Jokic vs. Wemby, Luka & Lakers injury aftermath, Steph Curry RETURNS, Flagg statement | NBA Reaction
Jason reacts to the biggest NBA stories of the weekend including Nikola Jokic getting the best of Victor Wembanyama in the Denver Nuggets’ overtime win against the San Antonio Spurs, the aftermath of the Luka Doncic injury for LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, Cooper Flagg making a statement for the Dallas Mavericks in the competitive Rookie of the Year race between him and Kon Kneuppel (Charlotte Hornets), Steph Curry making his return for the Golden State Warriors against Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets, the viral Bill Simmons debate over the weekend, and more.
All lines provided by @hardrockbet
Timeline
0:00 – Start
0:30 – Nuggets/Spurs reaction
21:12 – Luka as a top player
28:12 – Lakers are cooked
30:21 – Luka should not return
31:23 – Rookie of the Year race
34:18 – Steph’s return for Warriors
36:50 – Celtics developing Queta
39:00 – Injuries in NBA playoffs
39:58 – Arizona losing to Michigan
45:03 – Bill Simmons debate from the weekend
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50 Comments
Poor Laker fan. They see the world through LakerVision – the one that thinks Luka is the best player in the world or could be. He's a great player. The 5th best in the game. He will not be overtaking the 4 (yes Giannis is better too) ahead of him unless they slow from age. His best chance of moving up is that Giannis is in the back side of his prime.
Let’s be honest Jokic didn’t win the game, the Spurs lost it with some blunders at the end
24:00 Please don't omit the fact that at EVERY part of Golden State's "dynasty", the opposing team's 2 out of 3 best teams were ALWAYS injured, and that played a huge role into why the Warriors advanced as well.
Spurs had a lot of no shows from 3pt range.
2020 Anthony Davis had an argument for best player.
Sucks to loss a game but spurs on the 3rd game (include 2 late game back to back) in 4 days and away to Denver. Not too disappointed, I actually think the spurs need this, they have been playing a lots of team are tanking/not competitive.
It’s hard to have a consensus when over half the NBA media is on Nike/Klutch payroll. Cmon Jason you know this.
Steph/Giannis was best in 2021
Steph 2022
Joker 2023
Luka 2024
Joker/SGA 2025
Joker/SGA 2026
36:10 I think we can agree that not every player enjoys the GAME of basketball… There's a ton of dudes who ONLY love what the game because of the amenities it has provided for them as far as getting them generational wealth, social status, and other unachievables for the common man. Not everyone loves that actual Xs and Os unfortunately.
I’m a Celtics fan and anyone who says Kobe wasn’t the best from 2005-2011 is hating
SGa best player talks are tomfoolery and he’s not a two way player just cause he’s surrounded by 7 all defensive player so his defensive stats look good
I love Steph – he has been amazing. He is my favorite all time player. I have never thought he was the clear cut best player in the world. He was never better than Lebron until, arguably the 2021 season. I also agree that Steph had a claim in 2022. Why isn't that enough for people? I also think he is top 10 all time. Why isn't that enough? I wish fans were just a little more honest.
Just followed NBA since 2018 and did so very intensly for 3 years now a bit less, and the main deterrent is the absurd injury rate of star players all my mental investment in trying to anticipate how it's going to turn out just gets annihilated by injuries every year. Worst example being Celtics finals run not facing a single full healthy team before the finals
An exciting and memorable Denver/San Antonio matchup!
Jason. Haircut? Love it. Thank you for supporting Jokic. No matter what happens we in colorado love him.
Its funny yall just were saying were contenders ahaha foh we never been close. Im not delusional
Pure delusion is you think players won’t load manage a shorter season absolutely wild take
The Joker glaze is starting to get cringe.
Tim Duncan had a better case for best player in the world in the early 2000s.
How is Jokic in better shape than Luka when he still hasn't played as many games as Luka till this point in the season and can't miss another game if he wants to be All+NBA. The durability argument vs Joker makes no sense. And why does Luka have to be the best player in the league for the Lakers to win a championship? Since when do you have to be the top player in the league to win a championship? Was Tatum or Curry or KG or Ben Wallace the best in the league every time they won? If your team can't win with a top 5 player leading the league in scoring and points generated then your GM is the problem.
