← The Herd with Colin Cowherd
The Herd with Colin Cowherd
Hoops Tonight - Damian Lillard injury reaction: Bucks down bad, will Giannis get traded this summer?
00:32:24
Loading summary
Transcript17 lines
- [00:00]
T-Mobile Representative
You can count on T Mobile to help keep you connected from big cities to small towns on America's largest 5G network. Switch the T Mobile Keep your phone and they'll pay it off up to 800 bucks per line via prepaid card. Learn more@t mobile.com heap and switch up to four lines via virtual prepaid card. Allow 15 days qualifying unlock device, credit service port in 90 plus days with device and eligible carrier and timely redemption. Acquired card has no cash access and expires in six months.
- [00:36]
Microsoft Representative
AI is redefining what's possible for your business with more unique challenges to solve and higher stakes than ever. Microsoft helps you stay ahead. Our trustworthy AI tools and guidance can empower leaders like you to drive greater impact. And with Azure's simplified platform management, we're helping businesses go further and faster by unlocking up to 150% improved output. Whatever challenges come next, let Microsoft help you keep pushing forward. For more details, visit Microsoft.com challengers@&t has.
- [01:05]
AT&T Representative
A new guarantee because most things in life are not guaranteed. Like getting through self checkout by yourself. Not guaranteed in a world where Nothing is guaranteed. AT&T is bringing something new to the table. AT&T is introducing a guarantee with connectivity you depend on, deals you want and service you deserve or they'll make it right. Learn more@att.com guarantee@ connecting changes everything. Terms and conditions apply. Visit att.com guaranty for details.
- [01:39]
Jeff T
Yo, what's good? It's Jeff T from Club Five Twenty podcast, here to share my latest fresh take on the 2025 NCAA tournament. Brought to you by Wendy's the Official Hamburger of March Madness. This past weekend was a great round 32. I had the best game of the year. Had to be the Maryland versus Colorado State game. It ended with a game winner. It was exciting. Derrick Queen Good shot. Looking ahead to the Sweet 16. I'm really looking forward to watching Arkansas versus Texas Tech. I'm looking forward to it because it's similar styles. They both play hard defense, they both greedy teams and they play in the post. It should be a battle for the ages. I'm also looking forward to the Duke vs. Arizona game. Both elite programs, legendary status. It should be a battle that we all looking forward to. Probably be the game of the night. And when it comes to the Final Four, I'm all in on Duke and Houston. Two great coaches, two legendary programs. Should be exciting for their road to the Final Four. More from me soon. But while you're watching the games, remember the freshest deal in fast foods. Gotta be Wendy's Right now you can get a junior bacon cheeseburger or a double stack for $1 with the in app offer and purchase again. Head to the Wendy's app to grab a $1 junior bacon cheeseburger or or a $1 double stack with the In App offer and a purchase for the freshest hamburger around. Gotta be Wendy's. The official hamburger of March Madness.
- [02:55]
Microsoft Representative
The Volume when it comes to college basketball in March mania, one thing is for sure, nothing's for sure. Upsets, buzzer beaters, Cinderella's advancing, top seeds going home early. It's all going to happen. Bet the unexpected. Every upset, every day with DraftKings sportsbook. With live betting, exclusive content, promos and parlays, DraftKings is the ultimate college basketball destination for March. Ready to make your first bet? Check out the matchups and pick a team to win. It's that simple. I have a big Arizona Wildcats fan born and raised here in Tucson, Arizona. I'm a little skeptical about them on the offensive end of the floor, but they looked really good on defense again last night against Kansas, so I'll probably be betting on them this time around. First time, here's something special just for you. New DraftKings customers bet $5 to get 200 doll bonus bets instantly. Bet the unexpected with DraftKings Sportsbook. Download the DraftKings Sportsbook app and use code HOOPS. That's H O O P S. That's code HOOPS. For new customers. Get $200 in bonus bets when you bet just five bucks only on DraftKings. The crown is yours. Gambling problem. Call 1-800-GAMBLER in New York. Call 877-8-HOPE NY or text HOPE NY to 467369 in Connecticut. Help is available for problem gambling. Call 888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org Please play responsibly on behalf of Boot Hill Casino and Resort in Kansas. Eligibility varies by jurisdiction. Void. In Ontario, new customers only. Bonus bets expire 168 hours after issuance. For additional terms and responsible gaming resources, see DKNG co Audio. All right, welcome to Hoops Tonight here at the Volume. Happy Wednesday everybody. Hope all of you guys are having a great week. Got a jam packed show for you today. We're going to hit some NBA storyline lines off the top. We're going to talk a little bit about the Damian Lillard News and how it's got me thinking a little bit more about the what feels kind of like an inevitable blow up of the Bucks that's happening in a few years and a team that I think would be really fascinating to go after Giannis after that. I want to talk about some comments LeBron made about Giannis dropping 250 points per game in the 70s. I want to talk about that and how I don't think it's necessarily good for the situation and the way we talk about the game. And then for our course correction segment, I'm going to shout