Ranking the REAL Championship Contenders | ALL NBA PODCAST

Ranking the REAL Championship Contenders | ALL NBA PODCAST

Get music. What is up everybody and welcome to the AllNBA Show powered by FanDuel, America’s number one sports book. Get started with 150 in bonus bets if you win your first $5 bet at fanduel.com/allmbba. I’m your host Adam Mes. I’m joined by my esteemed colleague Tim Leggler, a man who looks like he’s ready for a little Fourth of July barbecue over the weekend. How you doing legs? at that right, brother. I mean, I came off the beach for this. This is how important you are to me. You and James, the big three. The big three is I came off the beach to do this podcast.
That’s what I’m talking about, man. That’s uh Yeah, summer’s we’re we’re summer full go. We got Fourth of July this weekend. We got Vegas next weekend. A little Vegas vacation. So, that should be fun. I know.
Just so just just to fill you in, I was in the process as I left the beach to come here for this. I was I was holding court on the cornhole game. Like I’m pretty, you know, unbeatable at cornhole. So I was running I was running just bringing in next challenger, next challenger. I was calling out people I don’t even know on the beach. Like come on, get some of this. And then I came back for this. Came back for this.
There you go. Undefeated. I got to tell you, next time you’re in Denver, we might have to have a little cornhole challenge. I’m not so bad myself.
Oh, I’d love that. I’d love that.
Live stream.
Listen. Throw down some money. I’m going to I’m going to I’m I’m going to throw it out there right now. I’m going throw out the gauntlet.
You have a better chance at beating me in an NBA three-point shooting contest than you do, cornhole.
There’s no way. Come on. Throwing it out there right now. Throwing it out there right now.
That good.
Pretty good.
I’m telling you, man. I got my slide down there.
I’m even better at beer pong, but it’s hard to find people that want to play beer pong. Man, I’m a I’m a excellent beer pong player, but nobody really wants to play beer pong. bags is more the game we play now. So, I turned my attention there. We’re gonna have to do the Leggler Olympics next time you’re in Denver. Call it a Denver game. We’ll get the three. We’ll get all of it going. Beer pong. Little
Real quick, real quick. Real quick. I know we got to get to the NBA, but real quick. So, for like seven years, my wife and I in the summer, we stopped because people started having kids and their schedules got too busy. We did something called, we named it War at the Shore. It became Watts, WATS, War at the Shore. I mean, you get t-shirts the whole bit. So we’d come in on Thursday night of some weekend and we had like the first year 24 people participate. So we had two teams of 12, two captains, drafted teams. We had 10 events. It was like free throw shooting in my driveway. I had a I had a a putting green in my yard. So it’s like a putting competition, cornhole, beer punk, flip cup.
Like we had 10 of a home run derby in with whiffle ball in the backyard. And so you got points individually and then you can win a gold medal individually in the event team system. So like one team would celebrate at the end. We did it for like six years, man. It was like the greatest thing in the world. So it sounds like kind of like what you’re talking about right now.
Yeah. How were you always the top dog in this?
So we had we had So at at the end, the guy who gets the most points in each total up your points, whatever, gets the MVP. I I did it two two times out of six. So it’s not every year. It’s not guaranteed.
Yeah. You got to bring your agame. The my game was always beer dice. I don’t know if you’ve ever played that one because you got to catch off the table.
Yeah, you gota you have to have quick hands, man. That was my skill. I could I was like,
oh, okay. Yeah, you got to have quick hands to catch the dice after it bounces.
I like it. I like it. I like it. Beard, you have to explain it to me because we’re going to get it back. People People just started they started like bagging out because it’s hard to find a whole weekend, man, for people. Uh people started having children and all that. It became impossible. But but everybody keeps saying bring it back, bring it back. We’ve taken like a three, four year hiatus right now. So, it will come back at some point.
Well, there you go. Um, on today’s show, there are a couple We’ve been talking free agency this week. We got a couple other things that have happened. DeAndre Aton going to the Lakers. Very interesting situation in LA. The Knicks hire a head coach and round out their roster at least a little bit. We’ll talk about both of those and then the back of the the show. It is July, so why not rank contenders? uh 11 and a half months away from who will actually win the 2026 uh championship. But this will be our early look at which teams were buying the moves that they made and bumped into the contender tier. But we’re going to start with the Lakers here. So the Lakers get DeAndre Aon had that weird buyout situation. Portland paying a lot of money to get rid of this guy so he becomes available and the Lakers are going to make him their cornerstone center. They didn’t have one last year. Obviously they tried to trade for Mark Williams that backed out. Eightton is their guy. Just real quick, what are your thoughts on Eightton and what he will look like with Luca Donuch? He’s such a weird player to to give analysis on because he’s obviously very talented and like as big go, what more could you want offensively? He can post. He’s a good mid-range jump shooter, you know, he can make free throws. Like he he moves well. You can run different sets for him. I just don’t know that he’s a winning player. And I and I have a hard time getting the image out of my head of what he looked like in that series against Denver. Was that two years ago?
Yeah.
I mean, and then there’s there’s there’s famous there’s famous clips that are out there. People have made memes of it where he’s standing under the rim at one point kind of just watching the action as they battle for offensive rebounds where he he ended up on the baseline. He just stood there for like five seconds while while guys were fighting for rebounds and he never made his way back onto the court. But but that aside, that whole series, it it’s just look, if if the guy quote I guess had it, if he had that thing, he would be one of the most highly coveted players in the league because he’s seven feet and he’s really skilled. He’s got a very soft touch. Uh but yet no one feels that way about him. So for me, the Lakers, for them it made a lot of sense, man. They have nothing in the middle. I get it. You got to Somebody’s got to go out there with some size. When you look at what these other teams in the West are capable of putting out there, you got to have you got to have some size. So, it made sense for them to go after him. Does it propel them into another tier in my mind in the West? It really doesn’t because first of all, to be honest with you, Adam, I don’t even know about the Luca Lebron thing yet. Like, we’re still we don’t know about that. That was like a very short sample size. They got beat in the first round. It wasn’t pretty. So, I don’t even know if they figured that out yet, much less how do they incorporate DeAndre Aton into the mix? He’s not a rim running lob guy like Luca likes and he’s not going to get the ball a ton in the post if Luca and LeBron are on the same team. So, so I don’t know exactly what his role is going to be. I understand why they got him. It makes sense, but I don’t for me it doesn’t launch them into another level in the Western Conference. I think it’s a clear upgrade from what they had, you know, in Jackson Hayes last year. So, it’s an upgrade because he does have really good touch. You said he’s not a lob threat, and I think that’s correct. He’s not like a guy that’s your traditional lob threat, but he is athletic enough to be a lob threat. We’ll see if that returns. He was a lob threat in uh 2022 and 2023 playing along with Chris Paul. Not again, not not a DeAndre Jordan lob city lob threat, but he was a guy that you could do that. But he really is good in the short role. like if you give him the ball in the pocket 10 10 feet, you know, he can knock that down and that’s its own type of spacing. So to me it is an upgrade, but I also happen to agree with you on your analysis of him of I would hate to be an organization that was staking my hopes on him being able to do what you need to do for four rounds in a playoffs. That’s where I’m with you. So I think this makes more sense on paper, but it’s not the guy I would love to have to be counting on.
