Speaker 1: On this episode of the Heat check The NBA season
Speaker 1: is almost here, so it is time to preview that season.
Speaker 1: We will start today talking about teams that will start
Speaker 1: out by tanking, ones that will surprise, and later on ones
Speaker 1: that will contend. It's Victor and Hoop for Scoot time.
Speaker 1: Good Lord, I love hoops. I am going to be
Speaker 1: here all day, every day breaking this down for the
Speaker 1: Heat Checkers. Also, as a special bonus, I am going
Speaker 1: to be featured part of this will be featured on
Speaker 1: a roundtable preview of the NBA season on the Locked
Speaker 1: On Basketball Network, available wherever you get your podcasts, along
Speaker 1: with the YouTube Ultimate Pro Basketball Preview twenty twenty two
Speaker 1: on the Odyssey app. So fun stuff here. Can't wait
Speaker 1: to do it. Let's drop that beat. With the NBA
Speaker 1: season two weeks away. What I thought that I would
Speaker 1: do is break down the upcoming season in a different way,
Speaker 1: looking at groups of teams from tankers to contenders to
Speaker 1: everyone in between. There's gonna be six groups of five
Speaker 1: teams each covering every NBA team, starting with contending to
Speaker 1: tanking first and foremost, the big question on everyone's mind
Speaker 1: is who should be the title favorite going into the
Speaker 1: NBA season and what other teams might be a contender.
Speaker 1: The odds right now sit like this Boston Celtics plus
Speaker 1: five hundred Golden State plus six hundred Milwaukee Bucks plus
Speaker 1: six fifty Brooklyn Nets plus seven hundred LA Clippers lost
Speaker 1: seven hundred. I hate to say this, I really do.
Speaker 1: It's Golden State and that's pretty much it for me.
Speaker 1: Like it's not close like Steph For some reason, it's
Speaker 1: almost like, no matter what happens, Age just doesn't affect him.
Speaker 1: Every single year, it feels like he's more and more unstoppable,
Speaker 1: and like all those defensive issues that he had gone.
Speaker 1: Now he's a real deal defensive player. Clay I don't
Speaker 1: really care about all of this drama that has surrounded him,
Speaker 1: about that mental block, about that scrimmage that he got
Speaker 1: injured in that was three years ago. I can't imagine
Speaker 1: that this is something that really is going to be
Speaker 1: an issue going forward moving in the long term. And
Speaker 1: then top of just the core, like this is one
Speaker 1: of the best cores in the NBA, but also if
Speaker 1: not the best, I think they've got the best young
Speaker 1: group as well. Right, it's actually disgusting. They've got not
Speaker 1: only just Pool, Wiggins Looney, but they've got Wiseman. Wiseman
Speaker 1: if he can stay healthy, I mean that's been an
Speaker 1: issue for a long time now. But you've got Moses Moody,
Speaker 1: who is an absolute beast in the summer league. If
Speaker 1: Kaminga can get his head right, I know matured he's
Speaker 1: been an issue for him. And then the biggest factor
Speaker 1: for me on top of that is Patrick Baldwin Junior.
Speaker 1: This is a kid if he would have gone to Duke,
Speaker 1: Golden State would have no chance to have gotten them right.
Speaker 1: So long athletic, he shoots the three really well. I
Speaker 1: don't think he's gonna get a ton of run right away,
Speaker 1: but I think he's one of those guys that you
Speaker 1: see in the postseason really becoming a factor. And then
Speaker 1: another a sneaky piece for me that could step in
Speaker 1: for Gary Payton. The second is gonna be Dante DiVincenzo.
Speaker 1: Very athletic, a very bouncy six to four player. He
Speaker 1: can do all the same things that that Gary Payton
Speaker 1: could do, and I really like him in the system.
Speaker 1: He's already won a title, He's got that championship DNA,
Speaker 1: and on top of Golden State, I think you have
Speaker 1: to really say La Clippers and the Milwaukee Bucks. They're
Speaker 1: the only teams that I think really can match up
Speaker 1: with Golden State. Obviously with Giannis as long as Middleton's healthy,
Speaker 1: I think that this team from the East is the best.
Speaker 1: And you know, the Clippers are probably the deepest team
Speaker 1: in the NBA with Kawhi, Paul George, if Paul George
Speaker 1: has that mentality that we want him to take another step.