out Bronnie, who had another big game last night, who's really been playing some good basketball over the course of the last week. After that, we're going to hit two games from last night's slate as the two top seeds in the Western Conference got impressive wins where they basically blew out their opponents, then kind of sort of lost control, but then pulled away at the end as the Thunder got a big win in Sacramento against the Kings and the Houston Rockets got a big win against the Atlantic Atlanta Hawks. We're going to be breaking down both of those games from the perspective of both teams. All right, before we get started, you guys know the drill. Subscribe to the Hoops Tonight YouTube channel so you don't miss any more of our videos. Follow me on twitter@_jasonlt so you guys don't miss show announcements. Don't forget about our podcast feed. Wherever you get your podcast, wherever you get your podcast under Hoops Tonight. It's also super helpful if you leave a rating and a review on that front. We also have brand new social media feeds on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. We're releasing content throughout the season. Make sure you guys keep dropping mailbag questions in the YouTube comments as well. We are recording a mailbag a little bit later today, so it's too late for that mailbag, but we're going to be doing another one next week, so make sure you guys keep dropping questions in the YouTube comments. All right, let's talk some basketball. So our first NBA storyline, Damian Lillard is out indefinitely due to a blood clot in his calf muscle. First of all, this is just a huge bummer and let's all just hope that he can be back in time for the playoffs. Because regardless of how we all feel about the Bucks, I would certainly like to see them get their chance to show what they can do in the postseason at full strength. But this situation has me think because things look more than bleak for Milwaukee right now, even healthy, I have the Bucks firmly outside of my top tier of championship contenders. I don't think they're close to good enough on either end of the floor to actually win four playoff series. And now you add this wrinkle with Dame's condition, which is going to have at the, you know, best case scenario, him just barely stepping on the floor before they start playing real playoff games. So it, to me, it's just becoming increasingly likely that the Bucks have a disappointing playoff performance and that Giannis in the trade buzz surrounding him starts to get really loud this summer because again, I don't think the Bucks are close. I like there's, to me, if I look at the top tier of contenders and it's going to be, you know, five, six, seven teams when it's all said and done, we'll see. But you know, I look at Boston and OKC is kind of like clearly above the rest of the teams in that tier and the teams below there, the teams like Cleveland, Denver, the Lakers, whether it ends up being the Knicks or the warriors, teams like that, I view those teams as substantially less likely than Boston and OKC to win the title. And so when you get to the following tier after that, I mean, we're talking it's pipe dream territory for most of these guys. And like that's with Giannis playing as well as he's been, he's been playing this year. It just doesn't feel like they're close. Giannis will have two guaranteed years left as well as a player option. Obviously I would view that player option as something that he would end up opting out of or extending out of. And, and so realistically, you've got these two guaranteed years left this summer. And so if you wait an additional summer now you have the whole like, well what if he doesn't resign problem that's affecting his trade value. And so I think it's possible that we end up seeing a Giannis Antenna Campo trade this summer. And so we've talked about a lot of different teams and different places that he could potentially go. But I, I, I've talked a lot about the Thunder going after a guy like a Kevin Durant or Lori Markin or something. What if Giannis is the guy that the Thunder end up going after? They obviously can afford him. He's 30 years old. He is a perfect complement to Chet Holmgren. As a matter of fact, you could argue that the Hartenstein salary is the best vehicle with which to facilitate that sort of trade Hartenstein and then throwing in some of the younger talent, maybe someone like a case on Wallace and maybe one other player with a bunch of draft Compensation. You can visualize a scenario where the team is built around a core of Shay and J Dub and Shet with Giannis and like Giannis would immediately make them a good rebounding team. When they've been a terrible rebounding team in the Shay Gilchrist Alexander era. I think he's a just a shoe in basketball fit in general with all of those guys. He immediately changes the physical profile of the team and makes them that much more bruising on the front line. Especially if the Thunder end up struggling this year in the postseason and they end up like losing in the second round despite someone like Shay having a great series, I think it could end up putting more pressure on OKC to make a more aggressive type of deal and you could see a trade partnership kind of forming there. And like, like, it's like the Wemby problem we talked about with San Antonio. If your star is ready to go and like ready to win the title, but your guys like your young players around them that are progressing at the same time, but maybe not at the same rate and it looks like they're not ready, then you end up in a situation where it's like, we can't just wait around while, you know, Victor Wembanyama becomes one of