And I want to say you make a good point. He is an excellent short roll 12 foot shooter. He’s 12 to 15. He’s really good at that. Here’s the problem. Luca doesn’t throw short roll passes.
That’s not really what Luca does. Luca likes to get deeper into the defense and throw the lob for a dunk to guys like Gaffford and Lively or Jackson Hayes or that ball gets spread out to the three. Like you don’t see Luca come off too often and throw that little pocket pass to the roll guy for a 15 foot jumper. Now look, he’s not really played with guys that are capable of doing that. So maybe that’s why. But I just feel like Luca that requires you to give it up early. The guy that hit the guy that gets the ball on the short roll gets it early. Luca doesn’t give it up early. he holds it longer and by that time the short roll’s gone and that guy now peels out and goes down to the baseline, right? Or or if he’s a good enough shooter, we’ll pop back to the three. Like Miles Turner sometimes will screen, he’ll start the short roll and if he’s not going to get it, he’ll backpedal to the three. Aton’s not a three-point shooter. So the short roll, you’re right, that is his wheelhouse and he’s a good post player, too. Give give it to him in his back to the post. He gets single coverage. He will get a good shot for himself. His skill dam is soft touch either hand. The Lakers, you know, Luke doesn’t throw the ball into the post much. He doesn’t throw short rolls. He throws the one when he gets it deep and forces the collapse. Now, it’s a lob or it’s a kick out or shoots it. So, so the the short roll, it’s going to be interesting to see if he understands that’s what this guy really does. Well, I’ve got to add that now. This is a weapon for us. And maybe he will. Like I said, he didn’t have that in Dallas. He’s got this is a different player. If he’s a if he’s smart enough to do it, he’ll do it, man. Like, you need this. But I had to this point in his career, I really haven’t seen him throw that pass. Well, what you’re hinting at connects here, these two ideas, because there’s a selflessness to being a roll hard guy because what you’re really doing is either making yourself available for the lob at the rim, but more likely you’re dragging somebody with you and not getting the ball. So, it’s a thinkless job. And then on top of that, you get fouled a lot. You know, you get rolled to the rim. Oh, we’re we’re behind the defense. Just wrap him up, foul him. Uh Aiden is not a guy that even likes to be fouled. His game is very is finessed, but even beyond finessed, it’s almost like he avoids that contact and getting beat up. So those thoughts combined are his role for them to succeed. And I see somebody say it’s 8 million. It’s good value for 8 million. Forget the contract. They need to win. And he is now the the pivot point for them winning. Who cares what he’s getting paid? because I agree in a in a vacuum 8 million is fine, but he’s going to determine how far they go in large part and I don’t know if that’s the thing he’s going to evolve to be willing to do like, hey, I’m going to get to the foul a bunch. I’m going to dive a bunch and not touch the ball. I’m going to rebound and and fight for position. Those are the things that make Luca Donuch bigs work. And they’re often thinkless. Gaffford, Lively, these guys aren’t think or thought of as stars, but they do a lot of things that require sacrifice.
I totally agree with that. I mean, you look, there’s something to be said for the fact that Aton was still sitting there available. There were other there were other teams that needed bigs.
Yeah,
Eightton wasn’t the guy. Now, Milwaukee, that that’s a spacing thing more than anything. Like, you you have to have a big that can shoot because of Giannis, the way he plays. So, they went with Miles Turner. But the fact that you got Aton for that amount of money, this was a number one pick, a number one pick in the draft, and he’s still sitting around and he’s signing a deal for $8 million and he’s still young. He’s still in his prime. It tells you a lot. Again, it’s not his skill set. There’s something lacking. Maybe it’s just that flat out toughness, killer instinct, man. want to be great. Desire like just gives you that energy like there’s something missing and that’s why for me they signed Aiden. I expected them to sign Aiden. I think they were hoping to get Brook Lopez. That didn’t happen. Brook Lopez went to the other LA team and so there was this void. Who’s out there? DeAndre Aton’s the best of the group. Let’s sign DeAndre Aton. I don’t think they went into this saying to themselves, man, if we could just get our hands on DeAndre Aton. And so, so you got to you got to view it from that lens. And let’s see, he’s very talented, man. Let’s see. Let’s see what he gives him. But I I just think the way that he plays and what he’s really good at, it’s it’s not really how Luca plays. And it’s not even about LeBron anymore. It’s about Luca. Everything going forward for the Lakers. Everything is about Luca, not LeBron. People have to wrap their heads around that and say, “How does Luca play? What does he like to do? And is this a guy that he’s going to jive with?” We’ll see. And the thing for me is Luca Donuch gets traded last year. I don’t you know, they there was a moment they played really well late in the season. He thought, “Oh, can they make a Cinderella run here out of nowhere?” Obviously didn’t happen in the playoffs. Okay, not a surprise. Luca goes into next year. It’s his age 26 season. still young, but it doesn’t feel at this moment like it’s that coherent of a team. You know, no, I don’t think anybody’s picking the Lakers to win it next year. Maybe it’s possible, but the LeBron, you know, final year of his deal. What is going to happen there? They lose Dorian Finny Smith. Now you bring in Eightton, who’s a question mark. It would feel a little weird. And I’m not saying it’s behind schedule or anything, but if last year’s your first year with Luca, kind of a throwaway year. This year, are we really buying him? Not really. The clock ticks when you’re on the Lakers and you’re a superstar and it would feel weird if two years in a row with Luca you don’t really make a deep playoff run and at this moment that’s what I would predict for them that it would be two years in a row where they were good not great.
