← Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective
Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective
Luka Magic Taking Hold For Lakers + SGA’s Historic Streak & Wemby’s Confidence
01:02:52
Hoop Collective: Luka Magic Taking Hold For Lakers + SGA’s Historic Streak & Wemby’s Confidence
Loading summary
Transcript292 lines
- [00:00]
A
Foreign.
- [00:04]
B
Welcome to the who Collective podcast. We talk about the NBA, which we're doing on Sunday afternoon. And I have expelled him from Los Angeles. He's back in New York City where some say he belongs. Tim Bonteps.
- [00:17]
A
Hello, everybody.
- [00:18]
B
Joining us from Dallas, Texas. I've expelled him from Los Angeles and some say he's back where he belongs. Ben McMahon.
- [00:25]
C
Howdy, partners. Never fear, not going to be here long. I'm going to see some Los Angeles residents though. Heading down to Houston, the red hot look out for those Los Angeles Lakers. Got a baseball series against the Rockets.
- [00:40]
B
Oh, you want to talk about Lakers Rockets. I thought you were going to have your, your backup and ready to go here about Shea chasing the 20 point streak at the end of this Thunder.
- [00:50]
C
Oh, no, we can get to that. Listen, now, I didn't see any intentional fouling, didn't see any purposely missed free throws. Saw one from Austin Reeves, but that was to help win a game.
- [01:00]
B
But he said he learned it from watching the Heat. He said he learned how to miss free show.
- [01:05]
C
Luke had a pretty famous one too, during his 60 point triple double. Sure did exactly the dance. But no, Shay's not immune to the occasional stat chasing. It's just a little bit more within the flow, I would say.
- [01:18]
B
Yeah, well, A.J. mitchell, I mean, first off the Thunder, we were behind by like double digits to the Timberwolves on Sunday afternoon, which we'll talk about in a minute. They came back and won easily. But Shea started the fourth quarter when he was sitting, he sat out, he was, you know, he had 10 points when he came back in with about seven minutes left. And the game was, you know, it was a double digit lead. But I actually don't think there was anything unethical to use what the kids say, unethical about him getting to 20. It was actually kind of cool that he got it on a, on a play where he got fouled and he fell down in front of the Thunder bench and the whole Thunder bench like came over to like celebrate with him that he was going to get his 20. I thought it was endearing, but, you know, I know we're not allowed to have fun during games, so.
- [02:02]
A
We're not.
- [02:02]
C
It's okay. We're not. It's okay. And there was also the fast break where it was a three on one, just four in case when Wallace was pushing it and Chet was out front
- [02:12]
A
and Shay was, you know, kind of
- [02:13]
C
filling the lane and Shea pointed it to Chet saying, you know, get it to him.
- [02:18]
B
So that was ethical. Although I Think by the time he pointed, the ball was already on its way to Chet before.
- [02:24]
C
I'll give him credit, Che was going to get his 20 though. And he did after the win was secured.
- [02:29]
A
I mean listen, he. It took him hitting a three at the top of the key and then making this crazy shot over Ant and he was getting off the ball while the Wolves were doubling him. Like the Wolves were determined to not let him get that record if nothing or could extend that record if nothing else. And it took him getting six points and two possessions at the very end of the game to, to do it so well.
- [02:47]
B
A.J. mitchell was, he took, he took several shots while Shea was over there waiting for the ball to get his points. A.J. mitchell, Ethical Basketball. He was not interested. He was like when's my 20 point
- [02:58]
A
streak start to see AJ Mitchell back on the court after y so many injuries this year he. And he's immediately come back and playing well again.
- [03:05]
B
We'll talk about the Wolves and the Thunder a little bit. We are compelled. That game on Saturday night. Nuggets at Lakers One of the best games we've seen all season. Overtime win for the Lakers. The Nuggets snatching defeat from the jaws of victory thanks to some terrific plays by the Lakers under pressure. The clay say what you want about
- [03:24]
C
the Lakers, also thanks to a bad whistle by the refs. Last two minute report.
- [03:29]
B
I haven't seen this yet.
- [03:30]
C
Yeah, says the foul with 9.2 seconds left that sent Austin Reaves to the free throw line. Spencer Jones had a clean strip.
- [03:38]
B
So you know the Nuggets have beef, eh?
- [03:42]
C
Get your conspiracy theories ready. But still the Austin Reese play at the end was a little luck and you know, also awesome. Luca's first game winner for the Lakers which honestly that's like sounds weird, you know, they've got a clear pecking order now. Luka Reeves and LeBron two games in since he's come back, but LeBron being that number three option Dive on the floor, dirty work guy, you know, it's interesting.
- [04:12]
B
Well he's. I think he's trying to play more of a role. He's trying to be comfortable with the ball less. JJ Redick talked about meeting with him and discussing this. I think it's way too early to form any opinions, but LeBron is trying to, to fit into a role. I will say that over the last couple of weeks, the plus minus, which you know, has been used as sort of a whip against them, against those three guys, it has turned positive and is continuing to progress in the right way. And say what you want about the Lakers defense, it has been better over the last month, month to six weeks. And in the end of this game, the Nuggets had just multiple possessions where they could not get into their offense. And I think some of it was due to fatigue.
- [04:55]
A
Jokic, I would say a lot of it was due to fatigue on both sides. Both team, I mean this is. Both teams were at the overtime. Both teams were gassed well.
- [05:04]
C
And some of it was due to Jamal Murray fouling out after a horrific game. Rough, rough day, a rough weekend for the Canadian national team backcourt.
- [05:12]
B
Yes, I'm just going to say that there was multiple possessions where the Nuggets couldn't even get the ball to Jokic because the Lakers were defending it. And deandre Ayton, however you want him, align him facts, a lot of it fair. Deandre Ayton had several key defensive plays. I do not know what's going to happen with the Lakers, but I will tell you this. They've won eight, their last 10 and five in a row and that has put them in the three seed as they embark on this five game road trip or six game road trip with five brutal games to start.
- [05:41]
C
I'm not sure the first two are that brutal, to be honest with you. Even though they're with the team right behind them in the west standings.
- [05:45]
B
Okay, well, you want to. Well first off, I just want to talk about the, about the Reeves missed free throw. How many times could he do that out of 10 and have it fall that way again? Well, obviously he could miss it on
- [05:55]
A
purpose, but it's a one out of
- [05:56]
C
25, one out of 50 type of play.
- [05:59]
A
I'd say maybe one out of a hundred. I mean to have it ricochet off to the left to the perfect spot on the court where he could catch it and have a clear lane to get an Easy like little 8 foot floater practice shot. Like you can't script the play better than that.
- [06:13]
C
Well, but he did that. But it was scripted the way that the box outs worked, where he missed it, how he missed it. You know a lot of guys, they, they put kind of normal arc on it to miss it, right. He like his shot never got above the rim. So he missed it to where it bounced down and it was clearly to
- [06:30]
A
the one side of the basket where they could, they could seal the box out. The synchro Jones had to come over to the other side like it he, they did it perfectly. But to do that perfectly is a ridiculous series of coincidences in a row DeAndre.
- [06:42]
B
I don't know if it was Gordon or Jokic.
- [06:45]
A
Yeah, it was Jokic.
- [06:46]
B
They brought Ayton into the game and when Jones was on the other side, cause they're like, you know, he's like, I'll box out Reeves from this side. It was only Aiden and Jokic on that side. And they brought Ayton in and he knew the play, he knew the orders was to seal Jokic to, to sort of a reverse box out, box him out top, box him out. And came off perfect. I mean if I was the Nuggets, I would have been spitting mad about that game getting to overtime, much less. Yeah.
- [07:14]
C
Oh, and they, and they missed some free throws. They didn't, they didn't execute well down the stretch.
- [07:18]
A
Well, when you've seen a couple games recently, the Cavs fouled up three against the Pistons. Danish Jenkins got a half court shot off, came back to bite him.
- [07:25]
B
This game it was 70ft.
