The dominance of Zion, Dame leading Bucks & the truth behind Nets’ trade decline | CJ McCollum Show

The dominance of Zion, Dame leading Bucks & the truth behind Nets’ trade decline | CJ McCollum Show

Welcome to another episode of the CJ McCullum show we are finally back home after a long long long road trip in which you could say we took care of business and now we have a tough task ahead that I think we’ll get into in a little bit but right now it’s about the

Pelicans it’s about the pul of the NBA it’s about 12 games remaining on our schedule until it gets really real for a lot of teams let people know it’s about the Pelicans right now is that what you’re saying say what you saying it’s about the Pelicans right now no other

Team really matters in the league right now for being honest uh we’re eight and 10 in our last 10 games I mean it’s all about you guys to the Clippers right now that’s for sure um I mean I’m just reading this because it’s a a statistic that’s very public the Clippers are five

And five and we’re now a half game back of the clippers for the four seed at home court advantage but I think the moral of the story is this it’s a really close race in the Western Conference there’s a lot of really good teams and injuries matter Health matters timing

Matters schedule matters and all these things are going to play a factor in where teams finish um down the stretch with 12 games left and I talked about how injuries matter and obviously it’s it’s public knowledge that Brandon Ingram got hurt against the Orlando Magic and he’s a huge huge piece of our

Team and a pillar of our organization and a guy who’s been here for a long time to things the right way works hard and um has showed an ability to continue to evolve offensively defensively huge piece of our team and he’s going to be out for at least two weeks and it’s

Tough you know it’s it’s the timing of it is not ideal but we’re just thankful honestly that it wasn’t worse when in real time it looked like it could have been so much more than um what we’re dealing with currently but in terms of how we get over this I think it’s just

Important that we stick together as a team there’s a lot of guys on our team that are capable of stepping up and helping alleviate some of the the pain of us not having him obviously Trey Murphy has been starting n’s playing more minutes um Hawk will get some more

Minutes at some point more minutes from Jose more minutes from herb more on ball Duty for a lot of different guys from her to myself to Z more scoring from CJ you know cuz guys are according to this uh this this uh I don’t do we call it

Tweets anymore like what x what do you call the actual post if it’s not a tweet because it’s no longer Twitter I digress I don’t think anyone’s have addressed that yet but this x message um put out the stat that you you guys are 22-2 when you when you score 20

Or more points um and 21 and four when you dish out five or more assists and an unbeatable 14 and0 when you hit uh both 20 points and five assists in a game so you know if you want to raise that trophy it’s 20 points five assists all

Day yeah I think it’s a semi small sample size on the 14-0 but I think it also it just shows you that we’re a really good team and when your best players play well and also you know make the players around them better you win games which makes sense and I think a

Part of it is we are a good team we blow teams out I think we have the most double digit wins in the like we blow a lot of teams out so sometimes when I play in the fourth quarter we have a guy that can go 13 of

14 from the field and score 36 points and and get seven rebounds and eight assists we got another guy that can score 40 and hit six threes in a row in a game and averages you know 20 call it 215 and five like we have a lot of guys

We got a we got a center that averages 20 minutes a game and and averages a double Double’s now skinny and and he’s playing in games like we how about that haters how about that haters shout out to the haters Z’s played in let’s let’s talk about this for a second Z has

Played in 15 consecutive games 57 of 68 possible games in a 23 24 season with 12 games remaining assuming he plays in all 12 we’re looking at Zion playing in if the math is Right 69 games great number I can’t great number uh he only played in 114 games since

2019 anyways don’t need to uh you know hang on the past the present is you guys are rolling but I do I before we get more into what’s working so well for you guys you mentioned Brandon Ingram he’s going to be re-evaluated in two weeks it is uh less serious than

Originally um thought but like what I know how we get updated we ask you know um Willie Green what’s the latest on uh on Brandon Ingram like what’s he doing now is he out on the court how are you guys updated on you know the status of injured players and

