Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
Courtside Convo is Impact 89FM's podcast all about the NBA.
And welcome into the courtside convo. I am your host, Tim Marshall, joined by Martin Gilleski. We have a big episode today for you. A lot of news going on, some buzzer beaters, just ton of stuff in the NBA. We are now in full swing about almost a month into the season, so we're really getting to it.
Speaker 1:The biggest news of the day coming out of Dallas, Nico Harrison out as general manager of the Dallas Mavericks. Obviously, the Luka Doncic trade did not go over well with new ownership, and he is gone. First reaction.
Speaker 2:Well, hold on. I don't know if you can necessarily say that. I think I mean, for one, Patrick Dumont literally ok'd the trade.
Speaker 1:That is fair, but the reaction, I'll I'll say. The reaction, it it hasn't even had a year to play out. It's only really been 11 games with the new squad this season. So
Speaker 2:Well, you know, I wasn't doing that just to be, you know, like, anal about the details of this. I was more doing that to reflect the fact that Patrick Dumont is basically basically as guilty as Nico Harrison Oh, rather for complacent, maybe a better word.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Because, I mean, he it wasn't his I mean, I feel like there was probably some we all know the whole story with how Luca was maybe cutting corners a little bit when it comes to his physical shape and working out or missing stuff, whatever it is, and his health was a real issue. But not even a year later, it seems very shortsighted, and now Nico is out of a job. So I I feel like he'll become, like, assistant GM of the Lakers by this summer. Because, I mean, him and Palinca are friends.
Speaker 1:That's why this whole thing got done. So, I mean, if that's the deal you have to make for Rob Palinca, I think I think you do it. Right?
Speaker 2:Well, I mean, him him and Rob Pelinka are friends, but I do not think him and Luca himself are friends.
Speaker 1:That's fair. Yeah. That would be a a tough thing. Not a great relationship there in that front office with or just between Luca and Nico after everything went down in Dallas. But, yeah, they they started the season three and eight, 11 games, and he is done.
Speaker 1:It was a good game last night. Did you watch that at all with Milwaukee, Cooper Flag, and Giannis going back and forth a little bit?
Speaker 2:I caught the very end. I there was a lot of games going on last night. So was
Speaker 1:kind of a gay or crazy night of games. We would've had a lot to talk about otherwise, but I feel like this just takes the cake with Yeah. Storylines.
Speaker 2:And I mean, just to, like, get into the the realness of this, this is, like, embarrassing and, like, offensive, like, straight up to fans. I think did you see Patrick Dumont's released statement?
Speaker 1:I did not. I did see him next to a fan in a Lakers 77 jersey last night that were courtside, and they were having a nice little chat. And
Speaker 2:heard the story specifically about that chat. Right?
Speaker 1:I I didn't hear what I mean, I assume they were talking about Luca.
Speaker 2:Well, here's the interesting thing. And there there was details on this confirmed, like, by, you know, a real reporter. So essentially, this kid who is sitting next to Patrick Dumont, his family owned season tickets, and he had been jeering at Patrick Dumont for the Luca trade and decided to ask his bodyguards if he could sit next to him to apologize, literally. And I'm not this is, like, confirmed to the story. And supposedly, when talking to him, he, for one, apologized for jeering at Patrick Dumont, and Patrick Dumont apologized back about the trade and everything.
Speaker 2:And it's reflected in a statement that was put out earlier. Shams posted it on Twitter, and it's just like I think it's it's, like, offensive to fans or even like, it assumes that they're dumber than they think they are. In that statement, he says he starts off by talking about, you know, on 05/30/2024, the Mavericks won the Western Conference championship. And, you know, he talks about, like, oh, we have a commitment to winning and all of that. And it's like, gosh.
Speaker 2:Like, I just can't imagine as a fan to see this go down and have to, like, live with that, that this guy is the owner of your team, and he's like, oh, like, I'm committed to winning, and it's like, you were hopefully, you were committed to winning this whole time, and somehow you thought that trading Luka Doncic was committing to winning. So, like, good lord. I just can't believe it.
Speaker 1:Yeah. I mean, well, now the fans got what they want. Nico is out after making the deal, and, obviously there has been a lot of fire Nico chants. Now what will they chant? Just still just like f you Nico still for the next decade
Speaker 2:Oh, I'm sure they will.
Speaker 1:Until until Luca retires with a couple rings maybe. But, yeah, this is a deal that just it was a career ender at or at least here. And when you look at it before this deal, he was kinda he was widely considered a good GM. He made really nice moves getting Kyrie, getting PJ Washington. These deals on the margins really got them to a place where they did go to the finals.
Speaker 1:They did win the Western Conference. And now a couple months later or almost a year and change later, it doesn't matter.
Speaker 2:Yeah. I I can't believe it. And the whole the whole details of it, like, I don't know if you know this part, but underrated part was him, you know, slowly forcing out basically all of Luca's close friends and, you know, people that he'd been working with. They forced out the entire medical staff. That medical staff went on to work with the Knicks the next year and actually won the award for best medical staff last year.
