WEBVTT - |FULL POD| Atlantic Division Preview: 76ers, Raptors, Celtics, Nets, and Knicks 0:00:06.240 --> 0:00:11.000 Episode of My Geat Chat. It's the Eastern Conference preview time. Baby, 0:00:11.200 --> 0:00:13.880 we're gonna be looking at the audi of the division, 0:00:14.280 --> 0:00:17.759 the Atlantic. We're gonna be looking at Toronto, which is, 0:00:17.800 --> 0:00:21.439 let's be honest, the worst of the law, Philadelphia, Brooklyn, 0:00:21.720 --> 0:00:25.440 the New York Knicks, and the Boston Celfies. That's five 0:00:25.560 --> 0:00:28.960 playoff for playing teams of one division. Folks. Everybody be 0:00:29.040 --> 0:00:33.040 eaten in the Atlanta. Let's get a move on, Lamb 0:00:33.280 --> 0:00:36.519 and drop that generic gas beat should be Ranni. 0:00:36.640 --> 0:00:41.360 Break was breaking down all the biggest NBA storylines you 0:00:42.000 --> 0:00:44.839 n so the Heat Check the Heat Chat with Shrista 0:00:45.120 --> 0:00:49.280 cra the best podcast covering all the drama around the association. 0:00:51.520 --> 0:00:55.640 All right, so we gotta finish our NBA season previous. 0:00:56.040 --> 0:01:00.040 I realized that a conference previews they're kind of a 0:01:00.600 --> 0:01:02.840 but we are going to give our first stop. I 0:01:02.880 --> 0:01:06.520 know it's a lot in the Atlantic Division where most 0:01:06.520 --> 0:01:09.520 of the Eastern best teams are located. Let's start with 0:01:10.360 --> 0:01:12.280 are they though I don't actually know if that's true. 0:01:12.319 --> 0:01:14.360 I just know that it's like a pretty loaded division 0:01:14.400 --> 0:01:17.720 in general. There's no like besides Toronto. There's no bottom 0:01:17.720 --> 0:01:20.560 feeders here. Let's start with the Philadelphia seventy six ers 0:01:20.560 --> 0:01:23.600 that finished fifty four and twenty eight last year, which 0:01:23.640 --> 0:01:28.600 is good for third place. Key additions, Pat Beverley, that's 0:01:28.640 --> 0:01:32.200 really a key addition. I don't know, Kelly Oubrace Tsunami Poppy, 0:01:32.760 --> 0:01:37.319 and of course Nick Nurse Key, we'll call it subtractions, 0:01:37.680 --> 0:01:43.759 key losses. George Nang he goes to Cleveland. I always 0:01:43.760 --> 0:01:46.560 think his name is Georgie Yang because there's another Georgi. 0:01:46.959 --> 0:01:51.520 Gorgi Jang is too. It's too confusing. And then Doc Rivers, 0:01:51.560 --> 0:01:54.240 of course, the players coach that nobody actually liked playing for, 0:01:54.560 --> 0:01:57.880 and ever since he's left, and now Nick Nurse is there, 0:01:58.120 --> 0:02:01.200 everybody's starting to like spill the tea about how Iso 0:02:01.280 --> 0:02:03.840 heavy dog Rivers style was like, oh yeah, I'm Joel 0:02:03.880 --> 0:02:05.960 and Beads being like, oh yeah, I never really wanted 0:02:06.000 --> 0:02:09.080 to be an ISO player. I never really wanted to 0:02:09.160 --> 0:02:11.960 just be in the block. I like ball movement. Anyway, 0:02:12.639 --> 0:02:16.639 we move on. The Sixers begin the off season by 0:02:16.680 --> 0:02:20.480 firing that guy, Doc Rivers, and shit has been a 0:02:20.480 --> 0:02:24.519 little haywire since then. I don't know if anyone has 0:02:24.560 --> 0:02:27.960 had a worse off season in the NBA than the Sixers, 0:02:28.200 --> 0:02:31.919 probably the Toronto Raptors because they're getting sued by another 0:02:32.000 --> 0:02:36.480 team in their own division. The next maybe the Miami 0:02:36.520 --> 0:02:39.160 Heat who lost out on Dave. There's a few down 0:02:39.200 --> 0:02:42.880 bad teams, let's be honest. But short of those, the 0:02:42.960 --> 0:02:45.800 Sixers are in rough shape at the start of the season. 