The Ringer NBA Show - The Most Intriguing First Impressions From the First Week-ish of the 2024-25 NBA Season | Group Chat

Episode Date: October 29, 2024

Justin, Rob, and Wos each have three first week impressions about players and teams that have stuck out to them. Hosts: Justin Verrier, Rob Mahoney, and Wosny Lambre Producer: Isaiah Blakely Additional Production Supervision: Ben Cruz Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Did you know that scientific studies have found most people lie once every 10 minutes? In my new podcast, Truthless, I'm talking to people about the lies, they tell, from faking illnesses in high-pressure moments to making up stories on national TV. From Spotify and the Ringer Podcast Network, I'm Brian Phillips. Listen to Truthless on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. And welcome to group chat. I am Justin Barrier. And joining me, Rob Mahoney, Big Was, first weekend of the NBA season. I got to say, I think this is my favorite time of year in an NBA season. Walk us through it. What are you feeling? It's just like so much new stuff. Like everybody's out there again.

You had this long break. It's like being back at school, seeing your old friends. But like there's new dimensions to explore there. Like the playoffs first opening weekend, very exciting. Finals, the majesty of, of basketball at its biggest stage, but like, this is the weekend for like the real deep shit. Like, we're out here watching the Hordets and heat on a Saturday night. And it just feels great.

Feels warm and fuzzy. Got to say it. Yeah, this is the first time I have had the thought and uttered the sentence. Yeah, I think I will watch some Wizards basketball in a long time. And it felt good, but also made me kind of take a hard look in the mirror,

I got to say, like really locking in on the wizards getting blown out by the calves. it requires a certain level of sicko-dom, but this is why we're here. This is what we play for. Yeah, for me, it's about the guys in, you know, the same place, not necessarily dudes that change teams because that's obvious.

You want to see how Carl Towns is looking in a Knicks uniform or, you know, the various other movies and shakers. But I like guys that are just on their same team like Lamello and some of these other guys, just improving, doing new stuff, making their team, you know, a better product. if not, you know, a playoff stalwart, but like at least guys like us, like you said, on a Saturday night, don't feel shameful

for firing up a Charlotte Hornets game. So that's what I'm excited about. There's no shame in that game at all was. But I have to say, for all the moving and shaking going on, it feels wrong for all of us to have been together all last week at Spotify HQ. I got used to see you guys every day,

chopping and up, watching games together. Now we're all separated again. We've been pulled apart by the universe. I don't like it. But I'm glad we have this time at least. Well, we have Eve Missy to bring us all together yet again. Yeah, we do, brother. Rob just like the Dwayne Wade statue when Eve Missy makes a competent defensive rotation.

That's you. Well, first of all, when they make the group chat statue of us outside the Spotify studios, I don't know what our various poses will be we can discuss. We're going to get design approval because what happened to Dwayette's, Wade is egregious, horrendous. Actually, like, visibly monstrous. I was honestly getting, like, Ghalem vibes from the Dwayne Wade statue.

All of this crap about the new era of AI and blah, blah, blah, blah. Like, you tell me, we couldn't get a 3D printer to do a better job of this than what Dway did this. Insane. I think that's my takeaway. It's like if bronze is causing all of these issues, can we, find a new metal to put people's faces in because we haven't got it right in what seems like decades. So, I don't know. It's just like the facial expression in addition to it just being like

the largest face in human history also had real like the cowboy in the cloud meme. Do you remember that guy? Oh, sure. Yeah. He's just like screaming. There's that like I've seen a lot of like comparisons. I don't know if you guys have any favorites. Well, my favorite comparison of the speech you just gave about finding new metals is like you're just straight Adam Driver and Megalopolis right now. I thought you were going to go De Niro and heat. Well, I mean, that's the go-to. Don't ask Dway to his metals, yeah. Yeah, it was crazy.

Seeing a deep weight thing, I was like, yo, the Kobe and Cristiano joints were actually pretty decent in comparison. Yeah. Like, straight up. And the sculptor who did it has done some good statues. So I don't really know what happened. but there was a something was lost in translation, I have to say. You're familiar with the statue maker's work?

Like you've been grinding tape on the statue maker? I've been going deep on the statue maker. He's basically like the defining statue maker for a lot of modern athletes. Jordan, he did the Dirk statue in Dallas, which is why I'm familiar with his efforts. Like he's done a lot of these, most more successful than this Dwayne Wade statue, I will say. It's tough. All right. We're going to get into the action here.

So like we do every first NBA. opening weekend. We are doing takeaways, three apiece, the most intriguing things that came out of watching a godly amount of games. Like, God, I'd probably watch parts of 20 games over the past couple days. So obviously we can't get to everything. We'll probably try to knock some of those out at the very end, some tidbits. But these are the games that like really jumped out to us. Was, do you want to start with one of years? Yeah, I mean, it's the Lakers, man. The JJ thing is real. It feels real. They feel super connected on offense specifically.

I think roles have been way better defined on this team, and the results are showing themselves. Like, you know, I got to say I was somebody who thought the Darwin Ham Hate was a bit overblown, like this idea that he was a complete basketball incompetent, which seemed ridiculous to me. But at the same time, it's clear that the players on the team thought he was an idiot. And they responded in kind. And now with JJ, who is just obviously the opposite, he's a task manager.

And he is clarified so much for the scene. The game against Phoenix, like, LeBron gets hot. Once LeBron gets making threes, like, what are you really supposed to do against that? Like, that's not something you can count on. But I think the AD thing and Austin Reeves to a lesser extent. And really, Jackson Hayes, who's now like, You can play Jackson Hayes. Like, what?

When did that become a thing? Like, those three guys, most of them, LeBron's LeBron, right? But AD, over 30 points in every single game being obviously made a focal point in the pick and roll, not just with Bronn, but also with Austin Reeves. Just the offense, man, being clarified because just because we're in L.A. And, like, I know a lot of Lakers fans. And, you know, we're friends with a lot of guys that cover the Lakers. there was this chatter that the Lakers were a top five offense after the All-Star break.

And I'm like, I know, but like, really, the Lakers are going to come into the season and be a dominant offense. But shit, man, they were right. That's what's happening right now. And I don't see how you don't give the glory to J.J. Reddick so far for that specifically. Well, he's the biggest change. He's the biggest change in the overall ecosystem there. And I think you hit it was. A lot of it is just simplicity.

A lot of it is ironing out the things that were happening around LeBron and. AD. And maybe part of the JJ experience that we should have hit on more coming into the season is the idea that when former players become coaches, the success stories are usually role players, in part because they understand the dynamics of how some of this stuff

works. And I think some of the little messaging things that JJ has been doing, I think it's been making sense and working. Like, when you see how far out of his way he will go to praise the Gay Vincent Minutes or the Jackson Hayes types or these supporting pieces that by virtue of the media like funnel,

are not going to get the kind of praise that LeBron and AD do, and we need to clear out and talk all about AD's role in this offense kind of distinctly as part of this conversation. But I think it shows in the final product here. Like the standouts are not just AD and LeBron. It is Jackson Hayes. It is Rui Hachamara. It is Austin Reeves being enabled in a different way.

Like that stuff really matters. So to that point, the best lineup in basketball after about three games for every team, DeAngelo Roald-Raehawrime, Dalton, Connec, Rui Hachamura, Jackson Hayes, plus 33. Look at that. In 19 minutes. And that's total plus minus. Obviously, the lineups that play a lot are going to have more an opportunity to put up those numbers.

But that's pretty damn impressive. I agree with you guys. It is some of the role players that seem more activated. Reeves in particular, books just more dynamic than he has. Like last season was definitely a down year. But I don't know if he was just like hitting those sand dunes really hard in the off season. Or if it's just like having more space, Rihachamara being a more credible release feld on the perimeter or what, but it just seems like he's moving around the court a little bit better and the results are showing. I think it's the combinations of players he's put out there with too, right? If you clean up the whole rotation, all of a sudden, the lane is a little more accessible

for a guy like Austin Reeves who, because of the start and stop nature of his game, does need to know what's going on around him, right? He's not a quick burst, I'm going to blow through the defense kind of attacker. He's methodical. And what you need around someone who's methodical is not only the trust from the coaching staff and from the teammates to let a guy like that cook. But you need, frankly, guys like Dalton Connect, right? Shooters who are going to attract attention, who are going to occupy defenders. All of that stuff, I think suits Austin Reeves really, really well. And as we've seen also suits Anthony Davis really well.

