Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective - The True Eastern Conference Contenders, Draft Lottery Updates & Memphis' Struggles

Episode Date: March 7, 2025

Brian Windhorst is joined by ESPN's Tim Bontemps and Tim MacMahon to dish out the teams that truly have a chance to get to the NBA Finals from the Eastern Conference including if the Bucks have a chance to take down the Celtics or Cavs. Plus, an update on the NBA Draft Lottery standings and what to watch for as the season progresses. Then, the guys tackle the struggles for Memphis of late and what that means for the team going forward. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, sports fans, the ESPN app has all of ESPN all in one place. The ESPN app is your home to thousands of live events, ESPN shows, and originals across every ESPN network and service. And now you can check if you already have ESPN Unlimited as part of your TV package for no additional calls. Visit activate.esPN.com to learn how to access your account or sign up, then start streaming in the ESPN app. It's all of ESPN all in one place. Sign up or activate now. Hello, welcome to the Hoop Collective podcast. We talk about the NBA, which we're doing on Thursday evening, joining us from TD Garden, where the Boston Celtics took apart the 76ers tonight

in a game that looked like a good choice for national television last summer, but ended up just sort of going through the motions. Nobody goes through the motions like our guy, Tim Bontemps. We have a lot more exciting in the building on Saturday night, as when the streak and Lakers are in town. That's right. He got there early. to stake out. He's just going to camp out there in the TD Garden until Saturday night. ABC

Celtics hosting the Lakers. Boy, boy, is ABC and he has been excited about that one. All right. Joining us from Dallas, Texas, where he's back from being on the road for days, weeks on end is Banning. Howdy, partners. Pontemps, you tell Luca, I say howdy when he gets there in Boston. Maybe some harsh memories from last June, but certainly he, that's going to be one worth tuning in for. Yeah, I think Luca, we'll see what happens tonight. As the Lakers finish up this homestand, they're playing the Knicks as we're talking right now.

But Luca might be in a good mood coming back to Boston. You know, I mentioned last podcast that he'd only had a couple of, like, Lucas, Luca typical level offensive performances in a Lakers uniform, had another one that night. And at least early on, he's in the process of putting together another one. The guy's got his legs under him. and he's pretty damn good when he's got his legs under him.

Yeah, I think he made like 12 three-pointers in his first seven games, maybe 14 three-pointers in his first seven games, and he made 11 in his previous two coming into his night. And when he's making his threes, when he's making those stepbacks, there's just a lot of solutions. Yeah.

All right, so a couple of weeks ago, we took a look at the teams that we thought were realistic Western Conference contenders, which we defined as, did you make your hotel reservations for the finals? And I have an update that I have made my hotel reservations in Los Angeles. They are cancelable. Of course you have. Do you have your hotel reservations in Los Angeles? No. In the spirit of the game, I do. I haven't actually done it. Perhaps I should, although that's kind of Mac 10's turf. So I don't know, they might let me take a final siesta should the Lakers break through.

We would break Lucas hard if I'm not covering it, but... Sure, we'd be very upset. We are going to have Hoop Collective podcast. You are not going on vacation early. You are absolutely not going on vacation early. All right. So let's have a discussion about where we've got hotel reservations in the east,

although it might be a little bit elementary. It hasn't really changed. Bontems, have you spoken to your friends at our favorite hotel in Boston? I did it about June 15th. of last year. Yeah, I've had hotel reservations. Yeah, I've had hotel reservations in Boston since the,

since the finals dates came out whenever that was. I have some hotel reservations in Cleveland out of respect for their season. However, I don't think. Don't add a respect for their season. Oh, listen. I can put disrespect Calf's Corner. Listen, the Cavs are the only other team that I think can even be in the conversation with Boston.

I think they're pretty clearly for me behind the Celtics. And yes, they've gone two and two against the Celtics this year. But I think if you go back to that game last week, like we talked about, the Celtics controlled large stretches of that game without two key players playing. And I think if they're playing at the level they're capable of, they're clearly a superior team. So. Well, if you're playing at the level they're capable of, they will win the title. Well, that's my point. Like, this is the same debate we've had about the Celtics forever.

It's like, are they going to actually do what they're capable of doing? Or are they going to play with their food? I'm not, yes, and I'm not picking a bone with you. I'm just saying that last year they could get away with it. And this year, if they play the calves this year and they mess around, they'll get beat, just like they messed around the other night and they got beat. And that's a reality that I don't think existed last year. But they'll definitely be, they'll be much more in trouble against the calves than they were

against any opponent last year when they cruised through the blocks. You know, if they kicked a game last year in any of those series, they were not in trouble of losing. If they kick a game against the Cav, they could get beat. The Cavs, who clinched a playoff berth in the first week of March, are over 50 wins. Yeah. That's great. To the number one seed in the Eastern Conference are clearly legitimate challengers. We can say that with certainty.

Yeah, I think the Cavs are the only other team that's in the conversation. I just think it's like I would say it's 4-1 or 4-2. That's all. Now, I actually do still have reservations in New York, but they're not in the 5% club. Like, let's not kid ourselves. We've seen they've had their chances against Boston and Cleveland recently, just got their doors blown off.

I can cancel those. I don't have reservations in Milwaukee, but if a 5% chance merits making a hotel. reservation, then I should. What is this guy doing? Ryan, what is this guy doing? First of all, he says he should have him in L.A., but he doesn't. Now he says he hasn't been a little bit busy.

Now he says he doesn't in Milwaukee and he should. I've been a little bit busy. I haven't had time to fart around on the Marriott. Okay, my God. Shout out to Marriott. I will say this. So the Cavs are, as we record this, the hottest team in the league, they've won 12 in a row, their third different 12 game winning streak.

Having said that, the last three wins are by the skin of their teeth and were like a wins a win that um that's right wins or wins wins a win the can i remember when i covered the calves team the lebrons first truly dominant regular season team it was in 2009 10 no 2008 9 8 9 when they went 66 66 and 16 and i remember covering that team and every it felt like every close game every game that they could have was 50 50 i feel like they won them all like and that is exactly what's happening with this gas team. Yes, they are blowing the doors off of teams, no doubt at times.

