Ant vs. Wemby + NBA Stock Watch

Summary

The Athletic NBA Daily | January 19, 2026

Episode: “Ant vs. Wemby + NBA Stock Watch”

Hosts: Dave DuFour, Zena Keita, Esfandiar Baraheni
Theme: A fast-paced breakdown of Ja Morant’s return, the epic Wolves-Spurs battle featuring Anthony Edwards and Victor Wembanyama, and a deep dive on teams’ rising and falling fortunes in the NBA’s Stock Watch.

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Episode Overview

This episode spotlights Ja Morant’s exhilarating return for the Memphis Grizzlies, the showdown between rising superstars Anthony Edwards and Victor Wembanyama, and team-by-team evaluations in “Stock Watch,” focusing on the Knicks, Cavs, Clippers, Warriors, and Thunder. The hosts blend analysis, humor, and real hoop talk to keep listeners up-to-date on key NBA happenings.

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Key Segments & Discussion Points

1. Ja Morant’s Electrifying Return in London

Segment starts: [02:55]

• Morant’s Impact: Ja Morant lit up the O2 Arena with a 20-point, 10-assist first half, revitalizing Memphis’ offense and boosting fan excitement.
• Memphis Looks Different With Ja: The Grizzlies’ tempo and transition scoring soared compared to when Morant was out.
• Trade Rumors & Player Value: Ja’s uncertain status amid trade speculation, with the crew musing on his superstar allure and the “quiet quitting” feel reminiscent of Vince Carter’s Raptors exit.
• Crowd Energy: The London fans embraced Morant, displaying global NBA enthusiasm.

Memorable Quote:

"He had 20 and 10 in the first half...they look great when Ja's out there."
— Dave DuFour, [03:09]

Debate Point:

• Should Ja have sat out recent games for trade protection, or do teams owe it to fans to let stars play abroad?

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2. Ant vs. Wemby: Instant Classic Showdown

Segment starts: [06:57]

• Historic Duel: Spurs edge Wolves in a nailbiter; Wembanyama nails the game-winner and a game-sealing block (39 points), while Anthony Edwards erupts for 55 points (39 in second half).
• New Era Spotlight: With no LeBron or Steph, Edwards and Wemby take center stage as the NBA’s “now.”
• Edwards’ Clutch Dominance:
  • 71% FG / 61% 3PT in clutch situations.
  • Repeated superhuman second-half performances—but Wolves can’t convert them all to wins.
• Wolves’ Depth Concerns: Shorthanded without Gobert and Reid, Wolves struggle to close.
• Spurs’ Trajectory: San Antonio keeps upsetting top teams; the hosts float real Finals ambitions.

Notable Quotes:

"Edwards was unstoppable offensively, Wembanyama was unstoppable defensively… It felt like a true transitional, historic game for the NBA."
— Zena Keita, [07:52]

"Anthony Edwards scored 39 of his 55 points in the second half. He was absolutely unconscious."
— Esfandiar Baraheni, [08:55]

"Clutch player of the year? Conversation is over."
— Esfandiar Baraheni, [09:19]

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3. Thunder Lose Again, Jalen Williams Hurt

Segment starts: [12:10]

• Thunder Lose to Heat: OKC drops another close contest with Jalen Williams re-injuring his hamstring.
• Williams’ Importance: His absence exposes OKC’s perimeter connectivity and lack of depth.
• Depth & Size Issues: The Thunder struggle without size (miss Hartenstein) and rely heavily on their young perimeter talent.
• Western Conference Open: With the Thunder’s stumbles, the West feels up for grabs.

Notable Quote:

"Jalen Williams provides connectivity… not having him, we saw what it looked like earlier this season—there was a problem."
— Zena Keita, [13:27]

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4. Stock Watch: Trending Teams

Segment starts: [16:20]

a. Knicks Plummet

• Record & Metrics: Worst start to 2026; bottom of NBA in defense, shooting, and net rating.
• Carl Anthony-Towns Scrutiny: Needs to step up in Brunson's absence; criticized for lack of effort and inability to anchor defense.
• Coaching Challenges: Mike Brown called out Towns publicly; identity clash between offensive and defensive priorities.

