Speaker 1: Welcome into NBA pulsive production of iHeartRadio in the NBA.
Speaker 1: I'm Sarah Coustack, NBA analyst for the Yes Network, and
Speaker 1: today is Monday, April eighth. From our extraordinary core group
Speaker 1: of NBA journalists, We're joined now by NBA dot Com
Speaker 1: Senior writer John Schuman, and Shee has got his twenty
Speaker 1: fifth week twenty five power ranking. Shoe, are we really
Speaker 1: already here? We are in the final seven days of
Speaker 1: the regular season. You got the Boston Celtics up at
Speaker 1: that number one spot in Denver, Nuggets at Oklahoma City
Speaker 1: Thunder at three, and then it's the Timberwolves and the
Speaker 1: Dallas Mavericks rounding out the top five. But yeah, Sue,
Speaker 1: I don't know if you feel like the season has flown.
Speaker 1: I don't know if you're you seemingly never get never
Speaker 1: get tired at all as we wake you up these
Speaker 1: early mornings on a new fresh week. But Shoe, when
Speaker 1: we are at this point of this season, obviously there's
Speaker 1: a lot of moving parts still in the playoff picture.
Speaker 1: It's made for a lot of excitement and intrigue for
Speaker 1: us of what the post it might look like. But
Speaker 1: as things set right now, what are you honing in
Speaker 1: on of what we know when what we can be
Speaker 1: somewhat certain of as we get ourselves set for the
Speaker 1: next step of the season.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think we know with one week to go,
Speaker 2: a little bit more than we usually know at this
Speaker 2: point in the season. First of all, we know the
Speaker 2: twenty teams that are going to be in the playoffs
Speaker 2: or the play in. The other ten have all been eliminated.
Speaker 2: The Rockets made their little run, winning eleven straight games,
Speaker 2: but then have since lost five straight, so they've been eliminated.
Speaker 2: The Warriors are safely in the play in. The second
Speaker 2: thing we know is that the Celtics have secured the
Speaker 2: number one spot overall the number one overall seeds, so
Speaker 2: they'll have home court advantage through the finals if they
Speaker 2: reach it. If they reach the finals. Third thing is
Speaker 2: that the Bulls and the Hawks will definitely face each
Speaker 2: other in the nine to ten playing game in the
Speaker 2: Eastern Conference. The Bulls are likely to be hosting, but
Speaker 2: if things go wrong, then the Hawks could could host
Speaker 2: that game, but we know it'll be Bulls and Hawks.
Speaker 2: And then the fourth thing is that the Clippers and
Speaker 2: the Dallas Mavericks are very likely to be meeting in
Speaker 2: the four or five series in the West. A tiny,
Speaker 2: tiny chance that that's not the four or five series,
Speaker 2: but it's very likely to be the four or five series,
Speaker 2: and the Clippers are almost certain to have home court
Speaker 2: advantage in that series. So that's actually kind of a
Speaker 2: lot for you know, there being still fifty seven games
Speaker 2: left in the season, but everything after that is wide open,
Speaker 2: where you know, the two through eight seeds in the
Speaker 2: East are still wide open. The top seed in the
Speaker 2: West is still you know open, going to be probably
Speaker 2: maybe be determined by a Timberwolves Nuggets game on Wednesday.
Speaker 2: And then further down the West, you have teams that
Speaker 2: could go you know, could land in three or four
Speaker 2: different spots.
Speaker 1: Which is interesting on a lot of levels. And before
Speaker 1: we get you mentioned that Clippers, the potential Clippers Dallas series.
Speaker 1: We're going to get to that in just a little bit.
