The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hoops Tonight - NBA Preseason Reaction: Lakers-Suns, Nuggets-Wolves, Knicks-76ers, Warriors first impressions

Episode Date: October 12, 2025

Jason reacts to the first slate of NBA Preseason games including the Minnesota Timberwolves vs Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers vs Phoenix Suns, New York Knicks vs Philadelphia 76ers, and breaks down the Golden State Warriors preseason debut. All lines provided by hardrock.bet #VolumeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Hey, guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas.

We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it. But, you know, tired and sick. Tired and sick.

Listen to Hey, Jonas, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you. you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. This is Saigon, the story of my family and of the country that shaped us. From IHeart podcast, Saigon. You don't think I'm serious about a free Vietnam? One city, a divided country, and the war that tore America apart. It's for Vietnam. They're pouring patril all over here. Freedom for Vietnam! There's a fire coming to this country and it's going to burn out everything. Listen to Saigon on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you're watching the latest season of the Real Housewives of Atlanta,

you already know there's a lot to break down. Gorsha accusing Kelly of sleeping with a merry man. They holding Kay Michelle back from fighting Drew. Pinky has financial issues. On the podcast, Reality with the King, I, Carlos King, recap the biggest moments from your favorite reality shows, including the Real House Wise franchise,

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This podcast is for you to hear more. Listen to deeply well with Debbie Brown from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. The Volume. All right, welcome to Hoops Tonight here at The Volume. Happy Monday, everybody. Hope all of you guys had a great weekend. We have basketball back.

I am very thankful. I was taking a moment yesterday. I was very thankful to have basketball back in my life on many levels because I had a rough summer in addition to not have basketball. having any basketball to watch. I also was not able to play much basketball this summer. I'm 34 now, so I can't get over the the bumps and bruises as well as I used to. I had kind of like an ankle injury that turned into a foot injury that helped me out of the game for almost two months. And I'm back to playing now. I'm back to watching. I was watching

a bunch of basketball this morning. We're going to be hitting on eight different NBA teams today. We're going to do two big preseason reactions, one this Monday and one next Monday. The rest of our preseason content is going to be season previews, which will be coming out throughout each of these weeks. But I'm just very thankful to have basketball back. I know all of you basketball nut jobs out there are very excited to have it back as well. And it's going to be a lot of fun to dive into these games today. You guys know the joke before we get started. Subscribe to the Hoops Tonight YouTube channels.

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And last but not least, if you want to get mailbag questions in, we're doing a mailbag next week, which will be our last mailbag before the start of the season. Make sure you drop those questions in our full episodes on YouTube in the comments, and we will get to them when we get to our mailbags throughout the remainder of the season. All right, let's talk some basketball. So the eight teams are hitting today, just so you guys know, the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Denver Nuggets, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Golden State Warriors, the Phoenix Suns, the New York Knicks, the Philadelphia 76ers, and the Orlando Magic.

Obviously, some briefer hits on a couple of those teams, some longer hits on some others, but a lot of basketball to get into today. Before we get into that first game, the Minnesota Denver game that I want to start with today, big picture with the NBA preseason, definitely don't want to overreact to anything. Trust me, I've seen the takes flying around. I'm seeing obituaries getting written already over one half of preseason. in basketball for some of these teams. Everybody relax. There's a lot of different phases in development for these teams. Some of these teams have been together working out all summer.

Some teams are younger, more athletic, and in better shape. Some teams are older and are easing their way into things. Some teams are playing a lot of their guys. Some teams are playing very few of their guys. I don't want to dig into any sort of big picture stuff in terms of definitive impressions of teams

until we get more. much further along. But I am interested in just how teams look as a small in like zooming in at individual things. How does this individual player look in this specific context? Oh, here's a new player. What are the initial returns? What does the fit look like? Okay, this team has big picture goals of getting to this point. Are they close to that yet? Or do they have a long way to go? Especially with some of the teams that need to scale up their defense teams like Denver and LA. Both of their defenses look like trash right now. That doesn't mean they can't get to where they need to get. It just means they're not there yet, right? So lots of zooming in on specifics.

Nothing we talk about today is going to be a sweeping declaration about the big picture potential of these teams. It's preseason. It's way too early to make those kinds of calls. But we can at least learn where these teams are at in their journey to reach their ultimate ceiling, whatever it may be. So let's get started with Minnesota Denver. So Minnesota, classic example, like, and you're going to see a lot of these, like, intensity gaps in these games. And it's been kind of funny to see how it even translates from game to games. So, for instance, like, Minnesota came out in this game with just an insane level of intensity that Denver seemed completely unwilling to match. And that really manifested when Minnesota was on offense against Denver's defense, right? Similarly, I thought Phoenix came out

and physically overwhelmed the Lakers in their first game. with the level of intensity right from the jump ball that the Lakers didn't really seem ready for, right? But then the Lakers in their second game against Golden State, sitting out their best three players and all their shot creators, were able to hang tight with the Golden State team because the Lakers had been woken up a little bit by Phoenix and a game that kind of accelerated their, you know, adaptation to the physical intensity of the moment. They brought more intensity and allowed them to hang with the more talented Golden State team, who they are still in a different. different processes. They're easing their way into this in terms of the intensity. The bottom line is you can you can expect in these preseason environments to people to be it for teams to be at different phases in their preparation. And that's going to manifest in this sort of stuff. A big part of why it

doesn't make any sense to have super big picture opinions about this kind of stuff. But Minnesota attacking the rim like crazy. Rudy Goldberg goes right at Nicole Yokic like three times in the opening minutes for layup, lay up, lay up. They were aggressively shooting off the catch. Denver's defense was completely on their heels. Aaron Gordon, who had done a lot of talking early in camp about how they were going to be better on defense this year. He was one of the primary culprits, kind of like losing shooters, being slow on his closeouts, conceding catch and shoot looks because that intensity just wasn't there. Yokic must have conceded a half dozen layups just in the first quarter alone. Like just letting people go through him or around him because he just wasn't

interested in making that effort. Christian Brown was losing contain over and over again. Denver's defense was just the furthest thing from locked in in this environment, and Minnesota was just making them pay. But to be clear, it was not just effort. Minnesota has a real athleticism advantage in this matchup. And so Denver has to be at the top of their game in order to keep up with them in this setting. I was super impressed by Minnesota's young guys. Rob Dillingham got a couple of really good looks early and he missed him,

but then he found his rhythm and really executed the offense well. He had a bunch of jump shots, started getting clean looks and was hitting them, finished with nine assists. Terrence Shannon was a big standout for me. He was applying a ton of rim pressure in all three phases. So like in transition, attacking closeouts and in action when he had the ball. So like coming off a handoffer screens. He made very impressive kickout passes from the middle of the floor, like whipping it out to open shooters.