Leading the league in scoring right now, I'm just, I continue to be impressed by how consistently the Lakers are looking for him. And that's such a small thing. And it should have been taken care of years and years ago. But here we are. doing it and the results speak for themselves. So I don't know if we're going to get to the Bucks at some point in their miserable start to the season.

The Bucks hope not, frankly. But I think Yonis needs to study a bunch of Anthony Davis tape because it feels like Janice conceives of himself as more of a LeBron, specifically in the half court as an initiator than an AD. I think Janus and his team would be better served. if he became the expert surgical role man that AD, like this guy, whether he's switching the angles, timing his runs, popping out when it suits him,

or, you know, he had this one play on the pick and roll. I think it was with Austin Reeves. He comes off, and like because he had been rolling so hard to the basket, he takes one dribble, pull up, eight-foot jump shot. It's like he's keeping the defense off balance. and controlling the offense by not being on the ball, just controlling it with his movement and the threat that he's this incredible finisher,

that's been a freaking, and whatever, AD's been an insane role man forever. But like his first season with the Lakers that, you know, they end up winning the championship or whatever, I was kind of blown away by what him and LeBron were doing and pick and roll out. I was like, damn, this is like kind of crazy that they immediately have this chemistry.

But, you know, it's like LeBron. he's an expert passer, especially out of pick and roll, whatever. Austin Reeves not supposed to be looking like this, okay, on the ball. And he does. He's making it, he's making it so easy on his teammates. I think somebody like Janice, who is also one of the world's best finishers, one of the best finishes in the history of the league, if he could be a little bit more nuanced about his role game,

you know, I think the Bucks offense would be better for it. The irony, of course, that AD in part wanted to get out of New Orleans, because he saw Janice was becoming more of a Nike guy. And like that's why he wanted to go to a bigger market. It is kind of funny, but it does feel like AD is popping in a way that he probably hasn't on this team since the 2020 bubble. Like it just feels like the team is more oriented around his brilliance

and that LeBron is more complimentary to that, which LeBron in particular has been pushing AD to be for years. It's just taken perhaps JJ to bring it out of him. Yeah. Well, it takes a concerted team-wide effort. and focus to do that. Like, that's what it takes when you're big as your best player.

You really have to have that kind of coordination and that kind of connectivity. And really, that's the difference between teams like the Bucks and teams like the Lakers right now, is connectivity. Both are talented, both have a lot going for them.

They clearly have their respective superstars. The Lakers are locked in and they are working with the synergy right out of the gate. That is super impressive and that, frankly, does make sense given the level of continuity they have year over year, right?

Like, this is a group that should know how to play together. and frankly after last year should have some idea of how to do it better like what was being left on the table and I think they've done a really great job of snatching that stuff up. They're managing to blend being big with being dynamic

in a way that is like representative of Anthony Davis like the team seems like it's getting its identity more from him and to that point the offense seems sharp as we're alluding to but they're also playing big on the boards their fourth and team rebounding percentage and even like someone like Rui Hachamura

is averaging seven rebounds a game Like there's a physicalness to this team that hadn't been there previously. And they're not losing anything in terms of shooting and in playmaking and whatnot. So credit JJ Reddick. I'll be the first one to say it. Wait, sorry. What's doing a good job? Yeah, could we get that one more time?

I think he's doing a good job as a NBA head coach. And I will stop there. Intentional. Let's go. Let's go. All right. I'll go with one of mine here. It is the fact that the Warriors have factory research.

set and all of a sudden look like the fun ball finds energy team that we all know and love. These are the things happening in Golden State right now. And if you're listening at home, just sink in right now because there's a lot going on with this team. They're currently playing 12 guys in a rotation. That's not just because of garbage minutes. Yeah, some guys are getting it at the end. But there's like 12 guys that are actually deserve minutes on the team and are getting

them. To that point, the third best lineup in the NBA, according to plus minus, is, four guards plus Kavan Looney, Gary Payton Jr. The second, yeah, we're on the second at this point. There's too many goddamn legacies in this league. Steph Curry, Buddy Heald and Pajemski around Looney. That's plus 21 and 11 minutes. I've titled this, the Whittle Ball lineup because it's not just small ball.

It's whittle. Just go with it. I can't support that, but I support you in all of your endeavors, Justin. Thank you. That's all I need. Buddy Heald made 12 threes in his first two games. He was one for nine against the Clippers, but like clearly has an impact and a role in this team if he's hitting.

Andrew Wiggins is back. Hell and also starting at the nominal two for this team in like a bigger lineup. So they're starting sort of big, but also going small. It's like it's really a weird blend. 13 rebounds against Utah. 29 points in initiating the offense when Steph went down against the clippers. Like we say it all the time.

of this guy. He just needs to be aggressive and good things happen. He's doing it thus far. Jonathan Kaminka, I'm still going. John, the Caminga probably still not that good. Like, they keep trying to make him a thing. He's averaging 8.3 rebounds and one assists and shooting not that well. And this is all to say that the warriors are kind of back. They just like, it reminds me of the good old days of the warriors. And it feels very nice to see them. Even down to the Steph ankle injury. Yeah. That's right. That was unfortunately. fortunate. Can I tell you a couple of the things that have been happening around the Warriors right now? Sure.

They played the Blazers and the Jazz and then the Clippers. Yeah, that's not great. Well, the Clippers might be really good. We don't know yet. The Clippers might be okay, but I don't think their offense is going to be good, ultimately. And so, yeah, they've put up elite defensive numbers so far, blowout margins in those first two games against the worst teams in the Western Conference. I don't say that to pooh-poo them, but to say the Warriors look like the kind of of team that's going to be in the mix that can take care of business, which is really important for them, especially if Steph is going to miss any meaningful amount of time. And if anything, I was a little bit heartened by after Steph not only rolled his ankle, but re-rolled his ankle

after he tried to stay in the game against the Clippers. Once he did go out, I thought those reserves, those key guys you talked about, plus Andrew Wiggins played really well. And we're seeing kind of signs of life from the warrior supporting cast that we haven't seen in a long time. And so the combination of the bench and Wiggins looking really engaged and Steph being Steph when he's out there, this is a good formula for Golden State ultimately. And I think the signs of life that you're getting from the kind of flanking guys in particular, Pods and Buddy Heald and DeAnthony Melton and like, you know, if you're getting a good Kavanaugh-Luny game or Kyle Anderson game, that stuff is making me feel pretty good

about the general warriors ecosystem. Yeah, I like the 12-man thing if only because at least it'll allows a pathway for the young guys to get reps, to get tick, to try to learn how to play in the Steve Kerr system, right? We know Kerr loves his veterans, you know, the Andy Varajal Memorial Minutes. We know how Kerr feels about those kinds of guys, right? So, like, it's, I feel heartened to see that pods and, and, and, and even Cominga, he's getting to take his lumps, but it hasn't been free.

But it's encouraging to me that he's allowing these guys the space and the freedom. Even if, you know, some people might say it's irrational to play 12 guys in a rotation. At least he's trying to have his cake and eat it too by like having his trusted vets, you know, the Melton types, the Buddy Hill types. But like Buddy Heels like a legitimate starter type. So it's not like he's getting some sympathy minutes. But also letting the young guys cook. The only thing I will say, I'm still not convinced that.

Golden State has developed a second offensive hub that isn't Steph, right? Guys are like, yeah, whatever, running the system. But like, you need somebody who's like a true threat who you can run offense through. And I'm not convinced that they found that yet. But I do like the fact that everybody in this early going is getting a chance to show, you know, what they could do. The fact that Buddy Healed is being cited as trusted veteran Buddy Heald, I feel like I just rolled over in my own grave. Life is long.

We have come to see it. I mean, he's been lights out shooting. There's no doubt about that. Yeah, I think the big rotation, the long rotation actually plays to his strengths because if he's not hitting on a given night, you could just turn to one of the four other guys that do similar things. Like Moody's getting run out there finally. And you could just maybe play him a little bit more.