It kind of feels that way. Uh, and and it’s look when they made the trade, if you recall, man, go back to when this trade went down. And I and I said it at the time, everything about it was about the next 5 to seven to 10 years for the Lakers. If they win with LeBron in the meantime, great. But they literally put LeBron to the side when they made that trade. That wasn’t about, man, we got to do everything we can to win for LeBron before he retires. That’s what it was before they made that trade because I’m every year you got LeBron, he’s about he’s going to retire one of these days. You’ve got him at the end. You got to do everything you can because he’s still really good player. You got to do everything you can to try to win with him. The second they made the trade, it was no longer about that at all. That is just a fortunate byproduct. If it happens to occur, it’s not the thinking of the organization anymore. LeBron probably has one more year. This is about Luca and what do you put around him for the next five to seven to 10 years? Hopefully, you can keep him there. You know, it’s not all up to them. Luca is going to have some say in that, but it that’s that’s they were thinking when they acquired him. He is he’s that talented. Let’s put a team around and it works and now that’s the next great Laker. That’s the next iteration of the Los Angeles Lakers is Luca Donets. And if we can win in the next two years, great. If not, that’s not what we were trying to do anyway. It’s not what we were about. That’s really where they’re at. And that’s why, you know, last year you saw how it played out. And I I kind of feel similarly this year, Adam. I don’t know. And we’re going to get into second half of the show looking at where everybody is right now. Who’s a legitimate contender and and then who’s on that next tier and then who’s on the third shelf. We’re going to talk about all that and see where the Lakers line up in that. But I don’t think it’s something where they feel like they got to win this year.
I don’t think that it’s
they really don’t, man. It’s not about that. They just acquired a guy that was 25 years old that is one of the best players in the league and it’s about him going forward. What can we do to win with Luca? They’ve already got one with LeBron. That’s truth. That’s how they looked at it. We’ll see what they do. They’re not a very deep team. I’m not really buying them. And then I just think there’s disaster potential when you talk about the LeBron last year in LA. Bit of a distraction or possibly last year in LA bit of a distraction. They’re already not deep. What happens if there’s little injuries to any of your top five or six guys? Now you’re really shallow and then could be his own like you know what it is. LA is a big market. There’s a lot of eyeballs on it and there’s always a scapegoat fair or not. And to me is the easiest scapegoat on earth. If things go south he will be the guy everybody is looking at and pointing fingers at. And to me there’s talent there but there’s also disaster potential. So we’ll see how it kind of plays out. The other team I want to ask you about is the New York Knicks who just hired Mike Brown to be their head coach. After searching, they asked just about everybody on earth if they were available before getting to Mike Brown. Is a very good coach. He’s an interesting one. They also signed Gershon Yabusle and Jordan Clarkson. Clarkson to a vet minimum deal. Otherwise, more or less uh the same team. What do you make of Mike Brown coaching this team and the moves that they made adding those two guys?
Let’s start with the moves first because I think that’s easier to analyze. So, I loved what they did. I loved both of those acquisitions. You think about their team last year. They didn’t have another guy on their team that maybe a little bit, if you want to say Deuce McBride, like a little bit, not on the level of Jordan Clarkson, that can just take the ball and go. And they needed it. When Brunson’s off the floor, man, they need a guy that you can run ball screen with that can just isolate high volume three-point shooter playing off of those guys so he can play off the ball, too, with Brunson. um he he just fully 100% accepts and relishes the role of coming off the bench and being hot right away or getting it going right away. Like he’s got that rhythm. I think he likes it. And so for them to add another high volume guy that can score with the ball in his hands, they didn’t have it. I mean, who was their next guy last year? Deuce McBride and Cameron Payne. Cuz that’s not Bridg’s game. That’s not Anobi’s game. That’s not Josh Hart’s game. That’s their next best players that they didn’t have it. So, that’s a great acquisition there. And then and I also think Jordan Clarkson will be fine handling the scrutiny of the New York market. And then Yabiselli had a really good year for Philly. Like he he showed me the versatility. I didn’t know he was going to be able to, you know, extend his range to that extent. He he’s a undersized four five, but he battles and I thought he had a very good year for Philly. So, that’s a nice pickup. They gave themselves additional depth. And hell, if they had some of that, maybe things would have been different for Tom Tibido, but they get the depth after he leaves. So, let’s talk about that first. I don’t know how if you feel the same way. Do they move the needle at all for you with the Knicks? They do for me a little bit. Um, it’s not like all of a sudden I go, “Wow, oh my gosh, who’s beating the Knicks?” I don’t do that. But there’s no question to me they’re better than they were by adding those guys. Well, their front court is interesting now because you have Towns and Robinson and then you add Z Yabulele who I think has been impactful as a small ball big. Now he’s going to play next to those two guys presumably which is a little bit unique but more than anything you those are two offensive guys first and this is a team that I thought had a good offense. They were a little shallow in defense. They obviously have OG Josh Hart, Muel Bridges, some guys who can guard. Mitchell Robinson can protect the rim, but they weren’t deep at defenders and they have a guy in Jaylen Brunson who everything kind of flows through. So now you add other guys and I get it. Maybe the play here is let’s make our offense even more dynamic. That was the problem is we’re going to go even heavier on the offense and have more guys uh attacking, but defensively I just don’t know if they’re going to be able to get stops against your top teams. And so that’s what it was interesting to me. Mike Brown kind of a defensive coach, but they kind of they have an offensive roster even more so than last year. Yeah, I agree with that. Um, and look, they they Mike Brown component. I like Mike Brown a lot. Personally, I think he’s a good coach. Um, this all comes down to one very simple thing. There’s no question he knows the game. And I think in a lot of ways, honestly, I I like Tom Tibido a lot, too. I think Mike Brown in a lot of ways is sharper. Like I think he’s sharper than Tibido in terms of seeing stuff and saying let’s do something differently or let’s make an adjustment here or tweak this offensively or defensively. I I I think I do his mind just in having conversations. I think he’s he’s on it. May and look maybe that’s I’m misreading it because Tibido he’s a lot less forthcoming in conversations. Mike is much more open when you talk to him personally face to face than Tibido. So maybe I’m wrong about that but that’s just my impression. So I think he’s really sharp guy. It all comes out of one thing, one thing only.
Do they basically connect with him?
How do we know that until he gets in there and starts coaching?
So, it’s easy to say, “Oh, yeah, man. This is the answer.” Or say, some other people will say, “Man, that does nothing for me. Mike Brown, are you kidding me?” Like, you’re I’m seeing both reactions on social media. Very few people are taking the approach of what I’m saying right now, which is I need to see it for a little bit. Let me see it for two months because I know what Mike Brown has done in this league as a coach and I know what the Knicks are. How does it work together? And I don’t know that until I see this happen for 25, 30 games. I’ll have a much better answer, man, when you get up in mid January what what this is going to do because that to me is what it’s all about. Do they love playing for this guy? Do they really connect to him? He’s a good communicator. I think he’s a very likable person.