Like is it a day-to-day thing is he is is Brandon Around The Practice Facility obviously it’s better now that he’s that you guys are home so you may see him more but like when you’re out on the road you get updated like how like when it’s such a significant player like

Brandon Ingram how does that impact just like your preparation and in general yeah I think it impacts everything the way we think about the games the way the coaches have to adjust the the rotations um figuring out who’s going to play how long guys are going to

Play how much we practice now that we basically play every other day for the next 13 days with six games against really good teams during our home stand bi sits by me on the plane he sits right next to Z right now because of you know

His leg and him needing treatment and I get treat what do that to do with sitting next to Zion so me and Z sit so I sit me and Dyson and then the row across from me is z z normally sits by itself bi normally sits in the front of

The plane with the wall but he can’t sit in front of the wall cuz of his leg so he’s now sitting by um Z so I’m right beside both of them and you asking me how we get updates we just ask him is that like is that like just a perk Zion

Gets that he get to sit by himself well no he used to sit by somebody and I think they are no longer on our team and then whoever replaced them plays cards pett I’m just trying to I’m just trying whoever whoever plac whoever placed them plays cards so there’s a table where

Guys play cards so then like a couple people get Rose by themselves so everybody that plays cars can play together and be at the same table that’s like a another story for another day but in terms of how we get updates we just ask and a lot of us have been injured

Before so we know what it’s like to be asked when you’re coming back and all that stuff but it’s more about how do you feel do you feel better today are you improving what types of things are you doing in your rehab now like how’s the swelling like I like to ask specific

Questions because I’ve been hurt so I know like the normal general questions that you don’t want to hear as a player that’s recovering so I get specific and that’s how I get feedback um he’s around he he was flying us adult way to communicate by the way I I like to think

That I’m an adult at this stage as the as the oldest player on on the Pelicans team that’s what I do with pregnant women too I ask all the questions I got annoyed when people ask me when I was pregnant but this is I digress sorry

We’ll have to we’ll have to get more involved in in that conversation but uh um he’s doing well he’s been around uh I get treatment all the time especially on the road so when we land in the city I get treatment uh the day of the game I

Go in the morning and then I’m back on the table uh pregame later in the day and I see him on the table all the time getting treatment doing different stuff doing his rehab his Mobility stuff his movement his strengthening he’s in the weight room lifting before the game so I

You’re you’re seeing him constantly throughout the day and we just got back from a road trip and you get a text with like treatment schedule in times and he’s obviously on the treatment schedle with time so he’s still going in on the off days and and doing what he has to do

To get back and and to make sure that he’s in best he’s he’s his best self when he returns and he’s very I mean not that everybody is this way but Brandon in particular he he doesn’t come back until he’s feeling 100% because of past history with injuries and

Setbacks and from my understanding from the outside is that you know Brandon like when it comes to injuries wants to make sure that he’s like he doesn’t take a step forward to take five steps back but this is an interesting time because it is a playoff push and you guys are

You know like jockeying for positioning and could possibly get home court advantage however is it an advantage for you guys lately uh I don’t mean no disrespect but look you guys have been crushing it but really it’s been on the road that you’ve been um really good I

Mean I mean you’re you’re tied with the Timberwolves for most Road winds 24 among Western Conference teams um but you guys are near the bottom when it comes to winds at home um is there something to that is there a New Orleans flu for you guys no I think it’s a

Combination of we’ve played a lot of games on the road we’ve had a lot of road games and a part of it is US playing really good teams at home and losing and also losing to some teams that aren’t really good at home on occasion but I think there’s no excuses

I think we play well in most cases and now that we have six games at home over the course of two weeks it can either really help our record MH or really hurt our record but I think a tough schedule yeah it’s a it’s a brutal schedule to

Have over 13 days where you basically play every other day against all playoff caliber team bux the Celtics the magic the Suns and then you know Wy yeah which is you know a problem in itself but I think I think all in all we have a lot

Of guys to enjoy competition and there’s nothing like going into somebody else’s refrigerator and drinking out of their orange juice um without getting cup you love silencing the crowd yeah it’s really fun and it’s fun to to have the crowd cheer for you at home and we got