the best players in the league and we can't support him properly. And, and that's the thing. Like, you don't want to run into a situation with Shea where he feels like the Thunder are just processing a bunch of young talent and they're not really going for it. And so if that ends up being the case, you could see that pressure start to build and you could see a trade partnership start to form. And if they end up making a deal for someone like Giannis, they would immediately solve all of their weaknesses and I think that would make them the most talented team since the 2018 Warriors. So that's a, a dynamic that I see kind of sort of taking some shape and man, that would be a crazy league altering type of deal. LeBron goes on Pat McAfee show and he starts pontificating about Giannis and what he would average in the 70s. And he says Giannis would average 250 points if he played back in that era. And like, frankly, I just don't see the point in this for the same reason why it's lame when the older players start disrespecting this era. I think it's lame for today's players to do the same thing with the past. Now, for the record, there's a reason why they're doing this. There's a reason why J.J. redick said those guys played against plumbers. There's a reason why LeBron James is talking this shit. And it's because they're sick and tired of the old guys talking shit. I just think it's pointless to stoop down to that level, frankly. It's just not productive. It doesn't actually solve anything. And here's the thing. Would Giannis score 250 points a game if he played in the 70s? No. But, yeah, he, he kill those guys, he'd average 40, probably, maybe even closer to 50. But who cares? Comparing eras is completely pointless. Jalen Green basically has the same career true shooting percentage as Kobe Bryant. Does that mean Jalen Green was just as efficient putting the ball in the basket as Kobe Bryant? Yeah, in a literal sense, but not in a realistic sense, because the game of basketball is very, very different now. Dudes in the 70s had bad shoes, they had shitty flights that they took to their road games. They played brutal schedules. They had nowhere near the knowledge and understanding we have today to make our professional athletes the best they can be. Schematics have evolved over the years as just more smart minds have gotten involved in the game and made their imprint. Strategically, I think it makes absolutely no sense to compare basketball from 50 years ago to today. And again, even if you, you know, justify it with the way that those guys have been treated by the older generations, I just think stooping to that level, all it does is further denigrate the game. And now we're in this weird war where, like, the younger players are talking the old days and the older dudes are talking the young guys, and everyone's just being disrespectful to the game of basketball. And so I hope that that stops soon. I disagreed with LeBron's approach there. But for our third top story, we're going to do our Microsoft course Correction segment. Welcome to Course Correction, brought to you by Microsoft. Just like star players and teams navigating performance hurdles, business decision makers today are under immense pressure to get things right. They must rise to the occasion, turning challenges into opportunities. Microsoft empowers these visionaries with AI solutions, simplified cloud and data management, and trustworthy, responsible AI. And when you're in the NBA and you have your own hurdles to face. In this segment, we're exploring the challenges faced by teams or star players and how they can turn things around. Whatever challenge you're facing, Microsoft empowers you with the expertise to say, bring it on. This week, we're discussing Bronny James and his recent surge as both an NBA and G League player. So last night Bronnie hits five more threes, finished with 17 points, nine rebounds and six assists and a win. This is on the heels of him dropping a career high 39 points in a previous G League game a couple days prior. And that was on the heels of him dropping 17 points in a real deal NBA game against the Bucks where he made a lot of moves that looked very much like a well rounded professional basketball player. I thought this was a great time for us to just remind everybody that Bronny James was the 20th ranked prospect in the nation. In his high school class. He was a McDonald's All American. He was absolutely unquestionably on an NBA trajectory before he experienced cardiac arrest at usc. But then he got his NBA opportunity despite struggling for a while after the cardiac arrest incident. And as a result, he became one of the biggest stories in all of media, not just in sports media, but the whole thing got picked up by political media because LeBron has ventured into that arena a few times and obviously has made enemies in their. That is one hell of a cesspool in political media. And it is as contentious as it can be. And there's an entire side there that will jump on every little thing that LeBron does. And so it became absolutely nasty. Can you imagine being Bronnie? And again, I want you to disconnect from LeBron for a second. Bronnie James is an entirely different human being than LeBron, an entirely different person. Anything that he gets as an association from LeBron, Imagine being in his shoes and dealing with that. Can you imagine getting on his phone and scrolling Instagram and seeing content creators making highlight reels of his mistakes in summer league or in garbage time in an NBA game or in the early G League days? And can you imagine the comments underneath those videos and the direct messages that he receives? And