Speaker 1: Okitch has it, clob takes gotta put one up, Gil
Speaker 1: Kids for the woman Kids, God, the all kids cut
Speaker 1: it off in time and the Nuggets with it?
Speaker 2: Are you kidding?
Speaker 3: Majors? Welcome hereto NBA Pulster production of iHeartRadio in the NBA.
Speaker 3: I'm Sarah Kustak, NBA analyst for the y S Network,
Speaker 3: and today is Friday, January fifth. From our extraordinary core
Speaker 3: group of NBA journalists, We're joined now by NBA dot
Speaker 3: Com Senior writer Steve Ashburnner and ohe Ass. We had
Speaker 3: a good Thursday night of hoops. Two games that came
Speaker 3: down to the wire. The open ear the Milwaukee Bucks
Speaker 3: in San Antonio spurs a one to twenty five, one
Speaker 3: twenty one victory for the Bucks as we saw Jannis
Speaker 3: and Victor wembin Yama go at it for the first time.
Speaker 3: We will get into that one in just a bit.
Speaker 3: But the nightcap the Nuggets the Warriors. It came down
Speaker 3: to the wire and who else to come through? Although
Speaker 3: I say that you got two clutch players there more
Speaker 3: than that between the Nuggets and the Warriors, and fortunately
Speaker 3: a turnover by Steph Curry set up an opportunity for
Speaker 3: the Nuggets to have the final possession, and it was
Speaker 3: Nikola Jokic with the buzzer beating three pointer to give
Speaker 3: Denver the three point win. And ash I wanted to
Speaker 3: get into this one not just about the Nuggets getting
Speaker 3: another win and beating the Warriors here in this one,
Speaker 3: it was a pretty complete effort. Jokic with thirty four points,
Speaker 3: nine rebounds. He had ten assists thirteen of sixteen from
Speaker 3: the field, so he was highly highly efficient. Aaron Gordon
Speaker 3: now has been back for Denver. He had thirty points,
Speaker 3: nine rebounds. Twenty five from Murray Peyton Watson continues to
Speaker 3: impress off the bench with nineteen points. Curry as well
Speaker 3: had thirty points. A nice game from Klay Thompson, but
Speaker 3: more so about Nicola Jokich. It's not just about another
Speaker 3: buzzer beater. It's not just about a win here for
Speaker 3: the Nuggets, but the things in the ways in which
Speaker 3: he continues to truly amaze and step up to the moments.
Speaker 3: I think the comfort level for a guy like Michael
Speaker 3: Malone for him to give the ball to the two
Speaker 3: time MVP and have it in his hands and make
Speaker 3: some decisions. That one obviously it needed to be a
Speaker 3: three point. Look what makes Yokich unique different from so
Speaker 3: many other MVP candidate and so many other elite level
Speaker 3: players that we see in this league.
Speaker 2: Well, my goodness, I mean after two MVPs, I mean,
Speaker 2: he's sort of proven his brand and probably could be
Speaker 2: an MVP candidate for you know, the foreseeable future. I mean,
Speaker 2: to me, it's it's his passing and his past first
Speaker 2: mentality and the way he makes teammates better by virtue
Speaker 2: of that. You know, he's a threat first and foremost
Speaker 2: to find an open man, and then when necessary or
Speaker 2: the opportunity presents itself, like it did at at the
Speaker 2: end of a tie game, you know that he becomes
Speaker 2: a matchup nightmare because if he's got the ball out high,
Speaker 2: you know, that's a matchup challenge for Golden State in
Speaker 2: terms of just his size. Uh And but if you
Speaker 2: have a big, big man out there, then all of
Speaker 2: a sudden, you know he's got he's got more mobility
Speaker 2: and obviously more skills than most of the big men
Speaker 2: in the league. So let us count the ways in
Speaker 2: which Jokic distances himself, separates himself from his peers, and
Speaker 2: you know, Joel Embiid has taken over the spotlight as
Speaker 2: far as MVP, you know, last year and even potentially
Speaker 2: this year. But Jokic, if anything, is as good as
Speaker 2: he's ever been, uh and maybe better than he's ever been.