Speaker 1: But on top of that, they've got Norm Powell, They've
Speaker 1: got you know, Robert Covington. They've got just a plethora
Speaker 1: of riches right batoon, Reggie Jackson and the addition of
Speaker 1: John wall If John Wallace healthy, oh my god, this
Speaker 1: team could be scary. Maybe the most fascinating team on
Speaker 1: this list is the Brooklyn Nets, who have the fourth
Speaker 1: best odds to win the title? What do I think
Speaker 1: of the nets chances? Also probably sounds a little differently
Speaker 1: than than normally on he checked these little answers. Just
Speaker 1: know how to keep it a little more professional, no cusswords,
Speaker 1: a little bit more knowing my audience. Shall we say? Man,
Speaker 1: this team is so confusing. I don't really know if
Speaker 1: anyone knows what to make of them. Right, gms around
Speaker 1: the league don't know what to make of them. So
Speaker 1: you can tell that this team is going to be
Speaker 1: a conundrum for everyone moving forward. But this is probably
Speaker 1: the most amount of depth that the Nets have had
Speaker 1: since Katie and Kyrie got there, since they gutted their
Speaker 1: team when they got rid of all those guys to
Speaker 1: get James Harden, which obviously was a terrible issue. Right,
Speaker 1: but they actually have guys. They have dudes. We make
Speaker 1: fun of Steve Nash and his rotations all the time,
Speaker 1: but he didn't have a lot to work with either, right,
Speaker 1: and now he has dudes that he can incorporate in
Speaker 1: the rotation during important moments. Right, You've got TJ. Warren,
Speaker 1: who was an absolute bucket in the bubble. Is he
Speaker 1: gonna be healthy? I have no idea. Could he be
Speaker 1: really dangerous if he is healthy? Yeah? Has he been
Speaker 1: on ice because he didn't want to be in Indiana
Speaker 1: and Indiana What didn't want to break him? I don't know.
Speaker 1: But he averaged almost twenty seven points per game, six rebounds,
Speaker 1: two and a half assists in those ten games in
Speaker 1: the Bubble. He's capable of being very, very valuable. The
Speaker 1: biggest thing is Ben Simmons. Of course, what is his
Speaker 1: role going to be right within the Nets organization? He said,
Speaker 1: you know they've planned to basically use him on the ball. Right,
Speaker 1: He's gonna have the ball in his hands a lot
Speaker 1: in the half court sets. He's not gonna probably have
Speaker 1: it long. He's gonna be able to pass a ton,
Speaker 1: very quick passer, very underrated passer right, and has insane
Speaker 1: quest vision, has the ability to cut off the ball
Speaker 1: after the pass. I can't even believe that I'm giving
Speaker 1: Ben Simmons this much shine. But how he's going to
Speaker 1: be used in this net system, I think has a
Speaker 1: lot of potential. Right, He's going to be able to
Speaker 1: bring the ball up under pressure effectively. That opens things
Speaker 1: up for Kyrie and KD as well in order to
Speaker 1: be able to make shots. That makes Nick Claxton a
Speaker 1: real deal lob threat as well. The question is also like,
Speaker 1: how does Ben Simmons stay healthy and engaged? Things look
Speaker 1: very good in the short sample size that we have,
Speaker 1: but we know Ben Simmons, when the lights get bright,
Speaker 1: tend to dim his own light. Right defensively, the nets
Speaker 1: are a mess. I don't know what they're going to
Speaker 1: be able to do. It's all about will for them.
Speaker 1: They have a bunch of guys that can defend. Kyrie
Speaker 1: can KD can Ben obviously can so will they try
Speaker 1: to turn that on a little bit too late or
Speaker 1: are they going to be able to really put their
Speaker 1: mentality in and gel defensively, be able to rotate and
Speaker 1: help for one another. Optimism level though very high, very high.
Speaker 1: Moving on to teams that are seeking revenge this year,
Speaker 1: Phoenix Suns, Denver Nuggets, Miami Heat, Philadelphia's seventy six ers,
Speaker 1: and the Dallas Mavericks all playoff teams last year who
Speaker 1: feel like their seasons were ended prematurely and they were.
Speaker 1: Which of these five teams do I think have the
Speaker 1: most to overcome in order to get to the finals?
Speaker 1: What team do I think is really in here for revenge? Well,
Speaker 1: I think there's a couple, right, I think Number one,
Speaker 1: you can't count Miami out. It's always very ugly watching
Speaker 1: Miami in the postseason, even during the regular season, right,
Speaker 1: but they've been in the mix now multiple years in
Speaker 1: a row, where they've got that pedigree. They always add
Speaker 1: these guys that you've never heard of before. Somehow these
Speaker 1: undrafted players turn into key rotation guys that end up
Speaker 1: either able to get money on the heat or able
Speaker 1: to get money somewhere else. They lost PJ. Tucker, and
Speaker 1: you think to yourself, well, they didn't really add anyone else.
Speaker 1: And then you look and see dig a little deeper.
Speaker 1: Darius days Baby out of LSU. He could be very interesting,
Speaker 1: one of very West's favorite young players. He goes undrafted.
