The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hoops Tonight - Reaction to EPIC Suns win vs. Thunder, Jaylen Brown leading red hot Celtics + NEW NBA Power Rankings

Episode Date: January 6, 2026

Jason reacts to the Devin Booker, Dillon Brooks, and the Phoenix Suns taking down Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and the OKC Thunder in an epic game. Then he breaks down Jaylen Brown scoring 50 for the Boston Celtics in a win over the Los Angeles Clippers and gives his latest NBA power rankings. Get 20% off your first purchase at https://Vuori.com/hoops All lines presented by Hard Rock Bet.  #VolumeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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When, like, young people come up to me and they want to be an actor or whatever. My first thing is always, can you think of anything else that you can do? Rather be disappointed in. Do that. David O'Yello. I love this podcast, whether it's therapy or relationships or religion or social. sex or addiction or you just go straight for the guts. Dennis Leary, Gait and Moderato from Stranger Things,

Tana Monsu, Camilla Morone, Carrie Kenny Silver, and more. Listen to these episodes of Dear Chelsea on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Joey Dardano, and on my new podcast, Hope from a Hypocrite, I'll be changing lives, helping people in need with 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,

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to have a jam-pack Monday show for you guys. We had an epic showdown between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Phoenix Suns as Devin Booker wins the game with a stepback three from 30 feet over the top of Alex Cruz. So a bunch of interesting stuff to get into from that game. After that, I want to talk a little bit of Boston Celtics, who on Saturday went in and blew out a red-hot Clippers team behind 50 points from Jalen Brown,

have a bunch of interesting stuff to get into from that game. And then as usual on Mondays, we have our weekly power rankings. You guys know the Joe before we get started. Subscribe to the Hoops Tonight YouTube channels. You don't miss any more of our videos. Like this video that helps us a lot. And the last but not least, if you want to get questions into our Friday mailbag, drop them in the YouTube comments underneath this video.

We'll get to them in our weekly mailbags on Fridays. All right. Let's talk some basketball. So the Suns win 108 to 105 on Devin Booker's game winning step back three over the top of Alex Cruz. So I thought on the play itself, Devin actually made a really smart kind of imprompt to in the moment decision to go to his step back a little bit earlier and to shoot a little bit deeper of a shot. Like when he had the ball in his right hands, his right hand, he went to a scissor dribble back to his left against Alex and kind of hit that aggressive move forward. And Alex took a pretty heavy recovery step considering where Devin made the move, which was like,

35, 40 feet from the basket, Alex on his recovery step got all the way south of the three point line. Like he created a ton of separation on the move. And so if Devin wanted to, he could have continued to go forward another step and then get into his step back. And it could have been somewhere in that like 25 foot range.

But instead, he stopped a step earlier and stepped back and shot a 30 footer off the bounce. And I thought it was really smart for two reasons. One, if you look on the video, Lou Dort, was really digging down into that driving lane off of Dylan Brooks. So like if Devin would have attacked more,

he might have attracted just a hard double team from Lou Dort there. And that could have made that a more complicated situation. They were rotating up off of Colin Gillespie in the corner up on to Dylan Brooks, too. So it wouldn't have been a, they might have gone swing, swing, and it might have been too late to even get a shot off if you would have gone too far. And then the second piece of it is if you take that extra step into the defender, in this case Alex Caruso and kind of get into his body a bit more. That allows Alex an opportunity to get his hands on you, to get physical with you and maybe

disrupt your rhythm. Maybe he swipes down on your arm a little bit and you lose control of the basketball and it doesn't get called and now you're shooting a janky jump shot because you lose control of the ball. Like it's just a little scoring nuance that I think matters. I think it's better to get a little bit longer of a shot with cleaner rhythm where you get great lift and great separation than it is to get a shorter shot that is more congested or that has disrupted rhythm of the guy's being like super physical with you. It's just like a little thing in that moment where I really liked how Devin went to step back a little bit earlier. And again, it's a 30 footer, but he gets fantastic lift, snaps the wrist, knocks it down, Thunder get a decent look for

