5 Burning NBA Questions | Morning Shoot Around

Summary

The Athletic NBA Daily – Morning Shootaround: 5 Burning NBA Questions (Jan 14, 2026)

Hosts: Dave DuFour, Esperaheni Xena Keda, Ben
Theme: At the midseason mark, the crew tackles five of the most pressing and intriguing NBA questions—ranging from playoff pretenders to breakout role players and teams needing a trade deadline facelift. The lively debate includes real talk on the Raptors, Lakers, Warriors, and delves deep into individual players under the most pressure.

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1. Which Top Six Playoff Team Inspires the Least Fear?

[03:01]

• Discussion Kickoff: Dave prompts, “If the playoffs started today, which of the top six seeds… is nobody afraid of?”
• Xena: “Orlando is the team I'm not scared of. And I would also put the Raptors in that conversation.” [04:21]
• Consensus: East’s 5 and 6 seeds (Philadelphia, Orlando) aren’t easy outs; doubts mostly center around Orlando and Toronto due to their lack of proven organization and playoff experience.
• Raptors "Fake Four Seed": Dave highlights, “They took advantage of that early season success and… by the time we get to the playoffs… the Sixers are a better team than the Raptors right now” [07:49].
• Lakers & Playoff Fear:
  • Dave: “The Lakers shouldn’t scare anybody.” [05:17]
  • Xena disagrees: “It’s scary to look across and see LeBron, Luca, and Austin Reaves. Even if they can’t defend, if they have a good series—they could pull off an upset.” [06:25]
• Underlying Principle: Playoff experience, offensive organization, and fear factor are thematic in evaluating these teams.

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2. Which Superstar Is Under the Most Pressure in the Second Half?

[11:01]

• Dave: Floats options based on age and legacy—Steph, KD, LeBron.
• Ben pushes for Ant Edwards:
  • “He wants that moment… But can he be the leader to take Minnesota further?” [12:39]
• Competition Caveat: Xena notes, “If the Timberwolves were in the eastern conference… we’d probably say they're a Finals team. But the west is so stacked.” [13:34]
• Carl Anthony Towns (Knicks):
  • Xena: “Can Karl-Anthony Towns deliver in high-leverage moments for the Knicks? That’s the major question…” [16:18]
• Luka Doncic:
  • Dave: “If they fail to get out of the first round… this is the last year he gets a pass. He’s gonna get picked on.” [16:37]
• Kevin Durant:
  • Ben: “For KD… can he win on his own? This is the opportunity, he's got all these young guys in Houston. I think there's a lot of pressure on him.” [18:46]
• Overarching Vibe: Legacy and situational pressure is intense for both aging greats and ascendant stars on promising teams.

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3. Breakout Role Players (Non-All-Star Edition)

[20:02]

• Peyton Watson (Denver):
  • Dave: “If you want to hear a love letter to Peyton Watson, go listen to this morning’s show. I would start with him.” [20:19]
  • Xena with a fun stat: “In his one year at UCLA, Peyton Watson scored 105 points. In the last five games, he's scored 121 points.” [26:59]
• Keonte George (Utah):
  • Xena: “He’s gone from role player to star. He’s the leader for most improved right now.” [21:20]
  • Dave: “He’s so under control. Shot obviously looks better and it's falling, which is the most important part.” [22:04]
• Other Notables:
  • Cam Spencer
  • Jalen Tyson (Cavaliers)
  • Steph Castle
  • Anthony Black (Orlando): Ben: “You're gonna be a star.” [26:50]
  • Mamu (Toronto): “A lot of those early Toronto wins were because of his offense off the bench.” [24:59]
• Depth & Opportunity: Injuries play a huge role in bench guys stepping up; Denver’s shift in coaching philosophy has unearthed unknown contributors.
• Classic Moment: Dave compares Peyton Watson’s leap to Lou Gehrig replacing Wally Pipp: “[That] was the biggest change for them in finding these guys down the bench … injuries helping you find a guy, that’s as long as sports has been around.” [29:33]

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4. Which Young Team Will Break Through Past Round 1?

[31:24]

• Consensus Picks: Spurs (West), Pistons (East)
  • Ben: “Those two, I think, are obvious. East and West. There you go.” [32:01]
• Are the Sixers a ‘Young Team’?: Xena: “I don’t know if I’d classify them as young, vibes-wise. Yes, the young guys like Maxey are crucial, but…” [33:08]
• Overall Determination: It’s a two-team race for breakthrough youth—the rest are growth projects or lack the necessary star/bench power.

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5. Which Team Needs the Biggest Facelift at the Trade Deadline?

[34:54]

• Warriors:
  • Ben: “It’s clearly the Warriors. Window’s closing, margin is so thin, they've got a $24M player sitting on the bench. They need athleticism, rim protection, a scorer.” [35:20]
  • Dave: “They need multiple players.” [36:12]
  • Ben: “The whole Jimmy [Butler] and Draymond thing … the connection is the lowest net rating … but they’re not moving Draymond, Steph, or Jimmy.” [39:13]
• Celtics:
  • Xena: “They are one center away from legitimately making the NBA finals. Will they make that push with three weeks left until the deadline?” [39:52]
  • Dave: “Gafford is available… Zubac is a path… It’s possible.” [41:38]
• Bucks:
  • Dave: “They’re a team that needs to make changes, but I don’t know where they go. The Miles Turner thing hasn’t worked… they’re stuck.” [42:48]
  • Xena: “There isn’t a serious path forward. Point blank.” [45:55]
  • Ben: “This is too much stink around the team right now… you have to solve those issues before you figure out if you’re targeting role players, a star, or the draft.” [45:44]
• Honorable Mentions: Toronto’s FO under pressure to show proof of concept; difference between Toronto’s urgency and Golden State’s “no pressure” FO. [56:34]

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Memorable Quotes

• “They’re a little bit of a fake four seed… Sixers are a better team than the Raptors right now.” – Dave [07:49]
• “Can Karl-Anthony Towns deliver in high-leverage moments for the Knicks?” – Xena [16:18]
• “I think if you can make lowlight clips of a player’s defense… that’s awful.” – Dave on Luka Doncic [17:25]
• “When players get hurt… you get to see who’s popping, who can give you solid minutes.” – Ben [28:17]
• “The Warriors have a $24M player sitting in a hoodie every night… need athleticism and rim protection.” – Ben [35:20]
• “I think that the Giannis trade is coming this summer—maybe to New York.” – Dave [48:16]

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Notable Moments and Tangents

• Peyton Watson's leap in Denver sparks wider discussion about depth and injuries unlocking roles (stat: more points in five recent NBA games than his entire UCLA season).
• Warriors Talk: Detailed breakdown of ‘dual-styles’ (motion vs iso), net rating analytics with Butler, Draymond, and others. Dave reemphasizes: “They need multiple players.”
• Bucks Under Fire: Giannis’ vibes, Milwaukee's lack of options, Doc Rivers’ effect (or lack thereof), and doubts about dramatic deadline rescue.
• Raptors FO: Underlined as under pressure for proof-of-concept; contrasted with the Warriors’ “job-for-life” climate.
• Draymond Green: Debate about his goodwill with Warriors fans: “It’s decaying to a certain…” [56:23]

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Timestamps of Interest

• 03:01 — Scariest (or least scary) top-6 playoff seeds
• 11:01 — Superstar under most pressure
• 20:02 — Breakout role players
• 31:24 — Young teams that can win a round
• 34:54 — Teams needing a deadline facelift
• 35:20 — Ben on the Warriors’ problems
• 39:52 — Celtics as a sneaky buyer
• 42:48 — Bucks trade quandaries
• 45:55 — Xena on Bucks' dead end
• 46:40 — Ben on how team “stink” clouds front-office judgment
• 56:23 — Draymond’s approval rating

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Tone and Format Notes

• Conversation is lively, often tongue-in-cheek, blending hard analysis with fan debates and YouTube chat interactivity.
• The hosts frequently cite stats and trends, yet keep the banter accessible for all NBA fans.
• No ads, intros, or outros included—just hoops talk and insights.