Speaker 2:I just saw Isaac Harris, who is the reporter for Locked On Mavs, tweeted with a photo of him speaking with Nico Harrison, standing directly next to him, said, my last convo with Nico Harrison as GM was media day this year. Told me why, quote, told me my, quote, why shouldn't you be fired question was the, quote, most disrespectful question he's ever been asked, and we had a good back and forth about it. He it ended with him saying that time will tell if he is right. Time has told. That's like, I can't believe that this guy was just was was like, I'm doing great.
Speaker 1:He was a quote machine after the trade too. He had the one after they won the lottery where it was C Or yeah. Was C division and fortune favors the bull. Oh my gosh. Just he really thought he I mean, there was a glimpse of hope after landing Cooper Flagg, like Yeah.
Speaker 1:Some sort of yeah, some sort of prize after, but not the case at all. At least for Nico. I I think they're still in a decent spot ish. They're not in the spot they were with lookup, but I mean, you still have Cooper Flag, and probably have another top three pick this season.
Speaker 2:Well, if you were the GM of the Mavs, what's your first move now?
Speaker 1:If I just get hired,
Speaker 2:if I let's say, you know, Patrick Dumont calls you
Speaker 1:on phone. Have an interview, yeah, tomorrow. Yeah. So this is my mock interview. I'm saying
Speaker 2:On a on a big plan scale, not like by trade by trade, but larger plan, what are you doing?
Speaker 1:You have to build it all around Cooper Flagg. I mean, I feel like that's obvious And at this there is a sense where you could kind of maybe there is a window to still have it be a win now mode if you kind of scrap some of if you can kind of flip these players you have now to build for a younger core. Because this is an old core, Klay Thompson. He hasn't been good, and he's old. Kyrie is old even though he's been out with injury.
Speaker 1:AD has only played five games. And at this point, you traded Luka for AD who, is he still a positive asset with the contract? AD? Yeah. Mean, the games played thing is always gonna haunt me.
Speaker 2:Okay. I think you could tell me, you know, Kyrie with, you know, older guard, small guard coming off an ACL. You could tell me that's a negative deal. You know, I I might believe you on that. Klay Thompson, not a great contract now.
Speaker 2:AD, he's still I know people have started to reflect on like, oh, maybe he is like truly declining, but a negative contract, I I don't see it.
Speaker 1:Three years three years one seventy five or three years one eighty six, I should say. Sorry. And he's 32 with a terrible injury history as a big. What what team in this luxury tax era is saying, sign me up.
Speaker 2:I was about to say that, like, I think there are teams that would trade for him, but some of the teams that would trade for him that, like, like the idea of, like, we could pay him that money, like, we could see that being worth it for us. But a lot of those teams are literally prevented from doing that. Like not just, oh, it would be really hard, but like physically they are, you know, other than in some insane amount of, you know, massaging the contracts they have, like, couldn't physically make that trade and get that contract. So it's I don't think he's a negative contract. I think that's a little too far for a player as good as him, even if he's going on the downhill.
Speaker 1:I'm just, yeah, talking about it in that third year, do you want to be paying him $60,000,000 a year?
Speaker 2:I don't, personally.
Speaker 1:And if it's this year, like, we already he's already banged up game day to day decision. So it's just it's tough to say, like, this is the this is, like, your best ticket out of the bottom, out of the basement.
Speaker 2:Here's another thing you have to remember. It doesn't matter whether or not 23 teams think that he's a negative contract. 23 GMs. As long as there's one GM who thinks that it's a positive contract and hopefully that one GM is in a team that's in the position and capacity to make that sort of trade, that's what matters. And and the idea that there could be one team, one GM that with their roster situation, their youth situation, draft situation, so on, could think that's worth it for them, I can 100 get on that.
Speaker 2:Even though I don't want to trade for that contract right now, every year there are contracts where the general NBA fan population thinks it's stupid. And there are a lot more of them that are significantly more stupid than, you know, somebody trading a few players in a pick for AD. So I think that it's definitely tradable.
Speaker 1:Anthony Davis for Embiid. Who says no?
Speaker 2:Why did the wait. Why?
Speaker 1:Why just why
Speaker 2:do the Mavs do that?
Speaker 1:I I'm just I'm just asking you. So you think it's Yeah.
Speaker 2:Why? Why? Wait. How does that benefit them?
Speaker 1:I mean, they need the offense right now. Their offense has been
Speaker 2:Trading one aging like, that's no.
Speaker 1:I'm just okay.
Speaker 2:Think AD is significantly more valuable than
Speaker 1:the Blues
Speaker 2:right now. Embiid is on a worse contract, is even worse injury. Like, AD has a pretty bad injury history. Embiid has maybe the worst injury history ever. Yeah.
Speaker 2:That's fair.
Speaker 1:I I I just saw his name pop up. I just wanted to throw that one out my
Speaker 2:They're both making a Exactly. Bank
Speaker 1:load. But that's what you have to that's how it has to work now. You have to give someone up that has that value for an AD. And if it is an injury history guy, like, have to trade
Speaker 2:him for AD. That's more realistic. I don't know if don't think they do that.
Speaker 1:Says no still. Yeah. That's where I think Embiid has more value than Paul George. But then the contracts do come into play. But
Speaker 2:yeah. I I don't know. I think that the best move for them is to to rebuild to I think the sign the the sign that you're firing your GM says explicitly, we don't like this direction. What it probably means is we like Cooper flag, but we don't like the movement, the direction we're going in.