Notable Quotes:

"There’s so much pressure on one name… Carl Anthony-Towns… Is he talented enough as a passer… to execute? He hasn't."
— Esfandiar Baraheni, [18:20]

"The role you’re supposed to play is: This is your team, take it over… Fifty percent of the defense is effort, right?"
— Zena Keita, [19:45]

b. Cavs on the Rise

• 7–3 in Last 10: Surging; swept Sixers in back-to-back.
• Jalen Tyson’s Emergence: Noted for elite two-way play, filling gaps left by injured stars.
• Team Defense: Improved to top-10; Mobley, Allen, and Tyson form a defensively versatile core.
• Darius Garland’s Health: Ongoing toe issues force Cleveland to lean more on Tyson.

Notable Quotes:

"He had a big 39-point game… on a team that’s got Donovan Mitchell. I don’t know how that happens unless you’re way better than we know."
— Dave DuFour, [22:12]

c. Clippers Heating Up

• 8–2 in Last 10: Winning despite resting Kawhi.
• James Harden’s Play: All-Star level consistency; took over vs. Raptors.
• Role Players Shine: Kobe Sanders and Jordan Miller provide energized depth, especially crucial for injury-prone rotation.
• Injury Management: Hosts praise strategy of load management for Kawhi.

Notable Quotes:

"James Harden has been awesome this whole season… four minutes… twelve straight points in the fourth quarter."
— Esfandiar Baraheni, [26:36]

"Having another ball handler out there in Kobe Sanders… that’s one of the key changes."
— Dave DuFour, [27:06]

d. Warriors Winning—But Are They “Back”?

Segment starts: [29:00]

• Warriors 11–4 in Last 15: Picking up wins, especially versus weaker opponents; bench contributing at a top-3 level.
• Identity Questions: Still unclear if the team is a true playoff contender or benefiting from easier scheduling.
• D’Anthony Melton Returns: Instrumental in stabilizing rotations and boosting defense since coming back.
• Upcoming Trade Deadline: Warriors are potential players—Kuminga’s future, outside shooting targets discussed.

Notable Quotes:

"The most important thing is that they're winning, period… Taking care of business is a good thing in the NBA."
— Zena Keita, [29:51] / [31:44]

"They have figured out the starting lineup, the bench unit has been dominating… third in points per game right now in the league."
— Zena Keita, [30:48]

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Ja Morant’s London return:
  "The crowd responded… the way they embraced him in the O2 Arena was incredible."
  — Dave DuFour, [06:10]

• Ant vs. Wemby competitiveness:
  "Edwards said postgame he wanted it to just be him versus Wemby one-on-one at the end."
  — Esfandiar Baraheni, [08:55]

• On Anthony Edwards’ clutch stats:
  "He is shooting seventy-one percent from the field in clutch scenarios… that's crazy."
  — Esfandiar Baraheni, [09:27]

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Segment Timestamps

• [02:55] — Ja Morant returns in London
• [06:57] — Spurs-Wolves classic: Wemby vs. Ant
• [12:10] — Thunder’s loss, Jalen Williams hurt
• [16:20] — Stock Watch: Knicks’ collapse, Cavs ascendant, Clippers’ consistency, Warriors’ winning stretch

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Final Thoughts

The hosts wrap with reminders for listener feedback and Discord invitations. The episode delivers sharp insight, game-by-game analysis, and honest takes, all with The Athletic’s reliably witty, conversational style.

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This summary captures the content-rich, fast-paced discussion and is perfect for those seeking a thorough, timestamped overview of the episode’s best moments and hottest topics.