To do a better job of taking care of games at home but to your point I I think homecourt Advantage is nice to have but it doesn’t really matter in the playoffs um it’s the best team that night it’s the the team that executes

The best and we want to be able to play in front of our home fans we want the opportunity to do that but we know we got to take care of business in the regular season season and we have to continue to be comfortable with the fact

That in order for you to win series you got to be able to win games on the road too and we’ve shown that we can do that so what’s been the biggest difference for you guys lately is it you know do you feel like in playing with Zion how

Many years now have you played with Zion two and a possible okay so is this the is this is this the best you’ve ever seen him look that’s tough cuz he had a stretch last season yeah before he got hurt where he was incredible all that yeah starting in the All-Star game we

Were first in the west dominating and the speed the burst the defense it was all there I think he’s playing similar to that it’s hard to compare them cuz this is a 59 game sample size where he’s kind of shifted his mentality he shifted his approach and obviously his body has

Shifted over the course of a full season where we’re getting later in the season and he’s dominant you know still dominant defensively dominant offense balls in his hands more making the right decisions but also a part of this is the fact that bi was hurt during some of that

Run um this season we’ve been able to play together more games than than we have um before they’ve been able to play together more games than they probably have since early in Z Zion’s career so I think the roles have shifted the roles have evolved and the Comfort level has

Grown over the course of a season where all these games been able to play so I think that’s probably a part of why we’ve gotten better it’s the Comfort it’s the understanding of positioning spacing where everybody’s going to be at playing more than 10 games in a row with

The same unit like it helps understanding the rotations From the Bench it helps it gives the coaches familiarity then being able to have practices throughout an entire season where you can strategically work on things or just have like half court breakdown where you walk through spacing

Plays how you want to set the screen where I should go when you catch the ball in the elbow we’re able to have that dialogue because we’re all on the floor when you’re not on the floor together consistently it’s hard to to have that same dialogue and to mesh as well

Well look I mean you guys are peing at the right time whereas um the team that you’re currently trailing is um going in the opposite direction in the Clippers they um they’ve been having a rough go since the All-Star Break um five and five since the All-Star break whereas you

Guys are 8 and 10 in the last 10 games or five and five in the last 10 games for for the Clippers um it’s coincided a little bit with um you know Russell Westbrook going down and he’s he’s set to rejoin the lineup this week um you

Know he there’s reports that he can hit the court as early as uh as tonight as we’re recording this on Monday night um against the Pacers 3 weeks after his surgery for a fractured left hand um so in his absence they’ve gone six and six they’ve just you know lacking Just

Energy I mean from your perspective um I know you’re playing game so you don’t have an opportunity to watch every single Clippers game but what what are your observations for you know how things have shifted uh for the Clippers lately I think James talked about it and

He said that he’s trying to lighten up the move for the Clippers he talk about you believe that how they been response that was in response to him sh yes contesting kawhai shot I’m sorry I just had to no I think he was just I think is

Just messing around like in the flow of the game but I think they have been in the funk and I think it’s comes a point in time throughout a season where you hit a wall mentally physically individually and collectively as a team and it it happens at different points

Throughout a season especially when you have a veteran team who’s played in the playoffs and they know what it takes to sustain a high level of play there’s laws throughout the season I think they’re just going through a law obviously this coincided with Russ who’s the most energetic player on the team

Who brings the change of speed to the bench who brings that approach who’s probably a vocal leader challenging guys throughout and when he’s not out there there’s definitely a difference in how they perform based on the record alone I think they’re 28 and8 when he’s in the lineup before the injury like they’re

Just better when he’s out there for for a multitude of reasons I his moved to the bench I think like was an act of leadership that I think like um made this team kind of come together and rally together um so yeah I mean so sorry I cut you off again no

You’re good keep cutting me off this I’m just kidding but I think I I I honestly think that it’s just a point in the season where they hit a little wall I don’t think it’s anything that fans or the league should be worried about like

This is still a good team you put him in a seven game series they still got the same players they got a really good coach they’re going to execute and they got shot makers shot takers and Defenders um that can guard a multitude of positions but I think overall it’s

