Can anyone catch the Celtics, Bucks and 76ers in the East? | ALL NBA Podcast

Can anyone catch the Celtics, Bucks and 76ers in the East? | ALL NBA Podcast

[Applause] Hello and welcome to the All City all NBA podcast presented by DraftKings fantasy sports check out what DraftKings has to offer this season with code all-nba because life’s more fun when you’re in the action DraftKings the crown is yours gambling problem call under Gambler age and eligibility restrictions apply void were prohibited

See draftkings.com for details hello everybody I am Will gotle I Am the Chicago Bulls be writer for chgo sports here at all city and I am filling in for our guy Adamas today but we’ve got our producer Emma we’ve got the great Tim legler and we are ready to

Talk about some Eastern Conference fastball Tim how are you doing today happy Monday and yeah some great games this weekend we got our weekend warrior um anywhere you want to take this thing from the GetGo yeah as as I often briefly do on Monday will when we first

Start this this off everybody that knows me knows I’m a I’m you know probably even a bigger NFL fan than NBA um and so the best news to come out of yesterday is that we finally are moving on from Ron Rivera so I’m pretty thrilled that we’ve made a coaching change in

Washington and uh I wake up as as all commanders fans do the day after another disappointing season you’re already hopeful about next year so I’m in a pretty good mood that this debacle of a season is finally over um but having said all that there was a really

Interesting big slate of games in the league last night some interesting outcomes um I’m looking forward to going over these Eastern Conference teams as well we Adam and I did the West last week and uh just looking at kind of the state of each team right now relative to

Expectations or relative to what their future looks like or you know how close they are winning a title now because some teams I think are all in this year so I’m looking forward to getting into all those games on all those teams well the teams that are not close are the

Ones we’re going to start with but first let’s do our Weekend Warriors here presented by Draft Kings um I went with Paulo banero who was just absolutely dominant this weekend 35 points on uh last night I believe or two nights ago uh against the Hawks 117 110 win 35

Points on 13 of 29 shooting 10 rebounds four assist three Steals and then on Friday night in 41 minutes this guy’s just logging Tom Tibido type of minutes here in a 122 120 win over the Nuggets he had 32 points on eight of 21 shooting

But 15 of 19 at the line 10 rebounds 11 assists Paulo is just so impressive to me lately the way that he is commanding the game the way he gets to his spots it’s very der rozanes very like Carmelo esque the way that he just plays at his

Pace he gets to his shots his footwork is fantastic um and it just seems like some things are starting to come together for him uh anything we’ll spend a little bit more time on the magic later on here as we move through the East but anything stand out to you from

Paulo this weekend well I just think every time I watch him he he just continues to to for me to raise the bar for what you expect from him he’s incredibly mature physically I me just the the way that he’s built with the skill set that he has he can play a

Power game he can play a finesse game he continues to improve his decision making his handle I think he’s got a great chance and I’ll be actually at this point assuming Orlando keeps up this this rate of winning if they continue to do that all the way through the All-Star

Break this guy deserves to be on the All-Star team and it’s it’s you know when you look at it people might think that might be a big leap and it’s the magic and they’re better than expected you know this is banero second year player but when you really look at break

Down the Eastern Conference um and look at who probably should grab those Reserve spots I think he’s gonna make it and his overall offensive game will has just so far surpassed what I thought he would be this early I I loved him coming out I thought he was definitely the most

NBA Ready Player in his draft I didn’t think he could be this good offensively on a team that was winning games this early so I you listen you can’t go wrong with with B Caro my choice is the Boston Celtics collectively you could maybe go with Tatum if you wanted to individually

For 38 against Indiana but it’s the team and here’s why they get two wins Utah and Indiana and Utah comes in red hot this was a team earlier in the year we thought are blown it up everybody’s talking about who’s gonna get Lorie Markin in are they gonna move him and

Now all the sudden they start winning some games and now you’re going hey wait a second they might actually be in the mix for you know playin spot or playoffs in the Western Conference so they’re red hot Boston dispatches them no problem and then Indiana comes in having won six

Straight games including 150 spot in their previous outing and Boston shuts them down holds them 101 points and and so for me that was the most impressive game of the weekend because Indiana could not possibly be firing on all cylinders to a higher degree than they

Were very hard team to defend uh the pace they come at you the way they fan out the number of Threes Hal Burton’s Vision they’re just a team that’s incredibly difficult to prepare for when you only have one day in the regular season to get ready for them and Boston

Just absolutely suffocated them defensively offensively it looked more like a playoff game for Boston the posessions were a little bit slower for them because that’s what they wanted the game to look like Tatum goes for 38 and they just absolutely smother Indiana and and they do the same thing basically to

Utah they average giving up 99 points a game in those two games 99 points a game will in today’s NBA standards it’s like a half of basketball it feels like some nights I mean teams are getting R routinely 130 and they these are two teams that are scoring a lot of points

Right now and Boston absolutely snuffs that out from the beginning great on offense as well they show you why right now that’s the best team in the NBA so I went with the Celtics for my weekend warrior yeah I think the Celtics are just continuing to obviously dominate

The league but just kind of impressed me even relative to where I thought of them uh the fact that they can win both ways I think they’re second in offense second in defense right now um they can turn off what you do well you’re it’s it’s just impossible to guard them the way

They space out the floor the way that they make you make decisions on how to you know do you want to put a smaller guy on porzingis uh do you like where do you put the big it’s just so many decisions that you have to make going up

Against that team and you know they have nights where the threes aren’t falling I have questions about their ability to generate points at the rim and at the free throw line they’re going to need both of those when the game slows down a little bit but at the same time it’s

Just you know how do you stop them and it really does feel like at some points it’s just make or Miss league for them uh which is always the case but uh to a certain extent I mean going into these playoff games you want to have a plan to

Stop guys and stop teams and if you just are banking on them missing shots that just does not seem like a very productive way to feel confident going into a playoff series no totally true and that’s that’s what separates them will right now that’s what differentiates them um it’s

I don’t think this is a league full of great defenses anymore I don’t know I think the rules and the style of play with the number of Threes And and the lack of of contact on the perimeter it just makes it very difficult to guard guys I don’t think teams there’s as many

Really highlevel defensive teams in the league as there used to be I’m not even sure you need to be great defensively you just need to be I think solid above average you can’t be poorest defensively I think and win a championship but Boston shows you that they still are one

Of those few teams that can ratet it up when they have to with with between holiday Tatum and brown Derek white I mean you put four guys on the court that can just do what they do defensively on the perimeter with the pressure they can apply and then you’ve got Elite level

Rim protector in porzingis I mean that’s a great formula for for modern NBA to guard the three-point line and still have Rim protection that’s why you know Boston has kind of separated themselves a little bit here from from other teams in the Eastern Conference they absolutely have and we

Will get to them in a little bit more detail towards the end of the show we’re going to go reverse order from 15 to 1 today making sure that we touch on each of these Eastern Conference teams but first him I know you wanted to get into

Some of the games last night uh that happened around the association we have pelicans beating the Kings 133 to 110 that was a very dominant Victory I think they were up by north of 40 points at some point Mavs 115 over the Wolves the best defense in the league 115 108 and

Then the Lakers finally come away with a productive game against the Clippers who have been red hot 106 103 I’ll just throw it to you and let you take it where you want yeah so first of all it’s just go in the order you said it’s so Pelicans Kings man it’s just an

Interesting game to me because you know I don’t know what to make a Sacramento right now um they’ve had some bad losses where they’re they’re not competitive in games against some of the top teams in the west and right now New Orleans is playing like a top team in the west they

Certainly have the talent um with with the three guys they have you know you’ve cck top tier lead guard play in McCollum you’ve got a big Wing that can score which I think you need in today’s League which in Brandon Ingram and then you got this unique power player in Zion so Zion

