Jalen Green blasts Grizzlies for 42 | Cade Cunningham in the Garden

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Athletic NBA Daily — "Jalen Green blasts Grizzlies for 42 | Cade Cunningham in the Garden"

Release Date: January 14, 2025

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Introduction

In this episode of The Athletic NBA Daily, hosts Dave DuFour, Esfandiar Baraheni, and guest Hunter Patterson delve into the latest NBA action, focusing on standout performances, team dynamics, and future prospects. Skipping over the initial advertisements, the discussion kicks off with an in-depth analysis of the Houston Rockets' impressive victory over the Memphis Grizzlies, followed by a critical examination of the Golden State Warriors' struggles. The episode concludes with an engaging conversation about the New York Knicks' surprising loss to the Detroit Pistons and the implications for the upcoming trade deadline.

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Houston Rockets vs. Memphis Grizzlies: A Stellar Performance by Jalen Green

Timestamp: [04:44]

The conversation begins with a highlight of the Houston Rockets' dominant performance against the Memphis Grizzlies. The Rockets secured their third win of the season with a close score of 124-118, underscoring their resilience and competitive spirit.

Jalen Green’s Exceptional Play

• Esfandiar Baraheni praises Jalen Green's standout game, noting his 42-point explosion that nearly culminated in a game-winning dunk:

  "Jalen Green had a ridiculous game putting up 42 points and he had almost had... that dunk of the year."
  ([05:23])

• Dave DuFour echoes this sentiment, emphasizing Green's offensive versatility and defensive contributions:

  "He's been putting together a lot of great games... making plays defensively, whether it's getting a steal, getting a deflection, blocking shots."
  ([06:30] - [10:37])

Rockets’ Defensive Prowess and Team Dynamics

• Esfandiar Baraheni highlights Amend Thompson's multifaceted performance:

  "Amend Thompson... 19 points, 13 rebounds, four offensive rebounds, four assists, two steals, five blocks. That guy is a Swiss army knife."
  ([07:16] - [08:14])

• The discussion also points to Fred VanVleet's critical role as a playmaker:

  "Fred Van Vleet is their most important player... leading and table setting for a really, really good Rockets team."
  ([09:41] - [10:45])

Rockets’ Offensive Strategy and Challenges

• The hosts analyze the Rockets' offensive strategies, including late-game shots by VanVleet and the reliance on key players:

  "He has to take a step back or just shoot... even more dangerous... super impressive to me for a young guy."
  ([10:37] - [14:53])

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Golden State Warriors: Struggling and Considering Future Moves

Timestamp: [05:39]

Transitioning to the Golden State Warriors, Dave DuFour and Esfandiar Baraheni express concern over the team's recent performances and internal dynamics.

Performance Decline and Team Sentiment

• Dave DuFour reflects on the Warriors' declining performance and contemplates potential trades:

  "And these comments kind of give me a little bit of pause, man. I'm just not used to hearing Steph Curry, like, think about the two timeline stuff."
  ([12:03] - [13:18])

• Esfandiar Baraheni discusses the Warriors' competitive nature juxtaposed with their current struggles:

  "These guys are hyper competitive dudes... it just feels like they're mailing it in at this point."
  ([12:03] - [12:34])

Leadership and Future Prospects

• The hosts speculate on Steph Curry's longevity and the team's future trajectory:

  "I tend to think Steph is probably going to play till he's 40. Just because. Why not?"
  ([15:18] - [16:04])

• They also address the potential impact of trades and the importance of veteran players like Andrew Wiggins:

  "Every time you try to do a trade with them, you start to realize that Andrew Wiggins might have to go out."
  ([14:45] - [15:03])

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New York Knicks vs. Detroit Pistons: Unexpected Turnaround

Timestamp: [16:23]

The episode shifts focus to the New York Knicks' surprising loss to the Detroit Pistons, despite the Pistons' recent improvements.