Speaker 1: But the two through eight spots in the Eastern Conference,
Speaker 1: and let's focus in on that number two spot. It's
Speaker 1: been the Milwaukee Bucks. I think for a while, I
Speaker 1: will at least speak for myself, I assume they would
Speaker 1: be the ones that would be in that position, But
Speaker 1: all of a sudden They've lost four st rate games,
Speaker 1: six to seven. They're just one game in front of
Speaker 1: both the Orlando Magic and the New York Knicks, a
Speaker 1: Magic team which they see two times this week, and
Speaker 1: they weren't easy losses. I think we've still been waiting
Speaker 1: to see how things look under Doc Rivers, making sure
Speaker 1: that Janstetakopo, Dame Lillard, those guys are healthy, what they
Speaker 1: look like when they all are healthy. Chris Middleton, the
Speaker 1: factor that he becomes. A Buck's gonna blow the two
Speaker 1: seeds and potentially not close things out in that position.
Speaker 2: If they continue playing like they have been. I mean yeah,
Speaker 2: because the first three of those four straight losses were
Speaker 2: to the Wizards, the Grizzlies, and the Raptors. Now, the
Speaker 2: Bucks were without Damian Lillard in the first two of
Speaker 2: those games, and without Giannis Ancetecunpo against Toronto. But those
Speaker 2: teams that were playing were missing more starters than that.
Speaker 2: You know, the Wizards were without Tyas Jones and Kyle Kuzma.
Speaker 2: The Grizzlies were without like half their roster. The Raptors
Speaker 2: have been pretty depleted as well. And those teams are
Speaker 2: all bad and they've all been playing even worse, you know,
Speaker 2: you know, over the last month and a half or so,
Speaker 2: So those are just inexcusable. Yeah, maybe you're missing one
Speaker 2: of your best players, but if you're a good team,
Speaker 2: you find a way to win those games. And then
Speaker 2: on Sunday they just their defense just basically got eviscerated
Speaker 2: by the Knicks. So yeah, they it's you know, they've
Speaker 2: had some up and down, ups and downs, and but
Speaker 2: mostly I think they've just been a sort of a
Speaker 2: disappointing team. Given all the talent they have. They're generally
Speaker 2: really good when Damian Lillard and jannisn Sekunpo and their
Speaker 2: starters are on the floor together, but their bench hasn't
Speaker 2: been great, their defense hasn't been great. So yeah, it's
Speaker 2: it's crazy that they're six. They're you know, susceptible to
Speaker 2: falling maybe to four, maybe even five. I think they
Speaker 2: could fall as low in the East. And what's just
Speaker 2: as crazy is that the Orlando Magic are the team
Speaker 2: that could could unseat them and become the two seed
Speaker 2: after missing the playoffs for the last couple of years.
Speaker 2: You know, that's just amazing. You know, the Magic, you know,
Speaker 2: still not a very good offensive team. They're about to
Speaker 2: finish in the bottom ten offensively for the twelfth straight season.
Speaker 2: I believe it is, which is just, you know, a
Speaker 2: remarkable streak of offensive futility, but no, excuse me, the
Speaker 2: eleventh straight season. This will be the eleventh straight season
Speaker 2: that the Magic finished in the bottom ten offensively. But
Speaker 2: as we know, they've become a terrific, terrific defensive team
Speaker 2: and they could go in there. The Bucks are a
Speaker 2: good offensive team, and it'll be fun to see those
Speaker 2: two games this week with second place possibly on the
Speaker 2: line and sort of a strength versus strength matchup.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I was gonna say the Magic are nasty defensively
Speaker 1: and the numbers offensively are not pretty though. I think
Speaker 1: they have their moments and they've got a lot of youth.
Speaker 1: But I think it kind of it ebbs and flows
Speaker 1: of how dominant they are in scoring in the paint
Speaker 1: and sometimes at three point shooting, with that waning and
Speaker 1: the lack of value of that in just watching them,
Speaker 1: I think when they hit some threes they look like
Speaker 1: and can get a rolling a little. I'm curious if
Speaker 1: you think. And with that being said, how at times
Speaker 1: meet yocre to bad the Bucks defense has been in
Speaker 1: just taking a look at what they look like offensively
Speaker 1: against this Orlando Magic defense this week, But just in general,
Speaker 1: how do you think the Magic could and will fare
Speaker 1: in the postseason given their their style of play and
Speaker 1: given the fact that they are somewhat young and inexperienced
Speaker 1: in that postseason play.
