Is Zion Williamson making a push for All-NBA? + Are Bucks better than their record? | NBA Today

Is Zion Williamson making a push for All-NBA? + Are Bucks better than their record? | NBA Today

Z has been healthy and on a tear of late and Thursday was just the latest effort he finished with his 19th game of the season of 25 points on 60% from the floor the only player with more in any other uh season for the Pelicans is Zion [Laughter]

Himself so Zach Zion’s putting together some of the best basketball of his young career but what stood out to you watching his play of late it’s the best he’s ever played he’s making a late season push for all NBA his defense is on another planet from

Where it was even two three months ago but there were a couple plays that made me sit up in my chair and say holy bleep and we’re going to look at him now the first is this drive yeah sorry bleep it out the first is this drive this doesn’t

Look like much cuz it’s Zion that’s Giannis senta kmo and Brook Lopez the most fearsome Rim protection duo in the entire league a defensive player of the year in an annual defense player the candidate he doesn’t care and I want to see more of this when Brandon Ingram is

Back inverted pick and roll CJ molum screens for Zion uhoh what are we going to do we got a trap we got to do something flar is open for a three that’s Point Zion but it’s Point Zion interacting with the other great players on the team thumbs up holy bleep well

While the pals are are trending up it feels like the Bucks are Treading Water take a listen to a little bit of frustration from Giannis after last night’s loss got to play fast like that’s who that’s who we are you know but we we just got to find it we

Don’t have nine games to find it we got to find it tomorrow we got to find it against Atlanta I I don’t care about the nine games we have left I got to find it right now the Bucks have been up and down since Doc Rivers took over and they are

Now 14 and 13 let me repeat they are 14 and 13 in his time on the sideline Milwaukee has been in the middle of the pack during that time and remember Adrien Griffin was 30 and 13 during his time with the Bucks this season we are now joined with Hall of Famer Mark

Spears Mark you know better than anyone what that record says that’s who you are so what do you think that we’re seeing from the Bucks what is it that you feel is the biggest issue with them it’s a wild ride like a Harley that you could

Get Milwaukee right now I mean the thing with this team is they’re still getting used to Doc right they’re still getting used to Dame they’re still getting used to all these different things but this is what’s going to help them one they they got to figure out a way to keep

That two seed and luckily the rest of the East will help them right but once they lock that two seat in they got five days M they got those five days in between their last game and the first playoff game and that’s when Doc Rivers has to do a mini

Camp have these guys come in for those five days get um get used to Chris Middleton again figure out all the problems not only get on the court get in the film room room they got 5 days to figure it out doc could be basically get

His plan together to try to fix things cuz I mean this has certainly been disappointing but it’s not like Doc got a training camp so this will be Doc Doc’s training camp to try to try to figure this out that’s a great point and one of the reasons why they had

Initially hired Adrien Griffin first time head coach they thought oh we have most of the same guys back right this is before the Dame Lillard trade this is this is a veteran team that they this before they had all this uncertainty and then all sudden right before training camp they trade for

Damen Lillard and they traded out Drew holiday and they tra they make such huge seismic changes so you’re right Doc Rivers hasn’t had a training camp he doesn’t have his whole staff there he hasn’t even been able to put in h most of what he does offensively or

Defensively and this team hasn’t had a chance to run it all I mean you don’t get to practice much during the season no I look for me when I watch this team I’m still trying to figure out where what they are trying to figure out that’s the Keest thing it’s like oh you

Could see that a team is trying to figure something out but when you watch them they’re like what are they trying to figure out there was their defense there was their their pick and roll with Giannis and damee we’ve seen a little bit more but perk what do you think can

Get this team rolling why do you think they AR knows doc he knows what doc can do or not do well it’s about sacrificing and it’s going to start with yanis an the Copo like how much is he going to sacrifice not having the ball in his

Hands when you look at the Milwaukee Bucks without Giannis Daman Lillard game goes to another level and I’m not just talking about scoring I’m talking about of facilitating so Yannis are you actually going to embrace that role of actually you know being more of a screen

Set or a dribble hand off guy you’re still going to get your points but can you do it by sacrificing of being less ball dominant I think when you look at these numbers right here when you know Giannis is off the court compared to when he’s under Court not get it Dam

Rose steps up to is is is asked to do more but again you brought Damen lard in here to give you help so if if I’m Yannis I’m actually watching joic and Murray and how they mastered the Twan game and saying can I do this with Daman

Lillard and I believe the answer is yes don’t stab me whoever wins tonight in Denver takes the one seed in the wet people love throwing up all of these numbers that don’t matter but I’m here to tell you that tonight’s game can shape up a lot of what’s going on in the

West now look whoever with the win the timber wol or nuggets these are the chances of them finishing with the number one see with the loss it drops to 18% and 23% so that shows you that both these teams they know these numbers they know how important with that and even

