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- [00:00]
Dave Devore
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- [02:28]
Xena Keda
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily for November 11, 2024. Coming up, the Bucks are down bad. After losing two over the weekend, the warriors are looking pretty good. Chad Holmgren might be out for a while. We've got our picks. We're looking at the NBA cup next week. Huge show. Good morning everybody. Good morning S Morning, Xena. Wow, what another crazy weekend. We're in Week four of the NBA regular season and it seems like every single weekend right now is just packed. The schedule makers really like front loaded the schedule. It feels like either that or it's the parody and the competitiveness. I don't know, but man, just a lot of stuff happening every single weekend. And unfortunately for the Bucks, a lot of stuff happening for them in the negative direction. They lose a couple of games over the weekend. They, they got blown out by the Knicks Friday and then they blew a 43 point Giannis performance and 11 point lead at halftime to the Celtics. And guys, the bucks are now 2 and 8. This is not good at all. And Zena, look, the vibes, when you lose, the vibes are never going to be good, right? But the vibes for me just, they feel really, really bad. There were a lot of stuff in the game, like there's some weird stuff with Giannis. It's, it's not the greatest.
- [04:01]
S. Barahenni
It isn't. And I'm very curious as to how they feel in the locker room as a collective. I've been actually listening to a lot of Giannis post game press conferences because I'm curious, as the leader of this team, as a person that called for a lot of the changes, or allegedly called for a lot of the changes you've seen with this team, how does he feel about continuously losing games that feel like they're winnable? So during the six game losing streak, it seemed that Giannis had a theme with everything he was saying and it was around, are we moving in the right direction, Are we shooting enough threes, Are we being competitive enough? And most recently after they broke that six game losing streak against the Utah Jazz, he felt like they had competed against the Cavs and against the Jazz. Then they went and got blown out by New York. And if you heard he had an outburst after that, yeah, he didn't feel like his team competed. He didn't feel like he was, they were doing what they needed to be doing or quote, moving in the right direction. Now I'm looking at this game tonight against or last night against Boston and if you look at the statistical breakdown of this game, it kind of looks like they were moving in the right direction. I mean, yeah, outside of three points pointers, right. They had a better field goal percentage, they rebounded well, they out, you know, outscored the Celtics and points in the paint. So I'm wondering like, if you lose this game against the Celtics, who put up 50 threes and ultimately that was the reason why they, the Bucks ended up Losing this game, are you that upset? Are the vibes that bad or are you happy that you competed? I think now you have to look at the games ahead and see they're not the Celtics. These are winnable games. Are you going to move in the right direction and get wins?
- [05:44]
Xena Keda
You know? Okay, so the, the 50 threes is certainly a part of it. And the Bucks definitely got to find a way to increase the 3 point volume like that.
- [05:51]
S. Barahenni
That is the only 32. It's not, it's not.
- [05:53]
Xena Keda
That's it. That's not going to, that's not going to work, especially against, against the Celtics. But the truth is, and s. I mean, we've kind of been on this since the preseason. Damian Lillard is a turnstile, the point of attack. And down the stretch in the, in the game against the Celtics, he's just being hunted. And, and there was just, there's very little effort on the defensive end from, from Dame. So like, that to me is a huge problem.
- [06:16]
Zena Keda
Yeah, I mean, look, I know that they blew a lead, a good first half lead, but I think that was partially because of the Celtics shooting. Like they just struggled in that first half. They got hot. And you know, the Celtics have a, have a way of figuring things out even when that jumper isn't going. And so when you get into a fourth quarter, hey, we got to out execute this team type of basketball game. The Celtics know exactly what they want to do on every single possession and they are going to hunt Damian Lillard. That's been the M.O. pretty much all season against the Bucks. And especially if it's in a close game, if it's, you know, even if it was the Cavs game or the Knicks game, whatever, they've been hunting Dame at the pick and roll, getting him switched on to whoever they want. And it's just tough because he has objectively been really, really, really bad on that.
- [07:06]
Xena Keda
Worse than even normal.
- [07:08]
Zena Keda
Yeah, totally. Yeah. And so I think it's just about figuring out ways where you can do that. I know they made that lineup change and you guys talked about Andre Jackson, like him at the point of attack, maybe helping on the perimeter a little bit more.