Speaker 1:One last one last one before we move on. Carly, I think Towns for AD. Who says no? This one's close.
Speaker 2:Yeah. And I
Speaker 1:don't know if either team says no, if I'm being honest. I
Speaker 2:well, I would say that the Mavs in general are not looking for this sort of one to one player swap. They want assets like future assets, picks, so on. I don't think that this makes sense. Like, these one to one player trade, like, they they could, like it's like, oh, that might make sense. But the whole point was to get good players off of your roster and replace them with worse players and picks.
Speaker 1:Well, the thing is I I don't know if they can bottom out because they do have so much veteran talent that's making so much money. They can't really just they're not it's not players you're gonna give up a haul for. Pelicans. Why would but why would they they're so in the hole, and they don't even have their own draft picks.
Speaker 2:They don't have a center, and also they're dumb enough to do that.
Speaker 1:So what would that even be? Like, DeJonte Murray and like, they don't have but, like, are you gonna really give up Trey Murphy to? Well, you have to Davis back in the Pelicans wouldn't
Speaker 2:I was gonna say oh, yeah. That's yeah. I kinda forgot about that part. Well, I'm just like Jaw? Oh, you know, king.
Speaker 2:I'm, you know, I'm just throwing out it's funny when we talk about these trade ideas that are, like, difficult trade ideas. Yeah. Instead of going to, like, what are the players or or teams that have the best picks or so on? My mind is, who are the dumbest GMs? Like, because that's in the end, that's more likely the player that the team that makes the most.
Speaker 1:And now one of them is out. Now Nico's gone. So one less I mean, I wonder who they'll replace him with. Maybe Mark Cuban steps up and just becomes the GM.
Speaker 2:Oh my god. Because that's a tough thing. It's like, at this point, do you do you trust Dumont to make a good hire? Who who does he entrust that decision to?
Speaker 1:I have no idea. I mean, does Jay does Does he Jay Kidd have enough value to be like, hey, I wanna do both? Well,
Speaker 2:no. No. He's not Popovich.
Speaker 1:No. That's fair. But I mean, like, Doc Rivers had that. Like, it it happens more often than you think.
Speaker 2:Well, the thing is this isn't just when you're firing a GM, it's also kind of like clearing house in general. Like, it it it probably means there's a lot of turnover, not just GM, but the, you know, however many position, the whole front office. And that's where, like, if I remember correctly, Patrick Dumont isn't actually, like, the owner explicitly. I believe it's his mother or, you know Yeah. His family, which has the money.
Speaker 2:Yeah. He is already the guy who's, like, appointed as in, like, in this family, we think you're the one who's best to run this. So you would think that he would, you know, he would be the one doing the hiring because he's not one of those owners where it's like, you know, he's just the owner who has the money from above. He's already the guy who's supposed to be on the ground doing the Mavs thing. But at the same time, I don't trust him at all.
Speaker 2:The one thing that you just know you need to do, and hopefully he can figure this out, is look long term, whatever you're doing, look long term and be really bad this year because you got your pick and it's a great draft.
Speaker 1:Yeah. And I mean, the draft class is just it's getting better day by day. Even Saturday, we saw a few prospects here in East Lansing that were really good. So, yeah, it's it's definitely kind of tear down, maybe even move guys like PJ Washington if you can, get some picks, and just pray for the future. I mean, you have a great asset in Cooper Flagg who I mean, he's at the point where it's already dysfunctional.
Speaker 1:He's already in a dysfunctional spot. So
Speaker 2:Yeah. Because you are you don't wanna damage his crew. You wanna, you know, build him up, help him grow, and I think that's the move.
Speaker 1:Yeah. And I mean, we all know he's a Celtic by 2029. So We'll see.
Speaker 2:I don't know.
Speaker 1:Let let's pray. Alright. On to your guy. An old fashioned game last night for Cade Cunningham. Just shot chucking, and I love it.
Speaker 2:Maybe the shot chucking game.
Speaker 1:Was it 44 points on 47 shots?
Speaker 2:It was 45 shots.
Speaker 1:Or 45 shots. Sorry.
Speaker 2:He had forty six forty six points.
Speaker 1:46 points on 40 that's you know what? Hey. You went down swinging. Alright. I mean, they still won, so
Speaker 2:left it all go down swinging. He came up swinging.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Well, can I give you can I give you the argument for, you know, this game is a problem indicator or is bad versus
Speaker 1:I I mean, I think this is good?
Speaker 2:I Or okay.
Speaker 1:I feel like we're probably on the same page where it's kind of a nothing. I I don't take anything away from
Speaker 2:this game. Yeah.
Speaker 1:It it was a back to back. You're playing the Wizards at home. You have half your bench available.
Speaker 2:Well, I just wanna, like, set the stage for this real quick, you know, apart from this incredible missing 31 shots. Do hear that's actually a record. Really? The most missed shots in the game ever.
Speaker 1:Second most Kobe
Speaker 2:does that. Most was Kobe.
Speaker 1:Kobe. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Kobe missed 30. So to set the stage, on Sunday night, the Pistons played the Philadelphia seventy sixers. Big game. You know, they're another top East team. You gotta win that game.