- [07:27]
A
Well, whatever. The point is like it, they got a fluky three shots out of it. Like again like the Lakers. Not a great three point shooting team. Like, you know, it's, it's far from a. Garrett. Well, we've talked a lot about foul up three, don't foul up three. Like what's pretty clear is there's not a foolproof way to do this. And we've seen a couple recent pretty high profile examples of fouling not working.
- [07:51]
C
But let's zoom out some with the Lakers, right? Wendy, like you said, this is five straight wins. I think it's actually eight of nine. And when they, when they started off, you know, when they had three straight before a tough loss in Denver, it was three bad teams. And I basically said, look, their schedule is about to get a lot tougher. They, they've got a chance to prove something. The, the little three game win streak didn't prove anything. They've got a chance to prove something. Well, they played Denver tough. They beat the Knicks. They beat, beat the Wolves. They beat the Nuggets. I mean again, five games, two weeks, whatever it is, does not make a season. But there's no question that the Lakers have some serious momentum. They do with LeBron coming back. LeBron missed the Knicks game and the Wolves game, but with him coming back, he's been vocal and you've seen it on the floor about, hey, I'm the number three guy. I've got to get in where I fit in. As he said, sacrifice, accept the role. I think the bigger concern, I think the bigger concerns now are how does how does that group hold up defensively? Because offensively they seem to have found something. Luka is cooking, Reeves is cooking. And you know, I told you guys, I think we've gotten to a point where Luka might actually be underrated, as weird as that sounds. And what got me really thinking about this is bontense. When you mentioned Kawhi Leonard as a first team all NBA selection, you know, I was like, hold on, hold on. I threw out a few names. I didn't even throw out Luka's name. And it was inadvertent. But there is this idea that Luka might not be a first team all NBA selection. And I think that's pretty insane. It's easy to focus on his flaws. And I talk about the, you know, the petulance as much as anybody. It's, it's, and, you know, which the petulance leads to, you know, big time defensive problems. And that's a fair subject. However, the guy is leading the league in scoring on very good efficiency while averaging eight and a half assists and eight rebounds, rebounds per game for a team that's a third seed in the Western Conference. If that's not a first team all NBA player, I don't know what is.
- [09:48]
B
The thing about Luka, the reason, you know, the criticism of, of him is that he doesn't get as much out of his gifts as he should because of these flaws. But that does not take away from the gifts that he has. He's one of the most talented offensive players I've ever seen in my life. And that led the game. Winner. He was, he was in a double team without anybody to screen. He was sort of, you know, he, he avoided the trap. He got out of the trap, totally got the corner turned and then went into his footwork where he creates space with his step back going left.
- [10:22]
A
The only thing I'll say about that is I think the Nuggets completely, I, I don't think you're giving Denver way too much credit. Like they, they let him get to a practice shot like that. I mean, it was a great play by Luka, but like he had a wide open 15 footer for him. Like.
- [10:36]
B
Yeah, but he had to earn that by getting out of a double team and doing a step back.
- [10:40]
A
I mean, it was a pretty bad double team. Bruce Brown comes over from the middle and he just had the whole left side of the court to get to. It was a great play. He was incredible in the game.
- [10:48]
C
He's wbby.
- [10:50]
A
Hey, I, I mean, for one thing, this guy's been crapping all over people all week. He should stop saying anything about me. And again, it's a credit to Luca. But the Nuggets, I thought they just botched it. Like that was as easy a shot as Luke is ever going to get in that spot.
- [11:04]
C
Okay. And he's averaging 32 and a half points per game, 62% true shooting.
- [11:10]
A
I mean his last two games are his first game winner and a 50 point triple double. I'd say he's playing out of his mind, which is great.
- [11:15]
C
He is.
- [11:16]
B
Arguably that Lakers are underrated. So I can see why Luka is.
- [11:21]
C
Dude, I had in one of my recent stops, I'm talking to an all star and this guy was making the case to me that Luca shouldn't be first team, you know, And I'm like, dude, I don't know, man. If the Lakers are going to have home court advantage in the first round, this guy to lead in the league and scoring efficiently, I don't see how he could not be.
- [11:42]
A
Well, some of this is also, there's a lot of competition for five spots. Like people are going to get really mad if you say Jaylen Brown isn't a first team all B a guy. I don't think he is this year. But like, I think you can make an argument. Cade Cunningham might not be a first team all NBA guy this year. He's been unbelievable and Detroit's been unbelievable.
- [11:58]
C
Like Donovan Mitchell's deserving.
- [12:00]
A
Donovan Mitchell has been amazing. Like they're, we're talking like nine or ten guys for five spots. Like that's, you know, somebody has to get left off. Anthony Edwards, we haven't even talked about him. He's having a great year too.
- [12:10]
B
I can't say this for sure, but I suspect if Bontemps did a straw poll of the all NBA race that Luka would be a strong participant of first team. That's. I'm not sure that, that I understand what you're saying, McMahon. If you're saying that the, the criticism of Luca has potentially clouded a little bit what has been a spectacular season, that's a fair statement. I do not think he. I think he would be voted first team all NBA and I don't think it would be close.
- [12:34]
A
Well, I mean, to McMahon's point though, in the last straw poll, he was a distant fifth and barely headed Jalen Brown for sixth. I would say that sums up where he is, which is a borderline alt first.
- [12:43]
B
Yes, but I don't know how many of those guys are going to have 65 games.
- [12:46]
C
So I think they're maybe all the guys ahead of him, you know, are certainly efforting to Joker's efforting to Wimby we'll get to later is very clearly efforting to but like Cade Cunningham's having a great year. He's not having a better year than Luka and he's not a better player than Luka. More Hoop Collective Podcast after this this
- [13:05]
B
March, it's never been easier to cash in on the action. The juiciest bet on the tournament. It's right here and all you need is beer. Voodoo Ranger presents bet on 11 grab a can of GeForce IPA clocking in at a bold 11% ABV and bet that beer. Here's the play. If an 11 seed pulls off the upset, 1100 fans also win cash for their next round of beer. Or hey, keep the cash. It's your money, so win or lose, you still win because you've still got beer. So grab a can of GeForce IPA with 11% ABV and bet that beer@beton11.com if an 11 seed advances, you've got a shot at a seriously juicy prize. Bet on 11 cash in on the chaos. Legal in all 50 states. Must be 21 or older to enter. No purchase necessary. Full rules@beton11.com Grab a can of G Force IPA with 11% ABV, then register that beer@beton11.com if an 11 seed advances, you have a chance to win a juicy prize. Drink responsibly if you're looking to bring a little celebration into the everyday. Confetti Craze five Hour Energy Tastes just like birthday cake. Think rich vanilla buttery Funfetti flavor. Basically a party in a bottle. And here's what makes it even better. It's all the delicious cake flavor you're craving with none of the sugar to worry about. And the small portable bottles let you bring your favorite flavor with you to ca simplify your day with a tasty caffeine boost. Wherever you are with Confetti Craze, you get to enjoy your cake. No fork required. The Funfetti flavor is back on 5hourenergy.com or Amazon crack open confetti craze five hour energy shot today.
- [14:38]
C
Rich Eisen here.
- [14:39]
A
The tax deadline will be here before you know it and you just want
- [14:42]
C
to know your taxes are actually being handled.
- [14:45]
A
But the old way, you hand everything
- [14:46]
C
off and then silence. Days pass. Weeks pass. You start wondering, should I send another follow up email? It feels like you're chasing updates and getting Nowhere. But now taxes are different because your taxes are done for you by a TurboTax full service expert. With Intuit TurboTax, you can match with your dedicated tax expert and hand off everything right in the app. And while your expert checks for every deduction, you'll see real time updates on your phone. So you always know exactly where things stand. Suddenly you're not refreshing your inbox, you're going for a run, grabbing a coffee,
- [15:22]
A
scrolling anything other than a just checking in message.
- [15:25]
C
Because your turbo tax expert is handling
- [15:28]
A
it and keeping you in the loop.
- [15:30]
C
So this tax season, get your best possible outcome and every dollar you deserve without the guesswork. Visit TurboTax.com today to learn more.