Speaker 1: If Kyle Lowry ends up being himself, which he wasn't
Speaker 1: really all last year, if you know he is, I
Speaker 1: think that's a matchup problem. Are they good enough to
Speaker 1: beat a healthy Bucks team? No, of course not almost
Speaker 1: no one is. But look what happened last year. Sometimes
Speaker 1: your imaginary matchup never ends up happening, right. And then
Speaker 1: in the West, I think Denver is one of those
Speaker 1: teams that's being slept on. Right. It's really easy to
Speaker 1: forget how close Denver ended up playing Golden State. Jokic
Speaker 1: was carrying the load. Three out of the five games
Speaker 1: were very tight, even game two halftime, very tight, right.
Speaker 1: Jokic was making it a sweat. And then you add
Speaker 1: back in Jamal Murray, who's a bubble god like he
Speaker 1: went down to an ACL injury. I think he's gonna
Speaker 1: be really good. Obviously. Michael Porter Junior coming back from
Speaker 1: injury probably even more important, very versatile two way wing.
Speaker 1: He can shoot the leather off the ball. If they
Speaker 1: get him in the mix and he's healthy, that really
Speaker 1: helps you. Add Christian Brawn and Peyton Watson super super
Speaker 1: intriguing with Bruce b with KCP, I think this team's
Speaker 1: really interesting. I think they're going to be a matchup problem.
Speaker 1: And on top of that, you've got Jokic, who's, you know,
Speaker 1: one of the best, if not the best centers in
Speaker 1: the world. Lots of things have to go right for
Speaker 1: each of these teams to make a deep run. What
Speaker 1: are they? Oh boy, I tell you what. First and foremost,
Speaker 1: let's talk about the Suns. The Suns are one of
Speaker 1: those teams that could really be derailed by locker room issues,
Speaker 1: right Like, they got to get rid of that drama.
Speaker 1: They have to shake that off. Aighton either needs to
Speaker 1: be moved in January to a place that he wants
Speaker 1: to go, or there needs to be a peace treaty
Speaker 1: with the teammates. CP three grinds his guys down to dust,
Speaker 1: Like I think that's annoying to his teammates that needs
Speaker 1: to be fixed. Aighton has to be a very consistent force.
Speaker 1: I think Cam Johnson needs to be better on defense
Speaker 1: now that he's a starter and has alienated Jay Crowder
Speaker 1: to the point where he's not even showing up. Right,
Speaker 1: you need to be that guy that ends up pushing
Speaker 1: Jake Crowder out. You need to deserve that CP three.
Speaker 1: Of course, it's an issue. He's never healthy when it
Speaker 1: comes down to right. I know that there was COVID concerns,
Speaker 1: but on top of that, CB three hasn't been healthy
Speaker 1: multiple playoffs. And Booker needs to be an MVP. He
Speaker 1: just needs to have that type of a season. And
Speaker 1: Monty Williams, I can't forget about him. He needs to
Speaker 1: be better at making in game adjustments in order for
Speaker 1: them to go back to the finals again. In terms
Speaker 1: of Philly, Philly's a very intriguing team. James and Embiid, though,
Speaker 1: I think the number one thing for them is that
Speaker 1: they have to become one person. Like the number one
Speaker 1: thing that Doc Rivers has said is that James, you
Speaker 1: need to figure out when to be aggressive, when to
Speaker 1: end up feeding Embiid, and when to facilitate to your
Speaker 1: other teammates and get them involved, right, and if James
Speaker 1: can be some meshing between Houston James and Brooklyn James
Speaker 1: and that balance is really right, I think that they
Speaker 1: could be very dangerous and they need to figure out
Speaker 1: a way to become a better rebounding team. They were
Speaker 1: one of the worst in the NBA at that and
Speaker 1: that's why they got PJ. Tucker. I think that should help.
Speaker 1: And then Dallas, let's be honest, they're not contending this year.
Speaker 1: They need to acquire someone. That's just what it is like.
Speaker 1: You can't just lose Jalen Brunson and not pick anybody up. Sorry,
Speaker 1: Christian Wood, you're a nice piece, but I don't think
Speaker 1: that's gonna be enough. And do you trust Spencer Dinwiddie
Speaker 1: to put up forty one if Luke is on the
Speaker 1: bench with an ankle injury? Hell no? Can I say,
Speaker 1: hell no? Hell no? I do not trust Spencer dinwiy
Speaker 1: to be the guy. I've seen him in Washington right
Speaker 1: here in the DMV, I've seen him in Brooklyn like
Speaker 1: it's just not it's just not for me. And then
Speaker 1: you know, JaVale McGee, Christian Wood, nice piece, they're gonna
Speaker 1: need to be the best versions of themselves right, get
Speaker 1: easy buckets. Prediction. To me, they fall very far in
Speaker 1: the standings, potentially a play in team. Really disappointing, and
Speaker 1: you know, I think they do need to add another
Speaker 1: piece in order to really contend. Teams on the rise.