AJ Mitchell in the left corner on the other end, but he didn't really look ready for it in that spot. So the sun's end up getting out of there with the win. I want to talk about some of the help and recover dynamics in this game for both teams because I thought it was the story from a tactical standpoint. But before we go any further, I have to bring up Dylan Brooks and his shot making in that fourth quarter. He actually started the fourth quarter with these cleared side ISOs against Jdub on the right side. And again, just think about that. Like, cleared side ISOs against one of the better defenders in the entire NBA. And especially a defender in Jdub, who's very good at dealing with some of these bigger bully ball forwards because he's a big

trunky dude, right? And he just got a couple of buckets. He spun over his left shoulder and hit a fade away right in J. Dub's face. He had one where he kind of drove into the middle and hit like a nice little floater where he got a friendly bounce. But then at the end of the game, he had two outrageous pull-up jumpers. The snatchback dribble against Kason Wallace on the right side kind of towards the corner where he just drove hard and just pulled the ball back, got just enough separation and rose up and knocked it down. And then a step back three over the top of Shea on the left just a massive shot that put the suns up, 105, 101,

before a couple of tough shots from Chet and J. Dove ended up tying it before Devin Booker at the game winner. It's still just a wild experience as a basketball fan to be watching Dylan Brooks be this reliable as a shot maker. And to be the, I'm not trying to say that it's illegitimate. Like, the sample size

is too large at this point. It's completely legitimate. He's taken 204 pull-up jump shots this season. He's getting a point per shot, 49% on pull-up twos, 35% on pull-up threes. He's 18th in the entire NBA in total pull-up jump shots made. He's made more pull-up jump shots this year than DeMartarosen or Steph Curry, for example. So, like, this is something that we know at this point through just a large sample that Dylan has become good at this. But still, when you're watching it, it's just wild to see all these shots go in. I actually really enjoyed watching Dylan Brooks in his

post-game presser. He was talking about how he would watch these videos on YouTube of Kobe shooting one-drimble pull-ups and then fadeaways out of the post. And he's talked about how he's like emulating him with some of the work that he's doing out of those spots. And I just thought it was a textbook example of manifesting your preferred reality. Like when you want something to change for yourself, there's an order of operations to make that happen, right? Like you need to see what it is that you're trying to become. In this case, I actually think it really helps to have a, I think it really helps to have like a YouTube video, something that you can watch regularly that kind of gives you a visual representation of the thing that you're trying to become

or the thing that you're trying to get better at. And you watch that and motivate yourself. Then there's the phase where you're putting in the work behind the scenes. And then there's, depending on what fields you're in or what it is you're trying to accomplish, there's an order of operations to implement it. I've talked about it with basketball before. When it comes to scoring, it's like, figure out how to make these shots in the gym alone by yourself. Then, find someone to play king of the court against and work on them. So if you want to work on a little step back jump shot or a little turnaround jump shot over both shoulders, find somebody to guard you, go play some king of the court, go play some one-on-one with a buddy, whatever it is.

It's work on it in the gym by yourself until you can make it at a high clip. Work on it one-on-one until you can make it at a high clip. Start to break it out in games, right, in five-on-five, in practice first, and then when you have an opportunity, when you've demonstrated the ability in your high school practice and your college practice to knock that shot down a few times, that's when you can unleash it in the game setting. There's an order of operations or getting from A to Z, so to speak. And I just thought it was cool to watch Dylan

kind of break down what his motivation was, what he was trying to become, what he does to motivate himself. And then the work behind the scenes, it's just obvious to see. We've seen clips of him. I am incredibly excited to tell you guys about our new partnership with Viori.

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This is Help from a Hypocrat, the worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to Help from Hypocrat as part of the Mike Coultera podcast network available on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam, it's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. and finding ways to win no matter what.

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This is Phoenix ended up generating 19 unguarded catch and shoot jump shots in this game, which is a really good number for them. Their season average is about 16. But again, this is a team in Oklahoma City that, again, is going to close those gaps a lot faster than most teams with the speed of their rotations. And in general, it's going to just make life difficult with ball pressure and playing in passing lanes to try to force turnovers. It's just difficult.