0:02:46.400 --> 0:02:50.400 Once again, of course, it's about disgruntled former All Star 0:02:51.040 --> 0:02:54.040 James Harden, who would rather sink his own damn career 0:02:54.040 --> 0:02:56.240 and play in China than never be seen in the 0:02:56.280 --> 0:03:00.720 Sixers uniform. Again, very stubborn man, James Harden, extremely stubborn man. 0:03:02.280 --> 0:03:05.520 Of course, this has been the story that's been looming 0:03:06.080 --> 0:03:11.720 the entire summer. He hijacked my entire offseason, wondering is 0:03:11.720 --> 0:03:14.120 it gonna happen, When is it gonna happen, what's he 0:03:14.160 --> 0:03:17.400 gonna say next? But the long story short is he 0:03:17.440 --> 0:03:22.000 ain't coming home. He ain't coming home. There's no there's 0:03:22.040 --> 0:03:25.600 no way to cajole or finesse or tell him, hey, 0:03:25.639 --> 0:03:28.079 if you play eight games like he did for the Rockets, 0:03:28.280 --> 0:03:31.640 you're gonna get traded soon, It'll happily promise. No, he 0:03:31.720 --> 0:03:33.720 knows he's dealing with Daryl Morey and Daryl Moorey is 0:03:33.720 --> 0:03:36.560 gonna do whatever he can to extract the greatest set 0:03:36.600 --> 0:03:39.240 of assets for him as he can, and that's just 0:03:39.360 --> 0:03:42.520 not gonna be working for James. James is not going 0:03:42.600 --> 0:03:45.080 to play for anyone else but the Clippers, and the 0:03:45.080 --> 0:03:48.080 Clippers apparently don't want to get rid of now new 0:03:48.160 --> 0:03:51.480 starting I don't even know what position Terrence Man plays 0:03:51.520 --> 0:03:53.720 for the Clippers because they don't fucking know, but anyway, 0:03:53.760 --> 0:03:58.360 he's in the starting lineup now. Finally, Terrence Man. As 0:03:58.360 --> 0:04:01.280 I mentioned last week, Terrence Man apparently is the second 0:04:01.280 --> 0:04:04.480 coming of Michael Jordan as it relates to the LA Clippers, 0:04:04.640 --> 0:04:09.680 and he's holding up the entire trade. Lawrence Frank believes 0:04:09.760 --> 0:04:12.680 Terrence Man is untouchable. Let's be real, though, the lackluster 0:04:12.840 --> 0:04:16.760 years for Terrence Man, I think that the Clippers fault. Honestly, 0:04:17.480 --> 0:04:20.280 they played him twenty three minutes a game. They moved 0:04:20.320 --> 0:04:24.279 him in and out of the rotation. You're here, you're there. 0:04:24.839 --> 0:04:27.279 Is he getting minutes? Is he not getting minutes? Where's 0:04:27.320 --> 0:04:30.039 he at in the playoffs? So it's been a little 0:04:30.120 --> 0:04:34.240 like touch and go with Terrence Man's development. He averaged 0:04:34.360 --> 0:04:37.360 nine points last season, but remember he had this incredible 0:04:37.400 --> 0:04:39.560 game in the playoffs where he put up almost forty. 0:04:40.279 --> 0:04:42.960 It's just very weird. The whole thing is very weird. 0:04:43.200 --> 0:04:46.159 Back to the Sixers, here's what they gained. Patrick Beverly, 0:04:46.160 --> 0:04:49.520 who's an absolute past great culture guy, gonna fit on 0:04:49.560 --> 0:04:54.520 this team absolutely. Tsunami Poppy, who is reckless, plays with 0:04:54.600 --> 0:04:57.400 a level of I don't give a fuck that only 0:04:57.440 --> 0:05:00.760 a man beloved and lusted at if they're by other 0:05:00.839 --> 0:05:05.120 men that claim to be heterosexual, could have. Right, Like 0:05:05.560 --> 0:05:08.720 when you know you can turn I hate to say this, 0:05:08.960 --> 0:05:11.400 when you're a guy who knows that you can turn 0:05:11.440 --> 0:05:17.520 any anyone in your favor despite their proclivities, I guess 0:05:17.600 --> 0:05:21.479 that's confidence right there. That's the type of confidence that 0:05:21.560 --> 0:05:25.240 Kelly Ubre plays with. I will shoot this ball whenever 0:05:25.279 --> 0:05:29.120 I want, despite whether I'm open or not. And that's 0:05:29.160 --> 0:05:32.000 the way it goes. So Kelly Uber. He's in addition, 0:05:32.480 --> 0:05:34.200 he's going to be the three point shooting that they 0:05:34.240 --> 0:05:37.080 lost from Nang, which I think he's probably a little 0:05:37.080 --> 0:05:40.599 better than George Nang. You have Nick Nurse with a 0:05:40.600 --> 0:05:43.520 new system from Toronto. He's going to implement this new 0:05:43.560 --> 0:05:46.320 system with this without a point guard. I think that's 0:05:46.320 --> 0:05:49.400 going to be Tyresse MAXI that will be very interesting 0:05:49.440 --> 0:05:52.479 to see how it works. But the truth of the 0:05:52.560 --> 0:05:56.480 matter is that the Sixers are going to, like always 0:05:56.880 --> 0:06:01.440 trust the process, fail or succeed this season based on 0:06:02.120 --> 0:06:06.120 Joel Embiid's health. The team with the healthy Embiid is 0:06:06.160 --> 0:06:10.280 a problem, especially when you have PJ Tucker, Tobias Harris, 0:06:10.480 --> 0:06:15.560 Tyrese Maxey, Kelly Oubray, and yes, even Pat Beverley. And 0:06:15.800 --> 0:06:18.720 by the way, if you haven't seen Joel Embiid at 0:06:18.760 --> 0:06:23.279 media Day or during his press availability, he looks fucking ripped. 