
Hoop Collective: ALL-TIME Disaster Brewing For 76ers? Jimmy Butler Returns, Hawks A Tough Out?
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Brian Windhorst
Welcome to the Hoop Collective podcast. We talk about the NBA, which we're doing on Sunday morning. Good morning folks. Joining us from Miami, Florida, where he's got an afternoon game with the spurs and Heat today. That's why we're doing it early because the spurs got to get to Paris. I'll, I'll take over from there. Bon Temps, thank you very much, Tim.
Tim MacMahon
Bontemps, big time and everybody per usual.
Brian Windhorst
So I roll. Somebody's got to go work 20 hours a day in Paris. Joining us from Dallas, Texas Life, where he's recovering from his 12 year old twins birthday party overnight. I'm sure it was one of those slumber parties. Band McMahon.
Bobby Marks
Howdy, partners.
Brian Windhorst
I still remember my 12th birthday party slumber party.
Bobby Marks
Listen, this one was a party bus to Chicken and Pickle and we didn't.
Brian Windhorst
Have a party bus.
Bobby Marks
It was a whole ordeal. It was a whole ordeal. Bunch of smart mouth punk kids. It's amazing I haven't smacked one on upside the head. The morning is young though. We might want to for a while to let these kids get the hell out before I come back out there.
Brian Windhorst
We should have them all in. Speaking of rough nights, I don't know if you guys saw but the Sixers lost again.
Bobby Marks
Oh, shocker. The Top Sixers.
Brian Windhorst
Oh my gosh. So Bontems, you've devoted so much time in your life traveling up and down i95 for the last few years, including this year. And since we last spoke to everybody, they announced that Joellen Bede's foot sprain.
Bobby Marks
Which, oh, good news here. Good news.
Brian Windhorst
Yeah. Joel Embiid's foot sprain is healed. That was actually in the press release.
Bobby Marks
Great. That's great. Great.
Brian Windhorst
I was like, okay, he'll be upgraded. I was waiting for the second sentence, which he'll be upgraded to, you know, questionable or something. And then they said, however, his knee is swollen again and he's out for another seven to 10 days as they, as they go on the road.
Bobby Marks
Not so good news not so good news.
Brian Windhorst
And they lost again. They've lost five in a row. They've lost eight out of 10. And Bontemps like this is, this is on the horizon of being one of the worst disasters for a season in the modern NBA. This is, I don't know if I would quite say it's Lakers when they got Dwight Howard and Steve Nash. You know that this is going to be fun because I don't really think that was quite the same. You know, Kobe ain't on this roster but like this was champions of the off season. Like, like let's go. Like let's, you know, let's, let's compete with the Celtics and you know, we're having conversations about worrying about their top six protected pick. Like this is a, this is a grade A disaster that's unfolding here in Philly.
Tim MacMahon
Yeah, I mean, I would say the season is over today if not for the fact that the Bulls this week, I mean, we'll see what happens Sunday against Portland. But in their last three games, the Bulls have lost to the Pelicans, who've gone on a nice streak lately. They got smacked by the Hawks on Wednesday when this was the Hawks starting lineup. Dyson Daniels, Vic Creche, Keaton Wallace, David Roddy and Clint Cappella at home. Not exactly great. And then they lost to Charlotte on Friday. So the Bulls, who are only a couple games ahead in 10th place, seem like they might be starting to enter the mode of trying to keep their own top pick.
Bobby Marks
The Bull. Making damn sure they're not going to send the number 11 pick in the draft to the San Antonio Spurs.
Tim MacMahon
They're, they're doing their best to make McMahon look wrong. However, all that being said, we've talked about the stretch. The spurs are the, the, the Sixers are in it's 13 games stretch for the trade deadline. They're 0 and 3. They're playing Milwaukee on Sunday. They're, they have all these guys out real quick.
Brian Windhorst
Paul George sat out and I mean this pot will go up and it'll be known, but Paul George sat out Saturday's game with groin tightness. It said. Is that just him skipping back to backs or is he like actually injured?
Tim MacMahon
I mean, we'll find out on Sunday, I suppose. I mean it's, I mean the whole thing is just because you had a.
Brian Windhorst
You had a game this last week where Paul George like warmed up before the game and then it was like up.
Tim MacMahon
He was probable. He was probable and then he was out.
Bobby Marks
Well, the good news is there's only Three and a half years left on his max contract.
Tim MacMahon
Yeah, I mean, there, there is, there is no good news at this point with the Sixers.
Brian Windhorst
And like I said, 24, 25 Sixers colon. There is no good news. That's the, that's the team video. Sorry.
Tim MacMahon
I have been convinced their season would be done when this stretch is over because they'd be so far out of 10th that their only option would be to try to keep their pick. Chicago may make it so that by default, someone has to finish 10th and maybe the Sixers will finish 10th if they can ever get their guys healthy. But I don't know how anybody could look at this team right now and think anything other than this season is completely cooked. Which is a remarkable thing to say on January 19 about a team that, you know, was right there with anybody in the off season, had three guys that made all star teams last year and were three of the top 20, 25 players in the league on their team. Like, you know, they pro. I don't think they were going to beat Boston, but certainly we thought they were going to be a team that was a home court advantage team in the playoffs or at worst in the top six in the east, not in the bottom five. And pondering the attempt to try to keep their top six protected pick that, by the way, if they end up with the eighth or ninth pick in a loaded draft, it goes to Oklahoma City is the latest part of the treasure trove of assets that Sam Presti and company have.
Grainger Advertiser
The Thunder have gotten a little bit.
Brian Windhorst
Unlucky with since they started acquiring top picks. Like, you know, the Rockets. It was like right on the edge there where they were going to get that Rockets pick. And then the Rockets were able to get into. There was.
Tim MacMahon
I feel like they jumped up the Jalen Green pick bec they would have had.
Brian Windhorst
I feel like there was another one where they were like right on the.
Bobby Marks
Edge and then did the Jazz last year. But yeah, the.
Tim MacMahon
A little different though.
Bobby Marks
Yeah, the Jazz aggressively made sure they're like the Jazz pulled what the Bulls are doing right now. Like let, let's take a turn and make sure we. We keep this pick. But yeah, the, the Thunder will. It's crazy. This team might win, I don't know, 650 games over the next decade and have a lottery pick most years. It's insane.
Tim MacMahon
It's nuts.
Bobby Marks
And like the Sixers, man, at this point, I think the best case scenario for them is that they're able to keep their top six protected pick. I'm not sure how you're going to be able to pull that off because.
