes load after the

Game we can’t expect to to just ride stu um game after game after game you you know these last few weeks have been really tough on we we we’ve put the burden of this franchise on his shoulders for 15 years if you want to say that him

Playing 30 minutes instead of 32 was the difference in the win and the loss I I totally disagree with that we’re trying to we’re trying to win the game we’re trying trying to uh to keep him fresh obviously you’re comparing it to last game and the my normal rotation like I

Want to play as many minutes as as I’m fresh and able to play the whole fourth quarter in Indi against Indiana didn’t work out this didn’t work out so we got to find somewhere in the middle I think that’s fair Steph’s been carrying this team for the last 15 years but you keyed

In on his minutes in the fourth quarter of this game Brian versus the last game that we saw him yeah they’ve clearly made an organizational decision uh after the All-Star break to reduce his minutes he’s been playing 32 minutes now for several weeks um and then on Friday that

Changed a little bit they played on the whole fourth quarter in a game against the Pacers which they were ahead big in early and then lost the lead late and it was 35 minutes and so that was the most he’s played in over a month and so obviously they were trying to correct

That and I think they just kind of overcorrected right and look at the end of the day they’re playing in Minnesota Minnesota is one of the best teams in the league they’re playing at home the Warriors losing this game is not a stunner right however when you see Steph

Sit for that kind of a stretch in the time when the game is maybe being decided and it’s unusual obviously it feels weird and it certainly felt weird you could tell Steph by just looking at his face on the bench he wasn’t used to that and so now they got to figure

Something out for tomorrow night Steph is averaging his fewest minutes played in like the last five seasons so we have seen this happen overall and I do want to give the Minnesota Timberwolves credit they played a great game their fourth quarter wo which were a big problem for them pre- All-Star break

Really they seem to have settled that a little bit so it’s not just that the Golden State Warriors lost this game Minnesota came out and they took this game there were questions of how they were going to play without Carl Anthony towns it seems like at least for now

Some of those questions have been answered but Kendrick when you’re looking at the Warriors they going to need more from Step whether or not that is fair in order to keep this dynasty and their playin hopes afloat no they’re not I mean he’s doing everything and more and Malika Wendy

Look you cannot drive a vehicle with just the rims okay you need the rims and the ti right right now Warriors right now the Golden State Warriors are asking Steph Curry to be the rim and the tire and that’s not fair now he could be the tire but where is

His Rim at who is going to be that guy to help him out on a consistent basis when you have a team and you have veterans like CP3 Draymond G green Klay Thompson uh Andrew Wiggins like nobody can hold a fort down enough or or or be

Able to carry that weight on a consistent basis look it’s it’s a lot of times that I do disagree with Steve Kerr but on this point he’s right and maybe the writing is on the wall maybe he actually said it and say you know what we’re not good enough to compete in the

Western Conference why should I run our franchise guy our heart and soul Mr Golden State himself into the ground Steve Curry is right on this one somebody got to help to help I will say Malika this does kind of fit into the actions over words character characterization because the Warriors

May not say what they actually think about their chances this year they may say that we think we can still win everything but the fact that while they’re in an allout fight for play in not play in right that they would elect to reduce Steph’s minutes with an eye

Towards longterm kind of illustrates and you know perk and I have been going back and forth on this I’ve been ref Ching to let go with the Rope on the Warriors that action is kind of speaking towards the way the Warriors are looking at right well and to that point both

Draymond Green and Steph Curry they were asked about the state of the Warriors after the game take a listen to this how much are you now kind of tracking the Rockets I don’t give a damn about the Rockets the situation will Define itself pretty clearly and it is in in kind of

Real time so every game matters you know we’re inching closer to the other end of the standings that we never thought we’d be in nobody’s gonna wave the white flag and say you know you’re you’re mailing it in and that means playing more minutes and I’ll be ready to do that so

The Warriors they dropped their first game of an all important five game Road Trip you can see here this could really end their hopes of moving up past 10th in the standings but looking at the end of the road trip they have one home game against the Mavs and then they have that

Game against the team that is behind them in the standings the rocket so Wendy alluded to this perk there’s a lot of basketball that’s still left to be played here but the Warriors they are at risk of missing the play in completely so what would the ramifications be if they

Do I mean I don’t want to say nothing but they actually would be in a great spot to be honest with you I mean because at the end of the day let’s be honest are the Warriors going anywhere absolutely not that H that uphill battle