So maybe that’s going to help him. They’ve got enough talent, man. You think about this, Adam. Somebody asked me, somebody yesterday said, “Well, the Knicks just don’t have enough. They don’t have enough.” You know what I said to them? Do you know how many teams last year had two players on the all league team? Three. You know who those three teams were?
The Cleveland Cavaliers won 64 games. They led the East. The Oklahoma City Thunder won 68 games. They led the league in w with best record. And the Knicks. So, so this this go and by the way they also have male Bridges and OG Anobi. So to sit there and act like oh that’s just not enough. It’s garbage. It’s ridiculous. They there’s three teams in the league have two all league players. They’re one of them. So they have enough. Can Mike Brown be the guy that squeezes that out of this group? I want to see it man for 20 games. So that’s not sitting on the fence. That’s just being I think rational about how I want to judge it. The one thing I’ll say about Mike Brown, he’s came from a situation where he had a very skilled big with Sabonis. And I actually thought their offense had a lot of movement in it. They did some interesting things when he got there that opened it up. A lot of flare screens and just some some offball movement to get guys going. It worked for a year. I think it tailed off after that. But now you go to a situation with another skilled big. And I think one of the big questions for the Knicks is this is Jaylen Brunson’s team. How do you blend Carl Anthony Towns maybe a little bit better into what they’re doing so that you feel like you have more of a two-pronged approach the way it did when they were at their best. It felt that way and maybe Mike Brown can draw on his experience with Sabonis since there are some similarities. They’re not the same player, but some similarities in how you attack with Carl Anthony Towns.
I like that. That’s a good way. That’s a good logical approach to it. Just looking at Mike Brown’s body work and how he’s coached teams. Um, you know, it’s kind of it was kind of weird. He didn’t get a whole lot of runway in Sacramento. was kind of weird. The guy, you know, was coach of the year and, you know, less a year later he’s gone. And that happens a lot to coaches of the years, by the way. He’s won two He’s won two of them, by the way. So, um, I like him. I think he’s smart. I think he’s a good communicator. I think he’s very likable. Let’s see, man. Let’s just sit back and watch. Their team is better than the team that Tibido had. It is. That’s a better team because they added more pieces. So, he’s again, I don’t want to hear anybody say the Knicks don’t have enough.
All right,
that’s not enough. What do we want for teams to win? What What do you need? Three all league players. Like, what do you need to win? All right, so they’ve got two and uh they’ve got a really good supporting cast and now they actually have one key piece. They didn’t have another scoring guard with the ball in his hands at a higher level than anything they had. and and they got some front court front court depth as well and a guy that can really shoot the ball. So, um I’m optimistic about the Knicks. I’m optimistic about the Knicks. I am.
All right. Well, I like it. Putting the pressure on them. They because the East is weak. They were right there this last year. There’s a path for them to to make it to the finals this year. New coach. We’ll see what happens. Uh let’s take a break. On the other side, legs saying that the Knicks are good. I’m guessing that means he has them pretty high up in our contender tiers. So, on the other side, we’ll talk about who’s contenders, who’s challengers, who are darkh horses, and who’s out of the mix entirely. First, let me tell you guys about the Hall of Fame app. Have you ever been one leg away from hitting a massive parlay? You would have won, but one thing ruined it. And maybe after it happened, you looked back and you were like, “I knew Miles Turner wasn’t going to rebound against this guy. Why did I take the over?” Well, now the Hall of Fame app provides you real insight, statistical insights on recent trends around the league. you want to bet on so that you can very quickly sort through different details as you’re putting together a parlay and say what are the trends recent fiveame trends 10ame trends against this opponent trends and it’ll give you a whole bunch of data so that you can make informed decisions it’s really really helpful when you’re trying to make bets especially if you have some familiarity with the team but you might miss something in the data that is why it was put together by a bunch of Ivy League graduates who happen to be huge sports fans you get a leg up on your parlay using historical data It’s got a 4.9 rated uh rating on the app store and over 6,000 five-star reviews. That’s very hard to do. It’s safe to say the Hall of Fame app has already helped a lot of people become a winner. And if you’re betting on sports and not using the Hall of Fame app, that’s just leaving money on the table. For a limited time only, our listeners not only get a 7-day free trial, but they also get 50% off of their first month when they use the code AllNBA at checkout. Just download the Hall of Fame app on iOS or Android and visit hall of fame.com and enter the code allmbba and you’re all set. Also want to tell you guys about FanDuel. It’s baseball season. You can get in on the baseball action by hopping on FanDuel once the game starts. That’s when things get interesting. You combine live prop bets into a same game parlay for a chance to win big. You don’t have to get your bet in before the game starts. You can make a parlay during the game. All of the lines will be updated for you. So, even if you come in in the third, fourth inning, you could sit down and get in on the action and watch the end of the game. If you don’t already have a FanDuel account, it’s not too late. You can get started with 200 in bonus bets if your first $5 bet wins. Just visit fanduel.com/allna to join today. Make every moment more with FanDuel, official sports betting partner of the NBA. Must be 21 or older and present select states for Kansas and affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18 plus and present DC. First online real money wager only, $5 first deposit required. Bonus issued as non-withdrawable bonus bets which expire 7 days after receipt. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling problem. Call 1800gambler or visit fanduel.comrg. That’s 1887897777 or visit ccpg.org in chat in Connecticut. Visit mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit gamblingh helpline ma or call 800 327-50550 for 247 support in Massachusetts or call 18778 hope and y or text hope and y in New York. All right, back here on the AllNBA show, last show of the week. Legs and I are heading to Vegas next week. So we’ll get uh you have a front row seat to Cooper Flag. What other games do you have? Cooper flag on that opening night. Opening night I got Cooper Flag. Uh a double header actually. It’s it’s um Cooper Flag. Harper, too.
And then Dylan Harper’s the next game. So, I got a double header. Hold on real sec. So, you I can tell you actually. I’m glad you asked me that question.
Is this You’re calling two games in a row. Is this the uh play the color commentary version of a backto-back? Uh, basically, yes. And and thank God they’re two-hour games, not two and a half. I I don’t know how I could do two and a half. Uh, so week night one for me, Lakers Dallas,
followed by San Antonio. San Antonio Philly. So, I got also Edgecom. So that’s the first three picks in the draft over those that double header on the 10th. The next night it’s Washington and Phoenix and Portland Golden State. Uh on the 12th it’s the Lakers, New Orleans and Memphis Portland. And then the last night is Brooklyn, Washington, Golden State, Utah. So those are my four double headers. Obviously the marquee night is the first one.