Tim MacMahon
Well, by just, I mean the simple. I mean they're going to be somewhere in the top 10 record wise. It's just whether they get lucky in the draft lottery or not. And then under the new rules, there's a much better chance of that than there used to be. But I mean, we're talking about an extraordinarily unlucky team. Are we going to bet on their luck turning now and they end up with the number one pick in this draft? It seems unlikely to me.
Bobby Marks
Well, they've had the, the Irish maxi look and that's about it.
Tim MacMahon
That's true, that's true.
Bobby Marks
And the one sliver of good news they had had season and season ending knee surgery with Jared McCain. But like, forget about, forget about, like just the picture this season. And you know, do they somehow weasel their way into keeping their pick? Dude, Paul George, the Clippers are looking very smart for not wanting to go full boat max on him. And Joel Embiid, how much money is he owed? The guy's played 13 games this year.
Brian Windhorst
Because there's, because there's been so many, you know, because the Sixers have to be very careful with how they announce the injuries with Joel, he's. It's something that's very delicate with him. And also, you know, just because there's been so many different rounds of it that it can be desensitizing. I think people are losing track of the fact that he keeps missing games with this knee swelling and they're not announcing an injury. There is. He hasn't gotten hurt. His knee is just broken right now.
Bobby Marks
He has, it's going to be chronic through the rest of his career. The guy played 39 games last year. And honestly, what, like that's going to be a number. I'm not sure that he reaches a lot in his career, unfortunately. And this is a dude who with this extension is owed $67 million in 2829. They like the Ben Simmons contract for a long time was the worst contract in the NBA. The Sixers have two contenders right now.
Brian Windhorst
This has been Paul George's worst season since 2015. 16, when he was coming up. He's still coming off the broken leg, I think.
Tim MacMahon
I mean, that doesn't even count. I think he played 10 games that season.
Brian Windhorst
Or maybe it was. Oh yeah.
Tim MacMahon
I mean that was at the. And that was at the end of the year.
Brian Windhorst
That's right. You're right. But like he's just, he's Having one of the worst seasons of his career.
Bobby Marks
Yeah, he's averaging 17 points and he is shooting 42% from the floor. And he's played, you know, he's, he's at least played the majority of their games. But again, like, the hope with Paul George is he's going to be able to play 60 plus games. The hope at this point with Embiid is maybe he can get to 50. And, and again, the idea that this team is just going to kind of like load. Manage their way into a top seed and, you know, oh, boom, turn everything on off time.
Tim MacMahon
They, they have had every single guy on the team shoot horribly on wide open shots, including Paul George, which has been a big part of the problem when they've had guys on the court. And then like, you know, the fact that Joel in particular has just not been available, like, you know, that's. You said before the season Joel was going to play 13 of the first 40 games. You'd probably think the Sixers were better than this, but it's not like you'd think they were going to be 28 and 12. So, you know, Paul George has missed more than half the games. And like you said, Jerry McCain was the one bright spot they had. He's now out for the year. Him and Gershon Yabaselli are the two guys who played above their expected level the whole year. Tyrese Maxey has been a disappointment. He has played far below the level you'd hope for him, despite the fact that his numbers overall are fairly gaudy. He has not shot the ball well. He has not played great. So, yeah, I mean, it, it's. The season has gone as badly as it possibly could have in virtually every way. And that's how you're sitting here. If you're the Sixers going into this game Sunday with they lose, they're on pace to win 30 games and be firmly in the mix to, you know, have some potentially lottery luck to keep their pick.
Brian Windhorst
So let's just talk about that real quick because I just want to focus on the situation because, you know, they're not. They're quote, unquote, not giving up right now. I mean, they're, I assume, trying to win these games right now. They have the eighth worst record in the league. There are seven teams that have fewer wins than them.
Tim MacMahon
And by the way, I don't think there's any way they get worse than ninth.
Brian Windhorst
This is my point.
Tim MacMahon
Yes. This, this is what I keep talking about with the standing stuff.
Brian Windhorst
Yeah. So if you look at the Teams that are quote, unquote ahead of them, behind them, I guess, but ahead of them, the tankathon. Utah has 10 wins. I don't know if Utah. So the, the, the, the 76ers as we do this pod, we'll see what happens on Sunday. They have 15. Okay. I'm not sure Utah is going to get to 15 wins before the end of February.
Bobby Marks
If they do, it'll be kicking and screaming. You want to.
Tim MacMahon
Okay, I would just say it, I would just say it this way, Brian, to save time. The seven teams below them, Brooklyn, Portland, Charlotte, New Orleans, Utah, Toronto and Washington. The one team I think that has a chance to pass them is New Orleans.
Brian Windhorst
Right?
Tim MacMahon
Because they're now healthy, they're winning games. I think there's going to be some motivation to play their guys. Play Zion Williamson. When they get Brandon Ingrid back to play him, I think there's a world Philly gets to seventh. I don't think any of those other teams are going to be winning very many games the next three months. And the other, the point I was making was the teams that are on the other side of them, San Antonio, Miami, Detroit, Phoenix, Golden State, Sacramento, those teams are going to be winning at a way higher clip than the Sixers are. So to me, they're going to be somewhere in the 7 to 9 range, depending on what happens to Chicago, depending on what happens with New Orleans, which is outside the top six. And it all comes down to they're going to have a, somewhere between 30 and 40% chance, depending on exactly where they land, to have a coin flip, you know, ping pong ball situation go in the favor.
Bobby Marks
I mean, and you talk about like the biggest disaster seasons in recent NBA history. We can talk about some of the Brooklyn seasons, but this is the, the thing there was, those were cases of, hey, this super team didn't want to stay together, you know, for a wide variety of reasons, whatever. Like that was a super team breaking up. This is a so called super team that isn't, that you're stuck with, you.
Tim MacMahon
Know, you're potentially, you're potentially stuck with.
Bobby Marks
Well, at least if, if this thing blows up though, at least Brooklyn got a bunch of fodder for a rebuild, you know, now they had to go scramble to get their own picks back, but at least when they traded Kevin Durant, they got a haul. Now they had to trade Kyrie at a bargain basement discount price. Which by the way, Kyrie, after the game the other night, somebody asked him about the anniversary of the PJ Washington trade. He's like, when's the anniversary of my trade? He said, we won that trade. I was bad goods. He was kind of rubbing it in the net space. But again, the point is, like, if this thing if, like, dude, you think they're getting a haul for Joel Embiid at this point when he's due 6 million at age for Paul?