Their net rating is, you know, during this win streak, their net rating is over 15. I think it's like, I think it's like 16 or 17. So like they are, they are not leaving doubt. Having said that during this stretch and repeatedly during this season, there have been games where they were not necessarily deserving of the victory and they got it.

You know, like, for example, on Wednesday night, they were up by three and they kind of botched the coverage on an inbound's play. And Duncan Robinson, from the heat, hit a three to tie the game except for he put his heel on the, on the, and on the sideline. And he was out of bounds. It was not questionable, but like it was by an inch. And the Cavs, you know, dodge potential overtime for that. So, but so the hottest team in the league is the Cavs.

after that over the last nine games, the second hottest team is the Bucks. And they've won eight out of nine. It coincides with Yannis coming back from the calf injury. And in that stretch, and it sounds like a broken record, because when we talk about hot teams on the podcast, you know,

whoever it is, whether it's the blazers were hot recently. Yeah. The pistons were hot, were really, I mean, they're still doing well, but their pistons were really hot. I know it's boring, but you look at one thing, and the one thing always tells the story. Guess who the number one defensive team is in the league over the last nine games? There you go.

Milwaukee Bucks. Guess who the number two defensive team is over that same span? Cleveland. The Los Angeles Lakers. Oh, my bad. Sorry, Lakers. Yes, who the number three defensive team is. is in that span?

Cleveland. Cleveland. Guess who the number four team is in that span defensively? Warriors. Although... Warriors. The Warriors were in trouble tonight. I didn't see if they were one.

Both teams accomplished their goals in that game. All right. Warriors against the Nets. So the point is like, you know, you can fill it up and you can, you can buy some wins by getting hot from three. But the way to win in the NBA is to freaking defend. So the Bucks are doing that despite Bobby Portis having dealing with that suspension and and you know making them more thin on the front in the line. I will say that as you talk about Milwaukee's, you know, streak here, they do have the hardest remaining schedule of all the Eastern Conference teams.

So, you know, I'm not sure they're going to get higher than four. But it also don't want to get higher than four. That's true. That's true. They do have a game against Cleveland Sunday night. We talked about that the other day. It is on ESPN. So, yeah, the calves are three and oh against the bucks this year.

But as you talked about Bontemps, the bucks were in a different place. And I don't think Yannis was healthy for all the games. But so Milwaukee is rising. And because they have arguably the best player in the Eastern Conference, you know, we can argue that. I would argue that. That's not arguable. You're saying somebody's better than Yannis in the East? Who's that?

I thought that's what McMahon just said. No. I said it. I would argue that. Like, absolutely he is. You would argue it. No,

that way, then we wouldn't argue it. You just, you just confuse everybody for no reason. I would argue that Janice is the best player in the East. Okay, thank you. Okay.

But I don't think it's going to be hard to find somebody argue against me. How's that? Okay. Okay. So they're going to have. I'll say in the same thing just in the most ridiculous way possible. I know. I know.

I'm just thinking about like being in like production meetings. Like if that was in first take. Like if you had been in a first take meeting and, they would have been so excited for it. It would have been like a record. It would have been like a record scratch. No, I love those guys.

That's what I don't invite me of those meetings. No, it's not making fun of them. It's like, oh, we got a debate. And it's like, wait,

no, we have no debate. Everybody agrees. I love those guys. Shout out to my guy, Kweku. All right. So we're not making hotel reservations.

Should the calves be keeping an eye on what's going on Milwaukee Bontas? I mean, look, think the funny thing about where the East standings are is in Celtics right now are basically locked into playing the Knicks in the conference semifinals as it sits right now. I don't think there's a series that would be more picked in one direction than Celtics Nix if everybody selfie in the playoffs because the NICs have shown absolutely no ability to guard the Celtics at any point this season. I do not think that would be a series that the Celtics would have a lot of

trouble. As you said, I think Cleveland's better than Milwaukee. They've shown that over the course of the season. However, if the Bucks are healthy in that series, they have by far the best player in the series. And so you have to give them a puncher's chance in that series. And the Cavs also don't have a great option to guard Daniel Lilley either. So they would have some real opportunity with those two guys to really cook in that series. And, you know, Cleveland would have a home court advantage. We'd have to see if Milwaukee can actually stay healthy. You know, we haven't seen Janus get out of the first round healthy the past two years. Let's see if this older team can get to the finish line and be healthy and ready to go then. But if they are sitting there, if they get through

presumably Indiana in the four or five, and they're sitting there playing the calves in the second round, that is going to be a very challenging series for Cleveland, and it will really show us where this Cavaliers team sits, because, I mean, you're going to get tested if you have to go through a healthy and ready to go, Janus, to get to Boston and the conference finals. The thing about this win streak, it's a little soft. So they beat the Wizards, they beat the heat, the heat have really been scuffling. They beat the Mavericks twice. They beat the Hawks. and they play Saturday against the Magic who suffered a brutal home loss tonight, Thursday night, at home against the Bulls to fall.

How many games out of the 10th playing spot? Bulls are four wins up on Philly and Brooklyn in 10th. Right. Okay, the Bulls get now four wins up. Okay, so I thought, yeah, but Orlando has just. Yeah, Orlando is nose diving and now they're looking like they could very well wind up in the nine spot in the east. Eastern Conference.

So, you know, there was quite a few people, including myself, that thought that that Jaylen Suggs contract that they gave last fall was a little bit rich. Maybe it was a good deal because they haven't been able to win since Jalen Suggs got hurt. So I want to go back to the bucks, though, Wendy. Are they in your 5% club? 5% chance to make the finals? Give the Celtics 60, the Cavs 35. Can they get the other five?

Yeah. Okay. But here's the thing. You mentioned Yana's best player in these. they will have the best player in any series in the Eastern Conference playoffs. They'll have the best player in any series up until the finals. And I think any team that comes out of finals is going to have a player who certainly would have a case for being the best player, whether that would be Shea, Joker, or Luca.