again, as we've talked about, like, when you venture into this world, there are perks that greatly outweigh the negativity you face online. That doesn't make the negativity like just go away or that it's just super easy to handle or anything like that. It sucks. I had a much, much smaller level. Just as a content creator in the NBA media face a certain amount of negativity. It like you don't wake up one day and like read the comment that's talking shit about the way you look or the way you sound and then suddenly just be like, oh, that's fine, no, no worries. We'll go about our day. It still sucks. And this kid was getting it at a preposterous volume every single day because he suffered an injury and a condition that dramatically affected his basketball development. I was thinking about. I was actually talking about this with my buddy Richmond Weaver on the radio a little bit earlier this morning. I remember when I broke my foot in between my first two seasons playing in college. I had a really rough first semester in non conference play because I was struggling with, like, confidence in my foot. Like, my ability to plant that foot, I, you know, play it about. Back in college, I was playing at £225. Like I like. It's just a lot of weight to be planting really heavy on a foot that I was nervous was gonna give way and. And it affected my play for months. Can you imagine cardiac arrest? Can you imagine, like, playing hard after cardiac arrest? Can you imagine pushing yourself and, like, feeling your body, like, start to, like, really get into high heart rates and how that could potentially scare you, how that could affect your willingness or ability to compete to a certain extent? Like, I. I just have so much sympathy for what Bronnie has been through over the course of this last year in the sense that he's been put through hell because of his dad in his Persona. And look, has LeBron done some things that is accentuated the amount of attention on his son? Yes, he's made some comments. He's done some things. I'm not going to sit here and pretend that that hasn't happened. But he's LeBron James, so we're not also going to pretend that if LeBron shut up, that Bronnie wouldn't be a public figure. He still would. LeBron could have said nothing, and Bronnie would have faced 99% of the exact same circumstances that he's faced over the last year. And the fact that his entire basketball pedigree and everything he accomplished up until the cardiac arrest was just crumpled up and thrown in the trash as part of the way that whole thing was discussed. It just. It just was nasty. And I just feel really bad for him, and I'm just excited for him that he's starting to break through on the other side of this and show some of that pedigree that he demonstrated when he was in high school. Now, for the record, this won't be linear. The development of young players is not something that just goes up and up and up. He'll have stretches where he has bad games in the NBA. He'll have bad stretches of games in the G League. He'll make mistakes. There will be more content creators that have more opportunities to slander him for whatever reason. But what you're starting to see is the upside. You're starting to see that he can shoot. JJ Redick talked the other day about how he expects Bronnie in the big picture to be a great shooter. You've seen some of the upside with him as a defensive playmaker. You've seen some of the upside with him as a downhill threat towards the rim, as a playmaking talent. He's got ability in there now. I still maintain that. I think it'll be at least a year or two before he can be a guy that plays real rotational minutes at the NBA level as a guard off the bench for somebody in the NBA. I still think he needs quite a bit of time to get there, but the potential has always been there. It was missing in terms of the production for a little while as a result of what happened to him at usc. And I'm happy that we're all starting to see some of that potential start to come to fruition right now. Because it's just a reminder and quite frankly a resounding statement, that most of the stuff that was said about Bronnie and said about LeBron over the course of the year with Bronnie and his journey to where he has in the NBA was just complete and utter bullshit. And Bronny's just rubbing that in everybody's face right now, and I'm happy for him. That's it for this week's course correction. Remember, Microsoft's AI solutions empower you to take bold steps and make informed decisions, sparking new ideas to help drive your business forward. With Microsoft as your trusted partner, you can navigate your journey with confidence, finding innovative solutions and reaching new possibilities. Visit Microsoft.com challengers to learn more.
- [20:37]
AI is redefining what's possible for your business. Are you up to the challenge? Microsoft is helping leaders like you get AI ready faster with unified data and simplified platform management, unlocking up to 150% improved across industries. Leaders are turning to Microsoft's AI tools and guidance to rise to the challenge. For the NBA, that means using AI powered insights to deliver more personalized fan experiences. For BMW, it means innovating their development process safely and securely. And for LEGO House, it means creating new interactive experiences for people to explore. With Microsoft's trustworthy AI tools and guidance, you can drive greater impact. Business leaders Microsoft surveyed saw an average of 3.7 times ROI per $1 invested in generative AI. Whatever challenge comes next, let Microsoft help you keep pushing forward. For more details, visit Microsoft.com challengers@&t has.