Doesn’t even play in this game Brandon Ingram has a very pedestrian KN 15 points and they still are up 40 at one point in this game and Sacramento’s playing their guys really bad loss for the Kings but I think maybe even more importantly super impressive on the part

Of the Pelicans the team is deep their role players understand um exactly what they’re on the floor to do they’re empowered to do it keep an eye on the Pelicans man they just continue to impress me uh I just thought that was an interesting score the differential there

When this kings were a team you know that you’re looking at still in the mix in the west and they get smoked like that by a short-handed Pelicans team I think it says little bit of both man the kings are an enigma and the Pelicans very impressive right now if they stay

Healthy they could be a problem in the um and then the Mavericks you know that against going up against that front line in Minnesota and just to watch Lucas still just continue to do what he does you know he’s not affected by any Personnel in front of him whether it’s a

Perimeter player you want to put a long wing on him that’s athletic doesn’t matter he uses his patience and strength if you want to put um a guy on him that you know really is cutting him off the spots no problem I can get into the paint slow everything down and use my

Size and my touch to score in the paint doesn’t matter who’s in front of him that’s an impressive win and Kyrie played well in that game as well so to get both Stars rolling on the same night against the top defense statement game I think for Dallas and then the last one

The Lakers you know look Lakers have been a mess Clippers have been on fire rolling Clippers are looking like you know they have enough talent to win the whole thing if we’re being honest if everybody’s healthy the way kawhai looks that they’re good enough to win the

Whole thing and the Lakers have been a complete mess so of course the Lakers are going to win this game by three and it just shows you still this is why the Lakers will always just continue to find themselves in the topic of every NBA conversation even if they don’t deserve

It because there are a lot of teams that play the way the Lakers have played for the last month you won’t talk about that team there’s no need there’s too many other good stories of teams playing well or players playing well they always end up in the conversation because LeBron’s

On the roster and they’re capable of this um because of those top two guys so that’s a very interesting game for the Lakers and maybe hey maybe that gets them some POS positive Mojo going the other direction so for me on a on a heavy slate those were the three games I

Think that stood out the most to me yeah I mean the Lakers you’re absolutely right that they’re just going to find their way into the conversation obviously it’s the market size it’s LeBron it’s ad um but the fact that they can get to that level and we’ve seen it

On you know for whatever you think of the inseason tournament we’ve seen it on that stage we obviously saw it last year in the Conference Finals they are still capable of getting there and as somebody who covers the Bulls obviously the upside not quite the same but it’s this

Thing that you know Billy Donovan and the coaching staff say all the time of the consistency piece we’ve shown we can play this way but can we do it consistently and as a fan as a media member it’s like well why can’t you do it consistently and I think that’s the

Question that a lot of these teams are asking themselves as we talk about here you know the Pelicans beating the Kings the Mavericks beating the wolves like there’s so much parody in the league right now any of these teams could beat any other team on any given night and I

Think that leads to uh just some great discussion I think there’s a ton of space in obviously the Western Conference probably a little bit more than the East feels like the East kind of top three are a little bit more locked in but I I think just the league

Is in a great place right now the way that all these teams are just able to compete against each other at any given night um I think it’s it’s just a great spot for the league but let me just make one more point on that game just to show

You how good the Lakers were defensively and that’s why I think also you you have hope for them sometimes it’s not just LeBron at ad like if they had LeBron at ad you know they’d be dangerous but if they couldn’t stop anybody you know at all then you wouldn’t you would not get

Take them seriously as a contender with the teams you’re going to have to play in the Western Conference playoffs but kawii Leonard coming into last night and this is amazing for a guard had been over 50% from the field 15 once uh 14 out of the last 15 games so this is the

Efficiency with which he’s operating and and they hold him to six for 17 and a lot of it will was the initial defender on him a lot of it was the help at the right time the length at The Rim um and they forced him to a six or 17 night M

Ka Leonard does not have six for 17 Nights from the field not when he’s playing the way that he has this year when he’s healthy um that’s how good the Lakers were last night and again it just continues to make you realize you can’t dismiss them you can’t dismiss the

Lakers no matter what their record is or how they’ve played for the last month you know that they’re going to have to be dealt with at some point if they are healthy when you get to late March early April and I think it also speaks to what

You said before I mean you don’t necessarily have to have the best defense every night but can you turn it up and you know shut teams down in those important moments I think they’ve shown the ability to do that uh the teams that have not shown the ability to do that

Are the bottom feeders in the East Let’s uh let’s go through the Pistons the Wizards and the Hornets quick before we move on to the middle of the pack starting from the bottom with the Pistons who are 3 and 33 on the year one

In six in the last two weeks last in net rating 28th in offense 29th in defense and Tim I believe in some of the young Talent on this team I was very excited to watch Jaylen Duren and assar Thompson and Kade Cunningham and Jaden Ivy and these guys just kind of grow together

And I’m pretty disappointed with the way that their season has gone I I just had a little bit higher expectations for them um you know they’re on Pace for like seven wins this year it’s it’s just kind of remarkable how uh bogged down things are I assume you kind of on the

Same page just rare to expect a team to win 10 or fewer games is that kind of your sense too with the Pistons is just yeah look I was on a bad team in Dallas in 9394 so 30 years ago and we won 13 games and we we were we had eight wins

With 11 games left in the season and and and we were the youngest team in the NBA we had one vet to start the Year Derrick Harper we traded him to the Knicks we were super young and we had some very immature guys and we were a mess and you

Know we we just we didn’t connect with our coach who ended up only coaching one year and that was the only year he coached you know in the NBA as a head coach so we were we were a mess and I can just tell you man it’s hard to be

That bad it is hard because you have 82 games right so you’re going to get teams will coming in all the time that you’re going to play that are tired right and back then you’re talking about teams you you played four and five nights so you’re G to get teams that are fatigued

You’re going to get teams that don’t you know get up for you don’t take you seriously right so you’re going to sneak some wins and it hasn’t been the case for Detroit and this is a team that has lost some close games during the stretch right so three wins you know maybe they

Could have seven or eight if they knew how to close a little bit we wouldn’t be talking about it we’d still say hey we’re a bad team we wouldn’t be talking about historic ineptitude and that’s where they’re at and got look at the roster I agree with you they’ve got some

Young guys that I like the question is do they have the guy because when you’re going through this to this level look s is not much better guess what they have the guy that is going to be the franchise for this team going forward the Sixers went through it for a number

Of years and guess what they ended up with Joel embiid they had the guy right that is that is good enough player as your best player to take you somewhere deep not sure about that some people might think Kate Cunningham is I’m not exact I’m not totally sure about that

Yet I agree with you no way you know you should be three and 33 maybe at this point you have 10 wins whatever it may be and you’re still last place in the Eastern Conference but not like this and I feel bad for all these guys because

It’s a terrible thing to go through it’s embarrassing it it really affects morale it’s hard to maintain Focus every day I feel terrible for Monty Williams who’s one of the most respected guys in the league to go through this collectively I just feel for them but but the big

Question I think coming out of this year is the development of the young guys and you know do you have the guy to build around going forward that you think is the franchise player and I’m not sure we have the answer to that yet in Detroit yeah I was hopeful about Kade I’m

Starting to waver on that as well you know I’m not even sure what else he could be doing differently right now I mean everything just seems to be going so wrong and obviously each individual can always be better you can always execute to a scheme better there’s

Always something you can improve on but yeah it’s just kind of a dark place for them and hopefully they figure it out I hope that they don’t make any crazy rash decisions at the trade deadline that can mortgage their future but when you talk about like these rebuilding teams the

Wizards coming up here next um you obviously you got to find that foundational piece but then it’s how do you build around them and you know for some of these teams even if you do just get a ton of good young Talent if you don’t have that number one guy it can be

