Nerd Sesh

Speaker 1

The volume. No, Oh my god, how could he do that? Bye? Go on?

Speaker 2

What Charles Darwin?

Speaker 1

The nerves is where it's at.

Speaker 3

Welcome everybody back into herd session.

Speaker 4

As always, I'm Carson Grabor and alongside me is Logan Camden. The basketball season is really and truly here, Logan. The other night, Tuesday night, we reacted to the opening night action, but that was just a couple games. Now we've seen every team tip off and we've got a ton to talk about. So today we're going to be covering a bunch of debuts that impressed us, that disappointed us. But we're gonna start specifically by keying in on what was the game of the night last night. You have, in my opinion, the two top dogs out West facing off, the Oklahoma City Thunder my NBA title pick and the Denver Nuggets, and okayse ends up coming out with a convincing win in this one. Logan, what was your biggest takeaway from that game?

Speaker 1

The Thunder are deservedly the favorites in the West, Man, and a few big things that blew my mind. One Carson, I know you've been You've had this take for a long time that the Thunder are going to eventually become a dynasty and win, rattle off, win a bunch of NBA finals, And I feel like I'm closer to that than I am. That this team is never going to get it done. Man, They're so disgustingly loaded. And I know you've also had this take for a while. Man, I feel foolish for not coming around sooner to this. But like, I think chet Holmgren has an opportunity to be an MVP candidate alongside SGA man like with his ability and what these two can just do together. He's one of the best defenders already in the NBA. I know he was your preseason Defensive Player of the Year pick. You're probably one in a very small minority. I know everybody is on Wemby to win that award, but he already is among one of the leagues best rim protectors. He's seven foot one with a seven foot six wingspan, and he just has elite positioning, timing, and instincts. He has two super human blocks in this game. I believe he ends up with four total. He's got this one unbelievable block on Michael Porter Junior. Jamal Murray drops a dime to MPJ on the low block and Check comes out of nowhere on the weak side to stuff it. There's another one in this game where he blocks Nikola Jokic and on the other end flies down the floor for a transition dunk. It's just special, special stuff that he can do.

Speaker 3

Man.

Speaker 1

He averaged two point three blocks per game last season. That was tied fourth in the entire NBA. But he was also one of the most impactful rim protectors. Opponent shot eleven point four percent below their average field goal percentage inside six feet on him last year. That was the sixth best mark in all of the NBA minimum four defensive field goal attempts per game, So we already know the value that Check brings Defensively, he is one of the best rim protectors and best defenders on the player. But it's everything else that we see showcased in this game. Man. It's the rebounding, it's the ball handling, like Chet is such a fluid guy on ball. The playmaking blew me away in this game, man, Chet was diamond guys up. And it's the scoring skill set too. Like I think a lot of people drew a lot of notions from the playoff run last year. Carson with his shooting struggles, right, Chet shoots twenty six percent from deep. I think Chet is one of the elite big men shooters in NBA history. I mean that when you're talking about the greatest big men shooters of all time, like Dirk, like Karl Anthony Towns, I think Chet is going to be among those guys all time. You may he could be greater than both of those guys when it's all said and done again, he's Dirk.

Speaker 4

Let's let's give respect to Dirk. I mean, we're talking about all around jump shooting. He's never going to be the level of jump shooter.

Speaker 1

I think he could be top three though. I mean, I think that's definitely possible with his size and skill set. This guy was a forty percent shooter in college, very good last year, and I think he's going to continue to grow. Oh and I think him and SGA have a chance to be the best duo in basketball this season. Man. And there's some great duos, right, Davis and Lebron Tatum and Brown Yokichen Murray. There's a lot of great duos booking KD. Right, I think Chet and SGA have a chance to do it. This season, man, and I'm just so high on them, and right, it starts with those foundation those foundational pieces with SGA and CHET. But I had to talk one of my friends after the game the other night. Carson into the Thunder as the Western favorite. He texted me and he was like, yeah, man, you and Carson are some goofies. Bro y'all are tripping on Nerd Sash talking about the Thunder coming out the West. And I told him this team is so comically loaded, MVP level SGA, MVP Deep Boy level CHET, all star level Jay Dub around them Alex Caruso, Lou Dort, Aaron Wiggins, Cason Wallace, Isaiah Hartenstein didn't even play in this game, and they decimated what I believed be my second best team in the West in Denver. Carson, the OKSE Thunder play basketball like a beautiful sunny day, like a walk in the park.

Speaker 3

Man.

Speaker 1

It is the perfect basketball team. They are so gnarly, Like I'm just I'm so fired up on this team. Man. They defend the hell out of the perimeter. They shoot a high volume of threes. They've got stars that anchor both sides of the court, and I think there's a large gap between them and Denver, man, and I think you see that in this game. And I want to be clear about something. We're gonna talk about the Nuggets here in a minute, and I think this said a lot more to me about Oklahoma City's dominance than it's said about Denver and how they're not contenders. And we'll talk about that in a minute. But I'm coming around, man, especially if Chet does this consistently, if we get this from Chet night to night, if he takes a real leap this season. Yeah, I think that we're looking at maybe two of the greatest basketball teams ever assembled that there will be up in June. And I know that we're only we're not even a week end, but I mean that, and I want people to just recognize how great Oklahoma City is and how ahead of schedule they are. I really think Oklahoma City could be one of the greatest teams ever assembled. Man, I'm that high on this team, and I'm coming around to them, dude. I was blown away just again how dominant their victory was over a team that I consider to be a real deal contender, one of the top three teams in basketball. That's what Denver still is to me, and they handedly defeated them. It starts with Chet, but this entire team is absolutely loaded. Man, I love the thunder.

Speaker 4

We've got two Juggernauts in the NBA this year. Man, We've got Boston out east, We've got Okaca out west. And I think that they both delivered on the hype in their season debuts. And okay see did that even while having an off shooting night and even down Hartenstein. You still see how overwhelmingly talented this team is. And the scariest part is they're just going to keep getting better. Chet's not going to be at an MVP level this year. I think he will get there in the long term. Yeah, I think he'll at least be a fringe MVP candidate. Nobody on the planet outside of Oklahoma City has been higher on Chet Holmgren than me. I said when he was coming into the draft as a prospect, he was the best dude that I had ever really been able to evaluate, and I called him the best prospect since Anthony Davis at the time. He's the ideal modern big and I just think people have been very slow to come around to Chet because he's super skinny, maybe because he was advertised as the next Kevin Durant in high school, and that's just not really his archetype. Maybe people don't like the fact that he says things like shooting fifty four from trey ball, shooting hang polls is od. I don't know, man, but a lot of people still seem unaware of how legitimately special chet is. He was the best player on the floor with Jokic out there, with Sja out there, and without hitting a three, which we know is such a special weapon of his. I loved what we saw from him offensively. It was an extremely well rounded performance, and I do think that we're seeing a leap there, and I expected a leap, and that's a part of the reason that I picked Okay, see you win the title. I loved how he was playing out of the pocket as a roller. I loved his utilization of these short jumpers and these mid range jumpers. If you give him any airspace there, he is just automatic from that range and I hope to see him continue to utilize that more and more this year. But I also loved his aggression as a driver. Right, this is one of the best ball handling bigs that we've ever seen. One of the most fluid bigs attacking from the perimeter that we've ever seen. So he's more than capable of just attacking a close out right of hitting you with a pump and go, and he was finishing through contact nicely in this game. And he's also a really gifted playmaker, a really skilled passer. I loved his vision hitting laydown passes in this game, and he attacked and really controlled the glass against maybe the best rebounder in basketball. And if there's been a single concern about Chet, it's really been that ability to rebound at a high level as a center, and he delivered on that in this game and a really tough matchup and defensively gives you four blocks, two steals. I've been saying has the best timing and verticality of any rim protector in basketball. Is already way way smarter, way more instinct instinctually sound than he should be as a rim protector and defensive player, and we know he can really guard in space. I expect him to be a top twenty five level player this season, maybe even top twenty. And I do think the offensive leap is a big part of that, because defensively, you are already getting night after night elite elite impact from Chet, but you compare him to a victor one Bonyama logan. It's a really interesting contrast last night, because I want to be clear, Wemby is better. Wenby's ceiling is clearly higher, even though I think Chet's ceiling is so so high. I mean, Wenby could be the best player of all time if he maxes out all of his traits, but the difference in polish is just so significant still. I mean, Chet is a significantly more fundamentally sound defensive player. He is a significantly better shooter of the basketball, even as his shot was off from three. You see, the mid range is knockdown, and we have large sample size of him being a much better three point shooter. The handle is significantly more polished still than Wemby's, and he's obviously in a much better situation right where he has higher quality looks manufactured for him. But he is just the more solid, polished player at this point, and I just hope that he doesn't get overshadowed by Wemby, because this dude's so special. He had one of the best rookie seasons of this century last year and it was overshadowed by Victor Wimonama.

Speaker 3

He didn't win Rookie of the Year.

Speaker 4

I mean, in ninety percent of rookie classes, Chet would have been your Rookie of the Year last season. And I do expect him at his peak to be an MVP level guy, an MVP contender. At the least, you are going to get deepoy level impact from an absurdly efficient twenty to twenty three point per game scorer who can do everything offensively. We already saw last year this dude was an eighty eighth percentile pick and roll creator and a seventy eighth percentile isolation creator. That level of handling and playmaking and perimeter skill, combined with being a really efficient finisher off the role huge lob target, what he does as a floor spacer, as a popper, what he does in transition hitting trailing threes, and how he dominates the game defensively.

Speaker 3

That could easily be.

Speaker 4

One of the five most impactful players in basketball when he maxes it all out. And I saw somebody say when I said this about Chet yesterday that he's a complimentary player. I don't want to make a crazy comparison here, but like sometimes I wonder, logan, what would these people say about like a Kevin Garnett? And I want to be clear, Kevin Garnett is a top fifteen player ever. Okay, But what I mean by that is, if you're not a takeover scorer, are you just inherently a complimentary player? If you're playmaking, if you're defending at an extraordinarily high level, dominating the game, if you're shooting, if you're creating for yourself and finishing plays around the rim, you're doing everything. Just because you're not scoring twenty five, twenty six points in a game, are you complimentary? And to be clear, there was a year that KG was second in scoring. He was averaging twenty four a game, but it was a different league. But like he routinely dominated games, played like a top three player on the planet, scoring twenty points per game. That's just mind boggling to me. I think check does everything that you want at the center spot at such a high level, and he's just gonna keep getting better. And yeah, I think he's gonna rival SGA. Is this team's best player in a couple of years, and that is what keeps this window so wide open.

Speaker 1

I completely agree I completely agree. That was my thought during the game last night, And I want to be clear about something. It's gonna be hard for Check to surpass SGA, But it's like Sga just cannot impact the game the way Check does on it on the defensive end, like he is one of the perfect duers on it really is. And you were talking about him being a complimentary piece. It's not Batman and Robin. It's Batman and Superman. You know what I mean. It's it's Batman and Batman. You got two of them. It's its unfair right now.

Speaker 4

It's Batman and Robin, I think, But as Check continues to grow offensively with the way he played last night, it's Batman and Superman. I just think that is still like a standout performance for Check. My expectations this year. He's not gonna score twenty five every night.

Speaker 1

The Thunder are still the youngest team in the league. Sam Presty is a dark Overlord genius. Can we build the statue? I mean, I know it's just ridiculous, Carson, and I mean that when I say it because I feel like some people may think that we're just getting hyperbolic for hyperbole's sake. I believe everything about Chet. I think that he's going to be that good, and I think that this is going to be one of the greatest teams ever assembled. I don't know if it's gonna be this year. I don't know if, because again, Chet has so much room to grow. J Dove has so much room to grow. Bro Aaron Wiggins bawled out often, there's such a surplus of talent here, man, Like, yeah, it's ridiculous. The Oklahoma City Thunder are one of the most fun teams I've ever had the pleasure of watching. And it's like perfect basketball personified. Man it is. I cannot sing their praises enough. Like you, guys may get tired of it, of the so called glazing or whatever. I think this is a team that could win eventually if they keep this core together and it seems like everybody gets along. It seems like the locker room environment is great. They all love each other coming up together at the same time. I think this is a team that could one day win seventy games, have two bona fide MVP caliber players and steamroll that air way to an NBA title. And like you said, dude, their window is open for a long time. I just yeah, I could not be more higher on the OKC thunder Man as a whole.

