We Have Questions About the Knicks, Pelicans, Magic, and Other Playoff Teams | The Dunker Spot

We Have Questions About the Knicks, Pelicans, Magic, and Other Playoff Teams | The Dunker Spot

Hi hello and welcome to another episode of the dunker spot we are part of 3 42 Productions I am your host Nik Duncan and joining me as always is my co-host Steve Jones Jr Steve how are you doing sir ah feeling good feeling great happy

To be here excited to be here thank you dunkers for once again embracing your bounce uh dunker Nation uh we still here uh let’s ride uh Nas uh it’s time to hoop it up it is indeed time to Hoop It Up we still hear it’s good work from you that that is A+

Sure I to that from someone SL them oh well now I have to lower your grades I would have been n to wiser had you not said anything but anyway we uh we are going to bounce around today I have some questions uh we get this deep into the

Season you generally have like the concepts of what all these teams are where they trying to go so it’s kind of honing in on some of the minor things or not even the minor things just getting in the weeds a little bit especially with these playoff teams so today want

To bounce around see what’s popping for these teams see answer any questions that we may have about them um Steve who’s caught your eye as of late what are you ruminating on what team are you thinking about Buddy can we start with the Pelicans actually uh yes hold on real quick uh

YouTube hi go ahead well as we get into it that’s good work there but no want to talk about the Pelicans uh four game winning streak right now have won five of their last six they have been on fire post All-Star break the defense remains Elite the offense

Finding more flow Zion has been incredibly good and also fun Brandon Ingram flowing on and off the ball SJ McCollum knocking down threes all over the place herb Jones initiating offense screening knocking down shots he can’t stop missing threes Trey Murphy the third I would encourage folks to watch

The first half of hawks Pelicans from yesterday as we record on the Monday or so check that out from Sunday if you would like Trey is insane to have that kind of shooting gravity to have that kind of shooting ability to be able to Parlay that with the drives and draw

Defenses out as far as he does he is just electric and he unlocks a ton for the Pelicans on the offensive end of the ball I’ve had a lot of fun with the Pelicans I think what I am curious about is their Center room and that’s not to say that any of

Them are bad though it has been kind of an underwhelming season for Larry n Jr but JV provides obvious value as a postup thread as a screener offensive rebounder he’s held he is held his own defensively this year when they go to Zion at the five good luck defending

That especially when Zion is initiating offense and you do have a switcher uh option in Larry n Jr you can also play him and Zion together Etc I guess I’m trying to figure out how they balance or how confident they are in their big lineups versus their small lineups and

How sustainable the small lineup s are in a playoff setting I think that’s kind of where my mind has been as you know after watching them recently I’m threading the full Hawks Pelicans games from Sunday I just have the center room on the brain right now because JV started

The first half did not start the second half the Hawks really just didn’t have an answer and then they eventually lost to Bay in that game which is unfortunate we’ll get into some injury stuff at the tail end of the PO but I’m just curious about the front court for New Orleans

Because if they can sort through that I I wouldn’t want to face them in the postseason when they have that kind of offensive Firepower and the defense is just good it’s interesting I feel like we’ve talked about New Orleans a lot this season I’m glad that it’s finally being

Seen uh what’s going on with this team according to nba.com eighth in offensive rating sixth in defensive rating fourth in net rating do you do you feel like they get spoken about in that manner not really like I feel like a lot of the broader conversation is like it’s

About Zion but it isn’t about Zion if you catch my drift and so a lot of the Pelicans talk is well if they’re healthy then they can do this which can be said about any other team in the league but particularly with them as Zion had the

Health stuff Brandon eam had some health stuff CJ Mccalla missed time earlier this year so like they have a larger like I guess they just have that on their PL a little bit more than other teams and it’s kind of allowed their better stretches of the season to kind

Of go into the radar because other things are happening we’ve been talking about the is being dominant the Bucks being good but weird and now good again then bad under do and then good Underdog all this good stuff the Pelicans have kind of just been chugging

Along and they deserve to get a little bit more pub honestly this is a team as you just listed off top 10 in offense and defense right now we should be talking about them as serious as serious challengers in the playoffs well you know you some people

Have seen the vision the entire time this is the payoff though this is this is a team that’s built towards the playoffs and worked towards it the whole season despite the injuries you know they’re 39 and 25 they’ve won 60% of their games this is just the Western

Conference so that gets you the five seed but yeah they’ve been working to move the ball they’ve been working to have more optionality between their top three guys uh they’ve battled through injuries to find different combinations let me throw a couple stats at you number one my favorite that I’ve

Tracked all year nine- one are the New Orleans Pelicans when Zion Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum all have five plus assists the Pelicans are 18 and three when they have 30 or more assists this year it would appear that ball movement is important when the ball is moving

They become very tough to guard and they’re they’re really good at cutting and opening things up spacing the floor to your point about the center room what what is the overall concern is this Jonas’s defense is this Larry nass Jor as a concept or is it Zion at the

Five um for lack of a better answer yes it’s just kind of which I don’t want to say poison because that’s too strong but like which poison do the Pelicans want to live with when it comes to whoever they have at the five because I think with JB

Again he helps you crush the offensive glass he takes some of that interior pressure off of Zion taking on beef your matchups the screening on and off the ball legitimately helps the offense and again he can work as like a safety valve if our if we try to run some handoff

Stuff with CJ over Brandon to get switched we don’t have anything we can just dump it down in the block to JV and he can generate something good defensively that man has been working they’ve had him in a drop they’ve had him up to the level but

Better offenses I think can ding him a little bit with Zion at the five again offensively it’s easy to see why that is a fruitful thing you put him in space and let him drive all over the place get screens from anyone have fun dealing with with that

Dude in space on the other end how well is he going to hold up on switches in general how well is the rebounding going to be how good is the rebounding going to be for New Orleans especially with JV off the floor and with lar n Jr he should be the

Midpoint you know conceptually between JV and Zion give you the switch element but you can still remove someone from the paint allow Zion or whoever else he’s paired with to operate inside the arc but it’s been an uneven season for him and so I guess I’m just trying to

Figure out like which option I feel the best about and ultimately like where the Pelicans are going to land from there okay so right now they’re slated to face the Clippers in the first round are you worried about JV in that series um probably not in that one not as much

Anyway just because we’ve had the conversation about who exactly is the fifth for the Clippers like that if that ends up being zubot who I think is a good player then that is a non-s spacing five and so in theory JV should just be able to hold that match up

There if the Minnesota Timberwolves were to slide and they fall a four would you be worried about JV in that matchup probably not you put them on Rudy or if you want to get creative like you could toss them on like a Jaden mcdels and dare Jon to knock down shots

Like there are more help points for you to be able to hold JB or for JB to be able to hold up in a matchup like that is this just an OKC question could be OKC like Phoenix is like similar elements like nerk isn’t going to space

In a traditional sense though he can knock down the occasional three but they use him so much as a hub you can remove JB from the rim especially with him handing off to Bradley Bill or Devon Booker or Kevin Durant and kind of working there so like OKC