But in the East, I don't think there's going to be an argument in any series. And since that two and eight, miserable start in Milwaukee, The bucks are 34 and 17. Now, they don't have like an overwhelming point differential. You know, they haven't been dominant. But it's not just that they've gotten hot. They've been good for the vast majority of the season, very good for the vast majority of the season,

just got off to a terrible start. And during that stretch, when Janus is on the floor, they're 28 and 12. So, you know, when you've got Janus and one of the best clutch shot makers in recent NBA history, then I think you're at least going to have a chance in a playoff series against pretty much anybody. So that's why I'd put them in the 5% club. Vontal, what do you think about that? 5%.

I mean, look, I would not give them, I don't think they're getting out of the east. I wouldn't put them in the 5%. I think if they play Boston, Celtics have multiple defenders to go at Damien Lillard, probably the two best guys in the lead to guard him and Drew Holiday and Derek White. They would have some trouble with Janus, obviously, but they don't, the bucks don't have, I think, the ability to really handle the Celtics. They don't have anybody to guard basically any of their perimeter players. I just, I don't like the matchup for them. I do, though, think they match up pretty well, if healthy, with the calves. And while I would give the slight edge of the calves, because the calves are much deeper and they've got the two bigs to throw at Janus.

and I think, you know, there's a decent chance, unfortunately, at the age of those guys that somebody's going to break down. Janus is just, he is a force. And the last time we saw him fully healthy in a playoff series in the Eastern Conference was in the second round of the playoffs in 20, 22, 23 against the Celtics, or 21, 22, I should say. And over seven games, this is what he averaged, 34 points, 14 and a half rebound. seven assists, the steel in a block, and without Chris Middleton, had them in a game seven on the road

against the Celtics, who had a way superior team. I mean, they had a game six at home to clinch. Well, I'm just saying that that series went the distance with Chris Middleton, the second or third best player on the team,

depending on where you put him with True Holiday, not playing one second. And the Celtics were healthy. So, yeah, that wasn't game seven, the Grant Williams game? Yes, Brian Williams had a million shots in that game.

Yeah. But Janice has the ability to do special stuff. And, you know, like I said, it would be a huge test for the Cavs if that's the second round matchup. I think we learn a lot about them if they're healthy and we see over that series. But I don't give them a good enough chance to get out of the east, though. Let's not just dismiss Damien Liller. This is a guy who has had multiple walk-off series-ending shots, you know, one and two. in the Parsons face, last game of Parsons' time in Houston, and one in Paul George's face from,

you know, suburban Portland that was the end of that era of the Oklahoma City Thunder. So, you know, I'm just saying the guy, like, they are the highest scoring duo is Janus. I asked Janice something about like their improved chemistry, him and Dame this season. And he did one of those, I really enjoy Yonis, but he does have a flare for the disingenuous. He said, he said, you know, I haven't been paying attention in NBA as much as I probably should, but are we the highest scoring duo in the league? You know, something along those lines. Oh, yeah, geez, the honest.

Well, gee whiz, you sure are. What a coincidence that you figured you might be. But, hey, but they are. And those guys are clicking. And Wendy, as you said, they're as a team. are playing great defense, which I understand the limitations with Dame at the point of attack and all that defensively. But when you've got Brooke Lopez and you've got Janus, you should be able to construct a pretty

solid defense. Well, if you look at them, now that they have Kuzma, right, not that I'm the biggest Kuzma fan, but if you're playing him at the three and then you're playing Yannis and you're playing Brooke. It sort of goes back to what the nuggets did when they, as you talked about that whole playoff run, Brian, when they had Porter and Yokic and Aaron Gordon out there, if you just have size all over the place, you can sort of make up for deficiencies by just being in the way. And, you know, they're throwing Andre Jackson out there. Some of these, you know, Gary Trent, these like six, seven long, athletic two guards. Like, they just got a lot of size out there around

Dame and, you know, like, we'll see how that looks in a playoff series. Again, if they're trying to guard Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, they're going to have a lot of trouble. Like, they don't, that they don't have a good matchup for that either. So, like, that would be a really interesting series. And again, like, they take out a healthy Janus, like, that's a real feather in your cap. And then you go into that Celtic series feeling even better about the calves than we do right now when they're having this tremendous regular season. Well, a couple of things about them recently. One, you know, since Janus came off of this calf injury, they've been careful with his minutes. He's playing under 30 minutes a game.

So, assuming that he stays healthy and gets healthier, they're playing really well despite holding his minutes down. The second thing is they look to have, you know, there's been a lot of, the trade deadline has proved very meaningful. Obviously, the way the, by the way, the Lakers pretty much didn't score since the last time we mentioned them. And now the next are hit by 10 at the half. But anyway, obviously Luca, Jimmy Butler, DeAndre Hunter with the Cavs, who now, by the way, after 10 games, the Cavs are 10 and O with him, and he's plus 97 in those 10 games on the court. He had another good game against the heat.

But I will point out Kevin Porter Jr., which was one of those deals. Kevin Porter, Jr. ain't got to be doing a damn thing in the playoffs. Well, first off. I just say that right now. We can't be coming here with like, hey, we got Kevin Porter Jr. playing minutes right now. Like, come on. The guy's a decent little

binge bucket getter. Come on. I'm talking about the acquisition at the trade deadline. I mean, he had a triple double. I mean, again, who was against Dallas? Yeah.

I mean, here's the thing. But the last six wins for the bucks since we're doing like, we're zeroing in the stretch of the scat. Did you? Did you go through it? I said two to two with Dallas, Atlanta.

Washington, Miami, who's been dreadful. Yeah, I saw one good win against Denver. Yes, it was a very good win. Yes, and I told him they got a tough schedule. But I'm in, look, I'm not, you know, I'm not arguing that Kevin Port is going to lead him to the promise land. I'm just saying it's been a nice pickup.

He's shooting 50%. You know, he's, that's what we do on this podcast. We point out little things that maybe wouldn't get noticed elsewhere. Okay. I'm going 5%. I'll give him 5%. I got Janus respect. I got Wendy's vote.

I got Wendy's vote. Yonis low probably deserves 5%. But that's not, the question was, do I have a hotel reservation in Milwaukee? And I don't think you should have one. Then I ask a different question, all right? We can answer multiple questions on one. They have some nice hotels that they built near the arena. It's a nice district.

