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- [00:00]
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- [04:08]
Host
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily. Coming up, the Cavs lost their third straight. We got a couple of game winners and we're going to compare them. And then Jovan Buha breaks down the Lakers, LeBron's comeback and what they need to do the rest of the regular season. Good morning everybody. Good morning. S. How are you?
- [04:35]
Co-Host
Good morning, sir. Man, what a night of basketball.
- [04:39]
Jovan Buha
Oh my goodness.
- [04:40]
Host
Another interesting night. We have playoff implications on the line with a lot of these games. But before we get to the the games that actually have some weight in the standings, we got to talk about the former best record holder in the league, the Cleveland Cavaliers. For the first time all season, they don't have the best record in the league. S. They lost their third straight game to the Kings. Big win for the Kings who are trying to stay in the ninth spot and hopefully, you know, get into that eight spot in the play end. But I want to start, I would just want to talk about the Cavs, like losing three straight for a team that we've seen just cruising all year long. It's starting to raise some questions. You know, I joked and said that they were frauds because they lost two in a row, but now that they've lost three, now they're definitely fraud. They're obviously not frauds, but I am a little bit nervous that the scouting report is catching up.
- [05:35]
Co-Host
Yeah, I mean, look, let me, let me try to contextualize the losses. So Orlando, they don't have Evan Mobley. I think Some of the physicality that Orlando threw at them outmatched Clippers. They had a fully healthy roster, but also some of that physicality. I think the length, especially Zubots did a great job in that, like, fourth quarter to be able to dominate. Right. You look at this game against Sacramento, I actually thought they did a really good job defensively against them. Devin Carter, the rookie was just a pest at the point of attack. I thought Malik Monk had a lot of good moments defensively. So this Kings team that's desperate sort of dug in and played good defensive basketball with no Zach Levine, seen no Demonta Sabonis. So I think, you know, credit to the Kings for locking in and doing what they had to to win this game. They had some electric moments from demar and Malik Monk in that fourth quarter to basically seal the deal. But I do think to your point, we are seeing teams be more physical with Cleveland. And when you're not, when you're missing a guy like tonight, the Cavs were missing Darius Garland. Right, Right. They are so much the sum of their parts, you know, they are, again, like I mentioned, like this egalitarian offense. When you take out one of those components, it makes it a little bit easier to be physical with them. Take away one part and then now you have that advantage, if that makes sense.
- [06:59]
Host
Well, we've talked a lot about Darius Garland and what he brings for them in fourth quarters total, you know, and they obviously were missing that. And you're going up against a Kings team that really kind of has his back to the wall a little bit. You know, the game didn't mean that much for Cleveland is another thing. I'm not trying.
- [07:17]
Co-Host
You know, OKC now could potentially get, you know, home court advantage.
- [07:22]
Host
City needs to do. Their destiny is in their own hands. If they win out in the regular season, they don't lose a game the rest of the way. They would be guaranteed home court through the finals if they made it there. So, yeah, no big deal.
- [07:35]
Co-Host
No big deal.
- [07:36]
Host
Don't lose another game. Speaking of losing games, I want to ask you a question. We had a couple of game winners. Which one was the worst way to lose? You had Cade Cunningham versus The Miami Heat, sending them to their ninth straight loss s with a banked in three pointer. And it's Cade Cunningham, like really good, but he hits the bank 3. So you chalk a little bit up to skill and put yourself in position to be lucky. But it's also luck or Andrew Nemhard, who just as a byproduct of good basketball offense Movement comes off a screen, catches a catch and shoot three wide open. 14.7 seconds left and puts the game away for the Pacers. Which one's the worst loss?
- [08:20]
Co-Host
Woof. Well, I think it's the worst loss would probably be the Mavs, cause they are officially out of the play in tournament. The Suns winning against the Bulls tonight made it so that the suns jump to 10th. Mavs now move to 11th. And Suns have a tough schedule moving forward, but they're kind of in the driver's seat because they have the head to head advantage tiebreaker wise with Dallas. So you know, to your point about okc, they kind of just have to keep winning in order to keep their spot here with 10th. When it comes to the game winner though, like the, the greatness of the game winner. I think the theatrics of Cade.
- [08:58]
Host
Sure.