- [21:37]
AT&T Representative
A new guarantee because most things in life are not guaranteed. Like actually getting the rental car you requested or your wedding turning out just like you dreamed it would. And someone making another pot of coffee in the break room after drinking the last drop of the last. Yeah, don't get me started. Not guaranteed. In a world where Nothing is guaranteed, AT&T is bringing something new to the table. AT&T is introducing a guarantee with connectivity you depend on, deals you want and service you deserve, or they'll make it right. So if you want to know more about the AT and T guarantee, head to att.com guarantee@&t connecting changes everything. Terms include conditions.
- [22:18]
Microsoft Representative
Apply.
- [22:18]
AT&T Representative
Visit att.comguarantee for details.
- [22:21]
T-Mobile Representative
You can count on T Mobile to help keep you connected from big cities to small towns on America's largest 5G network. Switch the T Mobile keep your phone and they'll pay it off up to 800 bucks per line via prepaid card. Learn more@t mobile.com heap and switch up to 4 lines via virtual prepaid card. Allow 15 days qualifying unlock device, credit service port in 90 plus stays with device and eligible carrier and timely redemption. Required card has no cash access and expires in six months.
- [22:57]
Talkspace Representative
This podcast is sponsored by Talkspace. You know when you're really stressed or not feeling so great about your life or about yourself? Talking to someone who understands can really help. But who is that person? How do you find them? Where do you even start? Talkspace Talkspace makes it easy to get the support you need. With Talkspace, you can go online, answer a few questions about your preferences, and be matched with a therapist. And because you'll meet your therapist online, you don't have to take time off work or arrange childcare. You'll meet on your schedule wherever you feel most at ease. If you're depressed, stressed, struggling with a relationship, or if you want some counseling for you and your partner or just need a little extra one on one support, Talkspace is here for you. Plus Talkspace works with most major insurers and most insured members have a $0 copay. No insurance. No problem. Now get $80 off of your first month with promo code space80 when you go to talkspace.com match with a licensed therapist today at talkspace.com save $80 with code space80@talkspace.com.
- [24:09]
Microsoft Representative
All right, let's get into a couple games from last night. The Thunder just completely Outclassed the Kings right out of the gate. They put Keegan Murray on Chet Holmes Omgren to start in. The Thunder just immediately started running him through off ball screens. They ran a back screen on the weak side with Shea back screening for Chet. Keon Ellis did not want to switch off of Shea. Keegan got caught on the screen. Chet got a wide open layup. That was on the first play of the game. Second play of the game they run a Chicago action which is just the DHO guys up top and there's a screener in front. The screener will pin down, the DHO guy will follow and Chet comes off of both of those screens. I think it was Dort and Hartenstein if I remember correctly. So basically two screens. Chet comes flying off of him up to the right wing and knocks down a three off the catch as Keegan gets run through a bunch of screens again. They it, it's. Chet is kind of a cheat code in these off ball actions for a couple of reasons. One, he's a big, so teams are most likely not going to switch guards on him. So if you run screening action for him with guards involved, he's probably going to get some separation because you're probably going to guard him with a bigger player. Bigger players notoriously struggle with screens. Even a guy like Keegan Murray, as good as he is in ISO, he's can struggle sometimes getting over the top of screens, right? And when you have a a situation where you're not switching because of a big and a small, it just puts big guys in position where they have to navigate a bunch of screens and that's difficult. That's why inverted ball screens work so well with the Jokic's and some of the other centers that run that sort of action throughout the league. Even Giannis runs that sort of thing quite a bit. The second piece of it though is he's a really big target. He had another bucket later in the first half against Jake Laravia where they ran a kind of like an off ball action that Chet curled into the lane and Jake saw it. Jake evaded the screen, Jake ran into the lane to guard Chet. But Chet's seven feet tall. And so Isaiah Hartenstein, who was the passer at the top of the key, just kind of rifled up a pass that was up high into the right where Jake had no chance to get it. And Chet in his, you know, Go Go Gadget arms just went out and grabbed it and brought it in. And by the time Jake Laravia was on the ground, Chet was Dunking it. And that's the thing. Like, he's just such a big target passing wise, and he's so tall that, like, if he catches anything around the rim, it's just an automatic dunk. And I just thought seeing Chet run all that off ball action was just casual reminder of some of the big picture potential this team has offensively. As Chet continues to develop on that end of the floor, their defense was immediately stifling