WEBVTT - NBA Midseason Grades: Atlantic Division

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<v Speaker 1>You're tuned into Heat Check with Trystal Quick.

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<v Speaker 2>On this episode of a Heat Check, we are now

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<v Speaker 2>at the halfway point of the.

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<v Speaker 3>Regular NBA season. Can you believe it? Time is going best, folks.

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<v Speaker 2>It is time for me, Professor Crick, to give out

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<v Speaker 2>some grades some guys. Some teams are getting the ruler, folks,

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<v Speaker 2>Smack smack. This episode, we're gonna break down the Eastern Conference.

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<v Speaker 2>We're gonna grade every team from Atlanta down to the

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<v Speaker 2>Washington Wizards. So let's get right to it, Nick, we

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<v Speaker 2>don't have much time drop that generic gass beat. All right,

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<v Speaker 2>So we've reached halfway throughout the season. Actually, last Thursday,

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<v Speaker 2>I could have done it, but I didn't feel like

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<v Speaker 2>it was too much work. It's a lot you gotta

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<v Speaker 2>go into all these ratingsts. I don't mean to make

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<v Speaker 2>it sound like my job's like super complicated.

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<v Speaker 3>It's not.

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<v Speaker 2>I do this for the love of the game. So

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<v Speaker 2>I wanted to do it. I want to do it right.

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<v Speaker 2>And now it's just like college. It's like the midterm

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<v Speaker 2>exams and we're giving out mid semester grades. Some teams

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<v Speaker 2>I think will be very happy with their scores. Kids

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<v Speaker 2>that came into the classroom. They had a backpack with

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<v Speaker 2>no books in it, and you said to yourself, oh boy,

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<v Speaker 2>this is gonna be a doozy, And.

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<v Speaker 3>All of a sudden they became one of the best.

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<v Speaker 2>Students in the whole damn classroom. And then others will

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<v Speaker 2>probably be very sad.

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<v Speaker 3>But them's the breaks.

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<v Speaker 2>I am just the instructor, and I call it like

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<v Speaker 2>I see it.

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<v Speaker 3>So let's start out East. Let's break it down.

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<v Speaker 2>Next episode will break down the West, because, like I said,

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<v Speaker 2>these stats are hard to come by. So let's start

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<v Speaker 2>in the Atlantic Division. The Atlantic Division is a wagon

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<v Speaker 2>by the way you look at it. I think it's

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<v Speaker 2>the best division in the entire NBA. What you may

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<v Speaker 2>not think about it because who does who is in

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<v Speaker 2>the Atlantic Division. It's the Nets, It's the Sixers, it's

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<v Speaker 2>the Celtics, it's the Knicks.

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<v Speaker 3>That's a good ass, good ass division. And listen, like, most.

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<v Speaker 2>Of these teams have had various degrees of dysfunction throughout

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<v Speaker 2>this offseason and into the season itself. So I mean

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<v Speaker 2>these teams were seen as toxic full rebuild situations like

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<v Speaker 2>the Brooklyn Nets. Four of these teams right now, though

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<v Speaker 2>four of these teams are top six in the East.

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<v Speaker 2>So it's a wagon that's unreal. So let's start with

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<v Speaker 2>the Brooklyn Nets. I mean, that's the kid that came

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<v Speaker 2>in with the backpack that was empty, and you were like,

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<v Speaker 2>this kid's going to fail, Like, this kid's probably gonna

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<v Speaker 2>withdraw the class. In the first month of the season,

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<v Speaker 2>they look like they were headed for a full teardown,

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<v Speaker 2>didn't They kd wanted out.

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<v Speaker 3>Kyrie was a mess.

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<v Speaker 2>He gets suspended, he wants a max deal, they say no.

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<v Speaker 2>In the offseason, there's just cascating thing after cascading thing,

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<v Speaker 2>the whole yahweh issue. Oh my god, Joe sigh. They

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<v Speaker 2>wanted to fire Sean Marks.

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<v Speaker 3>Oh yeah. By the way, they fired their coach in

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<v Speaker 3>the middle of the season.

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<v Speaker 2>Try to hire em Udoka. That didn't work because the

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<v Speaker 2>league shut that down. They brought in Jacques Vaughn, who

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<v Speaker 2>was the interim head coach the last time they fired

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<v Speaker 2>their coach.