It’s 12 games left and it’s it’s it’s that point in the season where the games are starting to matter again and you’re starting to get a more clear picture as to what your playoff scenario is going to look like but did you believe James Harden when he said that he was really

Trying to lighten I mean have you ever seen that before I’ve never seen it in a game no I’ve seen it in practice but not in the game wait Kawai made the shot right I don’t he missed it okay see what see what are we what are we doing and

I’m thinking like you think Kawai was mad about this like why you know I was was open why you couldest it exactly I’m I’m just confu I’m confused all around I mean I I the reasoning I guess plays for what the you know what the Clippers are going through

He’s saying like we’ve been in a fog and I trying to create energy but it I don’t know it just was kind of weird and maybe that’s more execution more maybe that’s just sums them up right now they’re like searching for answers with you know like

How like their the magic that they lost because they were they were like gunning for the one seed for a while um yeah and now you know um it’s Out Of Reach it’s out reach yeah yeah especially with the way the nuggets are playing which by the way then Michael Malone said

Um uh he doesn’t he he doesn’t think anyone’s playing better than nuggets right now he also he doesn’t care if they have the number one seed do you believe that no I mean I was actually around the team um during that whole like race for the one seed and you know

I had two games with them and every single person was like yeah we want the one seed but also like you know do matter it doesn’t matter but also we’re we do want the one seed like cuz that’s I mean I think it could be both things

It could be like it doesn’t really matter we’re very good we’re not going to like you know go out of our way but we’re we’re our foot is on the pedal like we are we’re Full Steam head and it looks like that way for um for the

Nuggets uh another team that’s been like redot the Rockets how about them Rockets theyve they’ve won eight straight eay udoka that’s all I want to say with that he’s getting the best at him and this is crazy because this is with Al singon who’s been the best player on

Their team and was the engine of the offense um he was the The Joker if you will to the Houston Rockets and they’ve been great in Papa green uh and I’m not talking about Jeff oh I’m talking about Jaylen oh he’s been massive yep he’s been massive for the

Rockets he’s averaging 27.8 5.7 3.5 this month shooting 51 from the field and 41 from three this is congrat on the babies or the just all around good for you uh Andy’s Filipino hey oh okay Filipino and he’s he’s shooting threes and turning before the ball goes through the net uh

Consistently he had a nasty dunk on my guy Anthony uh Simon shout out to my guy Anthony he had a nasty dunk on him in Portland he’s catching lobs he’s finishing around the basket he’s playing with a a different level of confidence and Swagger and this Rockets team with

Fred vley and EM who you talked about they’re going going to be good for quite some time they got a nice roster Dylan Brooks is playing well shooting the ball well all season his teammates are talking about the importance of him being on the team and on the floor and

Not getting thrown out games um but they’ve been good this season in spurts and this is a great time this season for them to put together eight straight wins and be 10 and one in a month trailing the Warriors by what a half a game for

That for that 10 spot uh which is a spot in the playing game that Draymond said he was not worried about at all do you think the Warriors should be worried yeah but not not just because of the Rockets I think that there’s only 12 games left there’s so few games left

It’s hard to make up for a lot of what’s happened throughout this season obviously the pass is the P but that pass affects your present and your future and the need to like win games like the game they had the other night against Minnesota it’s like every game

Matters that much more when there’s only a handful of games left especially when you have a tough schedule especially when you have games against teams who are competing for a lot of the same things you’re competing for which is play in and and potentially playoffs so

I think they not that they are worried but I think a lot of teams are are uncertain of their future which can bring a little bit of anxiousness to to anyone I mean this team has fire clearly because you know they’ve gone in a couple scuffles and Dylan Brooks does

Not back down from anyone and neither does eay I think we off do do you remember when eay got into LeBron’s face like yeah he I mean and that’s been his um that’s been his kind of reputation that like he doesn’t back down to anyone he

Talks to everyone you know um the same and holds people accountable um you know I I I it’s you’re right I think this team has talent and he’s he’s getting the best out of them and um you got a nice mix of veterans with with you know