Speaker 3: Yeah, And it feels that way. And it was an
Speaker 3: interesting game. It just a game of runs. We see
Speaker 3: that so often throughout the course of these NBA games.
Speaker 3: But Denver had a nice lead there in the second quarter.
Speaker 3: In the third quarter, Golden State pulled away. They outscored
Speaker 3: Denver forty four twenty four. In this Nuggets team, though,
Speaker 3: you really are impressed by the compilation of how these
Speaker 3: guys all come together, and I feel like it always
Speaker 3: has them postgame talking about Jokic and the even keeled,
Speaker 3: composed nature that he brings to the table. And I
Speaker 3: also think just knowing that there's so many things you mentioned,
Speaker 3: is passing and that absolutely is some things that you
Speaker 3: know is at the top of the list of his
Speaker 3: skill set. But I think because of that, it makes
Speaker 3: him such a threat in how teams have to play him,
Speaker 3: knowing that he can facilitate for his teammates, he can
Speaker 3: score all of those things. Who do you have We're
Speaker 3: talking about this in terms of best players, top players, MVP,
Speaker 3: Who do you have on your MVP list as the
Speaker 3: number one guy at this point of the season.
Speaker 2: Well, I think I haven't checked the last couple of days,
Speaker 2: but I probably had Joel Embiid. I think that statistically
Speaker 2: he's even a little better than he was last year.
Speaker 2: I think what Philadelphia has has done in terms of
Speaker 2: clearing out the James Harden difficulties and now still looking
Speaker 2: like a legit contender behind Boston in the in the East.
Speaker 2: With Tyris Maxi stepping up his game, I think Embiid
Speaker 2: makes as just as big a case this year as
Speaker 2: he did last year. That's early, but as m v
Speaker 2: P and then after that, I mean, you know, you
Speaker 2: line up the usual suspects like Luca and Giannis and Jokic,
Speaker 2: and then I think Shake gilgis Alexander to me, is
Speaker 2: is right there and and deserving of a top five.
Speaker 2: You know, consideration, we we won't make you, we won't
Speaker 2: make it. You give us a full top ten.
Speaker 3: Well, well, well we'll leave that to my right in
Speaker 3: his MVP ladder where where he started looking through. But
Speaker 3: I couldn't agree with you more about the Shake guild
Speaker 3: just Alexander piece probably with you as well with the
Speaker 3: Joel slightly you know him and him and Jokic, but
Speaker 3: maybe and be getting that nod. But I am interested
Speaker 3: to see what shake Guild of Alexander continues to do
Speaker 3: with that Oklahoma City thunder team currently sitting second in
Speaker 3: the Western Conference, a pretty stronghold. I'm where they've been
Speaker 3: what he's accomplished. But speaking of votes, vote getters, top
Speaker 3: vote getters, and one one that hangs in that top five,
Speaker 3: but is the number one when it comes to All
Speaker 3: Star voting is Janis Adeta Kumpo, number one overall vote getter,
Speaker 3: Number one in the East. Number two in the East
Speaker 3: was Joel and b Number three was Jason Tatum. On
Speaker 3: the Western side of things, that's for the front court,
Speaker 3: I should say Lebron James was the number two overall
Speaker 3: vote getter, followed by Kevin Durant and then Nikola Jokic
Speaker 3: in the front court. For guards in the West, it
Speaker 3: was Doncic, then Currie, then Gildas Alexander. In the Eastern Conference,
Speaker 3: Tyrese Haliburton was the number one vote getter by fans.
Speaker 3: For guards in the Eastern Conference, followed by Dame Lillard
Speaker 3: and Trey Young. But it's not about the All Star yet, Ash.