Speaker 1: There's a great group of teams out there that I
Speaker 1: consider to be on the rise. I'm talking about Cleveland, Memphis, Minnesota,
Speaker 1: New Orleans, and Toronto. The big question is which of
Speaker 1: these teams had the most interesting additions. It's a tough one,
Speaker 1: right because you look at Gobert, you look at Mitchell,
Speaker 1: and you look at Zion Returning, and they all have
Speaker 1: their own unique little wrinkles. To me, the go Beart
Speaker 1: ad is the most fascinating because that shows really that
Speaker 1: Minnesota's committed to Karl Anthony Towns being himself, not doing
Speaker 1: something that he's not good at. Right, be a three
Speaker 1: point machine, do your week side blocking, allowing him to
Speaker 1: be the offensive threat that we know that he can
Speaker 1: be at all times without having to be the sole
Speaker 1: rim protector. And then Rudy, no doubt, is going to
Speaker 1: be able to anchor this defense. Hopefully, Aunt and Di
Speaker 1: lo are gonna get him some loobs, because we know
Speaker 1: Donovan Mitchell never did when he was in Utah Well teams, though,
Speaker 1: The question for me is will teams look to go
Speaker 1: small and run Rudy Gobert off the floor like the
Speaker 1: Clippers did when they went five out in the playoffs
Speaker 1: two years ago. Minnesota, to me is so close to
Speaker 1: being so good as long as they remain flexible with
Speaker 1: their roster depending on who the matchup is, i e.
Speaker 1: Maybe Benching Rudy Bear if you have to in the playoffs. Zion,
Speaker 1: of course very interesting for the same sort of reasons. Right,
Speaker 1: how do Bi and Zion work together on the court
Speaker 1: at the same time, We know that BEI had issues
Speaker 1: with Zion, not like from a personal standpoint, but just
Speaker 1: from a basketball standpoint. They both need the ball, same
Speaker 1: sort of situation as Karl Anthony Townsend Rudy in terms
Speaker 1: of like how does it fit. I'm very intrigued about that.
Speaker 1: That's been an issue. He definitely looks dominant. I know offensively,
Speaker 1: Zion's gonna be great, but we know another issue for
Speaker 1: him was does he get back on defense. This team
Speaker 1: was anchored by its defensive prowess last year. Why they
Speaker 1: gave the Phoenix Suns fits. How does Zion change that
Speaker 1: if he's maybe a little lazy getting back right, how
Speaker 1: does that change the identity of New Orleans and what
Speaker 1: they built with while he was gone in Oregon and
Speaker 1: back with the team and rehabbing. Like that's something really
Speaker 1: interesting moving forward and something that I think is a
Speaker 1: real sort of potential hiccup. The other question is who
Speaker 1: among this group breaks through first and actually gets to
Speaker 1: the final difficult question to answer. I've been racking my brain.
Speaker 1: I have an answer. I've vacillated over this one. I
Speaker 1: really did. It just has to be and I know
Speaker 1: they're taking a step this year, but this is a
Speaker 1: long term question, right, It's gotta be the Grizz. They're
Speaker 1: so deep. They took Golden State to the absolute brink, right,
Speaker 1: jaw gets hurt and they still end up winning a game.
Speaker 1: Many of those playoff moments were very much fifty to fifty.
Speaker 1: I think John Morant getting injured obviously hurt them a lot.
Speaker 1: They've got a ton of picks already. They have a
Speaker 1: very deep team that they can trade assets and if
Speaker 1: they wanted to go out and get a star. Obviously,
Speaker 1: Jaron Jackson being out this year hurts them, But I
Speaker 1: really do think that they are that team, like a
Speaker 1: very deep, very athletic team that has built organically for
Speaker 1: an identity that they have. Much like the Pelicans as well,
Speaker 1: but I think that they're just maybe a step forward
Speaker 1: from the Pelicans, maybe a little bit early in terms
Speaker 1: of real contention. Cleveland, of course is super interesting as
Speaker 1: well because they've got a lot of versatility. But I
Speaker 1: don't know ness necessarily how the two small guard lineup,
Speaker 1: two guards that don't play defense really works. I saw that.
Speaker 1: I'm a Portland Trailblazer fan. Dame CJ ask me how
Speaker 1: the heartbreak was. How does that work in Cleveland. I
Speaker 1: know they have defensive reinforcements right, and I think that
Speaker 1: really helps. But if you're a mid range jump shooter,
Speaker 1: you're gonna be able to get by and cook Darius
Speaker 1: Garland and cook Donovan Mitchell, even though he says he
Speaker 1: can play defense, we'll see and be able to get
Speaker 1: into that middle zone before the reinforcements really get there.
Speaker 1: So I don't know necessarily how far they can go,
Speaker 1: but I do think they're a super interesting team that's
Speaker 1: gonna be able to compete night tonight, big names, big questions.