0:06:23.440 --> 0:06:27.200 This is the most in shape I think I've ever 0:06:27.279 --> 0:06:30.280 seen Joel Embiid, So we can say things are looking up. 0:06:30.520 --> 0:06:33.640 They always have Daniel House the Anthony Mountain. I think 0:06:33.680 --> 0:06:37.160 the upside for the Sixers is actually pretty good, but 0:06:37.520 --> 0:06:40.000 they haven't really solved their biggest issue yet, which is 0:06:40.040 --> 0:06:44.440 a roster that is constructed not to win in the playoffs, 0:06:44.720 --> 0:06:48.560 constructed this way where teams can throw high quality defenders 0:06:48.600 --> 0:06:50.640 at Joel Embiid, who may or may not be healthy 0:06:50.680 --> 0:06:52.760 at that point because his uses radued through the roof 0:06:54.040 --> 0:06:56.719 and he's been injured every playoffs for the last four years. 0:06:56.839 --> 0:06:59.960 So the sixers are in flux. And the funny thing is, 0:07:00.440 --> 0:07:02.719 no matter if James Harden's playing for this team or not, 0:07:03.600 --> 0:07:06.680 and also Terrence Man, if he plays on this team 0:07:07.040 --> 0:07:09.720 or not, not gonna save him. We move on, though, 0:07:09.960 --> 0:07:14.000 to the worst team in the Atlantic. Just an abysmal, 0:07:14.400 --> 0:07:18.240 bismal team. How the culture has changed for the Toronto 0:07:18.320 --> 0:07:21.800 Raptors since twenty nineteen. They were forty one and forty 0:07:21.800 --> 0:07:25.880 one last year, ninth place. They end up drafting a 0:07:25.920 --> 0:07:29.480 guy that I love, Grady Dick. They end up acquiring 0:07:29.520 --> 0:07:34.440 Dennis Shooter through free agency. They get Darko Rajakovic, who's 0:07:34.480 --> 0:07:38.160 currently the guy that's being sued by the New York Knicks. 0:07:38.200 --> 0:07:42.480 Great higher. They lose, They lose Nick Nurse, they lose 0:07:42.520 --> 0:07:45.600 Fred van Fleet. But there's some other guys that are 0:07:45.680 --> 0:07:47.640 kind of like in flux, you know, like they're in 0:07:47.680 --> 0:07:51.280 the we'll call it, they're in roster purgatory. That's O Chidanobi. 0:07:52.040 --> 0:07:55.720 That is Pascal Siakam. I think there's some other ones, 0:07:55.760 --> 0:07:59.240 but those are the main two. They were very disappointing 0:07:59.400 --> 0:08:03.400 last season, extremely disappointing five hundred team. They get bounced 0:08:03.400 --> 0:08:06.760 in the playoff play in they fire their coach right away. 0:08:07.240 --> 0:08:10.960 Nick Nurse won the only title in franchise history, did 0:08:10.960 --> 0:08:14.400 not see eye to eye with Massai Eugerie. He got 0:08:14.440 --> 0:08:18.360 shown the door. It was shocking to some Our guy, 0:08:18.480 --> 0:08:21.000 Jake Fisher, friend the show was calling for that pretty 0:08:21.040 --> 0:08:23.640 much in the preseason last year, said that he was 0:08:23.680 --> 0:08:25.720 going to be on the hot seat because of some 0:08:25.760 --> 0:08:29.240 cultural issues between those two in terms of their philosophy 0:08:29.320 --> 0:08:33.199 for the how the squad's going to play. Also, the 0:08:33.320 --> 0:08:37.480 roster construction very strange and that leads to underperformance as well. 0:08:38.840 --> 0:08:41.880 They were in constant trade rumors over and over and 0:08:41.920 --> 0:08:45.560 over again. They did absolutely nothing at the deadline. Shocker again, 0:08:46.040 --> 0:08:48.559 roster purgatory players that we didn't know if they were 0:08:48.559 --> 0:08:50.400 going to go or if they were going to stay. 0:08:52.280 --> 0:08:55.440 Masai Ujeri greatest cock t's in the NBA for spinning 0:08:55.480 --> 0:08:58.559 fire tonight at midnight. The Raptors then lose Fred van 0:08:58.600 --> 0:09:01.640 Fleet for nothing again because he was in the trade 0:09:01.679 --> 0:09:04.400 rumors that they didn't do it. He was supposed to 0:09:04.440 --> 0:09:06.480 be the heart and soul of the team aka the 0:09:06.559 --> 0:09:09.480 Kyle Lowry of the team, who they again lost for nothing. 