And so I like it for that reason. I do worry, like I think you guys are kind of alluding to what is the ceiling of a team like this. I think they've just shown enough that they're going to be competitive here. And I think to that point, like, Zubach looked like Prime Shack at times playing against some of these big. So they're like, they're big, but they're not big because they're starting Trace Jackson Davis. They're starting Dremont, Wiggins, uh, and Kaminga. And so like they're thick, but they're not necessarily big. And so I wonder against those sorts of teams, uh, that they're going to struggle a little bit. But you can just see the energy flowing. Like, Steph just looks like he's having fun out there. Although I will

say that the clip of him missing the behind the back pass to comminga because he didn't make the right cut clipped with a bunch of step making that exact read to clay thompson who's like one of the saddest shit like you know i i hate that it took clay dying for this team to be this its original version of itself but you know they're back and they're fun to watch and on the comminga piece of this yeah has not had a good start to the season by any means while we're assigning homework in the ad ad ad should be kind of like looking at film of each other genre. I would love for Cumminga to get some of what has been working for Andrew Wiggins, in particular,

the aggressiveness on the offensive class. Like Wiggins has been attacking and leveraging as athleticism in that way. Cumminga has never been that guy, never been that kind of player. But I thought showed some of it against the clippers, like really went hard after a couple second chance opportunities. And it's like, if teams are going to leave you open to shoot,

and they will, and you're not hitting, and the slashing game isn't there. Overall, like the floor game isn't there for you. Where are you making up for it on the margins? And Jonathan Cumminga has spent years trying to figure out that very complicated puzzle. I'm here to provide you a very simple solution. Second chance points.

They've been very good for the Warriors so far. They were very good for the Warriors last year. If he can be a part of that, then I think all of the concerns about, like, what is the second engine of their offense are a little less pertinent? Because if the second engine of your offense has three and four cracks at it, yeah, like that's all you really need. I love the fact that Cominga is not shooting. shooting it, not getting to the cup, not playmaking.

Nope. He's not doing the three elements. Well, the defense, let me tell you, is not there either. I was watching him against Utah. And, man, like, he was bringing the ball up. He was just, like, missing entry passes high. Like, he would miss a corner three. And it's just like, oh, God, what's going on?

But then when he catches in the corner makes an instant decisive move to get to the rim, I was like, oh, that's, that's him. Like, it just seems like he's fighting against what he ultimately be, which is like, more of like a downhill attacking big to a certain extent. Like be Sean Kemp, don't be Paul George is what I would say to him. It just seems like that's tough within the Warriors flow. But like when he does get those opportunities, you can see what a big athletic guy he is. It's just like, like it's weird.

Be more like Andrew Wiggins. Like who thought he would be saying. I know. Be athletic. Like attacking the offensive boards, attacking in transition. Like that's got to be who you are, dude. Like you're just not. give the guy the ball and let him cook. Like, stop. You're not a cooker. You're not a chef.

Not a chef? Not even a line cook? Not even a line cook. We wouldn't even trust him with the deep fry like we did President Trump. Work on your Julianne before you get to the cooker, my friend. Rob, what do you want to do? Do you want to do one of yours? Well, while we're pronouncing Clay Thompson as deceased and basically giving him in-memorium videos for his Golden State Warrior's tenure. I am here to remind you and to remind the world that not only is he alive and well, our guy is eating like a king in Dallas.

The Warriors' offense may be the offense he knows best, but his job now is just so much easier than it ever has been. And I think if you go back, you don't even need to watch the full Mavs games. Just watch Clay's shots. You can pull up the highlights on YouTube if you prefer. Look at

the looks that he's getting. He's getting 11 3s a game right now. He's making half of them. There is not a single thing that has happened. in any of those shots that is not repeatable. You, the doubt, like Dallas will get looks that open for Clay and Luke in particular will get looks that open for Clay all year. And all he has to do is hit them. And we have every reason to expect that he will.

Yeah. So the reporting, you know, I asked around around on this. The Lakers did have way more money to give Clay Thompson. And they offered him his dad was involved, all of that stuff. Basically, Clay is on a revenge tour. and he wanted to go to the team that he thought could go the furthest in the playoffs because that's how he could stick it to the Warriors organization. Like, I'm on a team that wins.

And he looked around and he said the Mavericks went to the finals last year. This is my best ticket to having the absolute best postseason outcome outside of the Boston Celtics, basically, right? The team that they face in the finals. And, you know, it's paying dividends. It doesn't hurt to play with Luca Donchich. the modern day LeBron James, who is getting this guy.

I mean, LeBron is also playing in the modern day. Is he? Yes, he is. And some of these threes, Rob, which is crazy, which like, the only time they would generate these threes in Golden State is when Steph and Clay would set a screen for each other and defenders' heads would explode. And they didn't know who to guard and Clay would end up wide opening.

That's not even what's happening with Dallas. It's just, Luca is. able to get so much attention off of what he's doing, Clay could just come over one freaking flare and he's wide-ass open. The next closest defender, like five feet away, this is insane the kind of looks that he's getting. So God bless him, he made the right choice. It just looks very easy for him right now. I think Rob really hit it. It's just like the looks he's getting. He's just like stepping in and he's just like firing away. It's just because the court is just so spread out there. I think my question ultimately is like, does early success make it tougher to

diminish him if his defensive concerns pop. Like, does he become so integral to the team's identity? Does it be tougher to, like, insert Najee Marshall and when you need, like, defensive chops in there? Because I think the Mav's concerns are playoff concerns at this point. I feel pretty good about them in the regular season, even though they just lost the Phoenix. So, like, I think it's more of a long-term thing with him. I think ultimately they have shifted who they are as a team to a little bit more of a

running gun outfit and a little bit more of an overwhelming all like firepower. And that's where, that's what Clay gets you is not just the fact that he's putting up, you know, 20 on his own right now. It's everything that he's going to open up for the spacing of the Mavs offense. And the tradeoffs defensively come with that. You can already see some of the difficult positions they're going to be put in,

having him as kind of their primary three. Phoenix is a great example. Guess what, Clay Thompson. You are the Maverick's best option to defend Devin Booker. Have fun with all that. And I think that the natural tradeoff will, with it will be in some of those cases, he's going to pick up fouls

and get into foul trouble and maybe that. If you do need to go more defense first, that's sort of your avenue to shift directions to something that might work a little better for you in a specific matchup. But right now, the Mavs have been so, so much better offensively with him on the floor

that I'm just not worried about the defense yet. And we're going to see it targeted matchups throughout the season, especially against the best teams in the West. Those are going to be ones to flag on the calendar as far as games to watch. But what he's opening up for them, I think is profound enough that it could make a huge difference,

even with him giving some stuff back on the other end. Also, I know we're not talking about the Sons, but in that Mav Sons game, I would just like the flag. I feel pretty good about my Bradley Biel should probably come off the bench take from preseason because if Ryan Dunn is going to play like this, that team makes way more sense with him out there in the starting unit. They really do. They really do.

I think they could be pretty good there, but when they have to jam so many guards in there. Are you actually allowed to play, a $50 million player off the bench. I mean, it sounds like a good gig if you can get it. In Arizona, anything goes. That's right. Was, you want to go with one of yours now?

The Nuggets, man. My Nuggets is not looking pretty so far. And we talked about this pre-show. Yokic literally, after one game, comes out and publicly says we can't shoot. one game y'all one game do you have an argument to the contrary no i don't the westbrook minutes have been an abject absolute disaster um in many ways like the what's old is new and what's new is old like the non yokic minutes specifically on offense have always been a problem for denver

in the championship season it was a problem during the regular season in the championship season And then Michael Malone was like, yo, fuck it. Aaron Gordon is going to be our bench five. And that's how we'll solve everything, right? I think those same non-yokish minutes have reared its ugly head. And even when Yokic is playing, their offensive rating is at a 110. Normally, it's at 120. You know, it's like best offense in the league stuff.