- [08:59]
Co-Host
National TV first. I think it was like one of the first times the Pistons were on national TV this year.
- [09:05]
Host
Flexed into this.
- [09:06]
Co-Host
They got flexed into this game. I think that part of it makes it so much more intriguing because of how great this Pistons season has been. I mean, you, you, you think of like all the great moments from this Pistons year. The, the records that they've broken and we've talked about this was sort of a cherry on top affirming everything, right?
- [09:24]
Host
Yeah. Cade Cunningham, by the way, gotta eat my Cade Cunningham pie.
- [09:30]
Co-Host
Cunningham. Yeah, yeah.
- [09:32]
Host
25 point triple double for him in a national TV game, which the broadcasters kept kind of bringing up that, that the Pistons were flexed into. Right. You know, they don't really control the schedule.
- [09:44]
Co-Host
They should maybe flex them in again, you know.
- [09:46]
Host
You know, I talked about this with Fred Katz on the Cats and Shoot podcast and we talked about the Knicks and I think that the Detroit Pistons are a little bit of a nightmare matchup for the Pistons. And I think that this idea that we're just going to like pat them on ahead when, when we get to the playoff time and just say, hey, congratulations guys, you did a, did a really good job to get here. Now go sit while the adults go move on into the second round. This team has enough juice that I think that they could be a really scary matchup for anybody in the first round.
- [10:20]
Co-Host
Yeah, I mean, look, they, they are extremely confident and you watch them throughout games like it's Ron Holland talking trash constantly and he's one of their rookies, Isaiah Stewart, who's just like always in the mode of like defending his teammates. You have these veterans in Tobias Harrison, Tim Hardaway and Malik Beasley and those guys are uplifting the younger players. It just feels like the camaraderie is there for them to, like, believe in themselves more than anybody else believes in them type of thing. And it just makes for a really dangerous team in the postseason.
- [10:53]
Host
There's a real esfondiar choice there to make you choose between talking about Kade Cunningham and the Pistons and Andrew Nemhardt.
- [11:01]
Co-Host
I know, I know, I know.
- [11:03]
Host
It was tough. It was tough.
- [11:04]
Co-Host
Hey, look, it was a pretty good game for the paces, too.
- [11:07]
Host
Whatever. It's all good. It was. Speaking of the Knicks, they went to San Antonio and they showed up to a rodeo. My guy, Sandro Mamuli. Mamu had the game of his life off the bench for the Spurs. 34 points, 7 of 7 from 3, 13 of 14 from the field, 1 of 1 from the free throw line because you got to hit those nine rebounds, three assists, a steal, and only one foul in 19 minutes. Incredible game. Garma Joba.
- [11:41]
Co-Host
Oh, my goodness. I don't know what that means, but I agree. Garma Joba.
- [11:45]
Host
Mamu, he is. What a game.
- [11:47]
Co-Host
So there. There's so much to talk about here, actually, honestly. So 34 points in 19 minutes. That is the first time that has ever happened in NBA history. Ridiculous to think of that. A player scored 34 plus points in 20 minutes. First time ever. Okay. The other thing, he's apparently a very, very good friend of flava flaves. And so Flavor Flav was at the game, post game. He joined in on the post game press conference. Mamu got MVP chance throughout the game, which of course he did with the performance that he put on. But apparently him and Flavor Flav went one on one before the game. And they split the. They split the games that they played. I think they like one one, lost one. And that's what motivated Mamu to drop 34 on the Knicks.
- [12:39]
Host
Mama was an extremely nice guy. That's all I'll say about that. You know, and also, hey, by the way, go, go. Also had a pretty nice game. Yeah.
- [12:47]
Co-Host
Yeah.
- [12:47]
Host
The Knicks did not have a good game.
- [12:50]
Co-Host
No, they did not.
- [12:51]
Host
Not a good game for the Wolves, who lost to the Pelicans. So we, you know, let's kind of update the standings just a little bit. The. The Timberwolves are desperately trying to get out of the play in, and they keep kind of shooting themselves in the foot. They're losing these games that they really need to win. You know, Zion Williamson had a really nice game, but the Pelicans are not a good basketball team. And the Wolves are supposed to Be. The Wolves now, statistically, are the eight seed. They have the. You know, they are one game back of the warriors for that six spot. They're tied with the Clippers and s. Look, man, this is the. They were on this nice winning streak.