He had one where he came off of a ball screen at the top towards his left hand, obviously his strong hand, and whipped a left-handed pass across the court to shooter in the right corner. He had an impressive little drop off in the top. the middle of the, in the middle of the lane to Zikarski right under the basket for a layup. Honestly, Terrence Shannon just looked like a really nice driving kick player that's going to fit this system. We saw him get to play a little bit in the postseason last year and I think he's going to have a much bigger role this year when Nikiel Alexander Walker out. Jalen Clark, he came in and was like hounding Jamal Murray all the way out to half court,

excellent ball pressure. He has this like stout, like low center of gravity with a bunch of strength. Jamal wanted no parts of him one-on-one was basically just protect. the ball until they could get him into a ball screen, which is smart. You don't want to mess with a guy like that if you don't have to. And Jamal, I thought actually played pretty well. But I thought Jalen Clark and Terran Shannon showed plenty in order for us to kind of assume that those two guys will be able to reasonably fill the Nikiel Alexander Walker role. The question is, can they get to the point where they can play a couple of playoffs shifts? And I just think it's a really good chance that at least one of those guys, if not both of them, is going to be in a position where they can play a playoff shift. and be able to hold the four down long enough for that really talented starting lineup to get back out on the floor. Jaddy McDaniels was super sharp from the perimeter. He had a couple of nice pull-up threes. He was dribbling out at the top of the key against Cam Johnson, and Cam Johnson went under a pick.

And what do you do is the ball handler when the guy goes under the pick? You got to make him pay by hitting a pull-up three. He hit the pull-up three at the top of the key. And he hit like a step-back off of like a scissor dribble on the left wing where he got good separation and just rose up over the top and just hit like a buttery smooth step-back three. And as I'm watching that, I'm like, okay, Jaden was shooting really well and was showing some real upside offensively in last year's postseason run. And this kind of felt like a continuation of that. So obviously very, very exciting.

If Jaden McDaniels can continue to improve offensively, the wolves are just going to be really good. They're huge. They're athletic. They're deep. They're super talented. They have tons of shooting. They're physical and they're competitive. They sneaky have a lot of continuity now between their core.

like guys like Anthony Edwards and Jada McDaniels and Rudy Gobert, Nas Reid, Mike Conley, these guys have been playing together a long time. You've got a full season and three playoff series with Dante DiVincenzo and Julius Randall too. Julius obviously didn't play in that game, but they have a sneaky, a large amount of continuity compared to a lot of the teams around the league.

I said this in my season preview, which you guys will hear, I believe we've already aired it. I think it aired last week on Friday. But I think they're pretty clearly the best second-tier team in the West. we all assume that Denver and O KC are that top tier. And then I have Cleveland at number three in my contender rankings,

which you guys will hear when they come out next week. That's more based on the fact that they're in the Eastern Conference. So they have a pretty easy path to get to the finals compared to what's going on in the West. But among that next tier of contenders in the West, Minnesota for me is the pick. That's the team that I think has the best chance to upset, get out of the conference, potentially win the championship, more so than a Lakers or a Clippers. or a Golden State, all of those teams in that tier.

I'm just a big believer in that team. And frankly, I'm sick and tired of underestimating them as I have over the course of the last couple of years. I haven't seen anything Edwards yet. I'm super excited to see what he brings to the table. But just seeing what we've seen from the young guys and the continued offensive development of Jaden McDaniels and just the overall impressive physicality

they keep bringing to the table. I'm impressed by them. The weird thing with them is I think they're kind of matchup dependent. Like, we all know they can beat Denver. I would pick Denver to beat them in a series, but it's much closer to a coin flip than people would think. And so I do give Minnesota a ton of respect there. The thing with Minnesota that keeps them as a second-tier team for me

is I literally don't think they can beat Oklahoma City. I don't think there's enough that Ant can improve on in just one year to close the gap between him and Shea enough to be able to overcome that simple problem that Ant has consistently dealt with, which is rim protection in combination with athleticism in an elite defense. It seems to have been the Achilles heel for Ant at this point in his career. So like it's weird because if they somehow work it out to where they only have to beat Denver, I think they've got like an awesome chance to win the title, like a really good chance.

But if they end up in a bracket situation where they have to go through OKC, it kind of feels like a death sentence for them. And so that's going to be what ultimately keeps them in the second tier for me, at least in the short term, unless they show something substantial this year. on the Denver front, obviously the defense left a lot to be desired, but it's really tough to evaluate because they straight up weren't meeting the intensity of the moment. I shouldn't even say of the moment, just of the wolves and what they were bringing from the jump. But lots of encouraging stuff for Nuggets fans on offense.

Predictably, Cam Johnson looked like a very natural fit on that end of the floor, flowing in and out of action, making reeds when he got to the middle of the floor on kickouts. He got a easy layup off of a back cut on the right side of the floor where Yokic hit him, easily for a layup. I just don't see any problems at all with the basketball fit there. He wasn't great contain on defense either, but he, again, that whole team wasn't really bringing the intensity there, so I'm trying not to overthink it at this point. Aaron Gordon's jumper still looks fantastic. He showed some mid-range, kind of like ISO stuff as well, kind of a rescue possession along the left elbow where he just shot over the top and then

pretty nifty little crossover move into a pull-up along the right baseline that he hit. And I mean, I saw a bunch of that in his summer like pickup tape, you know, the stuff that's going around on Instagram of dudes just playing pickup basketball. We saw a lot of that from Aaron Gordon this summer. So I was wondering how much more we will see of it. And I do think that we'll see more of that this year. I thought Jamal looked like he was in better shape than he typically is in at this point in the season. He was getting good lift on his jumper. He looked strong on his drives.

I think he had five assists and one turnover. He was handling the ball well. I thought he looked good. Christian Brown is flying up and down the floor and transition from the jump. kind of a classic Nicola Yokic play on their first defensive stop, kind of a scrum rebound situation. Yokich is getting hit, like dudes are hanging on him, he gets a rebound. And Christian Brown leaks out, and he just literally has like,

just barely a step on the guy who's trailing him. And there's a big gap up the floor in front of him. There's other defenders back, but there was just kind of a gap between Christian and the next layer of the transition defense. And Yokic just kind of flipped it up ahead, like this big looping bounce pass, that Christian just ran into like a wide receiver and he got all the way to the rim for a foul.

And you could see Yokic, like after he threw the pass, he just wanted to chill mode. It was like, I'll just stay back here on defense. And it's just always been a sneaky, awesome part of Denver's attack on offense is they just hunt these transition opportunities to make the game easier for them. And again, it's a way to make your athleticism compliment your unathletic players, right? Like you get a guy like Yokic who can literally run a devastating transition attack like he's been running. for years, even though he's not a great athlete, just because he's constantly looking for his athletes in the open floor. Lots of exciting stuff from the bench.