You’re going to see the top three picks in the draft um over the course of of a double header that night. I’ll be calling both games. So everybody, you get to listen to Legs breaking it down. That’s actually a huge value ad for everybody watching at home. I like summer league, especially the first handful of games and we get Leggler on the call. Uh it’s way too early to be doing this, but it’s a lot of fun to look at now that most teams have made their big moves. There still could be some big moves that have happened that that happen from here on out. So we reserve our right to change our mind, but right now we have a pretty clear picture of what these rosters are going to look like when the season starts. So I thought it’d be fun to make our contenders list. And we have three tiers you could fall into. Contenders, which I think you would just say are favorites to win the championship. You have challengers, which would be teams that you see, hey, it would be an upset, but they’re in the mix. They’re right there and can and will challenge the true contenders. And then you have dark horses who, you know what, it could happen. They’re good enough that it could happen. It would be a surprise, but at least they have a chance. Uh, and those are the three lists. So, let’s start with at the top. Let’s start with contenders. And I put mine in order of who I thought was most a contender. Who would you have number one in your contender tier?
Real quick before we begin this, how many teams total do you have amongst the three tiers? I’m just curious.
Uh I’ve probably got 11 or 12, but you know, I have them in order, so we can stop the dark.
I got 14 teams listed. It’s probably too many, but Okay, that’s about right, though.
Little bit more than you probably. All right, so here I got and I got I got a caveat here, man. So I always use I use like to use the analogy of like shelves, right? Top shelf, second shelf, third shelf. So right now I have two teams
on the top shelf.
Okay.
Then I have this third team that’s somewhere in between. They’re hanging by the shelf by their fingertips and they’re trying to climb up. They’re trying to climb up there
and I’m not 100% sure yet, but they’re definitely super interesting to me. All right. So, in that vein, the two teams I have on the top shelf that right now as I sit here flat out, I could envision potentially winning a ring, Oklahoma City and Denver. Let’s go. They’re the two teams I have at the top. So, Denver made it in there. I thought they might be the hanger on, but they made it in. So, Oklahoma City, real quick, let’s just talk about them. I’m guessing they’re number one. They’re the reigning champs, and by all accounts, they’ll be better next year. I mean, the experience alone of getting it done gives you a confidence. So, when you look at this tier, do you see them far ahead of the field or do you think it’ll be like this year where they should be favorites, but they’re going to be challenged? They six, seven game series should be expected. Yeah. No, I agree. And look, they it took them two seven gamers this year. So, right, to win a title, man. They worked for it despite the fact that they really weren’t there’s no one really close to them in the regular season with 68 wins. They took their foot off the gas or they would have had 70
honestly and they and they like the metrics defensively were ridiculous. It’s one of the best we’ve ever seen in this league. Like they just they they like ran away from the field. So prohibitive favorite going in and yet they were forced to two sevengame series. Now, the other two were pretty easy series, including Minnesota and had a sweep early. But those other two, man, they had to work for them against Denver and Indiana. So, I to me, they still are they have to be considered the favorite. They’ve got everybody back. They’re just going to be a year older. Um they are going to be dealing with an offseason like unlike they they ever have and that’s definitely affects you. So, this could be a different offseason, but they’re so young, it’s going to have less of an effect. I think I think that has more of an effect on a veteran team. Guys that have been around a while and finally win. Yeah, man. They’re they’re going to they’re going to be celebrating pretty hard over the summer and it’s going to maybe a little get into the gym a little bit later and very hard to keep it all together. I They’re not obviously they’re running back the same team. Got the same guys, man. They just locked up Shay. They’re going to lock up Jaylen Williams, Chad Homegrren. Those guys are going to be locked up. They’re ro the supporting cast won’t be there forever, but they’re gonna run it back next year. And so for me, they have to be considered the favorite. And I just absolutely love everything that Denver just did. And they still have the best player in the NBA.
Yeah.
So, the biggest question mark for me about Denver right now is just Adam. I mean, I think it’s fair. Like, he hasn’t coached a full season, man. He only coached how many games last year did he coach before the playoffs?
Three. He coached three games and then and then went into the the postseason, man. And so, I don’t know. Like, I don’t know enough about him. Let’s see. But that’s the biggest question mark to me. I kind of knew what Mike Malone was. I know what their team is and I love their their additions. I just love it. I think it’s going to energize Jokic, man. I think Joic last year got he was so overthe-top with how demonstratively frustrated he was in the games. It was like, wow, man. This dude is like unhinged at times. I think it’s going to get him back into that place he was before that where he thinks he’s got a team good enough now to win it. And you’re going to see a different Jokic this year. I think he’s going to be energized and believe in it like, “Oh, no, man. It wasn’t just one title for us. We got another chance at this.” So that’s why for me, I have those two teams at the top.
I think it makes sense. They were both in my tier. I had three team. I had nobody hanging on a shelf. I had three teams all the way up there. But
Oh, I know who your shelf hanger is, man. I know you’re exc I mean I know who your third team is because it’s the team I have hanging off the shelf a little bit bigger
I was a little nicer I helped them up they were hanging I just said hey let me give you a little help but uh with Denver here’s my question for you they have had a lot of continuity over the last five years obviously they lost Jamal Murray that was a huge blow and changed things up for a couple years but they have had this more or less consistent rotation and team and this is a very different team not only did one of your core members Michael Porter Jr. for Cam Johnson. I think those guys are similar enough that you don’t actually change much of what you’re doing. You just hope that you have a guy that does it a little bit better. But their bench is almost entirely new. That’s a completely new identity. And I just wonder if it’s going to take more time than people think because on paper it’s a really good group of players, but they’re all new. So, you’re going to have to form an identity, form a pecking order, form a style of play. And I I think by the end of it, they should be very good. But I do wonder if that’ll trip him up early on because there’s so many new faces.
I don’t think it will with veterans, man. These guys these guys got have got some some you experience in this league. Tim Hardway Jr., Bruce Brown, Valenunis. I do not think it’s going to be long for them. They’re going to figure this out in training camp. They’re first of all, they’re just going to be I think amazed at playing with Joic every day and what that means offensively for for you.
And they’re going to feel like this is some of for some of these guys like this is the best chance we’re going to have. in our careers this year and they’re gonna buy into whatever role they ask, whatever lane they’re asked to fill, they’re gonna fill it. And I think it’s going to happen sooner than than later. And I think Denver, like I think they’re going to be a team like, you know, really quickly out of the gate, playing really well and and and kind of everybody falling in line with the narrative that you and I are talking about right now.
All right. Who’s your team hanging from the shelf there? It’s got to be the Rockets.
Yeah, Houston for me. Is it for you too? That’s your third team?
I had I had them in the top tier, but yes, they are my third team.