- [13:31]
Co-Host
Yeah.
- [13:31]
Host
Now they're. They're stumbling a little bit. This is kind of what they've done all year long, where they have these nice runs and then they just fumble the ones they're supposed to win.
- [13:42]
Co-Host
Yeah, they are. They're probably the most confusing team in the NBA just because, you know, we've been through stretches where I try to convince you that the Timberwolves are better than they actually are, and then they kind of prove me wrong. In moments like this, they lose in that weird fashion to the Pacers, and then they lose tonight to the Pelicans. And they didn't have anybody on the team who could guard Zion Williamson. Like, there was just. And for what it's worth, he's a very. Not a lot of players.
- [14:07]
Host
Yeah.
- [14:07]
Co-Host
Right. But they just didn't. They didn't have anything for him. And I think that's. That's something to look forward to if you try to think of, like, other bigs that in the west that they're going to have to try and guard and defend against. And so the Wolves. It's just confusing to watch that team night in, night out, not have a true identity to hang their hat on.
- [14:27]
Host
Yeah. The Suns win, The Mavs lose. The Suns are now in that 10th spot. The. The Trailblazers are only two games back of the Suns after beating the Grizzlies. This is starting to sound like basketball when they're talking about the tournament. But the Grizzlies now have fallen to the five spot in the West.
- [14:48]
Co-Host
Right.
- [14:48]
Host
The Nuggets are the four spot, and the Lakers are back in that. In that three spot.
- [14:54]
Co-Host
Actually, the Lakers still. Oh, you right.
- [14:57]
Host
You're right.
- [14:58]
Co-Host
They are.
- [14:58]
Jovan Buha
Yeah.
- [14:58]
Host
The standings just updated for us while we were recording. It was very nice. So, as you know, we're looking ahead a little bit. We're thinking about playoff time. Yeah. Who has, like, nothing. They have to play like there is nothing to lose. They have to win every single game for the rest of this week. I mean, I like, we're. We're thinking the Wolves here, the Suns are really on the precipice. The. The Blazers, it seems like they kind of want to make the play in.
- [15:28]
Co-Host
Yeah. Who's the team who's got to play.
- [15:31]
Host
The most desperate basketball?
- [15:33]
Co-Host
Yeah, I think it's definitely The Suns. And it's, it's funny because, you know, Ryan Dunn finally out of the doghouse. Also Gadara playing finally minutes. You know, their rookies were actually being really impactful early on in the season. They fell out of the rotation. Now they're back in the ro.
- [15:50]
Host
Game changer for their defense to have.
- [15:52]
Co-Host
Those guys back out there 100%. And another thing to mention is that in this little stretch where they've been playing better, no Bradley Beal, and I think he has been pretty detrimental on the defensive end for them generally, just not having that effort to buy in at the point of attack. And so their point of attack defense is a little bit better over the last week or so. I'm interested to see how the Suns look because they have a really, really tough schedule moving forward too. So not only are there a bunch of must wins so that they can stay in the play in, but they're doing it against some of the best competition. So good test, tough schedule.
- [16:27]
Host
Yeah. The Lakers took care of business over the Nuggets. No Jokic, no Murray again for the Nuggets. No. No Miracle. Although Aaron Gordon had another really nice game. But the Lakers took care of business and we caught up with Jovan before the game. So Yovan Buha, our beat writer that covers the Lakers over at the Athletic, caught up with him before the game and he mentioned this team needs to shoot. And they shot the ball extremely well. I mean, what did they put up in the first quarter? I mean, I thought they were going to score 60 at one point. They wind up with 46 in the first quarter. And here I am thinking, wow, Yovon, just so prescient of mine here. He really understood what was going to happen tonight.
- [17:08]
Co-Host
Luka nearly outscored the the nuggets in the first quarter. He had like 20 plus points in like six minutes of action. He was bowling from out the gate like they were throwing single coverage at him and he was just like, all right, I'm walking to the paint and getting buckets. And as soon as they started throwing doubles at him, it was like, okay, I'm getting Austin Reeves involved. I'm getting whoever else involved. So really good offensive game for the Lakers and pick up a huge win when it comes to the standings, right?