And it's not even that right now. It feels like Yokic, you know, from his statements, he doesn't. believe in the cast of characters they've surrounded him with. And yeah, the vibes are not feeling great right now, man, with the Denver Nuggets. It's early. Again, still, I think the bones of the team is still the bones of a great team, a really good team at the very least. Like, they still have Yokic and Murray and Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon.

But it just feels so disjointed right now. And these young guys who we were, you know, who we were told were going to be. completely adequate replacements for, you know, championship pillar veterans that were allowed to just walk out the door. It just hasn't come to fruition yet three games into the season. If it's going to come to fruition, it's going to take time. Right? Your Julian Struthers, or Peyton Watson's, even Christian Brown just does not really seem up to what's being asked of him right now.

If those guys are going to take three or four months into the season to become the kinds of players, Denver needs them to be, I got news for you. In the West this year, that's not going to be. that's not going to be good enough. Like you're going to be in the play-in if that's the case. And this is the problem ultimately, and where I might veer a little more into danger zone than you're going so far,

as far as what the bones of this team look like. Right now they look like a team that cannot field enough competitive minutes. That is a problem, right? So like they do have Yokic, but even in having Yokic, everything looks really hard. Even the stuff with their core guys

does not seem terribly easy. And so the fact that they're working so hard for those baskets in particular, the second unit is a design. disaster, like just genuinely a worst case scenario for how things to go to this point. And tethered into this, too, is Michael Porter, Jr. can't hit a thing. And he's going to be- He's got some plum looks, too. Like, these are- He's not forcing horrible shots, but, like, he's got some good looks, and he's

just bricking it. To the point that you look at some of the lineups that Denver is rolling out without Yokic on the floor, and it's like Murray and Westbrook and Strother and Peyton Watson and Sarich, and it's like, that on paper seems like, okay, really you should throw Porter in there for a little bit of offensive release and let him cook a little more even on ball if he wants to expand that part of his game and you think that's

a useful like a good use of your time on offense but with the way he's played there's just no way to justify that. Yeah. Porter has been a mess. Watson has been an absolute mess to the point where he took a three in the broadcast. The home broadcast from Denver was like he has no confidence in his shot right now and they were

correct. We were texting about this game when we were watching it the other day and at the end of the first half, it just seemed like Yokic finally accepted that he was going to have to take as many goddamn shots for this team as humanly possible. And so he ended up taking 26 shots in a game, which he's often low to do.

He'll do it, but it really takes a lot for him to do it. 12 of those were threes. And to me, that's as much of a mission of the problem with the Nuggets is him even outright saying that they need more shooting as he is out there taking them. And to his credit, they look fucking awesome. Like he was doing a great job of it.

He turned automatically, into Clay Thompson, but I think they're just, what the season's going to go on as is like, maybe they write themselves. Right now, they are the worst offense in the entire NBA. And I know it's only two games. Right. Yeah, but like, and this is a small sample size theater, all that stuff. Like, worse in the entire league, worse than the Wizards, all of that. Like, that is really, really bad. I think they'll be a little bit better, but I think it's going to take a lot from Yokic. He's probably going to have to score 30 plus a game to get them in the mixed there. And I do wonder a guy of that size, like, if he could do that, like, for even half

of a season, let alone a full season, they're going to ask a lot of him. And they really shouldn't be. This is the stage of his career where he should be having more guys to take more off his place so he can orchestrate. It's like, it's kind of sad right now. Well, and to get to that place, he's going to have to turn off the part of his brain that makes him Nicola Yokic. Like, you're seeing Russell Westbrook unguarded in the corner and Yokic is making the instant pass. You just can't. Like, Russ is not. not going to hit those shots. He's won for his first nine. That seems pretty sustainable as far as early season trends go. He's not going to be guarded. He's not going to hit shots. That's not his

role. That's not his spot. That's the time for Nicole Yokic to hit a tough runner over two defenders, unfortunately. Yeah, I wonder about it because you want to take on the identity of your superstar, your three-time MVP. And, you know, Yokic is a guy who wants to spread the love. He wants to spray it around. He wants everybody to feel involved in what's happening on the offense. But I wonder if he has it in him to make the adjustment, to stray from how he generally wants to be. And, you know, just basically he got to be Alan Iverson on a 2001 Sixers level, damn there. But the problem is these guys aren't like defensive stalwarts either. Like, that's not what's happening. And either in the Porter Jr. bit, man.

I'm like, I've not been a Porter Jr. guy for many years now. Even during the championship, bro, I give him props. He played a lot of defense and rebounded and was like a sort of junkyard player in a way that I didn't think he was capable of. But, like, that's not a $40 million player. You know, make the occasional open shot and credibly guard people. Like, not be like Scotty Pippen here. Like, you're just guarding people in a credible fashion where, like,

Back in the days you used to be a SIV, that's not a $40 million dude. And I just wondered, man, like, yeah, you just cashed out Jamal Murray, who hasn't looked great to start. And are you going to cash out Michael Porter Jr. too? And cashed out Aaron Gordon. And cashed out Aaron Gordon. Like, I don't know. They got some tough decisions coming up. And I wonder what Porter Jr.'s trade value is out there.

Like, are there teams out there who think, like, he can be some kind of offensive help? I got news for you. I don't see that. I don't think so. He's not a guy that when you give him the ball, he just creates like incredible opportunities for himself, much less like we know that motherfucker don't like the pass. So like, you know, the Porter Jr thing is tough for me. It's, it's really tough for me right now. That's the part of his game that the nuggets have in a way, they need the most now, but haven't needed as much to this point. And this is like the developmental quandary when you're a contender, right? Like how much do you funnel those tusses? to him earlier when they're not absolutely necessary in the hope that they pay off later,

when you know there's a decent chance that Michael Porter Jr. may never be that kind of score. That just might not be his skill set. And I think for better or worse, guess what? Christian Brown, you're going to get a chance to show what you can do. Julian Strother, you're going to get a chance to show what you can do. Like, there is nowhere else to turn. And so if these guys are not ready to swim, the nuggets are going to drown. Listen, I think someone's getting fired and probably not at the end of the season.

Like if it goes down this path, like someone's got to go. Like I don't root for that sort of thing. I don't want anyone to ultimately get fired, but this is a disaster. And part of it is because they've jammed the roster with so many young players who just haven't shown enough at this point. Like it's as clear as day at this point, Russell Westbrook, even if it was Yokish lobbying for him, that it has been awful. Like you can't just keep adding nonentities to a team with the best player in the league. Like they're slowly kind of just diminishing any sort of runway he's had in his prime. And it's like, it's kind of bullshit at this point.

So I wish there was a way that owners could be punished for being cheap as all hell. What would you recommend? I don't know, man, like a public slogging? I thought that would be cool. Yeah, because like the stockades? Like just let's just put them in the town square? Like tomatoes? Or like the Game of Thrones.

Seriously. Shame through the town square. Shame. That's good. Shame all the cronkeys for being such tight wads with the. pocketbook and being deathly afraid of any luxury tax payments and, you know, just just being cheap. They're always cheap. You know, and Calvin Boof, I'm sure he got the mandate from one high, hey, make this thing a lean, mean, fighting machine. How do you do that with underpaid

young players before they turn into, you know, established guys, right? Like, that's the, that's the quote-unquote high value thing to do. And I think the ownership bears some responsibility in the approach that they've taken, like, Look at, let's just take the clip. Again, Balmer's ridiculously rich, but they've had way less success and been way more committed to spending on a team. And you look at Denver,

who's accomplished way more in terms of conference finals, a championship, et cetera, et cetera, who's just been way more willing to be like, no, no, we'll take the cheap route. Are the Clippers the picture of nobility that we want to put on the poster here? I think for ownership, yes, absolutely.

There's a lot of clips going around of superstars going into that arena being like, whoa, Steve. Nice job, buddy. It does seem very cool. I'm looking forward to checking it out. I think the vibe there does look unique. And I agree with your overall point that like having owners who are willing to spend is the single biggest advantage you can have in sports, who are willing to blow past the luxury tax,

who are not bogged down by the idea of having to pay it and balking at the idea of having to pay it. that's what makes sustainable contenders. And something to flag on the Boston Celtics front of this, too, of whoever the new ownership group of the Celtics is going to be, you're going to have to be willing to foot the bill for a while to keep this thing together or else you're going to have to pull it apart. But Rob, the reason why I respect the Celtics, though, is that they're like, fuck it, we're paying all these guys.