against Sacramento's guards. Started with the bigs like Hartenstein did a wonderful job against Sabonis as he keeps racking up great defensive nights against some really tough defensive matchups. We've been talking about that a lot. They were roaming off of Keegan Murray with Chet Holmgren, and that burned them a little BIT. Keegan got 28 points, and most of them were on threes when Chet was roaming or digging down into the lane. But the end result was a disaster for DeRozan and Levine, and the Kings couldn't score. They combined for just 29 points on 31 shots between those two guys. I thought Caruso in particular did a great job of pressuring Levine, forced him to rush on his drives. Levine would be running right into Hartenstein at the rim, and he just was hesitant to test Hartenstein at the rim. So he'd like drop it off to Valen Shunas underneath the basket. But because Hartenstein didn't have to jump at the rim, he's just right there. And then he would just tie up Valentunas on the catch. I've really been enjoying watching Alex Caruso on defense lately. He just does all the little things that you see the great defenders in NBA history do. Starts with pressure off ball. When he's guarding a score, he's staying attached to the body on ball. He's applying pressure as they come up the floor. But when you start trying to attack him, he attacks you as a defender in every phase of the shot you're trying to take. I was watching him guard DeMar DeRozan on a post up, and DeMar really drops that left shoulder and bumps him. And Caruso absorbs the contact, so he kind of disrupts the base a little bit. Right then as DeRozan spun into the right shoulder fade, he swipes at the gather. So again, as the shooter's gathering the ball in the shooting pocket, there's a moment where the ball is exposed in front. That's a great opportunity for a defender to disrupt the gather by swiping at the basketball. Then after the gather, DeMar DeRozan rises up into the right shoulder fade, and Crusoe gets a contest on the shot. And I was sitting there thinking. I was like, every time I watch one of the elite defenders in the league, this is the way they guard. They. You think of a contest. And this. But this, by the way, is why, you know, it's impossible to quantify all of the little minute details in basketball, and why even something silly like, like, oh, contested shot percentage versus regular shot percentage doesn't factor in. What kind of contest was it? I'll give you an example. Remember when KD hit the game winner against. Not the game winner, but the. Yeah, it was the game winner ended up being the game winner in game three. I think of the 2017 finals, the one where he hit the kind of transition, hesitation, pull up three on LeBron. LeBron got his hand up. LeBron was there, had his hand up. That'll go down in the books as a contested three. Do you think KD was uncomfortable at all on that shot? No, he just rose right up into it in rhythm and knocked it down. It's because LeBron did not disrupt KD's base and he did not disrupt KD's gather. There's all of these different phases to a shot that you have to disrupt in order to make an offensive player uncomfortable. Bump them on the base so that when they get their lift, it feels different than when they're shooting alone in the gym. If you get any sort of contact on the shooting pocket, like, if you hit the basketball a little bit there, you'll disrupt their energy transfer. That's the power that they drive from their feet up through their gather up to their top of the shot. Then getting a contest on the top of the shot is a great way to tie all of that together. Alex Crusoe is amazing at this concept, this idea of disrupting all three phases of a shot. And it's a very important detail to what puts a defensive player into another stratosphere, making stars and other shot creators uncomfortable. The Kings went on a little bit of a run in the late third quarter that cut the lead down to six. And then Shay Gil just. Alexander just decided that their fun was over. He just drove right past Jake Laravia for dunk, drove right by him again and drew a foul. They switched Keon Ellis onto him, and he shot a step back three on the left wing that he hit. The lead was right back to 11. All of Sacramento's momentum was gone, and they never got that close again. This, to me, is one of the defining characteristics of a superstar in the NBA. One of the biggest responsibilities on the shoulders of players who have that role. You are the guy with the superpower. You have the thing that you do that nobody can stop when things are getting messy and your teammates who don't have superpowers are struggling to find their footing. Sometimes you have to force the issue, find a way to make a few plays to regain control of the situation. Shay's team needed him in that spot to just get a few buckets to settle things down. His superpower being his downhill driving ability. And oh, you switched a smaller guard onto him to try to get away from the dribble penetration. And he hits a jump shot over the top. He just straight up forced the issue, Generated seven quick points and any momentum that Sacramento had was gone. The Thunder have won seven in a row now. They're the first team in the league this year to get to 60 wins. If they go 10 0, they'll get to 70 over the course of the final couple weeks. They are