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Summary For Non-Listeners

This episode is a rapid-fire roundtable on the key NBA midseason questions: playoff pretenders, pressured superstars, surprise contributors, up-and-coming playoff threats, and GMs facing a make-or-break deadline. Listeners get a leader-board of breakout performers (Peyton Watson! Keonte George!), nuanced takes on prestige vs. pressure (Luka, KD, Ant, Cat), and a dose of hard truths about teams whose record flatters them. The Warriors’ and Bucks’ crossroads are dissected, while the Celtics linger as a blockbuster move away from title favorite.
Ideal for fans trying to make sense of the NBA playoff chessboard as the trade deadline looms.

Transcript

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[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

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[Dave DeFore]

Hey, welcome to the NBA Daily Morning Shoot around our Wednesday YouTube livestream. I'm Dave DeFore here with Esperaheni Xena Keda. Andrew Schlect out sick. Oof. Vacation and picked up a cold.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Having too much fun after the Thunder smacked the Spurs.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah, we know. We know the truth, guys. Thank you guys for joining us. If you're watching us on YouTube, if you're listening to the podcast, we appreciate you, but we're also, we're trying to build up our YouTube. So come and check that out, subscribe to it. We're gonna do more live stuff. I believe by the time we get to the playoffs, you know, we really might be going live after some of these big playoff matchups. So come and relive, you know, the night before or whatever with us over on YouTube. It's a fun time. We take questions from the chat and try to mix it up a little bit. Kind of had this thought, guys. We're at the halfway mark of the season. Got some questions about the season so far and. And where we're heading. Let's just jump right in because it's a lot to get to. If the playoffs started today, guys, which of the top six seeds in either conference is nobody afraid of?

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Man. Yeah, that is spicy.

[Dave DeFore]

That's right. Who are the biggest frauds? I think is really the question.

[Ben]

So we're starting with. Okay. No joke.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Wow.

[Dave DeFore]

You know what's funny, Xena, is I do think a little bit of that mystique was chipped away the last month. I mean, you look at. We do this every day and some of this we. We have to do a little bit tongue in cheek, you know, just to keep the conversation going. And. But we did see them. Some of their. Their faults were exposed and I think that maybe this game last night was. And Andrew talked about this on the show this morning. They're back. They looked more like the Thunder last night than. Than we've seen in. In about a month. And so I. Maybe. Okay, we're all gonna back away from the ledge. You know that the Thunder were on. Right? Like, we don't think that they're frauds. But who.

[YouTube Commenter]

Who.

[Dave DeFore]

Which of these teams? I mean, obviously it's gonna. You know, the 5 and 6 seed usually doesn't scare a lot of people, but this year, I mean, it really could be different. When you look at the. The east right now, the five and six seeds, that's Philadelphia and Orlando. Yeah. That's scary. If. If you got healthy Joel Embiid and if you have a healthy Orlando team who hasn't been healthy all year, I.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Think Orlando is the team I'm not scared of.

[Dave DeFore]

And.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

And I would also put the Raptors in that conversation.

[Ben]

I was gonna say, you gotta be honest with yourself, S. And I didn't know if you were gonna put them up there, but yeah, I think the raptors at the 4 seed is the most interesting. Like, is that real? Are those real numbers? Is that a real standing? But they. I think they capitalize on early success in the season. They took care of business early on and. And now teams are starting to keep up. But I, I still will be very scared of the Knicks, even though they've scuffled as of late. Of course, I've been big on the Celtics and even. Even in the games that they might have lost closely or etc, I'm still like, they know how to lock it in when it time comes. And they've done this before. The Pistons might be a late third entry for that team that you're not scared of. And I would only say that not because of the product they've put out on the floor, but because people don't know what they're capable of in those circumstances.

[Dave DeFore]

Well, there's the whole they haven't done it before and playoff experience matters and all of these other tropes that we, that we rely on until we see it. So I can get that. Look, I, I think that if you're looking out west, the Lakers shouldn't scare anybody.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

I disagree there.

[Dave DeFore]

I'm, I'm so that they cannot defend. I agree, I agree.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

But if you were thinking of. And I, I thought this initially, Dave, that's why I said I disagree because I looked at the standings, I'm like, oh, okay, of course the Lakers. But then you have to play a seven game series versus Luca, LeBron and Austin Reeves and that. I don't care how old LeBron is, I don't care about Luca. Like that in itself provides a level of fear that I, truthfully, I don't know if I have for even the Houston Rockets, who of course have Kevin Durant, but have their own offensive questions next to Sengoon and MN Thompson and do they have a ball handler and an organizer? If I had to rank fear levels for the West, I would probably put the Lakers ahead of the Rockets. That's where I'm at for sure.

[Dave DeFore]

Oh yeah, yeah.

[Ben]

Just because like, yeah, I agree with that.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

It's scary to be able to look on the other side of the court and see it's LeBron, Luca and Austin Reeves who by themselves, I think even if they can't defend, if they have a good series, I feel like they could pull off an upset.

[Dave DeFore]

I don't know.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

That's, that's where I'm at.

[Ben]

Their offense is enough. One is packed with enough offensive firepower but also basketball IQ to figure out some wins. And to me it would be an intellectual kind of situation where LeBron and Luca would be playing the X's and O's of maybe I don't have, we don't have the defense quite yet. I would hope at that point you have something, but maybe you don't have the defense to be able to compete one on one with this. But we do have enough, enough understanding of like the angles things to take away ways to scheme.

[Dave DeFore]

Right.

[Ben]

To be able to figure out some wins.

[Dave DeFore]

I mean, they win games, you know, it's not like they're, you know, they're in the bottom half of the conference. I mean, they do win games and you can win games on offense. I just think that by the time you get to the serious level, and maybe that's not the first round, but you look at who they, I mean right now they'd match up against the Timberwolves and by the way, I would.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Favor the Timberwolves and we just saw them get slapped up by the Tim Wolves for a very similar reason in, in last year's playoffs.

[YouTube Commenter]

Right?

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah. This is a great point from, from the YouTube comments. Donkey16 we gotta get, we gotta get better handles guys. This question was solely designed to slander the Raptors despite being the 4 seed and I refuse to see it any other way. And I gotta tell you, yes, because listen, they're, they're a little bit of a fake four seed and it isn't that they're a fake top six seed, but they did take advantage of that early season success and I think by the time we get to the playoffs, as long as everything keeps going, you know, like, well from a health perspective for the Sixers, they're going to be in that top four. Sixers are a better team than the Raptors right now. I mean they just got so much more talent. Right.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Well, I'll say this like and, and I said this in our pod a couple of weeks ago in a seven game series, Sixers versus Raptors. I'm taking the Sixers just because one, they have the guard play and offensive firepower between Maxi and Edgecomb and we'll see if Embiid and Paul George will stay healthy but they, they have the offensive firepower there. The raptors have been 18, 19, 20 on off their really, really good start. Now part of that is Yak Bertl's been hurt, RJ Barrett's been hurt, etc, but I do not trust their offensive process in a postseason series. That's, that's one of the main issues for them right now is like hey, can you get good quality looks compared to a team like the Sixers who have Maxi who is genuinely unstoppable and as Raptors fans know, loves to play.