Yonis Valanchunis, I talked a lot about scheme consistency with him over the course of the summer. It was really fun to watch them just played Nuggets basketball when Yokic was out there, right? Or when Yokic went out of the game. Like they just threw the ball to Yonis on the block against Joan Beringer over and over and over again. And he abused him on the block three times in a row for like layups and easy hook. hook shots. He was setting great screens out at the three point line, freeing ball handlers up. He was

hitting guys on cuts in and out of action. He hit Julian Strother for an easy one right underneath the basket. I just think the fit there is perfect. The onus is going to be great with them in that role. Jalen Pickett came out. It came in and put in like a tough shot, shot making display. He hit like a step back three at the top of the key. And then he had two rescue possessions where the clock's running out and everyone just was like, here you do it. And he made two ridiculous tough shots, It's like a kind of a movement three out of the right corner and then like a one-legged fade away on the left wing that he hit. Some impressive shot making there.

Peyton Watson looked super athletic in transition. Had a couple of nifty finishes on drives, a left-handed finish coming off of a dribble handoff on the right side of the floor. And then a nice, like, kind of like slow down, mature, pump fake, wait for the defender to come in the, to get in the air and then find that little angle for the push shot. Tim Hardaway Jr. missed his shots, but you could see the fit. at least with him coming in and out of action with Yokic.

I thought the basketball fit made a lot of sense there. The offense is going to be incredible. There's no way around it. They were barely trying in that first half in terms of their physical intensity against an excellent defensive group in Minnesota. And they put up 63 points, like just easy. And they're going to be a lot better as the season progresses. Yokic is still amazing.

He's just so deadly in the short range. He got like two identical little floating bank shots. off of inverted ball screens on the right wing where he just went down the floor. Rim protector steps up and just boop. Nice and soft over the top off the glass. Mid-range jumper looks great. He hit like a little short one against a great contest against Colbert. And then another one along the left elbow.

They're just going to be an awesome offense. They're going to score a million points this year. I'm going to say the same thing about them that I'm going to say about the Lakers when we get later into the show. They need to be an incredibly sharp execution team on defense. And they didn't look like it in their first preseason game. Now, I'm less worried about it for, this particular group because they've consistently shown the ability to scale up

after chilling in the regular season. They're basically right now the best switch flipping defense in the league, right? Like they can look bad for long stretches and then be good. Even the year they won the title, they were bad on defense to end the year. And it just didn't matter because they were able to scale up when they needed to. That said, the margins are a little tighter in this particular league because of Oklahoma City and because of the threats of teams like Minnesota and some of the other teams in the West, right? So with that being the case, I think it is probably a bit more important for this team to be a little more diligent in terms of their focus and execution on defense in the regular season than in years past.

It's just something to keep an eye on. Today's show is brought to you by our new presenting sponsor, Hard Rock Bet. The NBA season is right around the corner and we're incredibly excited. Haven't placed your first bet yet, now is the perfect time. Bet $5, and if it wins, you don't just get your payout. You also cash in $150 in bonus bets on top. If you're looking to bet NBA futures, they're live on Hard Rock bet. You can bet on the finals, MVP, rookie of the year, sixth man, and a lot more.

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call 1-800-9 with it. Gambling problem? Call 1-800 gambler in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, or Virginia. Hey, it's us, the Jonas brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, name? Huge news. We created our own podcast.

called Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to... We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name Hey Jonas, guys?

I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band. Before Jonas Brothers was... This is how you guys remember. Remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this.

We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, Hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm CJ Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron Heading and, the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed.

And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup,

he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night the night bases on offense. And when IT's friends stopped by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nass would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying.

He running up the court, licking his fingers, why he got the ball. Like, you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah. You figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Keith Gianmanca, seemed like a mild-mannered suburban dad. But secretly, he became someone else, a master of disguise who went on a crime spree. At the time, did it seem like a crazy idea? It seemed very crazy. But I felt so desperate that I felt it was the quickest, easiest way out. Did you allow yourself to think about how it could go wrong

and what that might look like? No. I didn't want to manifest that. I was trying to manifest success. Every family has its secrets. But what happens when you discover that your dad has been living a double life? That is not the look of an innocent man. This is going to change my life and my family dynamic forever,

because everything that had existed prior in my reality is now untrue. Listen to Deep Cover the Family Man. on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you're watching the latest season of the Real Housewives of Atlanta, you already know there's a lot to break down. Gorsha accusing Kelly of sleeping with a merry man. They holding Kay Michelle back from fighting Drew. Pinky has financial issues. I like the bougie style of Housewives show.

I think it looks like it's going to be interesting. On the podcast, Reality with the King, I, Carlos King, recap the biggest moment. from your favorite reality shows, including the Real House Wise franchise, the drama, the alliances, M&T, everybody's talking about. As an executive producer in reality television, I'm not just watching it. I understand the game. As somebody who creates shows, I'll even say this. At the end of the day, when people are at home, they want entertainment.

To hear this and more, listen to Reality with the King on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, I'm Jared Adano. You might know me as that loud guy who yells out, help on the internet. Help! Somebody! Please!

But there's so much more to me than me. I'm an actor. I'm a comedian. And recently, I've become quite the helper myself. And on my new podcast, Hope from a Hypocrite, I'll be changing lives, helping people in need with my sage advice and thoughtful solutions. Sike!

I'm a comedian. I'm not qualified to give good advice. Join me and my comedian friends as we riff rant recommend some of the most legally dubious advice known to man. If I'm calling you, even if you're on your phone, let it ring twice. One ring is too scary.

Cream a chicken suit. Hey, cream a chicken suit. This is Help from a Hypocrite, the worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to Help from Hypocrat as part of the Mike Coutura podcast network available on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts. All right, moving on to the Los Angeles Lakers.

A lot of good, a lot of bad. The good, I thought Austin, looked amazing. Phoenix came out with super intense ball pressure right away with their big strong athletes, not a big surprise with the addition of Dylan Brooks. They also started Osso Igadaro at center, and they did a lot of switching with him, which was interesting because it kind of forced the pick and roll attack.

It took away those easy roll opportunities for a guy like Aiton, and it turned into kind of more of like an ISO, have to create shots against physical defenders in space type of situation. And we're going to talk about Phoenix later in the show, but I told you guys they'd be a pain in the ass to play against. And I thought they demonstrated that fully in their first preseason game. I think that's an example of something that will continue throughout the year. Again, preseason is about the journey from where you are to what you're going to be.

And all these teams are different spots in that process. The Phoenix is pretty far along in the we're going to be a pain in the ass on defense process. And I thought they were really, really impressive in that game, albeit against a Lakers team that was missing most of their ball handling. But I was really impressed by the way Austin handled that. He just, he ended up getting Ryan done for most of that. Dylan Brooks was going after Rui Hachamura, and he was causing him some problems. But Austin just like really strong with the ball. He was able to get separation from the ball pressure by attacking and then retreating to generate space.