Speaker 4

They are bet up, set up to be a dynasty in a way that really is only comparable to like the Warriors when they start rising in twenty fifteen.

Speaker 3

Right to have.

Speaker 4

Three core pieces who are that great, that young, and you can maintain controller for that long. And they also just have studs alongside them on this roster, like they brought in their grown men with Hartenstein, who we haven't seen yet but is such a great fit here and Caruso, and you mentioned Aaron Wiggins. My god, I mean he continues to add more juice to his game off the dribble. He's killing you as a driver. He's getting to the mid range. He's so damn good. Cason Wallace is so damn good. Isaiah Joe is so good. Uzman Jeng we'll see. I don't know that he's gonna be consistent this year, but he knocks down a couple threes. He's always been a very toolsy young guy.

Speaker 3

It's just absurd.

Speaker 1

You're boy, tobitch. They've got the clippers unprotected first man, It's no ridiculous.

Speaker 4

They're just going to keep adding and that's the thing. They're gonna maintain their three core dudes with Shay, with Chet and with Jadab, and then they can rotate the pieces around them. But right now they have an awesome, awesome collection of pieces around them. And there's nobody I trust more to sustain a supporting cast than Sam Presty, because the drafting that we've seen from him is just unfair. They're a juggernaut, man. They are stupid defensively. They have thirteen blocks in this game. They have elite athletes, and they have elite length everywhere, and I've been saying, I think that this is gonna be the best defense in basketball, maybe by a good margin. Nobody has this combination of absurd perimeter defense and an elite rim protecting duo with Chet Ann Hartenstein or the wide variety of lineup combinations they can throw out there and still be phenomenal on both sides of the ball. Like this is how they look without Hart and st On an off three point shooting night, on an off Jada up night against the Denver Nuggets, they completely controlled them. They are the clear favorite in the West. Nobody matches this level of talent this depth, this versatility, this two way ability, and when I think some people must have undersold with the thunder, I really don't know how you could pick somebody else out of the West over them preseason. But my assumption is that people just underestimated the progression of these young guys, right. Maybe they basically looked at the level that Chet and Jada Brett last year and they said, Okay, that's who they are, even the level of an Aaron Wiggins a case on Wallace. All these dudes are actively getting better, potentially actively getting better fast, and it's just a statement win for them. And by the way, one little thing to monitor from this game. SGA took six threes, and he confidently stepped into a couple of pull ups, a transition pull up that is normally not in his shot diet. So I already consider SGA one of the three best scorers on the planet, one of the five best players on the planet. He doesn't need to be a volume three point shooter because he dominates the restricted area, he dominates the mid range, the short mid range. But if he does add that with more volume and he can hit that shot at thirty six thirty seven percent, I mean, it's over, dude, it's over. The rest of the West can just cry themselves to sleep and logan victim Number one is the Denver Nuggets. How concerned are you about them after this game? And what did stand out to you for Denver in this loss.

Speaker 1

I think people are overreacting to the Denver Nuggets loss in a crazy way. Cars and that's the discourse from the opening week of basketball that has disturbed me the most is that people are acting like the sky is falling again. I'll reiterate what I said earlier. This to me spoke way more about Oklahoma City's dominance and how much better they are than every other team in the Western Conference. Then it said to me about Denver not being a legitimate title threat. And here's why. The big issue with the Nuggets in the Nicola Jokic era has always been the non Jokic minutes. If you turn on any NBA broadcast, if you listen to any informed mind, they will tell you that because it's been the case last season, and this has been the track record for basically the entire time Nikola Jokicic has been a star. They were twenty four points worse without Nikola Jokic on the floor, and that is just a staggering number. It is by far the largest discrepancy between any star on the floor versus off of it. And I think this is the best Nuggets bench that they've had in the Jokic era carts And even though the bench I think played a pretty poor game, it was not a great showing from the bench. Right, they get decimated without Jokic out there, specifically in Russell Westbrook minutes too. But I think this is the best bench in the Jokic era, and I think they're underrated or maybe not best, because I did like Bruce Brown and I liked some of the stuff they had in the title run. But I think overall it is Russell Westbrook had a really bad game, and I've been very critical of RUSS. I think it is gonna be a roller coaster. I call Julius Randall roller coaster. Julius Randall, Well, it's the same thing with Russell Westbrook. It's a roller coaster. We're gonna have some really high highs of RUSS and we're gonna have some really low lows. In the first quarter, Oh my god, Carson, I wanted to punch a hole through my TV watching Russ play ugly turnover leads to an easy bucket and transition for the thunder. He airballs a wide open three, he travels, he loses the ball on a drive like it's a part of the Russell Westbrook experience. That being said, this is a position that in the Nuggets history over the past few years has been dominated by Reggie Jackson and has been dominated by Austin Rivers and Facundo Composo and Monte Morris, and like, shout out to those guys for doing serviceable jobs. Alongside nicolea Jokic. It was like Russ is just such a raw talent upgrade from those guys, and there's just stuff that he can do that those guys can't do. I like the stretch that we saw. I think it was in the third of the fourth quarter where Russ is attacking down here Hill with Murray with sar from Strowther and Peyton Watson. I really think Russell Westbrook adds value in that regard, Like you just have Russ at this point in his career is not an elite offensive engine or anything by any means, but can he operate and run a bench unit and get you some buckets and bring you nice energy. Yes, he can the backup five spot. In recent memory, he has been dominated by Zeke Naji and DeAndre Jordan, guys who are unplayable. Sarich brings skill and a little bit of ball handling there in, some playmaking and some shooting touch. He had a beautiful pass to Russell Westbrook on a cut in this game that leads to an easy dunk. Those guys compliment each other off the bench. Peyton Watson is a really disruptive and athletic defensive athlete, really good rebounder. He brings value. Julian Strawther, I think is probably the best of the bunch. I know Strawther didn't have a great debut game. The guy attacks close outs at a high level. He's a really good three point shooter. You see some floater touch in this game. In the stat that I remember from him as a prospect, he was a ninety ninth percentile spot up player at Gonzaga. What better compliment could you have to NICOLEA Jokic or Russell Westbrook, Like, I just think people are simply overreacting to this game. Carson, You've still got Jokic the best player on the planet in my opinion, an unsolvable puzzle, an unsolvable problem. Michael Porter Junior, I think is a top ten small forward in the game. Just brings you elite three point shooting whenever he touches the ball. Jamal Murray is a really damn good point guard, a great compliment to Jokic, like you've got your complimentary stars, and Aaron Gordon too. I still think the Nuggets are the second best team out West, Carson. And the one thing, don't get me wrong, I think the Nuggets have a fatal flaw, and you see a little bit of it in this game. Their flaw is that they left that they lost KCP. That's a hard guy to replace, a forty three point shooter, an elite perimeter defender, and I thought Christian Brown overall played an alright game. Problem is is that he can't shoot reliably. You mentioned this stat, Carson, in the offseason. The guy is four of eighteen as a three point shooter in his playoff career. That equates to twenty one point four percent. That's not going to cut it. And Oklahoma City was content with leaving him on an island in this game. And that's the problem when teams can divert attention to their other stars MPJ, Murray Jokic and the guy that they're leaving wide open can't make them pay. That is the fatal flaw the Nuggets, and that's what I think is going to kill them if they don't add more three point shooting to the roster. I do think that could be the fatal flaw that ends up syncing them. But Christian Brown's not a bum. I think he does some little things that KCP didn't do. I think he's a great cutter. I think he's a hell of an athlete. I think he is a hound. Defensively, he brings really good value. He just can't shoot. So it's like, are the Nuggets flawed in a way that they haven't been in years previous? Yeah, they've lost very important assets to a title recipe, But is the sky falling? Is this team gonna win under fifty games? No? They still got Jokics, They've still got MPG, they've still got Jamal They've still got Aaron Gordon, And this is the best the bench has ever been. So pardon me if I don't think that the Nuggets are you know, bums. I just I think that this is a drastic overreaction and a mischaracterization of the Nuggets as a whole. Carson, I still think that the second best team in the West. I just think they got bested by a top two team in the league and the favorite out West.

Speaker 3

Man.

Speaker 1

I still believe in the Nuggets.

Speaker 4

I'm not ringing the panic alarms on the Nuggets, but maybe I'm a little bit more concerned after this game than you, just because I feel like if you were too identify in advance, what are the red flags for this team, Basically all of them were actually problems in this game. First one is Christian Brown shooting. I mean, this is the one thing that we talked about them needing from him. He did everything else in this game super well. He played a good game. He was the only positive in terms of plus minus on the day. He was plus eight. He was cutting super effectively, he was running the floor super hard. In transition, he has four stocks. He was defending his ass off, making plays with his athleticism, attacking the glass, doing everything outside of just making or even taking threes, And that, to me is the big concern.

Speaker 3

Logan.

Speaker 4

It's not just the percentage, because his percentage in his career is fine. Regular season, He's a thirty seven percent three point shooter. Said he doesn't take the shots right, he would rather put the ball on the floor, and he's just try to attack a close out. Sometimes they're just not even gonna close out on him, right, and so it just negates an advantage for them if he's either missing open threes or refusing to take open threes. They just desperately need that, right. I mean, this offense is predicated upon Jamal Murray as your perimeter shot maker off the dribble, Jokic doing everything that he does, creating for everybody, Aaron Gordon in the dunker spot, and then you need ideally two really good spot up shooters. That's what they had with MPJ and CACP. Now they're down to one, and for a team that has been really low on three point volume already, they need more out of Christian Brown.

Speaker 3

And I wouldn't say that.

Speaker 4

He can't shoot, dude. He was a good shooter in college. His percentages in his career have been fine. I think a lot of it is just confidence because he's such a confident player every other way, I think it's very mental, and if you're the Nuggets, I think you just hope that he breaks out of this slump in this funk and he's never gonna be a KCP level shooter, but you know, can he take three and a half triples a night and make thirty six percent of them, then I think, Okay, you're good. You're gonna be an elite offense. But right now he does hold them back with that limitation, and I think they need to play yokichen MPJ both more with the bench. In fact, I know that they do, because Jamal can't carry a second unit when he is the only one who's minutes, they're really staggering. I'm with you in terms of some people over playing the bench unit storyline relative to seasons passed right, like their bench was awful last year. I think Russ is absolutely an upgrade for Reggie Jackson. I do like Julian Strawther, but you see that this unit has some major limitations. They have insane athleticism out there with Russ and Peyton Watson and shout out to those dudes and how they can fly around defensively and make some real plays, but they need stability. They need consistent shot creation and they need shot making. Russ was minus twenty four and twenty one minutes. It was rough, and he made some plays with his athleticism and on the defensive end, but like he's just putting up too many shots, and he's putting up too many bad shots. The most painful was at the end of the second quarter, when there's no shot clock, right, you're holding for last shot. He just jacks up a three with eleven seconds left. It's like, come on, man, you cannot possibly be doing that if you want to play championship basketball.

Speaker 1

I mean, he's never gonna that's the that's the he's never gonna figure that out, Carson. I mean, at this point we can write it off, right.