Speaker 1: The next group of teams all have huge question marks
Speaker 1: hanging over their heads. I'm talking about the Lakers, the Hawks,
Speaker 1: the Knicks, the Bulls in Portland, my Portland Trailblazers. Of these,
Speaker 1: the teams with the biggest question heading into the season
Speaker 1: is obviously the Los Angeles Lakers. Also the New York Knicks.
Speaker 1: What do we have to say about them? To me?
Speaker 1: The biggest, biggest question marks are surrounding two teams right,
Speaker 1: one on the East coast, one on the West coast,
Speaker 1: both with fan bases that are delusional as all get out.
Speaker 1: Number one is the LA Lakers, Purple and gold, just
Speaker 1: a cloud of controversies surrounding them. When you asked me
Speaker 1: off camera, you said what the Lakers' biggest question? I said,
Speaker 1: all of them? All of them, so many pressing questions.
Speaker 1: They all center around the point guard position, right Like,
Speaker 1: what's happening with Russell Westbrook. It's very strange. Is he
Speaker 1: gonna get moved? Is he gonna be a six man?
Speaker 1: Is he gonna buy into this new role? I feel
Speaker 1: like this has kind of been what we've been asking
Speaker 1: about Russell Westbrook for years now. How is he going
Speaker 1: to adapt? Is he ever gonna cut off ball? Is
Speaker 1: he ever going to be able to shoot jump shots?
Speaker 1: I know that these are the same old questions, but
Speaker 1: we haven't gotten any new answers, so the questions remain.
Speaker 1: They didn't have spacing and shooting do they now? Big
Speaker 1: question mark? Is Anthony Davis playing eighty two games? Absolutely not?
Speaker 1: How many will you play? Big time question mark? So
Speaker 1: many questions on a team as I don't know, the
Speaker 1: best player of my generation trying to win another title
Speaker 1: and Rob Polinkett doing absolutely nothing to surround him with
Speaker 1: people who will make him better, And then I think,
Speaker 1: for me, I think you have to take it to
Speaker 1: the East coast in the Knicks, right Like the biggest
Speaker 1: question for them is you now have a point guard
Speaker 1: who can get you a bucket, But how does that
Speaker 1: actually influence the guy who loves to have the ball
Speaker 1: in his hand Julius Randall. Are you gonna get most
Speaker 1: improved player Julius Randall, or you're gonna get what we
Speaker 1: saw him last year, which is him dribbling a million
Speaker 1: times and then stepping back at the very end of
Speaker 1: a shot clock just a random contested jumper. Right He
Speaker 1: doesn't need to play point guard anymore. That's good. He
Speaker 1: can play a much more natural position for his size.
Speaker 1: But he likes to have the ball in his hand,
Speaker 1: and he makes a lot of money, So you're gonna
Speaker 1: need to figure out how to use him, and he's
Speaker 1: gonna need to figure out how to buy in. Is
Speaker 1: that gonna happen? I have no idea. Is he gonna
Speaker 1: be a post up shooter now? Is spot up shooter?
Speaker 1: That's something I'm very curious about. I also think another
Speaker 1: big curiosity is how is Tim tom Thibodeau going to coach?
Speaker 1: Because we know he loves those veterans, but it's a
Speaker 1: youth movement now, baby, and he needs to get on
Speaker 1: board or get on out. Another good question is what
Speaker 1: team will be the most different moving forward? I like,
Speaker 1: how really quickly, I'm just like doing what I did
Speaker 1: for the Jerry West interview and the Nick Nurse But
Speaker 1: it's just me that I'm teeing up from another recording.
Speaker 1: So it's just like very weird. It's like, what did
Speaker 1: Trista have to say? We tune in the team that's
Speaker 1: gonna be the most different going in from last year
Speaker 1: to this year is very very obvious. If you look
Speaker 1: at this grouping right, it's the Blazers. They have a
Speaker 1: healthy Damian Lillard. Now hopefully they don't shut him down
Speaker 1: for the year again. That would be a big surprise.
Speaker 1: I hope that they're not tanking again intentionally. That was
Speaker 1: probably the most I don't know, embarrassing, obvious, blatantly disrespectful,
Speaker 1: whatever you want to call it tank we might have
Speaker 1: ever seen in the NBA, Like they just shut every
Speaker 1: went down for broken toenails. It was like from the
Speaker 1: OKC level to a whole another stratosphere. Right, And I
Speaker 1: guess the question is how different does Dame look with
Speaker 1: Anthony Simons. That's gonna be very different. How different I
Speaker 1: have no idea. You've got a very happy Nurkic now
Speaker 1: that he got paid thanks to Clutch Sports. You've got
Speaker 1: a Jeremy Grant who is one of the better defenders
Speaker 1: in the league when he's been healthy. You've got a
Speaker 1: very long Rangy Neiceer, little a Josh Hart. Guys that
Speaker 1: really fit in with what I think Chauncey Billups wants
Speaker 1: to do, which is have heart, have intensity, be able
Speaker 1: to like defend, and hopefully Danmian Lillard doesn't defending too,
Speaker 1: because that's been his major major weakness and something that's
Speaker 1: held them back in the postseason and in the regular
Speaker 1: season because they were the bottom of the barrel defensively
Speaker 1: for a very long time. So I think this team's
Speaker 1: a very ways away, but there's still like another level
Speaker 1: up from disrespectfully tanking playing hopefuls. There are five teams
Speaker 1: with playing aspirations Sacramento, Charlotte, UUGH, Washington, OOH, Detroit, and Indiana.
