NBA TODAY | “No one can stop Nikola jokic/Jamal Murray” – Zach Lowe claims Nuggets will win the West

NBA TODAY | “No one can stop Nikola jokic/Jamal Murray” – Zach Lowe claims Nuggets will win the West

Was Big Sean song I was raised by the Wolves they hosted the Blazers last night in Minnesota now Anthony Edwards though was running out to the court late to tip off and he would actually have to sub in ramono I mean Richard Jefferson does that every time on the show but I

Think he does it on purpose to much of us yeah this was like somebody just you tap him earlier be like hey game on but it didn’t slow him down okay the t- Wolves 5548 going into halftime now let’s go to the third quarter where Rudy

Goar whoa throws down the dunk and one son t-wolves up after the free throw and then the final seconds of the third te WS up again just beautiful basketball Scott oh it’s great basketball You’ love to see it break when they’re sharing the basketball that way and finishing correct under 6 minutes left

Trailblazers down 10590 Anthony Simons oh my goodness stifles the tower one of the post of the year better of it that might be post of the Year oh it’s a nominee it’s definitely a nominee Edwards right there drives and makes the layup Edwards finishes with 13 points

And the t- wolves go on to win 119 114 now the t-wolves have had at least a share of the best record in the West for 94 days this season as they seek just their second number one seed in franchise history so I would like to run

Through the Wild Wild West and starting at the top here let’s fire up the official playoff predictor the top three seeds are only separated by a half game so Zach what stands out to you in the race to the top how the three teams at the top have

Kind of separated themselves from the Clippers now and the Clippers are in danger kind of nest Ling in to that four seed but that race for number one is very very even Minnesota still plays Denver three more times and we’re going to learn about who really wants home

Court advantage remember how critical it was for Denver last year on their way to the title this is one of the more interesting subplots cuz that top seed is there for the taking but of course in the era of the playin it’s hard to know

Who the matchups are going to be and who you’re going to play you may end up facing a team down there that you maybe don’t want to face so much Scott who do you think will take the number one at end of the regular season I think the

Denver Nuggets are going to do it they’re starting to play the kind of basketball that led them to the championship last year uh and they’ve got the best playing basketball right now so I’m leaning towards uh them they’re playing the best at The Right Time of the Season that is true and if

You did see our predictor they actually have the second easiest remaining strength of schedule so the Denver Nuggets are favorites and you know they know how to get there but Ramona who do you think will finish number one overall after the allstar break and Tavis Pope recently told everybody that Nia yic

Sent a text message to the whole group and said guys it’s time to go now he didn’t say exactly what was in the text message CU it’s always a mystery that it fired everybody up when have you seen yic send a group text like we never hear

About stuff like that I think he’s decided it’s it’s go time we for a long time we wondered if they cared where they finished in the stand it looks like they care and I think they get they do care but you guys my prediction early on

Was the Clippers and I actually have a little validation here because because if I slide over first let’s look at the Clippers the Clippers have the 11th easiest remaining yes they did just come off of a loss but as I slide over to the projections y’all look at what we

Project winning the title 10.1% for the Los Angeles Clippers overall in our playoff predictor I know that’s going to shock a lot of people except Malika and I who was like we we’re staying in P like we feel like the Clippers are finally going to make it to

The Western Conference Final the Nuggets was like a word they would definitely like a word but don’t I’m saying saying it’s Nuggets Clippers and the Western fin I understand going after the Clippers so they’re supremely talented okay we talked about the top of the top

How about we go why don’t we go to the bottom of the standings 5 through 10 are all separated by only three and a half games so Scott who do you think finishes fifth and sixth and completely avoids the plan entirely well I struggle with

This one but right now I’m going to go with the Sacramento Kings and the Dallas Mavericks mainly because of the Guard play I’m the scenario looks like the Kings moving up to five maybe yeah I am partial to guard play and I think late in the season when you you got guards

Who can play downhill like Sacramento has dearon Fox and then you know Luca Don is having an MVP caliber season along with Kyrie Irving there I just like gar PL being dominant down the stretch so that’s why I went with those two I mean the Phoenix Suns are a very

Talented team if You’ have told us the beginning of the year they’d be in the play in tournament none of us would have believed you but Devin Booker with that injury right now even whether it’s a week 10 days whatever it is they cannot afford to lose him for any length of

Time because they have one of the toughest schedules I mean not one of the playoff predictors literally telling us right here they have the toughest remaining schedule in the NBA that is quite Wild Zach what do you think about the bottom well look the Phoenix let’s not

Min words if the suns are in the playin this is a potential disaster scenario for Phoenix who went all in to build this team and just hasn’t seen it together when they’ve been together they’ve been really good but once you’re in the playin you are super vulnerable

To not even making the playoffs or getting a matchup where it’s just too hard to win two and three rounds we haven’t talked about the Pelicans and I want to bring up those odds again cuz I think I saw the Pelicans with like a 94% chance of making the playoffs very

Quietly they have a manageable schedule they’re nicely in fifth right now and those playoff odds really like them snagging a top six seed the Pelicans if they are if they manage to do that and most systems think they have a good chance to do it what a major victory

Would be for them despite injuries here and there to their big three we haven’t seen them that much together that would be a nice accomplishment for them and they’re in a good position to do it and by the way a very tricky team to match up with for anybody because of how

Unusual Zion is yeah Zion being able to be point forward but also be able to play back to the basket and then their length on the perimeter they are one of my dark horses in the west now we talked about the numbers how about the plays because sticking in the west here let’s