That they have to fight to get out of the play in tournament or to stay in the playin tournament and then make the playin tournament get into the postseason that’s a long that’s a tall task to ask but what they can say is you know what we just seen some production

From Jonathan kaminga we seen some production from psky like Steph looks still like Prime step so they have some decisions to make but I wouldn’t look at the Warriors season if they didn’t make the playin tournament or the postseason and say that it was a failure because in

My eyes is no other organization that has been through the adversity like the like the Golden State War has been through this season at no level no level whatsoever with the Draymond Green suspension with the Klay Thompson uh contract you know negotiation not coming to a stance all that stuff the Golden

State Warriors have fought through that type of adversity like no other team well let’s just let’s just again let’s just be honest about the warrior situation if you look at where they are relative to what they thought at the start of the Season cavon Looney is out

Of the rotation he was been a main state for them he’s no longer contri contributing Andrew wiggin’s having arguably the worst season of his his career maybe not even arguably the worst season of his career Klay Thompson has been demoted to the bench right chis Paul has been largely injured and made

Some impact but not a Major Impact um Steph is having a good season but he’s not having a great season by his standards he’s borderline all NBA at this point I I don’t know if he’ll make it or not they’ve just they’ve just gone down but didn’t we get we got sucked in

We got sucked in for you know a month month and half after Draymond Green returned after Wiggins got back and looked a little bit better like they got healthy and it said oh okay maybe the Warriors are here I I don’t think we would have had those same expectations I

Agree with you but I I think we got sucked in thinking that they could maybe get back into the first round of the playoffs we never thought oh my gosh they’re back to 20 absolutely and I just think that when they get to the end of the

Season it they’re just going to they’re not even going to have to make announcements that they’re going to do they’re just going to say look what happened yeah and and we’re going to say yeah we know we’ve been watching we’ll sprinkle a little bit of good news in

For Golden State Warriors fans they do have the easiest remaining schedule in the Western Conference the Houston Rockets they own the tiebreaker over so Houston would have to finish with a better record straight out than the Golden State Warriors if they are tied the Golden State Warriors have that

Tiebreaker so Houston has to have a better record they have won six straight without arguably their best player Alper and shenon eight straight games overall they’re 10 in one in the month of March so I’m not saying that this is not a tall task for Golden State but I still

Would give the edge to the Warriors but that edge is shrinking every single day so we’re going to go from the 10th seed to the ninth seed because Los Angeles Lakers they put up the most points since Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul Jabar dawned the purple and gold this is what

We’re talking about we’re going to pick this one up the Pacers and the Lakers here in the first quarter early Pascal cakam woo throws it down look this was one of those games was an absolute track meet and some of those old dudes who been having tickets at the at the Laker

Games for decades they were having great memories of better days Austin Reeves a little no look Kendrick Perkins out to the corner oh I mean I love Austin Reeves when he’s the play Mak you see that D atin re say Luca could do it damn it I

Can do it going ahead to the third quarter here Anthony Davis is yeah we saw you earlier Pascal this is a rematch of the inseason turnament final Davis that you want to see Anthony Davis had a great game here LeBron James drives finishes strong at the cup James had 26 points the Lakers

They lead big at this point and then Anthony Davis just putting an exclamation mark really on this one this is an important win CU they go on the road now so that was they had to get this one in the fourth quarter here a minute left to

Play after entering the quarter up 17 the Lakers lead by six Davis does what he’d been doing all game Davis 36 points 16 rebounds the Lakers up but then Tyrese Alber nails that three-pointers the Pacers only trow by four here why not let’s try it again ding got that one

To go to the Pacers they only Trail by three with 20 seconds to go four-point game Tyrese halberton that’s the man you want to get the ball just couldn’t quite get it to fall look at that final score 150 145 my goodness so with the win on

Sunday the Lakers they are a season best seven games over 500 and if you feel like yeah you know what it’s been a little while since the Lakers have been there well that that’s because it has been a little while this is the furthest over 500 they’ve been since May 16th of

2021 when they finish the 2021 season 12 games over we’re going to get Eastern Conference playoff race over the weekend so let’s catch you up we’re going to start in Miami hosting the Cleveland Cavaliers here so we’re going to pick this up under 10 seconds left in the

First heat up 19 Brian wior uhoh here they come well what we have here Malika is a Sunday afternoon game in Miami in March let’s just say this has been seen before there’s a name for it it’s called The Miami flu yes this is the Miami flu