That way he could then get into his bag to try to beat his man off the dribble. or to get to one of his jump shots. When Phoenix swarmed him, he was strong with the ball and got into their bodies and he drew fouls. He ended up getting seven foul shot attempts in that game.

I thought he passed the ball pretty well. Didn't show in the box square. I think he only had two assists, but it's because guys were struggling to finish. He set up several clean catch and shoot looks that didn't go in. He had a nasty spin movie. He was on a ball screen on the left side of the floor.

His man was icing it, and he just spun out of it over his left shoulder with his left hand, and then just threw a perfect shovel pass to DeAndre Aiton, who was in the pocket, Ait and just smoked the left-handed layup, but I thought it was a really nice piece of playmaking from Austin. He ended up hitting Jackson Hayes for a nasty poster dunk on Devin Booker

on a ball screen off the left side of the floor. I just thought he looked strong, he looked athletic, and he looked ready to kick ass the season. He had 20 points on 11 shots in just 21 minutes. Austin's just a really good player. And if he continues to get better, he continues to add talent to this team. And this configuration with Luca,

some of his athletic limitations rise to the surface more. But at the same time, like in the era after LeBron, a player like him becomes so important next to Luca. So like it's just a really tough situation because you could argue in the short term, he's not the best fit, but in the long term, he is a guy that they have to look at.

And I just think Austin's a really good player. And if it's not with the Lakers long term, it'll be for someone else. I'm a big believer in his skill set. And I'm hoping that he can help the Lakers a lot in this particular season. I thought Jared Vanderbilt looked great. The word coming out of camp from JJ

was that his athleticism and his foot speed was like night and day different from last year when he was coming back from his foot injury. And I totally agree after watching him. And if you guys have ever dealt with something like that, I had a foot injury in between my first two years of college. In my whole first semester, that second year, I just didn't trust my foot

and I just wasn't moving as well as I typically did. And then it finally came around after months went by and I started to regain confidence and get my foot speed back. Any of you guys have ever dealt with foot injuries know what that's like. Bando was back last year, but he wasn't back, right? He wasn't really back. So this year having him be faster and more athletic on the perimeter is obviously a huge ad for a team that desperately needs that type of quickness on the perimeter.

On one of his first possessions against Phoenix, he got over the top of a screen and in a rearview contest situation actually blocked Devin Booker. And again, this is exciting because he's one of only three professional point of attack defenders on the roster. And the other two are either really short like Gabe Vincent or an injury risk like Marcus Smart. So like they really, really need Vando to be good. And honestly, the offensive side is what has me more excited with him. He was only one for six from three over the weekend, but his release does look much better.

And we're hearing out of camp that he's been shooting the ball better. So I think there's at least some potential there for him to become a guy who can hit like 35. of his open corner threes instead of, you know, 30%, which could be a big difference in his playability. Also, he was doing some more stuff off the bounce, especially against Golden State. Like, he did some damage in the middle of the floor. He had like a nice driving finish around Quentin Post. He had a couple of finishes in traffic where he put the ball on the floor and made plays. I talked about this in the season preview, but Vando is one of the biggest swing factors for this Lakers team.

If he can find a way to be a competent offensive player, not great, just competent. then the Lakers can make use of his defensive gifts, which they desperately need. And I think that's a big swing factor for this Lakers team. Evando can continue to develop offensively. Jake Laravia looks solid. He picked up six fouls in the two games, but I thought a couple of them were pretty bogus, including a hilarious Devin Booker grift that was in the first few minutes of the Sun's game that I watched.

It was in like my first film session of the season, and I'm watching it, and I'm like, oh, my God. And here we go again. We're back into this part of the NBA season where grifting is getting rewarded. Like he was on Devin Booker's right side, hands up and backpedaling away from the rim. And Devin Booker just like jumped sideways into him and shot some bullshit shot and ended up getting sent to the foul line. Like I'm not going to blame Jake LaRavia for that. That's bad refereeing, right?

But he did pick up six fouls in the two games, got out of position a couple of times. But I did think he showed a lot, especially on offense. Like he's good at using his size to protect the ball. When he was dribbling forward into traffic, he had some turnover issues. I think he had four turnovers in the two games. but when he turned his back, he was able to protect the ball with his size, and that unlocked some of like his more refined skill compared to some wings in the league. Like he had a couple of nice little feathery mid-range jump shots out of those situations.

He had a spin move on Jimmy Butler where he protected the ball and then just whipped it over his left shoulder in his spin and got all the way to the front of the rim. And it was such a nasty spin move that LeBron, who was watching the game, you could tell you could see him in the background. He kind of got caught off guard and you could tell LeBron was like, oh shit, okay, Jake. Like I didn't know you had that in your bag, right? So like that I think is it going to be an interesting dynamic compared to a guy like Dorian Finney Smith who struggled to put the ball on the floor. Dorian obviously way more polished defensively. That's going to be the stuff that Jake's going to have to figure out in order to match that impact.

The jumper does look good. I think he'll shoot well in open catch and shoot looks when the team has all their ball handlers. He just obviously wasn't getting the same quality of looks in this particular situation. DeAndre Aten was a mixed bag. In the Phoenix game, he dealt with a lot of switching in the starting groups, right? So like if you're switching, that's going to nullify the role man stuff. And I talked about this a lot over the summer. Like I didn't like his post up.

See, he had a right shoulder fade away against Dremont Green. But then he had like a couple other hook shots where he easily got pushed off his base. And he's like falling down as he's shooting the hook shot because he's just, I don't see him as a guy who's going to consistently beat switches. That's not something that I see in his game. Now, in the Luca partnership, you've got Luca who's arguably one of the best switch beaters in the entire NBA. right, probably, you know, top two or three on that list, right? So like with Luca, it's going to be less of an issue. But in a unit like that, where it's a switching attack and, you know, you have Austin is the best offensive player on the floor and it's a huge drop off after that. It's not going to be the type of game where DeAndreighton is going to thrive offensively, right?

So like he did get a couple offensive rebounds, but I didn't think that was the right matchup to really show what he could do on offense. he did rebound really well in both games. He had 15 rebounds and 39 minutes over the weekend. That's very good. He's just a super impressive physical presence, right? Like he's going to walk into so many rebounds just because he's bigger and more athletic than most players in the NBA. It's kind of like the defensive stuff.