Pistons’ Surging Performance

• Dave DuFour highlights the Pistons' significant turnaround, now holding a 21-19 record, their best in six seasons:

  "The Pistons are now two games over .500. That's right, 21 and 19 after a 124 to 119 win."
  ([19:17] - [19:54])

• Hunter Patterson attributes the Pistons' success to their close-knit team dynamic and youthful energy:

  "This is a really close knit group... they seem to all really genuinely care about each other."
  ([20:06] - [20:33])

Cade Cunningham’s Impact

• Dave DuFour commends Cade Cunningham for his leadership and dual impact on both offense and defense:

  "He's gotten a lot of attention this year for what he's done offensively... but his defense... he's been really good defensively as well."
  ([23:12] - [23:45])

• Hunter Patterson emphasizes Cunningham’s role in fostering team cohesion and defensive robustness:

  "He'll be able to rotate, help the helper in certain situations... he's been really good defensively as well."
  ([23:45])

Knicks’ Defensive Struggles and Key Players

• Esfandiar Baraheni points out the Knicks' defensive miscues and the impact of key player injuries:

  "They were struggling defensively... Malik Beasley wide open two times... Jalen Brunson was obviously great."
  ([17:12] - [18:31])

• The discussion touches on Carl Anthony Towns' injury and its implications:

  "Carl Anthony Towns was good. He has that thumb issue that popped up during the game. We'll see how serious that is."
  ([17:12] - [17:55])

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Trade Deadline Implications and Future Strategies

Timestamp: [26:12]

As the trade deadline approaches, the conversation explores potential moves for struggling teams like the Warriors and Pistons.

Detroit Pistons’ Trade Considerations

• Hunter Patterson suggests that the Pistons might need to reinforce their roster to support Cade Cunningham, especially with Jaden's injury:

  "They should focus on having someone who can be just a second ball handler when Cade's not in the game."
  ([26:19] - [27:35])

• The possibility of acquiring veterans like Malcolm Brogdon or Bradley Beal is debated, with concerns about injuries and fit:

  "I wouldn't [acquire Bradley Beal]... he just seems to have like terrible injury luck."
  ([27:35] - [28:08])

Golden State Warriors’ Trade Dilemma

• The hosts discuss the complexity of making impactful trades without disrupting team chemistry, particularly with key players like Andrew Wiggins:

  "Every time you try to do a trade with them, you start to realize that Andrew Wiggins might have to go out."
  ([14:45] - [15:03])

Strategic Adjustments for Playoff Push

• Hunter Patterson emphasizes the importance of strategic additions to maintain competitiveness:

  "The better Cade is, the more pressure Trajan may feel to try to surround him with people as soon as possible."
  ([28:22] - [28:32])

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Conclusion

The episode wraps up with reflections on the day's discussions. Dave DuFour acknowledges the continued growth and potential of teams like the Pistons while expressing concern over the Warriors' direction. The hosts encourage listeners to stay engaged as the season progresses, anticipating exciting developments and strategic moves as teams vie for playoff positions.

"These guys are fun to watch. You don’t know the outcome before you turn on a Pistons game."
([28:52])

Hunter Patterson and Esfandiar Baraheni reinforce the importance of team chemistry and individual performances in shaping the NBA landscape going forward.

"He's shown us right. Appreciate you."
([28:57])

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Notable Quotes

• Esfandiar Baraheni on Jalen Green's performance:

  "Jalen Green had a ridiculous game putting up 42 points..."
  ([05:23])

• Dave DuFour on Amend Thompson’s versatility:

  "That guy is a Swiss army knife."
  ([22:40])

• Hunter Patterson on Pistons' team bond:

  "They seem to all really genuinely care about each other."
  ([20:33])

• Dave DuFour on Steph Curry’s longevity:

  "I tend to think Steph is probably going to play till he's 40."
  ([15:18])

• Hunter Patterson on Cade Cunningham’s defense:

  "He hasn't really gotten enough attention on his defense..."
  ([23:45])

---

This episode of The Athletic NBA Daily provides listeners with a comprehensive analysis of key NBA matchups, player performances, and strategic team considerations, offering valuable insights for both avid fans and casual followers alike.

