The Ringer NBA Show: “Panic! at the Deadline: A Knicks Collapse, the Adrift Warriors, and More” (Jan 21, 2026)

Episode Overview

This episode of “Group Chat” (a segment of The Ringer NBA Show) features hosts Justin Verrier, Rob Mahoney, and J. Kyle Mann as they discuss the state of three NBA teams at the season’s midway point—focusing on the New York Knicks’ collapse, the Golden State Warriors’ crisis following Jimmy Butler’s injury, and the wavering identity of the Cleveland Cavaliers. The tone is conversational, self-deprecating, and filled with humorous asides even as the trio dives into in-depth analysis and big-picture questions. The theme is “panic”—identifying what’s wrong, what’s fixable, and what’s ultimately fatal for these teams as the trade deadline looms.

Key Topics & Discussion Highlights

1. Opening Banter: Work-Life Balance of NBA Writers

Timestamps: [00:14–03:39]

• The hosts joke about “pumping” dumbbells while watching games to justify sedentary NBA-watching habits.
• They riff on multitasking, Twitter hacks, and podcasting while keeping “work-life” balance, all with tongue-in-cheek self-awareness.
• Tone-setting quote by Kyle: “We don’t kink-shame on this pod. However you enjoy your pods, go ahead.” (03:00)

2. Panic Team #1: A Knicks Collapse

Timestamps: [06:39–32:44]

The Collapse

• The Knicks have lost 9 of their last 11; since New Year’s Eve, they are “a pretty shit team” (07:00, Justin).
• Discussion focuses on their regression since a promising start (“ball movement had a purpose”, Rob [07:16])
• Defense has become “actively embarrassing,” and the offense is now unreliable.

Core Issues

• Brunson & KAT Polarity:
  • Rob: “If Jalen Brunson isn’t doing absolutely Herculean shit, they often just kind of fall apart. And even sometimes when he does, they still fall apart.” (08:16)
  • Kyle: “Brunson and Cat… they don’t produce energy. Their polarity doesn’t mesh. It just feels not supernatural.” (09:12)
• Chemistry & Leadership:
  • Departure of Tom Thibodeau (Tibbs) as head coach may have led to loss of team “focus and cohesion.”
  • Mike Brown’s system isn’t “clicking” with the new roster.
• Depth & Fit:
  • The team’s construction forced star fits over depth and sacrificed their previous identity.
  • The offense can still be explosive, but if it isn’t elite, everything else falls apart.
• Cat’s Struggles:
  • Both on defense and offense, Karl-Anthony Towns “can disappear offensively for like five straight minutes” (16:44, Rob).
  • Chemistry and fit issues are amplified by Cat’s lack of rim efficiency and difficult matchups, and his visible disconnect, as illustrated by a Carmelo Anthony comparison (14:54).

Trade Deadline Scenarios

• “If the rubber is going to meet the road at the trade deadline… do you trade Cat, who is struggling the most and less appealing to other teams?” (18:20, Justin)
• Rob is “open to bigger permutations” and suggests OG Anunoby’s value in the postseason.

Larger Picture

• “Almost no player on this roster right now is actively making another player or combination of players better… That synergy is just not there.” (22:06, Rob)
• “When you have chemistry tension and things start to go south, it’s hard to believe in them.” (23:13, Kyle)
• The Cat/Brunson fit means too many conditional needs: “It’s hard enough to build a championship around a six-one guy… the conditions that Cat needs... too many conditions at some point.” (20:56, Kyle)
• On original team construction: “They have just shaved off bits of who they are, bits of their identity… The core of what the Knicks were has changed dramatically.” (30:25, Rob)

Memorable Quotes

• “Spike Lee…was like, ‘literally, like, what the fuck is going on?’” (18:05, Justin)
• “If you could turn Cat into, like, two rotation players, I might do it at this point.” (29:43, Justin)
• “You didn’t ever make up for the part...what was making you whole in the first place.” (31:18, Rob)
• Running joke: “Number one with the bullet cup curse—they’re just cursed. They won the cup, and any team that wins the cup is cursed for an entire season.” (31:18, Justin + Rob and Kyle riff)

3. Panic Team #2: The Adrift Warriors

Timestamps: [34:18–50:43]

Immediate Crisis—Jimmy Butler’s Injury

• The loss of Butler (“Butler tore his ACL”) devastates a resurgent Warriors team (dirge for a suddenly derailed season).
• The team was “12–4 in their last 16 right before last night” but now looks lost. “Steph Curry’s twilight…looks pretty dark right now.” (36:32–37:47, Justin)
• Justin: “What seemed to be…a good hearty try at making the most of these last kind of years becomes super complicated, if not…buried.” (37:47)
• Kyle: “It was moving in a positive direction. This is more of a dirge at this point—lamenting the death of possibility.” (35:55)

Warriors’ Options & Two-Timeline Failure

• The hosts discuss whether the Warriors can salvage something at the trade deadline (“swing one last time with Jonathan Kuminga,” per Kyle at 38:16).
• But the young core is underwhelming, and the trade market for Kaminga is “limited”—teams don’t see him as transformative.
• Justin draws an extended Mad Men analogy: The best-case scenario for Kaminga is “to slide into these minutes, force Kerr to play him, and do the best you can. Hopefully, they can move together and go through all this shit again in the offseason.” (39:32–40:41)

Warriors’ Big Picture: “Original Sin” and Missed Opportunities

• The failure of the "two-timeline" plan is dissected:
  • Kyle: “Personally, they betrayed their core philosophy with those two picks (Wiseman and Kuminga)…You could trace it all back to that moment.” (44:24–45:12)
  • Rob: “Almost every dynasty ends the same way—a team that’s produced a ton of magic thinking that they can pull one more rabbit out of the hat to save them.” (45:12)
• Examples: Drafting James Wiseman over LaMelo Ball, the challenge of getting “raw, visceral athletes” to fit the Warriors’ system.
• Coupled with free agency losses (Dante DiVincenzo), injuries, and “disappearing” contributors (Andrew Wiggins), the dynasty is “fizzling out.”