Like Aiton made a lot of defensive mistakes, which we're going to talk about in a minute, but he also blocked four shots in his 39 minutes because he's bigger and more athletic than most players in the NBA, right? it's just that his defensive positioning and his instincts are still super sloppy. Not hard to figure out why he was playing losing basketball for years before this. But just a lot of like random little mistakes. Like there was a play where brawny gave up a layup to Grayson Allen where

Grayson came off of like a fake handoff from Oso Igadaro at the top of the key. And Aiton was like hugged up to Osso instead of like sagging back a little bit to be able to help on a clutter in that situation. like that's a basic little bit of defensive positioning that he can be better at. He like threw an unnecessary block attempt at a pump faking player in the middle of the floor where he gave up an easy drop off for a layup. I think that was in the Golden State game. There were some bad transition defense possessions where like he's back, but he's not getting to the rim like he's supposed to. And the ball is just getting thrown right over the top of him for a layup. But I want to cut him some slack there because the whole team, the whole Lakers team was really sloppy in those details.

And I do think those things are related. moving to the bad side of things for the Lakers. I thought the Lakers in general, in general, looked very sloppy in their defensive details. It wasn't all bad. Like they had some high quality point of attack reps from guys like Vando.

I thought as a team, they defended Devin Booker really well in the first half before they kind of lost control of him in the second half. Their primary groups rebounded really well. Like they had a 77% defensive rebound percentage in the first half of both games, which is really solid, especially when you've a factor,

in that LeBron and Luca were out, and those are both excellent defensive rebounders. You could really feel the presence of Aiton on that side of things as just a foundational defensive rebounder that made life easier for them there. They did force a lot of turnovers. They forced 37 turnovers in the two games, which is a good number. Although I think it was a factor of a couple of things. Like it was a factor of teams being generally sloppy with the ball at this point in the season. And they were overhelping on a lot of three-point shots. And when you have big lanky forwards like Vanderbilt and Rui with their arms up in the paint leaving shooters, those kickouts, they'll get deflections on them sometimes. And there were

several examples of that where they just forced turnovers packing the paint. But it was mostly bad on defense. Like, their transition defense was abysmal. I kept thinking about those clipper shirts. I'm not sure if you guys saw those clipper shirts that were going around from camp, but it just said like, fuck, like up and down with the, I can't remember what it's called where you have the expression that goes with each letter in the first, the first letter of each sentence is like matching the word right so as f was for floor balance u is for urgency c was for communication and k was for no that we lost to denver because of transition i just loved this because i thought it was a classic example of like using the pain and scar tissue of loss of losing as a method to motivate

a group to get better at a specific thing i thought it was a really fun idea from the clippers coaching staff but i thought the lakers were brutally bad in all those areas they're floor balance was really bad. They kept having shooters that were on the wing kind of leak too far down into the like kind of like almost in the corner while long rebounds are going out and guys are just out of position. You only have one guy above the free throw line. Like that's bad floor balance. Really bad urgency sprinting back. A lot of jogging. And especially for a team that's, you know, according to JJ Redick heavily emphasizing conditioning. They didn't seem very urgent sprinting back in transition. And then their communication like guys just not getting matched up and giving up easy. layups and open threes, even when guys are back, because you're just not talking and bringing that level of urgency on that end of the floor. Like, they gave up 67 points in transition in the two games. That's horrid. And they gave up 1.43 points per possession in transition, which is even worse. So, like, they have a long way to go there. Their off ball defense in the half court was brutally bad as well. I was super disappointed in Rui Hachamura's first two games. He got burned

ball watching and getting out of his stance like off the ball like a half dozen times. And it's especially frustrating because if he could be awesome in those details, he could make himself untradable, especially for this particular team that values his play finishing off of Luca so much. And it could get him a lot of money on his next deal. But if he can't figure out how to be more detailed off the ball defensively and tracking shooters and just more, like just overall attention to detail and urgency on the defensive end of the floor, the Lakers basically have to flip him for a guy who fits the team better as like an athletic wing that is going to be more um you know a higher floor on that defensive side of the floor but it wasn't just really like all over

the floor i saw guys helping in the lane for no reason and giving up open looks i saw vando do it in some off ball situations it feels very intentional from jj that they're overhelping and packing the paint and trying to concede threes now some of that is like you're going to have to because that's the way your team is built. You don't have great contain. You don't have great rim protection. So you're going to have to throw multiple bodies at everything, which is going to lead to open threes. But I did think they overdid it on some cases. Like there was a low man rep from Rui where I think Jackson was on the floor. It was either Jackson or Aiton, but they were in a deeper drop and the role man wasn't behind. And so there's just no reason for you to step over and he ended up giving up a wide open right

corner three because he was just like just kind of lagging into the lane for no particular reason at all just a lot of mistakes right like vando gets hit by a draymond green screen that has step curry coming off clean and jr uh jackson hayes is you know 10 feet away from the three point line just way too far back it's just a wide open three for step like dude jackson you've got to be up at the level against step curry like that's that's basketball 101 when you're playing the Warriors, right? Like just a kind of a sloppy overall defensive performance, both in transition and in the half court from the Lakers. And that was just kind of disappointing just because again, like I talk about preseason is about where you're at to where you're going to be and

everybody's at a different part of that process, a different phase of that process. And I was just hoping the Lakers would be further along. The Lakers gave up 32 catch and shoot looks per game over the weekend. And that's not a good sign to give you an idea like Denver, Minnesota, they were all below 23 catch and shoot attempts just for some perspective. Like that's just way too many easy kickouts from overhelping in the lane. The reason why I'm particularly concerned about these things is that for this team, they have to be sharp in order to accomplish their goals. They don't have the defensive personnel to get where they want to get

without being super, super sharp as an execution and scheming team on defense. I'm not worried about the offense. Your offense is built around the shot creation of Luca Donchich. LeBron James and Austin Reeves. And combined out of those three guys in 96 minutes of basketball, you got just 21 minutes total out of those three guys. And that was Austin Reeves in the first game. So like, I'm not paying too close attention to that sort of thing until we get further along. Like a lot less putting the ball on the floor from guys like Rui and Jake Laravia and Gabe Vincent, guys like that. Gabe had a nice little hot streak in the first half against Golden State.

But like, I'm not worried about the offense. But this core of role players has to be extremely sharp on defense. and they just don't look sharp yet. And so they just have a long way to go. And as I've said, in order for them to contend for the title, I think they have to get into like the top 12 to 15 or so in defense. That should be their target. But in order to get there, they got to be a top shelf execution and scheming team. And they just look really far from that right now.