Speaker 3: We will have plenty of time to get into that
Speaker 3: as that approaches, because last night it was a first
Speaker 3: opportunity for us to see Janis Detakoumpo, Victor Wembin Yama
Speaker 3: go at it between one another. It was actually Victor's
Speaker 3: twentieth birthday, so happy birthday to him. And it was
Speaker 3: a sensational matchup. Denakupo forty four points, fourteen rebounds when
Speaker 3: Baniyama had twenty seven points. Devin Vessel led the San
Speaker 3: Antonio Spurs with thirty four points, and it was a
Speaker 3: back and forth affair, especially down the final three minutes
Speaker 3: of that game between Yannis and Victor. The defensive plays,
Speaker 3: the three point shots, the clutch looks, it was it
Speaker 3: flashed that we saw and we have seen throughout the
Speaker 3: course of the season. We know what Yannis can do,
Speaker 3: but of Wembin Yama showing that he really looks like
Speaker 3: he will be the read real deal. When you look
Speaker 3: at that back and forth matchup and just the understanding
Speaker 3: of the moment this San Antonio Spurs team, they're five
Speaker 3: and twenty nine they're last in the Western Conference, Milwaukee
Speaker 3: currently sitting second in the East at the twenty five
Speaker 3: and ten record. But these type of moments that you know,
Speaker 3: all eyes are on this sensational young rookie that has
Speaker 3: got a lot of hype coming in. What did Wembin
Speaker 3: Yama show you in that moment and at that point
Speaker 3: of the game that kind of starts to formulate your
Speaker 3: opinion on what he could be in this league.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, I I ranked the rookies every year
Speaker 2: and every week, excuse me, And what I saw from
Speaker 2: when min Yama last night was the way he dialed
Speaker 2: up his game for top competition, both in a team
Speaker 2: sense and individually with Giannis. I think he showed more
Speaker 2: in that game because it was against a real contending team.
Speaker 2: I mean, he's been playing you know, the Spurs five
Speaker 2: and twenty eight, five and twenty nine maybe now, Yeah,
Speaker 2: and so it probably haven't been a lot of moments where,
Speaker 2: you know, down the stretch of a tight game against
Speaker 2: class competition that he's been able to respond. And he
Speaker 2: did respond. You know, over the course of that game,
Speaker 2: he had a couple of dunks. He had one where
Speaker 2: he passed to himself off the backboard, which course is
Speaker 2: pretty ingenious for a guy his size to do that.
Speaker 1: Just dow it off the glass. The Bucks went for
Speaker 1: the steal, didn't get it. Look at this, he knew
Speaker 1: he couldn't do a little finger roll, so just dow.
Speaker 2: It off the rink. And then late he had that
Speaker 2: breakout dunk where he got the ball and headed down court.
Speaker 2: He troubled me behind his back to get by Damian Lillard,
Speaker 2: and then he went he went over Brook Lopez, ram Benihana.
Speaker 1: Oh what are you kidding me? Come on, you not corn,
Speaker 1: Stop this, Stop this. Look at this. This is around
Speaker 1: a guard in Lillard and a finish over a seven
Speaker 1: footer man special talent, a special talent.
Speaker 2: You know that those are pretty stirring moments. And yet
Speaker 2: he's a rookie. So what do we see at the
Speaker 2: very end the spurs potential final possession. He goes and
Speaker 2: he steps across the end line when he's inbounding the
Speaker 2: ball and a very simple mistake. So you know that
Speaker 2: stuff's going to happen. But I just I watched that
Speaker 2: game thinking is he honest? Is he thinking about a
Speaker 2: never facing anybody quite like that? And b reflecting on
Speaker 2: himself when he was twenty and how far he has come,
Speaker 2: and what Webin Yama might be if he travels the
Speaker 2: same path, if he dedicates himself and works as hard
Speaker 2: and builds himself up physically. I mean, my goodness, he
Speaker 2: could be you know, Yannis, you know, to the nth
Speaker 2: degree at that point. So a great fascinating matchup to watch.