- [15:39]
A
Real time updates only in iOS mobile
- [15:41]
C
app only available with TurboTax full service experts.
- [15:50]
B
So here's the Lakers road trip. Actually, I want to get it in correct order. The first two are going to be. The Lakers are going to be in Houston. Is it Monday? Wednesday?
- [15:59]
A
It's Monday, Wednesday. I got it here if you want
- [16:01]
B
me to read it. I got it. Okay. So the Lakers upcoming games six game road trip at Houston, Monday at Houston, Wednesday, Thursday. Back to back in Miami. Yikes. I mean it's a tough one. West to east, back to back in Miami. The Heat did have their winning streak snapped by the Magic. Speaking of the Magic, they've won what, seven in a row? Eight in a row. That's where the Lakers then go play Saturday. So Rockets. Rockets.
- [16:26]
A
Well, in that Heat game definitional schedule loss, 22 and a half hours later, it's a 9:30 central. Actually 21 and a half hours. So 9:30 central time game. So it's a 21 and a half hour turnaround going east to west. It's not a short flight. I think there's, I would guess zero chance LeBron plays in the Miami game on second night of a back to back.
- [16:47]
C
It might be his last trip to Miami. I don't think it will be.
- [16:51]
B
Speaking of that, can I just, can I just preview something? Coming Thursday, my retrospective on the Heat's 27 game win streak from 2013.
- [17:01]
C
Retrospective.
- [17:03]
A
Well, I hope we see LeBron in that game. Cause I always like to see him play. But I mean that's a, that's a. Hold on. That's the definition of a schedule loss. If they win that one, that's a hell of a win.
- [17:11]
C
He just said retrospective. We got to celebrate that when he's got patches on that sport coat on the elbows.
- [17:17]
B
I had so much fun, you know, I lived through it. I Probably out of the 27 games, I probably was at 18 of them or so I was not at the, I was in, I was at the Garden the night they actually lost it. But there was some great stuff that happened during that, during that 27 game win streak that I, you know, did research on and, and brought them all back to the surface. So it was a lot of fun to report that story. And I, you know, unless you are like a Pacers fan or a Celtics fan, you probably will have good memories of that.
- [17:51]
C
You know what's funny? When we were in Vegas, Bond Timps, you probably remember this. I was fearful that, I think that, I think it was like 16 at that point for OKC. And I was very fearful that they were going to get that thing into the 20s and threatened 27 and maybe even 33 and that I was not going to be home for large, large, large stretch there. And the spurs took care of it. But that was also when there was a whole lot of talk. 74, can it be 75, 76. How many will they win? Winning that many games is, is hard to do. Maybe we should wait until like January or February to, to get that excited about such a milestone again.
- [18:29]
B
All right, so tough back to back Rockets heat and then day off and at Orlando who's one teams in the league, then day off and then they finish it a week from Monday at the trip. Actually they don't finish it there. That's the hard part.
- [18:43]
A
They finish, they finish it there. They play the Pacers the last game.
- [18:45]
B
They play the Pacer.
- [18:48]
C
That's a soft landing.
- [18:49]
B
So, so they've got a, they've got a half game lead on Houston for the three seed. Now that victory over Denver was huge, obviously for many reasons but also in tiebreak because that won them the tie break. And I and I will say there's something interesting. We'll be talking about tie breaks more coming up. Minnesota is in really bad shape on tiebreakers. They basically have lost the tiebreakers pretty much to everybody or are behind in the tiebreakers. Everybody. Minnesota is in bad tiebreak position. The Lakers tiebreak position is pretty good. We'll see what happens with the Rockets games coming up. The tiebreaker is still up in the air there. But one thing to point out and the sun. This is something for the Suns fans to keep an eye on. If you win your division and there are still divisions out there, ladies and gentlemen, the in the and the Suns and the Lakers are fighting quote unquote for the Pacific Division title. That is a tiebreaker in the case of multi team ties. In other words, if it's a three team tie, which there very easily could be. And so the Lakers getting that victory over Denver wins that tie break and puts them in, you know, keeps them in position to lead the Pacific Division.
- [19:54]
A
I think you're being very charitable with that being a battle.
- [19:56]
B
Oh really? You don't think there's a chance of a three way tie and you don't think there's a chance.
- [19:59]
A
No, no.
- [20:00]
C
He's getting feisty.
- [20:01]
A
No, no. I think you're being charitable saying the Lakers aren't going to win their division. That's what I'm saying. The Suns, the Suns have a billion injuries. I don't think they're going to be able to keep up with the Lakers. That's what I was referring to. Okay, so I would say it's a, I would say it's a big factor. The other way that the Lakers, like the spurs are not being caught by Houston. The Thunder are not being caused by, caught by Minnesota and Denver. That is another huge feather in the Lakers cap that they're, they're all. But certainly I think going to win the Pacific Division. And that will trump any of these tiebreakers which are all. Could very easily happen with all four of those teams.
- [20:34]
C
And this baseball series in Houston is big for a couple of reasons. Number one, obviously the Lakers have gotten themselves into the three seed now and want to stay there. The difference between three and four we can all figure out. It's pretty significant. Assuming OKC hangs on which looks like they very likely will up three and a half games. You'd much rather wait until the potentially the west finals to see OKC and deal with an inexperienced San Antonio team in the second round. Also, if they can, if they can get the Rockets a couple times, you might be bumping the Rockets down to six. And I'm pretty sure of the possibilities here. The Rockets are the team that these other teams in this three to six mix would most like to see.
- [21:15]
B
Yeah, I talked to, I talked to an executive, a Western Conference executive this week who's on one of these top teams. This could be used against people in the future.
- [21:23]
C
But you're vague enough.
- [21:24]
B
They said, they said the target is, the target is Houston. Houston is not the team.
- [21:30]
A
Well, listen, one team has made the conference finals.
- [21:32]
B
I'm just saying like the other team has.
- [21:34]
A
Nicole Jokic.
- [21:35]
B
Well, no, everybody looks like an ass.
- [21:36]
A
Look, Denver has. Nicole Jokicin has won a title. The other team has. Anthony Edwards has made the conference finals Two years in a row. Say what you want about their, how they did against the Thunder. They still got there last year. They smoked the Lakers in the first round. And Houston hasn't won a playoff series since James Harden was there. Like, of course they're the, of course they're the target.
- [21:54]
C
They just lost by 25 to San Antonio by more than, I can do the math off top of my head, 36 to Denver. They had to squeak out a win over the Pelicans at home. They lost at home to a Warriors team that can't beat anybody without Steph and Jimmy. I mean, the Rockets are really playing uninspired basketball right now.
- [22:18]
A
There has to be a pecking order to these things. And obviously Houston, if, if the Lakers right now could have the three seed and then get Houston, a team that hasn't won a playoff series as a group and San Antonio, a team that hasn't won a playoff series as a group for, as a path to the conference finals, they would take. That doesn't mean any criticism of anybody else but that like if they're the four seed and they have to play Denver, Minnesota and then the Thunder, that like, it's just a much different path, you know, there's just no question about that. And look again, the Lakers, that was an incredible win last night. Set aside whatever you want to say about Denver, you know, not Jamal Murray having a terrible game, having the game won at the end anyway, any of that. It's a great win. They've been playing really well. I think this goes back to what you said at the beginning, McMahon. I'm still unconvinced about their ability to guard in a really high, high level spot in the playoffs. With the roster they have, they're going to have to prove they can do that. They also are a team that's going to struggle to shoot the ball, especially outside of Austin and Luka last night. For as well as they played, they hit. They were 14 for 42 from 3. Like those are the two questions. Can the other guys hit shots and can they guard enough? If they can do that in the playoffs, they'll have a chance with their star power to win a series or two. But it's going to need an inside straight of things to come together coming into today.
