WEBVTT - NBA Midseason Grades: Eastern Conference 0:00:00.520 --> 0:00:06.520 You're tuned into Heat Check with Trystal Quick. On this 0:00:06.559 --> 0:00:10.720 episode of a Heat Check, we are now at the 0:00:10.920 --> 0:00:14.920 halfway point of the regular NBA season. 0:00:15.600 --> 0:00:16.520 Can you believe it? 0:00:17.360 --> 0:00:21.200 Time is going best, folks. It is time for me, 0:00:21.680 --> 0:00:26.520 Professor Crick, to give out some grades some guys. Some 0:00:26.760 --> 0:00:30.440 teams are getting the ruler, folks, Smack smack. This episode, 0:00:30.440 --> 0:00:33.240 we're gonna break down the Eastern Conference. We're gonna grade 0:00:33.280 --> 0:00:36.760 every team from Atlanta down to the Washington Wizards. So 0:00:36.840 --> 0:00:38.520 let's get right to it, Nick, we don't have much 0:00:38.520 --> 0:00:49.400 time drop that generic gass beat. All right, So we've 0:00:49.440 --> 0:00:55.080 reached halfway throughout the season. Actually, last Thursday, I could 0:00:55.080 --> 0:00:56.640 have done it, but I didn't feel like it was 0:00:56.680 --> 0:00:58.880 too much work. It's a lot you gotta go into 0:00:58.960 --> 0:01:01.840 all these ratingsts. I don't mean to make it sound 0:01:01.920 --> 0:01:04.200 like my job's like super complicated. 0:01:04.240 --> 0:01:04.560 It's not. 0:01:05.360 --> 0:01:07.039 I do this for the love of the game. So 0:01:07.120 --> 0:01:09.160 I wanted to do it. I want to do it right. 0:01:10.040 --> 0:01:12.839 And now it's just like college. It's like the midterm 0:01:12.920 --> 0:01:18.200 exams and we're giving out mid semester grades. Some teams 0:01:18.200 --> 0:01:21.240 I think will be very happy with their scores. Kids 0:01:21.280 --> 0:01:24.640 that came into the classroom. They had a backpack with 0:01:24.680 --> 0:01:27.720 no books in it, and you said to yourself, oh boy, 0:01:28.120 --> 0:01:30.360 this is gonna be a doozy, And all of a 0:01:30.400 --> 0:01:33.120 sudden they became one of the best students in the 0:01:33.160 --> 0:01:37.960 whole damn classroom. And then others will probably be very sad. 0:01:38.959 --> 0:01:39.880 But them's the breaks. 0:01:40.120 --> 0:01:43.000 I am just the instructor, and I call it like 0:01:43.120 --> 0:01:43.600 I see it. 0:01:43.880 --> 0:01:46.120 So let's start out East. Let's break it down. 0:01:46.360 --> 0:01:49.240 Next episode will break down the West, because, like I said, 0:01:50.040 --> 0:01:52.000 these stats are hard to come by. So let's start 0:01:52.000 --> 0:01:56.120 in the Atlantic Division. The Atlantic Division is a wagon 0:01:56.320 --> 0:01:58.240 by the way you look at it. I think it's 0:01:58.240 --> 0:02:01.840 the best division in the entire NBA. What you may 0:02:01.880 --> 0:02:04.280 not think about it because who does who is in 0:02:04.320 --> 0:02:09.040 the Atlantic Division. It's the Nets, It's the Sixers, it's 0:02:09.080 --> 0:02:10.960 the Celtics, it's the Knicks. 0:02:11.760 --> 0:02:13.919 That's a good ass, good ass division. 0:02:15.200 --> 0:02:18.240 And listen, like, most of these teams have had various 0:02:18.280 --> 0:02:22.720 degrees of dysfunction throughout this offseason and into the season itself. 0:02:23.000 --> 0:02:26.840 So I mean these teams were seen as toxic full 0:02:26.960 --> 0:02:30.720 rebuild situations like the Brooklyn Nets. Four of these teams 0:02:30.800 --> 0:02:34.960 right now, though four of these teams are top six 0:02:35.040 --> 0:02:38.480 in the East. So it's a wagon that's unreal. So 0:02:38.560 --> 0:02:42.359 let's start with the Brooklyn Nets. I mean, that's the 0:02:42.440 --> 0:02:44.760 kid that came in with the backpack that was empty, 0:02:45.200 --> 0:02:47.560 and you were like, this kid's going to fail, Like, 0:02:47.639 --> 0:02:52.400 this kid's probably gonna withdraw the class. In the first 0:02:52.400 --> 0:02:54.720 month of the season, they look like