0:09:10.040 --> 0:09:13.959 They add Dennis Shuter, who I love actually feba God. 0:09:14.559 --> 0:09:16.839 He was a part of the World Cup run where 0:09:16.880 --> 0:09:19.679 I don't think Germany lost even one game. One of 0:09:19.720 --> 0:09:22.079 the most underrated players in the league. Right now they 0:09:22.120 --> 0:09:25.719 get Grady Dick, who people are just calling Dick now, 0:09:25.760 --> 0:09:29.480 which I love. Very wild card Dick is. You know, 0:09:29.240 --> 0:09:33.840 you know how Dick b is. Just never know what 0:09:34.000 --> 0:09:37.320 Dick's up to. You know, one second he's here, one 0:09:37.400 --> 0:09:40.200 second he's not. Could be really good, could be a 0:09:40.240 --> 0:09:44.120 real mess, just like any Dick anyway. The biggest change 0:09:44.160 --> 0:09:47.400 is dark Over Jakovich, who comes over from Memphis. He's 0:09:47.440 --> 0:09:51.800 a very unknown commodity. He dropped into this team like 0:09:51.840 --> 0:09:57.199 a vampire, and he seems like already kind of causing 0:09:57.240 --> 0:09:59.079 a ruckus given the fact that I think the New 0:09:59.120 --> 0:10:04.079 York Knicks are accusing him of stealing some proprietary information 0:10:04.240 --> 0:10:06.679 from their team. He is now tasked with coaching a 0:10:06.720 --> 0:10:09.520 team that has a bunch of veteran presence, a lot 0:10:09.559 --> 0:10:12.080 of defensive ability, a lot of length, a lot of athleticism, 0:10:12.480 --> 0:10:16.280 but not a lot of true bucket ketters, not a 0:10:16.280 --> 0:10:20.560 lot of guys who can shoot from beyond the art consistently. Besides, 0:10:20.600 --> 0:10:24.760 of course, the wildcard Dick. He will preside over players 0:10:24.800 --> 0:10:26.840 like Pascal Suakam, who is either going to sign an 0:10:26.880 --> 0:10:30.000 extension or is going to dipset O g Nanobi, who 0:10:30.040 --> 0:10:35.720 has been unhappy with his role since twenty nineteen twenty twenty. 0:10:35.960 --> 0:10:39.439 It's been a while not happy in Toronto. I'm probably 0:10:39.520 --> 0:10:41.920 gonna walk in free agency if he doesn't get sent 0:10:41.960 --> 0:10:44.199 out by the deadline. But let's be honest, it's MASSI, 0:10:44.360 --> 0:10:47.320 so he'll probably keep him. Scottie Barnes, who was a 0:10:47.360 --> 0:10:49.960 big time sophomore slump last year, but I like a 0:10:49.960 --> 0:10:53.240 lot MASI wants to build the entire team around him. 0:10:53.559 --> 0:10:58.199 But the question really is, what is this team? What 0:10:58.400 --> 0:11:02.600 is this? What are they doing? I know they're probably 0:11:02.600 --> 0:11:05.400 good enough to be a five hundred team again, but like, 0:11:06.000 --> 0:11:09.280 could it be better than that? I don't think so. 0:11:09.920 --> 0:11:13.839 I don't have really any real idea. I suspect this 0:11:13.920 --> 0:11:16.960 is a loser team. Honestly, I suspect this is not 0:11:17.040 --> 0:11:19.480 a good team. I do think they're gonna play freer. 0:11:19.960 --> 0:11:22.360 I do think they're gonna play looser with more joy. 0:11:22.559 --> 0:11:26.880 The Nick Nurse experiment, the Nick Nurse train is a 0:11:26.880 --> 0:11:30.040 little Thibodeau esque. He's not afraid to bury you in 0:11:30.080 --> 0:11:32.640 the media. We'll see what Darko does. I don't know 0:11:32.640 --> 0:11:35.720 how that's gonna be. They're probably gonna ditch this whole. 