Speaker 1: Let's go through though the next tier of teams that
Speaker 1: are one.
Speaker 2: Level below quote obvious Vegas contender, teams that are like
Speaker 2: Stella trying to get their groovebacks, Teams that have gone
Speaker 2: to the finals recently and are trying to find their
Speaker 2: way back there. Phoenix, Miami, Denver went to the Western
Speaker 2: Conference finals, Philly went to the Eastern Conference. Semis and
Speaker 2: Dallas who made their way to the Western Conference finals
Speaker 2: last year.
Speaker 1: Let's talk about them, Miami, Miami. It's an ugly, ugly
Speaker 1: path for them. It is always gross.
Speaker 2: It never looks like they're gonna be able to do it,
Speaker 2: and then they do somehow someway. Jimmy Butler makes life hard,
Speaker 2: even when he's making your forty two points per game.
Speaker 2: It's like, man, it looked hard for you. They've been
Speaker 2: in the mix though too. Out of the last three years, right,
Speaker 2: they've always adding guy. They're always adding guys you've never
Speaker 2: heard of. They get them undrafted, they come out of nowhere.
Speaker 2: They fill roles that you did not expect. So, for example,
Speaker 2: they get rid of PJ. Tucker, Right, so who's going
Speaker 2: to replace PJ.
Speaker 1: Tucker?
Speaker 2: They get this kid, Darius Days at LSU Darius day days.
Speaker 1: Is who is his player? Cop, Well, just ask him.
Speaker 1: He says it's PJ. Tucker.
Speaker 2: So it's not a shocker that they replace PJ. Tucker
Speaker 2: with a younger, up and coming PJ Tucker. Jerry West,
Speaker 2: one of his favorite young players, didn't get drafted. If
Speaker 2: Kyle Lowry is backed to being available, he missed a
Speaker 2: lot of time for personal issues, and I'm not even
Speaker 2: sure what those issues are. Then he missed time due
Speaker 2: to health. So if he's healthy and engage and those
Speaker 2: personal issues are cleaned up, and he's playing seventy five games,
Speaker 2: let's just be more realistic. Sixty five seventy games, they
Speaker 2: could be a problem for a lot of teams. Are
Speaker 2: they good enough to be a healthy Becks team? No?
Speaker 1: Does it matter?
Speaker 2: They might not even face him, So just play your
Speaker 2: best basketball, Miami and we'll see. Though, to be able
Speaker 2: to truly get there, to truly be able to compete
Speaker 2: for a title, I think Bam out of Baio needs
Speaker 2: to be that guy. He needs to be so dominant.
Speaker 2: He needs to make life hard on whoever is guarding him.
Speaker 2: He needs to bam and not lay up. He needs
Speaker 2: to hit his free throws. He needs to be a
Speaker 2: problem night in and night out. So many times he
Speaker 2: goes David Copperfield and just all of a sudden, you
Speaker 2: don't know where bam about Adebayo is. Is he even
Speaker 2: on the floor. Oh yeah, he's got four points in
Speaker 2: thirty eight minutes. That's unacceptable. So two years now, by
Speaker 2: the way, we've had role players not show up for
Speaker 2: their teams. You had Kevin Durant and the nets, and
Speaker 2: you had Jimmy Butler in the heat. They were just
Speaker 2: putting the team on their back so much that when
Speaker 2: it came down the closing time, closing time, they were
Speaker 2: so exhausted that they couldn't hit the final shot in
Speaker 2: order to seal it out.
Speaker 1: So role players gotta show up moving forward.
Speaker 2: Denver Nuggets, man, it's easy to forget how good the
Speaker 2: Denver Nuggets were, the bubble Denver Nuggets, unstoppable, just the kids,
Speaker 2: the comeback cardiac kids. They played the Warriors close and
Speaker 2: it was just just checks notes, Doc Rivers's son off
Speaker 2: the couch and Jokic and Rookie Bowlan's Highland and it
Speaker 2: was a sweat for the Warriors.
Speaker 1: It looked like his see a five game. Oh Gentlemen sweep.
Speaker 2: No. I watched every single one of those games. It
Speaker 2: came down to the wire, down to the wire. When
Speaker 2: Doc Rivers's son is your second option and you win
Speaker 2: any games against the team that ended up winning it all,
Speaker 2: like that's a wow. You add back in Jamal Murray,
Speaker 2: who's a bucket. You add back in hopefully Michael Porter
Speaker 2: Junior from injury, which, like, by the way, this has
Speaker 2: been a concern since he was drafted from Missouri.
Speaker 1: That's why he slipped in the draft because he had
Speaker 1: back issues.
Speaker 2: So if he's healthy and back to being the one
Speaker 2: of the best three point shooters in the league, but
Speaker 2: one of the best two way wings in the league,
Speaker 2: then oh boy.