- [17:36]
Host
Yeah. And another big game for Austin Reeves, 22 points, eight assists. I mean, again, Lakers look good, guys stick around after the break. Yovon will be here to let us know when LeBron is coming back. The Lakers are still playing without LeBron James for now, but he's Back soon. Here to talk about when he's going to come back and hopefully give us an actual date. Jovan Buha, who covers the Lakers for, for us at the Athletic. Yovon, I'm putting you on the spot. I want to start because look, this team since the Luka Doncic trade, they feel like a contender. And when LeBron was out there with Luca, I mean we got a new version of Showtime and I think it was bringing out the best in both of those guys. Obviously he's been out for a minute now. What's his, the latest on LeBron and when can we expect to see him back out there?
- [18:41]
Jovan Buha
Yeah, so he's technically day to day, but he's been day to day for over a week now. So maybe it seems more like week to week, but it seems like philosophical there. Exactly. I think the, the soonest we will see him is Saturday against Chicago, but probably more likely at some point on that road trip that they're about to go on. They're going to Orlando and Indiana and Chicago and Memphis. They got a four game trip next week. So I think most likely at some point on that trip, but there is a slight chance that he is back Saturday against Chicago.
- [19:16]
Co-Host
Okay, interesting. That's going to be interesting because nice little schedule going there for Lake.
- [19:21]
Host
Hopefully.
- [19:21]
Co-Host
Then they need reps. Yeah, yeah, exactly.
- [19:23]
Jovan Buha
They need as many reps as possible.
- [19:25]
Host
Yeah.
- [19:26]
Co-Host
How about Rui Hachimora because obviously he went, he went down with that knee injury as well and I thought he was a really important piece for them when Luca was there as sort of a release valve. What's the update on Rui?
- [19:38]
Jovan Buha
Seems like Chicago is in play for Rui to make his return. He started doing some three on three action so that, that's, that's their ramp up process. I think the Lakers with both players and in general have been a bit cautious with injuries this year. They are trying to prioritize health over seating. So I think Ruiz, on a similar timeline to LeBron, he's a little bit closer to returning. So I think that that's probably more of like a 50, 50 for Saturday and then if not at some point early on the road trip, health overseeding.
- [20:08]
Co-Host
His injury is interesting though. That's very, very interesting. Like, I mean the fact that they're willing to concede the injury aspect and, and letting these guys get healthy versus dealing, trying to go for that two seed, is that more of a confidence in what they have this year or just the fact that they have LeBron and Luke on the roster and they don't care. Right.
- [20:28]
Jovan Buha
I think, I think it's more the latter. They just feel like in any series they play, they're going to have two of the three best players, if not arguably the two best. I think if you put them up against Memphis, you put them up against Houston, they're confident they have the two best players on the floor. So I think regardless of kind of how the seating plays out, I think the two except would obviously be OKC and Denver because of how great Shai and Nikola Jokic are, you know, individually. But outside of those two matchups, which it doesn't seem like the Lakers are going to drop to eighth, I think LeBron would have to have some type of setback or maybe like a re aggravation upon returning. And even the Denver matchup, like, I guess they could match up something like three, six, but that's seeming unlikely. For now, it seems like Lakers will probably finish in that top five. So assuming they're in that top five, they like their matchup against Memphis or Houston or potentially Golden State. So I think for, for now, of course, they want to be the two or three seed if they can secure that. And they're still in that mix, to be clear. But with this Denver, Milwaukee back to back and just, you know, they have the third toughest remaining schedule the rest of the way. And you look at it, two games against okc, two games against Houston, Memphis, it's a pretty tough schedule down the stretch, eight of their final 12 games on the road. So realistically, I think the two seed is probably a long shot. Even the three seed is prob the best case scenario. And I just trend more toward like being rational about this. So I think they're probably going to be in the four or five mix. And whether they have home court or not, I think that they like their odds against anybody in that kind of range.