Papa Jeff the older papa papa green yeah and then um you know and Fred Fred I mean Fred’s Fred’s a champion um I mean you got two Champions with with with Jeff Green as well so they have a they have a nice Squad um and you know there’s there’s reports that it could

Have been drastically different at this point in the season with um and that that report that there was a potential blockbuster trade with with the Brooklyn nexts on the table um where you know Houston proposed a deal that aimed to send Jaylen green and several first

Round picks which the Nets don’t have um in exchange for Mel Bridges uh which obviously did not happen uh which side is more interesting to you um that that this deal didn’t fall through for the Nets or the the Rockets I think it’s more interesting that it didn’t fall through for the Nets

Because they’ve talked about wanting multiple picks and the ability to be able to you know be young but flexible and that would have been a move that allows that obviously Mel is an established player who’s shown the ability to play different types of roles three and D can run some pick and rolles

Can be that that score on the second side of the offense that you need but I think it’s also his veteran presence and understanding of how he would have complimented Fred how he would have complimented singon the personality and temperament of eeme um I think that they

Would have it would have made their team different and in Dynamic and ways that it’s not I think the upside of Jaylen green right the explosiveness in the fact that he’s playing the way he’s playing now is different than how he was viewed maybe two months ago he wasn’t

Being viewed in the same light he wasn’t having these same types of performances consistently um his percentages were down a little bit he wasn’t finishing games at certain points uh of the earlier parts of the season and I think he had hit a little rut I think he had

Hit a little rut in terms of how he was being utilized usage pick and rolls efficiency all those things weren’t what they had been for him in the past and I think now asking about this trade is completely different because of how he’s being viewed how he’s played and the switch that he’s

Kind of turned on since the injury uh to Alfred singon yeah I I mean it’s very interesting to think about also from the Nets perspective where they were you know Ben Simmons um wasn’t ruled out for the for the for the year um you know I

Think when it comes to male like for for the Nets the initial reaction was hey like we you know blew up our team and he is the Cornerstone of the future for us and what we’re building behind so like you know like it almost felt I it almost

Feels from the outside that like maybe it didn’t go through because of how much they Envision Mel being the future there but I mean the first round picks too you know hard several several is that three or four you know that I think a lot of Nets fans are probably like crying you

Know the shaa whatas um you know reading that that article by Shams so I mean what is the future for for Brooklyn like they’re when you when you see that team and all the money they have tied up too in Ben and it’s just really unfortunate what’s going on with him as

Well I mean this back injury definitely seems to be something that is continuing to linger um and not get better so I mean the the future for Houston seems to be on the rise but um you know honestly I don’t know what what the future holds for Brooklyn right now I

Think exact they have a lot of players that teams covet throughout the league um not necessarily sure they all fit together um there a lot of great pieces to puzzle but I don’t think it’s the right puzzle for those pieces I think they’re just going to have to make some

Decisions as to who they want to keep they got a young scoring guard in cam Thomas they got young athletic mobile switchable bigs they obviously have uh they got the twins you know they got was it Thomas cam Thomas yep and they got a new coach in the middle

Of a season so they have some changes that they’ve made and are going to continue to make and I think it’s going to be interesting to see what they decide to do because if they want to if they want to press the press the full rebuild button they have some

Options to to clear house and get picks I mean Dorian FY Smith a playoff team would love um yeah I mean Claxton like there’s there’s a they got Wings Galore wings and wings Galore switchable switchable Walker you know has has shown a lot of like uh Talent this year

And they got Dennis shuder I think that’s your point they have a lot of they have a lot of pieces they just don’t seem to work with each other um we’ll see what happens in the summertime as staying in the East is uh we kind of wrap things

Up there’s a lot going on um in the middle of the pack I mean the Celtics are I think the magic number may be like two I’m not either two or one in terms of like clinching the one seed before any other their team clinches a playoff spot um so they’re they’re chilling