So it's going to be a lot of work from JJ to prevent these guys from being a bottom 10 defense this year. Golden State Warriors. I saw a lot of good with Golden State beyond the basic intensity stuff. Like I mentioned off the top of the show, the Lakers, like the Lakers without Austin, Luca, and LeBron played Golden State really tough in large part because they had just gotten their butts kicked by Phoenix. And I think it kind of woke them up in terms of their intensity and Golden State wasn't quite there yet. To be clear, I don't worry about Golden State's intensity at all. Like you're led by Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler, and Draymond Green. They're just about guaranteed to compete as hard as any team in the NBA once they get rolling here. So like I'm not worried about it, but beyond that lack of intensity. A lot of really exciting stuff for Warriors fans. Like you have to start with Moses Moody. I talked about in our season preview about how I felt like Moses would be working all summer on his jump shot after he tailed off so significantly at the end of last year. And he

looked amazing coming out the gates. Guns blazing. Five for seven from three, just ripping the cord all over the floor. His form looks great. It's compact and smooth and quick. His footwork looks great. He had a three coming off the top of the key in the start of the second half. where he was sprinting off the left side, perfect footwork, boom, left right, great lift, gets tons of elevation on the jump shot, really crisp release and just sticks it, just rips the cord. And I'm like, good God, like Moses's jump shot looks amazing. He was hitting open ones.

He was hitting contested ones. He had a dunk ripping a closeout on the right corner where Aiton through a, Aiton through one of the worst closeouts I've ever seen. He closed out, opened up with his back to the baseline. line with like leading with his left foot. It just was really bad fundamental to close out from Aiton. And Moses just ripped to the baseline and of getting a dunk out of it. He hit like a really nice little pump fake like find the angle for the finish type of shot

in transition. Really impressive first game for Moses Moody. And again, like if he goes up as a level as like a 3 and D wing, that's a huge boost for Golden State. Just really, really exciting stuff from Moses. Horford didn't do anything super amazing on the box score. He did have four stocks. He had a steal in three blocks, but he had three points, four rebounds, three assists.

But they won his minutes. I can't remember the exact plus minus, but they won his minutes by a lot. And you could really see the natural fit on offense. Not just the two-man stuff with Steph. Obviously, he hits Steph on like a little back cut. But you can tell when he catches the ball at the top of the key or any spot on the floor and he turns and faces, he's looking and he's able to read the guards coming in and out of action as they slip into openings, and he's able to hit guys there.

And not just Steph, but he hit Pat Spencer on a little back cut along the left baseline when he snuck behind. I think he was behind Gabe Vincent. He just kind of snuck along the baseline. Hord hit him there for a layup. He did hit one of his threes, but I think you're going to see a really natural fit on offense overall as he's popping out of ball screens. And then in split cuts and anything where he's turning and facing out, you know,

20, 25 feet from the basket, he's going to be able to read the guards slipping in and out of action, is such a fundamental part of playing the center position in Golden State's offense. Steph looked amazing. He managed to shake free from Vanderbilt a few times, just with some really good screening and then setting him up for action. Well, was really giving it to Brony James on both ends of the floor, not just catching him sleeping for open threes, but also on the other end of the floor just kind of pressuring Brony and forcing him into some sloppy turnovers. He just looks strong.

He looks in shape. His shot looks as good as ever. no sign at all of the hamstring strain that ended his season last year. Everyone else is right where they need to be. You know, Pods miss some shots early, but then he was able to find his three-point stroke with a corner three on the right wing, and then he hit like a little ISO 3 over DeAndreaten at the top of the key. That was a good sign. DeAndreaten, disruptive as ever on defense,

was breaking up a bunch of plays with his hands around the basket. Jimmy Buller and his ability to grift his way to the foul line and make easy kickout reads when he's working in the middle of the floor. lots of, lots of exciting stuff for the warriors on that offensive side of the ball. And then again, the intensity will come in time. Again, everybody's at a different phase in their development as a team at this point in time. Hey, it's us to Jonas Brothers. And guess what? We have some big news. What's the news?

Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas. We invented a podcast. Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to us. We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band.

Before Jonas Brothers was... This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast.

But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defining the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game.

His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall.

And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nass would get that thing. That man, hell get the fly. He running up the court, licking his fingers why he got the ball, like,

after you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Keith Gianmanca seemed like a mild-mannered suburban dad, but secretly, he became someone else,

a master of disguise who went on a crime spree. At the time, did it seem like a crazy idea? It seemed very crazy. But I felt so desperate that I felt it was the quickest, easiest way out. Did you allow yourself to think about how it could go wrong and what that might look like? No. I didn't want to manifest that.

I was trying to manifest success. Every family has its secrets. But what happens when you discover that your dad has been living a double life? That is not the look of an innocent man. This is going to change my life and my family dynamic forever because everything that had existed prior in my reality is now untrue. Listen to Deep Cover the Family Man on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The story I've told myself about love or relationships can then shape my behavior and that can lead me to sabotage the possibility of connection.

This Mental Health Awareness Month, tune into the podcast deeply well with Debbie Brown and explore the journey of healing, self-discovery, and returning to yourself. We explore higher consciousness, emotional well-being, and the practices that help you find clarity, peace, and self-mastery in a world that can feel overwhelming. The world is becoming lonelier. We're not becoming more social and connected. We're becoming more individualized, but we actually meet people in connection. If you've been searching for a soft place to land while doing the work to become whole, this podcast is for you to hear more.

Listen to deeply well with Debbie Brown from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. I wanted to quick throw some thoughts on the Phoenix Suns together. I talked a lot before the season about how I thought this team was going to be a royal pain in the ass. And it comes from just some basic basketball beliefs that I have, which is if you've got like a couple of dudes that you can throw on the opposing stars that are big, strong, athletic, physical,

and can guard the ball. And then you have athleticism at the rim behind them, you can be devastating on defense against anybody. Devastating is the wrong word, but you can at least make life difficult. for anybody on that end of the floor. And the ball gets tossed up and immediately the tap goes to Rui Hachamura

and Dylan Brooks is in his jersey. Just in his jersey swiping at the basketball going like crazy. Ryan Dunn's picking up Austin Reeves. They just bring a level of physical intensity there that is going to annoy some people on a night-in-night-out basis. And I really like the idea of, you know, we talked a lot about those guys in the context of Moloach as like a rim-protecting center.

and we didn't get to see too much of that. As a matter of fact, I don't think they played together at all in the first game. But like you're going to see more of that down the line. But I like Oso Igadaro is more of a switching look. Another big forward. They can switch that action. He can pressure the ball.