- [23:31]
B
This will be different by the time the pod comes out slightly. But coming into today, let me go over the toughest remaining schedules or the remaining schedule strength and the tiebreakers just real quick of the teams fighting for three to seven because the Suns are, are, are still sitting There, the Suns have the hardest of those. Those schedules. The Timberwolves have the second hardest, although maybe it's a little easier after the Oklahoma City game is already off the books. The Lakers have the third hardest, the Nuggets have the fourth hardest, and the Rockets have the easiest schedule. So the Nuggets and Rockets have more friendly schedules coming in. When you look at the tiebreakers, this is a timberwolves tiebreaker situation. Owen 3 versus Lakers, 1 and 3. Actually, it might be 04 now because I think that was before yesterday. 1 and 3 versus Nuggets, 0 and 1 versus Rockets, 02 versus Suns.
- [24:16]
C
Wow.
- [24:17]
B
And the Lakers, it's 03 versus Lakers. Sorry, take that back. Lakers 2 and 1 versus Nuggets. Oh, and 1 versus the Rockets. So the tiebreaker will be determined in these two games and three and over the Timberwolves. So the Lakers on Timberwolves tie have that. So Lakers in pretty good. If the Lakers could really, if the Lakers could sweep these two games, they would be in great position. But even if they split, it's not so bad. But if they do split, Houston gets the tie break. So that's. That's something.
- [24:48]
A
Oh, and Houston still has two games left against Memphis. They have a game left against Chicago. They have a game left against New Orleans. They have a game left against Milwaukee. They have a game left against Utah. They have a game left against Golden State, which is in April. But Golden State is a shell of itself with. From an injury standpoint, we'll see where Steph is at. They have a game left in April with Phoenix. Phoenix is also a shell of itself. From an injury standpoint, we'll see where Phoenix is at. And they have a game. The third last game of the season is a home game against Philly, which maybe they'll have some guys back by then or maybe they won't. So, like, that's a lot of games. When you talk about the easy schedule down the stretch where there's several games in there, they should just. And again, they barely beat the Wizards. It took a bit of a save at the. Or the Pelicans the other day, but they should win a bunch of these games.
- [25:31]
B
They're the quote unquote mark, which I hate even saying because now that just like sort of guarantees they'll whip the Lakers the next two games. That's what happens in the NBA. But say whatever you want about how they're playing. They have the easiest schedule. They could. They could easily get a higher seed than sixth. So, I mean, I was talking to Another executive yesterday and I was like, boy, how do you see like these teams coming down? I was like looking for a nuanced conversation about, you know, between Houston Lakers Nuggets. Like how is it going to. He's like, who's playing the most tankers? Who's ever playing the most tankers is going to get the highest seed and that's not the Lakers.
- [26:09]
C
Hey, there could be some jockeying down the stretch between like you, it might
- [26:13]
B
be teams might try to get to
- [26:15]
C
6 instead of 5. I'll put it like that.
- [26:17]
A
Well, it's just, I think it's going to be hard with how bunched up these teams are. And look, these teams have also been all over the place. I mean we've talked about Minnesota, Minnesota all season. They, they've obviously had a bad week, but they, they've had some really high highs and like, yeah, I mean man's doing the, the, the up and down roller coaster motion for people listening. Like they, they've had some horrendous losses. We've talked about them all season. You know, Denver obviously is getting healthy. Thought Aaron Gordon playing well in this Laker game was a huge thing. I mean his three point shooting turnaround by the way is a totally separate aside. Is one of the crazier things that we've seen in recent years, like him becoming this knockdown three point shooter. It's a huge thing for them, you know, but they've had some weird performances lately too. You know, obviously getting smoked by the Knicks. They barely beat, they barely beat the Jazz in one game. Like they've had some weird games. Houston's had a lot of weird, like you said McMahon, they've had a lot of weird games. I mean these teams, everybody after the spurs and Thunder has been very up and down at different points and right now it's an up for the Lakers. And you know, if they could get these two wins against Houston, that would be pretty huge for their chances of, of really trying to lock in a top four spot and especially getting to that third spot.
- [27:23]
B
If you're a Rocke fan, you're saying how come you're not talking about how the fact that the Timberwolves are only a game ahead of the, the Suns for the play in. You know, you're like, they've just, you know, dropped some. You know, they lost three or four on this road trip and it was
- [27:39]
A
a really bad road trip. And I think all these teams are really lucky. Phoenix is so banged up. Like if they had Dylan Brooks and Mark Williams and These guys available, like, yeah, I would say they'd be live in it to get into the top six, but I think it's just going to be hard for them to keep up.
- [27:52]
B
Well. And they have the toughest schedule.
- [27:53]
A
Yes, well, that's the other part. But the fact that they have the toughest schedule and injuries, it's, you know, they've had a great year, but I think it's a lot more likely they're sitting in the seventh spot probably playing the Clippers. We'll see how bad this Kawhi ankle sprain is.
- [28:07]
B
But Booker had a 40 point game. Yeah, the Clippers, right. As we were thinking like, oh boy, what could they do? Then they, then they get steamrolled by the kings of all teams and well.
- [28:16]
C
And Kawhi sprains his ankle late. We'll see. What that.
- [28:19]
B
It didn't look that bad. However, with Kawhi.
- [28:22]
C
We'll see.
- [28:23]
A
Just gotta say, you don't know.
- [28:24]
B
Exactly. Okay, so earlier on Sunday, today when we're recording this, we talked about the Thunder with that victory over Minnesota. Minnesota was red hot in the second and third quarters of this game. Shea started the game off shooting 2 of 10. You know, Minnesota has played. We had a stat before the game over the last five years. Now we're pushing it a little bit, but still it's kind of the Shea era. The. The Timberwolves were 13 and 6 in the regular season against the Thunder. No one has had a. Has as many wins over them in that stretch as, as Minnesota. They were 2 and 1 this year. You remember the last time they played, they played up in, in Minneapolis and Ant hit that step back three to clinch the game over AJ and there's no rage image, I think, or maybe it was Wallacen Wallace.
- [29:16]
C
That wasn't the same game that Finch got tossed from, was it?
- [29:19]
A
I don't think so.
- [29:20]
B
That I don't remember.
- [29:21]
A
I don't remember. It might have been, but I don't
- [29:24]
C
remember for sure because, you know, Finch has absolutely been at the forefront of this critique.
- [29:30]
B
I'll call it politely critiquing, artful, artful,
- [29:34]
C
whining, griping, critiquing the way that OKC is officiated on both ends. You know, he had the big thing last year where I'm paraphrasing, but he basically said, you know, they're hacking away on defense and if you blow on Shea, he goes to the line on the other end. And you've heard a lot of that. That's kind of been a theme early on in this game. It's as frustrating as I've seen Shay with the officiating in that first quarter. There's at least twice where he's like, seriously. And including the shot at the end of the quarter where, like, usually Shay's not a guy who usually says much at all to the rest.
- [30:10]
B
Yeah, he talks about this. He doesn't think it's productive.
- [30:13]
C
Yeah, he was. He was pretty miffed. I wonder if Finch and, you know, Finch, you know, we talked about when Finch got tossed in the first quarter. This was in December.
- [30:23]
A
It was the second, the third loss of the year for the Thunder, not the last game they played in January.
- [30:29]
C
Right. That's right. So Finch was. That. That felt very calculated and, you know, plotted out. And I thought that they were, you know, getting away with some pretty physical defense on Shade today, which you can say, hey, you know, maybe. Maybe Finch's little lobbying efforts paying dividends perk.
- [30:51]
B
Kendrick Perkins mentioned this during the halftime. Is that when you're a star player like Ant. Yeah. Sometimes you can get away with. Now. Now, the one play in particular where he literally. Where Ant literally slapped him on the arm.
- [31:01]
A
Yeah. The play at the end of the first quarter, Shay was pretty heated and deservedly so. He got hit twice on the jumper.
