All right, finally, we have a special interview with Jared Greenberg. Jared is a reporter for TNT and NBA TV and joined my other show bet MGM tonight along with my co host Nick Ash. You great interview, so let's get into it.
All right, we bring on Jared Greenberg NBA on TNT and there are teams that obviously do care when we talk about the N Season Tournament. I love what we've seen so far from it. Some of the courts are a little bit much, but that's maybe they'll work some of those kings out. Now we're getting ready, obviously for the knockout stage, the quarterfinals, and now we've had some
teams eliminated. What has been the early I guess returns that you've heard from people in terms of whether it's teams, players, whatever, and how that N Season Tournament is felt.
Yeah, thanks for having me, guys, just a long time to talk.
I know, have me on. I know we got to have you on more often.
Let's go. Let's go on me. I heard this pays a lot of money, so I'm excited relationship with you guys. Yeah, no, I listen, I'm fired about the N Season Tournament is it is it perfect? No, do they need to make tweaks? Yes, But I've been somebody who's been trying to argue with people for it feels like two decades that the regular season is important in the NBA. It is, there's and we've lost some of that integrity. It's been watered down, and the complaints that I've heard about it are just
to me mind boggling. It's just the skit off my law and mentality of Ooh, change is hard and change is not good. No, Like this is fun. Tuesday night, I was on the ari I host our our whip around show it's called crunch Time on the NBA APP. And the fact that we not only had meaningful basketball with team's playing hard, but over the last ten years we've had trouble getting guys on the court for regular
season games. Now I got Jason Tatum in the fourth quarter up by thirty trying to maintain a thirty point lead. If you don't like that, like, that's great, And people are saying that's not basketball. Who said that's not basketball? And why does that person fifty years ago get to dictate what how weapons? Now? It was great to see games being played for forty eight freaking minutes in November.
When did we get to the point where unwritten rules were a thing in the NBA. This isn't Major League Baseball. I heard Devin Booker. He was like that, I would love this every single night because to me, it feels like sitting your starters in the fourth quarter actually makes really really bad teams seem more good or mediocre than they are, which gives these GMS coaches and players cover for really just how terrible they are and the accountability that's lacking.
No question. I mean, you guys talk about the betting aspect. We do that too on crunch time on the NBA app all the time, where you know, you think you know what the you feel good about the bet you're going to place, but then a coach, whether he's on the winning or losing side, decides to pull his starters midway through the third quarter because he's waving the white flag, and now that affects everything that you thought all day about the bet you're going to place on the game.
So I agree, you know, this is not baseball, And that's one of the things that I love about Adam Silver, the commissioner of the NBA, who has said from almost his first day on the job that just because something has been done since nineteen forty seven does not mean that's the way it has to be done moving forward, whether that's an eighty two game regular season, whether that's our playoff format, whatever it is, and injecting a little life into the regular season, to me, there is absolutely
no negative about it, And if you want to argue it, I'd love to go to war with you on that argument.
Yeah, the NBA has always been willing to try new things, and I think that's what makes the league great because if he just gets stale, right, people get bored. I mean, they're just Sometimes you've got to at least give these types of things the shot talking to Jared Greenberg bet
MGM tonight. So with the early thing that I've kind of noticed with this too, when you talk about like games being played forty eight minutes, and thank god too, because there's nothing worse than when a prop dies in the fourth quarter because all the starters are sitting and you're just going I was on the right side, and now I'm screwed because Jokic played twenty seven minutes and
the Nuggets won by thirty five. But you know, there are some younger teams where it feels like this tournament maybe does mean a little bit more to them than, say, you know, a team that's got their eyes on an
NBA title. Now that may be perception, that may not actually be the case, but that's kind of the early feel that I'm getting from a team like the Pacers, who obviously plays the Celtics in a few days and we're going to kind of start seeing I think a little bit more of a sample size of what this
tournament looks like when it's all said and done. Does that kind of feel that way for you too, where some of these young teams this is their chance to kind of take that next jump, knowing that, Okay, if we're being honest, we're not an NBA title contender yet, but maybe we can sneak in and win this tournament.
Right Yeah, nick, I thought that there would be two different approaches to the nd season tournament, and the first is what you're talking about young teams who are a little bit more hungrier, who haven't won anything, so winning something for the first time in an NBA Cup would be cool then maybe valued more than an older team. But I also think that there are teams like the Lakers, like the Suns, who can't afford to wait until January or February to figure out who they are. It might
be too late, so to play some pressurized games. I think this early in the season is good for you. It's good for the players, it's good for the coaching staffs to figure out what rotations, what lineups look like.
And then I think it's really great for front offices. Listen, if the Lakers bomb out on Tuesday Night against the Phoenix Suns or vice versa, then Rob Polinka and James Jones in the front offices for LA and Phoenix are going to have to look in the mirror and say, we just played a pressurized simulation playoff game and this
group is not ready for it. What can we do between now and maybe the trade deadline or you know, in terms of free agents that are out there, not that there is that many, but what can we do around the edges to get our team prepared for April and May basketball?
What do you think about the Magic and why they've become so potent defensive magic? Jared I took him to won the division and boil boy bet MGM keeps giving me cash out options, and I'm no coward. I'm not taking it.