Transcript

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[Dave Dufour]

Hello and welcome to the NBA Daily for January 14, 2025. Coming up, the Grizzlies and Rockets gave us another banger, the Warriors. Really bad. And we. I don't even know if they should make a trade. And the Knicks lost to our Pistons S. How about that? Good morning everybody. Good morning S. We're gonna dig into the Pistons being two games over.500 later on in the show with our guys. Patterson yeah, I mean, you know, it's funny that you really got me thinking about the Pistons in our big preview before the season and you've been on them this entire time. This is like a victory lap show for you. And it's amazing. They just went two games over.500. It's not like they're like.

[Esperaheni]

Yeah, exactly.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah, they are just out of the playoffs. They are just out of the top six, which I think is is very compelling. They're a fun team. They had a great game tonight, which we'll get to later on, but we got to start. I mean, I think the Houston Rockets right now probably feel like they own the Memphis Grizzlies. They pick up their third win of the season against the Grizzlies. They're now 3. 0 on the season. 12118 is a close game. The Rockets had to mount a comeback late. Jalen Green had a ridiculous game putting up 42 points and he had almost had. If he had finished this dunk on Zach Eddy would have been the dunk of the year.

[Esperaheni]

Yes.

[Dave Dufour]

And instead Edie gets called for a foul on something that, I don't know, in my opinion, you just, you just don't call those. Or it's an offensive foul, but either way another great game for the Rockets where they Just show how tough they are, man. They just do not stop coming.

[Esperaheni]

Yeah, they're incredible defensively. And I loved what Amend Thompson did against John Morant in that fourth quarter, making life hell for him. Like the point of attack defense, he was just taking on the assignment one on one, and so I thought that he had such a good game to mount that comeback. Like, their defensive effort was so important. Him in the dunker spot, what he was able to do offensively, too. Like, he connects together. So many things for that Rockets team. You think about the short roll area where Sengun is so good and so Shangun will catch it in the short roll, throw it up to Amen. Amends there for the lob defensively. He's kind of quarterbacking their defense at the point of attack, so, like, he glues together so many things that they want to do. I want to highlight Jalen Green, though, because I feel like people are pretty hard on Jalen Green. Right. We could agree on that.

[Dave Dufour]

I agree.

[Hunter Patterson]

Yeah.

[Esperaheni]

You know, and. And so this is a guy that has tons of expectations because he's a high lottery pick, has had months where he's looked exactly like the star that people thought he would. March and April. Jalen Green is well known in Rockets territory, but he's doing it right now on a very good team. And he's been doing it for the last, like, 10, 15 games. He's been putting together a lot of great games. I think he's been great as a decision maker, selecting his spots, picking and choosing when he wants to be a scorer versus a playmaker. All of this is coming together for him on a good team. And so I just. I feel like we need to shout him out when he is playing well because, like, he's a guy who gets dogged on a little bit too much when it comes to the Rockets and what potential they have to be good in the playoffs and whatnot, you know.

[Dave Dufour]

And his defense gets overlooked. Yeah, the guy makes plays defensively, whether it's, you know, getting a steal, getting a deflection, blocking shots, which actually is one of the things that he's sneakily good at. But speaking of amend Thompson, 19 points, 13 rebounds, four offensive rebounds, four assists, two steals, five blocks. That guy is a Swiss army knife, you know, and we were watching. We were also watching Knicks and Pistons. We were talking about his brother Assar, and I mentioned Assar might be able to be like, a superpower. Josh Hart. Right. More athletic, bigger, longer, faster, you know, maybe more skilled. I don't. I don't Know, but just could he do that? And I look at him men, and it's like, well, I don't know. Is he Andre Kinko without a jump shot? I. I just. He just opens up so much stuff for them. And you mentioned that little lob that Shingoon likes to throw out of the short roll when, when a man is in the dunker spot. They do that in crunch time.