Speaker 1: Then you add in.
Speaker 2: Ksep who's a very good versatile defender. You add in
Speaker 2: Bruce Brown, who again can do a lot of things.
Speaker 2: He was a rebound king. He was a nice little
Speaker 2: small ball five for the Brooklyn Nets, and before Joe
Speaker 2: Harris just went into a milk carton, they were gonna
Speaker 2: beat the Bucks. Everyone's gotta stay healthy, man. I think
Speaker 2: that they can really make some noise. If Jamal Murray
Speaker 2: is himself and MPJ is himself.
Speaker 1: Phoenix Suns. You move forward and say, how could Phoenix
Speaker 1: really compete?
Speaker 2: How tell me how are they going to get back
Speaker 2: to being an actual team team, a team that likes
Speaker 2: each other and is around each other and has chemistry
Speaker 2: and can overcome adversity when things get bright. We have
Speaker 2: seen them when they do like each other and they
Speaker 2: get derailed. I think that they are gonna have a
Speaker 2: real hard time getting over that drama of the offseason,
Speaker 2: the issues with DeAndre Ayton, the issues with you know, COVID,
Speaker 2: let's be honest, ravaging their team, the issues with Monty
Speaker 2: Williams not speaking to DeAndre Ayton for the entire offseason,
Speaker 2: which is fucking weird, and DeAndre Ayton not reaching out.
Speaker 1: To him, which is fucking weird.
Speaker 2: Him wanting to go to Indiana and still being in
Speaker 2: Phoenix because they have no other options. Robert Sarver being
Speaker 2: forced to sell a team. You know the whole thing,
Speaker 2: you know the whole list.
Speaker 1: How are they gonna get back to the finals? They
Speaker 1: are not, They are not. What needs to happen.
Speaker 2: Well, DeAndre Ayton has to be happy otherwise it's the
Speaker 2: Bismack Biambo show. And I tell you what I've seen
Speaker 2: a lot of Bismack Biaombo when he played for Charlotte.
Speaker 2: I saw him in Phoenix as well. I don't know
Speaker 2: that you want him being your starting five.
Speaker 1: I just don't think so.
Speaker 2: Booker gotta be an MVP and this team might just
Speaker 2: might go to the second round. Philadelphia very intriguing team.
Speaker 2: So to contend, they kind of need to be like.
Speaker 1: Jedis.
Speaker 2: Embiid and Harden have to know what each other is
Speaker 2: thinking at all times. They need to be able to
Speaker 2: look into each other's eyes and know who wants.
Speaker 1: The rock where they want it. How much?
Speaker 2: How do you feed Embiid first? How do you feed
Speaker 2: Embiid and not castraight James Harden? That's the question because
Speaker 2: when James is aggressive, he's not looking for anyone else,
Speaker 2: and when he's a distributor, he's not nearly.
Speaker 1: As aggressive with his shot.
Speaker 2: Can we see the Houston Rockets version of Harden mixed
Speaker 2: with early nets Harden. That would be an absolute problem.
Speaker 2: Are they going to be good in the post? Are
Speaker 2: they going to be able to rebound? They were one
Speaker 2: of the worst rebounding teams in the NBA last year.
Speaker 2: Doc Rivers, Who's a liar, said on Woja's podcast that
Speaker 2: they look very good right now in practice. I also
Speaker 2: saw some footage where they said that he said they
Speaker 2: didn't look good, but that was a week ago, so
Speaker 2: I don't know. They both need to be in shape,
Speaker 2: they both need to be healthy. They're usually neither, both
Speaker 2: of them.
Speaker 1: So we'll see, we will see.
Speaker 2: I am intrigued. Let's just say that I love Tyree
Speaker 2: s Maxey. He's the most likable player on this team.
Speaker 2: I think when you add nobody's really talking about it
Speaker 2: that much. After the signing PJ. Tucker as a whole
Speaker 2: new element, they said after they lost to the Heat,
Speaker 2: they need some dogs, and they found one.
Speaker 1: PJ. Tucker is that guy. He absolutely is that guy.
Speaker 2: You added Daniel House Junior, which I'm not sure why
Speaker 2: they picked him up other than the fact that he
Speaker 2: can literally.
Speaker 1: Game up any woman in any setting. Remember he.
Speaker 2: Got kicked out of the Bubble for bringing down the
Speaker 2: COVID tester. He took her to his room later later
Speaker 2: right down. So maybe he's like James Harten's wingman. I
Speaker 2: don't know why he's on the team, but it's not
Speaker 2: to be a dog, it's to be something else, all right,
Speaker 2: Let's move forward Dallas. In order for Dallas to contend,
Speaker 2: what do they need to do? They need to acquire someone.