Transcript

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[Dave Dufour]

Today good morning and welcome to the nba daily presented by amazon prime for january nineteenth twenty twenty six i'm dave defore here with zena cata and esperahenny coming up ja is back maybe we'll see he was great in london we're going to talk about that and we're going to do a little bit of stock watch around the foreign good morning everybody what's up guys hope you guys had a good weekend good day hello hello it was great xena doing a bunch of wedding planning i don't know shoveling snow up there man don't slip don't slip yeah before we get to the show a little bit of housekeeping guys if you check the show description we actually have a link in there for our listener survey go to theathletic dot com survey twenty six or we want to hear from you we want to know what you like about the show what you don't like how we can improve that's right and you know yeah we're also going to have a giveaway three lucky entrants will win a hundred dollars or a hundred pound worth of amazon vouchers that's there's some incentive to give us and i will say.

[Zena Kada]

I know yeah i'm the one planning a wedding i might need that i'm.

[Dave Dufour]

Not gonna lie that's right we we actually do implement this feedback like we try to we talk about this internally a lot so it's important to us because we want delivered to you guys beyond just you know our smiling faces in a fun time yeah anyway speaking of smiling faces and a fun time john morant finally played basketball this was this was honestly so much fun to watch he was dancing big smile on his face call twelve one hundred twenty six one hundred nine the grizzlies beat the magic in london but the the story is j he had twenty and ten in the first half the grizzlies really just they they came out hot like they did in berlin but they had ja so the offense didn't stop they look great when jaws out there.

[Esperahenny]

No they do they really do it's it's like one of those things where he is such a tantalizing player that when he plays like this you're like how is he even in trade conversations how dare they even include him in some sort of trade because he goes and he makes it so obvious how important of a player he is that's why he's a superstar right that's why i don't know two years ago we were talking about him as the face of the league face of the memphis grizzlies franchise and potentially like leading them to a championship at one point it's just it's so few and far between recently of the these type of games we remember against the sixers a couple weeks ago where he dropped forty and he looked incredible and then he got hurt again and comes back you know especially after the whole debacle with vince williams junior at practice like there's just so much going on with him that it's hard to sift through and realize that this is still a very tantalizing player a guy who on any given night can be you know top five top ten player in the league it's just on any given night is the.

[Zena Kada]

Issue you know ja did exactly what jaw is known to do and that is push the pace like if if whether you need to know it for the memphis or you're someone a gm that's looking to see is he still worth it you look at what memphis was doing without him they were bottom ten in transition they did not push the pace they did not score in transition as easier as easily as they do now that they have job back it's really unfortunate that we're having this roller coaster right now because this could be the window of time that the grizzlies could stack wins could lock in and be able to capitalize on morant being back and being able to not only do what he does make points for himself but the biggest thing those ten assists in the at the half yes playmake he was pulling out fr and not franz bankaro like all the bigs had to come out to respect his speed and he was driving and kicking and being able to playmake and yeah it's it's unfortunate that we're not seeing this being capitalized upon but it is nice to see morant back on.

[Dave Dufour]

The floor i think that not playing in berlin the other day was a huge mistake for for ja for the league for the grizzlies and i don't know what triggered him coming back for the game but i have to think that the league was like hey why are you not playing right they're playing the injury game with ja yeah and i understand because you want to trade him and you can't have him get hurt but also people are paying money to see the grizzlies play basketball and ja morant is a big reason why so it was really good to see him out there the crowd responded like.

[Esperahenny]

Like the way that they embraced him in the o two arena was incredible yeah yeah absolutely yeah it's it's kind of weird it's like i i've heard people make this comp before but it sort of reminds me of the vince carter toronto raptors breakup where the end of his time in toronto he wasn't the same player he immediately gets traded to the nets and he's back to his all star ways and i wonder if that's i don't know if it's that necessarily but i do wonder if it's quiet quitting for some words this was a great way to display his his what he's capable of and what he can do for a new team it's just maybe it's time for that amicable breakup that's right got to shut.