Um even though this Drew holiday shoulder thing is like a little concerning but you know he’s now missed five games with that but um I think it’s actually been you know covering them a lot this year the a big criticism is their depth but I think they’ve been

Showing you know pton Pritchard um you know they’ve had they they’ they have some guys who’ve been stepping up for them them um on the bench um that you know I I I think in talking to um you know my broadcast crew and Doris and Mark Jones I don’t think their depth

Really is is the issue right now it’s just about them kind of rising to the occasion elsewhere in the East um you know the Bucks they they’ve been rolling they and Doc Rivers has come in and he he made two changes um two two things he wanted to stand on

Improving the defense and getting Dame back to playing like the Dame we all know offensively and I think he’s done both of those things so far um what how how how do you feel the Bucks have been playing cuz it does seem like they’re rallying behind doc now I think it

Started right away with their defense their defense improved right away they were still losing games when doc took over but their defense was better I think uh more consistent switching being at the level kind of mixing up coverages and and complimenting the strengths of everybody while getting their guards to

Kind of Buy in obviously they made the trade for Patrick Beverly obviously the health of Chris Middleton is is also playing a factor Giannis has missed some Gams but his back in the rotation and back to to doing what he does which is like 30 and and and 13 and and Dame is

Getting more pick and rolls higher usage more time on the court with Giannis in actions but also more time without Giannis where the ball kind of plays through him and he’s initiating the offense and finishing the offense the ways that he has you know throughout his

Career I think all those things are a factor I think there’s an accountability finishing the offense they’ played together for the first time since February 3rd and Chris I had his you know second game back I mean he’s given how much time he was away 16

Games like he just came back and you know was so fluid um and if that Twan game between Giannis and and Dame just continues to get stronger and stronger and then oh by the way there’s Chris here as a as as another threat like that they could be really scary um for for

You know the the Boston Celtics if you will um or anyone else in the East do you think they could really be scary or you just saying that no I do I do they in your heart of hearts you believe they got a shot yes if they can continue on

This like trajectory of plain solid defense um and you know Giannis and I mean we’ve only I I forget how many games like Giannis Chris and and um Dame like I think they’ve I I don’t know the numbers uh of how many games they play together under dock but like not many

Not many I think you can count it on one hand so um I think that that is the you know uh X Factor if they can figure this out quickly but I think that they’re trending in the right direction and they have the talent um so yes I do I believe

In my heart and hearts that they can challenge the the the Celtics right now but moving down the conference um Pacers Heat Sixers uh half game difference for the six seed right now there’s reports that you know uh Joel is making way back the Sixers shout out to the Sixers

They’ve like been holding it down um you know in in Joel’s absence even with like Tyrese missing some games so if Joel comes back um in time for the playoffs are you giving them any shot I think they could be really good if H hold and healthy it really just

Depends on which Joel you get coming off an injury coming off of a knee injury um how ready is he how comfortable is he out there the conditioning the Rhythm all those things he was in an unbelievable Rhythm before he was injured you on his way to probably an

MVP um MVP type of year for sure with what he was doing it was it’s unlike anything we have had ever seen even Will Chamberlain wasn’t putting up those types of numbers um averaging more points than minutes absurd more rebounds the efficiency was was was crazy he was

Leading league in points per game and he had sat like 13 fourth quarters which is nuts to think about but I think they will be good if he comes back I think the Rhythm you talked about that Boston has established you know winning 80% of their games nine straight games

Virtually impossible to beat at home I think they have three losses All Season at home they’ll have home court advantage they’ll have clenched the number one seed and two two wins from now because they’ll have a 13 game lead with 11 games left in the season and they could rest guys strategically to

Get ready for the playoffs the Bucks are trending up with Middleton being healthy he just had a triple double the other night a great nether option for them to have that can score that can run pick and rolls that can score in the half court which is really important in the

Playoffs alongside Dame and Yannis shout out Bobby poris Bobby is really good and funny to watch on TV in terms of his personality um really really good personality from afar that’s what it appears to be but he is I think the Sixers are good but I think this injury