0:41 Keep in mind we just recently saw Shai in a tie game with seconds left; get a steal and hit a game winner all in one motion. We know who the safest bet is, it's okay
Better haircut bro
"savage competitor" 22:00 WTF? you have commented yourself he gives up at times and we have all seen him give up in games both in Dallas and LA. that not a savage competitor! he's savage when things are going his way and he is operating from a position of power. otherwise he's a whiny ass B. behind availability, consistency is probably the most underrated skill a star can haver and Luka does not consistently play to his ceiling and that is not a franchise leading trait. what's he's going to give you is some really cool clips and hope that will never be realized.
Jokic and the Nuggets are slowly coming back to the full gear.
Like the Joker once said, the beast has been awakened…
Doesn't matter, the Lakers proved Luka was MVP in one game. Without him, the #3 team in the West became 6 points worse than Dallas. Is there a single person on the planet that thinks OKC couldn't beat Dallas if SGA took the game off? Denver without Joker? The Spurs without Wemby? Case closed….
Do u think spurs have a Fox problem ?
Saying that one of the reasons why LeBron was better than Steph in 2016 was Steph playing hurt is very irresponsible. Steph and LeBron faced each other 4 years in a a row in the finals. LeBron immensely outplayed him in all 4 series. If Steph had LeBron stats in any of the 4 nba trips to the finals he would’ve had multiple finals MVP’s up to that point. There’s a reason why they went after KD after winning 73 games and 2 nba finals appearances. Even in 2023 lakers sent warriors home and steph didn’t really have a better playoff series against LeBron. And we’re talking LeBron in year 20.
Derrick White on the show will be big time! Looking forward to it. 🔥
Everyone feels sorry for luka because he only needs 1 more game to qualify for awards. I love it. How about stop crying to the refs and getting techs. If he didn't get suspended the other day, this after just getting 1 taken away the week before. He gets so many calls, he has no reason to cry and stop playing defense so he can argue. Yeah the refs might have missed some, that happens to every player. What do you want? To slow the game down even more while you go to the line 20 times a game. Fact is if you didn't cry and argue so much you wouldn't get Teed up and you would qualify. No way im feeling sorry for a laker and luka.. both get their share of calls
Mailbag : Nikola Jokic is the greatest offensive player in the history of the NBA. I know with Adam, you said it’s Jokic & Steph are the 2 greatest offensive players ever. Would you put Bron as the 3rd or who you do have in mind ? Great analysis and mind for the sport, always appreciate your videos and insight JT, stay blessed
I don’t think Shai will figure out how to translate his efficiency and a lot of it has to do with the kind of habits he has formed. He undoubtedly has the best whistle in the league which he has abused by learning how to foul bait. The reason his efficiency does not translate is because he has a heavy focus on attempting to get to the freethrow line instead of looking for gaps to score like a Kobe or mj. In the playoffs he will not get the same whistle so that means a lot of misses that get erased from heading to the line will not be there. He easily gets like 3 or 4 ghost calls a game. If that does not happen he will naturally miss more shots tanking his “elite” efficiency
Who knew all the lakers talk would be a giant nothingburger again. Can we just not talk about them till next season? Theyre truly meaningless
I don't think Steph's return is hopeless. Phoenix is looking completely lost this past month or so. GSW OKC would be such a sick throwback first round series
I remember gainis being the best in the world as a consensus
Jokic’s shot over Vic in overtime was one of the most insane clutch shots I have ever seen. Vic literally couldn’t have possibly defended that better
Wemby needs a reliable :Side-Big" in the Jokic march-up only
Jokic has Aaron Gordon and Wemby needs Kornet or Plummly…to play reliable good minutes vs Jokic and Gordon
Actually, feel Kornet or Plumly should guard Jokic HALF or more of the game and Wemby get Jokic Clutch time
Against Jokic …..I think Wemby would be MOST impactful OFF BALL on Gordon or whoever is playing the 4 position.