Speaker 2: I think their style of play fits. Okay, you know
Speaker 2: what they do, but it's funny. They're they're, you know,
Speaker 2: a top five defense. They don't, you know, the most
Speaker 2: important thing on both ends of the floor is shooting,
Speaker 2: and they actually don't rank all that high and in
Speaker 2: regard to opponent affective field goal percentage. But what they
Speaker 2: do is they limit shooting opportunities, so they force a
Speaker 2: lot of turnovers. And they're a great defensive rebounding team,
Speaker 2: so they don't you know, they don't give you as
Speaker 2: many shots as they're going to get. On the other
Speaker 2: end of the floor because of the way they play,
Speaker 2: they actually foul a lot too, you know, because they're
Speaker 2: such an aggressive defensive team. The one thing is, I
Speaker 2: just don't know what are they doing offensively in a
Speaker 2: close playoff game down the stretch. You know, Paolo Bancaro
Speaker 2: is like a terrific talent and he's going to be
Speaker 2: maybe a top five player in this league at some point.
Speaker 2: But you know, trying to count on him to create
Speaker 2: offense down the stretch of close games is not a
Speaker 2: great proposition.
Speaker 1: Another team in the East that we are intrigued to
Speaker 1: continue watching Philadelphia seventy six Ers. Joel Embiid came back
Speaker 1: after missing the last two months, and not only have
Speaker 1: the Sixers been rolling since he's returned, but Tyres Maxi
Speaker 1: continues to show out. In the double overtime win that
Speaker 1: they just had against the San Antonio Spurs, he had
Speaker 1: fifty two points. They're currently sitting seventh in that playing game,
Speaker 1: they're a game back of Indiana. But how do you
Speaker 1: view this seventy six Ers team? I think it always
Speaker 1: with Joel Embiid. It being out had been the question
Speaker 1: of if he comes back, what does that look like
Speaker 1: a dangerous team? With this seating they may have. Do
Speaker 1: you have confidence that they could come in and be
Speaker 1: a team that could play as well as we had
Speaker 1: seen them playing in the early part of the season.
Speaker 2: I think we still have to see more from Joel Embiid.
Speaker 2: I mean, he's looked fine enough, you know, in these
Speaker 2: first three games that he's played, but I think you
Speaker 2: still want to see, you know, in this last week
Speaker 2: of the season, and you know, whenever they play after that,
Speaker 2: how well is he moving defensively if you look at
Speaker 2: like their numbers just in these three games, small sample size,
Speaker 2: but they haven't played good offensive teams, two bottom ten
Speaker 2: offensive teams and then the Thunder without Shay gildj Just
Speaker 2: Alexander and Jalen Williams. And their defense has been much
Speaker 2: better when he's been when Embiid has been off the
Speaker 2: floor than it's been when he's been on the floor.
Speaker 2: But offensively he's looked good. He's shot well from mid range,
Speaker 2: he's been getting to the line a ton like he does.
Speaker 2: He hasn't quite scored at a point per minute pace
Speaker 2: like he was earlier in the season, but it's been
Speaker 2: pretty close. And so now they are twenty eight and seven,
Speaker 2: when they've had both Tyrese Maxi and Joel Embiide available,
Speaker 2: that's an eight hundred winning past percentage, which is slightly
Speaker 2: better than the Celtics have been this season. That's kind
Speaker 2: of an unfair comparison because it's a small sample size
Speaker 2: when the two best players have been there, but that
Speaker 2: just tells you how good this team has been when
Speaker 2: their two stars have been available. And I think when
Speaker 2: you put Nicholas Batum on the floor with those two guys,
Speaker 2: their numbers are terrific. By the way, Like going back
Speaker 2: to that San Antonio win, can I just point out
Speaker 2: the pass that Nicholas Batum made tree on the game
Speaker 2: tying bucket at the end or that my one of
Speaker 2: my I think my favorite word in the English language
Speaker 2: Sarah is deft, and that was that was a incredibly
Speaker 2: deft pass from Nicholas Batoom as he sort of just
Speaker 2: loft at it to Maxi who was on the run.