Tim MacMahon
I would never say that, but I would say that they have. Unlike the Nets, who did not have their picks going forward, the Sixers, for the most part, I'm trying to look and see what picks they have out beyond this year. I think they have most of their picks going forward. They have several other picks coming in, including a future Clipper unprotected pick and.
Bobby Marks
Yeah, other than the. Other than this year's pick that they're, you know.
Tim MacMahon
Well, no, listen, they. I'm just saying they have control of their pick. They have Tyrese Maxey, who is a young, A very good young guard who's obviously had a rough year. Like, they have some. They're not the Nets who were at that point. We're going to be at zero with no picks going forward for seven years. But I'm not trying to say this is some great situation. It's obviously rough, but they do, I think, have some potential outs. But the question. This is not the kind of conversation we were supposed to be having about the Sixers 40 games.
Brian Windhorst
Oh, my God. That's what I'm saying.
Tim MacMahon
Well, that's where we're at.
Brian Windhorst
Well, okay, so if they, if they were to finish right where they're at right now and they have the eighth worst record, it's a. It's roughly a 25% chance of keeping their pick. They have a 25% chance of going into the top four. And if you're Oklahoma City and you are looking at a 75% chance of a top 10 pick, you're signing up for that trade thousand times over.
Bobby Marks
Well, and if it doesn't convey this year it's top four protective.
Brian Windhorst
Well, not, not top 10, because it has to be out. It has to be outside the top.
Bobby Marks
Yeah. A 75% chance of a pick that would be somewhere between 7 and 9 or 10 or whatever.
Brian Windhorst
Yeah, right. That's. That's pretty, pretty amazing.
Bobby Marks
And again, if not this year, it's top four protected next year. Will things go better for the Sixers next year? I mean, they couldn't go worse, but yeah.
Brian Windhorst
I mean, have to figure. I don't know. The biggest problem is why is Joel Embiid's knee Swelling, that's, that's the biggest problem because he didn't get hurt. Like all these other times we've seen him have these bad falls, you know, some of them been freak injuries or whatever, but we saw him get hurt. Okay. He won the Olympic gold medal, took some time off, and when he went to go start playing basketball again a month or so later and ramping back up, it's not worked. And there's, there's, there's, you know, they're saying it's knee swelling. And I respect Joel protecting his medical information, but there is something that is causing that need not to work. And that problem without being an injury is the biggest problem they've got.
Bobby Marks
And it's not like those things just go away as a massive human. Ages into his 30s, like this is going to be a problem. And they acknowledge that. Before the season, when Joel Embiid sat down with the USWB himself and it was sunny out there. Where was that? Bondemps? The Bahamas. One of your little Bahamas. One of your boondoggles, as Wendy says, that you.
Tim MacMahon
Oh, yes, I have so many. Yes.
Bobby Marks
But like, basically nothing.
Brian Windhorst
Like, nothing like traveling up and down northeast in the winter for being a definition of a boondoggle.
Bobby Marks
Always in south beach now, baby. Just living the life. But I mean, they didn't put a number on it, but essentially they said, hey, the plan is Joel's going to play hopefully 50 something games and then, you know, we'll, we'll flip the switch come playoff time. Like, like that. That, that was the hope.
Tim MacMahon
It was. I would not say that was exactly the plan. I would not say this has gone the way I, I feel very comfortable saying. This is not what the Sixers expected this plan to look like from the beginning.
Bobby Marks
No, again, because he's not on pace to play 50 something games. But when he's talking about, like, I'm punning on ever being an MVP again, basically he was saying, hey, I'm not going to be. I'm not in 65 games.
Tim MacMahon
Well, look, I think, I think it made sense from the beginning to say Joel Abid was not going to play regular season back to backs. That does not mean, like Joel. Joel, if he played every game and didn't play back to backs, like basically what Kawhi did, which is the, the comparison that I made at the time and I think is what was sort of envisioned, why played 60 games. Okay. If Jawal was on pace to play 60 games, the season would look very different than it looks now.
Bobby Marks
That's.
Tim MacMahon
That's the bottom line. So this, this has not gone the way the Sixers had envisioned.
Brian Windhorst
Here's the only thing that's good news for the Sixers within the team at least the Washington Commanders are in the NFC Championship Game.
Tim MacMahon
Don't say that. Because there's one person who's happy about that. Josh Harris. And I think, well, okay, so Josh Harris is happy and the entire city of Philadelphia potentially is going to be playing the Commanders next weekend. And they're, let's just say that I have Sixers fans, friends that are not thrilled that Josh Harris owns the Commanders.
Brian Windhorst
As I said, the Sixers organization, not the Sixers fans.
Tim MacMahon
But that's not the Sixers organization.
Brian Windhorst
This is the first time the Commanders have been in the NFC championship game since McMahon was a juvenile delinquent. I mean, it's, it's, I was a.
Bobby Marks
Juvenile delinquent well into my 30s. Well, listen, if, if, if, if Embiid was healthy the whole time, they'd be maybe a 500ish team. They're seven and six when he plays.
Brian Windhorst
Oh God.
Tim MacMahon
Well, when the three guys play and finish a game, they're six and one.
Brian Windhorst
So like, wow, that's a, I didn't know that number.
Tim MacMahon
That, I mean, that's all well and.
Brian Windhorst
Good, but that ain't coming anytime soon.
Bobby Marks
But the key number there is not played seven games. Yes, it's seven out of four.
Tim MacMahon
It's nine and 24, which is the other 20, the other 33 games. That's, that's where we're at.
Brian Windhorst
The team that beat them on Saturday, the Pacers. They, by the way, I believe, are 7 and 1 in the new year, best team in the NBA since the new year are tied for. So let's keep an eye on those Pacers. Going to be spending some time with them over the next week in Paris. Also.
Bobby Marks
More Hoop Collective podcast after this.
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Brian Windhorst
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Tim MacMahon
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Brian Windhorst
Also a team that is doing pretty.
Bobby Marks
Well together, I believe.
Brian Windhorst
Six and two in their last eight games, I think or maybe six and one. And Devin Booker Bontemps I think should be getting lauded by Suns Fans because.
Tim MacMahon
About 10 just me. Not just me.
Bobby Marks
Oh, I've been lumped in here.
Tim MacMahon
Hey, lumped in. We had the same opinion.
Bobby Marks
We did, we did.
Tim MacMahon
And by the way, the opinion is accurate.
Bobby Marks
I think CAA is going to throw like a shindig to honor us for inspiring this just liftoff by Booker recently.