Check out today’s smart play brought to you by in Credit Karma now they may be falling out of the playoff race but that doesn’t mean these plays can’t still happen I mean look at this Ramona seon said the play here was on purpose do you believe him I actually do look at how

Good this touch pass is when it get say look that’s a that is a touch pack like Keon George like that he he T realized he couldn’t dunk it saw sex and Trail and like I buy that I didn’t buy it at first but now upon review I do buy it

But this dunk post game buzzer between the legs that was some time he today Ramona is it getting hot in here I mean should we page nly in the building well it’s time for what’s burden where we run through the hottest topics in the league so let’s start off with Philly we’re

Officially a month from embiid’s knee surgery what can you tell us about his recovery right now well he’s been on the court doing a few things but I don’t think he’s anywhere close to coming back I expect more of an official update when they get back home after this game in

Brooklyn tonight but the sense with the Sixers is they just got to get the wins where they can get them when they have have teams coming in that are under 500 pick up those wins stay out of the play in tournament give the big fell a chance

To come back and do something when he finally gets back yeah health health is becoming the biggest story in the Eastern Conference Donovan Mitchell the Knicks the Sixers some of these teams got to get healthy or else it’s going to be Celtics bucks and everybody else what about what about the West

Though now to the Sacramento Kings where they blew a 22-point lead to the Bulls at home last night they’ve been though five and five in their last 10 but they have notched wins lately against the t- Wolves Clippers in Denver twice Ramona where do the kings currently stand well

Look they’re now in the seventh spot in the Western Conference and this is a team that you know they’re beaten the top of the they’re beating the top opponents but they’re losing to sub 500 opponents last night was just sabonis fouling out unforced airs they had a team meeting before that that Minnesota

Game Keegan Murray spoke up it looked like they were turning things around and then that was a brutal loss there now they’re actually in the playin tournament if things were to end today and that’s okay the kings are still trending up in the big big big picture they were never going to Vault

Up from last season so high this is fine but they are not playing very well and Ramona the Knicks they’re still banged up here especially with Brunson going down on Sunday night what’s burning in New York City well I think the sense with the Knicks is they’re going to get

Their players back eventually they avoided a serious injury with Jaylen Brunson despite how that looked but the new guys that they acquired at the trade de and we were there were all the talk of the league they’re playing good roles here but they haven’t had time to

Acclimate and learn how to into that identity that Knicks established before they traded with him it’s not just about getting those players that are injured back healthy but getting them acclimated so they can get some kind of Rhythm with their new acquisitions at the trade deadline before the playoffs start so

The Knicks are feeling a little bit of heat the Knicks have four likely starters on their injury report Brunson is questionable tonight against the Hawks with his knee contusion while Randall anunobi and Mitchell Rob said remain out so who better to talk about the Knicks than former Knicks GM Scott

Perry now Scott when you look at the Knicks and you see the situation with them with a long list of injuries what should be their priority in their final 21 games well everybody the obvious is the health but you got to get them back sooner rather than later and here’s why

I say that you know just to start this season Julius Randle had missed all of the offseason with ankle surgery and we saw how long it took him to get back acclimated to start the season there were cause for him to be traded because he started off so slowly same thing

Happened last my last year in New York he gets injured the last five games of the regular season after having a fantastic regular season and struggles in the playoffs because he never could get his rhythm back exactly and so that is going to be key here for the Knicks

That he gets back to get that I think Anan NOA even though he’s a newer player because of the role he plays he’ll be able to assimilate himself a little bit quicker Mitchell Robinson same thing even though he’s been out there entire year it feels like but they’re going to

Need him in the playoffs because he can really dominate a series on the interior with his rebounding and shot blocking and then if they if they have a minimum of I’d say 10 games going into the playoffs in the regular season of playing together now that allows the new

Acquisitions like Burks and uh uh bovic to go ahead and figure out how they’re going to fit in and then TBS got to figure everything out in terms of the minutes yeah so Zach if they do get rhythm in 10 games or so leading into the playoffs hopefully not the playin

How important is getting homec Court the if qualifier is everything right now for the Knicks and it’s such a bummer and it’s also a reminder how of how fragile all of this is because when they got Anon Obi and they started going scorched Earth on everybody around the

League that was a real thing they had found something they had found something real and something special physical nasty y shooting defense all over the place they had everything they needed and they ran rough shot over everybody and like that they’re struggling just to stay out of the playing tournament that

Race for four five 678 it’s five teams for three spots and right now the Knicks are just about clinging to a top six seed for dear life when they should have been about getting healthy and pushing Boston pushing Milwaukee so fingers crossed they can get healthy and get

That Runway of games because right now it’s just about you know you mentioned home court I mean I I don’t even think they can think about that they just got to win like the Sixers like Ramona said about the Sixers just scr out every win

They can get to stay in the top six and boy it didn’t look like that was going to be the conversation we were going to be having in January where they damn near went undefeated and just killed everybody I mean an and Omi makes everything easier for people defensively

Jaylen Brunson makes everything e easier for people offensively but you have to get on the court in order to start to form an identity especially when you traded for like half the Detroit Pistons at the trade yeah and and you bring up one final point you got to get in game

Condition again just talk about that you know that okay if they’re back by the end of the month is that a week three weeks playing playing Devil’s Advocate people say that hey if he they were all healthy they might approach the playoffs tired now if they’re able to be healthy

Maybe they’ll have a better scenario for I know Force rest but I don’t think any New York want director of sunshine right here I know that they’re currently fourth in the East but what about the best in spe for for now for for foree e for spe attack e e e what yeah

E for sh for for for

NBA TODAY | “No one can stop Nikola jokic/Jamal Murray” – Zach Lowe claims Nuggets will win the West