We're going to eventually have to pivot. But, like, Denver would have never even got to the point of what Boston is doing in terms of payroll this year. You know, like, they would have got started early on that process of getting rid of the Derek White or the Jew holiday or the poor Zingis. Like, man, I got the utmost respect for them even going because this is pure sick of shit what they're doing right now. But I love it.

Look at their team. Look at the results, man. Like, they're giving their fans what they freaking deserve. Like, we put a great team together. We're not going to let money prematurely break this thing now. And although eventually, yes, they, like, The payroll right now is unsustainable for sure. I hope this is not as bad as it looks, Justin, but it looks really bad.

Yeah, well, to keep the bad vibes going, can I present to you guys, the New Orleans Pelicans, who had one of the most insane three-game openers, I think, of any team thus far. So they win the first game against my mighty Bulls, which it hurt. It hurts bad. I was ready to believe they beat the bucks and then all of a sudden look like dog shit the next game. I think they're not good. That's important. Can we get a little snapshot from you on what hit you in the heart in the chest when you saw Josh Giddy and all of his former Thunder teammates?

Posing for pictures, like enjoying each other's company. You know, it's a real, it's the end of an era. Why does Josh Giddy look so flat-footed on defense? Like, he doesn't even like stay on his toes. Like, where have you been? Where have you been? I know. I was just so enamored with the hair, I guess.

I don't know. But yeah, the Pelicans, they win the first game, but DeJante Murray goes down. Second game scored 37 points in a half against the Blazers, but rally back triumphantly. Brandon Ingram hits the shot over every. Almost lost. Almost lost. Almost lost. But you got to give it to him that they rallied so strongly.

Zion Williamson just with the Bay ballady just rips it from. someone to end the game. Like, that felt good. I thought they were onto something there. They looked awful in the third game on Sunday. I was there in person again against the Blazers. They just looked like the team from a couple years ago where Ingram is isoing. And then he hits a wall.

And then all of a sudden it's Zion's turn. But then Zion against a pretty big Portland Trail Blazers team, especially when Donovan Klingin is out there because he's a giant old boy. We should talk about that at some point. like Zion just seemed like completely shook. He was three for 12 in that game. And so the offense is a mess, but there's supposed to be a small ball team driven by their offense.

And then that gets us into the lack of center play. I do actually like Eve Missy. Hell yes. We need to talk about it, but he's like a credible mobile backup center at this point. But the big stuff is also bad. They're 25th and points in the pain allowed 24th and rebound. And let me tell you, it looks worse than 24th in rebounding.

I tried to flag this in our preseason power rankings. I want to say it again, if you give up all of your best rebounders and don't play centers, you're going to get killed on the glass. That part does not seem like rocket science to me. And this is the problem, the Pelicans defense in whatever form, even when their best guys are healthy. Do not have enough of a margin for error to give up a lot of second chance points. Like they have to be really aggressive and really good at the point of attack all the time. That's much harder to do now, especially without Dejante,

Murray, especially without Trey Murphy. And I'm sympathetic to those struggles on offense too, right? The idea that they look completely jammed up offensively, trying to attack the Portland Trailblazers. They don't have one of their best shooters in Murphy. You can see the downstream effects of like, okay, that means Javante Green has to play a lot more. Not helping your spacing.

It's been solid, but it doesn't help your spacing. Yeah. You don't have your lead guard out there, even if it is a new addition to the team who doesn't know how to play with everybody yet. Okay, it makes sense that you have trouble navigating. some of this stuff. But Portland just packed the paint. They ran freaking zone against these guys for a handful of possessions. And the Pelicans had no idea what to do. And I don't know that that stuff is going to change. Like I think fundamentally the creators involved are good players.

There are a lot of players on this roster. I really like. The shape of it, I don't. And that's true even when they're healthy. So here's two rules of thumb. Like in the NBA, like don't play small ball if it's not bringing shooting to like the entire point of small ball is that you're spreading defenses out and so they can't pack the paint because you've got so many non-bigmen who are spraying out to three and like you know the defense has to respect that and it's like a push and pull kind of thing sure we're going to get on the we're going to get killed on the glass but boy are we putting you in a bind on offense but if you play small and none of you're guys can shoot, that doesn't make sense.

Like, similar, like, if a team plays big and they're not rebounding, you're playing horrible tall people who get pushed, like, you might as well not even be playing, you might as well not be playing big. And I think that's what's happening with New Orleans right now. Like, even they're sort of, oh, we're going to, we're going to blow them away with Zion at the five because all of these shooters are going to be around them. And Zion is a load getting out to the room. Well, you know, when you don't have to respond.

the people that are spacing out. That's like the easiest thing in the world to guard. And so Brandon Ingram, like, if he were a better one-on-one player, then that kind of open stuff up because once you, you know, those kind of guys are creating advantages all the time because they're just simply beating the man that's guarding him and forcing the defense to help and, you know, putting them in compromising positions. But Brandon Ingram, we know this.

It's been three years of this. Like, we know he's just, He's not that kind of dude. It's why they don't want to pay him. It's why they've been dying to trade him. And yeah, he gets thrust into the role every now. And again, he's ill-suited to it, man. Yeah.

This is tough. I think if you were to ask them, they would say that DeJante was expected to organize a lot of the different options on this team. Losing him kind of disrupts everything that they've been planning for. I don't think it's a coincidence when C.J. McCollum gets his hand on the ball. it just like things become less sticky, you know, like it just moves around. He's making the extra pass.

He's getting his, but like he's doing it within the flow of the offense. But as soon as Ingram gets the opportunity, you could see him just licking his chops. They had one possession in the second half where he waste like, God, it must have been 15 seconds calling for a different screener. So someone came up. And he's like, no, no, I want, I want Tice. Give me Tice. And it took forever to do. And so he took the screen, moved to his left.

instantly was hit by the switching defender, kicked it back out, and that was the possession. Like, that was it. And I think it was a shot clock violation. It was one of the worst things I've ever seen in basketball. Like, it was just such a mess. And I don't know how this really fixes itself until Dejante gets back out there.

And even then does it. But I want to preempt something right now. There's some Pelicans fan out there who's going to be like, but wait, Brandon Engram had six assists in this second game against the Blazers, in which the pelicans got completely walled. please. I beg of you, go back and look at those possessions. The idea that he is a ball mover within this offense

as it's currently constructed is just not true. And again, I am sympathetic to the idea that he doesn't exactly have space to operate out there. None of these guys do. That's the problem. That's where the pelicans find themselves is they don't have any room to actually let anything develop. They don't have the transcendent playmakers who can make things develop. And as was alluded to, they don't have the benefits of play. playing small in any conceivable way.

And so right now they are just kind of like drawing dead with really tough isolation possessions that Brandon Ingram will sometimes sit and Zion in some matchups will be able to take advantage of. But we saw the limits of that. When you have actual rim protection in there, it makes it really hard for the pelicans to survive offensively. Listen, I fancy myself as somebody

who used to be a president of the Brandon Ingram fan club. The guy is so freaking Toulsy. I remember his last season with the Lakers, which was the first LeBronier. They played KD, and they were like three possessions in a row where KD couldn't shake him. And Brandon Ingram gave the greatest KD contest that I'd ever seen in my life.

I was like, oh my God, he's gonna be like a Swiss Army defender. Then then early on in his Pelican's tenure, like he would, every now and again, he'd have these games where he had these beautiful pocket passes off of pick and roll where it's like, oh, is he gonna be like a on-ball kind of guy? to match with like the 7 foot 3 wingspan on defense. And the reality is the guy's in quicksand on defense all the time.

And he's just not a great passer. And he's not able to beat defenders. The best way he beats defenders is guys that don't have sides on him. He gets into his mid-range and he pulls up. That's not a very efficient shot to have your quote-unquote shot diet be. Right? Like that's not. Look at you, was.