Speaker 2: Let's be honest, they need to figure out another backcourt
Speaker 2: teammate with Luca.
Speaker 1: This is a no brainer. Nobody is in more dire
Speaker 1: need of someone.
Speaker 2: To acquire than Luca. He needs a backcourt mate. Losing
Speaker 2: Jalen Brunson was a.
Speaker 1: Really big deal.
Speaker 2: They were fifteenth in offense last year, fifteenth, and then
Speaker 2: they lose the guy who can put up buckets at
Speaker 2: any moment with Luca. He was a very key piece.
Speaker 2: When Luca was out against the Jazz, he put up
Speaker 2: forty one. Do you trust anyone else on that team
Speaker 2: to put up forty one if Luca's not in.
Speaker 1: There, No, you don't. Who can they get?
Speaker 2: Maybe Mike Conley. They can give you twenty five minutes.
Speaker 2: He can give you some shots. A little lefty, he's
Speaker 2: got a three point game. He's not gonna be a
Speaker 2: starter or anything. He's not gonna Maybe he starts, but
Speaker 2: he doesn't play huge minutes. Even for twenty two minutes
Speaker 2: a game, he's gonna help. I don't trust in Woodie.
Speaker 2: I said that Javal McGee, Christian wood They need to
Speaker 2: be better. They need to be an absolute bucket. Christian
Speaker 2: Wood needs to hit threes. He needs to be completely engaged.
Speaker 2: We can't have any more of those those reputational things
Speaker 2: and question marks that Christian Wood has had before.
Speaker 1: Are they true? Are they not true? I don't know,
Speaker 1: but I know that they're out there, so they need
Speaker 1: to figure that out.
Speaker 2: Also, Jayden Hardy, If Jayden Hardy becomes like Aunt Edwards
Speaker 2: mid season, then yeah they can go beat But that's
Speaker 2: you know, obviously a big if deeper teams are coming
Speaker 2: and they do not care if Luca puts forty five
Speaker 2: up on them at all. This is a potentially a
Speaker 2: play and team borring a trade.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's true. The next tier of teams on the.
Speaker 2: Rise, getting better, doing the work in the gym, looking good,
Speaker 2: looking to take some heads off. Cleveland, Memphis, Minnesota, New Orleans, Toronto.
Speaker 2: All of these teams make me more excited than Dallas.
Speaker 2: And that's that, and I love Luca. That is a
Speaker 2: sexy ass group. Woo wooh Hey Memphis, Woo, Minnesota, Woo,
Speaker 2: New Orleans, Woo Toronto.
Speaker 1: Hell yeah, Minnesota, let's talk about them.
Speaker 2: First biggest money move of the of the offseason, swang
Speaker 2: for the fences for Rudy Gobert. I think it's a
Speaker 2: fascinating move. How is it gonna work with Carl Anthony Towns.
Speaker 1: I have no idea. All I know is it means
Speaker 1: that Carl Anthony Towns.
Speaker 2: Isn't going to be a defensive liability, isn't going to
Speaker 2: be caught on film talking all kinds of t and
Speaker 2: people will be like, we have Minnesota, now, we have
Speaker 2: Minnesota now. All I know is that it means that
Speaker 2: Carl Anthony Towns can lock in. And if anybody needs
Speaker 2: the shoulders of the blame for anything, we already know
Speaker 2: who it is.
Speaker 1: It's Rudy. Rudy always shoulders the blame. He's good at that.
Speaker 1: He's good at being an escapegoat.
Speaker 2: Hopefully Aunt and de lo are gonna feature him more offensively,
Speaker 2: Rudy Gobert, I think you can get him a ton
Speaker 2: of lobs. The question is our team's gonna try to
Speaker 2: run him off four, try to go small on him
Speaker 2: like the Clippers did, like Dallas did last year. I
Speaker 2: don't know, We'll have to see. All I know is
Speaker 2: that Aunt Edwards is gonna be coming. I think he
Speaker 2: takes another step. I think he becomes someone who's like Jaw,
Speaker 2: doesn't win the MVP, but is very much in the
Speaker 2: mix of the MVP conversation. And they're gonna win a
Speaker 2: lot of games. They're gonna be a top six team
Speaker 2: in the West. Moving forward, another team I absolutely love
Speaker 2: salivate over the New Orleans Pelicans. I am so excited
Speaker 2: about them. May be my favorite team to even imagine
Speaker 2: how good they could be. Yes, Zion, of course is interesting,
Speaker 2: but I'm actually less concerned or interested in Zion because
Speaker 2: I know what he is. How is this team going
Speaker 2: to continue to improve? You have Dyson Daniels. Now you
Speaker 2: have Dyson Daniels, you have Brandon Ingram.