Phoenix and just yage against nerk yage against JB as a concept has not been super fun so naturally you just worried about Denver but they’re also the raining champ so everyone should be worried about Denver how you feel about their bench and their lineups I like the bench Jose remains

Good again Trey is incredible it’s again parsing through like what Larry n Jr were going to get I appreciate the way that g uh the Naji Marshall’s able to fill gaps he’s been defending all over the place the drives have been important the passing off of the drives have also been

Important like I felt pretty good about the okay so the the Pelicans are getting a thumb up stamp is that correct uh they’re both they it’s like a thumb up a thumbs up with an asterisk where it’s I guess it’s more of a I’m just keeping eyes on them if that

Makes sense okay they’re playing well I don’t have anything bad to say but like that’s just the one thing that keeps me from saying keeps me from going from the Pelicans are good I enjoy them to the Pelicans could win two rounds and get to the conference finals outside of again

Everyone has if anyone’s team any team’s best player gets hurt then that’s just going to be tough so everyone has the injury thing but beyond that I think the center room is what’s kind of keeping me from going yeah they can just make this run makes sense I mean I mean the west

Of itself it’s all going to come down to matchups I think there’s that’s one team you don’t want to face in the playoffs but it’s interesting this time of year you GNA start thinking about these teams in a playoff context and so my mind goes to a team like Sacramento who has done

The work they’re a game and a half out of six right now as we record they’ve worked to try and improve defensively offensively they’ve tried to play a little bit slower at times but some of that work pays off to where you feel more comfortable in scenarios then you also have scenarios

Where you’re wondering okay are we spraying the ball out when we force help or Rec creating the kind of shots we want to how do you feel about the Kings right now I’ve been trying not to do the nayas thing with the Kings because I see the

Work that they’re trying to put in I do still worry a bit about the defense it’s kind of hard for me to come it’s kind of hard for me to move off of that like they’ve tried to put some bonus in a little bit more Drop Like

Keegan Murray is taking on a lot more responsibility defensively we’ve seen the effort perk up for dearon Fox this year defensively there have been positive signs I just worry that it isn’t enough in playoff setting okay so I on out on the Kings got it I’m thinking about the New

York Knicks okay in the sense that one they’re on the road to getting healthier appears ogan anobi will return Jaylen Brunson has come back they had a classic classic scoring battle with the Philadelphia 76ers in which real hoop returned I’m sure everyone enjoyed that one you have the plus of Jaylen Brunson playing

So well that he’s going to get two on the ball and he’s going to force teams to show to show help that should open things up for you you find yourself a scenario where Philadelphia was treating New York like New York treated Cleveland in that playoff series and now it’s a

Whole lot of help off of precious space Josh Hart Space obviously the lineups will look different as they get healthier healthier as things go on down the line but now becomes that battle of okay well what do we do now they’ve tried to incorporate more movement for

Jaylen Brunson looping him to the side getting him involved in pick and roll trying to use his pick and roll to just start movement in general so there’s been positive steps but now okay what are our combinations how much of bad donovich are we going to get who do we

Trust because we need the defense on the other end I’m intrigued where are you at with the Knicks right now as they are a half game up on Orlando uh currently in four a game up on Philly for six a game and a half ahead of Indiana who’s in

Seeven it’s such a nasty race like four through eight right now but I’m in a similar place with you like I think conceptually I’ve mostly been fine with what the Knicks have been trying to do particularly offensively like it reminds me of a conversation that we had a

Little bit earli in the year about Jay Le Bronson getting two on the ball and what that can mean bigger picture for New York and I think it is a positive that he’s been able to draw that I think Beyond how they play out of two I still

Keep eye on what the Burks and Buon usage is looking like because I guess I just anticipated them taking a little bit more pressure off of jayen Brunson or at the very least kind of puncturing the advantages that he can create when they’re on the floor together and that

Hasn’t really happened consistently yet I think that the Knicks have had to lean on Dante the way they have offensively it’s cool for Dante and it’s been nice to see him kind of ramp up the usage but it’s also like why is he having to do

This much when you have these other guys in toe that should in theory help you uh take pressure off of Jaylen and ultimately open up your offense a little bit more I think naturally they’re going to compete defensively so I don’t have much issue there I think it’s a positive overall

That jayen is getting all these reps that see to on the ball so in theory as they get healthier and work these guys back in like it should be a little bit easier for them to play out of that so I I haven’t felt bad about the Knicks um

During this stretch it’s more can they just hold serve enough to hold on to that top four spot that top four spot excuse me as they’re dealing with all these bodies being out you mentioned Alec Burks hasn’t been the most fun stint or return in New York as far as the

Shooting is gone I believe still 29% from three as a Nick 31% overall and I feel like Boon may have come at the what would seem like the best possible time with people out to have more of offensive wiggle room but also might be the worst

Context as far as the Knicks trying to figure out how to win I’m just curious to see how they integrate him in fully because I think he can really help them especially when they have a bunch of lineups but Josh Hart’s playing what 45 minutes for the 18th straight

Game you know tis is tis TS going to try and find a way to win t is going to go with what he knows so it leads to a little bit less experimentation and then back to the spacing point it it begs the question how small does he want to

Go and I feel like he’d rather live with the results of precious and what he brings as he’s fit in as a tibs guy versus let’s space the floor let’s have X Y and Z out there but that’s just something I’m moning I’m not out on the Knicks because

Again they have people who need to return but I’m just curious on the Buon front in particular is there any particular usage that you would like to see from him I I think there’s just more things you can do with him as far as within your movement you can run them

Off staggers you can have him spaced in the weak side corner to try and make defenses pay you can empty the corner out there’s just more versatility that you have to kind of tap in a little bit it kind of it can’t just be transition

Or low clock or random pick and roll not that he can’t score that way but I think the best usage of him is going to be when you get that balance and that way he stays aggressive he’s got to unlock it a little bit with bogey that’s all gotta your

Magic how have you felt about the Orlando you said great song every time they win man you gotta play it it’s it’s good stuff not according to Josh Hart ah who said I don’t want to hear That well to be fair the Knicks did get him out uh back-to-back games where the offense has raised some eyebrows or drawn some question marks shooting sub 40% it’s been a battle for them which is good overall I think Orlando needs to go through this type of experience this is

What the Reps are for where are you at with their offense especially when it comes to a playoff context because we have a team that Poo’s done a great job this year fron has done a great job they’re built around those two in the playmaking and

Scoring they can bring J sugs has been shooting the ball very well for the majority of the season but can you know are you confident with the decision- making less the spacing because they work to try and generate space but are you confident with the tempo in the half court as

Teams settling on nope we’re just going to play drop or nope we’re just going to switch and we’re just going to dictate that this is what we’re doing the entire time are you confident with them going forward uh down the stretch or do you have some question marks with their

Offense um I guess I have questions but there aren’t new questions because as you said like I don’t really have spacing concerns at this point like I know they’re going to do the right things they are just at a talent deficit with some of that stuff and so whenever