Yonahna Salon deserves the 5%. He's good enough. That's what I was saying. Thank you for coming around. I think the last time I've been to Milwaukee, you know, I don't get east that often, even though it's not necessarily ease, but I don't get Eastern Conference all that often. I think the last time the last time I went to Milwaukee

might have been with James Hardin's Houston Rockets when I when I was chit-chatting with a promising young Chicago-based beatwriter named Malika Andrews. Whatever happened to her. Yeah, okay.

Yonis had a 50 piece in a finals clinching game, so that alone should be self-ish. That's one of the great games and one of the great single game performances in NBA history. Yeah, that alone should give them the respect to be in that group.

But bucks remained pretty flawed. The idea of having to win eight times against the calves in Celtics is a tall order. You know, they could put some scare into them. But we'll see. That game on Sunday night won't be the BL end all. That's going to be a really interesting test because the buck like bucks played the night before. I kind of hope they sit some guys in this Orlando game because I would really like to see

them go toe to toe with the calves and have everybody available and see what it looks like. because like you said, they played three times in the first couple weeks of season. I think Dane missed one of the games and Yannis missed one of the games. And, you know, I just would like to see, especially after all these moves, what it looks like over 48. I think that would be a really interesting test for both sides going into what is a likely. Well, I shouldn't say likely. We'll see what happens with Indiana, so they had a tough loss today to Atlanta.

But certainly it would be a fascinating series if the Bucks are healthy in the second round against them. No Halliburton tonight. and then Halliburn has been hooping. He has been balling. That's been very fun to see after him struggling earlier in a year. He's been dominant for a while. Yeah. Okay.

So that's the East. So tonight we saw the, I was sitting here at this dreadful game, watching the end of this Bulls. Tatum had a nice night. Well, Tatum was great. I mean, the Celtics cruised in the game. Rookie Baylor Shireman, first round pick at his first real NBA moment today.

Oh, Baylor. More Hoop Collective podcast after this. You know, a couple weeks ago, I went to a pro volleyball. During the All-Star break, I went to a pro volleyball game. And Baylor Shireman was there. Indoor? Indoor. Okay.

Baylor Shireman attended the game. All right. His girlfriend is a pro volleyball player. Ah. Volleyball are hoops bigger in Omaha, right? Hoops, Creighton Hoops and Hoops, but volleyball is very big. Also, I should point out the university. Lincoln volleyball is probably bigger, right?

What's that? Lincoln volleyball is probably bigger. And basketball? Yeah. I bet it is. Didn't they sell out the football stadium? They did. Yeah, they did.

They have a volleyball-only arena, and I'm not talking about... No, volleyball's bigger than basketball in Nebraska, for sure. That's why I asked in Omaha, because Creighton is very big in Omaha, but... They have a volleyball-only arena. at the University of Nebraska, and it's not like some 1,500 seed venue. I'm talking about like 8,000 or 10,000 seed venue with sweets and Jumbotrons and all this stuff, and they sell out. They sold out every game for years.

That says all you need to know. Yes. By the way, the University of Nebraska, Omaha, the Mavericks had a, had a great year. I attended their clinching game for the Summit League regular season crown last weekend. Toes on the hardwood? Toes on Toes were on the hardwood actually It's not a toes joke

Not a toes joke I'm just asking where you're sitting Yes the toes were on the hardwood Thank you to the UNO Mavericks By the way An interesting side note Since we talk about the NBA The UNO Mavericks logo is a bull

Whereas the Dallas Mavericks logo is a horse You could dig into that But we won't Yeah that's a bull Yeah No lottery picks in that game, unfortunately. But you didn't make any discoveries. Usually on your scouting trips, you'll come back with a generational seven-footer or something.

There is a seven-foot three guy who played for Oral Roberts, who I saw, who's Sudanese, who is still very much learning the game and probably was the only NBA prospect. I don't know. I mean, last year I went to a game in Omaha. I went to an NCAA tournament game was not impressed on an NBA level with anybody in the game and the guy who was going to finish

top three rookie of the year was playing in the game. Who? Jalen Wells. Well, how it shows you know. You can only scout the big guys. Well, so I'm saying, like, that was a game where, you know, for all in what you made fun of me, I could have walked away going, boy, there's this kid

at Washington State. He's like, looks like you're real potential player. In your defense, you ain't the only one of missed. Didn't he transfer in from Sonoma State? And then slipped into the second round. So yeah. So anyway, for all I know, there's a guy who's going to be, you know, knocking down the rookie of your door next year from that game that I didn't catch with my eye.

Anyway, so Bontem's, the lottery picture is thus. Since we last discussed it, the Toronto Raptors have won two games. which should very, very, very closely have the eyes of the Philadelphia 76ers that you were with tonight. Because now the difference between the number five and number seven, five and number six spots is now just one game where Philly is tied for sixth. And the difference between being fifth, which is where Toronto is now, and the difference between being seventh, which is where Philly will. keep their pick is a humongous swing in percentages for the 76ers about whether they keep their pick or not. Well, and by the way, by our projections right now, the Sixers are projected to finish with the

fifth worst record and be three wins shy of Toronto, which I think is, if I'm looking at it, I think is the accurate way this is going to go, in part because the raptors down the stretch have by far the easiest schedule left in the league. And their guys are healthy, and they're going to have, like, they've barely played Emmanuel quickly and Scotty Barnes together at all. Like, in the game they beat Orlando in, they tried to sit their guys in the fourth quarter and they won anyway. But like, they're going to have to play these guys that some of these guys,

that some of these games down the stretch in, Philadelphia has already got half their roster out. Well, they get to play the sixers twice, too. Philly's got a pretty soft schedule themselves. They do. They have the sixth softest, but these guys

are not positioned to win a lot of games. I'm just going to say. And a trip to Dallas that doesn't, you know, so it's even a little softer than the, well, I know, but let's see. Let's see who's playing. in the game in Dallas. Here are the Raptors next five games.