0:11:35.760 --> 0:11:38.480 Like we play five to seven guys forty two to 0:11:38.600 --> 0:11:41.640 forty eight minutes a night. Thing the bench is not 0:11:41.760 --> 0:11:43.880 an existing thing. We don't even really even travel with 0:11:43.960 --> 0:11:46.400 the bench because we're not gonna use him. It's like 0:11:46.679 --> 0:11:50.280 Nick Tom Thibodeaux nurse, you know, kind of that kind 0:11:50.280 --> 0:11:53.600 of a vibe. Where will the Raptors end up? I 0:11:53.640 --> 0:11:55.920 have zero confidence in this team. I'm not gonna lie 0:11:55.920 --> 0:11:58.000 to you. In my notes it says they could be 0:11:58.000 --> 0:12:00.360 a six seed, but if I actually said that with 0:12:00.480 --> 0:12:03.840 any conviction, I'd be lying to you. I'm not gonna 0:12:03.840 --> 0:12:08.480 do that. This is a very schizophrenic defensive oriented a 0:12:08.480 --> 0:12:11.240 lot of ninety eight to ninety six wins if they're 0:12:11.280 --> 0:12:14.360 gonna get them, and in a league where Jannis and 0:12:14.440 --> 0:12:16.679 Dame are gonna probably put up one fifty a night, 0:12:16.960 --> 0:12:20.040 it's gonna be tough sledded. They are very we'll call 0:12:20.080 --> 0:12:22.120 it a wild card. We'll see what they get at 0:12:22.120 --> 0:12:24.760 the deadline, if they get anything at all. But onto 0:12:24.800 --> 0:12:27.559 the team that everyone thinks is going to be the 0:12:27.640 --> 0:12:34.400 real contender. The Boston Celtics. Who's Colie taken? Not Joe's. 0:12:34.520 --> 0:12:37.839 That's really the main question mark. There is Joe Key edition, 0:12:39.120 --> 0:12:44.200 Chris DAPs porzingis in free agency, and Drew Holliday via trade. 0:12:44.640 --> 0:12:48.920 They lose Marcus Smart, Grant Williams, Rob Williams, Malcolm Brogden. 0:12:49.240 --> 0:12:51.840 If you think that's a lot, well that is. Uh 0:12:52.440 --> 0:12:56.640 that's three starting players and six Man of the Year 0:12:56.720 --> 0:13:01.080 Malcolm Brogden. So they made a lot of money. Brad 0:13:01.160 --> 0:13:04.560 Stevens is under the gun. I'm sure ownership is crawling 0:13:04.679 --> 0:13:07.599 up his ass to get a championship in while the 0:13:07.679 --> 0:13:10.400 J's are still in their prime. They're only nineteen. By 0:13:10.440 --> 0:13:12.400 the way, did you know Jason Tatum only nineteen? For 0:13:12.520 --> 0:13:16.840 like the seventh straight year tradered Brad has pushed all 0:13:16.880 --> 0:13:19.440 of his chips into the middle of this summer and 0:13:19.480 --> 0:13:22.040 now the Celtics are the odds on favorite to win 0:13:22.080 --> 0:13:25.120 the title. So how did this happen? Well, they made 0:13:25.120 --> 0:13:27.439 the big trade earlier in the summer when they shipped 0:13:27.440 --> 0:13:31.360 out Marcus Smart, which we predicted should have been traded 0:13:31.400 --> 0:13:34.679 probably two years ago. Everyone murdered me in Boston for that. 0:13:35.080 --> 0:13:38.000 For that, I say thank you guy. Was right. Then 0:13:38.040 --> 0:13:40.920 they end up doing this deal with Memphis in a 0:13:40.920 --> 0:13:45.960 three way trade that landed them Porzingis in Kelly Green. 0:13:46.800 --> 0:13:50.520 They then signed them to an immediate extension, which I 0:13:50.559 --> 0:13:53.640 don't know, baby, I don't know about that huge move 0:13:54.040 --> 0:13:56.880 brings an all star big man. I like the prospect 0:13:56.960 --> 0:13:59.720 of Kristaps porzingis a lot. I think him playing five 0:13:59.800 --> 0:14:03.319 is very interesting. If he's healthy. He can stretch the floor. 0:14:03.360 --> 0:14:06.360 He can shoot threes, he can dribble, he can literally 0:14:06.360 --> 0:14:09.400 bring the ball up and pull up from thirty feet 0:14:09.960 --> 0:14:13.280 right in your dome face. He can also get lobs. 0:14:13.320 --> 0:14:17.960 He can rebound. Not the greatest perimeter defender, pretty good 0:14:17.960 --> 0:14:20.160 at defending the rim. I think this is going to 0:14:20.200 --> 0:14:23.240 take the team forward. It's certainly going to make them 0:14:23.240 --> 0:14:28.560 more unique, a little more athletic, a little bit more versatile. 0:14:29.000 --> 0:14:31.040 But they were not done. In the aftermath of the 0:14:31.080 --> 0:14:33.920 Dame Lollard trade, of course, Brad Stevens put his big 0:14:33.920 --> 0:14:36.840 balls on the table and when now he got Drew Holliday, 0:14:36.840 --> 0:14:38.920 one of the best perimeter defenders, if not the best 0:14:38.920 --> 0:14:42.800 perimeter defender on planet Earth, in exchange for time Lord 0:14:42.880 --> 0:14:45.320 Rob Williams and six Man of the Year Malcolm Bronkon. 