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<v Speaker 3>So it was a world class distraction.

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<v Speaker 2>You were like, okay, this is we had the ghost

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<v Speaker 2>of Nick Claxton.

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<v Speaker 3>What's he gonna be? Like, what's TJ. Warren gonna be?

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<v Speaker 3>Ben Simmons, Is he gonna be himself?

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<v Speaker 2>He had been in his own mind, just very broken,

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<v Speaker 2>and so you're thinking to yourself at this point, this

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<v Speaker 2>team steering at a full rebuild, especially when Kevin Durant

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<v Speaker 2>wanted out and you look up after they fired Steve

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<v Speaker 2>and their second in the East.

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<v Speaker 3>You gotta give the Brooklyn Nets an a plus. You

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<v Speaker 3>have to.

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<v Speaker 2>They are the second best defensive team in the last

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<v Speaker 2>fifteen games.

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<v Speaker 3>They went eighteen and.

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<v Speaker 2>Two after they brought on Jacque Vaughn KD until his

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<v Speaker 2>injury became probably at the peak of his powers. Nick Claxton,

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<v Speaker 2>by the way, who no one is talking about as

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<v Speaker 2>a real defensive Player of the Year. He's like plus

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<v Speaker 2>fourteen hundred right now, which is worth a little sprinkle

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<v Speaker 2>if you want to put a little money on it

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<v Speaker 2>for that award. He's got twelve double doubles so far.

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<v Speaker 2>He's dominating in six of the seven interior categories in

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<v Speaker 2>the league. He leads the league in blocks. Ben Simmons

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<v Speaker 2>has been a game changer. And it's not just the

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<v Speaker 2>defense either. They've been very good in terms of their bench.

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<v Speaker 2>Edmund Sumner, TJ. Warren, My Guy, John Utah, Wattnabe, Joe

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<v Speaker 2>Harris coming back from injury, p Mills, cam Thomas, Royce O'Neil,

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<v Speaker 2>all of whom have stepped up now that Kevin Durant

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<v Speaker 2>is out after you know, for another month.

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<v Speaker 3>Oh yeah.

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<v Speaker 2>By the way, Kyrie Irving is taking accountability for not

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<v Speaker 2>playing well in fourth quarters, tweeting.

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<v Speaker 3>Out, I me, Kyrie Irving have to be better.

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<v Speaker 2>When have we seen that? Hey, I gotta be a

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<v Speaker 2>better leader. Did someone take over this man's account? You

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<v Speaker 2>can't get I ed gray than the Brooklyn Nets. Boy,

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<v Speaker 2>I swear I thought that was a shit show. And

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<v Speaker 2>they have vastly overperformed expectations.

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<v Speaker 3>This team could win at all?

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<v Speaker 2>What Boston Celtics less excited about them? Why they went

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<v Speaker 2>to the finals?

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<v Speaker 3>They went to the finals.

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<v Speaker 2>Yes, they had their share of dysfunction as well. They

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<v Speaker 2>fired he may Udoka. Let's be real to firing He's

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<v Speaker 2>never coming back to this team. They bring on a

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<v Speaker 2>guy with his own set of scandals, a bunch of

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<v Speaker 2>skeletons in his closet, a religious sellate that he is

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<v Speaker 2>who I'm not completely sold on.

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<v Speaker 3>And the team was in need of a prayer and

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<v Speaker 3>they found one.

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<v Speaker 2>They went obviously, and they had a bunch of key

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<v Speaker 2>pieces that they still had two of the best wings

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<v Speaker 2>in the league with Jason Tatum and Jalen Brown. Rob Williams,

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<v Speaker 2>though missed twenty nine games start of the season, and

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<v Speaker 2>the fact that they're still number one in the East

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<v Speaker 2>feels very impressive to me. They pick up Malcolm.

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<v Speaker 3>Brogden probably would have been a shoe in to win.

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<v Speaker 2>Six Man of the Year if Russell Westbrook didn't become

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<v Speaker 2>whatever we're seeing. If he gets traded, Malcolm Brogden will

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<v Speaker 2>win six Man of the Year. But the only thing

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<v Speaker 2>that I can't give him an A plus or an

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<v Speaker 2>A solid a their name minus for me. They lost

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<v Speaker 2>to the Magic twice. They got stomped by the Dubs.

