Speaker 1: Break.
Speaker 2: We're breaking down all the biggest NBA storylines.
Speaker 1: Lord, so the heat Check.
Speaker 3: The Heat Check was just a crak, the best podcast.
Speaker 1: Covering all the drama around the association.
Speaker 4: Who noted NBA guru from The Athletic, Sam Vassini comes on.
Speaker 4: He joins me and my coach Ryan Horbaugh and Nick
Speaker 4: Ashoo on my show bit MG tonight. Do you know
Speaker 4: I have another show? Yeah? I know, I work a lot.
Speaker 4: It's from seven to eleven PM Eastern Standard Time, Monday
Speaker 4: through Friday. I know that's too much work, but I'd
Speaker 4: love it if you gave us a follow and subscribe
Speaker 4: on the podcast, but also if you haven't listen.
Speaker 3: Right in, all right, we bring on Sam Vassini. The
Speaker 3: Athletic covers the NBA and I guess it's pretty It
Speaker 3: would be dumb of me not to mention the biggest
Speaker 3: story in the NBA today, and that would be James Arden. Well,
Speaker 3: I guess it's today. It's yeah, it was early this morning. God,
Speaker 3: I don't know. At this point, it just feels like
Speaker 3: it's been the longest day ever when it comes to
Speaker 3: this thing, which I'm sure for you as well, especially
Speaker 3: considering that you're in Australia right now. Uh just let's
Speaker 3: go big reaction first to where we are Sixers, where
Speaker 3: we are Clippers right now, because to me, I feel
Speaker 3: like everybody has maybe a slightly different take on you
Speaker 3: know what the Clippers gave back what the future is
Speaker 3: for the Sixers, what the future is for the Clippers.
Speaker 3: So where are you on the overall big picture from
Speaker 3: what you've now seen with this.
Speaker 1: Hey, guys, yeah, I would say that's a big picture.
Speaker 1: Is the Clippers are trying to win a title right now,
Speaker 1: and James Harden represents a real way for them to
Speaker 1: get better. This is a team that needs real playmaking
Speaker 1: and it needs a stronger point guard in my opinion,
Speaker 1: who can be more of a shock creator for himself.
Speaker 1: So what James Harden is going to bring to the
Speaker 1: table is the ability to create easier offense, especially in
Speaker 1: the moments where one of Kawhi Leonard or Paul George
Speaker 1: isn't on the court. So Kawhi and Paul George obviously
Speaker 1: throughout the course of their run with Clippers has missed
Speaker 1: a lot of time. And I think this is the
Speaker 1: biggest thing that going out and getting James Harden does,
Speaker 1: is it minimize is how disastrous it is for the
Speaker 1: Clippers offensively when one of those two guys misses games. Right,
Speaker 1: So if you now have James Harden who can come
Speaker 1: in and be whatever you think of James Harden in
Speaker 1: the playoffs, that's fine. You know, he has more than
Speaker 1: earned any skepticism that people have for him in playoff settings.
Speaker 1: It's a guy that can come in and be a
Speaker 1: twenty point tenn assist guy. We just saw him do
Speaker 1: it last year in Philadelphia and be a high level
Speaker 1: playmaker and distributor who lists their offense in the moments
Speaker 1: where Paul George and Kawhi Leonard are out of the lineup,
Speaker 1: and hopefully getting James Harden allows you to keep them
Speaker 1: out of the lineup a little bit more often and
Speaker 1: hopefully get them to the playoffs healthy and at their
Speaker 1: best peak physical condition.
Speaker 4: One of the reasons that this trade almost didn't get done,
Speaker 4: Sam is because the Clippers were just not willing to
Speaker 4: let go of Terrence Man. Terrence Man not exactly like
Speaker 4: the youngest dude. I think he's twenty evan from from
Speaker 4: your advantage point, what are they seeing him? Terrence Man?
Speaker 4: That kept him out of that Harden trade.