they were headed 0:02:54.760 --> 0:02:58.519 for a full teardown, didn't They kd wanted out. Kyrie 0:02:58.760 --> 0:03:03.040 was a mess. He gets suspended, he wants a max deal, 0:03:03.520 --> 0:03:08.120 they say no. In the offseason, there's just cascating thing 0:03:08.240 --> 0:03:13.680 after cascading thing, the whole yahweh issue. Oh my god, 0:03:13.800 --> 0:03:17.240 Joe sigh. They wanted to fire Sean Marks. Oh yeah. 0:03:17.280 --> 0:03:19.480 By the way, they fired their coach in the middle 0:03:19.480 --> 0:03:23.920 of the season. Try to hire em Udoka. That didn't 0:03:24.000 --> 0:03:26.480 work because the league shut that down. They brought in 0:03:26.880 --> 0:03:29.400 Jacques Vaughn, who was the interim head coach the last 0:03:29.440 --> 0:03:33.160 time they fired their coach. So it was a world 0:03:33.160 --> 0:03:37.280 class distraction. You were like, okay, this is we had 0:03:37.280 --> 0:03:39.120 the ghost of Nick Claxton. 0:03:39.320 --> 0:03:41.080 What's he gonna be? Like, what's TJ. 0:03:41.240 --> 0:03:43.880 Warren gonna be? Ben Simmons, Is he gonna be himself? 0:03:44.240 --> 0:03:47.920 He had been in his own mind, just very broken, 0:03:49.720 --> 0:03:52.480 and so you're thinking to yourself at this point, this 0:03:52.560 --> 0:03:56.480 team steering at a full rebuild, especially when Kevin Durant 0:03:56.480 --> 0:03:59.840 wanted out and you look up after they fired Steve 0:04:01.240 --> 0:04:06.680 and their second in the East. You gotta give the 0:04:06.680 --> 0:04:10.640 Brooklyn Nets an a plus. You have to. They are 0:04:11.640 --> 0:04:15.000 the second best defensive team in the last fifteen games. 0:04:15.360 --> 0:04:18.800 They went eighteen and two after they brought on Jacque 0:04:18.839 --> 0:04:24.320 Vaughn KD until his injury became probably at the peak 0:04:24.360 --> 0:04:27.560 of his powers. Nick Claxton, by the way, who no 0:04:27.600 --> 0:04:29.800 one is talking about as a real defensive Player of 0:04:29.800 --> 0:04:32.279 the Year. He's like plus fourteen hundred right now, which 0:04:32.320 --> 0:04:33.920 is worth a little sprinkle if you want to put 0:04:33.960 --> 0:04:36.760 a little money on it for that award. He's got 0:04:36.800 --> 0:04:40.479 twelve double doubles so far. He's dominating in six of 0:04:40.560 --> 0:04:43.400 the seven interior categories in the league. He leads the 0:04:43.480 --> 0:04:47.960 league in blocks. Ben Simmons has been a game changer. 0:04:48.480 --> 0:04:50.960 And it's not just the defense either. They've been very 0:04:50.960 --> 0:04:54.840 good in terms of their bench. Edmund Sumner, TJ. Warren, 0:04:55.480 --> 0:04:59.720 My Guy, John Utah, Wattnabe, Joe Harris coming back from injury, 0:04:59.720 --> 0:05:04.000 p Mills, cam Thomas, Royce O'Neil, all of whom have 0:05:04.160 --> 0:05:07.719 stepped up now that Kevin Durant is out after you know, 0:05:07.800 --> 0:05:10.839 for another month. Oh yeah. By the way, Kyrie Irving 0:05:11.120 --> 0:05:14.279 is taking accountability for not playing well in fourth quarters, 0:05:14.360 --> 0:05:17.359 tweeting out, I me, Kyrie Irving have to be better. 0:05:18.040 --> 0:05:20.719 When have we seen that? Hey, I gotta be a 0:05:20.880 --> 0:05:24.480 better leader. Did someone take over this man's account? You 0:05:24.520 --> 0:05:26.880 can't get I ed gray than the Brooklyn Nets. Boy, 0:05:27.240 --> 0:05:30.920 I swear I thought that was a shit show. And 0:05:31.120 --> 0:05:35.599 they have vastly overperformed expectations. This team could win at all? 0:05:36.320 --> 0:05:40.680 What Boston Celtics less excited about them? Why they went 0:05:40.720 --> 0:05:42.760 to the finals? They went to the finals. Yes, they 0:05:42.800 --> 0:05:45.120 had their share of dysfunction as well. They fired he 0:05:45.200 --> 0:05:47.800 may Udoka. Let's be real to firing He's never coming 0:05:47.839 --> 0:05:51.080 back