- [31:07]
B
So. One thing I will say about this game for Minnesota, Julius Randle has been terrible by his standards since the All Star break. There are people who believe that it's his reaction to being floated in trade discussions or rumors for Giannis. I don't know for sure, but I can tell you that before the All Star break. Coming, coming. This is before today's game, before the All Star break, he would. She was averaging 22 points and shooting almost 50% from the field in 11 games since the All Star break. He was averaging 13 points and shooting 39% from the field before today's game. And he has a. He comes out with intent and has a 32 point game today. So maybe this is him breaking out of his shell a little bit. We'll see. That could be. Could be a factor that would help. But that's, you know, considering how tight this all is, that's important. The Thunder are getting healthier. Isaiah Hartenstein is back and A.J. mitchell, as we mentioned earlier, is back. Caruso, who had a hit.
- [32:11]
A
I meant to ask while watching the game, Tim, is there any update at all on Jayn Williams?
- [32:15]
C
I don't. I still don't have a feel I made a point on. I think it was Monday to watch his pregame. I Did not see him doing anything explosive in his pregame workout. I didn't see a whole lot of like, you know, accelerating off the dribble or the kind of things I was. I was basically, you know, I was watching his pregame try to get a feel, like, is he on the verge? And he didn't look like he was on the verge, you know, so I. There's not been like any kind of official update. You know, his reevaluation came and went and they've just kind of kept it at radio silence. He'll be back at some point. I could not tell you when that's going to be.
- [32:55]
A
Yeah, I mean, if there's any team that has the ability to be patient, it's them. Now that A.J. mitchell's back, you know, they've got Jerry McCain playing. They've got Caruso, they've got Casen Wallace. They have all these guys that can play. But every game I watch the Thunder, I just see him sitting over there in some very expensive outfit. I keep wondering when he's going to play.
- [33:10]
B
I think maybe unnecessary glasses on. How about the.
- [33:13]
C
The Gold Grill? The grill.
- [33:16]
A
He hit 40 in a finals game. He could do whatever he wants. I'm just curious to see when he's back on the court.
- [33:21]
C
No. And so it's obviously. Look, clearly they brought him back too early the last time, right? And his hammy was aggravated in his second game back, which the shame was. He said that his wrist was feeling much better and he was in the midst of an unbelievable game when he, when he got hurt again, he was 11 of 12 from the floor in 20 minutes in Phoenix. But at this point, like, they're 34 and 8 without him. And that's not to say they don't need them, but they can clearly manage without him. During the regular season, they have a three and a half game cushion over the, over the Spurs. So you know that it's not too tight there. I think really what you're hoping, if you're OKC with, with. With Jalen Williams, is that he has enough time to feel like he's in some kind of rhythm going in the playoffs. That, to me, is the bigger, the kind of. Obviously his health first and foremost is the biggest concern, but other than that, like, you just want to make sure that he's got a chance to kind of get a little bit of a groove going, you know, before April 19th or 20th or whenever they open the playoffs.
- [34:27]
A
Well, let's be honest, they're. Even if they're playing the Clippers in the first round proved probably on a better streak lately than Phoenix. It's still really about for them getting to the second round anyway. So he's even got a couple more weeks to get going from there. But yeah, like if it could end up being a positive for them if the guy ends up getting, obviously Brad like Gabb out there. But if he comes in having had 35 or 40 games this season total played, you'd think he'll be pretty fresh and ready to go for a long playoff run. Which, you know, I had somebody early in the year, I don't remember who it was. Say, look, you look at Indiana last year, they had all these injuries throughout the year. They got healthy late in the regular season and it set him up to take off for this playoff run. Obviously the Thunder at the top of the conference, but with all the injuries they've had, maybe they'll end up having some fresher legs down the stretch than he would have otherwise.
- [35:19]
B
I will say that Shea, I don't know how big of a feather it is for him for his MVP case, but the fact that he has still put up incredibly efficient numbers yet again without having, you know, the, the balancing aspect of J dub, you know, I think that's, it's, it furthers his MVP case.
- [35:43]
A
So I would say Jalen Williams has missed so far this season 42 games. AJ Mitchell's missed 23 games, Hartenstein's missed 22 games. Caruso's missed 24 games. Like, I mean those are all real players missing a lot of games and they're still chugging along. Yeah, they're not on pace to win 75 games, but like they've continued to be awesome with all these guys out and like you said, chase a guard shooting 55% from the field. Like, you know, he's having an incredible season.
- [36:16]
C
Forget 55% his true shooting percentage and obviously it, it dipped with the 7 of 22 day against the Wolves. Going into today, his true shooting percentage was 66.9. That matches Steph Curry from his unanimous MVP season as the best ever for a guy scoring 30 plus per game.
- [36:37]
A
And that guy like 400 threes that season.
- [36:40]
C
Like this is just to be clear, Shane Gilders Alexander, who's about to become the fourth guy, I'm sorry, the first guy since Michael Jordan have four straight 30 point per game seasons.
- [36:49]
B
Yeah. By the way, 30, 30 points per game, he's going to shoot over 50 in all four of those.
- [36:54]
C
Yes, he is a historically efficient scoring machine. Like he, you know, Obviously when you break one of Wilt's records, you're getting an all time great category when you do, you know, he joined an exclusive club last year, scoring champ, mvp, finals mvp. I mean this guy is early in his prime and has already established himself as an all time great.
- [37:18]
A
And by the way it just real quick cause I just looked this up to double check it. So Michael Jordan led the league in scoring seven consecutive seasons from 87 to 93. The middle five of those seasons he shot over 50% every time, like yes, it's a different era. There were less threes shot then obviously Jordan was not a great three point shooter. But like that, that's the kind of people we're talking about. Like scoring over 30 that many years as a guard, shooting it efficiently that many years as a guard. Like again, just like anytime you could say Wilt and you is pretty good. Anytime you could say Michael Jordan and you is pretty good. And Shay has a couple of those things.
- [37:58]
C
Well and honestly that's why the free throw merchant stuff, it's stupid and like I get it, you know, fans are going to fan and taunt and whatever. Like it's not the worst thing in the world. But the idea that like Shay is a great scorer because he gets some kind of friendly whistle, dude, it's very silly. Shay is shooting better than 60% on twos and a ton of those are created off the dribble mid range shots.
- [38:27]
A
I mean like it's like the shot he hit today to, to get to the 20 points. I mean the wolves are doing everything they could to keep them from getting to 20. They were bracketing them, they're double teaming them, they're trying to get them off the ball. He hits that three to get to 17 and then the next time, a couple times later he comes down and Edwards, who's a terrific on ball defender who desperately clearly didn't want him to get to the 20, knew what was going on was all over him and he hit an impossible setback.
- [38:54]
B
Fade away jumper on 15ft in the air. That shot, yeah, it was crazy. I will say two things. Number one, if you think you're going to bother Shay by calling a free throw merchant, I give you credit. So chant to your little heart's content. The second thing is, if you're going to complain about something with Shay, it's not the fouls that he gets and going to the line, it's the arm bar. Like if you're going to, if you're going to petition for a change, stop letting him use the arm bar.
- [39:20]
A
And by the way, that's something. We've talked about this a bunch. I went to the referees thing in September. I asked about it then. All the great players are doing that. Giannis, Tatum, Shad, they've all perfected.
- [39:31]
C
Luka's great at it.
- [39:32]
A
Luka's great at it. Like these guys are all big and strong and super smart and they've all figured out, hey, if I do this, get a little space, get room to go up and shoot, like, I agree. I think that's the next thing that they need to change and it's not. And that's again, not just a Shay thing. It's just to give the defender some level of chance to guard these guys because otherwise impossible to guard any of them.
- [39:52]
B
Well, they don't have to change. I mean, you know, Luca used it on Spencer Jones last night, you know, on the last shot. I mean, not like dramatically like Shawn.
- [39:59]
C
Poor Spencer Jones. He got a game winner splashed in his face by Shea on Monday. Then Luca got him last night. Poor guy.
- [40:06]
B
That, that, that I did. Look, go back and you mentioned that that was the play that Spencer, they said he didn't foul on was the play where it was controversial, that it wasn't a three point shot. The Nuggets are up by three. He inbounds and he fouls Reeves real quick. And they were, the Lakers and their fans were thought that it should have been a three point for three shots. And in fact what the league said was not only should it not have been for three shots, should have been for no shots. That's.