Speaker 1: The question is which of these teams could be a
Speaker 1: playing team first and foremost. I think you have to
Speaker 1: kind of look to the West because I think there's
Speaker 1: a lot of competitive sort of versatility there. You saw
Speaker 1: the Pelicans make it to the play in and they
Speaker 1: started off like one and twenty. So I would start
Speaker 1: first and foremost and take it to the West coast.
Speaker 1: This is gonna sound really gross, and it's gonna sound
Speaker 1: like I'm pandering because I'm very I'm very connected and
Speaker 1: beloved within the Sacramento Kings fan base, and I might
Speaker 1: be insane. I might be insane, say test me for
Speaker 1: some sort of LSD or drugs, But it feels like
Speaker 1: it's the Kings. It does no it does. If Keegan
Speaker 1: Murray can be who we know he has the potential
Speaker 1: to be this year, which is Rookie of the Year, right,
Speaker 1: a guy who can get you twenty five points on
Speaker 1: any given night, be a really good defender, a really
Speaker 1: good sneaky rebounder. If Mike Brown can get this team
Speaker 1: to actually buy into defense, and they should be able
Speaker 1: to gel and find some level of mediocrity on defense,
Speaker 1: right cause they're gonna get a lot of very easy
Speaker 1: games because you've got san Antonio, and you've got Utah
Speaker 1: blatantly aggressively and disrespectfully tanking for Victor Wambayama. So you're
Speaker 1: gonna get a lot of those games from them that
Speaker 1: they're just going to hand over to you. That's gonna
Speaker 1: happen in the East as well. And I don't think
Speaker 1: Sacramento is interested in the least in disappointing their fan base.
Speaker 1: I think they're trying to compete, right. I think that
Speaker 1: they have a lot of young guys who can score.
Speaker 1: They're gonna be able to put up buckets. Cavon Hurder, right,
Speaker 1: we know he can score. Sabonis, Keegan Molik Monk off
Speaker 1: the bench, we know he's a little microwave. So if
Speaker 1: they can figure out a way to defend on any
Speaker 1: level and they can pick up easy games from teams
Speaker 1: that are very obviously trying to tank, I think they
Speaker 1: could sneak in like ten seed. I don't think that's
Speaker 1: I don't think that's too crazy. And which of these
Speaker 1: teams is one step away from becoming a playing team
Speaker 1: and what will that step be to make it to
Speaker 1: the next level. Well, I think it's tough, right because
Speaker 1: you could easily just say Charlotte, because Charlotte's been a
Speaker 1: playing team, But boy, are they a disaster. We have
Speaker 1: no idea what's going on with Miles Bridges, whether he's
Speaker 1: ever gonna play basketball again, whether Gordon Hayward's ever gonna
Speaker 1: be healthy, how that whole thing is going to work
Speaker 1: with you know, Steve Clifford coming back again. So I'm
Speaker 1: just gonna table all expectations for them, even though they've
Speaker 1: been in the play in not not that long ago, right,
Speaker 1: I think you have to say, Okay, what were the
Speaker 1: Indiana Pacers, who are very clearly rebuilding, trying to do
Speaker 1: this offseason? They were trying to get DeAndre Ayton. Can
Speaker 1: they still get DeAndre Ayton. Absolutely. Did it look like
Speaker 1: Ayton wanted to go to Indiana? Absolutely? Is it possible
Speaker 1: in January for them to make that move? DeAndre Ayton
Speaker 1: wants it to happen. Yes, So I think that's the move.
Speaker 1: Like you look at Ben Mathern, you look at I know,
Speaker 1: Chris Dwarte. I know he's not gonna be like a
Speaker 1: starter necessarily, but this is a guy who can get
Speaker 1: you some buckets as well. You've got Hallie who's in
Speaker 1: the mix. Obviously Myles Turner probably not gonna be their
Speaker 1: long term, but you've got some pieces here, and I
Speaker 1: think that they're really interesting. If you added them with
Speaker 1: Jalen Smith already to play for and then a guy
Speaker 1: like DeAndre Ayton who they have played together for Phoenix,
Speaker 1: I think then they're actually a team that could very
Speaker 1: easily get into the plan. But Ayden's not somebody that
Speaker 1: you can just pick up off the street. That's gonna
Speaker 1: be a big move that they'll have to make. But
Speaker 1: that's the move. That's the move that they were very
Speaker 1: clearly trying to do, and that's the move that I
Speaker 1: think is still on the table for him. The last
Speaker 1: five teams Orlando Sacramento, ok See, Utah and Houston are
Speaker 1: all playing the same the game of the decade, Brick
Speaker 1: for Vic, Poot for Scoot, the specter of Victor wembin
Speaker 1: Yama is over all five of these teams' heads. What's
Speaker 1: the path out for this group? It's different for each team. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think tanking absolutely still works and it's still going
Speaker 1: to continue to persist. Right the lottery system changes it,
Speaker 1: of course, it makes it a little bit harder to
Speaker 1: just blatantly tank and get the guy that you want.