Really harmful and the problem is there’s not really that number one guy in the draft this year so even though they’re really on the skids here it just doesn’t really seem like they have a obvious solution out of it other than Kade turning into that guy and I wonder

If that will be the case um Wizards 6 and 29 on the year in 14th Place one and six in their last two weeks 29th in net 25th in offense and dead last in defense another team and to me I kind of appreciate the fact that they pick the

Lane um you know there’s so many of these teams in the middle that just are seem so dedicated to the 10 seed um for them to kind of divorce with Bradley deal and pick a direction obviously you want to be in the like OKC a million picks every single year coming in and

Just unlimited potential but not every team can have that and so to go through it it’s definitely scary I like some of the pieces that they’ve got I think they’ll make some trades for maybe Ty Jones Kyle kusma they’ve got some abilities to generate assets but yeah I

I just kind of you contrast that with some of these other teams that are just loaded up the guts with young Talent uh the Wizards aren’t quite there and another team that I thought might have potential to be a little bit better there they do have talent I really like

Tus Jones and the way that he can kind of orchestrate an offense Jordan P obviously is not going uh as the Wizards would have hoped but you know six wins I I feel like another team that could be doing a little bit better than this but their defense is just absolutely

Brutal will this is the least attractive roster in the NBA and I don’t think it’s really close I don’t think it’s close because you I just talked about Detroit and we we mentioned some young players that I still think have growth and the ceiling we don’t quite know about and

You might have a franchise level point guard in Kate Cunningham I mean you know that you at least have hope that they some of these guys could really turn into solid NBA players and you could build around Kate look at Washington’s roster okay so Jordan P you go out and

You get he comes in and and I actually said this when they made the trade that Jordan P if he played the rest of his career in Washington let’s just say he played another I know 10 12 years however many years want to say he’s going to score 20,000 points in the NBA

And not many of them are going to matter and that that’s kind of how he’s viewed now his his plus minus is minus 340 for the season it’s the worst in the NBA of any player um that’s basically averaging minus 10 a night every night

And you are the guy you went out and traded to bring in he can put up numbers sometimes but he doesn’t seem that interested this year because they’re losing it’s probably affected his seriousness and morale so he’s not even doing the things offensively he did in

Golden State and we all know what he is on the defensive end Kyle kosa unfortunately is taking a hit here too that they both come off like guys that are just going to get numbers and you know and it doesn’t really matter and then you look at the rest of the roster

I don’t know what pieces of it you’d really want some of these guys you could plug into the eighth ninth man on a contending team and you’d probably they’d be more relevant you know you could take a guy on this team averaging 12 you could have him average six on the

Celtics or the bucks or the nuggets and it’s way more impactful I think they’re good enough to do that playing you know 18 minutes instead of 30 on this team but as a key guy on this team it’s it’s you know they basically shown what they

Are and what they have I just think this roster there’s nothing really to get you excited about the growth of any one individual player or where this might go so this has been an epic disaster for the Wizards there’s no other way around it um and the acquisition of Jordan pole

Not only hasn’t moved the needle it’s actually I think taken him in the opposite direction so I clearly I’m pretty down on the Wizards I just don’t think yeah if you if you asked 30 GMS in the league what’s the least attractive roster in the NBA right now to to you

Know to have somebody have to go coach and try to win with I think this would probably be it yeah I think that’s fair the the rookie balal kabali I do like I think he’s got uh some really interesting tools defensively um got some like kind of advanced awareness of

What’s going on at certain points um Denny AB I think is having a little bit of a better season shooting the ball at a higher clip but I mean neither of those guys are foundational pieces that you really look at as like we’re talking about the pman the guy moving forward I

Think they’re ways away from finding that probably farther than any other team in the league so it’s going to be a couple of years here of just kind of wandering the Wilderness hoping for lottery luck and we’ll see if they can find any uh let’s move on to the Hornets

Who are playing the Bulls tonight they are 8 and 25 one and five in the last two weeks 27th and net 26th in offense 28th in defense and watch them on Friday and they are just one of the more boring teams I think it’s them and the Wizards

For me as far as like least interesting basketball teams um they’ve obviously got some players that you know probably could use change of scenery Terry Rosier Gordon Hayward who’s been out Mark Williams has been out lamelo’s been out so it’s just kind of a bummer frankly um for lack of a better

Term uh but I think they they do have a little bit more talent I think longer term lamelo Mark Williams they have potential to be a nice pairing I think they’re still a ways away but any any notes on them look I think for me it all hinges

On the fact that lamelo Ball’s been out I mean he hasn’t played in almost seven weeks um he’s he’s not only super entertaining because I think he’s one of the more entertaining players in the league to watch watch um his combination of scoring and passing is pretty special

He makes guys better you know he makes you want to cut a little harder run a little harder because you’re gonna get rewarded because he’s gonna find you he can also go for 30 if he has to on a given night so that to me is the difference in their season because look

They’re they’re they’re eight and 25 I you add lamelo ball to the mix let say he’s been healthy all year that team’s probably up there you know in that who knows 15 16 17 was like somewhere in there and now look that’s not World beater stuff but that thrust you into

Like the 910 like you’re up there at least where you’re looking at this team is saying okay they’re relevant they’re still playing for something they maybe they’re going to be a playing type team Brandon Miller I do like and I think you know he’s going to continue to get

Better as the year goes and he just learns how to understand that play with the physicality of the NBA and he gets stronger and more confident at this level I like him a lot they obviously didn’t have bridges for a good part of the year he’s a high highly talented

Player who’s had a lot of issues personal issues to deal with uh they brought on himself and so that’s a highly talented player lamelo ball is one of the more you know talented and entertaining point guards in the league that to me derailed their entire season

I mean they do have some guys with Rosier and and Hayward these guys PJ Washington they’ve got guys that I like I just think everything kind of fell apart with lamelo ball not being there and giving them an identity for how they wanted to play offensively yeah I think that’s a great

Point uh they obviously won I think 42 or 43 games two years ago to get into the plan so they have shown the capability of like putting together quality basketball and you know you look at some of these other teams in the East who are kind of on the older side of the

Aging curve who you know maybe making the plan for them they’re on the downside and so it’s less of a you know productive season whereas you know the Hornets I think if they had kind of gotten back into that space that would have been a great piece of progress for

Them to be able to play some meaningful basketball with you said Brandon Miller I like PJ Washington he’s having kind of a Down year Mark Williams lamelo those guys are are quality players and I think that they are kind of more in need of playing meanful basketball so that they

Don’t get into those losing situations where morale goes down I think that can kind of derail or at least slow down progress so um they they just need to like get themselves back on track I I don’t know if it’s too far gone this season 8 and

25 as you mentioned it’s just maybe almost halfway into the season now it’s It’s just tough to kind of get back on track at least to get into the playin but um yeah I think they’ve at least they’re on the right track as far as like having some foundational pieces

Maybe not necessarily the number one guy but more close to I think what the Pistons have in terms of young talent that they can move forward with um let’s uh move forward into the lower middle class I guess you could say of Eastern Conference there’s a handful of teams

The Hawks the Raptors the Bulls and the Nets all within half a game of each other in the East uh between I believe the eth and 12th spot uh so we’ll get to them but first a word from our sponsor draftking Sportsbook who is giving new customers an exclusive offer just for

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68 hours after issuance terms at sportsbook.com basketball terms all right as we transition back into as I said the lower middle class of the East uh let us first move to the Atlanta Hawks who are 14 and 21 two and four in the last two weeks 19 the net

Rating six in offense they can really score the ball but 26 in defense and you you know you may not need to be a top defense in the league but you got to defend at some point and that is something that the Hawks do not do very