[Esperaheni]

Yeah. And she almost lost it.

[Dave Dufour]

So, I mean, they really. That has become like a nice go to little bread and butter thing for them. If he ever. He doesn't. He's not a guy that has to shoot the above to the break three, right? No, but if he ever becomes like, if he could be Lou Dort from the corners, right, and just let him fly, hit him at 35 to 36%. And I mean, this guy all of a sudden becomes even more dangerous. I mean, the numbers he's putting up with no jumper when they're. They're packing the paint every time he has the ball, it's super impressive to me for a young guy, especially to not, you know, he gets knocked down, he gets right back up. I don't know, man. That team is just full of dogs. And then, you know, Fred Van Vleet late in this game. I keep saying that the Houston Rockets offense and crunch hit a big shot. It seems to be, hey, somebody throw the ball to Van vliet with about 2 seconds left on the clock and he's gonna throw up a moonshot and he hits it in this game, you know, but he's. He's taken the third most shots this season with less than four seconds left on the shot clock. And he's not their number one option, which is usually what you expect. Jason Tatum leads the league in that. But the thing about this team, we talk about the youth and we, we talked with Kelly Eco last week about Shangun being their best player, and I think Jalen Green is second. But, man, Fred Van Vlietz their most important player.

[Esperaheni]

Yeah, I mean, they need a table setter. He had nine assists tonight just off of those, like, short roll actions that I mentioned with Sengun. And I think that like, him being a, like just. I've covered Fred for basically his entire career now from Toronto to Houston, watching him grow as a guy who was first off ball catch and shoot guy, working next to Kyle Lowry and then really learning from Kyle how to be a ball handler and playmaker, developing that to the point where he's like leading and table setting for a really, really good Rockets team. It's funny because that number you put up, the grenade number of him kind of having to kill these possessions at the end for the Rockets, that is eerily similar to his last year with the Raptors, where their offense, their half court offense, was just so bad that they had to pass it to Van Vliet at the end. And, like, his field goal percentage suffers because of it. But his importance is unquestionable to this Rockets team and what they do, especially as a playmaker.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah, he's only shooting like 28 on those shots. I mean, it's tough. It's.

[Esperaheni]

It's literally hot potatoes. Yeah.

[Dave Dufour]

I mean, he's always having to take a step back or just shoot. Like I said, a moonshot over some guy. That's six, seven. The warriors, somehow last night, s. They. They lost to your Raptors. I'm thinking, let's do a deep dive. On what? The Raptor. No, we're not.

[Esperaheni]

Hey, look, Chris Boucher. We could talk. We could do nine minutes on Chris Boucher right now, who scored eight, what, 17 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter. That would be my.

[Dave Dufour]

My main Raptors, they're doing a little bit of a pump and dump with. With Chris Boucher's trade value, I think made it easy. Right. Like, so no Draymond for the warriors last night and no Jonathan Kaminga either. No Kaminga. But still, the Raptors are so sad. They're not even trying to win games. And so for the warriors to lose this. And they've been struggling for a while now. Yeah, I just. I don't know. I'm picking up on some, I'm not going to say loser vibes, but there's some, I would say, non winning vibes around the team. Draymond Green came out in an interview the other day, and he talked about, you know, the need to think about the future and this team being flexible. Yeah. And then post game, after the record, Steph kind of says the same thing, man. And this is just. These aren't the champions I'm used to listening to.

[Esperaheni]

Yes. Steph said that, you know, prioritizing the future after us is just as important. Leaving the organization part of the team. And I don't have rackets in stock. What's going on? Like, I don't understand that either. And for what it's worth, these guys are hyper competitive dudes, like we've seen in the past. Steph and Draymond are insane competitor. Same with Clay. Right. And so the fact that it just doesn't. It feels like they're mailing it in at this point. Mailing it in might not be the right word. They're not, you know.