Speaker 1: But as long as there are these perennial or sort
Speaker 1: of like transcendent generational talents out there, which they will exist,
Speaker 1: Victor Wambanyama being one of them, Scoot Henderson being one
Speaker 1: of them. Like, if you can get him and you're
Speaker 1: not contending, then what are you doing with your life
Speaker 1: if not tanking? Right, Like, that's the only option. You're
Speaker 1: either contending or you're tanking, And it's very difficult to
Speaker 1: be one of those in between teams. As a Portland
Speaker 1: Trailblazer fan, I know how that feels. It feels like
Speaker 1: going absolutely nowhere. Right, the team that gets Victor Wambanyama
Speaker 1: is going to change their franchise for fifteen years. Right,
Speaker 1: if he works out to be who we think he
Speaker 1: is going to be, that's gonna That's enough of a
Speaker 1: reward to take the risk of sort of destroying your
Speaker 1: franchise for the short term. Right. And then in terms
Speaker 1: of like what the path out is, there really isn't one, right, Like,
Speaker 1: as long as Victor's on the board, there's no pathout,
Speaker 1: especially for teams like Utah Utah stacking up picks into perpetuity,
Speaker 1: just like Oklahoma Oklahoma City Thunder, Like that's Sam Presty's
Speaker 1: mindset is like all take picks till two thousand and
Speaker 1: ninety nine until my son's son is running this team, right,
Speaker 1: and Oklahoma City Thunder only the only real I guess
Speaker 1: group that could potentially be out of the tanking conversation
Speaker 1: this year. But again, like if you could imagine a
Speaker 1: scenario with Victor, Wambanyama and chet on it, I don't
Speaker 1: even know how you could guard them. The reward, again,
Speaker 1: is still enough to take the risk, especially considering Shay
Speaker 1: seems very committed to being on this team. He's not
Speaker 1: going to ask out. Josh Getty's still very young. You're
Speaker 1: shutting check down for the year. You've got some other
Speaker 1: young guns in the two Jalens, right, you don't know
Speaker 1: what they are gonna be, but I think that the
Speaker 1: only group you could say is very close to being
Speaker 1: a playing team. But they can always decide to tank
Speaker 1: at the very last minute, like they did last year,
Speaker 1: and that's proven to be very successful, fruitful and sort
Speaker 1: of flexible for for Oklahoma City. So I don't see
Speaker 1: a path out for really any of them. Finally, who
Speaker 1: is the one player this year from this group that
Speaker 1: everyone needs to keep their eyes on? Hint, hint, it's
Speaker 1: not Palo ban Caro. To me, in this group, it's
Speaker 1: not close. And you could say, oh, you know, it's Paalo, right,
Speaker 1: and Pallo's Pallo's the easy answer, Let's be honest, Like,
Speaker 1: if you've never seen Paalo in person, which I'm sure
Speaker 1: all of you folks on the roundtable have, but it's
Speaker 1: like he was magnified one point eight size the times
Speaker 1: the size of a normal human being. Right, He's not
Speaker 1: like a stretched out Victor Womyon. He's, of course a talent,
Speaker 1: that's someone you have to watch. But someone that's under
Speaker 1: the radar for me has got to be Josh Giddy,
Speaker 1: just a kid who's absolutely dazzled. He got shut down
Speaker 1: due to tanking. Of course, I believe it was a
Speaker 1: hip injury. But he's a star like He's got court
Speaker 1: vision that's impossible to replicate. He's a really elite scorer.
Speaker 1: He's working on his jump shot now from deep with
Speaker 1: the San Antonio shot Doctor, which I think could really
Speaker 1: help him and SGA. Now that chat is out, I
Speaker 1: think all eyes are gonna be on him to have
Speaker 1: the ball. I think Giddy's gonna have a much larger
Speaker 1: role now that we know what he can do. And
Speaker 1: before he got injured, from November till February, he was
Speaker 1: the Western Rookie of the Month every single month. What's
Speaker 1: he gonna do in year two? You saw what he
Speaker 1: did in the Summer League. He's ready to absolutely ball.