Speaker 4

Yeah, And that's why I think that you need to play him a little bit less. I think twenty one minutes is a little bit rich for us, and you cannot have him and Peyton Watson combining to take ten threes. Dude, I mean that's ten wasted possessions. Like, I'm sorry, I know that they want to keep the defense. Honest, they're bad shooters, and that's why I just think you need a more balanced lineup where if you have MPJ out there with Jamal in Russ and then you have charge in the front court. Right, Okay, now we have more shooting on the floor when we're looking to Peyton Watson, and you could have Strawthor with that unit too, Right, that's a more functional offensive second unit. When you're asking Russ and Peyton Watson to be spot up players for you, it's just not gonna work. And I do wonder if they make a move for another shooter on the bench. Somebody in our discord mentioned maybe they try to pluck somebody from the Warriors bench for shooting. I think that'd be a good shout because the Warriors have a fair amount of shooting on their bench. I mean, he was phenomenal, right, Danthony Meltain is good. They might not want to move off of those guys, but I would be in the market. I'd probably be willing to move off of a Peyton Watson. Say hey, here's this young dude's special athlete can be a hell of a defender, super athletic offensively right in transition, he can be a good cutter for you. But we need somebody who can make shots from the perimeter right now, And I do think that Julian Strawther definitely has a burden there. I think he needs to be more aggressive, and I think that he is good. So I'm not freaking out about the bench because the bench has always been a problem for Denver. But I think this year, let's see a little more stagger Man because it's specifically the shooting that's lacking from that group. And the final red flag is Jamal Murray Man. This version of Jamal murray is just not going to cut it. He was horrible in the postseason, he was horrible in the Olympics. He was horrible yesterday four thirteen with three turnovers. Really struggled to finish against the length of this Okac defense, Really struggle to create separation against damn good perimeter defenders, and that's what he's dealing with for forty eight minutes. But you have to right, you're your team's number one perimeter option, and he just mightily struggled at a couple points, he just threw the ball away. Bad turnovers. I don't think there's a tougher matchup in the league for Jamal van Okasee. I don't think there's a better defense. I don't think there's a better perimeter defense, especially in terms of the depth of dogs they can throw at you. But you need him to be a second actual star if you want to win the title, unequivocally, if you want to be.

Speaker 3

The second best team in the West.

Speaker 4

He has to be something close to the Jamal Murray that we've gotten to know, and he just hasn't been that in the last six months.

Speaker 1

Yeah, Jamal is a key component, especially with what he brings floor spacing wise, and that's something I want to hone in here real quick. The Nuggets were dead last and three pointers attempted last season they were thirtieth, and you just think of the roster construction and the offensive play style of some of the elite teams. Boston puts up a ton of threes. Oklahoma City puts up a ton of threes. His elite shooters Dallas right added Klay Thompson. They put up a ton of threes and they get to the rim it will It's like the Nuggets are running the risk of becoming a dinosaur, you know, a relic of a bygone er. And just what I mean by that is a three point shot is such a big swing factor in individual games. You just can't have that large of a gap in three pointers is attempted. It's just gonna make a difference, like three is worth worth three is worth more than two. You know, as we know, I do think they need to make a trade. Let me ask you this a couple of questions for you. One, would you play Julian Strawther in more minutes with the starting five and move Christian Brown to the bench if you thought that that would help the offense out a little bit? Okay?

Speaker 4

Follow up question, No, I think that you need offensive help with the second unit more. I think that you need Strawther to Mariani shooting with that lineup?

Speaker 1

Okay, follow up question, are there any guys that you have directly earmarked? Like I just thought of shooting and my first thought was actually my first thought was actually Seth Curry. Do you want someone with a little more size? Are you okay with just a capable shot maker? In general? What is the kind of shooter that you're looking for?

Speaker 4

See if you can steal them elak beasily from the pistons. Maybe, I don't know, it doesn't have to be much. I just think they need another capable player who can shoot the basketball. That alone would make me feel better about this bench, because in terms of talent, I think it's an upgrade from last year. They just have that one clear flaw. I think Russ is gonna play better. I still think when you look at the alternatives, it was a smart move to pick him up. Just don't overplay him, and you gotta have a pretty tight leash on him because he can't let him do too much Russ stuff. It's just gonna hurt you. And I get it, he is who he is, but it was a little bit too much of the bad Russ in this game. All this being said, I'm not freaking out about Denver because they're playing the best team in the conference. They're playing probably the best defense in basketball. And we could talk about the shooting limitations of the supporting cast or this bench, and those are real, those fair, but also Jamal and MPJ went nine to thirty from the field in this game. That's not gonna happen a lot. I think what we really need to see from Nikole Jolkic this year, in terms of compensating for some of the limitations around him, is that he has to be more of a scorer than ever because of the downgrade from KCP to Christian Brown in terms of shooting. It's just like you're creating the same shot quality, but you're creating it for an inferior shooter, and it's just a little bit tougher with this spacing. So, okay, see is a tough game because he's doubled almost every possession. Right, That's not gonna be a game where he can necessarily take over as a scorer. But I think that this is more twenty twenty two esque in terms of you need twenty seven a night from Jokic. You need twenty eight a night from Jokic. He just needs to put you on his back and say, hey, listen, I understand that I can create amazing shot quality for my teammates, but ultimately, the most reliable avenue offense is just me scoring one on one because I'm just overwhelmingly our team's best offensive player. Still think they're going to be a great offense, and I do think Christian Brown is going to shoot better, But that is my one concern with this starting five, which otherwise I think is really beautifully constructed. Still, okay, so he's a cut above. I mean, they're just more stacked. They're just more talented by a good bit. If Denver wanted to try to pull off an upset there, they would need superhuman Yolkic, and they would need Jamal and MPJ to really pull their weight. And obviously Jamal and MPJ did not come close to pulling their weight in this one. But they're still my number two in the West. Don't underestimate Yokic. He's the best player on the planet by a good bit. MPJ and Jamal will play better. I do think that they'll figure some of the rotations out, and I think a lot of these things will get better over the course of the season. I still believe in their top four deeply. And Yolkic. Again, it's just the best player on the planet and he is capable of such special things individually. But chattered. Okay, see, man, there's a gap between these teams, no doubt about that, especially when.

Speaker 2

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Speaker 4

Right now, all right, let's talk about some other debuts. You and I both have five impressive debuts that stood out to us. This can be for a player or a team, and we're just gonna go through them one by one. Who's your first impressive debut you want to shout out?

Speaker 1

First guy I want to shout out is Mike Guy. Pallo Banco dominated the Miami Heat. He puts up thirty three points a leeven rebounds and three assists on twelve to twenty four, shooting four of eight from deep, goes five to six from the line, notches a steal and a block. He's plus forty two in this game against Miami Carson And specifically, what stood out to me in this game about Powlo is just how many more big body, grown man buckets Powlo was serving in this game. Because I think it's a final component of it's a component of realizing Polo's final form. Right, I've always believed in the jump shot, the self creation. With a guy at this size, right, it's it's hard when you're six ten, two hundred and fifty pounds or fluid like this. And he does shoot well in this game from you know, from distance, but getting downhill is what's gonna fully unlock Powlow. And when he got matched up against Haywood high Smith, just no hesitation. I'm getting down into the hole. I'm getting on the low block, and I'm serving you a bucket. Even when Bam was down, sitting there on the low block, he wasn't backing down. He was going up strong. Last season, just thirty five percent of Polo shots came at the rim. In this game, forty four percent of his shots came at the rim. And I think it's something that Paolo just needs to weaponize more. When you're this big, when you're this physical, this strong, it's just going to create easy avenues, easier avenues of offense for you, right, Like smaller guards, the reason they struggled to be efficient is because they just struggle to get down hill more. Because they're settling for tough mid range jumpers, they're settling for threes. They're just inherently tougher shots to make. So when you can get to the rim and dominate physically like this, it's just it unlocks an area that Paolo didn't really explore over the past two seasons. Even in the playoff run last year. Right Polo had a great playoff series against Cleveland, but it was mostly pull up, jump shot based. It was mostly all perimeter oriented. In this game, there was a lot more at the rim. It's just more reliable, easy offense. That's the key, And you think about what impacts this could have as a whole for Orlando. Then teams have to and they have to divert more attention on the interior to stop Powlo from getting to the rim, which will in turn open up playmaking opportunities for him on the back end. That was the one area of Polo's game that really stood out to me. Man, he's a big body, dude, you go and get grown man buckets. It adds a real dimension of Polo's game that hasn't existed in his first two seasons, and I hope we get more of this from Paolo as the season goes along.

Speaker 4

I could not agree more. I also have Polo down as one of my impressive debuts, and I have the magic as a whole, But this is what I've been waiting for with Polo as a prospect. I said that he was the ideal mix between wing and big right, a true ideal modern power forward. And I have always said he will reach his superstar ceiling when he fully leverages his physical advantages, when he stops settling, when he's more willing to be involved as a screener, when he has better spacing around him that makes it easier for him to attack downhill, when he has better ball handler alongside him who can create better shots for him on the interior. He puts that all together. I mean, that is an amazing offensive player. And I feel like you saw some of that in this one. I mean, he was just relentless attacking downhill. You mentioned he is a mac truck in transition. I thought that some of the post play we saw from him, he sealed off a smaller defender, right, It's not okay, let me get to a tougher turnaround. It's let me get a layup out of this. Playing bullyball. And he was screening, and he was rolling to the rim, and he was cutting and I just think the more offensive skill and the better space and you put around him, and the older he gets, the better he's gonna get at all that stuff. And that's scary because the perimeter skill, the pull up shooting, yes, he needs that because he has to be an initiator. But like, ultimately, if he wants to be a super efficient, super complete player, it's about what he does on the interior and having the most possible avenues to get those looks around the rim. And I thought it was really encouraging from him, seeing how he was tapping into that his debut in year three. I think we're in for a really good year for Paolo if he keeps that up. And also again I was impressed by the magic as a whole. Franz played a hell of a game. He knocked down three triples. It's one game, but that's huge. We haven't seen him do that in months, right, he was cold as a shooter all of last season and in the playoffs and in the Olympics. And his defense is just gonna be absurd. I think it's a top three defense in basketball. I would go, ok, see Boston Orlando. They have so much length, so much versatility, everywhere super active. By the way, I can't shout out okay See enough for how active they were, throwing doubles at Yokic right, making every catch tough, making every entry, every kickout. Dude, they are just such athletes, and they are such dogs, and they are so connected. I can't stop talking about okay See. They're amazing. But Orlando's defense is also amazing, and their shooting is already noticeably better, even with KCP going zero for five in this game, they had eighteen threes at a thirty seven percent clip. Because if if fron shot comes back and you inject KCP like that makes this offense significantly more functional and much more capable than it was last year. I think they're gonna be really, really good, especially in the regular season. And with how good they looked, with how good Evan Mobley, who I'm gonna get to in a second, looked, and what that could do for the Calves, like the gap between the top four in the East and Orlando and Cleveland could be smaller than I thought, because those are teams that are gonna win on the defensive end. And if they've improved by a good bit offensively, which they both potentially could that could be a really tough matchup for a Milwaukee's flawed defensively, for a New York who's flawed defensively, for a Philly who god knows if we'll even see their best dudes on the floor. I really like Orlando. I thought that this was a really good debut.

Speaker 1

I really like Orlando too, and specifically if they can end up with a high seed two, that makes it even more dangerous for Philadelphia or Milwaukee. Right if Orlando can or Cleveland, if they can get a three or a four seed and host a playoff series. They talked about that during the match game. Just how Orlando won every game at home. Cleveland also won every game at home. That can be the difference sometimes and I think it's doable. And Franz's jumpshot coming back as a major component too. You know, we saw him not only struggle down the stretch in the regular season into the playoffs, we saw him struggle into the Olympics. That's a huge component. You mentioned Evan Mobley. He's the second guy that I've written down here, Carson, Let's get into it. Evan Mobley played basketball and it was like when you hear a really nasty beat and your face is just curled up with some thumping eight o eights. Watching Evan Mobley, I was just.

Speaker 4

Beautifully said Logan, I said out loud, I'm in a bust. Was aronic experience for me watching Evan Mobley play like that.

Speaker 3

I was moved.

Speaker 1

Dude, this is gonna make me sound like a weirdo, but I literally last night, man, after the Nuggets thundered game, Man, I just like paced around my kitchen for about ten minutes, like just thinking, like, holy shit, the thunder is.

Speaker 4

So good, man, Like, how are we back to the thunder?