to this team. They bring on a guy with 0:05:51.200 --> 0:05:54.520 his own set of scandals, a bunch of skeletons in 0:05:54.560 --> 0:05:57.480 his closet, a religious sellate that he is who I'm 0:05:57.520 --> 0:05:58.800 not completely sold on. 0:05:59.200 --> 0:06:02.720 And the team was in need of a prayer and 0:06:02.760 --> 0:06:03.520 they found one. 0:06:04.640 --> 0:06:06.680 They went obviously, and they had a bunch of key 0:06:06.680 --> 0:06:08.920 pieces that they still had two of the best wings 0:06:08.920 --> 0:06:12.560 in the league with Jason Tatum and Jalen Brown. Rob Williams, 0:06:12.640 --> 0:06:16.880 though missed twenty nine games start of the season, and 0:06:17.040 --> 0:06:18.960 the fact that they're still number one in the East 0:06:19.000 --> 0:06:22.080 feels very impressive to me. They pick up Malcolm Brogden 0:06:22.400 --> 0:06:24.400 probably would have been a shoe in to win six 0:06:24.480 --> 0:06:28.599 Man of the Year if Russell Westbrook didn't become whatever 0:06:28.680 --> 0:06:32.680 we're seeing. If he gets traded, Malcolm Brogden will win 0:06:33.040 --> 0:06:35.760 six Man of the Year. But the only thing that 0:06:35.800 --> 0:06:37.560 I can't give him an A plus or an A 0:06:37.880 --> 0:06:40.880 solid a their name minus for me. They lost to 0:06:40.920 --> 0:06:44.240 the Magic twice. They got stomped by the Dubs. They 0:06:44.240 --> 0:06:47.160 got stomped by the Clippers. They lost to the Thunder, 0:06:47.600 --> 0:06:50.440 the OKC Thunder, who is largely considered to be one 0:06:50.480 --> 0:06:53.919 of the biggest egregious tankers in the league. They lost 0:06:53.920 --> 0:06:58.640 to them by almost fifty points, fifty of them half 0:06:58.680 --> 0:07:03.200 of one hundred. So I don't really know what else 0:07:03.240 --> 0:07:05.960 to say other than the motivation of this team can 0:07:06.040 --> 0:07:09.600 sometimes be called into question, and that, my friends, is 0:07:09.640 --> 0:07:11.520 a coaching problem and something that. 0:07:11.480 --> 0:07:13.240 Even Joe Mizula is making fun of. 0:07:13.280 --> 0:07:15.680 That he doesn't take timeouts and maybe he should, and 0:07:15.680 --> 0:07:17.200 that the momentum shifts. 0:07:16.920 --> 0:07:17.720 Et cetera, et cetera. 0:07:18.160 --> 0:07:20.680 Boston Celtics are gonna be fine. But I can't give 0:07:20.760 --> 0:07:23.040 him an A plus or an A minus because largely. 0:07:22.760 --> 0:07:23.680 The pieces are the same. 0:07:24.560 --> 0:07:26.760 Let's move on to the New York Knicks. New York 0:07:26.840 --> 0:07:31.440 Knicks gotta give them B minus B minus, which is 0:07:31.480 --> 0:07:34.320 pretty damn good, right, pretty damn good for the New 0:07:34.400 --> 0:07:39.800 York Knicks. Halfway point, specifically, Jalen Brunson has been a monster. 0:07:40.560 --> 0:07:45.360 He has worked out. He is averaging thirty two points 0:07:45.520 --> 0:07:50.000 in the month of January, what, fifty percent from three 0:07:50.040 --> 0:07:53.680 point range, almost six rebounds, almost six assists per game. 0:07:54.280 --> 0:07:56.920 They've got one of the best road records in the NBA, 0:07:57.360 --> 0:08:00.720 fourteen and eight. Do you know what the Golden State 0:08:00.800 --> 0:08:03.960 Warriors would do to be fourteen and eight on the road. 0:08:06.440 --> 0:08:10.960 Julius Randall right now is playing out of his mind 0:08:11.320 --> 0:08:14.040 for the most part. And the young guys they're developing 0:08:14.080 --> 0:08:16.840 into contributors as well, right, Like, Yeah, we may not 0:08:16.880 --> 0:08:20.360 see ob topping much, but he's been injured. RJ Barrett 0:08:20.360 --> 0:08:23.440 on the other end, hasn't been great despite his stats, 0:08:23.480 --> 0:08:26.320 saying that he has been okay, he just hasn't really 0:08:26.360 --> 0:08:26.720 been there. 0:08:26.800 --> 0:08:27.840 He's gotten injured. 