Speaker 1: He's my number one player out of this group to
Speaker 1: watch and keep my eyes peeled on. Just got time
Speaker 1: for a quick little story around the league. First and foremost,
Speaker 1: there is drama a brewing in Golden State. Jordan Poole
Speaker 1: has apparently been changing. He's been changing ever since he
Speaker 1: found out he was gonna make two hundred million dollars.
Speaker 1: Shocking could that be I got a Naudi Naudi Q five.
Speaker 1: I've been treating everybody different ever since. No, you can't
Speaker 1: get in my audi. Take your shoes off. I knew
Speaker 1: it was gonna happen, he said to Wiggins right after
Speaker 1: they won it. All you're getting the bag. I am
Speaker 1: getting the bag. It's like, dude, you just want a title.
Speaker 1: You're talking about getting paid. And dra may not be
Speaker 1: getting the bag right because Pool is and Draymond's getting older,
Speaker 1: and he may be a little salty about it. But
Speaker 1: they were chirping back and forth. It escalates and then
Speaker 1: all of a sudden, Draymond says one of the five fingers,
Speaker 1: say the face punch. Apparently there's some history between these two.
Speaker 1: You have to imagine that it's the Michigan and Michigan
Speaker 1: State rivalry. You know, these two teams hate each other
Speaker 1: right in college basketball. Pool is a Wolverine, Drey is
Speaker 1: a Spartan. There's hate there. And also, let's be honest,
Speaker 1: I hate to say it, but Jordan Poole, as much
Speaker 1: as I love him, is annoying. He's very very annoying
Speaker 1: when he wants to be. Does this matter in the
Speaker 1: grand scheme of things? Will this affect their titles? Chances
Speaker 1: is Golden State on the brink of crumbling their dynasty. No,
Speaker 1: I would be shocked if it impacts them in any
Speaker 1: given way. But it is an interesting story, and I
Speaker 1: do love the tea, And in prior years I might
Speaker 1: have just bit on and held on to this and
Speaker 1: chewed on it and made something like a mountain out
Speaker 1: of it in order to try to find a way
Speaker 1: to hold on to the belief that Golden State wasn't
Speaker 1: who we thought that they were. But no, it's not
Speaker 1: going to happen. As long as Steph has both hands
Speaker 1: and both ankles, and Clay is healthy and Draymond is healthy.
Speaker 1: Don't worry, Dubs fans, The Evil Empire will just keep
Speaker 1: on rolling, keep on winning titles. Moving forward, Lebron James,
Speaker 1: he is very interested in owning an NBA franchise. We
Speaker 1: know that. We know he's all about finding the right time.
Speaker 1: Cairos is his greatest strength. This is no secret, not
Speaker 1: even a little bit. However, news broke today in a
Speaker 1: fascinating way. During a routine preseason news conference in Vegas,
Speaker 1: Lebron used a simple question about and expanding a team
Speaker 1: in Vegas to strong arm Adam Silver into giving Lebron
Speaker 1: the Vegas expansion team. Are you serious he said this?
Speaker 1: I would quote love to bring a team here at
Speaker 1: some point. That would be amazing. I know Adam Silver
Speaker 1: is in Abu Dhabi right now, but he probably sees
Speaker 1: every interview in transcript that comes through from NBA players.
Speaker 1: So I want the team here, Adam. Thank you. Oh
Speaker 1: on the heels of Putin almost getting assassinated today, Uh,
Speaker 1: Lebron's a little to Putiny right now for his own good,
Speaker 1: Like right now how he's making demands of the commissioner
Speaker 1: saying he's going to own a team. You still are
Speaker 1: an NBA player that is active right now, Braun. You
Speaker 1: can't be overtly dictatorial to the commissioner of the NBA
Speaker 1: in your twentieth season. You have to be a little
Speaker 1: more sneaky and sly than that. You can't just be
Speaker 1: over here invading the Ukraine and drafting two hundred thousand
Speaker 1: people into your army. You can't do that. You end
Speaker 1: up getting a potential assassination attempt while you're in your limo.
Speaker 1: That's how these things can escalate, Braun. You can't start
Speaker 1: immediate blitz to try to force Adam Silver into giving
Speaker 1: you a franchise in Las Vegas. Of interest is immediately
Speaker 1: after Broun's presser, WOJ dropped a bomb that said the
Speaker 1: NBA wants to put its new TV rights deal and
Speaker 1: collective bargaining agreement behind them before any talk of an
Speaker 1: expansion expansion team, presumably in Vegas and Seattle happens, which
Speaker 1: probably means twenty twenty five is the earliest Wille new
Speaker 1: teams in the NBA. That'll give Lebron a whole lot
Speaker 1: of time playing with his two sons and doing more
Speaker 1: putinesque strong arming. That's all the time that we have
Speaker 1: for the Heat Check. We'll be back Thursday, whatever it
Speaker 1: is for a new episode. Check out the feed for
Speaker 1: past episodes of the offseason. Please do not forget to
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