It's difficult to pass through OKC's difference or defense. Now, we've talked a lot over the years about how Oklahoma City defense. They get into gaps. they do leave shooters open. They're brief openings because the team is insanely fast, right? Like they close those gaps quickly, but those openings are there and they're there because they're opportunistic on defense,

because they'll peel off of a guy to help or they'll dig down or they'll throw a late double as a guy's getting into the lane. They do that because they want to force turnovers and get out in transition. These teams, both of these teams actually play a lot of similar, do a lot of similar things. defense in this regard. They're both high. I think they're one and two and points off of turnovers in the NBA this season. There are teams that have a depth of perimeter defense talent. They get up into the ball. They do, you know, they will, they're not going to just openly,

you know, double or send three on a two and a ball screen for no reason, but they're going to be opportunistic in those situations to try to force turnovers. The key to scoring on the thunder is to be super diligent with your spacing. So always be in the right spots off the ball. is a guy's driving or relocating. You've got to relocate with them to make sure that you're in a good position to score if you receive a kickout. And then you have to make over and over again

on time and on target kickout passes. Then when those guys catch on the perimeter against the closeout, lightning fast dribble shoot pass decisions because OKC is going to close those gaps so fast. And I just thought the Sons did an incredible job all night with that dynamic on offense. Just Devin Booker was drawing two. pretty consistently, especially in the second half.

And we just saw a bunch of these brilliant passing sequences from Phoenix to capitalize on that advantage. Like Devin draws two in the post on the right block, easy little kick out to Ryan Dunn at the top of the key, knocks it down. Okay, well, what if they rotate to that secondary pass? Okay, Devin draws two on the right wing, swing to the left wing, they rotate over from the corner. Extras pass to Jordan Goodwin in the left corner, wide open three. He knocks it down. or offensive rebounds. The Suns did a lot of damage on the offensive glass in this game.

That's been kind of a recurring theme with the thunder. We'll talk about in a minute. But they get an offensive rebound. It's like Colin Gillespie gets a close out in the left corner, rips the close out, draws bodies,

makes a beautiful kickout. Jordan Goodwin in the right corner. A lot of their transition passing sequences, just moving the ball up the four, click quickly guys running their lane, so you always have those outlets in the corners as you're pushing the ball at the floor. They just are so good at creating wide open shot,

with the crisp passing out of their good spacing. You know, Phoenix is actually shooting 38% on catch and shoot threes this year, which ranks sixth in the entire NBA. And like, you know, I would argue, like, if we're looking at the reasons why the Sons have been better than we've expected, like, I thought the Sons would be competitive. I just figured they'd hover right around 500 or a little below and have like a bunch of kind of signature wins to kind of make the season fun.

They're 21 and 14. They're, I think they're two games back from, the fourth best record in the entire NBA. Like, they're in a fantastic position. And I'd argue the two things that have kind of made that be, you know, dramatically more than I thought have been the shooting and the Dylan Brooks piece. Because like the defense, we expected the team to be great defensively. I predicted they'd be top 10 in defense before the season.

The reasoning was simple. They have the pieces that you need for a top 10 defense. I did not expect Dylan Brooks to turn into a reliable and efficient 21 point per game score. I didn't expect the team to shoot the ball. down the roster as well as they have this year. It's allowing them to pay off. We talk about this sequence a lot. I've talked about it a lot with the Lakers in a negative sense, but when you play good basketball, you generate these sequences that end in a certain type of shot.

You've got to be able to pay those sequences off. And the Sons have been paying those sequences off at a high clip this season. And then on the other end of the floor, I just thought the Sons did a great job doing the same thing that the Thunder were trying to do on the other end of the floor. Guarding the ball well with quality defenders, getting into gaps to try to make openings disappear. quickly and get into their driving lane so that they can't turn the corner all the way to the rim. You have the rim protection element with Mark Williams. There was actually a pull-up three that Shay missed at the top of the key late in the game that I thought was a perfect example of the dynamic I'm talking about with like making gaps feel like they're there, but then shrink quickly. So earlier in a possession in the fourth quarter, Shay's dribbling on the left wing. They nail help