- [40:35]
A
I thought it was pretty clearly not a shot, but I, you know, but
- [40:38]
B
yeah, it could have gone either way. I understand.
- [40:40]
A
Anyway, more Hoop Collective podcast after this.
- [40:45]
C
As you know, managing maintenance, repair and operations is never easy. But for the ones who always rise to the challenge, Grainger has your back. From professional grade products you can count
- [40:54]
A
on to fast, dependable delivery, they're there to help you keep things running smoothly. Plus, their technical product specialists are here
- [41:02]
C
to help answer your toughest questions. And because Grainger knows safety is always a priority, they're committed to being your
- [41:09]
A
partner in protecting both your people and your facilities.
- [41:12]
C
Call 1-800-GRAINGER Click grainger.com or just stop by.
- [41:17]
A
Want to earn extra income for your business? Amazon Hub Delivery is looking for ambitious business owners to assist with local deliveries. When you become a partner, you and your staff will deliver packages to customers in your area on a schedule that works for you. With each package delivered, you'll gain extra income and exposure for your business. Plus Amazon Hub delivery makes it easy to get started. There's no upfront costs, delivery experience or long term contracts required. Sign up to learn more@Amazon.com hubdelivery that's Amazon.com hubdelivery Quick time out.
- [41:48]
C
Some breakfast intel you want to know about. Kodiak Frozen Power waffles and flapjacks are built for busy mornings. Heat it, eat it and you're out the door. No long prep, no complicated game plan. They're packed with 12 to 14 grams of protein per serving, a good source of fiber and crafted with 100% whole grains, not refined white flour. So you're getting something that actually fuels you and there's depth on the roster. Buttermilk and vanilla blueberry chocolate chip. Even gluten free options. Breakfast that delivers, snack that delivers Find Kodiak frozen waffles and flapjacks in the frozen aisle at your local grocery store. They're the ones with the bear on the box.
- [42:34]
B
Speaking of the mvp, the Shea, how about this quote from Victor Wembanyama? Now, Bontemps identified this while Wembanyama was still playing in France, finding these quotes that are low key arrogant or not low key.
- [42:50]
A
Not low key. Well, just said. Just said in a polite way, but not low key arrogant.
- [42:55]
B
All right.
- [42:55]
A
How are you arrogant right now?
- [42:57]
B
My mind is taking. My mind is on taking care of my body because I also want to win MVP and defensive player of the year. So I'm trying to press the gas from now until the end of the season, really take care of my treatment, take care of my sleep, take care of my routine and show up for my team.
- [43:12]
A
Look, Victor Wemmanyama from the beginning has, since he was 12 years old, has wanted to be the best player of all time and has said that repeatedly and to this point has largely followed through on the things that he said. And as we've talked about, as you said many times, my favorite thing about him, despite beyond watching him play, which is always awesome, is this guy says outlandishly arrogant things, but says it in a very like polite kind of, you know, friendly demeanor. It just doesn't come off that way.
- [43:40]
C
They're not outlandishly arrogant though, because they're factual.
- [43:43]
A
Well, they're also factual, but I.
- [43:45]
C
But yes, like he just says bragging if it's true.
- [43:48]
A
Well, yes, I mean, but again, it's he says things that people don't typically say. And to your point, McMahon, it's because he could do things that not only can't people typically do, people can't dream of doing for the most part. And it's. It's what. It's one of the many things that makes him so awesome. And it's one of the many things that potentially has us set up for a pretty incredible era of basketball ahead. Because this guy desperately wants to be the best and is not afraid to say it and is going out there and doing it and it's awesome.
- [44:16]
C
And you know, this is a week where we still got almost a month left for the regular season, but Shay's gonna be tough to catch for mvp. And this week where he breaks Wilt's record, where he hits the game, the dagger against the warriors, the game winner against the Nuggets out of 35 point, 15 assists, no turnover. Crazy efficient performance. Crazy efficient. Breaking the record against the Celtics. Hit some big shots there. It's gonna be tough to catch him.
- [44:39]
B
I.
- [44:40]
C
Again, I, I do think the only threat is the spurs storming to the finish line and taking the top seed and Wimby doing what he's been doing. Let me just read to you his numbers from this home game or home stand. It's a six game homestand. He sounds.
- [44:57]
B
He's only played in five. Yeah, sorry, sorry.
- [44:59]
C
One game against the Nuggets. Because there is, as he pointed out in his in his press conference after the game against the Hornets, there is one body part of his that has swelling right now.
- [45:12]
B
That's not what he said. He said I have one body. He says one body part that's inflamed.
- [45:17]
C
It's his ankle. Just be clear.
- [45:19]
B
Well, he had to clarify that. There was a good follow up question from you.
- [45:23]
C
We, we. It's his ankle. Anyways, the guy's averaging during his home stand, 33 points per game, shooting 55 from the floor, 47 from three point range, hitting 4.6 threes per game and then doing his normal, you know, 11.4 rebounds, 3.8 blocks, 1.2 steals, 3.2 assists. The guy's against the Hornets. He's throwing multiple lobs to Luke Cornett. I mean, he, you know, he's all over the place. But dude, Wimby, I know Bon Temps. You get mad every time you see him shoot those threes.
- [45:57]
A
That's not true. It's not true.
- [46:00]
C
Uswb.
- [46:01]
A
Don't say things about me that aren't true.
- [46:03]
C
It's true, buddy. You cannot put Victor Limbanyama in a box. You can't put him in a box. He's been telling us all along and he is, I'm telling you, I think what we're watching is this guy just starting to grow into his offensive powers. He's already the most dominant defensive player maybe I've ever seen. And I'm not saying he's going to have 33 moving forward, but I'm saying that we are watching the revolution right now.
- [46:28]
A
Well, listen, if Victor is going to shoot 47% from three and make four and a half threes a game, then they're going to be able to do whatever they want. Like honestly that, like if he's shooting at that level, like then it, you're not, then it's not some like give back to the defense then, right? Like if he becomes a consistent 43 point shooter, like, yeah, then it's just over. Like then just give up at that point. I, I think, you know, and if he is going to shoot 47% over a five game stretch, his numbers are going to be cartoonish like that, like even more than normal because that is, that does make him utterly unstoppable. I do think, as we've talked about a lot, the Kevin Durant quote of giving up a jumper is a win. It's because if he does the Go Go Gadget dunk arm thing, it's like that's 100% shot. And like, you know, if he's, if he gets in a stretch where he is, you know, if he's shooting 27% instead of 47% and he's making two threes a game, then you at least have a chance. That's all. But like if he's going to shoot like this, good luck.
- [47:27]
C
Did you see the dunk he had over Grant Williams? And Grant Williams for some strange reason jumped with him and Wimby looks over his shoulders. He's jogged down the court and chuckled at him.
- [47:40]
A
It's like watching a guy in a video game. A lot of the time it's just like you create this player in the video game and he just can do whatever he wants. I mean that's what it looks like.
- [47:48]
C
I truly believe that he and the spurs have figured out something in terms of like getting him good looks at threes and getting him volumes because they're like the threes he's throwing up now. He's, he's chalking up 10 per game on this home state. I think they're 10 and two now. When he takes nine threes they're like, they're still undefeated when he hits at least four anyways, but they're like A bunch of trailer threes, they're a bunch of pick and pops and he mixes in just enough roles to where you know, you gotta be careful with that or fearful of that.
- [48:21]
B
I will say he's averaging seven free throws on these five games too. So he's not just only hoisting, he
- [48:26]
C
is but that's the other thing, especially when he's got a big on him. And we saw this with Jalen Durham, we saw it with Moussa Diabate and he and the three is that much of a threat and then he's pump faking and attacking closeouts because they're so scared of him getting a decent look at a three. Those guys are in hell and they're getting an early foul trouble like, like how many guys do you think Jalen Duran's had to guard in his life that could pump faking and go off the three point line? Diaboti like these guys are bigs. And then now the. We'll see come playoff time, you know, there's definitely going to be teams that just try to put a wing on him and get under him and all that. We'll see how the spurs deal with that. But you know they people in San Antonio will tell you this guy's the best player in the league and they don't want to hear any argument. I'll argue SGA right now but Wimby is if he's going to be doing what he's doing offensively, I don't. There's not going to be an argument too much longer.