Speaker 1: Yeah. So I've always really liked Terrence even going back
Speaker 1: to Florida State, and I think what they see in
Speaker 1: him is the guy that can be a genuine dribble
Speaker 1: pass shoot player, who's a well rounded fifth option on
Speaker 1: a court around stars. Right, and those guys at ten
Speaker 1: million dollars, which is right around what Terrence Mann makes
Speaker 1: for both this year and next year, those guys are
Speaker 1: pretty hard to find. They're a little bit harder than
Speaker 1: what people think. Now, Like, did I think it was
Speaker 1: like somewhat ridiculous on its space that Terrence Mann was
Speaker 1: seemingly the piece that was holding up a James Harden deal. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I do. I think that at the end of the day,
Speaker 1: I probably would have tried to do it the way
Speaker 1: that they ended up doing it, where it seems like
Speaker 1: the thunder, you know, gave up one of those ticks
Speaker 1: back to the Clippers. The Clippers gave them back like
Speaker 1: a pixel kind of thing in order to facilitate this deal.
Speaker 1: I think that that makes more sense than giving up
Speaker 1: Terrence Man. Giving the Terrence Man as a guy that
Speaker 1: has proven in the playoffs that he can help you.
Speaker 1: But look, I understand that on his face when you
Speaker 1: just look at it from a fifty thousand foot view,
Speaker 1: it looks pretty stupid. I get it.
Speaker 4: If Darryl Mory was the one doing this deal, because
Speaker 4: it looks like, you know, ownership was who was involved,
Speaker 4: Josh Harris and Steve Bomer getting on the phone. Does
Speaker 4: this deal happen? Is it done today?
Speaker 1: I think yes, because at the end of the day,
Speaker 1: what it seems like Daryl Morey wanted were the two
Speaker 1: draft picks and to get off of the PJ. Tucker
Speaker 1: deal in a James Harden deal. So with that, with
Speaker 1: those goals having been accomplished, I think yes, this still
Speaker 1: would have gotten done. And I think that, you know,
Speaker 1: the owners are always involved when a deal of James
Speaker 1: Harden's magnitude happens, right, So I look at it and
Speaker 1: I look at it as the Sixers are trying to
Speaker 1: gear up in order to go get another star, be
Speaker 1: it this offseason when they have, you know, all of
Speaker 1: the CAF room in the world, even with being able
Speaker 1: to retain Tyree Snaxy or maybe during the season if
Speaker 1: the right player comes available. Right and because Tyree Snaxy
Speaker 1: has broken out in the way that he has, he's
Speaker 1: averaging thirty points a game. He looks phenomenal. I think
Speaker 1: that they have some time to be a little bit
Speaker 1: more patient in how they approach going to get a star.
Speaker 1: But really this was all about the assets for Maury
Speaker 1: and for the Sixers, I think, so all the matter
Speaker 1: here was getting the assets, and they got the assets.
Speaker 2: So when you look at the Western Conference, obviously this
Speaker 2: all comes down to matchups once we get to the playoffs,
Speaker 2: and we haven't been able to see the Clippers yet
Speaker 2: with obviously James Harden. We haven't even been able to
Speaker 2: see the Suns fully healthy with you know, Durant, Beal
Speaker 2: and Booker. But who do you think matches up the
Speaker 2: best against a team like Denver? Because I mean, it
Speaker 2: seems like so easy just to back Denver to repeat
Speaker 2: his champions, but you watch them, I know it's early on.
Speaker 3: They just look as good as they did last year.
Speaker 2: Who do you think matches up the best out of
Speaker 2: those three veteran teams both LA's and then Phoenix.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think definitely Denver is like the unequivocal favorite
Speaker 1: right now. If I had to pick one of those teams,
Speaker 1: you know, I'm intrigued by the Clippers just having an
Speaker 1: immense amount of wing depth to be able to throw
Speaker 1: at the Nuggets. Just insofar as they have Zubos as
Speaker 1: a big body, they can throw at Yokic, they can
Speaker 1: try and slow him down in some way, shape or form,
Speaker 1: and then hopefully you're in a circumstance where contagious Colbell
Speaker 1: Pope is guarding one of Kawhiir Paul George, and then
Speaker 1: you can maybe get like a real size of thing
Speaker 1: there to be able to score. I honestly like, I
Speaker 1: think I'm like rafting a little bit. I think Denver
Speaker 1: should be the very clear favorite, but if you made
Speaker 1: me pick one, I think I would match up wise,
Speaker 1: I'm intrigued by the Clippers. We saw the Lakers last year,
Speaker 1: which really like kind of turns me off of that
Speaker 1: potential matchup. I think the Lakers are still the team
Speaker 1: I would get on to be the second best team
Speaker 1: in the West just because of their defense. And I
Speaker 1: think that once Austin Reeves maybe gets a little bit
Speaker 1: of rest, he might be able to come in and
Speaker 1: be a guy that we saw in the playoffs last
Speaker 1: year for them, and once their team coalescees, and you know,
Speaker 1: all of these guys they brought in from Torrian Prince
Speaker 1: to Jackson, Hey, it's the Christian Wood et cetera be
Speaker 1: able to come together. I think that team's going to
Speaker 1: be really really good defensively and offensively, along with Anthony
Speaker 1: Davis and Lebron James. So I would probably still take
Speaker 1: the Clippers just in terms of a matchup, but I
Speaker 1: you know, the Lakers to me are like the number
Speaker 1: two team and the West Still.