- [07:20]
Xena Keda
Young guys have actually been a bright spot for them. Totally. Ryan Rollins has given them solid minutes. You know, AJ Green has been their best shooter, you know, outside of, damn, I'm not going to take that away from him. But, you know, so they've been some bright spots. But then again, like again, talk about Giannis in the post game, but Giannis in the court. I mean, you know, he. He has a run in with Jalen Brown and kind of hits him with an elbow, the foot under Jason Tatum in the landing zone, which, look, I'm not going to say it was a purposeful dirty play, but it does seem to happen a lot. So, you know, I just. I don't know.
- [07:55]
Zena Keda
I'll just say that Giannis. Jalen Brown thing was extremely lame. Like, corny. And it's not corny because, like, I think Giannis is generally a funny. You know, it's a dad joke. It's a.
- [08:09]
Xena Keda
He does the j.
- [08:10]
Zena Keda
He does it. He does the dad joke bit, which is fine, but not when your team stinks. You know, that's the issue. Like, Giannis has been incredible. You look up and down the box score. He is doing exactly what he needs to. But I think also based on what you were saying, Xena, about, you know, that mentality and being ready, like, you need to kind of be prepared on the court and be focused on the court as well, because, like, you can't be doing jokes on the court when your team is two and eight. Man. I. I just. I don't see it, you know, and.
- [08:43]
Xena Keda
Also, I mean, especially in that. In that scenario where he just caught the guy with an elbow. I mean, it just. Yeah. You know, just Jaylen Brown was right.
- [08:51]
Zena Keda
To call him childish.
- [08:51]
S. Barahenni
That was just really quickly. I don't remember. Did the joke happen when the Bucks were up?
- [08:59]
Zena Keda
They were.
- [08:59]
Xena Keda
They were.
- [09:00]
Zena Keda
They were.
- [09:00]
S. Barahenni
I'm just saying.
- [09:02]
Xena Keda
Yeah. Very interesting point, Zena. I'm glad you mentioned that. By big in my house, the warriors looking really good. You know, they beat the Celtics last week. That. We're. We're not going to talk about the blowout against the Cavs because the Cavs are the best team in basketball right now, and, you know, everyone's losing them. But they go to okc, and Steph Curry does the thing that he does, but only they almost blew another lead because the Oklahoma City Thunder just never quit. The. The biggest thing from this isn't that the warriors won. I mean, I think we all know now that the warriors are. They're pretty good. But Chet Holmgren, five minutes into this game, Andrew Wiggins drives to the basket. They meet midair at the rim, and. And Chet takes a nasty fall and lands directly on his hip. Has to leave this game as they are already light in the middle. Hartenstein is out. You know, their big signing from the summer. The other, Jalen Williams is out. I mean, Kenrin Williams is out. I mean, their two hurt Centers helped carry Chet to the back. I mean, this is now a mass unit for the team that we thought was going to have all this depth, especially in the middle.
- [10:10]
Zena Keda
And we just got the update that Chet Holmgren suffered a right iliac hip fracture and a return to play protocol will be provided in eight to 10 weeks. So just really brutal news for the Thunder.
- [10:22]
Xena Keda
Not great news they had for very.
- [10:25]
Zena Keda
Large portions of this game. They were running five guards out there.
- [10:28]
Xena Keda
Yeah. Alex to Russo was essentially playing the five. Basically you can do that against the Warriors. The, the problem is though, you know, you run into Nicola Jokic, you run into Anthony Davis, you run into Zach Edie. I know Xena, you know, just throwing your guy in there. But you know, it gets tough because they are. I mean.
- [10:46]
S. Barahenni
Yeah.
- [10:46]
Dave Devore
And it.
- [10:46]
Xena Keda
And luckily, look, a lot of what they do defensively is predicated on that ball pressure on the perimeter, having like.
- [10:53]
Zena Keda
All the octopus forcing turnovers and. Yeah.
- [10:56]
Xena Keda
And so, you know, there's a world in which you can see them. Maybe they're going to generate turnovers to make up for the, for the rim protection, but man, that's going to be tough. That's a hard way to have to play defense every single night. Xena, I want to hit the warriors before we go to break because again, 8 and 2, Steph Curry, you know, putting OK Oklahoma City to sleep at the end of this game. You know, you're. You're as close to the team as we can get on this show. So you know what's been the magic is he. Steve Kerr. Steve Kerr is coaching his butt off. Let's just say.