0:08:28.760 --> 0:08:31.480 I would imagine the one downside that the Knick sea 0:08:31.680 --> 0:08:35.400 is Wow, Donovan Mitchell really is him. We probably should 0:08:35.400 --> 0:08:39.160 have traded Quinton, Like I can't believe that Quinton Grimes 0:08:39.200 --> 0:08:44.120 held this fucking trade up Quinton Grimes. Do we see 0:08:44.160 --> 0:08:46.920 what Donovan Mitchell is doing? He has seventy one points. 0:08:47.120 --> 0:08:49.000 If you would have said to Leon Rose, this man's 0:08:49.000 --> 0:08:53.000 gonna score seventy one in the garden, are you willing 0:08:53.040 --> 0:08:57.680 to trade Quinton Grimes and RJ Beart, I think that 0:08:57.760 --> 0:09:02.160 they regret that decision. Fucking her extending RJ. Barrett trying 0:09:02.200 --> 0:09:05.640 to play little games with our man, Danny Ainge. You 0:09:05.720 --> 0:09:09.640 can't play games with Ange. Uh. They've blown On the 0:09:09.679 --> 0:09:12.600 other side, that's also bad. They've blown seven double digit 0:09:12.720 --> 0:09:17.760 leads and lost those games. Remember the game that Luca 0:09:17.800 --> 0:09:18.559 had like one of his. 0:09:18.520 --> 0:09:19.800 Best performances ever. 0:09:20.679 --> 0:09:24.960 They scored like they were down nine with thirty seconds 0:09:25.040 --> 0:09:26.439 or nineteen seconds to. 0:09:26.400 --> 0:09:30.000 Go, and the MAVs won that game. Yeah, that was 0:09:30.040 --> 0:09:30.960 against the Knicks. 0:09:31.360 --> 0:09:34.200 That was against them, And when it comes down to 0:09:34.240 --> 0:09:36.239 crunch time, the offense goes stagnant. 0:09:36.480 --> 0:09:38.040 They miss a bunch of free throws. 0:09:38.120 --> 0:09:40.600 I think they were like eleven for forty one a 0:09:40.640 --> 0:09:45.080 couple of games ago. Certainly a fun team, definitely overperformed, 0:09:45.360 --> 0:09:48.960 but some flaws, some bad decisions where I feel like, man, 0:09:49.000 --> 0:09:52.640 would they be good with Donovan Mitchell moving forward in 0:09:52.679 --> 0:09:56.440 the Atlantic Division. Philadelphia seventy six Ers, who to me, 0:09:57.320 --> 0:10:00.960 they are a B plus. They are very interesting. I 0:10:01.000 --> 0:10:02.640 think this is the same sort of team as they 0:10:02.679 --> 0:10:04.400 were last year, where I don't know if they're good 0:10:04.520 --> 0:10:04.720 or not. 0:10:05.280 --> 0:10:05.800 I don't know. 0:10:05.880 --> 0:10:08.720 I'm not sure they could go to the Eastern Conference Finals. 0:10:08.800 --> 0:10:10.439 They could flame out in the first round. 0:10:10.720 --> 0:10:13.640 All of that depends on the two key pieces, which 0:10:13.679 --> 0:10:16.319 is James Harden and Joe l emb Are they healthy, 0:10:16.720 --> 0:10:19.080 are they in shape, do they have a connection? 0:10:19.480 --> 0:10:22.960 Can they be stopped? How is the defense doing well? 0:10:23.000 --> 0:10:23.959 They brought on PJ. 0:10:24.120 --> 0:10:28.400 Tucker, the guy who was considered it would be one 0:10:28.440 --> 0:10:30.840 of the best point of attack defenders in the league. 0:10:30.880 --> 0:10:31.720 He has stunk. 0:10:31.960 --> 0:10:36.360 He has stunk so bad that people within the blogosphere 0:10:36.520 --> 0:10:40.560 of Philadelphia seventy six Ers media are calling for him 0:10:40.600 --> 0:10:44.960 to be sitting his ass on the bench. So all 0:10:45.120 --> 0:10:49.760 that considered for the Sixers to still be fourth in 0:10:49.840 --> 0:10:53.920 the league in defensive rating with PJ. Tucker largely being 0:10:54.040 --> 0:10:57.720 not very effective, is pretty good because of the Anthony 0:10:57.760 --> 0:10:59.719 Mountain that the Anthony Mountain trade that they made with 0:10:59.720 --> 0:11:04.840 the Memphis Grizzlies is unreal. The Anthony Mountain is one 0:11:04.920 --> 0:11:08.640 of the top leaders and steals per game and deflections. 