Speaker 1: You have CJ.
Speaker 2: McCollum, you have Jose Alvarado, You've got man just so
Speaker 2: many dudes, Yonus Valencunas. The question, also, big question mark,
Speaker 2: is how Zion and BI are going to coexist.
Speaker 1: They've had issues with that before.
Speaker 2: How does this change the identity of the New Orleans
Speaker 2: team that they built without Zion?
Speaker 1: Big question marks there.
Speaker 2: He has a fifty million reasons to make it work,
Speaker 2: to stay in shape, to run back on defense. But
Speaker 2: I tell you what this is a train that's moving.
Speaker 2: How do I not even say Herb Jones?
Speaker 1: Herb Jones.
Speaker 2: They're gonna move with or without Zion, and it's gonna
Speaker 2: be very interesting to watch. I think they could be
Speaker 2: a two seed this year. I think they could literally
Speaker 2: be the biggest surprise in the West, or they could
Speaker 2: be a dumpster fire if Zion doesn't play any defense. Memphis, man,
Speaker 2: they were so good, They're so deep. They took Golden
Speaker 2: State to the brink. There were so many moments that
Speaker 2: were fifty to fifty jaw. Of course, getting injured really hurt.
Speaker 2: Jaron Jackson being god awful from three point Land was awful,
Speaker 2: and they still have a ton of picks. I think
Speaker 2: that they're a team that's very up and coming, but
Speaker 2: I do take they think they take a step back.
Speaker 2: Their wing positions very thin right now. I think they're
Speaker 2: going to try to develop Zire Williams. I like the
Speaker 2: grizz but they're not going to be sneaking up on anybody.
Speaker 2: I think they are now the hunted and they're the
Speaker 2: loudest mouth team in the NBA, So a lot of
Speaker 2: teams are going to be coming for them, and they're
Speaker 2: going to be looking to embarrass them. Losing Jaron Jackson
Speaker 2: also hurts. And I think the Anthony Melton, who I
Speaker 2: didn't mention, is now a sixer. I think he helps
Speaker 2: a lot. Cleveland super interesting team. They have so much versatility.
Speaker 2: They could be kind of who Cleveland was last year
Speaker 2: before my man got hurt with the ACLU Ricky Rubio.
Speaker 2: I need to see, though, how Donovan meshes into the team, right.
Speaker 2: Can he buy into the defensive scheme he's telling us.
Speaker 1: I can defend. I can defend. I promise.
Speaker 2: It's like, well, we haven't seen it since Louisville. Like,
Speaker 2: were you just not doing it on purpose when you're
Speaker 2: at Utah?
Speaker 1: Was it just the assignments.
Speaker 2: I don't know what was happening with it, but I
Speaker 2: know that two small guard lineups where you've got two
Speaker 2: six one sixty two guys with negative wingspans, I've seen that.
Speaker 2: I've seen that up and close with Portland, and it
Speaker 2: did not work. We went to the Western Conference finals
Speaker 2: and we got swept. That's what happened. I tell you what,
Speaker 2: it's pain. It's a lot of pain.
Speaker 1: They're gonna miss LORI marketing. I tell you what.
Speaker 2: I never thought i'd say that, but they're gonna miss him.
Speaker 2: They have a lot more interior help than Portland. They
Speaker 2: have Mobiley, obviously, they've got Jared Allen. Even Kevin Love
Speaker 2: can play some four, even though they'll probably have him
Speaker 2: on the perimeter. But I tell you what, this team
Speaker 2: will be very fun. I think they're going to be
Speaker 2: an actual play off team this year and not a
Speaker 2: play in team moving.
Speaker 1: Forward with Toronto.
Speaker 2: Toronto is one of those teams that if someone takes
Speaker 2: a leap or they add someone, they could be a problem.
Speaker 2: Like if og Ananobi turns into an All Star, this
Speaker 2: could be a real nightmare matchup for everyone.
Speaker 1: Like we've said before.
Speaker 2: It's a bunch of six seven to six nine guys
Speaker 2: who can play every single position on the floor and
Speaker 2: can do everything. In the era of positionalists basketball, Nick
Speaker 2: Nurse loves his lineup.
Speaker 1: They add in obviously on top of Scottie.
Speaker 2: Barnes on the cusp of being an All Star. I
Speaker 2: think you add in Otto Porter, you add in Christian Colloco.
Speaker 2: That helps a lot with the defense. And they took
Speaker 2: a flyer on Josh Jackson who went to Kansas busted.
Speaker 2: Just an absolute nightmare of a bust. But he has height,
Speaker 2: he has length, and he could potentially thrive as a
Speaker 2: role player in Nick Nurse's systems.