[Dave DeFore]

Them so they play 40 times a season.

[Ben]

I just don't know. Yeah, I look at the, I look at Toronto Raptors and the main thing I think of is in the playoffs you got to get the ball up the court and the, the, they just don't have an organizer right now. We know their point guard issues right now. We know that that can, they can, they can be swallowed up at the point guard position. It when folks start pressing full court And Tyrese Maxey is very good at that. We've seen him do that before, especially when the games are on the line and things matter. So I. I just. I struggle. Yes. You have wings. Yes. You've got scoring. Yes. You got rebounders. Yes. Scotty Barnes and Brandon Ingram have been phenomenal. And of course, RJ Barrett had his injury, but he's been back and he's been fine. But, like, it's. It's looking. It. It is the same struggles I have with Houston Rockets. Same thing.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

I. It's also, in my opinion, truthfully, the same issues that I see with the Orlando Magic, which is, yes, they are heavily reliant on Jalen Suggs to be an organizer, and I know Desmond Bane adds a wrinkle there, but ultimately, like, they are going to have to struggle through grinding, like, grind buckets, right? Oh, yeah. Ball basketball without.

[Dave DeFore]

Without an offense to help them out.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Right.

[Dave DeFore]

So that's the thing. They have no. They have no offensive identity that they can fall back on to get easy wins, period.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Offense wins playoff series, Defense wins championships. Can we go.

[Dave DeFore]

I mean, offense wins games or offense wins championships, defense wins games. It's something like that. There's. Look, you got to play. You got to be able to play on both ends.

[Ben]

Well, I've never heard that one. I've definitely heard defense wins champions.

[Dave DeFore]

I've heard. Yeah.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Championships a lot.

[Dave DeFore]

Yes. Yeah.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Yeah. I mean, OKC last year, trying to.

[Ben]

Rewrite history over here.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

I don't know about, like, 5% from 3 and still won a champion.

[Dave DeFore]

Good luck not scoring. Yeah, but they scored. Okay, next question, guys. Which superstar is under the most pressure in the second half of the season?

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

What do you classify as a superstar? As mine.

[Dave DeFore]

What do you classify as pressure?

[Ben]

Because, you know, that was gonna be my question, Dave.

[Dave DeFore]

I would say this. Like, I think that there's plenty of guys with pressure. Pressure because of age.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Right.

[Dave DeFore]

I. I think, like, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, LeBron to a certain degree. Although, you know, he's a guy who definitely has nothing left to prove. I don't know. What do you guys think?

[Ben]

I think Aunt Edwards is under a lot of pressure.

[Dave DeFore]

Okay.

[Ben]

Mainly just because his team, especially now this year. But even last year, they had a lot of weapons last year, and they came up short.

[Dave DeFore]

They.

[Ben]

This team, it feels like moves have been made. Of course, they lose Nikhil Alexander Walker, but moves have been made to try and help him. And they should have had another year of growth alongside Julius Randle. We've seen the growth that Julius Randall and Rudy Gobert have had as a big duo, but everyone's starting to, it feels like, to be in lockstep with each other. And it feels like the Timberwolves have the size, they've got the offensive firepower, they've got the defense, they've got, they've got the bodies. I don't know. They're. They're showing their depth as of late. I think early in the season we were like, who else is there on this, on this Minnesota Timberwolves bench? But they're starting to be in lockstep. And I feel like Aunt Edwards has consistently said in public spaces that he wants that moment, he wants to be in those moments, but he hasn't been able to get there. And you, I think, for example, I look at that Christmas Day game and what he was able to do to even get his team back in the mix and be able to start the overtime scoring and 9, 0 run, I believe, for Timberwolves, and they didn't come out and win that game like there is. I think there's a lot of pressure for him to be able to back up his capability. It's not necessarily back up what he's saying. It's making sure that you can see the results of what he's capable of because he can put up 40 in a game and guard your best player. But can he be the leader to take Minnesota further?

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Yeah, it's also like with Ant, and maybe I'm shooting him a little level of bail here, but like, you look at how Dave and I were talking about this yesterday, you look at how they stack up with the rest of the teams in the Western Conference. The competition level is just so high. If the Timberwolves were in the Eastern Conference, I think all of there's a.

[Dave DeFore]

One seed, 65 games.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Right. I think we would probably say they're the team to make to the finals. It's just there's okc, there's San Antonio, there's Denver. There's three teams that, in my opinion, whether, you know, the Timberwolves ball handling issues or whether it be their age or, or depth, whatever it is, you can kind of poke and prod at some of the things that they don't have.

[Dave DeFore]

Right.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

And you can probably do that for the rest of the teams. It's just they're more, it's more exasperated with the Timberwolves and the issues that they have.

[Dave DeFore]

So that's. But hang on. But they did. They beat the Thunder. They beat the spurs the other day. I mean, they hang with everyone. I actually. The top four in the west, they do. Any four of those teams. If, if the Timberwolves wind up in the Finals, it is not the most shocking thing in the world, because.

[Ben]

I.

[Dave DeFore]

Do think that they need. They need another guard. But that team is. That team is actually scary if I'm one of those other teams. Because they can catch you. I mean, like you said, ant can drop 40 on just about anybody.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Can I. Can I throw out a. I'll throw out an ex Timberwolves player. Carl Anthony stole it from me. Oh, really?

[Dave DeFore]

Okay. I mean, because I. This is it.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

This is it. Yeah. This is absolutely. I mean, look, we know where Giannis wants to go, and I don't think. I don't think any of us think that Giannis is going to get traded right now within the next couple of weeks. I think that's going to be a summer thing.

[Dave DeFore]

I don't know, man. He. Boot. He booed the crowd in Milwaukee last night.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

And that and his post game press conference wasn't any better.

[Dave DeFore]

It wasn't good. And I've. How many times have you ever seen Giannis that negative about.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Yeah.

[Dave DeFore]

Fans. Any fans?

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Yeah.

[Dave DeFore]

I felt like his feelings actually got hurt. And I. And I hate to project that on somebody because, you know, like, I'm sitting here a couple thousand miles away trying to, you know, parse out how he's going through this, but I've never seen him act like that. No. And so now I think anything could be on the table. I mean, and also, they got embarrassed in a way that should tell you that this team is unserious.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

But I. I just think, like, if I were to angle this back to the Knicks, they should feel confident that they are going to try to make the NBA Finals this year. I think outside of the Pistons, who have been awesome and like we keep saying this, the Pistons are awesome, we just need to see them do it. I think Cade Cunningham is another guy who could be on this pressure meter that we throw out there, but it is a little early with Cat, it's like, look, you've had multiple chances at this thing with the Timberwolves, now with the Knicks. And I think most people bring up the idea that the pick and roll can be attacked with Brunson and Cat, and you need Brunson. He is a proven playoff player at this point. The game winners, the clutch moments. Brunson has been able to deliver in high leverage moments. Can Carl Anthony Towns deliver in high leverage moments for the Knicks? That's the major question for The Knicks heading into the, the playoffs in the postseason, they have a very clear route to the NBA finals in my opinion. But a lot of that has to do with Cat and how effective he can be on both ends of the floor.