I think they’re for me they’re they’re just they’re just much more unproven than Denver. I I can’t give them the same exact status as Denver right now. Denver, they’ve got a core that won a championship. They’ve got the best player in the NBA. Um I got to give them a a a nod. I know Houston had a great year. They were two seed last year with with a pretty young team. Some bets mixed in and they were everybody they captured everybody’s attention because they’re tough. They didn’t know how to close games. So they they figured that out. They got Kevin Durant. They they got an answer offensively. They’ve added other guys. They’ve added size. Clink Capella comes into the fold. Dorian Finny Smith comes into the fold. I love their offseason. Denver and Houston to me by far the two best offseasons in the league or free agencies to this point. So, but I just it’s to me it’s not fair when these guys have not played together and they’re adding a piece that ball dominant and Kevin Durant into the mix. What’s that going to look like with these guys? Now, look, I that’s why I have them right there. It’s not like I’m saying, “Oh, no, no, they got to prove it. They’re they’re they’re going to be on the uh punchers chance list.” I’m not doing that to them. They’re they’re they’re better than that because of just what they did last year and now who they added. But they haven’t done anything together at all. Denver has. And that’s why for me I’m going to differentiate between the two teams for now and we’ll see what it looks like with Houston 20 games in. May maybe they’re like so good you’re like no man this is going to be tough for anybody to beat them. But right now I’m giving Denver a nod over them. It’s it’s just respect that they’ve won their top guys and they still have the best player of the league. Who do you think will have an easier time winning in the regular season? Because when we ask this, we’re really talking about playoffs. Okay. We think in the playoffs these teams will do it. But to your point, Oklahoma City 68 wins last year. I think they’re going to win 60 plus this year. I’m not Denver never has. The most they’ve ever won in the Yokera is 57. So who do you think has an easier regular season ahead of them? The Rockets or the Nuggets?
OKC.
I think OKC for sure. I thought you were saying between OKC and Denver. I’m sorry.
No, no, no. Denver and Houston. you’re talking about between Denver and Houston.
Yeah.
I think Houston.
Okay.
I think Houston and you know why? One very simple reason that because they’re unproven because they got a taste of it last year as a two seed with some young guys leading the way. Kevin Durant I we did it we did this fill in the blank the other day on a show I did who’s under the most pressure in the league and I put Kevin Durant. Put Kevin Durant. He’s got about two more years to make this happen and it h and he hasn’t done it yet outside of going to a proven winner and playing with Steph Curry. So, so he he still desperately wants that. It didn’t happen for him in OKC before he left. It didn’t happen in Brooklyn. It was a disaster in Brooklyn and Phoenix really. So, I think he’s got a lot to prove. He’s highly motivated. He’s on a situation he thinks his team’s probably good enough. I think they are going to be more intent to have their foot on the gas out of the gate and keep it there. I don’t know that Denver’s going to feel the same sense of urgency in the regular season because of the veteran guys and they’ve already won it and they’re going to approach it. Let’s just be healthy April 15th. I think somewhere in the three four seed for Denver sounds logical to me. I think OKC Houston are going to be one two and and for a while there it might be close. I think Houston’s got a chance to like kind of be toe-to-toe with them. I don’t know if they’re going to win 60, but I think they could push it.
Yeah, their defense won them a lot of games this year. It’s why they were the two seed. And now you add even more depth, you know, with with Kevin Durant gives you some versatility. They will be counting, I think, on guys like Cam Whitmore and Reed Shepard. As you know, those guys might have to be a little bit more involved. Certainly Reed Shepard more involved in what they’re doing, but I agree that I think they’re going to win a little bit easier. So, I would not be surprised that they were the two seed. But all three of those teams are in the Western Conference. Not a single team in our top tier made it into uh comes from the Eastern Conference. So now we go to the Challengers. And again, these are teams we wouldn’t be surprised if they won. We just they’re in a tier below it. So who’s at the top of this challengers list for you? I would put the top of the list to Cavaliers. Um and I know a lot of people don’t believe in them. They had a great regular season. They they lost of course in the second round, but I think they were they were not healthy in that series. They were diminished. I don’t know they would have beat Indiana anyway. I I just love the way the pace they ran into a very hot team, but they had some issues and they’re starting off the year this year. They’re hurt a little bit, but they accomplished a hell of a lot last year and it probably toughened them up to a certain extent. I think when you look at the East and some of the issues some of these other teams have, I’d put them probably first. I’d probably put the Knicks with them and then two teams from the West, Lakers and Minnesota. That for me represents the next group, those four teams.
So, you have more teams in this tier than I had. I had the Knicks at the top. I have the Cavs there and I have the Wolves there. And to me, there’s a drop off after that. So, so we have some overlap, but you included a couple teams that I did not.
Well, though three of them the same, but then the only I only had the one other team, the Lakers. This is just your Luca belief.
It’s Here’s why, man. Like, yeah, I guess he’s, you know, now he’s what? I don’t know if he even turned 26 yet. He’ll be 26. If he hasn’t, he’s going to turn 26 soon
this year. Whatever.
What if it comes together? Yeah.
How can you How can you discount it? How can you discount it? You can’t just go, “Oh, now I’ve seen enough of that.” They had He got there in February. He was coming off a long layoff of not playing. and they’re working through this stuff with him and LeBron. I mean, two of the most ball dominant players in the league trying to figure that out. Their supporting cast wasn’t great. They didn’t have enough shooting. They didn’t have any bigs. So, I just feel like come on to just dismiss it automatically like no, I seen enough of that. That’s not going to work with LeBron Luca. They added a we’ll see how it plays out. We already kind of analyzed what we think’s going to happen, but it could come together. That’s my point. Now, the big question for me is what does Luca look like at the start of the year? If he comes in and we’re just kind of all fixated on, man, this dude put some work in this summer, like he looks good and he looks like he wants he doesn’t want to be talked about the way he was last year. He wants to be different. And if that’s the case, how could you possibly discount a team with him on it with LeBron James? Um, so I’m going to give them the benefit of the doubt and say, “Yeah, man. I got to keep them in that at least in that category because if it clicks with those two guys on the team, yeah, they could make a run at the West, at least get to the conference finals. And that’s kind of how I’m defining this. Could you see them in the conference finals? I think it’s possible. He looks I mean, we’re doing the muscle watch thing in the offseason, but he looks good. I mean, some of the photos I’ve seen, he looks like he’s working out this summer, so we’ll see if that happens. Let me ask you about because I think the Cavs are known. We just talked about the Knicks. I think everybody knows those are really good teams. Are we buying them to go all the way in the playoffs? Until proven otherwise, they have to be in this tier. But the team that I’m curious to get your thoughts on are the Timberwolves because they are running it back minus Nquille Alexander Walker. They are now going to be counting on Terrence Shannon Jr. a little bit, maybe even Rob Dillingham more obviously than they did last year. It feels to me like they took a small step back or at least sometimes when a team is chipping and makes it to the same place two times in a year, you fear they stalled. They didn’t get over the hump. So, what you know, what is their path here? And what are you looking for them for them to be more than this challenger tier?