now two games up on Cleveland for the best record in basketball. Starting to really separate. And they're doing all of this without J Dub. Just a remarkable season for the Thunder. All right, Hawks Rockets. So the Rockets handled the Hawks at home to win their 10th game in 11 tries. A little bit of a light stretch in the schedule, but there's a handful of impressive wins in there. Jalen Green goes off for 32 points in this one. He's getting to the rim at will. He found some matchups that he liked throughout the game. He attacked Trey a few times. He went at vit cred she quite a bit. Garrison Matthews quite a bit. Gave some wild buckets to Terence. Man, he had a baseline spin on him that like literally left Terrence stuck in the mud. Threw down a dunk, had a. He had two nasty dunks in this game because he had one where he split. I think it was a congu in a ball screen where Dyson Daniels was trailing him and ended up just going up the elevator at the semicircle and throwing down a jackhammer. He also hit one of the biggest shots of the game against Terence Mann. Like a little 15 foot fade away along the right baseline. He had two huge stabilizing buckets. After Atlanta made their run. Similar to the Sacramento game with okc, Houston controls the game right away from the start. Build a big lead. They go on a late third quarter run, gets the lead down. Atlanta actually cut this down to four at one point. Terence Mann had a nice little scoring run, hit a Big three, hit a little mid range, fade away in the lane. They cut it down to four and Jalen Green makes four plays down the stretch that kind of ice the game. He has a driving layup against Vickrechi that gets goaltended off the glass. He has a another driving and one shot against Zachary Rosace. Little, little like kind of fading jump shot. After he gets some contact on the drive, he attacks Trey Young in action and draws him into a two on the ball situation where Trey hedges and then tries to recover. But they swing the ball out of it quickly and it gets Jabari Smith Jr. A wide open three on the right wing that he knocks down. That again was generated by Atlanta putting two on the ball because of the damage that Jalen Green was doing attacking matchups in those situations. And then he hit the dagger over Terrence. Man. Really, really impressive game from Jalen Green. He's had at least 28 points in five of his last eight games. I thought Shangoon was a big problem for Atlanta in this one. It's crazy how often I've watched the Rockets and the biggest thing that stands out to me is that the other team just can't guard Shangun and it just changes the dynamic of the game. There was no Clint Capella for the Hawks in this game. So it's a combination of Inyeka Kongwu, George's Niang and Dominic Barlow who are getting the sengun assignments and Changun just killed those guys. Niang and Barlow especially. He had a couple plays against Niang and Barlow where he scored on them like one on two and it just didn't matter because he was just going through them. He also made a huge play in that late run that we talked about. He posted a congu in the middle of the floor, drew a double team, swing, swing. Got a wide open three for Jabari Smith. Shout out to Jabari Smith. By the way, just 3 for 9 from 3 in the game, but hit some huge ones late in the game that were really important. I want to zoom in on the defensive end for a minute though, because the Rockets ran a ton of zone in this game and they've been running a ton of zone as of late. This is actually a crazy stat. According to Synergy, the Houston Rockets ran zero possessions of zone defense in their first 29 or excuse me, in their first 59 games this season. Zero possessions of zone in 59 games. They've run 242 possessions of zone in the last 14 games. That's over 17 possessions of zone a game. Now, it's been matchup specific. Like they've run it over 40 times in three games, specifically against Atlanta, Orlando and OKC. A lot of like speedy kind of transition attack types of teams, right? But they're running it at least a little bit every game, and it's working. They're allowing just 0.86 points per possession with their zone defense. That's the third best in the entire NBA. They're running two different variations of it, and they're both built out of a 2, 3 base, but they have a version with Stephen Adams at center where he lags more back around the rim. It's more of a traditional 2, 3 zone. And then they have a version where they put Jabari Smith Jr. At the center position, the de facto center position under the basket, and they'll have him be much more active coming up the floor. So, like, he'll like, when they're looking to drive on the top guy, he'll like be up around the elbow just waiting and help. Or if someone flashes to the middle of the floor to try to catch, Jabari will come up and the two guys on the wing will kind of shrink down around him. It's more of like a amoeba matchup zone kind of thing with Jabari Smith out there at the, at the center position. But like, it works because they're active in their zone. They pressure the ball. Meaning, like, they don't just sit back, they get up and guard the ball. They move and shift as a unit. They ran 48 possessions of his own in this game against Atlanta, and Atlanta main is just 0.88 points per possession. As a comparison, Houston, attacking Atlanta's