Well um I was a little bit higher on the Hawks this season I think this sort of tier that they’re in with the Raptors bulls and Nets makes sense to me but uh 14 to 21 I just feel like there’s too much talent there for them to be playing

At this level I love Quinn Snider as a coach I think he’s really creative and you hope that he would have been able to get a little bit more out of this team do you feel like Trey young can be the like offens engine on a very good team I

Mean they made it to the Conference Finals that year but it’s just been kind of a mixed bag and uh a little bit of a disappointing one for the for this season at the very least yeah look I I agree look I think expectations coming in you’re probably looking at the Hawks

As like a 500 type of team and they were nine and N they’ve lost 12 out of 17 and they plunged them now to a different tier and I think to answer your question that’s what it always going to come down to with this team I think it was a

Little bit of Fool’s Gold few years ago when they made it to the conference final finals okay they they beat a Philadelphia team in the playoffs that year that obviously Ben Simmons had a complete epic meltdown in that series that led him to basically be shuttled

Out of town um and and they blew a 20 plus point lead at home in that series they had you know Ben Simmons did not attempt to fi goal in five fourth quarters of your as your starting point guard in in an NBA playoff series it just bizarre bizarre stuff and beid was

Banged up and didn’t play well and now boom here you go Hawks are in the Conference finals against Milwaukee and people think think well this is what Trey young is capable of doing and here’s look he’s a very talented player he’s a very entertaining player he’s always going to be box office because

It’s fun to watch smaller guards do some of the things he does with his shooting range his passing bottom line is this will when you’re top scorers are all six5 and under okay and and and In Trey Young’s case you know you’re pushing six feet and he shoot you shooting the low

40s from the field Deon muray is like 45 bogdanovic is 43 Trey young is 43 like you it just doesn’t give you enough of a chance with when you don’t have a higher efficiency of somewhere in your top guys and bonovich is mainly mainly you know three-point shooter more like a

Specialist he could do some things off the dribble but he’s mostly a specialist shooting threes so that doesn’t even equate so it’s really Deonte Murray is a great mid-range player and Trey young who’s you know is so streaky with his shooting look at the team that you know

They they if you want to contend in the East look at look at the top players and the way they operate on Boston and Milwaukee and Philadelphia and you know Jaylen Brunson even with the Knicks and just the way that those guys operate and play I just don’t think offensively it’s

Going to give you a chance unless you are locked down defensively and they’re not you already touched on that very difficult to win when that is where your offense is coming from exclusively like three guards primarily are doing most of your scoring and they’re not shooting at

A 50 55% clip like a Kawhi Leonard as a guard it’s different the way they get it and it makes it very tough to be consistent so I think they’re too streaky Trey young is box office for that franchise so I don’t I think he’s the guy that’s gonna be there the

Question is you know can you ever formulate a roster around him that makes sense that’ll give you a chance to actually contend I’m pretty skeptical about that and you look at I mean there’s all these Steph Curry comparisons for Trey coming out of college just because of the SHO range um

But obviously the way Steph moves without the ball the way that their system is kind of catered to ball movement that’s just simply not the case with the Hawks it’s very stagnant it’s very isolation spread pick and roll and that’s fine but as you said you have to

Be shooting at such a high level you have to be defending at such a high level and I just don’t think I mean Deonte Murray I think is a solid Defender I think he’s a little bit overrated or at least he’s fallen off a bit here since moving to the Hawks um

But with panovich with you know DeAndre Hunter who I think is also maybe a little bit overrated defensively it’s just very difficult to lock in every night and so you’re just relying on hot shooting and they have the talent to be able to get hot um I love Jaylen Johnson

I think the the breakout that he’s had this year puts them in a much better position as it does with any team who’s got like a young talented player on the come up but I think they’ve just got some decision decisions to make here ahead of the trade Edline which is

Exactly one month from today um and like these other teams that are kind of in this tier the third tier of the East there’s just going to be some some tough decisions to make so recently there was some news that I think from Jake fiser at Yahoo sports that Trey young and

Jaylen Johnson are the two Untouchables that’s fine I think they need to figure out how they’re going to build around those guys moving forward and you know Jaylen Johnson has the versatility to be a defensive player who you can just kind of go a couple of different directions

With in terms of scheme but uh yeah I think they’ve just got a lot of work to do to figure out who else is going to be worth keeping around uh they’ve got a ton of young talent I I don’t know why AJ Griffin has not played at all this

Year I was a big fan of his coming out of college um but it just seems like there’s been so much turmoil where not everybody’s on the same page where they’re just not really able to execute on both ends well enough to be competitive and so now you kind of have to make

Decisions Let’s uh did you have something else you wanted to add on them or move on to the Raptors here no I thought you were GNA move the next team Toronto Toronto’s up next they’re 15 and 21 four and3 in the last two weeks three and one since the OG and anobi trade

That brought in RJ Barrett and Emanuel quickley they are 21st in net rating 16th in offense 18th in defense so at least they’re kind of playing consistently on both sides of the ball I think that’s at least the recipe recipe to be a little bit better overall what

Have you seen from the Raptors since they kind of picked the lane here we’ll see what happens with seak here at the deadline but um I mean they’re playing much better basketball since that trade what have you seen from them they are and I think this is one of those rare

Trades that I think actually really worked out for both teams I you see the Knicks haven’t lost a game since anov he’s been a starter and he was he was exactly what I thought New York needed because uh the thing with RJ Barrett he’s he’s a guy that needs the ball in

His hands to go get into a rhythm and find himself offensively he’s not great off the ball and you already had Brunson and Randall just dominating the basketball it’s always going to be tough for RJ Barrett and even gu like quickly who’s can be instant offense Off the

Bench to really Thrive there and find their ceiling um so you bring in Oobi who is going to be a better more consistent spot up three-point shooter playing off of Brunson and Randle and then he gives you a completely different level defensively he can guard four positions on the court five sometimes

The way teams play small lineups and he’s a probably you know first or second Team all League defensive caliber player that you’ve now infused into your team that fits better off the ball so the Knicks I think got exactly what they needed and it looks like Toronto got

What they needed they needed more scoring punch and I think quickly is opportunity of a lifetime for him he’s gonna love it he’s gonna Thrive um RJ barretts I think similar to what he was doing in New York really um but they needed more offensive punch and they got

It the big question is going to be what are they looking at as their future they’re clearly trying to make the transition more to Scotty Barnes and having the ball in his hands but but what is his ceiling ultimately like he’s a really really talented all-around player can guard can handle can

Facilitate can score some but is he a franchise player is he a guy that can go get you 2530 every single night and also facilitate like I don’t know that about Scotty Barnes yet and I don’t know that the franchise knows that so I think they

Got to figure that out I think between now and the trading deadline which will let you know more about what they plan on doing with Pascal cakam and what they plan on building around Scotty Barnes if they think he can be that guy yeah I think they’re kind of in a position

Where they’ve at the very least already started to make moves in that direction um and so what they’re doing in my opinion is giving themselves a chance to really figure that out which I think a lot of teams struggle with is just committing to a guy or to a direction to

Just be able to decide because oftentimes with these teams it’s not just like you need to hit the Home Run and find the A1 Option it’s can you like get you get take make the move that gets you to the place where you can then make

The next move and I really like this trade from the Raptor’s perspective because it locks in some good young Talent um I don’t want to say like cost controlled because RJ Barrett is making a lot of money you can decide for yourself if you think that’s a positive

Or negative asset contract but I love quickly I love what he can do in combination with Scotty Barnes the the defense on the ball obviously with those smaller guards they’re always going to present some problems on that end but uh the scoring the facilitating he’s been

Great um RJ Barrett at 37 last night against the Warriors so they’ve shown that they can put up points in numbers and for a team that has been just like so bogged down and just offensive rebounds only as the as the source of offense it’s kind of nice to give them a