Speaker 1

Sorry, I got sidetrack. That's my fault. The thunder glaze is insane. But bro, I mean we got we got flashes of this Evan Mobley last year in the playoffs against Boston and it was without Jared Allen, and I thought you saw Evan really thrive with all that extra space to work in the paint and on the interior. But this version of Evan Mobley, this kind of Evan Mobley, if he takes this consistent leap, is the one that can make the Cleveland Cavaliers experiment work. We've talked about it tenfold Carson over the past few years. We got to break up Alan and Mobley, we gotta break up Garland and Mitchell. But if Evan Mobley takes a real offensive leap, then it can work. And not only can it work, you have a real weapon of having two interior big men that make your defense great and they can anchor your glass really physically, You're just gonna match up physically well with every team. He was so much more aggressive. You see Mobley initiating from a perimeter, pushing in transition. This is stuff that Mobiley has been uncomfortable doing. And like he looked really confident handling the ball and getting downhill. He's going up strong at the rim finishing. He's confident taking threes. He drained a corner three in this one. And even I, like, I know he banged a couple of threes in the playoffs against the Celtics last season, but I was like, all right, man, this is going to be a longer form experiment than we're expecting. But he looks confident taking them. He's cutting well. The Cleveland cast Cavaliers desperately need an infusion of offensive talent and ability, and Evan Mobley could be that answer of offensive firepower and punch, and I just got to tip my cap to you. Carson Chet and Evan Mobley have been two of your guys for the longest times. You called Mobile the best prospect you had evaluated when he came out. You called Chet the best prospect you would evaluated when he came out, and it was on the foundation of them being game changing defensive anchors. But now that we are into your two of the Chet exp is this your three or four for Mobiley? Is this your four?

Speaker 4

This is your four for your four for.

Speaker 1

Mobiley, We're now finally seeing their offensive games get rounded out, and we're seeing them show the flashes of the offensive potential that you talked about. Twenty five points, nine rebounds, three assists in this game, he racks up five stocks, two steals, three blocks, and their plus thirty one in Mobley minutes. Like Donovan Mitchell, it would just take such an offensive burden off of Donovan Mitchell's shoulders, and he's such a good compliment if we can expect more of this out of him for a Garland and Donovan Mitchell, I'm so impressed with Mobley and I really hope that we get more of this as the season goes along, it changes. This difference in the play of Evan Mobley changes my outlook on the Cleveland Cavaliers as a contender out East. I don't view them as a contender, but if we get this from Mobiley consistently, they climb into that upper echelon.

Speaker 4

I agree, dude, And look, you always want to be hesitant when you're talking about one game of basketball right to being overly reactive. But at the same time, sometimes you see clear skill development after an offseason, and that's what we saw from Evan Mobley. It's not just oh my god, he had twenty five points. We saw him doing things that he wasn't doing even last year against the Celtics when he gave you like twenty one to nine and three super efficiently. We didn't see him sizing dudes up like this from the perimeter. We didn't see him run multiple picking roles. We didn't see him acting as a point forward in transition getting to his bag from the mid range. You mentioned he takes a couple threes, he makes one. It was just such an outstanding all around offensive performance, and it feels like this is the offensive leap that I've been waiting for with him because as a prospect you mentioned, I mean, the foundation was all world defense, which he's already delivered. He delivered it as a rookie. I think he's one of the four best defenders on the planet. I could see a case from being the best defender on the planet. He's so switchable and he's so elite on the interior, but also offensively. This was a guy who could handle, who had a capable jump shot, who had the ability to playmake that was far beyond his age at the position. And I was just wading through his first three years for the Leap and we saw some minor progression on the margins, but this feels like real progress from him. And he was aggressive around the rim. He got six free throws, and he cleaned up the offensive glass, and he dominated defensively as he always does.

Speaker 3

If this dude is going to score.

Speaker 4

Twenty a night for you efficiently and bring some actual perimeter offense, handling initiating like this just in spots, right, He's not going to become a wing, but just doing some of that and being more comfortable finishing inside and having more of a mid range game that he can deploy a short jumpers.

Speaker 3

He's a stamped star.

Speaker 4

And I'm talking about Chet being top twenty five, maybe top twenty this year. I don't think Mobley is the offensive player that Chet is. He doesn't have that sort of ceiling, But I think he's a slightly better defender right now, and I think he'd also be in those top twenty five conversations because when you have that level of defensive impact with just a legitimately good offensive player, I mean, think about what you get from Rudy Gobert, who, yeah, right, four time defensive Player the Year, Special special defensive player. But so are Chet Mobiley. They both have real star offensive ceilings, Chet so more than more so than Mobiley. But this was really really promising stuff for Mobile and we know he's going to change the game defensively. This is what I envisioned for him as a prospect, and if it sticks, Cleveland just went up a level. Absolutely, Mobile's never going to be a takeover offensive player, but if he can just consistently be like a legitimately good offensive player, which I became more optimistic about seeing again after what we saw in the postseason last year, that's really really exciting.

Speaker 1

It is, Man, I've been waiting for the breakthrough with Mobley, and right, it's because it's weird. He's so fluid for such a big guy, And that's the basis. Right, It's just about putting it together, being confident, shooting threes, being a threat to space. Right, he doesn't have to be a forty percent three point shooter to be effective. He has to be like thirty four or thirty five percent where the defenses have to respect him enough.

Speaker 4

Yeah, and I'd argue the mid range game that we saw was a big deal, like just the ability right to get to a little turnaround, to get to a little mid range pull up. His entire jump shot has basically been non existent. It's been one of the most underwhelming parts of his game. Based on what I expected as a prospect. I thought he'd just be a solid floor spacing big and he really hasn't. He's been a super low volume jump shooter, and I mean some of his numbers outside the restricted area last year were just horrific. But he looked way more comfortable in this.

Speaker 1

One, so much more. And again, man, it just it can make Cleveland work. I still think Cleveland's fits a little clunky. With where Mobley's been at. But if he makes that leap, I think all these guys can work together. Uh So those are the first two guys I wrote down. The next one, I'm gonna give a shout out to the whole as a whole one. I'll start with LaMelo Ball. LaMelo thirty four points, eight rebounds, eleven assists, ten to twenty from the field, four to twelve from deep, made ten of his made all ten of his free throws, got ten as well to one steel one block, and he was plus fourteen in his time on the floor. It's one of the best games I've seen LaMelo play. And he had Charlotte flying up and down the court. I think that is going to be a key weapon for the Hornets this year. Is just playing fast. They are so athletic, right, whoever's at the five spot, if it's Nick Richards, you got Bridges on the wing, you've got Brandon Miller. I think an up tempo offense really suits this team right, just getting up and down the floor. And I was impressed LaMelo was getting down hillmore. I think you see that with the ten free throws attempted. He was playing unselfishly. Now you do get some off the dribble threes, which LaMelo just loves. That's his shot. He loves taking them. Wasn't super efficient there, but he makes enough of them, and I liked how he got to those shots. It was a little bit Hardened esque on some of these drawbacks, but it meaningfully changes how I view Charlotte as a team. I think Charlott's gonna have an outside shot at a play in appearance if they can stay healthy. LaMelo's only played fifty eight games over the last two seasons. He's missed one hundred and six games. That's sixty four percent of games overall, So I think him staying healthy is a major component in that. But the other major component is Trey Mann, who put up twenty four points, six rebounds, and one assists, was fifty percent from the field, eight of sixteen and four of eight from deep. I've liked Trey Mann since Florida. The guy's butter smooth. He's got a filthy handle, a nasty change in pace. He's got a really nasty slamming on the break. Step back three on Jalen Green Towards the end of this game, at the top of the key, He's got a great floatter a game, and he was just hunting shots out of the pick and roll in this one. Charlotte needs other guards score creation outside of LaMelo, you know. I think him and Brandon Miller are a really good one two punch offensively, but they need somebody else, and I think Trey Man can be that answer. I think Charlotte is flawed in other ways that may keep them out of the play in. I really don't like this bench. I'm not a Grant Williams guy. I'm not of a cil A mesicch guy. I don't know if he's an NBA player Musa Diabat, right. I just don't think their bench is very talented, and that could be what holds this team back from making a play in push. But I think they're right there with some other teams in the East, with the Chicago, with Detroit, with in Atlanta. Right, these aren't great teams, but their teams are gonna be competitive pushing for the play in, and I think Charlotte's closer to them than they are with the Wizards of the World and down in the cellar of the East. So I like what I saw from Charlotte. You know they were trailing by eighteen points at a point in this game against Houston. This is a team that last year and I know that they were down LaMelo Ball, they were down their leader. But this is a team that had no problem with throwing in the towel, that had no problem with punting on basketball games. This team showed a lot more fight in this one against Houston in Game one, and it starts with the performances that we got out of LaMelo Ball and Trey Man. I think this team can make a play in Push this year. And that may not be saying much because the goal is to always win the NBA title, but for a team that has been in the cellar of the East, that's a big leap. And if we keep getting this out of LaMelo and Trey, I think I think it's a little more feasible this season. They outscored Houston sixty one to forty five in the second half. It was really impressive stuff. They never stopped coming and I'd like to see more of that. A good first win for mister Lee and his debut as the Charlotte Hornets head coach.

Speaker 4

I don't think playing is unrealistic for the Hornets. I mean, I had them just outside of that. But part of that is, unfortunately I don't trust LaMelo's health. Obviously, he's a very good player when he's on the floor, but I think that we have seen him be one of the most injury prone players in basketball in recent years. But yeah, this was a really nice game from him in terms of shot making and playmaking. And you don't even get Brandon Miller for most of this game. Right I'm super high on what he can do in year two. And Trey Man is the sixth man. He was built to be the sixth man to end all six men. Man he is going to do with Jordan Clarkson could not. He's just a little bit tougher man and the aesthetic he's got going now with the bagg Dude, he looks.

Speaker 1

Like that's what I'm saying.

Speaker 4

It's so tough, dude, and like he's just a walking bucket. He is a professional space creator with that step back, the shin angles that he gets. Dude, it's like only Kemba has been able to do that in the last fifteen years, where you're like, how is he possible as assistant coach on the ground, But Trey's always had that ty had, like it's just a nasty thing in his bag.

Speaker 1

And and just like to speak to what that does to a defense. It's so hard guarding that because your brain is telling you when he gets that low that he is going to drive and blow by you. That's how he's able to create that much space on those shots, because it just it confuses your brain. It's like a receiver with really good footwork. He just baits you. He just cooks you.

Speaker 4

One hundred percent. And I don't want people to overreact to what tray Man can be like. I think this is just the perfect role for him. I think super fun sixth man. He's swung this game. He was huge in this game. There's gonna be nights where he's not efficient. He's not gonna impact the game a ton outside of his scoring. But he's always been a bucket and it's really fun to see him in this role in a situation where they need him to produce like that. So it was a nice game from the Hornets. I definitely think that they're gonna be in that mix. I mean, the last playing team in the East, it's not gonna be good. It's probably gonna be like a thirty win team, and I think the Detroit Pistons are also in the mix there. And I was specifically impressed by Kate Cunningham in his debut He gives you twenty eight to five and eight had a dominant third or to where he put up eighteen points. Has clearly added a bit of a post game to his bag, which I really like to see. I mean, big, strong, six to six guard going back to the basket, got to a little hook shot against Nemhard, got to a beautiful turnaround against Neiesmith. But especially when it is like a Nemhard guarding him, a smaller player play a little bully ball. I thought his driving and finishing was outstanding. I thought he was physical. I honestly thought he looked a little more explosive. I mean, the first step looked a little quicker to me, and particularly he had a couple of beautiful explosive spin moves in the lane getting the finishes. He was creating nice space with his step back. I've been saying this, but put him in an actual NBA offense and he'll be a star. I don't think that kid has the ceiling that I thought he did as a prospect because I still think it's hard for him to create easy stuff for himself. But he's such a good playmaker with great size, with real pull up shooting chops, and he can do enough as a finisher that lack of like real easy offense around the rim because he doesn't have a great first step is gonna be the thing that holds him back from reaching like a superstar ceiling at all. But again, he looked a little bit more explosive in this game. We'll see. I just think that we're gonna see Cad actually produced with some efficiency this year. I really like what the Pistons did. Man, they defended well in this game. But the difference when you have a Malik Beasley out there, when you have a Tobias Harris out there, when you have it Tim Hardaway Junior out there, actual NBA players who can space the floor, capable offensive players, it makes a real difference. And listen, I don't think they're gonna win more than thirty games this year, but thirty games would be just such a positive moment for Detroit organizationally. And I like JB. Bickerstaff more than Monty Williams. Here. They did unfortunately have this game turn on them when they had six dudes on the floor, which is a remarkably Detroit thing to do. But I feel good about Kid. I think Kid's gonna have a really nice season. I think Detroit is going to be a more capable basketball team.