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<v Speaker 2>They got stomped by the Clippers. They lost to the Thunder,

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<v Speaker 2>the OKC Thunder, who is largely considered to be one

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<v Speaker 2>of the biggest egregious tankers in the league. They lost

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<v Speaker 2>to them by almost fifty points, fifty of them half

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<v Speaker 2>of one hundred. So I don't really know what else

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<v Speaker 2>to say other than the motivation of this team can

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<v Speaker 2>sometimes be called into question, and that, my friends, is

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<v Speaker 2>a coaching problem and something that.

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<v Speaker 3>Even Joe Mizula is making fun of.

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<v Speaker 2>That he doesn't take timeouts and maybe he should, and

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<v Speaker 2>that the momentum shifts.

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<v Speaker 3>Et cetera, et cetera.

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<v Speaker 2>Boston Celtics are gonna be fine. But I can't give

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<v Speaker 2>him an A plus or an A minus because largely.

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<v Speaker 3>The pieces are the same.

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<v Speaker 2>Let's move on to the New York Knicks. New York

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<v Speaker 2>Knicks gotta give them B minus B minus, which is

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<v Speaker 2>pretty damn good, right, pretty damn good for the New

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<v Speaker 2>York Knicks. Halfway point, specifically, Jalen Brunson has been a monster.

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<v Speaker 2>He has worked out. He is averaging thirty two points

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<v Speaker 2>in the month of January, what, fifty percent from three

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<v Speaker 2>point range, almost six rebounds, almost six assists per game.

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<v Speaker 2>They've got one of the best road records in the NBA,

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<v Speaker 2>fourteen and eight. Do you know what the Golden State

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<v Speaker 2>Warriors would do to be fourteen and eight on the road.

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<v Speaker 2>Julius Randall right now is playing out of his mind

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<v Speaker 2>for the most part. And the young guys they're developing

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<v Speaker 2>into contributors as well, right, Like, Yeah, we may not

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<v Speaker 2>see ob topping much, but he's been injured. RJ Barrett

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<v Speaker 2>on the other end, hasn't been great despite his stats,

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<v Speaker 2>saying that he has been okay, he just hasn't really

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<v Speaker 2>been there.

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<v Speaker 3>He's gotten injured.

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<v Speaker 2>I would imagine the one downside that the Knick sea

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<v Speaker 2>is Wow, Donovan Mitchell really is him. We probably should

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<v Speaker 2>have traded Quinton, Like I can't believe that Quinton Grimes

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<v Speaker 2>held this fucking trade up Quinton Grimes.

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<v Speaker 3>Do we see what Donovan Mitchell is doing? He has

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<v Speaker 3>seventy one points.

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<v Speaker 2>If you would have said to Leon Rose, this man's

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<v Speaker 2>gonna score seventy one in the garden, are you willing

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<v Speaker 2>to trade Quinton Grimes and RJ Beart, I think that

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<v Speaker 2>they regret that decision. Fucking her extending RJ. Barrett trying

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<v Speaker 2>to play little games with our man, Danny Ainge. You

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<v Speaker 2>can't play games with Ange. Uh. They've blown On the

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<v Speaker 2>other side, that's also bad. They've blown seven double digit

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<v Speaker 2>leads and lost those games. Remember the game that Luca

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<v Speaker 2>had like one of his.

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<v Speaker 3>Best performances ever.

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<v Speaker 2>They scored like they were down nine with thirty seconds

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<v Speaker 2>or nineteen seconds to.

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<v Speaker 3>Go, and the MAVs won that game. Yeah, that was

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<v Speaker 3>against the Knicks.

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<v Speaker 2>That was against them, And when it comes down to

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<v Speaker 2>crunch time, the offense goes stagnant.

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<v Speaker 3>They miss a bunch of free throws.

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<v Speaker 2>I think they were like eleven for forty one a

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<v Speaker 2>couple of games ago. Certainly a fun team, definitely overperformed,

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<v Speaker 2>but some flaws, some bad decisions where I feel like, man,

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<v Speaker 2>would they be good with Donovan Mitchell moving forward in

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<v Speaker 2>the Atlantic Division. Philadelphia seventy six Ers, who to me,

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<v Speaker 2>they are a B plus. They are very interesting. I

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<v Speaker 2>think this is the same sort of team as they

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<v Speaker 2>were last year, where I don't know if they're good

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<v Speaker 2>or not.