[Dave Dufour]

Him down so he doesn't get hurt hey guys saturday night epic epic game between the spurs and the wolves wimby wins this one he hits the game winner gets the game ceiling block had thirty nine points spurs won by three this is a close game anthony edwards continues to impress fifty five points nine of sixteen from three the efficiency and the scoring increase with anthony edwards every single season he's scored more points per game and he's gotten more and more efficient at doing it now the wolves were a little bit shorthanded they didn't have rudy gobert nas reed only plays five minutes right this if we're going to get this as a playoff series xena this is going to be a seven game just slobber knocker when when rudy gobert's out there yeah victor wimanyama controls so much attention and the way that those guys play around him i don't know this was a fantastic game.

[Zena Kada]

The other night yeah i mean edwards was unstoppable offensively when minyama was unstoppable defensively you saw the chaos on both sides of the ball i just love that this game felt like a true transitional historic game for the nba you saw a game that does not have lebron and does not have steph and does not have all of these historical figures that we've had in this league for a while be the center of attention and it was pure good basketball i'll give the credit that even with minnesota being down rudy and then ending up being down nas reed they still competed oh yeah and of course that was behind anthony edwards and he stepped up i mean thirty three field goal attempts is wild i cannot imagine the fatigue he felt after a game like that but we appreciate it we felt.

[Dave Dufour]

Fatigued watching it shooters don't get tired.

[Zena Kada]

I don't know if you know i.

[Esperahenny]

Loved what he said post game where he said i wish it was just me versus wemby one on one at the end like that's the level of competitiveness that he had elite look elite the wolves were down twenty five at half so i don't blame you if you tuned out of this game at halftime but anthony edwards scored thirty nine of his fifty five points in the second half he was absolutely unconscious three.

[Zena Kada]

Point two six in the fourth quarter.

[Esperahenny]

Yeah it was absurd and by the way thank you for bringing up the fourth quarter because i think anthony edwards has the clutch player of the year.

[Zena Kada]

Wrapped it is finished between that game and christmas day yes conversation is over.

[Esperahenny]

Can i just can i just mention.

[Dave Dufour]

I think donovan mitchell is going to be.

[Esperahenny]

Numbers are crazy does shea so does jokic even james harden great great clutch number anthony edwards right now is third in points per game in the clutch he is shooting seventy one percent from the field in clutch scenarios that's not a typo that's not a mistake that's crazy that is absurd he's also shooting sixty one percent from three in these moments so guys it's over the clutch player of the year i feel.

[Zena Kada]

Like it's his that's wild and yeah.

[Esperahenny]

I mean i know the spurs put.

[Zena Kada]

The ball in his hands absolutely i.

[Esperahenny]

Know the spurs won but he kept answering back every single moment he had that nice fadeaway jump shot to make it a one point game man he has been absurd to your point dave every year it feels like he just becomes getting more and more efficient as.

[Zena Kada]

A score but here's the thing we can give all the credit in the world to anthony edwards for these unbelievable performances these heroic efforts to get his team back into things but now this is two games we have seen him and his team not be able to pull out the win i am i'm hoping to see what minnesota like it may be the by the third time this comes around i don't know maybe it will be around the warriors they're coming up against the warriors in about four games or so and they have to go back to back against them i need to see the minnesota timberwolves pull out the wins that matter and not let anthony edwards efforts go to.

[Dave Dufour]

Waste listen they were shorthanded but they also i think they're a guy short they are right the point guard situation the guard rotation situation is what they have to look at over the next few weeks if this is if this team is going to get you know second round they will make a western conference finals i believe so too but this team is is already so good and it helps when you got anthony edwards just being able to score like that by the way didn't even talk about the spurs here guys who continue to just beat good teams this is an extremely competitive team that i feel like i went a little off the rails on when they beat the thunder in that first game it's okay we.

[Esperahenny]

Can all get excited well they've done.

[Dave Dufour]

Nothing to make me doubt what i said about them a month ago i think this team the spurs this season can make the finals and if you make the finals you can win it they are they just have so much happening and it helps that you've got victor wimanyama who is going to almost always be the most impactful player on the court just by virtue of being.

[Esperahenny]

There bald bias yeah it's over for.