With that both teams will meet again before the season ends and tonight’s game could be even bigger for the Nugget since they don’t own the tiebreaker over the Wolves just yet that is what’s impressive and another a little tidbit the Denver Nuggets they don’t own the tiebreaker over OKC so they’ve got

They’ve got a little work looking up they might be tied but they’re in the worst position of being tied so perk between these two teams who do you think is going to be in the Conference Finals do you think that this is a Conference Finals

Preview I don’t I don’t but I I you know I’m not sold yet because I don’t know when call Anthony towns or if he’s coming back but I will say this I’m I would not the Denver Nuggets are going to be there okay but when it comes down

To the Minnesota Timberwolves I really don’t want to go against Anthony Edwards and how stingy that defense is right that’s a bunch of dogs over there I watched them last weekend when they played against the Golden State Warriors and what they do on the perimeter how they make people feel how they make

People uncomfortable this team is very very dangerous I think when you think about this game tonight this is a confidence booster for the Minnesota timberwoods we know what they’re capable of doing at home but when you have a young team that could actually go into Denver against the defending champs who

Just came off a loss against the Phoenix Suns and win a game going into the postseason it does a it does a certain thing when it comes down to your confidence on the far as a level uh aspect when they’ve played in the past what Minnesota likes to do against joic

Is put towns on joic and put goar on Aaron Gordon and say Rudy you roam around and block shots and muck everything up well there’s no towns tonight as perk mentioned so who guards jic see they try and do that with nas Reed that seems like it could be a

Problem do they put goar on yic I think that’s interesting and about Carl towns it’s a little early I don’t want to make too much of it but they’re seven and three without him Nas Reed is playing really well in his starting spot their defense has not missed a beat given the

Financial situation this team is in after this season when all the big deals come together given that they can’t really decide who wants to own the team in any given week or month or year I just think it’s worth noting how they’re playing without him and if that

Continues and I don’t think it will I think they need Carl towns to make a deep playoff run I think is shooting and skill set on offense is just so special and so valuable to them but it’s worth monitoring given the situation they face going forward but as for tonight who

Guards joic it all starts from there every time the Nuggets play I also think there’s seems like there’s a lot of people who want to own the team right now yes uh look people forget that they actually had a playoff series against each other last year and it was the

First round and I think we look back on that playoff series and and you know Denver got through them they hadn’t won a championship yet but now when you look back on on this series like they matched up very well with the Denver Nuggets they have the size they have the

Versatility they have different parts as Zach mentioned they have different ways of guarding yic like this is a team if you’re Denver that I mean they were constructed by the same guy Tim Connelly Tim Connelly was in Denver for a long time now he’s in Minnesota Calvin Booth

Took over in Denver but they were constructed with the same idea in mind which is size versatility and Aaron Gordon type so there Jaden McDaniels there in in Minnesota this is a tough match up if this indeed is a playoff match up going forward are we just going

To ignore the New Kids on the Block are we just going to ignore them them some props yeah Oklahoma City Thunder oh oh those new kids those new kids those young boys they’re half a game out that’s like they got a shot at this too right or are we just going to dismiss

Them cuz they’re young they have no pressure they just balling SGA perhaps should be MVP Chad is I mean every time I watch them my heart starts telling me you know what you you my mind says no because they’re young but my heart’s like I don’t know

These young boys they’re coming to play every night so I don’t know man I’m not going to just dismiss them because they’re the you know got Similac on their breath and everything look I I agree and the three of them now Denver’s been the one that has kind of creeped up

Here in the last couple of weeks uh but it’s been OKC it’s been it it’s been Minnesota those have been the two teams really for most of the regular season that have been battling for number one and then Denver just being the old man slowly getting to where they need to get

But I will say this everyone talks about how they are vulnerable at the top the one and two when they’re talking about OKC in Minnesota no one’s talking about if Denver gets the one seed that that seven and eight could possibly knock him off they’re playing like defending

Champs like they after the All-Star break yic sent a texted around to everybody and said it’s time to go yeah and they have gone they’ve that’s what he said time time to play and I think that they have played like a defending Champion these these last couple weeks

Especially since the allstar breaking we just had a topic about the Celtics right they have not played like that they’re not playing with something to prove right now they’re playing like we just want to get to the end of the regular season and let’s be healthy going into

The playoffs Den is playing like let me remind [Applause] you is

NBA Today’s Richard Jefferson and Zach Lowe discuss the best plays from Zion Williamson during his recent hot streak for the New Orleans Pelicans. Then, they listen to Giannis Antetokunmpo’s post-game comments before Kendrick Perkins, Marc J. Spears and Ramons Shelburne debate the state of the Milwaukee Bucks.. Next, the crew discusses if the Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets could square off in the Western Conference Finals.

0:00 Zion’s recent play
1:31 Giannis and the Bucks
5:21 Timberwolves vs. Nuggets

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