Speaker 2: I think it was Malachi Branham that just barely jumped
Speaker 2: for the pass and just barely missed it. Maxi caught
Speaker 2: it and had an easy layup. But the pass was
Speaker 2: just immaculate. It was just a perfect, perfect pass from Batoom.
Speaker 1: There's this basque's they're trying to catch it nextly again,
Speaker 1: you could just you could see that coming nine tenths
Speaker 1: of a second, no timeouts and we go over time.
Speaker 2: And he is a he's a terrific passer. Like one
Speaker 2: of the reasons why they're so good when he's on
Speaker 2: the floor of em Beat is because he's a great
Speaker 2: entry passer, like he could he can get the ball
Speaker 2: to em Beat in the post better than anybody else.
Speaker 2: But yeah, I think they are just really good. If
Speaker 2: those two guys are healthy, they're really good. And then
Speaker 2: obviously if they're in the seven or eight, or maybe
Speaker 2: even if they somehow climb up into the sixth, they're
Speaker 2: obviously a dangerous low seed that will be a scary
Speaker 2: sort of matchup for for whoever faces them.
Speaker 1: Yeah, surprise, I didn't think we were going to get
Speaker 1: the surprise nugget That deft is your one of one.
Speaker 2: I think it's my favorite favorite word. It's it's great.
Speaker 2: It's not because the way it sounds and and and
Speaker 2: and it's meaning, you know, just a great word.
Speaker 1: Well, the death passing of Nicholas Batuba, I I'm I'm
Speaker 1: very interested to see to your point on all of that.
Speaker 1: I think just some semblance of you know, Kelly Ubray
Speaker 1: was another one who had a big game that night
Speaker 1: with Joe LMB not playing, but what he looks like
Speaker 1: Buddy Heal coming off the bench. There's a lot of
Speaker 1: aspects in terms of that reserve unit with how they
Speaker 1: could play out. Nick Nurse of course now being the
Speaker 1: head coach, and some of the creativity he could bring
Speaker 1: to the table in the postseason, and just our conversation
Speaker 1: about the two three, four fives, it's not other than
Speaker 1: the Boston Celtics, and I feel like everything is wide
Speaker 1: open in the East in more more than it has been.
Speaker 1: So I think that also lends itself to some semblance
Speaker 1: of I know Maxie is young, and I know this
Speaker 1: is somewhat of a new group together, but an opportunity
Speaker 1: for the seventy six ers team that I'm excited to see.
Speaker 1: But as you had brought up Joel Embiid at his size,
Speaker 1: with his track record, missing twenty nine games and being
Speaker 1: gone for that long, how quickly can he return back
Speaker 1: into game shape and get moving and get playing. I mean,
Speaker 1: he was playing at an MVP level at the start
Speaker 1: of the year in such a special way, So how
Speaker 1: close can he get back to that? I think a
Speaker 1: lot of that is going to be the questions more
Speaker 1: questions as we head to the Western Conference. We're going
Speaker 1: to take a quick break and get into what looks
Speaker 1: to be another matchup in the postseason between the Los
Speaker 1: Angeles Clippers, and the Dallas mavericks S don't go anywhere.
Speaker 1: Welcome back to the Pulse. Sarahkustak joined by the great
Speaker 1: John Schuman with another sets, the last set of power rankings. Shoe,
Speaker 1: I should know this. Do you do power rankings in
Speaker 1: the postseason?
Speaker 2: I haven't in the past. Oh, guess what we're going
Speaker 2: to be doing power rankings left.
Speaker 1: Give the people what they want. That's what you do.
Speaker 1: That is what you do. And what it seems like
Speaker 1: as of late what the Clippers and the MAVs do
Speaker 1: is meet up in the postseason. It very much looking
Speaker 1: like they may be the four to five seeds here
Speaker 1: in the Western Conference, and it's going to be interesting. Shue,
Speaker 1: I am curious your take about just how things are
Speaker 1: shaking out. Clippers currently sitting in the fourth spot in
Speaker 1: the West, the Dallas Mavericks two games behind them in
Speaker 1: the fifth spot. But Dallas has been playing so well.