Speaker 1

I completely agree. I gotta tip my cap to JV Bickerstaff. I just think he fits this team's timeline and identity so much more than Money Williams. He seems like he's dedicated to growing with them and building this team up. But it is the added floor spacing that makes all the difference. Tim Hardaway Junior as the first two buckets in this game, both two three pointers, and I'm sitting there going wow o God, who can make threes? Well, it does make a difference, Like just having those guys and playing them on the floor makes all the difference. Tobias Harris still stinks he was missing corner threes, but you know what, He's gonna take them, and the defense has to respect him a little bit as much as anyone can respect Tobias Harris as a human being, you know. But I do like the added spacing on the wings, and I like how they staggered the minutes. Right, You're always need at least one of those guys out there, and it does make a difference to me. I like what Detroit is building down there, and.

Speaker 4

I like Fontekyo. He didn't make a shot in this game, he didn't have a good game, but I think he's a good ad. I think he's another grown up professional basketball.

Speaker 1

Player, another good veteran presence in YEP. It does. It just makes such a big difference. The next guy I'm gonna shout out is another young gentleman that we have been very high on for a long time here at NERD Sesh Carson, and that's on Yeko A kong Wu. A kong Wu puts up twenty eight points, eight rebounds, and one assist versus the nets on eleven of twelve, shooting six of six on the line and three blocks. Carson and I have spent many an evening climbing on a roof of a really tall building with a couple of megaphones and just screaming to the Atlanta Hawks organization play on y Eko A kong Wu. Big minutes, countless nights man, you know, Empire State Building. We went to the Pyramids of Giza. Man Carson and I have traveled worldwide with this movement, trying to get the Big O on the floor and.

Speaker 4

Final logan if you'll remember not to cut you off. But before the twenty twenty draft, I also had my Mega phone out and I was saying, Warriors, if you're gonna draft a big, yeah, trade back a couple of spots and take on Yaka. He's much more ready to contribute to a serious basketball team than Wiseman. And look what happened.

Speaker 1

Well, unfortunately James Wiseman suffered a non contact injury and towards his achilles in the first game of the year. But even then, that was the that was the right take, you know, And I think that was a excuse my French here. I think that was a shit show of a draft in general, just the COVID draft and not being able to evaluate prospects normally. And but still we did. We were saying that we thought Big O was was way better and I just hope that they lean into it. You know, they didn't play Capella late in this game. He On Yaka got way more burn. But it's just the athletic and physical difference. I think that he, you know, has over a Capella at this point in his career. He's it's a simple role, but he does it at such a high level. He's rolling hard, he's catching lobs, he is running the entirety of the floor. He's you know, got a couple of big putbacks in this game, and it's against a bad Brooklyn defense. I think that's definitely a big component of on Yeka feasting in this game. It's apathetic effort. Ben Simmons out there getting cooked. But he's just better than Capella right now. And he's been better than Capella. We've been saying, trade him, get on Yako on the floor, and it finally gets to be realized. I think the Hawks, again, they're such a confusing organization because I like so much of their individual assets. Jalen Johnson and on Yako al kong Wu feel like a dominant front court of the future. Just lean into it. These guys are hungry, they're athletic as hell, they play hard, they're fast. Just get them on the floor together, man, do it right now and see if you can dump Capella on some other team.

Speaker 3

Man.

Speaker 1

I just don't think they need him anymore. I think akong Wu is their building block. Man, I think he's their guy at the five.

Speaker 4

I agree, and I really like on Yaka Jalen Johnson front court. I mean, I think Jalen Johnson has a different sort of ceiling. I think Jalen Johnson can be a star in this league. I expect him to be a top fifty player, just such a complete big forward with his playmaking, his athleticism, his defense, a little bit of the shot, what he does in transition. But anak is just a really really solid big who can finish around the rim, who has solid feel offensively, who has a little bit of touch more than Capella, who is significantly more switchable versatile defensively than Capella. Listen, I don't think that he's gonna have a lot of twenty eight point performances, and when he does, I mean, it's all going to be manufactured for him by Trey Young, by pick and roll ball handlers. But I like Atlanta, man.

Speaker 3

I do.

Speaker 4

I think that this was a positive offseason for them to move off of Dejonta. It wasn't a good debut from Riesa sche I'm not the highest on him, but nevertheless, you get a number one pick who I do think will probably be a solid three and D wing in this league, and that's a valuable role for you. And you have some of the young frontcourt pieces I really like, and Trey's gonna make you a good offense because that's just what Trey Young does. I think that they're a very solid playing team. I had them as my nine seed. I'd still have them as my nine seed, but I think that I liked them a little more in their debut. And by the way, shout out to Dyson Daniels because he played one of his better offensive games of his career. I mean, defensive monster. We've always known that, but I don't expect him to keep playing like that offensively. If he did, though, that'd be a really nice pickup for Atlanta. So I thought it was a nice showing for them overall. And I thought that one of the big offseason moves logan looked very good in its debut, and that is Klay Thompson with the Dallas Mavericks. I just think his shooting is such a massive upgrade here, man, Like you can't overstate the huge difference that you feel having that level of shot making on the floor compared to when it's Derry Jones Junior out there. I mean, it's an actual offensive weapon. It's an actual offensive weapon alongside what I think is arguably the greatest offensive backcourt that we've seen. And it's just insane when you have a guy who's six to seven and can come off of a screen and hit better than forty percent of his threes and who is that lethal was a catch andhoot player and injected a little bit of movement into this offense, and he's just so much better suited in this role than he was in Golden State trying to be a number two option in an offense that's lacking creation. Instead, he's a clear number three in an offense it has an abundance of creation in the backcourt. It's just a home run. Offensively, it's not a surprise, but it looked really, really good in action. To be fair, I will say there was never any question about how this would work offensively. I mean, I think we all loved it on that side, and the questions are about defensively, Clay being your lead point of attack defender and when you're facing the Spurs without Devin Vessel, you will not find a team with less threatening perimeter personnel on offense like truly the worst in basketball. So the actual question about this deal was not tested, but the good part delivered. And I thought that Clay was great offensively, and I think is going and have a great offensive season. And I want to shout out Derek Lively too. I thought that he played a really good game. Out played Wemby Logan, finished nicely around the rim, brought a little nice playmaking, was really good on the glass, and I thought that it was a nice opening the year two for him.

Speaker 1

That's pretty interesting. Clay was my last guy ritten down here.

Speaker 4

So there you go.

Speaker 1

Tied it up overlap twenty two points, seven boards, one assists, six to ten from deep. Yeah, I mean, I don't have a time to add. This is the best offensive situation he has been in since the KD. Curry Golden State Warriors, and this role fits him so much more. Man, It's just such a weapon to have alongside Luke and Kyrie. I'm I'm really happy for Clay too. Man. Clay looked happy. Clay looked I don't know, man, last time we saw him in Golden State, dejected, demoralized. He looked happy in this game. And I'm happy for Clay Man like it. This move doesn't put Dallas on like equal footing to Denver or Oklahoma City to me, but it does move them up another level when they can manufacture offense like this right Like, I still think Dallas is probably the next team in the West for me, below those two top dogs, just because that that offense isn't gonna stop coming. And you could the Mavericks offense in the playoffs last year would grind to a standstill sometimes. Yep, Clay is just gonna help slick the wheels in those slower settings and stop some of those droughts. It's a It's a really big weapon to have alongside Luca and Kyrie.

Speaker 4

Couldn't agree more. Man, They're just gonna be a more reliably elite offense, and I think that that does outweigh ultimately my defensive concerns. It's just important to note that those do still exist, and they bring in Nausey and Naugey didn't shoot the ball well, but you saw his playmate, kay, you did. I do like them as a lot. They're very very clearly top three in the West to me, and they obviously had a better debut than Denver. I still believe in Denver more, but really nice showing for Dallas, even without Luca and Kyrie having efficient shooting nights. Like, it's just massive, dude. Massive What claim means this offense because they didn't have anything close to an actual third option last year, maybe a little bit obscure. With my last shout out here, Logan, I'm gonna shout out the Jazz front court. This is a group that I've actually been really high on ever since last year when they drafted Taylor Hendrix. I'm a huge Lowry marketing guy. Walker Kessler is just objectively very good at what he does, and I thought that they had a phenomenal season opener against Memphis. Lowry was dominant, shooting the shit out of the ball, getting downhill, eating up free throws. He has a ridiculously efficient thirty five piece and to me, it remains the prize gem out there once he becomes available for trade. If that happens ever, for any team that is trying to put themselves over the top as a contender, because he fits everywhere and damn near top twenty player in basketball. Dude, he's that phenomenal offensively. Roker Kesler was outstanding. He destroyed Zach Edy in this game, who I'm gonna talk about later, just completely outplayed him. Eight up rebounds, protected the hell out of the rim, five blocks, fourteen rebounds, super efficient, sixteen points on seven shots. Just the best version of Walker Kessler. And I really like Taylor Hendricks. Dude. He is a dude who just year two I'm in on. Is not somebody who a lot of people are gonna talk about, but I think he is a very very good young three and D player. He confidently banged three triples for you in this game. And he's a defensive stud. And when we talked about the jazz, that's what stood out to me last year from Taylor Hendrix. He didn't play a toun when he was on the floor. Defensively, he's taking on tough assignments and he is holding his own and we saw that yesterday the other day against Memphis. He's guarding John Moran throughout this game, and when Jaw's not on the floor, he's guarding Desmond bang like he is always guarding the best offensive player. And listen, Job cooked him a couple times at the end, John got a step on him. He's John Moran. He's one of the toughest dudes in the league to stay in front of six ' nine Taylor Hendricks being able to guard him as well as he did with his length, with his agility in space, I was impressed by. And I just think that's a great front court.

Speaker 1

Right.

Speaker 4

You have offensive monster who space is the floor, who does so much without the ball. You have a really solid young three and d wing, and then you have an awesome rim protecting rim finishing big. Like it's just very clearly defined archetypes. And I like what they have across the board there.

Speaker 1

I do too, man, I'm big on Hendrix, and that archetype is just really valuable in today's league. That's why guys are going so highly Like that when you are over six seven, when you're a big dude, when you can when you're really skilled and you can shoot, like, it's a really valuable skill set to have in today's league. And those guys just fit almost anywhere. Man, they can compliment any of your guys. And Laurie continues to blow me away. Man, he's like the modern I don't want to do that. He's one of the greatest players ever. But like, the only guy I can think of is like Dirk Man. That's what Laurie reminds me of. Man is just like how effective he can be off ball. Lowry's ridiculous.

Speaker 4

Man.

Speaker 1

I want him to get I agree with you, though, I want him to get out of Utah. Man. I want to see Lowry with in a winning context. But if I'm Utah, Man, you're gonna have to give me a haul to get Lowry Man, Like, he's just so valuable, like I'm looking at you need to give me four or five first round picks, man, you need to give me a young player in two or three first Like, if I'm Utah, I'm not giving him up for less than his value. I need a big, big haul to get Lowry out of Utah.

Speaker 4

I think they're gonna get one eventually. He's just such an obvious ideal number two in so many different spots. All Right, So we have a lot of agreement on the most impressive. How about concerning disappointing debuts for either player or team Logan, We're gonna go through three here. Who's your first?