hard off of J-dub on the right wing. Shea throws a swing pass. He knocks down the three. Right. So like, That's an example of that opening existing and staying open for too long and an easy pass burning you, right? But on this particular play that I'm talking about, the one where Shea misses the bad pull-up three on the left wing, Jordan Goodwin comes off of J-dub and sends the double, but there's two things that are different. Jordan, instead of just like attacking the basketball for no reason, he really walls up on that passing lane side. So he just kind of gets active with his hands. Instead of attacking Shea, stops about a foot or too short, gets really active in the passing lane so that She can't just throw an easy swing pass. And then also a Godoro ends up

kind of sliding up just a touch to be in position to where if you did throw that pass to J-dub, he can quickly take a step up and rotate to the shot. And so as a result, when she catches it and he goes to make that pass, he goes like, ah, it's not there. And then that's when he ends up taking the bad pull of three and he misses it. And that gap in catch and shoot three-point attempts of, for the most part, but it also was just in the total three-point attempts for the entire team. That gap was one of the main stories of the, of the game for me. Both teams regarding each other in similar ways, but the sons I thought did a better job of not settling for tough mid-range pull-ups and moving the ball through OKC's defense for threes. Phoenix took eight

mid-ranges in the game. Both teams shot well for mid-range. Phoenix was five for eight. I think O'KC was 10 for 19, if I remember correctly. But the difference is, is O'KC took 19 of them. And Phoenix took eight. So when they got the ball to the middle of four, it's like there were some shots in there. Dylan Brooks took some midrangers, Devin Booker took some midrange. mid-range shots were attempted, but it was kind of a counter to what they were trying to do, which is to get through that defense and get to the quality kickout threes. Oklahoma City, 19 mid-range shots, a lot of tough stepbacks from J-dub and Shea. Shea in particular, I thought, especially in the third quarter, really got keyed in on trying to draw fouls in the mid-range.

That wasn't working for him. That was kind of the fundamental difference between the two teams in the way they played on offense. Phoenix generated more threes because they did a better job of diligently moving the ball through Oklahoma City's defense. As we move on to OKC, I don't want to get too negative here because I also thought they just played a great game and you just lose to a very good Sun's team. Like that Sun's team is 21 and 14 now. They're 12 and 5 at home.

As I talked about, they're two games back from having the fourth best record in the entire NBA. The Suns are playing awesome basketball. They're very high in my power rankings list this week compared to where they've been. like I'm super high on Phoenix just overall as a team. That's a tough game to win. And you were tied with eight seconds left. So I don't want to be doom and gloom about the thunder here. There was a lot of good.

Like Chet was fantastic again, amazing on defense, eight for 11 from the field, hit a big three on the right wing in the second half, and a big little fadeaway jump shot off of an offensive rebound where he just slipped off of Dylan Brooks, got the rebound turned over his right shoulder, knocked down a quick shot. That was a big part of how they tied the game late.

J. Dove was awesome. really comfortable getting into his step back jump shot in the mid-range in this game, hit a big one that tied the game late. You know, there's a lot of talk to about J-dub's first step quickness. And I think that's been one of the things that stood out as he's gotten older. Like, he's a very good athlete, but he's not a guy that's just going to toast people off the dribble very often. But one of the things he is very good at doing is putting a counter move together on the contact that he generates on his drive. So like he'll drive and he'll drive and he'll get into your body. And once he gets into your body, he'll like go to a behind the back dribble and kind of shed you

off. So if he's driving left, to bump you with that right shoulder, shed you off, get to the behind the back. Now he's got another opportunity to hit a driving lane. Same exact thing if he's going right, bumps you with that left shoulder behind the back dribble, get back going the other way. That's allowing him to get dribble penetration and to get quality pain attempts, even when he's not necessarily the quickest dude in the world off the dribble off that first attack, right? Like, the lot of good last night for O KC.