Little bit of scoring and just breath of fresh air in that regard I really like that the direction that they’re going um and we’ll see what happens with seak I think it’s interesting when you when you think about guys like SE yakum versus Zack LaVine who we’ll talk about here

Next with the bulls um you know a lot of people are critical of LaVine because he’s making so much money on such a long-term contract and they don’t want to give up anything because that could just you know debilitate your future um but at the same time you also don’t want

To give up much for a guy like seak unless he’s going to commit to resigning with you so it’s kind of this interesting dichotomy where you don’t really want to give up anything for anyone of course but if you want to make a trade for a good player you gotta

Figure out a way to give up an asset that the incoming team would be interested in so uh interesting position to just kind of see how how guys trade value kind of moves depending on what their contract is but for the Bulls Who are 16 and 21 they’re three and three in

The last two weeks 23rd in net rating 24th in offense 16th in defense and you know on the season their numbers are still pretty bad but the way that they’ve been playing recently their defense has ratcheted up they’re looking a lot closer to that top five top 10

Defense that we saw last year from them um offense is still I think a work in progress they’ve they have the ability to score efficiently but um you know I think a lot of that just has to do with DeMar rosen drawing two to the ball

Making the right plays and like can the other guys around you score and we’ve seen obviously a huge amount of growth from Kobe white Patrick Williams I would assum who have all stepped up in Zack Line’s absence now Zack line comes back and he’s questionable for tonight’s game

Uh with a shoulder injury which is new and then obviously the foot which held him out for over a month so um I’ll just leave the floor you I talk about the Bulls every day for hours and hours I know we’ve got some Bulls fans in here

Watching and if you are in the comments please hit the like for us as we get into the Bulls here um but yeah just curious from your perspective what you’ve seen from the Bulls of late because I do think you know I I don’t want to W like wipe away the first 19

Games where they went five and 14 but they’re just a different team right now and I’m curious what you’re seeing from them yeah and it’s interesting you know and you would probably know this even better than I did like how’s the perspective changed internally about what they had and what they have going

Forward and Zack lavine’s name came up right off the bat I mean this team looked like had a lot of issues early team meeting after the first game you know you’re going wow never heard of that before that did not sound like a very healthy situation Zack LaVine goes

Out they start winning games I’m not inditing Zack LaVine he’s super talented player I think he could find a landing place on a contender I think Zack LaVine can you know he’s that good of a scorer that I think he could be somebody to go to a winning situation and look like he

Was pretty much out the door I don’t know what they’re viewing it as now um Kobe White’s been fantastic to Mar Rosen is clearly the guy that is the main driving force of their offense um and then they’ve got some younger type role players that are plugging in so I’m just

Curious to know what internally has changed if anything from you know six weeks ago when you looked at this team and it looked like this was you know basically Wheels coming off the cart uh it’s going to be a fire sale here to to to the entire roster starting with Zack

LaVine has that changed at all did have they viewed that differently or do you expect Zack LaVine you know to go at the TR deadline or do you think he’ll be a bull after it’s tough right now the market is not looking very uh interested in Zack

LaVine there’s been a ton of reports from WJ and others saying that there just isn’t a market I’ve kind of heard the same you know it’s really a question of like how motivated are they to move off of him I think both sides are looking for a new home but are you doing

That at the expense of you know assets because at a certain point he still does represent one of your only a Vues to uh to operate from a position of power when it comes to Assets in the future and if you’re so motivated to make the 10th

Seed that you’re going to forgo the chance to maybe at some point pick up some first round picks or young players then what does that kind of say about the way you’re building your team for the future um the way that Kobe white and Patrick Williams and I would assum

Who have stepped up in his absence I I think does change stuff for the Bulls in their front office they’re seeing the growth of the those young players as guys that you can you know build around build with at the very least I don’t personally think that they’re really set

Up to compete at a at a really high level if that’s all they have you know if Demar dz’s 34 years old he’s a free agent are you gonna resign him for a two or three year deal the way he did with vich last summer and you know does that

Slow things down in terms of kind of finding that next era I I think the the team is very excited about the growth but I have my questions about what that you know how much does that really change what they should be doing versus kind of what they’re they are doing

Because of who they think they are so that’s my big question for them ahead of the deadline I know teams are interested in Caruso I think it would be wise to move on from him but again they’re playing Just well enough that they’re kind of accomplishing their goals and so

To me it’s this larger question of you know are these teams in this Middle Ground the Raptors the Nets the Hawks the Bulls is it worth like really investing in being the 10th seed personally for me probably not but uh that’s it’s not my money that I’ve got

To uh you know the ticket sales that I’m losing out on so it’s just an interesting question but to to answer your question I think absolutely the the spirits of the team has changed with the way that they’ve played since LaVine went down and you know there’s a month

Left before the deadline he’s goingon to have to do a lot to rehabilitate his trade value no no question and look I I think they they’re kind of in the same boat and with this next team we’re going to talk about the Nets where it’s you feel

Like they’re kind of in NBA Purgatory because you’re talking about you know and then case of the Nets they obviously blew up that catastrophic failure that that you know that pairing of Durant Kyrie and Harden was they had to go in a different direction they went with with

Younger guys more High character guys and look they’re in patory because they’re not they’re not close to the top teams in the Eastern Conference right but they’re certainly not at the point where you go okay let’s become the Pistons or the Spurs and you know lose every night and then you know hopefully

The pingpong balls bounce the right way we end up with the franchise guy in the draft they’re not there either they’re like competitive enough that they’re going to be in the mix um and in the case of the Nets now you know I look at them and say look I love male Bridges

Love them both ends of the floor but if male Bridges is your best player how good are you really you’re probably a 500 to sub 500 team um if he your second best player you’re probably a solid top six seed in in your conference if he’s your third best player you could

Probably win the whole thing but if he’s your top guy guy uh I just think in terms of offense generation and dominance when you look at the top teams in this league their top guys are scoring or drawing so much attention they’re facilitating and they’re just their gravities uh gravitational pulse

On the defense creates all kinds of opportunities for guys I don’t know that Mel Bridges even though he’s improved his mid-range he’s improved off the dribble he’s not in that category as an offensive player he’s absolutely in that category as a Defender but you’re looking at him differently when he’s the

Top guy the food chain and so for the Nets I look at them as the same way they’re just one of those teams that’s kind of stuck in the middle they’ve already reblown rebuilt their entire roster and blown it up now they’ve got to look at well where where are we in

The landscape of the East and how far are we away from those top teams and will we be close anytime soon and that affects the decision making that you have at the trading deadline they’re such an interesting team because they are kind of built to

Inherit a star I mean if you look at the The Supporting Cast there cam Johnson Mel Bridges uh cam Thomas who can just be that you know spark plug bench scorer um we’ll see what happens with Ben Simmons I’m not too optimistic at this point but they’ve just got some really

Nice role players Dron sharp has really stepped up recently I’m really liking what he’s doing obviously Nick Claxton is really effective rim protector but they’ve just they’re missing that number one guy and they’re not in the situation like the Pistons where they’ve just got a ton of young Talent it’s like they’re

Kind of Ready Made To Be The Supporting Cast now and finding a brown or a yic or a you know Giannis that’s impossible to do so I think it’ll probably have to be with trade they have they have some nice pieces from the Suns uh from the rockets

And other teams just with picks moving forward they’re kind of out a bunch of their own picks from the KD trade but um it’s just it’s an interesting case study in building a roster and I’m really curious to see where they move forward uh but let’s move into this next tier in

The East where we have five teams that are all within a half game of each other we got the magic uh who are in fourth place at 21- 15 the Cavs fifth place 21- 15 the Knicks 21- 15 the Pacers 20 and 15 the heat 20 and 15 so let’s start