- [22:04]
Host
Yeah, I think they, they just need to avoid a four or five matchup with Denver. And I, I, I tend to agree with you. Houston, Memphis, both of them feel pretty beatable for the Lakers during this stretch without LeBron, I think it's safe to say Austin Reeves has really stepped up his game quite a bit. Now, I, I'm of the opinion he's done that all year, but you look back at his last five games, you know, it's 30, 28, 37, 28. What, what is this like to have this much playmaking out there? I mean, because one of the big issues for the lakers during the LeBron era has been a lack of playmaking that you can trust. And now you've got these two guys in Austin Reeves and Luka Doncic who are showing that they're next level kind of playmakers. And you're going to add LeBron to this mix. So Austin Reeves, is this real? I think is my question, right?
- [22:56]
Jovan Buha
Yeah, it is real. And I think he is a player who we've seen, like, he's got a versatile skill set where I think he could scale into different roles. And that's kind of been looking at his first four years as a Laker. He goes through these, like, stretches of like two to three months kind of in different roles. Sometimes he was like a sixth man, sometimes he was a star harder. Sometimes he was on the ball more, off the ball more. And I think that speaks to the versatility and scalability within his skill set. And I think you've seen even pre Luca trade, whenever LeBron or AD would miss a game, Austin would step up and get you 25, 30, 30 plus points as the number two guy. And in some ways, it kind of makes you wonder, like, if this guy was in a different situation where he was the true number two on a team or even the number one, like, what would that look like? What would his numbers look like? And obviously, I. I think there would be maybe some concern about, like, how good that team would ultimately be. But from a numbers and productivity perspective, he is up there with, like, I think we should talk about him in that, like, best number three conversation. I think there are several. You know, like, Chet comes to mind.
- [24:03]
Co-Host
It's become a conversation recently.
- [24:05]
Jovan Buha
We have a conversation.
- [24:06]
Host
Okay.
- [24:06]
Jovan Buha
Like, Chet is someone that I would clearly take ahead of Austin, but I think a few weeks ago, people would probably have him, like, middle of the pack in that conversation. I think he's right there in, like, that top five of. And if we're just talking offense and not looking at both sides of, it's just like, who do you want as a number three to, like, get you a bucket or playmake, run a second unit? Austin, I think, is right there basically with anybody. So it's been incredible to see his trajectory. He's certainly improved and taken it to a different level this season, but I think this is for, certainly for real. Like, he had a couple of slow games there where he came back from his calf strain where he didn't look like himself. But now these last few games, he looks like Austin. And when they need him to step up, he has done so this season.
- [24:51]
Co-Host
Yeah, Jovan, you mentioned that scalability, and I Think that's the one thing that pops out when you watch Austin Reeves play basketball. It's the ability to just morph into whatever the team requires. And pre Luca, it was all right, cool. They need a secondary creator, secondary scorer. He's having one of the best isolation scoring seasons of his career. Great pick and roll player who was having a good pick and roll season last year, now having an even better pick and roll year. And you look at, at how Luca has affected that. You wrote about the geometry of their offense sort of changing when Luca coming into this game and how Luca and JJ have worked to kind of create a seamless offensive function to everything that they're trying to do. How is the relationship between Luca and JJ morphed into something that seems to be already fruitful for them?