[Dave Dufour]

The league now that he shaved his head guys sticking to the west we got to talk about the thunder because they dropped another game and that's always news they lost the miami heat by two one hundred twenty two to one hundred twenty saturday night the the bigger story there is that jalen williams j dub got hurt this is a huge deal for the thunder because he coming back from that that injury the wrist injury trying to find his way hasn't really had a good season so far this feels like a huge step back.

[Esperahenny]

For them yeah yeah it also feels like you know he was starting to get rhythm and he was starting to figure it out a little bit towards the last week or so and so a hamstring injury which by the way we've seen so many hamstring injuries recently another soft tissue type of thing you just wonder how is this going to derail his progress because i think you know if you had to if you had to put one question on the line for the thunder to finish the season it's can jalen williams get back to all nba basketball if he can't get back to all nba basketball i think to your point about the spurs the west is wide open the nuggets can do it rockets wolves whoever you want to call it they have a chance just because the thunder aren't near the top of the league if jalen williams isn't that guy for them right.

[Dave Dufour]

Now i can't believe you threw the.

[Esperahenny]

Rockets in there i knew it as soon as i said the rockets you guys laughed i saw it well i.

[Zena Kada]

Smiled when you said the west is wide open i mean think about imagine if we said this a month ago that's wild to think but yeah we're starting to see that and the jalen williams thing is huge because we know that the connectivity that the okc thunder need on the perimeter is huge and jalen williams provides that not only does he provide that in tandem with shay he provides that when shay is off the floor and he's with that second unit he's being the connector between different units and so not having him we saw what it looked like earlier this season there was a problem there was no issue when he was out and it was to the point that it was like it was scary to think oh man wow like without jalen williams they're already so good but to lose him right now when they're already stumbling is going to be really tough to see but we'll see who steps up in that role we know aj mitchell seems poised to do it the heat.

[Dave Dufour]

Took thirty four more shots right than the thunder did the other night oh.

[Zena Kada]

Boards and turnovers they need to get.

[Dave Dufour]

They need hartenstein to come back anything right now i mean jdub of course they need him healthy but harenstein is a guy that they're they're missing underneath the basket they're just getting destroyed they're they're too small without him out there and i think that that's that's one of the big reasons why we're watching him struggle a little bit is just not having him out there you mentioned the connectivity what he does on the offensive end yeah operating as a hub and as a pastor is also missed but yeah i mean listen it feels like they're vulnerable and it has for the last you know month or so and j dub not being as good as he can be or at least as we've seen him is a big reason why so we'll we'll keep our eyes on that and hopefully he's not gone for too long because again it can get who knows what's going to happen in the west now yeah with between the injuries and and the fact that some you know this newfound money with the spurs being so good so fast i don't know anyway guys stick around after the break we're gonna check in on some teams that have been a little bit up and down this.

[Esperahenny]

Season.

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[Dave Dufour]

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[Esperahenny]

That at all s no they haven't yeah to start twenty twenty six they have the worst record in the nba the worst defensive rating in the nba the worst effective field goal percentage worst true shooting percentage second worst rating it's been so bad why do you hate the knicks right yeah i know you think i'm a knicks hater the way i'm talking about this but truly it has looked awful and i know recently they have missed jalen brunson and josh hart who are obviously massive to what they want to do but this team is more talented than to lose the way that they have been recently and i think there's so much pressure on one name and that is carl anthony towns there's been a lot of conversation especially after that whole debacle against the kings where he fell down didn't get back up didn't run in transition and then they they it led to a five zero run for the kings who are winning basketball games right now by the way when it comes to the knicks it's just like one how are you going to survive defensively with cat as your anchor and two if you are going to lean into cat as a passing hub as a playmaking hub especially with brunson out is he talented enough as a passer is he as smart of a decision maker as he can be to be able to make the reads make the right passes and execute and truthfully in this stretch he hasn't like he hasn't done what he's needed to for this team to be.