Shea and J. Doug look great. Or, excuse me, Chet and J.J. Dub looked great. She had a rough night. Like I thought he was kind of the primary culprit for a lot of the best. bad settling for mid-range shots. He just, like, you know, I saw a lot of Thunder fans complaining about the whistle that Shay got in this game. And there were a handful of calls that I thought were missed. Like, there was one where he kind of did like a step through in the middle of the floor early in the game. He got bumped. I thought it probably should have been a foul. There was one in the

second, in the third quarter run where he got a very similar bump to what Devin Booker had gotten and Devin got free throws and Shay didn't. Then there were others that weren't. Like, there was one where he clearly just pushed off of Devin Booker and then tried to, to fade away and get a foul that that's not going to get a call, right? Or one where he went straight up and down and tried to like land on top of Devin and, you know, he wasn't able to land on his feet so he didn't get the call. Like there, I thought it was, there were a couple of missed calls, but like, I don't really understand the complaining because Shay's posting the second highest free throw rate of his

entire career. She's free throw rate this season is higher than it was last year or the year before. That said, I don't want to be too hard on Shea. I thought he missed a lot of good looks, too, that he usually makes. And he's been fantastic all season. So there's no point in kind of overreacting to that. The only things with Oklahoma City, I think, are worth mentioning are, one, the offensive glass. We've talked about these former issues with the team that have popped up in these losses.

Defensive rebounding was a huge part of that. They gave up a 12 to 2 offensive rebounding advantage in that game, although it's worth mentioning that Isaiah Hartnstein was out. And to the shooting, they're just 31% from three in these losses. And the six losses, 31%. They're making the open ones. I talked about this in that week that they lost two games to San Antonio. you know, like last night, seven for 18 on unguarded catch and shoot threes. That's 39%.

That's 1.17 points per shot. That's not bad. But everything that's contested off the catch and everything that's off the dribble for Oklahoma City has been bad from the three point line. I think it's interesting because coming into the season, we all thought it would be like the big teams like Denver or Houston that would present the biggest challenges for OKC. But at least in the regular season, because we'll see in the long run if that ends up being the case. We've seen Houston on opening night, but Denver hasn't even played OKC yet. Houston hasn't played him since. So we'll see in the long run if that's still the case.

But what I'm really starting to get keyed in on now is like San Antonio, Phoenix, Minnesota, if you can protect the rim and you have bigger athletes on the perimeter and you rush them at the three point line, they'll miss. So I'm actually starting to look at the tougher matchups as teams that are as athletic as Oklahoma City, but also a bit bigger, but that can also protect the rim. Those are the teams that have been given Oklahoma City issues, at least in the regular season. To be clear, I still view Oklahoma City. City is the best team in the league. I'm just looking at this through the lens of

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call 1-800-9 with it. Gambling problem, call 1-800 gambler in Arizona. Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, 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 a first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts. We're starting a trend. But this one's extra special. So how did 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 be.

should call it. We were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers. 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. Hey, I'm Joe Rodano. 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 Hippocrite, 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. Oh, cream a chicken suit. Hey, cream, 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 MyCultura podcast network available on the IHart 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 practice 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. Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and IHeart Podcasts presents Soccer Moms. So I'm Leanne. Yeah. This is my best friend Janet. Hey.

And we have been joined at the Hips since high school. Absolutely. Now a redacted amount of years later, we're still joined at the hip. Just a little bit bigger hips, wider. This is a podcast. We're recording it as we tailgate our youth soccer games in the back of my Honda Odyssey. With all the snacks and drinks. Sidebar.

Why did you get hard sell? They had a bogo. Well, then you got it. Do you want a white collar something here? Just hit it. What are y'all doing? Microphones? Are you making a rap album?

Oh, I would. Come on. Can you move? I would buy it. Cut through the defense like a hot knife through sponge cake. That sounds delicious. Oh, you're lucky. I'm not a drug addict.

You're lucky I'm not an alcoholic. You are. I'm not a killer. I love this team, and I'm really trying to be a figure in their lives that they can rely on. Oh. Listen to soccer moms on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. We have to talk some Boston Celtics. They've won now seven of their last eight games.

Just an absolutely dominant performance in Los Angeles against a red hot Clippers team. They jumped them early, held up under the Clippers runs that they made throughout the game when they tried to punch back. Again, the Clippers have been playing super well. And then just an epic scoring run from Jalen Brown in the third quarter. with some ridiculous shot making that blew that game open. And then the Celtics ended up running away with it in the fourth quarter. What a ridiculous performance from Jalen Brown. A remarkable shot making display.