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<v Speaker 3>I don't know.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm not sure they could go to the Eastern Conference Finals.

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<v Speaker 3>They could flame out in the first round.

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<v Speaker 2>All of that depends on the two key pieces, which

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<v Speaker 2>is James Harden and Joe l emb Are they healthy,

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<v Speaker 2>are they in shape, do they have a connection?

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<v Speaker 3>Can they be stopped? How is the defense doing well?

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<v Speaker 3>They brought on PJ.

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<v Speaker 2>Tucker, the guy who was considered it would be one

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<v Speaker 2>of the best point of attack defenders in the league.

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<v Speaker 3>He has stunk.

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<v Speaker 2>He has stunk so bad that people within the blogosphere

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<v Speaker 2>of Philadelphia seventy six Ers media are calling for him

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<v Speaker 2>to be sitting his ass on the bench. So all

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<v Speaker 2>that considered for the Sixers to still be fourth in

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<v Speaker 2>the league in defensive rating with PJ. Tucker largely being

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<v Speaker 2>not very effective, is pretty good because of the Anthony

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<v Speaker 2>Mountain that the Anthony Mountain trade that they made with

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<v Speaker 2>the Memphis Grizzlies is unreal. The Anthony Mountain is one

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<v Speaker 2>of the top leaders and steals per game and deflections.

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<v Speaker 2>If you look at Embiid and Harden, their connection has

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<v Speaker 2>been elite. They've also had their fair share of injuries, though,

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<v Speaker 2>so you can't give them an eight right because all

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<v Speaker 2>those things that we worry about have already reared their

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<v Speaker 2>ugly head. Embiid has missed time. He's missed nine games,

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<v Speaker 2>Harden has missed fourteen games in a row. He's back

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<v Speaker 2>and somehow a player that they did not account to lose.

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<v Speaker 2>Tyrese Maxey missed nineteen games, but all of that considered,

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<v Speaker 2>the Sixer still managed to go thirteen and six without

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<v Speaker 2>him and they're healthy now. So with Maxi and Embiid

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<v Speaker 2>and Harden, the Anthony Mountain all in the court.

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<v Speaker 3>Gelling and meshing, this team could be really, really dangerous.

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<v Speaker 2>Tobias Harris, he doesn't even have to do much now

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<v Speaker 2>that Tyrese Maxey is good he's a very solid fourth option.

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<v Speaker 2>Considering that his stats have declined and plummeted.

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<v Speaker 3>Off of a cliff.

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<v Speaker 2>It's okay because you don't need him to score a bucket.

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<v Speaker 2>When Embiid is out sitting on the bench, it's like,

0:12:02.920 --> 0:12:06.120
<v Speaker 2>that's fine. Just spot up, shoot threes, catch and shoot,

0:12:06.200 --> 0:12:08.600
<v Speaker 2>maybe do a little dribble drive pass back to James

0:12:08.679 --> 0:12:10.960
<v Speaker 2>and let the offense flow. So this team could be

0:12:11.040 --> 0:12:13.720
<v Speaker 2>dangerous or like I said, they could be a first

0:12:13.840 --> 0:12:15.080
<v Speaker 2>or second round exit.

0:12:16.559 --> 0:12:25.240
<v Speaker 3>Toronto Raptors. What's stopping me from giving you an F Hope,

0:12:25.960 --> 0:12:31.440
<v Speaker 3>good roster, good GM, good coach. They're a D minus.

0:12:32.320 --> 0:12:35.040
<v Speaker 2>This is a team that you could say is one

0:12:35.040 --> 0:12:38.360
<v Speaker 2>of the most disappointing teams in the NBA. I thought

0:12:38.360 --> 0:12:40.679
<v Speaker 2>they would be like a top four, top five seed.

0:12:41.640 --> 0:12:47.840
<v Speaker 2>When you have current players like CJ. McCollum commenting about

0:12:47.880 --> 0:12:53.320
<v Speaker 2>the Toronto Raptors generally speaking in like nobody speaks about them, right,

0:12:53.640 --> 0:12:54.040
<v Speaker 2>But when.

0:12:54.000 --> 0:12:56.640
<v Speaker 3>You have them talking about the Toronto Raptors on.