They do get gaps it’s just kind of looking at how quickly they hit those I mostly look at Pao on that front if a team is switching against him or they’re ducking under something like how quickly is he pulling up if he’s pulling up how quickly is he making the pass if there’s

A slip when he’s going to pick and roll and they’re switching that and like I’ve mostly been okay with that um Tempo wise I I’ve felt all year long they could play a little bit faster than they do like this is a team that’s built on their defense and it’s weird

That they just don’t get out in transition all that often at all like I feel like that’s just lwh hanging fruit for them to grab after they get stops because they’re getting a bunch of them like cleaning the glass they have like their summary page where you can see

What the team’s offensive defens of ratings are um without garbage time they also have like a tab to the side where you can look at what the team’s done over the last two weeks they tracked that for the entire league you would never guess who has the best defense in

The NBA over the past couple of weeks who it would be the Orlando Magic oh as they have been an elite defensive team all year long but again like they’ve just been like bottom five bottom six in transition frequency all year long and I understand just wanting to set up shop

Make sure you actually run what you want to run and in general just kind of limit the opportunity for these young guys to turn the ball over and get into the live turnover thing but I do think there’s a a little bit of room to move that needle

The other way like I do think they can push a little bit more even if it’s just to run touch the paint kick it back out and then flow into whatever your offense is going to be I think they just kind of settled into let’s let’s make sure we

Have our spacing correct let’s make sure we get the ball to fronz or poo let’s run our action and if it is a switch and a team help you know the team is able to Coral that they don’t have much more clock to work with and like pao’s good

Enough to score in contested situations he can also get to the free throw line like fron can still bully his way to the rim I do wish it was a little bit easier for them in the half court in that situation in that you know those kind of

Circumstances they can play a little bit faster in my opinion fantastic those are most of the teams I I was thinking about got you can I ask you another Orlando question what’s up uh I guess it’s more of a rotation question because I think their bench has

Been really good all year long um funny enough if you are aware of the history of the dunker spot conversations we’ve had about staggering such like that Orlando is a team that’ll very much just go all bench they play fron and poo together a whole bunch I guess do you

Think it’s worth them just saying you two just figure it out in all these minutes together and putting and ultimately putting a little bit more strain on the bench than they probably have to to get them out of deficit sometimes like are you just fine with that process in terms of their

Rotation uh I’m fine with it I I think the biggest thing is let’s say you go to staggering do you lose something from each of them with different units to a degree what do you think like I think in theory you could I guess I’m more so

Asked just because of the two it feels like frons has been the guy that hasn’t really got it going consistently and I just wonder as like Cole Anthony’s going to be a main state that bench uh Jonathan Isaac if he’s healthy is going to be a

Main stay MO voder is going to be a main stay like Gary Harris has had the start as of late but ultimately you have those three you have Joe Engles in there you know those four are going to come in and then the fifth has been either Marquel

Folz or Anthony black like I wonder if it’s worth you know if you don’t trust fultz or fultz is out or if you want to I don’t know because Anthony black has played well but I guess within that point guard spot between black and false there’s probably room to say if we’re

Shortening the rotation okay it’s just going to be fron plus these four who have been really good or Pao plus these four who have been really good and I wonder with fron in particular if giving him that unit allows him to catch more of a rhythm as they hit this stretch

Run I I guess I would I would raise my hand and point to the stretch where pal was out as far as maybe that’s why they don’t want to go to it maybe this is an opportunity to allow Cole Anthony to have a little bit more wiggle room to do

Cole Anthony things uh a spot to let Joe Eng Les handle some of the playmaking and trying to open things up that way and that way I mean again there’s a lot of strain on Pao and frons already do you want to add more to it to where yes

We’re splitting your minutes but now you have to play with this defensive I mean defensive minded second unit is it going to shift how a team is going to treat that unit either way or can you potentially find a way where maybe hey do we have two styles of

Play two degree because you have the aggression of Mo you have you have Joe Eng Les looking to make plays you have of Jonathan Isaac defending do are you trying to go for a ying and yang effect to a degree oh that makes sense and again

Just kind of looking at what that bench has done all year long like it’s hard to argue with those results like they have been one of if not the best bench unit in the league actually had numbers on that if I can quickly get to my notes ah

With Cole Anthony Joe Engles Jonathan is and Mo vogner on the floor this year the magic have a plus 13.5 net rating in 254 minutes together uh it’s safe to say that is pretty darn good and naturally like with fronen um with fron and Paulo on the floor together like slight positive it

Hasn’t been they have been blowing teams out of the water but ultimately you know this I don’t want to say the magic aren’t supposed to be here but they do feel a little bit ahead of schedule to be like in with a legitimate fight for four right now and so like

They don’t have to make drastic moves right now and like to Circle back to the Staggering conversation like they don’t have to do that like I would imagine they just prioritize let’s let these two dudes figure it out let’s get these growing pains then in the offseason we

Can make more roster tweaks to really open things up around them and make it easier for them they don’t have to make changes right now but I just want to see where you were on that front I do think there’s if they want to make that

Decision I think there is an easy way for them to do so so just want to see what you thought about it I mean it’s I mean the thing is if the if the all been sign up plays three or four minutes and they both come back in at the same time

Yeah could be a bit demoralizing if you uh you can’t win those minutes and then Here Comes Pao ready to put you underneath the basket and here comes France also ready to put you underneath the basket they just a big physical team that isn’t very fun to play

Against unless you are Josh Hart in which case you know it is what it is um did you have anyone else that you wanted to bring up or talk about you have anything nice to say about the Bulls this is going to sound like a backhanded compliment but I don’t mean

It as a backhanded compliment the Bulls are really working hard I think just the collective effort and the Buy in has kind of popped for me particularly on the defensive end like watching they have so many small dudes having to make low man rotations because they’re playing v as

High up as they are and like it’s been cool to see like obviously Alex Caruso can just do that he will block shots or he’ll get the swipes or he’ll draw the charges or he’ll just make things tough for you when you catch the ball in the

Paint so like Kusa is really good at it but like seeing a dumus had to do it Kobe whites had to do it depending on where his guy space Demar the rose in his head to make these rotations it’s not easy to commit your body to that kind of style particularly

When you look at like where the Bulls are right now like it would be very easy for them to say well we’re eight n like I don’t y’all got it let’s do something a little bit more conservative here so like that part has been cool for me and

Then offensively Vu is hitting shots again that’s that’s a welcome development the iio drives continue to hit Kobe white continues to be on the heater Demar de R rozan he’s just been good man he’s just been good you know what you get with the shot making the playmaking has been there the fourth

Quarter he just calms him down like watching him and Kobe white kind of decide okay which one of us should be the one to take over right now Kobe still just def first to Dem Mar sometimes like no big dog you got it Go KN down these mides um so like that’s

Been interesting to watch late in games but it’s a team that’s competing like you know what my thoughts are on like the Bulls organizationally like what direction I think they should go in but for where they are like this is a team that’s playing hard they’re flying

Around defensively that is not the same as saying that the defense has been good because if you look at what their defensive rating has been over the past couple of weeks they’re in the 20s so not don’t want to conflict that with the defense has been good but they are very