0:11:09.120 --> 0:11:12.000 If you look at Embiid and Harden, their connection has 0:11:12.080 --> 0:11:15.680 been elite. They've also had their fair share of injuries, though, 0:11:15.760 --> 0:11:17.679 so you can't give them an eight right because all 0:11:17.720 --> 0:11:20.040 those things that we worry about have already reared their 0:11:20.160 --> 0:11:23.480 ugly head. Embiid has missed time. He's missed nine games, 0:11:23.679 --> 0:11:26.280 Harden has missed fourteen games in a row. He's back 0:11:27.280 --> 0:11:30.280 and somehow a player that they did not account to lose. 0:11:30.640 --> 0:11:34.559 Tyrese Maxey missed nineteen games, but all of that considered, 0:11:34.679 --> 0:11:37.080 the Sixer still managed to go thirteen and six without 0:11:37.160 --> 0:11:41.000 him and they're healthy now. So with Maxi and Embiid 0:11:41.040 --> 0:11:44.439 and Harden, the Anthony Mountain all in the court, gelling 0:11:44.559 --> 0:11:48.080 and meshing, this team could be really, really dangerous. Tobias Harris, 0:11:48.120 --> 0:11:50.000 he doesn't even have to do much now that Tyrese 0:11:50.120 --> 0:11:53.760 Maxey is good he's a very solid fourth option. Considering 0:11:53.760 --> 0:11:56.640 that his stats have declined and plummeted off of a cliff. 0:11:56.800 --> 0:12:00.000 It's okay because you don't need him to score a bucket. 0:12:00.120 --> 0:12:02.840 When Embiid is out sitting on the bench, it's like, 0:12:02.920 --> 0:12:06.120 that's fine. Just spot up, shoot threes, catch and shoot, 0:12:06.200 --> 0:12:08.600 maybe do a little dribble drive pass back to James 0:12:08.679 --> 0:12:10.960 and let the offense flow. So this team could be 0:12:11.040 --> 0:12:13.720 dangerous or like I said, they could be a first 0:12:13.840 --> 0:12:20.800 or second round exit Toronto Raptors. What's stopping me from 0:12:20.840 --> 0:12:29.480 giving you an F Hope, good roster, good GM, good coach. 0:12:29.840 --> 0:12:31.440 They're a D minus. 0:12:32.320 --> 0:12:35.040 This is a team that you could say is one 0:12:35.040 --> 0:12:38.360 of the most disappointing teams in the NBA. I thought 0:12:38.360 --> 0:12:40.679 they would be like a top four, top five seed. 0:12:41.640 --> 0:12:47.840 When you have current players like CJ. McCollum commenting about 0:12:47.880 --> 0:12:53.320 the Toronto Raptors generally speaking in like nobody speaks about them, right, 0:12:53.640 --> 0:12:54.040 But when. 0:12:54.000 --> 0:12:56.640 You have them talking about the Toronto Raptors on. 0:12:56.520 --> 0:13:01.840 An ESPN hit with i Isy Gutierrez and speaking of 0:13:01.880 --> 0:13:04.640 them in negative terms, not in the fact that they're 0:13:04.640 --> 0:13:07.280 the gold standard, which is what they have been for 0:13:07.440 --> 0:13:12.720 recruiting and scouting and developing talent and making talent gel 0:13:12.760 --> 0:13:15.440 and mesh, finding guys that came from the G League. 0:13:15.600 --> 0:13:17.959 All that is what Toronto is known for. Right now, 0:13:18.000 --> 0:13:18.760 they are known. 0:13:18.600 --> 0:13:21.520 For their dysfunction and now that means it is bubbled 0:13:21.600 --> 0:13:25.440 up to be mainstream news quickly. As an aside, does 0:13:25.480 --> 0:13:29.840 anyone find it weird that CJ. McCollum, who's not just 0:13:29.880 --> 0:13:35.520 a player, he is the president of the NBA Players Union, 0:13:36.360 --> 0:13:40.719 is commenting on this on ESPN, like, I don't know, 0:13:40.840 --> 0:13:45.079 like just feeding chum to the aggregators, the bloggers for 0:13:45.200 --> 0:13:51.040 drama purposes and driving ESPN's ratings at the detriment of 0:13:51.120 --> 0:13:53.480 other NBA teams as a whole. Like I feel like 0:13:53.520 --> 0:13:55.640 Kevin Durant would not like that. I don't feel like. 0:13:55.800 --> 0:13:57.960 The pure Hoopers would want to do that. 0:13:57.960 --> 0:13:59.960 That's kind of the icky thing where it feels like 0:14:00.080 --> 0:14:03.440 these players are start towing the line