Of his 50 points, 29 of them came directly out of pick and roll in ISO, 21 out of pick and roll. He was torching the Clippers Biggs in drop coverage, just with his shot making over and over again, especially in that third quarter. I thought he was going at Zubots and doing a ton of damage. did a great job at taking advantage in that late third quarter, especially of like some of the easy kick and drop off reads as cutters and shooters

were getting open like, oh, Jordan Walsh slips baseline because his man is doubling Jalen as he's kind of snaking through the lane. Ooh, easy drop off. There's a little dunk. Like he's just doing a really good job with that. I thought he guarded Kauai really well all night. Jalen said after the game that he thought he was the best two-way player in the game right now. And to be honest, it's hard to argue with him with how well he's been playing,

at least within the last month or so. I'm going to talk about this all the time. There's a big difference between doing something for a month and doing it for seasons and how that manifests in opinion, right? Like, you want to know why Yokic is viewed pretty much unanimously as the best player in the world right now. It's because for year after year after year,

month after month, month, 70 plus games every single season until this year, he's just been the same amazing dominant player. And so Jalen is flashing that. And if he wants to get that, you know, kind of credibility in the long run, it's going to be through sustaining this over a much larger sample. But in the last 16 games, 33 points, seven rebounds and six assists, two stocks per game,

52% from the field, 39% from three, 78% from the line. That's 61% in true shooting. And again, he's taking significant defensive responsibility every single night. So to put it very simply, to be averaging a super efficient 33 points to go with seven rebounds and six assists while guarding the one of the leading offensive. threats every night. There just isn't a player that's clearly playing better than Jalen Brown right now. So again, he's not going to get that credit over one month of basketball, but he certainly is showing that level right now. And this opportunity that Jalen Brown has had to show the basketball

world what he looks like in a featured role has been a resounding success. And again, the Celtics have now won seven out of eight. They have a 126 offensive rating in that span, which is best in the league, 1-13 defensive rating, which is seventh in the league in that span. The Celtics are 22 and 12. They're now a half game back of the fourth best record in the entire NBA. So what does it mean? What does it mean that the Celtics have been this good without Jason Tatum? I think it's pretty simple.

I think it means there's a level of mastery to Joe Missoula's offense that has been years in the making coming to fruition. I was thinking about this, especially when I was one, watching the first quarter of this last game. As I'm watching the Celtics starters, just school the Clippers right at the start. And again, this is Red Hot Clippers team. And the Celtics just took it to them from the jump. And it's this lineup. It's Nimie Keda, but it's Jalen Brown, Derek White, Sam Houser, and Peyton Pritchard. And I'm watching them just get in and out of their sets quickly, just always spacing for each other perfectly, always

making the right kickout pass, guys trusting each other to knock down shots against help and just generating great look after great look after great look. And I'm sitting there thinking, Like, all these guys were on the 2022 Celtics. All of them played minutes for the Celtics in that finals run. Every single one of them has been with Joe Missoula since his start with the team. There's this incredibly foolish idea, and it's bred by Stan culture and just the unbelievable individual support that stars get at the expense of like any rational thought, that you win championships on the greatness of individual superstars.

talent. And while you certainly need one of those guys, if you want to have a good chance to win the title, the idea that a superstar carries the team could not be further from the truth. Every single champion in the history of the NBA has been won because of a combination of superstar talent with supporting star talent, with role player talent, with a level of buy-in to the system from quality coaching that works. One of the main. One of the main. One of the main. One of the main, many factors that has driven the Celtics success over the past few years has been Joe Missoula system. And it's interesting because it wasn't always perfect. Especially in the 2024 season, I was heavily focused on the idea between the difference

between quality kickout threes and settling for mediocre threes. There would be this idea where they'd have these games where they'd take early clock contested catch and shoot threes, a lot of early tough transition threes, tough off the dribble threes. A lot of that kind of stuff and then they'd lose and then everyone would be like, oh, it's Missoula's system. It's not Missoula's system. Missoula didn't want them to take bad threes. He wanted them to drive and kick and take quality threes. The team was just still learning the system.