[Dave Dufour]

Well, it's a weird vibe to hear from them because these guys are killers. I mean, Steph Curry literally put the world to sleep over the summer. And, you know, we came into the season, I had these very high expectations that you did. Clearly were way off base. But, you know, I. I really. I. I thought with the start that they had. This was a team that was going to be. Maybe. Maybe they're looking to improve at the deadline. And. And I'm guessing that they are, but these comments kind of give me a little bit of pause, man. I'm just not used to hearing Steph Curry, you know, like, think about the two timeline stuff. I mean, he just said a few days ago, it seems on. On a podcast with. With Andre Iguodala that the two timelines thing was garbage. So, I don't know, maybe this is them kind of back, you know, backpedaling a little.

[Hunter Patterson]

Maybe this is.

[Esperaheni]

This is reverse psychology. This is like, we know the warriors are not gonna make a move, so we're gonna say, hey, you know what? It's not a big deal to us. No problem. We understand. I don't know, man.

[Dave Dufour]

Maybe the media to. To negotiate a little bit here where they're just saying, you know what, yeah, that's fine. Let's. We'll worry about the future.

[Esperaheni]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. I mean, I. I think for what it's worth, I don't know if a trade or two saves this warriors team this season. They've been 20 offense over the last 10 games. Steph does not have any help. And I know Kaminga is gone. No Draymond in this one. But like Schroeder, that trade has not necessarily worked out in their favor. He's working in a shoebox in terms of spacing and just. It. It hasn't worked out. It really does not look good for the warriors outside of Steph Curry, and he's also dealing with this knee tendonitis thing, which is looming over all of this. So you're looking at a roster that has a clear flaw outside of Steph on the offensive end to create any sort of shot. And then you're looking at a team that defensively without Draymond craters. So it just. They're relying on these two old guys.

[Dave Dufour]

Well, the wild thing is that they're offense craters, too, without Draymond, especially when Steph's not out there. They. They lack organization. Right? And but they're not just one guy away in a trade. This isn't like trade for Jimmy Butler. And all of a sudden they're probably.

[Esperaheni]

Levine and you're good, right?

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah. Because every time you try to do a trade with them, you start to realize that Andrew Wiggins might have to go out.

[Esperaheni]

Right.

[Dave Dufour]

And that guy, I mean, look, has he been the Wiggins of the title season from a couple years ago? Definitely not, but he, he's been really important to them.

[Esperaheni]

Yeah, that's right.

[Dave Dufour]

On some nights he's the second best player on the court, so, you know, they're a team to watch. But I think that the, the question they've got to answer is, are we good enough to bother making a trade that's for this season. And maybe they need to be exploring things that are for next year.

[Esperaheni]

Let me ask you a quick question. Okay. How long do you think Steph Curry is going to play? How much longer?

[Dave Dufour]

You know, this is a tough one for me to answer because there is so much money involved and Steph Curry will get a fat paycheck from an NBA team as long as he wants one. Because he's Steph Curry, Right?

[Esperaheni]

Yeah.

[Dave Dufour]

So I would say. I mean, I'm surprised LeBron is still playing because this is unprecedented, but he's still playing at such a high level. I just. LeBron seems to think he's got three or four more years at this level. I don't have any reason to doubt him. And Steph, when he's healthy, is still playing at extremely high level. So I don't know. I. I tend to think Steph is probably going to play till he's 40. Just because. Why not? You know, like. Yeah, we always talk.

[Esperaheni]

Well, these are like, they're crazy competitive. They don't want to walk away from the game without giving it their all. But their organizations, their front offices also got to do their part.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah.

[Esperaheni]

Just saying, great job, you know.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah. The Lakers also look bad last night. Yeah. You know, and Wendy didn't even have that great of a game. He did have a pretty good game.

[Esperaheni]

But another old guy, Chris Paul, was carving him.