between player and 0:14:03.559 --> 0:14:06.760 like media personality, Like you can't on one hand be CJ. 0:14:06.960 --> 0:14:10.240 The New Orleans Pelican Hooper mid range master and on 0:14:10.280 --> 0:14:13.120 the other hand hot take men stephen A. 0:14:13.280 --> 0:14:15.960 Smith wannaby, I don't like that. I don't like that. 0:14:16.360 --> 0:14:18.560 But here's what he had to say when he was 0:14:18.600 --> 0:14:19.400 spilling the team. 0:14:19.800 --> 0:14:21.800 I think in terms of what they need or what 0:14:21.840 --> 0:14:25.640 they're lacking, something's gonna happen. I don't know what. There's 0:14:25.720 --> 0:14:28.200 rumblings about certain players on the team not being happy 0:14:28.200 --> 0:14:30.920 and due to tampering. I can't speak to that, but 0:14:31.040 --> 0:14:33.440 I think they're gonna move someone. 0:14:33.720 --> 0:14:34.880 So let's break this down. 0:14:36.080 --> 0:14:38.240 The Raptors came to the season and we all thought 0:14:38.280 --> 0:14:40.600 that they were on the rise. Scotty Barnes wins Rookie 0:14:40.640 --> 0:14:42.760 of the Year. He looks to emerge as a real 0:14:42.800 --> 0:14:46.600 superstar playmaker, can do multiple things on the court. Siakam 0:14:46.600 --> 0:14:48.280 We knew he was gonna take a step up, and 0:14:48.320 --> 0:14:50.800 he did take a step up. He's been insane this year, 0:14:51.160 --> 0:14:55.680 absolutely incredible. Og Nnobi was supposed to break out. He's 0:14:55.680 --> 0:14:58.640 actually leading the league in deflections right now, so defensively, 0:14:58.720 --> 0:15:01.880 he's been amazing. And they got out from under Kyle 0:15:01.920 --> 0:15:04.040 Lowry's contract. They had Fred van Fleet, who. 0:15:03.880 --> 0:15:04.520 Is an All Star. 0:15:04.680 --> 0:15:09.160 Like, all of this gave us vibes of improvement. Right, 0:15:09.720 --> 0:15:12.920 you've got to bring in another heavy hitter. Okay, okay, 0:15:12.920 --> 0:15:17.640 it's all good, but no, halfway through the season, despite 0:15:17.680 --> 0:15:20.040 a team of six to seven to six to nine guys, 0:15:20.760 --> 0:15:22.960 with the with the best steal rate in the league, 0:15:23.360 --> 0:15:26.840 allowing the fifth least points in the paint, the fourth 0:15:27.120 --> 0:15:30.240 lowest second chance points in the league. The Raptors are 0:15:30.240 --> 0:15:34.400 only fifteenth in the league in defensive rating. So why folks, 0:15:34.600 --> 0:15:38.000 They're five games under five hundred. They are out of 0:15:38.040 --> 0:15:40.080 the play in tournament, and I am not sure that 0:15:40.080 --> 0:15:42.440 they will sneak into the play in tournament. And now 0:15:42.440 --> 0:15:46.840 you've got rumblings about various players wanting out. Fred van 0:15:46.920 --> 0:15:49.880 Fleet wanted to get paid, them not wanting to pay 0:15:49.920 --> 0:15:53.080 him because he is undersized and has somewhat of a 0:15:53.080 --> 0:15:56.760 ball dominant attitude. Pascal Siakam is one of the only 0:15:56.840 --> 0:15:59.920 guys that is untradeable, but does he want to be traded. 0:16:00.240 --> 0:16:03.680 I've heard that Ogannobi is unhappy with his role and 0:16:03.720 --> 0:16:07.080 how he's being used on this team. Who is not unhappy? 0:16:07.160 --> 0:16:10.920 Scottie Barnes doesn't look happy. You've got Nick Nurse throwing 0:16:10.960 --> 0:16:13.200 Gary Trent under the bus and saying, listen, if he 0:16:13.280 --> 0:16:16.160 can't play defense, he's of no use to us. He's 0:16:16.240 --> 0:16:18.880 yelling at players on the coach, I mean, on the bench. 0:16:19.000 --> 0:16:23.280 There's just so much going on with this team, safe 0:16:23.320 --> 0:16:26.160 to say this is not the way anybody thought it 0:16:26.200 --> 0:16:28.600 would go, not the way that anybody would want it 0:16:28.640 --> 0:16:30.960 to go, which is why they get a failing grade. 