- [49:21]
A
Well and over these last, over these last handful of games he's the last five games he is. He's 19 for 39 from three and so 39 total shots and 29 of them have been catching shoot shots which again that is what we have been talking about. The more times he is a play finisher, not trying to be a play creator. That is the ultimate end game. I think at least right now, maybe in the future he'll become somebody else.
- [49:50]
C
Do you include attack and closeouts as play finishing?
- [49:53]
A
Yeah, that's fine. Yes, like to some, to some extent. Yeah. Like obviously, you know I it's not like he's not allowed to dribble but it's when he's like trying to become a point guard is I think when the defense is really winning. But if it's like hey I'm like I've said before to me at least today he is Rudy on defense but like obviously multiplied like best defensive player in the sport and like to Me, the goal right now should be Dirk on offense, who's one of the best offensive players of all time. And as he's in his third year in the league, he's going to get better handling the ball. He's going to do more than Dirk could at any point handle the ball.
- [50:29]
C
I do, I do thoroughly enjoy when he basically catches a block shot. So it's a block and rebound all in one swoop in motion and then decides he's going to get out and start the break himself.
- [50:41]
A
Well, yes, that is unbelievable. And that's different too. I'm talking about the half court when he could get loaded up on and he could have little guys come in and steal the ball from him. Like him in transition, like Giannis is insane. It's like two steps and he's at the other three point line. But, but yeah, like look, if he's, if he's making catch and shoot threes at that kind of rate and 3/4 of his shots, at least according to synergy, are catching shoot threes, like that's a good shot diet. And you know, it's, it's why the spurs have a chance to buck the trend of all NBA history this year because like history would tell you they're not going to win and they're probably going to lose earlier than later. But this guy is already an anomaly from all of NBA history and he may be able to have him break past it.
- [51:28]
C
The Dirk offensive comp is interesting. I, I think Wimby might be a little bit more of a lob threat than Dirk was.
- [51:33]
A
Well, slightly, but I'm just talking about as a shooter. But yes, I mean look, he's. Again I the comparison. There is two hall of Famers, one of the best defensive players ever and one of the best offensive players ever. And that's what we're talking about. The guy's third season, it's, it's completely insane all the way around.
- [51:48]
B
Monday night, March 16th has been on the books. Is a very high attention game in Atlanta for weeks now. Everybody's been very, very focused on this night. You know, it's been, it's been in promotions, it's been commented on the, by the league office.
- [52:06]
C
It's one of the most commented on, huh?
- [52:09]
B
Yes, it's been one of the most impactful games on the schedule for the Hawks.
- [52:12]
A
Sure has been.
- [52:13]
B
Because it's the nine win Hawks. The Hawks winners of nine in a row versus the Magic winners of seven in a row. It's one of the games of the month. I Mean, what an incredible foresight to have so much attention on this game. So the Hawks have won nine straight games. I will say.
- [52:32]
A
Can we just pause right there? So the Hawks have won nine straight games.
- [52:35]
B
But hold on.
- [52:37]
C
USWB alert.
- [52:38]
B
I'll let you say what you're going to say. I just want to point something out.
- [52:40]
A
Sure.
- [52:41]
B
I don't think I've ever seen a bit of schedule like the Hawks have had here. And I'm not even talking about who they're playing. I'll let you have that. Just hang on.
- [52:48]
C
Yep.
- [52:48]
B
This is their 11th out of 12 home games. So, okay, teams have stretches and schedules where they're home heavy. That happens. Not only have there been no back to backs in this stretch, in this stretch of home games, they've had 13 days off.
- [53:04]
A
Yep, 13.
- [53:06]
B
Like, not only have they had all of these friendly home games, but they've had a chance to rest. It's been amazing. So it's not surprising that they're playing quite well. Okay, now you can say who they've been playing.
- [53:16]
A
So since the All Star break, they're 10 and 1. All right. This is their schedule of games. Start out the All Star break. They're in Philly. No Joel Embiid, Paul George. They win by 10. They then go home to play at play Miami. They lose by 31. That's their only loss since the All Star break. Here's who they played since.
- [53:31]
B
That was a back to back, then back to back.
- [53:32]
A
It was a back to back the next night. Yes. But they win that game in the Philly. They lose second night of a back to back by a million at home to Miami. All right, that's fine. Then they have the Nets at home. They win that one by 11. They have consecutive games at home against the Wizards. They win them by a couple with
- [53:48]
B
a day off in between. We have to relax.
- [53:50]
A
Right. But then they won by a billion points. They then play Philip. They play Portland at home. Portland with no Denny Avia. They win that game by 34. They then play the Bucks, have a couple days off in between. Giannis does come back as that's Giannis.
- [54:05]
B
They played one game in six days and it was. It was their one road game, but they got six days for one game.
- [54:09]
A
They go to Milwaukee. Giannis is back. They win that game. Going away by 18. They then come home and play Philadelphia, a pretty competitive game. That's the game Tyrese Maxey got hurt at the end of the game. They're one relatively competitive game. However, in the one relatively Competitive game. No Vijay Edgum, no Joel Embiid, suspended Paul George. They're all missing for that game. Maxi's hurt by the end of it. Then they play Dallas at home, the Nets at home, and the Bucks at home again. Like, talk about the definition of the current NBA. This team has played for a month is ten and one. And they've played basically no game against the competitive team the entire time.
- [54:49]
C
Well, they're about to. They're about to.
- [54:51]
A
Right. And it's what makes this Orlando game so fascinating. Orlando is playing well. They've ripped off a bunch of wins. I think they're now into. I was going to double check. I think they're up to. They're up to fifth now because Toronto's falling off the map. And if Atlanta wins this game, they're now a game and a half out of fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings. Like fifth to ninth because Charlotte's fallen off, is within two and a half games. And Philadelphia with all their injuries is probably going to be at best ninth. So you're talking about Orlando, Toronto, Miami and Atlanta all fighting for five to eight in the east. And for an Atlanta team that was floundering for a while, obviously dealt with all the trade drama, everything else, this stretch of schedule by taking advantage of it, not losing any of these games has put them in a position to get up into the top six in the east, which we weren't talking about
- [55:43]
B
for months, which they don't control their draft picks, so why would they even think about doing nothing?
- [55:48]
A
Right.
- [55:49]
C
Neither does Orlando, by the way. Orlando, though, 17 straight. And you know, there's some, there's some tankers in there, but there's also like they just beat Miami in Miami, I believe. And ever since Paulo and Jamal Mosley had that little, you know, back and forth via their individual press conference thing, which basically confirmed everything we talked about of. The word is there'd been headbutting between them. Paulo's been playing great in that seven in the seven game win streak, averaging 26, nine rebounds over five assists. You know, a massively positive plus minus. I think he's playing as well as. This is as good a stretch as he's had. And you know, he had a Mark Spears did a story on him where Paulo basically said, hey, I looked in the mirror that, you know, when the All Stars came out and he was upset about it, but he was like, I did. I hadn't done enough to be an All Star. So, you know, since.
- [56:48]
A
From, From Joel Glass, PR guy for the. For the Magic two guys have averaged 25, 9 and 5 since the all Star break. Paolo and Nicole Jokic. It's pretty good. And Paolo is also. Has also taken the third most shots within five feet of the basket and he's made 73% of them.
- [57:07]
C
There you go.
- [57:07]
A
Not settling, not settling for jumpers. To your point, McMahon. Right thing we've always criticized about him. You've led the way on that. Is being a really inefficient scorer. Well, he's an absolute load.
- [57:18]
C
Oh, he's a tank.