[Dave Dufour]

He did look good. Yeah. Maybe the Lakers could trade for Chris Paul. Would that solve their problems? I don't know. Before we, before we go to talk to Hunter after the break, I want to talk a little bit about the Knicks losing to the Pistons on the second night of a back to back. They got this big win Sunday against the Bucks. I mean, big. Like 34 points.

[Esperaheni]

Yeah.

[Dave Dufour]

Which is a nice bounce back after Losing to the Thunder. But they have to be extremely disappointed to have dropped this game against the Pistons. Now look, this is not the Pistons of the last five or six years. They are not a sad team anymore. They're a tough team, especially here lately. But this is a team that the Knicks are supposed to beat. And even on a back to back, they had all their guys. I mean, I, I just, I was a little bit lost that they were struggling so much tonight.

[Esperaheni]

Yeah, they were struggling defensively. I mean, there were tons of miscues at the end of the game where they left Malik Beasley wide open two times and it caused just like way too many breakdowns on the defensive end. Jalen Brunson was obviously great. Carl Anthony Towns was good. He has that thumb issue that popped up during the game. We'll see how serious that is. But, but Josh Hart had an interesting quote after the game where he said that, like, we're not where we want to be and we're halfway through the season, so if we have expectations of being a better team, we need to solve those mistakes. And he's had a few quotes here over the last week about inconsistent play, about kind of leaving your ego at the door. And I wonder what that means. Like who, what is he referring to? Who is he talking about in this situation? Is there an ego in that locker room? I'm not sure. This is just speculation at this point, but, but just interesting because it does feel like the Knicks are a bit uneven right now. You know, that, that huge loss to the Thunder, the win against the Bucks, and now a disappointing loss against the Pistons. And you, you've talked about like the zone. We talk about it with Hunter, about the zone defense and how much they're seeing that more often and the switching and it feels like the scout is out a little bit on how to beat this team. So it's just interesting to see like what the next 41 games are going to be for this next team.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah, they're struggling a little bit against non conventional defense. So, you know, something that feels like they can figure it out. I, I don't know. They've got the players for it. Guys, stick around after the break. We have Hunter Patterson on to talk about the Pistons. They're, you know, the turnaround they've gone through and Cade Cunningham's leap that he's making this season. Foreign the Detroit Pistons are now two games over.500. That's right, 21 and 19 after a 124 to 119 win.

[Esperaheni]

That's right.

[Dave Dufour]

Over the Knicks at MSG S. You've been on this since I'm preseason. You've been singing Cade's praises. And we've got our guy Hunter Patterson, our new beat writer that covers the Detroit Pistons on the show. He's live at msg. Looks great on camera. Welcome to the show. Welcome to the Athletic. Really good to have you. Big fan of your work. I gotta start with just The Pistons overall again, 21 and 19. Two games over.500. The first time they won 21 games in six seasons. This is the latest in the season that they've been above.500.

[Esperaheni]

And how long s. Oh man, 2017, 2018.

[Dave Dufour]

Wow. Hunter, I'm going to give you all the credit there. You've rubbed off. Just good luck. What's the secret to their, to their success, man? I mean they've been a fun story.

[Hunter Patterson]

Yeah, I think this is a really close knit group. The average age I was, I was looking at it last night is about a little bit over 24. The oldest person on this team is 32 and Tim Hardaway Jr. Who's been playing really well lately. So I think it's just a close knit group and they seem to all really genuinely care about each other. So I think their success has a lot to do with their bond even just away from basketball.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah, man.

[Esperaheni]

I want to ask you about the defense and I know that this is, this has been a huge point for JB Bickerstaff and like 18th in defense might not jump out to you as a success here, but after being a bottom five defense for five straigh great seasons, they've turned it around in a major way. What do you think that's for? Because they did a great job against the Knicks tonight. I mean I know Jalen Brunson and Kate Cunningham went back and forth but for the most part they, they posed some problems for the Knicks. So what did they do defensively this season that's been such a success for them?