Speaker 2:Unfortunately, in that game, you're already missing Tobias Harris. You're missing Isaiah Stewart. You're missing Marcus Sasser. You're missing Jaden Ivy. That's a lot.
Speaker 2:You're missing a lot of those are all guys who would be in the 10 rotation guys. Cade played forty minutes. He was actually very good in that game. He had 26 points, 11 assists, came through huge in the fourth quarter. Really tough game, but he played great.
Speaker 2:It's good stuff. Going on to yesterday, third game in four days, playing off of back to back. And additionally, in the tracking era, this is a stat that came out from the All City Network, in the tracking era, in any game where a single player got more than a 100 touches in that game, Kade was doubled the highest percentage of his touches of any player in the tracking era. The amount of times he was doubled in that game was incredible. Like, it was an unbelievable amount.
Speaker 2:Andy played close to forty one minutes. Exhausting game.
Speaker 1:He played forty five minutes?
Speaker 2:No. I mean, in the Sixers game. Oh, yeah. The Sixers game, he was getting doubled all night in playing forty one minutes. So then yesterday, you just got doubled for forty one minutes last night, third game in four days, and then you have this kind of I mean, just from the jump, you could tell he was burnt.
Speaker 2:It was it was not great. I mean, it's okay. Like, I'm not worried about his shot making going forward.
Speaker 1:That's a sleepy game no matter what. You're playing the one in 10 wizards who we can get to later because I think they actually are kind of a sneaky one in one in 10 team. I I think they actually aren't that bad. But, yeah, you're it's a in a spot where you kind of walk through. CJ McCollum was just roasting early.
Speaker 1:He ended up with 42. Yeah. But, yeah, not a ton of help, at least offensive creation wise.
Speaker 2:Well, Asar Thompson also goes out. So in this in the Wizards game, you have the starters are Kade, Jalen Durin. Kade, Jalen Durin
Speaker 1:Holland. Holland. Duncan Robinson.
Speaker 2:Javonte Javonte Green. You have one shooter other than Cade. And then off the bench, you have guys who realistically are like third stringers.
Speaker 1:So it's legacy game.
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh. It's like and it's like this game, I know it's the Wizards, but it's Kade, Jalen Durin, and then basically guys who should be coming off the bench on a good team. And four of them should be playing third string, maybe not playing any
Speaker 1:Playing in G League, honestly.
Speaker 2:Javonte Green got five minutes a game on last year's Cavs team. Five minutes a game.
Speaker 1:Played 38 last year.
Speaker 2:Like, that's that is not good. And Cade is gonna I mean, in the fourth quarter, gets fouled hard on a dunk by, excuse me, by Cam Whitmore, Went down really hard, almost went to the locker room, came down fully right on his back, came back into the game to close it out. He must be sore today. Like, I do not know how he did it despite the insane inefficiency, like generational inefficiency this game.
Speaker 1:They play the Bulls tomorrow night. No giddy possibly. I wouldn't blame him if I'm being honest. Like, you need to it's still November, and you're nine and two. This is where you get afforded games where you can kinda go in short handed.
Speaker 1:When you start out the season first in the West, just remember, it's November. You don't need to be going all out playing forty minutes a night because this is case one. If he goes down, there's not a lot left. Yeah. And He needs to be priority number one.
Speaker 1:Give him some rest. I wouldn't even play him tomorrow night, but
Speaker 2:It's it's weird how you have this, like, they're nine and two. They're the first seed in the East. I think we're, like, fourth in defensive rating. Every you know, a lot of media cover this is the most media coverage I've seen the Pistons get in I guess since, like, we lost 28 straight or like last year, you know, there was some media coverage when we decided to be good. But it's like there's all this stuff going right.
Speaker 2:You're winning games, which is the main part, even if it's against easy opponents. But at the same time, you look at the rotation, you're like, wow, this isn't exactly like dominant right now. You have all these injuries right now. The rotation is not looking that great, and that's not a future thing. That's an at this moment thing.
Speaker 2:And somehow he has to push them to this victory. I haven't heard any news yet, but gosh, we will have to see if he plays tomorrow because this is there's a lot of carrying going on right now by Kade.
Speaker 1:And there is a schedule thing I think we have to mention when we look at the last couple wins. Magic who really haven't gotten going. They're getting in the right direction, though. Dallas, we were just talking about them fired their GM. Memphis, disgruntled superstar.
Speaker 1:Utah, a basement team. Brooklyn, basement team. Good win against 70 sixers, and then this Washington one. So Yeah. I think we just have to preface it with that.
Speaker 1:It is a great start. They're only playing the teams they can play. I did mention I did not mention that Celtics win, but, yeah, they did beat the Celtics as well. Mhmm. So it has been a good start and it's something that, yeah, you just still gotta keep lately.
Speaker 2:Well, the the additional thing beyond that is that even though it's been an easy start schedule wise just by the teams, like, if you're going on the road in Memphis, I'm very happy with that. Any game in the Western Conference in there, it's great. And additionally, the Pistons have just played a lot of games. We've played 11 games so far. For comparison, the Knicks have played nine.