0:16:31.360 --> 0:16:33.680 They can't get enough because I love Missiu Jerry, and 0:16:33.720 --> 0:16:35.640 I think he's too smart to let this shit happen. 0:16:36.120 --> 0:16:38.240 Still time for things to turn around. But when you 0:16:38.320 --> 0:16:41.120 only have two guys on this roster who are untouchable, 0:16:42.440 --> 0:16:49.200 that's a rut row. That is a massive, massive rut row. 0:17:02.200 --> 0:17:04.080 Let's move to the Central Division. We'll start with the 0:17:04.119 --> 0:17:07.679 Milwaukee Bucks. Milwaukee Bucks get a solid C, not a 0:17:07.680 --> 0:17:10.520 C plus, not a C minus, but a C. They 0:17:10.520 --> 0:17:12.720 have the third best record in the East, but I 0:17:12.760 --> 0:17:16.320 think probably the most disappointing team in the division. 0:17:16.359 --> 0:17:18.000 If the Pistons did not exist. 0:17:19.560 --> 0:17:22.439 They have almost the entire year, with the exception of 0:17:22.480 --> 0:17:25.760 seven games, been lacking Chris Middleton. When they did have 0:17:25.840 --> 0:17:29.480 Chris Middleton for those seven games, he looked like Doo doo. 0:17:29.960 --> 0:17:32.560 He looked horrible. It's never a good sign. 0:17:32.720 --> 0:17:34.919 May they asked Chris Middleton about his time that he 0:17:34.920 --> 0:17:38.560 has been missing, and what I found to be very 0:17:38.600 --> 0:17:43.120 strange is uh that some people close to Chris Middleton 0:17:43.440 --> 0:17:46.600 have said that Chris Middleton's knee injuries will continue to 0:17:46.680 --> 0:17:49.480 persist and continue to be a problem, and they've always 0:17:49.480 --> 0:17:52.000 been a problem. Who are those people close to Chris Middleton? 0:17:54.000 --> 0:17:57.600 Chris Middleton, this is what he said. I've always had 0:17:57.680 --> 0:18:01.399 knee issues since college. When I tour my meniscus. That 0:18:01.560 --> 0:18:03.320 was one of the reasons why my stock in the 0:18:03.400 --> 0:18:06.080 draft drop lower because I was coming off of a 0:18:06.080 --> 0:18:09.360 meniscus injury that a lot of people didn't trust it. 0:18:09.359 --> 0:18:12.200 It's been great for me so far. What I'm going 0:18:12.240 --> 0:18:17.760 through now normally happens during the offseason when nobody hears 0:18:18.119 --> 0:18:23.720 that my knee is swollen. I still work out. Rest 0:18:23.720 --> 0:18:27.120 doesn't do it any good. It's just building it back slowly. 0:18:28.320 --> 0:18:32.880 What so Chris Middleton, you would imagine telling on himself 0:18:32.920 --> 0:18:35.639 probably not the best strategy unless he's like, I don't know, 0:18:35.720 --> 0:18:36.440 locked down for. 0:18:36.400 --> 0:18:37.320 The next five years. 0:18:37.359 --> 0:18:40.359 It's like, oh, I'm under team control, guaranteed contracts, bitch, 0:18:40.440 --> 0:18:42.399 I'm just gonna tell you that my knees swollen. Twenty 0:18:42.400 --> 0:18:44.800 four to seven. Wait, let me look and see when 0:18:44.800 --> 0:18:48.160 his contract ends. What next year? Twenty twenty four, he's 0:18:48.200 --> 0:18:51.160 a free agent and he had missed having knee pain 0:18:51.280 --> 0:18:55.240 and knee swelling. Since college, He's had only played seven 0:18:55.320 --> 0:18:58.199 games and largely been unproductive. I would say for the 0:18:58.240 --> 0:19:01.280 Milwaukee Bucks, that is a big red flag. That's about 0:19:01.280 --> 0:19:03.560 as big red flag for a wing as you can get. 0:19:04.040 --> 0:19:06.280 The rest of the box not giving me much hope either. 