[Dave DeFore]

All right, how about Luca? Okay, okay. Came in in shape. Right. That's all we heard about. He's motivated. He wants to prove the doubters wrong. Nico Harrison, first and foremost, he was playing well enough. I mean he's still playing well enough. Nico got fired. But the defense is God awful when it happens. I mean the, the thing is it's really non existent and I think that this is the last year that he gets a pass on that. If they fail to get out of the first round of the playoffs because he's gonna be, he's gonna get picked on. He's gonna get picked on. He's gonna be the guy that they're trying to go at because they want, they want to wear him down.

[Ben]

Player has a compilation of.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah, yeah. If you can make a low light clips.

[Ben]

That's awful.

[Dave DeFore]

I mean just try is my thing. Like it takes very little effort to just try a little bit. I do think that Luca, the, the, the narrative around Luca is changing in real time where people are starting. I mean this is what happens when you play for the Lakers too, because Laker fans don't. They do not play. Like if you're not, if you're not doing the things that they expect out of their players, you're going to hear about it. And I, I think we're starting to see some of that now. So if come playoff time he has high profile defensive lapses, I expect that we're going to hear about him all summer long.

[Ben]

I, I agree with you. I agree with you. It's funny, I'm distracted a little bit because as you're saying this I'm seeing riding the red eyed Tigers comment. I think that's what it is. KD and I just got, I'm just thinking about like, you know, Luca just is technically getting acclimated. He got moved against his will.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

The roster isn't set up.

[Ben]

The roster wasn't set up for him. He didn't know what he was getting moved to. Right. KD made his decisions, knowing everything.

[Dave DeFore]

That's right. The team top five salary in the league.

[Ben]

Correct. The team was moved for his benefit and as that comment says, hasn't made a conference, finals or finals appearance since 2019 and they're in lockstep with the.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Team he got traded from.

[Ben]

Yeah. And like you love the fact that KD handled that game and got to say, you know, the bye bye to the Phoenix Suns, but Phoenix ain't looking so bad without him. They're not looking bad for the person they traded for them. Right. They don't even have Dylan Green like that, like. And that, that in itself is a story. But I think for, for KD and the, the saga, the narrative that's been around him for so long, can he win on his own? Where can he like make his own legacy and own his team? This is the opportunity. He's got all these young guys around him. I think there's a lot of pressure on him. Not necessarily in his mind. One thing about KD is all about team ball. This is pressure for everybody. Houston, everybody's got a problem. But I really do think that for fans watching the game, like there's pressure on KD to be able to lift this team up and get them somewhere deep. Especially with Houston coming out short last year against a hurt or. Yeah. Ailing warriors.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah, that's a good take. Okay, next question, guys. Which role player has had the biggest breakout this season? Non All Star edition. I mean we could just tap into this morning.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Yeah.

[Dave DeFore]

What we did today.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

This morning. Go listen to the first 10 minutes of the show.

[Dave DeFore]

I mean. Yeah. If you want to hear a love letter to Peyton Watson, go. Go listen to this morning's show over again. I would start with him for me personally.

[Ben]

Did you hear my first suggestion?

[Dave DeFore]

No.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Oh, what was your first suggestion?

[Ben]

Pat Spencer.

[Dave DeFore]

Okay, listen. Okay. I'm not joking out.

[Ben]

I just love that we have. I just like news stories.

[Dave DeFore]

Yes.

[Ben]

New people to grab on. He is not a serious contender for this conversation, but Peyton Watson is. So please continue on page.

[Dave DeFore]

I mean, I don't know, like, I think maybe Cam Spencer over. Over Pat like has maybe broken out a little bit.

[Ben]

Absolutely. That's really what the questions lost.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah.

[Ben]

Right.

[Dave DeFore]

Which Spencer brother are you taking? You know, like who's getting drafted first in a Spencer brothers draft. Yeah. So, yeah. Anyway, non Peyton Watson edition, who I think is. Is definitely like in the mix. Most improved player award.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Does Deontay George? Is he past this conversation? Do we no longer talk about Keonte when it comes to this conversation? Because like he's went from role player to at the very least star this year.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah. Right.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

How do you guys feel about him in this? Because I think he's the leader for most improved right now. You know, we, we talked about Peyton Watson and his odds to be able to get to the most improved conversation. I think he has a chance, averaging like 25 over the last little bit that Jokic has been out. That's absurd. But Keonte has been doing it all season.

[Dave DeFore]

All season. Yeah.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

And I think, I think that's the player that I would thrust into this conversation as a guy who's gone from role player to star. But I don't know if that's what we're looking.

[Dave DeFore]

No, no. I mean, I, I. The biggest breakout. He's not an All Star.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

No, he's not.

[Dave DeFore]

But he definitely has. Has broken out to be the second best player on that team. And I didn't think he was that coming into the season. The, you know, I actually, I was out on Keante as of this summer. You know, I didn't think. I, I was like, okay, this is. He's inconsistent. The shot wasn't there. Yeah, he, the numbers that he did put up were here and there, and it was on a really bad team and somebody's got to score points. And I, you know, I just didn't see this. And then this season, he's so under control. Shot obviously looks so much better. And it's fall, it's falling, which is the most important part. I don't know. I mean, he definitely is broken out. I, I like that. I like that as a pick. I mean, this is really almost the most improved player award.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Yeah.

[Dave DeFore]

But. Yeah, but you know, I would have.

[Ben]

A lot of different. Wait, wait. Before we keep going. Yeah. So how are we categorizing this? Like, do they. Is it that they're not starters? Like, how do we say, like, role player? Is it someone that's just not the star of the team? Because I, I could, I could go through a list and just like list names that are.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

I think it's just anybody who you think won't be an All Star this year.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

But has made a step. So, like, we, we've got some good suggestions in the comments from Shaden Sharp, A.J. mitchell. I think Jalen Dern will be an All Star this year. So I wouldn't put him in this conversation. I think he can probably too good.

[Dave DeFore]

To be called a Ryan Rollins. Yeah. Yeah.

[Ben]

Ryan Rollins in the mix. Norman Powell. I don't think Norman Powell is gonna be an All Star.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

I think he will be.

[Dave DeFore]

He might be.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

I think he might be.

[Ben]

He might be.

[Dave DeFore]

I think the Eastern Conference just doesn't have enough guys in it. And, And Norm is, is one of those guys that's gonna be one.

[Ben]

Well, okay. Well, I just, I hate. That's why I'm like, the All Star thing is hard because I think that Norm Powell was a, a role player with the Clippers technically, and he's shown that he is a star. Like, you know, I mean, he produces and he's amazing for Miami. And even in Miami, he wasn't supposed to be the guy. He was supposed to be able to help out and he is the guy. Yeah. How do we feel? I mean, Jalen Johnson's gonna be an All Star.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Danny Abdi is also going to be an All Star.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

We gotta reply here. I'll give you guys some, some names. How about Jalen Tyson from the Cleveland Cavaliers? He was averaging three points last year. He's now thrusted into a major rotation spot. You know, he's averaging like 13 points a game, playing 27 minutes a game. I like him a lot. Steph Castle, it's kind of.

[Dave DeFore]

I like this recommendation. Yeah, Castle. But he's become a star. Maybe like he is.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

I don't think he's gonna make an All Star team. But he, he's made. I mean, look, he had a great rookie year. To capitalize on that and not have the sophomore slump.

[Dave DeFore]

Right.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Anything get better?

[Dave DeFore]

It looks better. Yeah.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Is really absurd to me. He's. He's one of my favorite watches in the league.