[Dave Dufour]

At their best we talked about this the other night after that kings game i mean he got outplayed by precious achua yeah and a lot of it is on effort and it's so weird because you would think that these are the moments that the knicks need carl anthony towns when brunson's not there he's supposed to be their other all star zena like he just doesn't play like.

[Zena Kada]

It i mean and breck brown calling him out the way he did and we've seen like mike brown is not afraid to call players out he's not afraid to call teams out and i'm sure katt wasn't expecting that it's just funny we've seen it recently even with eric spoelstra and khalil royer like there's just been weirdness in terms of players being called out by their coaches or something or comments being made but carl anthony towns i think deserves it i think karl anthony towns it's the level of money you're being paid the role that you were brought to play alongside jalen brunson and even when jalen brunson is out the role you're supposed to play is this is your team take it over and you're seeing a little bit of a clash in which yes mike brown was there to help or brought to new york to help with the offense but let's just be real mike brown likes his defense too you know what i mean and he really values that and karl anthony towns has never been someone that you would put that label on and i think trying to force him into this role of you need to have this defensive tenacity especially when you're not scoring the way you can be without jalen on the floor and it's a clash right now and so i think that the call out was necessary you can't be on the floor for twelve seconds and let the kings go score at will but that level of intensity is necessary and i think fifty percent of the defense is effort right exactly so for mike brown to go in and have that experience against the kings his former team and then have that experience against the warriors right his former team i just feel like there was there was a lot of energy already carl anthony towns needs to like wake it up for.

[Dave Dufour]

Him yeah again you gotta if you're the star and you're the guy like you've got to play like it they're also a little bit hamstrung because mitchell robinson can't play as much as they need him to but you're hamstrung by having to play carl anthony towns with mitchell robinson this is the problem that they ran into a little bit in minnesota where you can't have him as the five out there because you just can't trust the defense so i don't know a lot for the knicks to.

[Zena Kada]

Figure out before we figure this out though they're now one game ahead of.

[Esperahenny]

The raptors is that correct it's something like that it's it's something along the lines of that so yeah half a game back of of third yeah okay.

[Zena Kada]

Okay we can't sleep on the raptors.

[Dave Dufour]

Well the knicks are sleeping that's the problem they got to wake up yeah they got hey the cavs are awake guys seven and three in their last ten they've looked a lot better they get big back to back wins over the seventy six ers which you know obviously they're they're in a playoff battle for seating there jalen tyson has really come on this season i think like most improved player like we're starting to have these conversations about a lot of guys peyton watson anthony black who who has been excellent here lately especially keonte george keonte george but i think jaylon tyson should be up there as well he's a two way player this guy defends and i mean he had big thirty nine point game the other night on a team that's got donovan mitchell i don't know how that happens unless you're way better than we know there.

[Esperahenny]

He'S big that's a really really big advantage for him as a guard because he's crafty and he can create his own shot but he's also like six seven six eight so he can play wing next to donovan mitchell next to darius garland and the big thing is like he is replaced what they have needed or required from deandre hunter if you go back and watch them over the last ten games since they're seven and three it has been less deandre hunter and more jalen tyson and didn't i call this you did it's very true i was actually going to credit you just now xena because you mentioned this like a month ago deandre hunter has not worked out for this team this season defensively he has been terrible for them truthfully if you watch them a lot of their breakdowns have been deandre hunter not realizing a backdoor cut or deandre hunter missing a rotation whatever it is you don't necessarily get that with jaylon tyson who is younger so his effort has to be on one hundred percent as we've talked about with effort throughout this segment just now he buys in at a huge like he knows what he needs to do on any given night and i think to the point about the offense it just flows when you can have a bigger guy who can put the ball down on the floor so yeah he's been.