Tim MacMahon
Listen, if the All Star if the all Star rosters are picked from January 1 on, Devin Booker will be a starter in the All Star game.
Bobby Marks
Well and again it was never is Devin Booker an all star caliber player. But all start based on performance this season, correct.
Brian Windhorst
So Booker had 35. They won in Detroit. They're a six and two over their last eight games. They had been one in seven over their previous eight games. Booker has scored 30 plus in five straight games. Is the second longest streak of his career. His longest streak is seven games.
Bobby Marks
Honestly that actually surprises me that I, I thought he would have some longer ones.
Brian Windhorst
But okay, the first game that Nick Richards played they, you know they, they traded for me played in in Detroit. And by the way speaking of Detroit real quick and I'm not, I have nothing bad to say about Mr. Isaiah Beef Stew Stewart.
Bobby Marks
Oh you better not. I playing with Legos like I'm pro Lego buddy.
Brian Windhorst
I you know real men, real men build Legos especially with their children. So his branding Miles Turner less than for being a Legos guy as he did the other day. I just won't stand for it. So I side with Miles Turner also side with Legos. There was an amazing, I mean I have a 7 year old so let's be honest, there was an amazing moment on NBA today this last week where Derek Lively was on NBA Today. And in the middle of the interview, unplanned, Malika asked him about his, about Legos and he's like, oh, well, let me show you.
Bobby Marks
Oh, yeah.
Brian Windhorst
And he flipped the, he flipped his zoom, you know, his iPad around and showed her his Lego setup. Anyway, big Lego guy, Nick Richards, first game for the Suns on Saturday. How about a little 21 and 11?
Bobby Marks
Not bad off the bench, which I don't anticipate will be the case much longer.
Brian Windhorst
So we'll see. I mean, I'm not gonna base a lot on, you know, for a one good game from Nick Richards, but the Suns, who needed to run some to run hot, are running hot now if.
Bobby Marks
You want to have the fun with.
Tim MacMahon
Hey, Sun's running hot. Or is Devin Booker running hot?
Brian Windhorst
Well, Devin Booker is running hot if.
Bobby Marks
You want to have the fun with. When they're healthy, when Katie and Booker both play, they're 19 and 7. Yeah. Now, again, the problem is that's not that. That often also they're 19 and 7 and that lineup or the, that that duo, like the net rating isn't what you would anticipate or want when you have a dual superstar duo out there. Remember, their 8 and 1 start was like just pulling game after game after game out in crunch time. The. So the, the net rating is 4.1, which is, you know, a bit better than middling. But 19 and seven and you know, two guys who can certainly get your buckets down the stretch. I think that it's just, it's so tough to see, like, how they can raise the ceiling of this team. Obviously, you know, there's the whole Jimmy thing that's out there and we've talked about just the challenges, the obstacles of making a deal like that happen. But you've got this weird thing now where Beal's kind of been. I don't know if ostracized is a fair word, but it's a big one and I'd have to look up to make sure I'm using it correctly. But feels that way. Richards was. There was a nice little swing to make a desperate upgrade on the center.
Tim MacMahon
Position, one that sacrificed almost all their draft picks left. They had three second round picks. They traded all of them to get them.
Bobby Marks
Except for the 2031, which does.
Tim MacMahon
No, I'm. I know. I meant. I said they're second round picks.
Bobby Marks
Oh, yeah. And the 2031 first round pick. It's one of those things where, hey, that pick has value. It has a lot of value. Why does it have a lot of value because the Suns are like teams are forecasting the sun six years out, you know, saying let's see, they've blown up the rest of their draft capital. Kevin Durant is in, is nearing his late 30s. Like what are the Suns going to look like six years out? Let's line up and try to figure out a way to get that pick so that pick has value. You know, would it be wise to cash in the value of that pick for this roster? Well, they're. I mean, there's all in is all in gets.
Tim MacMahon
Listen, right now the Suns are out of the plan in the west and I know this is looking a bit far ahead, but I was just looking at their schedule. This is their schedule from March 2nd to the end of the year. Minnesota Clippers, Denver, Dallas, Memphis, Houston, Sacramento Lakers, Raptors, Bulls, and then Cavs, Bucks, Celtics, Wolves, Rockets, Bucks, Celtics, Knicks, Warriors, Thunder, spurs, kings. So 20 out of 22 games against teams winning records and are all going to be expected to be in the playoffs or around them. That, that is a brutal stretch to end the year.
Grainger Advertiser
When you're in the west, you don't.
Brian Windhorst
Get those Nets, Hornets, Raptors, Wizards, reprieves.
Tim MacMahon
Well, that's the stretch, but that's.
Brian Windhorst
Now I'm going to throw the 76ers in there too. You don't get the 76ers, Nets, Hornets, Raptors, Wizards, reprieve that.
Tim MacMahon
But I'm saying they're, they're scheduled, Brian, for the last. That's why I looked it up because I was looking at their schedule as we were talking to see how they've been doing. So they beat the Sixers, they lost to the Hornets, they beat the Hawks, then they beat the Jazz, the Hornets, they beat the Wizards, and now they beat Detroit and they've got more games coming. Pelicans, the Nets, the Wizard. Like they. My point is they have to clean up right now because they're already outside looking in. And that closing stretch schedule, even if they have everybody healthy like 500 in those 22 games, is going to be pretty good.
Brian Windhorst
That's why they're trying to get Jimmy Butler.
Bobby Marks
Another way to put it is their remaining strength of schedule based on opponents winning percentage is the toughest in the NBA. It is the toughest in the NBA.
Brian Windhorst
So. Well, that first round pick, they are willing to trade. The standard is high, but they're offering it around. You know, that's just, that's just. Long story short, on Monday they play in Cleveland. The Cavs are coming off a challenging road trip. I I mentioned that the Pacers have been really good since, since the new year. The Pacers only lost since the new year is to Cleveland on this road trip that they're on that they just were on. They also beat the Cavs to end their 15 game win streak or where was it? 13 game win streak. Whatever it was, the Cavs won Saturday night in Minnesota, which was a good win because Evan Mobley is banged up right now and I'm not sure what his status is going to be for Monday. They did catch the Wolves on a back to back and the Wolves kind of melted in the second half of that game. So I'm wondering, they might have got lucky there but they, but the Cavs coming off a tough stretch here and they're facing the sun, so that's a great opportunity to test the Suns just how good this the streak is. Bradley Beals missed the last two games with an ankle injury, so we'll see whether he can go on Monday.