With Miami who are three and three in the last two weeks 18th in net rating 18th in offense 13th in defense um what’s what’s your view of of how things are shaping up in Miami they’re dangerous uh it’s amazing because of all the talk around Milwaukee and Boston and

Even Philly the you know the different with maxi instead of hard and it being Maxi’s team and how good they have been they just look more like a viable threat so despite all three of those teams getting all that attention you look up here and the heat who weren’t talked

About at all the first four six weeks of the season they have to a slow start they had some guys hurt you look up and here come the Heat and it’s like wow you know do you really want to play to Miami Heat any of those top teams is that you

Want that to be your first round matchup or your second round matchup the Miami Heat U with as well coached as they are as tough as they are as playoff tested as they are a big time you know clutch performer and Jimmy Butler who can settle matters if it’s tight no they’re

Dangerous Tyler Heroes had a great year bab bio had a great year offensively uh Duncan Robinson’s had a Resurgence there so to me this is a very dangerous team that you can’t sleep on I don’t think they put as much relevance in the regular season as some other teams um

Their thing is let’s just continue to get better in build and find our rotation and know that when you play the heat when you get later in the year and it matters if you play them you know they’re going to be ready they’re going to be prepared they’re going to play

Hard they’re going to make you earn every inch on the court um and that’s just not a team or a franchise that you want to have to go up against no matter what their regular season looks like and that’s how I view them right now they’re lurking beneath the surface and they’re

Starting to play better lately and I would not be shocked at the end of the day you know you see the Miami Heat right there challenging those top teams whether it be you know they give them a six or seven game series and you know in

The first or second round or they win that series not going to shock me because it’s Eric spoler and it’s this group of guys and I just believe in them to that extent they’re winners the meanest most nastiest hardworking team in the NBA and what I love about Miami

Is obviously like you said they’ve got Jimmy but who can go get you a shot whenever he wants uh who can you know hit a step back jumper to beat the Bulls at the buzzer um but they also just get so many system points and I think that’s

Uh something that you don’t see from a lot of these teams where they can generate baskets easily for anyone whether it’s like coming up these DHS for Duncan Robinson 3es uh they just have so many different ways to score and then they can also slow it down I think

That’s the kind of Versatility you really need to have one if you’re gonna kind of I don’t want to say Coast through the regular season but not take it maybe as seriously as some of these other superpower teams um but then you know to have that versatility of you

Know how do teams prepare to guard that in the play playoffs I think that’s what makes them so dangerous is that they can beat you in so many different ways um so I’m always a fan of Miami and what they’re able to do uh and speaking of

Teams that are able to put up a lot of points and score in a bunch of different ways we have the Pacers here in seventh place who again are 20 and 15 six and one in the last two weeks just lost to the Celtics uh but first in offense

Still 15th in net 27th in defense but they’re ninth in defense over the last two weeks and they’re really ratcheting things up on that end tyres hurn is just an absolute genius I believe they had 50 assists on 60 made baskets on Friday night uh they are just a very special

Offensive group um do you think that’s the kind of thing that can work in the playoffs though I mean there’s this adage about the game slows down in the playoffs can you get a basket in the half court I I still think part of that is true and they’re gonna need somebody

Who can really go get you a bucket when things slow down but I also wonder like is it actually going to slow down or are they just going to impose their will on everybody that they play and run you up and down the court well I think the the

Difference is going to be for them in the playoffs is is even more so than saying oh it’s just going to slow down automatically they’re not they’re not going to try to let that happen they’re going to continue to try to play that way um it’s really more about the fact

That a team now has one team to focus on to figure out how to do a better job in getting back and matching up in transition how to not over rotate when you go to help on Halle Burton’s penetration because I think that’s where teams get in trouble in the regular

Season when you’ve only had one shoot around to talk about the Indiana Pacers you know maybe you’ve had a film session that’s all you get in the NBA in the regular season for your next opponent because you just played somebody last night now here come the Pacers very

Tough Pace to prepare for very tough to execute the communication you have to and matching up in transition very difficult to do what I just said which is not overcommit to Halle Burton’s penetration because look if if you want to make tyus halberton shoot a ton of

Shots in in the paint Runners floaters and finishing at The Rim see if he wants to go for 40 I think that’s your best option to try to play them instead of over rotating and now boom he’s firing these passes to all these different three-point Shooters and they just

Absolutely bomb you out from the three-point line so both of those things you know defending in the first five seconds of the clock and then also how to guard against him in the way he runs ball screen and penetrates when you can go game after game and adjust and tweak

And you’re focused on one team that makes it easier to guard them and that’s why in the playoffs it will be a different animal for them when you get the full attention of an entire coaching staff an entire roster game after game making adjustments and trying to clean

It up um but in a regular season they’re a real problem for teams to have to deal with in guard as as evidence by like I said six six game winning streak aage 133 points a game and then the Celtics shut them down um they’re going to win a

Lot of games in the regular season they’re going to be a very fun team to watch they’re gonna they I mean they look they’re in running for a top four seed in the East I don’t think they’ll get there I think they’ll probably probably more likely five or six when

It’s all said or done which means you know you five seed hey maybe you get the Knicks maybe you get the heat you know if you’re a six seed you’re probably gonna have to go play Philadelphia and now it’s going to be a little bit of a different animal playing those top teams

In a seven game series but they’re definitely dangerous they’re one piece away and will I thought they should have G gone after OG anobi hard they’ve got a surplus of shooting on that team um and scoring to go get a guy that maybe is one step down as a scorer to elevate

Your perimeter defense to that extent but fits in systematically because of the number of Threes they shoot could have been a perfect fit for Indiana and we take them a lot more SH now you’re right they are better defensively lately I watch them now they’re scrambling and trying like much harder the effort’s

Better they’re fast on the perimeter so they’re trying to get to the three-point line and cover for each other and it’s been a dramatically improved product defensively lately if they can keep that up this team has a chance to end up anywhere from four through six in

Eastern Conference and be a team that won’t be fun to play in a playoff series yeah it’s really I like what you said about you know having the time to lock in on them and sort of spend more energy figuring out how to slow them down that’s going to be I mean it’s

Easier said than done for sure but I think it’s something that you know during the playoffs becomes a bit of an easier task just because you have the time and the resources to be able to invest that I think seaka would be a great fit for them I Frank I think Zack

Laine would be a great fit for them I mean they’re not playing a ton of Defense anyway uh but just the ability to go get a basket in the half court I think is really going to help make them more difficult you know they’re not going to be completely turned off their

Speed but uh they are going to need some of that I think when things get a little bit more stagnant um if they get if they are slowed down at all um but that’s the Pacers in seven next up we’ve got the Knicks at the six seed 21- 15 also five

And three in the last two weeks have been really solid since they traded for OT and and OB eighth in net rating ninth in offense and 14th in defense and to me it’s like tips teams are never going to be you know just completely out of it defensively but they’ve really ramped it

Up there and I love what OG brings to them um in terms of you know helping kind of pick up the the number one option on the other team like they’ve got guys that can do that I like Josh Hart a lot um divon chenzo is a nice

Defensive player but they needed a number one guy on that end and I just I really feel like OG you know I think he’s a little bit overrated offensively I think he um that just the league kind of gravitates to those types of players that archetype of three and D wi who can

Shoot and you know defend at a high level that’s a really valuable player to have and I think he fits perfectly um you know you you kind of touch on the way that they’ve been playing but anything anything more you want to add on the Knicks as they kind of uh see

What happens here with the next couple weeks before the deadline well if I had to put money on it now after this trade and and you know the fact that they do play hard every night I would bet money that they end up four seed and pushing

Philly for three it’s not going to shock me they’re not far behind Philly and they’ve got a long way to go now they have anobi you they’re I think they’re gonna get better and better I’m looking at their schedule too the next eight games they don’t play a single top tier