man to man coverage got 1.11 points per possession. So a dominating performance on the heels of their, or I should say on the strength of their zone defense. It's worth mentioning that the Rockets have played a relatively light schedule in this 10 and what stretch? But it's also worth mentioning that they've really been scoring the ball. They have a 119 offensive rating in this 11 game span that ranks eighth in the NBA. And remember, even at their best, they've struggled to score this year. Still number four in defense over the last 11 games, they've been the number one rebounding team in the league over that Spanish. The offense is the interesting trend though, because if they can continue to maintain that level of offensive production against elite competition, they become way more dangerous as a playoff threat. It's been kind of like a by committee sort of thing. They have seven players averaging double figures. They Fred Van Vliet is back and he's shooting the three ball really well. Dylan Brooks in the seven game span, or excuse me, in this 11 game span is taking over seven threes a game and he's hitting 41% of them. Shangun 18 points per game, 54 from the field, 43% from three in that span. Tari Eason is pouring in 15 points a game in this span. They're just getting a lot of contributions around the board and they're really scoring the ball well. The Rockets are playing some very good basketball. All right guys, that's all I have for today. As always, I sincerely appreciate you guys for supporting me and supporting the show. The game plan as of right now, we're going live tonight on YouTube after the final buzzer of Celtic Suns to break that game down as well as the Lakers Pacers game. That's going to be a really fun one. I think that's a great test of the Lakers because they're a fast team that plays in transition a lot and they've got a quick guard and that's a couple of things that have caused the Lakers issues over the course of the season. So I'll be really interested to watch that one as well. I look forward to seeing you guys then. I will see you guys on YouTube tonight. What's up guys? As always, I appreciate you for listening to and supporting supporting Hoops tonight. It would actually be really helpful for us if you guys would take a second and leave a rating and a review. As always, I appreciate you guys supporting us, but if you could take a minute to do that, I'd really appreciate it. AI is redefining what's possible for your business with more unique challenges to solve and higher stakes than ever. Microsoft helps you stay ahead. Our trustworthy AI tools and guidance can empower leaders like you to drive greater impact. And with Azure's simplified platform management, we're helping businesses go further and faster by unlocking up to 150% improved output. Whatever challenges come next, let Microsoft help you keep pushing forward. For more details, visit Microsoft.com challengers this.
- [39:06]
Nikki Glaser
Is Nikki Glaser from the Nikki Glaser Podcast. Have you guys seen this new commercial? From Stand up to All Hate, it's basically Snoop Dogg and Tom Brady going back and forth with reasons that they hate each other. But then when you really listen to them, the reasons for the hate are just so stupid. I don't know. This this commercial really got me. It's a strong reminder that hate in Our country continues to be out of control, so join us at iHeart in standing up to it. If you see hate, speak up. Call it out. Your voice is a powerful tool in this fight. You can learn more by following hat's upwithhate.
- [39:37]
Talkspace Representative
This podcast is sponsored by Talkspace. You know when you're really stressed or not feeling so great about your life or about yourself, Talking to someone who understands can really help. But who is that person? How do you find them? Where do you even start? Talkspace Talkspace makes it easy to get the support you need. With Talkspace, you can go online, answer a few questions about your preferences, and be matched with a therapist. And because you'll meet your therapist online, you don't have to take time off work or arrange childcare. You'll meet on your schedule wherever you feel most at ease. If you're depressed, stressed, struggling with a relationship, or if you want some counseling for you and your partner or just need a little extra one on one support, Talkspace is here for you. Plus, Talkspace works with most major insurers and most insured members have a zero dollar copay. No insurance, no problem. Now get $80 off of your first month with promo code space80 when you go to talkspace.com match with a licensed therapist today at talkspace.com save $80 with code space80@talkspace.com I was always around it.
- [40:39]
Nick Cannon
Hollywood saved me on this week's episode of Eating While Broke, a podcast presented by the Black Effect Podcast Network. Nick Cannon joins us to discuss his journey from teenage comedian to entertainment mogul.
- [40:50]
Microsoft Representative
Now I do the super dad content with my kids and everything that people go viral for. And making millions of dollars on YouTube I was doing in the 90s.
- [40:57]
Nick Cannon
Listen to Eating While Broke from the Black Effect podcast network on America's number one podcast network, iHeart. Follow Eating While Broke and start listening on the free iHeartRadio app today.