Now all of a sudden you have three guys. And I know they all play in the front court, but you put your two forwards and Dunn and Brooks on the opposing ball handlers. Then you can put, you know, Grace and Allen and Devin. booker on guys that are lesser offensive players that maybe you can have them hedge and recover out of. Then you just switch three, four, five. So any ball screen that involves the center, you just

switch with Oso. Dylan and Ryan are both strong enough to guard bigger players. That's just going to be a really difficult look to deal with that like switching three, four, five. And again, we're going to see more of the, um, the rim protection element in the context of those two guys as well. But it's just going to be a really fun team, uh, to watch on a night and night out basis. And I think Suns fans are going to enjoy rooting for them more than they will, some of the teams in years past that had more talent, but that just didn't have that like physical intensity identity. That sort of thing is just so much more fun to watch in the regular season because you turn on the TV and you see guys competing, you kind of are willing to deal with more of the mistakes, whereas you see a team

that's got a ton of talent that's struggling in the competitive areas of the game. It can be very frustrating to watch. And so I think Suns fans are really going to like that team. On offense, leaning into Devin Booker will be fun. I thought he's in years past, handled that offensive engine role really well. I like some of the stuff they were doing with I Godaro on the ball. Like they let him go one on one a little bit. They ran an inverted ball screen where they had Grayson Allen come screen for him and he got right downhill and drew a foul. That's kind of an interesting thing for them to explore, mainly just because if he's going to play the five, he's going to be guarded by centered, centers. And those centers are not going to be good

at navigating screens. And they're not going to be good at, you know, just handling that sort of a downhill pressure from Oso. So I think that's an interesting thing to continue to explore for them. Again, I just think they're going to be annoying. They're not going to win more than maybe 40 games as their absolute ceiling. But they're going to beat you if you don't bring their best.

Like, if you don't play your best on any given night against Phoenix, they're going to beat you. Like, they're going to be a, they're mean, they're physical, they're going to be a pain in the ass to play. And they attack the Lakers from jump ball and never let up in that entire game.

In a preseason game, for God's sake. So like, again, I think, I think Sun's fans are really good. going to enjoy watching that team. All right, Knicks Sixers. I only caught the second game here, so just a heads up. I've watched some highlights of Vijay Edgecombe

in his first game, but I watched the entirety of the second game. And the biggest thing that stood out to me by far was the crazy intentional effort that the Knicks were making to get out in transition. And it wasn't just like leakouts or easy little two-on-ones for layups. They were hunting kick-aheads.

They were hunting early offense, like semi-transition where like, excuse me, we're like guys are back, but like the defense isn't set and you're looking to attack early rather than pulling the ball out and setting something up. They were torching Philly with like kickaheads to OG and an OB in the corner for three. OJ was awesome in that second game. I think that was the only game he played in, but he was awesome in that first half just came out guns blazing, was hitting his jump shot with ease. Mitchell Robinson was running the floor super well and was getting dunks and layups off a drop off of drop off of drop ops, excuse me. Jalen Brunson was getting a

bunch of kick-ahead opportunities where he's always been sneaky really good at finishing and transition with layups as he gets into the defender's body and just kind of waits for the right opportunity to break free. The early offensive stuff with Mikael, where he would get the ball and the defense wouldn't quite be set yet, and he would just get right downhill off of a ball screen and make something happen. The Knicks first half groups with the starters. Okay, so again, I'm looking at just the first half of both games. They scored 39 points in transition in those two games combined. So essentially, 40 transition points per game

is the pace that their starting group, their main rotation guys played with. Just for some perspective, there were two teams in the entire NBA last year that averaged over 30 transition points per game. And their first half units were averaging 40 transition points per game through those first two games. So like, I just thought that that was a really smart approach.

Again, I talked about this a lot last year, but I thought the Knicks were out there best when they were getting stops and they were running defense to transition because they have speed and they have guys that can play in the open floor and like it really showed in the numbers guys. Last year in their 51 wins,

they averaged 18 fast break points per game. In their 31 losses, they averaged just 12 fast break points per game. So 50% more output in transition just in fast breaks when they were winning versus when they were losing. That's a strong correlation there. And it's something that I love that they're exploring.

It's also just a great way to take advantage of their aggregate offensive skill. We talked about it. This is a group of roster that should be sharing the ball more. And they did run stuff in the half court that I liked in the game that I watched. Like they ran Brunson on off ball action coming into catch and shoot looks. They used Brunson as a screener. They ran a play that I really liked where they had OG come off the left wing and Brunson kind of like set a screen for him and OG curled it.

And as a result, OG easily got down. Hill and was able to drop it off to Mitchell Robinson as Mitch's man stepped up and he got a foul out of it. I like that action because guys who are guarding Brunson are not going to want to help or hedge. And so guys will get advantages coming off of those screens. We talked a lot about that in the season preview, specifically the idea of Brunson screening for a guy like O.G. and an OB. Because it's going to get him deep post position. It's going to get him downhill coming off of screens like that.

It's going to force switches with favorable matchups for both guys. it's definitely something that I like, but you can tell that the Knicks still have a long way to go in the half court in terms of getting the ball and player movement that they want. But the transition pushes, they naturally breed that sort of thing. Guys are already running, so you're not going to get stagnant, right?

The defense is loose, so the gaps that you're hitting are bigger, easier driving kick reads manifest for guys to hit. You're going to get a lot of layups and open threes instead of ISOs and pick and rolls out of those transition pushes. And that's a big part of why I love that they're, emphasizing that so much. Remember, the entire purpose of running action or running a set is to get an advantage so that guys can just play read and react basketball out of it. And pushing in

transition is the easiest way to get those advantages. So I love the emphasis for Mike Brown and camp. The starting lineup definitely looks better with Mitch in there. I like the roles it's cutting for Kat and Brunson on defense. They didn't look good in those roles of their first couple games. Like, they just have to be better than they've been. Cat was delayed or slow on his closeouts out of low man situations to the corner several times, lost shooters several times. Brunson has been slow getting back to his man in and out of help and recover situations. That big VJ Edgecombe dunk was like a classic example of Brunson just being slow to react to his man relocating and and giving up a dunk in that example. But they're big in that lineup. And I think they have a higher floor on defense in general in the long run

with that configuration. So I do like going that direction. With the new guys, it's kind of a mixed bag for me. I'm not worried about Gwreshaun Yabuselli's offense at all. Like he's talented. He's going to come around. Teams are going to hunt him on defense the way that Philly did, but with better players. But that's kind of more or less what Gwarshon is, right? Like he's a backup hybrid big that brings a lot of offensive firepower, but is going to give a lot of it back on the defensive end of the floor. That's just kind of what that type of player is. He's essentially like a lesser version of Bobby Portish, right? And I'm always okay with that sort of guy as long as you don't need him in your best five lineups because you can make decisions game to game. Like, okay, he doesn't have

it tonight. I'm going to go a different direction or, oh shit, he's going to win us a game scoring 25 points off the bench. Like, that's the type of flexibility you have when you have those high powered offensive forward center hybrids coming off of your bench. I don't love the Jordan Clarkson stuff. He's kind of just coming in and gunning. And they're like he scored a, like, reasonably efficiently, but I didn't love the process. Like he drew a foul and a really bad ISO jumper. I can't remember who he was going against on that particular possession, but he got a mismatch and he just kind of threw up a bad shot and got bailed out.