Much putting in maximum effort to make it work than knocking down enough shots if you get into a close game with Rosen like you have a chance in it so I guess that would conclude my Bull’s compliments as of now but they’ve been working there we

Go I hope I passed you know my my Bulls thing uh can I ask you a question about Jason Tatum what you got you know don’t don’t want to make the uh the Celtics a weekly segment but they are in the middle of a road trip uh they play later tonight at

Portland as we recorded on a Monday afternoon then they got another game on Tuesday I think they had several Celtics on the injury report so honestly not sure if Tatum plays tonight since it’s going to be a back toback but last three games for Jason Tatum 23 points a game

31% on twos uh 52% from three so that’s a very interesting shot profile there nine boards six assists nearly four turnovers I am once again keeping an eye on the Jason Tatum drives not necessarily the volume because he is still very much putting his head down but in light of him seeing

A bunch of switches over this recent stretch and peeping just how Boston SPAC is around those like I do Wonder one I just wonder if I’m doing too much just kind of keying in on stuff because the Celtics haven’t looked off for very long this year and so when it

Does happen it’s like whoa what’s going on with the Celtics but like the Tatum drives if I I have that in my notes 32 drives over the last three games Boston generating 0.7 points per possession on those drives again three-game sample it’s a road sample against switchy SLG

Good defenses so don’t want to put too much on it there but just looking at how teams try to help on those drives and it feels like when those wings aren’t clear and you’re able to get one of those digs from the wing on Jason Tatum that gathers a

Little bit earlier and some of the growth that I seen with him earlier this year being able to seek out the body draw fouls and stuff if he’s having to gather from farther out that becomes a little bit of an issue so it’s one of those things not that it matters now

Because Bost is just far ahead of everyone for the one team but like if that’s going to wind up being a thing where as we get to the post the actual postseason if teams are like we can do what Phoenix did we can do what Cleveland did let’s switch and get a

High tag see if we can bother Tatum from there and in general with Tatum seeing a little bit more switches are we able to take two on the ball off the table can we flatten Boston out can we keep ourselves out of rotation as often as we’ve been in rotation against Boston

This year you know we had the bad question this past Thursday about how you would defend the Celtics and I listed off those numbers there where they rank first or second against basically every pick and roll coverage there is but in terms of the actual points per possession number like the

Switching number was the lowest for Boston is that switch and high help something that you can you can do to kind of minimize the hurt that Boston could put on you and in particular what Jason Tatum could put on you it’s a piece of it but I think this

Is why these kind of reps are important for Boston during in the regular season to be able to get a grip on we can generate these shots consistently what happens when a team kind of takes a bite out of what we try and do I think if it

Was completely necessary for Jason Tatum to be the initiator and the person that gets to on the ball and opens things up like we saw on the start of the Celtics journey I think that would make it a little bit different feel wise but I

Think the fact is one Tatum can has and he has the ability to make those shots where it doesn’t really matter what scheme you’re trying that can make you feel uncomfortable and Boston does have that lineup where we have multiple initiators we have multiple ways we can kind of get

Things going we can use Drew in a lot of different ways and so it becomes how many teams are going to have five that they feel comfortable with guarding everyone for Boston and even if a team lands on hey we’ll switch or hey we’ll show that’s

Okay how many teams are going to feel comfortable about that over 48 minutes because the other part about Boston is they’re very good defensively and they should have more potential to be good defensively in a playoff context which is going to allow them to get out and run and get some

Easy ones or at least get out and run and get some threes that you probably don’t want to give up so unless you’re just scoring on them non-stop this is a pure half court battle I don’t know if it gets weighed as much now to the Tatum

Portion it’s hard because you can see what they can generate when he does Drive I felt like his drivve has been key all all year when he drives and finishes now what do you do because he’s got the combination of the drive he’s hurting you in pick and roll you don’t

Feel comfortable by any of it so I’m not necessarily in a space where it’s down it’s March you know I mean on the same side they lost two games he took the whole team golfing he told Joe Mill he wanted to play the whole game and he he didn’t

Feel like he played well against Phoenix so I mean I think there’s a self-awareness about the Celtics that should be saluted okay want to see where you were there uh did you have any more teams that you wanted to bring up no okay uh well then can I ask you a very quick

Question what’s up uh where are you at on the Indiana Pacers I’m fine with the Pacers I think uh some of the losses they’ve had injury-wise are tough I think my issue with the Pacers is more losing buddy hee made sense in the totality of what they’re doing big

Picture-wise but it’s hard when you have a part of your offense that is very key and opens up certain things for you and you don’t have someone that replaces that not that you don’t have people who can play and help your team and give you quality minutes but you don’t have that

One portion that opens things up with the pace and the tempo and the way he flew off screens the way he was in ghost screens and now you’re trying to figure out how do we get back to what we were doing with different personnel and I think it’s part of it is just

Experimentation to try and figure out how to recapture some of the gravity some of the tempo some of the movement do we use Tyrese off ball do we use Tyrese all ball what what lineups do we use you know do we use Tyrus and pascow together but you also have that factor

Going with that offense is very important for your team so if you’re trying to sort through that and your defense is at a certain level it can lead to uneven play and so I’m not necessarily out on the Pacers as a concept I probably point to the Kings from last

Year from last year to this year now this not as extreme obviously but think about the shift that the Kings had to make from last year to this year now think about the shift the Pacers are having to make mid-season when it a team has such a unique

Or an offense that does so much for them it it you need that to work it’s the same thing when you flip it if you’re a defensive minded team and your defense get starts to get dinged well that’s kind of the bread and butter it makes it

A little bit harder to survive so that’s where I’m at with the Pacers I I still don’t think they’re a team you want to face um I think Tyrese has had a an odd stretch at least for a few games like this doesn’t seem like Tyrese halberton

And that also plays a factor into it so it’s more just can they survive this period and get moving where where you at Racers I got you like it’s just it’s been kind of odd like you said like the defense as they’ve tried to sort out how

To use Pascal in particular and just the general Personnel limitations that they have like the defense is already as you said at a certain level and so they can’t really afford for the offense to slide I think it’s been a more steep adjustment period without buddy heill

Than I think even they an ipated and I think they obviously they factored that into the calculus and they still ultimately decided it’s worth moving buddy and making the moves that we did the roster and they should be fine long term but as of now like move losing that

Movement element I think has led to them using Tyrese off ball a little bit more I want to give give the quick salute to the great Caitlyn Cooper uh who recently tweeted out some pick and roll stats with Tyrese halberton that inspired my search as I was getting notes together

This morning to see okay what exactly is the pick and roll usage for Tyrese like post All-Star break and so since the allstar break on ball picks that Tyrese halberton has received 23 26 22 24 15 24 and then over the last three games 41 44 and 35 with the 41 and

44 being more in line with what he’s been at this year of his 10 lowest volume pick and roll games this year six have come after the All-Star break and conversely he set 69 on ball screens uh before the All-Star break 69 in 43 games he’s already set 32 in the nine games