[Dave DeFore]

For sure.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Steph Castle needs to be in that conversation. Mamu. How do you guys feel about Mamu?

[Dave DeFore]

Mamu definitely is in that conversation. A lot of those early Toronto wins was because of his offense coming off the bench. The way they did not experience an offensive drop off.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Tyler Kohlik for the New York.

[Dave DeFore]

I thought we were going to continue to talk about Mamu. Yeah. Tyler Colic has been, has been good. Nikhil Alex, Alexander Walker. We get this in the chat. Yeah. Also has been good. I mean, I, I think that this is a season again. We. Last season we watched become about depth and this season everyone came in and it seemed more committed to that and guys are getting more of an opportunity. I mean, it's going further down the bench and it helps. I like back to Denver, them changing coaches and going from Michael Malone to Adelman.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Yeah.

[Dave DeFore]

And that was the biggest change for them in finding these guys down the bench. I mean, we could talk about the injuries, but they had injuries previously and these guys didn't get a shot. This is all about opportunity for, for a lot of these guys, especially in Denver.

[Ben]

Yeah, that's a good point because I, I vividly remember my framing of Peyton Watson being like he's just not ready.

[Dave DeFore]

Right.

[Ben]

Right. I feel like because of how he was played in the rotations that he was played in the positions that he was put. I feel like he was put. He was made to feel like he wasn't ready. He wasn't. He wasn't in the right places on defense or his one. I had no idea he could create his own shot, but maybe he wasn't able to put positions right to do that. Another person that comes to mind that you saw glimpses last year. If you were really watching, you saw glimpses last year, but now you're sitting, you're seeing it consistently. Anthony Black in Orlando, for me, is one of those guys that I'm just.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Like, oh, yeah, that's a great pick. You are.

[Ben]

You're gonna be a star.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Can I completely agree with you on Anthony Black? I have a funny Peyton Watson stat that will make you guys laugh.

[Dave DeFore]

So.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

In his one year at UCLA, Peyton Watson scored 105 points. Okay. In the stretch, in the last five games that he's played, he has scored 121 points.

[Dave DeFore]

Wow. It's already.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

That blew my mind when I found that out yesterday. It's just so. So to your point, Xena? Like, nobody thought he could create. Yeah. Not even his own college.

[Ben]

We were just like, oh, he's super athletic. Like, you know, I mean, like, he's.

[Dave DeFore]

A defender who might eventually learn to shoot. Was it? Yeah.

[Ben]

Yeah. He gave me early.

[Paige]

Early.

[Ben]

Who's the wing that just got hurt for the Clippers? Starts with a D. I am blanking.

[Dave DeFore]

Derek Jones.

[Ben]

Thank you. He gave me early. Derek Jones.

[Dave DeFore]

Yes.

[Ben]

That's exactly. He can run, he can defend, he's long. He'll, you know, dunk on you if. If you give him the right lob. Like. But do we give him the ball to create.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah. Right.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

But now he's like, off the bounce, getting to the basket.

[Dave DeFore]

Comes back. When Jokic comes back, he won't need any of that.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Yeah.

[Dave DeFore]

Until he needs it. And this is.

[Ben]

Yeah.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah.

[Ben]

But that's the thing, right. Dave, you mentioned this a long time ago. I don't remember what team we were talking about, but you mentioned this and it stuck in my mind. When players get hurt, of course it's awful. We hate to see it, especially the crux of the season when you're making these, like you're trying to make a run or try to build wins. But the number one thing you get excited about is you get to see who's popping, who can give you solid minutes. I think we were talking about Denver actually Which is funny. This was even before Peyton Watson popped earlier on. But the Julian Strothers of the world, are they going to be good enough?

[Dave DeFore]

Right?

[Ben]

And just like, you know, I think that that is the. Anthony Black was that person. Right. Like, that is one of the reasons we found out what Anthony Black was made up. That's one of the reasons why we found out what Sante Aldama could do in Memphis. Like, right. Like these. These periods of time where people are injured and people aren't available. You're finding out. Okay, Zach Heaty's unavailable. Cynthia Damon can come in, shoot threes, get to the basket, get foul. Like, cool. He could play the double. Big lineup. And I put that in quotes alongside Jaren Jackson. Like, so I. I do feel like this is good that Denver was like, yeah, Peyton, let's give you some minutes. We'll figure out what you, you know, can do. And now when Jokic comes back, when he's off the floor, Peyton, have at it. Do what you're doing.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

The.

[Dave DeFore]

The injuries helping you find a guy that's as long as sports has been around.

[Ben]

Yeah.

[Dave DeFore]

You know who. You know who Lou Gehrig is? You guys heard of him, right? Do you know who Wally Pitt is?

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

I only know the disease.

[Dave DeFore]

Okay, well, Lou Gehrig is one of the greatest baseball players ever. Wally Pip was the guy who played first base, got hurt and was replaced by Lou Gehrig, who then never missed the game again.

[Ben]

Well, it's like.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

It's like the Drew Bledsoe, Tom Brady thing.

[Dave DeFore]

Tom Brady.

[Ben]

Yeah, exactly.

[Dave DeFore]

Now, I don't think that's happening in Denver because that's just not what it is. But, and I. I will say this. I want to acknowledge the conversation that's happening in the YouTube chat, because there's often smart conversation. But this is actually, I think a great point being made by. On the Breakpot not to derail us into a Denver Nuggets segment, but it's part of the legacy of the back and forth of Malone and Calvin Booth. Ironically, they both get fired over the battle, and Strother was the young guy Malone likes when Watson might have been better. And this is actually. This is 100 true. All this stuff has come out. The. The battle between the front office and Michael Malone in Denver really held that team back. When you look at the growth of these players now, I mean, I. I think that I keep making the joke that this is Calvin Booth's team, but he clearly had an eye for talent.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Can I. Can I throw something out here? So When Bruce Brown wasn't able to get resigned by the Denver Nuggets, Calvin Booth had this quote. He said some teams were trying to get Bruce Brown trying to make it worth it. Just be careful what you wish for. Peyton's bigger. He's longer, he's more athletic. He guards better, he passes better. That is the type of trust that Calvin Booth had in Peyton Watson as a player. This was four years, three years ago. So, yeah, yeah, he. He clearly was a big Peyton Watson guy.

[Dave DeFore]

Right.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

You know.

[Ben]

All right, let's.

[Dave DeFore]

Let's move on from that. Pretty good Denver Nuggets. We got to get Adam Mares on here, talk about this at some point. Next question. Which young team are you picking to make it past round one of the playoffs?

[Ben]

Buffs.

[Dave DeFore]

I mean, the obvious one, I think. You know, if we're not counting the Thunder, the obvious one is the Spurs. Right. I mean, it feels like they're not gonna lose in the first round. They're even losing.

[Ben]

Were you thinking Pistons?

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

I'm thinking the Pistons. Yeah.

[Ben]

Yeah. I was thinking Pistons.

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[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Yeah.

[Ben]

Yeah. I was thinking Pistons, but I. But now the spurs are really young. I've always. I think Harrison Barnes just, like, skews me the other way, but.

[Dave DeFore]

Right.

[Ben]

Yeah, they are. I. I'm. Those two, I think the obvious. East and West. There you go.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Yeah, I agree that those are the two. I can't think of any others, to be honest with you. Like, I. Do you classify OKC as young still?

[Dave DeFore]

Well, what about Philly? Is Philly a young team? This comes from the, from the YouTube comments. Is Philly young?