Speaker 1

Uh My first is the Miami Heat and Jimmy Butler. And it's really about their long term prospects in terms of winning a playoff series. First, with Jimmy, Jimmy gives you three points for rebound and five assists on one of eight shooting oh of two from deep, and they were negative thirty in Jimmy Butler's minutes. He ends up not playing in the fourth quarter. Now, I want to give a big shout out to the Orlando defense. I think that was the biggest reason of why Jimmy struggled. KCP balled out, He's got a strip on a drive. Orlando did a great job of switching everything in this game, and that's one of the reasons why I'm so confident that Orlando's gonna have one of the best defenses in the league this year. It's not only that they have the personnel, but it's that everybody can guard everybody, right KCP, Jalen Suggs, Anthony Black getting a ton of burn. I think he's ready to play real, meaningful rotation minutes for Orlando this season, and so I want to give them credit for shutting down Jimmy. But he struggled. I think Jimmy's going to return to for him. I believe in Jimmy. I know what he is. He's obviously gotten older. It's a regular season game. This is what the Heat do in the regular season. Jimmy is not really my consers now can is Jimmy still capable of playing at a top ten level in the playoffs when they need him to? I don't know. You know, Jimmy's had a steady fallof not like a large one, but a steady decline athletically and just in terms of how we can impose himself on the game consistently night tonight. So I don't know. But Jimmy is still not the biggest issue to me, or not my biggest concern about this team. It's the glaring athletic in size limitations of the Miami Heat. They get out rebounded in this game by Orlando fifty seven to forty one. They get out rebounded on the offensive boards eighteen to nine. You're just small and unathletic. And again, Orlando is a great comp because Orlando's really big, the really physical, But so are a lot of other teams out East. And that's why I worry about Miami. If they get matched up with a Cleveland, if they get matched up with a New York, if they get matched up with Boston, if they get matched up against Orlando, even you know a Milwaukee. Like, there's so many teams out east that are just jumbo sizes that are really big where I don't think Miami can hang on the glass if they trot out this rotation. The key to breaking this all open to me is playing coleel Ware. And I know coleel wears a rookie. I know Miami likes their veteran guys that have grinded in the G League and have you know, worked their asses off to work their way into the rotation. I think you gotta play where not only is he ready, he just addresses that issue. He's a big body, He's a really good rim protector. And I don't think Thomas Bryant is the answer down low, Like I just think with playing this many non athletes, this many small guys in your rotation, you need all the size you can get. And Kevin loves out of this game too for personal reasons. So Kevin Love is gonna help this marginally. But where is the guy that makes a real difference in that size and athletic category to me? And he brings you versatility where it brings a little bit floor spacing in some post touch to where I think he is capable of playing alongside of Bamata Bio. But he's the guy that I'm letting anchor the team in non bam out of Bio minutes. To me, he is the secret answer for this team in addressing their biggest issue, which is the athletic and size limitations of this team. I'm giving where twenty plus minutes a night.

Speaker 4

Man.

Speaker 1

I think he's ready for it, and I think he's gonna play well in those minutes when he is rewarded with that opportunity. I'm so high on Coalil where I'm glad they drafted him. But now is the next step? Play him Smolstra again. I know it's uncharacteristic of Miami to give this kind of burn to rookies and stuff like that, but where is the answer to some of these problems? Does he change their ceiling?

Speaker 4

To me?

Speaker 1

No, I think Miami is still small, They're still not very athletic, but he does help in that regard and he closes the margins a little bit. I don't think I would pick Miami to win a playoff series, but with their voodoo magic if they played where you know, if Rosier Herover nails, if Jimmy plays up to the way he can, it's not out of the question for them to win a playoff series. Again, I wouldn't pick it, but it's it's not impossible. But the first step is playing Khalel where More. I'm so high on him. I think he fixes a lot of their problems.

Speaker 4

I'm with you on playing where More. I'm with you on being worried about Jimmy in terms of what he needs to do if this team wants to go on an actual run, right just at this age with availability concerns, can he physically hold up? Can he play to the level that you need to against really big athletic teams in perimeter defenses, which, as you say, like Orlando is a phenomenal litmus test for it, because they're one of the best in the league. There. That concerns me, and I'm not super high on the heat ceiling because of that. At the same time, I will say that I like the rest of this starting five for Miami more than I have in recent years. I mean, Jimmy and Bam were both horrible offensively in this game.

Speaker 3

Horrible.

Speaker 4

I think that Rosier and hero is the most skilled backcourt that they've had. I like jovich Man. I thought this was a nice game from him, even though the three ball was off, because he has that three ball, he has feel, he has good size, He's a nice erstattle offensive player. So I think when Jimmy and Bam play to their normal level, and when you do get some more kell el Ware minutes in there, this is a very solid playoff team. I think that it would be hard for them to win a playoff series, but I think that they're a little better than last year. Right, we didn't get to actually see them at full force in the playoffs last year, but I think it would have been a challenge for them, or compared to how their roster looked at the start of last season before the Rosier trade, Like I thought that they were in for some pretty big regression after the finals run. They were never going to be able to replicate that with the talent on the roster. If you're a Heat fan and you're expecting deep playoffs because you guys do have that voodoo magic, then I'd be very worried. But I still think that they're gonna be like eight seed I picked them to be the eight seed. I'm gonna stay with Victor Wamanyama Logan for my concerning or disappointing debuts. Not concerning, I'll say just disappointing. He goes five to eighteen with four turnovers, and it's just kind of frustrating because it's the same story as it is whenever he's inefficient. Basically he's trying to be a wing. Puts up eight threes in this game. Love the confidence, but it's just too many. Right, He's a thirty two percent three point shooter. Still, that is not the bread and butter of his game. This is what we saw early last year when he was really struggling with efficiency. He's just having nothing manufactured for him. Everything is asking him to self create, mostly from the perimeter, some out of the post. But that's not his strong suit either. His strong suit is, oh my god, this dude is the largest target rolling to the basket on the planet. Get him the ball and what he can do in transition running the floor right, Like a lot of his offense comes from that sort of easy, overwhelming physical advantages when they're doing things correctly. He had one possession where he was actually fed out a pick and roll in this game and he drew a foul. But like, that's by far his most efficient offense. It's pick and roll, it's cutting to the basket, it's transition. The only way for Wenby to not live up to his maximum potential on offense is if he tries to be a wing, right, is if he thinks, oh, I'm so skilled, I'm gonna be the next Kevin Durant at six four.

Speaker 3

He's just not.

Speaker 4

It is awesome what he can do from the perimeter. But as I've always said, that's the garnish, that's what puts him over the top. That's what makes him potentially one of the most special players we've ever seen. The bread and butter is just being seven foot four and as fluid an athlete as he is. And I'm not worried about Victor Wamnyama, Right, He's so young, he's already so ridiculously good. They're gonna figure all this stuff out, and they're gonna pair him with a better guard down the line. It's just annoying when you watch the games like this, and especially with Chris Paul Right, I broke down the huge gap in efficiency with Trey Jones on the floor alongside Wemby and how much more efficient he was and how much better the Spurs were. And I was like, bring in CB three at this stage, right, He's not an advantage creator, but he is an upgraded version of Trey Jones, And so I was hoping to see a more efficient performance from Wemby to start off, where you get more of that value from CB three. And it wasn't a good defensive game from Wemby. So it was just not a good way for him to start year two where he has ridiculously high expectations and he's gonna be great. But again, we saw the flaws of his approach in this one.

Speaker 1

Yeah, and I think it's something to monitor. And that's gonna be when Wemby really turns the corner into being a top ten player, a super efficient number one, right. It's when he's getting that easy stuff that I think is gonna come with time. There are some positives that I liked from the Spurs. I like the addition of Harrison Barnes. As much as I hate on the guy, he's a solid, stabilizing presence of that team exactly. And I did like some of the play from the young guards. Malachi Brandham look good in garbage time, Blake Wesley had a few shots in this game. And I really liked what we got out of Stefan Castle, Like, I think that guy is gonna be a stud defensively, you know, and was really good. He was, and you shouted him out. That was our last That was funny, man. Uh.

Speaker 4

I think that was the last thing I said in all of.

Speaker 1

Our Literally, we didn't even get to show. We didn't get to the CHAMFENNI shout and he showed out. So I like the Spurs and what they're doing this season, obviously not playoff expectations, but it's just about growing as a team and I think they're gonna make some shrides there. But the focal point of the season should be about maximizing Wenby and getting him to just consciously think about that stuff. Right. No, I shouldn't take an autho dribble three here. I should maybe pass the ball and roll to the bucket. Oh, I've a mismatch, let me go to the hoop. Just little stuff like that.

Speaker 4

Yeah, it's a combination of that being on Wenby and that being on coaching, that being on the spurs organization. Right, he's very young. You are supposed to put him in positions to succeed. I'm what you want Castle, though. I really like Castle. I've said that just with his athleticism and playmaking and elite rebounding for his position, he's gonna make a decent impact from the start. And I thought that you saw that. I thought he definitely had one of the best rookie debuts in a class that struggled appropriately for the caliber of prospects that we had in this class. Okay, who else do you have down here, Logan as concerning or disappointing debut.

Speaker 1

I've got Scotty Barnes. Scotty was pretty disappointing. Nine point six rebounds, five assists on three or fourteen shooting oh of two from deep and they were negative thirty three in Scotty Barnes minutes. And I didn't forget I still remember you guys who wanted to take Scotty Barnes over Evan Mobley. I didn't forget, man, I still remember that. And I know we've talked about this. We talked about this a lot.

Speaker 4

Last year.

Speaker 1

I made a video on Scotty. I thought we were seeing him break out at the early part of last season. He was knocking down all this pull up jump shots, he was hitting a bunch of threes. He was weaponizing his physicality. I don't know if Scotty's ever going to figure out Carson. I don't and like he's got the tools right, the size, the athleticism, the physical traits. I think he might just be too gangly man. He might just be too goofy. He is just an athlete that lacks really good fluidity. And when you see him matched up against guys that can physically match up with him athletically, like an Evan Mobley or a Jared Allen. And again, I think Scotty's gonna look better in matchups where he's not matched up against one of the best defensive players on the planet, Nevin Mobley. But I just don't know if he's ever gonna be a really efficient offensive player. I don't know if he's ever gonna be a good pull up jump shooter. I don't know if he's ever gonna be a good three point shooter. I just don't know if he's ever gonna have good touch period. I don't know if he's ever gonna be a really reliably good ball handler, and so like, you know what I mean, And that's what I'm getting at with Scotti is that's the difference between him being a number three or really good, complimentary player that plays really good defense and does little things alongside superstars, and the difference between him being a star. Because I didn't forget. I know there's a lot of you guys, and I've talked to some of you guys in person. Oh, Scotty Barnes is gonna be a star. Scotty Barnes is gonna be an elite playmaker, an elite downhill driving force that's super efficient in the paint, that's gonna be an elite pull up jump shooter and jump shooter in general. I'm sorry, I don't see it. And I'm still taking Mobley over him. I'm still taking Kid over him. I was really high on Jaylen Suggs. I really like Suggsy. I don't know, man, I just don't ever think Scotty Barnes is gonna fully figure it out offensively. I hope he does. And I was encouraged by the start of the season last year. And like I said, Scotty is gonna look way better in other matchups against worse defenses, because this is a tough one against Mobley and Allen. But it's just still janky. Man. I don't think Scotty is ever going to be an offensive number one, and I just know a lot of people for some reason still think that I'm just not there. Man.

Speaker 4

No, dude, I agree completely. I mean I've never been the biggest Scotti guy, and the biggest thing is exactly what you say. It is an incredibly janky offensive game that he has. And you talk about people taking him over Mobile, which yeah, I would definitely disagree with. There are people who were talking about taking him over Powello, dude, at which point I'm just like, what are you smoking? He was an All Star last year over Christops Porzingis, and it's like, are we evaluating winning impact at all here? I mean, they're not close, bro, if I'm trying to win title. I mean, there are several things that KP does where he is like up there for best in the world, right, pure post scoring, Okay, floor spacing as a big of just pure rint protection right, and those are hugely valuable traits. It's like, yes, Scotty can give you twenty one six and six on a young team, or twenty eight and six is what he averaged last year. But it's not gonna be very efficient. He's going to struggle as a self creator. He's inefficient out of all of the self created play types right isolation eighteenth percentile, post up forty fourth, pick and roll ball handler forty ninth. And when he's also not a good spot up player, it's just you're getting some stuff from his athleticism, some stuff from his rebounding. He is a very good playmaker, but if he were to be a star, he'd have to really really make the most of his defensive ceiling. That's what I liked about him most as a prospect. It was just bad for the Rafters overall. Dude, I thought that this was a team that could make the play in I had them winning thirty games, but that made them my ten seed because there is young talent on this roster that I thought was trending upwards last year. But when Chris Bouchet is your leading scorer on opening night, I mean, yikes, man, just big ol' yikes. And they don't have RJ in this one. But they got their asses handed to them, So I think that that's a good shout. I'll shout out another young guy from the twenty twenty one draft as well, Jonathan man. I remain underwhelmed by Jonathan Kaminga. There are a lot of people who think he's an ascending star. Just didn't see any improvement in game one of year four for him. His finishing was bad. He was sketchy with the ball in traffic, getting stripped, not taking care of it, committing multiple offensive fouls, running people over, pushing off out of control, bricking jumpers unsurprisingly, and he wasn't focused defensively. And these are all the things that we've been saying for him the entire time that he's been in the league. He's a special raw athlete and that is it.