Speaker 3: Personally talking to Sam Vesini BETMGM tonight, I'm looking at
Speaker 3: most Improved Player odds right now at BETMGM, and Tyrese
Speaker 3: Maxey is the heavy favorite. Scottie Barnes, Cam Thomas or
Speaker 3: behind him Kate Cunningham. I still love him at ten
Speaker 3: to one. Are we like we've kind of already? I
Speaker 3: feel like we've gotten to the point where and most
Speaker 3: improved player is kind of weird in terms of how
Speaker 3: players can win it, the types of players that can
Speaker 3: win it. Is Tyrese Maxey in a position now where
Speaker 3: he's obviously going to get even more minutes, more shots,
Speaker 3: more opportunities with James harden Gond in Philadelphia. Is he
Speaker 3: somebody that you think still has the potential the chance
Speaker 3: to actually win this award or is he kind of
Speaker 3: already shown like the guy that has taken that next
Speaker 3: big step to win most Improved already.
Speaker 1: Well, I think that his step came this season. Really
Speaker 1: like he's averaging thirty game. If he goes out and
Speaker 1: averages twenty six to twenty seven a night over the
Speaker 1: course of the full season, I think he's gonna win
Speaker 1: it because the narrative is going to be behind him
Speaker 1: as the guy that, Oh, they were able to move
Speaker 1: James Harden and set themselves up to the future because
Speaker 1: Tyrese Maxey improved so much, right like the Kid Cunningham idea,
Speaker 1: I think him at ten to one is a really
Speaker 1: good idea, but honestly, like he probably would have been
Speaker 1: pretty close to this good last year. It's just that
Speaker 1: he got hurt, you know, Scotty Barnes, I think has
Speaker 1: a real chance to be successful. You know, You're right.
Speaker 1: This award is so strange and bizarre just in terms
Speaker 1: of the guy that, like I think I've seen this
Speaker 1: year was like taking the biggest leap from where he
Speaker 1: was last year to where he is now is probably
Speaker 1: like the Hawks Jalen Johnson, where he's gone from being
Speaker 1: like the ninth man on the team to now, he's
Speaker 1: probably their third or fourth best player in Atlanta. He
Speaker 1: has no chance to win this award. I think because
Speaker 1: he doesn't have a big enough name. He's not gonna
Speaker 1: put up like the immense number of points. The Tyrese
Speaker 1: Maxie is the Tyre's max. He's already average twenty. It's
Speaker 1: just that the narrative is going to be behind tyres
Speaker 1: MAXI so I get annoyed by the Most Improved Player
Speaker 1: awards typically, I think it's a little bit frustrating to
Speaker 1: deal with. But I think Matthew is probably the guy
Speaker 1: that will win it, just because unless he gets hurt,
Speaker 1: the narrative is going to be there that he was
Speaker 1: the guy that they were able to move Dan's harton
Speaker 1: and build around.
Speaker 4: We had you on right before the draft. We were
Speaker 4: talking to you about the Brandon Millers Scoot two in
Speaker 4: three scenario. I don't know if you're seeing it, but
Speaker 4: the Scoot slander is getting ridiculous. Meanwhile, Brandon Miller looks
Speaker 4: pretty damn productive off the bench. In your opinion, why
Speaker 4: do you think Brandon Miller has been so much more
Speaker 4: productive early than Scoot And what is your take on
Speaker 4: whether we should be killing Scoot this early.