Speaker 1: They've won fourteen of their last sixteen games since the
Speaker 1: trade deadline. They have been excellent. I know you've got
Speaker 1: a lot of to back that up, and in what
Speaker 1: they've done on the defensive side of things, I think
Speaker 1: Kawhi Leonard incredible. But the Clippers. We've seen stretches and
Speaker 1: moments where they look like they can be a title
Speaker 1: contender and then others where it's kind of dropped off
Speaker 1: a little bit. What is your perspective on what you
Speaker 1: think this matchup could look like if they do once
Speaker 1: again meet in the postseason.
Speaker 2: Yeah, they're both kind of similar in a way, right
Speaker 2: because they both made in season trades that sparked a
Speaker 2: really strong run. You know, the Clippers run sort of
Speaker 2: came to an end at the All Star break and
Speaker 2: then they had a slubbish few weeks after the break,
Speaker 2: but they have won six of their last seven, even
Speaker 2: though Kawhi Leonard has missed the last four. And then
Speaker 2: the MAVs, they're the most improved team in the league
Speaker 2: since the trade deadline when they acquired PJ. Washington and
Speaker 2: Daniel Gafford. They're starting lineup with Washington and Gafford in
Speaker 2: there has been terrific. They're actually thirteen and one when
Speaker 2: those five guys have started together. Lukadancis, Kyrie Irving, Derek Jones, Junior,
Speaker 2: Washington and Gafford, and that lineup has allowed just ninety
Speaker 2: seven point six points fo one hundred possessions. And it's
Speaker 2: one hundred and fifty one minutes. That's elite defense. And
Speaker 2: that's the thing, right, Like the MAVs have not been
Speaker 2: a great defensive team the last few years. They're very
Speaker 2: good in Jason Kidd's first year in Dallas, but since
Speaker 2: then not so not so much. And so when you
Speaker 2: look at that, you know, post deadline improvement, it's mostly
Speaker 2: about the defensive end of the floor. You know, they
Speaker 2: rank seventh on that end of the floor since the
Speaker 2: deadline up from twenty something you know prior. So that's
Speaker 2: really good. But obviously, just when you think about the
Speaker 2: matchup between these two teams, you think Luka Doncic, Kyrie
Speaker 2: Irving versus Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, Paul George. That is
Speaker 2: star power, right, And that's the thing about the Western
Speaker 2: Conference playoffs. We're gonna have star power in every single
Speaker 2: series no matter what they are. But I think right now,
Speaker 2: like the main concern is, like, all right, what's going
Speaker 2: on with Kawhi Leonard? Why has he missed the last
Speaker 2: four games? He's got some sort of knee inflammation issue.
Speaker 2: And that's story number one because I think in my mind,
Speaker 2: Kawhi Leonard's basically been the best playoff performer in the
Speaker 2: last several years. If you look at his sixty two
Speaker 2: playoff games that he's played since twenty and seventeen, he's
Speaker 2: averaged twenty nine point six points on a true shooting
Speaker 2: percentage of sixty three point five percent, which is elite.