As they're coming off of sweeping the Orlando Magic in a baseball series in Orlando, okay, to talk about where the magic are. Here are, here is the upcoming week or so for the Raptors. Utah at home, baseball series. Did you see Utah's lineup against the Wizards? Go on. It's not worth mention, but go on. Well, somebody is coaching.

The funny thing about that game, put it that way. With all due respect to our guy, Craig Boulderjack, who's the play-by-play guy for the jazz, the jazz was like a five-point game, it was a six-point game with like 25, five seconds left. And they tossed in a three to like make it a one-possession game. And Craig was kind of like, I was watching him call it. And he was kind of like, he was like telling a story.

Like he was doing everything to anything to try to make sure that there was no excitement about the jazz and eventually winning the game. It was like he was trying to will the loss because I was a close game. I turned it on and so anyway. Okay, they play the jazz. The Raptors host the Jazz.

Then they host the Wizards for two. Then they go to Utah. You miss the game against the Sixers that they have in there too. Oh, that's right. Jazz, Wizards, Wizards, Sixers, all at home. and then they go to Utah.

That's their next five. I mean, in all seriousness, they might be locked into the seven by the end of next week. Because if they win those games, which, like, they're going to have to actively try to lose all those games,

hard. If they win those games, if their guys play and they win, like, they might end up, they could end up in the playing. They could end up in 10th. I mean,

they'll be catching up to the Bulls quick. I mean, the incredible stat. I think the Bulls are now three and nine in the last 12 games that have gained ground. in terms of holding on to the 10 seat. That's what we're talking about here.

Oh, boy. Like Toronto is definitely the best of those teams right now. It's just a matter of like how committed are they going to be to trying to stay as low in the standings. And honestly, I don't think they can really like do a lot more than they have been because they have to see what some of these guys look like playing together. Like you traded for a minute quickly more than a year ago and they, like him and Scottie Barnes and they can play 35 games together or so. Like, they've got to get some minutes together in a court.

So, you know, it's going to be interesting to watch how it goes. Because they're now tied in the wind column with Brooklyn and Philly. And the Pelicans who lost tonight but have won a few games recently are only three or four back. Like, it's going to be an interesting little race down the stretch here for those five, six, seven, eight spots. I want to talk about how great Zion's been looking. And then he had a dud tonight. So we'll table that discussion first. Well, but that's the other thing that's a factor here too is like the Pelicans finally have Zion out there healthy and playing. And like, you know, I think he's on a tight minutes restriction though, sitting back to me. Listen, I'm just saying he if he is healthy and playing down the stretch of the season, if he's playing 28 minutes a game, he can win them a few games.

Or they can be very, very strict of the minutes restriction and have a game like, I don't know, the other night in L.A. where Zion, look, It looked absolutely spectacular. I mean, the dude had 37 points in 26 minutes. Guys. Was plus 13, and they lost by 21. Can I tell you something about that game? They can overcome Zion's brilliance, but yes, you can. Well, I mean, the Lakers are also as high as any team in the means.

I was about to say, Brian, what's your point? He was the cartoon on the podcast. He can talk. Zion in that game the other night, we had 37. he made 17 baskets in the paint. And he didn't attempt any threes. Him and Janus, while this whole league is about expanding range and threes, threes, threes, threes, threes, threes, threes, threes. Those guys are downhill as much as they have ever been and are putting up massive scoring numbers.

Zion score numbers, you've got to really look at like points per minute because of the minute's restriction and all that, but those guys. I mean, 17, I mean, that's, that's Shaquille O'Neill, Will Chamberlain stuff, 17 baskets in the paint. It's also a reminder, like we've talked about with the Lakers, for as good as their defense has been, and they've really been jamming the paint, forcing teams to shoot threes. In the first half tonight, the Knicks took 24-3s. They take, I think, 33 or 34 again.

There isn't a rim protector on the Lakers. as we've talked about, right? So like, if you went into a game playing against Ryan Williams, hold on. I'm just saying if you go into a game with Zion Williamson, it stands to reason. Like, if he's feeling good, he should be able to wreck things in the paint, which he did in that game. That's true. But the Lakers absorbed it because they put up 140 that night because Luca and LeBron are now going. Sure.

They already put up 140 because the Pelican state. Yeah, I mean, the Lakers are good too, but yes. No, the Lakers are playing great. I just got done saying that, but like the Pelican, we're talking about a team that's like 17 and 45 for a reason. That's all. I love how the USWB is so good at like just putting a thin slice of praise in a crap sandwich. We're talking about putting a buck 40 on a Pelican's team that's 17 and 45. That's all.

That's all I was saying. It's not, I don't think that's a criticism to just point out the team isn't good. I love it. anyway we talked the other day i think we have to keep an eye on the um the houston um brooklyn uh you know we talked the other day about how it's possible that that um phoenix might deliver a higher pick yes than um then they traded away with brooklyn so booking right now has the sixth thing tied for six highest lottery odds. There's sixth place.

Phoenix having gotten a win is 12. Yeah. I think Bonn Temes pointed out the other day, and I'm looking at tankathons remaining schedule of strength. Phoenix is the toughest by a decent cushion. Strength of schedule will relate, this is average winning percentage, is $5.93. Now, that does include Sunday in Dallas, so it's a little bit inflated,

but it's the toughest by four plus percentage points. By our system, they're second only to the Lakers and remaining strength of schedule. There you go. So, they've got a tough road ahead. Who knows, though, maybe that game against the Clippers where it's a miserable first three quarters, and somehow some way the suns get it together for the final quarter and rally from going to win. Maybe I'm just to say maybe that's going to be symbolic of their season.

Who knows? Could be. I mean, I was talking about... Not letting go with the rope, apparently in Phoenix. Yeah. I mean, I was talking about them jumping up in the lottery, not finishing, like, lower record-wise, because they're not going to be that bad.

But... Of course. Yeah. Yeah, you know, you're talking about the sons having, quote-unquote, lottery luck and what's out for? Yeah. Yeah. All right.