Speaker 2: I think it's said as much about the Bucks and
Speaker 2: their struggles their flaws this season as it did about
Speaker 2: woman Yama and the Spurs. But what great entertainment.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and you said it in terms of the Bucks
Speaker 3: and in terms of what that meant for us as
Speaker 3: basketball fans and viewers. To see that back and forth
Speaker 3: battle down the stretch with those two stars, To obviously
Speaker 3: see a close, tightly contested game is something that we
Speaker 3: all love and find fun and enjoyable. But for that
Speaker 3: Milwaukee Bucks team, that's not what you want. That's not
Speaker 3: what you want against the last place team in the
Speaker 3: West Conference, one that is struggling and you know, one
Speaker 3: in which you feel like you should have a good
Speaker 3: handle on Milwaukee. Despite the fact that the record looks good,
Speaker 3: as I said, they're place in the Eastern Conference, it
Speaker 3: has been solid, they are still one searching for a
Speaker 3: variety of things to come together if they truly want
Speaker 3: to be a title contending team. As they are speaking
Speaker 3: of another team that wanted to be a title contending
Speaker 3: team and has run into a lot of issues, the
Speaker 3: Los Angeles Lakers, Ash, we are going to discuss their
Speaker 3: struggles after break. Welcome back to MM Pulse. Saracoustak joined
Speaker 3: by the great Steve Ashburner and Ash who the Los
Speaker 3: Angeles Lakers. There was a lot of hope, promise for
Speaker 3: what this team could be coming into this season. Of course,
Speaker 3: you know, Lebron James has been tremendous, carrying the load
Speaker 3: you think about coming into the season, and the concept
Speaker 3: and thought of him being able to be on a
Speaker 3: bit of a minute's restriction and just the responsibility needed
Speaker 3: from him here as a thirty nine year old has
Speaker 3: been tremendous. Anthony Davis solid as well, But after that
Speaker 3: a lot of the pieces have fallen off. The Lakers
Speaker 3: currently sitting tenth in the Western Conference seventeen and eighteen
Speaker 3: record here they've lost three in a row, but the
Speaker 3: issues go much deeper than that, and seemingly some disconnect
Speaker 3: and frustration obviously, but turmoil amongst the team and what
Speaker 3: things may look like moving forward in any of the
Speaker 3: solutions that they could find to try and get the
Speaker 3: season back on track. How would you characterize what's going
Speaker 3: on with this Lakers team in ways in which at
Speaker 3: this point of the year, you know, we're sitting here
Speaker 3: now the turn of the calendar year, what they can
Speaker 3: do to try and correct the direction that they've been
Speaker 3: at this juncture.
Speaker 2: Well, I mean it strikes me as Hollywood drama, you
Speaker 2: know you get from the Lakers. I mean it's based
Speaker 2: on their expectations as Laker fans at uh, you know
Speaker 2: in that market that you know this will not do.
Speaker 2: I mean, you know, some of us look at the
Speaker 2: vettering and aging teams, particularly in the West, I mean
Speaker 2: Phoenix and the Lakers and Golden State, and they're all
Speaker 2: sort of thrashing about trying to get traction in the standings.