[Ben]

Paul playing? I. But.

[Dave DeFore]

But if. If you think about the guys who are really driving.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Yeah.

[Dave DeFore]

The Sixers until recently, when Embiid has been more healthy.

[Ben]

Yeah.

[Dave DeFore]

Even.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Dude, honestly. So this, this part of I, I.

[Dave DeFore]

By the way, this is. We're not going to go look at the average ages. This is the vibes.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Yeah.

[Dave DeFore]

The vibes of a young team. Okay.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

I will say I'm.

[Dave DeFore]

We're.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

We're releasing a Tyrese Maxi video tomorrow. Breaking down. And part of the. The pitch of the video is like, hey, not only have they shifted the focal point to Maxi, but even when Embiid is on the floor, it's Maxi's team and he is fit into what he wants to do. So I agree that like, like, the young guys are. Are propelling what the Sixers want to do.

[Dave DeFore]

It's just.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

I don't know if I would classify them as a young team, vibes wise.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah. Yeah. It's Kind of.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Maxi has playoff experience. Like he said, he's played in multiple playoff series. He's beaten, I don't know.

[Dave DeFore]

Tough. Yeah, I, I think that the only two teams that, that are what we consider young, that have any expectations of making it out of the first rounds, Detroit and San Antonio, the rest of them, they're just not going to have. I mean, home court advantage does matter, and they're not going to have it. All right, last question.

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[Ben]

THY ticket lady Jennifer of Coolidge.

[Paige]

Well, many thanks, good sir. Here is my Discover card.

[Ben]

They accept Discover at Renaissance fairs?

[Paige]

Yeah, they do here. Discover is accepted at the places I love to shop.

[Ben]

Get it with the times, with the tines.

[Paige]

You're playing the loot.

[Ben]

Yeah.

[Paige]

And it sounds pretty good, right?

[Dave DeFore]

Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide, based on.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

The February 2025 Nielsen report.

[Dave DeFore]

Assuming that you know these. That teams are going to go in to win and not tear it down. Okay, for this question, which team is in need of the biggest facelift at the trade deadline in order to make a push this season? So they're trying to win. Which team that has some kind of aspiration of winning, do you guys think needs to make a trade the most?

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Oh, man. Yeah. Xena, you go ahead. Yeah, yeah.

[Ben]

I think they're in my neck of the woods, honestly, the Warriors. And it's just that this window, we keep talking about it, the window, the margin of error, the time, it's. It's clearly. It's clearly the warriors, they. And you think about a team that is $300,000 away from the second April, like, and you are constricted and confined to what's available to you, and you've got a guy making $24 million, who is young, athletic, capable, sitting on the end of your bench in a hoodie every night, smiling, enjoying his teammates, not playing, only dnp. You need athleticism more than anything. You really need rim protection, in my opinion. You need size and some rim protection, and you need a scorer, somebody that can just flat out get buckets, roll the ball.

[Dave DeFore]

They need multiple players.

[Ben]

I mean, I don't think they. I don't know if they need multiple players. I think they need to make a decision on do we want to score or do we want size.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Yeah.

[Ben]

Yeah. Now. Yeah. If Jesus come down.

[Dave DeFore]

Got a hell of a crossover.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

I do.

[Dave DeFore]

Like, I wonder. Look, I. You know, the Michael Porter Jr. Stuff for the warriors is. It doesn't make much sense to me. I understand, like, the thought of getting a shooter out there, I. I just don't know how this team works with Jimmy and Draymond. Like Draymond, as your best center is still. And that's still great for high leverage moments in the playoffs. It's just not a consistent way to win. Your rebounding is. Is just you're getting crushed and rebounds. You have two non shooters on the court in your best lineups, and that's impossible.

[Ben]

I'll give Jimmy credit, though. Like he said this earlier this season, and it's absolutely. It's proven to be right. He says, I can't shoot threes. I just choose not to. And it's true. Like, when he has shot threes, he has done pretty well, but he doesn't shoot threes. And the thing is, and Chris Mellon lays this out really beautifully when we talk about the team and how what makes it hard, but also makes it hard to scheme and defend them. It's two different styles being played in the course of a game. One is the motion offense when Stephen Curry's out there, and it changes how you're defending them. From a shot clock perspective, you are looking at. When Steph is on the floor, it takes a while to get that motion going, right. He's got to set his person up. He's got to come off the screen. Draymond's got to find him. Like other actions have to happen to distract the defenders on the weak side. Like, it's a whole thing when Jimmy Butler's on the floor and he's with that second unit particularly or in with. Not with Steph, not on the floor. He goes into the post or he goes into the corner, gets the ball clear out, and maybe you're getting a shot a little bit sooner in the shot clock. But now it's like it's a different defensive scheme because you're now everyone else is in help and figuring out what do we want to do, do we want to double down or we just want to let that person go one on one. So that's fine. That's fine. If you're getting production out of both styles and everyone's on the same page. And as of late in these wins that the warriors have had, you've seen that where people are coming off the bench and they're fitting and slotting into both styles. Well, issue is, and we're going to see this on display for the warriors against the Knicks. Does it work against these above high 500 teams? Right. Because the cox came in there and looked like all stars. Against the warriors. It was. It was a good defense. That's what it was. They. They just. They clobbered on all styles. There was no styles to be had for the Warriors. So I just feel like the whole Jimmy and Draymond thing, it's true. Like their two man lineup, net rating is like 3. Jimmy's with like the Anthony Melton who's just now becoming more of a shooter again.

[Dave DeFore]

Right.

[Ben]

Is like 19 net rating. His net rating with Jonathan Kaminga Just under 10. Right. So it's clear his connection with. With Draymond is the lowest in terms of his net rating. And I think there's something to be said about that. But right now it is clear the warriors are not going to do anything about moving Draymond or Jimmy or Stefan. So now it's a matter of you got to make a move based off that. Knowing that, and I don't know if they're gonna do it.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

I think that's incredibly well said. I want to shift this to a different type of answer, if you guys don't mind.

[Dave DeFore]

Sure.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Because in my opinion, I don't think the warriors have a chance of winning. The way. The way I think of this is which team has a chance to genuinely win the championship and can really change the trajectory. Not maybe change, but boost their odds of winning the championship. That is the Boston Celtics. They are one center away from legitimately being able to make the NBA Finals. Of course, they're one of the best offenses in the NBA. At one point, they were the best offense in the NBA. Their starting lineup is. Is dominating teams. Keda, who got a shout out earlier, has been very, very good for them. I think ultimately they probably do need another center option. They've proven before, you know, when they won that Championship that they don't necessarily like Porzingis so much time during that.

[Ben]

Robert Williams III was their center.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Yeah, yeah, totally. And so, like, I. I guess my. My question is, will the Celtics take advantage of a moment in time where Tatum might be coming back, where Brown is playing like an MVP candidate, where Derrick White is coming into his own, where they have the expiring salary in Simons and Sam Houser to be able to package something together and go out and get that final piece to give them a chance to make it to the NBA Finals, and then from there, who knows, right? Who knows what happens if you make it to the Finals? If it's okc, if it's San Antonio, if it's Denver, whoever. I think the Celtics have a very good chance if they go with that. So that's my thing. Can they make that push? Will they make that push with, what, three weeks left until the deadline? That's sort of the. The thinking that I have with Boston.

[Ben]

They are sneaking up on everybody. If. Yeah, yeah.