0:12:56.520 --> 0:13:01.840
<v Speaker 2>An ESPN hit with i Isy Gutierrez and speaking of

0:13:01.880 --> 0:13:04.640
<v Speaker 2>them in negative terms, not in the fact that they're

0:13:04.640 --> 0:13:07.280
<v Speaker 2>the gold standard, which is what they have been for

0:13:07.440 --> 0:13:12.720
<v Speaker 2>recruiting and scouting and developing talent and making talent gel

0:13:12.760 --> 0:13:15.440
<v Speaker 2>and mesh, finding guys that came from the G League.

0:13:15.600 --> 0:13:17.959
<v Speaker 3>All that is what Toronto is known for. Right now,

0:13:18.000 --> 0:13:18.760
<v Speaker 3>they are known.

0:13:18.600 --> 0:13:21.520
<v Speaker 2>For their dysfunction and now that means it is bubbled

0:13:21.600 --> 0:13:25.440
<v Speaker 2>up to be mainstream news quickly. As an aside, does

0:13:25.480 --> 0:13:29.840
<v Speaker 2>anyone find it weird that CJ. McCollum, who's not just

0:13:29.880 --> 0:13:35.520
<v Speaker 2>a player, he is the president of the NBA Players Union,

0:13:36.360 --> 0:13:40.719
<v Speaker 2>is commenting on this on ESPN, like, I don't know,

0:13:40.840 --> 0:13:45.079
<v Speaker 2>like just feeding chum to the aggregators, the bloggers for

0:13:45.200 --> 0:13:51.040
<v Speaker 2>drama purposes and driving ESPN's ratings at the detriment of

0:13:51.120 --> 0:13:53.480
<v Speaker 2>other NBA teams as a whole. Like I feel like

0:13:53.520 --> 0:13:54.839
<v Speaker 2>Kevin Durant would not like that.

0:13:54.920 --> 0:13:57.480
<v Speaker 3>I don't feel like the pure Hoopers would want to

0:13:57.520 --> 0:13:57.960
<v Speaker 3>do that.

0:13:57.960 --> 0:13:59.960
<v Speaker 2>That's kind of the icky thing where it feels like

0:14:00.080 --> 0:14:03.440
<v Speaker 2>these players are start towing the line between player and

0:14:03.559 --> 0:14:06.760
<v Speaker 2>like media personality, Like you can't on one hand be CJ.

0:14:06.960 --> 0:14:10.240
<v Speaker 2>The New Orleans Pelican Hooper mid range master and on

0:14:10.280 --> 0:14:13.120
<v Speaker 2>the other hand hot take men stephen A.

0:14:13.280 --> 0:14:15.960
<v Speaker 3>Smith wannaby, I don't like that. I don't like that.

0:14:16.360 --> 0:14:18.560
<v Speaker 3>But here's what he had to say when he was

0:14:18.600 --> 0:14:19.400
<v Speaker 3>spilling the team.

0:14:19.800 --> 0:14:21.800
<v Speaker 1>I think in terms of what they need or what

0:14:21.840 --> 0:14:25.640
<v Speaker 1>they're lacking, something's gonna happen. I don't know what. There's

0:14:25.720 --> 0:14:28.200
<v Speaker 1>rumblings about certain players on the team not being happy

0:14:28.200 --> 0:14:30.920
<v Speaker 1>and due to tampering. I can't speak to that, but

0:14:31.040 --> 0:14:33.440
<v Speaker 1>I think they're gonna move someone.

0:14:33.720 --> 0:14:34.880
<v Speaker 3>So let's break this down.

0:14:36.080 --> 0:14:38.240
<v Speaker 2>The Raptors came to the season and we all thought

0:14:38.280 --> 0:14:40.600
<v Speaker 2>that they were on the rise. Scotty Barnes wins Rookie

0:14:40.640 --> 0:14:42.760
<v Speaker 2>of the Year. He looks to emerge as a real

0:14:42.800 --> 0:14:46.600
<v Speaker 2>superstar playmaker, can do multiple things on the court. Siakam

0:14:46.600 --> 0:14:48.280
<v Speaker 2>We knew he was gonna take a step up, and

0:14:48.320 --> 0:14:50.800
<v Speaker 2>he did take a step up. He's been insane this year,

0:14:51.160 --> 0:14:55.680
<v Speaker 2>absolutely incredible. Og Nnobi was supposed to break out. He's

0:14:55.680 --> 0:14:58.640
<v Speaker 2>actually leading the league in deflections right now, so defensively,

0:14:58.720 --> 0:15:01.880
<v Speaker 2>he's been amazing. And they got out from under Kyle

0:15:01.920 --> 0:15:04.040
<v Speaker 2>Lowry's contract. They had Fred van Fleet, who.