0:14:45.600 --> 0:14:47.840 You lose Grant Williams to free agency, he goes off 0:14:47.880 --> 0:14:50.720 to Dallas. That is a good portion of the defense, folks, 0:14:50.880 --> 0:14:55.479 that is now gone. Drew Holiday presumably helps set immensely. 0:14:55.840 --> 0:14:58.040 Now this team is a serious problem. This team is 0:14:58.080 --> 0:15:02.920 a when healthy, a massive problem. You have Derek my 0:15:03.000 --> 0:15:04.880 name is Kodak Black, but when you see me, I'm 0:15:04.920 --> 0:15:07.240 white and I like him a lot. We don't even 0:15:07.280 --> 0:15:09.520 mention him because he's a key piece of this rotation. 0:15:10.240 --> 0:15:14.760 Swapping out Holiday for Smart, I think is a big improvement, really, 0:15:15.440 --> 0:15:17.880 especially since Holiday is a forty percent three point shooter, 0:15:18.120 --> 0:15:20.960 and we know that Marcus Smart a little on the 0:15:21.000 --> 0:15:23.800 iffy side from three, can be good, can be very 0:15:23.800 --> 0:15:26.200 ice cold. They are not gonna have to worry about 0:15:26.200 --> 0:15:28.480 who's going to handle the rock down and the crunch 0:15:28.520 --> 0:15:32.360 time and clutch time. It's not gonna be Jaylen Brown anymore. 0:15:32.440 --> 0:15:35.120 It's not gonna be Jason Tatum anymore. You now have 0:15:35.160 --> 0:15:37.520 a floor general who can also walk up on defense 0:15:37.720 --> 0:15:40.960 but also make the right decisions. You don't want Marcus 0:15:41.000 --> 0:15:44.520 Smart taking the last shot of a crucial game seven. 0:15:44.840 --> 0:15:47.600 I'd be fine with Jew Holiday taking the last shot 0:15:47.720 --> 0:15:50.480 in a crucial Game seven. But the issues on this 0:15:50.560 --> 0:15:57.200 team are are threefold. One, Ken Christas porzingis stay healthy. 0:15:57.600 --> 0:16:01.000 That's key. If he can, this team's gonna be insane. 0:16:01.760 --> 0:16:07.120 History shows, though, let's be real, Christas Porzingiz has difficulty 0:16:07.120 --> 0:16:10.000 playing a full season. If he is out for any 0:16:10.040 --> 0:16:13.560 extended period of time, they have really nothing to back 0:16:13.640 --> 0:16:15.880 him up. I'm not even sure who their backup center is. 0:16:16.680 --> 0:16:18.520 I really don't know. I would have to google it 0:16:18.600 --> 0:16:21.800 right this second. Not anyone good. They don't have time 0:16:21.840 --> 0:16:24.600 Lord there to back him up now, which was kind 0:16:24.640 --> 0:16:28.240 of a key piece. The second point, are they gonna 0:16:28.280 --> 0:16:34.680 have enough defense in the interior, specifically to stop Joel Embiid? 0:16:34.760 --> 0:16:37.480 And you're honest, I don't know. I don't think about that. 0:16:37.720 --> 0:16:41.600 I don't know. Not to mention those other teams out West, 0:16:41.640 --> 0:16:45.960 like Jokic and Jamal Murray and a plethora of other 0:16:46.080 --> 0:16:49.280 teams that are gonna be coming for that ass, Drew's 0:16:49.280 --> 0:16:53.120 the lockdown defender. Jason Tatum can play defense, Jalen Brown 0:16:53.160 --> 0:16:58.800 can play defense, but I don't know. I'm suss on 0:16:58.880 --> 0:17:02.920 this also, of course, hur The third more obvious glaring 0:17:03.320 --> 0:17:06.480 question mark is Joe Missoula. He did not have a 0:17:06.520 --> 0:17:10.520 stellar coaching performance in the playoffs. He does not have 0:17:10.760 --> 0:17:17.320 particularly great called bedside manner with the media, he doesn't 0:17:17.320 --> 0:17:23.200 really have great in game adjustments. But he has surrounded 0:17:23.280 --> 0:17:26.680 himself with more veteran assistant coaches. He gets another year 0:17:26.680 --> 0:17:29.119 of experience. Hopefully he's not watching the town anymore. That 0:17:29.119 --> 0:17:31.720 did not work out. The question really, will he be 0:17:31.800 --> 0:17:35.919 able to more consistently manage rotations and the clock in 0:17:36.040 --> 0:17:39.280 the playoffs and not just be like, well, their jobs 0:17:39.320 --> 0:17:41.520 to figure it out, and my job is to watch. 