- [57:20]
A
And if he's getting to the bot to the basket and scoring in the paint, that's a path to him getting to the kind of efficiency he needs to have to take a real step forward.
- [57:29]
B
Whose stats are these for the season? 23 points a game, 10.4 rebounds a game, 8 assists a game.
- [57:35]
C
Jalen Johnson, you always do this and think you can fool us.
- [57:38]
B
I mean, Jalen Johnson steals the game, 50% shooting.
- [57:41]
A
Yeah, Jalen Johnson, the assists are what give it away. I mean, Jalen Johnson is what, fourth in the league, I think at assists per game.
- [57:47]
B
I don't know that, but sounds the
- [57:50]
A
guys he's behind are Jokic, Cade Luka and James Harden.
- [57:53]
C
By the way, speaking of Atlanta, Atlanta should be as annoyed with the Tank of Palooza as anybody because the Pelicans keep on thinking in the tank a thong because they're the only ones out of that group that are trying to win games. The Mavericks zoomed by them, you know, the Jazz, everybody zoomed by them.
- [58:10]
A
First of all, they're like, I think a half game right now ahead of Dallas in sixth. They've got Memphis doing an unbelievable tank job. The Grizzlies, they're flying into the race. I think they're going to wind up in sixth. The head of Dallas ahead of New Orleans, the way they're going. And Milwaukee has that like eight and one stretch where they win all those games without Giannis. Giannis comes back. They're playing right now against Indiana, obviously firmly in the tank race. I don't know if Milwaukee has won since Giannis came back and they've now come back down to like ninth. They could end up with the eighth and ninth picks in this in the last.
- [58:43]
B
Imagine if they had lost all those games on Giannis.
- [58:45]
A
That's what I mean. They would be like, they'd be behind New Orleans right now. But they had this one stretch.
- [58:49]
C
I got some cheese head sizzling when I, when I declared the day Giants was coming back that the Bucks would not win. A single playoff game. I'll tell you a little secret. That's because I knew they weren't going to make the damn playoffs. They stink.
- [59:05]
A
Well actually I'm going to check that while we're sitting here. They're down three right now at halftime to to the Pacers. I suspect the Pacers will probably a
- [59:12]
B
loss from we have no idea who the Pacers are going to play in the second half.
- [59:16]
A
Pacers that played Zubot 60 minutes in the first half. We'll see if he plays any more.
- [59:19]
B
Will not play 16 minutes in the second half.
- [59:21]
A
That's my. That's my assumption. So since let me just look at our quick game log here.
- [59:26]
C
So y Silver's next press conference. I think the finals will come three days before it.
- [59:30]
A
So Yis has played in five games since he's come back. 27 point loss to to Boston, an 18 point loss to Atlanta, a win against Utah. Shock of all shocks, a 15 point loss to Miami or to Phoenix and a loss to Miami on Thursday. So one in four in the five games since he's been back and maybe two and four with two wins against tankers. So it's where we're at in the NBA right now. Just who's playing a tanker on the
- [59:54]
B
day and then how hard are they tanking Thomas's stats.
- [59:58]
C
That's why honestly like when you get two team like the Nuggets, Lakers games like oh yes two good teams trying to win there's it's just pure mana from heaven basketball. Honestly I still I had to like I got to go see OKC play both Nuggets and the Celtics. Jalen Brown's foul bait and commentary post game was pretty funny in a game he shot 14 free throws and Chase shot none in the fourth quarter.
- [60:22]
A
Yeah.
- [60:23]
B
Are you ready for the anti I don't know what's going to happen in this game. Okay. The folks who listen and watch are going to know they can check this. It's halftime right now as we're doing this. We're about to wrap up here here Aaron ne this is going to be called the anti Bam Ready. Aaron Neesmith has 24 points in 20 minutes in the first half of this game. How many points and how many minutes where niece Smith end up with 0?
- [60:50]
A
He's coming off an injury got arrest him. Got to make sure he's feeling good.
- [60:55]
C
I got to look up his career high. I want him let's just make a
- [60:58]
B
little have like a lot he's got
- [61:00]
A
he's scored some in the past oh, is that 31?
- [61:03]
C
Is his career at least? Let the man get his career.
- [61:05]
B
Will he score more than 32 points in this game?
- [61:08]
A
No, no. I'm going hard. No on that one.
- [61:10]
B
Will he play in the fourth quarter of this game? I'm saying he does not play in the fourth quarter of this game. And Zubac played 16 minutes. I say he plays. He might not play in the second half. We don't know. But. And it's all okay. Again, people who are tanking are not bad people. They're good people.
- [61:26]
A
They're following the incentives.
- [61:28]
B
Yes. Following the good people making. Making, you know, strategic decisions.
- [61:32]
A
They're not change the incentives. That's the problem.
- [61:35]
C
It's not a few buttheads.
- [61:37]
B
All right. That was fun. Look forward to. I hope you're going back to your Houston roots there.
- [61:42]
C
Absolutely.
- [61:43]
B
It's going to be great. All right. We look forward to another fantastic week of basketball. There's nothing going on in other basketball this week. We're going to stay focused on the NBA.
- [61:51]
C
Oh, Bontemps covers colleges now. He was hanging out in Kansas City.
- [61:55]
A
I know.
- [61:55]
B
Bontemps. Bontemps. You were at. I can't believe. Thank you for mentioning this. Yeah, we haven't. Bontemps went to the Big 12 tournament for three days.
- [62:03]
C
I did.
- [62:04]
B
Where everybody else in the NBA was there.
- [62:08]
A
I think I saw 20 lead executives in person at the games. Might have been more. Everybody was there.
- [62:15]
B
What about the led court that was abandoned midway through?
- [62:19]
A
I mean, it was a disaster. I mean, I've known Brett Yormark for a long time. Brett Yormark was the CEO of the Nets for.
- [62:27]
B
He's the commissioner.
- [62:29]
A
He's now the commissioner of the Big 12. He's the guy who. 20 years ago and like, the. Like, I think it might have been the year they won 12 games at Izod center at the Meadowlands. When he did the reversible jersey promotion, where it was all these jerseys of the star players on the other teams coming to play the Nets, they were handing out for all these games. Like, he has never been shy about promotional things. And they did this promotional thing. The crazy thing about it is Big 12 tournament had had as much NBA talent as there's been in a tournament, a conference tournament in probably since there were like eight teams playing in the league because, I mean, they're in the semifinals on Friday. There might have been 20 guys who will play in the league playing across the four teams. And it's by far the best conference of basketball this year. And then they do this led screen court where guys are slipping and sliding all over the place. This poor kid, Christian Anderson, who's going to probably be a top 20 pick in the draft this year, hurts his groin in the game. Hopefully he's not out for the tournament. So then they changed back for the semifinals and the finals. Craziest part about it was I didn't even realize we were sitting courtside, but the court was like a foot higher when it was the led court because they had all this cushioning and stuff in, so it became way easier to see because the court literally was down a foot. So like the people in front were just way lower. But yeah, made for a made for a wild couple of days viewing wise. But the games were games were great and it was good to see a lot of people from the league, many of whom commented on the podcast. Got many listeners in the league. So shout out to them.
- [63:51]
C
Shout out to Doris Burke, by the way, who gave the podcast a shout out and mentioned me and only me by name. Shout out Doris.
- [64:00]
B
Any other shout out Jackson, do you have any shout outs you want? Mark? Any shout outs? Anybody praise you? Anybody say anything nice to you at the grocery store? All right, thank you very much to Mark and Jackson and for putting this sucker together. Thank you so much to McMahon and Bontum. Another great week of tremendous content coming your way and thank you for listening and watching the Hoop Collective.
- [64:22]
C
Adios, amigos. Shot clocks, big shots, upsets, aces tgl playoffs are here. First atlanta drive starts their repeat run against los angeles golf club. Then rory's boston common golf and tigers jupiter links face off in their playoff debuts. Who will advance? Keep up its playoffs tune in Tuesday, march 17th at 6:30pm and 9pm only on espn and the espn applied.