- [11:28]
S. Barahenni
Let's say that Steve Kerr is coaching his butt off, but also his, his surrounding cast, Terry Stotts, Jerry Stackhouse, like they've been killing it in their respective roles. And really it just feels as. It feels as if the team is so bought in in a different way this year. And what I. What's really characterized by that are the adjustments you continue to see in every single game. One of the worst stats for the warriors throughout, even all these wins that they've had is their start. They have had so many slow starts, so many starts where three or four, three or more players are having two or less points in the first quarter. Exactly. It's like you can't have three players with zeros to close out the first quarter. What did you see against okc? A faster start, one big change. You saw big adjustment D. Anthony Melton. He was like the darling in the preseason for the warriors and he showed up tonight. Rebounding, shooting. I mean, literally a spot up shooter. You needed a three, you needed a mid range. He was there. Just the activity.
- [12:29]
Xena Keda
Said he's the starter. Exactly.
- [12:31]
S. Barahenni
He's established. I mean, he. It makes sense. He pushes the pace and he's also a big guard, which is great for them on the perimeter.
- [12:38]
Zena Keda
Great defensively.
- [12:39]
S. Barahenni
Right, exactly, exactly. So it's exciting to see the warriors not be the team that you saw them be last year, which is if they get down, they're going to stay down. Or if they get up and they lose a lead, the lead is lost. Right. They held off a very capable defensive team in okc. Top defensive team in OKC last night and it was really impressive to see. Okay, they've turned a little bit of a corner. You're going to continue to see these positive adjustments for the rest of the season.
- [13:07]
Xena Keda
Yeah, I mean, look, they're really good. I saw this coming, so of course they're. No, I'm just kidding. I've actually been really pleasantly surprised by how good they are. I thought they might be this good, but man, see again, Steve Kerr is pushing the right buttons. It's been a lot of fun to watch. Coming up after the break, we have to talk about the Cavs, who are now 11 and 0 and Nicola Jokic is prob. Probably the front runner for MVP again.
- [13:30]
Zena Keda
Sorry, S. Probably.
- [13:35]
Xena Keda
Again. It was just a crazy weekend in the NBA and there was so much stuff happening. I didn't get to see everything. So I was asking these guys, just help me catch up on some stuff I might have missed. Xena, what was your favorite thing from the weekend? What was like the best thing you saw this weekend?
- [13:54]
S. Barahenni
I'll say the best thing I saw this weekend was league pass shout out to the whole platform because. Because being able to see four or so games all at once is wonderful, but there's so many games that we're missing. These like super cool matchups. We're seeing teams that probably aren't the marquee teams fight and really battle to the end. Literally. Last night you saw Jalen Green yam on Cade Cunningham and apparently those two have a little bit of history, a little bit of beef. A little. A little bit of beef. Just a little bit from back in the day. So it was really cool to see the Rockets even though they ended up winning 122, 121 over the Pistons. Very great matchup between two young teams with a lot of talent on those rosters. I mean, over 28 games this weekend, 10 games were decided within six or less points and also in clutch minutes like it. It was surreal.
- [14:44]
Xena Keda
We got a Lamello ball game tying three to send it to overtime where he's fallen out of bounds, and then Paul George does the Gatorade commercial at the other end. It was. It was awesome. It was awesome. You've been plugged in on the Cavs. You were talking to me about how high you were on the Cavs in our preview before the season. So now they're 11 and up. Yeah. Why? Like what. What is it in your mind that's actually driving this thing, man?
- [15:13]
Zena Keda
It's interesting you say that because before the show I was kind of digging into the numbers to see what exactly it was. The defense has always been there for them. Right. They're ninth in defense right now and they've always been a top 10 defense. With the Evan Mobley, Jared Allen pairing. That's kind of. We already know that about them. It's the offense that's been surprising at the number one offense in the league so far this season. You mentioned the 11 oh start. First time since 2000 that a team has done that. 12th team in NBA history that has done that, which puts them in a historic category. Of those 12 teams, six of them made it to the NBA Finals. Three of them won it all. So, like there's.
- [15:49]
S. Barahenni
Let me ask you, I don't know.
- [15:50]
Xena Keda
How much shooting, though. Like, it is. You know, we kind of keep saying this over and over and over. It's like a three point shooting contest, essentially.
- [15:59]
Zena Keda
Yeah.