Well, first of all, okay, they two straight conference finals. So, I think right off the bat, you know, just having two deep playoff runs in a row, I think personally that Terrence Shannon Jr. is going to do everything that Kale Alexander Walker did for you and more.
I think he’s ready to burst onto the scene. I think he’s going to be in their rotation in a big way. He’s definitely going to be much more consistent scorer. Now, he won’t be as good on the ball defensively as Nail Alexander Walker, but he still competes. He’s very athletic. He’s very strong. not as good necessarily guarding elite ball handling scoring guards, uh, but very good at that next guy that’s off the ball as a two guard that doesn’t have quite as good a handle, that doesn’t have quite the quickness because he’s not quite as good laterally as Nail Alexander Walker, but he is a competitor and he is a walking bucket. The guy is he might have more confidence than any player in the NBA. when he steps on the floor, he thinks he’s the best player out there. And I think they need some of that. I think they need it. And I think last year talking to Chris Finch early in the year when he was hurt, I was surprised even because I thought he was amazing in summer league. And coming out of that, I called one of those games. He had 27 points and he was by he was so much better than everybody else on the floor. I was like, man, this dude is he’s going to carve a niche for himself in Minnesota. And then he got hurt, sent him back. And Finch was talking about him while he was out as if I can’t wait to get this guy back. And he really hadn’t played to that point. So I was like that tells me a lot like they saw enough of him and you saw it at the end of the year even just you know he hadn’t played and all a sudden they throw him in a game and he goes out there and he’s just scoring like Yeah, exactly. So I think he is going to be fine replacing the kill Alexander Walker. They didn’t address the point guard situation. Dillingham’s not that.
Mike Connley clearly well beyond the point where he’s going to impact the game. I was hoping they were going to find somebody, man, as a point guard that could really do it for them and and help organize them and create easier shots for Anthony Edwards. They really didn’t do that. Dillingham’s a scorer. So, and I don’t know what even what his role is going to be yet. I haven’t seen enough of them to know. Um, but I think based on their track record, Terence Shannon Jr. is going to be a revelation for people. I I really believe that. Like he might he might be a candidate for most improved player league. I think that’s possible. So, this is sounds like an early your guys pick. Taran Shannon Taran Shannon Jr. might be an early pick for your guys next year when we do our my guys draft.
He’s already He’s my guy. I’m telling you right now. I claim him right now.
You’re taking him early.
Put him up there, James.
Hold on. This is tampering.
It’s not season.
I love it. James had his finger on the button.
He’s ready to go. All right. Congrats to Wolves fans. Terren Shannon Jr. legs his guy. Uh, if we go down to dark horses, these ones we would be surprised if they won, but it’s also not out of the realm of possibility. Um, it’s a long list, but let’s just start at the top. Who’s at the top of your dark horses?
All right, so I got and I don’t know if I put these in order. Sorry. These are ne not necessarily in order.
Um, Magic clearly in there. Pistons, Warriors, Clippers, Mavs, Celtics, and Bucks. Man, you still have the Celtics in. I do.
Okay. Obviously, they’re not the same team, but
yeah,
but they still have Jaylen Brown, man. They still have Derrick White. They’re used to winning. Look, I’m not saying they’re going to I’m not saying they’re going to go to the finals, but let’s look at the Eastern Conference. So, you don’t think Do you think they could win around? I mean, you have Giannis and the East is weak, so yes, but they’re but I don’t know about the regular season. They might be one of the like six, seven, eight seed. Let’s let’s say they are a six seed. Okay.
Like who who are they going to get? Let’s say the Cavs and Knicks, who are the two, I think right now the most known commodities in the Eastern Conference. Let’s say the Cavs and Knicks finish one two and you finish sixth. Who are you playing? Who are you playing? Like,
yeah, the Hawks, Pistons. That’s what I’m saying. Like, so, so why you don’t think Boston would have at least a puncher chance? Now, you get into the second round, I don’t think they could beat Cleveland. I don’t think they could beat the Knicks as we sit here right now without Jason Tatum. That’s not happening. But that’s kind of why I put him in there. you get into a second round series, man, you know, at that point you’re one injury away or something from actually having a chance. So, that’s the only reason I kind of included them on this list. But for me, the most intriguing teams of all are the Magic, the Pistons. Probably those two teams are more interesting of that group of teams than anybody. And Pistons had a bit of a weird off seasonason. I mean, they did get some talent into the system. They lose uh Beasley, you know, we’ll see what happens. They get some guys back from injury. I’m Magic were at the top of my list and for this this uh tier of it and the reason is I buy them to be incredible at what they are, but they are I still am not sure their offense is fully solved. And I I have a hard time imagining them being able to win four rounds just with their defense without finding something more dynamic. But the reason they’re at the top of the list is this to me is Paulo Banger Bancer’s year. If he is not leveled up this year, I think people should be a little bit concerned about I mean he has a long way to go, but they’ll start to ask like how far is he from being an offensive anchor, not just a great scorer, but a guy that you really anchor everything around because I think they set the table for him to be better. If he is, then to me they move up that tier to challengers. If he’s not, then I think it’s like good defense could upset somebody, but they’re not winning four rounds with that offense.
I totally agree with that. And look, I you know, I first of all, I I think he’s already to me like ramped it up each year. There is another level. I believe that for him and I think you’re going to see it. I think one of the things that’s going to help him get to that level is the shooting they added with Desmond Bane.