0:17:41.960 --> 0:17:47.280 I'm watching just like y'all. That's not an acceptable answer, Joe. 0:17:47.320 --> 0:17:48.960 So the Celtics are going to be a very, very 0:17:48.960 --> 0:17:51.720 fun team to watch this year. Whether it ends up 0:17:51.800 --> 0:17:57.640 with them hoisting the Larry O'Brien, we'll see. Let's move 0:17:57.680 --> 0:18:01.280 on to the Brooklyn Nets. Very fun team. Actually, they 0:18:01.280 --> 0:18:04.560 were forty five and thirty seven, sixth place. They of course, 0:18:05.720 --> 0:18:08.159 a lot of those wins came with Kevin Durant on 0:18:08.280 --> 0:18:13.840 the team. Key additions Noah Clowney in the draft, Derek Whitehead, 0:18:14.320 --> 0:18:16.719 and my guy Lonnie Walker, who I think is going 0:18:16.760 --> 0:18:19.679 to be a massive addition for them. Key subtractions you 0:18:19.720 --> 0:18:22.760 lose Seth Curry, you lose Joe Harris, you lose Patty 0:18:22.840 --> 0:18:30.320 Mills Brooklyn, ye're one of the rebuild has begun. This 0:18:30.400 --> 0:18:35.679 is It's like a post apocalyptic society living in a 0:18:35.800 --> 0:18:40.080 silo like Common as the Sheriff. They have now fully 0:18:40.119 --> 0:18:45.440 embraced the rebuild. They have shed KD and Kyrie. They 0:18:45.440 --> 0:18:48.840 have brought in Mikhale Bridges and Cam Johnson as the 0:18:48.920 --> 0:18:53.040 cornerstones of this team. They swapped out the bright lights 0:18:53.040 --> 0:18:57.480 of the Big City for let's be real, a tunnel 0:18:58.000 --> 0:19:03.880 three thousand miles below the Earth's surface. Instead of this 0:19:03.960 --> 0:19:08.320 team being all glitz, glam and Kardashians, this is Ma 0:19:08.560 --> 0:19:12.880 and Pa Kettle. This is not a sexy, particularly sexy team. 0:19:12.560 --> 0:19:17.080 I'm not throwing shade at Dorianfinny Smith or Spencer Dinwoodie. 0:19:17.119 --> 0:19:20.040 I like this team, Okay, I like them. I like them. 0:19:20.040 --> 0:19:24.480 They're very cute, They're adorable, you know what I'm saying. 0:19:24.480 --> 0:19:27.359 They're not doing anything of note, but they're gonna be 0:19:27.400 --> 0:19:30.600 fucking fun. And the Big Three era, of course, is 0:19:30.640 --> 0:19:33.960 gonna be marred by what ifs. But it's time to 0:19:34.000 --> 0:19:37.040 forget about all that. All the stars, all the egos, 0:19:37.320 --> 0:19:39.840 all the trade capital that you gave up for James Harden. 0:19:40.080 --> 0:19:43.199 No more ifs and butts and candies and nuts. Okay, 0:19:43.960 --> 0:19:46.840 now the eyes are on the future. Let's build a 0:19:46.880 --> 0:19:49.240 winning culture here. Let's build a winning team like we 0:19:49.320 --> 0:19:53.239 did the last time, where you had D'Angelo Russell and 0:19:53.320 --> 0:19:57.200 Jared Allen, all these young young up and comers, like gritty, 0:19:57.320 --> 0:20:03.200 scrappy players. They also lost Utah Wattonnabe, so that was 0:20:03.240 --> 0:20:06.840 a key piece lost as well. This is basically an overhaul. 0:20:07.960 --> 0:20:10.520 The most interesting thing that they have is a healthy 0:20:10.520 --> 0:20:15.520 Ben Simmons, very important piece and an aspect of this 0:20:15.640 --> 0:20:19.080 team that could be very interesting. Who knows what it means. 0:20:19.320 --> 0:20:21.840 I don't fucking know, Like, is he healthy, is his 0:20:21.880 --> 0:20:24.320 mind right? Is he right handed? Is he left handed? 0:20:24.359 --> 0:20:27.760 I don't know, sir, I don't know. They have a 0:20:27.800 --> 0:20:31.280 pretty good defensive team because they have mickl Bridges, Cam Johnson, 0:20:31.320 --> 0:20:34.480 Ben Simmons, Spencer Dinwiddie and Nick Claxton. The only player 0:20:34.520 --> 0:20:37.720 on this team that really isn't strapping you is Dimwitty. 