He made a floater that he got a good bounce off the rim on a play that I didn't think was a good decision by him. Clarkson is just not my favorite player, and I don't love his fit there. But at the same time, I really like Malcolm Brogden. He's a classic kind of high floor option. If you think of it like Clarkson is the high ceiling, low floor option, Brogden is like the lower ceiling but higher floor option. And I actually think Brogden will,

if it turns into a rotation battle where it's one or the other, I think it'll end up being Brogden who stays in the lineup, as long as he can stay healthy. Garrison Matthews looks like a great fit and just their super fast aisle of play. You can just hit movement jump shots on the run. And he just brings that gunning shooter element, him and Landry Shamit, in a way that I think adds value to their transition attack.

I thought overall it was a sharp performance from the Knicks in their second game. And the transition stuff is really exciting. For the Sixers, VJ Edge comes a fun prospect. The big dunk that he had was a classic example of just taking baked in driving lanes. This is a concept I talk a lot about, right? Like, when you're standing on the wing and the defender is so far in the lane that he has to close out on one of your shoulders, all you have to do on the catch is just rip the opposite direction.

And that guy has no chance of beating you to that spot. And if he does, you're going to see it coming a mile away. and then you just have to throw a jab step and the dude's going to go flying off the screen and then you can go the opposite direction, right? But like on this particular play, it was a really kind of interesting example because, so Vijay just makes a simple read, right? Brunson closes out at his left shoulder, VJ rips to the right, boom, right-handed hammer, right?

But on that play, I don't think it was intentional, but the reason why there was no rim protector is they were running stack in that situation. Like Tyrese was getting ready to run a ball screen with Kelly Ubre setting the back screen in stack. And then I think what happened was, as Tyrese just was like, oh shit, Brunson's not on VJ

because he kind of was just lagging, getting back to his man. So Tyrese Maxey made the right decision like, hey, we run action to get an advantage. Vijay's unguarded. I'm just going to throw the ball to VJ. So he throws it to VJ and VJ rips the close out and gets past Brunson,

but it was still timed in a way that Ubre was set in the back screen on the rim protector. So there was just nobody there that could hang with VJ at the rim, and he just threw down that nasty right-handed hammer, right? Now, the jumper is broke as hell. He had some really ugly misses, like several feet off target. He has a long way to go as a decision maker. He's forcing the issue a little bit.

But the athleticism is undeniable. He's getting to his spots at will. He was applying a ton of rim pressure. If he can refine his skills at all, he's going to be a really high-level player in this league and an exciting option for the Sixers to cling to if things go south on the injury. front for them this year.

All right, before we get out of here today, I do have some quick thoughts on Desmond Bain's debut with the Orlando Magic. Bain looks great, to be clear. He brings the dynamic to the team that they haven't had in this era, that like real shot-creating guard that can shoot off the catch, off the dribble, and slash and pass when he gets into the lane. But I hated the way Orlando used him in their first game. He's kind of just playing basketball, like the occasional ball screen with Wendell Carter Jr., him shooting coming off of a wide screen.

It was the first play of the game. He came off of a screening action to the top of the key. Got a great look and just missed it. You know, driving and kicking in a driving kick situation or driving a kicking in transition. But they didn't use him with Palo the way that I thought that they should. I talked a lot about the two-man game with Palo this summer as like a way to get favorable switches for Palo,

to get easy rotation situations with Bain slipping out of ghost screens or inverted screens. I talked about Bain on the ball with Palo. opening up roll man opportunities for Palo. I talked about all this stuff, and then it was the middle of the second quarter before they actually ran two-man game. And even then, it was kind of just like a late shot clock freelancing thing.

It was this really frustrating possession where Palo is at the top of the key, and he calls for Tyos Jones to come set the screen. And I'm like, looking at the screen, and I'm like, Baines being guarded by Norman Powell, a guy that Palo should be looking to attack. And Tyas is being guarded by Hamie, has another big strong forward that's not as much of a favorable matchup for Palo and that they're

probably just going to switch. And so up comes Tyos and I'm like screaming at the screen. I'm like, why isn't he trying to run the action with Bain instead? And so they just switch it. And so the play goes nowhere. And now Palo is dribbling at the top of the key and he's like, ah, shit, I got Jaime on me now. What am I going to do? And the clock's running out. And so he finally goes like, okay, Bain comes at the screen. And so Bain comes over late shot clock. Guess what happened? happens. Like, they don't switch it because Norman Powell, who's a weaker defender, wants no parts of Palo Boncaro, so he doesn't help. He doesn't hedge. He doesn't do anything. And Jaime, when he's trying to navigate around the action, gives up the angle to Palo. Palo gets right downhill and gets a right-handed layup. And I'm just like, it's that easy, guys. Like, it's that easy, you know? And you almost get this feeling like, like, Bain and Palo were playing more of like a your turn, my turn kind of deal. And it, you know, and it works when Palo's got the ball and Palo. and Bain spotting up. Like there was a play where Palo was isoing in the middle of the floor

and Bain's man dug way down into the lane and Palo threw him an easy kickout. And Bain missed the three, but it was a great look and that's a shot that he's going to make. And it'll make things easier for Palo. And don't get me wrong, there's like a high floor to this fit just simply because of the natural basketball fit

between the two of those guys. But it's like, no, dude, it's not your turn, my turn. It's both of your turns. Like this team is going to be at their best when the two of you force different defenders, because the type of defender that guards Bain is going to be different than the type of defender that guards Pollo. The two of you guys need to force different defenders to make decisions in space. That's where you're going to get driving layups for Pallo, easy slipouts for Bain, great switches for easy post-ups.

That's where you're going to get that kind of stuff by using each other in concert rather than kind of like just taking turns, picking apart the defense. And so I really hope to see more from there. like I've hated this Orlando offense for years. And I'm kind of concerned now after seeing that, that they may not get the full benefit of Bain. Like they're going to get a certain benefit no matter what. But the key to unlocking this full potential of this partnership is using Bain in concert with Palo and Franz.

And I'm just, I'm just worried that with Jamal Mosley, they may not get there. And that's the thing that's concerning. I'm hoping that I'm wrong, but I'm worried that Jamal may not be the right coach to help team get to where they need to get to because they need to be more sophisticated on offense. They need to be more intentional with their process on the offensive end of the floor.

And they just haven't been for years now. And it's just something that I'm concerned about. All right, guys, it's all I have for our first preseason reaction. Again, we're going to do one more of these next Monday. And then after that, we're into the NBA regular season. We'll have season preview still coming out. I've got three more divisions that we're hitting this week with 15 more teams coming out. The following week, I'm going to have my contender rankings.

we're also going to have a a mailbag as well as a I think it's just a I have the mailbag, I have contender rankings and then we have another preseason reaction next week and then after that we get full bore into our regular season coverage. We're going to do live reaction shows for the first three nights of the regular season.

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