Speaker 2:You know, a lot of other teams have played 11, but, like, I think 11 is the most any team has played. And, you know, not every team has played at the pace we have. And with the travel we had, there hasn't been a huge home stand. So you just hope right now you can get the cavalry in and, you know, get the actual bench back and hopefully continue this streak.
Speaker 1:Yeah. For sure. One of the one things I wanted to point out from that game last night in the Pistons offense was the Jalen Durran inverted pick and roll with Kade was just something that jumped off the page for me. I thought that was really cool how he has really stepped up. You can totally see he is a totally different player than he is Yeah.
Speaker 1:Two, three years ago. It's it's really interesting to see, and and that's a big factor for how they will how far they will go.
Speaker 2:Yeah. He's stepped up to be the like, if there is a second option on this team, it's been him. I mean, thus far, he's had a game with 22 points and 22 rebounds, which is nuts. He had a I think he had several, like, you know, thirty and eighteen or he had a thirty three and thirty three and ten game. He had a twenty one and sixteen, thirty and eleven.
Speaker 2:You know, he's been rattling stuff off. And one thing that's really benefited them is they used to off a pick and roll, he would dive almost all the way to the rim, and Cade would, you know, try to get it over the top to him right at the basket. What they've been doing is running that pick and roll up a lot higher and getting the basketball to him like almost above the free throw line. And that helps Cade make the pass because there's just less people to come down in in the pass, which prevents turnovers. And then he has the abilities to pass and then also actually drive to the rim rather than just looking for a going up for the dunk immediately.
Speaker 2:He can actually get momentum and drive or drive and kick.
Speaker 1:And it's it's even more impressive when you consider how little spacing this piston season is. I mean, it has gotten better over the past year or so, but
Speaker 2:still. Well, not to now.
Speaker 1:No. No. It's it's regressed this season, but last year, it was a little bit better with Beasley and all that. But, yeah, this year, it it hasn't been pretty, but he's still been putting up really good numbers. One last thing on this game, we kinda made fun of it last episode that why were was Washington Detroit a national TV game.
Speaker 1:But Oh, yeah. They they clutched up. The guys at Peacock knew. They were like, hey. This is gonna be a good game.
Speaker 1:Just trust. And it was I saw some sort of graph. It was one of the most exciting games when it comes to win probability or some sort of how close it was one possession each way down the stretch. It was one of the closest games in twenty years.
Speaker 2:Dennis Jenkins nails. Dagger. I it's crazy because the Pistons fans have, like, known like, we're, like, Dennis Jenkins is an NBA player sitting on a g league team. Like, he will if he was on the Suns, they would be playing him, like, seventeen minutes a game.
Speaker 1:Yeah. I mean, that corner three when that play just went totally awry, and he ends up making the shots to send it over time.
Speaker 2:So Let's talk about other shots. Yeah.
Speaker 1:I mean, we it's been last night was just I I made the bad choice of kinda sitting through a Monday night football stinker when I should have been watching all these games because first Desmond Bain in Orlando kinda getting out of his shooting slump with a a big game winner over Portland. That was on a second night of back to back two. They lost to the Celtics the other night, but they're five and six now. I think they're heading in the right direction.
Speaker 2:Yeah. They're You hope so.
Speaker 1:Though I watched both of those Celtics games. They split them, and they just look like they're they're getting there. And obviously, they're gonna play up for a team like Boston who knocked them out of the playoffs last year. But overall, I think Paulo looks better. His numbers are a lot better efficiency wise back to 50% from the field in November.
Speaker 1:So small sample size there, but he he's getting back his footing a little bit.
Speaker 2:And one thing to look for is, you know, I think Orlando has been maybe the the disappointment so far, and that's not to say they've been truly awful. Well, if you maybe the Mavs, Mavs might be the disappointment. But either way, the Magic have been a huge disappointment so far, but there is some good indicators so far to to look at. Their starters are playing really well. The starters win their minutes by a lot.
Speaker 2:Actually, the the five man combination, which is, you know, their highest minutes played combination, is plus 18 per 100 possessions or rather plus 18 overall on the year. Excuse me. But it's pretty much everything else that's becoming the issue. And this goes back to I mentioned in our very first pod of the year that I don't like the idea of trying to build around four high paid, you know, all star tier ish players. It's really difficult to fill out a bench when you do that.
Speaker 2:It's really difficult to, you know, have high leverage role players, and it's kind of reflected in what's happening here where a team that was hyped to maybe win 50 games is, you know, just under 500. And despite their starters playing really well and winning their minutes overall, it's still been really difficult for them to get wins.
Speaker 1:Yeah. I I think there is something to that, though. They have a really young bench. They've had all those picks these past couple years and especially young guards, and those guys just take longer to develop and longer to get into the swing of a season. Yeah.
Speaker 1:But I think there is something there where it's they they'd still just need to get going a little bit, getting more of a rhythm, especially in a offense where they are putting out a new offense. It's not gonna be perfect right away. I I still am holding a little bit of hope for them.
Speaker 2:Well, nothing will get you nothing will get you going like a heat check three to win a game.
Speaker 1:Exactly. Yeah. They just and they still have positive vibes. They always I I mean, I feel like they have one of the best TikTok accounts, and they always
Speaker 2:have The song.