0:15:03.880 --> 0:15:04.520
<v Speaker 3>Is an All Star.

0:15:04.680 --> 0:15:09.160
<v Speaker 2>Like, all of this gave us vibes of improvement. Right,

0:15:09.720 --> 0:15:12.920
<v Speaker 2>you've got to bring in another heavy hitter. Okay, okay,

0:15:12.920 --> 0:15:17.640
<v Speaker 2>it's all good, but no, halfway through the season, despite

0:15:17.680 --> 0:15:20.040
<v Speaker 2>a team of six to seven to six to nine guys,

0:15:20.760 --> 0:15:22.960
<v Speaker 2>with the with the best steal rate in the league,

0:15:23.360 --> 0:15:26.840
<v Speaker 2>allowing the fifth least points in the paint, the fourth

0:15:27.120 --> 0:15:30.240
<v Speaker 2>lowest second chance points in the league. The Raptors are

0:15:30.240 --> 0:15:34.400
<v Speaker 2>only fifteenth in the league in defensive rating. So why folks,

0:15:34.600 --> 0:15:38.000
<v Speaker 2>They're five games under five hundred. They are out of

0:15:38.040 --> 0:15:40.080
<v Speaker 2>the play in tournament, and I am not sure that

0:15:40.080 --> 0:15:42.440
<v Speaker 2>they will sneak into the play in tournament. And now

0:15:42.440 --> 0:15:46.840
<v Speaker 2>you've got rumblings about various players wanting out. Fred van

0:15:46.920 --> 0:15:49.880
<v Speaker 2>Fleet wanted to get paid, them not wanting to pay

0:15:49.920 --> 0:15:53.080
<v Speaker 2>him because he is undersized and has somewhat of a

0:15:53.080 --> 0:15:56.760
<v Speaker 2>ball dominant attitude. Pascal Siakam is one of the only

0:15:56.840 --> 0:15:59.920
<v Speaker 2>guys that is untradeable, but does he want to be traded.

0:16:00.240 --> 0:16:03.680
<v Speaker 2>I've heard that Ogannobi is unhappy with his role and

0:16:03.720 --> 0:16:07.080
<v Speaker 2>how he's being used on this team. Who is not unhappy?

0:16:07.160 --> 0:16:10.920
<v Speaker 2>Scotty Barnes doesn't look happy. You've got Nick Nurse throwing

0:16:10.960 --> 0:16:13.200
<v Speaker 2>Gary Trent under the bus and saying, listen, if he

0:16:13.280 --> 0:16:16.160
<v Speaker 2>can't play defense, he's of no use to us. He's

0:16:16.240 --> 0:16:18.880
<v Speaker 2>yelling at players on the coach, I mean, on the bench.

0:16:19.000 --> 0:16:23.280
<v Speaker 2>There's just so much going on with this team, safe

0:16:23.320 --> 0:16:26.160
<v Speaker 2>to say this is not the way anybody thought it

0:16:26.200 --> 0:16:28.600
<v Speaker 2>would go, not the way that anybody would want it

0:16:28.640 --> 0:16:30.120
<v Speaker 2>to go, which is why.

0:16:29.960 --> 0:16:30.960
<v Speaker 3>They get a failing grade.

0:16:31.360 --> 0:16:33.680
<v Speaker 2>They can't get enough because I love Missiu Jerry, and

0:16:33.720 --> 0:16:35.640
<v Speaker 2>I think he's too smart to let this shit happen.

0:16:36.120 --> 0:16:38.240
<v Speaker 2>Still time for things to turn around. But when you

0:16:38.320 --> 0:16:41.120
<v Speaker 2>only have two guys on this roster who are untouchable,

0:16:42.440 --> 0:16:49.160
<v Speaker 2>that's a rut row. That is a massive, massive rut row.