[Hunter Patterson]

I think they really just bought into kind of the effort that J.B. bickerstaff is requiring everyone on the floor to have if they want to play. So he's. Earlier in the season was a little bit more strict I guess with, with his rotations. If there was a guy who didn't rotate over right, he had no problem bringing in Isaiah Stewart, for example, for Jalen Dern if he missed an assignment or was in drop coverage on a stretch five or someone who could shoot. So he's had a short leash defensively I would say. And then he's kind of giving them a little bit more rope as time has gone on to make mistakes and learn through them. And it seems like they're. They're better for it so far.

[Dave Dufour]

Well, I mean, look, he's also coaching them on defense because the, in this game against the Knicks, one of the ways that they threw the Knicks off was they switch into a zone.

[Esperaheni]

Zone.

[Dave Dufour]

And I'm, I was digging through my, my memory banks from last season, and I'll be the first to admit you don't have to watch a lot of Pistons games when, when you do this job, you wind up seeing the Pistons occasionally when they play good teams, but you don't have to watch them very much. But I couldn't remember them slipping into a zone like that very often. And you see this team aggressively trapping and switch. I mean, I just think that they're just more active in general. And you know, as you said, 18th is nothing to, you know, to. To really like, tout. But they've been better here the last few weeks. Even, I think the. You could say, like, maybe since December 1st, maybe Hunter, like, there's been a marked turnaround in the way that they're defending. I, I don't know if you can point your finger at any one thing.

[Esperaheni]

Outside eighth in the last. Just look.

[Dave Dufour]

There you go. Yeah. So outside of just, I think, like you mentioned, back to your point, Hunter, these guys, they're bought in collectively. And I, I gotta say, I gotta tip my cap to the guy that I think is, is honestly, he's showing to be a pretty good leader on the team. I think Cade Cunningham, not only has he grown as, as a player and playmaker, but he's got these guys following him. I. I think following his lead. And it's on the defensive end where he's been as disruptive as a playmaker as he has been on the offensive end.

[Hunter Patterson]

Yeah, I agree. I think he's gotten a lot of attention this year for what he's done offensively, the way he scores, the assist numbers, things like that. But his defense, there are possessions where he will fly around. He'll be pretty good on the point of attack. He'll be able to rotate, help the helper in certain situations. So I think Cade, he hasn't really gotten enough attention on his defense because he's been so. Just comfortable and in a rhythm offensively. But like you said, I think, Dave, he's. He's been really good defensively as well.

[Esperaheni]

So much of the conversation around Cade has been context, like on court context. And spacing, especially over the last couple years, it's like get cade the amount of help that he needs, the shooting that he needs to be able to really thrive. And we're seeing that this season with a guy like Tim Hardaway Jr. With Malik Beasley, the scoring load of a guy like Tobias Harris. And Malik was awesome tonight, too. I mean, he's been. He's been great all. All season, but like, what is the vibes of those older guys coming in and really, I guess, being leaders but also helping on the court offensively?

[Hunter Patterson]

Yeah, I think we were talking about it a little bit before we started, but Herb, that might have been. Since we started. It's been a long few days here in New York. But they are just such a young team. And Tim being the oldest person.

[Esperaheni]

Yeah.

[Hunter Patterson]

On the team, he's still a young person, like in general. So I think he does have a lot of NBA experience, though. He's had some vets that he's talked to me about. As far as Carmelo, Tyson Chandler, J R Smith, he's had some. Some pretty eventful, I would say, vets, if you will. And so he's just kind of passing that knowledge down to the younger guys on this team. And then Malik is just his own kind of energy for the team.

[Esperaheni]

You can tell on the court. You could tell on the court, right?

[Hunter Patterson]

Yeah, he can't wait to shimmy as soon as he hits a three. So that's like the first thing on his mind. But he's. He said that there was a fan court side who he was kind of going back and forth with. And the fan said that he hit four threes in the first quarter and hadn't done anything since. And he said that he told the fan, watch this. And then he hit the two threes back to back, so nice. That's the type of confidence he has.