No, I wouldn't take it either. I've I've loved the Magic for a while this If you've been a true diehard Magic fan, you've been on the fun bust that they park outside of Amway Arena, then then you would know that this has been a slow churn, a slow burn, right, It's taken a long time. They really swung and missed at a lot of draft picks. They made some really questionable draft picks over the last few years. But Franz Wagner is probably the best player in the NBA that
casual NBA fans are not talking about. Paulo ban Caro is sensational. They are so freaking big on their front line with Wendell Carter and you know, obviously he's dealing with some issues, but Carter, Wagner, Isaac and Betadze who's
come in out of nowhere and filled in thank Caro. Yeah, and the fact that there's deep in the guard rotation, like their guards even I don't you know, Cole Anthony's had some really good games, thirty point game the other night, But I don't even think sugs and folks are gelling to that point that they can be that good. But it's been It's all about patience, right And Jamal Moseley, I don't know if you guys have ever spoken to him,
but he is one of the coolest guys. Like I just feel like he connects with his players and it just makes sense that they're ready listen again, like you said, Nick, like the Pacers, they're not a team that's gonna win a championship this year, but they're a team that I thought was going to be a lock for the play
in Tournament. Right now, I'm excited to see the Magic battle with teams that are gonna take it easy in February and March and they're gonna put pressure on them to make the top six in the Eastern Conference.
Yea.
Sometimes it just takes one season for all these young players to just click at the right time, and it really feels like that's starting to happen with the Magic. On the other side of things, there's the Warriors, who at this point might be struggling to get into the play in Tournament. This continues the way that they look right now. Obviously, look, they're older, we know they've had, dealt with some injuries, the Draymond's suspension. Like, there's a
lot going on. It's an eighty two games schedule. Klay Thompson's not worried. That's fine. He probably shouldn't be with all the success they've had in the past. But when you watch the Warriors right now, do you see a team who's at this point maybe just a fringe playoff team at best.
Yeah. You know, to me, some of their roster construction decisions have been questionable over the last couple of years. I understand why they went out and got Chris Paul because their bench unit was just so bad. And let's not kid ourselves, Nobody in the Warriors organization, if they're taking a live detector, thought he would come in and start as many games as he had. He has that and they kind of placated him, saying we'll figure it
out in training camp. That's garbage. He came in because they had no one to control the second unit last year and the second unit was the worst second unit all of basketball. But to me, as bad as that was, their bigger issue is they can't rebound the ball. They've got no consistency behind Draymond. Steve Kurr does not trust Jonathan Kuminga, who now is obviously dealing with some things.
But you know, they they just don't have enough. They not put enough attention on their other weaknesses, like you know, defense, like they're they're they're playing the post. And to me, you know, Wiggins is starting to come on, he's playing a little better. But yeah, the whole Wiggins Clay thing has to resolve itself. And now you know, with Gary Payton's going to be out, he might be alcohol year with his calf injury. You know this, it's just it's
devastating for them. But but I'm not as down on them as I think some people are, just because I believe in Steph Curry and what Steph Curry did. What I don't think people are appreciating enough is what Steph Curry did in the first month of the season with as bad of a supporting cast as he had, should make him one of the top three m VP candidates. Now he won't last there if this continues, but he has been just so superb. But we saw it the
other night. You know, if Clay and Wiggins can hit big shots and the decision by Steve curR to take Moses Moody out of the game. I don't. I'm curious. He probably hit his prop. I would imagine that game because of how hot he was. But how do you take a guy on a heater off the court when all you need is other guys other than Steph that can score.
Yeah, now, Clay and Wiggs feel like they're kind of turning on each other to talking about who should be sitting and coming off the bench. We have just about a minute. I wanted to get your thoughts on what team right now is waiting in the weeds, kind of hanging below the radar that you think has the potential to be dangerous, say like a Pelican, Say like a Clippers or a Caves or Timberwolves.
Yeah. I love the Timberwolves right now. I think the fact that they're playing defense the way they are, they're consistently through the first month of the season, been top two, top three, and Anthony Edwards is a bona fide superstar. I did not think he would be this good, particularly this quick. And the way they've gotten Cat and Rudy Gobert on the same page remarkable. They get McDaniels back into the lineup in the next few weeks. This team is going to be a big problem in the West.
Jared Greenberg, NBA on TNT NBA TV. You see him everywhere. You know the face, you know the name. Love having you on, man. I appreciate the time spitting.
Thank you, guys. Righteous.
He brings up a good point too, about like young team or like older teams, kind of testing out what they are, what you're like in a playoff scenario. That's it's almost like a preseason playoff. I think that's another really good way to.
Look at it.
That's all the time that we have for this episode of the Heat Check. Many thanks to Jared and my peeps. I bet MGM the night. Come check us out seven to eleven Monday through Friday, East Coast Standard time. Come back tomorrow as well. No tomorrow is Monday. No come back Monday. I don't even know what day it is. I'm moving for an all new episode. Check out the feed for past episodes of many episodes which drop like fall leaves and a Grental breeze, and there's a lot
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