Speaker 1: Yeah, So I think Brandon's in an easier spot right now.
Speaker 1: He's not being tasked with running an offense. He's being
Speaker 1: tasked with being like the secondary guy out there who
Speaker 1: is creating offense as a shooter and is a floor spacer.
Speaker 1: He's done a good job getting out in transition, and
Speaker 1: I think Brandon has played super well so far. He
Speaker 1: played great in the fourth quarter of their opener, and
Speaker 1: I thought that his first half last night against Brooklyn
Speaker 1: was quite strong. But it's coming ways for Brandon. Like
Speaker 1: I didn't think he played super well in the second
Speaker 1: half last night against Brooklyn, and his first three quarters
Speaker 1: of his opener were quite poor. So it's gonna be
Speaker 1: hit or miss for all of these rookies. For Scoots
Speaker 1: and Fly, I think it's been a lot more of
Speaker 1: a miss. And the only reason for that, I think
Speaker 1: is because you're being tasked with running an NBA team
Speaker 1: as a teenager. That's really hard. You go back and
Speaker 1: you look through some of the best guards in the league.
Speaker 1: LaMelo Ball was like a clear negative player, you know.
Speaker 1: Darius Garland was like one of the most negative players
Speaker 1: in the league value wise, as a rookie, just because
Speaker 1: it's really difficult to do this. It's really really hard.
Speaker 1: I thought Scoot played super well last night. He had
Speaker 1: eleven points, seven assists, four rebounds, but more than that,
Speaker 1: like he defended. I think he screened super well in
Speaker 1: moments where he got an opportunity to do that. I
Speaker 1: think Scoot played really really well last night. And I
Speaker 1: think that a big thing for him is just going
Speaker 1: to be slowing down the over He looks like over
Speaker 1: stimulated and like over aggressive right now, like he's fouling everybody,
Speaker 1: Like he is averaging like five fouls a game right now,
Speaker 1: and it just feels like everything's coming at him really quickly.
Speaker 1: Once that slows down, it's very clear that he has
Speaker 1: the athletic juice, like he's separating, he's getting to his spots.
Speaker 1: It's just that everything's coming fast and there's not a
Speaker 1: there's not a you know, a replacement for experience, right
Speaker 1: so once that experience comes, it's gonna be fine. Yeah,
Speaker 1: everything I've seen so far says it's just it's just
Speaker 1: experience for him.
Speaker 3: Right now, Sam, we've still got about ninety seconds or
Speaker 3: so here. We're watching the Knicks of fourteen on the
Speaker 3: calves right now in the third quarter, can either one
Speaker 3: of these teams maybe jump into that third spot in
Speaker 3: the East behind the very top hald the Eastern Conference
Speaker 3: with Milwaukee and Boston obviously the clear co favorites right
Speaker 3: now to win the East.
Speaker 1: Look, I think those two are definitely gonna be your
Speaker 1: top two at least. You know, Cleveland, I think is
Speaker 1: in a weird spot, like they played a lot of
Speaker 1: the kids in this game against the Knicks like a
Speaker 1: money baits that got some run like you said, like
Speaker 1: Porter got some run there. Momentarily, they just need to
Speaker 1: get healthy as much as anything, and get you know,
Speaker 1: Jared Allen fully back integrated, and you know, get their
Speaker 1: guards well situated for success like once that happens. I
Speaker 1: feel pretty good about Cleveland being a great regular season team,
Speaker 1: if only just because they have they have the great
Speaker 1: defense mixed with the shop creation. Plus they have a
Speaker 1: real floor stacer and Max Strus. I think the Knicks
Speaker 1: are very very well situated too to be a good
Speaker 1: playoff team. If Tyree s MAXI is this, Philadelphia is
Speaker 1: well situated, and you know, they could end up being
Speaker 1: the three seed. But I don't think anybody's gonna break
Speaker 1: into that top two at least person.
Speaker 3: Sam Vasini, the athletic host of the Game Theory podcast
Speaker 3: as well, really appreciate you giving us the time. Man.
Speaker 1: Yeah, no worries any time.
Speaker 4: Guys, that's all the time that we have for this
Speaker 4: episode of the Heat Check. Thank you to Sam Vassini
Speaker 4: and the whole gang at BETAMGM tonight. Come back tomorrow
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