Bobby Marks
Narc is sick. Narc has got an illness so that, that takes a, a big presence away from the sun's bench and I do mean glued to it. I hope it's an empty seat over there.
Brian Windhorst
I hope Nerk is feeling better. Been out a while. I like Nerc. I'm not gonna, I'm not messing. That's another guy I'm not messing with.
Bobby Marks
Nice fella, but he's now their four string center who's due what, 19 million next year.
Brian Windhorst
Yeah, it's a bit of a problem. All right, Bon Sims, you're in Miami. There's obviously a game this afternoon. Victor is in town. I'm not sure what'll happen. You know, we always are a little bit late on the pod and God knows I'm not going to predict what's going to happen today, but Jimmy returned the other night and returned with a press release slash fax from his agent meant to mimic the Jordan return in 96.
Bobby Marks
And what, what'd he wear?
Brian Windhorst
He wore the Jordan 45 jersey to and from the game. Von Temps, how's your Jimmy Butler watch in Miami going this weekend?
Bobby Marks
The.
Tim MacMahon
The drama continues, I would say is the answer.
Bobby Marks
I mean, and honestly, it's, it's like, it's eye roll inducing. I get like. We get it, Jimmy. You want out, you're gonna make life difficult on everybody. But I mean, it's just. Come on man, like the whole thing.
Tim MacMahon
Here's the deal with Jimmy Butler. If you wanted to get out of Miami, truly, I mean, I shouldn't say that the best chance for him to get out of Miami, to get what he wants is to get traded somewhere else would have been to show up starting Friday and play his tail off for the next three weeks. Because the problem Jimmy Butler has is that as much as he wants to leave and as much as, frankly, I think the Heat would like to be over this situation and just move forward as a team, the bottom line is the only teams that are really motivated right now to get him are teams that cannot deliver Miami the requisite stuff necessary to get a deal done. And by the way, the Heat, I don't think, are going into this expected to get a Rudy Gobert trade package for Jimmy Butler. But what they're not, but what they're not going to do is take on three years of Bradley Beal. They're not going to put themselves in a position that takes them out of free agency in 26 or more importantly than anything, leaves them in a position where they don't have flexibility to augment the roster going forward. Because, I mean, Brian and I both know Andy Ellsberg GM here. I've known him for a long time. You look at the way this team has transformed itself over time. The thing the Heat have always prioritized, ability to make the next move. And if they make some move with Jimmy that doesn't allow him to make the next move, then it doesn't make any sense for them to do that. So the question between now and the trade deadline is does a deal come along that gives the Heat a modest return, that gives them some combination of players that can help them now, or young players or draft capital or salary that ends in 26 or all the above in some form that they say, hey, we can do this for some percentage of a dollar for Jimmy services and we'll be done with this. But as of now, that trade doesn't exist.
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Bobby Marks
And just not have, like, baggage moving forward. That's the biggest things here. I did love Spoelstra's whole routine of you're all looking drama as far as silly questions like what is the temperature of the room? Or how is everybody feeling? That just sounds so dramatic. We're professionals. We're fine. I'm like, really?
Tim MacMahon
Eric was the. Eric was the dog in the house on fire beam saying, this is fine.
Bobby Marks
And you know how the house got on fire? Because Jimmy's in the corner lighting his farts on fire, you know, and like we're look. You're looking for drama.
Brian Windhorst
Jimmy could figure out how to do that in the locker room. I Think he would?
Tim MacMahon
Yeah, I mean, that's, I mean, but that's the, that's the whole, that's the whole story. Like, this is not 2018 Jimmy Butler. He's not 28 anymore. So it's, it's going to be very. He's gotta, I think, play ball to some degree if he wants to get what he wants.
Brian Windhorst
So the thing about Eric Spoelstra is that he's incredibly reliable. We nickname him. When I was covering the Heat a decade ago, we nicknamed him the Spobot because he is so consistent and so focused. And in his interview sessions, for the most part, he occasionally comes off script. But in his interview sessions he's very, very steady and he's very hard to like, he approaches the interview session like he's going to battle. He will literally run into the room and jump on to the daisy and he will get into a defensive position and if you like, don't have a question in like 20 seconds, if there's.
Tim MacMahon
A five second pause, he will leave.
Brian Windhorst
He will like bolt off the, this, the dais and you know, he, he is very engaged and he will absolutely shut you down no matter, no matter what. He has no problem shutting you down. So he comes in and doesn't even. Well, Bottemps, you were there. He doesn't even wait for a question. He has a solo quote.
Tim MacMahon
He came in, he came in with a script ready to read, to try to nip in the bud as many questions as he could about the Jimmy situation.
Brian Windhorst
But, but that's not Spobot. Spobot doesn't change his routine. Spo. And so it was interesting. So we, we were on Countdown on Friday. You were in the room and Bontemps actually did that show a huge solid because Spo was speaking like moments before we went on the air and Bontemp sent me the audio. We didn't even have the video up of it yet. This is Bontemp's being a good teammate and literally with Malika, Richard Jefferson, Bob Myers and I, I played Spoelstra's audio moments before we went on the air so that we had the absolute freshest audio. And, and I even had to read some stuff that Spoelstra said. And I thought Bob Meyer's reaction to that was very telling because obviously Bob has the history of the situations and he's just like, that's Eric Spoelstra demonstrating. This is getting to him. Which was the exact opposite of what they wanted to. They wanted to put out like nothing's getting to Us. But the fact that he came in with that.
Tim MacMahon
Yeah, I mean, that was obvious. That was obvious the second he did it. But look like the Heat. That's my point. The Heat are tired of this situation. Like, that is. But that's. I. I mean, I'm tired of it. That's my point. Like, everyone is tired of it. They would like it to be over. It's not like this is some situation where, oh, they're dug their heels in and said, man, we just. We're. We're committed to making this work with Jimmy Butler. We're never trading them. This isn't happening. But the problem is, again, there isn't a market for Jimmy Butler. And part of that is because Jimmy Butler is a huge pain to deal with. So if Jimmy Butler decides to play ball for three weeks, I think it would help him greatly in his desire to get what he wants. Do I expect that to happen? No, I do.
Brian Windhorst
Let me just say two things real quick, and then we can move on from Jimmy Butler for this moment. The first thing, and I can't emphasize this enough as somebody who was shams. Charania has been on this story for months now. Jimmy's number one focus is getting traded, preferably to the Phoenix Suns. Everything else is secondary. Not getting traded to Team X, not getting traded. Team Y, getting traded to the Phoenix Suns. And so anything that you want to bring that's rational, if it doesn't mean getting traded to the Suns, Jimmy is not going to be interested in it right now. That's one thing you got to remember out of all of that, and that is the way he is operating. The second thing is that what Bon Temps has been saying for months as well, which is that Butler's best move is to just focus and playing. I think that's on the table, but not until after the trade deadline. And so that's one of the things that the Heat have in the back of their mind.