Team um in that stretch so you know this is a team the way that they play and the way that they’re going to come at you and physically play and and Brunson is a legitimate star top shelf player in this league you expect it from him every

Night now and he delivers just about every night I think this this is a more comfortable space for Randall now without RJ Barrett there and the two of them sort of you I think not really necessarily fitting all the time as ball dominant type players to score an anobi

Is a different animal so hardenstein has been great um they’ve got rooll players that bring energy I think Quinton Grimes is important he needs to make shots for them uh they need to get that supplemental offense if you don’t have quickly out there they need to get it

From somewhere I look at their schedule coming up here soon and I think you’re going to start to see the Knick start to climb and when it’s all said and done they’re gonna host I think a first round playoff series um as a four seed or potentially like I said even challenge

Philly for the three that’s that’s how much I like the anobi trade in general and I think the Knicks I have a lot of respect for them the way they play and they go about it every night they’re G to make you earn it that’s tibs for you

I’m glad you brought up hartenstein he’s been fantastic they have really have not lost a step uh in that spot since Mitchell Robinson got hurt um as we move here into the top five got the Cavs also at 21- 15 4- two in the last two weeks

14th in net 20 in offense ninth in defense and they’ve been without Evan Moy they’ve been without Darius Garland but they’ve stayed afloat what have you seen from them yeah you know they’re a hard team to gauge I had higher expectations based on you know getting Mitchell last year and they you know

They were team that you know really good in the regular season a year ago I think it’s hard to judge them because because all the time these guys have missed I mean all of these guys have missed time uh Mo’s missed a ton of time Garland’s

Missed a ton of time Carris Levert has missed time Donovan Mitchell has missed time um these are the top guys so I need to see a sustained stretch where they’re all healthy to get a better feel for what they are because I really like their combination of bigs and then

Scoring guards like they had a little bit of everything and they could put a bigger lineup out there to defend with Mobley and Jared Allen uh they have I think more than enough scoring they added streu to they improved their shooting I I just I like their pieces

Hasn’t really come together this year shocking really that they’re not actually more buried than they are considering the amount of time these guys have missed so for this team I’m reserving judgment I say it’s only fair to let’s give us a month of Health with everybody out there and you’re GNA get a

Better idea how they Stack Up particularly as it relates to teams like Philly and the Knicks and the Heat and those teams we we know about Milwaukee and Boston although I think Milwaukee’s got issues we’ll get to that in a second but I I don’t know I just think

Cleveland’s very hard to judge because of the time missed uh Craig Porter has been an awesome pickup for them somehow did not get drafted he’s been just really steady um in darus Garland’s absence and then Max stru I think you know I mentioned this with the heat like just generating

System baskets and kind of like allowing the rest of the team to not take plays off but uh to sort of unburden Garland and Donovan in those situations I think has really helped to diversify their offense so I’m a fan of them and agree I

Mean they just need to be healthy for us to really get a sense of they are but the magic who are four and four in the last two weeks 21 to 15 on the year 12th in net R rating 21st in offense fourth in defense I mentioned Bon Cara he’s

Really taking a step forward he’s averaging 32 points a game over the past month plus um you know they are an interesting team because I was high on them coming into the season in a lot of ways because of how well they played last year with Marquel folz but folz has

Been out I know he played last night for the first time I think he missed over 20 games um but they’ve still been able to uh just be so dominant defensively and get enough offensively to be really competitive every night um do you think that they’re that this is really who

They are that they can beat this kind of team come playoff time or are they still you know sometime and maybe a piece away they’ve impressed me that they’re going to be good all year this isn’t like some you know the hot start that’s kind of

How I felt about them beginning of the season and theyve proven they’re definitely more than that been car of flat outs a stud and he got there quickly France Vagner is a better NBA generate offense generator than I thought he could be and it’s interesting because they don’t have a natural lead

Guard all their guards play none of those guys are natural floor leaders like organizers and like facilitators they’re all kind of combo guys whether it’s Cole Anthony or Suggs or folz right Anthony black all these guys yet here they are and they do it every night look they are good defensively and they’ve

Got great chemistry that matters a lot and you know give credit to the coaching as well I don’t know if they could hold on I think one of the reasons I think they’re gonna maybe slip a little bit is because I don’t think we’ve seen the best out of

The Knicks um I still think the Indi Indiana Pacers are a team that’s going to be better as the as the year goes on I think the second half will be better for them we haven’t seen the best out of the Cavaliers so when you look at those

Three teams that are right behind Orlando makes sense that maybe you’re gonna see Orlando even though they might not drop off in terms of their winning percentage dramatically those other teams I think still have their best to come and and I don’t know that maybe we’ve already seen the best out of the

Magic this year kind of know what they are there’s still still so much more room to grow for those other teams that they might get caught a little bit and and see them slip in the standings but I do believe in what they have and I certainly believe in B Caro as an

Absolute stud player should be in the All-Star Game this year yeah they’re such an interesting team because they’re just so loaded with guys like they don’t really ever have to play Bad players I think that really can help keep you a float during the regular season um Goa badat I I thought was

Fantastic with Wendell Carter out for an extended period of time Mo Vagner has been great Cole Anthony has really stepped up Jaylen Suggs has figured some things out I think they’ll probably need to consolidate here at some point soon they need to add some more shooting and

Playmaking uh but they have just really impressed me and when you can defend like that and when you can you know get Buckets in clutch situations uh when you’ve got a guy like that in Paulo I think they’re just set up to be very competitive now the question is can they

Is it rushing to try to make that move to get them into that you know higher tier do you want to just be a little bit more patient and let them grow so very fascinating things to come with the magic as we move into the top three uh

The contenders in the Eastern Conference uh we’re starting with the 76ers who are 23 and 12 three and four in the last two weeks uh but they’re second in net rating fifth in offense fifth in defense embiid has been in and out of the lineup

With the ankle um but he’s also just as dominant as you can possibly imagine I mean having a much better season than his MVP year last year uh the way that he just controls the game from the middle of the floor you can’t double him because he’ll find the right guy uh and

He’s just so automatic in the mid-range um just very impressed with them and obviously a lot of that speaks to the growth that Tyrese Maxi has had um where do you go at the 76ers yeah look I think this is the most uh legitimate threat and beid has had

Since he’s been in Philadelphia this team to really threaten the Eastern Conference ultimately will will they have enough will he stay healthy enough I’m a little concerned he’s you know he’s missing time and he’s been banged up it feels like year after year in the postseason he’s got some sort of

Physical issue going in if if if he’s fully healthy going in with the way they look and and clear definition now offensively and how they’re going to play I think the the weight got lifted with Harden being moved Maxi gives a breath of fresh air and be totally

Trusts him they his speed gives them an element um that’s just different I mean there’s quick guys in this league and then there’s Maxi you know he’s just different with his burst and breaking down defenses and beid is a oneoff there’s one Joel embiid in the league

And they have them so you’ve got these special offensive players for me it’s going to come down to embiid’s health and do they have enough shooting outside of Maxi this is not a great three-point shooting team so you wonder will that be enough when you go up against teams like

Boston that can make 20 on any given night the Bucks that can make a ton you know is it is it enough to play with those teams time will tell but I I think for me I feel better about this team than any of the previous teams that Joel

Embiid has been on in Philadelphia as maybe making a legitimate run to the Conference Finals particularly the way the Bucks have looked lately defensively and a step back they’ve taken defensively since the team that won a championship maybe that’s the the void that Philadelphia can grab and and if

You can get into the that matchup the two3 matchup and you get Milwaukee in the second round I think think that’s a legitimate chance for Philly to get to the Conference Finals for jool and be’s first time and I think they’re also primed to make a big move here if they