Or what my dad Mike Andrew would call a good old-fashioned but whooping because that is what the Miami Heat handed out here the Cavaliers turn it over ahead to Jimmy Butler throws it down Evan Milby came back for the Cavs in this game that’s the only thing I can

Say about it that’s the only good news 12184 your final score the win goes to Miami and how about the short-handed 76ers against the Los Angeles Clippers here Tyrese Maxi really put this team on his back this was also an afternoon game but that’s not what explains it to me

The Clippers are two and six in their last eight home games is there such thing as a Los Angeles flu there is but I don’t expect the Clippers to be dealing with it and especially not after playing so poorly and this was a really nice win for the 76ers who are fighting

For positioning out east and we get to see James Harden back in Philadelphia this week Philly gets the win 121 107 and then the Milwaukee Bucks they are hitting their stde at the right time and one in Dame time the first time Giannis Dame and Chris Middleton played together

Since February 3rd and boy big surprise they look good Chris Middleton elevates hits the three here and see who their opponent is top seated Thunder team Giannis sentac kmo throws it down nice little connection from Chris Middleton to Giannis this is what we’ve seen for years and years the championship DNA I

Can’t speak Milwaukee flu but this also was an afternoon game oh Milwaukee flu that would be a new one I do know this that be the literal flu exactly the Bucks that’s what you get when you’re in the pacif when you’re in the uh the Midwest the Bucs though they picked up

Another statement win over the thunder on Sunday they continue this upward Trend that we’ve seen it was their 25th game under dock Rivers Milwaukee really started to steady the ship after a slow start here the Bucks they’re looking good at the right time and ESPN analytics actually gives Milwaukee an

87% chance to end up as the two seed out west the Boston Celtics they have locked up that number one seed but Milwaukee does have a three-game cushion under three weeks left in the regular season here so Kendrick they’re healthy they look dangerous but just how dangerous can this Milwaukee team

Be dangerous enough to take the Celtics to a seven game series if they match up and then may the chips fall where they may look I’m not going to sit up here and act like I’m not witnessing Bobby Porters come in Off the Bench and be a

Candidate for six-man year and has had Monster game I’m also not about to sit up here and act like I haven’t witnessed Damen Lillard look comfortable offensively under Doc Rivers and I’m also not about to sit up here and act like I haven’t witnessed Patrick bevle effect on this team along with Doc

Rivers in that locker room and the way that they attitude have shifted after the allstar break defensively I’m watching this team they’re locked in you see them communicating you see guys give a certain amount of effort that is needed for a championship caliber team like that this team is the real deal

They’re finding their stride they seem like they’re enjoying one another and most importantly Doc Rivers have the ears of that locker room well look injuries are part of the game so I’m not going to just say you know you can blame everything on injuries but when you

Evaluate a team like this you should evaluate them when they’re healthy and they are in the last few games Chris Middleton has come back from that ankle injury he’s made a really big difference particularly as a distributor he’s averaging eight assists in these three games since he came back he had a triple

Double against the Thunder yesterday and it just takes the pressure off of Giannis and Dame to do much so much creation also it allows them to blend their lineups a little better when they can use all three of them Middleton is not having a great year but he’s still

Such a major talent that you can’t just Overlook you adding them adding him in in midm March it really changes their Dynamic this was the Milwaukee Bucks at their best good defensively great Rim protection switched really well they looked like a team that could go toeto Toe with the Boston Celtics

In the Eastern Conference Finals if that all is how it ends up uh being in terms of seating but on the flip side of things the Thunder were dominated inside yeah they just were this was sort of a question that we’ had about OKC they were held to a season low 32 paint

Points they were outrebounded by 20 I know that can be a little scary when Giannis is on the other side but Brian not all teams are as physical as the Bucks I get that this didn’t go on when Kendrick Perkins was patrolling the paint the Oklahoma City Thunder it did

Not but did this shine on on maybe OKC’s biggest red flag here yeah so this is their biggest weakness some people would say youth is their biggest weakness but youth doesn’t mean that you can’t succeed it just means you’re not proven yet they don’t have an interior presence

They at the trade deadline Malika they elected not to go out and get rebounding help now maybe that’s because they didn’t find a deal that they liked what they did at the deadline they picked up a pick swap from Dallas that could be very fruitful down the line they picked