[Dave DeFore]

If they can get. Look, Daniel Gafford is available and they can make. They can make that work. And they can also. They can save their tax bill moving out Anthony Simon's money. And I mean, I. There's a path to them getting Zubach. I mean, it exists. Like, they can get him and still duck the tax and help the Clippers out. Actually, if the Clippers decide that they want to make a move, too. So are they.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Are they willing to use up the pick capital that's required to go do that, is my question. Right. Yeah.

[Dave DeFore]

And then if. If Tatum comes back, I mean, obviously, this is a. It's a huge if. Anytime a guy is coming back from an injury, especially in Achilles.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Yeah.

[Dave DeFore]

But if he comes back and he's anything like himself, anywhere close to it, they've already been so good. I mean, the Missoula ball stuff is great. And. And they found some. Speaking of a team that had found new guys, I mean, Jordan, Walsh, Gonzalez, and. I mean. Yeah, they found some guys, too. Look, I want to talk about the Bucks here, because I do think, like, this is a team that has to make some changes, but I just don't know where they go because they're kind of stuck. They're stuck.

[Ben]

And.

[Dave DeFore]

And it's. It's a real. It's kind of a bummer because I actually like that Giannis has been there his whole career. I would like to see Giannis stay in Milwaukee. My preference, you know, is that these guys don't. Don't leave, you Know, I think Giannis has been important to the city. Yeah, I don't know what they do. The Miles Turner thing has not been great for them. Obviously, they've needed a point guard. Ryan Rollins has been a good story, but, like, they needed a. A very good point guard. You. Do you guys think that the Bucks should do something crazy and, and trade for Jaw?

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Okay. If they trade for Jaw, where do you see them ending their season?

[Dave DeFore]

I think they, they're better than, than they are right now, probably by quite a bit.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Like, are they better than the Heat?

[Dave DeFore]

I would take them head to head over the Heat.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Okay.

[Dave DeFore]

They. They would still. They were still going to be some issues. I mean, I know, I know it is a conversation and they have.

[Ben]

I think that answers your question. And what I love about these YouTube.

[Dave DeFore]

Streams is that, you know, we get the great comment on the break pod. Let us know. Milwaukee schedule. 5th hardest remaining in the. In the East. I don't. I don't think it makes them better than that. They are just. They're just kind of lost.

[Ben]

I think right now there are certain teams. We've seen this, like when the Jimmy Butler thing happened. We saw this when John Morant was going through his off the court stuff. When you've got a player and it's bad vibes, like, there's something to that. It also, I think, clouds your judgment about what to do next. Yeah, right. It's not easy to figure out which direction. And because we don't know how Giannis is feeling exactly, he is telling us that he is supposed to be. He is going to be in Milwaukee. He's not asked for an exit or trade. He is committed to his team. And it just feels like, okay, we'll believe you. But there's something here. There's something not clicking here because it's not translating on the court. But that's the thing. When we started this season and we looked at the Bucs roster, did we think that the Miles Turner thing was really going to be the game changer?

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Absolutely not.

[Ben]

We looked at this roster, had questions then. So even before all of this craziness, and mind you, this think from the question around Giannis was permeating from last season as well. So don't get us wrong, we know that over the summer, but it's been like this for a minute, this, this kind of, like, uneasiness around the Bucks, and I feel like that needs to be addressed before the Bucks can actually understand what direction do we want to head in? Because then you're figuring out Are we solving for role players? Are we solving for a superstar? Are we solving through the draft?

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Right.

[Ben]

Like, there's. This is too much stink around this team right now, around. And we don't know what direction we want to go on because we don't know what's going on with Giannis before they can make a decision.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

And by the way, they've exhausted all options. Like, they have one first round pick available to them to move the salary matching stuff is difficult because they have Kuzma's contract, they have Bobby Portis contract. The only, you know, quality level young guy that they have is Ryan Rollins, who we just talked about. And so you wonder, like, what is the path forward for this team to even try to improve? There isn't one. The point blank, there is not a serious path for this team to improve. And so you're mentioning the Zach Levines of the world, the Michael Porter juniors of the world, John Morantz of the world. Do any of those guys change the fact that The Bucks are 11th in the Eastern Conference right now? With Giannis back over the last week, can they even get to eight? You know, at this, at this point.

[Dave DeFore]

They probably could make a post.

[Ben]

Like, who's coming in? Is Zach Levine coming in to change the vibes?

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah.

[Ben]

Do we know him to be that person to do that? He's sure he's talented, we know that. But like, is he going to be the person that's gonna.

[Dave DeFore]

How about Doc Rivers, man? How is Doc Rivers gonna change the vibes? That, that's, that's the thing that no one seems to bring up. Yeah, I just don't think so.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

I.

[Dave DeFore]

No one seems to bring up the fact that Doc Rivers has done a bad job coaching this team regardless. You know, again, we hammer other coaches all the time.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Yeah.

[Ben]

But their offense pops. They're very good offensively. They score the ball well, and Doc Rivers help provide that. Now, has it always translated into wins? No, but they have it like they can score the ball and that's, that's something that a lot of teams can't say. So I don't know.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah, I don't know. They're. They're not a good basketball team. I, I think that they're a candidate to do something dumb because they are in a desperate position. Right. They are. This is the end of the road. They got a title. They did the thing that's hard to do. They won a title out of this. And I think that they might have deconstructed that title team to go to the next Thing like Chris Middleton not being healthy and then moving into the Dame stuff and leveraging the entire future for that. That was a little bit of desperation. And I think now, like, you're looking at a position where the. The move is. You try to make a move at the deadline. Can we make a push? And if we get to the playoffs, maybe we get lucky.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Yeah.

[Dave DeFore]

But otherwise, I. I think that the Giannis trade is coming this summer and maybe to New York. Depends. Can Carl Anthony Towns win a title?

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Can Carl Anthony Towns do it? No, honestly, I think. I think that does kind of make the point here. If Cat and the Knicks can actually get to the mountaintop or at the very least make it to the NBA Finals. Yeah, I think that'll change some things for. For the whole Knicks Giannis debate.

[Ben]

But, yeah, you guys, full clarity. They've got an offense more than they've had in the past.

[Dave DeFore]

Sure. Yeah. Yeah.

[Ben]

In comparison to this season.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah.

[Ben]

And say, I don't know what I'm watching.

[Dave DeFore]

It's not. They've not been good. Yeah.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Yeah.

[Dave DeFore]

All right. You guys got anything else before we get out of here?

[Ben]

Oh, man.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah.

[Sponsor Announcer]

I don't know.

[Dave DeFore]

Got that January 15th date tomorrow. So I think, like, trades, you know, we already got the Trey Young trade to the. To the Wizards. I. I expect that. You know, I. The Grizzlies are in Europe right now. Yeah. I would be shocked if Ja gets traded before they're back from London, but you never know. I mean, like. Like Hollinger pointed out the other day, if. If Ja gets traded while they're overseas, the team that trades for him is going to have to provide his travel back. I mean, these are rich.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Does that matter?