Also versus Denver
CARTER BRYANT
needs to get more minutes
His energy and defensive tenacity is needed……on any Nuggets player other than Jokic
Jason there are tons of injuries that are just freak luck lol Lebron obviously is superhuman when it comes to taking care of his body but so is Steph you can't put him getting injured more than Lebron on work ethic or body maintenance that's nonsense
Jokic has made the finals ONCE in 11 seasons and only gotten out of the second round ONCE in the last 5 years, and is 4-5 in series after the 1st round. How is he the safest bet again? 😂
I hope the Lakers play defense against the Thunder tomorrow in the same manner that OKC and Denver play defense against opponents. I don't care if SGA shoots 100 free throws and all LA players foul out so long as OKC gets a little taste of their own medicine. Let OKC go into the post season with a bunch of knocks, scrapes and scratches…
I strongly believe that AR was afraid to play without Luka and it would hurt his chances of getting a large contract. He better hope the new owners believe in him despite having poor playoff proformances.
im a nuggets fan and im terrified of playing minnesota in round 1 they historically have been the nuggets kryptonite with ant and mcdaniels locking up murray and their 7 footers just tiring jokic out, beating him up. i wouldnt be surprised if we were upset by them. i hope we fall to the 4 seed.
Luka and the Lakers are hard capped until they get out of the Klutch Sports business. Cannot win paying utility grandpa 50 million a year
MAILBAG: Hey Jason, been a fan since 2022, thanks for carrying my basketball intake since then. I’ve noticed you will sometimes talk about players in terms of years, for instance the “2022” version of steph, or the “2016” version of Lebron. I’m curious, if you could give a list, who do you think are the 5 best players based on a specific year of all time? 2018 Lebron is number 1 for me, and MJ in 1988 is probably number 2. If you had to make a list, what would it be?
Jason.. Do not disagree with your durability take. But how would that apply to Shae, Jokic, or Wemby who either haven’t shown equivalent durability and/or have rosters that allow them to rest in 4th quarters?
I agree that basketball players want to play and are competitive,
but my thought and response to that is that they are told the same things we are which is that they are able to make not just like a million dollars, but they could make HUNDREDS or even just dozens of millions of dollars in their career
between their obligation to listen to their team and thinking about taking care of themselves, in a 60 game season stars would still try to sit out like 15+ games and just generally be overly cautious
this sounds like i’m against shortening the season and that could not be more wrong, everyone plays too many games and back to backs are generally stupid
46:00 I don't think you can compare what Luka did in 2024 to what Steph did. Steph was the consensus best player in the world the entire season and won the MVP unanimously. He wasn't the best player in the Finals. Luka did not win MVP, let alone unanimously, and didn't win the finals.
Luka’s shape and availability is fine. Look at how banged up Giannis has been over the years and he’s fine. Problem with Luka is that he’s constantly in subpar teams where his 2nd best player KP, Kyrie, Bron/Reaves get banged up and he has to play 38 mins per night on 38% usage. It also forces him to play through injuries. He’s been playing with a bad hamstring and still managed to reach that level in March.
Again the context of workload with Luka is important
Idk why people just keep leaving things out of the conversation for Luka, how is he not on the bitw conversation.
His workload is obviously way more than shai can imagine.
Joker being a centre is obviously not susceptible to moving as much as Luka or any of the guards for that matter.
How can we discount a guy who has had an insane insane season. I cannot stand the number people that just constantly leave out context for Luka. Since it’s Luka, jokic turnovers are better.
Shai does not have the same playmaking talent as Luka, the spacing that shai has is way better.
CONTEXT MATTERS FOR PLAYERS. STOP BEING SELECTIVE WITH CRITICISM FOR PLAYERS
@Jason: If you were a GM building a roster today, who would you take first in the draft—Wemby or Jokic?
To me, that’s basically the best player 😅
I think the one point to push back on for the 2016 discussion is that people forget how revolutionary what we were seeing from Steph really felt like and why people felt he was the best player in the world going into those finals. It's not just Steph fans, everyone felt that way going into that playoff run, and the biggest piece of evidence is how vitriolic LeBron was toward Steph in the finals. It's because he knew most people going into that series felt like Steph was taking that title from him. Now, LeBron took it back in the finals, even as a Steph fan I can admit that. But I think there was a pretty big consensus that if Steph finished the job in that series the title of best player in the world was his. He was also fresh off a 3-1 comeback of his own against KD where he put up 36 points on 7/12 from 3 in game 7. Again, LeBron finished off the series comeback, Steph was injured, and LeBron finished that season as the best player in the world. But there's a reason he's the only unanimous MVP in history, and how people felt about him going into those finals. To discredit that by saying he was never considered the best player in the world I think is revisionist history.