They were still in the process of buying into it. Fast forward now. They've got hundreds of games of reps in this system. And now I'm watching a Celtics team that looks like they know exactly how they want to play, how to do it effectively. effectively. Here's the stat that I think demonstrates this perfectly. They're generating the same amount of unguarded catch and shoot threes right now without Jason Tatum in the picture as they did in that 2024 season when they were dominant from start to finish. 15 per game. I just think that's a

remarkable stat that shows how this team is actually, even though Tatum's out, even though technically an aggregate talent, this team is not as talented as previous iterations of the team, they have through continuity and consistency of system over years, they've gained a level of comfort within that system that has allowed them to actually play at a higher level relative to their talent than they did in years past. So again, like when people talk about like, oh, is the team better without Jason hit them?

No, they've just gotten better. They've gotten better through time and experience and consistency and continuity within their system, right? And, yeah, some internal improvement from some key players. Purcher's gotten better as the years have gone by. Hauser's gotten better. Derek White. Derek White's been awesome

over the course of this recent stretch. Derek White, in his last 16 games, is averaging like 21 points per game very efficiently. So like Derek White's gotten better. All these dudes have gotten a little bit better

within the system and it's causing them to maximize. And what happens is Jason Tatum comes back if he does at some point this year, which I believe you will. Jason Tatum comes back and he helps anchor your defensive rebounding. And he helps anchor some of the defensive schemes that you weren't able to use against certain opponents, like the Portland game that you lie.

where you were getting abused by some of the size. Tatum helps alleviate that. Tatum gives you another vehicle with which to enter the defense and to create those quality catch and shoot threes. And so ultimately as I zoom out, all I can think is continuity and consistency in a system over years will pay dividends. And those dividends are being paid right now for the Celtics.

And Jason Tatum's just going to come back and add to this when he enters into the picture. But shout out to Jaylon Brown man, literally playing better or as well as anyone in the league at this point. All right, let's get into our power rankings. I'm going to go a little quicker than usual today because I have a bit of a time crunch. But we're starting with number 10, the Denver Nuggets. They got a big win over Toronto on the strength of their defense and clutch offense.

An idea that I talked about, I talked about right after the Yokich injury, I think that's their best formula with Yokic out. But then they dropped a couple of tough ones against the calves and the nets, and teams are really starting to throw the kitchen sink at Jamal Murray to try to slow him down. I think they need about five more wins before the All-Star break to kind of successfully stay above that nine seed. If you're in that eight seat or higher, when Yokich comes back,

he's either going to be able to crawl you out of the playing or you have two opportunities to win a playing game, which I trust the Nuggets to do so. So I think they need about five more wins, but it's going to be tough. It's not easy to do without Yokich and the amount of injuries that they've dealt with. It has been good seeing Christian Brown and Aaron Gordon

get back out there like they did against Brooklyn. Number nine, the Los Angeles Lakers. Somehow after their epic blowout filled three-week collapse. They sit today in sole possession of the fourth best record in the NBA. And the answer to why is just because they continue to take care of business against the middle tier and the lower tier teams in the NBA. They're seven and eight this season against teams that are 500 or better, five and five against teams that are in the top 10 in point differential, but they're 15 and three against teams that are below 500 after winning a couple of consecutive

games against Memphis. Luca in the second half against Memphis last night, 17 points, three assists, only five missed shots and zero turnovers. He always produces, but when he produces while also limiting his mistakes, that's when he looks like the Luca that can compete for the best player in the world. I thought the second half against Memphis was a good sign of progress in that direction. And then LeBron James, I had been critical of his defense and rebounding during the team's slump. He's been great in those areas since the Sacramento game. And in LeBron's last 11 games, starting to gain some momentum in his production,

25 points, six rebounds and six assists on 64% true shooting in his last 11 games. Really starting to gain a progress towards becoming that all-MBA version of himself that is actually capable of changing the Lakers fortunes in the short term. That's the best version of the Lakers will be all-MBA LeBron, All-Star level Austin, first team all-MBA level, Luca, you know, MVP candidate Luca. Those three together mixed in with improved effort and intensity on defense and maybe a move or two at the deadline, that's where I could start taking this team a little bit more seriously.

But they won't move higher on this list for me until they can get a few signature wins against better teams. Number eight, the Phoenix Suns. Just deep dived into them earlier in the show so we won't linger here long, but they've won six out of seven. They just beat Oklahoma City. Now they're just two games out from the three seed in the Western Conference.