Up Gordon Hayward who is actually not making much of an impact he’s only playing 17 minutes and averaging about five points he hasn’t been doing much they may be able to trade him later for a piece I’m not saying their deadline failed but it didn’t deliver the rebounding help that they could have

Used in this push towards the end of the season and that was very much on display on Sunday I’m with you on that Wy when you think about Chad we know Chad is an awesome Talent defensively he’s going to protect the basket one of the best in

The NBA but when you think about what you need to get out of the Western Conference when you might have to battle Anthony Davis or damont sabonis or joic or whatever call Anthony towns if he comes back like you need that interior presence in the Western Conference and

They don’t have that and guess what if they happen to get knocked out in the first round it wouldn’t be that big of a deal they put the world on notice this is a team that is built for the future and right now they just going through they’re going to go through their

Growing pains in the postseason and I trust Sam presy out of a lot of GMS that he will feel that void for us getting them an interior presence to play a long Shed Home grid by the way the Thunder are still contending for that top seed in the Western Conference but you know

Who holds it now oh yes it would be the defending Champion Denver Nuggets and we have talked about this all if Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter is coming out later this week she’s going country it’s time for us to survey the Wild Wild West we’re going to start with the defending champs

They notched their 50th win of the season to regain sole possession of first place after a win over the Blazers Michael Malone said I don’t know how many te teams you can say across the NBA are playing better than the Denver Nuggets right now we’re going to ignore

The third person C but Brian are there any the Celtics but they’re two and0 against the Celtics this year and this game that you were reference right here joic and Murray sat didn’t even need them to win on the road and that is why I think the answer might be no next up

The Pelicans Zion Williamson scored 36 on 13 to 14 shooting and win over the Pistons perk his field goal percentage has improved each month this year is this the best version of Zion we have seen yet hell yeah and it’s not even close he’s been the most dominant player in the

League in the paint using that strength his athleticism and his skill to get to the rim I love what Zion has been doing hell I love what the Pelicans has been doing well let’s shift over to another big man who’s been balling Damonte sabonis the Gonzaga product posted his

53rd consecutive double double over the weekend oh all right well try tying Kevin Love here the longest streak since the merger Brian does the bonus deserve as perk says to make all yeah he’s going to make all NBA I don’t think this streak is getting enough attention 53

Consecutive double doubles it’s the most sense the merger and he’s two more he’s going to tie the most since Elvin hay is in 7374 beep all right last stop the Rockets they got their eighth straight win on Saturday thanks to another monster game from Jaylen Green Houston

However will be without Jabari Smith Jr tonight after he and Chris D remember they’re both suspended for throwing punches so perk does this team look like they will be backing down anytime soon hell no they’re coached by eeme udoka and their guy leading the charge is Dylan Brooks this team is not going

Anywhere and they have a promising young star in jayen green who has elevated his game since changon went down well look at this the Rockets are the hottest team in the west winning eight straight games nine of their last 10 overall they’ve really turned it up in March winning 10

Games this much month which has helped them in their push for the playin Houston won 10 games total between the months of January and February we have less than three weeks Mr Wayne horse left to the regular season here but it’s getting a little bit windy in here I

Know all eyes are on Houston but you are forecasting potentially something else America God I love America okay we got a big thing going on this week out in Sacramento believe it or not a baseball Series that’s two games Mavericks at Kings this to me could decide that all

Important six seed in the Western Conference these two teams are essentially tied right now now Dallas does play at Utah tonight I’m going to give it to him don’t tell so that means look right here this is the most important mikica remaining strength of schedule look how much of an

Advantage the Mavericks have so these two games that are being played in Sacramento this week in my mind if they split them and they go out and they’re still tied with the Kings they have the advantage even though they’re down here they have the advantage in the remaining

Schedule I like the Mavericks to win the six seed if they can split this week and if they take them both they’re in great shape if the king take them both they could have the edge cuz I think the suns are going to take some losses on the way

In as you’ve been talking about right the the most difficult one of the most difficult remaining strengths of schedule of the Phoenix Suns but let’s check in with the Great and Powerful perk who do you see getting the sixth seed Kendrick I got the Dallas Mavericks and

Luca I trust I’m telling you outside of yic he’s the most dangerous player in the Western Conference we see what Kyrie irvan has been doing as a robin play alongside him this team has been consistent so has been up and down since the allstar break well all season long

Phoenix also has been struggling to find identity so if I had to put my cards in the one what hat or on the table I’m going with uh the Dallas Mavs I’m whatever the Dallas Maverick’s hat that’s on the table that’s where kendri rins is placing his cards I understand