Tim MacMahon
Well, I will say the most interesting thing that was said on Friday night was when Jimmy Butler was asked by Tim Reynolds at the end of his presser what happens if you're on the team on February 7th. He said, I'm gonna.
Bobby Marks
Who?
Tim MacMahon
Which I did not expect him to say. And frankly, if that is actually true, which, by the way, we're in, like, the. The absolute funhouse mirror zone. So, like, who knows what's true or not? I just was surprised that he even put that out there as a possibility.
Brian Windhorst
Because he is theoretically could be a free agent, and if he's not a free agent, he will be essentially a free agent because he's going to look for an opt in and trade or a sign and trade.
Tim MacMahon
But, and by the way, I do, as I've said the whole time, I do think that's a real option because for all the reasons we've talked about, with the difficulty to trade numbers of that size, salary wise and just frankly, I'm not sure how many teams are going to be that interested in taking on Jimmy midseason. I am not sure that the Heat will find a trade that they can do by the seventh. I think they're going to try very hard to find a trade that they can do by then, but I'm not convinced one's going to materialize.
Brian Windhorst
I would just say this like, I agree with you. I think the. And by the way, since Jimmy had his meeting with Mickey Harrison on Thursday, there is no doubt an uptick in discussions around Jimmy Butler. The Heat shifted into a new gear after that meeting. I even had a team on Friday call me and say, hey, this team is trying to dump some salary. And they go, hey, we were just talking with a couple of teams who were trying to dump a salary and they all of a sudden like had to like end our phone calls to go do something bigger. They said, what's going on? And I go, well, I don't know. But I speculate that it has to do with Butler and not just a direct Butler trade, but three and four team trades. The point is, I do think the Heat are actually trying, but I'm also going to point something out and I'm sorry, McMahon, I've roughshot it over here. As we sit here today at this exact moment on Sunday morning, The Heat have 20 losses. The Pacers have 19 losses. The Pacers are in fifth place. So if the Heat can't find a trade and they limp their way to February 7th and then Jimmy Butler is now not incentivized to force his way out, but incentivized to, to play strongly to increase his bargaining position come July. This is not a potentially lost situation for Miami.
Tim MacMahon
Look, if Jimmy Butler, if that happens, Jimmy Butler balls out from February 7th through however long the Heater in the playoffs, house and playoff, Jimmy shows up in the spring, that will greatly enhance the market for him this summer. I shouldn't say greatly. It will enhance the market for him for sure this summer. But, and look, I, I do agree that he want to make a trade. Now, I think everybody here is ready to move on from this whole thing, but it's just A very difficult trade to make for a lot of reasons. And I'm just not sure what's going to materialize.
Bobby Marks
Yeah. And, and it really just. The full circle thing here is it just gets back to they are not going to do something that is going to be a negative next year and into the future just to get rid of the biggest headache in the league. And Jimmy has successfully made himself again the biggest headache in the league, which you knew was happening. I mean, like, literally, you knew this was happening as soon as Pat Riley's press conference in the last season ended.
Tim MacMahon
Yeah, I mean, we knew. Yeah, we knew this summer. We knew this summer when he didn't get extended that at some point this is going to come to a head. And it's come to a head now.
Brian Windhorst
Jimmy Butler's right now, you said, enhancing his value. Jimmy Butler's focus right now is enhancing his ability to make a trade at some point this year. Jimmy Butler has to think about next season. I think right now he prefer that that's with the Suns or another team. But the last time Jimmy Butler played a game that he was fully invested in, I mean, he can say whatever he wants, but actions over words was a month ago in Detroit and he went for 35, 19 and 10 and four steals.
Tim MacMahon
Yeah, I mean, Jimmy Butler's still a really good player when he's fully locked in.
Bobby Marks
More Hoop Collective podcast after this.
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Brian Windhorst
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Brian Windhorst
All right. On Saturday, the Atlanta Hawks pulled out a win over the Boston Celtics. This was one of those ESPN BPI situations where the Celtics were like high 90%. They were up three with 20 seconds left with the ball.
Tim MacMahon
I Think or no, Another Jason Tatum missed mid range jumper at the buzzer too.
Brian Windhorst
Well, also, Drew Holiday had a couple of bad moments in the last minute of regulation, but the point is they were in control to get a win over the Hawks and they totally botched it down the stretch, including Drew Holiday passing up a layup and committing a foul on Trey Young. Anyway, the Hawks won that game in overtime and the hawks are now 4 and 1 this season against the Cavs and the Celtics and 3 and oh, on the road, they've swept Boston in Boston. And I gotta say, like the thing about the Hawks and they're in sixth place now with that win. The Hawks have great perimeter size and perimeter size bothers the Cavs. They've beaten the Cavs twice and perimeter size doesn't bother the Celtics as much. But it's a better matchup situation for.
Tim MacMahon
The they can actually match up with Boston in a way a lot of teams can't.
Brian Windhorst
So Boston's having issues. They had another bad shooting game. They are now and eight in their last 16, blah, blah, blah. They, we've talked about them, but I'm gna say watch out for those hawkers. You know, I'm not sure if you're. Whatever you, you know, let's say they end up with the seventh or eighth seed. You want to you excited about that if you're Boston or Cleveland, I wouldn't be just going to point that out.
Bobby Marks
Well, and especially not if Quinn's wearing the Sally Jesse Raphaels. I'm just going to tell you that he busted out the red frames. Those red frame glasses, he had, he.
Brian Windhorst
Had put them away, right?
Bobby Marks
Well, he busted them out for the first time since the Hawk stint in Vegas and I know that for a fact. I don't have to look it up. Because fellas, I have a confession to make. I am the cause for the disappearance of the Sally Jesse Raphaels.
Tim MacMahon
Now we know it's going to get aggregated today.
Bobby Marks
Well, somehow, some way, Quinn was unaware that these red frame glasses that he's been wearing since he's been the Hawks coach were known throughout the league as a Sally Jesse Rafael.
Brian Windhorst
That's unbelievable. I mean, like, I understand he may not be on social media, but it's a, it's a very big social media thing.