Speaker 1:Spartan or Spartan Zone, Jay Surchison dance, they'll be fine. I I think they'll be fine.
Speaker 2:That's 27%
Speaker 1:my take on that.
Speaker 2:27% from three so far from a career forty one percent three point shooter. We hope that that goes up.
Speaker 1:Yeah. I I think that one shot could switch it. Let's bookmark this 11/11. Let's see what it is a month from now. Maybe they'll be back on track.
Speaker 1:But another game winner last night in Miami. Cleveland Miami went to overtime. They had they were going back and forth. Donovan Mitchell hit a crazy corner three to tie it with, I believe, like, one or two seconds left. And then Andrew Wiggins, the alley oop finish.
Speaker 1:Right?
Speaker 2:Yeah. I cannot believe that three or was it a three or a long two that that
Speaker 1:I think it was a three. I'm pretty sure
Speaker 2:it was a three. Unbelievable shot from Donovan Mitchell, and he has just been scorching so far. I think he's shooting I think it's 45 from three so far or something ridiculous. He's been on, you know, just a heater. I don't even know if you can call it a heater given it's been going on the whole season so far.
Speaker 2:I mean, you're looking at 30 points per game, 84% from the three free throw line, 62% from 4040% from three. Ridiculous stuff. And that 40% from three is over 10 10 attempts a game. I can't believe what he's doing and unfortunate that this did not get the win for them.
Speaker 1:No. And that that has to be a real concern for a team that was considered one of the favorites in the East. They're seven and four to begin the season with their star player playing at a elite level, 30 points per game, and they're just not getting lot from everyone else.
Speaker 2:Yeah. They're still I believe they brought Garland back, and he's still getting up to speed. I think that that's going to change the dynamics of the team a lot since unfortunately, I just don't think Mobley can really wow on a consistent basis without somebody to feed him in a really high level. And unfortunately, Donovan Mitchell isn't really that guy. Fortunately, Darius Garland is.
Speaker 2:And having those two guards really adds the extra level of pressure that made them the elite team they were last year.
Speaker 1:Yeah. I I think that's really well put. The thing with Garland was he left that game last night. He didn't return. He reaggravated that toe, and he might be out for a little longer.
Speaker 1:And that that really he is it has proven that he has been kind of their engine that makes everything go just to get to that next level, to that 60 win level we saw last year. And when he was banged up in the playoffs, that's when we saw them kind of unravel against Indiana. So
Speaker 2:Wait. Can I share one, you know, I guess, fun fact about so you know how after that Donovan Mitchell three, the winner was the lob to Jalen excuse me? The lob to Wiggins. Wiggins to win the game. The very interesting thing by this is they actually the Pistons ran the same play in the same circumstance against the Heat last year.
Speaker 2:This was in, I think, about the same time somewhere in December against the Heat at home in an NBA Cup game. The Tyler Hero hit a enormous three to put the Heat up by or excuse me, he had an enormous mid range jumper to put the Heat up by two with one point eight seconds remaining and Kade threw a lob pass from the inbounds to Jalen Duran on that almost identical screen motion for Jalen Duran to catch it and throw it in against the heat who then turned around and pulled it against the the Cavs. So maybe they learned.
Speaker 1:It's a copycat league.
Speaker 2:I like That's what they said. Right? As soon as I saw that play, I was like, wait a minute. Like, I swear we ran the the exact same thing almost. And, I mean, we did, obviously, like I mentioned.
Speaker 2:I I wonder if it was like a direct inspiration. I'm I haven't seen if anyone asks Spo that, but that would be crazy if he took it straight from the Pistons.
Speaker 1:Yeah. And so that they the Heat ended up with the win. They're kind of one of the bigger bigger surprises this season. Bam Adebayo's been back. One of the things I actually wanted to mention, just a trend I've been noticing is, do you think after a down year last year, do you think all the the more fouls called this year is helping the bigs kind of get back to a better production level?
Speaker 2:What do you mean by that?
Speaker 1:I I'm saying with it being not as physical in the paint, not being able to get away with much, they're able to score a little bit more just due to the lack of physicality when it comes to night in, night out.
Speaker 2:I'm not sure. I think if anything, it's kind of hard to stay in the game as a big given, you know, foul getting in foul trouble from, you know, opposing players getting into the paint. I I'm not sure if it's been like an average thing of Biggs, you know, scoring more in general. I think yeah. I'm just straight up.
Speaker 2:I'm not sure about that.
Speaker 1:I it was just something I wanted to see. There's a few I'll mention one later, but just a few things I've been noticing. I feel like I wanna keep up this trend after we had that one about the free throws that has really cotton on
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:With just
Speaker 2:The free throw rate of teams.
Speaker 1:Yeah. It's it's still insane. Do you know how many I haven't checked recently, but in our first episode, we were talking about how many people are averaging 10 free throws per game. Is it still many do think it is right now? I'll check oh.
Speaker 1:It's actually it's come back down to earth a little. Only two. Ziannis and one other person. I'll give you Oh. One yes.
Speaker 2:Maxey?
Speaker 1:No. Is it Luca? No. Teammate, though. Oh, is it is it Reeves?
Speaker 1:Reeves at 10.4. Gosh. Right behind Giannis at 10.8.