- [16:00]
Xena Keda
But like with the Cavs, I know that their defense is good. Like, Jared Allen's rim protection numbers right now are really incredible. He's up at the top of the league. We know about Evan Mobley and what he can do, but man, they are just shooting in a way that just. It doesn't feel sustainable. But I said the same thing about the Oklahoma City Thunder last year and look at where it carried them. So, I mean, who knows? So you're telling me it's not just the shooting or is it shooting?
- [16:26]
Zena Keda
I think. I think, yes, the shooting is absolutely a part of it. We've talked about how much Kenny Atkinson has unlocked Evan Mobley. I think that's part of the. The offense too. Right. It's pushing in transition. It's grab and go stuff that can get him being like this monster in transition for them. But it's also Darius Garland who is shooting the lights out this year. 47% from three this so far this season. And if there was a person who would be like A comeback player of the year. For me, it would be Darius Garland because this man fractured his jaw last year, went through a lot of personal.
- [16:59]
Xena Keda
Stuff when he lost like 12. How much weight?
- [17:01]
Zena Keda
Yeah, 12. He lost 12 pounds in the middle of the season. And so for him to have a really rough year last year for the Cavs, bounce back in a major way. He's been one of the most clutch players in the league to start the year. I think he is such a massive part of what they do with everything that they want on the offensive end. And it's not just the three point shooting. It's him getting downhill, being like this quick twitch guard who can make plays, finish around the basket. That added 12, 12 pounds of muscle back helping him finish.
- [17:32]
Xena Keda
It was only muscle that he put back on. He definitely wasn't eating. And no donuts, no trans fat.
- [17:37]
Zena Keda
Yeah.
- [17:37]
Xena Keda
I actually think the amazing thing is that, that they're getting like Donovan Mitchell is not taking over the offense.
- [17:44]
Zena Keda
Yeah.
- [17:44]
Xena Keda
And Darius Garland, he always reminded me of Steph Curry because, you know, he's so good off the ball. Like defenses have to chase him and stuff. And I think that this ve of the two headed snake with, with him and Donovan Mitchell, it's really tough.
- [17:57]
Zena Keda
And.
- [17:57]
Xena Keda
And you think about how well that worked for the Mavs, having Kyrie and Luca in the playoffs. Just. You always have a guy who can get a shot just off the dribble. But then they both are really good off the ball too.
- [18:10]
S. Barahenni
Yeah. And playmakers, they find their teammates. We have seen some remarkable passes from Darius Garland. No looks being able to find his bigs. Like it's also him cultivating the offense as well.
- [18:23]
Xena Keda
Yeah. Yeah. Did you guys catch Jokic? Of course. Of course. It's impossible to miss Jokic right now. Who, you know s. You said the other day KD would be your mvp and unfortunately, you know, he's gonna miss some time now with this true cash strain. But it's okay.
- [18:38]
S. Barahenni
We can erase that.
- [18:39]
Xena Keda
Look, the Nuggets are seven and three now after we were so worried about them. We're worried about their depth. And the reason is because of Nicola Jokic. He had another game against Dallas again, another clutch performance where he hits the game winner. You know, he's doing everything. 37 points, 18 rebounds, 15 assists. He's fourth in scoring right now. He's first in assists. He's. He's first in rebounds. He's first in offensive rebounds. He's shooting 56% from three, which would be the best of his career. The thing is you know, he had this wrist injury that. That stuck with him last year. His shot. He just didn't feel comfortable. This year, he's actually seeking it out. That's been the biggest difference for the Nuggets is that, yeah, Jokic has actually turned himself into a scorer on purpose now, where it's. You know, sometimes he'd have games where he'd take, like, five or six shots. That's not happening anymore. And it's.
- [19:30]
Zena Keda
Well, he has to. Like, now.
- [19:31]
Xena Keda
He has to.
- [19:32]
Zena Keda
Yeah.
- [19:33]
Xena Keda
And. But that's how they're winning. That's why they're winning. This guy. I mean, we're. We're now 10 games through the season. This thing is flying. We're a month in. We're going to start seeing these MVP ladders, these MVP rankings. Any list that doesn't have Nikola Jokic at the top when we get this thing started is wrong.
- [19:50]
Zena Keda
It's funny because, like, we talked about voter fatigue so much with the MVP award, especially when it comes to Jokic.
- [19:57]
Xena Keda
Right.