Well, a team that is struggling and moving down in the standings is the Memphis Grizzlies. Memphis has lost seven of the last nine games. They got handled by the Thunder on Wednesday night. Shea put up a cool 41. And it kind of got lost because the Kyrie injury happened Monday night. but also that night, Jaron Jackson Jr. Hard turned over his left ankle,

I think it was his left ankle. And they came up with a grade two sprain diagnosis, which is, you know, it's different for everybody, but it's a multi-week injury. They officially are considering him week to week. Yeah, I got one of those, after they were healthy for about 15 minutes,

I got one of those Memphis Grizzlies medical updates in my email inbox. Jaws missed a few games recently with a sore shoulder and he's feeling the effects because already by his standards, his scoring us a little bit down partially because the Grizzies are running a more balanced offensive attack. Primarily because he's had a really poor shooting season. Well, even by his poor season, his last eight games, which, aren't consecutive. He's missed some games in there because of this shoulder injury.

But his shooting stats in the last eight games are thus, 36% from the field, 16% on threes. I mean, since the break, it's six games, and it's 14.6% from 3%. Oh, God. Even it's 28.4. Forty-three from the floor, 28.4 from three-point range. And, I mean, it's been, And it's been a, for as well as the Grizzies have played, it's been a tough season for John Moran. Obviously, coming back off last year when he missed almost all the year for the suspension, then with the shoulder injuries, dealing with his shooting shoulder now. And this is the worst field goal percentage of his career.

And, you know, aside from last season, which was just nine games, it's the worst three-point percentage of his career. and he's averaging in his fewest points since his second season. And again, they have been a very good offensive team this season. Their offensive system has really worked. Jaron Jackson Jr. is having his best offensive season. And scoring career high and doing it in efficient fashion. They're a deep team.

but like when you talk about the ceiling for the grizzlies, they've got to have John Morant playing at a superstar level and he really hasn't this season and he's really struggling now. And, you know, after Oklahoma City beat them in Memphis, it was an interesting post-game media session where Jah basically said, hey, man, like this shoulder is not right. You know, talked about how much he was struggling. with the shoulder injury,

said he shouldn't have played in that game. They asked him if it's something he's going to have to deal with for the rest of the season. He says, I don't know. Now, that was minutes after Taylor Jenkins was discussing or was asked about Jaws shooting slump, and he says, I want him to work through this. He'll be working through this Friday night in Dallas

because he's not on the injury report. So, you know, take that for what you will. he's dealing with shoulder soreness, you know, how much that's affecting his shy? You have to imagine some, the numbers aren't pretty. And they really need him now because, you know, Jaron Jackson Jr. is going to miss some time here. I want to point out,

Jaron Jackson's played 59 games. Yeah, that's why I was going to say. He needs six more to make sure, you know, he's got a strong case for all-MBA. Oh, very strong case. I mean, he will make all-MBA if he, is eligible. The question is, will he get the six games in? Yeah. So week to week, you know, there's five weeks left in the season, six, five and a half. He misses ten games if he misses two

weeks, I think, I was looking at it. Or, I mean, it's like eight, I should say eight games. So he's like halfway there in two weeks. So, you know. Well, anyway, the reason that's relevant isn't just for all MBA. If he makes all MBA become super max eligible, which makes him more likely to be able to sign an extension this summer. And actually, well, so there's a couple things here. First of all, he got hurt two minutes into the game the other day. The game doesn't count. So he's down a game. So that that's the first thing. Now, if he ends up at 64 games, they might count that one because he got hurt in it. I would agree. But still, it's another complicating factor. On top of that, he can sign an extension this summer. They did get rid of Marcus Smart to give them,

in part, the flexibility to sign him to an extension. But if he makes Supermax, he's, or his offense player of the year, which he also probably isn't winning now that he got hurt, it does give them a lot more flexibility to sort of figure out whatever they want to do the following year and start that extension off as opposed to having to renegotiate and extend them, which leads to a lot of complications. So it's doable, but the Grizzlies would be very happy if he made all NBA, because that would mean he's both back healthy and on the court and ready to go for the playoffs, you know, because they're going to need him ready for what seems like it certainly is a good chance of being a first round series with the Rockets.

But yeah, I mean, it's a significant injury on a few fronts, both the health standpoint of Jaron and for the financial future of the Grizzlies. By the way, just because they're in this battle with the Rockets, the next chunk of games for the Rockets, home for New Orleans, home for Orlando, home for Phoenix, home for Dallas, home for Chicago, home for Philly, at Orlando, at Miami. Then they play at, then they're home for Denver and then home for Atlanta and at Utah and at Phoenix. That could be a whole lot of wins in a row for the Rockets. I was checking Texan to tune out Bond Timps. Did you mention on his extension why, if he's not Supermax eligible, it's much, much, much less likely?

Well, they'd have to renegotiate and extend them because his salary is so low next year. But that's what you were referring to. Yeah. So sometimes teams that are, when a player is on the edge of getting to Supermax eligibility, the team will quietly, maybe it wouldn't be so bad if they missed out,

it would save us a lot of money. It behooves, in a way, it kind of behooves the Grizzlies because it opens up the possibility of being able to extend him, more likely to extend him. I doubt he's getting the actual Supermax, but it no but even if it's it's a slice of it or you know like you you you can you can they they would certainly like to be in a position to negotiate what the dollar figure would be as

opposed to being handcuffed to to offer him an extension that wouldn't make sense and give me the i forget the exact percentage that you can you can put on a uh well they would it doesn't really matter because the salary goes down it's only at 23 million next season They couldn't give him an extension that he would take just giving a raise off it. So they have to give him more money next year and then do an extension off it, which they would be able to do because the moves they did earlier, like we talked about. But the bottom line is they would love for him to make all MBA because then it would pretty much guarantee he's going to be on the team going forward because they wouldn't have to worry about any of that.

They could just sign or do a big extension, start and following year and get it done. They could still renegotiate an extent if they want to, but it gives them all the flexibility in the world as opposed to the other way. where they've got to jump through a whole bunch of hoops to do it. Yeah. More Hoop Collective podcast after this. By the way, could I return to Cavs Corner for a moment here? Oh, you always. You're always welcome in Cab's Corner.