Want to they’ve got a ton of expiring contracts they’ve got I think four tradeable draft picks um what do they do with Tobias Harris and Marcus Morris and uh uh Nicholas patum has been amazing I just cannot imagine possibly anybody shooting the ball faster than he has the

Way that he shoots without a dip um just just incredible watching the the speed of his he’s been great for them so we’ll see if they make any moves but yeah I mean it’s really all about Maxi and ID and the way that they’re playing together they are incredibly dangerous you’ve mentioned a

Couple times here about the Bucks and um I don’t want to say not believing in them but they are 25 and 11 second place in the East Ninth in net rating and their offense has been fantastic third in the league but some huge question marks defensively when you lose Drew

Holiday um and you go from an elite elite elite on Ball and scheme defensive player to Damen Lillard who obviously is an incredible Superstar offensive player but not good defensively um you’ve still got Giannis and Brook Lopez back there where you can funnel action into the

Paint and let them deter shots but uh just as a group they have not looked good defensively how big of a problem is that for for Milwaukee yeah it’s it’s been kind of glaring here lately and clearly we know about the problems with Indiana I mean that’s amazing they lose

To Indiana four times in the first 56 days of the season it’s really incredible and they were exposed a little bit in that match now Indiana is difficult and they’re different the way they play anyway but I think what it showed me was a couple things one yeah

You definitely miss your holiday that’s that goes without saying Damen lard is just not going to give you quite as much effort on that end he’s just not you know in Portland you didn’t notice it as much because you knew he was gonna go

3035 and he was going to be the show on that end and he had guys to protect him on the other end and he maybe he thought that’d be the case in Milwaukee too this isn’t as good at defensive team I think Middleton has lost a little bit of his

Defensive prowess as he’s dealt with injuries and gotten a little bit older he’s just not as laterally quick as you used to be because I had confidence in Chris Middleton guarding the elite level Wings in this league that could go get their own shot he’s he’s like a little

Like a half a step behind what he used to be in guarding those guys and so he gives them more room or he’s he’s late to get off the floor to contest um I think playing two bigs the way they do and jannis is a big obviously he’s super

Athletic and he’s you know defensive player to year but he’s a big dude man he’s got giant feet and and you’re get he and Lopez together like running back in transition when you’re playing so many teams that are running right to the three-point line I think they’ve been

Exposed a little bit as a little bit lumbering defensively they’re not as quick as they used to be and it’s it’s become a problem when you play some of these high-powered teams um they’ve been incredible offensively and ultimately maybe that gets them through but they’re definitely susceptible defensively uh to

A team like even Philadelphia if that’s for the team they ended up getting it certainly Boston the way that they play so I’ve got some concerns about the Bucks I thought when they got L they they have a great chance to win another championship for Onis I’m concerned

About them and I think clearly they’re not on the level of Boston right now yeah when you look at Malik Beasley who’s one of the uh poor Wing defenders in the league having to be their stopper on the wing you’re just not setting yourself up for success but the problem

Is they don’t really have any draft picks any players or contracts to be able to move to get a guy um you know they’re a little bit front court heavy with Giannis with Bobby poris with Brook Lopez and I think they’re going to be good enough to get to you know the

Conference Finals if things break right but I think they’ve got some some real work to do um and just to lock in defensively I know that they have the foundation that can kind of help them at least compete with some of these teams and obviously their clutch play is a

Huge Factor here like if they if you’re in a game close with them like they’re probably gonna win it with Dam and Yannis and just the ability to get a basket or at least a good look pretty much every time and pick and roll with

Them uh but I agree I mean I I just have questions about how real this can be how sustainable it can be come playoff time uh but there’s a team in the league who I’m not worried about at on that level on that end and that’s a Boston Celtics

Who are first place in the East 28 and seven six and one in the last two weeks first in net rating second in offense second in defense and they are just I don’t know is the most complete team in the league too far of a

Stretch no this the best team in the NBA and you know you know Denver is is is clearly the team we look at is having that core continuity they won a championship you’re with me today Tim you’re not with with Adam you can you can Slender Denver as much as you want

It’s just like I just I’m I’m so respectful of the Denver Nuggets that you know you don’t want to you have to be you know but right now as we sit here I don’t I don’t think you can debate Boston’s been the best team in the NBA

To this point and they should be look what they did in the off season you go out you had Drew holiday you had Chris porzingis so you replace guy a guy like Derek Derek Smart or Marcus Smart who you know was like the heart and soul defensively for this team well gosh we

Can’t have Marcus Smart how do we replace that oh well let’s go get maybe arguably the best perimeter defender in the NBA and Drew holiday who by the way is also a better offensive player oh then how do we replace Robert Williams in his Rim protection well why do we go

Get a guy that’s top 10 in blocks every year in porzingis who is a much better offensive player than Robert Williams so you didn’t give up much defensively anything and you got significantly better offensively um and and you still have Derek white in the mix as the big X

Factor in the East who just is Sensational his impact on the game every night what they can do defensively with brown Tatum porzingis holiday and white is just different than any other team in the NBA right now and then on the other end you’ve got your top players I think

Their top six scores are all 45% and above from the field so so everybody’s efficient in the way that they do it there’s one thing that concerns me about the Boston Celtics the nights I watch them hunt three-point shots to such an extent that you bail teams

Out for not having to guard you they make themselves vulnerable and that’s the only that’s the only nitpicky thing I have with them I think Missoula will be much better in the playoffs this time around I thought he had some he had a hard time dealing with some of the

Pressure of that situation a year ago as a young coach first time going through it he’ll be much better this time around he’s got more buttons to push because you’s got more versatility I just that’s the only time I watch them sometimes and they’ll take six straight threes and I’m

Like man you didn’t really even make anybody work defensively to guard you that’s the only question mark around this team because they’ve got everything it takes to go win a championship and and finally get Jason Tatum a ring yeah 27th in percent of field goals coming at

The Rim 15th in the league in free throw attempt rate and you know they’re a good enough shot making team that it might not matter but I totally agree that you know they’re going to need to be able to generate that kind of sustainable offense every team does if you want to

Get to that level so um yeah maybe it’s a matter of not hunting threes as much maybe it’s a difference in you know spacing on the floor but to me like the idea of getting a a real five out offense is to be able to open up those

Driving lanes and I think that they leave a little bit on the table by not taking that but ultimately I mean you look at them you look at the the Bucks two teams that you know were right there last year I mean the Bucs obviously lost in the first round but like they’re

Coming off a championship in recent years and to to be constantly in that top two top three and still say you know what we’re not good enough let’s go out and make a big move to help put us over the top you have to respect that in

Teams we’ll see what the Celtics do here in the trade deadline in the coming weeks but that reps us up Tim uh just awesome learning from you and and talking Hoops talking Eastern Conference uh for everybody listening make sure you hit the like for us on the way out

Subscribe to the all NBA podcast and check us out at C show if you’re interested in the Chicago Bulls we’ve got pre and postgame coverage tonight for the game against the Hornet Tims thanks so much love talking with you Emma thank you to you and we will talk to you guys next Time we all sting like the mayor

We are checking in on every team in the Eastern Conference!

00:00 – Intro
02:36 – Weekend Warrior
08:52 – Pelicans-Kings notes
10:34 – Mavericks-Wolves notes
11:12 – Lakers-Clippers notes
14:47 – Detroit Pistons
19:04 – Washington Wizards
23:30 – Charlotte Hornets
29:41 – Atlanta Hawks
35:30 – Toronto Raptors
40:00 – Chicago Bulls
46:27 – Brooklyn Nets
47:54 – Miami Heat
51:04 – Indiana Pacers
55:49 – New York Knicks
58:30 – Cleveland Cavaliers
1:00:34 – Orlando Magic
1:03:40 – Philadelphia 76ers
1:06:33 – Milwaukee Bucks
1:10:06 – Boston Celtics

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