Speaker 2: You know, we won a championship obviously in Toronto in
Speaker 2: that stretch, but even in his playoff runs with the Clippers,
Speaker 2: he's been just incredibly good. He's getting a little older,
Speaker 2: but I feel like he still has the abilities to
Speaker 2: turn it on. I just hope that, you know, for
Speaker 2: for the Clipper's sake and for all our sake, just
Speaker 2: so we can see this matchup at full strength. Is
Speaker 2: that you know, he's back on the floor at some
Speaker 2: point between now and when the series gets started, or
Speaker 2: maybe they just keep him off the floor this following week,
Speaker 2: knowing that he's gets an extra four or five days rest,
Speaker 2: you know, while the playing is going on.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and I'm curious what that looks like when you
Speaker 1: look at the Clippers, you know, two games here before
Speaker 1: they close things out this week against a Phoenix Suns
Speaker 1: team that has been working to stay out of the
Speaker 1: playing game and then they they have Utah in Houston
Speaker 1: in their last two games. Meanwhile, Dallas will be at Charlotte,
Speaker 1: at Miami Detroit, and then at Oklahoma City on that
Speaker 1: final Sunday. So interesting to see kind of how they
Speaker 1: play that out. What what do you predict if these
Speaker 1: two teams meet in the postseason? What would your what
Speaker 1: would your predictions be? Too too healthy? Too healthy teams
Speaker 1: here playing one another, assuming the Kawhi Leonard is there
Speaker 1: on the floor in back with them.
Speaker 2: Geez, if they're healthy. I mean, I don't I would.
Speaker 2: It would be hard to pick against Luka Doncic, especially
Speaker 2: since you know this will be the first time he's
Speaker 2: had Kyrie irving alongside him in the playoffs. But I
Speaker 2: don't want to pick against it. Like a healthy Kawhi Leonard,
Speaker 2: Like I think that may be the best player when
Speaker 2: you take both sides of the floor into account in
Speaker 2: the series. And then he's also got Paul George and
Speaker 2: James Harden and a terrific supporting cast beyond that. So yeah,
Speaker 2: I guess I would say like Clippers and seven in
Speaker 2: part because they have home court advantage, in part because
Speaker 2: I think Kawhi Leonard if he's healthy, is the best player.
Speaker 1: I have to agree with you there. I think both
Speaker 1: me and you do not like to make predictions because
Speaker 1: there's a lot of variables that come into play. But
Speaker 1: you said, you said the thing to me that stands
Speaker 1: out most, which is is interesting because before I would
Speaker 1: always say, Kawhi healthy, Kawhi. We forget what a monster.
Speaker 1: Maybe we don't forget, but just what a absolute just
Speaker 1: BC is on both ends of the floor in the postseason.
Speaker 1: But man, Luca, like how Luca has been playing, what
Speaker 1: Luca has been doing, the continuity and just like fluid
Speaker 1: nature that he's found with Kyrie irv Irving in this
Speaker 1: entire Dallas team, I do think there's something to be
Speaker 1: said for a team playing this well. Is they heading
Speaker 1: to the postseason.
Speaker 2: It'll be amazing, Like, it's going to be amazing when
Speaker 2: the West Series are set and we're gonna look at
Speaker 2: like and we're gonna be like, four of these teams
Speaker 2: are not going to make it to the second round.
Speaker 2: That's crazy. It's crazy.
Speaker 1: It's crazy to.
Speaker 2: Think that, No, either the MAVs or the Clippers are
Speaker 2: not going to make it to the second round or
Speaker 2: either the you know, the Suns or the Wolves. If
Speaker 2: that were a matchup, we're not going to make it
Speaker 2: to the second round, you know, like that that's that'll
Speaker 2: be you know, the Thunder, the Laker or whatever the
Speaker 2: matchups are. We're going to look at it and be like,
Speaker 2: oh my gosh, I can't believe one of the four
Speaker 2: teams are going to come home, go home, really really disappointed.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and even I mean, I know we've talked about
Speaker 1: it quite a bit, but even to see a Lakers
Speaker 1: Warriors nine to ten game and then just how that
Speaker 1: all looks. I think all of it is going to
Speaker 1: be fascinating and it's going to be fun for all
Speaker 1: of us who love this league and in love this
Speaker 1: time of year.
Speaker 2: Shoo.
Speaker 1: As always, we appreciate you your time and of course
Speaker 1: your power rankings. We're talking about a handful of these teams,
Speaker 1: but you got excellent, excellent deep dive stuff on how
Speaker 1: all thirty of the teams in the association are playing
Speaker 1: at this time of year. So until next time, we
Speaker 1: appreciate you and we'll talk with you soon.
Speaker 2: All right, Sarah. Thanks.
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