Memorable Quotes

• “I think the time for the Warriors to be the best complete version of themselves is over. It is done. It is buried, it is sealed away with Jimmy Butler’s surgery on this ACL.” (41:17, Rob)
• “Drafting Wiseman over LaMelo Ball…they fetishized the potential dimension they never had.” (47:06, Justin)
• “The mistake was assuming that once the core started to age, those guys (youth) would evolve into the core of the new thing.” (48:23, Kyle)
• “Please, email us if you have an Andrew Wiggins Cavs jersey.” (52:22, Rob—segue into next section)

4. Panic Team #3: The Cavaliers’ Identity Crisis

Timestamps: [51:04–64:15]

Cavs’ Frustrating Limbo

• Despite recent success (“9-6 over the past 15 games”), injuries (esp. Garland, Mobley, Struess) continue to disrupt progress.
• The “core four” still has promising metrics…but they “never play together.”
• “Trying to jerry rig a bench around this has been very difficult.” (53:32, Justin)

Supporting Cast Issues

• Bolstering with role players (De’Andre Hunter, Lonzo Ball gamble) has failed—“if a guy has no threat to score, you just get this old guy in pickup” (Kyle, 55:03).
• High turnover rates, and “no one to consistently take the pressure off Donovan Mitchell.”
• Jaylen Tyson (“47% from 3”, [57:25, Justin]) is a rare bright spot, but his jump in role highlights the lack of depth.

Structural Problems & Risk Aversion

• Cavs are likely to be “risk averse at the deadline,” hoping to get everyone healthy rather than make dramatic changes (58:10–59:40).
• “I just don’t know who they are without all of their component parts at the same time.” (54:20, Rob)
• “It reminds me of old school Warriors…Seven Hall of Famers, but if you don’t have 10 minutes of Namanja Bjelica, you’re off.” (59:40, Justin)
• Mobley’s stagnation: “If he had Tyson’s spirit, that alone would make a lot of difference for him offensively.” (61:24, Justin)

Panic Level: Existential Crisis

• “There’s this low simmering panic that’s happening with the Cavs seemingly at all times—it’s not the kind of panic that jolts you up in the night, it’s just that voice…What if we're not good enough? What if this is all there is?” (64:00, Rob)
• The Cavs, for all the investments, risk being less than the sum of their parts, and identity continues to elude them.

Memorable Moments & Standout Quotes

• On the Knicks’ collapse:

  • “If Jalen Brunson isn’t doing absolutely Herculean shit, they often just kind of fall apart. And even sometimes when he does, they still fall apart.” (08:16, Rob)
  • “Number one with a bullet: cup curse. They’re just cursed.” (31:18, Justin)

• On the Warriors’ dynasty fading:

  • “Almost every dynasty ends the same way—team that has produced a ton of magic, thinking they can pull one more rabbit out of a hat to save them.” (45:12, Rob)

• On the Cavaliers’ “quiet panic”:

  • “There’s this low simmering panic…not the kind that jolts you up in the night...just that voice: what if we’re not good enough? What if this is all there is?” (64:00, Rob)
  • “I just don’t know who they are without all of their component parts at the same time.” (54:20, Rob)

• Night’s best meta riff:

  • “We don’t kink-shame on this pod. However you enjoy your pods, go ahead. Maybe the only pro-kink basketball podcast.” (03:00–03:08, Kyle & Rob)

Notable Timestamps for Major Transitions

• 6:39 — Knicks “panic” discussion begins (“Today's pod: panic teams. Got to start first and foremost with the New York Knickerbockers…”)
• 34:18 — Warriors segment opens after ad break (“Things are pretty bleak in Golden State…”)
• 51:04 — Cavaliers' discussion starts (“All right. The Cleveland Cavaliers…”)

Tone & Language

• Irreverent, introspective, sharp, and purposefully self-aware.
• Frequent asides and running jokes (e.g., “cup curse”, “pro-kink podcast”, “Andrew Wiggins Cavs jersey”).
• Use of metaphors, analogies (Mad Men, Ninja Turtles/Splinter meme) and direct attributions to keep analysis lively and accessible.

For Listeners Who Missed the Episode:

The episode is a must-listen for NBA fans who want a clear-eyed, wry, and nuanced take on why teams buckle under expectations—even those with recent playoff success or clear top-end talent. The hosts blend advanced analytics, personnel fit discussion, leadership vibes, and team psychology, always with a dash of wit and humility about what basketball writing life is really like. If you want “panic at the deadline” explained from all angles—with memorable on-air chemistry—this one’s for you.