0:20:38.280 --> 0:20:40.879 That's a fun ass core. Then you add Lonnie Walker, 0:20:41.000 --> 0:20:44.080 Doriannfinny Smith, Royce O'Neill. This is like a top six 0:20:44.119 --> 0:20:47.520 team in the East. Honestly, this is a team that 0:20:47.560 --> 0:20:49.800 could be better than the Knicks. Not gonna lie to you. 0:20:50.160 --> 0:20:53.480 I like this team, very pesky defensive team, got some 0:20:53.560 --> 0:20:55.959 bucket getters. If mckel bridges can do what he did 0:20:56.119 --> 0:20:59.400 last year, but for the entire season, I mean, give 0:20:59.440 --> 0:21:02.680 me thirty thirty five a game, which I'm not counting in, 0:21:02.800 --> 0:21:05.760 but I'm just saying he can be that. It's gonna 0:21:05.760 --> 0:21:07.520 be fun. It's gonna be very fun. Are they a 0:21:07.560 --> 0:21:11.240 winning team? Probably not, But they're gonna score enough to 0:21:11.240 --> 0:21:12.639 beat a lot of good teams on a lot of 0:21:12.680 --> 0:21:15.720 good nights at a couple exciting young players in the 0:21:15.800 --> 0:21:18.520 draft next year. Who knows. This is a team that's 0:21:18.520 --> 0:21:20.840 on the up and up, on the straight come up. 0:21:20.920 --> 0:21:23.800 It's not smoking mirrors. The culture is being built. No 0:21:23.880 --> 0:21:27.280 more star hunting, no more chasing. Which brings us to 0:21:27.359 --> 0:21:31.400 another team, the New York Knicks, fifth place team last year, 0:21:31.480 --> 0:21:35.159 forty seven and thirty five. They end up getting Dante 0:21:35.200 --> 0:21:41.080 DiVincenzo from the Warriors. They become Villanova New York Villanova team. Right, 0:21:41.080 --> 0:21:43.400 they got a few of them. They lose Derrick Rose 0:21:43.400 --> 0:21:46.280 and Obi Toppin. Ain't no stopping Obi toppin now that 0:21:46.320 --> 0:21:50.639 he's not with Tom Thibodeau. The Knicks, I don't know 0:21:50.680 --> 0:21:53.240 what to make of them. I really don't. I don't. 0:21:53.520 --> 0:21:57.840 I go back and forth. Sometimes I feel very optimistic. 0:21:57.960 --> 0:22:00.800 Sometimes I feel like they can't shoot a lick. I'm 0:22:00.800 --> 0:22:04.440 not sure they got much better this year. I don't 0:22:04.440 --> 0:22:06.760 think so. Actually, do you swap out d Rose and 0:22:06.800 --> 0:22:10.000 Obi topp and for Dante DiVincenzo. It's gonna be a 0:22:10.040 --> 0:22:14.119 team that tries hard all the time. You signed Josh 0:22:14.119 --> 0:22:17.440 Hart to an extension. That's big. Jalen Brunson's obviously there 0:22:17.520 --> 0:22:21.200 as the connective tissue. They won forty seven games last year. 0:22:21.320 --> 0:22:23.760 They can win games. Mitchell Robinson one of the best 0:22:23.840 --> 0:22:29.520 rim protectors in the league. But this roster, bro if 0:22:29.560 --> 0:22:33.440 you look at it, doesn't inspire much confidence. Can they 0:22:33.480 --> 0:22:38.200 improve on the fifth place finish? Probably not. The question 0:22:38.359 --> 0:22:41.639 really is can they do better than they did in 0:22:41.680 --> 0:22:45.240 the playoffs last year when they looked awful against the Heat. 0:22:45.680 --> 0:22:47.879 A lot of that I think comes from RJ. Barrett. 0:22:47.880 --> 0:22:49.960 We're gonna need to see him take that next step. 0:22:50.640 --> 0:22:55.359 He showed flashes, but he would also disappear. They're very tough. 0:22:55.520 --> 0:23:00.639 They're a defensive, scrappy, hardworking team, like all Tom Thibodeau 0:23:00.680 --> 0:23:04.560 teams are. Jalen Brunson played in FEBA. How's that going 0:23:04.560 --> 0:23:07.360 to affect him? He was very meh and FEBA very 0:23:07.400 --> 0:23:10.600 me You add that to Julius Randall, who is an 0:23:10.600 --> 0:23:12.199 All Star but kind of plays like he's not an 0:23:12.240 --> 0:23:14.680 All star, kind of plays like he's still most improved 0:23:14.680 --> 0:23:18.000 player before he was most improved, went healthy. He's a 0:23:18.040 --> 0:23:21.439 real problem, but he also disappears in big moments. You 0:23:21.480 --> 0:23:24.880 add in Josh hart who's like a roller coaster from 0:23:24.880 --> 0:23:27.520 the perimeter. Shot fifty percent from three as a Nick 0:23:27.600 --> 0:23:29.320 and I think it was like twenty percent from three 0:23:29.359 --> 0:23:33.480 as a Blazer. Quentin Grimes is nice. Mitchell Robinson I like, 0:23:33.560 --> 0:23:38.000 but can't make free throws. He's not really a bucket 0:23:38.880 --> 0:23:42.040 for I like Isaiah Hartenstein a lot. You add them in, 0:23:42.840 --> 0:23:44.679