Post Allstar break so you think about the Pats going to like Spain pick and roll in particular they’re using Tyrese as the back screen a little bit more normally that would be buddy Hill they don’t have that moving element anymore so I do Wonder like not even wonder but

Just in terms of that adjustment period I think it’s been kind of weird for them Tyrese can obviously operate in that role but he’s at his best when he’s able to dictate things when he’s able to grab and go or someone gets a rebound quick Outlet tyres can fling a pass deep you

Get into all the different variations of pick and roles they can get into you build off of the tyres Pascal pick and rooll and you play out of that them having to shift his usage to that degree while he’s also still just trying to regain his overall Rhythm after being

Out as long as he was I think it’s just led to a lot of wonkiness and him just trying to find himself and so like I’m a bit lower on what their playoff ceiling could be this year but certainly not down on them as a concept because I think I like what

They’re building overall and like I trust the talent that Tyrese halberton is I trust what Pascal is going to be how they’re going to be able to play off of each other in traditional pick and rolles inverted handoffs all that good stuff so not worried long term but it’s clear removing buddy Hill

From the equation and then also the injuries that they’re dealing with like Benedict Maan now out for the year that’s at least another driver that can help tilt things and that can make a little bit easier second side of Tyrese is operating to be able to play off of

That like there’s just a lot of adjustment going on with the offense and them going from we have the highest offensive rating in NBA history to what perkle glass about a 116 offensive rating over the past couple of weeks it’s still good but that dip from historically great to good in light of

What their defense also is has kind of led to this weird stretch I feel like and you know it’s one thing that’s interesting is even with some of the offensive question marks they go to Orlando theyve beat an Orlando Magic defense that’s pretty good had a good shot against

Minnesota until Anthony Edward said no so there’s signs of of there there’s enough here we we’ll see what they do against Oklahoma City during this stretch but I’m I’m intrigued I’m intrigued also since we’re talking Pacers can we give a quick hat tip to TJ McConnell if you look now he is still

Driving the basketball who was who was going ahead and just taking grasp of this and be like don’t worry guys I got it we’re totally fine like he shot 58% for the whole month of February he shooting 6 % in the month of of March how does he keep getting away with

This I wish I could tell you so quick shout out to TJ that’s all actually while we’re on uh while we’re on Indiana a quick one before I have another thing as well um how are we judging this Miles Turner season is this a stock up or stock down

Season for Miles Turner objectively good basketball player but it’s weird to just kind of bake in well this Pacers defense is bad and then you think about who Miles Turner is and has been defensively it’s like wait a minute should it be this though like how

Much of that is on him versus overall scheme or Personnel ahead of him and I think offensively like him and Tyrese have just had the most prolific pick and roll partnership in the League this year at least statistically he’s been able to kind of fit in there

But what do we do this season particularly defensively like what have you seen from him what do we do with this season yeah I mean I think it’s just a flip you probably feel better about the offense and you you looking at the defense like okay it’s probably not this

But what is this I probably been disappointed by some of the drop so you probably like a little bit more of the rim protection to stay but does that tie into what Indiana wants to do defensively for those moments where they want to stay at home or they don’t want

To be too aggressive and he’s just kind of tied into one thing so am I just going to judge everything there but then do you tie in what they’re trying to do scheme wise to some of the rim protection plays or timing where it’s like that used to be a different kind of

Contest yeah so I don’t I mean I don’t necessarily point and go oh Miles Turner is done defensively uh I think the value that he’s brought offensively has been key hasn’t felt forced or an issue at all this year it’s just we’ll see where they go defensively what about you what do you

Do with M Turner season it just feels weird like I think the defense in particular is why I couldn’t get all the way to as we were having like the deeper cut Allstar discussions earlier in the year it’s like hey what about t Miles Turner as like a potential injury play like he’s

Been good but like I just kind of banked in a level of defense that I haven’t really seen from him this year at the very least we haven’t seen it from him consistently and I don’t think that’s all his fault because again this you know pre Pascal trade and even post

Pascal trade you just go up and down the roster like it’s not like he has a lot of size in front of him or beside him and he doesn’t you know outside of you know Andrew NIMH har will pesky fight over screens T mconnell can fight over

But like they don’t have like a great overall cast of like screen Navigator so if you do have them in a drop and you’re not sending help elsewhere like it’s a lot of two on two basketball with Miles Turner having to cover for a lot of folks so like I

Don’t I don’t ding him too much I do feel like he could have provide he can provide more of an interior presence than he has so far this year like this is just the standard that he has set as an overall shot blocker but as he’s grown throughout his career as an

Overall really good interior Defender but I don’t know it’s just felt kind of off I mean it hasn’t been great I’ll say it has been great I I I joke when Pascal seaka played the five he played the best defense of the five for the Pacers yeah that shouldn’t be the uh

That shouldn’t be a question but I I don’t I don’t take that as Miles Turner can’t play defense anymore yeah DN should go that if that Dynamic makes sense so we we’ll see we’ll see if there’s something else that they’re trying to do I got you um while we’re on

Centers I would like to talk about Brook Lopez very quickly if that is okay and it’s it’s a I guess an extension of the conversation that was had in our dunk spot watch party over the weekend join those if you want to watch and talk Hoops with us by the way but

Anyway I’ve just been kind of keeping eyes on the overall Brook Lopez usage like we recently talked about the screening and the super high picking roles with him and Dame and how fruitful they’ve been obviously the spacing for Brook Lopez from Brook Lopez rather is going to be important as someone that in

Theory could bring guys out of the paint or if you leave him over on the perimeter he can knock down open shots he has shot well from three this year I do Wonder like how much of the I guess the counter stuff he’s going to provide especially in light of the Dame

And Giannis usage together skyrocketing as of late is he going to be demoted to just a spacer offensively or more of a spacer offensively are we able to mix in some of the post ups for Brooke if teams decide to switch against him I guess I’m just keep an eye on like

How much they utilize him outside of screen at half court space at wing space in corner and then defensively this is more of a Personnel around him question than an actual Brooke question but Brook Lopez in a drop still very good still leads the NBA and contested shots has contested more

Two-point shots than anyone in terms of field goal percentage allowed um at The Rim looking at nba.com player tracking we sort that for uh guys that have defended at least 200 shots top 10 in that or around that range so still very good at protecting the

Rim if you ask him to switch it can get a little dicey and if you’re just flat out putting him at the level or trapping depending on who he is paired with that can also get dicey so it’s just I guess a general like what else are they going to do with Brooke

Offensively and just how much scheme versatility does Brooke have at this stage or how much of that will do rivers be confident in tapping into as we hit this playoff stretch uh H well what’s the what’s the concern I guess be my question uh on which end or just all together all

Together as for me it’s just like does Milwaukee get a little bit easier to manage if you know what’s coming from Brooke or if the shot stop falling from Brook while he’s spaced does it become a little bit easier to just funnel possessions to him and defensively if they do face a

Team that can kind of ding him in the drop like how many counters do they have because while like I’ve enjoyed like Giannis has been much better defensively as of late Bobby por is I feel has just been better under Doc Rivers but he’s still not someone that I don’t want to