Speaker 2:He is unbelievable at, you know, getting to the line.
Speaker 1:He has that head fake that just he can he maxi all those guys where it's just you're right on the shoulder and then all of a sudden two free throws automatically.
Speaker 2:One quick thing about the heat. Last one. Yeah. If we're going by net rating, which is not the greatest stat so far given the limited sample size, but by net rating, they are the number two team in the East just behind the Knicks. And that would make them the seventh team overall plus 5.3.
Speaker 1:The fact they're second in the East and seventh overall is very funny, but just goes to show how weak the East is. But, I mean, if there is a team that could come out of the week East, it is Miami just with their coaching. And, I mean, they've done it before. They've done it two of the last five times. So Yeah.
Speaker 1:It it is really it's it's almost inevitable where every year, everyone's like, yeah. Who cares? They're just the heat. They're gonna be boring. But they win games.
Speaker 1:They somehow win games at the detriment of everyone else in the Eastern Conference. But moving on to the West now or actually, yeah, moving on to the West. This wasn't a game this wasn't a buzzer beater, but it was a game winner. Victor Wenbanyama. What a sequence.
Speaker 1:He gets the block on one end and then comes down, calls Isso, just top of the key three, bang, Spurs win. He has 38 points. They beat the Bulls who were without Josh Giddy because he got his ankles broken by Deandre Hunter.
Speaker 2:Poor Vucevic. Like Yeah.
Speaker 1:He was on an island.
Speaker 2:What is he supposed to do? Like, I when you watch that three and it's like, what do you even do against a guy that tall? Like, I I I genuinely don't even know what your options
Speaker 1:are. A double doesn't do anything. You honestly, someone maybe one of the guards should have just jumped on Vucevic's shoulders maybe that it just gets some verticality there. I don't I don't know what they're supposed to do.
Speaker 2:Yeah. I
Speaker 1:Like like, that's at this point, like, there's nothing Can you
Speaker 2:send to the line? Just like
Speaker 1:Yeah. Maybe. Just like take take
Speaker 2:Or play ball denial. You gotta do something.
Speaker 1:Yeah. I mean yeah. Maybe it's really tough. Send two, like, really because he was he wasn't far back.
Speaker 2:Well, because that's the thing. If if you have basically the whole floor, the whole top of the key key the whole top of the key cleared out, you can't send a double because what like, that's really obvious and it's not gonna get to him in time. You know, he's tall enough that that three is gonna get off no matter what. You either have to prevent it to him straight off the inbound or just do something else to prevent that. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Poor Bulls. Like, I and this will happen to many teams this year. It's not their fault necessarily, but gosh. And on back to back threes too. Just absolutely nasty.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Truly one of the of the best players right now. It's just not even an argument possibly. I mean, I don't wanna talk MVP right now. We're still so far out, but he has potential, man.
Speaker 1:He he has potential to really really be in that conversation. I mean, we're only in year three. So
Speaker 2:This is gonna be one of the strongest first team all NBAs ever.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Good thing it's positionless now because imagine if that center race between Wenby and Jokic.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:That would be tough.
Speaker 2:Speaking Jokic, I
Speaker 1:wanna get into him. And Giannis. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Jokic, Giannis, Wemby SGA. And Luka. Crazy. Would be good shot.
Speaker 1:Yeah. That might be, like, the most talented one ever. I don't think Drop there. Yeah. I I think this is gonna be the first year where LeBron might not be in.
Speaker 2:NBA? Like, all NBA? I mean, he
Speaker 1:has to get 65 games. They've already played 11.
Speaker 2:I don't think he's him getting it last year was a miracle. Yeah. Continue on.
Speaker 1:Yep. So speaking of Jokic, I I think we should get into them a little bit in Denver. Three and two this season, I was really high on him and then just slow start from Jokic. And by slow start, it was like a triple double just on not meteoric efficiency, just like average Yeah. Like above average efficiency.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:But now last three games, I believe it's thirty, thirteen, and 11. They're four and o in November. It it's really they are going to be a team that they're still my favorite out of the West, I think. I I like them over Denver in the playoffs.
Speaker 2:Over OKC, you mean?
Speaker 1:Or oh, yeah. Excuse me. Over OKC. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah. I I'm not sure if I could say that, but it's really hard to argue otherwise. I think so the crazy thing is, you said mediocre efficiency. It's actually the highest efficiency, highest true shooting of his career, 73% true shooting. Ridiculous.
Speaker 1:But those first couple games out, the open year in Golden State, it just it wasn't all there. But now, I mean, yeah, give them five games and now it's it's just
Speaker 2:I mean, like Yeah. Like, all time efficiency. And beyond that, so you look at just, like, the actual, like, raw numbers on twos so far this year, 77% on twos. And mind you so 707077% of the time he makes twos. Out of that remaining, like, 23%, how many of those does he rebound and put in again like another 15% if you remove his rebound and put backs from his misses what does his efficiency go to like 85% on twos?
Speaker 2:It's ridiculous. And that's on top of, you know, for him a pedestrian 35% from three.
Speaker 1:Yeah. And that's probably gonna go up too. It's he is definitely one of the greatest players of this generation, and he's leading a Denver team who has had guys I I feel like Aaron Gordon, I I wanna get into him. He's kind of developed himself into that true second option. Him and Yoko just like, their relationship is just it's built year over year.