Look at you flexing. Get the B-ball breakdown going to this guy. I've been on the internet recently. Yeah, I get it. I've been there with Brandon Ingram. It's just, he's just not that guys. Like, he's an overwhelming player in terms of what we thought the potential could be for this thing. And I think, you know, we're seeing the realities of that.

I'll just say in the positive side, Jordan Hawkins, pretty good. Glad of your guys. Like, the start to stop is like really sharp and like, that guy can kind of get up. like he skies for rebounds. He's like averaging like six rebounds a game just because I think he has such a good vertical leap and good like an idea of timing and like everything he shoots. You think it's going to go in. So like if he's playing more, that's helpful.

Obviously not going to change the top line takeaway, I think though. I mean, he just makes bucket getting look so easy. Like so seamless. So simple for him. Like I love his release where I think we've all been waiting for the Jordan Hawkins minutes. Unfortunate circumstances that it took DeJonti Murray getting hurt for him to get in there. And we'll have to see kind of like what's. left for him when the rotation is whole again.

But there are some like sprinkled positives in here, right? It's not all negative and that's what's so confounding about the pelicans. Like I think Brandon Ingram on ball has been a sometimes frustrating experience. He's also taking more threes than he's ever taken before on the catch. And like that that makes me encourage that when they do get their actual point guard back in the lineup, maybe things will clean up a little bit. As you mentioned, Justin, I am all in on the Eve Missy experience. Like he's the sort of like jump at everything.

big where I'm not sure how much he's actually helping yet, but he's doing a lot and I enjoy watching it quite a bit. He's just not the exact kind of size that they need. And so, yeah, there are a lot of players here that really work within certain contexts. I just hope that they can figure out what the context is

within this actual team. Can't trust the Pelicans. We're back there again. Simply never. Why don't you go with one of years, Rob? Victor Webb and Yama's playing pretty well. I don't know if you all heard. His touches have been very, very promising. I'm very encouraged by what we're seeing

that at San Antonio. Specifically, he's getting the ball more. That's great. We all want that. How he's getting the ball. When and where and how. Very constructive, huge positive, like easy entry passes into the post. Who knew you were allowed to do that?

Simple, unstoppable pick and roll lobs from Chris Paul. I would say, especially in the Houston game. It was just candy there, basically all game. And more spurs are actually daring to just throw the ball over the top to the giant guy in transition. Again, I didn't know these things were illegal, but they are. San Antonio has opened up the playbook and allowed guys to pass to Victor Weminyama in new and exciting ways, and I'm extremely here for it.

See, when you brought this up in the chat, I thought you were going to flag the negative side of this because he's only 51st in the NBA and touches. And I was like, that's pretty low for a guy that probably needs to be the driving force of the offense. And the one thing that jumped out to me, and I'm curious what you think about this, is like it seems like the book is out on Wembe on the very least to try to prevent him from getting to the rim. It's like we'll put perhaps even a big wing on him like Dylan Brooks guarded him in the Houston game. It's like get him the fuck away from the rim. Ask him to put the ball on the deck because

the amount of distance it has to travel between his hands and the floor is like as big as Chris Paul. And so ask him to isolate, try to get him to shoot where he's struggling from these days. Like it's actually worse than last year. And I think he's going to go through some growing campaigns there. So it's like he does seem like he's now facing teams that know the book on him, but you're more looking at the positive sides of like getting him the ball in the right places in the post. Completely. I would say if you look at touch stats overall, overall touches always, always, always favor guards and guys who initiate the offense. But if you look at front court touches specifically, I think he's fourth in the league right now in front court touches. Like that's what we want to zero in

on with a guy like Wimby. And in particular, you are seeing that formula. I think to the extent that there are Dylan Brooks types out there, really our guy Dylan is one of one in many ways. If you have that kind of player, that's a good antidote or at least a good answer to try to counter some of what Wembe is bringing to the table. Be very physical with a smaller wing defender on the block. And then as soon as he puts the ball on the floor, you run the double at him.

Wemby operating out of those doubles, I think, is just as encouraging as anything I'm saying about the touches. Like what he's been able to find over the top and the passes he's been able to make, that's star level stuff. And if you were to ask me, the single most encouraging play or the play had the strongest response to

all weekend of watching, it was Stefan Castle making a cut like right down the gut for a dunk off of a Wemby double team that led me to say some frankly, journalistically irresponsible things about Stefan Castle's future in our ringer slack.

I'm a believer in everything that's happening there. And I think overall it's going to take some time, but you can see the Chris Paul effect both in the Paul passes directly to Wembe and also just sort of the order he gives to the offense and the kind of what he encourages by being involved. Yeah. So to me, man, like oftentimes when you see the Wemby clips that get the most sort of traction on Twitter and Instagram highlight pages or whatever is when he's doing the dribble

dribble stuff on the perimeter and making a three. Like I just, I think that's ridiculous. I think what he's going to be dominant because he threatens the pain because he's threatening at the rim because he's putting big men in foul trouble or constantly drawing double teams from his touches in and around the basket and the stronger he gets with the ball, the more confident he is passing out of doubles.

That's when he's going to really become who he's supposed to be. Like this whole KD shit or you know, he's going to be a perimeter off the drip. Like get out of here with that. Like he's going to be someone, he's going to be a foul magnet, and he's going to be an expert passer out of double teams. And that's when he's going to just be an unstoppable dominant force when you pair that with what he's already doing on the defensive end, right?

And so that's why I'm happy Rob mentioned the front court touches. Not like, you know, dilly dallying around the three point line, even though he's seven freaking three. You know, it's about like, no, this guy can put legitimate pressure on the rim, not just as a roller, but like, yeah, straight up traditional post touches. I'll kick your ass that way too. Like, that's what's really encouraging to me. I think it's going to be a blend of both.

I think in part because I think he's going to get denied a lot from getting into the post. I agree with you. Brooks is kind of just like a madman, but like I do think a lot of teams are going to try that. And it does seem like if the shots are going to be open for him, no one's going to tell Wembe to turn down an open three. It's just not there yet. If anything, I think he's going to take more threes this year at a lower percentage. and it's probably going to drive down some of his numbers,

but ultimately for the growth of his game, the best is both worlds, obviously. And so, like, if he's starting to hit those at a decent clip, then he becomes absolutely unstoppable. It's just the marrying of the big stuff with the more skilled giant person doing those skilled things, thing. That's where the one of one starts to come in. Especially if he can sell it, like not to blow up Wimby's whole spot here,

but the secret is the three is the bait. Like, if you bite, if you bite at his shot, right by you. He's going right by you and that's where he's going to live at the free throw line. He's just going to draw so many fouls putting the ball on the floor. And so the more he can convince people to actually jump at it. And right now, despite the percentages being what they are, defenders are jumping at his shot. That's all that really matters. He's going to hit some of them. He's going to sell enough of them. And he's going to leverage it ultimately to get inside and get to the line at a much more consistent level. All right. We're going to flip to one of wases now

because now it's time for today's hard to handle segment, presented by State Farm, Life's big moments, like buying a house can trigger big reactions like, I can't handle this. Dang. Or, oh, come on. But what you should say is, like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. So let's talk about this week's biggest hard to handle moments, aka some on-court occurrences that stirred up some strong reactions.

Was, you had some strong reactions about one Jason Tatum. Yeah, Jason Tatum is going for it, man. And he's trying to win MVP. He's on a legitimate revenge tour on our live stream last week on Wednesday. I told you guys, I thought the Celtics could win 70 games. And part of it is that I think these guys legitimately feel disrespected and they're motivated. They're talented. They're motivated.

They've got the freaking cohesion. They've got that championship swagger where it's just like, yo, we can get in tight spots and we'll get out of this. We're champions. We know how to do this. and Jason Tatum is averaging 33 points in 32 minutes. Per 36, this guy's getting up 14-3s a game. What?

Incredible. That's insane. Like, just that number alone lets me know that Jason Tatum's not out here to play with y'all. Like, he is firing it every single chance he gets like. And, you know, I think in the past, Tatum's been aggressive in hunting the most annoying shot in the game, which is dribble, dribble, dribble, fade away, long-ass two-pointer,

fake-ass Kobe shit. And he's not doing that. He's not doing that. He's like, no, like, I'm coming off with these screens. And if you give me any daylight whatsoever, I'm firing this thing. I've rejiggered my shot.