Have to play him equal or more minutes than Brooke in a playoff series for example just how many different things can they do and how much can you really expect from their guards once we hit the postseason to kind of take pressure off of Brooke defensively this an old

Question could be no is this the same Brook question people have had ah probably I’m trying to I’m trying to I’m trying to understand because he’s still a very large human being who’s still very impactful in the drop and to a degree that probably should enhance itself come playoff time I think the

Thing off offensively is do you do you need to run things for Brooke right now not necessarily run things for him like I don’t need him taking 15 16 shots a game but like I’m looking at to’s say just the overall three-point rate in particular so like 60 70% of the shots

Come from the yard this like is there b better balance to be found there to the overall Milwaukee point to where we don’t want to just Spam Dame Yannis we can do different stuff we can run movement stuff from Malik be we can get the Dame the ball in

Different ways we can get Jan the ball in different ways oh also if you’re just trying to hide a weaker defender on Brooke so you can put a better guy on Giannis you can switch the dam Yannis thing now we just post Brook up like just just kind of keeping eyes on how

Much of that stuff they mix in for Brooke as well well I think some of the value with him spaced is not just that he can shoot he can also go to a dribble handoff and keep action going if need be now obviously he’s going to let it fly

Because he he’s that’s just what he’s morphed into but the same same time you know do you get the cutting on the weak side do you get some of the drives I don’t necessarily know if it’s a Well Brooke is done type beat for me um

Because I think his his defense is still just as impactful as before it could just be I mean the hnis is playing at a high level you’re getting Dame playing and shooting better post All-Star break you’re using them together more that kind of feels like a byproduct at times that’s fair like to

To be clear like I’m not pushing the big red button on Brooklyn Lopez like this is a problem or anything like that it’s just something that I’m monitoring as we hit this stretch run just what his usage is going to look like but you know figured I would ask um

While I’m here we already talked about France Bodner when we brought up the orando magic so I won’t rehash that stuff how have you felt about Terry roier in Miami I just asked that broadly how have you felt about Terry Rosier Miami it’s been up and down like I

Talked about the Heat last week and so naturally they didn’t lose to the Wizards and they lose to the so that’s been a fun stretch post pod but in all seriousness like it’s been fine you can see the elements in which he brings value like I think his ability to touch

The paint is important for a Miami Heat team that ultimately wants to move and get you scrambling so that part’s been good it’s nice that he’s knocking down pull-ups now and he’s mixing in those pull-ups with those drives like you look at what he’s done post All-Star break 18

Points per game 39% from three five assists he has turned the ball all over like that so you can kind of see not just to pick and roll stuff but they’ll run him off of off ball stuff to get them the ball get the defense leaning

That way so like you’re starting to see where and how he provides the value I guess for me defensively is where my brow raises like in Charlotte like it just wasn’t very good this P you know this season but naturally the Charlotte defense uh pre-all-star break was not fun to watch

Especially once Mark Williams went down so just kind of bait that into this team is bad whatever um I mentioned on the pot last week I do feel like just his ball pressure I think helps helps bleed some clock and like he’s providing effort on that end however teams are still very

Comfortable at going after Terry roier it has been a whole lot of let’s get Terry on the switch and let’s have some fun and watching the Wizards game in particular and watching pretty much everyone on the roster call for screen to get him switched onto them K kma got

A whole bunch of post-ups against it’s like wait a minute how big of a problem is that going to be cuz like in theory it this is the context in which that shouldn’t matter like we’ve seen not that they’re equal Defenders but we’ve seen okay we got Max dreu in the

Starting lineup we got Duncan Robins in the starting lineup teams are going to go after him we’re going to help aggressively we’re going to be fine so it’s not that Miami can’t do that but teams are starting to poke at that and then you just look at some of the onoff

Stuff with t roier since he’s been there or post All-Star break rather um did he have only won his minutes twice he was a plus eight against Portland a plus six against Detroit over this seven game span and since he’s been in Miami in the games he’s played in a minus 4.4 net

Rating with him on the floor a plus 4.7 net rating with him off the floor and so I guess I’m just trying to balance like what I’ve what I’m actually seeing which the drives are helpful the shop making particularly late in clock are helpful the early ball pressure is helpful he

Does fight on the switches it’s not like you get a switch and it’s just a guarantee two points he is fighting there he’s giving good effort with some of the results that the opponents are getting and then looking at some of the advanced stuff is like oh

This the numbers are painting this to be worse than what it feels like when I’m watching Miami so just kind of like yeah cuz like once he first got to Miami like he was very obviously trying to fit in like we made jokes on the Pod about him setting

All the off ball screens and not wan to step on toes and all that good stuff he’s very much finding his comfort within Miami’s offense I guess now I’m just kind of waiting on on what I’m seeing or the numbers to kind of match what I’m seeing

On that front and I wonder if anything in particular stood out about the Terry experience so far I guess for me it becomes do you think he’s in the liability Zone defensively um not yet well I guess I’ll say no but it’s closer to that than I would like for it

To be at least once it gets late in games it feels like teams are poking get him to a degree that I didn’t expect well here’s the thing right M Boston Milwaukee it’s going to be size related for the most part correct Cleveland do you have confidence like would you rather Cleveland trying

Attack Terry Rosier or Duncan Robinson Andor Tyler hero is I’d rather them attack Terry than those two now the tricky part for Miami to your point is you don’t want it to be a a trio or we have multiple people we think we could do that with

But how how much of it will hurt them to a degree how many teams are going to hunt them that way and how many teams how many times is Miami just going to stick with the switch good point like I feel like with Duncan in particular like they will

Switch him but they are more likely to go with that show and recover with Duncan than they do with Terry and so like I wonder if they eventually tap into that b Al I don’t think Miami wants to like I think they want to trust Terry gets on you know gets under ball

Handler’s base has the long wing span pesky dud will poke at the ball ideally he just holds his own as a switch and will’ll send a little extra we have to but we don’t want to have to commit two on the ball if we can help it and also

I’d say with Terry is some of it context you know in theory if you’re playing with bam or you’re playing with Bay Man Jimmy you you become more appealing to a degree right M so I guess it’s just battling and staying in front I guess for me the

Trade-off is he has felt more comfortable offensively so that feels like a big plus for Miami overall yeah so that part’s been good I just you know again just something I’m keeping eyes on moving forward um and then lastly for me honestly it’s more of a salute than a

Question I do have a question for you Jaylen green averaging over 25 points per game over his last six games Houston hasn’t lost the Jaylen green minutes since the the OKC lost on February 27 uh pick and rolls are down close out attacks are up feel like him being able

To play off of Fred Van bleet with the way he’s played as of um as of late has been helpful to Jaylen guess the question I’ll pose to you is do you feel like this is Jaylen legitimately turning a quarter or is just he’s finally hitting shots and it’s

More of a blip than an actual Trend combination of both for me I think there’s been positive motion it obviously helps when you’re making shots and you’re playing better uh it does feel at moments Houston has been able to play with a little bit more Tempo and Jaylen green has been able to