Hurts the rhythm of their team and it it gives me the impression and the opinion that the Bucks and Celtics are better suited for the playoffs because of the consistency and them playing together leading up into the playoffs which matters that Rhythm that Rhythm matters okay last question before we wrap it up

Would you be surprised to see the heat in the Eastern Conference Finals again in the Eastern Conference Finals again yeah I would be surprised because just how how they’ve played played all year like I mean I guess this is what they do every year going into

The playing game 8C to the finals like 8C to the conference final their offense looks terrible terrible some nights where Jimmy Jimmy turns into Jimmy 2.0 once the Playoff starts bam is guard one through five it really is crazy how he like just transforms transforms and they’re very injured right now on which

Side you want to take on that like you can be infuriated that he doesn’t play like that all season or be like all right playoff time now you know carry us Jimmy you know I just I just wonder if they’ve dug themselves in two deep of a

Hole to where I mean if you run into Boston in that first round Good Luck Good Luck you know what I mean like that one seat is Boston so you got to be seven like if they sneak in and get eight as good as they are as good as

That heat culture is as good as SPO is and and Jimmy and everybody like you got to beat Boston in Boston but they have history of that I mean they were 39 and 32 last year at this time um I mean they’re 39 and 32 now and

Then at this time last year they’re they’re 38 and 33 but who they lose Max they lost Max they they have Duncan Heroes still hurt they got a lot of injuries right now I mean with them healthy I mean they got a puncher’s chance it’s just a matter of are they

Going to match up in the first round with Boston or Milwaukee I don’t know man either way injuries injuries either way we’ve seen this before and so until it doesn’t happen it’s like LeBron you know until like I see it I’m not going to well that’s a now everyone’s going to come

For like are you comparing Miami he to LeBron I think Health matters I’ll say if if all bets are equal and everybody’s healthy I don’t think that Miami gets to the Conference Finals but that’s a big if because last year Giannis was hurt right Yannis up getting hurt in the

Middle of his series like you can’t all of those things play a factor in matchups plays a factor in how this season finishes who gets what seed so I think it’s it’s too tough to determine right now because we don’t know what the injuries are going to look like and

Who’s going to be healthy but I don’t I don’t see it happening this year I respectfully I don’t see it all right well we will see that’s the beauty of the game 12 games left until it gets really real really fast yeah I mean it’s already real for Pelicans because that’s the

Only team that matters right now right only team that matters in the NBA the Pelicans six game home stand against some really good teams looking forward to seeing what happens but more importantly looking forward to seeing what happens across the rest of the league in terms of matchups and playoffs

And April May June basketball all right well um happy Easter week or whatever happy week depending on what you celebrate and um I will see you and talk to you next week sounds good he has risen and happy Easter Week

On this episode of the CJ McCollum Show, CJ and Cassidy dive into the latest NBA action, starting with the Pelicans navigating their season’s challenges. They discuss Brandon Ingram’s current situation, the Pelicans’ impressive road game record, and how Zion’s performance enhances team chemistry. The conversation then shifts to the Clippers’ post-All-Star Break difficulties and the Rockets’ recent success, spearheaded by Jalen Green. They also touch on the Nets’ decision to pass up a trade for Green, Doc Rivers’ impact on the Bucks’ dominance in the East, and the 76ers’ resilience without Embiid. Wrapping up, they ponder the Heat’s chances of reaching the Eastern Conference Finals again and acknowledge Damian Lillard’s standout contributions to the Bucks’ formidable defense.

0:00 Welcome to the CJ McCollum Show
0:15 The Pelicans are rolling through the punches
4:41 What is the latest on Brandon Ingram’s injury?
9:05 The Pelicans have a better road record than home
10:52 Zion’s game is a sign of improved chemistry
12:36 Clippers have struggled since All-Star Break
16:49 The Rockets are red hot behind Jalen Green
21:06 Nets rejected deal for Rockets’ Jalen Green
26:18 Bucks are cruising in the East under Doc Rivers
30:18 The 76ers have held steady without Embiid
32:40 Are we surprised if the Heat makes the ECF again?

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