Speaker 3

That is it.

Speaker 4

Everything outside of that is as raw as it comes. And you're in year four now, man, right, we're supposed to see more improvement than this. And I know his production spiked and he was efficient as a scorer last year. That's the one thing he can do. He's awesome in transition and he can get you a bucket one on one just going through people, spinning off of people. He's that level of an athlete. But playmaking, bad shooting, bad, defense below average. I think if you were banking on him taking a leap, I wouldn't expect that. And I did not like the starting five that the Warriors trotted out. I mean props to them. They got a dominant win over the Blazers, although they started out pretty ugly when their starters were actually on the floor to start this game. I don't think that they should be starting Trace Jackson Davis. I would go with a small ball look with DRez. Your five with pods in your backcourt. I think that's how you get your five best players.

Speaker 3

On the floor.

Speaker 4

But if they are gonna start TJD, I wouldn't start Kaminga. I would rather have his infusion of athletics scoring with the bench. I think you need more shooting. I would rather have Wigans defense and spot up ability than I would Cominga's raw, untapped athleticism, and I think it Pause is just a better basketball player. I just think pose does a lot more to contribute to winning. And he's got a broken nose, so maybe that's why he didn't start in this one. He did score. Still, he had a significantly better game than Kaming.

Speaker 1

He was plus twenty four without getting a bucket Odds Pods.

Speaker 4

That's just podshit, man. So it's not an encouraging debut for Kaminga. And I wasn't expecting elite from him. I've said that I'm higher on Pods and what he can do for this team this year. But it was bad, man, it was pretty ugly.

Speaker 1

When you answered my follow up question, I was gonna ask if you'd rather have Pods or Kamena out there, you sum it up. I think I agree with you, man.

Speaker 4

Pods is better. Right now, Kminga still has a higher ceiling theoretically, like when are we gonna see it? I don't know. I just think there's too much in his game that needs to be rounded out to say, yes, he's gonna figure out all these things right when shot and playmaking and defense are all major red flags, you just have an athlete at that point, feel is a major question. You had a couple of nice cuts in this game, but just IQ shot selection all of that is.

Speaker 1

A major you know, and if Kuminga could really tap into his defensive ceiling, you know, then I think is where you'd feel, you know, the value of just having him on the floor over a guy like Pods and if he can't do that at the bare minimum, I agree with you, man, I don't think it's worth having that kind of a clunky offensive fit out there, man, with that limited floor spacing. So I think that is a good pick. And I know that I don't know, man. Kamenka's a polarizing guy, dude. There are guys who are really really low on him, and there are guys who still think he's gonna be a star. I just haven't seen enough yet. I like Kamena, but it's frustrating that we're this far into, you know, Kamena being on the team and we really haven't seen the fruits of the labor yet. I'm gonna shout out. My last team here is the Phoenix Suns, and they just continue to befuddle me. Twenty two turnovers twenty two. It's just like the Suns are so talented, but they make just JV basketball mistakes that curdle my blood. They don't look like a professional basketball team. Sometimes. KD has seven turnovers in this one. They have to go to overtime to get it done. You think back they were twenty fifth in turnovers. They were the worst fourth quarter team and offense in basketball. It just feels like an aimless amalgamation of basketball talent, a strange smorgas board of superstars. Man, like just a it's frustrating. It's so frustrating. And I thought that Tias Jones or Monte Morris was gonna be the solution. It's like those guys can only help so much. Man. I'm just at at wits end with this team, and it's one game. I think that they're gonna look better, but I think they got a deal a star. I do, Carson. I just don't think Beal, Book and KD work well enough together. And we've been talking about it for a while. It sucks, man. I don't know who the odd man out is that you move because Beal's contract is an albatross and you don't want to give up on Kde and Book. Look, the Suns are gonna make the playoffs. I think they're too talented to miss out on the playoffs and they're just gonna out talent some basketball teams. And I like some of the young guys that they brought in. I like that Osaqua Equadoro or however you say his name. I like him. He's a fluid athlete. He crashes the glasshard. I thought this was a good game from Ryan Dunn for a debut, Like I really think you see the value of him. But the defense is still probably gonna below average no matter how well Ryan Dunn plays. And I just don't think the offensive players compliment each other enough. I just don't, and that's gonna be a thing that holds them back. So again, when I bring up the Suns and the Heat in my disappointed and concern tab, it's not about them being a playoff contender or anything like that, or them pushing the team in the first round. It's about achieving more than that. And I'm still not moved by either of these franchises. And again, because I know that some people, by the time the playoffs are gonna come around, some people are gonna get suckered into All Phoenix with KD and Booke and Beal and all. They could upset a team.

Speaker 4

They're the balls or what are they doing there?

Speaker 1

When I do this, I always think of the Indiana Jones scene where he takes the sandbag and he does the little head switch with the you know, we get a little slight of hand here. All maybe the Suns and their talent could do it, but no, then the trap door gets set off and the ball gets released, and then Indiana Jones has to run out of the tunnel and avoid the ball. Basically, what I'm saying is the Sons are Indiana Jones. The league is the Boulder. But in this analogy that I'm using here, the Boulder crushes Indiana Jones and the Suns die. So yes, they've got the talent, man, they've got the top end talent. I just don't think they compliment each other enough. And I think they're ceiling ultimately as a first round exit. No matter what they do, they just don't fit. Man, the Suns frustrate me more than any other basketball team.

Speaker 4

Yeah, I think that people got too high on them after a preseason in which they looked good. And my take was, this is basically the same team unless they really use Ryan Done and Ryan Dunn plays really well, And I maintain that take, and I like Ryan Done a lot of it. And if he's a capable offensive player, he can change this team with his defense. But we'll see how much they deploy him and we'll see how well he does play. They leave with a win so that's the positive takeaway from this. But it just feels like the same old story, right, so many dumb turnovers and you're not creating real advantages. Everybody was super high on the idea of a pure point guard in this offense, right, Tias Jones is a pure point guard, and I said, okay, that'll help a little as a stabilizing force. But what did this team really need. They needed advantage creation, they needed shots at the rim, they needed volume three point shooting. Those are the avenues to easy offense. They don't get any of that by adding Tias Jones. And when you're starting him now you're smaller. Now your worst defensively, Like once again, the Phoenix Suns attempt the fewest shots inside of ten feet anybody in basketball in their opener, and that's with an overtime period. If James Harden didn't melt down late, like Phoenix was going to lose game. And that's not to hate on Harden because he had played really well for a lot of this game and that's why the Clippers were up. But then, Jesus Christ, he's so bipolar at this point, right, when you just don't have any stability that comes from rim finishing and you're so relying on pull up shooting. He just goes back and forth between like masterful surgeon, hitting every pull up step back jumper, using the mid range, using his floater game, dissecting you as a playmaker, and then on the flip side, missing every pull up jumper. Dumbass turnovers lost them this game just by not catching the ball. But if that didn't happen, this was gonna be a loss for the Suns, and a bad loss because the Clippers without Kawhi are not the standard. They're gonna be okay, but they are not the standard here. And Katie and Beale made some big shots down the stretch and that helped them pull through. But I'm with you, dude, I have the Suns on my list. I'm continually underwhelmed by them, and I do think that they're very similar to they were last year, last team that I'm gonna mention here, And this kind of isn't fair, but just such bad vibes for the Sixers to start the season with mb and PG both out, man, it just feels like such a harbinger of their final destiny, which is gonna be Oh my god, they'll have some nuclear run in this regular season where they're all healthy and they're kicking people's asses, and then we'll get to the playoffs and one of these dudes is gonna be hurt or at least not one hundred percent. And that's just concerning to me. I mean, I'm not overreacting to one game. I'm just saying it feels symbolic. It gives me a little feeling in my gut that we're gonna see more of this down the line, unfortunately, because I think Philly can be really, really good at full strength. All Right, Logan, tell me the team or the player that you're just most interested in right now after one game. Not necessarily good, impressive, not necessarily bad. Just who are you interested in?

Speaker 1

Uh? I'm glad you brought up the Sixers because I'm gonna go with the team that they played, and that's the Milwaukee Bucks. I think I may have overlooked this team's legitimacy as a contender, and that's how I feel after this one game. And I understand that the Sixers aren't at full strength, obviously, Down Paul George, down Joel Embiid, It's Tyrese Maxi and yebocele versus the world, right, But Lillard really impressed me. Man thirty points, nine rebound, six assists, and I was just so quick to count them out out of the East. I didn't take them as a real contender. I think I had them four. I think I had just above them, and in terms of playoff context, right, because I have the Magic as my two seed, but it was Boston, New York. Orlando was fourth, and then I had Philly ahead of them. And I just think that I overlooked the top end talent of Damian Lillard and Giannis on Tetsukumpo, and Dame looks really, really good. And I know last year was tumultuous for him going through family issues, right, probably not in the great greatest headspace. Has spent his life in Portland, adjusting to life in Milwaukee with a new basketball team. There's a lot of variable changes with Damian Lillard, and I tried to cut him some slack and give him some grace there. But he does look like a different player. He looks a little more confident, he looks engaged, but even more than Damian Lillard individually, because I did like his athleticism in this game as burst, I thought the Bucks just attacked with more intent with Lillard in this game, and what I mean by that is more really high ball screens, and I think the Bucks just need to do that way more often. It's such a weapon. When you give Damian Lillard a massive runway to the whole, it's hard to stop him because what that's gonna do is if, especially if you do it with the guy at the center spot and if everybody else spread out on the wings, what that's gonna do is say you set the ball screen way above the top of the key, It's gonna drag that center basically all the way up to the free throw line immediately. And that's gonna give Dame two options. He can either slam on the brakes above the break and hit a three, or if that center continues to come up and try to play him, Dame can just blow by him for an easy layup. And I still think he's got that pop in that burst and can do it in spurts. He's not as an athletic prime, but he's far from washed right, and Dame was a big concern of mine coming into the season about Milwaukee and their title chances. I didn't know if he could pull his weight, and it was a part of Dame and his ability of himself, but it was also a part of Milwaukee not weaponizing him and his strengths enough at this point of his career. And I was really impressed. We got more two man game with him, and the honest we talked about that all last year. They need to do more of that. They did it in this game, but it was also more high ball screens. I just think it creates really easy offense for Milwaukee. And this is a team Milwaukee that was predicated on their defense and that won on their defense. It's how they won their NBA title, right Jihannis Drew Holliday, Brook Lopez a suffocating defense that would in turn win offensively. I think this is a team with a different identity this year, and they should lean into that more heavily. I think they should go all in on their offense, and that'd be the focal point of this team and the folk rum of where they win basketball games. And it starts with Dame, it starts with high ball screens, it starts with the two game with Giannis. But I'm encouraged, man. I like to added shooting on the wings, Tary and Prince Gary Trent Junior in here. I like those additions. The bench isn't the deepest, and I still think this team has real flaws. I don't want to gloss over them. Their flaws are still the same. They're older, they're not super athletic. But I think I just wrote them off premature and Doc Rivers as their head coach, of course, but right I wrote them off prematurely. I still do consider the Bucks in my very much in my contender bubble, and I was really impressed with Dame and their offense in this game.