[Zena Kada]

Awesome and being able to have somebody that doesn't force a shot he's not looking to well he can drive and we'll see him drive but he only makes those drives when point five basketball doesn't equate for him to pass the ball out or to immediately catch and shoot that's the only time he literally i think it works the whole next man up works with coaches and schemes that allow for zero point five basketball to happen and so if you don't have donovan mitchell having to be the person constantly with the ball in his hand or darius garland constantly with the ball in his hand which we've seen with darius garland going down that actually helps kind of get the ball movement a little bit up interestingly enough yeah i don't i don't know if i've seen that consistently enough yet but i've seen you know we saw in that game at least against philly you're seeing jaylon tyson just be in the right space spots at the right time and also moving the ball or shooting the ball and when he has the right opportunity you see thirty nine points go up with seventeen field goals that's good decision making period i totally agree and.

[Esperahenny]

And to your point about garland i actually think they've they've started to figure out that they can't truthfully they can't rely on him this year because he's had multiple re aggravations to that toe.

[Dave Dufour]

And now it's actually the so he had the other procedure on one foot and it's the other toe now that's bothering him that's keeping him compensation that's.

[Zena Kada]

Your body compensating for yeah man so.

[Esperahenny]

Sad like at this point it's like lean into tyson more you know maybe he can create even more for you and i think really the the big switch for them has been on defense they were middle of the pack on defense to start this year they're now a top ten defense they're climbing up and i think that's mobley and allen playing better but just tyson substituting in for hunter who and you you get.

[Dave Dufour]

More switchable with tyson out there you can trust him on smaller players and you can trust him to go up a little bit i think that's helped him scheme a little bit more on the perimeter yeah the clippers guys stock is up and not just aspiration eight and two in their last ten they did have to send kawhi home from the road trip but you know they're they've got the wizards and the bulls coming up next so to me this is maybe there's a an injury issue there with him but this is good injury management for a guy who you know he's going to play in some meaningless games when you're finally try starting to find some footing james harden's been awesome this whole season and he was he was a monster the other night.

[Esperahenny]

Against the raptors he he was four minutes oh my god he was incredible he scored twelve straight points in the fourth quarter for them and he basically outscored the raptors at will in that fourth quarter and in overtime the connection of him and zubots is back by the way yep you can see the way that they're working together in pick and roll situations and i think shout out to ty lue because this takes a little bit of adjusting but he's leaned on some of his tertiary role players and a kobe sanders and a jordan miller and those guys are coming in and giving them really good minutes.

[Dave Dufour]

Having another ball handler out there in kobe sanders with those guys has been really that's one of the key changes that i've seen for this team over the last month and you know kawhi being healthy this this year is a is a big part of what they're doing right now absolutely they are now you know like they're a little bit more able to withstand him missing a game or two because of leaning into the guys like kobe sanders and that harden has been at an all star.

[Zena Kada]

Level yeah and that is why the real question is not if they are good we know that they're good we've seen these guys put up numbers we know that if you put the clippers in the situation like last year's series against denver nuggets they are going to push the folks i mean push guys like the denver nuggets to the max however it's not about if they're good it's about how long can james harden play forty minutes a night all the way to the playoffs i don't know if that's feasible i don't know and that's the that to me is the question is how long can you play these guys for that long every single night before they wear down they need.

[Dave Dufour]

Some depth they do they definitely need.

[Zena Kada]

Some depth but the kobe sanders thing i like that guy yeah i like his length i like he has i mean he went off against the warriors and i loved it because before the game i told chris mullen and bonte hill my host out in the bay i was like watch out for kobe once derrick jones junior went down i was like this is who they're going to turn to he doesn't turn the ball over he is big so you can switch with him on the perimeter and he doesn't take a lot of shots so he's not going to take away from what you're trying to do offensively yeah he's going to be a.

[Dave Dufour]

Good complimentary piece for them i think.

[Zena Kada]

Correct and now you're seeing him develop with game reps and that's that's fun.

[Esperahenny]

To see yeah they also feel like a team that's probably poised to make a trade here oh yeah for sure.

[Dave Dufour]

I mean that john collins expiring contract.

[Esperahenny]

Derek jones junior bogdan yeah bogdanovich that's.