[Dave DeFore]

Oh, it doesn't mean you want to just throw money away. I think I would just. I think I would just hang out and. And wait for them to come back. Oh, we got a good question from the chat from producer Andrew Select. Anything on the ad weirdness. Oh, you know what? Let's hit this, because I don't think we've had a chance to talk about it since it came out. In case you didn't know, Anthony Davis was somehow the. The report was that he was ruled out for the season and was going to need surgery on his wrist. Turns out, not necessarily true. He's. He's gotten a second opinion. We don't know what's going to happen. This is what we call negotiating through the media, folks. Oh, yeah, he's injured, but he doesn't want to not get his next contract. And he Would rather the team move him if they're not going to just offer him an extension, which doesn't seem like the Mavericks are going to because frankly, doesn't make any sense. This guy doesn't play and he's way older than your young team, so they should be looking to move him. Here's the thing. If you're a team out there like the Atlanta Hawks, who we've been hearing would be interested in Anthony Davis, do you want to get another center who's not going to play for you? You've been dealing with Kristaps Porzingis to the point where you traded your franchise star to the Wizards because frankly, Porzingis couldn't play. Yeah. Do you want to go out and get Anthony? I've started to rant about this, but I don't know who wants to get into the Anthony Davis business. I didn't get it. When you traded Luka Doncic for, for Anthony Davis. I don't understand giving up much of anything. To me, this is another situation where the Mavericks should just be happy to move him and whatever you get, like, don't.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Well, in front of the thing is for assets, if, if the, this is the other team that's interested in him, apparently, which is the Toronto Raptors. And I don't, I don't under, I don't understand it from their point.

[Dave DeFore]

Well, they're gonna do J D get.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Get all the guys who can only play half of the season. Yeah. Get all of them. Yeah. I mean, look, I just, I, I, I agree with you on the, on the injury front. I, I don't see how any team that is serious about trying to compete over the next couple years would trade for a guy like Anthony Davis without some serious level of assurances that he can play. The only team I can think of, truthfully, that actually kind of makes sense to me. It's worth the risk. The age wise lines up. It is your Golden State Warriors, Xena Clippers. I could see too sure. The age and whatever. I think the warriors would do it because get out of the Draymond situation. You get your center, you, Kaminga goes to a new land far, far away. And you, you get your center. And it's Stefan Ad. And that is, that is interesting in the playoffs.

[Ben]

So here's the thing about that. We have seen, we have seen Trey Young be moved. We have seen John Morant be moved. Right. I do not think that the warriors are signing off on moving Draymond. I just don't, I, I do not see a world in which they do that. Which is crazy, because Clay didn't get moved. He left because he didn't get what he wanted. Right. I just don't see a world in which the warriors are doing that. He's too important. Even when. Even in the midst of everything that's been going on, like, you know, he's been great in terms of the. On team and not getting ejected and not, you know, having any issues on. In terms of, like, communication with his team. Even when he did have the confrontation or whatever it was with Stephen, with Stephen, with Steve Kerr, and when he did get ejected and he did have those moments where he was leaving games early, the team was like, we're rallying for him. We're rallying around him. We're like. That was. The sentiment was. We got. We got energized, we got rallied. I mean, I don't know. It was just. Clearly, the team is always going to find a way to see show Draymond is needed, and we need him here. And I just don't see that they're moving him. And I get it. I get why they're doing it. Six banners, like, he's been like, they've. They've. They've had four titles. I get it. I get it. The IQ can't be matched. But I. Everyone keeps talking about moving Draymond or anything. I just don't see it.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah, I don't. I don't see that happening either.

[Ben]

They wanted to and they did not, so.

[Dave DeFore]

And if they did, it would be a situation where he was going somewhere that he kind of wanted to go. I just don't see that he would.

[Ben]

Move on his own accord.

[Dave DeFore]

Exactly.

[Ben]

And so, yeah, I mean, I don't know.

[Dave DeFore]

It'd probably be like, he'd probably want to go to the Lakers or something like that.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

I don't.

[Dave DeFore]

I don't see him being a part of a trade that sends him to Dallas or. Or I'll.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

I'll also say just because. Oh, yeah, no go.

[Ben]

I just. I'm curious. I feel like. And again, not speaking as like a Warriors person or anything like that, but I feel like Draymond has earned the ability to say whether I'm. He's going to go or not. Right. And in the comparison to a tray or jaw. And I'm just curious, what do you guys think about that?

[Dave DeFore]

I think if I'm the Warriors, I would ignore that and do the best trade for me while trying my best to get him to a place where he would want to go, you know, What? I mean, you got to take the best deal that's out there.

[Ben]

Yeah.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Period. I, I, I'll ask you this, and Xena, you can agree or disagree, because I'm curious. I'm a huge Draymond defender in the sense that he is impactful on the basketball court. Defensively, I think he's one of the greatest defenders of our generation, maybe the greatest defender of our generation. At the same time, how much of that goodwill that you just mentioned has eroded from the things that he has done?

[Ben]

Yes.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

From, from the pool situation, from the suspensions and the whatever, et cetera, et cetera. How much of that is now eroded to the point where it doesn't matter to Dave's point, and it's like, hey, we're just gonna find you. That's.

[Dave DeFore]

Oh, I would guess from a fan perspective right now would be the lowest approval rating for Draymond Green, right?

[Ben]

A thousand percent. Yeah. Yeah. I think people are over it because, one, it's been a while since that last title, and two, we talked about this earlier. The margin of error is so small, the window is closing. So, yeah, yeah, I agree with us. I do think that the, the goodwill has been eroding. I don't know if it's eroded, but it has definitely been.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

But it is, it's decaying to a certain. Yeah, I get what you're saying. I just want to mention because on the break pod mentioned, you know, is the Raptors management under pressure? Yeah, I do think so.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

They've signed contracts for Bobby Webster and Dark or Yakovic for only two more years. So there is a level of, hey, we need you guys to show that this is a proof of concept for things moving forward. That's why they're involved in Anthony Davis and Jaw and Trey and Sabo, all, all the names they're trying to get involved in. And it's because they want to get off some of these contracts, too, and quickly and Yaka Portal. So if anybody is willing to take on their bad contracts, they are more than willing to do that. That so.

[Dave DeFore]

And to contrast that the Golden State warriors front office seemingly operates with no pressure whatsoever. Pretty amazing. It's awesome. Mike Dunleavy, you got a great job there, buddy. All right, guys, that's gonna do it for the show. Thank you to everybody who was hanging out on YouTube with us. Oh, Xena, you got one more thought? Sorry.

[Ben]

You know, sometimes us commentators say dumb things. When the Bucks were coming to play the warriors, they did have a good off offense. Their offense has been really bad.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

Hey, you're fine.

[Dave DeFore]

You're all good.

[Ben]

I just want to make sure that that is on the record.

[Dave DeFore]

The difference.

[Ben]

They have actually had the worst offense that they've had in like the last five years. And I just take that.

[Esperaheni Xena Keda]

No, no, yeah, exactly, Dave. The difference between what they were and.

[Dave DeFore]

What they became with Doc Rivers, which was the point.

[Ben]

You're absolutely right. Doc Rivers, you're. I take it all back. I'm sorry. I just want to put that out there.

[Dave DeFore]

Take that apology back. It's fine. We're having a conversation here anyway. Thank you guys for listening. If you were with us on YouTube, that's awesome. Thank you guys. We're gonna do this every week. We might add more. So thanks for hanging out. If you haven't joined our Discord, please do. It's going to be in the show description of the podcast. We're having a pretty fun time over there. I'm seeing a lot of new NBA memes that I did not know existed because where would I see those?

[Ben]

Why do we have the same face?

[Dave DeFore]

I'm just saying, I, I'm. It's been fun hanging out, watching games with folks in Discord and you know, we're dropping links in there and stuff like that. So definitely join us there. Leave us a five star review. All that jazz for Esperahenny, Xena keda. I'm Dave DeFore and this is Ben. Morning shoot around. Thanks for hanging out foreign.

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