- [19:57]
Zena Keda
But now we're in a situation where I think this is the last way that he can win the mvp, which is he has to do so much more for his team. He has to carry this load that he probably has never. Yeah, exactly. Exactly.
- [20:10]
S. Barahenni
He has to do that. He has to make it. So it's almost ridiculous for you to consider another person for this. Yeah.
- [20:19]
Xena Keda
And he's the best in the world, though, and he still looks like it. Coming up after the break, we're going to preview the NBA cup with our BET MGM picks of the week. All right, NBA cup group play starts this week. We're all excited. We're actually going to be in Vegas for the. The semifinal and the final. So we're going to be locked in on this all year. It was fun last year. I will say this. The courts look better this year.
- [21:04]
S. Barahenni
Beautiful. This year.
- [21:05]
Xena Keda
I will. And. And the Timberwolves green court. That looks like a green screen is going to. That's going to be Photoshop Magic. You know, Jerome Chang is going to have a great time, but we wanted to focus in on the NBA Cup. Up with our picks this week, our BET MGM picks. Brought to you by BET mgm. And, guys, I'm gonna take the Charlotte Hornets over the Orlando Magic on the road. Look, the Magic offense has just been really struggling without Palo Ben Caro.
- [21:34]
Zena Keda
Yeah.
- [21:34]
Xena Keda
And the Hornets just have some vibes right now. There's something about them. They're scary. They're throwing haymakers. Lamelo ball looks like one of the best point Guards in the league. I mean, he's just been amazing to start the season. So I'm going to take the Hornets. I think that they. They've got a shot, you know, a young team. This is what I think this in season tournament is really built for. A young team to just kind of get hot and run through this thing. Why not the Hornets?
- [21:58]
Zena Keda
Well, I have another young team for you here, sir. I think this will be a very, very big theme of these picks that we have here. I have the Toronto Raptors beating the Milwaukee Bucks, who are bad vibes right now. The vibes aren't the greatest on the road in Milwau. The reason I say that is because, one, I actually think the Raptors have been pretty feisty and competitive in a lot of games, making things interesting. You know, even the slam and jam guys on Saturday were talking about how fun this Raptors team looks. And so I think they have an incentive to, by the way, win their first road game of the season. They haven't won on the road yet. They're gonna do it during the NBA.
- [22:41]
Xena Keda
I love it.
- [22:41]
Zena Keda
I'm leaning into it.
- [22:42]
Xena Keda
The Bucks lose to the Raptors. We're having an emergency podcast about it. Who's your pick?
- [22:48]
S. Barahenni
And making that pick after they just lost to the Lakers like that. Yes, you're right. We're leaning into these young, scrappy teams. And this is why, for the second time on this podcast, I'm choosing the Detroit Pistons over the Miami Heat. Yes, I want redemption, okay, because they lost to the Heat last time by six. But secondly, because since that loss, they've won two games against two capable teams, the Lakers and the 76ers.
- [23:14]
Zena Keda
That's right.
- [23:15]
S. Barahenni
I really like the way that they've been just. Just battling out there. Scrappy. Like I said, given Detroit, really that feel of Detroit.
- [23:23]
Xena Keda
I love that you're doing the. The tin cup snapping for the golf ball with Pistons overheat, which we're gonna get in the play in. I can't like. This is amazing, Xena. This is amazing podcasting. I love it so much. That's gonna do it for today's show, folks. Thank you guys for tuning in for us. Barahenni and Zena Keda. I'm Dave Devore and this has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us.
- [24:12]
Dave Devore
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 credit card this.
- [24:37]
Unknown
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- [25:31]
Xena Keda
Acast powers the world's best podcasts.
- [25:35]
Dave Devore
Here's a show that we recommend.
- [25:39]
Xena Keda
Hey guys. Welcome to Giggly Squad, a place where we make fun of everything but most importantly ourselves. I'm Paige desorbo. I'm Hannah Burner. Welcome to the squad.
- [25:48]
S. Barahenni
Giggly Squad started on Summer House when.
- [25:50]
Xena Keda
We were giggling during an inappropriate time. But of course we can't be managed, so we decided to start this podcast to continue giggling. We will make fun of pop culture news. We're watching fashion trends pep talks where we give advice, mental health moments and games and guests. Listen to Giggly Squad on Acast or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [26:10]
Dave Devore
Acast helps creators launch, grow and monetize their podcasts everywhere. Acast.
- [26:17]
Xena Keda
Com.