[Dave Dufour]

Right they've got a lot of pieces out there they weren't as bad as they started the season yeah they're not as good as they as we thought they might be based on last year though sure right this is an old team i think they could use maybe a younger guy i mean maybe they're going to be in on john morant you never know with the clippers to be honest with you i know that there's this whole talk about them keeping the powder dry thinking about free agency two years from now but i i just don't know if i'd buy that hey guys the warriors seven and three in their last ten xena they're back okay are they back though because yes they beat the knicks but we talked about the knicks they're two and eight in their last ten no jalen brunson i just don't think the warriors are playing anybody right now xena hey that's.

[Zena Kada]

Okay that is okay because when it comes to the warriors the most important thing is that they're winning period right we have seen the warriors we've seen them beat the denver nuggets this year with jokic right we've seen them beat capable teams this season we have seen them lose to not what we would consider non capable teams this season one of the things that we have consistently been concerned about with the warriors all season long has been what is their identity and the thing about it is it keeps being whoever's on the other side of the ball and it's like oh you like to shoot threes guess what we like to shoot threes too even though they absolutely do oh you like to run in transition guess what we like to run in transition too it's like who are you other than the three point shooting right it's just like that's been the issue is we can't figure out who our our starting five are we can't figure out what our bench is doing and how they fit into the starting five and the rotations they they couldn't figure it out and in these last few games last fifteen when they've gone eleven and four they have figured out the starting lineup the bench unit has been dominating third in points per game right now in the league they have figured out the role players have stepped up and particularly d anthony melton has come back and he is looking good coming off of that acl injury and brandon pajinski has become an excellent decision maker excellent playmaker and also being able to make the right decision when he comes off the pick and roll whether it's for his shot whether it's for a dribble drive pull up or a dribble drive kick he has been excellent with that and the warriors overall have turned down like turned down their turnovers so do it against trap teams that's okay so beating.

[Esperahenny]

Bad teams is a good thing in the nba that's right i think we.

[Zena Kada]

Forget that exactly taking care of business is a good thing in the nba so i say build up this momentum they don't have a super hard schedule to close out the year stack the wins especially before you know all star weekend and find find a way to try chip away at the gap you've created for yourself in the western conference unnecessarily earlier this season they're twelve and.

[Dave Dufour]

Six since the anthony melton came back that has been the key change for them getting him back yeah he's huge but you know jimmy butler called them a mediocre team i think i agree with him like they i mean i.

[Esperahenny]

Mean they're playing on the conversation with the with the honestly the top six in the western conference right now i don't think they can even slide into the top six truthfully unless the rockets and lakers who have been struggling a little bit here unless they fall off i just i don't see it in their cards and also they're they're going to be a player in trade trade deadline too right like kaminga what happens with that are they going to go out and get a trey murphy who they reported to i don't know there's just a lot of things oh no.

[Zena Kada]

Trey murphy said he's off or new orleans said he's off the yeah but you know the market you never know.

[Dave Dufour]

Plenty of times you hear that and it doesn't turn out to be true anyway guys that's going to do it for today's show please go and do our listener survey at theathletic dot com survey twenty six we want to hear from you whether you've been here through the various iterations of this show or you're just joining us this season your voice is important and it matters please give us feedback also join our discord link is in the show notes we've had massive amounts of people join over the last few weeks so please come hang out with us you know subscribe to the youtube give us a five star review you guys aren't new here or to podcasting you know how it works for zena kada and esperaheny i'm dave dufour and this has been the nba daily thanks for hanging out with us.

[Zena Kada]

Foreign.

[Olivia from Ollie]

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[Zena Kada]

Ollie thy ticket lady jennifer of coolidge well many thanks good sir here is my discover card they accept discover at renaissance fairs yeah they do here discover is accepted at the places i love to shop get it with the times with the times you're playing the loot yeah and it sounds pretty good right.

[Dave Dufour]

Discover is accepted at ninety nine percent.

[Esperahenny]

Of places that take credit cards nationwide based on the february twenty twenty five nielsen report.