Shouts to Zay for reminding folks about that. Like, dude, he is serious. He's trying to kill people. And I love it personally. Yeah, I think the disposition shift is pretty huge for him. Because the Celtics, yeah, they have a bit of like a goal along

to get along flow to their offense. Anybody can pop off at any given night. Anyone can hit threes. But he and Jalen Brown are like the two guys who can actually attack the basket on a really consistent basis, who can hunt shots on a really consistent basis, even against good defense.

And I think Jason Tatum shift from simply taking what's ahead of in front of him to, as you alluded to was, becoming a Kobe system type player for a period of his career. And I think ultimately ironing a lot of that stuff out and streamlining his game, but maximizing his impact with actually hunting those kinds of shots, like the high value stuff.

I mean, that's kind of unstoppable at the end of the day. If you have the sort of spacing and supporting cast that he does, he's going to be able to hunt all season long. He seems just like a really nice blend of all the different versions of Jason Tatum that we've seen before. It's like the preternatural, like, gifted kid who's just like boofing on LeBron based on like pure juice, the like highly driven. like fancy footwork, Drew Hanlon prodigy

that he ultimately kind of became. And then like now the high level playmaker that he was in the postseason, which like just, it seems like he's just like matured in all those various ways. And now he's just becoming the best possible version for them. I saw this stat which I really like from MBA University,

which is 24 isolation possessions for Jason Tatum this year, 37 points, 78.3 effective field goal percentage, zero turnovers, which I think is the big thing. He's just like he's an efficiency monster He always has been But somehow is just like even sharper than before That shit cuts glass right now And I think the Celtics have looked like world beaters

As a result of that So your point about the playmaking too He's also the kind of ISO score Who is not putting the blinders on right He's looking to create an advantage But he's looking to leverage that advantage As soon as it opens up So I just think there's a lot to like

In the way he's generating and organizing offense Right now was but is it So would you say for you Is this more of an I can't handle this? a dang or a no come on? Like what where where is you in the reaction scale? Oh, this is definitely a dang. Okay. Multiple explanation points. Yeah, definitely. I think the last two frontiers for Tatum's game was definitely the shot selection. We're just like, right, you can you can like do a lot less to the step back, dribble, dribble, triple crap. Like you can cut a lot of that out of your

game and then the tunnel vision playmaking. And it started, I want to say it started the finals year, where they lost to Golden State, like that January and on. Like, he started becoming a better playmaker. In the playoffs, last year, that shit just crystallized, like, straight up, like, he was just a playmaking machine. And now this year, he's like, look, like, I don't do as much. Like, he has the license to do some of that Kobe stuff when he wants to. But he's just being smart about hunting all the right shots,

which, again, off the dribble, off of a screen. guys don't want to leave the guy that just screened for you because they're a shooter, so they're letting you get that walk into that pull-up or when you get daylight, take it to the rack. Like, it's nice. I mean, we make it sound simple, but a lot of times it is that simple, man.

And he's killing it. I think I speak for all of us when I say, dang. So when things feel hard to handle, like when you need help protecting what matters most, remember to say, like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. State Farm, you can talk to your agent to help choose the coverage you need.

Select your coverage options to protect the things you value most, file a claim right on the State Farm mobile app, and reach a real person when you need to talk to someone. Visit StateFarm.com to learn more. So I'm not really saying dang about the Atlanta Hawks, but I got to say, like, I just can't quit these guys. Are you guys familiar with the Simpsons clip in which Marge tries to convince Bart to bring a potato to, show and tell and Bart's like, why do you keep doing that? And she's like, I just think they're neat. Why don't you bring this potato?

That's pretty bad. Mom, you're always trying to give me potatoes. What is it with you? I just think they're neat. That's me with the Atlanta Hawks because I'm watching this team and it's just like, it's fun. I know it might sour at some point

because Trey Young is doing a lot, but this is the best version of Trey Young doing a lot where it seems like they just have the right guys there, Jalen Johnson, Rob's guy, just coming into form, just seems like he's a better version of himself. And honestly,

Dyson Daniels almost seems like a miniature version of Johnson where he is incredibly physical, yet he doesn't sacrifice the mobility and the skill. Like he's shooting from three really well. He's four for eight in his first two games, 0 for four against O KC. So it might come and go. But those are the exact type of guys I want around Trey Young

just to have a fun Trey Young team. And that's exactly what they've been this far. I mean, Trey Young has been an absolute killer. But as you alluded to, most importantly, they have guys who actually play with flow around him and can kind of engineer some of the flow even out of some of their more static possessions, but most importantly in transition. That's where having like Jalen Johnson and Dyson and Dyson Daniels out there running the floor together, connecting dots, making plays, making stuff happen. It will almost make you forget that D'Andre Hunter is a robot, almost, but it will still unfortunately bump against you at some point. He's been okay. That's far.

He certainly has, my friend. He certainly has. I heard he missing a game, him and bogey, but yeah, he's been fine. It's so funny to me, too, is that, like, Dyson Daniels, I bet you if you ask Trey Young, he'd be like, well, that's what we were trying to get Dejante Murray to do, right? But Dejante Murray is overqualified to be that kind of player. But Dyson Daniels is like, look, man, this is the first time I'm really getting a bona fide opportunity

here, and he's relishing it, his new role. What I like most about him, too, is that on his drives, he's been a willing passer, too, which I'm just like, damn, like, he's got the wherewithal to, like, do that, too. I didn't know because he just hasn't gotten the opportunity to be that kind of player in the past. And so that's been cool. Obviously, he's shown his defensive chops pretty much since day one. He's been a real bona fide defender. And so you got him, Johnson, a Kangu, like, we know what Tray Young's limitations are.

But when you got guys around him who can fly around and be mega physical on defense to make it like competent, not, look, they're not going to be the bad boy pistons, but they're competent. Like, I think that's what we're seeing. And again, and we thought that the Hawks would be better this year because, again, definition, discipline, role, you know, everybody understanding their role here is way more clarified and defined here than it was with Dejante Murray in town. Yeah, I think they're also doing some smart movement going into all the Trey Young, Razzle-Dazzle pick and roll game. It's not just pound the ball at the top of the floor, 1-5, let's go. It's an initial action going into Trey. So the defense has already moved, already unsettled.

And then he gets to attack. And I think he's been pretty unbelievable for the most part, especially as a score. The turnovers have gotten a little away from him. But some of that is, that's how it goes when you're basically the only other guy on your team that can dribble is not in the lineup in Bogey. So that's tough. I think he likes it that way, to be honest. He might, he might, but

we know. Yeah, we don't. Yeah, he had 10 turnovers against O'KC, which like, yeah, not what you want, but they do have some dogs on that team. But you're right. It's just like things are moving there. Ocongu's been playing well, like, just like the smart, like, just in-between

player that just like makes plays all the time. Like, I don't know what Ocongu's role is ultimately for that team because I do think having a vertical spacer next to Trey in the starting lineup makes so much sense. And like even when Clint Capella is long and gone, I do think they want someone there. So there's a play like, we were Chet just stuffed the shit out of a Congu. And it's just like, he just doesn't have the vertical umph that I think you really want for that position, especially when Johnson and all these other guys are around there and you have this like big flying

physical team around Trey. But he's just a goddamn good player. And he just makes good players. Yeah. There's also a way that they can kind of make it work despite the fact that he's not a huge center. And some of that comes from the fact that other than Trey Young, basically their entire rotation is guys who have good positional size. Like all of their wings are like 6-8, right? Even down to your Viet Krati's like they just have guys who are big and can put the ball on the floor in limited doses and dish and make plays and make things happen. Limited doses being the key word. But like, and that's where Richer Shea is like fit in like a glove, right? like he's another guy who fits this exact mold of dynamism, of playmaking,

of just overall understanding how to play and how to move. And I think when you have Trey, who I agree with you, Justin, that ultimately they probably do want some kind of vertical spacing, if only because Trey is just one of the best lob throwing guards in the league. And to waste that, I think, would be a real shame. But you can get away with all kinds of other lineups when you have a creator of his caliber and all of this length on the wing that isn't smothering and physical in a way that like the Orlando Magic might be,

but opens up a lot of passing angles and avenues and just like ways to create stuff as a result of all that size. Listen, I'm not sure I think all that differently about the Hawks. Like still probably a solid play in team, maybe a little bit better, but there are currently four teams in the Eastern Conference with a winning record as we record this on Monday morning,

and one of them is the Atlanta Hawks. So you got to feel good if you're a Hawks fan. We saved the best for last, though. And I think this is, Speaking of Jalen Johnson last year with the Rob Bull, I think this is the memorial spot where you are allowed to nominate some player who I will then go pick up in fantasy as a result of this. Thank you for letting me be myself.