Be a little bit more comfortable in those moments where they’re getting the ball up early he’s getting a kick ahead he can look to attack I don’t have anything he can get off of it I think the off ball movement and there’s been moments where it’s felt better there was a play against

Sacramento uh where I think fed was in pick and roll with shingon Jaylen green was on the right wing and Fred envite comes off drives pass the bonus you got two on the ball Jaylen Green relocates from the wing darn near almost to the other side so goes from the right wing

To the left wing really settled in at the top of the key but that made the rotation for dearon Fox impossible because he was splitting two that’s the encouraging stuff you want to see from Jaylen green as far as understanding how to find the gaps off ball

So the shot making is fantastic but if you’re that type of player that may go up and down the shot selection is probably the biggest key uh being able to make those reads off ball and then on ball it just feels like he’s reading the defense he’s just making plays as

Opposed to predetermining his reads or pick and roll I’m going to just stop and hit my guy who’s trying to recover and keep him in jail and miss the pocket and put myself in a tough spot where I don’t have a shot or a finish

And so that’s the stuff you want I think if you’re a coach as opposed to just the numbers the numbers will come with that kind of scoring ability in theory uh the shot making is is fantastic and fine you like that but are we getting more of

Those little things that will allow him to play and contribute more to what we’re trying to do I’m glad you hit on the relocation point because I think again just off ball usage just in terms of him being spaced or coming off of screens like I

Think you can kind of see them Shifting the usage around a little bit with Jaylen but just the decision making and the quick processing from Jaylen off the ball has been the fun part again you name the Fantastic example with him relocating and forces straining on the

Defense there I go to I want to say the Portland game and which ball swinging around the lot he’s quickly knocking down making these interior feeds while the defense is still scrambling it’s not a catch and hold or taking a bad shot he’s quickly moving it which I feel like

He has done a better job overall this year of just getting off the ball but making those swings there against Portland there was a really nice lob to amen Thompson as ball swinging around the lot he found a in in the dunker spot it’s like that’s not a read

That I expected Jaylen to make all due respect and he did not only did he make it he did so quickly so seeing him kind of map out the floor better I think has been really encouraging like I don’t know you know 25 points per game is

Going to be the thing for him 35% on 10 threes a game which you know I don’t know if that’s going to be the shot profile for him but that combined with him continuing to compete defensively I feel like there have been some really encouraging stries made uh for Jaylen

Green um any players do you wanted to toss out before we move uh I did want to give a quick salute to Isaac aoro I think the confidence that he has played with offensively has been fun to watch just really decisive when he gets a

Drive or I mean when he gets a kick on him drive and he’s you know the shooting has felt better but he’s looking to drive those clothes outs and make plays Terence Mann’s cutting has intrigued me of late just as far as finding different gaps when he’s spaced on the weak side

Timing it cuts up well being involved in actions not even not always initiating but being involved in the start of it in a dribble handoff let me roll let me get back to space just kind of moving around that way I’m keeping an eye on that as

My mind tries to figure out what what the Clippers true best lineup is who their best fifth is uh Shay Gil just Alexander and the way that he takes you know not only what the defense is doing but uses what his offense is doing to his Advantage as far as the spacing goes

I know we’ve talked about it but he’s really like underrated in the sense that once he starts to understand when and where the help is coming from he’s going to use that against you you know definitely especially in the Miami game thinking about plays where he knew he

Had a whole side that was empty he knew if he drove one way the defense was going to react and now he could use that space to his advantage and have more room to get a shout off like those little things are really fun to watch so

That’s probably the the the players I would shout out right now okay got you got you um and then as we were on the old bend the three things with JJ reck we uh we started the all defense conversation um we did not give our full

All defense teams on that episode um but as of March 11 who would you have on your all defense team right now are you asking me to reveal an off all defensive team that we didn’t reveal yes Rudy gobe Anthony Davis bam out of Bio herb Jones Derek white first team

Second team Drew holiday Alice cruso Jaylen sugs Shay Guild Alexander Victor with minyama ah Shay made the team for you uh yeah kcp uh Jared Allen were my uh closest Cuts Brook Lopez and Lou Dort were my next closest not to step on your short list but that

Is my that that was my 10 oh no you are fine as you know I I try to cast a wide net with these before willing it down and I put myself in a in a mental Loop because of it but as of March 11 we got

Another month plus to go whatever but anyway first team for me right now will be Rudy goar Derek white herb Jones Anthony Davis and B bio second team would be Jaylen Suggs Alex Caruso Drew holiday Jared Allen and Victor WN Bama um wait Shay did make it for you I have

Shay just out so we we had the same exact teams except I had Shay in and you didn’t that’s a funny bit that is a funny bit but no not quite there with shade though the fact that he’s in this conversation which actually that’s free throw adjacent better defenses well you

Have Shay on your team so I guess I can’t even ask that that’s what to say shay or nil Alexander Walker but considering you have Shay on your team and nil isn’t there that would answer that I guess how close was nil for you or was he not in like

Serious consideration for you next level got you wouldn’t debate against it but I mean well here’s the thing I’d ask ni Alexander Walker or Josh Hart uh beating a kill for me though Josh har has been quite good why I feel like screen na has been better that probably be the biggest

Thing I point to before getting into like like the nerdy second Spectrum stuff and EPM and all that good stuff film wise let’s have some fun then who can guard more more positions uh I guess how good do you feel about joshh on fours nah you can’t return my

Question with the question answer my question no you all right fair enough um because I’m looking at the kill as like a one through three if you want to go like honestly I probably put him in the same place I say the kill better defending 123 Josh can handle two through

Four okay does uh does a lower minute Factor allow you to play better defense it can yeah I am sorry that Chris Finch does not play nil Alexander Walker 47 minutes a g no I’m asking you because you have to compare these players is nikil Alexander Walker done a better job than Chris

Dun uh I would say he’s and I I am a Chris Dunn fan but I would say he’s been better than Chris Dunn this year Chris Dunn did also make my extremely long list but not have Nelle over Chris has nille done more activity wise than L Dort is now better than

Kcp n versus kcp is probably the fun one the more fun one for me for you for yeah yes my list what you mean but um I I guess let me actually answer the question um I honestly I probably lean the kill you I’m curious to see like where

The total minutes end up coming at you H you lean the kill I like that I lean the kill yeah okay all right can I bother you then real quick sure do you know CJ McCollum has more stocks than nil Alexander Walker that that is fantastic for CJ

McCollum really love that for him know Jamal Murray also does I love that for Jamal as well Grayson Allen always does also does that’s cool it’s really cool John conart so of those four players uh I would imagine they uh they all get hunted to a degree that the Kil

Alexander Walker does not Rus O’Neal shout out Roy doing some good things to Phoenix 01 better than Steph Curry uh noted Elite Defender Steph Curry what’ you call him just kidding just kidding I’m not tapping into the to the Steph bag like Steph’s honestly been fine most of his