Speaker 1:We saw it last year in the playoffs, and now this year, it's it's really continued to blossom.
Speaker 2:And his three point shooting, it might be one of the best development stories of a three point shooter in the NBA ever. The so far this year, 46% from three on five attempts.
Speaker 1:Going back to that Golden State game, he was automatic. He made his first 10. I think he was 10 for 10 to start.
Speaker 2:Like It's ridiculous.
Speaker 1:He has truly become a player that is not just a run and dunk guy. He can space the floor. He can run the offense sometimes when it's him and Murray. Like, that is not, like it's not just pray for Jokic to get back. He is proven to be a player that can really do it.
Speaker 2:And the crazy thing is last year, he was already on a unreal 43, 44% from three on three eight, 3.4 attempts. He's up to 5.1 attempts and he's added another 33%. That's just ridiculous. And when you watch him, it doesn't feel fake at all. The way the confidence and now he he just straight up, he has a pretty jumper.
Speaker 2:Like, it's a very beautiful jumper he has, and he, like, he kind of, like, stands in his toes almost. It's it's really it's an interesting shot, but it's, like, so confident. Just drains it. It's unbelievable.
Speaker 1:Yeah. And one of the reasons why I like them so much was the MPJ Cam Johnson trade, but he hasn't really been that that guy to fill in that role yet. And I've I'm kind of worried about my stock in Cam Johnson. Like, I I he was I thought that was one of the best accusations of the off season, and it just hasn't really panned out so far. I'm I'm hoping he'll get right because he is a really good three and d player.
Speaker 1:I feel like maybe it takes a little bit of time to get playing with Jokic to really I mean, we're seeing it like with Aaron Gordon where it takes a little bit of time and once you really get it, it really just pops off. So
Speaker 2:Yeah. And thus far, the team offense is ever so slightly worse with Tam Cam on the court, and the defense is also slightly worse. So it's not been great so far, but I think this is one of those moments where people did get really down on MPJ just over some playoff struggles, which a lot of which were due to injury.
Speaker 1:And injured. Yeah.
Speaker 2:And those playoff struggles and mind you, I still think it's worth it given it just it wasn't just Cam Johnson. It was Cam Johnson and an extra $25,000,000 of space, which adds three other players for them.
Speaker 1:Balance units and all that Bruce Brown back. So yeah.
Speaker 2:Totally worth it. But it is a real thing that people got a little too negative on the MPJ at times and forgot his, for one, unreal shooting and a lot of additive rebounding and size. And I don't think that Cam Johnson is nearly the rebounder he is or quite the not it's they're neither of them are great on defense, but MPJ does really exert the size, you know, especially with those weak side blocks he he gets.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Maybe. Yeah. MPJ balling out in Brooklyn. Maybe we should have a little homework assignment for next week.
Speaker 1:Sit through an entire Brooklyn game. Just wasted two hours.
Speaker 2:I did recently. I I
Speaker 1:I haven't yet. I I'll hand up. I haven't put myself through that yet.
Speaker 2:The Pistons played them. Okay. I To be fair, I had I had two games on at once at that time. I think that was during the Rockets Bucks game, I think. Was a Rockets game, I believe, or Rockets Spurs maybe.
Speaker 2:But I I was watching and they're it's a really rough watch. Like, genuinely, it's it's quite rough. But Michael Porter junior over there, 23 points a game Hey. Doing his thing.
Speaker 1:I guess he'll he'll get his points and his podcast clips, and I feel like that's all you can really hope for. That's kind of a short and short today. Is there anything else you wanna have a last closing thought on?
Speaker 2:Rockets great win over Bucks. Shangoon looks like a significantly more real ball handler. That's a big note.
Speaker 1:And Reed Shepherd finally clicking. I I feel like getting thrown into the Wolves in that first game against OKC might have not been a good first impression. Now he's kind of he's been more efficient recently. The last two games.
Speaker 2:Against the Bucks?
Speaker 1:He was big against the Bucks. Yeah.
Speaker 2:He had two back to back steals, one of which he passed it ahead and then trailed to then go attack the closeout and get them wide open mid range jumper. And then the next, he hit a three back to back plays, that's impact play, and the Rockets look really great. And Shen Goon being, you know, going from a guy who can handle the ball to, like, you watch him handle it versus pressure as a big, and he looks good.
Speaker 1:Huge it's always he's one step ahead now. He's seen all those defensive schemes, like how to kind of compact him, and now he is one of the best outlets in the world in KD where he can just knock
Speaker 2:it off. Their pick Shangun, KD pick and roll is impossible to stop. It's what like, it's such an odd combination. No one's been able to stop
Speaker 1:this far. Nobody has anything that can really combat that. What are you gonna who like, what two players can Yeah. That? Nobody.
Speaker 2:No one. Because Shangun is strong. He'll push his way through anyone, and KD is
Speaker 1:He can get it over the top
Speaker 2:of anyone. So Crazy.
Speaker 1:Yeah. They have a dynamic duo there in Houston. That's all we have today. We'll get back to you next week with maybe a longer episode. Of course.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so we'll see you.