Speaker 2: But you know that that sort of misery loves company
Speaker 2: thing is no boum for Laker fans. They expect more,
Speaker 2: and frankly, any team on which Lebron plays, greater things
Speaker 2: are expected. I think the Darvin Ham right now is
Speaker 2: the guy in the crossairs allegedly there are players who
Speaker 2: are unhappy with his rotations, his starting lineup changes. Now,
Speaker 2: those might be the guys that are no longer starting,
Speaker 2: that are that are are beefing behind the scenes or
Speaker 2: behind the scenes, or it might be Lebron who just
Speaker 2: feels like, you know, there's there's no real rhythm to
Speaker 2: those sort of changes. You know, this far into a season,
Speaker 2: so you know, as long as the sources are unnamed,
Speaker 2: it's gonna be hard to pin down just what the
Speaker 2: real problem is. But right now it's Darvin Ham in
Speaker 2: the crosshairs. He is a fairly easy target, just as
Speaker 2: Frank Vogel was before him, just as other coaches that
Speaker 2: Lebron has had have been. And you know this is
Speaker 2: not this is not Riley or Phil Jackson or even
Speaker 2: Steve Kerr. You know, guys who have established themselves and
Speaker 2: are sort of beyond reproach and that they will work
Speaker 2: through this sort of stuff. Darvin Ham probably on a
Speaker 2: on a you know, a fairly short leash as far
Speaker 2: as you know coaching, you know, tenure, and you know,
Speaker 2: we'll see. I don't know that it would be the
Speaker 2: right move. I know there are probably some reasons that
Speaker 2: he too needs to work harder and do better. But
Speaker 2: it doesn't begin an end with the head coach there.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and just the compilation of the roster, the lineup,
Speaker 3: I think you're right. It's also frankly players that are underperforming,
Speaker 3: some that had, you know, played in a different manner,
Speaker 3: whether it was last season or just how the pieces
Speaker 3: have all fit together, some slower starts from others, and
Speaker 3: guys that you're depending on, whether that's a D'Angelo Russell
Speaker 3: or Torrian Prince or his players that have not not
Speaker 3: performed to the manner that has you know, benefited the team.
Speaker 3: And here you said about Lebron in his twenty first year,
Speaker 3: you know, is he going to be the guy to
Speaker 3: carry things? Yeah, but that's not exactly what you want
Speaker 3: to look in putting the pieces around him. So, you know,
Speaker 3: I think I think it's still obviously we do sit
Speaker 3: here in January, but as the trade deadline approaches, you know,
Speaker 3: the damp darvin Ham piece of it is interesting to me.
Speaker 3: I think obviously there was a lot of enthusiasm of
Speaker 3: the job he was able to do last year, and
Speaker 3: part of it is X's and O's and part of
Speaker 3: it is handling personalities. And I think for a team
Speaker 3: too that was so predicated on defense and what they're
Speaker 3: able to do on the defensive end, that aspect has
Speaker 3: not come. So I'll be curious to see what moves
Speaker 3: will be made, can be made to try and rectify
Speaker 3: the situation, because think about what we were saying and
Speaker 3: thinking about the Lakers at this point of last year
Speaker 3: and how that shifted with a handful of moves and
Speaker 3: in some players being moved and others coming in and
Speaker 3: performing in a different level.
Speaker 2: They shouldn't have to do that every year, though. I mean,
Speaker 2: you know, we see what means the teams in the league,
Speaker 2: and the idea that well, we'll transform the roster for
Speaker 2: the final thirty games is that shouldn't be a strategy,
Speaker 2: and it speaks of desperation. I was at the game,
Speaker 2: the birthday game for Lebron in Minneapolis last weekend, and
Speaker 2: you know, I didn't know what they were doing, particularly
Speaker 2: in the uh, you know, near the very end of
Speaker 2: that game. I mean the play that blew up on them,
Speaker 2: not Lebron's three point or two point controversy, but after that,
Speaker 2: you know, I don't know what. I don't know what
Speaker 2: that shot was I think that the Minnesota defense had
Speaker 2: something to do with that, but it didn't seem like
Speaker 2: a very well drawn out play. And you know, if
Speaker 2: that's the sort of thing that Ham's getting criticized for,
Speaker 2: so be it, because that is you know, his his domain.
Speaker 2: So yeah, we'll see. It could be, it could be,
Speaker 2: and it probably will take more than one change.
Speaker 3: Yeah, that that I think is the one thing we
Speaker 3: can be sure of. Ask As always, we appreciate you
Speaker 3: your time, will continue to watch and read all your
Speaker 3: stuff on NBA dot com, and we look forward to
Speaker 3: talking with you again.
Speaker 2: Always a pleasure, Sarah.
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