That you have something else I love that windy watch I do too I don’t like Kirk over my shoulder if you want powerful odds to you all right this is something that I wasn’t expecting to have to talk about at this point in the season which

Is the LA Clippers in trouble in the standings and they are after losing yesterday they have really put themselves up against it against the New Orleans Pelicans as they’re about to go on an East Coast Road Trip they have really struggled since the All-Star break they have completely lost their

Mojo they were pretty much Untouchable Malika for like two months we really thought they might even get the one seed now they are barely barely hanging on to the four as they head east and if you look you can see how the Pelicans have made up this ground it’s it’s not been

Anything that we could expect look at this record against teams over 500 since the break one and8 look at the ground that the Pelicans have made up I mean that is crazy and the Pelicans are going without Brandon Ingram and are still in great position to catch the Clippers and

Look it’s not so much about whether you get four or five I believe the Clippers can win a road playoff game but they set themselves up now potentially they have to play Denver in the second round even if they beat the Pelicans in the first

Round and I don’t even think can get in the top three that’s almost closed right now so really struggling for the Clippers they have got to get out of this funk and defensively theyve just not been the same team it was not that long ago that we were talking about the

Top four seeds in the west really being a lock the Thunder the Denver Nuggets the Timberwolves and the Clippers in some way shape or form and now that isn’t necessarily the case but it does look like we’re well on our way to seeing the Clippers and the Pelicans

Match up in the first round here do you think Kendrick Perkins that home court is going to dictate who has the advantage in this series I do I do especially when you’re looking at a young group like the New Orleans Pelicans because we I stand on

This and this is facts role players play better at home so when you have a young group like that role players are going to hit shots role players are going to feed off the energy of the crowd and dive and go for 5050 balls and go for

Offensive rebounds and when you look at this New Orleans teams New Orleans Pelicans team Zion Williamson just him alone he feeds off the energy of that crowd and you get a a guy that’s already full of confidence right now playing at the crib it will definitely be a

Disappointment for the Clippers if they let the Pelicans get the home court advantages why I got them as my sleepers are coming out of the Western Conference talking about the Pelicans so those are our our forecasts coming out of the West right now but we do need to check in on

The East because the Celtics they’ve officially clinched the one seed in the Eastern Conference but you still have your eye on Boston why let’s keep an eye for the next week on Drew holiday for two reasons number one he’s dealing with an arm injury right now he got hit last

Week he’s missed a few games out again tonight it’ll be his fifth straight not super worried about that he says he’s getting better but the one thing I want to talk about is starting one week from today April 1st he can sign a contract extension for the Celtics and I think

Malika there is interest on both sides to get this done before the playoffs now he has an option for next season for $39 million he could sign starting on Monday four years and 21221 I don’t think it will be either I think what’s most likely is he will not

Use that often he will not use that op option he will take a new contract that lowers that number and stretches it out they traded and extended Chris ABS porzingis they traded and I think are going to try to extend Dereck white this summer The the Celtics have extended

Jaylen Brown they’re going to try it and probably get extended on Jason Tatum this summer they extended Payton Pritchard Malika they like this team they want to lock it in and I think that they will try to do the with Drew holiday in the very near future but this

Is an expensive team Brian oh yes when you’re looking at Jason Tatum signing the largest contract in NBA history three bills eclipsing that that was signed by his teammate Jaylen Brown we’re talking about a whole lot of cash here Kendrick so Boston’s the clear-cut favorite they just are Jason Tatum told

Me this is the best roster that he has ever played with including that 2022 finals team but the question is is this version of the Celtics if they fall short yet again should they run it back or should they consider some changes I feel like I’ve been in this

Position for the last two years and my answer is not going to change right they have all the pieces that they need if this group falls short like this is a complete failure it’s Championship AB bust and it’s it’s this way for the Boston Celtics in my opinion and no

Other team in the NBA and when you think about Jaylen Brown and Jason Tatum it’s almost going to get to the point that if they don’t complete the mission like even if you’re with GRC and Brad Brad Stevens you got to start having out at some point if they don’t complete the

Mission with all the success that these young guys have had in the past if they don’t get it done this year with this roster and these pieces that they added with Drew holiday uh Christa Pingas this is a problem I think they’re going to I mean they they’re don’t have very many