- [25:41]
Jovan Buha
Well, to go back about a year ago in what JJ likes to call his past life when he was an analyst and a podcast caster, he did an interview and he was asked, if you could coach any player in the NBA, who would you coach? And he said, Luka Doncic. And I think that in and of itself is telling as to how JJ sees the game and the type of player that he or the type of players that he likes. But we've seen this team completely shift their offensive philosophy where pre Luca Trade, they ranked 26th in three point attempts per 100 possessions. Post Luka trade, they are now second in the NBA in three point. Like that is a significant shift. Right? We're talking bottom five in terms of, in attempts to top two behind only Boston. And it's, it's funny because Boston's still like almost 10 attempts ahead of them because they just, they let them fly. But I think with one of the things that, that JJ had lamented earlier in the season was the, in it, the, the, the, the just how tough things were for them offensively despite having LeBron and AD and those guys not necessarily commanding a defense's full attention in terms of always drawing two to the ball. But you see it now, they just run high pick and roll with Luca and Jackson Hayes or some type of double drag action. And all of a sudden you get two guys on Luca and then it just becomes a Math game of 4 on 3 or 3 on 2. And when one or two of those guys are LeBron and Austin Reeves, that's just like grade school basketball for the lakers. So with LeBron, especially if he is the, the guy on like the weak side kind of catching that outlet pass or that, that, you know, swing reversal, all of a su can get downhill, he can shoot the three. He's been shooting above 40% on catch and shoot threes this season, or he could find the open man and like just it becomes really simple. So I, I think the, the way that teams kind of freak out whenever Luca runs a, a pick and roll, that's become a, a significant advantage for the Lakers. And really they, they've been. The shot quality has gone up, the results have not really been there. And I, I think they are due for some positive regression offensively where once they start to actually make these threes at like a league average rate or potentially even higher just because they're getting so many open ones, you can see this team take a significant step offensively to match the defensive end. So in terms of Luca and jj, I think they see the game very similarly. Like, Luca's fine playing off the ball. We've seen him screen a little bit more, we've seen him come off pin downs and, and they've run some off ball actions for him. So I think JJ's made it clear that Luca is the point guard. He is the primary ball handler, as he should be. And I think right now the biggest thing is just the reps that they got to figure that out. But in terms of how they see the game and just being on the same page, I think really JJ shifted more toward what Luca wants. But what Luca wants is what JJ wanted from the beginning. They just didn't have the personnel. Yeah.
- [28:32]
Host
Before we get out of here quickly, what, what does this team need to improve on before we get to the playoffs?
- [28:39]
Jovan Buha
Interestingly, I think the offensive end defensively, since the Dorian Finney Smith trade, they are fourth in the NBA in defensive rating since mid January when they kind of had a turning point there. They lost three in a row and then they had this big turnaround, their second in the NBA and defensive rating. So I think the defensive end, despite like optically not having the best personnel necessarily, JJ's game planning and the buy in from the group has led to this team being consistently a top five defense for going on three months now. So I think that's pretty sustainable. Maybe they slip a little bit, but, but they should be at a minimum a top 10 defense moving forward. I think that the key is getting to the top 10 offensively, if even the top five, given their personnel. And that has been a little bit more of a struggle where oftentimes if you just scan the box score briefly, you'll see it's like Luca, LeBron and Austin are double figures sometimes. Rui as well and then basically nobody else. So I think right now they have a pretty top heavy offensive attack and it's not because of you're lacking a playmaking or guys playing selfishly. They are generating shots for their role players, they're just not really making them lately. So I think once that that starts to click and they start to face those 4 on 3, 3 on 2 situations more consistently with the full roster, that's where you'll start to see the offense ascend to a different level. So I actually think it's like it still continues to be the offensive end. That's a work in progress. But that's the side to me that has the highest upside and if they can make that click, that's where I think this can't this team can win a championship.
- [30:14]
Host
That's right. Jovan Buha, let's quote him, says the Lakers need to make shots. Make some shots. Go and go and read Jovan over at the Athletic. Follow him for everything. Lakers. If you follow him on the app, you get a notification every single time he posts a new story, which feels like every day, man. Yovan Buha, thank you for joining the show. That's gonna do it for us, folks. For Esperahenny, I'm Dave Dufour and this has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us.
- [31:09]
Jovan Buha
As we head into the playoffs, it's safe to assume there will be a few calls made by the refs that will be hard to accept. But you know what isn't hard to accept? Discover. Believe it or not, Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide. You heard that right, 99%. So make a good call for your wallet and get Discover. Based on the February 2024 Nielsen report. Learn more at discover.com creditcard this podcast.
- [31:35]
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- [32:28]
Jovan Buha
Acast powers the world's best podcasts. Here's a show that we recommend.
- [32:36]
Host
Remember.
- [32:36]
Co-Host
Blowing into a video game cartridge or.
- [32:39]
Host
Taping songs off the radio? How about Saturday morning cartoons? Hey, AOL chat room rooms. Did we just age ourselves? Yep. We're Mike Finoya and Charles McBee, two comedians getting nostalgic and asking that nagging question, Are we old? Relive the laughs, the cringes, and the nostalgia. Are we old? Podcast right here on Acast.
- [33:11]
Jovan Buha
ACAST helps creators launch, grow, and monetize their podcast everywhere. Acast. Com.