Thank you, kindly, thank you. Evan Moby ought to be, and the cows ought to be watching what happens to, because Evan Mowgli is a contender for all NBA. I mean, Evan Moby's making all NBA. And he's clear of the year. Yeah, he might be double. Once again, Bont Temps blasts over the top. for a defensive player of the year, which

if he gets that, he can be, he can get 50 million. Just got to make sure you, just got to make sure you can I just say about defensive player of the year that it's alarming, it's surprised, you know guys, you guys know how I feel about Dyson Daniels.

It is alarming that he is not getting as much consideration as I think he should. Speaking of the Grizzlies recent struggles, Dyson Daniels made one of the, I mean, He's got a chance to be a Cahone's factor candidate based off the defensive stop that he had. Bain had 35, 10 and 10, 35 point triple double.

First, I believe, first triple double his career. And he's driving. The Great Barrier Thief picked him clean and threw about a, I don't know, 65, 70-foot dart to Karras Levert, who did a little Euro. At the buzzer. At the buzzer. I mean, it was one of the most amazing defensive plays into a dime that you will ever see to win a game. It was a game-winning steal in the front court. And he's had another unbelievable game ceiling steel.

I mean, he's had an incredible defensive year. I mean, him and Tumani Kumar are in the same both. They both have had great ears. They both put a ton of defensive stats. They're both excellent defensive players. Their teams are ranked 20th and 21st in defensive rating and their perimeter players. So they're not going to win defensive player of the year, but they should both 100% be all defensive team players. And they've had phenomenal seasons.

Let me give you, you talk about defensive stats with Dyson Daniels. He leads the league with 340. Well, they played tonight, so this is one game behind. But he leads the league with 344 deflections. Okay. Second place is Kelly Ubre. That's surprising. He's got, he's got a lot.

120 less. Oh. And the Steel's is like similarly. He's basically got, Dice and Diego's got basically 50% more deflections than the guy in second place. I will, let me go, by the way, just because I'm looking at the stats.

So that's deflection totals. That's total deflections. If I gave you guys 100 guesses, I don't think you would guess who is second in deflections per 36 minutes. So obviously that the hint would be this guy doesn't play that much. But I might give you 200 guesses.

I mean, I have no clue. No, I'm just don't even bother. Who is it? Reed Shepard. Oh, sure. He's played 36. I mean, that doesn't, I mean, if you read read at massive. I mean, the reason, I mean, the machine Kevin Pelton was here with me at the game tonight.

The slow analytics conference is here. Oh, right. But it's, Reed actually, it doesn't shock me only because he was an incredible model player because he got a ton of steals and deflections and stuff at Kentucky. So that makes sense.

But yeah, I mean, I never would have to, I mean, he's barely played. He had a big, big 25 point game the other night against the thunder. I know. I'm just, I'm denoting it. Yeah, for sure. Noting it.

Steels. Dyson Daniels leads the league with 173. Second on the list. SGA with 112. Chris Dunn is the only other player in the league with 100. Yeah, there's no other player averaging at least two steals a game. SGA's at 1.80 a game, as is Chris Dunn. Dice of the Dianos is a three game.

I mean, he's having a hell of a year. But he's not up there with Evan Mowgli and with Jaron. And Jaron will probably fall off a little bit. Like I think Mowgli's probably the very clear frontrunner to win the award now after this J.R. And J.R. and J. And J.R. and Jeterre going after this. The Australian NBA fan contingent

is begging for Dyson Daniels to get more attention for a defensive player of the year. And because I have talked about him throughout the season, I mean, now it's ubiquitous, but. Another discovery, McMahon. Yeah, he was a lottery pick.

Nobody knew about him before this year. If you what? What? You what? ubiquitous? ubiquitous. Who's that means? It's ubiquitous.

I really don't know what that means. His name is all over the place. That's what it means. It means that he's gotten a lot of attention for his steals. Why don't you say that? He's not going to win, he's not going to win defensive player of the year,

but he's had a great. I know, the Australians are very upset that, you know, the year, you know, people like you, voters like you are dismissing him. He's had a tremendous year. He's not going to win defensive part of year.

Maybe we'll get him on the podcast and he can, he can argue case for a defensive player of the year. All right, well, I'm looking forward to Saturday night, Bon Temps. We may have to have a podcast with you and McTen

McTuceyde. What about that? What about that, McMan? Yes. Mc2Chi. Yeah, you do that because it's the IT department's birthday weekend and we've got some dinner reservations for... I'm just I got to get this photo that he, that I

was sent. Which is Dave at the Laker game. I can't say Larry David It's There's a thing You have to understand Is that Dave and his guy Larry David? Is that who it is?

You have to understand that Dave's hero is Larry David Dave's name is actually David is his middle name It's Larry David McMinneman So Our guy, Mac10 is a huge Curb fan, huge

And I hope I'm not stealing a thunder In some way here But this photo, which, you know, I should have, I'll submit to Sondra Jackson and he can put it on the YouTube feed. It's Larry David sitting in the front row of the Laker game and Dave

chatting with him. And Larry David, it looks like it could have come right out of curb your enthusiasm because Larry dresses the exact same as his character and, you know, all the time. You know, it's like, it could be. Like, all you need is the theme music over the top. And God only

knows what McTen was asking him, what's talking him about? One of the funniest nights of my entire life was at a Yankee game. I was sitting at a Yankee game and I was sitting near Larry David and there were not many people there. So we ended up chatting with them because there were a couple seats over and a fan like this was straight out of a curbed show. A crazy fan came up to him with a Seinfeld script.

And he was just like, he had like the entire. But the Seinfeld show has been over for a decade. Trust me. I know. And it was like, can you look at this? And he was like, no. Couldn't try to get away fast enough. The whole thing was beyond awkward.

It was like straight out of the show. And it was just like, this is the funniest thing of all time. It was on paper or was like on his phone? I think he, no, he had it like, I think it's a kind of manila envelope like on sheets of paper. I mean, this was 10 years ago. How did he acquire the printout? He came up to him and said, I have a scripted to look at it. What I remember is he sat there and accosted Larry David.