Options I think this they’re locked into this roster for next season no matter what after that let’s see but they may have a championship by then well and if they do you know then all bets are off then absolutely you’re going to run it

Back hey Kendrick we got a lot to get to in the final 20 those young stars with their NBA dreams laid out in front of them but it is happening all over again as we say hello now to our draft expert Jonathan gavone Jonathan thank you so

Much for joining us as the round of 32 at least on the men side is wrapping up I wanted to take stock leading into this NBA draft first let’s just take a look here this is the NCAA lottery picks this is according to gavone and Jeremy woo

You can see here Zach Edy at 14 Donovan kingan who was really impressive over the weekend at number five who are the biggest winners though in terms of draft Capital that you’ve seen in these early rounds Jonathan Malika the two biggest winners are Donovan kingan and Zack Edy I’m

Talking really big Winners starting first with Donovan kingan the performance that he put on last night against Northwestern I was there at the barklay center one of the most impressive defensive show cases I’ve ever witnessed live just hedging out past the three-point line again and again extinguishing the ball handler

Rotating to protect the rim with both hands multiple effort plays inhaling every rebound uh you know blocking eight shots honestly I counted 10 14 points 14 rebounds 10 blocks to triple double you don’t see things like this at the college level an NBA GM texted me and he

Said Rudy go or or Donovan kingan and I said Donovan kingan last night holy cow Zack e as well the most dominant player in college basketball right now uh you know 31 points 20 rebounds in the opener and then yesterday just an easy 21- 11 at halftime we’re talking about a guy who

Is incredibly physical incredibly competitive uh you know he doesn’t quit on any play he he anytime he gets the ball inside the paint with two feet it’s an automatic dunk or or a foul uh this guy has and done an incredible job this year just increasing his Mobility

Becoming a better passer a better shop Locker he’s a he his processing speed is improved there’s a reason why he’s a lottery pick you look at guys like Jonas Valen chunis he’s five inches taller than him he can play that type of game but just with almost a half a foot

Taller Ed kingan certainly too to keep an eye on throughout the rest of this NCAA tourn tournament and also the draft in June so those are the winners Jonathan I’m not going to say losers but potentially some Players whose draft stock has fallen a little bit who do you have your eye on

Here Malika the biggest losers are us because Kentucky lost in the first round they were the best show in college basketball this year NBA Scout we’re really looking forward to seeing how Reed Shepard and Rob Dillingham handle them themselves as we move into the tournament these guys were they looked

Like they were built for March Reed Shepard uh you know I haven’t seen him play such a poor game all year he looked like he was playing with the breaks on all game uh he was passing up wide open threes Rob ding him down the stretch you

Know some really wild moments first out really tried to get his teammates going tried to push the ball inside punish the Zone um it did not look that they were prepared we didn’t see any adjustments from them all game long I think the moment was just too big for these guys

The pressure of John calap Perry not winning a single game in the NCA tournament one game since 2019 that’s just too much for these young guys to handle Unfortunately they lost to Oakland they were scorching hot uh Jack goep you know 32 points career high at at this moment uh it’s really

Unfortunate for us honestly I mean these guys had incredible years they’re going to be really high draft picks but I was looking forward to seeing them play in the NCA tournament yeah a bummer not to get a little bit larger of a sample size from those players Jonathan before we

Let you go some news that I do want to hit uh in our show today the g-league ignite shutting down after four years after the season why was that de made I think the NBA wasn’t getting the return on investment that they were hoping for in terms of the dollars that

They were spending on this uh roster the salaries that they were paying these players the the the NBA the the basketball world is in a very different place right now than it was four years ago when g- League ignite started players have a lot of different options

Now in college they can make you know seven figure salaries there too right and I just don’t think that players were coming in being as prepared for the NBA as GMS and coaches and owners were hoping for we saw guys like scoot Henderson jayen green Jonathan kaminga

Jayden Hardy they saw their draft stock drop during their g- leing night and then they weren’t all that prepared coming into the NBA so I think the league was looking at and saying what’s the point you know these guys should be in college we can save a lot of money

Put it in different places we’re hearing that they’re going to be spending a little bit more on the ebl Scholastic you know High School league that just came up there’s a new program in France that they’re looking at put putting money towards the NBA Academy is a

Costly Endeavor I think they’re going to be rerouting that money to different places reallocating that budget because we are seeing so many different paths now to the NBA Jonathan gone thank you so much for stopping by NBA today we’re going to be seeing a whole lot of you as