Speaker 4

I'll need to see more from the defense to be moved because I expected the offense to be really good, and I did expect to bounce back season from Dame. And that's why I was higher on the Bucks than last year. Right that, and also what we saw from them on the margins bringing in a Gary Trent junior in a de Lawn right and not Torrean Prince. But yeah, man, I mean they've got shooting everywhere, and they have potentially the best duo in basketball. And Dame's not going to get back to twenty twenty three levels. But I definitely do think he'll be better than last year. That was an uncharacteristically bad year from him. But it's gonna come down to what level can they defend at how much does their athleticism limit them on that end. They have the potential to be the second best team in the East. But I had them for a preseason. I'm not gonna move off that. But they are definitely interesting. And they were shooting the shit out of the ball in this one, that's for sure. And Giannis had a pull up MIDI and I said, WHOA bro?

Speaker 1

I said, Bro, that blew my mind. Like he he shot it with confidence. It looked smooth. I thought it may have been Ai generated.

Speaker 4

Also, really nice brook game outside of shooting, you know, really protected the room pretty darn well. But again, they were basically defending one dude in this game, and that was Tyres Maxy. I'm going to shout out the Houston Rockets as a team that I'm really interested in, just like when I'm thinking about League Pass, who do I want to who do I want to watch? I was locked in on Hornet's Rockets, especially in the second half, because at all times the Rockets are playing multiple young players who I am super intrigued in. I mean, it's basically their entire rotation outside of Van Vliet and Dylan Brooks. Like you're getting lineup combinations with Reed and the Men out there and Shng Goon and Jabari Smith, Jalen Green, Cam Whitmore, Tarry Easton, I like, he's not as intriguing, but they're just really really fun and exciting, and their depth is legitimately good because of that too, So I just think they have a really fun bench to watch and you're kind of tracking all these guys and seeing who takes the leap. I really like what we saw from a Men in this game. You know, a men is my guy, but particularly I thought he was a super willing screener for all of the guards, which is great. That's a huge way for him to tap into his value in this offense, and he was moving well without the ball. I'm just really really intrigued in the Rockets because nobody has more interesting young pieces, And on top of that, I do think they're gonna be good. Right I had them winning forty three games, So it's a really fun blend of being super young but also clearly ascending. And I do think a year from now, this is gonna be a fifth win team, and I don't know that all these pieces will still be here. Jalen Green gets his extension for three years one hundred and five, Shngon does not. They're gonna have to make some choices, but that's also part of the intrigue here. Speaking of young guys, logan most impressive rookie debut? Who was that for you?

Speaker 1

Real quick? On the rockets? I just wanted to add to your boy. And then Thompson had some big defensive plays in this game that I was impressed with. Man some some oh yeah, a couple of nice block shows.

Speaker 4

One of the best defenders on the plane.

Speaker 1

Yeah, definitely. You know, I was pretty underwhelmed by the rookie crop. I'm not going to lie as a whole. Yes, So the one guy I did like was Eve Missy for the Pelicans. Twelve point seven boards, one assist. He added three blocks in this game. Seven foot seven foot two wingspan, two hundred and thirty five pounds. You know, he's got a simple role in a job to fulfill here, but he can do it well. And I really like how he showcase some of the low block touch in this game. He's got a nice reverse layup and with all this talent in New Orleans, like, I just think he feels a valuable role and can do it at a high level. Like even when he's just sitting in the paint right in the dunker spot, awesome. He's a big dude, He's got nice touch. Like it's simple play finishing, it's rim protection. Again, it's a very simple job. But I think Missy fits it and can play it at a high level right now, and considering this team's front court situation right they're starting Daniel Tyson shout out. I chat on Daniel Tye before the season started. Tys played a good game. I'll give him that, man. I either thought Tys played a pretty good game in this one. But Missy is gonna be a guy that's just I think is better for the long term. He's bigger than Ty's. He can He's just more athletically imposing than Tys, and he played a really good debut game. There's more to tap into, I think offensively, but this team doesn't need that. They need rim finishing, they need rim protection. He brings that, and I thought it was a solid game from him. But yeah, man, I was. I was pretty underwhelmed by the most of the rookie class in this one.

Speaker 4

I agreed. Now it's completely agreed, and I also have Easemesy down as my stand out of the day. I really liked the pick. I thought that it was a clear positional need, and I thought that it was the right archetype, right athletic, young, spry rim running, can protect the rim, can defend in space some as well. I'd start him if I were the Pels. I think his athletics ceiling, to me, is more impressive than what you get from Tys in terms of just veteran stability. I don't think either of these guys needs to play much more than like twenty minutes a night, because I do think you can go to some small ball looks out there for the remaining minutes when you have Zion out there on the floor. But yeah, I thought that he had nice timing and feel as a roller and finisher, and was protecting the rim and was just super active on both ends. That's what they've needed, right, They've needed a center who isn't going to get played off the floor defensively, but who also has the size to hang on the glass. More than like a Larry Nance, who was their alternative to Valanchunis last year, and I think he gives them a nice little look. So I was impressed by him. I was disappointed logan by another center, Zach Edy, who poetically I made a video saying Zach Edy is too good to fail earlier in the day, and then he went out there in his debut and he failed. This was basically the game if you're an Edie hater, that you would hyper fixate on and say, this is everything wrong with him right. He did look slow footed out there and wasn't consistently keeping up in transition, and made a few errors defensively and fouled out in this game, was in foul trouble throughout. But ultimately I think that he is too good to not make an impact. I think that he does certain things at such a high level. I think he's such a massive interior defender. And by the way, he didn't rebound particularly well in this game. Had some nice offensive rebounds, but overall got bodied by Walker Kessler in that category, and the Jazz were super physical with him on the glass. They dedicated bodies to him, but they were able to keep him off of the defensive glass at least. I also thought he just looked nervous in this game, though he goes one to five from the free throw line, like I thought he had a little bit of the rookie rookie shakes. And here's the thing, Edie, I think does have more of a target on his back because of how divisive he was as a prospect, how great he was as a college player. Right, people have watched a lot more of him. Most people have than they have at Alex sarro Resache or whatever. Those guys both lay offensive clunkers zone. It's not discussed. Like Eves Missy was the leading scorer among all rookies in their debuts, like basically everybody went out there. Reid didn't have a very good game. I like read a lot, so I'm not overreacting to this from Edie. I think his post scoring is going to be a huge advantage. He has playmaking feel, He's a massive target as a roller and a cutter. He's going to eat up rebounds, He's going to protect the rim at a really high level. Yes he is slow footed, and yes he is going to struggle to garden space and to keep up in transition. Those are the things that we though we just didn't get to see as much of the good from Edie. I think that'll come with more confidence, more feel playing within this offense. And I still expect him to be Rookie of the Year. I mean, I think he's a strong favor in my eyes.

Speaker 3

I agree.

Speaker 1

I mean, I think Missy's gonna have an opportunity if he gets the the burn, you know, if he gets enough playing time.

Speaker 4

Oh, I'd be really surprised. I think EDI's gonna produce. Man, I think EDI's gonna give you a double double. Still, my expectations for him haven't changed. Really, he just had a bad game.

Speaker 1

No, I mean, I agree. I'm just saying that other guys are gonna play more and have like, you know, if they get twenty minutes a game, they love opportunities to put up numbers. I'm not panicking about ed either. I think once he gets more comfortable, we're gonna see him shine and again. Two, it's a new basketball team and the Grizzly spacing isn't great already. Like, I think he's gonna be fine. I did write down Alex sar Uh he was negative twenty four worst among all Wizards in this game and plus minus, he puts up two points, five boards, one assist on one of seven from the field, and oh five from deep. Look, sorry, I had no problem shooting the threes, And if I want to give him a little grace, I will say Sar didn't egregiously miss, like egregiously bad missing of these threes. You know, like he was hitting rim and he was close, like they were close to falling down, but he did miss them all. But that is my concern with Sar is just like he wants to play more like a wing offensively right now. His game is relocate out to three when there's a spot, Like he just doesn't seem like he wants to hang around the rim as much. And that's just a problem. When you're the center, I want you down there fighting for offensive and defensive boards. He does have a pair of nice blocks in this game. He's got a really good weak side block where he comes from the perimeter and stuff's a shot at the rim. I think Sar is gonna be fine defensively, but I am worried about him having a role offensively. He doesn't roll hard, he doesn't play like super physically imposing back. It's just like that's not his game. And I don't I'll call him soft, but it's like he's just not comfortable with the physicality of the game right now. And I think that's gonna be the biggest adjustment for him. It's just offensively, like playing hard and playing through physicality. He wants to settle for threes. He wants to play spot up and I just only that's the best avenue for easy offense for a guy with his physical profile. So defensively, I think Sara is gonna be fine, but offensively he's got a really, really long way to go.

Speaker 3

Agreed.

Speaker 4

But also I think if you were expecting Alex Sar to be even an average offensive player as a rookie, you were expecting too much. I mean, we knew that he was going to struggle there. To me, the defense in his debut delivered. I mean, I thought that he guarded really well in space on an island against some isolations. You mentioned the rim protection that you do get from him. He's gonna be a really good defensive player. Basically, the goal with Alex Sar has always just been can he get to be an average offensive player? And I don't disagree with all of your criticisms about him, right, he is too in love with the three ball for the level of shooter that he is, and he's not a skilled non dunk finisher in the paint, and he doesn't roll hard.

Speaker 3

All of those.

Speaker 4

Things are true, and he has to become more paint oriented if he wants to be a more efficient, productive, actual offensive player.

Speaker 3

But I still think that there's enough there for.

Speaker 4

Him to become an okay offensive player down the line. I'm not in love with Alex. Sorry, he was my favorite prospect in this class, but that says a lot more about this class. I was thinking about how I felt about him compared to like fourth dudes from previous classes or third dudes, right, like Jalen Green was my third favorite guy in twenty twenty one. Literal stratospheres between how much I liked him and how much I liked Alex Sar. But I think that defensive foundation is still very, very legitimate with him, and it's gonna be a bad year offensively. I'm just not gonna mince words about that.

Speaker 1

And now, I mean.

Speaker 4

Mar haters are going to have field days with his one for seven shooting nights because there's gonna be several more of them, but hopefully it gets better. And yeah, he's just too trigger happy from deep and he lives on the perimeter too much.

Speaker 1

Yeah, and Washington isn't an optimal offensive situation, right, Like, he's not gonna be set up for success by by like guard play or anything like that. And Washington isn't gonna be good. But that isn't appeal. I think it's like, there's no pressure on Alex Sar to be great right now. Right, He's not thrust into a winning situation. He can be the defensive foundation and Washington figure this out as he plays through his rookie contract. So I do think that is one benefit, right, there's no pressure for him to be great immediately, but it's got a long way to go. He's got a long way to go. And you're right, dude, there's I mean, you look back at a lot of draft classes. There's chasms. There's large, large gaps between this draft class and you know, third or fourth guys in other years.

Speaker 4

Oh, dude, a men Thompson versus Alex Sar, Like, come on, dude, worlds apart as prospects. Yeah, I'm already so excited for next year. Give me a little Cooper Flag, give me a little Ace Bailey, get me feeling nicey, get me feeling nicey, and we'll be ready to rock and roll again. We're rocking and rolling right now, though, Logan, We've got NBA basketball back. So hope you guys enjoyed everything we saw over the first couple of days. Hope you enjoyed our breakdown of it all, help your team won, and hope you're looking forward to another weekend of basketball coming right up. So we will of course be consistently breaking down all the NBA action throughout the season, and you can catch us on Sundays after the NFL slate with our nightly Lives there. So for all of our NBA and NFL content, subscribe to our YouTube channel listen across audio platforms. But if you want on top of our full shows, our video essays, video breakdowns, those live just on our YouTube channel. And if you want more clips from the show, graphics from the show, and all of our short form trivia content that is across social media, TikTok, Instagram, at nerd, sesh, Twitter, at nerd Underscore, sessh and if you want to enjoyin the nerd Session family on Discord, then you can do so. The link to that is at the link tree across our social media bios so that as always appreciates you guys. I've been Carson

Speaker 1

Braber, I have been Logan Camden and this pleas

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