Career defensively I don’t want to end up on that side where people just miss step being competent to good on defense because they just assume they’re going that was that just unlocked something for me like watching the discourse on like LeBron trying to hunt Steph and people just claiming Steph is a bad

Defender because LeBron chose to pick at him instead of Andre godala or clay or Draymond Green or it’s like yeah dog you got like four 95s and then Steph who’s like an 82 or an 83 defensively like yeah you go after step that doesn’t mean he’s bad but anyway that’s it’s neither

Here nor there that was just Gordon uh shout out EG finally in Phoenix like eight years after he was supposed to but it’s fine cannot defend like Nel Alexander Walker sorry I didn’t say I said stocks but no I understand I’m just just saying Tani

Kamar he you someone that I had on like the longer list and then I erased his name and then put him back on and then ultimately a racist name again if I could ask a serious question why does nille get the credit that Mike Conley doesn’t uh the honest answer I guess the

Honest answer is two prong one Mike connley should get more credit for what he does and his role in Minnesota’s defense two just generally tougher assignments taken on for nille than Mike Conley I think would be the actual answer okay that’s uh that’s all I got there all due

Respect uh I can quickly go through the long list if you want otherwise we can uh sure go Budd get out of here okay guards I considered again I already named my team a little bit earlier but Derek white Drew holiday Jaylen Suggs Alex Caruso nikil Alexander Walker Shay gildas Alexander

Walker um Al Shay Giles Alexander Walker good job Nel Alexander Walker Shay gilges Alexander there we go uh Chris Dunn Fred Van bleet Dennis Smith Jr um in the wing room herb Jones Isaac aoro kavus cwell Pope Dylan Brooks L dor kawh Leonard Jaylen Brown assar Thompson Anthony Edwards

Also on the longer list ultimately again a lot of those guys didn’t make my team but those were guys I least thought about um in the Ford Room Aaron Gordon Jabari Smith Jr was like my shout out player on the JJ pod if you want to check out the old man the three

Things Uh Kevin Durant Giannis Jaden McDaniels and then the centers Rudy goar Anthony Davis bam maabo Jared Allen Victor wi Bama Chad home Gren Brook Lopez jiren Jackson Jr Nick Claxton and zubot were all guys that I thought about and then naturally in terms of injuries

And stuff no Joel and B Draymond Green Jimmy Butler oan noi Evan moley Marcus smt Scotty Barnes Jonathan Isaac who know the minute Lo was going to be low for him anyway but per possession basis he’s insane and chrisop porzingis be all the players that I at least gave some level of consideration

To nice boom we did it did it we did it um quickly on the news front before we get out of here um Rudy goar finded $100,000 for his actions towards and comments about the officials during and after Friday’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers that is a lot of

Money have to send off that is the maximum amount that he could have been F probably shouldn’t make uh probably shouldn’t make money signals at the refs yeah and then also double down with the uh even though I believe it I shouldn’t have done that and then go

Into how gambling is bad for the game which yeah it’s a different podcast we we’ll leave that along but Rudy go be find a bunch of money ALR shenon scary fall in the Rockets most recent games getting the MRI on his right knee and ankle in recording on a Monday so he’s

Getting that done today um hopefully we’ll have some news soon on that front uh he’s absolutely going to miss some time I hope it’s not season ending if it is season ending uh 21 points nine rebounds five assists 57% on two this year and he’s coming off a week in which

He had 45 and 16 with five steals against the Spurs with wimy playing and Then followed that up 24 hours later with a 2319 and 14 game with a pair of steals against the Clippers so overall just had been playing really well so I hope it’s not a series injury and I hope

He’s not done for the year but those are the numbers if he is um sadique Bay is done for the season tearing his ACL another scary fall that was in the Hawks Pelicans game on Sunday finish this the year averaging 13.7 points per game 6

And a half full s uh 52% on twos 32% from threes and one of the weirdest three-point shooting Seasons I’ve seen for like an objectively good shooter 40% on Corner threes heading into this year 29% from the corners this year I don’t understand how or why this is very

Odd but enjoy this year in Atlanta nonetheless like I think the spacing element was still real conceptually teams have to worry about him out there parlayed that into more shots at The Rim drove it a little bit used him as a screener like quietly was one of Atlanta’s better screeners this year

When to pick and Pops or just want to mismatch hunt and get him a match up at the free throw line all that good stuff and finally the Utah Jazz waving uto Porter Jr signing Kenny Lon Jun Jr and Darius basley to non- guaranteed three years deals two

Questions one is that just the new hinky special because if so I have questions um and two is it not at least a little bit odd that Otto got waved like 10 days after the playoff deadline for buyouts I mean it depends buyouts can be a little

Tricky that’s true but like if they’re go if they’re want to land on the full-blown just the wave or the pure release I feel like they would have known early in the process that hey I’m not giving money back like which again that’s ‘s right he doesn’t have to agree

To a buyout but at that point like I I don’t know at least a little bit surprising that it’s like all right well no buyout you’re here and then after the playoff deadline now you’re not here anymore when to sign these guys and which I’m here to see Kenny LOF and dar

SP to get shots on this Utah shot on this Utah Squad there are front Court minutes to go around so I’m intrigued but I don’t know just it just felt odd on the surface but didn’t know if you had deeper thoughts there um any closing thoughts

Uh tyres Maxi will return to play the New York Knicks when you watch this he’ll be back there we go so he’s available to play oh we like that boy have the Sixers missed him on offense shout out to tyres is there any have we missed any more news or was that

Just was that the last one uh I have as of right now okay well then going to end the podcast and hope that as we end get at 329 p.m. if we get like another WS tweet at 3:34 I’m going to be very upset but thank you for listening listening to and

Or watching this episode of the dunker spot if you haven’t already please subscribe to us we are on Apple Spotify Google Stitcher pod me wher you get your podcast you can find us if you’re watching this on JJ reddit’s YouTube channel and you haven’t for some reason subscribed to JJ reddit’s YouTube

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Have some fun and with that we will catch y’all later in the week great job guys bye Y’all

As we hit the stretch run of the season, Nekias Duncan and Steve Jones Jr. have plenty of questions to toss each other’s way. It’s time for a healthy amount of “how do you feel…” prompts.

If you have NBA or WNBA questions for us, email them to dunkerspot@yahoo.com.

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0:00 Intro
1:20 Exploring the Pelicans’ lineup versatility
10:20 A quick Kings temperature check
11:35 Will the Knicks’ offense pop when they get healthy?
16:35 Is it worth staggering Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner?
24:45 A quick Bulls temperature check
26:50 Keep eyes on Jayson Tatum’s drives
32:20 What’s going on with the Pacers?
42:20 Players we’re thinking about, starting with Brook Lopez
47:45 Terry Rozier
53:20 Jalen Green
57:00 Shoutouts for Isaac Okoro and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
58:45 An All-Defense check-in with a month to go
1:06:50 Catching up on the latest news

Subscribe to The Old Man and The Three podcast w/ JJ Redick (ESPN / First Take) and Tommy Alter YouTube channel today for more NBA analysis, player interviews and highlights.