We lead up to the NBA draft coming up tonight though on ESPN the NCAA Women’s Championship second round it continues Syracuse squaring off against friend of the show Paige Beckers in Yukon followed by West Virginia taking on Iowa and then freshman Phenom Juju Watkins leads USC against Kansas all games are also

Available on the ESPN app so we had plenty of action in the women’s tournament so we’re going to start off a little this or that this is where you can get with this or you can get with that and let me know which clip you like better all right so the best

Sequence from the women’s tournament do you think oh it’s J Walker hitting the buzzer beater or Malaysia for wiy gets the block loses it on the break but then oh what comes back out and hits the corner three here which one I mean I mean there’s one of them is a one great

Shot one of them is like four great plays so we’re going with the four Great yeah give me that block give me the block NE we could have guessed that all right who had the better defense to offense sequence here Brian is it wemi against the Grizzlies was like angled in the air

Well but then Mavs at home here against the Utah ja port Jazz they’ve been on the the bad end of a couple of these lately oh my goodness I mean look per I’m always going to go with wemi I’m just going to tell you that right now

I’m just going to go up top of my head and think I’m going to guess what I’m right there with you all three of us all right what about this Brian who had the better pass Nic yic watch this yes yes over the head to Aaron Gordon or do you

See this though Austin Reeves doing his best Nicola yic and presson here no look there to cam reddish in the corner I mean yeah it wasn’t yish though you know what I mean it had a little bounce to it he had the I like it

But yic stuff is just on time re is like 65 yic 7 I’m GNA give it to Reeves all right well what about this one perk the better picture the better picture here LeBron James and DLo a little classic of the dwade LeBron in 2010 come on with

All due respect to GL Russell come come on one of them is Iconic I’ll just leave it at that I’m Mike Here We Go Together on three one two three stick hand left left left left I got x x we don’t have much practice time like

The other day we had an opportunity to really get on the floor and just just find tun some things that we wanted to work on offensively and defensively so um you know you can kind of tune in and and understand what some of the calls we want to make offensively some of the

Calls we want to make defensively and the practice court is always come here thanks to LeBron for that behind the scenes look at the Lakers practice they bordered a flight this morning to Milwaukee as the Lakers begin a six-game road trip with 11 games left it feels kind of like they’re all but

Set the ninth seed in the west they could drop but not really move up that would give them a home game to start the playin tournament though the task at hand is starting the trip against the RedHot Milwaukee Bucks which is not an easy one remember they have not played a

Game outside the state of California since February 25th that is a month ago so Kendrick what do you want to see from the Lakers over this final uh long road trip extended road trip that they’re going on I I just want to see the playmaking or the trust of the playmaking of Austin

Reeds we saw last night with the Pacers game soon as dingham took uh ad and Braun out the game the Indiana Pacers start making a run and then he had to call a timeout and get them right back into the game so it’s the trust of being

Able to rest buun and AD they should blow majority of these teams out if they’re focused but you know the others got to elevate their game D’Angelo Russell he got to be trustworthy but if I’m doing ham position that I’m in right now is never a point throughout the

Course of the game that I don’t have Anthony Davis or LeBron James on the floor staggering those minutes are on the floor together period I think consist one of the two got to be on the floor I think it’s a fair point I think consistent is a big thing for the Lakers sometimes

You look at them in the first quar and you’re like oh LeBron’s got it tonight the fast ball is humming sometimes they don’t have it um and also Health they got to protect LeBron and his ankle they got to protect ad no matter where they are in the seating they got to have

Those guys healthy and we still don’t have 100% Clarity on their other guys who on the injury list we still don’t know if Jared Vanderbilt could make it back I would think it would be even if Vanderbilt off that injured foot even if he could get back right for 12 14

Minutes a night it could really make them a little bit more going into those one gamees two things from last night one Spencer Den witty it was a heck of a performance from him they’ve kind of been waiting to see what exactly they can get from him and if last night is

Any sort of blueprint then that is something the Lakers should feel very very good about but I asked Darvin ham about this after the game no matter how good you felt about the response when the Pacers got within single digits you cannot give up 145 points against any

Team and hope to make a deep playoff run that is not what the Lakers want to hang their hat on and by the way we’re talking about all of this getting in as the eighth seed to the rights to play Denver in the first round I’m excited about it we’ll continue this

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NBA Today Full | Warriors could miss the playoffs, Bucks are a LEGIT title, Lakers beat Pacers