Break was breaking down all the biggest NBA storylines.
So the Heat Check. The Heat Check was just crack the best podcast.
Covering all the drama around the association.
Let's move to some news from around the league. We start in Portland. It's bad Shade and Sharp has been lighting things up. Yes he has.
He is leading the league in minutes as he should be. Jeremy Grant finalists for Player of the Week. Great, but all of that is overshadowed by the fact that Rob Williams.
They broke him, folks. So they broke him in Boston.
Because he's now headed for surgery again on his knee, and who knows how long it's going to be until he comes back.
We know time Lord has been injury prone. That's been a thing for him.
We know that probably that's because Boston ran him into the ground to get to the finals and he probably should have had knee surgery. Then. He was a big part of the Dame Willard trade, as was Malcolm Brogden, two guys with injury history.
Did the Boston Celtics finesse the Portland Trailblazers.
I don't know, but it kind of feels like one of those Gary Payton scenarios where they suit us try to get their draft picks back. Turns out time Lord needs surgery and his right knee and there's no timetable for his return, no timetable for his return.
Sean's just tweeted this.
Portland Trailblazers Rob Williams is facing potential season ending surgery to repair a bone and ligament damage due to right kneecap injury. Williams and doctors could also choose cleanup procedure with a two to three month timetable. Wait wait, wait, wait, wait, so the other one is two to three months, and what's the first one? Is that like shut down season?
Feels like it? Rob we know is one of the best defenders in the league.
I could only hope to imagine what it would be like with him fully healthy and DeAndre Ayton fully healthy.
But now I'm.
Hoping that it's just dominate in season and that Rob Williams finally gets healthy. We let him sit on ice and develop because Lord knows this is a rebuilding team. And here's to hoping that Rob Williams gets his knee back fully fully one hundred percent Because we know, like guys like Lonzo ball.
This thing can last many, many years. Let's move forward.
Let's get some man his flowers. Joelle Embiid leading the new look Sixers no more James Harden absolutely awesome start of the season. He could have been the Hottest player of the week. He has been incredible. How good as Embiid been? Well, I know this may not sound like a lot, but against the shitty ass Wizards, he was
absolutely elite. In the third quarter alone, Jojo went for twenty nine, ten for ten, shooting all of them, almost all of them from the mid range, nine for nine from the free throw line, added a pair of rebounds and assists in a block that was more points than anyone in Washington had scored all night. The dude is like not just a microwave. He is one of those campfires. So Jojo ends the game with forty eight eleven and six on seventeen for twenty five shooting in thirty minutes.
In thirty minutes, Jojo, I know it's the whiz, but again, forty eight points, eleven rebound, six assists, fourteen for fourteen from the free throw Mott line in thirty minutes.
What a hell of an effort for the big man. These sixers look dangerous. They really do. Let's move forward.
We talked a little bit earlier about Aunt Edwards and what he's doing for the Wolves, but I do want to remind the people that the Minnesota Timberwolves all is not lost. They are the number one defensive rated team in the NBA right now. It is not particularly close either. Here is a simple way to see how defensive efficiency impacts winning.
So here's the deal.
The Wolves have now beaten the current number one seed in the Eastern and Western Conferences. In their game against the Celtics, they held Boston to seventeen points below their season average despite the game going to overtime.
That's ridiculous. Against the defending champs, the Denver Nuggets, the Wolves.
Held Denver to twenty six percent, twenty six points below their season scoring average as well. Whoa wait.
Chris Finch's supposedly.
The offensive mastermind doing the Lord's work on defense and it happens.
Why Because this.
Team is filled chockfull, swarming with players that are long rangey six' ten six, seven six' eleven, positive wingspan Guys Like, Kyle anderson, Jade McDaniels Nikaile, alexander walker, Of.
Course, Rudy Gobert carl.
Anthony town, just man he could kind of probably go same Situation where rudy was exposed, last year and With The, utah jazz they've decided they're going to change. Things up the defensive scheme now relies far more this year on switches, on screens moving away from the drop coverage and the pick.
And roll That Left rudy. Gobert, exposed again, nerd stuff but.
It matters it's simpler and, in result creates more offense, from defense a lot more, transition buckets putting pressure on the, other team a lot less Pressure, on rudy a lot less Pressure on cat and has worked. Incredibly well rudy was a plus twenty four Against. The CELTICS that's, i mean When Has rudy bart ever been a plus twenty four against the? Contending, team really let's. Be honest he's
now in the Running For defensive player Of the. Year Again could Rudy go Bear Win defensive player Of the? Year again, come, on sir very. Encouraging moves maybe they'll just move On, from Cat keep rudy and they'll just keep it pushing.
If they can keep it up. All year this is the.
Team That gave jokic And the, nuggets problems and they might just be.
A team they could go To The Western. Conference finals we'll have. To see here's a quick cup Day On Stephan. Wardel curry we mentioned last week he's been.
Very hot he has had a historically, hot start especially, from three.
Which is like what he does.
Right now we are entering the third week of, the season and, Guess What steph curry, still hot still, very hot currently averaging, thirty one five and four insane shooting splits forty eight percent.
From three but that's not even telling the. Whole story by, The way.
He's nailing fifty eight percent of his catch and, shoot threes thirty nine percent of his pull, up threes and has hit four or more threes every single game, this season and five or more in six of.
Eight games what, The? Fuck steph steph IS. Our mvp we need to give it to him.
Right Now, Like jokic, i'm sorry you deserve it, every Year but steph is.
Winning it, i'm sorry.
Case close just put your, ballots in put them in, the Mail and steph get ready to collect.
Your trophy that's all the time that we have for this Episode Of The.
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