[Dave Dufour]

At some point, fans are going to realize that these NBA guys are actual sickos and that you are only playing into their hands if you just make them mad. Even Malik Beasley, who is not somebody you would think of having the ability to flip the switch, but I don't know, man. That guy is kind of automatic right now. You know, we gotta just swing it looking forward a little bit. Okay. This is a team that's battling for the playoffs, and I think they've got a shot at that. Six seed. I. I think that six seed is not set yet. You know, look, the. The Pacers have looked good and I think they're moving up, but the Bucks have not looked Good. The Sixers can't get healthy. Embiid has got this foot issue now. I mean, yeah, this is a team that, that should be pushing to make the top six.

[Esperaheni]

Yeah.

[Dave Dufour]

What do they have to do between now and. I mean, I could say the trade deadline.

[Esperaheni]

The trade deadline. Let's bring it out.

[Dave Dufour]

All right, let's talk. The trade deadline. Yeah, I was going to say now at the end of the season, but let's. What do they need to do to down the trade deadline to improve, to, to try to actually be in that top six?

[Hunter Patterson]

Yeah, I think they were able to kind of stagger minutes between Jaden, Ivy and Cade. So they had someone they felt really comfortable with as far as a primary ball handler, someone who could get their own, own shots and create for others as well. So obviously now with, with Jaden breaking his fibula, there's a void there. Marcus Sasser had a nice game tonight and was able to come in and provide some good spot minutes when Cade was out. But I think that the thing that they should focus on now that Jaden is out is having someone who can be just a second ball handler when Cade's not in the game. If Cade is getting blitzed how he was tonight, even though he still worked around those issues. So just maybe someone who can come off the bench. I don't necessarily have a name, but just I've seen people say Malcolm Brogdon maybe since he's a veteran, pretty sure handed with the ball, but he does have injury issues as well. So maybe a veteran who doesn't need to do too much other than just control, pace and get guys in their spots.

[Dave Dufour]

Hold on. Let me ask you, man. Should they get in on Bradley Beal?

[Hunter Patterson]

I wouldn't, to be honest. Like, I've, I've seen, I've seen just the potential like him coming to Detroit. But Brad is another person who, it sucks for him, but he just seems to have like terrible injury luck.

[Esperaheni]

Yeah.

[Hunter Patterson]

Obviously a massive contract and I mean he's, he's a great scorer. I don't really think too highly of him defensively, but yeah, I don't know, I'm just not really too confident in Brad at this point in his career.

[Esperaheni]

Do you think they should, I mean, especially with where they are at standing wise. Do you think they will be more aggressive to maybe go out and make an addition or do you think they'll. They'll be confident and kind of just rolling with what they have?

[Hunter Patterson]

I think the better Cade is, is kind of looking on a daily basis. The more. Trajan may feel a little bit of pressure to try to surround him with people as soon as possible.

[Esperaheni]

Right.

[Hunter Patterson]

Given Kate is only 23, so he'll, he's not even in his prime yet. But, but I think the better K continues to look, the more pressure Trajan may have to try to make something happen.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah, well, hey, look, man, this team, they're fun to watch. I think that's a win in and of itself. You know, you, you don't know the outcome before you turn on a piston.

[Esperaheni]

And you also know what you have now in Cade.

[Dave Dufour]

Right.

[Esperaheni]

Like, you know, all star level.

[Dave Dufour]

I, I was wrong. I was wrong. He's shown me wrong all season long. Hunter Patterson, showing us right. Appreciate you. Welcome to the Athletic again. Welcome to the NBA Daily. Go and read him over at the ath. That's going to do it for today's show, folks. Thank you guys for tuning in for Hunter and Esperaheni. I'm Dave Dufour and this is the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us.

[Esperaheni]

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