Minnesota at number seven suffered an embarrassing loss to the Hawks where they really struggled against Atlanta's physical defense, but a couple of nice bounceback wins against the heat and wizards where their offense looked amazing. Anthony Edwards, 68 points in those two games on 24 from 40 from the field. Number six, the New York Knicks, a 121 defensive rating in their three-game losing streak. I'm not going to overreact to a little drop-off in defensive intensity in early January for a team that's been as successful as the Knicks have been. The one thing that concerned me was that play at the end of the Spurs game. When you were in position to win that game and Harrison Barnes is is is is is owing in the middle of the floor.

Carl Anthony Towns is guarding Luke Cornett, who's in the right corner. And Kat's just kind of standing there. He's not double teaming. He's not really helping. He's not doing anything. He's just standing. Standing upright. Harrison Barnes misses the shot.

And Luke Cornett just runs right in behind Kat. He gets an offensive rebound, puts it back in and draws a foul. And it literally costs you the game. And that's the kind of stuff that, like, concerns me with Kat in particular. I keep coming back to him is like he's so mistake prone, especially in big spots. Like you lose a game to the Celtics because he's chasing Jordan Walsh off of the three-point line when he's made like three-corner threes all season. Like those are the kinds of like random late game execution era.

that can cost you a series. And that concern me way more than three losses in January, fueled by some team-wide defensive malaise. Number five, the Houston Rockets. Four game streak snapped on the road in Dallas. They're just four for 19 on unguarded catch-and-chute threes in that game. That's miserable shooting. They've actually been surprisingly good on those shots this season,

about 41%, which is middle of the pack, better than we would have thought. Kevin Durant on a hot streak right now, 29, 5, and 8 on 59% from the field in his last three games, keeping his turnovers down. playing some great basketball. Number four, the Boston Celtics. We hit them earlier in the show, so not going to linger here. Just a team that has mastered their system

that the coach implemented a few years ago and they're starting to see some dividends there. Number three, the San Antonio Spurs. They've lost three out of five, a 113.5 offensive rating in that span. We covered the Spurs offense in a video last week where I went over some of the details with the way that they're guarding some of the younger guards,

going under, containing, using some bigger athletes, and how they need to address that by playing more through Fox. and Wembe and using those guards as screeners when you're in a situation where they're not being guarded the way they're guarded. Obviously, injuries have started to factor in as well as Victor Wemnon Yama's been out.

A couple of their guards have had a little bit of nagging injuries pop up. But the offense has been something to keep an eye on over the course of the next few weeks. Number two, the Detroit Pistons. A couple of really impressive wins against the calves and Lakers mixed in with three losses to the heat, clippers and jazz. Starting to get a little banged up. Now Jalen Duren has an ankle sprain.

Tobias Harris has a hip sprain. Here's a crazy stat for you Pistons fans, though. The Pistons have the best record in the league against teams that are 500 or better this season, nine and four, even better than Oklahoma City at nine and five. And the number one, Oklahoma City, we hit them earlier in the show. Again, some of their issues popping up with allowing offensive rebounds and some of their specific kind of situational shooting. But I still view them, especially with San Antonio starting to lose some ground as the best team in the league,

number one in the power rankings, again, like they were for most of this season. All right, guys, that's all I have for today. As always, I sincerely appreciate you guys for supporting us and supporting the show. We had kind of funky holiday schedules the last couple of weeks, but we're back to it every day now, back at it tomorrow morning with some game reaction. I will see you guys. 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 have 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 get your podcast. Just listen.

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Don't quit. Don't quit. Body by Jake Radio, where hope meets momentum. Search Body by Jake Radio and stream it for free. Have a great day. I heart radio. Hey, it's Edwin Castro, also known as Castro 1021. And I'm Kunky, his best friend and business manager. And we've got a new show called The 1021 Podcast.

I'm taking you behind the scenes on how I became one of Twitch's most popular streamers. We also love sports. And with the World Cup right around the corner, we'll be breaking down the biggest storylines ahead of the big tournament here in the USA. Listen to the 1021 podcast 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 Housewives franchise, the drama, the alliances, and the T, everybody's talking about. To hear this and more, listen to Reality with the King on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHart podcast, guaranteed human.