0:19:06.480 --> 0:19:09.440 Giannis all of a sudden missing games, not just load 0:19:09.480 --> 0:19:12.360 management games. This is his fourth straight game that he's 0:19:12.400 --> 0:19:15.440 missed as of today. He hyper extended his left knee 0:19:15.440 --> 0:19:18.040 in the Eastern Conference Finals two years back, and now 0:19:18.080 --> 0:19:21.199 it's the same knee that's giving him problems that he 0:19:21.280 --> 0:19:23.639 played through when they won the title. I don't know 0:19:23.680 --> 0:19:26.919 about that. This team feels like a hospital wing to me. 0:19:27.160 --> 0:19:30.080 Drew Holliday has missed time. Grayson Allen has missed time. 0:19:30.400 --> 0:19:33.520 Chris Middleton has missed time. Two years ago, Brook Lopez 0:19:33.560 --> 0:19:35.719 had back surgery. So that gives me a little bit 0:19:35.760 --> 0:19:39.480 of pause. My man, Serge Ibaka isn't playing basketball that 0:19:39.560 --> 0:19:41.920 I had to look him up because he's been so irrelevant. 0:19:42.000 --> 0:19:45.720 The only thing that I know of Serjebaka doing is 0:19:45.880 --> 0:19:49.520 YouTube videos eating bow penises. He used to be one 0:19:49.560 --> 0:19:52.200 of the best room protectors in the League, and now 0:19:52.280 --> 0:19:55.600 he just makes other NBA players admit things while eating 0:19:55.640 --> 0:19:56.280 weird foods. 0:19:56.400 --> 0:19:59.119 So yeah, I give him a very low grade in 0:19:59.240 --> 0:19:59.680 my mind. 0:19:59.760 --> 0:20:01.800 Of all always said that the Milwaukee Bucks were healthy, 0:20:02.880 --> 0:20:06.040 they were unbeatable. But the question is is that actually 0:20:06.080 --> 0:20:09.560 true anymore? Has the window closed? Like? Should we be 0:20:09.640 --> 0:20:13.520 worrying when Giannis and Chris Middleton both aren't healthy, Andrew 0:20:13.600 --> 0:20:17.000 Holliday hasn't been healthy, the core three not fully healthy? 0:20:17.720 --> 0:20:18.480 I can't tell. 0:20:18.640 --> 0:20:21.360 Without a rescue line at the trade deadline, the window 0:20:22.200 --> 0:20:26.520 very much might be closing soon. Indiana Pacers. 0:20:27.800 --> 0:20:28.480 A minus. 0:20:29.160 --> 0:20:32.600 This is maybe the biggest surprise in the Eastern Conference, 0:20:32.920 --> 0:20:36.360 maybe the biggest surprise in the entire NBA. I saw 0:20:36.400 --> 0:20:38.720 the Sacramento Kings coming. What I did not see coming 0:20:39.000 --> 0:20:41.720 was the Pacers, and they are fun. Everybody thought that 0:20:41.720 --> 0:20:43.960 the Pacers were gonna be a lottery team. Even the 0:20:44.000 --> 0:20:46.639 Pacers thought they were gonna be a lottery team. The 0:20:46.680 --> 0:20:49.480 Pacers told the world at Summer League, we're in the 0:20:49.520 --> 0:20:52.080 sweepstakes for Victor Wamba Yama. Let me tell you this, 0:20:52.280 --> 0:20:55.440 they are not. They are not even close to getting 0:20:55.520 --> 0:20:58.000 Victor Wamba Yama. They are in eighth place right now 0:20:58.400 --> 0:21:02.440 twenty three and twenty one, and they've had injuries too. 0:21:02.560 --> 0:21:05.199 They're doing all this with guys out of the lineup, 0:21:05.280 --> 0:21:08.920 like Miles Turner, like Tyrese Halliburton. Dworte has missed twenty 0:21:08.960 --> 0:21:12.879 two games, but Tyrese Halliburton is now becoming one of 0:21:12.880 --> 0:21:15.639 the best playmakers in the league, making that Sabonis trade 0:21:15.640 --> 0:21:19.440 look beneficial for very much both sides. He's consistently getting 0:21:19.480 --> 0:21:23.760 double digitusists per game. He's scoring twenty four forty just 0:21:24.000 --> 0:21:26.720 massive numbers on a night tonight basis, And oh did 0:21:26.760 --> 0:21:31.200 I mention Ben Maturin akaa, Ben Matthern is averaging over 0:21:31.240 --> 0:21:34.520 seventeen a game as a rookie coming off the fucking bench. 0:21:35.760 --> 0:21:37.280 Can they keep this up? I don't know. 0:21:37.320 --> 0:21:37.760 I think so. 0:21:37.960 --> 0:21:40.000 But they're probably gonna have to pay Miles Turner now. 0:21:40.240 --> 0:21:42.600 They're probably gonna have to pay Buddy Heel now, or 0:21:42.640 --> 0:21:45.040 they're gonna trade him for a boatload of assets to 0:21:45.119 --> 0:21:47.480 some aspiring team like the Milwaukee Bucks that want to 0:21:47.520 --> 0:21:51.000 win a title and get a lot in return. He 0:21:51.160 --> 0:21:53.080