That’s you talk about finding like like the perfect player for what you what you need. Desmond Bane hit. They also added Tai Jones. So I told you I really like that pickup as well. So, they added shooting, they added ball handling, they added just smarter guards, better guards, more more clearly defined guards with what they do than like a a stable of guys that do a few things well, but nothing great. That’s what they had. I think now they’ve got two players that do something great. Tus Jones takes care of the ball great and gets the ball to people. Desmond Bane shoots the hell out of it at a really high level. So they found two guys that do something elite and to add it with Beno and Vagner and I’m a big Mosley fan. Jamal Mosley. Yeah, man. The Magic and and the Pistons both both of those teams very interesting to me. Yeah. The next team a team you didn’t mention. So I have Dallas pretty high just because we don’t you know we’ll see how the injuries and everything play out. I actually don’t love their start of the year roster because I think they’re lacking some creation, you know, in your back court. But if you do get healthy enough and you’re able to get Kyrie back late, I trust the rest of their roster. So they’re missing a key piece. But they are in this weird spot where if they can survive and get to be a six, seven seed somewhere in there, they might be the worst first round matchup somebody faces because they’ll be better than what their record says they are. Yeah. Yeah. Look, I think right now as we head into this uh as we sit here now, you know, in early July, there are a lot of questions around the league. There’s very few, as I call them, known commodities right now. Flat out, you know exactly what to expect. You’re talking about OKC, the Cavs, and the Knicks. And I’m I’m even giving the Knicks the benefit of the doubt because they got a brand new coach. So, that’s a that’s a big that’s a big piece. But, I kind of, you know, I don’t Mike Brown’s not going to screw it up. like they, you know, we kind of know what they are and and they’re and they’re healthy and we know what that looks like. We know what the talent they have. So, I think outside of that, I could say there’s legitimate questions on just about every single team. And that makes it interesting to see like you said, where do these teams end up with their seating? Because it’s if depending on how some of these injuries play out and teams are going to have additional injuries in the year, you might see a very unlikely run to the conference finals in the East or the West or both. The one team I didn’t hear you name and I’m gonna name them because I kind of love them is the Atlanta.
I know who you’re gonna say. I know my Atlanta Hawks. Looking over there, I see all these little comments.
Hey, but you know, I love this this Hawks team and I liked them before they made these moves. So now I look at it again, dark horse because I can’t see them winning the title. It just I don’t see that. But I could see them making noise in a playoffs, making a deep run. And I do like their roster. And on top of that, they do have some flexibility with their roster if they want to make a move. But you are you are you low on the Hawks or you just you see them like I do. Oh, they could win a round but it’d be hard to see them winning three to get to the finals.
I don’t see them beating Here’s here’s why I didn’t put them in there because I don’t see them beating four teams in the Eastern Conference. I don’t see them beating the the the Knicks. I don’t see them beat in a series. I don’t see them beating the Knicks. I don’t see according assuming they’re all healthy. I don’t see the Knicks, the Cavs,
the Magic or the Pistons. the Pistons.
I think both of those teams defenses will too be too much. They’ll figure out a way they’ll figure out a way to make Trey Young inefficient. Look, if you’re a big Trey Young fan and you just love Trey Young, then yeah, you’re going to put him in this list. I guess I’m not probably on that level that just think that he’s he’s that he’s he’s the guy. He has an answer for everything. I don’t I don’t think that. And I think there are four teams that’d have a very difficult time beating. So, that’s why I didn’t put them on this list. And if there’s four teams you don’t think they can beat, I don’t know how you put them in here.
I want to see Jaylen Johnson though back. He made such a leap last year and now he has some and just they’re an interesting team. They’ve got some spacing. They’ve got some shooting. They got playmaking. So I I kind of like them.
I do too. And look, they they went out and they added a Kila Alexander Walker. They got Dyson Daniels. They got great great guard defense.
Um yeah, they’re they’re an interesting team without question. Now, there’s one other team before we leave that goes in their own category altogether. Okay.
Who is it?
Because going into the year, assuming health, the top of their roster is as talented as any in the Eastern Conference. And we haven’t mentioned them. The Philadelphia 76ers.
Oh, they do go in their own box. You’re right. I was trying to think of who it could be, but you’re right. That’s their own category. Why? like like like know and like it’s so difficult because it’s so it’s at the point obviously when you say if they’re healthy people just immediately cut you off they don’t want to hear the next thought out of your mouth and I totally understand that but if they’re healthy which by the way as I sit here right now everybody’s expected to be healthy at the start of the year okay so last year they weren’t even that Paul George wasn’t even healthy at the start of the year so they all either was Embiid so so they started out the year already hurt this year. By all accounts, they’re all going to be healthy for training camp. That’s the case. Hell, man. You know, unless you just know for a fact that these guys are going to drop like flies again, how could you not include
Joel Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxi, right? So, that’s why for me, but they’re completely in their own category.
Yeah, they are. And there is a year where the path seems good. I don’t know if they can survive 82 games, though. Even like if you told me they were healthy to start the year, the odds of their three guys making it through that bar is so low. But to your point, you get healthy in the playoffs and if you have any ability to come together before that, like you’re going to need some seasoning before that. They do have the talent to be scary. So I see why you put them in there.
I love it. Like immediately look at people people, you know, Embiid won’t play back to backs and be healthy. Paul’s washed. Zero chance they’re healthy. I’m out.
And those are and that’s just the 76ers. Yeah, that’s the first five comment. It beat Paul George cooked. And that’s just the Philly fans, man. What do you hear the non- Philly fans have to say? Uh, all right. Well, that does it. Let us know in the comments below how you would order your top tier. Who would be your challengers? And if you want to throw a dark horse or two in there, the top of your dark horse list, let us know. I’m curious. I will say I think if you pulled a hundred people, you’d get a hundred different results. This is the new NBA where there’s so just so much parody and so many different things going on. But hit that outro music, James. we do uh legs and I we’ll have a show early next week and then we’ll be in Vegas once again. Like I said, you can hear him calling the games the marquee games there on ESPN, but we’ll be out there. We’ll probably try to film something short and quick while we’re out there after watching those top tier guys play. So, you’ll be want to stay connected to the channel. Make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss anything. And like I said, leave us your rankings below. Hit that like button on the way out. Have a great Fourth of July, everybody. We’ll see you next week. Oh, look at that. There he is. Two-time champion.

Tim Legler and Adam Mares break down the latest moves in NBA free agency and what they mean for the 2026 title race. They dive into Deandre Ayton joining the Lakers and what it means for L.A.’s championship chances, whether the team is squandering Luka Doncic’s prime, and if the Knicks’ additions of Mike Brown, Jordan Clarkson, and Guerschon Yabusele change their ceiling. The duo also ranks the top contenders for the 2026 NBA Championship, including a look at the Nuggets’ retooled roster, the Timberwolves’ outlook after key departures, and whether the Magic and Sixers can make a real run at the title.

🔔 Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more NBA insights and analysis!

000:00 – Intro
04:46 – Deandre Ayton goes to the Lakers. Does this change LA’s championship hopes?
13:37 – Are the Lakers wasting Luka Doncic?
17:01 – Does the Knicks hiring Mike Brown and signing Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele change their expectations?
30:24 – Ranking the top contenders for the 2026 NBA Championship
34:58 – Do the Nuggets new additions make them a top tier championship contender?
43:49 – Are the Timberwolves still top tier contenders after their off-season departures?
49:18 – Did the Magic’s offensive improvements this summer make them a real title contender?
54:02 – Could the 76ers actually compete for a championship this year?

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