Thank you for letting me cook out here. I may not be ready for full-time chef duty was, but I feel like I can at least be on the fryer. And today, I want to bring to you a guy who is absolutely frying everything in front of him right now. Trey Man of the Charlotte Hornets. I think we need to put it. on the board right now that Shrey Man could be the sixth man of the year. I don't know that this is going

to happen, but I think it could happen. And that's not what I would have said a week ago. I thought when you brought this up, you were joking. And I was watching the game against the heat before we popped on here just because I hadn't watched much of the Hornets. And I was like, is Rob trying to test us to make sure that we're watching the Hornets? I was like, I just kind of don't see it. You don't see it. At least in that game, he definitely,

he blends in well with the other guards. They're playing a lot of three-yard lineups, and I do think he does the in-between stuff. That is important. I just couldn't shake the look of, like, he kind of dresses like little bow-wow and like Mike, you know?

Yeah, it's a lot of, the AI thing. I'm just like, oh, he's doing an AI. There's a little of that. There's also with him in a hornet's uniform, a little bit too much like Devante Graham flashback happening from my taste personally? It's like, I don't know if you guys have ever heard

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro speak, but he's doing a cheap Obama impersonation. Okay. That's kind of the vibe that Trey Mann is doing with the Iverson aesthetic. But, you know, worst things have been done on an NBA floor. Well, also, if he has the game to be a cheap Iverson, that seems like Sixth Man of the Year material to me.

Absolutely. Absolutely. And he's making his threes right now. Making his threes. And this is the thing. I think, so right now, if we're going to do the highest scoring reserve player thing for six man of the year,

which again, I could never myself support. But if that's what we're going to do, if that's what we're going to do, right now, Buddy Healed is number one. Number two is Trayman. He's getting buckets.

He has more opportunity right now, granted, given that Brandon Miller is out. Like, there is usage for him to sop up. But I think the Hornets are really reaping the benefits of having his creation out there. In particular, when he is the dual threat of he does, the jumper is falling, which is nice, I really like him as a downhill guard. And in particular, one of the few small guards in the league who actually follows his own shot.

And so if you're going to have a guy who's going to cook a lot one-on-one and get up a lot of shots, you want someone who's also going to be a factor in other ways. And the fact that he can get inside, mix it up, he's really athletic, can pull down rebounds, can get tippins. All of that stuff, I think, plays really well for a Hornet's team that not only needs creation next to Lamello and even next to Brandon Miller when he's back, but need some shooting, need some second side, like

juice. I see a role for him long term with this team. And I'm kind of flashing back to the fact that I remember, I even looked at this a little sideways at the time, but some of the reports out of OKC about, they were like really reluctant to give him up in the Gordon Hayward Gambit.

I think there was an element of that where it's like, look, if you're the thunder, you literally just can't pay everybody. You're going to have to pick and choose at some point. And Trayman kind of drew the short straw, despite the fact that I think there's some things about his game that they like. And I think we're seeing a lot of those things right now.

Oh, when you have AJ Mitchell, just out there and waiting for minutes, like you can get rid of a tray man. Yeah, the size thing concerns me. Like, he looks small on a court, like he's 6378 listed. But they are messing around with a lot of three-guards stuff that might behoove him later on

when Brandon Miller is back in there. And you're right. If he is going to get on the boards, he's doing some of the in-between stuff that I think will be be behoove him and the team when both Miller and Lamello are out there because Lamello makes some plays out there where I'm like I literally said Jesus Christ like two because he just like he good or bad Jesus Christ which which reaction were you having yeah a little both these these were mostly good though like he just has away with the ball in the air I'm just like god damn like I guys just can't do that yeah

but I do think if they can get all three guys in the court at the same time like that's a lot a playmaking juice and in between stuff, and you're still pretty sizable because Bridges is still like, you know, that's a pretty good size for a four out there. I don't know if Mark Williams will overplay, but like, that's a pretty good lineup. I think you're seeing some of the limitations too. Like when the Hornets have thrown Seth Curry out there at the two, as they have done when Brandon Miller's been out, he just like, I get the, I get the thinking, obviously Seth is a great three-point shooter, but he's also a pretty limited one because of his release point in his height. And if you run at him, possessions can kind of clam up. And I think what I like about

Trayman, whether you're thinking of him as a backup point guard or a two next to Lamello or, you know, co-handling, playmaking responsibilities with Brandon Miller in a second unit. If the ball swings to him, you don't have that problem, right? He can get a step on guys and actually create things. And so if I'm going to play smaller players, that is what I want from them. And Tray Man's been able to provide that. The Hornets need guys. Like, for the longest time, they just have not had guys and to just have talent like percolating in the background where you might they might be so good that you have to play them like that's a giant step forward for a franchise that just like needed more than one or two dynamic scoring guards in order to get into like past the play in so like

I think you have to be encouraged if you're a hornist fan right now um but if we're naming guys oh I'm just never going to forget that my career has now boiled down to I submit a serious suggestion for content for this podcast and you're like I thought this was a joke you see him out there man i gotta tell you just looks really small um can we name some guys before we go here i would love nothing more okay well i got to give apologies to both the clippers and the bucks because they've had very interesting starts of the season in their own way the clippers two and one the the bucks concerning is all hell after kind of getting lambasted by a net's team that's starting camp dama's and ben simmons on all those guys like we're gonna have to talk

about that next pod. Franz Wagner shooting 46% from 3 and 7 a game, like huge for both him and the magic and what they could do in the league. I fully expect to see the magic like number two in the east, like November and just like sticking there. This team can roll in the regular season if he's going to roll like that. But the guy I really want to talk about Jay Huff, backup center for the Memphis Grizzlies. Looks like he just got off his shift at an R-E-I. but is simultaneously a bouncy rim protector and three-point shooter, shooting 57% from three at backup for the Grizzlies, 13 points a game. Just one of the more fascinating guys I've ever seen in the league has a name like he's

a Texas Longhorn Strong Safety. But like, it's just like he probably is pulling a shift at Stumbtown after some of these games. And so I got to say, love Jay Huff. Yeah, don't think you want to notice that even before the, Stumptown reference, this is the most Portland coded thing that you could have stuck into this podcast. Have you seen him? He looks like he's my neighbor. I agree.

I agree. Yeah. Was, do you have any Jay Huff takes? How are you feeling about Jay Huff? Yo, but Jay Huff to me just fits into a category of Memphis Grizzlies that isn't the core three that like these guys can play. They have a bunch of

dudes that can actually play. I think Jai has been a little bit rusty on his return. But like, I love the supporting cast that they put around these guys, man. And Huff is just like, I'm watching them the other night. And it's just a bunch of, you know, for lack of a better term, white guys, I'm coming in the game.

I'm like, damn, who's that? Who's that? But all of these dudes like, you know, handling the rock, like doing great shit with, in their minutes. So, like, I'm really intrigued by what Memphis is put together. Shout to Scottie Pippin Jr., too. I think we might have to have, like, a recurring Scotty Pippin Jr. segment at the end of every pod where we just like check in on

what he's been doing lately. How do you feel about that? I'm sure we'll do numbers. Well, he's doing numbers. I can assure you. You give that man minutes. He's putting up numbers. That's right. All right. Why don't we wrap it there? We'll be back on Thursday. Thank you to Isaiah Blakely. Thank you to Ben Cruz. We will see you next time.