It was like, I have a script. Can you look at it? And now it's our guy, McTan accosting Larry David. Well, just. Okay. It was amazing. He had a Seinfeld script or he had a Curbier enthusiasm. He was asking about a Seinfeld script.

Let me ask this. Maybe we could do multiple choice on this. Which conversation do you think Larry David enjoyed the least? Seinfeld script guy, the USWB, or MacToo. I could promise you it was the it was the Seinfeld script guy because I didn't bother that much because I'm a huge Seinfeld fan too and I just chatted with him a little bit and then he's a big sports fan. He was having fun watching the game and I'm sure he had a good time chatting with Dave. He did not want to talk to this other dude. He couldn't get away fast enough.

But it's possible, McMahon, that Mc2 seed was number one on that list because I got to tell you I'm looking at the video here and he looks pretty pretty content. Talking to Dave. I'm not going to lie. I don't know. It looks to me like he's leaning back trying to. You're reading the body language. That guy. That guy.

There's a lean back. I can tell the gaze. It's like he's looking, you know, people kind of, they're looking for an escape route. Like, okay, is there somebody I know over here? Oh, hey. I didn't know that happened tonight, but that is a very cool thing for our guy because he is, he is as big a Larry David fan as to there exists on the planet. So that's pretty cool.

Yeah, I mean, that's a funny thing. Like, we were joking about Jada Kiss the other day, but like, sometimes these hip hop stars, like, because your NBA fans will come up and talk to me. Oh, yeah. And like, I'll never, you know, like, sometimes, man, sometimes. Like, you know, like, I remember, like, during the finals in Cleveland when I was talking to two chains, like outside the locker room. I remember. And, like, all these players walking past, like, double taking. Like, what the hell?

What about you? Man, you got some country music guy down in Dallas or something. I mean, is Chris Jenner at the building Forminus Stable Center? My girl. Come on now. Chris Jenner or Chloe Kardashian? Chris Jenner. Dude, this was a hoop collective thing.

Remember this story? I guess not. I get, no, I mean, like, I know Chloe used to be there all the time when Lamar, Odom was in Dallas. Yeah, that's in Dallas. Oh. Yeah. And Dallas, I don't know, man. Maybe I saw, uh, who I see?

I saw Clayton Kershaw not too long ago. God, I feel old. I covered him in high school. Whenever a dude you covered in high school has gray hair and their beards, like, dude, come on now. But he's, you know, that's a pretty big thing. On temps, you haven't weighed in yet. That's a pretty good one.

Um, I mean, I shook Bill Clinton's hand at the Barclays Center. I'd say Bill Clinton's pretty high on the list. I had a conversation here at TD Garden with Laura Dern once. That's pretty high on the list, I would say. That one of the that is. She was a famous actress. You would know her if you saw her. You ever see this little movie called Jurassic Park?

Yes. I actually never have. Well, there you go. Jackson just sent us the little YouTube short that, I mean, a highly successful YouTube short of my healthy moment with a Chris Jenner I really don't remember that I'm sorry I have to watch it after

yeah I think Bill Clinton is probably the biggest celebrity that I've met at a at a game the royal couple was at a was at a Nets game once too Prince William the literal yeah it's a little royal couple LeBron was

chastised for touching the royal couple which is a no-no in England at least least. Yes, there was a whole... Beyonce used to be at those games all the time. What about Big Rich? McMahon. Oh, okay, see. He counts as a celebrity.

Yeah. They're a little bit thin there. Yeah. All right. Well, this has been Celebrity Talk. Jackson. The biggest celebrities I've ever met is Brian Vindy Vindyndhurst. Well, I did have a nice... The biggest celebrity I've hung out with this week other than Stephen A is Dana White, who I met for the first time this week. And we talked about how good for business.

Celebrity quarter continues. We talked about how good for business the Luca going to the Lakers was. Who's more famous between Dana? Is Dana White not more famous than Stephen A? I don't think so. No. I don't think so.

Well, I got knocked off first take today for Kai Sinette. So, you know, I mean, we're all back. seat. We're all in the back seat for him. I'm disappointed. I didn't come to All-Star weekend. I could have hung out with Mr. Beast. That would have been. Oh, my kids would think I was really cool then. My son would too. All right. I think we've got to call it at this point, guys. We never got Jackson Celebrity Moment. Yeah, I was hoping he would put something in the chat here, but he hasn't. It's probably like some like Syracuse. Jerichuse person. Melo. Mark Albert or something.

Kevin Hart. Oh, Kevin Hart. That's a good one. Definitely can't ref under my rules. Oh, my God. You better be careful talking to talk to Kevin Hart. He'll take you right down to size. Well, he'll bite my ankles, that's for sure. All right.

Thank you for watching, listening to the Hoop Collective. Thank you to Jackson, our producer. Thank you to McMahon. Thank you to Bon Temps. We will talk to you in a couple of days after the big Lakers. I've got to get McT, I'm going to, Mc10 seed, Mc2 seed is going to be on the next pot. Oh, wait.

I'm fired. The best is he'll come on and he'll think that we're going to talk about the Lakers and, you know, he's going to get his viewpoints off. I'm going to ask him about Larry David. But, okay, thanks for coming on, Dave. We'll see you later. You can't say that because he'll be well prepped now. Tell you what, though, you talk about a man who can throw some vocabulary words at you.

Old Mac 2 seed boy, let me tell you, that Syracuse education has done him real well. Yeah, well, he's a, well, I, you know, here's a thing, though, I, I happen to know that Dave recently hung out with Oprah. Oh, my goodness. So, well, Dave, let's, let's, let's just guess whether Dave will rank Oprah or Larry David. There's not, there's no debate. No, no, I didn't say, oh, you mean, oh, you mean for Dave? There's no debate. Yeah.

All right. Larry David, Larry David's got to go up a. just about every life moment that's existed to this point, say for maybe a couple. That's true. I was going to say, I hope there was one this summer there ranked tire. But I said maybe a couple. I have hyped up this.

I better be able to book Dave on Sunday because I have hyped up this, this appearance. All right, thank you for watching, listen to Who Collect. We'll talk to you soon. Adios amigos.