Bobby Marks
Yeah. So I know Quinn pretty well. I covered his jazz teams a lot and I see him in Vegas and we're just chatting it up, you know, saying hello, catching up, and I make some just like offhand remark. Bontems, I think you might have been standing right there. I make some offhand remark about the Sally Jess Raphaels. No idea what I was talking about.
Brian Windhorst
Do you verify this Bon Temps?
Tim MacMahon
I can verify all of this, yes.
Bobby Marks
I'm telling you. Yeah. And. And Quinn was. I explained to him, like, no, like, dude, your red glass is like. They're like, you know, Sally Jesse Raphael, the old talk shows host with the red frames. It's what they're known as around the league. It was mortified. I mean, he gives me a serious look. He says, I would never want to do anything that brings attention to myself. I am never wearing those again.
Brian Windhorst
So, you know, I think there are some NBA people who are very, very aware of things, but this does happen. These guys get into these tunnels and their focus especially.
Tim MacMahon
It's also a very healthy thing for Quinn Snyder to not.
Brian Windhorst
I agree. And also, you know, like, here's the thing.
Tim MacMahon
Like, I know anybody in the NBA.
Brian Windhorst
I think, but like, nobody is going to go tell, like, you know, on a team, especially like Quinn, he's a little bit of an intense guy, even though he's a great guy.
Bobby Marks
Yes.
Brian Windhorst
You know, I actually, I'm stunned by this, but I, I don't. I believe it.
Bobby Marks
Well, I was stunned by it. And then I had some Hawks, some folks with the Hawks basically tell me, yeah, we kind of reached a consensus decision that, you know, of all the things we needed to talk about with Quinn, we. We decided just to leave the Sally just drop yel conversation.
Brian Windhorst
This is where McMahon's value is. This is why, you know, all these media guys are getting hired by. This is where it's gonna. They're gonna bring McMahon in. The Mavericks are gonna hire McMahon to go in and tell Luca. He's gonna tell him the truth.
Bobby Marks
Of all the things, of all the teams, the mavericks would be 30th on that list.
Brian Windhorst
I don't now they or mavericks will be 31st.
Bobby Marks
Actually, every other team is unlikely. The Mavericks, it's a complete impossibility. But, and I'm not kidding you, last night was the first time since they were in Vegas that Quinn went back to the Sally Jesse Raphael's and Sally brought a little extra juice, brought some luck and brought him a road win against those big bad Boston Celtics.
Tim MacMahon
While they're permitting, I'll see Quinn in the Hawks on Monday in New York. The pod runs and I'll be. I'll be interested to see if he's wearing them on Martin Luther King Day against the Knicks.
Brian Windhorst
We need more reporting on this story.
Tim MacMahon
I will be having a Conversation with Quinn about the glasses one way or the other.
Bobby Marks
Oh, he'll love that.
Brian Windhorst
I remember back in the 90s.
Bobby Marks
Do it in the press conference. I'm sure he would.
Tim MacMahon
I will not. I will not do it in the press conference, but I will have a conversation with him about it for sure. I will report back.
Brian Windhorst
So back in the 90s, I remember the. I don't remember if it was Chicago Sun Times or the Tribune, but remember when Rodman, Dennis Rodman was always changing his hair color. He was like. And sometimes he would go like with the multicolored or whatever. The Sun Times or the Tribune used to have a little chart they ran that listed the Bull's record when Rodman's hair was different colors. And so I am saying, Atlanta media, this is a great opportunity to start charting the Hawks record.
Bobby Marks
I wouldn't be surprised if there's a Twitter account or something out there that.
Brian Windhorst
Okay, yeah, maybe there is.
Bobby Marks
That's all right. I don't know if there is, but I wouldn't be because like, I'm sorry. It's like it's something like the scouts and stuff. You know, that's where I first heard it. They joke about but like if you're a hardcore NBA fan, you're a league pass. Like the, the Sally Jeff Jesse Raphael's were part of the like joy of watching a Hawks game, of seeing Quinn just go frantically crazy over there with these bright red frame glasses on.
Brian Windhorst
And it's also brought I think Sally Jesse Raphael to a new era of, of fans.
Tim MacMahon
I mean that is certainly true. I mean we're all. There's still. I think the vast majority of the audience has no idea who she is.
Bobby Marks
Google sure that Jackson's gonna put the side by side up on, on the YouTube.
Tim MacMahon
Yes, I, I'm sure Jackson had no.
Brian Windhorst
Jackson had no idea.
Tim MacMahon
Zero percent chance.
Bobby Marks
Jackson just said I had to Google.
Brian Windhorst
Yeah, that's fine. That's, you know you're supposed to. That's what it's for. But by the way, Quinn knows who Sally Jesse Raphael is. That's what's most important.
Tim MacMahon
And by the way, over the last 19 games, the stretch that the Celtics are 10 and nine in, they're now 25th in three point percentage. The attempts have gone down a little bit from 50 down to 46, just under 47. And yet they're still seventh in offense and fourth in defense and fourth in net rating over that span. So it, they've had some big wins in there.
Bobby Marks
It's.
Tim MacMahon
But it's, it's Been a weird stretch. Obviously it's about a quarter of the season, but I still am not that concerned. But it is pretty weird that they've had this long of a shooting slump.
Brian Windhorst
On Friday night when they played the Magic and the Magic were missing six guys and Palabancaro still on a minutes limit. When they played the Magic, they took their fewest number of threes and a half of the season in the first half of that game. And then the second half they sort of went back to their, their, their standard. And the players after the game talked about, you know, the better balance, that it was not so much in the number of threes, but how they sought to establish some presence on the interior and then move to the ex. You know, move to the exterior. You know, basically use the three pointer in conjunction with the interior scoring, not as the, you know, the be all, end all because, you know, very well known they came into the weekend. I don't know where they're at now. They were averaging about eight or nine more threes per game than twos. And so, you know, nobody would, Nobody is saying that the three point shot isn't awesome and was a driving factor in their, in their team's victory in the title last year. But I do think that the balance is the factor. And like Joe Missoula is, you know, full bore. He doesn't, you know, but like, it was interesting to see them change their game plan a little bit and so let's keep an eye on that.
Bobby Marks
Quinn, peering through those sallies last night saw a whole lot of Boston bricks. 15 of 52, that's 28.8% from 3 point range. Exactly. Half of their field goal attempts were threes. And look, Missoula's thing, and it certainly has been proven right over time, is that the math will break the Celtics way over the course of time. But yeah, it's. It's hard to, to win games when you're shooting 28.8% from three on that level of volume.
Brian Windhorst
Cavs seven games up in the standings right now. All right, Bon Temps, you got to get to work, man. You got to. Are you cooking up a big breakfast for those kids? Eggs, bacon?
Bobby Marks
I think I've got a bunch of dishes to do, but handles the cooking.
Brian Windhorst
All right. Thank you, Jackson, our producer. Thank you.
Bobby Marks
Go get some croissants for breakfast.
Brian Windhorst
No, I'm not, I'm not there yet. I'm in LA right now. It's very early.
Bobby Marks
Then you're head to Paris, baby.
Brian Windhorst
Yeah, well, next time we'll speak. We'll be overseas and hopefully have some good stuff there. God knows what these two guys are going to come up with the next couple days. Thank you for watching. Listening to Collective. Another two, three days, I might have this laryngitis. Totally gone, guys. It's going to be very exciting.
Bobby Marks
Just in time to say a. Pardon moi. How do you see adios amigos in France?
Brian Windhorst
Spanish word.
Bobby Marks
Hold on, say it again.
Brian Windhorst
Avoir, mon ami.
Bobby Marks
Avoir, mon ami. That's how we're in it.
Brian Windhorst
Okay, but don't. But we have to use the actual sign off too.
Bobby Marks
Oh. Adios, amigos.
Brian Windhorst
Thank you.
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Podcast Summary: Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective
Episode: Disaster Brewing For 76ers? Jimmy Butler Returns, Hawks A Tough Out?
Release Date: January 20, 2025
In this episode of The Hoop Collective, hosted by Brian Windhorst alongside ESPN insiders Tim MacMahon and Bobby Marks, the team delves deep into the tumultuous state of the Philadelphia 76ers, the ongoing drama surrounding Jimmy Butler's tenure with the Miami Heat, and evaluates the Atlanta Hawks' performance this season. The discussion offers an insightful analysis of recent developments in the NBA, enriched with candid remarks and expert opinions.
The 76ers' season has been nothing short of a disaster, with a record that has fans and analysts alike questioning the team's future prospects.
Joel Embiid's Injury Woes:
Brian Windhorst opens the discussion by highlighting Joel Embiid's recurring foot and knee issues. Initially reported as a foot sprain, further details revealed a swollen knee, sidelining Embiid for an additional seven to ten days.
"Joel Embiid's foot sprain is healed," Windhorst [02:05], only to follow up with the bad news about his knee swelling.
Bobby Marks adds perspective on Embiid's enduring struggles:
"He has, it's going to be chronic through the rest of his career." [08:13]
Performance Deterioration:
The team's performance has plummeted, losing eight out of ten games.
Tim MacMahon asserts,
"I would say the season is over today..." [03:50]
The trio discusses the implications of maintaining a top-six protected pick, emphasizing the improbability of the 76ers salvaging their draft position given their current trajectory.
Player Contributions and Challenges:
Paul George's season has been underwhelming, with decreased playing time due to groin tightness.
"Paul George sat out Saturday's game with groin tightness." Windhorst [04:10]
Tyrese Maxey has also been a disappointment despite impressive raw numbers, further dampening the team's prospects.
Jimmy Butler's desire to leave the Miami Heat has become a central storyline, with trade rumors intensifying as the season progresses.
Butler's Intent to Be Traded:
The hosts discuss Butler's explicit preference to be traded, preferably to the Phoenix Suns.
"Jimmy's number one focus is getting traded, preferably to the Phoenix Suns." Windhorst [34:03]
Heat's Dilemma:
Miami Heat's General Manager, Andy Ellsberg, is grappling with the challenge of finding a suitable trade partner that aligns with both Butler's demands and the team's future flexibility.
Tim MacMahon elaborates,
"The only teams that are really motivated right now to get him are teams that cannot deliver Miami the requisite stuff necessary to get a deal done." [29:08]
Potential Outcomes:
The discussion covers various scenarios, including Butler potentially playing out the season to enhance his trade value or possibly exploring free agency options. The uncertainty surrounding this situation is palpable, with no immediate resolutions in sight.
Contrasting the struggles of the 76ers, the Atlanta Hawks have shown resilience and strategic prowess this season.
Recent Performance Surge:
The Hawks have secured a 6-2 record in their last eight games, with standout performances from Devin Booker, who has been averaging over 30 points in five consecutive games.
"Booker had 35. They won in Detroit." Windhorst [21:24]
Strategic Matchups:
The Hawks' emphasis on perimeter shooting and interior presence has made them a formidable opponent, especially against teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics.
"They have great perimeter size and perimeter size bothers the Cavs." Windhorst [42:20]
Coaching and Team Dynamics:
Light-hearted banter ensues about Atlanta's coach Quinn Snyder and his distinctive red-framed glasses, highlighting team chemistry and personality within the roster.
Beyond the main topics, the hosts touch upon several other NBA-related stories:
Celtics' Shooting Slump:
The Boston Celtics have been grappling with a significant decline in three-point shooting efficiency, impacting their overall performance despite maintaining strong defensive metrics.
Cleveland Cavaliers' Standings:
The Cavs are currently seven games up in the standings, positioning themselves favorably as the season progresses.
Detroit Pistons and Miami Heat Dynamics:
Analyzing the Pistons' impressive performance since the new year and their upcoming matchups with the heat adds depth to the overall NBA landscape discussed in the podcast.
Joel Embiid's Injury Update:
"Joel Embiid's foot sprain is healed," - Brian Windhorst [02:05]
Season Outlook for 76ers:
"I would say the season is over today if not for the fact that the Bulls this week... seems like this season is completely cooked." - Tim MacMahon [05:50]
Jimmy Butler's Trade Complications:
"The only teams that are really motivated right now to get him are teams that cannot deliver Miami the requisite stuff necessary to get a deal done." - Tim MacMahon [29:08]
Atlanta Hawks' Performance:
"Booker had 35. They won in Detroit." - Brian Windhorst [21:24]
The episode underscores a pivotal moment for the Philadelphia 76ers, whose championship aspirations have derailed due to key injuries and underperformance. Simultaneously, Jimmy Butler's situation with the Miami Heat remains unresolved, casting uncertainty over the Heat's future strategy. In contrast, the Atlanta Hawks emerge as a beacon of hope, demonstrating how strategic adjustments and player performances can pivot a team's season positively.
Brian Windhorst, Tim MacMahon, and Bobby Marks provide a comprehensive analysis, ensuring listeners are well-informed about the current NBA dynamics. The blend of expert insights, candid discussions, and strategic evaluations makes this episode a must-listen for NBA enthusiasts navigating the complexities of the season.